Note to self...

I thought I'd drop in to let everyone know what's going on with me and Abigail's.

I am finishing up my second semester of graduate school.

This semester has been the most academically challenging time I've ever had.

With everything I attempt to juggle, I've gotten a little very overwhelmed with life.

Over the past month or two, something had to give.

I certainly wasn't going to let it be my family.

And I couldn't slack on my school committments.

So Abigail's has been sadly neglected.

Here's the good news:

School is going to be finished in a little over two weeks :)

I have so many creative ideas that I feel like my brain is going to explode.

I can't wait to fill the store with new items, new displays, and fresh inspiration.

Hang in there with me.

If you have a shopping emergency

*or you just miss Abigail's so much you can't stand it any longer*

don't hesitate to send me a message on Facebook or email me

melissadc76@hotmail.com

and we can schedule a private shopping appointment.

a day late and a dollar short...

I just found the cutest printable vintage valentine from Altered Artifacts.

Please go check out her blog and other free images!

Tyler Candles have ARRIVED!

When we had the first shop over on Main Street, customers loved our Tyler Candles.

We have so many people that request them, we have brought them back!

Fragrances include:

High Maintenance

 High Maintenance is one of Tyler's most popular fragrances.  It is a floral, woody blend of patchouli and vanilla with a heavy musk undertone!!

(Color: Khaki)

Pineapple Crush

Pineapple is an exciting fragrance of fresh sweet pineapple! A fresh, mouthwatering fragrance.

(Color: Pineapple)

Diva

Diva is a delicious combination of fruits and rich florals. Aromatic chocolate and amber complete the luscious scent. 

(Color: Ecru)

Dolce Vita

Full-bodied Tea and bergamot create an enticing fragrance, while Saboc jasmine, orchid, freesia and patchouli combine to create the power to make anything seem possible.

(Color: Off-White)

Fleur de Lis

Tart pomegranates are at the heart of this amazing fragrance.  The Fleur De Lis scent lets you experience the sun-kissed feel of distant lands!

(Color: Off-White)

French Market

Tyler Candle's French Market fragrance is a fresh combination of florals with hints of gardenia and tuberose. Very unique!!

(Color: Cream)

Icon

Icon is an invigorating, fresh fragrance that is also spicy, sporty and unforgettable! With notes of sandalwood, ambergris, violet leaves, French verbena and Florentine iris, Icon offers a truly uniqe sensory experience!

(Color: Pale Gold)

Ira Jean

This captivating fragrance is a bouqet of Jasmine, Rose, Musk and Sandalwood!  This amazing fragrance is then topped with a fruity blend of Pineapple, Raspberry and Peach.

(Color: Soft Aster)

Kathina

Kathina is a beautiful fragrance of sensual lily of the valley combined with citrus and rose.

(Color: Ruby Red)

Limelight

Limelight is a very popular fragrance. It is a clean, fresh blend of pure mandarin oranges with a surprising touch of lime. A hint of rich vanilla bean oil gives this fragrance a very unique twist.

(Color: Chartreuse)

Mediterranean Fig

The Mediterranean Fig scent is a warm fragrance of sun baked Italian figs mixed with a hint of sandalwood and musk.

(Color: Blush)

Orange Vanilla

The Orange Vanilla fragrance is one that can be enjoyed year round.  The Orange Vanilla scent is a clean fragrance of pure orange and rich vanilla with just a hint of spice.

(Color: Golden Yellow)

TwentyFourSevenGLAM

TwentyFourSevenGlam is a soul soothing fragrance of voloptuous vetiver, vanilla and heliotrope blended with violet and jasmine. The fragrance finishes with mandarin, succulent peaches and green ivy!

(Color: Apollo Gold)

 Tyler

Bursting with the medley of currant & grapefruit. A dash of green undertones adds an opulent twist! Firmly grounded with confidence!

(Color: Camilla Sage)

Upgrade

Delectable Black Currant & fresh Bergamot begin this amazing fragrance! Dramatic Middle notes of tempting Florals and rich Fruit Accords are deppened with intoxicating Lotus Wood! Enrich your world & Elevate up!

(Color: Roman Gold)

Warm Sugar Cookie

Rich sugar cookies baking in the oven with zero fat grams!!!

(Color: Tan)

Queenly Antique Iron Beds

Antique iron beds add tons of character to a shabby/farmhouse/vintage bedroom,

but...

sometimes they can just be a pain.

Usually, people come into the shop and want Queen size, but the problem is, they didn't make Queen size beds when most of the cool, ornate iron beds were produced.

Luckily, I know a handsome welder who was willing to design an adaptive bed-rail to turn my antique full size iron bed into a queen.

I talked him into making them available to my customers :)
The introductory price for custom made queen size bed-rails is $75
So if you have a full size antique bed (even if it has no rails at all), these rails will adapt it to a queen size (it also has a middle support bar).
Full size rails are $50
*please note, all rails are made by a professional welder and guaranteed
*headboard and footboard are not re-sized, just the rails, which looks great most of the time

Vintage Valentines

Who doesn't LOVE vintage valentines?

Here are some royalty-free Valentine images to play with:

Other great Valentine images like this one can be found at:

The Graphics Fairy

(mostly Victorian style images...)

Lots of 30's, 40's, and 50's Valentines like this one:

can be found at Hearts Atwirl

To download images, click on the image for a larger size.

Right click on image, then choose "Save as", pick a name, then save!

Giveaway Winner!

Hi everyone!
I had sick and cranky kids this weekend, so sorry about the delay in my giveaway.

Thanks for everyone who shared this on Facebook and your own blog.

I assigned each entry a number and went to random.org to randomly choose a number.

Our winner is Coop de Villa!

You can email me at melissadc76@hotmail.com to arrange to get your apron. And let me know which color you like, too.

I hope everyone has a great day.
Thanks for playing :)

Perfectly Thrifty Apron Giveaway

These are some of the presents I made for my favorite girls on my Christmas list this year.

I have an entire cupboard of fabric. Most of it is from yard sales or thrift shops. Sometimes, I find charming vintage yardage, uncut and forgotten. Embroidered or printed vintage tablecloths are also folded in stacks, next to charming vintage sheets and pillowcases. You can't buy prints like those anymore and you can't beat the garage sale prices for someone's forgotten project.

This apron is my favorite.

The bodice is a blue and white polka-dot vintage sheet.

The bottom ruffle is the edge of an old pink tablecloth.

The two prints are adorable vintage prints that I picked up at yard sales this summer for a song.

This apron is made of scraps and thrifted fabrics. It matches my mom's kitchen colors : )

The turquoise is from a dress I made for my little Ella (it came out so wrong, so I re-used that fabric). 

The blue polka-dot fabric is a vintage sheet, the ruffles are all thrifted modern fabric.

So, here's the giveaway part:

One lucky reader will win one perfectly thrifty apron made by me and my handy little sewing machine.

I have more of the fabric pictured in the first two pics (used all of the last one up).

Here's how to enter:

1. Share about this giveaway on Facebook,

2. Leave a comment about what your favorite crafty Christmas gift you've given or recieved,

or 3. Mention our giveaway on your own blog.

 So, you can enter up to three times.

Oh yeah, and tell me which apron you want if you win.

Good luck!

(Oh, I will pick a winner on January 15th!)