For the Love of Paper

Hello all! How was your Memorial Day weekend? As usual my parents annual luau was a blast and I SWEAR there is not a You Tube video of me singing "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" into a beer bottle. ;)

So onto the Goodness. I have some lovely finds to share with you from some thrifting with Mom but thought I'd do a special post just about paper first. I love paper. I have loads of it. I collect vintage ephemera just to look at it. One of these days I'll bring myself to use it. Maybe. I put together collections of papers, playing cards, etc. and put it for sale in my shop in the hopes that someone else out there not only shares my love of all things paper but might actually be the type of person to USE it rather than just covet it.

I dug through some old wrapping paper I found at the last Treasure Sale and found the most gorgeous pieces! Mostly baby and wedding themed, these are some of the prettiest I've come upon.




(might be my favorite EVER!)








(these last two are foil and embossed. Very light and delicate, not like current foil papers)

I will be putting some of this in the shop and saving some for my own collection. I also plan to put together some vintage book page packs and some sheet music packs as well. I've decided to really trim down my craft room so everything must go! But before I start recycling/donating/trashing I plan to get as much into the shop as possible in case any of you would like to feather your nests a bit. Look for updates soon!

In the mean time, please visit THIS POST and leave a comment to win a special Goodness paper pack I put together just for you.





It's loaded with vintage wall paper and wrapping, playing cards and tallies, vintage book pages and music and various other bits. I keep stuffing things in there so you never know what you'll get! This is more than twice the size of a normal Goodness Paper Pack so I'm sure there will be something in there you'll enjoy. I'll pull a name on Monday so you have all weekend to stop by and leave your comment!

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In other news, sign ups for the Sweet Goodness Swaps summer swap - Hurray for the Red, White & Blue - is going on now. Visit THIS POST for more details and then send in your email to sign up. Hurry! Slots are going fast! Sign ups end tomorrow 5/29! Don't forget to sign up for the mailing list to be the first to know about future swaps! Have any ideas for swaps? Drop me a line!

adieu!
Rebecca

Doh! Giveaway time!

Oops! I forgot to put up the post for my paper pack giveaway! Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the prize but it's a lovely folder filled with vintage wall paper and wrapping paper, game cards and score sheets and vintage book pages. Loads of fun paper for all sorts of projects.

Leave a comment here and I'll draw a winner next weekend. When I get home from my long weekend I'll post a picture of the Goodness.

have a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend!

fondly
rebecca

What's on Your Table?

So literally, or figuratively, what's on your table? What are you working on? What plans do you have? Crafts? Cooking? Vacation? Now is the planning season. Even though I don't have to plan around kid's summer vacation as many of you do, the onset of summer brings lots to do. In travels we have a wedding in Baltimore in June and just booked a short vacation to Las Vegas with friends at the end of August.



In crafts, I've been enjoying some simple cross stitch. It's relaxing and easy to pick up and put down as things arise.



Red, white and blue are on my brain now so I've been contemplating some patriot crafts. Any suggestions?

I've been reading through old magazines and pulling out recipes to try. I have plans to buy a kitchen cart to add another workspace and hope to finally dive in to some more complicated meals. I also have plans to redo my laundry room. It's so drab and I feel I spend way too much time in there. So why not pretty it up a bit? I found a sweet wicker chest of drawers that has inspired the makeover style. I'll share that with you soon.



Also on the table are plans to spend more time outside. We started yesterday with a trip to the dog park. Fun was had by all. That's hubby Louie with Mason, Lincoln and Kaiser in Forest Park.

And literally on my craft table is the start of a Goodness Paper Pack I plan to giveaway this week. Sign ups will start Wednesday so please stop by for a visit!

Now tell me your plans! Either leave a comment or do a blog post and leave a link in the comments. I'm sure there are many inspiring ideas to be heard!

Fondly
Rebecca

Seriously . . .

Okay now, a show of hands . . . who out there REALLY thought I was going to finish up other projects before playing with my new yarn stash?



Okay, don't be shy, admit it . . .



No one? I guess I am predictable. :) I couldn't wait so I rolled up one hank of the cotton silk (which was a nightmare, don't ask) and started on the garden plots.



I like it and think it will be lovely. I should get 2 squares from each ball and with 20 plus skeins I'll have enough to make the 36 square pattern and edging. It will probably be a bit heavy and if I had a choice I'd use a different kind of yarn but I have this and so be it. I'm off shopping anyway. I have WAY more stuff than any one person needs. So stand by for updates on my afghan!

hugs
rr

Lucky Penny

I always love how Sarah says that her husband is her lucky penny when he goes thrifting with her. My lucky penny is definitely my friend Nine. Every time we thrift together, which isn't too often as she lives 4 hours away, I find something fabulous. Our trip to the thrift this past weekend was no exception.



Now first I will tell you that I did spend about $50 (including high New York taxes) for this fabulous find but believe me, it was worth it. Yarn. And not just any yarn, YARN store yarn. The good stuff.

For you non-knitters out there, the yarn from the craft stores is okay. Most of it is crap but there are some nicer yarns put out by Bernat, Patons and Lion that I do like. I'm a cotton girl so the choices are limited. Yarn stores stock abundances of fabulous yarns from all over the world. Problem is that they are uber expensive. I'm talking $8 to $10 for a small ball. When you want to make anything larger than a tea cozy you need upwards of 10+ balls. You do the math. So while $50 is a HUGE price for me to shell at any thrift, this was the deal of the century for this avid knitter.

In my stash I found:

23 Balls - Rowan Handknit cotton (made in England) - retail cost: $6.00 a ball - $138.00

11 balls - Phildar Marjory cotton (made in France) - retail cost: approx. $6.00 a ball - $66.00 (no longer produced)

10 balls - Stahl Schuler Lambada cotton viscose (made in Germany) - retail cost: $7.00 a ball - $70

26 hanks - Classic Elite Willough cotton silk (made in England) - retail cost: approx. $8.00 a hank - $208.00 (no longer produced)

So what's that . . umm . . carry the one . . . $482.00 of fancy yarn ALL of which are cotton. Bliss.

Included in my $50 splurge are also a skein and half of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (about $8 a skein), 7 skeins of Bucilla Wondersheen (a vintage crochet cotton used for making super fine doilies and table cloths) and 5 skeins of Coats & Clark Luster Sheen which is also a vintage fine gauge yarn.

Whew! So you can see why I'm excited, right?? I can't wait to dig in! Of course I REALLY need to finish a few projects first before starting another, right? RIGHT? lol I'm dying to start making that cotton silk (all the white you see there) into a Garden Plot Squares throw.

There is one thing that saddens me about my yarn find. You know there is a knitter out there that gave up. Fancy yarn store yarn does not randomly show up in this abundance at the thrift store. Don't worry fair ex-knitter, I'll make you proud. :)

Give Away Update:

I will announce a giveaway next week before I leave for a long Memorial Day Weekend. I do believe the prize will be a nice fat Goodness paper pack to include vintage wrapping paper and wall paper, all sorts of vintage tallies and playing cards, vintage book pages, ephemera, you name it. Lots of fun stuff for you to play with. I think most of use have a fondness for all things paper.

Until the next time . . . same thrift channel, same thrift time . . .

rebecca

Dis

Disorganized
Discontent
Discombobulated

You name it, I feel it. I can't explain it though I'm betting that lack of organization is behind it all. Sigh . . . so I'm going into hyper drive tomorrow to get this place in shape. Not just regular cleaning but real SPRING cleaning. I think that by clearing the cobwebs in the house I'll clear the cobwebs in my mind. What do you think?

Sorry I've been such a crappy blogger as of late. That is also part of the mix. I plan to change that too.

And because I like to have a picture with each post:



Two sweet little sweaters I made for my new little "nephew" Charlie who came into the world around 9:00 pm on Wednesday April 29th. His mother and I have been friends for over 30 years. He's her first child and he's a cute little button. :) The top sweater is from Mason Dixon Knitting and the bottom is from Baby Crochet. Both wonderful go to patterns when I need a good baby gift.

Give away info coming soon!

fondly
Rebecca