Turtle Love Co. Vintage Style Council

Well, October just got more special! For a little while now, I've been part of a lovely group of bloggers called The Vintage Style Council, who work with Turtle Love Co, a vintage and artisan jewelry retailer based in Portland, Maine (I've been there!! It's a great town!) I'm really excited that I have been chosen as the Vintage Style Council Member of the Month for October! There is an interview with me over on their blog, if you'd like to check it out.

Turtle Love Co. have some absolutely gorgeous pieces of jewelry, a mixture of vintage and handcrafted designs. The new pieces are crafted by artisans who share the same values as the Turtle Love Co. team, which means they use recycled metals, conflict-free gemstones and sustainable pearls. The team also take steps to be eco-friendly in the office, and even for their commute! These guys are nestled close to my own heart!

I have more exciting news for you, there is a beautiful new vintage ring in the store and it's named after yours truly! How cool is that? Because Shell is a descriptive word for the actual materials used in some pieces, I went with "Shelly", which is what my dad calls me :) Isn't it a beautiful ring?

I thought it would be really fun to create a Pinterest board to tell a story about how the ring came into existence, around 1960. I wish you could re-order pins to create a coherent story, but alas, they seem to land wherever they please. The story follows the meeting, dates, excited gossiping amongst friends, a weekend away, a proposal and finally marriage of this cute 1950's couple who were originally married with this ring. As I said in my interview, I let my imagination get carried away when I see vintage items! I hope you like it, I had fun searching through all the old photos used to create the story.

Speaking of Pinterest boards, I created a different one based on one of the new pieces from Turtle Love Co, the Skipping Stone necklace. You can see that board here. It's "A Light Adventure" inspired by the pure white and silver of the necklace. Lots of pretty pastels to feast your eyes on :)

I'm so happy to be a part of The Vintage Style Council, and if you're looking for some eco-friendly new jewelry, or a unique vintage piece, head on over to Turtle Love Co.

Kitty
xo

*This is NOT a paid post, I truly believe in this brand. If you purchase after clicking on my links to the Turtle Love Co. site, I do receive a commission for any sales, as with all of my affiliate links.

Photo A Day #145 A Small Thrifty Treat

Gosh it's been a really long time since I found some thrifty treasures. I just haven't been out and about much lately, I've had work/travel and lots of stuff going on at home and I guess I haven't had time. But I did pop into a "Vinnies" the other day (I LOVE that the Australian branch of "St Vincent De Paul Society" has succumbed to colloquialism). I haven't been into this particular store before and it's pretty big with a lot of great stuff! They had two 60's couches in pristine condition, both green. One was velveteen and the other was just a standard 60's furnishing fabric. Both were amazing. Neither would fit in my house :( I picked up these matching West Virginia mugs instead. I love that they have some information on the state as well as a nice illustration on the front depicting the mountains and rivers of West Virginia. This is one of the states I've not yet visited (the shrinking number, I'm past halfway now!) hopefully I make it there on my next USA adventure.

Kitty
xo

Guest Post - Show & Tell over at Lollipops & Roses

I'd like to introduce you to Sabrina and Sammy:

Today I am really pleased to be guest posting over at Lollipops & Roses for Show and Tell Tuesday. Head on over if you'd like to check it out, my show and tell item is my Kitschy Critter Collection! You can learn all about Sabrina and Sammy and their kitschy friends. Say hi to the lovely Stephanie while you're there :)

Kitty
xo

Photo A Day #74 Market Day

Today I was planning on heading out to the antique market that I wrote about here and here, it's only on once a month. Unfortunately my thrifting partner was a bit under the weather, but it turned out well as I found it was market day in my town!

 I've been after a small rug/shawl/throw to take to work so that I can have a nanna blanket in the air conditioning, because I'm a wuss and get cold easily. I've been looking but everything I've found was overpriced and not quite right anyway. So I found this gorgeous crocheted blanket and bought it from the lady who had made it. That is always the best in my opinion! How great are the colors? And it's super-duper snuggly. I'm wearing it right now ;)

I also came across a jewelry stand that had lots and lots of cute rings. I chose these two. I'm also wearing them right now. I'm just like a little kid when it comes to new things, I have to put them on right away! I've been known to put things on in the actual shop and wear them out...

Finally, I finished my sewing project for the weekend, which was a nice cushion for my bed. It came out pretty well, I just need to stitch it's twin together then I'm all done! C and I rented a video game and a couple of movies as well, so I'm going to play the game for a bit and then give "Norwegian Wood" a go. The girl in the video store 'warned' us that it was in Japanese. I can just imagine the complaints she has received... "You didn't tell me this was a foreign film!!" Haha.
I hope you enjoy what's left of the weekend :)

Kitty
xo

Photo A Day #56 The Valentine Typewriter

When I went to the antique markets a couple of weeks ago, I saw this baby sitting on a desk at the very end of the day. It was love at first sight, especially since the two other typewriters C uses for work have recently died (on the same day). I decided not to buy it on that day, but then I couldn't stop thinking about it. Also, we were told that the other 2 were proving difficult to fix. So I called the lady who was selling it, and last weekend, we went to pick "The Valentine" up. Isn't it beautiful?

Kitty
xo

Photo A Day #43 Thrifty Belt

I have to admit, I've run out of steam today! It has been a really busy week at work and I've been doing a lot of hours. So today's pic is just a simple one, a close up of the belt in this outfit shoot, and I'm proud I found it in St Vincent De Paul for $3! For those of you in America, that's really cheap. I saw some really beaten up old pumps the other day and they were $35! That's pretty normal. I love my trips to the US where you can still get awesome stuff for a couple of dollars. You do get a good deal occasionally here, but thrifting in the USA is always a highlight for me!

 

How cool is this belt buckle?

I hope you all have a safe and relaxing Easter break, thanks for stopping by

Kitty xo

Thrifty Finds and Vintage Conquests - Stop. Accessorize.

So as promised, here is the haul from my recent trip to Love Vintage show in Sydney. There were so many treasures inside a small space, the experience was quite overwhelming. But I think I did quite well considering I had several moments of vintage love overload! It's a bit of a long post, so grab a cup of tea before you get settled in :)

This Pencil Scarf is perfect! It has a great palette (pun intended) and the design is so cute! Pencil Scarf happiness :)

Umbrella Brooch. I'm pretty sure this is 1980's, and is a bit faded, but isn't is gorgeous? The lady who sold it to me explained the importance of wearing a brooch the 'proper' way - pointing diagonally downwards and pinned through twice.

Apple buttons. I think it's possible that I let out a little squeal when I saw these. I LOVE apple things! The lady gave me a discount because I was soooo excited, she said I was like a kid in a candy store. Now I just need to find a special something to put these on, any ideas?

Mushroom Bobby-pin. This is so, so, so good! An original 1950's bobby-pin with a tiny mushroom bauble. Never worn! They had a few different fruit and vegetables, like chillies, bananas and pumpkins, but I had to be good and just choose one!

Strawberry Brooch. I had seen an apple brooch at the stall before this one and almost bought it, but thought I'd wait, just in case I saw something I liked better. At the next stall was this strawberry brooch! It's actually waaay better than the apple one, so I'm glad I held out. So juicy!

Furry Collar. I had a hard time deciding on this as well. I'm still trying to think exactly what I can wear it with, but with winter coming up, I thought I'd be kicking myself in a few months if I didn't buy it. And it came with this pretty sparkly red brooch, so I got a two-fer!

1950's original beads. I bought these to use for jewelry that I'm making for my Etsy store. Some nice re-purposed vintage pieces, which I'll show you when they are done!

Finally, something for C. I couldn't leave this ring behind. I'm not a military antique expert, but the gentleman I bought it from says it's a WWII US Army service ring. I know it is military, but usually the US service rings have text engraved on them. So not exactly sure what it is, but it's just a beautiful class ring, and it fits perfectly! It's well-worn and it's nice to give a loving home to something that was cherished by someone before you.

So I'd been hoping to find a cute dress or some shoes, but apparently it was meant to be accessory day! And quite a productive one at that. Post a comment if you have any ideas about ways I can use some of my finds!

Photo A Day #40 Owl Bookends

So I told you I got something amazing at the antique market... This would be it! I was eager to show these to you in a nice natural light but unfortunately I somehow forgot that daylight savings had happened (how could I have forgotten? It only happened yesterday!) Anyway, I was expecting to come home with a good hour of nice golden light left but instead was greeted with a dwindling twilight. So I went to the other extreme and took the photos on the lightbox my dad built for C. Suitably dramatic for my Owl friends I think!

When I saw these, I will admit, I made some sounds that maybe only dogs could have heard. And there was possibly a tear (of happiness) in my eye. It doesn't really matter that I have way to many books to warrant the use of any kind of bookend. I'll just install some extra shelves! Aren't they the most adorable things you've ever seen?

I adore these guys! Definitely the best vintage find of the year so far for me - although the dresses I got yesterday are coming a VERY close second!

Happy Monday xo

Photo A Day #39 Vintage Dress Finds

As promised, I went to the antique markets today and of course it was great! I might save my most awesome find for tomorrow, when I can photograph it in some nice natural light. In addition to the mystery item, I also scored these amazing vintage dresses! How gorgeous are they? The lace one is Italian (from Rome) and the long sleeve one just has the most adorable birdie print! Unfortunately the lace one is missing a button, so I'll probably need to add a full new set, but I'm sure I can find some that look good with it. So excited to give these a test run this week!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, Kitty xo

Photo A Day #37 Scarf

I've completed the photo shoot for my Vintage Fair finds, and the post will be up in the next couple of days! I actually got a lot of bits and pieces, here's a sneaky look at my Pencil Scarf!

Kitty xo

Photo A Day #32 - Vintage Fair Day

Today I went along to the Love Vintage show in Sydney with my friend Laura. We had such an amazing time! I think the latter half of the day was spent in a semi-stunned silence as we found so many amazing things and it was becoming hard to be selective! After many incredible lurex and 70's maxi-dress finds, we did end up with some goodies to take home. But I'll save that for another post, as I think my vintage treasures deserve one to themselves! Here's a sneak peek of some of the goodies on show...