Sunday, August 31, 2008

Busy day: Church, crafts and posting items.

I woke up this morning and felt completely exhausted, but knew I needed to go to church. I typically go to our morning service at 8.30 and then follow up church with Sunday school class. This week just so happened to be the fifth Sunday of the month. We do not have normal Sunday school classes on the fifth Sunday. I was able to come home and take a nap with Dominic. I sort of felt as if I wasted half my day sleeping, but Justin said I would not have slept if I did not need the rest. I guess he's right. I hate it when he's right, but it's true!

I woke up and started taking pics of all of my recently crafted items. I took photo's of button rings:
vintage button ring, mattie reid chicago.

I also took some pics of some greeting cards I've just made:
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Oh and I also made some hair bobbies:

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I listed most items on my own site http://www.mattiereidchicago.com/ as well as on my Etsy store http://mattiereidchicago.etsy.com/

I took a break around 6pm and went to my favorite bubble tea house then came back home and cooked dinner. I still have a lot of work to do, but I think I'm going to call it a night for now. I know the new Etsy Blogger of the month for September and will post about her tomorrow. I'm also going to post some new vintage clothing items that I purchased this weekend! I've really put my vintage clothing on the back burner lately. I guess that's because the holiday season is coming up and I've signed myself up for all of these things where I need to get samples to them by a certain date.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Craft of the week: Felt flower

I'm currently contributing as a guest writer on a blog called, Athena Magazine Weblog (I wrote about this last week) http://www.athenamagazine.wordpress.com/. I basically make up a craft every week, take step by step photo's and write about how to make the craft.

This week I made this felt flower(click the photo to be redirected to Athena Magazine Weblog):

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Today was hectic as ususal. I actually feel as if I got a lot accomplished though, which is good. I've signed up to be a participating vendor for http://shopaholicevents.com/home.htm/. Since this event is being held in Canada, I obviously cannot be there to sell or show my items. They have it set up where vendors can basically fill out applications to submit gift bag donations, business cards, you can consign items and you can also be a vendor on site. I've submitted applications for consignment, business cards, a raffle gift and gift bag donations. The minimum gift bag donation request is 100 items. I'm making a combination of things. Tomorrow, I'll post a pic of some of the greeting cards I made this evening.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Etsy Treasury


My Etsy Texas Crafters Team Leader featured me in her treasury (the first pic on the top left). Yea! Thanks Milly!

Featured Etsy Blogger for August is TuLips Treasure Box

Every month, the Etsy Bloggers team features a team member. This month, the team has chosen Tulips Teasure Box.

First of all, I have to say I love the fact that she "upcycles". This is also known as giving vintage things a second life. I love, love, love this! Why can't we all do this?

One of the items in her store is this upcycled felted tote:

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She has taken materials and made this fabulous tote-AND, it's only $30.

Another item that caught my eye was this amazing Sahara OOAK Necklace:

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The beadwork in this amazing piece is so fabulous. The work must have taken her so long! This necklace is priced at $145 and worth every penny!

Stop by and visit Tulips Treasure Box and see what treasures you can find for yourself!

Etsy Blog Carnival

Okay, so I am a member of the Etsy Bloggers Street Team. One of the rules of this team is that you have to participate in at least one blog carnival monthly. We were given a choice of two topics to write about for this carnival and the following is what I chose to write about:

Labor Day Weekend: What you do on this holiday in honor of you, the American worker? Do you have plans, traditions?

Although Labor Day weekend is a holiday for many, I typically work. Not that I work at a normal office job or even a job in the public for that matter, but I assure you I will work.

I’ve discovered by being a stay at home mom, your job never ends. I’ve also discovered since having Dominic last year, I work much more than I ever did working for someone else. This may also have something to do with the fact that I have chosen my hobby of collecting vintage clothing into a job. This is a job by choice, but none-the-less a job. Luckily, I recently closed down my eBay store to place more focus on other things. I still have my own website www.lonestarvintageclothing.com and my Etsy store http://texasvintage.etsy.com, but as far as running a store on that auction site, those days are gone.

I will almost certainly do a lot of craft things this weekend as well. I have recently signed up to offer giveaways for an event with www.shopaholic.com. I signed up to give business cards, make items to add to giveaway bags and I am also making some consignment items. I have also offered to make a custom embroidered onesie for a raffle as well. I’m also a member of the Etsy Texas Crafters Team and have signed up for a holiday group swap. This swap is not for the purpose of keeping each others goods, but for promoting your team members items by giving them to your customers. Depending on the number of people that sign up, I will have to make that many giveaway gifts to swap. The total was at 17 a few days ago and now a few more people have signed up. That’s not too bad though.

So yes, I will be spending my holiday weekend working most likely.

Etsy Texas Crafters: My challenge projects.

Originally posted 8/27/08

Yesterday, I wrote about how I signed up for several Etsy Texas Crafters challenge projects. I thought these two challenges were due later this week however, received an email Sunday morning saying that the challenges had to be posted to Etsy by 10pm CST that evening. Since I signed up for two different challenges and this was the first time I had signed up to participate in an ETC challenge, I had to fulfill my obligation. I also think these types of challenges keep me motivated to craft. There's a reason for it. So, I got busy.


At first I was stumped on what I was going to make. One challenges was to decorate our team leader Milly's new home. She had stated in one of her posts that the colors in her living room were greens, blues and browns. She also has flowers and other items in her living room. I just so happened to have a vintage floral tablecloth that had blues and greens. I made a throw pillow from this tablecloth.


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I also took some vintage brown piping (to incorporate the brown color) and added that to finish off the edges. You cannot tell very well from the photo however, I hand embroidered the flowers using vintage rhinestones and beads I took those items from a heavily beaded vintage 60s dress. I also took an old feather down pillow here at home and used the feathers to stuff the pillow. So, this pillow is totally green and I made it by recycling all of the materials. You can click on the photo to be redirected to my other site to purchase, if intersted.


The second theme was back to school. I thought to myself, "Totes are needed for school to carry books and such". I just so happened to have some school themed fabric here at home that I picked up from an estate sale last year. It's not vintage-I think it was manufactured in the 90s, but hey, it's cute and totally on track with the challenge theme. So, I made this cute tote:


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Click on the photo and you'll be redicted to my other site for details. I can make this tote in any color. I only have enough fabric left to make one identical tote, if interested.


Tomorrow, I'll be posting about some more craft items and possibly some vintage, since this blog is supposed to have vintage items in it. Stay tuned.

Forums & groups: Why are there so many?

Originally posted 8/26/08

I spent the majority of today trying to categorize all of the many forums and groups I have joined/participate with. I now belong to the Etsy Vintage Street Team (http://etsyvintage.ning.com/group/etsyvintagestreetteam), The Etsy Bloggers Team (http://etsybloggers.proboards83.com/index.cgi) and The Etsy Texas Crafters Street Team (http://www.etsytx.org/). I've also gotten lost through thread after thread today finding new things or groups that I want to be a part of. Why can't I just be happy with the three that I'm in? Oh and I'm also a member of the eVintage Society (http://www.evintagesociety.com). Anyway, I've added little folders in my favorites drop down menu (one for forums, one for blogs and so on). I try to stay orgainzed that way.


A few days ago, I posted about how I am now contributing to a great new blog/online magazine called Athena Magazine (http://athenamagazine.wordpress.com/). As you may recall, my friend Louise of Catwalk Creative (http://www.catwalkcreative.co.uk) told Amber of Atena about me. I've offered to do a "Project of the week" if you will. The object is that I basically have to come up with a project, make the project, take pics as each step is completed and write about it. My first project was completed this past Friday. The project was a little keepsake box made with vintage trims:


 If you would like to read more on my post about this cute and easy to make box, please visit: http://athenamagazine.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/176/. Stay tuned for my next project or subscribe to the Athena blog.


Yesterday I had to complete projects for two different Etsy Texas Crafters challenges I signed up for. I'll write about those tomorrow and post pics of the finished products.


One last thing. I started my own form of the South Beach Diet today. I've still got about 10 pounds of post pregnancy weight I need to lose. I'm a size 10 and was a size 8 pre-pregnancy. My goal is to get down to a 6.


 


Today I had: 


Breakfast: scrambled eggs with salsa, two pieces of turkey bacon and some edamame


Lunch: Tuna fish with celery, red onion


Dinner: Salad with grilled chicken and low calorie vin. dressing


Snack: Justin went to eat sushi and brought me home a few pieces of seared tuna. Yum!

Handcrafted Goodies: Where does the madness end?

Originally posted 8/23/08

I joined the Etsy Texas Crafters Team awhile back. I had never signed up for any projects until last week. Call me crazy-I signed up for four, yes four projects! The first project was a one on one gift swap. The way the swap works is they offered the swap to all members and told those interested in particpating to reply to the post. Once they had the total of participants, each member participating would be paired up with another member. Each participating member also had to complete a questionnaire of our favorite colors, favorite things to craft with, favorite hobbies, etc. Once that questionnaire had been completed, we had to forward that back to the person in charge of the swap. Once all questionnaires had been submitted, our swap partner's questionnaire was forwarded to each us.


My parter likes the colors purple, red, pink and turquoise. She likes to craft with fabric, tulle and ribbon. She collects thimbles, stamps and spoons and she likes to camp with her family. In order to incorporate all of those elements, the word "shadow box" kept coming to my mind. So, that's what I made her. Here's a pic:



 


I went to the craft store and purchased a wood colored shadow box. I painted it red and went over the red with purple acrylic to give it a weathered look (I think I'm into using multiple colors right now).


The background was covered with vintage fabric that had a few of her favorite colors in it. I purchased some light pink tulle at the craft store and put a layer of tulle over the fabric. I also purchaed some purple ribbon and trimmed all edges in ribbon. These three elements covered all of her favorite crafting items.


I had some vintage red rick rack trim and used that to create little boxes inside the shadowbox. I also had some vintage demitasse spoons here at home that I picked up at an estate sale a long time ago. I glued one on the background and four additional spoons on the inside sides of the box.


I had a few old stamps laying around which were used in the box (because she likes stamps). I also included a thimble in the lower middle of the box because she likes those as well.


I drew a tent with a tree and glued that in the center of the box because she likes to go camping.


Lastly, I took a bunch of vintage buttons in the colors that she chose as her favorites and glued those on in clusters.


I covered the back of the board with fabric as well.


I mailed her gift off yesterday. I hope she likes it. I tried to make a gift for someone I do not know by a questionnaire. I think I did a pretty good job. The gifts are not due to our partners until September 30th, but I wanted to get mine out of the way. I'm going to list this gift idea in my Etsy shop, http://mattiereidchicago.etsy.com and state in the listing that if any potential person wants this gift, they will have to fill out a similar questionnaire and the gift will be a total suprise. Surprises are fun, right?


Oh and I am also contributing to a new blog called, "Athena Magazine" http://athenamagazine.wordpress.com/. My good friend Louise of Catwalk Creative, http://www.catwalkcreative.co.uk (she's got great vintage btw) told  Amber of Athena about me (Yea!). I told her I can contribute pieces on vintage or crafts or whatever. I think I'm going to do a weekly craft project for her magazine. I made a project yesterday and it was posted today with step by step instructions on how to make the project. (this project has been listed for sale at my Etsy store, http://mattiereidchicago.etsy.com and my other site, http://www.mattiereidchicago.com.


I'll post more about that project tomorrow.

Bubble Tea.

Originally posted on 8/20/08

Lately, I am completely loving bubble tea. Wikipedia defines bubble tea as, "Bubble tea, also called "Boba" is a tea beverage that originated in Taiwan in the 1980s and migrated to Canada before spreading to Chinatown in New York, then trendy spots throughout the West Coast[1]. The literal translation from Chinese would be pearl milk tea (traditional Chinese: 珍珠奶茶; Hanyu Pinyin: zhēnzhū nǎichá; Tongyong Pinyin: jhenjhu nǎichá). The word bubble refers to "bubbling", the process by which certain types of bubble tea are made, and not the actual tapioca balls)".


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I absolutely adore bubble tea. My favorite is jasmine milk tea with little ice and extra tapioca. It is so yummy! I think I need calm my addiction to the wonderful tea though because as of late, I am visiting my favorite tea house, Tapioca Express, nearly every day. At $4.87 or whatever the cost, that is starting to add up. I guess I don't really buy anything else so if I spend that much everyday or every other day, that's okay.


Tapioca Express is a franchised tea house. They have locations in Canada, Washington, California, Nevada and lastly, Texas. The location I visit is owned and operated by David. He's a very friendly fellow and always remembers my drink, which makes me happy and also one of the reasons why I continue to return. You can find out additional information about Tapioca Express by clicking the photo below.


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I basically started drinking decaf tea to replace my daily latte. I no longer drink caffeinated drinks due to my anxiety and panic disorder (I honestly think panic attacks are caused my our diets-things we consume on a daily basis. This can range from different types of foods to drinks). Since I've cut caffeine out of my diet, my panic has been so much better. Yea!


If you are ever in Houston and want to try a great bubble tea, I recommend visiting David at Tapioca Exress. Their address is:


3311 West Park Dr.
Houston, TX 77005
TEL: (713) 668-7778


They have all different types of teas and you don't have to get tapioca in your tea. They can also blend your drink like a smoothie. They also serve a small amount of Asian food as well.

Pesto Salmon. Yum!

Originally posted 8/20/08

 I typically don't write two posts in the same day unless it's something extraordinary. I made this amazing pesto salmon for dinner and I had to write about it. I even took a pic:



Now I am going to proceed to tell you how I made this lovely dish. Aren't you excited? Is your mouth watering yet? Well, it should be by golly!


Ingredients:


Salmon Filet, 3-4 small lemons, salt, pepper, soy sauce, pesto (can be from a small jar)


First, I turn my oven on broil. I take the broiling pan out and cover the top with tin foil (I know the broiling pan is made for juices to drip into the lower pan however, I hate cleaning the messy pan and cover with tin foil-so there).


Once the foil has been added, I take my olive oil out (does not matter what kind) and pour olive oil onto the foil. I then take my salmon filet out (can be large or small). Skin side of fish goes down into the olive oil (you may want to season with salt and pepper prior to laying in the olive oil). I then take my olive oil again and coat the fish scales (outside of fish). I always cook my salmon with the scales side up because the broiler makes the scales crunchy. I also take a few fresh lemons, cut them into fours and give the fish a few squeezes of fresh lemon.


I don't really time how long I cook the fish. I just check it every 4-5 minutes. When you notice the scales start to look sort of crunchy, remove the pan from the oven. Take a fork and lightly lift the scales away from the fish. Then, take some soy sauce (I prefer low sodium) and pepper and season the top of the fish where the scales used to be. Squeeze some additional fresh lemon juice to the top.


Place the fish back in the oven for another 5-7 minutes and check the fish again. The fish should be ready to be turn over to the other side by this time. Once you've turned the fish, add your pesto sauce to the top. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. Just keep checking the fish. You want the fish to be cooked, but you don't want to over cook it.


You can pair this fish up with whole grain rice and veggies (as pictured above). My veggies are excellent too! If you want that recipe, send me a message.


Tomorrow, I will be posting my Etsy Texas Crafters gift exchange project and a few other things. I know my two posts today had nothing to do with fashion or vintage, but that's okay!


 

New inventory.

Originally posted 8/18/08

It's been a few days since I closed my eBay store and now I have the joy of taking my old listings and adding them to my own website:



I've been working all day today and if I had to guess I would say I have added 30-40 additional items (I think). It's taking me a long time because I have to go back into my photo's and guess where the correct photo's are. The listings are fine because I am using my ended items listings directly from eBay however, the photo's are like searching for a needle in a haystack. It's been really long process and I still have about 325 items to transfer over from my store inventory. I still have so much that is not listed yet. Here are a few of the items that I listed today:


Vintage 50s Leopard Dance Suit $185


http://www.lonestarvintageclothing.com/userimages/procart69.htm


 


 


 


 


 


 


 



50s Vintage Lil' Black Dress w/ Chiffon Drape $135


http://www.lonestarvintageclothing.com/userimages/procart18.htm


 


I also read a few of my favorite blogs today. One is Erin a http://dressaday.com/dressaday.html. She writes one very entertaining blog if I don't say so myself. Her blog is basically about well, A Dress A Day. The basic object of her blog is for her to make a dress a day or talk about a dress a day or a pattern a day or suggest links that her readers provide to her. I'm sure it's about so much more than that, but I really enjoy reading what she writes. She's very well spoken and she lives in Chicago, where I went to college. She also told me that when her son was little, she used to feed him blueberries (frozen) and he just loved them! Dominic likes them however, he's never had frozen blueberries, only soft fresh ones.


Kim at Fast Eddies' Retro Rags http://fasteddiesretrorags.com/ also has a really entertaining blog that I like to read. Her blog is called,"A girl can't help it" and you can find it http://fasteddiesretrorags.blogspot.com/. She's really into pretty much anything 50s and her writing style is witty and humorous (she's also a really nice girl). She's also got some amazing vintage clothing for sale in her store. I like this dress (click the dress and you will get to the item). You'd better snap it up before someone else does!

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Humid Houston.

Originally posted 8/16/08

Today is hot and humid. Houston is hot and humid. Why anyone in their right mind would want to live in Houston is beyond me. I live here because I was born and raised in Texas. I went away to college and lived in Chicago from 1998-2004 and still keep wondering why I moved back here. It's really gross. I only bring this up because I decided to walk early today instead of later this evening. I started to sweat the moment Dominic, Hana and I stepped outside. It's almost as if you are swimming in a sea of humidity-that's how bad it is. We walked about a mile and Hana's tongue was nearly hanging down to the ground. Poor thing. She was so hot and I had to bring her home.


Dominic and I went to Starbucks to get a coffee after our walk and then we went to an estate sale. I managed to find 3 party dresses from the 50s and a brocade shell top:




 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 And again


 


 


 


   Red velvet party dress with satin rosettes


Peach chiffon crepe party dress



 


 It's sort of weird because I stopped by this sale yesterday right as they were closing and these items were not there. I stopped again this morning and they told me they found them out in the garage. I obviously did not look in the garage yesterday or I would have bought them them.


I will be listing these in a few days.


 


 


 


 


 


 


White party dress with sheer full skirt and soutache trim

Freedom at last.

Originally posted 8/15/08



Today, I am free. Are you curious as to why I say I am free? Well, I will tell you. I am free because I closed my eBay store. I have been contemplating closing the store for quite some time now and today I actually did it. I'm saddened by this thought and excited as well. The reasons I closed my store, Lone Star Vintage Clothing on eBay are as follows:


1. I had an international customer in Denmark open up a dispute stating they never received their package. I shipped the package via USPS on July 7, 2008 and have proof of shipment. I gave this guy free shipping. The receipt shows where the package was shipped to, customs number, cost of shipment, date of shipment, which post office the item was mailed from-everything. This customer opened up the disput without even contacting me first. I was so upset, that I elevated this dipute to a claim. I understand mail can get delayed,especially international transactions. I called Paypal to explain my side and offer my receipt as proof of shipment. They basically said that even though I have the receipt, it has to be trackable. Well if any of you reading this sell on eBay or your own site, you know that in order to ship anything overseas with tracking is going to cost a small fortune. Especially when you are selling anything that weighs over a pound. So I am basically at the mercy of this customer who could very well be lying and trying to get his $118 back. He probably knows that I cannot track the package and he can file a claim/dispute as he's already done. He can wait a bit and say he still has not received the package and then proceed with a chargeback. I hope he's honest and I am going to trust that he is honest because it is out of my hands at this point. There is really nothing that I can do except wait and see what the outcome is. I also called eBay and they said to call Paypal, which I explained that I had already done prior to calling them. eBay actually sided with me however, they are not the company that placed a hold on my funds. I mean gosh, I thought I was doing everything I was supposed to be doing. I even asked Paypal what was the point in keeping my shipping receipts for international shipments if they are not going to honor those receipts as proof of shipment. Argh! So, I am really frustrated today. I was also giving free international shipping for the first three items to my international buyers. This guy has basically ruined that offer and now I will be forced to have my international customers not only pay for their shipping, but the item or items will have to be shipped either via FedEx or UPS so that the item can be tracked. I guess we all live and learn. Sorry to my international customers. I hope you understand!


2. eBay's never ending laundry list of changes.


3. eBay's crazy, ridiculous fees!


I will still run auctions and have five going right now. You can see them here: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZlone_star_vintage_clothing .


I just feel free and want everyone to know why! I just hope I can generage enough business through my own site. I have so much great vintage clothing and accessories to sell.


During the next few weeks, I am going to be taking my current stock that was listed on eBay, and reintroducing the items with new photos and descriptions. I will also be taking many of the items and adding them to my sale page here: http://www.lonestarvintageclothing.com/userimages/procart33.htm .


Check my items out on a weekly basis because I will be offering some great vintage at amazing prices!



Vintage button rings.

Originally posted 8/14/08

So, I've been making costume jewelry again. This time, I am making rings out of vintage buttons and vintage clip earrings. I stayed up late last night and made about 30 rings, brooches and hair pins. I unfortunately did not take photo's of everything however, did keep these two for myself:



 


 


 


 


 


 


 


I am completely in love with vintage buttons and have been for as long as I can remember. They have so much character. The black one of the left is like a velvet button and the one on the right is a cream colored mother of pearl button and I attached a smaller black glass button with wire and then attached each ring to an adjustable silver ring base. I order a lot of the ring bases and am about to order 300-400 more pieces. Oh and the reason I no longer have the rings that I made last night is because I worked up the courage today to go to a local upscale boutique here in Houston called, "Out of the box". This store is near Justin's salon on Woodway (very upscale area of Houston). The manager looked in the bag and said they would like to sell them! Yea for me! So, my items can actually be found for sale in a store. How exciting is that. She's also interested in my other handcrafted items. I better get busy. I have a lot of work to do. I'm going to make another lot tonight and take them by another boutique tomorrow. I'll post more about that later.


Also, after pondering the fact that all photo's that are taken in my room look like complete crap, I have decided that I am going to start taking all pics of my vintage items in our sunroom. I realized this today and my friend Louise in the UK emailed me about different things that I could do to make my pics look better. We have this great indoor sunroom and one wall is exposed brick (sort of lofty looking). So, I took a lot of pics today. Here's one item that  I will be listing later:


This is totally awesome because now I won't have to Photoshop the stupid pics. I will say that it will be a royal pain in the rear because I have to drag all of my things to photograph to the sunroom, but at least I won't have to use Photoshop much anymore. Yea again!


Later this evening, I took Dominic and Hana for a walk. It was actually not terribly humid this evening and I enjoyed the walk. I made baked chicken and sauteed spinach with garlic for dinner. Yum!~


Off to crafting now. :-)

Yikes...what have I gotten myself into?

Originally posted 8/10/08

Okay, so now it is confirmed by me that I am completely crazy.


I went to church this morning and the message before the offering was that we need to do what we can to help the church and their ministry grow (other than by giving money). We basically need to give our time to the church as well, which I understand. It's just so difficult for me because I always have Dominic. I have come to the conclusion that if God wants me somewhere, he will make childcare available for me so that I can help out. So today, I offered my assistance with an upcoming school outreach project. I hope I can deliver what it takes and not get completely stressed out. So that's the first thing I have on my plate.


Secondly, I have tons of new vintage items to list on my site today. I've had two full hat boxes of hats that have been sitting here for months and I've finally gotten around to taking pics. Here are a few that will be added today:



 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


These hats that I have right now are pretty incredible. Too bad I live in Texas and don't wear hats. I've actually saved a few for myself (beret style). I can get by wearing a beret or bucket style hat in the winter. I'd probably look pretty silly in any other type of hat. Many of the hats I get are so tiny too. I swear, there's something in the food and drink nowdays because we are much bigger than our ancestors. Women's hands and heads, well bodies in general, used to be much smaller than the average sized person of today. It's really odd if you stop and think about it. It's almost like something is being added to the food we eat or the milk we drink or something in the fertilizer. I ponder this quite often.


I'm also a member of the Etsy Street Team for Texas. You can read more about them here:  


http://etsytexascrafters.etsy.com. Check the blog - http://www.etsytx.org/wordpress - to sign up for the mailing list.


Today, I signed up for four different things they have coming up: 1. one to one gift swap, 2. Etsy team challenge, 3. Maker Faire in Austin (great way to get my name out there by sending free promo items) and 4. Group gift swap.


By signing up for these events, I am going to be super busy making stuff in the next few weeks.


So, between my vintage business, my crafty business and church, I am not going to have a free minute to spare. This is all in addition to my normal daily activity with my son and family. Argh. Where does time go and why do I think I have so much of it? That's okay, I function better when I can't stop to think.

Yeah, the storm passed.

Originally posted 8/6/08

So, yesterday we had a tropical depression storm move through Houston. First of all, let me say that I hate the news media. They hype of everything way out of proportion. Yes, there was a storm in the Gulf. Yes, it could have been worse than it was, but that's a part of living near the coast. Thank goodness we just got a lot of rain. We truly need the rain. Yesterday was really weird because it was dark and gloomy all day. I woke up, went to the grocery store with Justin and Dominic, came home and went back to bed for a few hours. It was raining so I felt that I needed to sleep more. Last night, I added quite a bit of new inventory. Mostly vintage patterns and vintage trims:



 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


I figure it's best to post them somewhere for sale, rather them sitting here in my room.


Today, I have a lot to do so this will be short. I'll try to post more again later.

Thought for the day.

Originally posted 7/30/08

So, I'm really happy that it's Wednesday. Not that it really matters because all of my days seem the same most of the time and I work everyday, regardless if it's the weekend or not. I'm just happy because Wednesday is the middle of the normal work week and it's one day closer to the weekend.


I'm sitting in my room that I've converted into my office/workspace. The drapes are open and I can see that it's breezy and fairly windy outside. It's also very warm and humid outside to boot. I can't believe tomorrow will be August 1st. Where does time go? I mean seriously, where does it go. On this topic, I was writing an email back and forth with my new friend in the UK. Her daughter is 5 years old. I wrote her this morning and told her that Dominic had his 18m check up today. She replied and said it seemed just a short time ago when she was taking her daughter in for her 18m check up and now she's 5. I replied and said, "I know, it just seems like days ago that he was born" or something to that effect. I know I need to do something important with my life. I mean, if I am going to sell vintage clothing,  I need to sell vintage clothing. If I am going to make crafts and crafty things, then I need to make them and sell them to bigger outlets. I don't feel as if I am living up to my full potential. I know there must be more than this. This is my thought for the day. As we say in church, "Thanks be to God". No seriously, life is short and we need to make the best of it. I need to take advantage of the gifts and talents I have and put them to good use. I don't really feel as if I am making the best of my life and the things that I have been given. Maybe I am in a rut. Argh!


On another note...my anxiety has been so much better this week. I've been taking valerian root and I think it might actually be helping me.

Hectic weekend.

Originally posted 7/28/08

So, this weekend seemed a little hectic. Saturday was typical for me. I went back to a sale that I went to on Friday and purchased quite a few more vintage garments. I was going to list a few things on Saturday, but ended up not listing and now I cannot remember why.


Yesterday, I went to church and skipped out on Sunday school because I had to go to my friend Yvette's baby shower and I wanted to make her another onesie. I posted a pic of a onesie I made for her the other day however, I ended up starting all over and making her two new ones.


Here are the pics:


 


I think these two onesies turned out much cuter than the original onesie I created a few days ago. Both have butterflies that look completely different. I also added flowers and stems to both and I used clear sea beads on the flowers in random places. I think she liked them. Several of the gals at the shower asked me for my card, so maybe I'll get some orders. Woo hoo!


 


 


 


 


 


 


 



 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


We were at Yvette's house for nearly 4 hours and I was so exhausted by the time the thing was over. Dominic was tired and not acting very well while we were there. When we got in the car to leave, it was so freakin' hot. My thermometer in the car said it was 107 degrees. It was really hot. Poor Dominic was probably totally hot in the backseat. I made turkey tacos when I got home and went to bed by 8.30. I never go to bed that early. I was really tired. I think the heat just drains you. It drains me. Oh and I forgot to mention...I wore this really cute vintage playsuit to the shower. It had a zipper at centerfront. I did not realize that the zipper had issues and when I got to the shower, it (the zipper) kept separating/spliting, exposing my stomach (not a pretty site). I kept holding Dominic in my lap because I did not want anyone to see. Yvette went and got me a t-shirt and I ended up wearing that over my outfit. Thank goodness!


Today, I am going to list a few things and probably work on my website.


Oh yeah..I forgot to mention, I made this really tasty pesto salmon on Saturday night. I just took a salmon filet and broiled it and then added pesto to the top. It was really yummy!

End of the week.

So, today is Friday and thank goodness because this week seems like it has been a really long week. I did not get anything done yesterday. I could not edit my website because I think the web server was down or something and it rained here all day. This gave me an excuse to just hang out with Dominic and do absolutely no work. I did get to do my grocery shopping yesterday when Justin's mom arrived. At least I got that done. We were totally out of milk. We were out of everything. I did really well. I shopped at Randall's and most of the items I purchased were discounted on the Randall's card. There were a few items that weren't however, I save over $30 by buying everything that way. I want to pat myself on the back because I saved so much. :) I also made a onesie last night for my friend Yvette. She's having a baby shower this weekend and I have to go. I'm not upset about having to go. First of all, Yvette is one of my oldest friends. She's pregnant with her second child. I'm just annoyed because she and her husband bought a house and it's in Pearland. Pearland is located just outside of Houston and I really don't feel like driving out there, but I have to. Anyway, I made here one onesie and I am making another one today. Here's a pic of the one I made last night:



 


 


 


I took some vintage fabric that had flowers on it and cut the flower out like an applique. I also took vintage ric rac trim and placed that at the neckline. It's pretty simple, but I think it's kinda cute.


The other onesie I am going to make is going to be embroidered. I typically free hand all of my embroidered things however, I got these really cool vintage embroidery transfers a few weeks ago and now I just feel like doing embroidery on everything. I'll take a pic of that one tomorrow.


If anyone is reading this and interested in custom made onesies, I sell them. I have another website http://www.mattiereidchicago.com or you can contact me through this website. I can basically make anything you want or request, per your specifications.


 


I am going to go to one estate sale this morning however, I don't know if they have any vintage clothing there or not. There really aren't that many estate sales in Houston this week. I surely did not go to any yesterday. I also have to ship a huge lot of garments to the UK. I have to go to this store called, "The Box Store" and purchase a box large enough to fit the garments and then I have to go to the post office.


 

Rainy day.

Originally posted 7/24/08

I woke up this morning to find that we are getting rain dumped on us by Hurricane Dolly that hit the southern Texas coast yesterday. That's okay. I like rain. We need rain because is is so very try in Texas this year.


I actually fell asleep last night. I've never been one to have problems sleeping. Only recently and that I am sure is being caused by stress and anxiety, which I hate.


I have a huge pile of vintage clothing that I am sending to my new friend in the UK. She needs a supplier and I have excess inventory I need to get rid of. She and I sell different styles of vintage. She likes to sell 60s-80s and I like to sell 40s-60s (earlier if I can ever find it). I just so happen to have a pretty large lot of clothing that fits into the category of things that she likes to sell. So, I am going to send those to her today. I'm very happy we have met (through the Internet) because she sounds like such a nice person and we seem to have a lot in common.


Today is going to be busy for me. It's probably good that it's raining.  I had planned on staying in for most of the day and doing work stuff and things around the house, although I do need to go to the grocery store because we are nearly out of everything. I have to have milk for Dominic because he's a growing baby.'


I ordered these blank adjustable ring bases from this supplier in China and am still waiting on them. I am planning on making cute little rings and lisiting them for sale in my Etsy store and my other website http://www.mattiereidchicago.com. It's been nearly three weeks and they have still not surfaced. I am hoping they will get here soon because I am starting to get annoyed. The beauty of the Internet.


I am also planning on working on my website today. I want to make little jpg. clickable buttons to put on the front page so that people can just click on a picture of the item category and they will be redirected to that shopping page. I'm not very good at html, but am learning. This whole website thing has been a total learning process for me, let me tell you.


I do have some good vintage clothing to list as well. Maybe I will add that to my list of things to do today, not that I don't already have enough to do. Yikes!

Another day in the life of ...

Originally posted 7/23/08

Every day when I wake up, the first thing I do is check my email (or one of the first things). I used to make a latte with my lovely latte maker however, since I've tried to cute caffeine out of my diet completely since I started having panic attacks (again). This is very frustrating for me because I have a routine and don't like to change up my routine, but I'd rather have no caffeine that a panic attack.


I posted last night that I did not think I could sleep. I finally went to bed and sat there until nearly 3am, basically short of having yet another panic attack. I honestly think it's stress, but I really don't have anything to be stressed about at the moment. I sell vintage as a hobby, not because I have to. I do it because I love it. So, that's not it. I'm not stressed about finding new items to sell because I have tons of stuff to sell. I just can't pinpoint what the problem is. Oh and I can't eat tomatoes anymore because they make my heart race like crazy. It's almost as if after I had Dominic, my homones completely changed.


Speaking of Dominic, I usually put his high chair near me in the morning when I'm working and give him "nana" or some blueberries to eat. He likes pretty much anything and everything and he'll spit it out if he hates it.



 


Today, he's happy. He's usually a really happy baby (most of the time), but he has his moments as I'm sure all babies do. He's nearly 18m old now is learning so much. I'm so thankful to have him in my life. He goes to all my estate sales with me and has done so since he was really really little. I used to carry him in a Bjorn carrier and he outgrew that. I ordered a Mei Tei carrier from a seller on eBay who custom makes them. I'll have to take a pic of that sometime and post it.


 


 


 


 


I also checked my voicemail this morning. This is something I rarely do. I'll check it once every three or four days. I see it this way..If I see I missed a call and know who called me, I'll call them right back or as soon as I get a chance. There's no need to leave a message unless it's someone I don't know and then, by all means leave a message. So, I had 7 messages. Some were from a few weeks ago. I'm so bad.


I also took a couple pics of my room. I have one garment rack that is bursting at the seams, but I keep cramming more vintage clothing on there. The whole thing is probably going to collapse at some point (it's happened before).



 


 


I have my lil' sewing area set up next to the rack with a huge pile of garments that need new zippers or seams mended or something. It's never ending. At least I've already pinned the zippers in some of the dresses. I sat on my chair the other day to do a quick sew on something and sat on a pin. That did not feel very good, let me tell you!


Okay, and all of the bins and stuff under the rack are full of things that have not been listed.


I also have two hat boxes full of hats that have not been listed:



 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


And my closet is full of inventory as well....


Each little cubicle thing in my closet to the left has about 5-10 garments folded (possibly more). I also have things in my garage and back storage closet as well.


I was talking to my friend Corrie of So Fancy It Hurts - http://stores.ebay.com/Vintage-Fashion-So-Fancy-it-Hurts yesterday. She lives here in Houston and we met randomly last year at an estate sale. She and I are a lot alike in the respect that we buy stuff even if we don't need it.


We were also discussing the fact about how we are confronted by the thought of death all the time (I know, a bit morbid). I think it has something to do with the fact the line of work we do. We go to these estate sales all the time and many of the women have already passed away or have moved into assisted living or what have you. I think about this all the time. And then Corrie said, "What if this happens to us someday?"-Talking about people rummaging through our things or other girls getting excited because we have cool clothing to sell. It's very scary and depressing.


Enough about that. I still love vintage clothing!

Free shipping!!

Originally posted 7/19/08

I forgot to post earlier about my shipping special.


I am offering free shipping (domestic and international).a


Domestic customers can have the first 5 items shipped free. The 6th item is $7 and each additional item thereafter is $3/item.


International customers can have the first 3 items shipped free. The 4th item is $15 and each additional item thereafter is $5/item.


So, what are you waiting for, buy your vintage clothing from Lone Star Vintage Clothing today! You'll save money and get great vintage clothing from Houston and the surrounding area!

Vintage clothing for sale in Houston, Texas

Originally posted 11/5/07

Lone Star Vintage Clothing - your home for Texas vintage clothing and accessories has just listed many new vintage clothing and accessories items for sale.


All store items are currently 10% off. This offer does not include auction items, ONLY items in our store.


We have many super cute 50's wiggle dresses, 50s cocktail swing dress, vintage 40's & 50’s suits, and tons of other cute vintage items.


We are also offering free domestic shipping on orders of $75 or more. Please visit our store for additional details.  Please visit as many auction items are ending tomorrow!


http://stores.ebay.com/Lone-Star-Vintage-Clothing

Fabulous vintage clothing listed at Lone Star Vintage Clothing

Lone Star Vintage Clothing - your home for Texas vintage clothing and accessories has just listed many new vintage clothing and accessories items for sale.


All store items are currently 10% off. This offer does not include auction items, ONLY items in our store.


We have many super cute 50's wiggle dresses, vintage 40's & 50’s suits, and tons of other cute vintage items.


We are also offering free domestic shipping on orders of $75 or more. Please visit our store for additional details.  Please visit as many auction items are ending tomorrow!


<a href="http://stores.ebay.com/Lone-Star-Vintage-Clothing">Visit Lone Star Vintage Clothing.  All domestic orders over $75 get free shipping.  All store inventory is currently 10% off</a>.


 

Vintage 40's suits, vintage 50's wiggle dresses for sale

Originally posted 10/13/07

Lone Star Vintage Clothing - your home for Texas vintage clothing and accessories has just listed many new vintage clothing and accessories items for sale.


All store inventory is currently 10% off. This offer does not include auction items, ONLY items in our store.


We have many super cute 50's wiggle dresses, vintage 40's & 50’s  suits, and tons of other cute vintage items.


We are also offering free domestic shipping on orders of $75 or more. Please visit our store for additional details.  Please visit as many auction items are ending tomorrow!


http://stores.ebay.com/Lone-Star-Vintage-Clothing

Vintage 40s-50s wiggle & shirtwaist dresses, vintage suits for sale - hurry ending soon!

Originally posted 10/8/07

Lone Star Vintage Clothing - your home for Texas vintage clothing and accessories has just listed many new vintage clothing and accessories items for sale. All store inventory is currently 10% off. This offer does not include auction items, ONLY items in our store. We have many super cute 50's vintage swing shirtwaist dresses, vintage 50's suits, vintage 50's shoes, vintage pencil skirts and tons of other cute vintage items.


We are also offering free domestic shipping on orders of $75 or more. Please visit our store for additional details. 


Please visit as many auction items are ending tomorrow!


http://stores.ebay.com/Lone-Star-Vintage-Clothing

Tons of new vintage 40s & vintage 50's dresses and vintage suits added today!

Originally posted 10/3/07

 


 


http://stores.ebay.com/Lone-Star-Vintage-Clothing_W0QQsspagenameZMEQ3aFQ3aSTQQtZkm


 


Shop Lone Star Vintage Clothing-save 10% on store inventory!


 


We've added tons of new listings in the past two days and will be adding additional vintage clothing later this week.


 


 

Lone Star Vintage Clothing - new vintage items listed in our eBay store - save 10% on store inventory

Originally posted 10/2/07

Lone Star Vintage Clothing - your home for Texas vintage clothing and accessories has just listed many new vintage clothing and accessories items for sale. All of our store inventory is currently 10% off. This offer does not include auction items, ONLY items in our store. We have many super cute 50's vintage swing shirtwaist dresses, vintage 50's suits, vintage 50's shoes, vintage pencil skirts and tons of other cute vintage items. We are also offering free domestic shipping on orders of $75 or more. Please visit our store for additional details.


Lone'>http://stores.ebay.com/Lone-Star-Vintage-Clothing

Many new vintage 50's dresses and vintage 50's suits for sale at Lone Star Vintage Clothing

Originally posted 9/26/07

This week was a good week for vintage finds in Houston, Texas.  The folks at Lone Star Vintage Clothing found many lovely vintage suits and vintage 50's shirtwaist dresses, a lovely vintage brocade halter dress, about 10 vintage ladies suits, many vintage wiggle and/or vintage sheath dresses.  We've listed them for sale at our eBay and Auctiva store and will be listing additional suits and dresses later this week!

any new vintage 50's dresses and vintage 50's suits for sale at Lone Star Vintage Clothing

Originally posted 9/26/07

This week was a good week for vintage finds in Houston, Texas.  The folks at Lone Star Vintage Clothing found many lovely vintage suits and vintage 50's shirtwaist dresses, a lovely vintage brocade halter dress, about 10 vintage ladies suits, many vintage wiggle and/or vintage sheath dresses.  We've listed them for sale at our eBay and Auctiva store and will be listing additional suits and dresses later this week!

New vintage items added at Lone Star Vintage Clothing

Originally posted 9/22/07

Welcome to Lone Star Vintage Clothing - your home for Texas vintage.  We sell mostly vintage items ranging from the 1920's through the grunge era however, we have just recently started  selling used designer apparel as well. 


Today we listed several vintage dresses and vintage tops as well as some newer used designer garments such as a gorgeous Tahari evening dress, some vintage 1980's glam rocker bead and sequin jacket and top, some retro Dr. "Doc" Marten wingtips and much more.


Be sure to check out our store for some women's vintage shoes from the 1940's through the 1960's.  We also have a gorgeous vintage 1980's Victor Costa metallic gold dress that has a 1950's silhouette. Another beautiful dress we have listed in either from the 40's or 50's.  It's a baby blue chiffon, tulle and taffeta bubble hem halter dress.  Just fabulous!

Vintage clothing in Houston, Texas

Originally posted on 8/11/07

Texas has a lot of vintage clothing as do all places, but we have some damn good vintage!  I found a vintage Judith Leiber clutch handbag/purse yesterday.  I also found a lot of Kiln pottery.  I also have some great 1950's dresses as well as a beautiful satin bias cut gown and matching jacket.  I also have listed a gorgeous vintage 1950's Samuel Winston tulle party dress.  All of these amazing things are vintage from Houston, Texas.  Everything can be viewed at my eBay store:  http://www.texas-bargaindepot.com .


 


Vintage clothing and other vintage smalls in Houston Texas rock!!

Our inventory reappeared!!

Originally posted on 7/6/07

I went back online to sort out our missing inventory and low and behold there it was.  I was about ready to add everything again, but luckily did not have to.  I will be adding more tomorrow as it is getting late now. I went to a really good estate sale last week (went all three days it was open-everything gets cheaper and cheaper closer to the end of the sale).  I have a bunch of garments that have not been measured that need to be added to our inventory.   

Our inventory

Originally posted on 7/5/2007

Okay, so yesterday we listed several items for sale here at Lone Star Vintage Clothing, but we messed something up (because we are website novices-aka don't know what we're doing) and all inventory disappeared.  That totally stinks.  We will be relisting all items today as well as some additional items.  We have also started a store at http://www.babylonmall.com/.  It's a great online place to buy and sell vintage wares.  We are very excited about selling on that website as well.  We also still have eBay auctions!  Check back frequently!!

Transferring all Adventures in Vintage Posts from my website to this blog

My current blog titled "Adventures in Vintage" located at http://lonestarvintageclothing.com/page3.htm does not have a lot of the same capabilities that this blog does-so, I am transferring all posts from my old blog to this blog. The posted dates in this blog will be incorrect. My old blog does not feed correctly and I have no choice but to transfer everything. Sort of a pain in the butt if you ask me.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Definition of vintage clothing: What is the definition of vintage clothing?

Do you ever ask youself what the true definition of vintage clothing is? Sure, I am sure we all have an idea or thought in our mind about vintage clothing, or what we think the definition of vintage clothing is.

Wikipedia online defines vintage clothing as the following: "Vintage clothing is a generic term for new or second hand garments originating from a previous era. The phrase is also used in connection with a retail outlet, e.g. "vintage clothing store." It can also be used as an adjective: "This dress is vintage."

The word vintage is copied from its use in wine terminology, as a more elegant-seeming euphemism for "old" clothes.

Wikipedia also goes on to say: "Other reasons that some people are attracted to vintage clothing include:

Unique or almost unique: most items were custom made, and others were manufactured in small quantities only.
Good quality: they were designed to be worn for years and passed on to other family members, so they were made of robust materials, well cut and well made, with generous seam allowances and hems which allow for alterations and custom fit.
Fine materials: many of the unusual older fabric types are no longer manufactured, or are now prohibitively expensive.
Value for money: garments generally sell for a cost far below similar new modern garments.
History: an appreciation of the past, the roles of previous generations and the skills of respected designers.
Detailing: hand finishing, unusual buttons, hand embroidery, handmade lace, crochet, applique, beading and other techniques.
Style: vintage clothing has traditionally been the favourite of creative personalities because it offers an enormously wide range of imaginative styles.
Investment: some people buy to collect rather than to wear, and increasingly, good quality vintage garments especially items by well-known designers are sought after by collectors".

So, does any of the above mentioned text go with what you think of when you think of the word vintage clothing?

Lone Star Vintage Clothing has some great pieces of vintage clothing on their site ranging from vintage dresses to vintage accessories.

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