Went to the MINI store.

I spent last Wednesday evening at the grand opening party for the MINI of Stevens Creek dealership right here in San Jose. It was quite a party! There must have been close to 200 people there perusing the showroom and checking out the cars. They even had the shop open with MINIs all lined up on the lifts!

I got to take a look at the new Countryman up close. It was a beast compared to my little Maxwell, but was still nice and compact for an SUV. It felt super spacious inside, too. Very comfortable seats! I’m sure it’s very fun to drive. They also had one of each of the KISS Countrymans outside next to the lounge singer. :)





1950's Fashion Print

I've been looking for a good visual reference book of designs from the 1950's for a LONG time. I'm so happy to say I've finally found it!

1950s Fashion Print by Marnie Fogg. This is a wonderful graphic reference with text excerpts that describe each pattern and it's origins and influences. There are even photos of vintage 50's advertisements showing off the new patterns available for home fashion. Many of the designs shown were used for upholstery fabric, drapery, and wallpaper.

I'm still reading my way through it, but so far this book is everything I hoped for. There's also 1960s Fashion Print by the same author that I just put on my wish list.

*Disclosure: Affiliate links are used in this post. I may receive a small commission from a sale that is made by using the above links. But, as always, all opinions are my own. 

Lovely prints and little cars.

I was crusing around Etsy last week and rediscovered Kalla, a shop full of beautiful, colorful, hand screenprinted fabrics.

I've been a frog lover my entire life, so I was thrilled to see these sweet frog prints!

I was checking out the Kalla blog and discovered the shop owner, Hitomi, drives a classic Mini! What a coincidence! Another Mini-loving screenprinter! If you'd like to see more beautiful handmade fabrics, head over to the Kalla shop on Etsy. Check out her blog to see photos of her workspace and design process.

I love this tape.

I finally broke down and bought some of that beautiful Japanese masking tape I've been seeing all over the web. Let me tell you, it's just as awesome as it looks! It's not very sticky, so it can be repositioned easily, even when it's stuck to paper! It has a slight transparency so its fun to layer different colors and patterns. I used it to wrap my sister's birthday present. Just used simple kraft paper and layered in a woven pattern. So simple and so pretty!

I ordered my tapes from PrettyTape on Etsy.

Crafts from the 60's and 70's.

I think I'm a little late to the game, but I've just recently discovered podcasts. I've been blasting through craftypod series and just yesterday listened to the January, 2007 interview with Cathy Callahan of Cathy of California. In the interview, she talks about her collection of vintage craft books from the 60's and 70's and about the blog she created to catalog some of the imagery from these books. Having painted my fair share of rocks and made my own paper-mache pinatas, I was excited to visit the blog and found a wonderfully curated collection of craft imagery from the era.



Party paper ad from 1967. This guy is serving the ladies like a champ!

Artist Margaret Wentworth in her Big Sur home. 

I love the textile fish on the tiny piano.



 Headless mannequin supervising some sewing work. McCalls Craft book, 1968.

  

This sewing machine ad is great!

Pantyhose art, anyone? This is actually quite pretty. From "The Pantyhose Craft Book" 1978.

Fondue party! I'd love to get my hands on those teal plates. 1962.

I love these bold graphics, 1962.

Coincidentally, Cathy just released her own craft book, Vintage Craft Workshop. This book adds a modern take to the crafts from the 60's and 70's.

It looks like a fun read! I especially like the crocheted vase cover and the mobile. You can find it on Amazon. All photos are from the Cathy of California blog. Head over to check out many more retro craft projects and photos!