New Shop Photos

French Larkspur Giveaway!

Go check out the great giveaway at French Larkspur!

Antique Your Photos

I stumbled across the coolest website this weekend. It converts your digital photo filesto look like they are 100 years old! Here are a few examples:

If you're a follower of my blog, leave a comment and I'll send you a link!

Blog Freebie Giveaway: Land of Enchantment/Whimsical World of Fairies

I feel so silly.
I've had a button on my blog that had the WRONG link to it.

If you clicked on Land of Enchantment to try to find "oodles of digital goodies" you got to someone's old blog from 2002 that describes her college experience in New Mexico.
sorry!

I have updated the link and want to tell you about her giveaway. If you add her button with a link to your blog, you can get two digital collage sheets from her Etsy shop. And they're really cute!

I'm not sure how long this offer is good for, but her collage sheets sell for about $4 each.

These are the ones I am getting (with watermarks from her Etsy shop):

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And no, I'm not planning on getting into the Scrabble Tile Pendant business soon, but I am feeling *mighty* crafty this weekend and have a jar full of Scrabble tiles that I pillaged from old Scrabble games, PLUS a bottle of 3-D Crystal Laquer and a bookmark to instructions on how to do it. I'm sure I'll make 3 or 4 of them and once the novelty wears off and my adult ADD kicks in, I'll move on to the next thing that sparks my imagination. If anyone is feeling crafty this weekend and would like to join me, let me know!

Vintage Trim Embellishment Tags

I've been collecting vintage trims, antique lace, ricrac, and jewelry all summer!
A few weeks ago, I put together some embellishment inspiration tags. These can be used for collage, assemblage, art dolls, clothing, crazy quilting, journals, scrapbooking, altered art, gift packaging, mixed media, sachets, tussie mussies ~ use your imagination.

They include a hand-dyed coffee stained tag, four types of unique vintage or antique trim, and a piece of vintage junk jewelry.

They will be available to buy at Abigail's today!

Suprise in the Mail!

Yesterday, I discovered a little package that had arrived while I was in Minnesota. It was from Sarah, owner of "My So Called Junky Life" on Etsy and a blog that I love. It was such a nice treat after a sad trip. I also had two packages that were belated birthday presents from my mom waiting for me.

Where Did October Go?

Where did October go? I feel out of touch with the store and my blog, I haven't been there much lately.

I got back from my Grandfather's funeral last night. On a whim, not being able to decide whether I should go or not, I rented a van, packed up my 4 little ones, and braved the long drive from Pocatello to Duluth, Minnesota for a sad and strange trip. I finished working with clients on Thursday and left after work. We drove about 6 hours to Billings, Montana and spent the night in a too-expensive room that was gross and smelled like cigarette smoke. From West Yellowstone to Billings was snowy, and my mood was heavy.

I wanted a chance to explore the city of Duluth. Its old architecture, dirty shipping industry, sandy shores, history, Finnish heritage, memories (I moved away to California with my mother when I was very small but have very strong feelings of familiarity when I go there). The chill in the air, steep hills, liberal politics (at least compared to here) the unique style of homes give the city its own flavor that I can't get enough of. The weight of the impending drive home with my little ones took priority and I didn't get the chance to explore like I wanted to. Maybe next summer.

On the way home, my mood lifted. Northern Minnesota is so beautiful in the fall. All the leaves were gone, but there wasn't snow yet. I felt happy, contented. I took pictures of things that spoke to my soul.

So, now that I'm back, I'll get back to business. The store will be open regular hours this weekend. Customers can come in and meet my fabulous new employee, Jessica. We have been working to price new items over the past few weeks. We have made a severe dent in the overstock in my back room. There are new items all over the shop. I will also begin bringing out the vintage Christmas decorations I've been collecting all year. I hope to see you soon!