The Vintage Butterfly Boutique Blog

Vintage Typewriter Cravings {Serendipity-do!}

2008-07-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking of writing my list of current vintage "wants", the things I hope to score while out junqueing and thought of how I would love to have a lovely pink vintage typewriter.
While searching Google images I found this post written by Holly of Decor8 last year and her "craving" for a vintage pink or blue Smith-Corona.

Aren't these yummy? You can read her post by clicking on the title above.

In my office at work there is a beautiful vintage typewriter (brand name escapes me at the moment) that drives me to daily daydreams of smuggling it out the back door under my jacket...but then I remember that stealing is bad and not only that, stealing from the US Post Office would be not only a crime but a federal one.

Someday my typewriter will come.

Until then, I sign off to go color my hair "Intense Red" and prepare for my third John Mayer concert tonight. Woot, woot!!

More Home Decor Inspiration

2008-07-15T23:05:00.000-07:00

kristaewart.com
Found this lovely bedroom writing desk photo via the blog So Haute!
What yummy gorgeousness here, I love the wall color, the vintage print on the desk, the curve of the leg of the desk itself with the delicate gold chair in front, the striped valance with pom pom fringe on the window combined with matchstick blinds...so many gorgeous textures in this little photo.

I currently have plain off-white sheers on all my main living windows at the moment (with roller blinds underneath) and so a project on the big ol' To Do List is to create my own valances with vintage fabrics. Pom pom fringe will definitely be in the picture!

Decor to Adore and a Giveaway!

2008-07-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

Stumbled across a lovely home decor design blog this evening and lucky us, she's having a giveaway!

You must go see what is included and give it a shot. You have until Friday, so hurry!

Decor to Adore: Anthropologie and a good afternoon giveaway

No Cameras, Please!

2008-07-13T23:15:00.001-07:00

Had a nice day at the lake with my sister and the kids today and as I relax now, checking out some of my fave blogs, I realize that nobody, n-o-b-o-d-y, took any pictures today.

Highly unusual! There is at least one camera on the premises {wherever we are} at all times, seriously. My sister is a scrapbooker and I am a former one, so there you go...no further explanation needed and with the new baby in the picture{ha! no pun intended}, you know new Mommy carries a camera around.

But, all the same, no pics today. And, you know what? It was okay. We had a very, relaxing time. No pausing to fumble around for the camera, no yelling at anyone to hold on, look over here, wait that didn't turn out, be still, okay just one more...we just laughed, talked, floated.

We just enjoyed each other in the moment {god, I love to use italics}.

Antoinette Fainting Sofa...swoon!

2008-07-11T23:05:00.001-07:00

I l.o.v.e. this sofa from Urban Outfitters! I love all things toile, damask and flocked at the moment...well, not even at the moment, I've loved toile forever, damask and flocked, oh wow, I finally remembered why I love all things damask and flocked the other day!!

Because of my grandmother's gold flocked damask print wallpaper in her guest bathroom back when I was, oh, 5ish. [yeah, for those of you keeping score, that means in 1973].

I've realized the origins of so many of the things that I'm drawn to are based on influences from my mother and my grandmother on my father's side. Funny how things stay with you.

Let's see:

from my mother

birds, nests, owls
diy decor, i.e. refinishing furniture, etc.
roses
the art of the display
houseplants

from my grandmother

ric rac [she was a sewer]
patchwork
garage sales
flocked damask
landscape oil paintings
gardening

Anyway, back to the sofa, I'm spending a nice little evening doing a little online browsing which is why you're getting these ooo-I-want-this style of posts right now.

I'm still very seriously in nesting mode, which is early for me, I tend to get like this in the cooler months.

Have a great weekend! I hope to get some photos posted of the things I've been and still are working on and also get some new items listed at the shop.

Isn't This Dreamy!

2008-07-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

photo=dominomag.com
[she thinks to herself, as she daydreams of a life where she could have white slipcovered furniture, wood floors, white woodwork and PINK walls]

Pink=Love

2008-07-05T20:55:00.001-07:00

Special door, originally uploaded by ClickHappyJohn.

I have come back to pink, an old color love. The last time I was in love with pink, I wore pink checkered Vans, pink and white Nikes, pink and blue striped button-down shirts...I was 14 and it was all about my wardrobe then. Oh, my wardrobe and Hello Kitty.

Now, my thoughts are of pink roses, pink paint, pink front doors(yes, I want a pink front door!! Dare I? I think it would be fab, or as Victoria Beckham would say ,"major". I'm sure you can guess what my husband thinks of this idea. ), ballerinas dressed in pink tutus.

I want to paint our guest bathroom pink, maybe large pink and cream stripes and put my beginning vintage ballerina print collection in there.

I want pink toile pillows. I love pink toile so much, I want to eat it.

I even want pink streaks in my hair, lol, but since I've gone back to my brown hair base I'll probably pass on that one...should've done it when I was a blonde. ;) Hmmm, I'm due for a pedicure. A nice cotton candy pink on the toes sounds lovely.

Happy Fourth of July!

2008-07-05T00:49:00.001-07:00

Vintage Fourth of July Postcard, originally uploaded by riptheskull.

Just a quick note to say have a great holiday!

Apparently I'm taking an impromptu blogging break, but all is well and I'll be back soon.

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

I want to take a minute to write a personal Father's Day message to my husband, pictured above with our new granddaughter the day she was born.

Thank you for being a constant source of strength and reliability for our kids, but especially for my 3 girls who needed to see that a man makes sacrifices, works hard, loves hard and is just plain there, good times and bad.

Thank you for taking care of all of us the way that you do. You do more than any husband I know for their family; all the grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, picking up our granddaughter from preschool every day...I know it gets tiring, but you keep doing it all anyway and we love and appreciate that about you.

Thank you for loving me the way that you do. When times were hard with my girls, you always had my back and let me borrow your back bone when I was getting weak.
I know that the period you were a stay at home dad is what helped our boys to be more successful in school and to be the confident boys they are, regardless of physical disabilities.
I love you for staying, when many would have said this family is just too much to deal with. You've been through it all and you're still here.

Thank you for your affection that you always show, never letting a day go by without telling me you love me or how beautiful you think I am. You make me feel beautiful, many pounds and years later.

I love you.

Introducing Alana Justine

2008-06-08T15:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy weekend!

My daughter went into labor at 11PM Friday night and Alana was born Saturday morning at 5:43AM. That's me, sans makeup, soothing Alana in the warmer minutes after birth.

Statistics:

7lbs. 9oz.
19 in. long
born on 6-7-08...get it? 6-7-8, cool, huh?

Here's our new Lani in her carseat on the way home. Yep, that's right, they're already home today! My daughter is a warrior, LOL.

{New} Vintage In Shop Today

2008-06-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

I'm always trying to catch up on my shop additions and this day is no exception! Here are some of today's vintage highlights:

Two gorgeous shabby romantic cottage style floral prints.
A sweet ceramic French Poodle and her Siamese Kitty friend figurine.
A colorful set of souvenir Hawaiiana.
A vintage butterfly ceramic trivet.
I'm doing my best to add new things daily! Once again my pending inventory is crowding us out of house and home, even my trunk is full!

I've made a vow to not do any shopping until all inventory is up and listed and that is killing me, so that'll keep me motivated, LOL.

Vintage and The City

2008-06-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

For just $3,000 you, too, can have the purse that Carrie has in the opening scenes of SATC....but, if you want the black studded belt that is so prominently featured in many a scene, well, that's priceless because it's vintage.

If you were a fan of the show, I know I don't have to encourage you to see this movie. ;) I can't wait to buy the DVD.

Scavenger Hunt Details!!

2008-05-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

Go to the Etsy Vintage Street Team blog for all the details! I hope you will join us, it should be fun!

Ready For A Scavenger Hunt?!

2008-05-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

More details soon!

The VB Boutique Mentioned On Real Simple

2008-05-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to share with you that The Vintage Butterfly Boutique was included in an article on Real Simple's Simply Stated blog, along with 24 other vintage shops featured on Etsy, written by Holly Becker of decor8.

Take a look and enjoy the vintage goodness of 25 amazing vintage housewares shops!

A Very Vintage Saturday, cont'd.

2008-05-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

I also came away with many very vintage prints in the old frames that are attached with the little teeny nails. I had to carefully pull out those teeny nails to allow the prints to air dry on my coffee table when we got home because at the one estate sale where I picked up most of the prints from, had them all in a trailer outside getting exposed to the misty, rainy day.
So, quite possibly they will have slight watermarking on the edges, but a watermark never stopped me from loving a vintage print! Just look at that gorgeous baby print above!
Behind that baby print was someone's original certificate of promotion from bible school, dated 1923, a little bonus surprise. And I found the matching ballerina print to the one I found several months ago, yay!
And these sweet Joan Walsh Anglund prints from the early 60's.
Other things I didn't take pictures of was an old wrought iron scrolled plant stand for my porch, an ivy topiary with a metal fleur de lis stake, an oval framed cottage floral print, a vintage rose scarf, a vintage fabric hankie pouch (I know there is a correct term for those, but it's not coming to me right now), ....and my mind is going blank now and a list of what I got with no pictures isn't a lot of fun anyway, LOL.

A Very Vintage Saturday

2008-05-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

I had quite the day yesterday doing my treasure hunting with my 2 girls! The weather was crazy and kept raining off and on all day. Nice how the air smells so fresh, though, after a good rain. *sigh*

Anyway, we were out the door by 7:30am and hit many garage, estate sales, a thrift store and what was described as a "flea market" but should be called a junk yard. I did dig through said junk yard, which didn't produce much that I was interested in, but I came away with the strong urge to tell everyone to buy yourself a paper shredder because you never know where your important papers are going to wind up when you think they have simply gone to the "trash". Yikes...just boxes and boxes of people's paperwork, files, etc. there and sadly, lots and lots of family pictures. How does that happen?! That made what was an otherwise great day, have a vaguely depressing end.

But, before the junk yard, there were vintage delights to be had!
Sweet little pastel clothespins, still in their package. An entire set of vintage poker chips, all embossed with a fleur de lis, great for crafty purposes or simply to add some color in a pretty jar. A entire pack of unused recipe cards with a antique stove graphic on each one. A pack of old jingle bells, nicely aged and chippy. A old glass shaker that will make a cute glitter dispenser or mini vase for cut flowers poked through each hole on top. An old expanding mug holder that I will use as a display piece on my wall for pretty, hanging things I want to keep in view.

Two small globes. I adore them! An old chinese checkers board.
A rose pattern display piece with pretty crystals dangling on all sides. Not vintage, but still pretty just the same. The day was definitely full of old books, my favorite being the french grammar book on top. A couple of floral pins and a rhinestone "Queen" pin, for fun.
Two very old tins, a large floral pin, a glass juicer resting on top of an old floral tin and a wired, 3-tiered basket that I plan to use for hanging plants on my porch.
But that's not all!

Free Source of Vintage Clip Art

2008-05-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

I've been dabbling in collage work with my girls of The Fun Friday Challenge Group and so I'm always on the look out for great vintage clip art and nothing beats free, right?!
Well, the great folks of Dover Publications will send you a great sampler email every Friday of various clip art images from their extensive library of unique clip art CDs, books and coloring books!

Check out the site, I know you're going to find something you love.

Vintage Mod and Crafty at The VB Boutique Today

2008-05-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

I added this set of 3 vintage 70's string and wire kits. Do you remember this type of artwork?! As a young child of the 70's, I definitely do. This set of complete kits includes an owl, sailboat and windmill kit.
For those of you who love the mod design (like my favorite and only sister), I give you this gorgeous address book which has never been used and is just waiting for a home on your desk!
And, last but not least, another complete kit featuring the wise owl. When completed, its' design is on both sides and becomes a little ornament you can embellish further to suit your own decor!
You can see more pictures at the shop.

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

2008-05-12T22:51:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day, whether celebrating with your own kids or celebrating the gift that is the mother in your life!

A few years ago, we started a new tradition where the small group of women on my little side of the family who are mothers get together for lunch and whatever.

This year, it was lunch and thrift store shopping, LOL. And, believe it or not, it was not my idea, it was my mom's. So, a great day was had by all and a few new vintage finds were found!

Top that all off with some ice cream and, there you go, you can't really ask for anything better.

Sorry for the short post with no visuals, but this girl is getting tired.

Oh, before I go, my middle daughter is 36 weeks pregnant and at today's appt. she was at 1 cm. dilated. Exciting times, waiting for my second grandchild to be born! So, we shall see how much longer she goes...you can stay at 1-3 cm for days, you just never know.

Fun Friday Challenge #3

2008-05-08T22:23:00.000-07:00

My contribution to the Fun Friday Challenge group this week is a bit of digi collage. I have Paint Shop Pro and am teaching myself how to use it, so this was a good opportunity to put in some practice time with the program.

All graphic elements were previously purchased at Digitals and the postcard image is from the Collage Images group at Flickr.

Handmade with Vintage Shopping

2008-05-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

This is one of many beautiful pieces of jewelry you can find at Eclectic Anthology.
Actually, this is the one I want, so hands off. ;)

Too Many Blogs To Follow=Google Reader

2008-05-07T18:00:00.001-07:00

I'm currently following 111 of my favorite blogs! How do I have the time, what with a full time job, kids, grandkids, hobbies, classes, etc.?

Google Reader, my current favorite online tool. You simply need to have a Google account, and if you're already a Blogspot blogger, you already have a Google account. It's your sign-in id name for Blogger.

Then, whenever you come across a blog you'd like to keep updated on, you simply open up your Google Reader, hit the "add subscription" button and as long as that blog allows its' feeds to be broadcast (which all bloggers should!), your Reader will "subscribe" to that blog's all new posts.

So, all your blog links will be in one place and have all current updates. No more link lists or individually entering URLs to visit your fave blogs. You simply go to your Reader page and can quickly catch up on any new posts your favorites have added.

You'd be suprised how quickly and easily you can keep up-to-date with a number of blogs this way! And, as I did today, you can add the widget that I did on the right --> that provides links for all your favorite blog subscriptions without having to input them one by one!

* I forgot an important point! Google Reader will also begin to recommend blogs to subscribe to based on your current subscriptions, so you can discover new ones, yay!

My New Custom Banner Is Up!

2008-05-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Gail of Shabby Cottage Studio, I have a new blog banner and new shop banner!

I would highly recommend working with Gail. She makes the process painless!

Fun Friday Challenge #2

2008-05-03T06:29:00.001-07:00

I used a vintage hat pin, postcard from 1911 and vintage vocabulary card along with getting into old scrapbook paper and sticker stash, so nothing new purchased for this piece at all!
Oh, I take that back! I did buy that little flourish stamp yesterday on a little fun trip to Joann's. They were having 40% off sale on all stamps.

I also bought 6 sheets of a distressed blue damask paper that I will be lining my hutch with and a beautiful rose print I will be lining the back of one of my bookcases with. I'll be backing the other case I use in the family room with this Cavallini & Co. paper.

I'm in love with blue right now and will be bringing the color into my front room as an accent color, so I bought a spray paint to paint a now black shelf and will be eventually recovering some pillows with a light blue toile. I'll, of course, take pictures of all this when I actually start these little projects.

Anyway, this collage piece is part of that "bringing blue into the front room" project and I'll display this collage in that room.

I am absolutely loving the challenge group, it gives me a theme to focus my thoughts on and a deadline to get something done...it also seems to be sparking all sorts of creativity and ideas for my home decorating projects, so I've been carrying around a little notebook to write these things down as they pop into my head. If only there was more time to spend doing all these things! Once again, I wish that sleep was not necessary!