this is not my work

old school craft inspirations with Mackenzie

 

 

 

(I am so happy to be introducing the third post of guest blogger, Mackenzie Sasser of Secret Pocket Handmade. I first met Mackenzie at Second Storie Indie Market, where I fell in love with her vintage-y yet clean aesthetic and her cheery attitude. She blogs fun bits from her daily life over here and on this blog she will be sharing crafty ideas, inspirations and tutorials. Please join me in welcoming her today :)

Cathy aka Cathy of California is an artist and maker whose vintage straw flowers have been seen all over, especially since being on the Martha Stewart Show .

I love her blog, where she shows off stunning images from vintage craft magazines and books that she collects from the 60s and 70s. It's inspiring to see techniques that were done in the past that have been revived and made modern again. I am itching to try my hand at weaving.

Do you have any "old school" crafts that you have learned and loved?

(Images 1+2 from craft horizons september/october 1962
Images 3+4 from craft horizons march/april 1963 taken from Cathy's collection with permission, thanks!)

Beckel

 

 

 

I know about ten bloggers off the top of my head that have posted about Beckel Canvas.

So hey-why no throw my hat in the ring?

They are located right here in Portland and their products are made by hand with lots of care and attention to details.

I love how classic and simple all of their products are-and how the designs are timeless.

(How cute is that outhouse?)

When I think about camping, road trips, backpacking across Europe and other general daydreams-these bags and tents definitely come to mind as part of those scenes.

The older I get, the more I think about buying products that last, that are made by good hard working people, and products that I won't want to throw away next year. These definitely fit the bill.

Check out the Beckel Canvas website for more products and order info, you can also purchase the bags here at Canoe, and right now Terrain even has this tote on sale!

Also, this blog post has a nice little tour of the place.

most beautiful meal of the day

(Image by Jen Causey/Simply Photo)

 

(Image by Tomo Koh/hokipoki)

(Image by Ah-Yi/yoo ii)

(image by Kathya/Chokokat)

(Image by Anna Torborg/twelve22)

Everyone always talks about how breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

I won't argue with that-but can I say now that I believe it is the most beautiful meal, too?

toujours

 

 

 

 

I will always love Paris.

These images taken by a young woman studying abroad make my heart happy and bring back great memories of my own.

Check out more at Marcinema's stream and read her completely delightful blog over here.

quiet beauty

 

 

 

 

Some of my favorite shots by the very talented Miki**.

Happy Friday!

folds

 

 

Have you seen this ridiculously cute and neat paper goods shop Upon a Fold?

They have the most interesting folded paper goods and books. I adore getting cards in the mail and if I opened up one of these I would surely squeal with delight.

They are Australian based and also have a nice blog. (Ever noticed how rad "crafty" things from Australia are?)

I found it through this cute blog, Coquette & Dove.

Estate Sale Adventures with Mackenzie

 

 

 

 

 

(I am so happy to be introducing the second post of guest blogger, Mackenzie Sasser of Secret Pocket Handmade. I first met Mackenzie at Second Storie Indie Market, where I fell in love with her vintage-y yet clean aesthetic and her cheery attitude. She blogs fun bits from her daily life over here and on this blog she will be sharing crafty ideas, inspirations and tutorials. Please join me in welcoming her today :)

I lived in Buffalo, NY for a year, and at first I was confused and saddened by this grayish city, pockets which are thriving and rich, and others which seemed dying and lifeless. I couldn't find a job and didn't have many friends. I soon found my way around and found what Buffalo had for me: estate sales. Hundreds and hundreds of estate sales. Those homes told so many stories and held some great mysteries.

Every weekend I would go to several, and I got to the point where I could enter in and could tell in 5 seconds if the house was a bust or not. Mostly by the smell. The mustier, the better. I had a couple favorite places in these old homes: attics, basements, and of course craft rooms. I got my serious face on, and hunted. There were craft rooms piled up with everything you can think of.

Most people just glanced over the big things, but I was meticulous. I could easily spend a half hour to an hour, looking into every box, and pile, looking for something special. The estate sale people started recognizing me as "button girl." I had friends come with me a couple times, but I think they realized they didn't take it as seriously as I did. I worked best alone. When we moved away, I grieved for those estate sales. I catch myself looking at websites to see what I'm missing.

I have amassed quite a collection of sewing notions, craft supplies, and fabric . One of the things that I am enamored by is the packaging of notions. I look to them for inspiration for design, color palettes, type, and patterns. I bought them thinking I could use them for projects, but I don't know if I could ever take them apart, it feels wrong.

Franklin Fountain

 

 

 

(photos shown above are all taken from the Franklin Fountain flickrstream)

Growing up we used to go to an old fashioned diner called "Mearle's". They had ginormous ice cream sundaes, the best shakes in town and it was the place to be. Mearle's is long gone, but I always dream of finding old timey places to hang around in-preferably ones that serve ice cream.

Well, next time I find myself anywhere near Philly, I am heading straight for the Franklin Fountain. It's a beautifully restored building and a fully functional ice cream parlor soda fountain.

I mean come on-look at how cute their uniforms are!

Be sure to spend some time on their website-so much good stuff over there.

the first market

 

 

 

 

Yesterday was the first farmer's market of the year here in Portland.

I completely adore farmer's markets-food and pretty things to look at-yes, please!

One of my favorite bloggers, Gwen from Bugheart, shot these gorgeous market photos shown above.

You can see many more of her market photos in this set over here.

I'm so glad its finally spring!

Masking Tapes with Mackenzie

 

 

(I am so happy to be introducing My first guest blogger, Mackenzie Sasser of Secret Pocket Handmade. I first met Mackenzie at Second Storie Indie Market, where I fell in love with her vintage-y yet clean aesthetic and her cheery attitude. She blogs fun bits from her daily life over here and on this blog she will be sharing crafty ideas, inspirations and tutorials. Please join me in welcoming her today :)

Hello everyone! I'm really happy to post here, I hope to be able to share some fun projects and inspiration, and maybe learn some things from you too!

I remember the first time I saw Japanese washi tape. It was the summer of 2008, and I was browsing Kinokuniya in New York City looking for something to complete my thank you gifts for the craft editors at Martha Stewart Living. I was only feeling a tiny bit of pressure to have it be perfect. I found these colored masking tapes, and bought my first pack. I used them to secure my favorite little envelopes  inside hand bound notebooks.
From then on I was in love.
I didn't dare use any of it because I couldn't find them anywhere online, but eventually that changed, and they're everywhere!

Recently I hung a lot of our favorite art work and photos, and I use this inexpensive way to tie them all together: I get glass cut-to-fit by our local glass shop, and then have our local art supply store cut mat board from scraps of white or off-white scraps. I use a metal binder clip or pants hanger to sandwich them together and hang on the wall.
To make sure that the clips/hangers are sturdy and don't slip I use tiny bits of 3M Command adhesive strips to stick the clip to the glass and the mat, and use velcro type 3M strips to keep the bottom of the bigger pictures affixed to the wall. It only costs a couple dollars a picture and it feels modern and simple. 

I found that the tape was a great way to add some color and style to the plain glass for photos and artwork. I did it this way: I cut tape to fit along the sides, leaving a tiny bit at the ends to hang over and cover the edge of the glass. (Be careful it can be sharp!)

You can play with different widths, customizing for whatever you are framing. For mine I actually flipped the glass so the back of the tape was showing. I think it adds a nice depth and makes the color a little more faded and subdued. On another, I  stuck a piece of tape on top of the glass to make it look like I taped a polaroid to the mat.

One of the greatest things about washi tape is that it's easily removable and so you can try things out and reposition it until you are happy. I hope this gives you some ideas on what to do with your tape collection or convince you to start one. They are addicting!