Ooodles of Gumball Charms!

Wow, summer's ending, school's starting, time to get back to work! I had a lot of fun looking for treasures to sell/play with, and I came across a CRAZY amount of vintage gumball charms. It was at an antique show, and the woman was selling them by the scoop. I asked her how much for the entire box, and she asked me if I was serious. My husband just rolled his eyes and walked away... guess he didn't want to encourage the loopy lady who wanted to by at least 1,000 old plastic littles.

(these whistles really work!)

I assured the woman that I was indeed serious, and we agreed on a price. I very happily carted away the heavy bags and couldn't wait to go back to the cottage and play.

That was 4th of July weekend. When I had that happy adrenaline buzz you get when you find a treasure, I didn't think of how long it would take me to sort through those 1,000+ charms and toys... I would start out very motivated, then start to go cross-eyed after about an hour and have to stop. Did that over and over and over, etc, and finally it was finished.

I have them listed in both my MLouIsPink shop and my PinkyLouLou shop, as some weren't charms but would make fabulous cupcake toppers.

Here are some, but you'll need to visit my shops to see them all. Have a charming week!

(I know I am a pacifist, but I LOVE these!)

Party Favors

I have been busy since E's party. I had so much fun making the goodies for her party that I just kept going!

These are what I call Party Blooms, and they are layers and layers of crepe paper with treasures and trinkets, mylar confetti, and a fortune. There is a little bottle of bubbles in the center.

All are handmade by me, and they are finished with a crepe-paper and vintage sheet music bloom embellished with German glass glitter and funky beads.

I have made them in quantities for parties, but I have also sold them individually for unique little hostess gifts and other thoughtful presents.

There are different themes, such as bridal and baby, as well as some for any fun occasion. There is a piece of the mylar confetti that shows where to begin unwrapping. I am happy to make any specific colors, themes, amounts, etc.


Here is an image of some of the goodies you may find in the Party Blooms.

Beat The Winter Blues With A Fairy Party

My daughter is turning 5 next weekend, and it's her first girls-only birthday party. We decided to make it really girly and have it here at the house. I know the thing these days is to have birthday parties somewhere else, with built-in entertainment. I remember having birthday parties at home when I was young, and I think it's so cozy. Nothing against party places of course, as we've utilized those things, from Build A Bear to Pump It Up.
Close-up of fairy crown.

My son had lots of at-home parties, but his birthday is in June, where we can do our best to keep
all the kids outside. It's a bit more challenging in a Michigan January!

Another close-up of fairy crown.
Anyway, it started as a tea-party and has morphed into a fairy theme. Being me, not one to keep things easy for myself, I decided that I could make the tutus and wings myself. I also added fairy crowns to the to-do list.

Detail on tutu.
Here are pics of the tutu and crown I made for my E. I will post pics of the wings when I finish them.

Spread-out tutu of tulle, ribbon, velvet leaves, & faux floral beauties.
Of course E gets the fanciest, so the ones for the other little fairies will not be quite so labor intensive. Besides, now I sort of know what I am doing!

Close-up of an invitation.
I made the invites on Photoshop, which I wrapped around pretty faux flowers and secured with a lenth of hot-pink tulle.

Invitations.
OK, gotta go, I have a lot of wings to make in the next week! Enjoy the photos.

Fabulous Vintage Hats For Sale!

I am a collector. That means I have too much stuff.

OK, I don't collect little ceramic animals, or large mixing bowls, or real animals, or tvs, but even though they are all vintage treasures (to me, used stuff to my MIL), it is still stuff. I always have a plan to use the things when I buy or find them, but we all know that our ideas are better than what we actually get around to doing.

What brought this on? OK, don't laugh, but I was at an estate sale this weekend, and I started worrying that I would be one of those women who couldn't get rid of anything and ended-up living like the former occupant of this house. I go to LOTS of estate sales, but this was just stunning.

I literally walked into the house and stopped in my tracks with my mouth hanging open. I could not imagine how all this stuff fit in this house, which was 4,000 square feet!

I asked where the basement was, as I find most of my goodies digging thru boxes down there, and I was told to come back in 2 weeks. They hadn't gotten down there to unpack yet, as there were close to 1,000 boxes down there. What?!?!

There were multiple large styrofoam coolers in the garage full of vintage kids' clothes. 2 rooms upstairs were FULL of fabric. 1 room had almost exclusively yarn and tacky needlepoint kits and cheap crochet forms. A drawer in the family room had over 58 (stopped counting) pillar candles, all used. 8 boxes of inexpensive china teasets in the boxes. 7 sets of chipped china. Hundreds of forks. A drawer of rulers. Hundreds of packages of seam-binding. Boxes of mostly used gift-wrap. More paperbacks than you could ever count. 7 or 8 boxes full of picture frames.

OK, I'm not there yet. I probably never will be either. I did start thinking about how, if I died tomorrow, would my husband and kids have to go through all that stuff in my studio (that I can barely use bc of everything in there)? Why hold onto so much?!

I admit, if it were the middle of the summer, this wouldn't even be an issue, but it is the middle of this truely awful Michigan winter, and I spend a lot of time cooped-up in my house. Time for some early spring cleaning.

I used to be a milliner, and probably will be again, and I have collected some amazing and beautiful vintage designer hats. I went through them, and I am keeping a few, but I have just listed 10 of them on eBay. Click here if you'd like to see all of the auctions.

I will be listing packs of ephemera, vintage photos, vintage jewelry, vintage game boards, and lots more, in my Etsy and Lollishop shops. After all, I will need more room for the goodies I will find in that basement in 2 weeks!

Happy Holidays!!!

Here are some wreaths I made with some of those boxes of vintage ornaments I can't seem to resist when I find them.

LOLLISHOPS

I haven't blogged in so long I feel this great pressure to write about the "right" thing! What if I forget about something?!

OK, let's just get up to date. I have been very busy getting my new Lollishop store up and running, not to mention trying a bunch of on-line marketing thingies to get ready for the holidays. I am actually relieved that it is a week to Christmas, as I can relax a bit! (Until my family arrives that is....)

Lollishops is the delightfully charming new marketplace created by SadieLouWho. Precious little shops with everything cute and vintage and pink and glittery. Really wonderful selection. It's only been open a couple of weeks, it's still in beta, and I have had a ton of traffic and some sales, and I am really happy to have gotten in at the beginning.

I have obviously been lurking around other shops in Lolliland, and I have found some TREASURES! My absolute favorite so far is La Donna Papercuts. I am in awe and just envious of these amazing pieces. I love them all, but these are my faves:

I am so amazed and inspired. She has WAY more patience than I do. I have always wanted to do this, but I doubt I will ever take the time to try. I've been talking about pop-up books for 2 years now... OK, I digress.

"The majority of La Donna's artwork combines the arts of scherenschnitte, papercutting, and paper sculpture. Each piece is hand cut from fine artist’s paper. “Scherenschnitte” literally means “scissors snipping,” and refers to the papercutting aspect of the art. Scherenschnitte is cut using tiny scissors and craft knives, and sometimes pins are used to prick designs into the cutting." This is from her explanation of her work. I sure hope it's ok to quote her, as I couldn't explain it as clearly!

Anyway, check out La Donna's beautiful work, then sit back and take some time to explore the other fabulous shops on Lollishops.

Don't forget mine! ;)

Reorganizing, or Trying to Maximize the Net

Sorry I haven't been around much- I did a fun etsy at the market in Ann Arbor last Sunday, and I am frantically getting ready for by far my biggest event of the year. It's Giftorama at Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills a few days after the election. It is 2 1/2 days, and last year was just crazy. I almost ran-out of goods, plus I was still using my walker bc of my foot. I am determined to have 3 or 4 times more merchandise this year. It is so much fun, inside, and a definate money-maker. Can't wait!


I am always fiddling with the computer, seeing what's out there, changing things around, and I have yet another new plan!

I have done ok with PinkyLouLou.com, but I have done really well with Etsy, especially for supplies. So, I am going to just have PinkyLouLou.com be an ad with links to my selling stores. I feel that being a part of a marketplace is best right now for me. I feel like when I put handmade items in my Etsy shop they get lost. So, I am dividing my things into 2 different names, one for supplies and one for my handmades, with the same names wherever you go on the world-wide net.

PinkyLouLou is for handmades. PinkyLouLou etsy. PinkyLouLou at ShopHandmade. And PinkyLouLou at LolliShops (not open until late November). Oh, I've also put some things up on Cafepress.

MLouIsPink is for supplies. MLouIsPink on etsy. I'll also have a vintage supply store on Lollishops.

I feel like I am forgetting something....

I have gone back a little bit to my millinery roots in the past couple of weeks and made some fancies for your hair. I am using feathers, millinery leaves and flowers, different kinds of French netting, vintage shiny baubles, and more. It is so much fun! Hope you like them!