Showing posts with label retro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label retro. Show all posts

28 July 2012

Vintage Saturdays: Romance Novels

I have to admit, I have never once read a romance novel.  But this has never stopped me from being totally fascinated by some of those most...interesting...artwork.  The colors, the graphics, the poses...awesome in its own unique way.  Beyond simply reading them, what can you do with these books after they've long been enjoyed for their literary fabulousness?







Oh So Beautiful Paper turns them into amazing wedding invitations!











TheCraneFactory uses the pages to create super awesome bouquets.





















Contextomy uses very specific snippets from the novels to create the coolest hair clips ever.
















American romance novels can't have all the fun.  Heavensentcrafts uses Spanish novels to create book journals.




















Bookity uses the pages within to create super pretty wedding confetti. Way cooler than rice and bubbles.












~~~~~~~~~~XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO~~~~~~~~~~

Feeling inspired?  Here are a few places where you can find your own vintage romance novels :






BingoBits







Vintage Saturdays are the best!  Find previous posts here.

Natalie
xo


16 July 2012

Etsy Feature >> 1980s Conair Clock

It was lovely to see today that one of my items was featured on Etsy's blog in a post entitled, "Story Board: Factory".  Find the original post here:



The item featured is a 1980s lavender Conair clock.  Originally $18, it is actually on sale for the entire month as part of my Christmas in July sale. 



Thanks, Etsy!
xo




09 June 2012

Vintage Saturdays: Enamel Refrigerator Drawers

I am absolutely in love with all things vintage, but something about old kitchen items always make me extra happy.  One of my favorite items is refrigerator drawers.  I have seen cool plastic ones, but the metal drawers always look awesome!  There are so many great uses for these drawers:

Apartment Therapy suggests using them as planters:



Another idea is to use them as open storage shelves in a kitchen as Junkmarket Style has shown here:



Looking for drawers of your own?  You can score them at estate sales if you're lucky or shop sites like etsy and ebay if you want a variety.  Here are a few of my favorites on etsy:










06 January 2011

365 Days of Giving January 6th

Most of you don't know that my "day" job is teaching. I am in my tenth year and if you know any teachers you won't be surprised to learn that I am as much of a hoarder at work as I am at home. Ugh. As I raid my desk drawers.....well, let's just say it ain't pretty. And incredibly overwhelming. So although I am technically not "lightening the load" at home, I believe that giving these away from any aspect of your life has a cleansing effect.

The papers below....I bought these at least five years ago. Seriously. I don't have a clue what the project was supposed to be or if I just thought it was pretty, but I bought a pack of this rather expensive foil paper. And in my desk it has sat. Make that desks. In the past five years I have sat in at least three desks. Which means I have painstakingly packed these and taken the from school to school and even town to town. But never actually used it. Today, I picked a super nice kid to give this pack to. She is one of those kids who is soooo nice that she tends to get passed over. So Jessica, today, received this pack of paper and was super excited to receive it. She has laryngitis and has barely been able to speak for a few days, yet she kept forcing out several "thank yous". I was incredibly touched by her reaction. It was a good day.




total donation count: 28
total days: 6

04 January 2010

You Never Know...

Some people shop for vintage items with careful calculation. They check every label and scan the item with serious precision. I, on the other hand, am completely different. People always ask me, "Where did you find THAT?" I always laugh a little because the truth is, I have NO system! I just look and see what catches my eye. That's it. No label searching. No previous research. Just pure instinct and a feeling like, "That's pretty cool". It is only after I get back home that I start going the typical route of researching value, etc.


So imagine my surprise when I began listing a dress a few days ago and found out that it was an original Oscar de la Renta maxi dress from the late 1960s or early 1970s. Pretty freakin' cool. Guess I should actually start checking labels since I can't even imagine what I have passed up by not checking all these years!

Here is the dress:



So I started searching around Etsy and found some other super awesome Oscar de la Renta maxi dresses. Here for your hippie and boho viewing pleasure:

This one is from Hemlockvintage's shop:





Here is one greenmarketvintage is offering:





And last but not least, a fabulous Oscar de la Renta dress from TripleGemini:












30 December 2009

Orange Crush...

Certain vintage colors conjure up feelings for me of days long gone. Orange is one of them. It isn't the orange of today that is super bright. Rather, it is a deep shade that reminds me of autumn. Admittedly, it isn't a favorite of everyone, but to me it evokes memories of growing up. Of old photos. Of my childhood. Here are a few that I just adore on etsy:

Here's a super cool 13 piece set of trays from happydayvintage. Oh how I love these!


Another great item is from jherrmann who is also an Etsy seller. I think this Anchor Hocking pitcher is great for parties or for every day!

Everyone needs a cool, vintage Pyrex bowl so why not one in orange? This harvest mixing bowl is awesome as is, but can also be used as a popcorn bowl and more! This one is from vitalvintage:


Your retro kitchen wouldn't be complete without some orange mugs! Here are a couple from Etsy sellers:


These are from southernladysvintage:





...and these are from jwhite2's shop:














14 October 2009

Mad for Mustard


Another one of my absolutely favorite vintage colors! Luckily we can still find things made today in this color, but why buy new when you can buy vintage???

Some of my favorites on etsy are:

Mustard Yellow Hand Knit Sweater Dress in paperdollvintage's shop:


Vintage Stevie Nicks heels -size 9 in blueberryshoes's shop:


Vintage Gold Amelia Earhart Tote Bag in JillRuth's shop:











13 October 2009

Avocado Green

I really don't know what it is about this color. There is nothing overtly eye catching about it to most, but to me it is a perfect representation of what I think of when I think of cool vintage. I come across so many fun items on etsy that are just avocado-irresistable:


I found these canisters in ByGoneYears's etsy shop and they are only $20!


Another great kitchen item. This one is from solsticehome's shop on etsy!





or you can travel in style with this cool train case from vintagetakeout's shop:



...or this awesome fondue set from ManGiftVintage's shop: