Cute stamps

Bought during my trip to Amsterdam. Cute tiny stamps with 3 stamppads all with four colors of ink!

(Hema is the name of the store. Sort of department store, large but not huge, fast changing inventory, great home decor items with lovely colors and designs and wonderful office/school supplies. I wish NY had a Hema!)

My favorite market

Is in Amsterdam. In my favorite part of the city. The old city center, the Jordaan area. It's called the Noordermarkt (Northern Market) but also known as the Monday Morning Market.
I kept some time in my busy schedule to go to the market and i was so happy to be there again!


The Noordermarkt is basically all about fabrics and vintage items. Right up my alley!
I wasn't planning on getting fabrics since my suitcase back to NY would already be filled to the rim with stuff from my storage, but i couldn't resist these small flowers and typical Dutch images. I had the Dutch print on a vinyl blue and white fabric already, but this red version is pretty cute too!

I stocked up on some colored googly eyes. I haven't been able to find these here in NY yet, so i got a bunch at the market.
I think you can never have too many vintagy buttons. Seems i was in a blue/green vibe when picking them.
And i found some pretty vintage trims, can't have to much of those either.

New music

We got a new way of music in the home.
Or very old. Depends how you look at it.
I wanted to have a record player for a long time now.
Haven't owned one since i was a young girl.
Lately i have been thrifting old records a lot. Some for the music, some just for the amazing cover illustrations.
But getting those albums and not even being able to listen to them is just not that much fun.
I was a bit torn to either buy a recordplayer new style, one that i can attach to my computer and thus being able to transfer the music to digital files, or buy one of those amazing vintage players. For now i chose to opt for a modern one. Yes, vintage loving Issey went for hightech! Ha. But i know that if i run into a wonderful vintage player on one of my thift hunts i might get that too. One day.

Freddy & Ma

Who doesn't like to have their own pretty custom-made handbag? You can get them online at Freddy&Ma. Choose your favorite style (clutch, tote, shopper etc), the type of leather and the pattern you want and you have your own perfect bag!

And now it gets even better, they expanded to housewares too! Gorgeous and affordable custom melamine plates and pillows!

And did the little birdy already told you ismoyo will be designing for them as of next spring? Ssst... more on that later... Ismoyo designs on plates and bags... ooooh...

Asiajam

Been swooning over all the goodies at AsiaJam for a while now. A very kawaii online store carrying cute stuff from Japan, Hong Kong and Korea. They sell lovely clothes but i've been eyeing their accessories lately. Especially the Heart Cherries Adjustable Ring, Cherry & Bow Charms Pin, Deer Jewel Korean Earrings and the Thin Polka Dot Retro Belt. Luv it!

Fashion Avenue Afternoon

I realized i have forgot to show this! Pictures of an afternoon of fabric store shopping with my mom when she was in town.

There are so many great shops in the NY fashion district filled to the brim with gorgeous fabrics. From very cheap to extravagantly high prices (but oh so pretty).
I think i gave her a good variety of wonderful stores.
We started out at Paron Fabrics. You got to love their Annex too (all fabrics half prize!).
Next headed to B&J Fabrics. Their on the second floor of the building, so go in to the building, and take the elevator up to get to the store.
Of course had to take her to Mood Fabrics since she knows that from the Project Runway shows.
To throw in a little bit of variation we also stopped by at M&J Trimming.
I mentioned that store on my blog before after my first shopping experience there.

Joanns Fabrics

Showing of the lovely fabrics i found at Joann's the other day.

New York budget

that i love to thiftshop is already established here. but some things you just don't buy vintage.
makeup. don't go there. putting blush from the sixties on? not me.
that's where Cosmetic Market at 9 East 39 Street comes in. If all the bargains won't do it, the lipstick door handle will lure you in. Clinique, Chanel, Lancome, Max Factor, L'Oreal, all the brandname products at exceptionally low prizes. I can't understand why anybody here would pay full prize for makeup or perfume anymore.

Right next to it is Jacks .99 cents world. Don't you love .99 cents stores? If you do, you will love Jacks. (there's another one i already knew over at 32 street, very large!) a lot of necessities and household items and i go there to get the name brand veggieburgers, exactly the same as in the grocery store, but way cheaper!

Another good thing is that just around the corner there is one of the NY library branches. yeah i love books. lending books is good, but i hate reading a wonderful book and having to bring it back. i want to keep it. that's where the NY library comes in with their used book sale section. Oooooh!!! Books for .75 cents or a dollar. Loving it.
what made my day even better was that when i got home from the city my people took me on my first visit to Joann's! Woohoo! you know i've been reading about this store on other blogs so many times. and what made it a real surprise is that i was only told we would go to a fabric store. i was already excited about that, but when we drove up the parking lot and i saw the sign i was a happy puppy!
of course i had to buy some pretty fat quarters and some other lovely on sale fabrics. will take a picture of the loot and post soon!

Renegade loot

Promised to show the wonderful items i got at the Renegade Craft Fair the other day (i know, it has been awhile already).

I have always loved the cuteness of Aranzi Aronzo so when i saw their booth and the fair offer on the books i couldn't pass it by. I also got two free pattern cards which i will prob frame and put on the wall. The books are soooo adorable!

Got a lot of sweet buttons and stickers, look at the sweet faces from The Small Object!

Meomi pocket mirror from My Favorite Mirror and one from Smitten Kitten, also where i got the necklace from.
Etsy was representing and i got some free stickers of the kind Etsy people.
Oh, great was my joy when i suddenly stumbled upon the lovely fabrics of Retrodepot!! Many times before, when i was still in Amsterdam i have looked at the vintage fabrics on their website thinking, one day when i'm in the usa i'll order something. Now it was all there right in front of me. Piles of fabric remnants to choose from. I think i picked out some cute ones!
I really needed a mouse mat, so that was a good excuse to get a wonderful Ashley G illustration. Now i don't know if i should put it next to my comp or hang it up on the wall...
Lots of wonderful goodies that made me very happy! Ooh, luck was definitely on my side when i won the adorn raffle!
Knitting needles. Perfect. Now there are no excuses no more. The Vogue Sewing Quick Reference book is also perfect. Not that i don't know how to sew (all though you can always learn more) but because i was pondering that i have all this sewing and fabric knowledge but all in the Dutch language. I know how to ask for certain fabric types in the Dutch stores, but don't know all the names in English. Same goes for certain sewing activities. Now i have a book that describes everything in English. Quick Reference, love it!

Renegade Craft Fair

I got to tell somebody!
I was one of the winners in the Adorn Magazine Raffle at the Renegade Craft Fair! Yeeeaaaahh! Lucky me!
hihi thank you adorn! already loved you.

I had a wonderful day at the fair, looked at pretty handmade items all over, spoke with sweet creative people, enjoyed the sun, got spoiled with being picked for a bag of free goodies, plus bought some things i believe i really couldn't do without, got lot of business cards and new ideas. Thank you Renegade Craft Fair!
I had to pick up a pocket mirror from my favorite mirror. And you know that now i want to have my own ismoyo mirrors too! ;)

Very adorable little animals at Fern animals. Had to make a stop at their booth obviously when you have a maiden name starting with Fern.

Cherry box had loads of wonderful stuffed animals. So pretty and cute!

Of course Etsy was representing. They were kind and very generous too, giving away free folders, stickers and buttons.

I started and ended my day at the craft fair at the booth of the sweet smitten kitten. Ooooh everything was soooo adorable. Picked up a loveley necklace with a pretty flower hanger. Love it!

So much more. ohoh just can't show & tell everything now. I will of course make pictures of the things i've bought and the large pink (!) adorn bag stuffed with goodies! Stay tuned...

a wise owl comes in numbers

It's an original Irish linen cloth with 39 of these owl images on it!

Marked as "nightowls" by Ulster, made in Ireland. Even has an registration number on it. Like i would go and know how to use that to trace it back to.. to what, the maker? i dunno. would be nice if i knew when it was made.

Currently hanging pretty on one of my walls.

New notions

I can call a bunch of buttons and some zippers notions, can I?
I'm learning sewing related terms in English lately. Since I haven't been sewing for more than like a year or so, I'm really just learning all terms in Dutch, my native language. But since I'm a citizen of this world, and I want to communicate, I need to learn the right words to describe certain things in English. I am always willing to learn. So if anyone catches me saying something stupid, making constant typo's, using wrong words, being confusing and all that, pls let me know! I won't be offended. but be gentle anyway... honest, but gentle.
I do know my English isn't that terrible. Maybe you would even call it fluent both verbal as well as written. But it's just not my native tongue. With every blog post there is a point of frustration because I can't find the exact words I want to use to get my message across. Ofcourse there is the beloved spellchecker and I love using it, but I not only want to know how to have something corrected for me, I want to know how to do it myself. maybe that's why there is always a paper dictionary on my desk.

I see a pattern here

I see patterns...
My eyes are attracted to patterns..

The two 'glasses' (they're plastic) I can sort of justify buying them. you know, you need them to have a drink. not counting all those glasses I already have in my kitchen.
But what about the two decorative balls? Haha. Sounds so not pretty. But they are. At least to me they are. And I found them in the bargain bin! Probably because nobody else knew what to do with them..
And there are the pink and green pre cut felt garlands which are cut in a lovely flowery shape. No clue what anyone else would use them for, but I know they will come in handy some day in a creative project of some sorts.

So much for spending money on items I could have lived without but sure love living with!

Fabric find

I went out to get some green felt and happened to come across this gorgeous vintage fabric.
There's a store on the daily market near my house where my mom always took me when i was a little girl. Now i come there to find my own fabrics. It's called the Boerenbonthal and is a great place to hunt for what you need, and in this case for that fabric you didn't knew you needed until you see it..

"Can i help someone?" "Yes, me please. Could you cut some fabric for me?" "Sure!" We walked to the cutting tables nearest to the fabric i found (all the way in the back). "Great vintage fabric.." said the man. "Yes, I love it. I normally buy my retro fabrics on the Noordermarkt. But I'm happy to see some in here too." "It's because i have just been to the storage. It's an old barn of a farm, we turned it into our fabric storage area. It's filled top to bottom with these old fabrics. I don't come there often, but if i do, i take some with me back to the store." By now I'm thinking, wow, i want to go there and search for my fabric myself!! It must be great to walk around all vintage fabrics waiting to be discovered!

Still catching up; shopping finds

Some of my recent shopping finds that i want to share.
This display cabinet i found in a small shop around the corner from my house. I think it was meant to be used to put small candles in. How? Well, it's not intended to stand up. There were two ropes, one on the top, one on the bottom (read on both sides. i cut one off) and what i see as the back is supposed to be the bottom. Follow me?
Anyway, i saw a change to display my retro kittens in it. It turned out to be a great hangout for them. I'm not sure if I'll paint the inside or leave it blank like it is.


Two rolls of wrappingpaper. I saw them in the store before, but was like, well, i really don't need new wrapping paper (I've got a lot!!). I couldn't help myself. So i bought them. And I'm sure I'll be wrapping cute surprises in them and/or use them for other creative adventures. I'm happy. Whoohoo!

Last week's fabric finds

Last week i went fabric shopping on the regular market and found two cute (pretty large) remnants and searched for some fabric to make a blouse from. I chose the embroidered brown fabric. The blouse isn't done yet, my mom is helping me with the pattern and she is currently on holiday. I have all the parts cut already, so when she gets back we can start sewing it, let's see what i can make from it.

I also visited a large fabric convention in a sportscenter. It was wonderful to be surrounded by all those different kinds of fabric, but i can't say that i went home with bags filled with fabric. I bought two. Pink with black flowers on it, and a green/blue thicker fabric. No purpose for them yet.

Category: Shopping

Good things in life that come free

Sometimes good things do come free.
No, i had to pay for the fabric. Treated myself. And no, i didn't get no free shoes either. But i did get the box. For free. *looking around* Anyone else understands how happy i was seeing a gorgeous box like that? I had to save it from the hands of the person in the shoestore ripping up all the empty boxes. So i asked for it. And i could have it.
How lovely.
I have enough crafty stuff that needs to be organized and put in a pretty box. Voila.

Belated B-day Fruits Gift

I got a very belated birthday gift from one of my friends.
First i got a tiny envelope with three cute buttons in it. For my button hat. I've got an old hat, decorated with all these cute buttons. (Will post pictures in another post) So when she saw buttons she bought a couple as a little something extra to go with my gift.
Sweet!
Then the main gift, her buying it for me was based on this decora post. Because she saw that on my blog before, she knew her gift would be received with great excitement.
And it did! Ooh, how i love my Fruits box filled with great picture cards of all those Japanese fashion styles! I have had it in my hands myself in the store before, but it was never my priority to spend my money on, but it surely was one of the things on my wish list!
Thank you girl, i love it! I'm going to frame some of the great pics and showcase them on the wall!

Style shopping

This post belongs to the NY shopping series; Inspirational Book Shopping, Cute Shopping and Creative Shopping.

I love everything with a great design on it. I am a sucker for great packaging. But i am still on a budget. So i thift shop, go to el cheapo stores, outlet stores. I don't like to pay the highscore, i get a thrill of finding bargains! (like most of you out there, i guess)

Check out my new Oscar de la Renta sunglasses. When i bought them my justification to myself for buying them was that they were gorgeous and below 10 bucks! (@ TJ Maxx) When i got home i gave myself another reason by accident! I wasn't home for more than 5 minutes when i sat down and heard a crunching sound... Oops! I just sat on my old sunglasses!! Yep. They broke. So i really had a reason to get new sunglasses! Hehe. (I do feel bad for breaking my other glasses, they were great too)

The TJ Maxx store also has a great discount pamper yourself area. (also great for finding gifts) I adore lovely smelling soaps, especially when they have cute names and packages. These three i couldn't leave behind at the store.

In front is a large bar of Passion Fruit Lime soap. Tropically scented exfoliating bath bar with kiwi seeds! Oh my. Behind left a Warm Apple Pie Soap from Crabtree & Evelyn. And on the right there's Whipped Ice Cream bath soap by Sweet on You. It really looks like icecream too, even the feel of it. You just want to scoop it out! "I scream, you scream, we all scream for icecream." "The ultimate calorie-free bath dessert."

Creative Shopping

Yep yep. Did some creative shopping too.

The adhesive ribbons I've found at Target, I just couldn't ignore the brown with pink polkadots! Haha, I don't even know what "adhesive" ribbons are. Can I just stick it on somewhere, or should I iron it on? Haven't opened the package yet. But guess I'll figure it out.

I also made a trip into the city and esp the fashion district.

Oh how I love all the fabric stores! HEAVEN.
I know when I live here, I'll be spending a lot of $$ in that area. Won't be able to help myself...
Anyway, I went into M&J Trimmings. And oh, Walhalla! I needed a moment to catch my breath. Really. Walls and walls stacked from top to bottom with the most gorgeous trimmings. I didn't even know where to start looking. I wasn't planning on buying a lot since I can't do nothing without my sewingmachine. But hey, once inside, how could I leave without anything? I can take it with me in my suitcase back to Amsterdam right? Check out the cute ribbons I picked out! Can't wait to get behind my machine and make something using them!

Back to my shopping trip to Target. My hubby was with me and we walked passed the napkins and stuff. There were some great designs, so I had to stop to take a look. He was like, napkins? But he knows that I have to look at EVERYTHING that has a great print on it. So I explained the art of Decoupage to him and how you can use beautiful paper napkins to turn, for instance, old furniture into original new pieces. So he was like, well, then buy it! I took one of the small napkin packages out of the racks. He was like. Why don't you take the big one? So I took a pack of the guest towels. He was like, you better take two right? *love* So I did. One day I'll make him so proud by decoupaging these onto some project. Just don't know when or what, but at least I'll have the paper towels already! :D

The strawberry origami papers I bought somewhere in Chinatown. It has been a long time since I did any origami, but I think I'll have to start folding again! Or else I'll be able to use them in one of my paper collages or postcard projects. I'll find something to do with them.

M&J took my breath away

Cute Shopping

I can't go back home and not having bought any cute items at all. You know! Regular visitors to my blog will definitely know this by now..

Pearl River Mart is this great Asian store on Broadway near Canal street. They have a lot of great finds and in the back you can find lovely Japanese candy! Ooohh!!

The Dollar Stores and the Target Dollar Bins are also great places to find cheap cute things to satisfy my cuteness cravings.
Jim Benton's Happy Bunnies always make me laugh. They're so silly and cute. And because they're cute they get away with saying a lot of things. I found these magnets at a dollar store (Whoohoo, bargain!).
"I hear the other ucky people calling you.", "cruel but cute so I'm worth it." and "hey you made me throw up a little". Hey, i think they're hilarious.
Some people don't like her, but i will always adore her. Hello Kitty. I'm not discussing this. She's cute. Finding a HK animated magic show candy dispenser will make my day. And for a dollar, i will need to buy it.
Same goes for a Hello Kitty Icepack found in the Target Dollarbins. Or the Strawberry Shortcake version. Luving' it. Good to keep food cool, or also to be used to put on mosquito bites. ;)
Since I'm really finding my way back to drawing again (makes me feel intensely happy and at ease) i need something cute to store my pencils and markers in, right? What better then this Little Twin Stars pouch?
On the back it says: "On a wonderful day above the puffy clouds, everything seems more fun in the magical sky".

Inspirational Book Shopping

Of course i did some shopping during my weeks here in NY. I with held as much as possible, and told myself everything had to have a purpose for me to buy it. Was it a creative purpose or just the fact it was a bargain and screaming out to me and my life wouldn't be the same if i didn't. Or a design inspirational purpose. I'm a sucker for beautiful packaging and love to treat my eyes to something nice. Okay, so it's just that I've been convincing myself that there really are some things I'm allowed to buy for myself. Sometimes you got to spoil yourself. Plus i have a husband who exactly knows what i love and always tells me to buy it if i like it. Better yet, buy two!

So i made some pictures of my new purchases (again, not with my regular photo setup, so not the best of shots, but it must do for now). Stay tuned for some Shopping posts.
Ever since i've been coming to New York i'm in love with Strand Bookstore. It's such a great place and i always come out hours later, happy, and with great bargain bookfinds.

How about this great one? It's called "All Wrapped Up!" by Kevin Akers and is almost an overload of inspiration. Showing page after page of gorgeous gift wrap designs of the sixties. I can't stop flipping the pages!



I'm gonna read this one front to back, back to front and over again. There's so much i need to learn if i want to become serious about proceeding with my illustrations. "Inside the Business of Illustration" by Steven Heller & Marshall Arisman. Loads of transcripts of conversations between the authors (an illustrator and an artdirector), tips and interviews with established illustrators and art directors.








Okay, so i don't totally love the cover of this book. But the inside is terrific. "The Collectible 70's. A priceguide to the polyester decade" by Michael Jay Goldberg. I must say American memories of the 70's comes with different things like tv shows and stuff so i don't know about everything in the book, but there is so much to see and a lot of things are similar to the 70's in Europe too. (It's a small world)








Magazines! Another weakness of mine.

Adorn, a crafty girls guide to embellishing life. I had never seen it before, but it looked like fun. Later i noticed the cover announcement, "Premiere Issue" oh, that's why i never seen it before. It's a nice magazine i must say. Lots of cool projects to take inspiration from and it's good for me to catch up on my English craft lingo too.






I really wanted to buy an American sewing magazine since i haven't ever before. On all previous trips to NY i didn't have my sewing machine yet so there wasn't really a reason for it. I bought Cutting Edge magazine. I like the project ideas and advertisements inside, but i must say i'm missing real patterns. I know, nothing is for free right? But back home i'm used to when you buy a sewing magazine, all clothes showed inside can be found on the patternpages in the middle. Not here. Here, only the pattern numbers and brandnames are listed so you can go to the store to buy the patterns separately. Oops. Maybe there are other mags that do provide patterns, but i don't know about them. Then again, this gives more articles to read then the Dutch magazines. Anyway, i did like the mag. And there was this announcement inside of a jeans reconstruction contest where you could win a Singer embroidery machine. Too bad i didn't have my sewing machine here with me. Not that i'm thinking i would have a change to win but it would be nice to work on something like that. Sewing with a purpose. Ah well, never mind, i'm not sure what i'm trying to say here.

100+ F is just melting my brain away.

I'm in love with my new marker!

I must admit. I have never owned professional markers before. I always just used the packs of markers kids play with. Of course i noticed difference between different brands and i preferred one over the other, but never did i buy professional art markers. The other day when i was in the Blick artstore i found myself standing in front of this entire isle of markers and i couldn't control myself any longer. I needed to buy one. They all were waiting to be used, this whole spectrum of colors. Buy hey, I'm on a budget. I can't afford luxuries like that. But it's for my artwork right? I need it right? It will make my work better right? (hearing myself convincing me to at least buy one).
So i gave myself permission to buy exactly one. No more. I carefully deliberated and choose a pink/red marker.
And now i can't stop sketching anymore. It feels so tremendously good drawing now. The tip just flows over the paper. I want more good markers! I want all colors! I don't want to be on a budget. I want to splurge and treat myself to markers in every color of the rainbow! (or at least a couple more? maybe?).

For your viewing pleasure I'll leave you with some pics of the great range of gorgeous papers they had. I could control myself. For now.

Current mosquito bite count: minus 6 (they will disappear eventually!), plus 8 = 45
Today i had to use ice to get some swellings down. Not even funny anymore... I'm officially not sitting outside on the stoops in the evening anymore.

French yummyness and vintage bag

Yesterday, my love and i went for a stroll through the neighborhood. The heat was a little bit less than the days before so we were out there enjoying ourselves.
A couple of blocks from our apartment there is this terrific little French store, L'epicerie du Quartier. We had never really bought anything there, but always oohed and aahed at all the yummy things in the store window. And they also sell nice French bread! Which makes me glad since I'm not a great fan of the American Wonderbread. (Yeah, it's a wonder you can keep it for weeks and still eat it. Ha.)
My hubby was craving for some sundried tomatoes in olive oil. They only had plain sundried tomatoes, but the lady from the store was so sweet and explained exactly how to do it yourself, plus all these nice tips of what to add and how to make it even better tasting. She was so passionate, you could tell she really loves food. There were two men who were cooking and they were very helpful too. We ended up buying the tomatoes and some olives, fresh aioli and French goat cheese. Doesn't it all look totally yummy? We were like little kids in there! hihi.

Around the corner is Sodafine located. Last year my hubby already pointed it out to me, but back then i didn't took the time out to visit. Last week i was reading Sodafine's weblog and read that the store is going to move to Williamsburg next week. So of course i had to stop by at the Fort Greene location before it would disappear! I got all giddy inside. Oooh... all those wonderful items! Why didn't i visit before? Well, at least i did now. My hubby pointed out this great vintage John Romain bag which i just had to take with me!



I did do some creative shopping this week too, concurred the heat and went into the city. I'll make some pictures of the goodies and post them tomorrow!

Woven Ismoyo Labels!!

Woohoo!!! Just in time, right before i left for the US, i received my order of customized Ismoyo labels. I was so excited finding the envelop in my mailbox i was dancing all the way up to my apartment! Lalalalala lala...
Now i can finally start making some official inventory for my shop-to-be!

The colors in the picture didn't came out quite right, I'm sorry. The labels are white/pink and say "Ismoyo handmade with love". They came out a bit too Neon Pink, could have been a bit softer, but I'm still very much pleased with them. The idea of putting a bit of lace behind a label came from my clever mom!

Cute things - Why buy plain?

Why buy plain if you can get it in a cute version too?

I bought the stripy/flowery/dotted tape a while ago and was sorry i didn't buy another one. Because when they sold out, the store never put them back in stock again. And mine is already almost finished. How happy was i when, a couple days ago, i saw they had new tape in new styles! I just couldn't leave the dotted tapes behind. Otherwise i just knew i would be sorry later.

The drugstore around the corner from my house started to sell this brand of makeup called essence. It's low budget and cute. Maybe not the very bestest of quality, but when the packaging is this pretty i will spend a couple of euros on it.

Ooh! Hihi. Probably meant for little kids, but how i adore these!

And i must admit. I like to 'under cover' brighten up my outfit. Like, wearing a business suit and heels, all very 'mature', and then having one of these small clips in my hair. Confuse people a bit. And let those who understand, notice it.

Maybe I'm not making any sense. Basically, the cherry hairclips were too sweet for me to resist.

New glasses and flower appliques

I had to make myself happy with a little something something today. I picked up my new glasses. And although i use them only early morning and late night, the rest of the time i use contacts, i just don't feel pretty right now. I have to get used to them since i haven't had a pair of glasses in a long time and now it's making me nauseous too...
The optician happens to be close to a market where i don't come often so i strolled and found these gorgeous embroidery appliques. They look like iron on, but they aren't.
Does anyone have a tip for me how to best use these? Do i have to sew tiny stitches all along the sides? Do i use fabric glue (never a really big fan of)?
For now i just have them to look at and be happy about.
Forget about the glasses.

Spoiling myself!

Told ya I was making sure I would receive great mail deliveries during my last week as a twenty-some year old!I have a couple of sweet small illustration books by Joan Walsh Anglund. She's a writer/illustrator from back in the days. I adore her cute drawings of kids with themes of love, friendship and spirituality. I found this (small) bargain plate by her with the two kids on the playground. Sweet!
These paintings might be considered kitsch by a lot of people, but hey, they just belong in my interior!
I collect sixties/seventies vintage children's postcards and I found some great ones online. Now they make a welcome addition to my collection!
I got a whole stack of old 'Tina' comic magazines from the early 70's era. I love these magazines because I remember having a subscription when I was little. The illustrations are terrific and I love the showcase of fashion from that time. I will scan some pages and share them here, because they are too great to keep to myself!
Marion magazines. Sewing pattern magazines from the early seventies. Wow. I'm almost jumping up and down with joy! I want to make almost everything out of these mags! They are so so wonderful. My mom saw these yesterday and couldn't put them down anymore. She remembers buying them when me and my brother were still kids and making us clothes from it!
Back then the magazines didn't use real models yet, so the clothes are shown by drawings. Such an enormous source of inspiration! Lovely.

And of course I got spoiled too! My man, who is in NYC right now, had friends of him over here arrange that I received a large bouquet of roses and a bottle of yummy wine! How sweet!
My brother brought a bottle of champagne, yeah! And I got a nice Thai dinner, a Paulo Coelho book, Armani perfume and more.

This is my last week

As a twenty-some young lady. Next weekend i will be hitting the big 3-0! I'm not afraid. I'm feeling pretty good right now. If i look back at the 30 years passed, i can't say it was uneventfull. I travelled a lot, met lots of interesting people, laughed, cried, had much adventures, grew, lived, loved, and learned. I have no regrets. Ofcourse there are things i would do differently nowadays, but hey, you do the best with what you know, right?

To celebrate ME i'm making sure i'm receiving fun mail presents this week.
Yes. I'm hooked to online auctions. Ohoh. And i promised myself not to.
I started selling my old stuff on a Dutch auction site. You know, thinking of moving overseas i can use every euro and the less things to move, the better! So no browsing the offered items on the site. I didn't. For almost 3 weeks.
I made the mistake of clicking on one add, got curious, typed in a search and before i knew it i was bidding already! Ohoh.
Now i've put myself on a 'buy-gifts-for-my-own-brithday'- budget. And already went over. It's just that my heart skipps a beat if i come across an add for something i've never seen before but have been waiting for all my life. How can i not make bids? But not to worry about my future credit reports. This is this week only!

So i'm turning 30 and buying kids postcards and childrens illustration books. Yup. I'm growing up. I could say they're all retro, vintage from the sixties/seventies. But that doesn't change the fact they're still kids things. Well, i get lots of inspiration from all of it.

I'm also looking online for a present for my visa co-sponsor. I love her so much for wanting to help us out and i know there won't be a way to just say thank you. She's a collector too so i'm searching for rare items for her collection.

A little bit of this and that

I'm doing a lot but still I don't feel productive. I'm not making any major moves right now and I'm getting restless. Maybe updating my blog will give me the feeling I have done something at least.

Last weekend I visited this small fabric and supply store,