Mimi's Etsy Handmade Portrait!

The talented Mimi is now a movie star! Or maybe she's still an artist, but Etsy has featured her in a captivating "video portrait". She tells us what inspires her and shows off her studio. Watch below and enjoy! :)

My Cabinet

As promised (although a day late), I have new photos of the goodies in my china cabinet! :) This is where I keep many of my favorite vintage finds. I did a post on it a while back last year when I first got my cabinet and since then I've added lots more goodies!

This is the deer and fawn figure I got the other day in Acadia..I thought it looked charming perched in front of my blue butterfly planter filled with my favorite millinery.

These twin storks are early spun cotton. They are quite tall and so soft and in such good condition!

This beauty was made by a talented friend. I have a few more of his pieces and intend to collect even more. He is a little shy about his work but one of these days I'd love to do an entire post filled with photos of his lovely pieces.

These two pieces you've probably seen before. Melfie made the pretty party hat and Laurie from Magpie Ethel made the Valentine's Day Girl. Love them both!

These are spun cotton cuties found on ebay.

This too was an ebay find...a little hard to come by and a bit of a splurge, but it was worth it! I'm such a sucker for cotton and paper and I just love how happy this couple looks. I plan to display my wedding cake topper collection at my own wedding!

I love egg cups and I love filling them!

The kitty in the forefront has been around since I was a little kid. My mom either made it or got it from a craft fair back in the 80's...such memories! The blue kitty I've had for at least 5 or 6 years. The first kitty needed a friend....although he still looks sad...

I just LOVE these two dapper bunnies. They have spun cotton heads and crepe paper suits...my two favorite materials! They are really hard to find...if anyone knows where I can find more, please let me know! :)

For some reason I don't really like Avon things...but who could resist this gorgeous bird sitting on a nest? It's milk glass (my favorite kind of glass) and the lid comes off so you can store little cotton balls or what have you. Next on my wish list is this pretty bird on a nest.

This little vintage made-in-Japan bird looks like a cookie, but I wouldn't try eating it if I were you! It gracefully hangs on the outside knob. The perfect finishing touch! The end!

Fairies and Birthday Creations

This little group of cuties just went off to Susan's Store Room. The pretty gal above captured my heart so much that I had to make another similar one for myself...even though she was meant to be one of a kind. I guess now she has a secret twin that will live in my little china cabinet!

Speaking of my china cabinet, I have added lots of vintage beauties to it since I last showed it to you. I'll snap some photos and show you tomorrow.

Fairies are ready to enchant little girls and big girls alike!

Vain mermaids are prepared to charm.

And this cutie was made with lots of vintage glass beads and a bright fuchsia tin from India that I had been saving for the perfect project. You'll find these goodies and more at Susan's Store Room in California, a wonderful shop filled to the brim with wondrous treasures. :)

Treasures from Acadia

This past weekend Ben and I spent four days in Acadia National Park up in Maine. This place is truly awe inspiring and I recommend it to anyone who loves the great outdoors. This place is covered in quaint pine forests with moss and lichens galore. I thought I saw the place where Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs lived!

While I didn't do a ton of treasure hunting, we did stop at some cute antique shops on the way home. They were a bit pricey because the general population of that area are summertime tourists, but I did manage to score a handful (one handful to be precise) of cute things including an old cotton chick, a pretty unusually shaped Christmas ornament, a tiny kewpie doll dressed in a crepe paper flower dress, a Japanese deer figurine (I've got quite a collection of these deer now!) and a sailor pin. Some of these pieces I'll be using in my creations (as always).


I also found this pretty hat. It's very old and it actually much more brilliantly colored than this photo is leading on. It's posted in my Etsy shop if any hat or millinery collectors are interested!


This antique store was in downtown Bar Harbor...super cute but expensive. This basket of enchanting Japanese figures were charming, but I left them all behind. :(


Some building facade collages were quite inspiring!


And I want to spare you tons of boring vacation photos, but I couldn't help but share a few from our hike/climb up the Precipice Trail...a very steep and dangerous cliff face trail. In many areas skinny steel bars were the only thing that kept us from falling off the cliff! And I climbed the whole thing in a skirt! It's not quite fashionable, but I tied it in a million knots to create makeshift shorts. Needless to say I was expecting more of a gentle incline during this hike. lol


Ben has made it halfway across a precarious series of bridges and thin ledges.


The breathtaking view could be seen from any point during our hike (no pesky trees blocking our vision). This place really is "God's country".

The Book of the Farm

The other weekend I came across this amazingly illustrated and very old book that I just couldn't pass up. The brilliant animals are printed in vivid colors on large, thick linen paper and it just just took my breath away. I just had to share the colorful pages with you.

They don't need much explanation, so happy farm gazing! :)

Enchanting Weekend...

This past weekend was quite enchanting!! Ben's mom was visiting on Saturday so we decided to take her up to Marblehead, a quiet fishing town just north of the city. I was enchanted the minute we got there. The town is quite historical and most of the buildings and homes along the water are very old and very quiet. The town was build on a sort of rocky cliff...they nestled the houses and stores right into the nooks and crannies and it still sits there, nice and cozy.

I also got to wear my new vintage handmade dress from the 40's. It's got the kind of skirt that twirls completely out. We were on the top floor of a little art museum and Ben was playing the grand piano while I twirl about so many times I nearly fell over.


I only snapped a few photos with my phone, but you can see how each house is swaddled right into the neighborhood with a tiny lush garden in front making it feel like we were in a little English town.


Ben sits on a bench overlooking the harbor. We sat there for quite some time, napping and relishing the breeze that took away the uncomfortable heat.


I saw this painting in the little art museum and was really taken by it. It looks much more captivating in person. It was among generic images of boats and landscapes and portraits of people I didn't know. It's bright pastel colors and loose rendering was unique...and rarely can I resist chubby cows.


On Sunday Ben and I ventured down to Providence RI. It's only 45 minutes south and we really don't go there enough. I love the neighborhood that sits along the sides of a giant hill...that too seems very English to me. We went over the hill for the first time ever and discovered a great stretch of street that had cute vintage shops and little restaurants.

For our dinner, Ben happily chose an Indian restaurant nestled into the side of a storefront and earlier found this awesome hat that makes him look like a Louisiana musician.


A lot of the stores were closed on Sunday but I peeked in the window of one store and saw these glorious little reproductions by Wendy Addison and Cody Foster. Very inspiring!


I also saw an old McCall magazine from 1960 at an antique store and flipped through it, finding this wonderful tutorial on how to make honeycomb tissue hot air balloons. These are just too charming! Now I just need to get my hands on some honeycomb tissue balls....

And lastly, I picked up this little trio from an antique store just as it was about to close. These are old store stock mohair bunny's from the 1950's or so. I've seen these well played with in big size...but never in mini size like these. They're maybe 5" tall. So cute! :)

An enchanting weekend indeed!

Tiny World's Workshop

I just got back from taking my BH buddy Mimi Kirchner's "Tiny World's" workshop. It was fabulous and I learned a lot about detailed sewing. I am always enchanted by the detail Mimi puts into her dolls and I'm glad to have come away with even a tiny portion of her knowledge.

Above is the adorable tiny world I made! I love how it turned out. Pretty classic colors but the red door makes it pop. It reminds me of a little school house. I'd like to add a little bit of red embroidery around the edges to finish it off.

Mimi provided tons of materials to work with.

My unfinished world is in front. Two of Mimi's are behind. Pretty close eh?

If you'd like to make one of these tiny worlds, Mimi offers a tutorial here. Thank you Mimi for a wonderful lesson!

Find Vintage Treasures at Vintage from Crystal!

I just wanted to whisper that my vintage treasures Etsy shop, Vintage from Crystal, has loads of new goodies if you're looking for old and pretty things! I don't think I've ever mentioned this shop in more than one or two sentences, so let me tell you a little bit about it now. :)

One of my very favorite things to do (and I know I've mentioned it before) is to treasure hunt. Vintage treasure hunt to be more specific. After years of sifting through old dusty boxes and combing through all the junk and high priced antiques at numerous flea markets, stores, and garage sales...I've finally found all the best places to go hunting in New England. I've also made friends along the way who know what I'm looking for and actually save items for me knowing I'll buy them right up the next time I come in. I buy so many things that I often get a quantity discount, plus I know how to bargain and where to bargain. This treasure hunting business is quite a fine art! I know I'm tooting my own horn here, but I'm very proud of my skills and knowledge in this area! Are you a great treasure hunter too? I know some of you are. If so, I'd love to hear all about it!!

Most of my treasures are either used in my work for Vintage by Crystal or used or displayed around my home. But for the last year or two I've been buying a little extra to share with other people who love fabulous vintage finds but don't have the time or desire to do the legwork. Surfing the net in your jammies is so much nicer than getting grimy and negotiating with vendors, unless of course you enjoy getting grimy like I do. ;) The main draw for my shop? My items are cheap! I like a good bargain and I'd like to share those good bargains with anyone who appreciates them. One more thing about the treasures in my shop...for the most part I only buy items that I wouldn't mind having myself. If they don't find new homes after a while, I'll just keep them!

The reason I'm talking about my store right now is because my blog buddies, Beth from Bethsbagz and Suzy from Georgia Peachez are having double grand openings of their vintage treasures Etsy shops today! Dime Store Chic offers tons of kitchsy cute things and Little Peachez sells pretty vintage fabrics and other goodies. Go check them out!

Well...time to quit blabbering, here's a peek at what I'm currently offering.

Old wedding dress scraps and vintage millinery flowers for crafting.

This change purse is as cute as a bug's ear and this crazy flowered hat provides a ton of millinery blooms.


A little bit of everything for crafting dolls or mixed media projects and the most adorable old owl yarn kits.


And buttons buttons buttons! I'm always adding new old items. I hope you'll stop by for a gander! :) www.vintagefromcrystal.blogspot.com

Swept away by Moosewood

I know I've been missing for awhile...but I was swept away by Moosewood! Moosewood is a Private Hunting Cabin Nestled in the Adirondack Mountains. It's several miles off the beaten path and can only be reached by 4-wheel vehicle or by foot. Every year since my Dad was a kid and probably even before that, my family has been vacationing at this wonderful, kick back and relax, memory filled place. When I was a kid I remember my grandmother making pancakes with the blueberries my cousins and I picked in the woods. I remember walking to and from the swimming hole with a towel in hand while swatting away the deerflies. My brother, cousins and I played and teased eachother on the cable crossing. We'd rock hop. We'd canoe. We'd pick the leeches off our toes in disgust, only to get right back in the water. I remember being so exciting before the trip in anticipation for the large amount of crawfish I would catch (and of course release). It's still so sweet to visit that old hunting cabin and even more sweet to catch up with my family.


It was rainy two out of three days, but that didn't stop us from hiking and hanging out. The air was fresh and moist and the grass was cool and wet on my bare feet.


One of my favorite spots is the crossing. Our trucks precariously ford the creek and the water often hisses against the engines. In these photos (taken by Aunt Kathy): The large boulder is a good place to perch/Uncle Cliff is rather limber as he strattles the foot bridge/Dad and I soak our feet/my little sister Suzi invited her friend Willow to join our festivities.


Hiking in the rain isn't so bad...especially when you have a tiny umbrella. We hiked 3 miles to one of the Lean to's at Wilcox Lake.


Dinners are fabulous. Thank you for cooking Aunt Kathy and Uncle Cliff!


Another thing I enjoy about Moosewood is being surrounded by fabulous antiques that are still being used for their original purpose in their original home. The old ice box and Coca Cola cooler were used 100 years ago at Moosewood. We bring up blocks of ice to stock them with as there is no electricity or running water at Moosewood. An ancient medical box was probably bought new by a Moosewood hunter years and years ago and still holds medical supplies, just in case. The wooden rocking chair was chewed by beavers decades ago when it was once left unattended on the porch. Even the beds in the orphanage-like loft are super old...and sometimes a little creepy. My Dad always sleeps in the haunted bed, proving his courage.