Apothecary Label Hand Towels: Free Digital Downloads

Don’t you just love vintage apothecary anything?! I scanned a bunch of original vintage drug store labels today for us to play with. Click on the image of labels below to snag the free digital download and reduce, modify, use for collage, or for whatever you want to make (Just please don’t sell these images, they’re meant to be free.)These labels are perfect for printing out and adding to little old bottles. Scruff ’em up a bit to look even more authentic.But check this out- I found some really lush hand towels on sale at Kohl’s-and Michael’s Crafts is right next door, so I popped in and bought some inkjet printable cotton sheets. I printed the label graphics onto the cotton-trimmed out each label then removed the backing paper-
and machine stitched them onto the towels!Could that be any easier?!

And if you’re wondering how they will hold up in the wash, see my blog post HERE where I applied similar patches to a jean jacket. (I recommend against bleaching.)

Studio Shots

My tiny studio received another wonderful feature thanks to Kim of Everything Etsy! So I figured it was a great time to share some updated photos of my space, after all, I’d just spent the last day cleaning it. So take a good look around, it won’t look like this tomorrow! Since my last set of photos, found on Flickr HERE, you’ll see I’m quite a bit more about organizing than decorating, though I still have plenty of eye-candy to keep my buzz going. You can click on any of the photos to enlarge enough to spy little cobwebs.

I removed all the storage under my work table so that I can actually sit at it without cramming my legs into card cabinet drawers. The shelf above now holds a couple of my vintage toy trucks,and Kewpie is still around, but is currently the boy-in-the-bubble.I also moved my small-compartment mail slot piece out into the garage in a new area I’m still working on and hope to share soon. I replaced it with a shelf unit to hold my new obsession with cigar box storage. I moved my bin storage on top of that.My main desk area hasn’t changed much, but I could sure use a new office chair, the up-down mechanism is shot.I scored another tool trug for next-to-nuthin’ and pertied it up with red spray paint, some decals and vintage cigar labels. I now have 3 cool vintage rubber stamp racks to hold my assortment of stamps and a cute tiny empty 4-drawer cabinet begging to be used.The little green stool in the corner (below) is one I bought just for my husband for when he comes in for a visit so he has something to sit on, but for now, it holds my ice cream bucket waste can. I brought in my library of Dover books and various other art resource books from the bookshelves in my living room and keep some under my desktop printer, and some in my upside-down yellow cupboard. Oh, yeah, those are my Gocco printing sets from the early 90s. I moved my blue library cabinet, up onto my big chippy storage unit and covered it with more compartmental storage. (Uh huh, more cigar boxes.) I’m lovin’ the awesome wooden alphabet wall art I received with my new Eames font from House Industries!I’ve still got that faux deer head fetish. I sprayed this one with Sterling Silver spray paint for a dynamic effect.This one likely came off an old cuckoo clock and holds my tiny tourist mobile. I painted it blue and added magnets to the back of it and it stays nicely in place on my metal door. This head, next to my door, was a sweet gift from my friend, Wendy. She found it at a garage sale and painted it white just for me. What a great friend! It now dawns a wreath of buttons I made some time ago. Thanks for visiting my favorite place on earth, I hope to get some more shots of the rest of the garage space up soon!

Easy Peasy Pea Pod Pendant

There are some things in nature that strongly represent motherhood to me, such as sweet little nests and cute green pea pods. Like my wire bird nests, I also wanted to create a unique pendant of peas. The pea part was easy, I’d simply use beads strung onto a headpin and the pod topped off with a bead cap.All of which I found on sale at Michael’s Crafts yesterday.But the pod, well, that was where the hunt came in. Off to the local Goodwill, I went in search of green leather. I kept an eye out while looking through purses, pocketbooks, jackets and skirts. I wouldn’t need much as the pendant would be tiny. And lookie here! I found a pair of pea green leather shoes. Perfect!With my fabric scissors, I cut off a section of shoe.Peeled off the inside vinyl and folded in half, I trimmed out a pod with one straight side and one curved, careful to make it long enough to house the number of beads I planned to use.Once the pod shape was cut out, I took it to the sink and gave it a good soapy washing, because after all, it did come from a used shoe!

I used one of my sewing machine needles to pierce a hole into the fold for running the headpin through.I threaded 4 beads onto a headpin, one representing each of my children.I used super glue GEL to connect the end of the pod pieces then pulled the beaded pin up through the hole.I turned it over and again with the super glue gel, (great because you can control gel so much better than the runny stuff,) I sealed up the back curved side creating a seam, allowing enough glue to also secure the backs of the tiny beads, keeping them in the pod.The pod was still damp from its washing, so while pressing the seam as the glue dried, I pressed the pod around the beads. As the leather dried, it molded so nicely around the peas. Once dry, it’s easy to trim out and form your pod a bit nicer with a good, sharp pair of scissors.

I attached a bead cap, made a loop for hanging and added another piece of twisted headpin (with its head removed) as an itty-bitty vine.Strung onto a small silver chain, I just love it.
Not a bad thrift-store shoe repurpose, eh?!UPDATE: After posting, I went back and tinkered a bit more, this time using a piece of leather that was previously hemmed and stitched. I also pinched the bead cap onto the top of the pod and used the extending wire from the original headpin to create the little tendril instead of adding an additional one, therefor only using on headpin per pod. Need something to put your pea pod necklace in? Check THIS out!

Favorite Childhood Books

Have you ever been antique shopping or thrifting and come across a book you remember fondly as a child? Maybe I’m showing my age a bit here, but, I when I happened upon The Gateway to Storyland, by Watty Piper, I didn’t think twice about purchasing it, even though it wasn’t in the best condition. Once home I pored through the pages as sweet, sweet memories of the stories filled my heart. I remember, as a child, spending what seemed like hours just looking at the illustrated endpapers with of all of the characters in the book.Although, there are a couple of stories in there that I would not consider appropriate today or any day, there are still many darling stories and some a bit more profound such as The Little Red Hen, one I still mention to my children when they care more about receiving the end product than helping with the process.My fondest book memory is that of Little Popcorn. It was easy to find on Ebay for little to nothing. I just had to have it. After all, when I was very little, my nickname was Popcorn.I mean, seriously, how sweet is this little plump canine who only wanted to be a fire dog and in the end saved the day.My all time favorite childhood book was The Case of the Cat’s Meow. I’m not sure why, but I must have read it more than any other book ever. I also purchased it online very inexpensively.The main character in the book was loud, bossy and annoying and I adored him. It’s a sweet story of a boy’s love for his cat and the friends who came to the rescue when she went missing.
Back when I originally had this book as a child, my sister taught me how to alter it with fabric, creating a touch-and-feel book . I wrote about that and other ideas for making touch-and-feel children’s books over on SC Johnson’s Family Economics HERE. Please check it out.
What is your most favorite childhood book? If you mention it in a comment here or over on SCJ, leave me a link to it online so I can check it out!

Easy Tissue Hydrangea Pins and Flower Vines

I’ve had this tissue paper color assortment pack that I use for gift wrapping sitting around just waiting to be crafted with. And as soon as the hydrangeas in my front yard began to bloom, so did my imagination!I have a cigar box full of random thrift store button/badges with about every promotion you can think of advertised, and thought they would be the perfect base to create pretty hydrangea blooms.
Do you remember in early grade school- cutting tissue into little squares, smooshing them up and onto the eraser end of a pencil, dipping them in glue and sticking them to construction paper to make butterflies or some other fluffy art? Well, that’s pretty much the exact idea here and just as easy. However, instead of squares, I brought out a few of my craft punches to cut the tissue into more flowery shapes.Centering the pencil eraser into a flower shape and smoothing the tissue onto the pencil and dipping into glue, I attached various blue colored pieces and a few pinched green tissue rounds onto the button surface to create a faux hydrangea pin.I thought these would be so pretty for a wedding shower or other event. Add a delicate paper name ribbon or to celebrate someone special, a “Birthday Girl” ribbon.

While I was in the pencil-and-tissue mode, I also experimented with fishing line (of course, string will work great as well.) I cinched scalloped circles in the middle for the leaves, and in one glue pressing, attached the pink tissue flower, using the the pencil eraser, onto the fishing line then into the center of the leaf piece. I dabbed a bit of glue in each bloom and sprinkled silver German Glass Glitter inside.
I think the little floating flowers are too sweet and would be lovely hanging from a ring of wire over a little girl’s bed, as garland across a mirror or as bridal shower decor.