Scouting Inspiration

I am going crazy and not letting myself list new Fall items in the shop until at least September 1, but here are some of my inspirational photos along with wonderful items that I have found for No Carnations Vintage! A few of these items are already in the shop, don't forget about the $10 Sale through August!

I am a serial confessor

Confession #1- I love going to the movies by myself, I prefer it to going with friends.
With friends I want to have dinner and some wine, sit in the backyard, at the movies, you are just two people in the same place at the same time...what's the point?

Confession #2- I went to see Julie and Julia tonight, just now, and well I am a Chef and I blog, perfect book and movie for me no surprise there, but I have to tell someone that I sneaked in a Chef's Salad with peppercorn dressing and a small split of champagne that I popped in the parking lot and put in my water bottle (most of the bubbles were still there)! I had to, I mean ...it's Julia Child for crying out loud! (it is not lost on me that if I had invited a friend I would not have to confess)

Confession #3- I stopped by a crafts store on the way home and bought one of those circle punching things and it was on sale, so I bought it, mostly just to see if they really work and WOW! I cant stop punching paper circles...It is SOOOO satisfying!

Not for nothing but the movie was great. It's pretty hard for Meryl Streep not to steal the show though. I kept wanting only to see the parts with her in it, I mean it was France, it was vintage clothes, it was vintage housewares and it was cooking so what's not to love?

Etsy Friends

When I became an a seller on Etsy, my first overseas convo was from a shop called Italian Postcards. She wanted a quote for a plate in my shop for shipping to Italy...and while that plate was eventually sold to someone else, the convos have continued and the friendship has grown.

Somewhere along the way Chelsea and I figured out that her family, her American family, live just 30 minutes away from me in the States....AND her sister and brother in law had their wedding reception dinner at my restaurant! Wow!

So a few weeks ago you can imagine what happened. Chelsea e-mailed me to let me know that she was going to be nearby for the weekend, and so we planned to meet, thrift, eat, thrift,talk...you get the idea.

What a great start to the weekend!

Right away, Chelsea finds the goods...and below, things we saw but did not buy.

Mid-century Modern Table

A pair of Altar Chairs

A brass Wine rack

A really cool office chair

Copper topped canisters

We are not quite sure what this was...why peaches or apricots, maybe faded out coffee beans?

Lots of wooden bowls

and cross stitch...

Glass and brass boxes

A crazy wooden candelabra and a letter organizer

Here we are at the end of our day! We did find some great things for our shops and Chelsea found a wonderful cream Samsonite train case in excellent condition, but I think she is going to keep it for herself!

She has promised that if I come to Italy she will take me to the outdo0r markets for some old world thrifting!

Another sign I saw at the stores said "Friends are the family you choose"..
I am going now to add Italian Postcards to my etsy family.
Check out Italian Postcards! I know she will have some awesome things for sale when the shop re-opens after vacation!

Ciao!

Feedback

I just love it when someone takes the time to write me a nice letter letting me know what they have done (or in this case, SHOW me, what they have done) with something that was purchased from one of my Etsy shops. It puts a big fat smile on my face all day!

I often express interest in this kind of feedback in the invoice and thank you letter that I send along with each package. Sometimes it may be fabric or a cool belt, but I was really interested in these vintage embroidery hoops that I listed in my Etsy store a few months back. I had never seen any like them and I let the buyer know that I would love to see what she made with them. I could not have prepared myself for such beauty!



She sent this to me this morning...This is the gorgeous work of Elise Morris, she uses Japanese Kozo paper and silk stretched over the hoops with pencil and acrylic. Aren't they just amazing?

If you are in the Palo Alto, CA area , you can go see more of Elise's work in her solo show at Nocturne Gallery in September. If you are not in California then you can visit her web page at
elisemorris.net.

Here are a few more images for you...
Thank you Elise!