Lazy Lake Bums

My family has a home at the lake near us and we get together for big holidays, and sometimes for a short weekend trip.  For whatever reason, you can bet you'll find any or all of us napping at some point (disclaimer:  not the kids...haha!) So enjoy the Instagram shots I got this weekend...mainly of the canine type enjoying the sun and worn out from chasing little sandy, stinky, toes all over the place.  They are great babysitters.  ;) Ha.

I have two printables for you today!  The first one is so super cool...a set of paper labels from the can lids of Spry shortening, which was first introduced in 1936.  Aunt Jenny was the voice behind the product that was released in competition with Crisco.  I have about 8 of these, and I am not sure just what to do with them to keep from hiding any of their beauty, written and drawn.  I love the cartoon-like messages on them.  Recipes are on the backs of all of them.  Here are two for you!  (click that link, download and print)

The other set of goodies is from Spry's competitor, Crisco.  I have a couple of these spiral cookbooks featuring recipes from the well-known blue can.  I've also included a coupon for Dole fruit from March, 1962, and a recipe card written from one sweet lady of an estate. Here's the link for that set. (click the link, download, and print) The little kitties in this cookbook are so cute! 

Everything in my shop is 40% off!

Don't you just love a good sale?  Everything in my shop is 40% off!  Just use the coupons BIRDIES and fill your basket full of mid century kitchen, living, stationery, clothing, puzzles, and all kinds of fun things.  I'll ship it all out this week...making room for all the new things coming this summer! 

SHOP HERE

A little peek in the spare room...letterpress prints.

Until I find some vintage Star Wars sheets like my brother had, the boys have to deal with late 1960s flea market style.  I painted another mailbox to hold magazines, added a mid century stool, and some letterpress prints we had made when we visited a shop near us.  (Have you ever seen a REAL letterpress run?  It's super cool.) The beds are covered in a vintage Sears coverlet and a quilt I've had for a long time (although circa 1990s), and vintage sheets and pillowcases, all mixed up.  It's cute that way.  And, it'll do until the Storm Troopers move in.  Ha.

Vault: Woodland Edition (Vintage Woodland Animal Ephemera Printable!)

 Download my Vault: Woodland Edition here.

Here's the second edition of vintage paper collections from my VAULT.  I've decided to spice up what I share by arranging the printables into groups that you can match with your projects.  A favorite?  These playing cards and flash cards with woodland animals and creatures on them.  I love the raccoon!  Don't you? You can print them here and use them how you like. Be sure to comment if you do; I'd love to see how you use them in your art!

Make a Pocket Journal from Vintage Stationery

Remember the Just-A-Note stationery from Current?  I have tons of it, and found that it makes really cute pocket journals.  Wrap in pretty lace and tie a bow; write down your thoughts and hide it away, or give to a friend who needs a little pick-me-up!

Here's how.

Supplies:
one Just-A-Note folded stationery sheet (or any heavy stationery/card stock cut to size)
vintage ledger paper
lace
embroidery floss to match
paper stitching needle (I got mine from Making Memories a LONG time ago, but a denim or quilting needle might work too)
paper piercer

Measure the main part of the note and cut your ledger paper to fit leaving about 1/4 inch less at the top, bottom, and sides. I cut 5 pieces of ledger paper to make 10 pages when it's folded.

Fold ledger paper in half, and place it in the middle fold of your note.

Pierce through the ledger paper and the note using the paper piercer about every 1/2 inch.  Watch your fingers; that thing can get mean. Gees, I need a manicure.

Thread your needle with embroidery floss, and use a running stitch down the outside of the note, through the ledger paper.  At the end, tie a simple knot to keep it from coming loose.

You could even place a stamp on the front and address it, and send to a friend far away. I think I just might do that.

I'm linking up with Giggles, Glitz, and Glam! 

Re-do a Thrift Shop Rocking Chair

A few weeks ago I dropped off some donations to ACO and headed in for a quick peek.  It was a busy weekend with people dropping off garage sale leftovers, and this rocker was perched on the porch out front.  Price tag:  $29.99.  A few bumps and bruises, but a nice coat of paint would make it a beauty again.   I also had a $20 credit I'd been saving up (they have a rewards program)...and then you got to dance for a discount.  We unloaded a car full of donations and loaded up a rocker and few other things. 

Once my honey got over the fact that I dropped off a bunch of junk just to bring something else home, I headed out to the garage to spray on a coat of primer.  I found a few tutorials on rocking chairs, but this one inspired me to start collecting a whole set of them.  One for everyone. 

This one was finished in black satin from Valspar (at Lowe's).  I brushed it on to make sure I was able to cover all the curves and tiny crevices that rockers have.  It took two coats to cover, and I will seal it before it goes outside.  For now, it makes a pretty cozy spot in the living room for book worms.  :) What color should I paint the next one?

Today is the day: Relay for Life

 Samantha with her family...Peggy, Perry, and her little brother, Daniel

Samantha, Daniel, and their puppy, Rosie

My leadership class (PALs) has three teams ready for action at Relay for Life tonight.  Forty plus kids, three tents, lots of food....but most important, hearts for friends and family that are fighting the fight of their lives or that have been overcome by the monster that is cancer.  This relay...this year...is most important to me.  I haven't talked much about how cancer has wormed its way in and around everyday life near me, my family, and my friends.  But we don't like it.  One bit. 

In January, my dear friend lost her daughter to leukemia, and that sweet little angel is missed every day, all day, but she sure is making a mark from Heaven.  We still feel her, she's still throwing parties and heading up fundraisers to help others conquer what her body could not, and her strength and her livliness are her family's will and peace to continue on and spread the word.  I miss that little Samantha...when she was not even a year old, she came and spent weekdays with the boys and I while her momma worked.  She learned to crawl and how to scream at the top of her lungs if Brady bugged her, and I must have fed her tons of Keebler chocolate chip cookies.  She loved them, and she learned to come in and say, "cookie?" with a sweet little question mark at the end.  Brady read books to her.  Bodie played trucks with her.  She grew, and she grew, and she grew...and she was a flower girl in my wedding.  She sat at pretty tables in a tea room having lunch with her momma and I.  Life got in the way of us spending much time with them, and then we found the same friendship still existed. 

And then they found the cancer. 

I was blessed to be able to see her again, to take her hats that my mom crocheted for her, that she wrapped over her wispy hair with a sass that only a little fashionista would have.  I kissed her warm little face and told her she was an angel.  I'll never forget how that felt.  And then a few days later Jesus took her home.  Oh, what heartbreaking sorrow it is, and unimaginable emptiness and hurt her family feels.  But, oh, what joy she still brings every day with memories, life-changing events, and little beats of angel wings that I know they hear, because I can hear them too. 

So, tonight, I will walk for Sam.  I will walk for Nancy, for Lynn, for Nicky, and for Charlie.  It matters not that I am responsible for 40 kids, and have the late shift; it's nothing compared to the sleepless nights and endless struggles and worry and stress my family and friends battle against.  See you on the track...you're coming, right? 

Sam wrote a poem (she was quite the little poet) that was published in her celebration bulletin and read at her celebration service, and words that are loved by many.  I wanted it on my shirt so that she would be walking with me tonight.  She's a fighter, that little miss.  Here's the poem:

Just Like a Weaving Kit by Samantha Schmidt

Just like a weaving kit every life has knots and twists.

They take patience and kindness,

Just like our everyday lives.

There's friendship and love and a bit of hate.

There's joy and sadness and lots of worrying.

There's people who care, especially God.

Just like a weaving kit, every life has knots and twists.

Vault: Vintage Hairstyle Tips and a Paper Doll Printable

Vault is a new series for you;  I have so many vintage papers and magazines that I can't bear to tear up, so I am scanning them and offering as free printables (and printing a copy for myself so I can keep the original).  Yay!

The first one comes from a vintage Golden Magazine for Boys and Girls from May, 1965, a copy that I picked up at an estate a few months ago, and it offers some pictures that are a vintage lover's dream.  Don't you just love to look at the pictures in old books?  I wish magazines were still 35 cents.  But, wait, they are...if you thrift.  :)

Here's Wendy's Hairdos, a paper doll scan, for you and your little one to cut and dress, and also, hair tips to go with it!  Click the links below the pictures, print, and enjoy!

"Wendy's Hairdos" Paperdolls

 "Hair Styling Tips"

Mother's Day all the way!

 Me and mom 1970

Grandma Wilma, Grandpa Dee, Mom, and her sister, Verna

Me, Ricky, and Mom 1973

Me, Ricky, and Mom 1972 

Great Granny Sykes, me, and Great Grandma Bee

B'ma and Katie... Spring 2101

Me and Brady, August 1997

 

Me, Bo, and then with both boys...my tooties...1997

Katie and me at her dance recital, December 2010 

Easter outtake, 2011 haha!

 

William, Mom Alice (B'ma), and Katie

Tooties!  Fall 2011

 

Easter 2011

Katie and B'ma love books.  :)

Easter 2011

 Grandma Betty, me, and Kate Christmas 2008

B'ma, Sissy, and Kate... December 2010

Happy Mother's Day to my most precious momma, who still takes care of me even though I'm over 40, with only one thing asked in return, that I take care of my own the same way.  I promise.  And I love you for being there no matter what.

And to my sweet, wise, giving Mom Alice, who raised my love of a husband, and who brings wisdom of peace and happiness, and has the best laugh in the whole world.

And to my grandmas...Betty and Wilma...so many awesome memories with both of you and unconditional love and teaching and fun.

And to all my friends who are mommas, may this day be the best one yet, and may you be treasured in the hearts of your families, and may you be able to skip the dishes and the laundry today!  Enjoy!