Thursday 28 July 2011

Thrift Shop Thursday

Fly Me To The Moon... A DIY Vintage Style Wedding


Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On a- Jupiter and Mars
In other words, hold my hand
In other words, baby, kiss me

Fill my heart with song
And let me sing for ever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore
In other words, please be true
In other words, i love you...
Frank Sinatra  Fly me to the moon


     Today I have a very special post full of vintage loveliness.  Every Thursday I like to share with you my most recent "favorite" Thrift Shop finds.  This thursday I have put together a very easy, elegant DIY Vintage Style Wedding table setting that I created by using great Thrift Shop finds and my "new" Wedding Decoration Line, "Fly Me To The Moon".  I will also share with you my very special collection of gorgeous vintage and antique Wedding Gowns given to me by a good friend.  

   I thought that that I could begin with my creative process and how I developed my Wedding Decoration line designs.  I had this vision of a couple in love sitting, standing on a paper crescent moon.  It was a popular theme to photograph couples on a giant crescent moon around the turn of the twentieth century.  There is a wonderful imaginary playfulness in these photographs that is truly romantic.

This flikr page is full of these magical photographs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sagbottom/sets/592184/

Here a few of the decorations from my "Fly Me To the Moon" Wedding Decoration Line inspired by these lovely photographs:










The "Vintage Style Wedding" table setting pictured above that I created incorporates a few of my Great Grandmother's antique linens, a collection etched glasses in a variety of sizes, a beautiful glossy white set of plates with tiny dotting around the edges, (my "Crescent Moon and Stars" Place Cards) and a vintage vase with two bright yellow Calla Lilies embellished with my "Crescent Moon" Decorative Pick.  What I love about this theme is that you can easily incorporate items that you have collected over the years, family heirlooms and Thrift Shop finds.  I find it a style that is nice to personalize, for example you could incorporate more yellow or focus on Roses as your main floral feature.  You could decide to choose an era that you love and focus on that.  Though mixing eras looks quite elegant as well, a post modern approach.




The creme de la creme... Here are the wonderfully exquisite Wedding Gowns that I was given.  Let me tell you that I was astounded to be given such a precious gift that I will always cherish. The first Dress is was worn by my friend's Great Grandmother Mary Krupski Wnek and dates back to the turn of the century:






The second Wedding Gown was worn by her grandmother Catherine Wnek Czujak and dates back to the 1930's.  This one is my favorite!







The third Wedding gown was worn by her mother Madeline Czujak Daly during the 1960's:




The final dress isn't a Wedding Gown at all it is her mother's prom dress from the 1950's and it is fabulous !







A special thank you to my husband who photographed me in these gorgeous wedding gowns yesterday. It was so much fun!






Thursday 21 July 2011

Thrift Shop Thursday

Vintage Sheets

Vintage Sheets could quite possibly be my favorite Thrift Shop find. I quite often daydream about all of the lovely things that I could make out of these beautiful, soft and cozy vintage fabrics.  I think quite possibly you could make well, anything, could you not?
Here is a selection of some of my favorite Vintage Sheets from my collection.  Following the photographs is a list of my favorite sewing books and the projects that I hope to miraculously find the time in the near future to make.  








Beach Blanket,Towel Rug , Baby Sling and Mama Bag: 
Handmade Home by Amanda Soule

Library Bag and Patchwork Pillow: 
Sewing Bits and Pieces by Sandi Henderson

Teacup Corset Apron and Mother/ Daughter Blossom Blouse:
Sew Liberated by Meg McElwee

Slouch Bag and Lingerie Case:
Linen Wool Cotton by Akiko Mano


Summer Blouse and Flower Girl Dress:
Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross

Reversible Bucket Hat, Art Smock and Tea Party Doll Dress:
Oliver + S Little Things to Sew by Lisel Gibson

Barcelona Skirt Pattern:
Amy Butler
For more wonderful sewing, craft and cooking books you can view my Amazon book list (on the right side bar).

I hope I have inspired you to repurpose something soft and cozy out of your thrifted Vintage Sheets!

Sunday 17 July 2011

Sunday Rose

 Ramblin' Rose...


Speaking to me in my dreams-
Whispering and gently opening my heart
When I wake with a start I jump to
and look round the rose
The Goddess shows herself
Through the branches and with 
a gentle smile beckons me to
follow the heart
Through the rose I follow...
From- Bubbles Float and Other Musings
Elizabeth Loabe June 2011













Ravi Varma Lakshmi (Lakshmi is said to be born of thousands of rose petals.)
Sandro Botticelli Birth of Venus 1445





Today I am going to let pictures speak louder than words as I pay homage to the ROSE.
If you'd like words I created a playlist next to this post that is full of great songs inspired by the "Rose".

Thursday 14 July 2011

Thrift Shop Thursday

Sea Foam Green

What makes Sea Foam Green so yummy?  For me it's creamy mintyness conjures up images of the timeless "organic" designs of the "Atomic Age"otherwise known as the "Nifty Fifties".  I imagine the cozy soda shops,  kitschy kitchen appliances, classic sleek automobiles and the mid century modern textiles of this time.  So when I happen upon something of this hue when thrift shopping I pretty much see stars and my heart goes all a flutter...  






Sea Foam Green Retro Loveliness...