Playing with buttons...

I'm sure there's something more important and productive that I could be doing today but I guess I don't feel like it. So... I'm watching old Andy Hardy movies on Turner and playing with my vintage button collection :)

I had a wonderful holiday with friends and family! I hope you did too! My 'little' brother flew in from Chicago and it was SO nice to see him on Christmas day :) The weather has been snowy here in Seattle and our plans had to be rearranged a bit but all-in-all it worked out fine.

On Christmas eve, I went with my sweetie and his mom to a family friend's house which is a tradition that I've had the pleasure of being included in for the last 6 years or so. This family friend is so sweet and fun and her home is absolutely wonderful :) Could be right out the pages of a Cottage Living magazine. Most everything is vintage and she loves and uses it everyday. Every year I think about asking her if I could take some photos of her beautiful home but I always feel a little funny about it so I don't. We draw names each Christmas for a gift exchange and she had my name two years in a row ~ lucky me!  Two of my favorite vintage pottery pieces were gifts from her :) One is the pink pitcher in my studio pictured in my post from Nov. 27th... cute!

This is where I play...

I finally took a picture of my studio space! No before photos... just imagine it without the cupboards either side :) I left the fronts off of bases because why close up a space where I can put more stuff! And I didn't put the plastic handles on the cupboards because I'm sure I can come up with something a little more charming ~ in the meantime, I just leave them ajar so I can open them. The left side is open so you can see how organized I am! Nevermind the boxes and bags just outside the frame of the picture ~ lol :) Sadly, the lighting in that room is pretty bad... there's one little skinny window that faces another building so really no there's natural light. I had to use the flash for this picture so everything that's shiny is reflecting the glare. I usually have a bare bulb hanging from the wire shelf above the table (and, yes, it looks as sad as it sounds ~ lol) but I have a paper lantern shade that I'm 'planning' to prettify to cover it. Maybe I'll do three! In my imaginary, creative world I have hours on end to make all sorts of wonderful things!

Anyway, this is where I play :) I hope you enjoy taking a peek!


That cutie-pie of an apron is a recent purchase from CoffeeKlatch.etsy.com

I did a few close-ups of some of my favorite things :) My apologies for the light deprived photos... these are SO much cuter in person!


Hey! There's my 'blah, blah birdy' magnet from misseskwittys.etsy.com


Fabulous greeting card from outonawhim.etsy.com


One of my first etsy purchases... from abelstudio.etsy.com


Those cool pattern tissue magnets are from sushipot.etsy.com


That sweet 'cupcakes' sign is from pinkbuttercreme.etsy.com


Helloooo Chuck :)

Another cssteam treasury :)

It's early and I'm waiting, somewhat patiently, until I can work on my studio without waking the neighbors. I think their bedroom is just on the other side of the wall where I'm putting up shelving... gotta love condo living! :)

In the meantime, here's a shot of the treasury that I have up on Etsy right now ~ beautiful stuff!

Ahh, autumn... I just love it :)

I took a couple of pictures of my fall-y front porch...

I put this little wreath together with a $2.99 grapevine form and a couple of $1.99 leaf sprays from Joann's. I had already purchased 3 pretty mums, so I tried to choose leaves to complement them. The wreath looks a little crookedy in the photo and I thought about taking another, but the few rays of sun that had peeked through momentarily were quickly replaced by a dark and stormy sky. And, brrrr, the temperature dropped! The trees are going to be in their full, autumn glory soon!

I purchased these mums at Carpinito Bros. in a nearby town. They have the best seasonal produce and flowers in an open air setting. They grow their own corn nearby and back a truck-full right up front. They also have an a-maze-ing (a-maize-ing?) corn maze and u-pick pumpkins. It's a popular place and usually pretty busy, but the atmosphere is fun and fresh and brimming with color!

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Another Etsy treasury! I can't help myself... they're a little addictive :) These are all cssteam goodies too!

Treasuries...

I posted a couple of new treasuries on Friday and finally figured out how to get a screen shot to post ~ yay! :) All of these gorgeous goodies are by members of our fabulous Cottage Style Street Team!