A Peek Inside my (Suddenly Clean) Office/Crafts Room

Ever get to that point when the clutter in your work space is so bad that it's sapping your energy, and just looking at it makes you tired? Well, I reached that point over the weekend with the chaos in my office. I hate to say it, but it took the better part of a day to get things back in shape. I'm not sure how long things will stay this tidy, so I took some quick pictures to capture the moment.

I actually have a tidy desk! I can see the floor! It makes a huge difference. I feel energized, and organized -- so if any of you have been procrastinating cleaning up your workspace, by advice is: do it today! You'll be so glad you did.

My favorite part of the room is the ever-evolving "art wall" which features my girls' artwork. You never know what will end up there, but I love all of it.

Go forth and organize! :)

NOW it's really summer!

I know it's been "summer" for most of us for a few weeks now, but we've been busy with swim team, which for me, as a mom, has felt a lot like work (working swim meets as an "age group mom," sitting at practice for an hour every day in the blazing Texas afternoon sun, etc.) and not a lot like vacation.

Well, tonight was our last swim meet of the season! Woohoo! I can't help but feel like summer has just started for us!

At bedtime tonight, my girls asked me, "What are we doing tomorrow?"
And I happily said, "Nothing!!!"

Hooray for summer!

In Love with Vintage Lace

I admit it: vintage lace has a hold on me. I tend to snap it up whenever I find it, and then I have a hard time parting with it. But strangely, I also have a hard time using it myself -- it's almost like I think my crafting projects aren't worthy enough to use the really good stuff.

Well, I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. Lately, I've been using more good lace in my own projects (see the ballet collages in my archives, for two examples). I've also listed some lovely pieces in my etsy shop. It's time for the good lace to come out and play!

Vintage Paper Ephemera -- Let's Get Excited About Math!

Lately when I've been treasure hunting, I've been looking for vintage school items -- like flashcards -- both to add to my stash and to put into my etsy shop. I've also got some great back-to-school crafting kits underway (stay tuned!) and I want to keep adding goodies to those. Yesterday, I hit the mother lode of vintage school stuff -- so exciting! Among the many great finds was an unused vintage Quizmo game. I love the bingo-card looking game cards, and I love the colors of the game pieces. I put together a few fun bundles today and put them in the etsy shop. The rest will go into crafting kits or get hoarded for my own personal stash! :) Who knew math could be so exciting?!

Vintage China Marks

Awhile back, I found this nifty little antique book at an antiques store. Now, if you know me, you know how much I loooooove old china -- especially old Spode. It's something of an obsession with me, but I haven't bought any plates in a really long time, due to my desire to economize. Anyway, I was so delighted when I discovered that this old book is an index of old china factories, potteries, and china marks!
Each page has lists of factories, dates, and marks -- it's amazing, really. (At least for me, the china-enthusiast.) At first I thought I'd keep the book for reference, but it's really falling apart. Also, the pages are so interesting, and have such great images and an aged patina, that I decided the best use of this book would be for art and papercrafting. I'm planning to use it for projects, but I've also listed pages from it for sale in my etsy shop. So, if you're as excited about it as I am, you can find it there!

Vintage Victorian First Communion Cards

I found these amazing cards a few weeks ago, and I'm still so excited about them! I have no idea how old they are, but I'm thinking at least 50 years old, if not more. The big first communion card is 3-D, and folds out to reveal an even more amazing design. I also found matching small gift enclosure cards that were incredibly detailed and sweet. In all the things I've found while out "treasure hunting," these cards rank among my all-time favorites. I'd like to use these for papercrafting projects, but I think I'm going to have to figure out how to do really good color copies, because I just can't use the originals this time!

Bookclub Light Summer Dinner

It was my turn to host my bookclub this past Sunday night. It's been hot here -- so hot that I couldn't deal with the thought of hot food. So, we had a "lighter" meal. We started with hummus and pita chips (with lots of white wine, of course)! For dinner, we had spicy boiled shrimp with an avocado/buttermilk dip, a cold cheese tortellini and snow pea salad, fruit salad, and walnut blue cheese tea sandwiches. (Most of these recipes were from Southern Living.) For dessert, I made red velvet cupcakes with a vanilla buttercream frosting. YUM!

Dinner was yummy (which, as the cook, is always a relief), but the book was the best part. We read The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton. Loved it! Everyone loved it (which rarely happens in our group). If you're looking for a great summer read, The Forgotten Garden would be a great pick!