Shop Update

I hope that you had a delightful holiday!  We had a wonderful time with friends and family -- such a blessing to visit with loved ones and share such fun times over the holiday season.  We are still enjoying the last few days off from school before our hectic schedules start up again.

I'm just popping in with a quick shop update.  I'm seriously overstocked -- seriously! -- and so I will be listing items like mad over the next few weeks.  I've also put together some new lace goodie bags, pictured above and below -- each has 12 yards of lace!  I've got a bag of pinks and creams, one that has lavender and yellow, and one with creams, blues and silver.  Lots of fun lace for crafting!

As the year winds down, I've been thinking a lot about the new year, and my resolutions, both personal and business-related.  I've got an idea for a new direction for my long-ignored Dishy Vintage Weddings shop.  I'll have more news on that soon, but here's a hint of what I've got in mind:

What does the new year have in store for you?  I hope it is full of joy and good health!

Happy Creating!

American Girl Tea Party

My youngest baby recently had her 8th birthday (sheesh -- how is it possible that time moves so quickly?).  To celebrate, she wanted an American Girl-themed tea and crafts party.  Since this is probably the 10th tea and crafts (of some description) type party that I've had for my girls, I feel like we've got the basic idea pretty well down.

For this party, we decorated the dining room with bright pink and lime green, to coordinate with the American Girl paper goods and cupcake stand.  I used lime green tulle to put bows on each chair and dress up the chandelier.  We had a small group, so I kept the food pretty simple.  We had cupcakes (girl-sized and doll-sized) for the girls to decorate, as well as gingerbread cookies.  We made tea sandwiches (pb&j and cheese) and cut them into hearts and flower shapes with cookie cutters.  We served juice for most of the girls, but a few brave little souls tried hot tea (with lots of sugar!).

Before we ate, the girls used an American Girl craft kit to make and decorate a crown for their dolls.

After crafts and tea, the girls played a few games and then opened presents.  Each girl took home a goodie bag of American Girl craft goodies and candy.  A fun time was had by all, but mostly by the birthday girl, who was thrilled!

Now that the party is done, it's full speed ahead on Christmas!  My goal is to be finished decorating by Dec. 1 -- hopefully I'll meet that goal and have a few pics to share soon.

Hope you are having a wonderful start to the holiday season!

Oh, Cath Kidston!

The Cath Kidston Christmas catalog arrived in my mailbox today.  Which immediately brought up this burning question: just how many sewing baskets does one need?  Or, maybe more accurately, how many sewing baskets can one justify???  I ask because I think I simply must have the one pictured above.  But I'm kind of wavering because I also like this one:

But I already have this one, which I love a whole lot:

Maybe if I claim to now be "collecting" sewing baskets I can get away with buying another one??  Hmmm?  What do you think?  And which do you like, red caravan or pastel caravan?

Of course, it doesn't stop with over-the-top cute sewing baskets!  Oh, no indeed!  There's also this towel:

And this mug:

And all manner of other things that I "need" like a need a hole in my head.  But will that stop me from placing an order and paying exorbitant shipping from the UK?  I think I'll take the Fifth on that.....

The Case of the Missing Blogger

So, my goodness, it's been awhile, no?  I knew that I had been neglecting my blog, but when I went realized that my last post was almost 2 months ago I was shocked!  So sorry to have been away!  I wish I had a really good, juicy excuse, but the truth is that the girls went back to school and then time just started sliding away at an alarming rate.  I went on a buying trip to Round Top, Texas, and Kari and I have done three shows, and meanwhile I've been doing all the things that busy moms do -- and I guess the blog just kind of got pushed to the back burner.

But, I'm back!  And, unbelievably, the holidays are upon us!  I'm pondering whether to revive my Christmas stitching project (and, my stitching blog -- if you think this blog has been neglected, it doesn't hold a candle to my poor stitching blog!).  I've got lots of Christmas crafting and shopping to do, and I've got a doll-themed birthday party to throw for my 8-year old in a couple of weeks.  And will we send Christmas cards this year or will we be slackers??  Hmmm..... Time will tell.

In the meantime, I do have a project to share! I apologize in advance for the photo quality: the photos are terrible.  But the project was fun and I want to show you the finished product.  I made a tag banner for Kari for her birthday.  Kari has a brand spanking new house, with her own brand spanking new office!  Her office is painted a lovely light teal blue, and she uses accents of red, which works well with her collection of vintage school stuff and vintage books.  Using all of those elements as a starting point, here's what I came up with:

I used some of my favorite scrapbooking papers, combined with chipboard accents, small pieces of lace and trim, and of course, LOTS of tatting.

Here it is, wrapped up and ready to go:

Such a fun project!

Well, thanks so much for visiting and for hanging in there even though I've been gone for an eternity. I promise to be back again soon!

Happy creating!

Alison

Missoni for Target -- A Tale of Epic Greed

So, I'll have to ask you to pardon my rant.  Here at the Dishy Vintage blog, I like to keep things focused on happy, upbeat things -- like lace and glitter.  But today I am so disappointed about this Missoni for Target debacle -- I just have to speak out.

The much-typed Missoni line for Target -- with its fun, characteristic zig zag designs -- debuted today in Target stores and online. There had been a lot of buzz about this launch, so I expected things to go quickly, as they always do when something at Target is popular.  I went online at 7am and wasn't able to shop, because the Target servers had crashed.  I went to my local Target around 10am and everything was gone -- I mean, every single Missoni item, from file folders to baby clothes to shoes -- GONE.

I was a bit mystified by this (I mean, how many people had beat me to Target by 10am?) until I got home and did some Google searches and found pictures and first-hand accounts of people sweeping entire racks of clothes into their carts the minute the store opened.  Sure enough, before noon there were thousands of listings on Ebay of these very same items, only priced at 3 to 5 times the retail price.

Now, don't get me wrong, I understand capitalism and I'm all for making a living.  But I think what these people are doing on Ebay is disgusting.  I really wanted a few of the items from that collection, both for myself and for my girls, but there is no way I will buy them at a ridiculously marked up price on Ebay from someone who bought out an entire Target store this morning!  I will not reward that kind of behavior, especially not with my hard-earned money.

So, this is my plea to you, if you wanted some Missoni for Target items but missed out, as I did: boycott the Ebay sellers who ruined this for everyone else!

Okay, rant over.  Tomorrow we shall return to glitter and lace and all things vintage!  :)

Tag Banner: Tag #5

Happy Tuesday!  Sorry for the long break between tag posts -- summer is coming to a quick end around here and we are scurrying around, trying to get ready for back-to-school.  Here is tag #5 -- it's a bit more simple than some of the others.  I used scraps of one of my favorite vintage organza trims, along with a bit of vintage lace and a large chipboard rose.  I added some sparkle with Stickles. 

I had planned to do 7 tags, but now I'm wondering if 5 is enough for the banner, given that I'm hanging it in a bookshelf (a pretty small space).....   I've also started working on another tag banner that is a gift, so no pics for now.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy what is left of your summer!  Happy creating!

Tag Banner: Tag #4

My tag banner is still coming along, slowly but surely! Here is tag #4 -- this one is currently my favorite.  I just love the charming chipboard and of course the tatting. 

I hope you're having a great Monday!

Tag Banner: Tag #3

Here's tag #3!  My favorite things about this tag are the small doily that I used as a background, and the tiny sewing pattern piece of chipboard.  I love the wonderful graphics on old sewing patterns, but because of their size, I have a hard time figuring out what to do with them.  Maybe I could reduce them on a color copier?  Hmmmm....  Anyone tried that?

By the way, if you're looking for some darling old sewing patterns, Kari has a nice selection in her Etsy shop!

Well, that's all for now -- off to work on tag #4!

(Hope you're staying cool.  It's going to be 102 degrees today.)

Tag Banner: Tag #2

Here's tag #2.  This one is a bit more simple than tag #1, but I have to tell ya, I'm in love with these chipboard doilies.  So cute! I wish I had a box full. 

 See you tomorrow for tag #3!

Tag Banner: Tag #1

I'm in the process of creating a small banner for my office.  I've made various banners before (usually for holidays) but before I've always used chipboard as a base.  This time, I decided to use layered cardstock in a tag shape.  I'm planning to make 7 tags for the banner, but the neat thing about this approach (IMHO) is that you can add/subtract tags to/from the banner whenever you want.  So, we'll see how it looks when I get seven tags done -- maybe I'll be done, and maybe not!

I'll be posting each tag as I finish it. Today is tag #1.  For all of these tags, I glued together 3 layers of cardstock (which ends up being a nice sturdy base).  On this tag, I wanted to use one of my stitched dresses, so it was the main focus, and I embellished around it.  I'm trying to use some of my "good stuff" that has been sitting around, so these tags will have some very nice lace and trims.

Check back tomorrow for tag #2! 

Finally, this is off-topic, but I can't believe it's already August!  How is that possible??  I need another couple of months of summer....

Fun with Decoupage

My sweet oldest baby girl is now 11 years old.  It's hard for me to wrap my head around how this happy little toddler could possibly already be a "tween!"  Ugh!  To celebrate her birthday, she wanted a slumber party with a "Night in Paris" theme.  I came up with an art project for the girls, in keeping with the theme.

Using flat canvases (available in packs of 8 at Michael's), we made decoupage collages with antique papers, old sheet music, French-themed scrapbooking papers, and all sorts of fun embellishments (including lace, of course!).  Here's the sample that I made so the girls could see a finished project:

I did several layers of paper, used lots of distressing ink, added lace and flower trims, and at the very end, embellished with bronze-colored Stickles (I love that stuff). The whole process took a couple of days, so that each layer had time to dry.

Here's the busy project table that the girls used at the party:

And here's the birthday girl's project, almost finished:

This was a fun, multi-step project that kept the girls busy in small doses over the course of the evening.  I think they enjoyed it, and their artwork really looked fabulous!

All that said, if anyone has a magic potion that will turn my tween back into a 5-year-old, please pass it along!

Eye Candy: Dreamy Pastels

These trims make me wish that I could actually sew!  I unpacked them and they were in a big, frothy pile on my living room floor, and they looked so soft and gorgeous.

I may need to put together a kit of some of these pastel gems for my next giveaway....

Hope you're having a great week!