My Cups Runneth Over

I seem to gather things in clusters. That, and I sometimes just realize I have accumulated lots of the same type of item. Whichever the case, I have quartets of vintage cups begging to be listed. Here are some of my faves.

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Heavy restaurantware, footed coffee mugs by Syracuse China.

~*~ Sweet white glass with floral motif by arcopal (France)

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Groovy flower power footed desserts in lime and cobalt

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Bright yellow and orange retro bird stacking mugs, Japan
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Which ones should I list first?

Makeover Monday: 3/29

This giant ball and its identical twin are in the process of becoming something new, special and exciting! I'll have photos for you at the end of the week :)

How Exciting!

I did something new this week. When the voter nomination thread popped up in the Etsy forums, I thought to myself, "Hey, I have Easter stuff! It can't hurt to post something here!" So I nominated my little one egg wonder basket. I didn't make it into the voter, but my basket is featured in the Storque article about the voter. Yay me! It's so exciting to be featured with all of the other amazing Easter items on Etsy, but it is even more satisfying knowing that I played a part in getting it there by taking a little leap. Double yay!

Egg Bowl

You know me, sometimes I'm just late to the party. I probably should have made an egg shaped bowl *prior* to Easter season, so that people could actually have them in their homes for the holiday. Ah well, the good news is that the new shaped bowl will work in any season! It's especially useful on a desk, to hold post-it notes, favorite pens or tape- all the things I just can't find when I need them. TGIF, friends- I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday's Treasure

Before yesterday, I had not ventured into the world of wall art for my sosovintage shop. Sure, I glance through that section on my thrifting adventures, but I rarely linger. A. I know nothing, nada, zip about art. B. Most vintage paintings or prints have more baggage than I care to deal with. They smell or need serious cleaning or repairs, and they can be large/heavy/unwieldy which can equal a shipping nightmare.

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But, this little lady cast a spell on me as soon as I saw her hanging in one of my favorite little shops. I tried to resist her. She was $10 after all- far more than I usually pay for one item. But after passing her several times, I decided to examine her closely. She passed the visual, olfactory and condition tests- so I needed to perform THE test. The one where I ask myself if I don't buy it, am I going to get in the car and know I made a mistake. I visualize myself driving away without the item, and try to gauge my feelings about it. Ah, my little psychological tricks.

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I decided I would be upset about leaving her behind. A little research later, and I know this is a professionally framed litho print by MAIO. It is probably from the 60s. There are currently 20 items in an etsy search for MAIO...and similar items range in price from $15 to $149. What the heck?! On eBay there is more uniformity... about $20- $25. Seems I have some more thinking to do about my little girl.

Oh The Places They'll Go

While I was digging around searching for fabric for the Monday Makeover basket, I came across this beautiful vintage floral fitted sheet. Last night, I curled up on the couch and enjoyed every last minute of creating this ruffled bowl. I'd love to see it in a vintage inspired nursery or anywhere in a chippy little beach cottage. It's fun to have grand dreams for my goodies :)

Makeover Part Two

As luck would have it, I had the exact same fabric my customer initially liked- and enough of it to make her the basket she envisioned!

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I began by cutting the entire twin sheet into a long strip about 2 inches wide.

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Then, I made the base. Here it is at about 10 inches wide, 3 inches tall.

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I was so excited to start the loopy part! This is with one row of tutu fluff...
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...and *eeek!* here she is with the double row of ruffles.

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Finally, I finished her off with a super sturdy handle. I had to break into sheet number two about midway through the second loopy row. No matter how many bowls, baskets, rugs or trivets I make, I am always stunned at how much fabric goes into this work.

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Tah dah!!! Here she is; 100% fabric, 100% ecofriendly, 100% awesome (maybe I'm a little biased). I really do feel like a proud Easter bunny helper, though.

Makeover Monday: 3/22

Good Monday morning! I have a two part makeover for you this week, and it comes from a custom basket request that I received yesterday. My task is to make a basket shaped like this:

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In a color like this:

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With a little bit of this kind of *tutuness* around the top:
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I am so thrilled with this challenge! This is to be a true heirloom, as it is being made for an 18 month old little girl to be her "forever" Easter basket. Come back tomorrow to see how I did!

Some Boys Are Not *Blue*

And some girls are not *pink*. The beauty of Etsy, and of buying handmade versus mass-produced, is that you can always get what you want, in whatever color you desire! These two baskets are heading off to a brother and sister in Connecticut. His favorite color is bright red ...

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and hers is any and all shades of green!

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The Easter bunny is going to get extra points this year for sure!

Special Salt & Pepper Sets

The time has come for me to list some of the salt and pepper sets that I seem to be collecting lately. There is something just special about each of these- whether it is their color, shape, condition, or personality.
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Perfect diminutive milkglass duo
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Mint condition set of "orange spice" by Inarco

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Quirky wooden salt and pepper peeps, Japan

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Adorable hard plastic bunny couple, Hong Kong

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Purple and pink porcelain cow friends

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Do you have a favorite here? What does your set of salt and pepper shakers look like? Inquiring minds want to know :)

Girly Girl Friday

The pale blue boy basket from a recent Makeover Monday will soon be on its way to Canada! He needed a female travelling companion though.

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My customer said she wanted something pink, so I went with one of my all time favorite vintage sheets. Can you believe some fool used this as a painting dropcloth at one time?? The nerve!

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I wish I had thought to snap a shot of this one sitting beside the boy one- they are so sweet together...

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but wait...

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by the miracle of modern technology...

Don't they make a cute couple??

Thursday's Treasures

I have an eclectic mix of goodies to share with you today! These are some of my recent favorite thrift finds- soon to be listed in sosovintage.

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Sweet sunshine and white bamboo handled bag. Anyone know the name for this sort of woven plastic?

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Fabulous seventies child's twin sheet. I can't decide whether to sell the whole sheet, or break it into panels/fat quarters/yards. Opinions?

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And finally, a mint condition vintage address book from Japan. Gorgeous!

New Boy Basket

A brand new customer sent me a message the other day looking for a custom Easter basket for her son's first Easter. She found me by searching for a basket online, and joined Etsy just to contact me. The google search that Etsy has been working so hard on must be working!

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She wanted a mix of lighter blues and navy, and settled on this plaid flannel for the fabric.

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I finished this last night while watching American Idol (go Crystal, go Lee). I love the way it came out, and I hope my customer does too. I have two more custom basket orders (for girls) in the works, so stay tuned for more makeovers!

Acronyms

In my pre-baby, pre-Etsy life, I was a special education teacher. We had acronyms for everything! LD, AUT, ED, IEP, SLP, OT, PT... I could go on and on. I guess most professions are the same, and each can be completely foreign to a person who isn't *in the know*.

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I've gotten to learn new acronyms via Etsy forums and chats and facebook. I'm down with LOL, and ROFL, and even ROFLMAO. I understand BBIAM and BBL and BFF. Recently I even learned IBTL.

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Now the above (WWMD) is an acronym I say in my head every once in awhile. Kind of as a joke, but it does make me think. I know I didn't make it up, but I'm also not sure if it is widely known. Do you know what it means? Please leave a comment to let me know. Tell me some new or fun acronyms, too... I love being able to show my nieces and nephews that I'm not SO old!!

Flower Power

Remember this fabric from last week?
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Well, surprise!

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What's that? You've never seen anything like it? Why, it's the original tutu bowl!

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I haven't made one of these in a long time, but after seeing the butterflies disappear yesterday, I was longing to see some fabric retain its pattern. See more photos right HERE :)

Makeover Monday: 3/15

For today's makeover, you chose the jersey knit cotton butterfly fabric.

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Though the butterflies disappeared once the fabric was cut and crocheted, their colors live on!

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I've wanted to make a hanging basket for a long time, and decided to try to make one in the general style of an antique fisherman's carrier. While this one can serve many purposes, I love the idea of hanging it in your office area or by the front door to hold mail. Anything that keeps clutter off of the workspace is a good thing, right?

Friday's Find

Well, what I found this week was a package on my doorstep! Inside were these awesome craft books from Lark Publishing. Apparently, the upcycled slippers that I worked so hard on for the Craft Hope book won't be included after all.

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The enclosed (very nice) note said that the charity they had found for my project didn't work out after all, and that they were unable to find another that would be a good match. I am disappointed. Really disappointed. And trying hard not to feel like a Negative Nelly about the whole thing. Once I get over that, I'm sure I will enjoy looking at the books.

The Word Thing

Thank you so much to all of you who helped me come up with inspirational, motivational, or amusing words. Thanks to Kristine especially, I have a list a mile long- it's wonderful!!

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In case you didn't read my comment in the word play post comment section, I was a bit dismayed to find out that my bright idea had already been thunk. I guess it wasn't so unique after all. Boo.

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But, I have come into this load of vintage wooden school blocks, and darnit, I'm using them! On the bright side, since the idea isn't *so* unique, I don't feel bad putting a few of these in my shop.

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And how about that cute little red and aqua doll case/toy chest I'm using as a prop? In the event that I don't get back in here tomorrow, that will be my treasure for the week. Salvation Army $6.99. To me, a steal. To my husband, mmmm, not so much.

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PS: The winner of the fabric vote is #1 by a landslide! Thanks to all who voted :)

Fabric Vote #3

Today you're voting for a fabric that will become a desk or office space accessory. Think about which one has the colors you'd want to see while creating, journaling, or *ugh* doing bills.

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#1 cerulean blue jersey knit with butterflies and clouds
~*~#2 vintage geometric rust, chocolate, ecru, charcoal

#3 vintage citrus flower power

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#4 victorian rose garden in sage, cream and mauve
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I hope one of these strikes your fancy! Please leave a comment to vote for your fave by number. The winner will become Makeover Monday for next week. Be sure to come back tomorrow to learn more about my new "word project". Have a smiley, sunshiney day!

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ps- If I ever feature a fabric here that you love and must have- just let me know! Whether you want it crocheted into something special, or want to purchase the fabric itself for your own project, I'll be happy to work with you.

Makeover Monday 3/8

Here again is the pretty vintage green fabric that won the most makeover votes last week.

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And here is what she became! A good sized, spring filled ...
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...lidded clutter keeper! Look for her in sosorosey today.

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Happy Monday, friends! If you haven't already left an inspirational word on yesterday's post, please do... the more choices I have the better. More on that Wednesday...

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Be sure to come back and vote for your favorite fabric tomorrow- the winning material will become a new sosorosey shop item- woohoo!