Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

I am going to try this out for a while and see how it goes. Every month I will find my favorite upcycles of the month. I will try to find a few that are recent, and doubtless some of them will be older posts that someone made but that I still consider relevant.

Here are a few I found recently:

1. The first one has various ways you could recycle a ladder. Indoor and outdoor ideas are shared. All are very good ideas. I particularly like the pot-holding ladder suspended from the ceiling. I think the black one is a really attractive way to store pots and pans and retain more space in your cabinets for other kitchen items.

2. This next one is 25 DIY hanging planters. It includes some really great ideas, and also some of them have links to tutorials. I like a lot of them but my favorite is the bird cage filled with succulent plants. I think that is just beautiful.

http://www.architectureartdesigns.com/25-lovely-diy-hanging-planters/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=google_plus&utm_source=socialnetwork

3. The next one is a lamp made from a recycled mannequin wearing a WWII helmet. It does not give instructions but if you are handy with electrical wire it is a wonderful, unique idea that is sure to be a conversation piece. This one was made by Danish Re-Design.

4. This is about how to repurpose wine corks into children’s toys. Several ideas are listed, from figurines to stamps to a pirate boat. Fun and playful ideas to entertain children! The figurines would be fun even for adults, as you could let your imagination run wild and make figures of your favorite celebrities or anyone else you choose.

Photo by Secondsguru.com

5. This one is a fun way to take a men’s dress shirt and tie and upcycle them into a summer sleeveless blouse. A super simple idea, no advanced sewing needed. In fact if you don’t have a sewing machine there isn’t much sewing involved so you could sew it by hand. Erin Stevens is the designer, who was so nice as to share her tutorial for this project. You might enjoy checking out her Etsy shop, GarageCoutureClothes.

6. This last one is an upcycled top made from silk scarves that I found on Pinterest. The top was made by La Pristic Ouiston, a brand created by the designer Laurence Mahéo. She made the top from various silk scarves and then cut the silk with a laser cutter, which gives the top a very modern look. The result is a stunning top with a very classy look. La Prestic Ouiston is based in Paris; however apparently Saks Fifth Avenue carries some of their clothing. I have included a link to Saks. The woman who is modeling the top is Linda Wright and she is a blogger.

Well I hope you enjoyed this post. I will aim to do one monthly with my favorite finds and perhaps it will be a dozen next month. I hope you are busy enjoying summer!

Two Vintage & Antiques Malls in Pensacola, Florida

July 1, 2016

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Recently I went to Pensacola, Florida, to visit my family and I wanted to share some of the vintage and antique exploring we did. Pensacola also has some lovely old architecture downtown in the Seville Quarter at 130 E. Government Street. They have jazz music shows there on a regular basis.

One morning we went over to the Miles Antique Mall at 5109 Bayou Boulevard to see the various vendor spots. The Mall houses 65,000 square feet of antiques and over 500 vendors. Plus they are open seven days a week. There was an eclectic mix of items for sale. I didn’t see a large amount of vintage clothing though. Mostly it was housewares, knick-knacks, jewelry, art and antique or vintage memorabilia. There were a lot of mermaids and coastal themes in the shops’ merchandise. It was a fun place to visit and I found a very soft, pretty fall colors vintage scarf to add to my collection.

Another afternoon my mother and I were headed for lunch and noticed that Reynalds Collectibles & Antiques Mall was open. I had been trying to get in there the day prior, plus last time I was in Pensacola it was closed every time I went by. I was so excited and the shop truly has a beautiful collection of housewares, jewelry, vintage musical instruments and sheet music, furniture and more. My mother had music lessons there at the same location when she was young. The owner said that after thirty-five years of hauling pianos, when his mother passed away he decided to turn it into an antiques mall. I only took a few pictures while there but I really enjoyed every minute. I came away with a vintage set of Squirt salt and pepper shakers complete with their original box. I would highly recommend checking out the business if you are in the area.

Another afternoon we visited the Pensacola Lighthouse. It was was originally built in 1859. The tower offers views of Pensacola Pass, which is where the bay meets the Gulf of Mexico. The sand is a lovely white color. The spot is surrounded by three forts and the Pensacola Naval Base. My grandfather worked at the base many years ago. We climbed all 177 steps to the top plus checked out the museum at the lower levels of the tower.

In the picture of Emily, my daughter, at the lighthouse she is wearing a vintage Liberty of London skirt that I passed down to her from when I used to work at the Liberty shop at Rockefeller Center in the 1980’s.

All in all we had a great trip and it was lots of fun. I was thrilled to be with my family again and get some rest! I hope you enjoyed this post. I actually finished my Dottie Angel dress so that post is coming up soon. I am also hoping to make it to Philadelphia, PA to check out some vintage shops there soon.

Also my Etsy shop, HabershamVintage is having a 35% off sale now through July 4th. The coupon code for the sale is :INDEPENDENCE. Please use it prior to checkout! Have a great holiday!!

Reynalds Collectibles & Antiques Mall

Reynalds Collectibles & Antiques Mall

Miles Antique Mall, Pensacola, FL

vintage skirt bustle

Vintage signs Florida

Miles Antique Mall Florida fleamarkets

Miles Antique Mall

Seville Quarter

The Pensacola Lighthouse and Museum

Emily in vtg Liberty skirt

Spars posters in the lighthouse

Bedroom in the lighthouse

view from lighthouse

Naval Base Pensacola (2)

Central Park’s Conservatory Garden

June 14, 2016

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This time of year I like to get outside and do a post about a beautiful garden in New York City on occasion. Spending time in nature is not only relaxing and a good way to recharge but also a good reminder of why we should continue to recycle and be conscious of our carbon footprint. Despite all the concrete and frenetic energy in New York City there are some lovely places to see a large amount of greenery and unwind a bit.

The Conservatory Garden is the park’s only formal garden. It has a separate entrance at 105^th Street and Fifth Avenue. It is open from 8am to dusk and has large black metal fences that originally were part of the Cornelius Vanderbilt estate (1), which was destroyed in 1927. Once you enter, this is a very quiet and relaxing section of the park. If you have a bike you must walk it through the grounds of the six acres that are home to this unique and beautiful garden. The Conservatory Garden has various sections of thousands of seasonal plants, in three different styles: Italian, French and English. The garden was started in 1934 but not fully completed until in the 1980’s.

When I was much younger I used to work on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and I used to love to walk over to the garden to sit for a while either before or after work. It is such a peaceful place and the various plants are a colorful sight to see. The statues in the garden are very serene and joyful looking. The southern end of the garden has a bronze statue of a boy and a girl that was made by Bessie Potter Vonnoh in 1936. The statue is based on the book The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

The Central section of the garden has a large lawn of grass with the spraying fountain and, up above the lawn, a terraced walkway surrounded by trees and bushes, making the garden a splendid place to visit.

The North section of the garden has the statute of Three Dancing Maidens, made by the sculptor Walter Schott in 1910. The surrounding plants are arrayed in a classic French style. I have included a picture of the twirling design in one section to the side of the statute.

Well I hope you enjoyed this post and are out enjoying summer wherever you are. I am headed to Florida soon to visit family and am excited about that. My daughter just arrived here a few days ago and she went on a day trip to Philadelphia for an adventure.

I am almost finished with my Dottie Angel dress so will be able to post about that within a couple of weeks.

conservatory garden NYC

conservatory garden flowers

archway conservatory garden

water fountain conservatory garden

conservatory garden

archway conservatory garden (2)

English Garden

roses conservatory garden

conservatory garden 029

conservatory garden bushes

(1) http://www.nyc-arts.org/organizations/205/central-park-conservatory-garden

Hawaain Print Thrifted Skirt With a Tutti Fruiti Necklace

May 29, 2016

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I found this Banana Split thrifted Hawaain rayon skirt in a vintage shop a couple of months ago. Its bright hibiscus flowers, green palm tress, and deep blue water scenes made me want it immediately. This is a perfect skirt for a casual night out, comfy as a pair of shorts, and so easy to combine with t-shirts or tank tops, dress up or down. I have always liked Hawaiian prints. They tend to be so lively and fun; perhaps it is partially the fact that the scenes on them evoke memories of vacations, or relaxation time.

I tend to like to wear this skirt with this Tutti Frutti necklace and bracelet I designed. In late June I will open my handmade Etsy shop and it will be carrying the necklace and perhaps bracelets too. The plastic fruit pieces I have currently are from the 80’s when I had a costume jewelry wholesaling business. They are so bright and cheerful! I hope the distributor is still carrying some beads like this since they are great and I’d like to restock them once I run out of my current stock.

Sorry the pictures didn’t come out so great this time. I have been so busy with the Etsy shop, getting it up and running, I haven’t gotten to focus as much on the blog. I need to get my head wrapped around it more and get better pictures!! Plus I am still working on getting the second Etsy shop running next month. It is a lot to do, at least initially since I have had to learn how to do it.

The floral pictures are from various gardens. Some are from St.Luke’s Garden in the West Village of NYC. Some are from the Jefferson Market Garden. The one with me near a rose bush is my own community garden, which is dry from the sun and not quite gorgeous and full of flowers just yet. The community garden near where I live is very small and we only have a few members. In general it is so lovely to walk around the city, or Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and see all the beautiful flowers that are in bloom. Some local businesses put out large containers of flowers and it really makes the block more lively.

Well I hope you are enjoying Memorial Day weekend and having fun in the sun. I am headed to Florida soon to see my family. My daughter Emily is coming here first, then we are going there together. I can’t wait to see my grandmother. She is 94!

thrifted hawaain print skirt