Etsy and other stuff.......

So here are the latest items in my Etsy shop:

1920's Velvet Jacket with Fabulous Metal Hardware

 

1980's Nautical dress with anchor embroidered on the front.

Fabulous 1970's Tooled Leather Bag

Vintage carry case with my handpainted artwork and polymer clay bird nest attached to the handle.

 

1970's burgundy red dress with rouched sleeves.

 

1960's Levi jacket with the big "E".

 

Suede coat with mink collar

 

1970s Mexican top.

I must say that my sales started out really well on Etsy.  They've sort of slowed down.......not sure why other than people are looking for "gifty" things.  Mine aren't really gifty, but more for the vintage clothing lover hoping to buy for themselves.  I'm still trying to figure out how to market my items.  Any suggestions would be very helpful since I'm sort of discouraged at the moment.  I'm not giving up.  I've given myself a certain amount of time to see if Etsy will work for me.  If it works then Fabulous, if not, then thank goodness I don't depend on my Etsy sales to pay the mortgage.....that's all I have to say!  Now I gotta start packing for the Wyoming trip.

My Etsy Shop Banner

Haven't blogged in a while. I've just been too busy with my Etsy shop. Basically photographing and uploading my items and putting them into my shop. It takes a lot of time to do all of this. I'm really enjoying taking the pics. Any opportunity I get to be creative is so exciting and fun to me.

Thanks to Amanda Magonigal, I have a new banner in my Etsy shop (below). This banner is more reflective of what I'm selling. I could not have done this without Amanda. I've also got business cards that are soooo cute. I'm picking them up tomorrow. I'll show y'all what they look like when I get them.

Some time the beginning of next year.  I'm going to be changing my blog a bit and giving it a new name.  Hopefully, this will help promote my Etsy shop a little more.  The blog will focus just a little more on vintage clothing, but still do spot light on artists and interesting places in the area, etc.  I'll let you know more after the holidays.

We're headed to Tallahassee tomorrow to celebrate Christmas with my parents.  My sister Tiffany and her family will be there also.  Next weekend we're headed to Wyoming.  We will be gone for almost 2 weeks.  I'll tell everyone more about that next week.  Ciao for now!

The Newest Additions To My Shop

Just wanted to share with you some of the newest pieces of vintage I've added to my shop:

1960's wool plaid skirt SM-MED

Beautiful 1950's cotton day dress SM

Wonderful graphic1950's sweater.

To see my complete collection of vintage clothing currently up for sale visit sassysistervintage.etsy.com.

Amy Butler Canvas Coverings

My friend Christina Barrington mentioned how the fabrics from my last post would be great canvas coverings. Great minds think alike. That's exactly what I have done in two places in my own house. Here they are:

This canvas is in our family room. I did this huge 5 feet wide canvas for $13, and that's including the price of the fabric. I found a very ugly, but well stretched painting on canvas at a thrift store for $1. The fabric was around $12. A chic and cheap piece of art. One of my display mannequins for my vintage clothing shop on the side.

I did the same thing in my daughter Regan's room. I took her to Simply Unique and let her pick out the fabric. The only rule was that it kind of had to go along with the other colors in her room. This is what she chose. I think it turned out just great, and it was chic and cheap.

Designer Fabric Haven: Simply Unique in Ozark, AL

One of my favorite places to shop for fabric in southeast Alabama is Simply Unique a shop in the back of Bill's Hardware in Ozark, AL.  It is owned by Paula Carroll, super talented and friendly.  Actually, Simply Unique is one of my all time favorite places, ever, to shop for fabric.  I had to think about why I feel this way.  Paula's choices of fabrics that she carries has a funky, retro vibe to them.  Her shop has been creatively decorated with antique displays that enhance the creative feel of the shop.  And the fabrics aren't formal and stuffy, just fun.

Here's the entrance to Paula's shop, come take a peek.  It takes up a large portion in the back right corner of the hardware store.

One view of Paula's shop. Wow, look at all the fabric!

I am lovin' the wonderful designs and colors of these Michael Miller fabrics.

She also carries Amy Butler and Heather Bailey as shown above.

More of Amy Butler.....my personal favorite fabric designer before I even knew about Paula's shop.

And another fabric display.  I'm embarrassed to say I don't remember which designer this is.

One of her gorgeous pieces of antique furniture used to display threads.

Another very cool display.  What a great idea!

Another wall with buttons, batiste and some patterns

One more wall.  Paul collects those cute little mannequins.

You just saw some of the main fabric area.  In addition to this area, she also has a workshop where various sewing classes are held.

I've always admired this fabulously distressed antique sideboard she uses as a counter top and for storage.

Such an adorable chair that Paula reupholstered using Amy Butler fabric.

Paula carries the fabric designers listed below:
**Michael Miller fabrics by: Sandi Henderson, Paula Prass, Patty Young, Laura Gunn and even a couple more.
**Moda fabrics by: Tula Pink, Lila Tueller, Fig Tree and more.
**Westminster fabrics by: Amy Butler and Heather Bailey and even some more.
**She also carries the Fabric Finders brand.
In addition to these fabrics she carries broadcloth, batiste, laces, and patterns.

I personally am not much of a seamstress, but I use most of these fabrics for window coverings, upholstering, decorating, etc.

Simply Unique is located in downtown Ozark at 203 Wilkins St.  Sort of behind CVS pharmacy in Bill's Hardware.  I must add that Bill's hardware is owned by Paula's husband.

If you are in the area, this shop is worth a look!

My Trip to NYC

I must first say that I regretfully left my camera charger at home.  By the time I arrived in NYC my camera was dead.  I felt like crying and I couldn't believe I didn't remember to bring the charger.  The first full day we were there my sister took pics (which I haven't seen yet).  I broke down and bought a digital disposable camera and these are some of the pics from that camera.  I'm really not very happy with the way many of them turned out.  Nothin' I can do about it now.

I was thinking this was Union Square, but I'm really not sure since we were in so many different places I sort of lost track. We sure did think it was pretty though.

Me (on the left) and sister Tiffany with the statue of liberty in the distance behind us.  The weather was cool, but not COLD as Tiff would lead you to believe.  She was always freezing.  I keep on telling her that she needs just a little more "insulation" on her.   The guy who photographed us got me with my eyes closed, nothin' I can do about it now.

Loved all the old buildings winding along the streets.  They are sooo fascinating to me.  I always want to see what they look like on the inside.........to see if they have as much character on the inside as the outside.  I would love to own an apartment in one of these and decorate with fabulous cool stuff.

I especially like this first off-white one.  They were much neater in real life.

Canal Street at dusk.  This is where you can find all of the knock off brand stuff such as purses, watches, etc.  Truly, I wasn't impressed.  It was the same ol' stuff you see everywhere.  I don't like having the same things that everyone else has.

This very cool vintage clothing store we went into right next to Canal Street.  He had good prices for the area.  I would have bought something but my money was getting low.  He told us that everything he received was donated to him from the Salvation Army; they gave him all the vintage clothing.  I asked him how he managed that and he just sort of shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

One more pic of the inside of the place.  It was totally packed with vintage clothing.  A paradise for me ;).

We went to a discount clothing store named Century 21.  It was right next to the Twin Towers.  I have to laugh when I say "discount".  Most of the clothing was still way out of our price range.  The 3rd floor of the building housed very high end designer clothing like Stella McCartney, Emilio Pucci, Missoni, etc..  The kind of clothes that costs thousands of dollars.  Soooo, I've always had a "thing" for Pucci clothing.  It always has a very distinctive look to it.  I've never even seen any of the clothing in real life.  Alas, I find a whole rack of his clothes.  This Pucci dress, that isn't too attractive in the pic, was 50% off at an affordable $500 haha.  Actually, I really liked this dress in real life.  Vintage Pucci from the late 60's and early 70's is very collectable.  It would be cool just to own a piece of the vintage.

An interesting cemetery with a unique building in the back.  Sort of odd to find this cemetery amid all the skyscrapers.  Possibly, this cemetery is some historic monument that we didn't take the time to stop and read about.

Like I mentioned, I'm not impressed with my pics at all.  I was hoping to have photos to refer to in the future to refresh my memory.  I will just have to rely on my memory to remember this super fun trip.

I'm Going to NYC!!!

I have wanted to visit New York City for quite a few years.  For one reason or another I've never been able to make it up there.  Most of the people I'm around have no desire to visit this city or they've already "been there don't that".  Furthermore, NYC is expensive.  Funny thing, I've been to the state of New York a couple of times and up in the northeast U.S. a bit.  Just not NYC.  Usually, when there's something I really want I find a way to get it. 

I have a friend, Sharon Baker.  Her daughter Suzy moved there earlier this year after graduating from Paul Mitchell cosmetology school in Utah. Suzy decided to live her 20's to the fullest and move to NYC.  She is learning from the best as an apprentice in a Manhattan salon. She is a cool (but mature, I think) 20 year old chick.  I've always enjoyed talking to her whenever I'm over visiting her mom.  Suzy has mentioned more than once that I should come up and visit and I'm more than welcome to stay at her place.  I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass me by.

Of course I wanted to find someone to go with me.  My husband Duane just wasn't interested in taking a trip up there.  It's a little difficult for him to get off work and also, finding somewhere for the kiddos to stay is another issue.  At first, my friend Becky was going to come with me.  She had to back out.  I called my sister's Tiffany and Courtney.  They were both very interested in going since neither of them have been to NYC.  Tiffany made it happen and got her ticket.  It just wasn't gonna happen for Court.  We'll miss our sis and wish she could've been with us.

Tiff and me will be meeting up in NYC after we get off our planes this Friday and will be there until Tuesday.  Hope we have a great time, that we are safe and that our families stay safe.

Check back next week with pics from our trip.  I will then be blogging about Simply Unique.  A wonderful fabric store and studio in Ozark, AL.

Two Artists from the MerryMart Art/Crafts Show I Liked!

The first was the Petal Sisters.  I met Becky, one of the sisters.  She made purses, wallets and aprons from a combination of different fabrics.  I've seen lots of people making purses from funky vintage inspired fabrics but the designs of Becky's with the addition of military style fabric was unique.  In addition, the shapes and designs of her purses were more unique than most I see.  The quality was also very good. I liked the way Becky marketed her's with super cool tags and business cards.

You know she had to have spent a lot of time on the purse below.

Love the red vintage door in her booth.
To look at more of Becky's creations, go to Petalsisters.com.

The second was Hues Jewelry with Kristen Hughes.  Her designs had an understated, earthy quality to them.  The semi precious stones and chain she used were impressive.  They weren't the normal trendy jewelry that are easy to pinpoint to this day and time.  They had a timeless look that only a real artists could have created. And again, I liked the way she displayed her items, the tags and packaging were nice too.  Well thought out.

 

I liked this necklace.

On this day my mom bought the longer necklace on the green display for me for Christmas.  We were lucky to do it with a little bartering (one of my mom's gorgeous children's dresses that Kristen wanted for a friend) and a little cash.  My photos really don't do the jewelry justice.

Some cool bracelets......

....and earrings.

Kristen can be found at huesjewelry.com.  In addition, she keeps a shop named hues at 131 S. Woodburn Dr., Dothan, AL.  Her boyfriend , Jeremy Hester, is a stained glass artists who keeps a shop at the same location.

I Really Wanted to Show Y'all Some Pics This Evening.......

but my camera is recharging and will be the rest of the evening.  I had my first experience selling my polymer clay jewelry, vintage button rings and upcycled vintage bags yesterday at the Merry Mart Arts/Crafts Show.  I did well for my first time.  I've got a little bit better idea of what people are looking for and how I will set up for next time.  I enjoyed meeting some of the other vendors there who were so talented and had such great taste in the creations that they made.  I'll share some pics from my choice of the most talented.  Now, don't think that I didn't think other people were talented, because they were.  I really just liked a couple of creations from 2 different booths.   Check back tomorrow evening.  Meanwhile, I've got to begin packing for NYC!

So Happy with the Way My Display Cases Turned Out!

The necklace and ring cases were both made from old wooden windows. The hooks are from old knobs.  Super easy to do.   I believe it really gives interest to the jewelry and will hopefully catch people's attention.  We'll see. ;)  Glad this is all just a hobby or I'd be livin' on the streets.

I just need to take the metal latch off the bottom so that the frame sits level.

 

Rings made out of vintage buttons.

 

Some other necklaces I'm selling this weekend at the art/craft show and

soon will be on sassysistervintage.etsy.com.

Love the patina on my display door.

Earthy Two Peas in a Pod Necklace on Etsy

Lovin' this adorable earthy necklace I just listed on Etsy. Made by me. :}

Find it on SassySisterVintage.etsy.com for just $14.

And behold, I tell you these things that you may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.  Mosiah 2:17



I learned many years ago that when you are serving others you don't have time to think about yourself.  Typically, most people who don't think about themselves are much happier.  Remember, every sin is selfish.  Serve others!   It will keep you happy and out of trouble.