Flea Market Finds

We went to the flea market on Tuesday. It was pretty slow but I found a few things.

Fabric Bookmarks

The leftover strips from the pencil roll were the perfect width for bookmarks and because I was using a torn piece of newspaper to mark my place in my book, I thought I'd make a few real bookmarks. After some trial and error, I ended up with some pretty cute ones.

I cut watercolor paper 1 1/2" wide x 6" tall, glued a piece of fabric to the back with fabric glue, then I glued smaller pieces on the front, overlapping a little. I didn't use a lot of glue, I was just using it to tack the fabric down so the pieces didn't slip when I went to sew them. The first few I made I didn't glue the front fabrics down (just the back), and they slipped all over the place and looked yucky. So glue 'em down, then sew all the way around and over the bottom of each little piece. Then punch a hole near the top, add an eyelet if you want, and thread yarn or ribbon through the top. The edges will fray a bit, but I think it adds to it, don't you?

Another cute fabric bookmark tutorial can be found here on Anna Maria Horner's blog.

Colored Pencil Roll

Last week I was looking at my box of colored pencils and remembered a project in this book. I'm amazed I haven't made it sooner because I have a deep attraction to anything rainbow. It was an easy project and I think it turned out ok even though I don't have a walking foot for my sewing machine (which they recommend). The most time was spent cutting all of the colors, so I went ahead and cut enough for two! Sometimes I'm quite clever. ;) The leftover strips I used to make some bookmarks, I'll post them tomorrow.

Banana Blueberry Smoothie

I love making smoothies and this one is my favorite. I don't measure anything anymore but here's about how I make it:

Banana Blueberry Smoothie
-1 banana (fresh or frozen, depending on what I have on hand. If I use frozen I don't add any ice)
-a couple handfuls of blueberries (frozen)
-vanilla yogurt (maybe 1/3c.? It really doesn't matter!)
-a little pour of milk (juice works too, you just need a little liquid to help everything blend together)
-1/2 c. crushed ice (if using fresh banana)
-1/2 tsp. - 1 tps. bee pollen (this is the wonderful key ingredient! Sooooo good. I found mine at a health food store)
Blend it all together and enjoy! Add a couple oatmeal cookies and I think it's a great lunch.

Gwen Frostic Prints

A lady I work with at the nature center had told me about this place up north where a woman named Gwen Frostic made and sold her block prints. So last summer when we were camping up that way, we found the shop to see what it was all about. Oh my, the place was so magical. It was like a little hobbit house. The floor was all uneven, there were rock walls here and there, there was a little waterfall and a pond, and a couple chipmunks were even running around, going in and out of little hidden cracks. You couldn't tell if you were inside or outside. So cool. The photo below is the entrance.

And the prints! Absolutely beautiful. I photographed some of my favorites to share.

And now for something completely random

Kitty wigs! Seriously! When I first found this site, I totally freaked out and showed everyone in the house immediately. This one's my favorite, the "Silver Fox". So funny!

Fabric Covered Altiod Tins

I had a few of these cute blank Altiod-like tins laying around and I thought they would be perfect little containers for sewing or knitting supplies. So I covered them in fabric, lined them with felt, and I have cute little tins to store my supplies in. Super simple, but here's how I did it.




Supplies:
Fabric (little scraps are perfect for this)
Felt
Selvage (or just strips) of matching fabric or ribbon (for the sides of the tin)
Scissors
Fabric Glue

Spread Fabric glue onto one side of the tin.

Lay it face down onto wrong side of fabric. Flip it all over, smooth out any bumps or wrinkles. (not pictured)

When slightly dry, trim extra fabric off of tin.

Now starting in the back, apply glue to edge of bottom half of tin, attaching the fabric as you go around. (I used the selvage along here because it doesn't fray, but I'm sure regular fabric strips would work just as well.) It's ok if the strips are wider than the area, just let it hang off the bottom and trim it later like you did with the top and bottom pieces.

After you've trimmed off any over hang fabric, the outside is finished. All you have to do now is cut two pieces of felt (I used pinking shears) to fit inside your tin, glue them in with the fabric glue, and you're done!

Wood Grain Coffee Table

I love pretty much anything with a wood grain, so when I saw this table on the Design Milk blog, my heart skipped a beat.

coffee table by Tapio Wirkkala. http://www.1stdibs.com

Fabric Inspiration

I found this amazing old quilt at the thrift store a few weeks ago, and I just wanted to share some of the beautiful fabrics. I wish I had a couple yards of all of them! :)

The entire back is this fabric.

20x200

I can't remember how I originally found this site, but I think it's so neat. From the 20x200 site:

"We introduce two new pieces a week: one photo and one work on paper. Each image is available in three sizes.* The smallest size is reprinted in the largest batch – an edition of 200 – and sold at the lowest price – $20. Hence the name 20x200..."

I missed out on the one shown here and I'm still bummed about it.

Check it out by clicking here

More Vintage

As promised, here are the rest of my finds from the weekend.



The mouse and mushroom thing is a napkin holder. So cute.

An orange lamp for $3. I couldn't pass this up. I'm thinking a nice white shade?

Vintage Christmas Finds

Well this weekend I was pretty successful, I went to one estate sale and the flea market and I had some great finds. I'll share the Christmas things today and the rest tomorrow.

Sweet little paper figures.

A stuffed reindeer. He's missing his nose, I'll have to replace it with a little pom-pom or something.

Paper Christmas coasters. I love these.

Felt ornaments. I don't know if these are hand made or not (they probably are), but I just couldn't pass them up. My favorite is the gold and green owl.

Glass ornaments to add to my growing collection. Oh, I love them.