Treasures From Grandma's Attic ~ Tin Wind-Up Toys

Welcome to the next installment of "Treasures From Grandma's Attic". This time I'm sharing these fabulous tin Litho Wind-up toys. I believe they date to around the 1940's. I can remember playing with these at gram's house as a kid...the robot was always my favorite. :)

I don't really know a lot about these guys, but thought they were pretty cool. I'm amazed at how well they seem to have survived. The Butter and Egg Man cracks me up. LOL
Gram was always good at attaching little notes to things to make sure we wouldn't throw something valueable away. This Happy Hooligan wind-up has a note telling us how rare it is.
These cute little guys make for a fun and colorful display! What family treasures do you have packed away? Why not dust them off and find a place to show them off in style.
Thanks everyone, for taking another walk down memory lane with me.

My First Attempt at Skirts and a Big Thank You!

I have been wanting to try my hand at sewing a skirt for some time, now. My wardrobe consists almost entirely of sweatpants, t-shirts, and skirts. I love the vintage-y prints and fun silhouettes of the skirts from Anthropologie, but can't afford to splurge on them too often. For my first skirt, I thought it best to use a pattern. So, I found a Simplicity 4236 which has a full-circle, half-circle, and a straight skirt pattern. Of course, I had to complicate matters by wanting to use a directional print...Altering the pattern was a must. I made the half circle pattern a little less full, so it would fit on a single width of 44"W fabric. (It doesn't really look much different in fullness than the picture on the pattern, though). And I also wanted a contrasting band at the bottom, so that was added as well.I used a combination of Heather Bailey fabrics for one and Amy Butler fabrics for the other. These are really just practice for the skirt I ultimately want to make using the awesome pink and red Art Nouveau print by Anna Marie Horner. I also have some vintage border prints that are just BEGGING to be made into skirts. I still have to hem the peachy one and add the hook and eye, but all in all, I think it went together pretty well. (The zipper wasn't near as difficult as I was imaging it to be.)

I also want to send a big THANK YOU to sweet Jerusalem of My Little Life. She held a giveaway on her blog recently and I was the winner! Yea!
I received a beautiful Cath Kidston Home Project Journal. Exactly what I need to organized all of the projects I want to get done on this house of mine! And she also included a number of extra goodies...a catalog, stamped gift tags, music sheets, and lovely polka dot ribbon.
Be sure to stop by her lovely website and her fun blog to see all of her creative pursuits.
Thank you again, Jerusalem!

Sew Busy!

Well, I don't know that I've been any busier than normal, but I have been trying to get a bit more sewing done.

The first project is another one of my Sash Totes. I've made a number of these since last year, but most of them had been spoken for before they ever made it to Etsy or the website.

This one wears a sash made out of two fabrics by Heather Bailey; A small pink print on one side and a brown and blue "Pop Garden" fabric on the other.

Also made a few linen and vintage fabric pouches...

And finally, a vintage monogrammed towel gets a new lease on life as a fabric gift sack with matching tag. Paired with a denim ticking stripe, it has a rustic charm.

These are fabulous to use as a house-warming or hostess gift when filled with:

* a bottle of wine and a loaf of french bread

*a trio of tall pillar candles

*a pretty mug, flavored coffee, and biscotti

*fresh apples, favorite recipes, and glass jar filled with oatmeal crumble topping

The chances of finding vintage monograms that match our own are slim, so why not just make up a cute saying that fits the initials. This one is either "S H" or "S K". How about...Sweet Home or Suzy Homemaker...Super Kool or Special Kindness. (Hey, its late, I'm sure you could think up something more clever.) :)

Thanks for letting me share my latest projects! Have a great week, everyone!