A Few New Things...

Got a few new things to share with you.

Not too many..sorry. I have recently started going to the gym right after the kids get on the bus...still adjusting because morning is usually my most creative time. The trade-off is worth it though, because I feel so much better!

I've also added a new music player...cute, isn't it? With a few new songs and a few accoustic versions of some old faves...

But anyway...on with the photos....


I think my bowhead lollapalooza from a few weeks ago "girlied" me out (say it ain't so!)...been drawn to very vintage, graphic images with not so much femininity to them (but there's always a touch- I am a girl, after all).


Right before the big move, I got a huge order of stamps that I had been waiting on for what seemed like forever. This particular company makes your stamps to order and stamps are not their primary product, so you have to be patient. My bowheads were part of that order and so were these vintage cat and dog toy images...LOVE them!

And...finally...the black ink is growing on me again ( I willl never give up the sepia, but variety is good). I like to keep the main image simple, simple, simple, that's why most tags will feature a sepia or black image, with the highlight color in the background...

Summer is moving season...have a new neighbor? Going to a BBQ with a hostess gift? Housewarming? How fun would it be to attach one of these tags to a kitchen themed basket filled with flavored oils, pestos and crusty breads?

The background of the ENJOY photo is a page from one of the few books I did not share *here* ...it's a shopping directory from Watertown, NY dated 1880. I think this was the ephemera find of that shopping expedition...it's a whole post on its' own, but I'll share a snap of the inside cover...

Last but not least, in that same huge stamp order was a series of vintage transportation images, from scooters to sailboats. I will be doing allot with these and some of the antique books I have been rescuing (these were bound for a dumpster- obscure fiction with no prized illustrations), and here's the first- an antique convertible...love it! And just in time for Father's Day...

Happy Wednesday to ALL!

Until Next Time,

Hello, My Name Is...

...Stephanie, and...

I have a problem...

Remember Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the classic cartoon?
Remember the Island of Misfit Toys?

Seems my home has recently become the Island of Misfit Books...


I love to go antiquing.

Perhaps I should say I love to go JUNKING because honestly, I know absolutely nothing about true value of most of the stuff crammed into antique shops. If I like it and feel it's a fair price (fair price=how much is in my budget on any given day), I will buy it, no matter the condition. Yes, I am the sucker the dealers see coming...but I am usually a happy victim when I leave...

And lately, it seems, I can spend hours going through the stalls selling old texts.

The book above caught my attention because of the painting of this artistic woman. I only wish I looked a fraction as elegant when painting.

The rest of my recent score was more juvenile in nature...

This Little Golden Book, with its' missing clock hands, would be symbolic of both my love of misfits and my complete lack of time management skills when I am going through book stalls. My watch has no hands either when I am lost in piles of vintage paper....


Of course it had to come home with me...my favorite image is this sweet little girl in her pink swimsuit...

The Breakfast of the Birds

I admit it, some of these books I bought just because I liked the cover. This is the first example. It's such a cheerful blue color, accented by cherry red...it made me smile and that was reason enough to bring it home...


More birds and kids...

Mrs. Leslie's Books for Little Children The Robin Redbreast Series

None of these books were in ideal condition, but this one needs more attention than most.

Still trying to figure out how to get that....musitness...to go away. But if there is one thing I have learned, it is that through Google-ing, one can find the best way to do just about anything.

"Mr. and Mrs. Robin were deeply pained by Dick's bad conduct."

Can you imagine telling your child that their behavior "deeply pained" you (I cannot)?
How genteel...


I think the oldest book I found is this primary geography school book.

It's full of wonderful illustrations like these...
and my favorite map...

Not because the focal point is my home state....look a little higher, where Oklahoma should be...that there's Indian Territory...


And last but not least, this picture word book had me at hello...
The colors, the subject matter, the stripes...I was sold at first glance, didn't care what was inside (which is not quite as whimsical and allot less colorful)...

I heart cherry eating giraffes in BK crowns!

And what's not to love about a cute li'l fluffy bunny?

I'm such a sucker for the cuteness!

Believe it or not, there are even more books I collected on this trip...but they will have to wait for another day...

Until Next Time...