My Love Affair With Vintage Clothes

Sigh…I LOVE vintage clothes…so much so that I thought I would share this love with the world.

I started out a few years ago buying vintage clothes for myself. a couple of 1960s jackets and a few tops…even a dress here and there.

Then I started collecting small things, things like porcelain or chalk wear.

Then came a couple of postcards and playing cards.

Then I had so much I had no idea what to do with everything so I decided to open up another shop on Etsy and I called it Gardenofbella. That is where I turn old greeting cards,playing cards,postcards and you name it into usable blank journals. OH what fun I have turning something old into something new again and with a purpose!

So back on to the clothes part….did I mention that I LOVE vintage clothes…of course I have my own style ,I kinda lean to the 60’s era of clothing. but I will consider other eras as well.

So again this love for vintage got out of hand and once again I had to share it with the world!! I love when I can take something off the shelf that nobody wants and find a new home for it!

I am not alone on Etsy, there are MANY vintage shops to be found there. and some offer the most gorgeous clothing you have ever seen. Prices can vary too from shop to shop.

So If you have a love for vintage clothing, like I do…go on over and see Etsy’s Vintage section…you wont be disappointed…;)

And dont forget to take a peek at mine while you are there…;)

70s 3 piece set

Mod 60s 2 piece dress set

Smiles,

Tina

Blankets for spring??

I might be ahead of myself by..oh…a month or two, but hey I have Spring fever!

Truth is,I am getting pretty darn upset with this COLD COLD weather…enough is enough all ready.

Mother nature PLEASE bring some warm weather my way…please…;)

I love spring, the smell is so much more inviting than that harsh cold air.

But it does have its draw back…like the potent smell of melting dog crap..I could go without that!

I can see little buds on my tree out front of my house and every morning like clockwork I hear the birds chirping away.

How nice it will be to lose a layer or two of clothing. You will see people walking their dogs and moms pushing their baby’s in strollers…of course you might want to pick up a blanket or two as it still might be a little chilly.

Smiles,

Tina

My Shopping Spree At Etsy!

I just might have out done myself this time.

I went on an Etsy shopping spree…and it was GREAT…;)

Take a look at all the great stuff I got…and you never know, you might come to like one of the shops for your own little shopping pleasures!

Garden Gnomes…how cute are these?? They are actually note cards but I intend to frame them and hang them on my wall above my computer desk.

For more wonderful pictures this Etsy seller has take a peek here

Garden Gnome Note Card

Garden Gnome Note Card

Garden Gnome Note Card

I love Vintage and of course flashing back to the 80’s I went with this cozy warm sweater…this will be great for the upcoming spring days when it is still cold out and I wont have to worry about the bulk of wearing a jacket. this will look great with a pair of skinny jeans…once I can fit into them…;)  For more wonderful Vintage items this seller has take a peek here

Vintage sweater dress

A PIF item, pif means ( PAY IT FORWARD) in other words…Karma, do something nice for someone else! I just found out that Etsy has some wonderful people that have PIF items in there shops! I have taken a liking to this and have had some PIF at my shop as well…;)

Homemade Diaper Cream….now those that know me, know that I don’t have any baby’s in the house…BUT I do have three big baby’s aged 34,12,8!! and they all play hockey…and that can lead to jock itch!…so when I came across this site that not only had a diaper cream it turned out to be a PIF item..AND a link to the site for the recipe that she made the cream from.OH by the way…diaper cream is JUST as good as the expensive jock itch cream!!

Homemade Diaper Cream

My oldest son in the black jersey...looking tuff at the face-off

Now of course I had to get some more super cute flannel to make washcloths with…take a peek here at this Etsy shop for some great items!

And that’s it….for now…;)

Smiles,

Tina

New-Just in-Tile Pendants with Hemp Necklace

I thought I would take a go at making those Scrabble tile pendants that seem to be sooo popular right now.

I must say they are rather fun to make and easy peasy too!

I have only made ones with a black image so far, I think they look pretty sharp against the light oak color of the tile.

I was going to add a silver bail to them and a silver chain , but for some reason I did not like the way it looked…to me it kinda looked fake…does that make any sense??

Instead I went for the  natural feeling of  hemp. Drilled a hole just big enough to fit the hemp cording into.

I really like the way these turned out…to me a feeling of natural…maybe kinda plain..and not so busy looking..but I like them…now lets see if the buying world does!

For more necklaces take a peek over here

Smiles,

Tina

My Brand New FLOWER Garden!

OK…I have been having sew much fun on Etsy with my bellaflower shop, That I went ahead and opened another shop…yeah I know crazy…but sew much fun….notice the pun??

Anyways…its all about the FLOWER! I love flowers,almost any kind really, just not dead ones.

I want flowers sooo bad in my house…but my cats WONT have it…I mean, sure they love them…TO DEATH!! They always seem to eat them…and get to them no matter where I put them.

So I have to wait till summer to tend to my garden…oh and by the eay I live in MANITOBA…and it is a LOOOONG time to wait for summer to get here.

No biggie, I just had to get creative and come up with my own flowers, Ones that would last forever and not be tempting for my cats to kill.

Well along that route of flower creating I guess my OCD kicked in and I decided to GROW a batch of flowers…flower key-chains,flower brooch’s,flower magnets…flower…you get the point!

Oh and by the way…don’t think I am taking a stab at people that have OCD…don’t even go there with me….I might just start obsessing over you obsessing over me!!

Where were we…oh yeah the flowers, I think they look pretty fancy smancy but I will let you be the judge of that!

Please feel free to comment…about the flowers…not the OCD…oh here I go again…..

Smiles,

Tina

OH yeah…Valentine Crafts

OK so I forgot….forgot about Valentines day, and kinda jumped right into spring!

Maybe the fact that every store now has bathing suites and shorts and sandals for sale might be the reason why I forgot. I mean it is only minus 36 here in Manitoba.

Oh how I long for Spring…WAIT…OH how I long for Summer…this time I will try my best not to blink, that is what happened to me last year. I was just getting used to the hot summer days and BANG…I blinked and it was over!

There I go again rambling about Spring and Summer and forgetting about Valentines Day.

Why such the big hype anyways? When you are little, in school they MAKE you give out Valentines to your class mates, Praying that you get more than two cards and one of them ends up being from the teacher!

Now they send you home a class list and tell you, you have to give to all of your class mates or don’t give at all…I can see why. Oh such a great feeling of love knowing that your classmates were forced in giving you those cards.

Oh and dont forget the little cupcakes!! Well this part I can handle, I dont mind doing this and the kids love to help.

But when do you draw the line….My oldest is in grade 7…and praying he does not have to give out cards this year..last year in grade six he did. how embarrassing, being twelve years old and having to give one of your guy buddies a “will you be mine” card….poor kids!

As for adults and Valentines Day…just give me the dam chocolate and everything will be OK.

Man I sound like a prude…I just think it is sooo over rated, and yes  before you ask, I am married and have a wonderful relationship….BUT I don’t need a special day to tell my hubby that I love him!

I am however looking forward to Valentines Day…when it is all over, I get to go out and buy all the yummy discounted chocolate the very next day…mmmm, I can hardly wait!

And to get you all in the mood here is a lasting flower bouquet I made out of buttons…to me this is worth more than dying flowers on Valentines Day.

CPSIA- How will it affect me and other handmade sellers??

I did not really want to touch on this subject but I cant seem to help it.

This new law that goes into affect on February 10-2009 is going to affect MILLIONS of small bussinesss around the world.

The quick low down on this:

On Feb.10th 2009, New requirements of the (CPSIA) will take effect. Manufactures,importers and retailers are expected to comply with the new Congressionally-mandated laws.

Beginning Feb.10th 2009, Childrens products cannot be sold if they contain more than 600 parts per million (ppm) total lead.

Certain Childrens products manufactured on or after Feb.10th 2009 cannot be sold if they contain more than 0.1% of certain specific phthalates or if they fail to meet new mandatory standards for toys.

The new law requires that domestic manufactures and importers certify that childrens products made after Feb.10 .2009 meet all the new safety standards and the lead ban.

I am an artist that would be impacted by this proposed legislation if it is enacted.

I am fearful that as a sole proprietor I will not be able to afford the stricter regulations of the act,the cost of testing and certification is likely well beyond my means and I will be forced to close shop.

An idea of what I would have to charge a customer for the cost of  material, labor , testing and shipping this two piece bib set would be around $4000.00 ( any takers)???

Further  info on the Act is available at the CPSC website HERE

Please Vote to save handmade on my side bar——>

Smiles,

Tina

I’m A Little TeaPot Cozy….

I have been wanting to make a teapot cozy for awhile now, So I thought I would give it a try!!

Not to shabby looking I think..;)

It took a try or two, just to get it right.

Here is what the finished ones look like…

Of course you can always feel free to take a peek at my shop for more teapot cozys…;)

Next item to tackle…Tea cup and Coffee cup cozys!!

Bad Hair Day??

It never seems to fail,

I wake up, have a shower and try to do something with my hair and well…lets just say my hair has other things in mind other then cooperating.

Winter ,even tho we don’t want to admit it,it soon be on its way, and with that in mind will come toque or hat season.

So for myself as well as my shop I have started to make some hair bands at a really great price!

I know I will NOT be having messy hair…;)

Fall Headbands

We also have a winner in my little puzzle I had going last week. The hidden word is FESTIVE.

Congrats to: Elizabeth! (USA)

Have a great week!!

Smiles,

Tina

Cold and Flu season soon to be here!

AGGG… it’s that time of year again, the boys go back to school, I start work (at school) and before you know it…we are all sick!!

Nothing is worse than walking down the halls of an elementary school and seeing little kids sneeze without covering there mouth! or better yet, how about the ones that have snot dripping down their nose and then the tongue just sweeps it away!! or the wipe my snot all over my sleeve child….lol, and so the list goes on!

They try and teach children to use the inner side of their elbow to sneeze so at least it will not be on their hands.

Lysol comes in handy, hand washing is VERY important as always it should be! and lots of tissues,you can never have too much tissues. OH and the lotion kind is the BEST!!

Just think in Manitoba we only have 8 months of this!…;)

And if you want to blow your nose in style…(kinda) check these out at my shop!

Smiles,

Tina