Spingtime Shopping Festival on Etsy!

Shop Window Pioneer Square Seattle, WA by Shelley McElhiney*

Hi everyone! Today I wanted to let you know about the Springtime Shopping Festival going on through 4/15 on Etsy :) Shops from the Simple Trading Team are offering shopwide discounts from 20% to 40% off or even free worldwide shipping! It's a great time to get fun, handmade, vintage & one of a kind gifts for upcoming holidays, birthdays or even yourself :)

Here is the list of the participants & a little about what each one makes. Check them out & Happy Shopping:

FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING
1. http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaperPlaza Cards, Stickers, Supplies
2. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Ye1lowSubmarine Custom Digital Stickers
3. http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtisTerraBoutique Clay, Multi media Jewelry
4. http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThePillowBook Jewelry & Home Decor
5. http://www.etsy.com/shop/FripperyFrocks Vintage Clothing
6. http://www.etsy.com/shop/ZeeGlassworks Glassworks
7. http://www.etsy.com/shop/uniquemaking Jewelry & Accessories
8. http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChiTreeSign Prints & Paintings
9. http://www.etsy.com/shop/BifrostShoes Hand Painted Shoes & Tees
10. http://www.etsy.com/shop/PinkParlorBijou Jewelry & Accessories
11. http://www.etsy.com/shop/dreamcatchermaker Dreamcatchers

20% TOTAL TICKET DISCOUNT
1. http://www.bigheartboutique.etsy.com Cards & Gifts
2. http://www.metzlislight.etsy.com "Inspiration to Your Mailbox"
3. http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/BLPhotography Photography
4. http://www.EcoFabricStore.etsy.com Fabric
5. http://www.etsy.com/shop/DodoLeather Leather Wallets & Accessories
6. http://www.etsy.com/au/shop/kreativeblossom Weddings & Special Occassions
7. http://www.etsy.com/shop/moncherilingerie Vintage Lingerie
8. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Deecreated4U Weddings & Special Occassions
9. http://www.etsy.com/shop/repurposedkate Jewelery
10. http://www.etsy.com/shop/LauriesRockPaintings Rock Paintings
11. http://www.etsy.com/shop/LFBArtandJewelry Jewelry & Art
12. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Emariecreations Polymer Clay Charms
13. http://www.etsy.com/shop/PinkParlorBijou Jewelry & Accessories
14. http://www.etsy.com/shop/samsstuff *** Me :) Jewelry, Accessories & Wearable Art
15. http://www.etsy.com/shop/CaseInfinity Phone Cases

30% TOTAL TICKET DISCOUNT
1. http://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageVandu Vintage
2. http://www.dmrhas2.etsy.com Beads & Charms
3. http://www.SPMArt.etsy.com Jewelry & Photos
4. http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSunshineVintage Vintage Clothing
5. http://www.etsy.com/shop/videnda Bottle Cap & Scrabble Jewelry
6. http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheIndianBazaar Incense, Wallets, Jewelry
7. http://www.etsy.com/shop/petiteutile Resin Jewelry
8. http://www.etsy.com/shop/byRima  Nature inspired Jewelry

40% TOTAL TICKET DISCOUNT
1. http://www.butterstitch.etsy.com Crochet Accessories & Home Decor
2. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Ye1lowSubmarine Custom Digital Stickers
3. http://www.IndianJournals.etsy.com Journals & Paper

*Photo the property of Shelley McElhiney, all rights reserved. Please contact the blog for any desired usage.

Great News

Hi everyone! Today I'd like to share some great news :) I've got some of my things in Twist n Pout, a sweet little shop owned by Marie Friddle, that's just opened in Sanford and Son Antique Mall, located in downtown Tacoma. I'm so excited, it's my first forray into local 'brick & mortar' stores & there's more to come!

Twist n Pout flapper style store front: All sparkly & shiny (I love sparkly, shiny things)

My Silk Skinny Festival Scarves, on a repurposed embroidery hoop display. The scarves are made from repurposed remnants of the garment industry, hand crocheted  in all kinds of great colors.

Little samsstuff wallets & bags, in a repurposed teaa box display, hand crocheted & hand embroidered. The crocet wallets are made from natural yarns, repurposed silk, vintage, repurposed buttons & fully lined in repurposed & vintage fabrics. The embroidered bags are repurposed found bags & embroidered in my own designs.

I love the floor don't you?

A built in cabinet, inside the shop

A detail of the shop facade

Inside the shop (aren't the dress & the ladder amazing?)

Stop by & check out this wonderful little shop, quickly filling up with upcycled, recycled & repurposed goodies (some of them mine :) SAM

Storytelling Saturday: Objects That Tell Tales

Here's another antique find, this time found inside a storage tub labeled "Sewing & Craft Items" that I stumbled  upon in a little local thrift store that specializes in storage locker finds. The box was full of great stuff: vintage patterns, old embroidery kits & even an old hair pin box, but one of the most interesting finds was this little squirrel pincushion, probably from the 30's. It's heavier than you would think, for it's size, more than likely filled with a sand type substance, rather than a newer fiberfill type toy. The squirrel design makes it look more like an old child's toy, pressed into service as a pincushion, than something that was deliberately made as a pincushion & this may be the case, given its age. Re-purposing was a hallmark of the 30's (& earlier), when clothes were passedd from child to child until they could no longer be worn & then cut into pieces to make quilts for winter. Anything that could be used, was used & re-used in a variety of forms & even art was done on & with re-purposed materials. The squirrel has pins in it, the stuffing material seems to be great at keeping the pins sharp, but it seems likely to have started out as a childs toy. What memories did this little sqirrel hold, for adult & child alike? Was it a favorite toy? Was it filled with memories of a child, long since grown up? Of a mother lovingly stitching away for that child? For her family? Of course, we'll never really know, but it's fun to think of all the stories this little creature holds...

Storytelling Saturday: Objects that Tell a Tale

I found these awhile back, at Sanford & Sons Antiques, in downtown Tacoma & I thought they were so beautiful, with their vintage/antique style & patina, that I had to get them. To me, they tell a beautiful, mysterious tale of the past: of historical style & fashion, of creativity & vintage industry, of social conventions & societal norms. I love the beautiful details of such utilitarian objects. I wish I knew more of their story: who used them? What did they make? What were they like & how did they come to use such beautiful objects?

Beautiful tools, from different eras

The condition is not perfect, particularly on the bakelite pair, but the beauty shines through

Most of the gold leaf is missing & there is rust, not sure whether or not I want to do anything to these, though

Aren't the details on these beautiful? 

Even the backs are lovely

Can't you just picture the seamstresses that used these, their clothes, their hair & shoes? Maybe they clipped a stray thread or two as they headed the door or maybe they sat by a window, sewing their wedding trousseau ...

How about you? Have you stumbled across any interesting old objects, just brimming with a story or two?

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to everyone :)

Discovered lounging about in an antique shop window, Tacoma, WA...

*All rights reserved by Shelley McElhiney. Feel free to share with credit back to Shelley McElhiney & this blog. Please contact this blog/Shelley McElhiney fo any other desired usage.

Storytelling Saturday: Objects that Tell Tales...

I have always been interested in the way objects tell stories, how artists & craftsmen build, repurpose, recycle & take seemingly disparate & even discarded things & turn them into something new, something that tells a tale of the artists choosing, waiting to escape the confines of function & tell the world something new or something it had forgotten. I collected things, arranged themin different ways, covered my walls or just bits of paper. It comes from many different sources, from hearing of times past when things were not discarded, but used over & over again, in quilts of old clothes, repurposed dresses handed down from sister to sister, from the frugality of the 30's to the 60's hippie movement, 80's punk re-inventions & 90's thrift store grunge, each generation building on remnants of the past, using these blocks to tell their own story...

I recently stumbled upon a great example of such an object, an old door that tells the tale of a wedding...

Held in 1965, in Fiji

Presided over by the bishop of Polynesia...

And attended by quite a cast of characters...

The bride's attendants were all male...

Painted palm trees adorn the the door with tropical color...

I came upon this door in a local architectural salvage store (Earthwise). I wonder how it got there? Who was the couple? Who painted the door? The door tells their story, but it leaves as many questions as it answers, what an amazing piece & an amazing story!

I think just about any object tells a story, some more straightforward than others. What stories have you uncovered recently? SAM

*As always, images remain the property of Shelley McElhiney, all rights reserved, feel free to share with credit back to Shelley McElhiney & this blog. Please contact the blog for any other desired usage.

Weekends in Tacoma

Hi again! so, today I thought I'd show you a couple of recent happenings in good, old Tacoma :)

Art on the Ave:

Booths reflected in a costume shop window with a very 70's display...

It was very sunny & warm, light reflected everywhere & the heat of the sun brought people into the many booths filled with art & handmade goodness of all kinds. There were also booths were people to dress in costume & have their photo taken, booths filled with the fun & the strange & of course, there was food & drink, randomly dispersed in odd spots on the Ave & in the blazing sun:

Food booth with traditional festival food by one of the Ave's many historic churches

And lots of music of many types & styles, by several area clubs, even a set being played by one of the area churches:

Band in front of Jazzbones, I wish I knew their name, but I enjoyed what they were playing

The Fun Police by O'Malley's Pub. I loved them, lots of old school style punk energy in their Dumpster Diving piece. The crowd really enjoyed this one, too

Some created their own art...

And there was street art to be found (roof above the Asado restaurant)

And people everywhere...

Miss Behavin' Show & Shine event on the dock:
Lots of great vehicles of all kinds...

This bike is awesomely wild, with the steer horns & black  paint contrasting with all the shiny chrome

This was a boot pattern in the tire of the Destroyer, a monster truck. It looked too much like the crazy robot from Futurama to pass up, plus it shows just how large these trucks are, large enough to step on the tires.

Close up of the wild designs on the Destroyer 

This was one of my favorite vehicles, very simple, contrasted with the designs on the Destroyer, but really nice...

Besides all of the great vehicles, there was music, booths & special events. These were some of the retro beauties wandering about & this appeared to be a discussion of beauty & style, in a beauty pageant type format. (The sunlight comes from a sky roof)

Surrounded by trains on one side...

 boats on the other, this was truly a display of almost every type of transportation out there

It was a beautiful clear day, with Mt. Rainier clearly visible in the distance

What's been happening this summer, where you are?

*All photos shown are the property of Shelley McElhiney, all rights reserved. Share only with proper credit.

Something New :)

Hi all! I've been working on some new things lately & I thought I'd show you some of them:

A flowery pink cuff bracelet in organic cotton

hand crocheted & embroidered with brass beads & vintage button closure. I love how the embroidery  makes the piece look quilted.

and a couple of new embroidered bookmarks

Vintage cookbook images (don't worry, the book was in poor condition), hand embroidered. I also like these framed... The adorable images are so sweet!

A ton of crocheted stuff...
Here's a new beach style wrap bracelet

This is 100% US sourced cotton with vintage 70's wood beads & freshwater pearls. The  lobster clasp closure  is silver  as are the jump rings for the pearls. This also works great as a necklace or a hair wrap! It's so versatile & has a great beachy, surfer vibe.

Oh! And last, but not least, I've found some amazing vintage finds lately! I love searching the thrift stores & 'picking' out all the amazing old things there, from jewelry & clothing to blankets & linens, even fabric & craft books (I found the most hideously wonderful 70's polyester double knit fabric the other day. It would make a wonderful "Brady Bunch" style dress or a great vintage style polo shirt, especially with a big, pointy contrasting collar...). I even found an old etching tool for 75 cents. Now I just need to learn a new craft :)

How about you? Have you been making anything recently? Spotted any great finds?

* Images & designs all by Shelley McElhiney. All rights reserved. Feel free to share this post, photos & its content with credit given, but please contact the blog owner for any other usage. Designs not for resale or to be copied without express permission.

All the Trimmings!

Everything you need for a great holiday season:

Grandmother's Attic  Vintage wrapping paper

Barbara Schriber Vintage mercury glass garland

 

tippleandsnack Vintage snowmen

pumpkintruck vintage Hallmark card

Check out my "All the Trimmings" treasury on Etsy for more great vintage & handmade holiday ideas:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4ce68ec2bb918eef5c0dc1c6/all-the-trimmings

Then search Etsy for other great ways to complete your holiday style! SAM

Made by You Mondays: Button, Button Who's Got The Button

I've been busy making hand embroidered buttons. They're so much fun to make & the actual button part is so simple to put together. I've hand embroidered my own little designs on vintage & re-purposed fabrics, added a tiny bit of stuffing & assembled the metal button forms to create these, then sewed them onto cards with hand drawn designs. I hope you like them :)

Peace, Love & Flower Power

Flower Collection

Sunshine Collection

I sent some of these away (single cards) for swag at the Etsy Rain Pre Holiday show & have started listing these in my shop, in cards of three & soon, single cards. I've also used a few on my creations. They're great, of course, just as buttons on clothes or would look pretty cool for pillows or even as jewelry. Hmm...maybe soon!
Stop by Skip to my Lou to see other "Made by You" projects:


If you're in the area check out the Etsy Rain show: