Come See Us Again at the Martha Stewart American Made 2013

 

Martha is at it again!  She is hosting the American Made Awards for the second year and we are honored to have been invited back as vendors!  In fact, we were told that Martha asked for us personally!  It's nice to be wanted.  :)  If you're not familiar with the awards, it's two days of crafting, demos, presentations, cooking, shopping, and more!  Located at Grand Central Terminal in NYC, they also hand out awards to very deserving American Makers (vote for your favorite here).  

Ben and I will be there from Tuesday night (which is a private opening), and all day Wednesday and Thursday.  I was so so happy to see many of you there last year and hope to see you again!  I've been crafting like crazy and have some great new pieces I'll be bringing with me. 

The shopping, demos, food samples and make and gift stations are all free and open to all...and if you want to participate in the workshops or panels, you can sign up for them here (those aren't free).

I hope you'll come and see us if you're in the New York area!  Just head to Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall.  Here's when:

October 15 ~ 6 - 9 pm (invitation only)

October 16 ~ 8 am - 8 pm

October 17 ~ 8 am - 8 pm

photo courtesy of The Wall Street Journal          

Acorns and Pinecones Oh My!

 I think I'm in love!!  A wonderful customer and friend from the west coast just sent an amazing collection of acorns and pine cones!  And sure, they are just acorns and pine cones, but my oh my are they so so beautiful!!!  They are tiny natural works of art and I feel like I've just been introduced to an amazing new artist.  The acorns are like none I've seen in my neck of the woods, and even when I was on the coast myself, I nary saw an oak tree, let alone an acorn (and I was looking too).  Just gorgeous!!!  The acorns we have here in NY are pretty too, very round and some very very large, but when you see something all the time, it's fantastic to see a completely different version of it.  These guys are long and thin, the caps are very delicately formed.  The tiny ones are really unusual, like tiny pointy gems.  And there are tiny pine cones too in that box...so little you'd need good eye sight to spot them on the ground...sigh...

 And she also sent these glorious little pine cones.  Just the right size for the little characters in my world, and with long stems to boot.  The strangest thing is that these small cones come from the largest trees in the world!!  They are from the giant redwood trees!  I thought I had collected some on our trip, but I think mine were really from douglas firs (those trees were huge too).  The largest cones I had managed to collect on our trip came from these scrubby little Charlie Brown trees on the top of a mountain... Nature is really something sometimes! 

 And look!!  She sent two whole boxes of them!!  

Thank you so so much Leslie!  These are really special!  :)

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Happy Birthday Mom!  Today is my mama's birthday and I'm very glad to be able to spend it with her.  She's expecting three granddaughter's this year (my brother and sister-in-law are having twin girls in October!) and so I made her this card.  What better gift than three wee ones to spoil and love!

Love you mom!!!  :)

Is it a boy or a girl??

 It's a girl!!  Ben and I are very happy to announce that our new tiny addition is sugar and spice and everything nice!  Little dresses, cute dolls, fairies and mermaids...sigh.  Or maybe she'll be a tomboy and dig for worms, go fishing with Grandpa and learn to use a hand drill.  Or best of all...maybe both! 

Either way, we'll be a happy little family.  :)

Halloween Update!

Jack O' Lantern - SOLD
Leaf Pile Pumpkin - SOLD

We thought they all disappeared, but more have returned and this time they've resurrected a few zombies!  This troop is just dying to eat… I mean… meet you.  They’ve been dancing, howling and jesting in the studio all through the evening, and have been playing the thriller song non-stop on repeat.

Lets just say, it was a very VERY long night!        

While most pieces in this update are 100 percent one-of-a-kind, a few characters have been selected as “made to order” pieces for a new collaboration (you'll see what we mean later!).  However, the pieces photographed here are the actual items you will receive and are first come first served as usual.

~~~~~

Blog readers get first dibs on our new spun cotton figures. If you see something(s) you love, just email us at vintagebycrystal@yahoo.com and we'll let you know if they're still available. First come first served! we'll update item statuses in this post as often as we can to make it easier for you to know what's available. Items often get scooped up quickly, so make your selection as swiftly as you can, you can always add available pieces to your order later.  Also feel free to include second choices in case your first choice is unavailable, but make sure you label them "second choice".  Click on photos to enlarge.

Shipping is $3.50 for one item and $1 per additional item up to $6.50, then additional pieces are free. All paid orders will ship out immediately via first class mail and should arrive within a few days.  We send Paypal invoices via email unless you specify that you'd rather pay via check. And of course email us if you have any questions!

Happy Shopping! 

 Windy Wendy - SOLD

Owly Hooty - SOLD

Pumpkin Juggler - SOLD

Star Juggler - SOLD

 

 Miss Treats - SOLD

Miss Candy -SOLD

Miss Sweets - SOLD

Autumn Breeze - SOLD

Miss Rudy -SOLD

Pella Pumpkin - SOLD

Sally Skull - SOLD

 Butterfly Betty - SOLD

Peppy Pippy - SOLD

 Flying Florence - SOLD

Soaring Suzy - SOLD

 Laffy Taffy - SOLD

Miss Bow - SOLD

 Miss Amelia - SOLD

Agatha Witchston - SOLD

Witchy Witch - SOLD

Griselda - SOLD

Belladonna - SOLD

 Minnie Castavet - SOLD

Miss Sabrina - SOLD

Ida Webington - SOLD

 Smitty Kitty - SOLD

 Greedy Seedy (paper mache head) - SOLD

Francis N. Stein (paper mache head) - SOLD

Worried Wilma (paper mache head) - SOLD

 Coffin Mummy - SOLD

Coffin Pumpkin - SOLD

Coffin Ghosts - SOLD

 Bizzara - SOLD

Little Pumper Rider - SOLD

 Zoomba Zombie - SOLD

Zombie Rick - SOLD

Zombie Daryl - SOLD

 Errola Owl (paper mache head) - SOLD

Olivia Owl (paper mache head) - SOLD

 Ronnie Radish -SOLD

Cassey Carrot -SOLD

Parsnip Paula - SOLD

Marley (paper mache head) - SOLD

Halloween Update Announcement

There is something about Autumn that gets me very giddy and excited! Maybe It's the final harvest of the season.  Maybe it's that nostalgic feeling that I get when we drive past a haunted corn maze.  Maybe it's the delicious yummy apple pie that Ben made from the apples in our yard.  Or maybe it's the utmost enjoyment I get from creating Halloween pieces! 

Get ready for another fantastic Halloween update! There will be a wonderful assortment of great one of a kind treasures.  Some may be too spooky to handle!! 

I should also warn you that some pieces may contain a terrible curse of adorableness.

 
Blog readers get first dibs as usual and if you'd like to be notified about upcoming blog updates and special events, just sign up for my mailing list on the right side of my blog, or leave a comment with your email address.
 

 

New one-of-a-kind pieces will be available for purchase on:

Friday, September 20th - Here, the blog - 11:00 am EST

See you here on Friday! :)

A visit to Magpie Ethel

When we were planning our trip out west and knowing we'd be stopping in Portland, I just had to stop and visit my good friend Laurie from Magpie Ethel.  If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll have seen quite a few posts and mentions of her.  While we live on opposite coasts and had never met in person, I felt like I knew her already...and her studio and home too!  She and I share a similar aesthetic and of course a love for all things quirky and old.  I had seen photos of her studio and home plenty of times on her blog...but it's nothing compared to seeing it in person.  It's truly stunning and so so so inspiring!  She has the most drool worthy collections of not only studio decorations and materials, but of things in her home too.  And to boot...Laurie is as sweet as cherry pie!  ...not that I was surprised by that.  :)

I took a gajillion photos of all her awesome stuff...here are a bunch.  They're pure eye candy.

 Her pipe cleaner bug was my very favorite thing of hers...and I'm surprised I was able to pick a favorite!

Pom pom cherries.

 Weird, cool doll on a bingo card on a cabinet door.

 The best baby toys I've ever seen!

 Hanging teacups on the newly installed pot rack.

 Storks storks storks!!

 Open any drawer and you won't be disappointed!

 Tiny drawers.  I have a lot of these too, but mine aren't so nicely organized and pretty!

 Mushrooms!

 Honeycombs and lanterns...to die for!

 Candy canes!  I've all but used all mine up...I need to go estate saling soon!!

 And I thought I had a lot of putz houses!

 Jars of awesomeness...

 Cupcake wrappers of every size and pattern you'd ever dream of.

 Sigh...ask me as a kid if I'd ever be jealous of someone's pipe cleaner collection....

 Gnome guy?  Yes please.

 A bowl of Santas...every good studio needs one!

 Her studio was chock full of goodness in every crevice and crack and from floor to ceiling...but her house was more curated and the collections were wonderfully displayed.  Like this glass cabinet with honeycomb mushrooms and swans. 

 Raffata flowers in front of the window.

 Birds in the bathroom.

 The best part may be the shallow built in cabinet at the top of her stairs.  All her favorite things are there...

 

 Hey!  I have this same deer ornament!  But hers is glitter and mine is venetian dew...who knew they made two versions?

 Sigh...

 Sign again...love the honeycomb chicks in a row with dresden backdrop...genius!

Sigh...again...

 I think I've picked my personal favorite from the cabinet.  So cute!

A dresser in the master bedroom...Ben would never let me keep a display like this in our room!  Humpf!

Darling vintage pipe cleaner dolls.  Look at the one with the dog!

 A lamp girl with lightbulb face...next project on my list...painting a lightbulb....

And last photo before my phone conked out...two coveted glittery birds...handmade by a mystery artist.

So great to meet you Laurie (finally!!) and thank you so much for letting me bombard your world!  I just loved every moment!!!  :)