A Rather Random Array Of Finds

An odd assortment for you today - let's start with this pretty little framed crewel picture:

This is one of the cutest button cards I have found - I bought this one at A. Flowers in Jamestown:

I found this little box with these two sets of cute playing cards inside at a thrift store in Angels Camp:

I got this pretty red paisley vintage fabric for free at one of my favorite thrifts - just because she forgot to add it in at first, and then said "Oh, well - just take it."
Okay - thanks!

I found this cool vintage fish tray and some coasters with capiz shell inserts:

 And I got this lovely crewelwork wall hanging at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
 I may try to add a few stitches to repair it:

 I found these three great books about Disney parks, below.
When I got home, I found that I already  had one of them, but I was happy to add the other two to my collection!

I like these little calico initials:

And, speaking of letters: I keep picking up little bags of magnetic alphabet letters, simply because I like using them on magnetic boards.
 Silly, but when I took these out of their plastic bag, I was determined to fit them all onto this vintage metal tray temporarily.
A jumbled mess, but I JUST made it:

I'm loving the colors on this pretty little vintage pot or planter made by Relpo:

And I I was really tickled to find a copy of Peggy Lipton's autobiography. I think it was fifty cents.
(I love her, just in case you might not remember this post.
Oh, and also this one AND this one, both of which I wrote about The Mod Squad.)

And that's it for today!

The Cutest Quilt

I was getting photos off of my old phone, and I had forgotten that I had  taken these pictures at the El Dorado County Fair last summer.
I thought this blue ribbon quilt was one of the cutest I'd ever seen!

The little dresses are so sweet:

There were nine different ones; I wish I had gotten close-ups of them all.
I'm so sorry I did not write down the name of the talented person who created it.

Such pretty combinations of fabrics:

I love this one in orange and yellow:

Yellow and blue is lovely, too:

(But I think my favorite is the lace-up bodice one with the yellow gingham apron.)
Which one do YOU like the best?

Mr. Jolly's Sidewalk Market in May

Let's visit Mr Jolly at his Sidewalk Market today, shall we?
"Oh, dear! I'm hungry!"....

"What shall I fix for dinner tonight?".
Hmm... I don't know, but that corn looks good to me.

Mr. Jolly's Market looks like a delightful place to shop, no matter what month it "may" happen to be.
And today just happens to be the first day of a brand new Farmer's Market in Columbia State Park, which is where I used to work at the City Hotel. It's in the evening, starting at 5pm.
I'm not sure if I will ever get to it, because I work on Thursdays now at the shop I moved into down in Jamestown, (A. Flowers), and I'm ususally kind of tired by the time I close up!
But, maybe - one of these days.
(Pages from "Mr. Jolly's Sidewalk Market, by Laura Jean Allen.)
I love that little kitty cat, ever present on these book pages.
He's just kind of hanging out.
Too cute.

An Iris Tea in El Dorado Celebrates 40 Years

Good morning, Tina here.

A couple of weeks ago my stepmom invited me to El Dorado. It was her church's 40th annual Iris Tea.  

There was a fashion show, which included a darling little girl and her mom.

Several models strode the runway in the newest fashions from a small El Dorado shop just across the street from the church.

The theme was "Over the Hill", a take-off on the 40 year anniversary.

Cute decorations, a toy truck struggles to go over the hill...

Even the napkins got into the mood.

I was only one of two ladies who wore a hat. When I think of a tea party I think of a hat.

There was a drawing for various prizes, you put your ticket in a bag by the prize you hoped to win. I hoped to win a pedicure and/or a pretty crocheted scarf. I didn't...

Donna was busy working but had a few minutes to sit with me and enjoy the fashion show. We enjoyed sandwiches and some great cookies, and of course tea.

Those with gardens brought irises for a contest. There were prizes for the best single iris and the best bouquet.

It was a fun and colorful afternoon.

The winning bouquet, above, was exceptional.

Thanks to Donna for inviting me, and I am looking forward to year 41!

From Mexico (By Way Of Japan)

Let's celebrate Cinco de Mayo today with this little lady:

My sweet little senorita with castanets:

 I've had this little ceramic sweetheart since I was a little girl:

 Made by "Josef Originals":

 Unfortunately, she got broken and was repaired a number of times.

 And somewhere along the line, I acquired another one.
 I don't even remember where or when!
In fact, I didn't even remember that I had two of them.
 I found what I believe is my oldest, original one packed away in a box.

You can see from the label on the bottom that they really didn't come from Mexico. 

No, they were actually made in Japan:

Now side by side, the two of them make a pretty little pair.

 I am glad that I rediscovered her.
Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone!

I Think The Clerk Thought I Was Crazy

When I was paying for my finds at a thrift store, I saw this box of Kleenex sitting behind the counter - not for sale, but rather sitting there for the employees to use.
I said something about it, and the clerk picked it up so I could look at it.

Then I asked her if I could buy it.
She may have thought I was crazy, but she didn't really let on - just seemed rather surprised!
Who wants to buy an old box of Kleenex?
Well, that would be me.
I like the design, I like the colors, and I noticed right away that it was an older logo.
It's from 1971 - of COURSE I like it!

Well, you know me - I'm a freak for vintage.
I had to search online to find a photo of the booklet that is advertised on the bottom of my "new" old box - found it!
"The Paper-Tique", a new art for today's homemaker.
I got a kick out of that.

I am not really interested in making things out of Kleenex tissues, but Ann Joselyn was, and I do appreciate her crafty talent!

I DO, however re-use Kleenex boxes - to hold plastic grocery store bags.
 I must say, this desktop and drawer look very organized:

A selection of products from the "Kleenex Boutique" collection:

Below, you see a more recent box of Kleenex, with their familiar logo and an equally pretty floral design:

I am a Kleenex snob.
What I mean by that is that we do not purchase any other brand.
I have tried others and I don't like them.
Kleenex tissues pop up one at a time - the box doesn't come with it. And they are soft, and there are lots of different choices.
 Right now I have a cold (sniff...) so I am using the "Lotion" type. We always have extra boxes on hand, and we always buy them on sale. I take them out of the regular long boxes and put them into vintage hand-painted metal decorative boxes  - we have one of those in each bedroom and each bathroom. We have boxes of Kleenex ALL over the house, in fact.
I have never seen a household that has Kleenex in more places than we do!
Yep, we like our Kleenex and we want it to be readily available at all times.
I've written about Kleenex before (back in this post), and I am actually planning to do another post about it, too.
Yep, kind of a freak about it.
That's the way I roll.
(And no, Kleenex isn't paying me anything! They don't know I exist.)

What's Penny Wearing? #116 A Gorgeous Hawaiian Dress From Waltah Clarke's

Penny is really rocking this fabulous vintage Hawaiian dress I found at a thrift store:

Beautiful and bright.....

I love the flirty little cap sleeves with their eyelet ruffles:

And the bow in the front:

And the sweet ruffled hemline:

 It looks just right for summer, doesn't it?
If you like vintage, that is.
And I definitely do.
 
 The label on this dress tells me that it is from Waltah Clarke's, and I'm also sharing a vintage postcard depicting the shop.
I found the advertising postcard here in our house; it belonged to my mother-in-law:

Looks like it would have been a fun place to shop, doesn't it?

A Little Crewel

I love it when I find these cute little stitchery creations at the thrift store:

Made from a kit, probably in the mid 1970's, and framed in (ugh) plastic.
But I like it anyway, and it only set me back seventy-five cents.

Patterns From The Past: Butterick 6221, A Dress In Toile With A Lace-Up Bodice

Just a quick and simple little post today, featuring another pattern from the past.
This one is Butterick number 6221, which just happens to be another cute one from the 1970's:

The photo is from a 1971 copy of a "Ladies' Home Journal Needle & Craft" magazine I found at a thrift store last week.
The description of the above picture reads:
 "Artfully provincial in a shepherdress dress, Butterick 6221.
The bodice is made of a quilted toile print; sleeves and apron are identically printed, but unquilted.
Black polished cotton skirt fabric from A. E. Nathan.
Apron lace by Janice.
Boots from J. B. Martin".
And below, you see the front of the pattern, with the dress sewn up in a similar fashion within the same black and white theme:

I think it's pretty cute!
I actually really like all three versions shown on the pattern front.
The sleeveless one in a madras plaid with an eyelet ruffle at the hem looks nice and cool for warm weather, and the one with the red calico skirt and white lace-up bodice top is adorable.
But then, you may have noticed that I am rather partial to the old-fashioned and/or Bohemian sort of look.
I would have dressed like that every day back then, if I could have!