Hey there cross stichers! Don't forget about the cross-stich pattern give away that I still have going on. EVERYONE who enters gets FREE CHARTS! Here's the link from a few posts back! I hope you all participate- I'd love to share my charts with you :)

I was in serious need of a "thank you" card to enclose with all of my shop sales.  I wanted it to reflect my vintage style, leave a lasting impression, and be a sincere "thank you" to all of my customers. I know there are many vintage shops out there, and I'm so thankful for all of your patronage. 
 I could have gone with business card route, but wanted something more creative. I started with the blank sheets from the back of this fabulous, HUGE ledger book. I'd never seen a ledger book with these measurements before my mom gifted it to me for Christmas. I love the 14 x 14 inch sized sheets- they are perfect for crafting, not to mention the beautiful penmanship that is found in the first half of the book. 


 The first step was to cut beautiful, ornament sheets form the lined paper. 
Next I used my Gocco printer to burn a screen and start printing the text onto the cards. (A gocco printer is a Japanese screen printing machine that became very popular in the US over the last couple years. It's small size makes it ideal for home crafters and the screen is about the size of a photograph.  The company who makes the Gocco machine recently stopped production of the machine and ink leaving lots of sad crafters.)

Once the machine is set up you are able to print hundreds of products in one sitting. 
After the tags were dry, I punched a hole in the top and tied them to the packages that were ready to send out using brown ribbon. 

If I were to say "I am a shopper", it would be the understatement of the year.  I love to shop. I really do. I admit it- and I also blame my mom. Don't worry, she will agree!  I found a collection of old mother-of-pearl buttons that had been hand carved, and knew they had to be mine for a sweet price of $12. I've found that buttons like these, at these prices are getting harder and harder to find, so I was sure to scoop them up! Here are my two favorite:
 This beauty of a book caught my eye from inside a locked showcase. The silky fabric spoke to me, and the pink tassel on the side is so charming. 
 I was still on the fence about spending $28 on this beautiful book. That's a steep price, and big portion of my budget for the day. But when I opened up the silk cover to reveal a farmers almanac from 1899 inside, it was as good as mine. SOLD! 
 I was a little frustrated when I got home and saw $18 written in pencil on the front page. Dealers- remember to erase the price you paid for items that you hope to resell. It makes your customers feel gipped!  
 I love to find beautiful books that would work well as photo props. In this case, the book on the left is PERFECT. So lovely and a steel at only $4!

 The red, French book on the right was definitely the "deal of the day" for me. At only $2, it contains maps and information in French about all of the neighborhoods (that's arrondissements in French) in Paris. I threw my dollars at the dealer, stuck this little book in my sac and did a jump for joy. 
 Moving on from the "deal of the day", we have the "splurge of the day". 
 This old penmanship book went un-noticed until my mom back-tracked with me just to point it out. I am so glad she did! Each page is filled with the most gorgeous calligraphic animals, birds, letters and words. My plan is to frame several of the pages that are too lovely to be hidden away in a book. 
 Lucky, the dealer was able to reduce his price of $40 to $30. I have a feeling I would have regretted walking away from such a beautiful book- but at $40 I would have had too.  
 I have a weakness for silver beaded flowers. I love they way they sparkle in the light, and look SO vintage. I bought two of the four silver flowers this dealer had.
 At $5 each I wish I would purchased the whole lot. She may have even given me a deal, guess I'll never know....
 The last purchase of the day was this black mourning fan. I've come across several of these fans in the last few months, and they have been very popular in my shop. 
 Ringing up at $15, it's the most I've ever paid for a fan. This one will be staying in my personal collection as I just love the black and silver contrast. 

Thanks to one amazing boyfriend who took care of unpacking boxes and making dinner (ordering the pizza :) ) last night, I was granted one entire night to craft! HEAVEN! Although I was distracted by the mound of boxes sitting int he studio, I was still able to get a head start on a specific project I've been planing. Above is just a little sneak peek! There are quite a few alterations I plan to make before unveiling the completed piece, but I've made great progress. 


And now, I want to share something fun with you! It became very apparent with my last give away that I have many followers that are cross stitchers- Hi guys! I kept that in mind while plotting my next give away, and now I'm ready to share it with you...

I am giving away to everyone who participates no less than THREE Elizabeth's Gardens cross stitch charts! That's right! I still have a box of printed charts that I've been toting around since the business was active years ago.  And now I'm ready to pass them along to all the crafters out there. I hope you enjoy them, give them to a fellow cross stitcher, stash them, whatever makes you happy :)

The details: All you have to do is follow my blog. (Click the "follow" button on the right side of the screen). And I'm asking that you pay packaging and postage fees. You can do that by sending me $5 via paypal to Mathews.liz@gmail.com. Watch out- that's Mathews with one T.  Please be sure to include your mailing address in the Paypal money order.  As soon as I receive your payment I will get your bundle of charts out to you. 

Please note that the patterns will be selected randomly and I can not accommodate special requests for specific charts.  All of the images in this post show that patterns that I still have available and represent a sampling of the charts you will be receiving! 

Some of my favorite shots from our trip to Paris last March.  I'm hopeful that within the next few days I will have new photos to share with you. I have been missing my crafting time, and relaxation! Moving is no joke!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mamas out there! I hope you all had a wonderful day :)