What To Do With Your Vintage Hanky Collection?

If you're anything like me then you're awesome, and you have a vintage handkerchief collection! I don't know about you, but up until now I've been stumped on how to display the beautiful pieces I've found. Tonight I found a cute way to display them! It was simple & it only took me about an hour.

You see, we're moving in a couple months & to get ready for our big move we've been really cleaning out our shelves & closets so we won't have as much to pack overseas. In my closet I had a few really nice floating frames holding the last portraits I took of Layla. I don't have them hanging up because the last portraits I've had taken of her were over 3 years ago when she was 2 months old! So they were a little outdated to hang on the wall.

Now I didn't want to just throw out those frames, so I had them in the back of my mind all weekend trying to think of ways to use them without getting more portraits taken (one session is EXPENSIVE!) then it hit me: DISPLAY MY BEAUTIFUL HANDKERCHIEFS IN THEM!!!

RIGHT?! RIGHT?!! This was one of the two larger frames. I was able to fit two of the large, scalloped handkerchiefs in it. I love the scalloped style, and I love the flowery pattern.

These are 3 of my all time favorites and I have them hanging in my bedroom now.  My favorite color pallet includes an eye-pleasing teal with hints of pink or red in the mix. The top right one was a gift from my friend, Melissa & is the hanky that started my collection.

This is one of the two smaller frames containing my two smallest handkerchiefs. I just love the colorful little rooster, and the scalloped, Niagara Falls Canada one is probably the nicest one I own.

A close up of the Niagara Falls Canada hanky. It's it ADORABLE?!

These are two others I thought were worthy of display, and they fit easily into the other smaller frame. I  love the hand embroidered flowers, and they're old, but the embroidery has kept really well.

All but the one in my bedroom are now in my work room/guest room. So I can enjoy them while I'm in my creative element or when I inflate the air mattress & friends or relatives come into town and they can enjoy them as well!!

I've been working on another way to display my handkerchiefs for a while now, but it's proving to be more time consuming than I expected. In a flea market magazine I saw some bunting made of vintage doilies, and I thought to myself "I could do that with my hankies!!" Since I don't have a sewing machine I have to sew them by hand (gasp!) & I just don't have the time to sit and sew all the time (sad face!)

Currently I'm keeping all the handkerchiefs I'm using for this project in one of my vintage suitcases. I can't wait to get this completed so I can hang them over the big window in my living room. I'll be sure to post a pictures as soon as I'm done with it!
& yes, that is my awesome mustache pillow in the background!

cheers,
Jenna

She's Spooky & She's Kooky

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I go all out decorating my entire home, and I love sitting out on the driveway or porch in a lawn chair handing out candy to all the adorable monsters & witches and super heroes & princesses. It's gotten even bigger for us every year since Layla was born as she becomes more aware of the festivities around her. Last year was the first year she was really starting to understand what was going on & I was devastated at the fact that we were in the process of our move from Nebraska to California. I had no home to decorate & we had no neighborhood to go trick-or-treating in. We had made it to California the week before Halloween, but we wouldn't be able to move into our home until the first week of November. Well, the Halloween lover in me would not stand for it! Jeremy knew the neighborhood we would be living in, so I dressed Layla up as Cinderella & grabbed a Halloween themed bag to go trick or treating.

I was saddened by the fact that I couldn't decorate my home or throw a Halloween party for friends, but I just kept telling myself that I'll be settled in a new home next year & I'll be able to dust off my spooky decor to display for the entire month.

Well, we got our orders, and since we're moving overseas, things aren't moving as quickly as I'd like it to. Jeremy has to re-enlist, then go TDY to another base for some re-qualification, & only after that can we leave for England. So for the entire month of October all of my Halloween decorations will be in crates making it's way across the Atlantic to our new home in Suffolk.

& again I am devastated.

At this point in time August is approaching us. If you know anything about the bay area in California you know it stays a comfortably chill climate all year round...so technically it feels like Autumn...so...maybe...why not? Start decorating for Halloween in August & then take the decor down when the movers get here in September?! I THINK YES!!!

Actually, I'm still a little on the fence about it since I didn't think I'd be needing my decor at all I put it in the way back of our storage closet. I don't really want to dig all the way through there and have to rearrange my boxes all over again, but I think it might just be worth it!

Cheers,
Jenna

P.S. I hope you don't think I cover my house in bright orange & black with glittery, cartoony pumpkins, spiders, and monsters. No, I have more subtle decor with a hint of gothic macabre.

Great Find Friday!

So my dear friend, Melissa,  & I spent the day in Monterey and Pacific Grove. We weren't planning on doing much shopping, just going out to lunch and maybe walking around enjoying our town. Well Monterey had too many tourists running around & we decided to mosey on over to Pacific Grove to check out what I thought was a used book store. Turns out it was an independent book store with not much of a selection, nothing that Melissa was looking for, and too many little, colorful items that Layla couldn't stop picking up and messing with. So we got out of there quickly and decided to stop by 'Animal Welfare Benefit Shop' which is a sweet little consignment shop which, as you may guess from the name, benefits the welfare of local animals. I couldn't NOT go in this shop after knowing that! So we putter around & Layla and I find some cute stuff, but what really catches my eye is this beat up, ugly green shelf. It's exactly what I've been looking for!

One of the things I want to start collecting is Matryoshka dolls, but I don't want to start collecting them until I have something awesome to display them on! So I have been looking for something on a small scale that I can hang in my bedroom. No more than 4 shelves, and no less than 3. Preferably something a bit older that I can paint whatever color that catches my fancy. I've actually been searching for a while, and I basically gave up hope until this ugly little thing caught my eye today! I was thrilled! Plus, it was on $5!!! PERFECT!!

I cannot wait until I get this little thing sanded down and painted. Then I can start collecting cute little treasures from consignment shops & antique stores to proudly display on my latest & greatest find!

cheers,
Jenna.

New Obsession

I often find myself spending far too much time browsing the handmade/vintage selling website called etsy.  I love this website! I spend a lot of time looking through the massive amounts of vintage treasures and homemade goodies.  I have found quite a few unique items I have purchased, and I've decorated my home with some one-of-a-kind items. Lately I've been obsessed with an artist who goes by the name Katie Daisy & sells her beautiful masterpieces in a shop she calls 'The Wheatfield'

This is one of those rare shops that makes it difficult to pick one favorite piece. I love everything she has created. Everything! I wish Katie Daisy would transfer her beautiful artwork onto fabric so I can make pillows & blankets & curtains & aprons!

You may have noticed the whimsical, flowery '&' on the right side of my blog; that is a Katie Daisy masterpiece! It's one of my favorites, but I haven't purchased it yet. Just give it time and I'm sure it will be hanging on my walls in a lovely frame.

The above print is by far my favorite of Katie Daisy's work. I adore Ralph Waldo Emerson, and this is one of my favorite quotes by him. This print was one of the very first ones I purchased. I'm not 100% sure as where in my home I'm going to hang this, but for now I have it sitting on a pile of my vintage suitcases in my workroom.

If you enjoy the whimsy side of nature you should mosey on over to The Wheatfield on etsy & maybe even check out her facebook page & blog
I promise you'll be inspired by her rustic art & photos.

'ello.

A few months ago we learned that the Air Force was going to be sending us to RAF Mildenhall for our next tour of duty. This was our number one choice & we are ecstatic that we were able to get this assignment! I've been able to do a little research and have questioned some people who are or were stationed there. I think Jeremy wants to live in post housing, which is not something I'm 100% on board with. I'd much rather find a cute little English cottage to rent for a few years. Preferably something a little on the rural side where I can have a chicken coop as well as a few compost containers. That's what I've been dreaming of anyways! I absolutely cannot wait to get there and start looking at houses. 


One thing I'm really looking forward to doing in England (other than traveling) is going antiquing & hitting up flea markets! I have a few ideas of antiques I'm already collecting & others I'd like to start collecting!


Antiques that catch my eye:

• tea tins
• matryoshka dolls
• handkerchiefs
• doilies
• picture frames
• suitcases
• furniture
• tea cups
• tin lunch boxes
• cameras

I'd really like to find some antique shelves to hang on my wall so I can display colorful matryoshka dolls and beautiful tea cups. I'd also like an actual desk to work on my crafts. I'd like to find something old & white. I have a few other specific items I'm keeping in mind for when I go antiquing and flea market hunting while in the UK.

I cannot wait to start furnishing & decorating my home with beautiful European antiques. I also cannot wait to find unique gifts to send back to my family & friends for birthdays and holidays!