work

I found these sweet paper dolls and clothes at an auction and just had to have them. Nostalgia of course. I can remember playing with my own paper dolls as a kid. They seem like such a thing of the past now. I can't imagine, with all the things available to kids, that they would hold much allure anymore.

But they have inspired some new work.

each one has embroidered stitches!

I wanted to keep the silhouette from each of the originals that I'm working with, leaving out the details - making it more about the shape and patterns. I'm also playing with background colors, wanting lots of contrast. The orange canvas in the middle has at least 5 layers underneath and I'm not happy with it yet, so there will be even more. Nothing has been attached yet and I'm thinking of adding some stitches of my own.

As I cut out my paper doll clothes I think about the little girl who cut out her doll clothes. Thinking about her little hands adding those careful stitches and feeling her excitement. I'm so enjoying this work.

My dear friend gave me bunches of mock orange. Enough to have our very own small bush. Inside. The scent - amazing! Up there with lilacs and lily of the valley.

xx,
Lisa

aunt mungy's lace

things like this are why i love thrifting so much.  here's this bundle of lace wrapped with green thread and a note that reads - yoke and sleeves of aunt mungy's nightgown.  what images does this conjure for you?  was this a favorite aunt?  did aunt mungy save this lace for her favorite niece?  what did the nightgown look like? that handwritten note makes this lace all the more interesting to me.  it reminds me of all the little trinkets my father gave to me.  he was always giving me, my kids, all of us, these treasures that he found while he was at a yard sale or an auction.  the minute i expressed interest in anything he found, it was mine.  since he passed away, these little gifts, these little memories mean so much more to me.  when i hold them i can almost feel him here. 

this sweet bundle of lace makes me think about things like that -  the lives behind it and the love.

has anyone found any neat treasures while thrifting recently?   i for one, can't wait till it's garage sale weather!

here's a little collage that i made in a mixed media class i took a few years ago that was a little bit life changing for me.  i'm going to write about that eventually if only to talk about the awesome women i met there.

so what do you think mungy is short for?

nope, it's friday

i've had a cold this week so my days are all mixed up.  here's some new vintage kitsch at the messy bed  

vintage florida souvenir salt and pepper shakers shaped like an orange and a lemon!  what could be better?
find them here

and have you seen these?

i'm hoping to hit an auction this weekend if this cold lets up.  that's my idea of fun.  hope you have some fun this weekend too.

is it wednesday already?

blue eggs on my kitchen counter make me happy.  a gift from a friend.

northeast classic car museum  does anyone else think we should go back to pastel mint green cars?  this is just one of the many gorgeous cars at this museum.

a treasury of spring colors

a little appreciation is due

youngest son is pretty pissed off disappointed with me because i neglected to mention in my last post, that he was the one who informed me of the new snow patrol ep.  and i call myself a fan, tsk tsk.  anyhow, this is me showing my awesome youngest son some appreciation, giving credit where credit is due. 

thank you sweetie pie.

did i totally embarass you?

new vintage in the shop

a preview of vintage to come

what would i do without you my youngest son?

a table is born

after much conversation with myself because of this, i decided that i still had to have these vintage porcelain casters from altered archeology. jessica has some very cool items in her shop, a great mix of unusual vintage items, assemblage and art jewelry. gorgeous stuff. so i bought the casters, deciding to treat myself.  because i deserve it. so there.

do you treat yourself by buying vintage porcelain casters, i wonder?

they were lovingly added to my collection (they sat hidden away in a box with other casters and door knobs) until in a very happy and serendipitous way, my old printer broke.  some mght ask why that would be a happy occurence.  to them i say, keep reading, it gets better. so.  this meant that... we had to buy a new printer, new one doesn't fit where old one did.  we need table for said new printer. lightbulb moment!  let's make one using that old door cabinet that has been sitting outside all winter (snow, rain, ice, wind) getting perfectly weathered,  find legs for it and, you guessed it, use the casters!  i felt vindicated!

casters from altered archeology







this is how happy i am with the finished table!

special thanks go to middle son for all the work!


some new old at messy bed

some vintage and a hand painted pendant at messy bed studio

day dreaming

It's been one of those weeks.  You know, where you feel like you're just keeping your head above water, only to wake up this morning to find that the scent of oil in the air you've been smelling for a couple of days now, is in fact a problem and not just your imagination.  It means that the oil burner is breaking, about to turn off and leave you with no heat.  Of course it is Saturday and the repairman will be getting time and a half.

I do try not to get too cranky (my kids might see things differently) and not to let things bother me too much but sometimes it all feels very heavy.  

I picked up this collection of matchbooks at an auction a while ago.  I was just fascinated with these mini advertisements of restaurants, bars and motels from Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Utah, Mexico, New Orleans...  I imagine them to be a road map of a time gone by and today I'm day dreaming of taking a road trip with my kids in a new car (that has no transmission problems) and hitting every stop on the matchbook trail.  Especially Terry's Waffle Shop.

 

 

 

And here's a piece I added to my shop! 

summer crush

This past summer I had a major, I'll call it a crush, on a famous donut shop's iced coffee.  A medium Vanilla iced coffee with lots of cream and lots of sugar, to be exact.  This relationship with an iced beverage was getting out of hand.  Some might call it an addiction.  I had to go cold turkey. 

I just love these coffee cups.  They are too cute.  But they are just a painful reminder of my summer crush and I think I just might have to let them go.  I have been thinking about selling some of my vintage stash in my  etsy shop.  I have to start paring down, terrible as the thought may be.  But it's for my own good right?

The Messy Bed sells vintage?