Thrift Store Finds

I’ve developed a new hobby to fill my time: thrift store shopping. I only know of two thrift store in the are, which is good because it limits the amount of shopping I do. Here’s what I found at Goodwill:

And here’s what I got from Saver’s:

I love mason jars and this book has the most awesome illustrations. I’ve already made two envelopes out of them:

I picked up another fun little book from Know Knew Books a couple of weeks ago. It’s a Jello recipe book from the 1930s:

Aren’t the illustrations great? They’ll make excellent invitations for a summer party.

Experiments With Watercolor

I love watercolors. I never learned how to use them properly, so when I get the urge to craft with them I usually just mix up a bunch of colors and start flinging paint at paper. This time I also wanted to try doing some drips after I saw these beautiful birthday invitations by Anastasia on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

She didn’t use watercolors so mine looks noticeably different. (I also smudged my drips a little bit by accident):

And of course I also flung a bunch of paint at some writing paper because that’s just what I do with watercolors

Chez Panisse Calligraphy

I adore Chez Panisse Cafe. We’ve been eating there as a family on special occasions for years and the food is always fantastic! However, being the nerd that I am, I couldn’t help but notice their beautiful calligraphy. We went to the cafe for my parent’s anniversary before Christmas and they served our dessert with these on the plates:

They also had these glasses etched for the 40th anniversary of the restaurant and cafe:

Photo by Linea Carta

My very own 2012 calendar!

I completed this back when I was in full on Christmas crafting mode, but never got around to photographing it. I’ve always wanted to make my own calendar and I finally had enough time to do it! I used the DIY kit from Paper Source and added rubber stamps, washi tapes, and some origami paper. Some months turned out better than others, but overall I’m pretty happy with it:

 

A Piñata for Charlotte

I saw this tutorial for mini piñatas a few weeks ago on Oh Happy Day and I just had to try it! Luckily, my good friend Charlotte has a birthday right after Christmas which provided an excellent excuse. I made him out of a Wheaties box and named him Norman:

Calligraphy Invitations

We have a budding calligrapher in the family! Here are some invites my sister did for an upcoming tea party:

The flats are by Parrott Design Studios. I can only take credit for the gold sealing wax, which I’m improving at as well!