Flea Market find - Letter Holder

I found something to go with the retro address labels and note cards I just wrote about.
I got this at a local flea market called Peddler's Mall.


They have these all over Kentucky. Usually they are in old Wal Mart buildings, so you can imagine how huge they are. You have to be willing to look through a LOT of junk to find something worth buying. I don't mind that...it's kind of like a treasure hunt. :)

Anyway, here is my cute little letter holder. It cost me all of 25 cents.

Etsy Seller - KootiesCloset

I just discovered KootiesCloset on Etsy. They offer lots of different retro-style paper goods including address labels, note cards, gift tags and more. Here are some examples:

Vintage Kitsch Combo Circle Address Labels - set of 48 - $14.00

Shop Special - 6 sheets of address labels for $28.00

Atomic Tempo Personalized Notes - set of 12 - $20.00

Martini and Olives - set of 10 party invites - $15.00

It looks like I'm going to have to find an excuse to throw a party!

Etsy Find - Tiki Stuff

I just had to show you this awesome tiki stuff that I found on Etsy today.
It can be found at Deco Don's.

Vintage 1950's Tiki Bar -$950

(Pretty cool lamp, too!)

1950's Wilhelm Rattan Cabinet/Hutch - $1500
(I love the flamingos!)


Sigh...if only I had money to burn...
Well, maybe some day I will luck out and find something similar at Goodwill.
I can dream, can't I?

My Birthday!

Today was my birthday. I'm not telling how old I am! Here are some photos:

hmmm...I wonder what I'm getting...

lots of beautiful pink roses!
(promptly put in my vintage 1970's Love is...vase, of course)

a sterling silver "Love" ring
(I have had the vintage St. Anthony ring for a some time now)

a very nice red leather-bound journal...I wonder what I will write in it this year?

priceless handmade cards from my kids


we even played some party games...we're a wild bunch!

yummy frosting

the remnants of my cake

And another big surprise...
my friend is taking me to see Wicked next week! I can't wait!

More Jewelry

Today I'll share a few more examples of jewelry that I've made.

simple aqua Czech glass earrings

antiqued silver-t0ne swallow earrings

earrings made from a vintage 1950's necklace

I wore this necklace to a wedding this past weekend:

choker necklace made from a broken rosary

Jewelry and Jewelry Tree

This is what I did last night. For some time now I have been coveting the new jewelry trees like this one:

Manzanita Branch Jewelry Organizer from Viva Terra - $69

but I didn't want to pay that much for what is really free in my back yard. So yesterday I made this:


I just cut a branch from a tree in my back yard and attached the base, which I already had on hand, then painted it metallic gold to match the brass base. Total cost: $0 and about 1/2 hour of my time.

The motivation for making this was that I have some jewelry I made and might be putting on Etsy in the near future but didn't have anything appropriate to hang earrings on for the pictures. Here are a couple examples of my latest jewelry projects:

pink Czech glass and filigree earrings

turquoise Sacred Heart bracelet

Atomic Starburst Clock

I know all the purists out there will hate me but I totally redid this clock. In my opinion it was definitely not cool...but it was cheap ($4 at a flea market) and had potential.

Yuck, right? Well, I guess someone might like it...

I took the electric stuff out and replaced it with a battery operation (no more ugly cord). I cut off the flowers and then I spray painted the sprockets and hands silver, which were originally brass. I replaced the flowers with wooden balls. And this was the result:

Now I'm trying to decide if I want to leave the balls as they are (natural wood) or paint them to match the face, which is off white. Or maybe something like this:

...or multi-colored like this:

What do you think?

Retro Wallpaper

Look at the cool wallpaper you can get at Bradbury & Bradbury. Here are some of my favorites:

Atomic Age

The Mod Generation



They have some from other eras as well. Their wallpapers are all handprinted. Check their website to see what else they have to offer and for more information.

Retro House Numbers

For those of you who (like me) like kitschy stuff ....I found these awesome retro house numbers today! They come in black but you can paint them to match your house.

Aren't they cute? They can be found at Old Florida Retro.

Retro Tiki Duvet Cover and Pillow Shams

Here are pictures of the finished duvet cover and pillow shams that I made with the vintage tiki curtain fabric. I'm happy with how they turned out, especially considering this is the first time I've attempted anything like this.


I used red fabric for the sides and to cover the buttons on the pillow shams. The red fabric came from curtains too.


I'm not the only one who is happy with how it turned out! This is Princess, my Cornish Rex. She made herself very comfortable. :)

Retro Predicta TVs

While I'm finishing the duvet cover and pillow shams (almost done!) I thought I'd share some really cool retro TVs with you. Maybe some day I will be able to afford one. Yes, these are new TVs. They sure are a nice alternative to the boring black boxes that all look alike today. They are made by Predicta. Here are a couple of my favorites:

The Chalet™

The Corona™


...and they come in all these colors too!