OK, now don’t expect anything too fancy… and don’t expect any thing super expensive… and for heaven sakes whatever you do don’t expect CLEAN!! Now with all that in mind you may take a peek at where I create. Keep your eyes peeled for vintage touches here and there.

Sitting at the sewing machine is a daily activity for me. So I’ve got a great cushion for my fanny! I’ve tried to add some of my favorite touches: like vintage quilts, linens, buttons and ribbons. Believe it or not, I have evolved from a vintage baby dress re-storer, ( say that fast 5 times) to a designer of quilted baby shoes, to now a designer of quilted baby shoe patterns. Which I sell to creative, quilting type gals and also to darling quilt shops.

I have collected dolls for years and am still a little girl at heart! Can you tell? I even hide things behind lovely fabrics too, so don’t even ask me whats behind the bookcase, cuz I’m not tell’n ya, and trust me you don’t want to know.

I found this white shelf and use it to display some of the shoes and boots I have created over the last several months. (some are vintage ones too)

My little shabby chalk board keeps me on task. Ya right! It sounded good tho didn’t it?

This is my very cluttered, but very sweet bulletin board. Believe it or not I know where every thing on it  is too!

When ever I need some storage or something to hang on the wall, I go searching in the back yard. I love using garden elements here and there.

Here are some of my favorite little vintage baby gems hanging across the wall. They are so tiny and sweet and come in such yummy soft pastel colors! So fun to fix up and clean. Well, a little fun.

The details are so amazing! I would never have had the patience for sewing those “itty bitty” pin tucks. It just wouldn’t have happened!

I wanted a very simple window treatment, so I did a valance. But then decided to add tied white vintage hankies for a shabby flair and then finished it off with a curved black iron wall piece. One day it almost fell on my head! I know what your thinking , but don’t say anything.

I love the whole trash to treasure thing! These shutters were left by the side of the road. Yippie, guess they had my name on them. I didn’t even have to paint them either. I just cleaned them and hung them up! The vintage china plates are from a garage sale (like 25 cents each) crazy!

I thought that this little plaque was so cute. “The beehive is the ultimate Home Sweet Home“. Well I guess that just about wraps up my sewing room tour.

This is where I create… this is where I sometimes get frustrated… this is where I wait for inspiration to come, (ya I’m usually in here awhile) and… this is where I go to get away from the world.

So… ladies, where do you create??

E is for Estate Sale!! One of my most favorite things to do on a Saturday. I have found so many gems and treasures over the years. And really GREAT buys too!! An old vintage 6ft. shutter divider was FREE!! ( My favorite price!) It was an ugly dark brown and so I painted it a shabby white. I took out the broken shutters and replaced them with lovely shabby fabrics in  blues, pinks and greens. Some are even vintage fabrics.

This was a great find too. A wonderful garden shed at an estate sale for only $50.00. It was dark wood and I painted it a sweet country blue with white trim. We love it and use it all the time in our garden.

This 5 piece wicker set was also a fabulous Estate Sale find. It was beige and pretty dull until…yep you guessed it. I painted it white!! And only $75.00 for all 5 pieces! I used vintage fabrics to make seat covers.

F is for Flowers These are some heirloom flowers we had in our garden last year. Foxgloves are a very old variety and are a very English flower. To me they are pure heaven!

We also planted heirloom Sweet Peas. They are so delicate and fragrant. One sniff and you’ll be hooked.

Thanks for joining me at the Etsy Party today.

Which one struck your fancy??

Welcome to another fun Vintage ABC Party at Etsy Cottage. They are always so fun to participate in. I love to see what treasures every one shows. Come join me…

C is for China… My favorite is an English china set I got at a wonderful antique shop. I love the tiny pink flowers.

It looks pretty great with my blue transfer ware. Don’t you just love mixing and matching?

C is for centerpiece… I loved doing this English garden centerpiece, starting with a pretty vintage tea pot, lovely flowers, vintage china and vintage tablecloth. All for a garden tea party for my friends.

D is for Dolls… some of my favorite treasures are my 1940’s Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls. Such as Goldilocks and Little Bo Peep.

One year I participated in a Valentines Day Tea Party featuring several of my Vintage Dolls. This picture shows my adorable Cupie doll from 1967, a darling unknown doll from 1961 and of course another sweet Nancy Ann doll.

D is for Dresses… Vintage baby dresses that is. I have refurbished and restored vintage baby dresses for several years now and here are a sampling of some of my favorites. Take a look at this peach one with all the sweet embroidery details. It is from the 1940’s.

This fun bubble bum pink checked dress is from the 1950’s. I just love the details of buttons and lace on the bodice.

Let’s not leave out the little boys! Here is an adorable sailor set from the 1940’s. I like the cute little anchors along the front and of course the sailor collar!

There you go… that is my Vintage ABC collection for today.

Thanks for stopping by. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Now off to visit yours.

Come join in the fun as we celebrate February with our love for all things Vintage (that are lavender or purple) at the Etsy Cottage Vintage Purple Party! Let me share with you some of my vintage favorites. My 1940’s  lovely Nancy Ann doll. She is “Beauty” from Beauty and the Beast. I love these dolls they are so cute and have the sweetest little faces. Another delight of mine is collecting tea sets and cups and saucers. These are precious sets that have been given to me as gifts over the years. Here are a couple of little florals I’ve had placed around the house. The dried heart wreath is from the early 1980’s. And I still love it! I almost forgot about this cute little bear that I bought back in the 80’s from a darling little tea shop in Monrovia, CA called “FRILLS”. My girlfriends and I, used to just love to go there for their yummy tea sandwiches and to die for scones. ( complete with a lit sparkler on the top!) There antiques and gifts were wonderful also. And last but not least…. an old vintage white birdhouse that I adore. It is embellished with a vintage hankie and lots of lovely flowers. Even purple wisteria!! Here’s a closer look! I hope that you have enjoyed seeing some of my Vintage Purple treasures as much as I have enjoyed sharing them with you. I’d love to hear your comments. Now off to check on all your blog posts!!!

Is there a Wedding or Special Occasion coming up for the adorable baby girl in your life?

Well if so… be sure to check out the lovely and detailed specialty vintage dresses at Curby’s Closet.

They are soft and sweet!

They are layered and full.

They are accented with ribbons, bows and roses.

They are in fantastic mint condition!!

And…they are available now on our Etsy and Lollishop sites. Come on take a peek! You’ll see lots more photos of each dress with a detailed description too.

Click on the banners to the right.

Remember Etsy and Lollishops are fantastic places to shop!!

Trust me I’m a shopping Queen!!

Does this picture bring back memories??

When was the last time that you hung clothes on a clothes line or a drying rack of some kind? A long time ago? Eons ago? How about never! I got to thinking that maybe some young women or young mothers have probably never hung clothes to dry outside on a clothes line. I mean lets face it, we live in a world of computerized washers and dryers. Right?

Well, many moons ago in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s that’s pretty much how my mother would dry our clothes. I remember being just a little girl and holding the laundry basket, handing her clothes pins and then graduating to helping take the clothes off the line and folding them. I remember thinking how soft and pretty the clothes looked hanging in the sun and swaying the the breeze. (Especially the sheets)  I loved to run up and down the rows of fabric and pretend that I was a princess in a far away land. Alright it’s true, I had kind of a wild imagination!

Anyway, yesterday I decided to bust out my IKEA drying rack and sun dry some of my “CURBY’S CLOSET” vintage baby dresses that I had just washed. I am trying not to use too much electricity during the peek hours of the day. This drying rack is really great! It is very light weight, folds totally flat for storage and only cost $3.99! Such a bargain!! Now before you go rushing to IKEA to get one, I must tell you that I purchased this one a couple of years ago. So be sure to check and see if they still carry them or not.

I thought that the dresses looked so sweet hanging on the rack that I took some pictures for you to see. They dried super fast and smelled wonderful!

So, since hot summer days are upon us… you might want to line dry some of your clothes and take a little step back into the past! Simpler times are awesome!!

Leave a comment if you remember the days of hanging clothes on the line!