I Like Bras a Lot.

Not so much modern bras, like the squish-up ones under my t-shirts.  I like the old-school, utilitarian, dramatic look of bullet bras.  If you follow my blog, you know this by now.  I collect them.  I've limited myself to only collecting the ones I can wear.
I bet you think circular bras like the 8-ball one on the old-school Lady Luck stickers and patches are only in cartoons.  Think again.

Photos courtesy of eBay seller patngail.  Check out their auctions. 

Lookahere.... and here.  I'm not sure how long those links will lead to anything you can see, but they exist.  I want one...  bad.  I missed those.  I wish I had a photo of one of my own to show you, but alas.  (insert hand-to-forehead here) The search continues.

Vintage Household Odds and Ends

So... running errands today did not include a written list.  That means I deviated from the intangible to-do list in my head and stopped by a charity shop and found a few things super el cheapo.  I also found something on Sunday, and there's something I forgot to show you a long time ago.

I quit smoking years ago.  I love cigarettes.  I miss them.  I've also seen someone die a slow, painful death from lung cancer, and I hate the idea of developing what I call "hag wrinkles" around my mouth.  I bought a cool ashtray anyway.

It looks like it hovered into my home from outer space.  I love it.
I also bought a planter.  I've been looking for more.  Plant pots these days just aren't the colors I need.  This one had a few imperfections, but I'm just gonna fill it with dirt anyway, so who cares?!

This baby's going on top of my room divider shelf alongside the other one.  I'm putting soil and a rooted cutting in it tonight.
So, I may or may not have mentioned that my tool arsenal has outgrown my toolbox.  Being raised by a carpenter, I was sent out into the world with one when I left home, and being raised by a carpenter, I fix or revamp a lot of things myself and acquired way more tools than my toolbox could hold.  I was not about to pay a lot of money for a cool old toolbox at an antique store or online, so I was delighted when I found this:

It's huge.  I'm not sure if it'll fit on the floor of my coat closet, but I'll make it fit somewhere around here...
A while back, I found a bunch of cool, cheap stuff at an estate sale.  Among these things were these:

I never knew colored aluminum coasters existed.  I've seen pitchers and cups galore, but never coasters!  Seems like they wouldn't be very effective at keeping condensation off of surfaces, or not scratching them.  That's precisely why I'll be backing them with felt- I can't scratch up my formica!  Maybe I'll try it on one of them and see how it works.

Houston's Best-Kept Vintage Secret

As  supporter of small businesses and a vintage lover, I have to let you in on something.  I'd love to keep it all to myself and hog all the vintage, but I'm trying not to be a hoarder and I seriously can't afford it anyway.  And besides, sharing is nice, and I've been working on getting better at being nicer in general for years, like the good examples I had in my Momma, Gramma, and Godmother.
If you're in and around the Houston area, you need to check out this place:

Its set back on a driveway on Edwards in the First Ward Arts District.  Vida Antigua Vintage rocks my socks.  They're the cheapest and have a nearly-overwhelming variety of guys and ladies clothing.

You see those piles behind my friend, where my other friend is rummaging around? Those are just the things we found to try on.  Piles of clothes.

These are a few of the things I tried on- so much variety!!!  I swear they must think I'm crazy, I get so excited flipping through the racks.  And, their prices are KILLER.  I can afford 2 or 3 pieces for the cost of 1 piece from other places around town.

These are all swimsuits and rompers.  They dug up even more for Rock Baby Rock It this past weekend in Houston-  I saw ladies running around with recent acquisitions I would have bought myself.

... and dressesdressesdresses!  With TX Size Vintage working alongside the Vida Antigua staff, the size variety includes something for everyone, since they specialize in plus-size vintage.  So check out Vida Antigua's facebook page and be sure to stop by next time they're open, or check out their tent at the next festival or pop-up market.  You never know what treasure you might find!

Erring on the Side of Caution...

If you peruse some of my older posts, you may notice that photos you had seen before aren't there.  That's because a dear friend sent me this link, and I'd rather be safe than sorry.  Even if you credit your photo source, you can be sued for using it, and mama ain't got that type of money.  If you have a blog yourself, you may want to read the information and edit accordingly.  Happy Monday! ;)

Vintagey Serendipity

Sooooo.... what was supposed to be a sewing day, that began with errands, ended up being a do-stuff-to-the-house-with-stuff-you-just-found day.  I spent almost all day yesterday holed up in the house working on a custom order,  I suppose it was bound to happen.  I had to get shoes to match the other bridesmaids for a wedding (I ended up borrowing some from a sweet-as-sugar cupcake of a friend), get groceries, and other stuff just happened.... this is why I cannot leave the house without a list, and not allow myself to deviate from it, but what do you expect from a deviant?  I'm getting better... sometimes.
At any rate, I had my eye on some lamps, and when I went back to the consignment place a couple of weeks ago, they were gone.  When I went looking for wedding shoes, they were magically there again!

They even have paint on the back!

They apparently need to be rewired, and I think I'll take my business to Heights Trading Post, since the owner was so nice and the price was right last time I needed lamps rewired.  If I do it myself, I risk screwing up and breaking things, and then I don't get to listen to old man stories or support a local small business.
At another consignment shop, I also did not find wedding shoes, but I did get a bigger, better clothes drying rack el cheapo, and also a bamboo shade for my big window.

It ties in so nicely with the way I've redone my living room, and it eliminates the need for me to make a curtain and the urgency to find barkcloth. It was way cheaper than both of those, too. I do still need to decide on a final spot for my fiberglass swag lamp, or at least make the cords more inconspicuous.
I'm not one for tchotchkes, really, but I couldn't resist this tiny dancer:

She's gorgeous!  And if you clicked on the link above, yeah, I really did have to do that to you.  Forserious.  HA!  Anyway, her tutu and headdress are fur!  Come at me, PETA!  Old, reused, vintage fur.  Fur.  I dropped out of tap and ballet (long story short: tiny introvert), but I'm sure I would've looked like that statuette.
And unrelated to home decor, but serendipitous nonetheless, I found this baby:

I swear I almost bought this exact same fan at an estate sale about a month ago.  I think I know where to look for their leftovers now, and it was cheaper.  What are the odds?!  The camera didn't quite pick up the mother-of-pearl effect on the paper.  The green on the edge is China silk- very lightweight and fluttery.  I use fans all spring and summer, and sometimes in the fall (Southeast Texas weather- ya do what ya gotta do), and this one matches perfectly with a gray and green dress I have.  I always try to keep one in my purse, and I match them to my outfits whenever I can.
And I leave you with that- you'll have to see my sewing project next week, after all this wedding jazz blows over and I finish the project.

Panty Raid! (Vintage Style)

Don't get the wrong idea- they may be old, but they're not used, and I didn't steal them.  I'm not that pervy, and my momma raised me better than that!
I had an appointment across town this morning, and decided to stop at one of my favorite places in one of everyone's least favorite neighborhoods on my way back.  When I get a hunch, I can't fight it- there's a reason behind it (foreshadowing pun not intended).  Lo and behold, what did I find? Old stock vintage panties!!!

Seriously- brand spankin' new (haha- pun!)!  The tags inside are perfect.  Either someone found and donated some old stock, or some fancy old lady died with a drawer full of new drawers from the late 50s and early 60s.  These Warner's baby blue beauties have white, blue, and pale green lace.

The Van Raaltes on the left are sheer (scandalous!).  The no-name ones in the center have eyelet embroidery on the front, and the pale green Henson Knickernick ones have lace between sheer nylon on the front and extra-fancy ruched and scalloped elastic.

These are cut lower on the hip, all no-name brands.  The white ones have a gorgeous lace applique on the front, and the color of the plain minty ones is perfect to match a dress I found.  After all, if you're gonna be wearin' a pretty vintage dress, and your skirt spins out when you dance, you might as well wear pretty full-coverage vintage panties, not a thong.  That would be downright unladylike.
And while we're talkin' foundation garments, I ordered this beauty from littlestarsvintage a while back on Etsy.

It's a Hollywood Maxwell "petal pusher" backless bra.  I sold one like it that was nowhere near my size, and now I have one close enough that I can make it work.  It needs some restoration love, but that'll be a whole 'nother blog entry.

Houston, We Have a Loveseat.

As I've been purging my apartment of old things in exchange for even older things, I gave my futon to a neighbor in need months ago.  I didn't like it anymore, so why not?  I've been sitting on the floor or at my awesome dining table until a dear friend lent me this late 50s/early 60s 3-band rattan loveseat:

It had been sitting on a storage shed for a long time.  I cleaned off the spider egg cases, vacuumed out the cobwebs, polished the wood, and covered the cushions with the brand-new covers that she lent along with it.  One cushion was missing, but that's nothing a trip to the fabric store with a coupon can't fix.  So now, I kinda have a living room like a real-live grown-up.
I do however, wish the original cushion covers were an option.  I'm in the process of cleaning them.  They're gorgeous, and I do prefer the graphics and color scheme.

Dark green! Chartreuse! Gray and white spider mums!  I love spider mums.  I've been soaking them to lift out the decades of staining, and I noticed today that it seems that one of the cushions is the wrong size.  The set was a 3 piece set, I'm using 2 pieces to make a loveseat, but one of the 4 covers is for the back and 3 are seat cushions.  Boooo.  We'll see if I can Frankenstein some solution.

So I almost have a real living room.  I talked to my Dad this past week about how to remedy the jacked-up veneer on the 50's coffee table I found on the side of the road.  It's about to be on.

Once Upon a Time....

...there was a girl who loved sewing and old stuff.  That was me; still is.  My first attempt at sewing was inspired by The Grinch sewing in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".

It seemed easy enough.  I laid my Jem doll down on my baby cousin's shirt (she had outgrown it- I had permission!) and cut around her shape in the rudimentary form of a t-shirt.  My mom threaded a needle for me, and I went to work on the seams as best I could.  Unfortunately, my 6-year-old mind's spatial skills didn't tell me to accommodate for the sides of Jem's body, and watching The Grinch's demonstration hadn't taught me any different.
Still, if some mice could manage, so could I.  I kept with it, sewing by hand, learning to embroider from diagrams, fixing and learning to use my mom's 60s Kenmore machine, eyeballing existing clothes to make more, teaching myself to do basic crochet, and then teaching myself to use patterns.  I eventually quit my practical career and put myself through school for fashion design with the money I had been able to save.  Logical people might have put a down payment on a house, but hindsight is always interesting.
So, as it pours down rain on Houston all afternoon, and there's not enough good light for eBay or Etsy photos, I'm starting on custom orders.  I also ordered my labels that will be sewn into my designs.
And so, I leave you with this, just 'cause I love it.  I have some pattern modifications to attend to.

The Home Makeover Continues...

Eventually, I want a kitchen decorated in red, buttery yellow, and jade green.  This is the little thing that started it all:

This little bud vase belonged to my great-grandmother.  It was given to me years ago, and even in my ubergothness, it inspired me to have a colorful kitchen. And then came this:

This was made by one of my great aunts.  I love yellow, yellow roses are even better (Texas!), and I love spiderwebs.  And so, I began decorating around 2 small heirlooms. 

Working within a small space can be challenging, especially when your dining table is huge, and you don't have room for your shelf in your living room.  Don't get me wrong- I like my apartment and the price is right, however, I'll be glad to have a little house someday.  

In my little kitchen (it's a kitschen, really)  I have a small collection of souvenir plates and trays.  I've tried to keep it limited to places I've actually been or where family was born.  

My current hunt is for a cool old spoon rest.  I'd tell you about it, but I don't want you bidding on it, too. ;)

Back to the living room- I've moved the shelves I found on Etsy. 

After days upon days of throwing out old stuff, bringing in new (still old) stuff, and rearranging like crazy, I'm falling in love with my apartment again. :)

Breakfast with Nekkid Mermaids (And Other Bathroom Vintagey Goodness)

Happy 4th of July!  I woke up and celebrated my freedom by painting nekkid mermaids.  Then, I went swimming to celebrate mermaids. If you follow my blog, you may remember mention of the aforementioned nekkid mermaids in the entry titled "I Collect Nekkid Ladies".  I have molds for vintage-style mermaids and their "bubble babies", and I had cast them years ago.  They've been waiting for paint until this morning, and they now hang in my bathroom.

I always wanted to be a mermaid; actually I still wouldn't mind some days.  One of my friends knows a lady who is a professional mermaid at a tourist attraction in Florida.  If I had known that was a career option when I was a little girl, I would have developed bradycardia skills like a Navy SEAL by the time I was 7.  So not surprisingly, I took some delight in painting one of the mermaids to resemble myself.

I bought paint for another unfinished project years ago, but didn't remember purple.  When the back half of her hair is purple, she'll be my mermaid doppelganger.  Any of you who have done art enough to know about paint mixing can vouch that mixing a good purple is dang near impossible- you just have to have purple paint.  At any rate, I hadn't really painted for leisure in years.  I thoroughly enjoyed it. :)

Some of my neighbors want custom-painted mermaids after seeing these pretties on the patio, so I'll be taking orders soon!  Here's my favorite of the "bubble babies", the little sleepy one snuggling her bubble:

I'm debating whether to coat them with matte or shiny acrylic spray, and if I might want to tweak a few haircolors.  Regardless, I've never had such a cool beachy bathroom.  I recently painted a vintage metal shelf with towel bar that i found at Carolyn Thompson's Antique Center of Texas.  It was el cheapo because the scrollwork holding the towel bar was bent, and there were rust spots.  That's nothin' a little sandpaper and pliers can't fix.

The seashell tissue box is vintage as well- a lovely gift from someone dear to me, and it reminds me of my hometown, too.

It's hard to see with the weird lighting in this photo, but I finally hung my capiz shell chime.  The glass shelves on the top hold my antique medicine, poison, and quack cure bottles- but that could be another entry entirely.

Retro Makeover: Home Edition

Holy geez!  I really didn't expect to spend my vacation this way, but it needed to happen.  I've gotten rid of lots of old pieces of furniture in the past year or so and acquired some new even-older ones, and have a couple of things to revamp (a 50's coffee table in bad shape is one of them), and a borrowed piece on the way.  I've moved some pretty big furniture all by myself (I could still stand to lift weights again, though), and changed a lot of things around.  I've also been purging a lot of unneccessary things, and have sold and sent home with friends bags full of interesting stuff.

I have to admit I have a hard time with color.  I'm not colorblind, black is just easier and matches any accent color.  My place used to be black and white with one accent color per room.  I'm way bigger on texture.  That being said, here's the progress so far:

  The room divider is an Ikea "expedit" shelf.  I went to Home Depot (only because the mom-and-pop shops didn't have reed fencing) and bought a roll of reed.  With thin steel wire from Bering that matched the wire in the fencing perfectly,  I lined it up and secured it to the shelf.  I didn't want the clutter of all my sewing and craft supplies, so that's all hidden from view and still accessible on the other side.

I recently took the plunge and bought the industrial sewing machine I've been needing.  Behind the room divider is my workspace:

I may end up getting more shelving for the upper part of the wall, but my ultimate goal is to have less fabric lying around.  I have vintage reseaming and repairs, as well as custom orders, waiting.  Now I can really get with it, thanks to a machine that's much faster and does flawless stitching.  Fabric is on the way for a custom order I'm particularly excited about.  Details at ten.

It's all a work in progress still, including this poor coffee table:

It'll need a lot of love.  I found it on the side of the road on my way to work one morning, and I just stopped in my tracks and put it in my trunk.  I'm in the process of removing permanent marker gang tags from it.  When I tipped it from sideways back to upright, a razorblade fell out from underneath (no joke- it's in the picture).  This table has had a rough life.

The veneer looks ruined, but between studying art throughout my entire education and being raised by a carpenter, I think I can handle this.