"Hey, if I had somewhere to go, I certainly wouldn't be in Cleve-Land." -Howard the Duck

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Vintage Valentines

I am a child of a 1950s vintage...grew up in suburbia with an Ozzie & Harriet aura surrounding us.  Valentine's Day is a special childhood memory, although for years I didn't really think twice about it until I discovered some scrapbooks in my Mom's basement.  She had saved many cards from my childhood, as well as ones we had given her.  She also saved my Grandma's scrapbooks of greeting cards.  The cards are somewhat yellowed from age...most have to be from the 1950s as Grandma died early in the 1960s. 

I've decided to part with many of my vintage collections, so these & others are available in my Etsy shop, KittenCreates.  I only have 2 sets available...and each set has 13 vintage Valentines.  I'll be listing other vintage greeting cards, but this is it for Valentines unless I discover more one day. 

I'd love for you to take a look...thanks!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy New Year to all of you...it's The Year of the Dragon...and I'm a Dragon baby.  More specifically, it's the year of the Black Water Dragon.  I'm looking forward to a good year...& hoping that will be the case.  Heaven knows I could use a good year.  I'll be doing more research to see if things are in my favor.

One good way to start the year is already planned...we're having Chinese take out tonight!  No cooking for me & awesome food from our favorite local Chinese restaurant.  I wonder what our fortune cookies will reveal tonight...should be interesting.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!


Thursday, January 12, 2012

It's time for Valentine's Day stuff

If I'm up to my elbows in pink stuff, can Valentine's Day be far behind? 
I had to throw in a bit of peach to enhance the pink.
And some purple always goes with pink, too.

These new color combos as well as many others are now available in my Etsy shop.  I'm planning to list a few more Valentine treasures there, too.  Who knows...there might be some vintage Valentines for sale.  Of course, there are also bracelets & charms with a hearts & love theme...stop on by & see if there's anything your heart desires.


Just a reminder...USPS shipping rates go up on January 22, 2012.  I'll need to raise my shipping prices at that time, too.  So...if there's anything you want, now is the time to get it at the current rates. 

Thanks for stopping by!


Thursday, January 5, 2012

Are you starting the year by organizing?

Does your art studio look something like this?
(note to self...cover those hideous wheat decals on that chest!)
Or this? 

I'm not even brave enough to show you more of my mess...and it has to get cleared out & organized...again.  Some of the stuff will go into my Etsy shop as destash...and some will be donated. 

This room doesn't even hold all I have...there's stuff in here by the computer & lots of fabrics & such in the basement.  I used to sew a lot.  My Mom sewed a lot...and so much of her stuff is still here, 3 years after she's gone.  I don't do much sewing anymore...and I'll be packing up a big box or 2 of supplies to send off to Rebecca Sower for her "Clean-Out for Quilts" fabric drive.  Rebecca and a group of women are creating quilts that will be sent to women & children in Haiti.  It's an on-going project, so if you have a fabric stash, perhaps you could help, too.  She has a list of supplies they need & a link so you can email her with any questions & to get the mailing address. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this...it's a way to do some good while cleaning out & organizing your own supplies.  I'm always happy when I can help by donating things others need that I have far too much of...I don't have money, but I do have STUFF to share. 

Now to tackle that studio...it's a challenge with a kitty "helper"...but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Our new New Year's Tradition...

Phil certainly had a GREAT idea when he suggested Chinese take out as the way to eat our pork & cabbage for good luck in the new year.  Pork fried rice...egg rolls...Roast Pork with Chinese vegetables.  LOTS of bok choy in the stir fry...cabbage in the egg rolls...and pork throughout.  Yep...this is how we'll do it from now on.  We got 3 fortune cookies along with our meal...you can see our fortunes above.  They seem like auspicious fortunes to start a new year.

Now if only it hadn't snowed...with more on the way.  Lake effect snow sucks.  We've only got a couple inches on the ground, but if you know me, one flake is way too much!  Snow should be on top of the mountains where it belongs...not where we live.

Time for me to hibernate!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year !!!

Well, it's 2012.  Good riddance to 2011...and here's hoping 2012 will be a much better year for all. 

The postcard above is from 2008...I haven't been doing much paper art lately.  I'm not sure why...I just got burnt out on it.  So I've been playing with beads...and dyeing ribbons...I need a creative outlet, that's for sure.  I never did get a Remains of the Day journal done last year.  I have boxes of paper & ephemera pulled out to do one or more, but once the tension got messed up on my sewing machine, I lost interest.  One of the first things I'll do this year is attempt to fix that tension as there are also pillows & curtains that need to be sewn to freshen up this house...and then I'll get back to making some journals.  I'm feeling the need to play with paper again, which is a good thing as I have tons of it!

Our New Year's Eve was quiet...aside from my coughing because of the way the cold weather affects my asthma.  We enjoyed good munchies, including a warm spinach & artichoke dip that was especially yummy.  Hint: if you make an artichoke dip yourself...buy the frozen artichoke hearts...they're wonderful.  So much better than the ones from a can or a jar.  We also had some Prosecco for our bubbly & after Phil fell asleep, I talked to some friends in Nevada & CA.  And I played with Sunny Cat.  It was a nice evening.

Today will be quiet again...although I'll probably be swearing at the TV once the game starts...it's Pittsburgh here against the Browns...or Clowns...all I hope is that Clevetown looks like it's playing football & we don't embarrass ourselves too much!  No roast pork & cabbage or sauerkraut this year, but we will have those foods in our dinner.  They're good luck, & we can't mess with that.  Ours will just come from some Chinese takeout.  Roast Pork with Chinese Vegetables, Pork Fried Rice & Egg Rolls (for the cabbage part).  This might become our new tradition...I never did like sauerkraut anyway!

Here's wishing you & yours a wonderful, happy, healthy, prosperous & creative New Year!