7.31.11 ... french toast

this morning's french toast. i have a confession to make. i have a reputation for superb french toast. i will admit it is really delectable. but i have no idea why it should be so good. sorry for the iphone photo today but we had a pretty chaotic day and i didn't want to hunt down the camera. i had my french toast with fresh strawberries. note: good idea. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.30.11 ... flower bookmark

hello friends! i was up early this morning and made this little sweetheart to go along with a flowery item. i enjoyed combining doodling with my coffee time.

i used some new colored pencils i found yesterday at fred. they are actually vintage and so much nicer than the new ones. they were all sharpened, too! it was a very cool find because they are the brand i use. but a lot more colors than i have because i can only get one or two at a time and was adding slowly. this find was 23 pencils! woo hoo.

this is a section of the recycled card i made to go along with the purchase.

have a lovely sunday. i'll be back with another edition so don't go too far.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.29.11 ... the last of the pooh packaging escapade

today i gathered things for projects so i didn't get photos. these are the final photos from my pooh magnet package. i sent along this treasured bookmark because the recipient loves cats and is good to them. i hope she enjoys it.

the wrap is simple but i love the way these turned out. today i found some fabric scraps and i plan to start using them as wrap at times. so look forward to that. i am excited to see what i come up with on that front, myself. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.28.11 ... no use crying over spilled water

well, boys and girls, today we had quite the day. we were gone most of the afternoon and when we got home, i set my giant cup of water on the table and knocked it over a split second later. no idea how. but all of my pretty magazine clippings from yesterday were ruined. so, back to square one. here are the pooh packagings i created the other day. i think they are so adorable. i especially like this next one ...

... because i found this paint chip card with a rainy summer day word theme to match my 'it looks like rain' set. how cute is this?

it is already 10:30 and i still have a lot to do so i shall say good night and ...

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.27.11 ... a simple little piglet bookmark

i made this yesterday as part of a pooh magnets sale (in my joonbeam shop) extra surprise. isn't it sweet? the illustration is from a 1947 edition of an a a milne collection. that's all for tonight. i did start another project today but no photos. i was clipping from magazines. this is much cuter. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.26.11 ... a little bullion box transforms

this morning i turned a little chicken bullion box into a gift box. this is the finished box.

i started with a salvaged vintage art lesson book and a miniature box. i cut out this picture. it turned out to be just the right size for the box.

i folded the paper around the box , slipped the box inside the sleeve and made a cute matching card for the earrings, which i tucked inside with my thank you note. i love the way the style of the artwork compliments the earring design. and, of course, the chicken box cracks me up. so there's that element as well. i have more packaging photos from today but i will have to save them for another day. it is late and i am beat. i hope you'll come back to see them.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.25.11 ... a nice day

on the way home from our monday afternoon jaunt i snapped some photos (from inside the moving car) and played around with them. this first photo size is unchanged because i love this composition.

this is a small section of the original photo. i like bridge rail architecture.

also a slice of the original. i love this one. temporary signs over roads are a great cultural symbol.

the silver fire hydrants have always fascinated me. where did that originate and what is the purpose of the silver?

this photo is its original size. i love the leaves and the contrast in this scene.

a slice of scene that features an austin icon.

i love signs, railroads, trains and lights. this slice has it all. and it reminds me of wall*E too. (who i love)

how was your monday? i hope it was a beautiful day with good news and merriment abounding. i heard it was 107* this afternoon. that's just crazy talk. stay cool, friends. sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.24.11 ... a loose paper pocket

you never have a mess of papers like this, i know. but i do. this afternoon i had a thought that i could save myself a lot of time and floating away bits of paper notes if i installed a little pocket inside the back of my notebook. my first idea was to use an old library card pocket. i have a small stash of those and i love them.

not surprisingly, as i was searching for them - i thought i knew exactly where they lived - instead, i spied my teeny stash of these whole foods gift card 'grocery bags' that one of my darling sons gave us for christmas a few years ago. he was creative and divided them up between the family members - pets included. cricket, as some of you know, is our precious middle kitty that we said good bye to recently. i loved that i spied this because it will hold a special meaning for me every time i open my book and see her name and i will be reminded of two sweeties in my life - cricket and my clever and generous son.

here is side b. i covered this side with yes! paste and placed it inside the back cover. i like this bag better than the library card pocket for another reason - it will open up and allow me to keep more papers in it than the flat library pocket would.

and now i can tuck my bits of paper in there and free myself from the worry and wanderlust that accompanies the original, greatly flawed, system.

i will leave you with this adorable scene i awoke to this morning. just inches from my head. besos is so funny. i felt this was a sign of a good day ahead. and it has been a good day. i went on a litter pick-up walk and collected 128 pieces of trash and recycling off of the streets of our neighborhood. and as i rounded one corner, a gentleman in an older truck was turning in to the church and he stopped and called out his window - thank you - and gave me a thumbs up sign. it is so encouraging to cross paths with nice, thoughtful people, isn't it? and that was only a small fragment of good things that came my way today. here's to a wonderful week ahead for all of us.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.23.11 ... the reorganization project

today my weeks long project started to come together. i am almost finished getting somewhere. not sure if somewhere can be defined. but it is better than nowhere.

i am attempting to create a system that helps me corral all of my vintage finds into a pre and post listed state and, simultaneously, keep them in categories and allow space for my sewing and paper projects, etsy item photo shoots and packaging. there are large rubbermaid bins on the floor underneath these shelves and another top shelf not seen in these photos.

before i started this overhaul, my fabric was on two shelves. it was a challenge fitting so much onto the one shelf. only one half of the stacks can be seen in this photo. there are similar fabric stacks behind these.

i have a nice selection of fabrics, but i rarely get to use them because i don't have any space to work with. but i do small projects which satisfies me to a small extent. i love to sew.

clearing this section of shelf to make a spot for my vintage books was more than a challenge. i am amazed at this accomplishment. i sorted the books: adult. children's. cookbooks. pamphlets.

the clear bin holds jewelry, game tokens and other small treasures. the wood drawer holds my trinkets, souvenirs, collectibles, etc. that is, until the drawer sells. which will probably happen within days since i organized everything so tidily inside! there's still a lot to do but it doesn't seem so discouraging now. a few more days and i hope to work in here without a mountain of frustration. i hold good thoughts. send your happy vibes as well. thanks!

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.22.11 ... recycled map bookmark

i made this as an extra for a buyer who lives in connecticut. i placed a heart on her town. i made this using a vintage map, my sewing machine and string and yarns from my collection.

here's the reverse.

i really like the yarn and string combination.

i hope you all are headed into a beautiful weekend. stay cool and safe. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.21.11 ... 1950s housewife

today i was reorganizing my vintage finds and i am really sad that i thought and thought and thought about taking a 'before' photo until, naturally, i began to put the sorted piles into containers and then realized i forgot to take the photo. but that's ok because i haven't had the chance to share these groovy photos with you all.

on a recent fred jaunt, scout spied these great vintage glasses and the other day i had some fun snapping photos of her with them on.

i think i might use them in the listing. aren't they cute?

she's a good sport and a great model. that's all for today. time to get some things done before harrison ford and dave come on. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.20.11 ... one small step for a man ...

... one giant leap for mankind. i made this treasury early in the morning as a tribute. it came out nicely, didn't it? if you'd like to visit it on etsy here you go: 

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NzE4NDc4M3w0NzE4MjM3MjY/a-walk-on-the-moon?ref=p...

we are huge space exploration fans here in the wilkinson household. i created this for ev. :) 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.19.11 ... rhubarb pie

it has been so long since i've been able to bake a rhubarb pie because, for a mysterious reason we cannot fathom, there seems to be no knowledge of rhubarb here.

it tastes as good as it looks.

we had a slice with a little ice cream. but now, looking at these photos, i am craving another piece before bed.

i always carve a heart in my pies.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.18.11 ... pierre packaging

not too exciting, i know, but cute. these are now headed to england. across the pond.

i took some snippets i couldn't use for anything else and adhered them to card stock. we had a busy day filled with many creative endeavors. hope yours was, too.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.17.11 ... chicken and green olive spaghetti

we had a full, happy day today. i hope you did, too. one of my last projects of the day was our dinner. i made this chicken, green olive spaghetti sauce. it was really delicious. it was simple but tasted sophisticated. i think because i added a little white cooking wine and a bit of cloves. it was a hit which is all i need.

may your evening be sublime and your monday morning a sunny start to a beautiful day for you all.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.16.11 ... sendak bookmark a la pierre

today i worked on packaging up an order and made this recycled bookmark to go along with it as a little extra. i love the result.

and here is the reverse. i hope she enjoys it. hope your saturday was marvelous. at the very least. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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7.15.11 ... thumbprint people

scout and i made thumbprint people this afternoon.

we had fun.

hers are so adorable and clever. you can see them here: www.defying-explanation.tumblr.com

i can't decide which of these are my favorites. how about you?

i filled the sheet so on another day i will be back with some more. i hope you all are enjoying a lovely summer weekend.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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