Springtime crafting with some of my favorite things

I still cannot believe that this coming Sunday is Easter. Just wow! I kinda feel like Easter always pops up out of the blue, but this year feels even more sudden. Like, where did the month of March even go?! We had plans for bringing back our chocolate rabbit diecuts, and paper mache rabbit prints as plaques and possibly even an Easter cake diecut…but as it will sometimes, LIFE happened! 

And apparently the calendar got the last laugh. So this year there are no chocolate bunny diecuts, no Easter cake diecuts, etc, etc…and at first the idea of this really got me down, but I know we are doing our best and working as hard as we can right now. So I'm not gonna come down too hard on myself for not getting things done. 

And even though we didn't get to launch a new Easter collection, in the past couple weeks we still shipped off a handful of bunny pieces that we offer year round! Like our fave Bunny Baby diecut, and our Vintage Stuffed Bunny plaque. 

We worked all weekend…as always, and I think Aaron's hands are still vibrating from the amount of time he spent on the scroll saw. So many donuts are off to new homes, and a bunch more will be shipping tomorrow and Thursday. This makes us very very happy. A whole lot of time and care goes into these. Just cutting out those holes in the donuts takes an entire afternoon. 

By now we've developed a pretty good system. Aaron will close himself off in what we call "the cutting room", (which is a room we gutted after Hurricane Sandy and never had a chance to finish) so yeah,  the cutting room is super tiny and at present it's sole purpose is for cutting and sanding our diecuts and signs. Aaron will emerge (covered head to toe in a fine powder of sawdust) from the cutting room with a stack of freshly cut and sanded donut shapes, hand them off to me, and I'll do the gluing up while he cuts and sands another stack. Then, by the time he's through with the dirty work, he'll join me in the studio and together we'll do all of the finer finishing touches. It's repetitive work, but it never bores us because we love the items and we love the people who ordered them. It sounds corny, I know, but that is truly how we feel. Our ultimate motivation is just knowing where these pieces are headed once they leave our studio.

So while we were doing all that stuff I had a window of time where a bunch of things were drying and I had an idea for a fun little springtime project. And yes, the project features one of my favorite collections…my vintage stuffed bunnies!

We were lucky to have some great photo shoot worthy sunshine that day. So in the brightest part of the studio I set up my bunnies one by one and was able to get some clear and vibrant photos of each. Then I printed them out, adhered them to some cardstock with modpodge, brushed on a top coat, and cut them out. 

I just love seeing them as they are right here lying on my worktable. They would make really fun ornaments. 

But my plan was for this garland! I cut a length of this super cute pom pom trim and just taped the bunnies to it with washi tape.

I hung it on a cupboard in the studio. I really love how it turned out! So simple to do! And this could be done using photos of any favorite collection! Imagine pretty little vintage dolls, or even just the doll faces! I was talking to my mom about how easy this was…from concept to completion it took like an hour. I think I'll be making her one adorned with her favorite cabin themed things to hang in their log cabin. 

Here are some of my favorite things on display in the studio. I have been collecting paper mache rabbits for over 16 years, maybe longer! But man have the prices soared in recent years! I'm glad I got the bulk of my collection way back when they were affordable. Nowadays I literally cringe when I see the current prices. 

It's vital to surround yourself with the things you love…especially in the space where you create.

I don't know if I ever shared this here, but you can see it mixed in with all my paper mache rabbits and other candy colored bits in the photo above. It's a vintage Good & Plenty box that I found in a great antique shop here on the Jersey Shore a couple of years ago. Isn't it so much fun?

And lastly, I just needed to share this one again. If you are looking for a fun Easter/ Spring craft to do this week, check out this little how-to for these vintage inspired spun cotton bunny and chick toppers that we had shared last year! 

We loved making them…and seriously, they are so easy and you'll have them to brighten up your cupcakes or other sweet treats for many Easters to come.

Ok, thanks again for reading. We're still cold here in Jersey, but we're hoping hoping hoping for at least semi-tolerable weather for Easter Sunday so we can go out for a stroll and get some festive eats. That would be fantastic. What are your plans for Easter?!

xo, Jenny…and Aaron says hi!

Super cute and easy light shades made with baking cups, ribbons, lace, and trims

I Love vintage trims. It's pretty hard for me to pass them up at flea markets or yard sales or on ebay if the color or price is right. I've been collecting trims for years, without any real plans for them. I love having them in jars and boxes in the studio, keeping them on hand for when I may need a tiny bit for a project. I use them in collages, art journal pages, mixed media assemblages like our Fauxbulus Keepsake Cakes. Vintage trims just make the perfect finishing touch!

Back in 2010, I was asked by Romantic Homes Magazine to contribute a cute and easy holiday craft for their "Make it" column.  I was then, and remain to this day an absolute sucker for twinkle lights around our home. And not just for holidays, but year round. And as I said above, I am also a collector (or hoarder) of vintage trims and ribbons...which I'm sure you are too.

This is an easy, fast, and lets just say it...cheap...little afternoon craft. We've always got a strand of these decorative lights hanging in our home and I smile very time I see them. I've made them for Christmas, Autumn, and my favorite just might be the set I did for Valentine's Day. 

 We had them hanging here in our home in our kitchen, but when we started to paint and work on things here in the house I had put them away and forgot about them. Then just the other day while organizing I pulled them out. I decided to make a few more "shades" for the strand, and why not take some pics and share the simple little tutorial with you guys, being that we have a bunch of new readers since 2010.

These lights couldn't be more simple. And it's a way of having your prettiest trims on display. Plus, there is no sewing. I can't sew yet I still love trims for different mixed media projects. So this project is perfect! 

Here is what you will need: 

Small strand of Christmas lights (you can find these in the wedding aisle at Michael's)

Large size plain white baking/treat cups (found in the baking aisle at Michael's)

Bits of ribbons, lace, and trims

Glue Gun or All-purpose glue (like Aleene's)

Scissors

X-Acto knife

It's so easy. Just cut desired ribbon and trim to match the circumference of the treat cup. Then apply them to the cup, gluing about every inch or so and pressing down to adhere, securing well at the seam. You may want to use the end of a pencil to press down, hot glue is…hot! 

Be creative...for instance, first apply a lace layer, and maybe some pom pom or some rick rack on top of the lace...making sure that you line up all of your seams so that you can later twist the shade so that the seam line is in back. 

Once the shades are decorated use an X-Acto knife to cut a small X in the center of each cup bottom for the light bulb to fit through. 

Then pop shades over the bulbs, pushing through until the plastic base emerges through the X.

These are a great way to bring not only light, but also some fab color and texture to a vignette in your home. These short strands of lights are perfect for draping over a single window or doorway. All you need are some of your favorite trims, ribbons, bits of vintage lace and rick rack. And with a little glue you can make ordinary treat cups into fabulous little light shades!

I hope you give these a try...and if you do...I'd love to see yours!

xo, Jenny 

Fast & Fun DIY vintage mini play food box garland…with FREE printable!

We are so so excited to share this free little do-it-yourself download with you guys!

 As you know, we are avid collectors of all things vintage kitchen/bakery. When we came across this collection of mini vintage Junior Chef mix boxes from the late 50s or early 60s, we swooned! First off, they're toy/play size! Little boxes made for kids who wanted to play kitchen. I LOVE stuff like this. When I look at these boxes I can clearly recall one of my all time favorite things from childhood. It was a cardboard "grocery store"…it had shelves stocked with groceries, and a checkout complete with cash register. On the shelves were faux food items and stuff like that…tooth paste, laundry detergent, cereal, and cake mixes, very much like these mini boxes. And the fact that the set was merely cardboard made it even more magical. Me and my sister absolutely loved playing "grocery store". I swear, just the act of filling our little play cart, and checking out at the register, provided hours and hours of fun.

So, when me and Aaron got our hands on this collection we couldn't believe how perfectly the pastel tones and fun imagery fit our home. And the mini boxes looked so great when they were all together in a group. So we devised a cute, fun, and super easy way to display them together. A garland of mini boxes! We simply strung a length of classic bakers twine through all of the lids of the boxes, spaced them out evenly, and hung them like a bunting. No, not just a bunting…more like The Cutest Bunting of All Time! 

So, here's where the real fun comes in! When we posted the above pic on Instagram, we immediately got so many requests. Everyone asked if we were going to be making these and selling them in our shop. And then our friend Heidi took it a step further and said that she could help us make that idea into a reality. Heidi is an Uber Talent…she can do anything really. She's the gal behind MyPaperCrane. To list her accolades and fabulous lines of licensed products would take up way too much space. Let me just say that if you think you aren't familiar with her work…think again. I bet you've seen her stuff. Her plush pieces are amazing…her fabric patterns are incredible…and she's just all around crafty. 

So, Heidi wanted to make reproductions of the boxes for her own personal crafty fun. So I scanned my set of boxes and emailed her the images. Within a few days she sent me the below templates! They are totally ready to print, cut out, and turn into mini boxes. 

And here's the thing…me and Aaron have never really reproduced something and then made it for sale. We generally hand paint original artwork from scratch and then make prints of the paintings for use on signs, die cuts, etc. 

So…we figured...what the heck, let's just offer these adorable templates as a free printable download for all of you guys! 

We suggest that you load your printer with bright white card stock. The heavier weight of the card stock will make the boxes sturdier. You can find the pdf right here. Just print them out…they conveniently come two to a page...and then cut out.

You'll see that there are little flaps that you'll cut just partially, just like on real boxes. These will fold together to secure the ends shut. Once you've got your templates cut, then just fold and crease them along all of the thin black guide lines. Then fold to assemble into boxes, using a bit of glue to secure the tabs to one another. (we used Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue) 

Then to make the garland all you have to do is thread a length of bakers twine along the top of each box, simply closing the lid to secure the twine.

That's it! Your adorable vintage mini mix boxes are ready to hang. We LOVE ours! And yes, now we have two hanging in our home…the original is on a cupboard, and the reproduction printed version is draped across a shelf front in our kitchen. We hope you guys love these! And we would love love love to see pics of how and where you displayed yours…or any other crafty ways that you used your boxes.   (tag us on Instagram! @jennyeveryday) And oh yeah…be sure to thank the wonderful Heidi…and shop 'til you drop at MyPaperCrane! Of course, feel free to share this post with your friends, or on Pinterest!

Happy Crafting!

xo Jenny & Aaron

Our Day at the Country Living Fair Rhinebeck NY

It's a few weeks ago now that we went to the Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck, NY. And I know it might be strange to blog about it this far after the fact, but I have to be honest...we've been so busy and I just haven't been able to find the time to get the photos downloaded and all the rest. So I vowed that I'd at least blog about our adventure before the month of June came to an end! 

We drove up with our friend Marlene, who is always a ton of fun. We hit a couple traffic snares but the three of us talk a lot and have a ton of fun stories to tell, so the ride flew by. It's the best when Marlene gets on one of her unstoppable laughing jags! She really cannot stop herself from laughing! a whole lot of shoulder shaking going on. 

 It's a weekend long event, but we only did Friday...which was the best weather day all weekend. But one day is barely enough time to really experience the whole fair. 

As you walk through the entrance into the fair you're greeted with the most adorable festive oil cloth bunting, criss crossing above all the pathways. The buntings were made by Modern June, who also had her own booth full of all sorts of oil cloth goodies. I know Marlene grabbed at least a couple yards of oil cloth for some home projects. 

Also, you can see some adorable trailers real tiny in the background in the pic above, and one behind Aaron in the below pic. They place the trailers mostly up front at the show, which is such a great mood setter. The CL Fair in Atlanta was also full of cute old trailers.

The very first thing we came upon was the cutest minty green vintage tin toy oven. As you can see in the pic, it matched the neighboring trailer perfectly. The price for the oven was a little high for us, but maybe the neighbor gal who owned that trailer ended up taking it home.

I wish I could convey just how HUGE this show was! We were there all day and there is no way we saw everything. I feel like there was a dozen or more of these buildings lined up one after another. Each was packed with stalls filled with art, antiques, vintage, fabrics, paintings, dolls, jewelry, you name it! The floors were covered in wood chips. And due to the super warm weather a whole lot of us gals were in flip flips or sandals of some sort. And since the wood chips are really just oversized sawdust, your feet get very dusty. But it's "Country" Living right? Dust is required.

Earth Angels is always one of our very first stops. They've always got the best looking set up, a prime location, and SO MUCH good stuff. The following group of artists are all part of the Earth Angels collective, which is headed up by the awesome Jen O'Connor. 

I adore the work of Caramia Visick. This is some of her Hot Cakes jewelry!

And then we have our talented friend Laurie Meseroll's mudcakes pieces! She paints so so much, and every piece is amazing. We love her art so much.

It was so good to see and talk to our friend Letty Worley. She is so incredibly talented. Her soft sculptures and purses are all so magical. Bears and porcelain doll heads, glittery party hats...all in the best vintage color palette. 

Oh hey! Derp! 

Jennifer Lanne is another of our fave Earth Angels artists. I showed some of her paintings in our Atlanta CL Fair post. Her paintings make such a bold statement, and the colors are gorgeous.

I cannot handle the cuteness of these Nicole Bowen plush pieces! They're almost pastel...but then they're given a time worn feel. The soft  glow of color that she gives to the cheeks is perfect.

Seriously, can you even handle this little cutie?!

Humpty up above, and the two pics below show the work of Nancy Wiley. It was our first time meeting her and we were blown away by the intricacy of her dolls. 

Here she is holding one of her story books. It's an Alice in Wonderland picture book, but instead of illustrations, every image throughout the book is a photograph of her handmade dolls posed in elaborate set pieces.

Here are some more of her pieces.

Right after Earth Angels we hit some other nearby vintage booths.

There is such an amazing selection of vendors at the show. Besides being able to shop for art and decor, there is just lots of great old stuff that you can use for your own creative projects. 

 We loved this booth called Outdated. They have a brick & mortar shop as well, located in Kingston NY, that has antiques, coffee, and food. 

Like I said, they do antiques and food. Aaron had to grab one of their vanilla fig scones. Deeelish.

So great seeing Cari Cucksey, who we met for the first time at the Atlanta show and have been Instagram friends since. Her booth was fantastic and huge. She was debuting her brand new paint collection.

It all looked so so good! Marlene actually took home a quart. 

Also so so great to finally meet our long time online friend Crystal of Vintage by Crystal, and her sweet husband, and baby Olive. We have been collecting Crystal's pieces for years.

Her offerings were amazing! Sooo many! Hundreds of unique one of a kind pieces for every holiday and occasion. When I look at her pieces I can imagine the tiny world they inhabit.  

The goods also spill to the spaces outside of the buildings. There are stacks and piles of overflow pieces right outside each big pavilion...great old tables, benches, stools, garden decor....

And there are full outdoor set ups like this one above. We loved this giant painted photographer chap.

This booth really spoke to me...lots of of my type of collections...namely, vintage wrapping paper.

I loved this vignette...all creams, greys, pale pinks, and bits of black. I love the little black lamb, and the vintage crepe paper nut cup.

Here's a pulled back shot in that same booth. Check out the jewelry sign and those grey drawers!! swoon!

All of the vignettes followed color themes.

One thing you saw lots and lots of  throughout the show were vintage flashcards. We flipped through hundreds. It can get overwhelming. Which is a reason why getting a weekend pass and a hotel room would definitely be worth it next time around. Then we could take our time.

This booth was really great. Besides so many fab vintage goodies, they had their own paintings and prints on canvases. Look at those chicks on the old farmers almanac pages! 

There were sooo many options for food! Even for us health concious folks. Aaron got a great hummus wrap at the Juice Caboose...super tasty, I tried a bite. They had all of these massive bags of carrots for their smoothies. Marlene and I got really delicious falafels. So fresh and with delicious toppings. 

After lunch Marlene grabbed a healthy smoothie while Aaron walked on the wild side at the Leslie's Hot Cakes airstream. He saw "Home of the Maple Milk Shake" and couldn't resist. I had a sip. It was amazing!! so buttery! 

It was great seeing the girls at Findings, who are from here in Jersey. They once had a shop down the shore in Pt. Pleasant that we blogged about a few years ago. And we also saw them at the CL Christmas Bazaar in Tarrytown this past winter. They always have great stuff.

These old military letters...tied up with pink ribbon in bundles.

They've got beautiful jewelry, tons of old photos and vintage findings galore.

So we met this really sweet couple, and their booth was called  La Bonne Vie . As we walked into the space we were taken aback by this piece. It was playing a Dean Martin record...it's a combination record player, bar, and faux fireplace. It is so Graceland! So Hugh Hefner! It was amazing. It was in great condition, and I never saw anything like it. The label inside said 'made in West Germany'...where I suppose they know how to party in style.

La Bonne Vie also had fab necklaces for wedding day or wedding party gifts. They were packaged adorably. 

Not my colors, but this sunny happy piece was so inviting.

I am a lover of pink tin kitchen sets. I have a few pieces here at home.

Loved this booth! They go by Tin Hearts, by Carol Mataruso. We spent quite a while smiling at each piece and trying to decide which one to take home. 

This girl stole my heart! Her face is perfect! She happened to be quite large, and everything we own is on the smaller scale. If the entire assemblage was the size seen here, from the coffee pot up, she could have worked for us.

But she was quite tall as you can see in this pic, and she has the big red sugar tin...which don't get me wrong...looked amazing!! But we just don't have red in our kitchen. We are all neutral tones with bits of pink and aqua and black. But we spoke to Carol about a future custom piece or two. 

The lamps were incredible. So BIG! And almost all had sold signs on them.

This sign is so good. It was hanging in one of our fave booths, South Porch Antiques. We met them in Tarrytown as well, and purchased a few things from them including our favorite shredded vintage book page wreath.

The thing we fell in love with this time was their handmade niches. Made from wire, wood, and old book pages. It was so hard to decide on the perfect one for us. If there was only one we would have grabbed it. But given the choice of a dozen and it is impossible. I am the worst when it comes to choosing the one fave out of a dozen similar objects. 

I loved this old floral painting. And you can see some tiny niches in the cubbies. They were super cute too!

These were fantastastic and so clever! Vintage honey boxes, with vintage photos slipped inside, so they can be used as a picture frame. They'd be so adorable in a vignette on a shelf. Marlene aka Mizz Bee, was thrilled and bought a few.

Everything about their space was perfectly curated. Great mixes of textures and elements.

Our friends Shannon and Elton at Stash Style were killing it as always with a fantastic set up. 

We love these guys. So much style under one roof...or tent.

They really really know how to set the mood with their displays. They now carry one of Aaron's fave brands of boots and shoes.

Loved this sweatshirt...the back had a panel of vintage lace on it. I should have bought it! They've got so much great vintage clothing that they adorn and dye...and then there are t-shirts, art pieces, and decor.

And this was maybe my favorite booth of the day as far as new-to-me vendors go. Curated by Peg & Jon Van Dyne of French Vanilla. There was SO MUCH I would have taken home if I had money to throw around. Such a great eye! This dresser was incredible! It had an old marble top...so so up my alley. And the little cabinet on top...ahhh!! 

This chair killed me...I LOVED it! Cream and black is mostly what we live with at home. 

We got a big kick out of this bottle. Yes, that says Pre Digested Beef. What in the world?! We showed it to Peg & Jon and they had no idea that they owned a Pre Digested Beef bottle. It was in a bin with many others types of old bottles...they never thought to read each one. Jon googled it on his phone...way back when they used it as a dietary supplement for underweight babies and ill malnourished people. Beef in a bottle???! I'll stop talking about this topic RIGHT NOW.

This is the piece I wanted most from the fair. But I had already nearly hit my budget for the day and it was $90.00. If it was $45 it would have been mine. I just couldn't spend double. But man I loved it a LOT! One of my all time fave fave things to collect are vintage medicine cabinets and other odd shaped cabinets. This was a perfect little cube with glass shelves. 

Such a fabulous mix...wood, zinc, canvas, porcelain...all in the most gorgeous aged tones.

I walked by this booth had to stop. This metal awning is so Jersey shore. Lots of houses here on shore had them. Wouldn't it be fab over a bed?

Jenny Bowlin's booth is always fab! Lots of great displays. We loved the juxtaposition of elements...those books, the alligator head, the military photo, glass, and crystal clusters.

This booth, though not our color scheme at home, was so fun and kitchsy. Another little tin toy stove. Those are a big fave of mine. 

It was so hard to get a pic without glare. These framed photos are all from the same family...maybe from the 30's or early 40's. The same kid is in a lot of the pics, and you can see him grow up. 

Loved these little Marquee letters and numbers in the Jillibean Soup booth. We came home with our fave number...9

The drive home was traffic free and the views were great...such a gorgeous sky. A very nice area of NY state to drive through. 

So here is part of our haul from the day.  The pink topped rusty stool was only $22.00.  Also pictured is our niche from South Porch Antiques, a crystal cluster from Jenny Bowlin, and a bunny from Vintage by Crystal.

We had such a great time! We're so glad we went, and we're lucky to have a friend like Marlene who is into the same things we are. Shopping together was awesome, and we had great conversations on the ride to and from. 

If you have the chance to go to this or any other Country Living Fair...GO! Make a weekend of it! Early June in Rhinebeck, NY is a pretty time of year. And you will be blown away by how much good stuff you can come home with for great prices. 

Ok, success...I blogged it before June ended. Hope you enjoyed!

Back soon,

xoxo, Jenny...and Aaron