Double Trouble

No, you do not have double vision.

Meet the newest member of my 1950's Santa collection.

He stands about 34 inches high and has a rather friendly face. 

His brother, who I'm quite certain has starred in a Stephen King movie, has a more sinister look.

Just look at those shifty eyes!

They reside in the basement during the Christmas season along with a few of their smaller helpers.

On the left is a Coca-Cola Santa ( the scariest of all, in my opinion ) which originally sold for $3.00, and the elf in the middle may have been a 7up promotional doll.  They keep a close eye on snacks eaten in the man cave.  :@

I have no idea why these two are pouting.  Maybe they are having a "time out".

The smallest of the collection, along with 2 little elves from the 60's.

They see you when you're sleeping.  They know when you're awake.

They know if you've been bad or good,

so be good for goodness sake!

Linked to:
{Primp} Your Stuff Wednesday

A "Sign" of Thanksgiving

It was such a pretty, frosty morning that I couldn't resist taking a picture before I left for work.

I've been so busy cleaning and baby proofing our house that I almost forgot to take out the Thanksgiving decorations!  Truth be told, I don't do a whole lot of decorating for Halloween or Thanksgiving.  I decorate for Autumn and pretty much leave it at that until the day after Thanksgiving.  Then the fun begins! 



I do add a traditional cornucopia to the fireplace mantel.

I wasn't particularly looking for Thanksgiving decorations while browsing the local antique shops this weekend, but look what I found............

Can you believe my luck?!  Does this not shout " Happy Thanksgiving" to you!?

No?

Come on!  Think about it.  A houseful of people.  All that eating.

You do the math.

Door to the man cave bathroom.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Linked to:
Faded Charm White Wednesday
French country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday
Common Ground Vintage Inspiration Friday

Something Old, Something New

"When you plant beans, you get......beans."

In our house, we call this "The Bean Theory".  I'm sure you've heard many versions of this old adage, but this is our personal favorite.  We use it in a joking manner to make fun of negative traits that our girls have inherited from us.

As I was shopping for birthday gifts for Finley's first birthday, I wondered if she has inherited a love of all things old like her girlie relatives on our side of the family.  I decided to put my theory to the test and buy her something old and something new and see which she preferred.

Something old.

I spied this toy stroller hanging from the ceiling at Second Hand Rose in Buffalo, MN.

Can a 1 year old possibly see the beauty in these well worn wheels?

Does she see the patina that time has created?

Will she wonder who it belonged to before her?

Let's sweeten the pot, shall we?

Look at this face!

Woof.

Can she sense that he was very important to another young child long, long ago?

 Megan asked each guest to bring a book for Finley's library.

I found this century old classic book for just a few dollars in an antique mall.  Will she appreciate the beautiful illustrations and think about the others who have read this book in the previous 100 years?

Something new.

Hmmmmm..........

Somehow I don't think this will still be around for another generation of children to play with.

So, which one did she choose?

The jury is still out on that one.  She really took off walking with the security of  holding onto the bright yellow plastic handle of the shiny new toy.   She also loved the vintage stroller.  Until she flipped it over on top of her, and tried to climb into it, and almost got her fingers stuck in the wheel spokes.  It has been put away up high, out of reach until her beans develop.

Happy 1st Birthday Finley!

Linked to:

Common Ground Vintage Inspiration Friday

LaurieAnna's Farmhouse Friday

Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special

Free Scandinavian Knitting Pattern

Last year I posted a photo of the Scandinavian Christmas socks that I knit for all of our family members.  Since then, I've noticed many web searches for knit Christmas stocking patterns on my blog. This particular pattern is from a 1979 issue of McCall's Needlework & Crafts, so I'm pretty sure it's safe to share it with you.

Here it is, slightly worn from years of use:

The changes I've made:

• Rather than embroidering the names, reindeer, paper dolls, and snowflakes with a duplicate stitch when you are done knitting the stocking, I knit them right into the pattern.
• I leave a long tail of yarn when I cast on to be used for a crocheted loop for hanging.

As you can see, it's been written on and repaired, but I think you can still read it.  If you can't, just leave a comment and I can mail you a copy.  The accompanying photo went missing years ago, so you'll have to use my photo as a guide.  Beware, these socks hold a lot of loot!  The socks pictured above belong to these two who are celebrating their 2nd anniversary tomorrow!



Happy Anniversary Julie and Jeremy! 
(Photo courtesy Craig Dirkes Photography)



I'm baaaack!

No, I didn't keep the display shelf for myself.  But, I did have some fun playing with it before we brought it to Megan and Dave two weeks ago.  IF I had a studio for my craft  art ( my girls know how much I hate that word ) supplies, I would have a storage shelf like this just for my yarn.  No more tangled yarn to pull apart.  Sigh.

Now that you've got your knitting needles out, you might as well whip up a few hats from my favorite book.  Here are two of the hats I made for our grandbabies.

 Megan used this little red hat to transform Finley into a garden gnome for Halloween.  Isn't she sweet!

Here's Mack sporting the striped stocking hat.  Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?

All of the items pictured above are really quite simple to knit.  The stocking pattern looks daunting, but if you just jump in and start ( that's what I did ) it will all make sense!

Happy knitting!

Vickie

Linked to:

{Primp} Your Stuff Wednesday

The 36th Avenue

The Artsy Girl Connection

Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special

Oh, those Buffalo gals!

Can it be?!  My first Annie Sloan Chalk Paint transformation?

A lovely green painted farmhouse table with matching sideboard AND...

Four matching chairs!!!

Does something look a little off in these photos?

Could it be that this is dollhouse furniture and I bought it this way?

Yes, I confess, the dollhouse furniture came in this lovely shade of green.  Who knows, they may not even be manufacturing ASCP by the time I get around to tackling my first project.

This year, my girls and I discovered the antique shops of Buffalo, MN.  They are only open on the first weekend of every month, and are jam packed with fabulous and reasonably priced treasures.  Last weekend, I got to check out the November stock, while Bill read the newspaper in the car.  And probably took a nap, made some phone calls, balanced the national budget...............I think you get the picture.  So, what did I find?  Well, for starters, the new miniature dining set pictured above. 

 How 'bout this chippy cream and green shelf?!

Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm.  I'm hoping it will get me motivated to finish that bedroom redo that we haven't been working on.  I'm planning to use it instead of a bedside table that would be too big for the small room.

Isn't this the prettiest little tortoise shell clock?

I didn't even notice the slightly crooked face until I uploaded the photo.  I'm sure it's meant to be this way so I don't even have to lift my head from my pillow to read the time.  If it worked, that is.  And there is that little chip in the corner.  And it seems to be missing some sort of ring around the face.  Funny how I never noticed ANY of these imperfections until I posted the photo!  Love is blind. 

I paid $12 for this little clock.  So, what do you think?  Would you have paid that price?

I did find a few more items, but they are Top Secret Christmas presents, so I can't share those just yet.  Lots more to come in the next, oh......45 days!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Linked to:
 LaurieAnna's Farmhouse Fridays
Miss Mustard Seeds Furniture Feature Friday
Junker Newbie Would You Buy it Wednesday

Burlap and Toile?

Amy, over at Whisperwood Cottage is hosting a "Burlap Week" challenge on her blog.  I have quite a stash of burlap in my fabric bins, and also yards of red and white toile I bought on clearance years ago, so here's what I came up with.

Throw in some red piping and it looks like Christmas to me!

Without measuring, I sewed a length of burlap together with the toile (right sides together), and sandwiched the piping in between.  I made 2 of these, folded the toile around to the back to create a cuff and ironed the strips flat as shown it the picture below.

 Next, I cut them into five 3 1/2" x 14" strips and layered them onto a rectangle of burlap.

To create the pockets, I stitched 4 vertical seams, evenly spaced, from top to bottom.

I stamped the numbers on with black ink.

I cut a rectangle of toile for the lining and sewed the front to the back, right sides together.  I  left an opening in the seam to turn it right side out.  I sewed 3 red and white gingham ribbons into the top seam, turned it right side out, pressed it, and tied the ribbons onto a bamboo purse handle. 

A little jingle blingy.

Here it is, my burlap and toile advent calendar.

Linked to:

French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday

Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special

The Brambleberry Cottage Time Travel Thursday

Creative Things Thursday The Vintage Farmhouse

The Charm of Home Home Sweet Home

The 36th Avenue