one amazing find

hi everyone! first off i want to thank everyone for all the wonderful comments on my last post. they were so amazing to read and i feel so lucky to have you all a part of my life! so thank for all the awesome comments, i feel like i can do anything, climb any hill and be the badass tattoo artist i want to be!

ok, on to the good stuff! so a very long while ago tom and i were at our favorite thrift store. i was in the purse section. i dont know why because i dont really need anymore purses but there i was. i turned around and spotted a cute vintage looking owl purse and i thought to myself, i love owls, its super cute and heck why the hell not! so i picked it up to inspect the inside, to make sure it wasnt gross inside and to my amazement there was a folded up instructions sheet and an unopened bag of sequins, jewels and beads! i died!!!!! that meant my cute vintage owl purse would become even CUTER!!! score...major score.

i wish i had a before picture, i do, but its on our computer so just pretend for my sake :) it didnt come with fabric glue and i am sure if it did it would have dried out so i had to make a trip to the craft store, after that it was party time, sequins gluing party time. it was so much fun to finish and so easy, the instructions were awesome and i am sooo pleased with my new bag. it makes me so happy whenever i use it and when it isnt in use i hang it so i can see it because, well, it makes me happy!

crafted anything lately that has made you happy?

Xo,cb

curator

since tom and i re-arranged the living room into our new record lounge, we have a dresser that needs a little attention. one day when i came home, tom, deemed the top of the dresser our museum where we could exhibit our: brick-a-brack, chochkies, and odds and ends...things like that.

this weekend tom told me it was my job to curate the next shw so i put this together. we went shopping at tj's and picked up the beautiful peonies and we also stopped at the thrift store where we found a few frames. after i arranged a few things, i felt it needed something else..like a bit of pop...and then a light bulb went off, i realized that mr. beaumont would look perfect in the new red oval frame we just bought! very happy i bought the frame.

i also finally picked up my work from the gallery i was in last month and thought my violets should make a showing. i just grabbed a few other things and wayla! very happy with the results.

i love that tom made this suggestion. it was really fun and keeps things fresh :)

xo,
cb

our groovy new record lounge

hi everyone! hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend. tom and i rearranged the house since we got our new custom album console! we had to buy feet for it and we lightly stained and assembled it friday. here is the before picture... it doesn't show a lot but you can see the changes we made and we are pretty happy with it.

 and now for the AFTER! we got rid of our tv, it was ancient and we never used it, nor do we have cable. you can see our amazing new album console! now tom's amazing record collections isn't housed in milk cartons, although they did stick around as they make good storage for blankets and other things.

we also go rid of our dinner table. we hardly ever used it; we don't have fancy sit down dinner parties and there was no good place for it and it was really awkward where it was. now there is a nice place to put your shoes on and a place to display my bags!

 it was one of those weekends that it was just perfect for us to stay home and nest. tom hurt his foot so we couldn't go for a bike ride or surf and when i am not in a good mood, cleaning somehow magically fixes that! we spent the remainder of the weekend listening to records, playing mad libs, laughing hysterically and really enjoying each others company.

we love our home 

xo,
cb

the beginning of the season

well, ladies and gents its about that season...what season you ask? garage sale season! yup. this is one of my favorite seasons not only because the sun is shining but because of the plethora of garage sales that come with the sunny weather. our neighborhood is chuck full of them and this weekend was no exception. garage sales are awesome because treasures tend to be much less expensive then a thrift store and you can really make out like a bandit!

oh! sorry for being so rude, how was everyone's weekend? i got so excited about the impending flood of garage sales, i forgot to ask! well, as you can see that is what garage sales do to me and this weekend was a bit like that. we didn't get much treasure but, man, we got a deal for some of the stuff we got! all of this and a bit more i didn't photograph was..... $5.50! garage sale gods, i love you!

this adorable owl wall hanging, .50 cents!

sooo cute!!!!!

$1! amazing deal right?

this real sheep skin! it was in a plastic bag and i really didn't bother opening up, i just a feeling it was going to be amazing...and it did NOT diappoint!

it is super soft. we have one from ikea and it is no wear this amazing. it feels like a little bit of heaven under feet sitting at that chair and guess how much he was.........$1!! booyah, baby!

the rest of my weekend consisted of a girls sleepover, a little gathering at our house with friends and then a movie and dinner date with my cousins and sister-in-law. to say the least, i feel very grateful to have such wonderful friends in my life! oh and the greatest news this weekend by far is my best friend, who lives in boston, is coming for my birthday! best birthday present!

xo,
cb

a thrifted fashion show of sorts

hi everyone! how was everyone's weekend? wonderful i hope. tom and i have been itching to go surfing again but we need to get some things taken care with gladys, our bug, before we can take her on along journey to santa cruz so we laid low this weekend and thrifted it up!

whenever we go thrifting and we get back home i do a fashion show of the things i get. this time around i got a nice load of vintage/new things that i was really stoked about. our favorite thrift store opened up a vintage section and there was loads of really awesome stuff, sadly some too big and some too small. but here is what i walked away with!

i call this my mod dress. it looks like the 60's and has that wonderful 60's polyester fabric. i have never been fond of this color but the dress fit so well and i love the shape that i couldn't resist. plus at 25% off you can't say no, just add a bright cardigan and your good to go!

my flower child skirt and new to me top. the skirt had never been worn or washed. the original tags were still on it and it had that stiff quality unwashed clothes has. it was a bit too long for my liking so i trimmed it a bit and hand sewed a blind hem. i have a bunch of the fabric left over and making a few bows with them, more then i will need, so once those are done, i will post them and they are up for grabs!

this was my favorite score because for the longest time i have been looking for a red and white stripe shirt, basic i know, and i know i could have found it at any store but i wanted to find it at a thrift store and low and behold i did! the skirt was a two piece set which i didn't get a picture of  the top for some reason but together it looked a bit too costumey for me, they work better as separates for me. i can't wait to wear this exact outfit with my lottas! it needs to be a bit warmer but that day will come soon :)

and to top it all off, tom spotted this amazing psychedelic owl for me! best husband ever! he fits perfectly with my rest of my collection, isn't he cute?

do any thrifting this weekend?

xo,
cb

p.s. have you entered my giveaway yet? ends feb. 29th!

oh you wonderful flea market you!

hello lovelies! the bay area has been getting some amazing weather which is typical for febuaray here. i love it and i never want it to go away! i love being out and about, having the sun kiss my skin, it just feels so right! sunday was the perfect day to go walking around the alameda flea market!

we always love going and get so excited about it! we both are huge treasure hunters and love finding great fun stuff to take back to our little casa :D

the sky was blue and not a cloud in sight and there was a perfect view of sf! i wore a jacket which didn't last long as the sun was so warm! it always feels so awesome to walk around in a sleeveless dress during the winter ***sigh***

there were some amazing things at every corner and i went in with an open mind. here are some things that caught me eye!

sure...everyone needs a painted picture of hitler...

this super cute little print

i LOVE these felted printed calendars...so so cute!!! made me inspired ;D

these super amazing turquoise reeboks...i had a white pair that came out in the 80's when i was little...man i really should have bought those and worn then with my striped leg warmers...damn it i hate when that happens!!

what a great triplet bike from the 20's...in pretty good condition considering how old it was...but the true treasure is the guy in the background...a double shot was needed...click to get a closer look! zz top sleeveless shirt...need i say more...

this just cracks me up! milky the marvelous milking cow! every child needs one of these!

my sewing machine's twin and with the original manual too!

we got hungry so we stopped at my favorite roach coach falafel truck (don't worry it really isn't a roach coach, it is actually super clean and the women who owns the truck is super awesome!)

i left the market with an empty wallet but came home with some really cute stuff!

owls to add to my owl room and the mushroom clock will replace the one we have in the kitchen, yay! i am going to make the flower brooch into a ring as i rarely wear pins and i love me some large oversized rings!

 have you done any treasure hunting lately?


xo,
cb

i'm almost there!!!!!

 first off... have i told you how much I HATE OUR DIGITAL CAMERA!!! it takes the worst pictures and in order to even have it take a non-blurry picture we have to have it on pets/kids...LAME! if any one can recommend a great digital camera...one that takes great pictures, is on the less expensive side and is lightweight and small...i will love you always!



ANYWHO....since we were couch potatoes this weekend, i thought it would be a great idea to get some crafts done and since i am very good at multiy tasking i got a good deal done! i finished the boy and girl bike embroidery and it is going in a brown faux bamboo frame!

some of you have asked what type of material i am using and i am not entirely sure as one of my clients gave me a HUGE bolt of this fabric. It is a tightly woven canvas that has been so perfect for embroidering on! also some of  you have been asking what patterns i am using...i don't use any patterns. the mister hand draws all of the bikes on the canvas for me and then i embroidery on top of his line work...i think we make a good team :)

here is the one i am almost finished with...a schwinn tornado! i just need to embroider all the metal parts and this bad boy is done!

i also finished up some owl earrings...just three and i have 4 more to do and i still need to go pick up some jewelry parts at the store...eeek!! two of them have leather strips one them, i tried to take a close up of them but failed...as our camera is super freakin awesome! question: what do you think about the earrings being displayed on the typewriter for my craft fair? we have an older black one that i was thinking of using but that baby was waaaaayy to heavy for me to pick so i used our blue one instead....


tonight i am working on some hair clips...will post pictures of those as soon as i can! can't wait till it is all over and i can kind of relax....still have to make some christmas presents!!!!!!!!!! a crafters work is never done!

xo,
cb

its an owl attack

i am happy to report that this weekend i found a bunch of owls! well 3 and a half really...there was an accident when one of them...r.i.p little ceramic owl head sugar bowl i will remember you fondly...although you were only with us for a short time...your body shall live on in your memory...totally cheesy but when we got home from the thrift store, the mister was putting my owl finds on the shelf of the "owl room"  and the head of one of the owls fell and broke into a million pieces...very sad but what can you do, so the mister suggested we put a succulent in it and so i did and he looks darns cute! too bad i didn't get a picture of him before but here he is given a new life!

here are the other owls we found!

this owl has oil perfume in it...doesn't smell to bad but not sure if i would wear it but i love how crazy he kinda looks!

this is kinda what the broken owl looked like but a bit bigger, it must have been a set, too bad the rest of the set was there for my taking! he looks so sweet and innocent, no?

this is a strange one...it has holes at the top for either salt or pepper but then has string coming out of it for hanging...i am going to hang this on our christmas cactus! can't wait to go get it in a couple of weeks!

hope you all had a fantastic weekend! do any thrifting?


***thanks for all the wonderful comments on my bike embroidery! i still haven't made up my mind! i think the night before my craft fair will be what makes the final decision!****

xo,
cb

i've got obsessions...

sooo things have been crazy over here..we hit a few bumps in the bike shop but like a rolling stone...we will keep on rolling no matter how long it takes to accomplish our dream. my emotions have been a little up and down lately and i thought what better way to cheer myself up then to show you my owl room that i am so proud of....so it sounds really amazing but really it is our powder room but still i am very impressed with myself that i can say i really i have an owl room because really there are only two other owls that are not in this room...so it is safe for me to say that yes, i have an owl room :D

i am not really sure when my obsession really happened well...wait...i do! it was harry potter! i LOVE hedwig oh so much and the thought of owning my very own owl and it sending letters to all my friends was by far the coolest thing i had EVER heard of. my very first owl figurine was from my mom...not exactly sure where it came from but we both named it hedwig...and them from there my obsession grew....

i have always been obsessed with some kind of animal...first it was cats because of the movie gay purr-ee. i also highly recommend this movie...the art is so AMAZING and psychedelic and the songs are great! we named all of cats after the characters in this movie too!

then it became koalas! in the craziest way! this started with a stuffed animal i got as a little girl..it was made from some kind of  animal fur and it came as a set, a mommy and baby koala...i carried them E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E! when we moved i had my very own room and i was sooo excited to decorate it sooooo....my mom designed a koala stencil and we stenciled a boarder around the room, stenciled the curtains and stenciled my bedspread...i wish i had pictures of my room so that you could get the full effect of how koala krazy i was but i don't :( but i can tell you that it was A LOT of koalas!


so without further ado...(sorry i got really caught up with my other obsessions)....my owl room!!!

all of owls have come from near and far...i really couldn't tell you my favorite as they are all so special to me...but i do LOVE the two macrame owls on either side of the mirror (sorry the pictures are so dark) that the mister found for me at the thrift store! they were the perfect gift and a wonderful surprise too!!

what are your current or past obsessions?


xo,
cb