Saturday Randomness

It's a chilly, dreary Saturday here, so let's lighten things up with some random but cheery photos.

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First up is this vintage-style alarm clock, found on eBay late last year.

 

I had seen a very similar clock on the delightful blog, Tinkered Treasures, in a November 2010 post.  It was from a completely adorable line called Green Gate and was only available from a UK shop called Berry Red.  Needless to say that by the time I found out about it in 2011, it wasn't available.  Plus, it retailed for something like $30.  Which seemed a bit much for a bedside clock...but maybe I'm just cheap?

Tinkered Treasures

Anyway, I hopped on Etsy, then eBay, to see if I could find a reasonably priced vintage alarm clock. On eBay, I found a seller from Hong Kong who had a new clock that was very similar to the Green Gate clock.

Side-by-side, you can see these are pretty much the same clocks, just with different faces and hands. 

However, the eBay clock was a much more reasonable $13-- including postage all the way from Hong Kong.  Score!

This seller still has a few of these clocks, as well as some other vintages styles. Click here to view them.

I'll warn you, though, the double-hammer bell is REALLY loud.  There's no way you'll sleep through that alarm!

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While we're on the topic of cute home goods, the Spring 2012 Cath Kidston line is now out!

Here are just a few of the many items that caught my eye...

Chicken Tea Towels

Bleached Flowers Photo Frame

Pinny Flowers Cotton Duck Fabric in Stone

Circle Ditsy Mini Clasp Purse

Provence Rose Set of 3 Tin Canisters

 Set of 4 Tea Mugs

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After making candles this week, volunteering with my local Friends of the Library group, working on a little project I'll sneak peek below, and generally playing catch up from being sick last week, I haven't yet started making those flannel pajama bottoms I mentioned in January.  

However, this is the week and this is the fabric I'll be using:

 It's from JoAnn and the line is Cottage Gardens.  I happened to luck out and buy the last 4 yards on the bolt for just $4 a yard.  P.S.--If anyone has any yardage of Cotton Gardens (which came in both flannel and quilter's cotton and in a couple of different colorways), email me if you'd like to sell it.  I love this line so much and JoAnn no longer carries it. : (

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To continue with what has turned out to be a very flower-heavy post, here's a peek at a project I'm working on.  I've begun contributing craft tutorials to a local magazine.  This project--which is still underway in the photo below--will appear in full in the March issue of Alamance Magazine for you local readers.

Fabrics, from top to bottom:

Old New 30s in Purple Rose by Lecien

Old New 30s in White Calico by Lecien

Delilah TW42 in Pink by Tanya Whelan/Free Spirit Fabrics

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So, what have you been up to this weekend? 

-Erin

A Dollhouse for Abby

This past weekend was spent with Linnet and Nora, two of my oldest girlfriends (oldest as in we've known each other forever...not that we're old...yet!), in Tennessee.  Nora and I are both in NC, but Linnet lives with her husband and daughter in Nashville so we're lucky to see her a couple times a year.

We had a wonderful three days of lazing about, talking, going out to eat, getting pedicures, watching the entire first season of the very addictive Downton Abbey, and playing with Linnet's adorable daughter, Abby.

Abby turned two in November and I've been planning for awhile to make her a simple dollhouse. 

This CD holder from Michael's served as the perfect little house.

 

With an assortment of craft paint, fabric, and various miniature wood pieces, I made Abby a cottage with a vintage feel.

The exterior is Vintage White and the roof and trim are Barnwood - all colors by FolkArt

Upstairs is the bedroom with walls in Buttercream - Downstairs is the eat-in kitchen with walls in Seamist

The completed house with furniture and Abby Doll

The bedroom features curtains made of scraps of a Simply Shabby Chic sheet thrifted from a local Goodwill.  The same fabric faces the white bedside table, made of a 1" wood cube found in the woodworking section of Michael's. 

The bed was made by my dear friend Sara who crafts wooden playsets.  The bed was wrapped in a sweet floral fabric, topped with a scrap of vintage chenille for the bedspread, and completed with a pillow made from a bit of dotty Tanya Whelan fabric.  The rug is cut from Cath Kidston's Provence Rose fabric.

The pictures on the bedroom wall are one of my favorite details and are Cath Kidston's Provence Rose pattern.  I cut the paper from a CK notebook of stickers that I have and the circles were Mod Podged to painted wooden disks, then hot glued to the wall. 

Downstairs, the kitchen accessories were simple and equally fun to make.  The table is a wood disk glued to a wood spool and painted red. 

The fridge, stove and sink are all 1-1/2" wood blocks, hot glued together and painted accordingly.  The bit of fabric on the sink front is supposed to be a skirt. :)   The black details were drawn in with a permanent marker.

And here is the full kitchen.  The fabric found on the sink--a vintage rosebud pattern picked up at the Liberty Antiques Festival last year--was also used to create cafe curtains in the kitchen.  The gingham fabric, from JoAnn, serves as a rug.  The artwork is another bit of Cath Kidston paper Mod Podged to a wooden disk. 

The Abby Doll is a girl peg painted to resemble her namesake.  The dress is a floral fabric from Marie-Madeline Studio (a wonderful source for floral and vintage-inspired fabrics!) which was simply Mod Podged onto the peg doll and then coated with another layer of Mod Podge to seal it on.

All painted items were topcoated in Triple Thick, a glossy, acrylic paint-on sealer for extra durability.

Abby seemed quite taken with her dollhouse and I hope she has many, many happy hours playing with it! 

-Erin

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