Slithering to a Shop near you . . .

And finally in the Goodness Shop . . . . Goodness Soft Snakes!




Sampson Snake & Sylvia Von Slitherton! I do love making these guys. There is a third in the works. I also added a lovely piece of vintage fabric and two vintage books - one of carols and one of hymns that would be great for use in altered art! and don't forget about my other goodies! I hope to do a bigger update this weekend with those promised vintage wrapping paper packs and some wonderful vintage hankies I recently scored. You will DIE when you see their cuteness. I'm still deciding which ones I'm keeping. :)

Want a sneak peek??





And these pictures don't do them justice. I could do a whole post on them! I seriously hope some sell as there are 152 if them! Yikes.

cheers
Rebecca

Gifted

Hello! I hope everyone had a fabulous LONG weekend. We ended up with some nice weather. I am nursing some rather nasty mosquito bites though. :(

I've been so lucky to receive some lovely mail lately. The first to arrive was my apron from Wendy for Sarah's vintage apron swap:



It's a lovely linen souvenir apron from California! And talk about thrifting kismet, I just sent two similar aprons to Vallen and now I have my very own. Thanks, Wendy! Is this apron screaming barbecue or is it just me? :) I screwed up the link last time, you can see the apron I sent Wendy (for real) here.

Next I received this fabulous book and fabric from Jane:



What a surprise! The book is full of fun vintage childrens crafts including crocheted toys and sweet Peter Rabbit cross stitch. Perfect for me! You can't tell from my crappy picture but that fabric is pink and brown. Jane said she started visiting my blog because of my pink and brown wedding posts. Thank you so much for such a treat! :)

And yet ANOTHER surprise package arrived from Heidi:



Look at this Goodness! Heidi and I share a love of all things Alice in Wonderland and she put together some wonderful things! There are tattoos and a fabulous coloring book from Dover Publications (which Heidi also turned me on to), a lovely vintage flocked Alice ornament and mini deck of cards, a vintage kit for making felt Alice ornaments (I'm so making them!), some Alice stamps and the most wonderful hand stamped tags! I tried to take a picture of them but it just wouldn't come out right. they are gorgeous! Thank you, Heidi. You made my day.

Thank you to everyone for the sweet gifts! I don't know what I did to deserve it but I am tickled with the thoughtfulness. :)

I'll be doing a shop update by this weekend. I've unearthed some more fun vintage notions and fabrics and since I can't keep them all, why not share? My husband is happy that my Etsy funds will support my thrifting habit somewhat lol. :)

cheers
Rebecca

Baby Stuff

I love to make baby things. Whether I need a gift or not. They're cute and usually quick. My favorite kind of projects! Here is the afghan I made for my cousin:



I love this blueberry hued yarn. It's Bernat Cotton Tots and it's always soft and easy to work with. This was a quick to crochet pattern and would make it again. I also sent these along with it:



I didn't make them but they were too cute not to share. Are you dying? Seriously, I can't think of a single cuter thing. :) My cousin Karen should be having her little guy any day now!

For some reason I can't seem to remember to take pictures of actual finished items. Like this little elephant seen here with no eyes.



I did give him eyes, don't worry. He is now being loved by a friend's one year old. I think he is popular because you can grab him by his ears and his trunk. :) I would love to find a way to make him into a rattle. I'm worried, of course, about safety so I'm not sure what I could put inside. Any ideas?

I also made this sweet baby sweater:



This was a "just because" project and I finished it last night. I love this pattern! I also made a smaller one in peach with a matching bonnet. Once I finish up a bonnet to go with the green sweater and get some little buttons I'll be putting them up in the shop. I also will have two crocheted snakes and maybe a few elephants up for sale soon, too. Vintage wrapping paper will be listed after the holiday. I seemed to have deleted all 40 pictures I took of it and need to redo. Ugh.

And speaking of the shop, I just lowered the vintage trims to 75 cents a yard! Come by for a visit!

Cheers,
Rebecca

And then there was GOODNESS

Whew! I forgot how much work it is to load stuff on Etsy. Seriously! And try doing it by mobile broadband! (Though I must admit, my little-air-card-that-could has been performing quite well go Sprint!)



All sort of goodies over in The Goodness Shop for you including some of my hand crocheted tea cup pot holders and baby things. I hope to get some snakes loaded up there next week. I also included loads of vintage trim that is sold by the yard and some rick rack and seam binding. I'll be adding treasures as they come including vintage pillow cases and collections of buttons and little bits for altered art and jewelry making.

Here is a sample of some things in the shop now!





And next week I'll be listing a bunch of sweet vintage wrapping paper. Come by for a visit!

cheers
Rebecca

Doll Face

I don't remember loving dolls as a child. In fact, I think a lot of them have creepy little eyes. I did like Barbie but baby dolls really weren't my thing. However, I can remember fondly two dolls I loved. One was a doll my mother made that I named Miranda Cassandra (oy) and the other was a porcelain music box doll my Grandmother gave me that played "As Time Goes By." We lived in a flood zone, my parents still do, and I think both of these dolls didn't survive the many hurricanes but I'll have to ask Mom to be sure.

Recently, I thrifted not one but THREE dolls that I really love. Odd, right?



The first is this little sequin doll. Does anyone know anything about these? I'm guessing they were made from a kit and I know my mother has two that she also thrifted but that's all I know.



These two dolls came from that Ryan's Relics place. The one on the left is cloth with a plastic face and has a stamp on her back leg that says Poland. The other one is also plastic and I love her blue hair. :) That one in the back on the right is not a doll, she's a tree topper! Her paper wings are ripped and her hat is coming off but she was a steal for a quarter at a yard sale.

So it seems I like some dolls now. :)

********************

A few notes:

First, I would like to thank EVERYONE who leaves comments here for me. It totally makes my day when they pop up in my inbox! I try to answer everyone that has an email address attached to it and also like to visit the blogs of those who don't have an email for me to respond to. I'm behind in my blog reading but I will be visiting you soon!!

Second, I now officially have a job! Yeah! My new boss is MUCH more laid back than my previous boss of six years so I'm looking forward to being less stressed. I plan to work from home maybe once a week but will be going back to the office starting tomorrow. With much better hours I might add. Thanks to everyone who asked after my employment situation!

Third, I sent off THREE swaps and didn't take pictures of them. NICE. Hopefully the recipients will post them and I'll share them with you. I did receive my apron from Sarah's vintage apron swap and I plan to photo it today to share. You can see the one I sent Wendy here.

And lastly, The Goodness Shop will reopen by Friday! Woo hoo!

cheers
Rebecca

Random Bits

In reading thrifting blogs you often find that many people have a style or a certain strain of things they purchase. Not here, sisters, I'm as random as they get! And to prove it, here are some recent finds:



Elephant tea cozy. Nice. Those are napkins on a the right and a valance on the left but the tea cozy, other than being red, is not really "my style." Had to have it anyway.



Velvet rose pillow, what does one do with that? But I certainly couldn't leave it behind for a mere $1.49 now could I?



Here is a motley collection but a but more "me." The turkey candle holder is Mikasa as is the yellow cup (it says My First Birthday on the bottom) and the collie planter is a given since I happen to own a collie. But all together? I don't think so.

I am yet again feeling overwhelmed by "stuff" and looking at these photos reminds me that I need to trim down the thrifting. I mean I don't have to buy EVERYTHING I like, right? Right. So I'll be better, I promise. I'm sure there will be some giveaways to come and some listings of vintage goodies in the Goodness Shop as well. But how about we start here:



I'm not even sure where I picked this up but as I hardly pass on a vintage hanky home it came. So, does anyone out there have these initials? I suppose it could be J.D. M. or even J.M.D. or perhaps even J & D with the same last name starting with M? So if you or someone you know fits this monogram and would like this lovely linen hankie, drop me a line! First come first serve.

***UPDATE - I've found a J.D.M.! Visit Jean here.***

ciao
Rebecca

Insanity

Okay, seriously, do I really NEED anymore STUFF? Oy. I love thrifting. I love the hunt, the find, you know what I mean but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with all my "things" lately so the new rule of "you must take a bag of crap to donate if you're going to the thrift store" is now in effect. And since I had no donations when thrifting in Baltimore last weekend with Mom and Sis I took TWO bags to drop off last night.

Now onto the junk:



The rope of pearls (which is old and I am terribly in love with) and the Vera scarf are both from the Baltimore Thrift we always visit. $3 for the pearls and $1.45 for the scarf. The enamel flower pin, the bangle and the two other pins are from that Ryan's Relics place I was telling you about. $4 total for all 5 pieces. I think this flower pin is my favorite by far and that horseshoe pin it too cute.

At the "regular" thrift store we hit the Waverly jackpot:



The blue are two long valences, the center pattern are valences and panels and the pattern on the right are also two long valences. My Mom picked up two big French door panels in a red plaid that matched her curtains in the living room. All in all around $2 - $3 a curtain. Someone must have had all Waverly curtains and needed a change. I'll be putting the blue ones in my bedroom, the fruit motif in the dining room and kitchen and the others in the craft room perhaps. Also found a non-Waverly green pinstripe valance that I'll cut down to go in my bathroom window. Who doesn't love all new window treatments??



Also netted some fun red and white pillow cases. Most likely these will be used as fabric. The red polka dot is a pillow case and a sheet. Can't you see this mixed with aqua for a super cute quilt? I bet Heidi can imagine it! As soon as I get moving on that beach quilt I started eons ago I'll get right to it.

I also got this treasure thanks to Mandi:



She mentioned that she found some Friendship pattern Pyrex and was happy to give it to me when I told her about my refrigerator dishes. Thanks, Mand!

I'll spread out the other finds over the next week. I'm busy today getting things organized to reopen the Goodness Shop. We'll have loads of vintage trims, rick rack, seam binding and some fabrics for all your crafty goodness. Stay tuned!

ciao
Rebecca

Snakes on a Plane

Two friendly reptiles are winging their way to a couple of special little boys I know.



Both are crocheted from Lily Cotton (you know, the cheap stuff) and were fast work. They are pretty fun to make and since you stuff them as you go you are pretty much done when you hit the head.



I do like the shape of the head of the one on the right a bit better than the one on the left but both are cute. Since I enjoyed making these two I think I'll be whipping up a few more for the Goodness Shop which is sadly empty. I hope to remedy that soon. I think these guys make great boy gifts which I am always in need of it seems.

I'll be back soon with my thrifty finds in Baltimore.

cheers
Rebecca

PS: My beloved Rangers are out of the playoffs so you'll all be spared the hockey talk until next season. I think I heard a sigh of relief . . .

The Blues

What a cold rainy day here in New York . . .




A sweet baby blue blanket is in the works.

xoxoxo

One Man's Trash . . .

On Wednesday I was lucky to get to hit a rummage sale and some thrifts with Vax Girl. (I really need to remember to ask her what that means lol) We met at a central spot and then took off like the wind in search of treasures.



First the miscellany: Two sweet crocheted pot holders and a fabric one shaped like a bonnet, a roll of peach (I swear it's a lovely shade though looks pukey here) Dennison crepe paper and Dennison photo corners, a small canning jar and pack of old Crazy Eights cards.

Now I have no idea what I'll do with this but I had to have it:



A vintage christening outfit still in the box. It's so sweet I can't even stand it. There is a stain on the coat but I'm hoping Oxy will sort that out.

And my favorite finds of the day:



I stumbled on a whole bag of fun vintage Christmas items! I have rarely found items other than glass balls so this is a real treat. And finally this year I'll be able to join one of those vintage holiday swaps! If I can bear to part with any of it, of course.



I love these little Japanese elves. I never thought I'd luck into some! The big one has bells inside of him and he's my favorite. His head is falling off a bit but I might sew it down if I can't shove it back in there somehow. Everything is now packed away with the holiday stuff and I'm sure I'll get a kick out of rediscovering it come November. (And no MOM, you can't have my elves. ;) )

Off to thrift again today. DH has a work function that is too close to the big thrift store not to catch a ride.

Cheers
Rebecca

In the Bag

Well . . . . I've been home this week. It's been both good and a little odd. There are times when I don't know what to do with myself (though I should be cleaning) and times I'm really enjoying being here and not in my always too hot office in Manhattan. So what have I been doing? Yesterday I played hookey and went to a rummage sale with a friend. I'll share those treasures soon. And Monday I cleaned the entire craft room! Boy was that a task. Now I just need one more small shelving unit and it *might* look like a normal room in there instead of a storage shed. I did manage to clean off my long table and got some sewing done:



It even looks good close up. :) The pattern is from Sew Pretty Home Style and the fabrics were remnant bin finds. I also already had the wooden handles so this was completely made from my stash!



One of my biggest challenges has always been putting fabrics together that compliment each other. I think I did pretty well this time! And from remnants. :) The lining looks great and I took my time hand sewing in the handles so even that part looks less sloppy than usual.



The pattern for the rose is from the same book. I sewed a pin back to it so it's removable. I had just enough of the lining fabric left to make it so it felt very "meant to be." Can you tell I'm happy with this project? Now I just need to go to a tea party or something that calls for a frou-frou pink purse. ;)

Oh, and speaking of new bags. When I was in Baltimore a bit ago my sister gave me this cute little bag she made:



It's a cute little zippered pouch that has become my makeup bag in my work tote. Mandi actually free hand draws her embroidery patterns right on the felt and then goes to town! She also gave me this book and this book both of which have some cute and fun projects I can't wait to try.

**************************

French swappers, Monday is the send out date for your swaps! If you are going to be late please let your partner know and drop us a line over at Sweet Goodness.

Cheers
Rebecca

Bliss

The wedding was as beautiful as I knew it would be. Joolz looked amazing in both her traditional wedding gown and her Korean "gown" (I'll have to ask her what you would call it):



Gorgeous! (that is the groom's mother with the happy couple!)

Joolz and her beau, John, did a great job mixing both Korean and Irish traditions. Here's a fun shot of my DH and the groom cuttin' a rug:



This picture totally cracks me up because Luis is sticking his tongue out and it looks like he has no front teeth LOL.

I was lucky enough to get to take home a centerpiece.



The flowers were beautiful and I was able to break them down into several arrangements to spread joy throughout the house. Thanks, Joolz!!

So I'm working from home this week and have spent most of my day organizing my craft room. I'm buried under a piles of paper and yarn so if you don't hear from me . . . .

xoxoxo
R

A Spring Flower

Not much to report in the crafty endeavors this week. I seemed to have misplaced the other skein of yarn I need to finish the monkey and I'm desperately trying to finish up a baby afghan for a shower in 2 weeks. It's cute but not photo worthy just yet.



Do you read the Craft Magazine blog? Lucy turned me onto it and I'm now checking it daily for inspiration and project ideas. I even save the posts with my favorite ideas in my Bloglines to refer back to. NOw, I will tell you that there is some weird (to me) stuff on there. I doubt I'll be knitting any cat hats or enjoying bizarre meat art but many of the projects are in my style despite the embroidered jellyfish bubble skirt. Eh, to each his own I guess. :)

Anyway, I recently printed out their pattern for a crocheted flower:



Aha! Mine looks much like the picture, good for me. (Though I did add an extra row of blue around the edge and have yet to make the little center piece.) My husband tried to use it as a coaster so I moved it to the bluebird nest.



You can find the pattern here. There are no yarn or needle specifics, I used size 3 crochet cotton (I had it on hand) and a 00 steel hook.

The weekend is upon us and while I'll be spending tonight chanting "HENRIK! HENRIK!" at my TV . . . tomorrow night I'll be enjoying the lovely wedding of Sweet Joolz. :) Stop by and wish her love and maybe she'll bring us all some sunshine back from her honeymoon.

adieu
Rebecca

Puttin' the Goodness in Blogging

Two years. Today. For this little old blog. And for those of you who remember my old blog, NYCe Girl Knits, I'm not counting that one. Just Good Old Thrifty Goodness.

I was going to tell you a story about underpants but I'll save that for a day when I really need something to talk about. ;) So instead, how about a sample of some true thrifty goodness? On my visit to Charm City last weekend my Mom took Dita and I to a store called Ryan's Relics. It's not exactly a thrift store but it's not really an antique store either. It's somewhere in between and the prices are good. I spent a total of $17 and this is most of my finds:



Oh yes, I hit the jewelry section. As many of you know, thrift stores tend to really mark up jewelry even if it's broken or damaged. Well most of the pieces you see here were $1 or under. I did pay $2 for the super cute change purse and the green and white flower. One of my favorites is the carrots pin on the right. There are tiny pearls in the leaves and it was only 50 cents!



The enamel flower pins are an instant collection! It's hard to pick a favorite. Of course I'll have the eagle eye out for more and you know Ryan's Relics will be on the circuit from now on. :) (I also got two sweet little hankies with crocheted edging there!)

So how's that for some Thrifty Goodness?

And now for the Martha Crafts Give It Away Winner . . . . . drumroll . . . .

The Random Integer Generator chose comment number 8 which was Heather from Way Out West! Woo Hoo! Congrats Heather! Send me an email with your address and I'll put your goodies right in the mail: rrdusquesne (at) aol (dot) com :)

And because I have a lot of stuff and in honor of my sweet Rangers going up 3 to 1 on the crappy Devils*, I chose a second winner for another prize pack which will include a specimen box, the rose stickers, the wood grain note cards, some Martha ribbon and a Martha best wishes Banner. The second number the RIG chose was number 26 which is Jen from Red Hen Studios! So congrats to you, too, Jen and send me your address when you can.

I'll be doing a big mailing next week some time for these prizes, the Spring French Swap and some random mail goodness.

xoxoxo
Rebecca

* - Rangers and Devils in Game 5 on Friday. Go Blue

Blue Bird of Happiness

I cannot believe I let so much time go by before showing you this!

This sweet little bluebird landed at my home more than TWO weeks ago!



First she settled on the hobnail candlesticks.



But then flew over to the cake server where she still nests today:



Thank you, Kai, for such a sweet surprise! :)

RR

Kickin' It Blogger Style

I'm back from my loooong weekend away feeling refreshed (sort of) and ready to face of the world. (maybe) It's Monday, that's about as excited as I can get. ;) Thank you all for your concern on my job situation. I'm still in limbo and prepared for both options so hopefully I can remain patient (stop laughing) and we'll see what happens. Less job = more crafting.

Our weekend away was loads of fun that including some slot machines, an Irish Pub, many hands of gin rummy and a whole lotta hockey. And yesterday we hit a craft show in Maryland. And you know who we got to meet??



That dorky one in the middle there would be me. Oy. Can you tell which one is my sister? Ha ha, yes that's Mandi on the left and there on the right? . . . that's Katie from See Katie Sew! Meeting Katie was like meeting an old friend. We clicked right away and even made plans for a future thrift adventure together! (can't wait!)

Katie and some of the other EtsyCREST girls shared a booth and let me tell you, they had some gorgeous things!! You know I went shopping, right?



You can see Katie's corner back there on the left and that's Amy from Bella's Boutique. She made these lovely monogrammed cards:



I'm a big advocate of "snail mail" and love having fancy note cards to send. I also picked up these fabulous cards from Miscelena:



Her stuff is beautiful! I should have asked her name, duh. Katie?? And you KNOW I had to have one of Katie's bags and a headband:



Jealous? You should be. I love it. Want to see it again?



Well on my way to being the sassiest girl on the block. :) Here are the other girls from the fair:

Aycee Designs
GlowNGlass
Get Wired Designs
Kim Mings
Tarabu

What a group of talented ladies!

So all in all a fun weekend. There was also some thrifting and gifting that I'll share in another post. Oh and I'll be drawing the winner of my giveaway on Thursday!

hugs
Rebecca

PS: Rangers up 2-1 over New Jersey. God Bless King Henrik.