Ruffles & Rust!!!

OK folks, announcement time!
{deep breath}
I am so very honored to be invited to participate for my very first craft show! I am going to be a vendor at the uber-amazing, so-much-to-look-at-it's-dizzyin, handmade-heaven, inspirational Ruffles & Rust show! Eeek! If you've never been, it is HIGH time you go.

This HUGE 90+ vendor show, presented by Come Junk With Us, is a vintage market filled with antiques, clothing, home décor, handmade accessories and more…This show is very similar to the oh-so-sassy and fun Farm Chicks show. Uh huh. Wonderfulness.

The fun is happening October 22, 2011 at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington (click for map and directions). Doors open at 9 AM, with an $8 entrance charge….but I've heard shoppers start lining up before 7 AM! Grab your gal pals and get there early with a Pumpkin Spice Latte in your hand to keep you warm while you wait :
Yesterday, I dragged my sis-in-law in with me to the recently opened Ruffles & Rust Square located in historic Snohomish, WA. We were both drooling over the fun items in there! I was able to pick up something wonderful for you…and to shop a bit, of course. I've got a COUPON for you folks! Ah yes, LOVE me a good coupon.

Present this coupon at the entrance and get $3 off your entrance fee.
$5.00 is much nicer to see than $8.00, right!? (Plus, it means you can spend moreJ). If you see me out n about, I've got one I can hand to you personally, or you can just print your coupon off right here:


I will have a LARGE assortment of my infinity scarves available to try on and purchase, with new styles and patterns I haven't yet listed in my ETSY shop.
Many of the scarves will be pre-folded and tied up with a ribbon and tag, PERFECT for gift giving. All you gotta do is throw em in a gift bag, stuff some crepe paper in and good.to.GO.
Course, I don't just plan on scarves, I've got some SASSY half aprons – Rows and rows of ruffles, each apron is one of a kind! Add in a lovely bunch of handmade earrings (from subdued colors and sizes to jaunty reds, oranges, and blues to STATEMENT earrings), some nifty, witty throw pillows and a few other secrets I've got up my sleeve and that will be one FULL booth.
I've been a busy little sewing bee, running my sewing machine, serger, and iron to their very limit. And having a MAHvelOUS time! Oh to have a maid to cook and clean so I could play all the live long day…ah yes, a lovely dream J
Click on the link for some handy hints and tips for shoppers from ComeJunkWithUs.com. Some really good info, ex. most vendors are CASH ONLY.
HOWEVER, I'll be accepting cash, paypal (if you have a smartphone with you), and Credit Cards through the tiny yet amazing and secure Square accessory for my iPhone. SO nice for shoppers who find stuff they just can't pass up! Christmas shopping 2011? Oh yes. I plan to be DONE with my shopping by the time the show ends.
I do hope to see you there, can't wait to chat with you! Off to sew again…
Amanda – Vintage Dutch Girl
Keep up to date with newest products and show updates on my Facebook page found here!

A Perfect "I'm A Mommy" Swimsuit...with SASS...

Last week I broke an 18 year run and purchased a one piece swimsuit.

Don't get me wrong.

It's not yo mamma's average tank.

It's got some SASS:



I needed a Mommy-suit. You know, a swimsuit that I can wear while performing a herculean life-saving lunge towards my non life vested two year old who is tap dancing at the edge of the 12 foot deep pool and not worrying that lady parts are falling out of place. This is not your "lay out and get as many parts of your body nicely bronzed as possible" suit. This swimswuit needs to FUNCTION folks. It has a JOB.

Job Definition: Let Mommy be attentive to progeny while being appropriately covered.

But I want to look cute.

Remember the Retro swimsuit post from Feb 2010? NO? Ok, read it in full here.

I am a proud new owner of the Jantzen Vamp swimsuit. AWESOME, flattering Mommy suit. Also, very pleased to report that I found it at a great price at our local TJmaxx. About 1/4 of current new prices. (I got a Dutch shopping high!)

I also found this TRULY retro nautical inspired vintage swimsuit/dress that I listed for sale in my Etsy:



It makes me think of beach diva models that were completely covered up but still maintained their femininity. These retro-inspired suits are a welcome silhouette and style in a world where swim suits seem to be getting teenier and having bare skin showing is celebrated.

No, I'm not saying bikinis are evil. I like and own bikinis too, I just don't like inappropriate cuts and styles that are risque.

Goodness gracious I sound prudish! So be it.

OK, off the soapbox now.

So, do you have your swimsuit for the summer season picked out? Do tell:

A

VintageDutchGirl on Facebook.

Glow-In-The-Dark Galaxy...

I went and got my thrift on this morning. As always, I came home with more things I didn't know I needed.

I was jazzed to find these glow-in-the-dark stars and planets for 99 cents:



Be honest, how many of you had these on your bedroom ceiling as a kid?

Confession: I didn't have them but secretly thought they were cool. My brother had them and sometimes I'd sneak in there when he wasn't home to look at his glowing little ceiling galaxy.

(Jason - I also MAY have played with your legos and transformers. )

I just stuck a bunch on them up on Bubbalu's bedroom ceiling and he is LOVING them. Maybe it will help him stay in bed and take naps again? (Trying to be optimistic here...just go along and pretend with me that children that don't take naps are wonderful creatures, mkay?)

I also came home with a delicious bag full of vintagey lace and trimmings.



I may have to incorporate some of these into my plaid projects for the Plaid Flannel Party starting next week. Plaid + Lace? Yes please.

OK, off to try to convince the 3 yr old that quiet room time literally means QUIET and IN YOUR ROOM...

A

Don't forget about the party starting next week!

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Replacement JACKPOT...

Yesterday I (once again) popped into our local thrift store to see what treasures I could find that I didn't know I needed.

Hoooo boy, did I hit the JACKPOT.

OK, you already know of the beautiful vintage vanity mirror that I destroyed last week. I'm STILL sad about it.

I brought the empty frame to a local shop to get a quote on a mirror replacement. Unfortunately it would have to be custom cut and they quoted me a base of $125.

Eek!

Yesterday, tucked into a back corner of my thrift store, I found this:



Pardon the shoddy picture. I was perched precariously on a trundle bed spring frame and was bouncing up and down while trying to get a good shot. See my blurry reflection in the yellow mirror?

Yes Ma'am, that lonesome vanity frame with nice thick curved mirror will very nicely replace the one I smashed.

I.WAS.SO.EXCITED!

Guess how much it cost?

Ten G's!

As in ten George Washingtons...or two Abe Lincolns.

Either way, a smokin DEAL...

A

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Vacuuming My Driveway and Destroying Vanity...

I just got finished vacuuming my driveway. I am now not only known as the Mama whose little boy uses the rhododendron bush in the front yard as a convenient urinal but the crazy lady who vacuums her driveway.

Although, one of my neighbors is a crazy cleaning lady. She washes her windows weekly. Her outside windows. Her outside GARAGE windows.  I'd be impressed if I wasn't so jealous of her mad scrubbing skillz.

I hope she saw me vacuuming my driveway. I hope she was impressed. That's right neighbor lady, I've stepped it up!

WHY was I vacuuming my driveway? OK, it's kind of a story. Keep reading:

Last week I headed into our local thrift store. After throwing the ugly mangly little kid chair into my shopping cart I wheeled right to my favorite section: Furniture.

Right away I spotted an ADORABLE little girl's vintage white dressing vanity and mirror. The paint was perfectly chippy and the mirror had a lovely curve and charming aged appeal.

HELLO BEAUTIFUL.

It was labeled $40 and I snatched that purchase sticker and clutched it to my chest, already dreaming of the many hours my Lil Chick would spend sitting by her pretty vintage dressing table playing dress up and being all girly and such.

I called my Mom (who lives really close) and said, "IfoundthisawesomebeautifulvanitytableforLilChickandIneedfortydollarscashcanubehereinten???"

Thankfully she understands a good find and said she was coming.

I continued shopping while I waited.....until the store director came to tell me that unfortunately someone had already purchased the vintage vanity the day before and that it was mistagged.

*(heart breaking)*

Fast forward a few days and a bunch of phone calls later from a nice lady in our church asking me if I was the one at the thrift store wanting to purchase the vintage white vanity and that she insisted that I should really have it. SO nice. REALLY nice.

I went to pick up the sweet vintage vanity today and smiled when I saw it sitting there.

HELLO BEAUTIFUL. I'm here to take you home, test you for lead, possibly refinish and repaint you, give you crystal cut knobs and a sweet little girl will spend hours and hours by you playing dress us and being all girly and such.

Finally loaded it and a few other treasures into the back of Lola and headed home. Pulled into the garage, randomly hit the automatic open back hatch button and opened Bubbalu's door to take him out.

THUNK THUNK THUNK......CRASH!

I screamed. Then cried. Then mentally groped for the rewind button on that dang life remote that is always lost.

Got the kids set up with a movie inside and sadly threw the biggest chunks in the garbage and vacuumed up the rest of the shattered pieces of a perfectly aged, bevel cut, vintage, curved mirror from our garage floor and driveway.

(Enter a poignant paragraph on the ironic circumstances of the vanity of decorating a little girls room that has led to destruction of a little girls vanity table.)

Being that I need to replace that shattered mirror, anyone know of a great, inexpensive mirror cutter?

*Sigh*

A

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Black Edged Ruffle Tank ReVamp...

I'm digging black edged ruffles right now. They have a lovely vintage Paris (the city, not the socialite) feel about them. Any idea what I'm talking about?

Here are some examples:


(D&G)


(Modcloth)

And this vintage sassy little number from Etsy:



Feeling all inspired I quickly ran up into my closet and grabbed a new but boring basic white ribbed tank:



Wallyworld. I think it was only 4 bucks. Thicker than the Old Navy ones. They seem to hold their shape pretty well and are nice and long. Perfect.

As soon as the kiddos were napping/quiet time I ran to the craft room and eventually came up with this:



However I though it needed a little extra sumpin' sumpin'....so I accessorized:



Ahhhh, MUCH better!

Things that are making me laugh about this photo:

A. the ducky peeking out from behind my tush.

B. The fact that I'm all dressed up on the top....with capri workout pants on the bottom!

C. My Hair. Pulled back and clipped up, with a huge yellow headband holding the massive stringiness away from my face. Quote from Bubbalu this morning, "Mommy your hair is big today". True story.

D. I took this picture with my CHIN. Yep, my face. My face took this picture. Loving my new iPhone4. It has many many features. But certainly, CERTAINLY someone could figure out how to do a vocal pic cue, right? Or maybe I'm just not cool enough to know about the vocal pic cue app. Does it exist? If so, please clue me in!

This black edged ruffle stuff is very fun. I'm thinking I'll attack a few more shirts before I switch the thread out of my serger because HELLO is that an ordeal.

Goodness gracious it has been FAR too long since I posted anything personally sewn by me. Tutorial coming soon, stay tuned!

A

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A Flock of Frames...

I have some very blah walls. They are painted a dark contractor yellow-beige and are quite boring. While searching for something wallet-friendly I found this beautiful wall mirror:



Drool.

But I can't justify the $599 price tag.

I've been digging the idea of clustering empty frames to achieve a simplistic yet eclectic feel:

Apartment Therapy

I think all black or all white create a stunning, pleasing result:


Country Living

So I traipsed down to the local thrift store and lo and behold, picked up about 4 decorative edged frames. PERFECTO! I also had a few lying around awaiting inspiration.

I turned Bubbalu's neglected swimming pool over, threw on a drop cloth and started spray painting.

Frames before:



Can I just say? Get that handy dandy snap and spray paint can handle thingy...I have a massive case of spray can-itis.

I picked up one more large vintage frame at a garage sale last Saturday for $1.50...my kind of price!

Spray spray spray...

Once dry, set out the frames on the floor, rearranging until you feel the look is cohesive and makes you feel all happy.

Enlist hubby's help to hang on wall, as hubby may or may not be the king of centering, leveling and measuring.

Looky there, now I've got something on the wall other than paint!

After:



Really now, this project cost me about $10.00.



Thrifted frames - $6 ish

Black spray paint- $3.99

Lance was doubtful that this would look good. Once I hung them up (and told him I spent only $10) he conceeded that it wasn't a complete disaster.




Off to spray paint more treasures...

A

Check out more DIY transformations at the Thrifty Decor Chick Before & After Party:

Mrs. Goodwill Drab to Miss Sassy N. Fab Chair Revamp...

I've been feeling super inspired by all the thrifty crafty DIY and fabulous revamp blogs I've been reading. So I gathered up my spending cash (less than $20.00 - whoopadeedoo....can you buy ANYTHING anymore for less than twenty bucks?), pawned the kids off on my dear hubby, jumped in the car and headed to our local Goodwill store for some thrifting therapy.

I eagerly browsed around looking for something horrible and decrepit with a splash of potential.

There was one fabulous chair that I passed up because it was too expensive.

Y'all - Here I am, IN A GOODWILL STORE, turning my nose at a perfect revamp project because Mrs. Stinginess did not want to shell out $14.99! Ha! Told ya I was thrifty...or dutch, but whatever.

However, I'm glad I passed up the aforementioned overpriced chair because tucked in the back high up on a shelf I spotted this sad, forlorn and forgotten chair:

Goodness gracious, HELLO POTENTIAL!

I was muchly thrilled. And even better? The stingy dutch woman living inside of me (Hi, Mrs. Stinginess, I know you are in there) was pleased as punch to see a price tag of $3.99.

YOU BETCHA!

I picked this sucker up for less than a Starbucks Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte!



Can ya tell I was slightly ecstatic? I wheeled my chair-laden goodwill cart proudly, wondering if the other patrons were kicking themselves for passing up my treasure.

The seat fabric? Detestable. Fuzzy orange with shiny gold stripes:

Blech!

I unloaded that thing into my garage and took Bessie to it:

Yeah, I named my cowtastic screwdriver Bessie.

Yanked that seat off, threw the fabric DIRECTLY into the garbage, then sanded, primed and spray painted that chair to gorgeousness:

I added a bunch of batting layers to the squashed seat pad:

Stapled on some fantastic new fabric (that cost more than the chair), Bessie reattached the seat and voila!

Meet Mrs. Previously Goodwill Drab, now known as Miss Sassy N. FAB:

LOVE the lines of Lil Miss Sassy...properly distressed, of course.

I have a slight obsession with green. I actually gasped OUT LOUD in the fabric store when I saw this bit o green gloriousness.

Before and after shot, from DRAB to FAB! :

Check out more DIY projects over at : A Soft Place To Land, the Shabby Chic Cottage and Thrifty Decor Chick...

A

Piano Bench Revamp...

I was all energized and inspired yesterday so I picked up my handy dandy screwdriver (it has a cow print on it...it's pretty much cowtastic) and started taking apart the piano bench:



(Mom and Dad, you might want to look away now. I know this upholstery fabric was o-so-stylin' back in the day, but it had to go. What you'll see next might pain you.)

Next up, boring needle-nose pliers to start yanking out staples:



This got old QUICK. So much so, that I found a better method as opposed to yanking out each staple one by one.

I started cutting the fuzzy maroon upholstery fabric. It was actually kind of strange. Not to go and get all philosophical on you, but all three of us kids sat on this bench to learn to play piano. It almost felt like I was destroying a piece of my childhood when cutting it....OK, moment's over!



I found by cutting and then yanking the fabric I popped out most of the staples:



Then I traipsed up to my craft room to finish the project. I made sure to iron the fabric first and then centered the bench, foam pad side down, on top of it.



Start stapling! I love my staple gun. It's therapeutic. I made sure to pull the fabric tight and mitered the corners, like a good CNA should do.



Trimmed the excess fabric:



Then added a coordinating liner fabric, edges tucked in as nice as you please:



Then began the arduous task of reattaching the hardware...which I completed without the use of a drill or a male. Proud of me Dad? And yes, it DOES open and close, and yes it IS centered correctly.



Nevermind that I have one puncture wound and five blisters.

Here is my finished, revamped piano bench:



I TOTALLY would have painted the wood black, but I respect my Father's health way too much to do that to him. See, he made this bench by hand, and in his book painting Mahogany is akin to spray painting a diamond.

I am happy with the results, it makes me smile:



Hmmm, (peering around the house) what ELSE can I revamp?

A

Check out Kimba's blog for more DIY projects!