Happy Friday!

It's almost Poppy Day - I would like to wear this red poppy - love the black details - From Designed By Jane. The rest of these a fabulous too - so inspiring. Enjoy . .

Found - vintage fun

A couple of fun things for a Friday morning. I love vintage chalkware figurines. I love they way the colours are almost always 'airbrushed' - very cool. I would really like to have this lone ranger cowboy. Second up is an instant collection of vintage wrapped hotel soaps. I actually have dozens of these in a box in a drawer somewhere. I collected them for their typography and design - they look great in a dish like this.

From Sweet Love Vintage

Window Shopping - Mims Maine

There are some GREAT new fabrics available on the convertible bags at Mims Maine. I thought you might like to see them! I love all these styles and I think that the choice of patterns is so perfect with their style and scale.

Inspiration - Temari

I love this Etsy seller - I think we could be friends because I see loads of passion and perhaps a slight obsession in their work - and I understand both! These Temari balls are so fabulous - I love this craft! Good thing I'm too busy for crafts these days or I'd be the Temari ball queen. Have you tried this craft? These beauties are from Suzik.

Inspiration - repurposed paint by numbers

These are so appealing - the familiar outline of the US and the familiar graphics of vintage paint by numbers. I saw these at sfgirlbybay.com yesterday and I thought that you would love them - very inspiring. Paint by numbers are a hot item these days. We can still find them around these parts but I've seen them going for very high prices in the city and on Ebay. I used to do paint by numbers when I was a kid in the 70s - I can very clearly recall the smell of the oil paint and the tiny little conjoined cups that it came in. You had to stir the tiny pots of pant each time you used them - with the scrawny brush they supplied. So you had ruined the brush before you even started - it looked like a chimney sweep's brush way before you were ever finished your masterpiece! These pieces are from Something's Hiding in Here.

There's a fine group of crafts people at Poppytalk Handmade Market this month including Paperphine. I'm so impressed with this seller. Their wares are so beautiful - they specialize in paper twine - in so many colours and thicknesses - it's really beautiful. The combination of vintage spools, kraft paper packaging and natural coloured twine is so aesthetically pleasing I'd like to buy loads of it on spools and make a big display on the mantelpiece.

Inspiration - Avoca

I went to my favourite boutique in Nelson the other day and I saw this coat. It was so stunning and beautifully made - I was quite intrigued. Joanne, who owns the store, told me all about the manufacturer - Avoca - and I was smitten. Avoca is Ireland's oldest woollen mill - founded in 1723 - good grief!. I grew up in an area of Scotland which was all about woollen mills so I know how important they are to a rural economy. I went to Avoca's website, read about their history and became even more obsessed with their brand. They have a mill, gardens, a restaurant, cafes and a shop. all in Avoca Village - the history is fascinating. They produce woollens, soaps, books, ceramics - you name it - you must go right now and check them out - you will be inspired to put your best creative foot forward today!

Found - Retro Reading

Oh this is so fun! I want to do this with my books - sort them by colour! Or, I should just save myself the trouble and buy a rainbow of volumes from Retro Reading!

Estate sale score - mini tool chest

We went to an estate sale yesterday in Nelson. There wasn't too much in the way of furniture - I think that the pickers had all ready been through before the doors opened. But there were a few boxes of small things in the garage that I scored. My favourite is this mini, steel, tool chest. It's in very good condition. The drawers work perfectly. I'm not sure what I will do with it. It's a great size for postcards and stamps. The pictures don't show the colour too well - it's quite green. Very fun. So for a total of $5 I got this little chest and another cigar box, some very old bronze cowboy bookends and, last but not least, a vintage cow :-)

Ebay score - the Spotter box

It's here! The amazing old cigar box I bought on Ebay a couple of weeks ago. This is some of the best Vintage type I've seen in this western style. It's so totally Deadwood don't you think? I can just see Mr Swearingen with a box of these Spotter Cigars on his desk. I didn't realize when I bid on it that it had such great gold type on the inside of the lid too. I am just thrilled with this box! So for $5 I got this chest, a pair of bronze, vintage, cowboy bookends, a cigar box and a cow :-)