What's in Your {Vintage} Suitcase?

Vintage luggage always catches my eye at an estate sale or flea market. These pieces are the ultimate in vintage chic storage. I have quite a few pieces, but have become more discerning in selecting a new case for my collection.



These gray pieces were actually found on three different shopping trips, and two of them were from the thrift store. I love the gray color, a bit different from the typical beige case but still neutral to go into any room. Plus the darker color hides a few of the scuffs they may have suffered in their previous role.

I look for flat, not sloped sides so that when the pieces are stacked, they will be level. Then I can arrange a few things on top of the stack for decoration as well.

I also like to hold out for a piece that's in good shape, with all the latches and handles working as they should. Most importantly, I open the suitcase up and if doesn't pass the sniff test, it doesn't come home with me. There's no use in having a vintage suitcase for storage if it smells nasty. If it does, everything you put it in it will absorb that smell.

I have tried to remove the smell of mold or tobacco from a piece or two with sprays, baking soda, kitty litter and good old-fashioned sunshine. None of these methods has worked to the point where I'd like to store my things inside and take the chance that they might take on the odor. If you have a way to remedy this, please share!

Many of my cases have such pretty interiors that I don't mind seeing the delicate lining. The colors are usually unfaded and quite beautiful, especially on the women's suitcases.

This set is currently in my craft studio, hiding my many punches. Those by Martha Stewart reside in the top case as I use them most often. They are also the best looking--I love the off-white color.

The function of these cases is never permanent, I seem to move them around as needed and have quite a few in my bedroom to hold my scarves and out of season clothing. There are many pretty storage baskets, cubes and cases available in the stores today, but these suitcases have the most charm! 

Using Vintage Finds in the Craft Room {Beautiful Inspiration}

My craft room is a beautiful mess. Seriously. It seems I have time to create, but not always clean up. So I won't show you the whole room today... just the pretty bits and pieces.

This beautiful silver dish holds my paper scraps as I'm done with them and before they can be stored by color. It was an Etsy find I spotted over at Common Ground, Pinned, and then set out to have it for my very own. I had set it on the desk while I decided which room to use it in and it came in quite handy while making cards one day, so here it shall stay for now.

A modern plate stand holds recent paper purchases to inspire a new card design. Antique glass jars hold bits of ribbon, tags and pieces of Lucite.I have lots of these jars around the room in many different sizes.

A modern glass vase holds complete cards. I picked it up at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store while dropping off some tools to donate. I've actually found some beautiful antique furniture there occasionally as well.

A bookcase that I purchased at a flea market when it was brown has been painted many times over the years. Blue, then green, then white, the perfect neutral backdrop for a multicolored assortment of craft supplies.

I thought it would be a shame to put my vintage deer away after Christmas, they remain on the shelf for a touch of whimsy.

Glitter is stored in vintage salt and pepper shakers (so much prettier than those plastic bottles it comes in) and a painted Longaberger basket holds my larger stamps.

Another painted basket holds embellishments and the glass bowl holds acrylic stamp blocks. The bird is just for fun. I could have used cardboard boxes and other typical storage containers, but using found treasures makes for a much more inspiring work space. The decorating is just as much fun as the crafting!

Enjoy the rest of the week... I hope to get back into the craft room this weekend (and clean up too).

linking to:
Fabulously Creative Friday
My Romantic Home
Common Ground: Vintage Inspiration

Crafting In the Dining Room

I used to have all my craft supplies in the basement. When all my children were home and the house was a bit busier, it was a nice quiet place to enjoy making cards or scrapbooking. I could also leave my supplies and projects out, not worrying about the space looking a bit messy.

Now the kids are older, one on his own and the other two home from college seasonally, I want to be on the main floor and to have my supplies handy at a moment's notice to make a quick card. My crafting space of choice has become my dining table. I put a padded square down before I begin to work to protect the table, put an audio book in the CD player and craft away. I have more time now to keep things tidy, and I enjoy all the comforts of being on the main floor while I create.

My supplies are tucked into my bookshelves in neutral kraft paper boxes. Those supplies in prettier containers are simply left as accents on the shelves.

The cabinets that formerly held serving dishes, china and candles for special occasions now hold my craft supplies. All the dishes were moved to the basement.

I can create in beautiful light with a great view, near the kitchen; always the heart of the home, right? You can see my new drapes from Ikea in the picture above. I really need a wide angle lens for these room shots! I moved the rod up to the ceiling and I am really pleased with the effect. It's a bit more formal looking. The drapes came unhemmed, a glorious 98" long! The length is-perfect for this look and easy enough to hem to the proper size.

The golden retrievers are never far away, they were just taken outside for a few minutes while I snapped a few photos. The first few had a golden tail peeking out here and there and a wet nose poking against the camera. I swear sometimes they are like toddlers, into everything and never wanting to leave my side . As you can see, Breeze is ready to come back in.

Besides craft supplies, I also have dog biscuits in pretty containers ready to reward some good golden behavior. Enough about me... what have you been up to? I'll be posting the features from last week in another post as I am running short on time tonight.

In the meantime, link up and visit around... I guarantee you'll find some fabulous new friends with some great ideas to inspire your creativity.

Here we go!

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Organizing & Storing Spellbinders Nestabilities Dies

Here's how I am storing my Spellbinders Nestabilities dies. I wanted something that would keep all the pieces together, make them easily accessible, labeled and of course, look pretty!

I did a quick web search and found several methods of storing these dies. I really liked the one that used magnetic sheets at A Day in the Life of a Craft Fairy so that I didn't have to worry about double-sided tape or put them in a case. I like to store things in pretty boxes as I am crafting in my dining room quite a bit these days and don't want it to look like it has been taken over by craft supplies (although that is truly the case!).

I used one of the CD storage boxes I had on hand and cut the magnetic sheets into 5 inch by 5 inch squares. This size worked great for holding the die sets that I own. I did have to trim a bit off the width (about 1/8 of an inch) to fit them in this particular storage box.

I used a file tab punch to add the particulars of each die to my magnetic squares. Mine is from McGill, and it is the 3-inch label punch.

Using the file tab punch worked to keep all the die information with the die (I included the name, how many pieces in the set and then the set number). The number of pieces was important because I had misplaced one of the die pieces for a while and want to make sure I put them all away at the end of the day so I don't lose them. Even though I buy them with a coupon they are still kind of pricey.

This next pictures is not so pretty... I had pretty much mangled up the packages but did want to save a picture of the dies on the back of each magnet card. I just glued it on the back of the magnet square without much fuss, I'm sure you could make it much prettier if you like but I was trying to wrap up this project pretty fast at this point. Since the packaging was a lightweight cardboard, it helps to give the magnet sheet some stability and thickness as well.

I took the whole project outside to photograph it and it is a gorgeous day outside. It's too nice to stay inside so I'll save the crafting for a rainy day or quiet evening and go work in the garden. If you are interested in other ideas for organizing your craft supplies or craft room, check out my Craft Room Ideas board on Pinterest. There's lots of fun (and pretty) ideas here as well.

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Organizing Ribbon {The Perfect Craft Room Idea}

Ribbon is the perfect final addition to your packages, craft projects and let's face it.. it's just plain beautiful. Whether sitting in piles on the table...

Resting in a pretty vintage silver candy dish...

or spilling out of a vintage glass jar used as a dispenser,

 you can never have enough ribbon. Well, you can, but just try to stay away from those sale bins at Michael's when a pretty spool of peacock blue satin ribbon is calling your name for just 50 cents.

Stopping in at a local florist last weekend, I saw this wall of ribbon and couldn't resist asking the owner if I could snap a few pictures with my camera phone. Check out the beautiful shelving!

The shop owner's father made the shelves for her specifically to hold lots of ribbon. The beauty, as always, is in the details. This pretty little trim strip on the edge of each shelf really makes this idea special.  The shelf is crafted so that it's as deep as her largest roll and the trim is just a bit larger than the shelf so that it creates a bit of a rim to keep the ribbon from falling off the edge. This shelf, on a smaller scale of course, would be perfect for the studio or craft room.

How are you organizing ribbon? I'd love to hear your ideas!

LINKING TO

A Place for Pretty {Hand Made} Cards & STL Link Party

I've been paper crafting up a storm this winter, creating lots of greeting cards. After the time spent making each one, I hate to tuck them away in a drawer or box until it's time to send them.

I've found a fun way to keep them out where I can enjoy them every day. This little curio shelf has been re-purposed on top of my desk to hold the cards I've made as well as the vintage cards I want to scan.

Every little card I make can be ready and waiting to be sent out.

Each cubby can hold a different season or type of card. I just noticed the little hooks inside this piece! They'll come in handy around the holidays to hold some pretty vintage ornaments. Mmmm.... the things you discover when you're taking blog photos from crazy angles!

I've got several posts planned that feature my  office. I spent some time clearing up the clutter in there and was able to get some room shots I'll be sharing later. Always nice to capture the pictures when a room is nice and clean!

What have you been up to this week? I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone's been up to. Check out my two favorite links from last week!

This pretty wreath from My Hearts Desire is made from two shades of burlap. I love the rumpled texture. There's a tutorial as well so you can make one just like it.

The next feature is from Home Sweet Nest. I love this gentleman's dresser. Very unique, we hardly ever see this type of finish. I'm guessing it has already sold from it's spot in a men's boutique!

Hope you'll join us this week and link up a post to share. Show us what you've got!

Here's how to party with us...

• Link up a specific post on your blog
• Link back to the party within your post or on your sidebar--there's buttons on my sidebar
• Click around and vist your fellow partiers--there's always some great ideas here!

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