Monday, March 30, 2015

Fair Linens

It's Shameless Commerce Tuesday, and today I'm featuring two of my newest listings from my vintage shop, Aunt Pheba's Vintage.

Whether you're looking for cottage chic accents, "something old" for a wedding, or a treasure trove of vintage handmade lace, these lace-trimmed beauties could fit the bill.  Unlike many vintage linens, these two doilies are in very good condition -- probably stored away and brought out only for special occasions.








Close Up of Handmade Lace Edging


Thanks for stopping by!  
16 days until the end of tax season and counting ...!

TTFN
LeAnn

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Treasury Thanks

Each week I dedicate my Sunday post to saying THANK YOU to the curators of Etsy treasuries who featured items from my Etsy shops, Pasque Flower Creations and Aunt Pheba's Vintage, over the past week.

Spring themes continue to dominate this week's treasuries.  I'll feature an item from each of the curators' shops, but there's even more eye candy lurking in the treasuries.  Please feel free to click, heart, Like, Share, or Pin if you see something you like.  Banding together to promote handmade can help us preserve the collaborative community that was the founder's vision of Etsy. 

Elena Kuzina of EleNesSilk featured my lavender floral oven mitt in her treasury, The Nice Day.  This small handpainted scarf is one of the beautiful scarves you will find in Elena's shop.  I LOVE the shoes she's used as a photo prop!  If only I were 30 years younger!


Liz of TheLittleEmptyNest featured my nature-inspired pillow cover in her treasury, Edge.  This purple Czech beaded bracelet is one of my many favorites.   You'll find temptations on every page of Liz's lovely shop.


Susan McAnany of McAnany featured my poppies on blue oven mitt in her treasury, Rainy Day Blues.   Although I live in land-locked Nebraska, I find quiet beaches to be very tranquil and calming.
This beautiful seaside abstract photography could help create a tranquil visual oasis in your home or workspace. 


Valerie of NandysNook featured my crocus oven mitt in her treasury, Lovely Pinks for Spring.  This pastel mug cozy would be a lovely wrap for your morning cup of coffee or tea.



Elena Kuzina of EleNesSilk featured my azalea oven mitt in her pretty Spring treasury, Spring Flowers.  Here is a gorgeous hand-painted rayon scarf from Elena's shop.


Nancy C. Eckert of mysticneedle featured my owl plushie rattle in her treasury, Ocean Dreams.  I love this pretty lace shawl -- perfect for chilly Spring evenings.


Susan McAnany of McAnany featured my green and white chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Spring Green Tempt Team Motivation Treasury.   My dad died 47 years ago yesterday.  It's a day I think back to my childhood on our small family farm, and miss my dad SO much!  Perhaps that is why I was especially drawn to this art photo from Susan's shop, a still standing farmland landscape.   Sadly, the buildings on my home farm have been demolished.  I truly can't go home again. 


The only farming I do these days is backyard farming.  This Spring Gardening treasury by Cassie of CassieVision captures the feeling of my urge to dig in the dirt.  Many of my quilt friends also love to garden.  These adorable gardening tools earrings would be a great Mother's Day gift, a Garden Club prize, or a little gift for anyone who loves to garden. 


Pauline Clarke of polsknitsnstuff featured my happy camper oven mitt in her colorful treasury, Sing a Rainbow TEMPT Team.  These multicolored fingerless gloves are a little wearable rainbow.  Love that little turquoise fringe accent!


Becky of cuddlebumz featured my roses oven mitt in her treasury, TEMPT Team Treasury Blast Off!  This fox ID badge holder is SO cute!  It would be a great teacher gift or coworker gift!


Judith Petersen of HighestTideJewelry featured my green roses baby bib in her treasury, Temptation is Sweet.  I'm seeing a lot of aqua and turquoise lately.  This gemstone aqua necklace would be a lovely accessory -- and right on trend!


Elena Kuzina of EleNesSilk also featured my green roses baby bib in her treasury, Green Tea.  Here is another beautiful hand-painted silk scarf from Elena's shop. 



Margaret of SplendidLittleStars featured my red floral baby bib in her treasury, Spring, Sweet Spring.  This pretty cotton tie dye scrunchie is a colorful way to keep a pony tail under control -- perfect for those warm sunny days ahead!


MADellingerCarving featured my lavender floral oven mitt in a treasury, TEMPTing Treats from TempT Team.  M.A. Dellinger carves incredible little wood characters (or caricatures, in some cases).  My Minnesota friends and rellies would appreciate this lumberjack.  He's a little smaller than the legendary Paul Bunyan, but he definitely has the look!


Mike Kraus of MikeKrausArt featured my baking utensils oven mitt in his treasury, Friday Finds.  I am a huge fan of Mike's artwork.  For those of us on a tight budget, he now offers digital downloads of some of his prints!  One of my favorites is this blue and green birch forest digital downloand


Susan McAnany of McAnany surprised me with her darkly eerie treasury, The Dark Side,  where she featured my bling on black key fob.  While most of the art photos in Susan's shop are pretty, this metropolis wall art is an edgy modern piece in black and white.


Valerie of NandysNook featured my earthy stripe key fob in her sunny orange and yellow treasury, Sun-Kissed.  This orange sunglasses case crafted from cotton yarn would be perfect for a day at the beach.  It might also be a fun graduation gift for a grad whose future is so bright, she has to wear shades.


Susan McAnany of McAnany was on a treasury ROLL this week!  Back from the dark side, Susan curated this colorful treasury, TEMPTing Spring Colors - Blast Off.  This tropical illusion photo is one of the outstanding art photos in Susan's shop.


Rachel Pennington of RPArtandVintage featured my pencil-shaped pencil pouches in her treasury, Spring Is Coming :-).  These vintage pastel teacups would be perfect for a Spring tea party -- or a quiet afternoon reading on the deck. 


Jody Lee of Putterpaws featured my turquoise mosaic-look key fob in her treasury, Gift Ideas.  We'll soon be getting some April showers -- but this Blue Ridge Mountain Rain art photo captures what we Midwesterners call a gully washer. 


Kim Cole of BeachDaisyJewelry featured my green and white bunting in her treasury, Spring.  I love this crocheted circle headband made with stretchy yarn!  It's one of the beautifully-crafted handmade accessories with a beach-y vibe you can find in Kim's shop.   Kim's hubby is a CPA who has been doing taxes for 33 years, so she totally understood my reference to "tax season fatigue" in my recent Random Acts of Kindness blog post! 



Cassie of Cassie Vision featured my yellow and gray uptown oven mitt in her treasury, Spring Frolic -- a delightful mix of yellows and pinks playing well together.  Cassie's shop is a delightful mix of items, including many unique hair pins.  I was especially drawn to these nature pins -- a mix of shell, wood and stone. 


Kellee and Dorian Thomas of MoretheBuckles featured my azalea oven mitt in their treasury, Just for Mom TEMPT Team Blast Off.  I know lots of moms and grandmas who would love this pretty vintage cup and saucer from Kellee's shop.


And last, but not least, Stephanie Watson of PureRest featured my houndstooth eyeglass case in her treasury, Tempting Natural Tones.  Neutrals are calming, timeless, and span the seasons.  I chose to feature this pretty all organic eye pillow from Stephanie's shop.  Ahhh--I can almost feel the relief for my tired old eyes.  They get quite a workout during tax season.



Only 17 more days until the end of tax season... and counting!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week!

TTFN
LeAnn















Thursday, March 26, 2015

Random Acts of Kindness



I'll confess to being a little addlebrained lately.  I'm hoping it's just late tax season fatigue, and not early onset Alzheimer's!  

Today I attended an early afternoon staff meeting at East Campus Union -- a quiet retreat during Spring Break.  As I prepared to leave my day job to head to the tax office for back-to-back tax appointments, I realized I was missing my purse.  After a moment of sheer panic, I retraced my steps since returning from the meeting.  No luck.  I realized I must have left it hanging over the back of a chair at the Union.

First Random Act of Kindness

My boss, the Director of the Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic, volunteered to drive over to the Union.
He's been working on a big project, and had a presentation to give this evening, but he took time out of his busy day to help me. 

I called the tax office to alert them I might be a few minutes late, and my coworker looked up numbers for East Campus Union, to alert them my boss was on his way.

Second Random Act of Kindness

When my boss arrived at the Union, he found the note shown above.  He went to the Bookstore and retrieved my purse.  He then sent a text, telling me to meet him by my car. He handed me my purse and the note--and I made it to the tax office three minutes before my first scheduled appointment.

Only after I returned home at 8:30 pm, did I look inside the purse to see if anything was missing.
EVERYTHING was there; an uncashed paycheck for freelance legal research and $23 in cash, my credit/debit cards and photo IDs!  God bless you, kind person!!!

If the person who wrote the note would have left contact information, I'd have been more than happy to pay a reward.  SO-- to my patient boss and to my unknown guardian angel --THANK YOU for these random acts of kindness!

I hope I have an opportunity to pay it forward soon.

TTFN
LeAnn


Sunday, March 22, 2015

Treasury Thanks

Happy Spring!

Each week I devote my Sunday post to extend a THANK YOU to the curators of Etsy treasuries who featured items from my Etsy shops, Aunt Pheba's Vintage or Pasque Flower Creations, over the past week.  Spring is in the air, and this week's treasuries mostly centered around Spring-y themes. Enjoy!

Phyllis from RosyDaysScarves featured my pink and red hearts baby bib in her treasury, Spring Pinks...  This pink crepe silk scarf is one of the gorgeous scarves you will find in Phyllis's shop.


Natasha of NatashaArtDolls featured my green chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Green Spring Ornaments .  I absolutely love this boho art doll from Natasha's shop!  It reminds me of my quilt teacher and local quilt shop owner, Roxann O'Hare of The Cosmic Cow. 


Linda Pruitt of PruittSupply created a sunny treasury, with hints of sunny yellow in every listing -- BBA Sunshine.  Linda is a teammate on the Blogging Business Artisans Team.  This yellow mix of handmade yo-yos is one of the unique sewing supplies you will find in Linda's shop.


Dana Facinelli Whalen of CreativeEarthJeweler featured my rainbow chevron key fobs in her treasury, No Grey Skies Here .  This tie dye agate necklace is one of the upscale boho jewelry pieces you will find in Dana's delightful shop.  And, of course, I LOVE the colors!!


Pauline Clarke of polsknitsnstuff featured my azalea oven mitt in her treasury, Thank You.  Wouldn't this pink knitted bunny toy be cute nestled in an Easter basket?


Duni of PeriDotByDuni featured my pastel pink floral oven mitt in her treasury, Shades of Pink
This cottage chic laundry bag is one of pretty pastel items you will find in Duni's shop.


Natasha of NatashaArtDolls featured my lavender floral oven mitt in her treasury, Fresh Finds .
I love this redheaded cloth doll - complete with freckles - from Natasha's shop.  It reminds me of my daughter, Allison, who has always hated her freckles.  Her grandma gave her a tiny wooden sign that said, "A face without freckles is like a sky without stars." 


Kelsey Wiley of WileyAtHeart featured my pink chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Shades of Pink .
This long turquoise necklace is one of my favorites from Kelsey's shop -- and I'm seeing a lot of aqua and turquoise lately.


Susan McAnany of McAnany featured my elephants on green baby bib in her treasury, Hilly Billy Goes Green for St. Patrick's Day .  This treasury was a TEMPT Team Motivation Challenge treasury.  (TEMPT stands for Terrific Etsy Members Practicing Teamwork.)  The Motivation challenge picks one item from a team member's shop, and invites team members to create a treasury incorporating that item.  This week, the challenge item was a wood carving by MADellingerCarving.


But I digress... The item I'm featuring from McAnany is this sunset glow landscape photo, which reminds me of the green, green grass of my girlhood home in Lake County, South Dakota.  I've driven and biked many dirt roads -- parallel ruts, my Uncle Bob called them.


Kim Cole of BeachDaisyJewelry featured my bears in the woods baby bib in her motivation treasury, Into the Woods.  I love the beachy colors in this beautiful necklace from Kim's shop. 


Natasha of NatashaArtDolls featured my yellow chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Spring Holidays.  It's Spring Break at UNL next week.  Yay!  Here's another adorable freckle-faced doll from Natasha's shop.  This one reminds me of Pippi Longstocking, one of Allison's favorite fictional characters as a child.


MaxUniquities featured my gray and tan industrial look pillow cover in his guy-friendly treasury, Mix by MAX Man Stuff - TEMPT Team Treasury .  Max repurposed an old treadle sewing machine base to create this unique and useful industrial table -- perfect for a craft room  Just sayin'. 


Sandy Rowley of MarketingShopSales featured one of my two beautiful coral and cream Acoma pueblo pottery pieces from Aunt Pheba's Vintage in her treasury, Pueblo Pottery.  This treasury was brimming with beautiful  pottery pieces, sure to provide a stunning accent piece to a Southwestern décor. 

Sandy has authored several e-books designed to help online sellers, which she markets as downloads in her shop.  This title caught my eye -- Ninja Etsy Marketing.  Couldn't we all use a little help with SEO (search engine optimization)?



Laura DeCamp of DeCampStudios featured my lavender floral oven mitt in her treasury, Beautiful Etsy Gifts.  Mother's Day and bridal showers are coming up!  Laura specializes in paper wall art. I love this adorable, colorful jungle print wall border - perfect for a nursery or child's room.


Liz of LittleEmptyNest featured my brown chevron oven mitt in her motivation treasury, A Day with Bubba -- By Land and Sea!  Liz has recently added several beautifully-crafted 1/12 miniature doll quilts, pillows and afghans to her shop.  (Those are some teeny tiny quilt blocks!!)  This is one of my favorites. 


Valerie of NandysNook featured my lavender floral oven mitt in her treasury, Spring Frolic!  These crochet mini gift baskets would be perfect for Easter or May Day -- or for party favors. 




Raena of LovelyKnotsBoutique featured my red floral oven mitt in her treasury, Red by Tempt.  I just couldn't resist sharing these adorable crochet bunnies!   

Kathy Read of DixieVintageShoppe also featured my lavender floral oven mitt in her treasury, Inspired by Nature .  Kathy has some truly unique vintage jewelry pieces in her shop, including these white enamel teardrop clip earrings



Cassie of CassieVision featured my diner oven mitt in her trip down historic Route 66.  Cassie's shop is a mix of unique jewelry, her mother's intricate beadwork, and stunning photography.  Today, I chose to feature this Pacific Northwest stream photo.  As some of you know, I would love to retire to a tiny house by a babbling brook -- but hopefully in the Northeast, closer to some of my kids and grandkids.  There's something so soothing about the sound of a water dancing over rocks.



Kellee and Dorian Thomas of MoreTheBuckles featured my tigers on purple baby bib in their treasury, All About Spring.  This vintage men's leather money belt would be a great gift for a dad or grad. 



Warm up your coffee or tea --- there's MORE!

Patsy Bechtold of PatsysPressedFlowers also featured my tigers on purple baby bib in her treasury, Grab Your Joe and Let's Go TEMPT Team! This lovely pressed flowers forget-me-not bookmark would be a lovely gift, sure to become a keepsake.  (And I love her listing photo.)


Mike Kraus of MikeKrausArt featured my daisies on blue oven mitt in his treasury, Saturday Salute.  This lavender farm in Provence artist's trading card would add a tiny bit of color to a workspace.  I can almost smell the lavender!  I plan to make some lavender sachets for next craft fair season.



Kellee and Dorian Thomas of MoreTheBuckles featured my pink roses oven mitt in their treasury, Blast Off Thank You.   If you love vintage, you MUST browse this shop!  Here is a lovely carnival glass serving dish.  My Grandma Larson would have loved this!  It "matches" her pink carnation china. 



Rossiter Lisa of PNLJewelryDesigns featured my spit happens bib in her treasury, Today's Picks .
Lisa has this 5-pack crystal earrings set on sale.  It's not too early to start stocking up on stocking stuffers!  I started my 2016 gift list yesterday, when I purchased a book for my SIL. 


Barbara Gross of benjaminajewelry featured my pink and red folk art baby bib in her treasury, The Child in All of Us.  This is a BEAUTIFUL treasury in reds and pinks.  Barbara crafts original contemporary jewelry.  I just love these colorful long leaf aluminum dangle earrings!!



Kathy and Wayne of Rocks2Gems2Wire featured my baby elephants on green bib in their blue and green themed treasury, Bluegrass! TEMPTing Music for the Soul!  This unique wire-wrapped petrified wood necklace is one of the lovely pieces you will find in their shop. 


And last, but certainly not least, Rossiter Lisa of PNLJewelryDesigns featured my spit happens bib in her treasury, TEMPT Team Treasury.  I love the simple elegance of this opal pendant.  Is it modern, or is it art deco?  No matter.  It's beautiful!  (Lovely photo staging, too.)


So there you have it!  Another week of wonderful treasuries.  Team spirit is alive and well. 

Happy Spring!
TTFN
LeAnn