Will Work For Twine

Back in September, I shared my awesome source for beautiful baker's twine: The Twinery. Fast forward to November, and guess who I got a message from? Nicole from... The Twinery!

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I knew they had a website, of course, but it turns out they also sell on Etsy. Nicole caught a glimpse of my tags made with her twine, and she made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

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In her message to me, Nicole wrote "On Dec 4 and Dec 9, The Twinery is setting up craft fair booths at two local elementary schools. All the monies that come in to the schools for those days will be going to help local families in need this holiday season. We've been looking for crafters to create items using our twine so we can showcase them on the tables at the craft fairs in an effort to sell as much twine as possible to help the families! I am setting up a mini Christmas tree on our tables and I thought that your twine star gift tags would be great as ornaments on our tree! "

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How cool and small-worldy is that? She offered to pay me in $$ or twine, and you KNOW which one I chose. She kindly sent me two of the sampler packs pictured at the top of this post, and I had so much fun playing with the beautiful colors. I have lots to spare, so I think I'll list this little rainbow of stars in my shop for others who just may have a mini tree to decorate.

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The best part of this whole twine deal has been meeting Nicole and chatting back and forth with her. She is such a genuinely nice and positive person- all while being a perfect professional and creating one of the best products I've ever seen or used. She has promised to take photos of these stars on her tree, and I will definitely share them here.

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Here's wishing The Twinery many, many sales at these craft events so that the families in need will have lots of help this holiday season. I'm honored to have a small part in their generosity!

Makeover Monday: 11/29

Inspired by a recent custom order for gift tags, I started this creation with a mini kraft card, celery green yarn, and sweet red checked ribbon.

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So stinking cute! A little gift enclosure card that's perfect to include with your sosorosey goodies. These come with matching kraft envelopes, too. Look for them in the shop later today!

Friendsgiving

I guess I took a little impromptu blog vacation. Thanks for coming back! I hope all of you American readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

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The following photos were sent in by a super sosovintage customer. She purchased these vintage faux weave gold napkins from my shop specifically for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner party that she was hosting for her friends.

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Atop each napkin are handmade Indian headdresses for the ladies and turkey "gobblers" for the men.

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Persimmons, clementines, and heirloom tomatoes make up the main centerpiece.

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The secondary centerpieces were created with layers of beans, popcorn, split peas and chili peppers. The china was inherited from grandma, and the amber glasses were collected from local thrift stores.
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With so much thought going into each and every detail, I have no doubt that the party was a smashing success. Thank you so much, Ashley, for sharing the new jetsetting life of these napkins!

Plethora of Pillowcases

Yep, I definitely have a superabundance of vintage pillowcases! I have pairs, singles, queens and standards. There are cottons and blends; pinks, yellows, blues and greens. Tiny floral prints and large geometric jumbles. Listing fairy! Where are youuuuuuuu ??????

Shabby Shelf Project

A kind customer from Colorado recently sent me this photo of her bookcase project. She purchased some vintage wallpaper from sosovintage, and transformed her plain jane shelf unit into a shabby chic stunner. Well done, Jackie!! Thanks so much for sharing :)

Makeover Monday: 11/22

Today is a special day! My baby is five! In honor of her, I've chosen to make over this ultra soft, lightly dotted pink flannel receiving blanket.

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A little cutting, a little crocheting, and we have a custom baby's first upcycled Christmas ornament. These have proven very popular so far this holiday season. What surprises me, though, is that all of the ones ordered so far have been for girls. I have yet to make a boy star this month!
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I'm off to Sophie's school today, loaded down with the makings for 18 ice cream sundaes. She is so excited, and I am so thankful that I can join her in her classroom for the big celebration :)

Duh Moment

Sometimes an idea seems so totally simple, that you wonder what in the heck took you so long to think of it! That happened to me yesterday. It occurred to me that in a shop with 100's of items for sale, where things are relisted frequently, it can be hard for a shopper to do a quick check of what has been added most recently. So, I've added a new section to sosovintage, titled, of all things: *new*. The 20 most recently listed items can be found there, so when you want to see what's just been put on the shelves, it's a quick click away.

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Sweet kokeshi doll pictured here will be in the *new* section later today!

Makeover Monday: Better Late Than Never!

A good friend ordered a bowl as a gift for her college friend, to be made in their school colors. I started by finding just the right shade of maroon.

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Next came finding the best orange for the job. When working with solid colors, it always helps to have some sort of design in the fabric. This adds texture and interest.

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Voila... The school spirit bowl- for the Hokie who has everything!

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I'm thinking that spirit bowls would make pretty great gifts for coaches, students, PTA presidents, principals, teachers, and sports fans. Should I make a custom spirit bowl listing? What do you think?

Daily Dose of Cute

Why oh why did they stop making adorable pincushions like this? I don't even USE pins for goodness sakes, and I love this. I have a CAT, and I can't resist this little guy! That said, I will be letting him go live in a home where he can really fulfill his true purpose. Look for him in sosovintage soon!

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ps- that makeover I told you about? It will be here tomorrow!

Thursday's Treasure

NOT that I need another collection, but I seem to be finding some beautiful dresser jars lately. I love the way they look all clustered on a vintage vanity mirror. Hmmm. Maybe someone else will, too. Perhaps it's time to list an "instant collection"...

Surprise!

I got to wondering the other day about all of those stars I made for the Hanes catalog. So, I decided to go to the Hanes website and see if I could see the catalog online. Look what I saw when I went to hanes.com!!! Those are my stars on that tree! What a cool feeling. If you click on the photo, it should take you to their website. You can then click on the little video and see more of the tree. Forget the underwear, lol- look at the tree!!!

Oh Atlanta

The title of this post is the song that has been running through my head since I was contacted by one of the owners of Young Blood Gallery and Boutique in Atlanta. After perusing their consignor contract and emailing with some of their references, I've decided to hop on board the Young Blood train! A bundle of sosorosey holiday goodies will be on the way to Atlanta in the next couple of weeks. Click on the image to read a really awesome interview, or click on the link within this post to see the shop's website. Fingers crossed that the south is *soso* friendly!

Reunited...

... and it feels so gooooooood!

(Can't remember how the song goes? Go ahead and click on the photo- it should bring you right to a YouTube video of Peaches and Herb doing their thing!)

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After a long vacation and an exceptionally, ridiculously difficult trip home, we are finally here. Sinatra is happier than he looks in this photo to have his sister back to snuggle him.

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I've spent the better part of the day doing laundry, buying groceries, and getting orders together and ready for shipping. I'm not ready to do a makeover tomorrow, but I will have a very special school spirit edition sometime this week. Please stay tuned!

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What's going on in your life these days? What have I missed?

I hope you have a splendiferous week :)

Nature vs. Nurture

OK. I'm seeking words of wisdom from those of you with children. Grown children. Multiple children. Any children at all.

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My child is a free spirit. This is not necessarily in the "peace and love" or "march to you own beat" sort of way. It's more in the urban dictionary definition: "someone who isn't weighed down by the troubles of everyday life, is always themselves regardless of the situation and lives life to the full. Not restricted by other people's opinions." It is meant to be a positive description, and I know this personality type will probably ultimately serve her well in life.
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At THIS stage in her life, however, my daughter is so concerned with demanding her independence and doing things "her way" that it doesn't seem like a positive personality type at all. I will spare you the gory details, but after almost 5 years of struggle, my patience is just fried. No break is ever long enough.

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Before I had a child, I think I gave nature and nurture a 50/50 split. Maybe even gave nurture a slight advantage. These days, I'm leaning more toward giving nature at least 75% or more.

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My husband and I both have basic, old-fashioned behavioral ideals- you know, "honor thy mother and father", "respect your elders", etc. From day one our three family rules have been: be safe, be kind, and follow directions. And from day one, these rules have been enforced and they have been challenged. We are not talking about a phase here.

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If I had a child who automatically did what they were told and respected authority, I would probably still believe in 50/50 nature nurture. But, that's not what I have. Pretty much every day is a war of wills, some with only one battle, some without respite from battle. So, I need to know, do other people face this challenge? How do you manage? How much of this did I create? How do I nurture someone with this nature? In your experience, do children grow up because of you or despite you? I know this too shall pass, but what do I do in the meantime?

So Far, Sooooooooo Good

I am currently on vacation in BEAUTIFUL southeastern Utah. Moab to be exact. I came out here for the first time in 1992 to care for a friend who'd just had surgery, and I've been back just about every year since. My parents joined the party, mmm, 13 years ago? My hubby has been vacationing with us for 9 years, and my Sophie has been here 3 times in her almost 5 years of life!
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Now that we have a little one, the 4 hour flight and then 4 hour drive from Salt Lake is a bit much. So, we stay in Provo for the first night. This works out fabulously because once we check in, we are minutes from beautiful Bridal Veil Falls in the Uinta mountains.

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The Falls are minutes away from Sundance resort (you know, the Robert Redford, film festival Sundance). Daddy and Sophie posed for a photo on the chair lift. Though we could see snow on the highest peaks, the ski season has not yet started.

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The first day we arrived in Moab, we unpacked and headed straight to Potash Road by the Colorado River to do some rockhounding. This is where we find some of the most beautiful river rocks imaginable, and the whole gang enjoys poking around and exploring.
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After a stop at the dollar store for some tools, and at the grocery store for some picnic supplies, we headed out to Klondike Bluffs for more hiking, rock picking and digging. We found some beautiful agates and gizzard stones this time.

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Now this girl knows how to tailgate!

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Though a winter weather advisory was posted for Monday afternoon, we decided to head up into the LaSal mountains to one of our favorite places- dinosaur point. On the way we stopped at the Red Cliffs Lodge and Castle Creek Winery for a spectacular "lunch with a view" and a little wine tasting. The display teepees were a big draw for Sophie!

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Have you noticed Buttons the bear in many of these photos? That's the class mascot! We are taking pictures to share with the junior K class when we get back to Virginia. So, that's all for now! Stay tuned for another trip installment in a day or so. I'm hoping to be able to show you snow on red rock.... that will be AMAZING!!!

Makeover Monday

I was fortunate to have someone stop by sosorosey and purchase several of my bright bowls last week. Lucky me, I get to restock the shelves with color! I chose this ultrabold tie dyed t-shirt as a good start.

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It worked up to be a very sturdy little number- about 3.5" by 3.5". The orange and green combo makes me think of happy little leprechauns!

Needing Some Love

My tape measure cozies could use some votes in the Stocking Stuffer Challenge! Come check out the great competition, and leave a comment to enter to win the prize giveaway. Leaving a comment couldn't be easier! Just click HERE... be sure to include your email address so you can be contacted if you are the winner.

Blow Mold Bonanza

Who doesn't love a vintage Christmas? Apparently SOMEONE doesn't, since they had the audacity to donate all of these late 60s/early 70s Empire blow molds to the thrift store! Shame on them, but yay for me. I can't wait to give these cuties a new home. They will be listed in sosovintage the week of November 15th. If there is one you must have for your collection, let me know and I'll reserve it just for you :)

Thursday's Treasure

Yes, that IS what you think it is! A fantastically beautiful Vera Neumann bath towel! I ducked into my favorite thrift store the other day completely on a whim. Perhaps this towel was calling me. It looks like it has never been used- super thick and fluffy and white. Look for it in sosovintage today!

Eco-friendly Fruit Basket

Not sure what to give your child's teacher for the holidays? Maybe an upcycled apple is the way to go! These two are heading off to Connecticut as Christmas gifts, but I'd be happy to whip one or some up for you- just ask! The leaf lid comes off to provide a nice little storage place for all of the teacher-y things that tend to accumulate and sprawl over his or her desk. Just $15, and sure to be a standout from the usual mugs and candy.

Makeover Monday: Halloween Edition

Back in the day, it was cooler to have a homemade costume than store bought. Store boughts were plastic and cheapo looking; mama-made suits were the finest quality. Times have changed it seems, and Target, The Children's Place and Pottery Barn seem to be making out like bandits on Halloween. For four years, I've been right there myself, buying my girl the best outfit I could find for whatever she wanted to *be*. This year she wanted to *be* a mummy. Oh, heavens! Mommy had to conquer her fear of making a costume!

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So, I found a lovely pair of ecru long johns to serve as the mummy undersuit. Then we went to the fabric store and purchased a couple of yards of unbleached muslin and some cheesecloth. I was all set, though I had no idea exactly how to go about putting this together. I didn't want to use pins, I can't sew more than a button. Hmmm. Think, think. Aha! My glue gun is my friend.

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I tore the muslin into strips and fashioned a headpiece, vest, armbands, and a kind of skirt that could all be tied on. At the last minute Sophie wanted her whole face covered, so we did a makeshift cheesecloth mask.

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She looks pretty great, doesn't she? Very mummy if I do say so myself. It was really special when she'd put her arms out straight in front of her and mutter some sort of made up trick or treating rhyme about giving candy to the undead. Eh- zombies, mummies- what's the difference, right?

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So, while I had no idea what I was doing, and while the bottom did start to kind of loosen and drag around as the trick or treating wore on, the homemade costume was an overall success. When people complimented her on her get-up, she proudly said, "My mom made it for me!" Now that was a treat better than anything found in the candy bowl :)

A Little Bird Told Me...

...that one of my all time favorite sellers is having a big sale starting today! Evelyn over at ModishVintage is offering buy one, get one 50% off for three days, Nov.1-3. She has so many beautiful treasures to drool over, and now is definitely the time to make your move. Head on over by clicking on her shop banner above... then come on back here and tell me what you bought- or what you'd like someone to buy for you :)