Vintage illustrated cutouts

Sometimes I wish I did collage or altered art. I really wished it a few weeks ago when I found a huge lot of paper cutout illustrations from the 1930s done by Roger Vernam of cowboys, Native Americans, animals (wild and domestic) and farm life.

The antique dealer actually questioned me when I said I wanted the cardboard box full of this mishmash of paper added to my order. I at least saw the potential in them, even if I'm not able to do something with them myself. I've divided them up and listed them on Etsy. Here is a sampling.

Our latest collaboration

My husband and I have been working on
the Scotia-Glenville Pipe Band website
together for the past few months.

We are finally to a point where we like it enough to share,
minus a few proofreading issues.

What do you think?
Oh, and send me a note if you would like a CD.

You can say you know people in the band
that placed Third at the Worlds
and is the top-ranked kids' pipe band in the US!

Beautiful day for a craft show

The church where we got married 18 years ago.

"Hey boys, get out of my light! No wait, do that again, it's cool!"

Getting back in the studio

After buying the top two turquoise metal suitcases a few weeks ago, I was inspired to clean up my studio. I'm embarrassed to say I never finished. The scenes here are creatively framed so as to not show the clutter in other areas of the room. I'll get back to it eventually.

This little vignette shows family favorites -- my dad's books and gingham bear plus a decoupaged mason jar of his mother's.

The big book was his too. The bear is part of an unfinished project. I want to dress up old-styled bears in my collection of vintage children's clothing. They are all now stored in a suitcase, all ready to be pulled out together whenever inspiration hits.

Isn't this a beautiful dressing gown? It is one of the many items friends have asked me to list on Etsy for them. Included are a real post-Civil War era carpet bag, Victorian lace collars, mid-century fabrics and sewing patterns.

And here are all of the things I pulled from my stash to soon sell. Loads of books, games, fabrics, household items, and my favorites wooden shoe forms. I have my work cut out for me!

Blanket basket for Baby Bubbles

Our good friends had a baby last week, all 10 lbs. 11 oz. of him.
I got to visit and hold him when he was 6 days old.

I had more than enough time to finish this blanket for him.
He came much after his due date. Poor Mama!

I added a super-soft lamb, handmade organic soap
from last week's fiber festival
and a wee hat made from leftover blanket yarn.

Added a gift tag and a stack of Little Golden Books
and it was ready for baby.

Phat dominoes

I spent a rainy afternoon this week, sitting on the couch creating dozens of domino magnets from vintage children's book illustrations.

It is very easy to do and you can use pretty much any kind of image, but I chose the sweetest ones I could find from well-worn books.

Place the domino on top of the image you want to use and either draw a line then cut it out or cut right around the domino.

Paste the image down with watered-down Elmer's or Mod Podge. Protect the surface with a few more layers of glue, allowing them to dry between the layers.

Glue a button magnet to the back and you are ready to hold artwork on your fridge in a sweet and retro way.

Bar coded

Rarely does the ever-changing Google logo catch my attention, but it did today, the 57th anniversary of the bar code.

I have my own, and you can too by clicking on the button below.


by Barcodes Inc