Try the Farrah Fawcett Hairdo

No need to say Farrah Fawcett-Majors. Everybody knows who Farrah is... they recognize her smile and that glorious hair style! Girls everywhere are trying to duplicate it. Is it for you? Cut along dotted line and hold it up to your face.
Smile big!

You want to try it? It's from American Girl Magazine, June 1977 and the complete mag is now available in the shop!

Melamine or Melmac

Before i really started selling vintage items and doing lot of research i used to call melamine dishes, 'those lovely hard plastic dishes from the 50's'.
Then when i found some for my own kitchen and started looking around to find out what the marks on the bottom of my pieces meant, i came across the names 'Melmac' and 'Melamine' a lot. I thought it to be weird for something to have two names.

After research a bit more i quickly discovered Melmac is just one of the brands, maybe the most well known, of Melamine resin dishes. I also noticed that a lot of online melamine shop listings are being described as Melmac, when in fact they are not.
In my treasure hunts so far i came across Melmac, Mar-Crest Melmac, Boontonware, Oneida, Spaulding Ware, Prolon, OD ware, and some mysterious unmarked pieces. All Melamine, not all Melmac.
(i do admit, in some of my shop listings i do use the search term Melmac but never in the description if its not made by Melmac, but just because i know a lot of buyers will use the term to look for Melamine in general)
Melamine was first introduced in the 40s, a material with a glossy finish and in a wide range of stunning colors.
During the late 1950s and 1960s melamine tableware became highly fashionable for its affordability, durability and style.

Melamine dishes are easy to use and easy to clean with no worries about breakage.
Even though its basically unbreakable and resistant to odor absorption, it is prone to scratches (that's one of the reasons melamine went out of style during the 70's).
A lot of old pieces have some usage wear to them. Even greater the joy when you find pieces that are in great condition! I have heard about fixing scratches with Plastic Polish, all though i haven't tried that myself (yet).

Final note, love your vintage melamine and care for it, don't put it in the microwave or dishwasher. There are people who do, and if it works, good for you, but i wouldn't risk or recommend it.

Melamine dishes are perfect to bring along on a picnic and very convenient for families with young children. And for us, of whatever age, with a definite love for pretty vintage housewares. A set of Melamine in your kitchen really brings out that retro feel!

(ps click the images to go to the shoplistings if you want flaunt some melamine dishes in your own kitchen)

Vintage Valentine Love Books

Adorable little Valentine Gift books from the early seventies.
From the Sunbeam Library by American Greetings.
These recently were put up in the shop, only the last two are still available.

I Love You A to Z.
1972, written by D.A. Marcum, illustrated by Joan Allen.

A Valentine From My Heart To Your Heart.
1972, written by Jean Kyler McManus, illustrated by Maria Paoletti Gamiere and Elena.

Valentine, Know What Love Is?
1971, written by Jean Kyler McManus, illustrated by Barbi Sargent.

In the Shop! SOLD!
Everybody needs somebody... i'm glad i have you!
1972, written by Gail Golladay, illustrated by Karl Odenweller.

In the Shop!
A Valentine To Say I Love You.
1973, written by D.A. Marcum, illustrated by Joan Allen.

Harlequin Romance Magazines

I am Ismoyo and i admit. I enjoy reading Harlequin romance novels from time to time. Especially during these cold wintermonths.
Just recently i came across a box of Vintage Harlequin Magazines. I knew about the small paperback books, but never before knew there were magazines too.
What is an added bonus are the wonderful (cover) illustrations accompanying the short stories and full length novel inside.

PS if you share my love for romantic stories, there are some of these wonderful Harlequin Magazines from the 70's available in my shop! (and more to come)

Flower Power Hippie Kids

I feel so lucky to have come across these adorable prints by W.M. Otto to add to my collection!

I love how similar they are, but all different at the same time.

What was even more wonderful is that i found an almost double set of these! Yes, i had three of them twice! Two have already been scooped up from my shop, but there still is one left.

This one is still available in my shop SOLD!. If you like it, get it, because it's the last one that i will put up for sale!

These four will stay here with us. Since there is already so much art in the living and work space of our apartment, i put these four underneath each other on the door of the coat closet in the small entry hallway of our apartment. That is why the lighting in the pictures is a bit off, since there is no direct light. But it is just off from the kitchen where it is sunny almost all the time, so still a lovely little area. Plus, i can see the coat closet from where i'm sitting behind my desk.
I can look at these lovelies all day!

Nutcracker ornament in the Storque

A nice surprise just now, i found my nutcracker ornament in a lovely Etsy Storque article!
It is a bit weird, since it has already been 'sold' as part of a trade. Ah well, maybe it will bring some new people to my shop, so i'm happy with it.

Features on Etsy

image taken from craftcult

Hard work is starting to pay off.
It was a nice surprise seeing my views jump up recently. Immediately i knew my shop, or something in it had to be featured somewhere for this to happen so suddenly.
Thanks to sites as craftcult its easy to track down.
Not only were my vintage puppies lithographs in an Etsy vintage giftguide, now also the mounted deer head got its share of attention. In the Storque of all places!
Ok, not actually in one of the Storque articles that is send out in the Etsy newsletters, but in the related items list right under a Storque spotlight article! Top row!

You know, a while ago one of my handmade items made it to the frontpage. That was a rush. If you frequent the Etsy forums you will quickly notice making it to the front page is a big goal for a lot of sellers. I think it can work for your views and sales very well. But don't forget the front page lists rotate a lot, so your item will be there for a relative short while only. If that's at an off peak time you won't necessarily notice a lot of action in your shop.

The feature in the giftguide was special. Since my husband made the "Ismoyo on Etsy" song not too long before that feature. So we were extra excited. And a good thing about the giftguide is that your item stays there for a while. I don't know how long, i heard stories that when it sells, it disappears. But also that Etsy admins can decide to take things out again. It got me lots of views, some hearts and a couple of sales that might or might not came because of the giftguide.

So far the Storque has been the best exposure for me. Lots of views, not only on the item that made it into the storque, but also my other items were viewed more. Plus many new shop hearts. And as a business owner, the most important one, extra sales! The Storque article went live this past weekend, then Monday we had Columbus day so Tuesday i went to the postoffice with my arms full of packages. Lovely!
Just as with a feature in the gift guides, the Storque stays up there too. So shoppers can still find you through there. The deer head has sold, but the listing is still there!

I can only dream how wonderful the day would be when one of my items makes it actually into the Storque article or any other Etsy email.

Time for Westclox

Really looks like we have a very stylish Westclox alarm clock. Appears to be from the Big Ben Ladies series.

Westclox almost always stamped the date of manufacturing on the clock. To find the actual date of manufacturing, you have to go inside. Many times the date is stamped on the inner side of the plate of the movement.

Hm. Does not sound like something i should go and do. I know myself. I will start out confident. Get a screwdriver and open that beauty up. Looking inside i get puzzled. Trying to figure out what exactly that plate of movement should be? Laughing at myself. Why did i think it would be obvious and in your face? Of course you should look under something. So you have to move things around on the inside. Ohoh. There you go. That wasn't hard. But then, i would have the date. Joy. But all of a sudden the clock won't close as well as it did before.
I know myself. I have to leave that one alone.

So if you want to go on the hunt, you can pick the clock up in my shop as is. With a small stain on the lower inside and with some scratches on top. But with a lot of style, class and attitude.

ismoyo song on youtube

Tada!
Unveiling my husbands song to feature my shop on Etsy.
Yes, this is where the squirrel has her cameo! She's sitting next to me right now, all excited and waiting to get some views and be discovered!

Tell me if you like!
ps yes i'm in there too. at the end.
psps posted about the song on the Etsy forums. getting some sweet responses!

Sunday Shop Round up

Here goes this weeks shop roundup:
1. Vintage Lithographs of pretty Victorian ladies - 2. Milkglass desert bowls - 3. Funky vintage cups - 4. Rubber sitting doll - 5. Vintage clover cat figurines
These are just a selection, more has been added and a lot of new items are ready to be listed in the next week.
Hope you like!

Sunday Shop Round Up

Marketing wise i should use my blog more to promote the items in my etsy shop. I know it would be a good thing. At the same time i don't want this blog to become one of those where you only see a constant stream of 'new in the shop' posts. There is already an Etsy mini on the left of the blog, so you can see the latest 3 items listed, and if you really want to be up to date and in the know, you can subscribe to my tweets on twitter, i almost always announce shop updates there as soon as they happened.

At the same time i don't want my sweet and loyal blogreaders to be out of the loop, so Sundays is for shop selections, highlights of newly listed items in the week before. There is more and remember, you want to be the first to know? Check the Tweets!

1. Set of 2 Vintage Lithographs - Pretty Kittens - 2. Vintage wooden christmas ornaments - 3. Japanese Cross Stitch Embroidery Craft Book - 4. Vintage girl on rocking horse ornament - 5. Vintage Lithographs - Sailor and Harlequin Girl by Eden

New Promo Materials

<>Quick photo to show off new promo materials for the shop. Finally got new business cards printed, made a batch of new promo magnets plus some matching mailing stickers.
You like?

Japanese Craft Books - Who Loves?

I am so in love with Japanese craft books. I don't know what it is, but the Japanese designers and publishing houses really know how a great craft book should look like. I love the designs, i love the layouts, the project photos, all of it!
The only down point is that most often the books are pretty expensive plus you need to add the shipping costs, so buying the Japanese books is normally not a regular thing for me, but a special treat.
Luckily i have found a big lot of the lovely books, so many i can't keep them all to myself. In comes my Etsy shop. I think i have set up some fair prizes with matching low shipping, so if you are like me and love Japanese craft books, check out the shop. There are books on felting, sewing, crocheting, knitting and more. Hope you love! ♥

My Other Half

Want to meet my Love?
Hop over to Heart Handmade where my hubby is part of the Other Half Series.
And since he is too modest to pitch himself in an interview about how it is to be married to me, i will do it for him; check out his music on myspace!

Pretty Fragile Labels

No i don't mean the labels are pretty fragile, they are pretty and say fragile.
Since i started listing more and more decorative vintage items in my etsy shop i had to think more and more about getting the items safely to their new owners when they sell. So i invested in a bunch of new shipping boxes and some bubble wrap. But still, you cross your fingers and hope the post office people are careful with your package just because you wrote 'fragile' on it with a thick sharpie!
Maybe these labels bring a smile to the faces of the postoffice people and maybe that will cause them to actually handle my packages with care! Pretty Please?

Is it Candy?

Is it a bowl of candy? I think it looks like something sweet you would like to eat.
But no, in this house a bowl of colorful sprinkles is just a bowl filled with paper scrappies left over from making a bunch of new spiral bound journals!

I made a whole stack of them, most are already up in the notebook section of my Etsy shop, or waiting to be put up, or already sold!
Hope you love!

Vintage For Sale

I was thinking if i would have had a brick and mortar store somewhere, there wouldn't only be items for sale that were handmade, there would definitely also be cute and/or crafty vintage items on the shelves. So why not in my Etsy shop? I'm not going to open a separate shop for the vintage items. Because i have no idea yet how many vintage items i will list and for how long i will be doing so. (plus it's easier to maintain and promote just one etsy shop, there is already a group of people that know their way to my shop, and i will try to keep the vintage items somewhat relevant to my 'ismoyo' style; cute and crafty).

You like this cute unicorn? It will go up for sale soon!
Now listed in the shop here!

Jars and Le Bun

Made these embroidered storage jars for a some sort of personal project i'm working on. Could get quite interesting.

And Monsieur Le Bun invited me over to supercutekawaii for a croissant and some cute conversation. C'est tres jolie!

Ismoyo Sticker Labels

I usually stamp an ismoyo girl on the packages that i send out, but sometimes i am pressed for time and do want to add something extra to the outside of the orders i send. I always use deco tape instead of boring brown or see through tape and now i have these ismoyo.com sticker labels too. Happy!

10 Days in Tokyo

Oh how i wish! No i haven't been to Tokyo, nor is there a trip scheduled. I often dream about it though. And maybe one day it will actually happen.. and if it will, i am sure i will bring these booklets that Marceline from Asking for Trouble sent to me! Ten days in Tokyo and the Tokyo Shopping Guide. Two wonderful zines that describe her 10 day trip to Tokyo (oh how jealous was i) and one guide pointing you to all the shops she visited (cute and crafty).

More cuteness Marceline sent me.
And i must say sorry for my lack of posting this last week. If you follow me on Twitter you might have read i have been sick for a couple of days, i am feeling a bit better now, thank you. And we got a Wii, so that is vastly becoming a new addiction. We got Wii fit too, so watch out, i will be fit soon. Or i hope so. :) Guess what i'll be doing the rest of the day?

Some good things that happened this week (besides the goodies and the arrival of the wii):
Two online surprises, Rowan over at Kitchensink awarded me the Lemonade Award. Not sure why it's called the Lemonade award, but i do appreciate it. Thank you Rowan! And then on Tuesday, i was doing my blog rounds, of course stopping by one of my old time favorite blogs, Cruststation (where people fill up on inspiration), and what do i see? A post titled 'ismoyo'! Hey, that's me!

I got some new supplies, so new ideas for crafts can finally take shape.
And i discovered that when you have a cold, and you can't concentrate on anything, needlefelting is a good option. I made two needlefelted coasters, embellished with a little embroidery. Will show soon. And if i get some good feedback i might even write up a tutorial for them. I have to make two more anyway. I don't know what that is, a coaster set has to be of four right?

Have a happy weekend everyone, i'll be back tomorrow with new pages from my collage journal!

My almost Martha Stewart Adventure

My almost Marthe Stewart Adventure involves bunnies. Cute bunnies. Drawstring bag bunnies.
If you have been following my blog for awhile, you probably know i'm not one to be overly excited about things when they are not yet sure to happen. In this case that was a good thing. All though i must say i did have some butterflies in my stomach.
What happened?
Well, i was contacted by one of the producers of the Martha Stewart show! To possibly do a craft on the show! Next to Martha! Whoooo. You understand, even if something like that isn't sure to happen, you will get excited about the thought.
There were some doubts in my mind though. Was i ready? Guess i could be. Who am i to think i could teach Martha something? Well, we would together be teaching the audience something. Was my craft good enough? I think it was, but then again, it didn't feel 100% right. You know, if you ever come on the Martha Stewart show, you want to be on with something you totally love yourself too, that represents you to the fullest.

We, the producer and i, had discussed a couple of possible craft projects and ended up with a variation on my furry drawstring bags. I transformed and updated the design a bit and turned them in a perfect Easter craft; drawstring bunny bags! Perfect to keep your eggs warm at Easter breakfast or to fill up with Easter candy as a treat bag. I also had to do a video tutorial so the producers could see how the project (and myself) would come across on camera. Then the wait began. Unfortunately this morning i got the news my bunny bags won't make it onto the show. Not because they don't love them, or not want to work with me, but just because it didn't fit the schedule/their plans for the season at this time or something. Hm. Too bad. But we're in contact. So you never know what the future might bring.
What is sure, is that i will post the video how-to tutorial of the bunny bags on my blog when Easter is a bit near. So if you love them, you will be able to make your own!

And they are not the only one re-thinking things, i have been pondering the whole second Etsy shop thing and i came to the conclusion that i would rather just place everything in my original first Etsy shop. So i'm currently transferring all items. If you have hearted items from my new shop and can't find them anymore, pls check the other shop, if it hasn't sold, it is probably there! Sorry for the inconvenience!

Now i'm off to file my and my husbands taxes. Keep your fingers crossed for some sort of a refund!

Try Handmade Giveaway

Who doesn't love a good giveaway? Hop on over to Try Handmade and enter. Lots of wonderful goodies are up for grabs, including a copy of my book! So if you didn't win a copy in the giveaway on my blog earlier, you have another chance! (giveaway runs until Jan 26th)

Etsy Front Page!

Yesterday morning i was pleasantly surprised by a bunch of new hearts on Etsy. What was going on? Then i noticed one of my needle felted cupcake cuties had a lot of new fans too. It must have been on the front page and i missed it! But luckily there is the wonderful Flickr Pool where they collect Etsy Front Page screenshots. Voila!

There was no name listed as curator of this collection of items, so i guess it was one of the Etsy admins who picked my cutie. Thank you so very much. I'm honored and it was a fun rush feeling!

Interview on Kiki's Collage

The sweet Kiki of Kiki's Collage has asked me some great interview questions. If you want to read more about me, my book and my crafts, pls go visit her lovely blog!

Bookstore and Winner

Made a quick visit to Barnes & Noble today to pick up a christmas gift for my love. Wondered off to the crafts section and spotted my book on the shelves! It was a funny feeling seeing my work displayed. There were only 2 copies, did they stock only a few or did they flew off the shelves?

Speaking of my book, the giveaway has ended and a random number generator picked a winner! Comment number 19 is the lucky one: Catherine! I will send you an email to get your mailing address.

Those who didn't win, you can ofcourse get your copy at your local bookstore, or order it from my site and get a signed copy!

Craftershock Review

No matter how happy i am with my own work, i think reviews are a scary thing. What if the people doing the review don't like what you did? When you sit down and read it and it says they hated it? Luckily this didn't happen. There's a review of my book on the Craftershock blog! Visit the site to read what they have to say (good things!) and to check out some preview pages!

Bookrelease 100 applique motifs

I was thinking of doing some sort of virtual book release party here on my blog, but i wasn't really sure how to go about it and what to do and what not, so forget about it. It's here. It's out. My first book. In print. On the bookshelves. I'm doing a happy dance. I haven't stopped by the bookstore yet to spot my book, but i will do soon!

So what about a giveaway? Sounds good? Want to get a free signed copy of 100 applique motifs?

I'm not gonna make this hard for you. Leave a comment here to enter. If your write a little something on your blog (or myspace or what have you) about this giveaway or about the book and then leave a comment here, you'll get an extra entry in the drawing! Entries will close at Tuesday December 16th at midnight. Winner will be randomly picked and announced next week Wednesday! I'm sorry to say, but for now this giveaway is only for US addresses. (i promise, next giveaway will be international again)

Scraps and Tags

It's not too late to get some pretty tags to adorn your gifts with this holiday season! There are a couple of vintage image tag sets in my shop right now. And you can use them after the holidays on regular gifts too!

I made a whole bunch of scrap packs so you can use the vintage comic images in your own creative craft projects! They are all stuffed with approx 35 scraps, some single images, some have multiple images. All original pieces, so the backsides have images on them also. I will list these packs later today, so stay tuned!

Handmade Holiday Zine

The first ever (and only) Heart Handmade Holiday Zine is online! It's filled with great crafters and their holiday stories. Plus a lot of creative goodies, go check it out. It comes in 3 parts, and i am featured in the first part (last page). Read more about it on the Heart Handmade Blog.

On another note, i just signed up with Twitter. Keep hearing so much about it, want to give it a try. Not sure if i will get addicted or just won't find the time to 'twitter'. But if you twitter, add me to follow my stories. I admit that sometimes my blog posts appear a day, or a couple of days after the fact. So if you want to be updated on what i'm actually doing, follow me. (not sure if anyone would really be interested in this, but we'll see). If you have any tips on what this twittering is all about, pls share. I'm still figuring it all out. http://twitter.com/ismoyo

Laundry Time!

Stella from the amazing Laundry blog has been so sweet to feature my shop and some of my items on her blog. I'm honored to be among the great products featured on Laundry! Thank you Stella!

Adventures in vintage

Have you visited the Adventures in Vintage blog recently? I did! There's an interview with yours truly. So if you want to know more about me and my thoughts about crafting, go and take a look.

Thank you Heather, for your kind words. *You're making me shy*

Ismoyo in Japanese!

So finally i can reveal what i was cryptically talking about last week! I am featured in NYJapion! A Japanese newspaper here in New York. My felted cupcake cuties even made it onto the front page!

I think it is so hilarious since i can't read a word of it! I was contacted by one of their reporters and he came over to do an interview and make some photos of me and my crafts.

A picture of my revamped letterpress drawer is on the second page, with an article about Cosplay.

Why is it that you have to have your photo taken just a week before your appointment at the hairdresser? I really do look better now. Is it really me or just a bad picture? I know... i'm too vain. I don't want to be.

The complete story is currently online on the NYJapion site too. I used google translate to get some sort of English version (scroll down). Even with this translation it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And why does "Ismoyo Green" translates into "chair MOYO Green"? It does make me chuckle and the newspaper is a wonderful keepsake for me.

It's out this week, distributed free in Japanese grocery stores and restaurants throughout the city.

Planting seeds to achieve

Dreaming big and planting seeds to achieve those dreams really does work.
I have been planting seeds for so long now and it feels like its time to start seeing those dreams flourish. I'm bursting to tell about something that happened to me, but i don't want to jinx it.

There are times you try to achieve something, work hard for it, you are planting a seed. Even if it doesn't work out, then that seed is still out there and without you being aware, it does grow and one day you get a phonecall, or in my case, an email.

Sometimes you dream about something and maybe the dream is really big, maybe too big for now, but still possible in the future, doesn't mean the seed planted by that dream is lost, it will bring you what is right for now.

Sometimes you're goal is far ahead and you know there are steps that can lead you there but those steps are not clear yet, only your main focus is. But being focused is also planting seeds. The universe works for you. You shouldn't get discouraged if things take a long time. It's all preparation, by yourself and the world around you has to be prepped too. And then out of nowhere it comes across your path and you know this was one of those unclear next steps you had to take.

I know, all very cryptic. Last week i wrote "Adventures and new projects will find you when you are walking in the right direction." It was very profound when two days after that a new adventure happened. I do hope to be able to make more sense very soon. As soon as the Jinx-risk is over!