Wordless Wednesday – Happy Halloween!!!

Treasury Tuesday – Earthy Fall

Today's treasury comes from Teresa at Sweet T's Boutique. She created a beautiful tribute to fall with a very earthy and somewhat magical feel. I love the mystery of the forest photography, skeleton keys, the autumn moon, and little red riding hood running lost in an ancient village. I was so pleased to have my vintage wooden button ring join such a lovely and whimsical grouping! 

To view individual items in this treasury, click here.

Sunday Shout-out! – Barnyard Chic & Stitched Tegan Jewelry

Hi everyone! Happy Sunday! Today's Sunday Shout-out is a little different.

Jeanna over at Barnyard Chic (her blog) and Stitched Tegan Jewelry (her shop) was having a give-away of one of her lovely jewelry pieces. Well, guess who won?? ME!
BUT WAIT!!

That's not the end of it. I decided that in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I would choose her pink bracelet and re-give it away in honor of my mother being a survivor! Sooooo, that means, that one of you lovelies has the chance to win Jeanna's adorable bracelet!

Here is how you enter:
1. Become a follower on Jeanna's blog, Barnyard Chic.
2. Become a follower of your's truly, ChatterBlossom
3. Leave a comment on Jeanna's give-away blog post which you can find here.

This give-away will end Nov. 1st when she will declare a winner! So hurry on over and enter for your chance!

Also, I love you Mom!!! ;-)

Feature Friday – Yellow Field 7

Hello and welcome to a Feature Friday with hardly any reading to do!!! You are welcome my fellow tired friends! This shop's photographs are simply all you need to fall in love. Behida Dolic from Yellow Field 7 is an amazing creator of gorgeous hand-draped cloche hats. My hat's off (pun intended) to you Behida. You are a true talent! Okay, no more reading. You can just enjoy her work now...

                   To view all of her divine creations, click here.

Thursday Thrill – Twirly Girly

Do you ever have those days where you walk outside, take a deep breath, and just want to twirl? No? Well, I may just be weird like that...

 I think it may be the crisp air of fall. Not too hot and not too cold. Perfect. Yesterday, here in North Carolina, it was 78 degrees! Makes you feel alive and like you can finally breathe. I usually am in need of a small hill that I can run up and spin around and then fall to the ground exhausted. This is what I do with my time ya'll. "Ol' crazy pants next door is twirling outside again Marge." That's what my neighbors are probably saying most days.

I came across this dress from Concetta's Closet and thought to myself, "This girl needs a hill!". Maybe not with the stilettos, but you can always fling those aside and run barefoot. That sounds better anyway. This 1950's floral dress has such a flattering combo of vee-neck, high wide waist band, and splashes of vibrant color. The print is big but not too big. The colors pop, but aren't obnoxious. The dress is kinda like my description of the fall season at this point. A Goldilocks effect of being "just right". AND it twirls ladies! That green crinoline peeking out from under her skirt isn't included but you know I would be wearing one.                                                           Either the peridot green or perhaps a bright fuchsia! 

Because stilettos will tend to be non-hill climbing material, I found these adorable vintage leather shoes with a low full heel and cut out polka dots. And to keep those stray bouncy curls out of your eyes while twirling, my vintage button hair pins in turquoise blue are just the ticket! Each of those buttons are a slightly different ocean blue color so it would play up all the subtle color differences in the dress. Grab a 50's style cardigan just in case the air turns cool and head out the door for some frolicking in the afternoon sunshine!

Featured Items:

- Dress by Concetta's Closet

- Hair Accessories by ChatterBlossom

- Cardigan by Vintanthromodern

- Shoes by Nemres

Wordless Wednesday – Wee Ones

Treasury Tuesday – Autumn Color Burst

Fall colors are starting to really show now and harvests of pumpkin, cranberry, and maize hues abound! Sue D from LemonDrop5 recently put together a vibrant tribute to rich autumn tones and my three vintage button hair flowers were part of her feature! There are some really lovely items in this treasury. Some of my fav's are that boutonniere, forest landscape painting, and caramel apple!

To view individual items in this treasury, click here.

Sunshine Award – Who Won? Me!!

Today, I received the SUNSHINE AWARD from Pam!! She has a lovely blog called  Pam Mower Designs! You should check her out if you haven't already done so! 

Thank you Miss Pam! 

Here are the rules:

Include award logo in blog post and thank the blogger who gave it to you & include a link back.

Answer 10 questions about yourself that you have made up yourself (yeah, I know, kinda weird).

Nominate 10-12 bloggers for the award and contact them at their blog site to inform them.

So here are the ten questions about me that I made up about myself....

1. What is your guilty pleasure?

Dancing!! I dance a number of vintage style dances that I cannot get enough of!

2. What is your favorite hobby?

Did I say dancing already?? Yep, I repeat, I'm a dancing fool!

3. What is your favorite feature about yourself?

My legs. I like my gams quite a bit in a pair of vintage shoes. 

4. What is your favorite color?

Green. Oooh, and coral. I love the color green on everything, but I like corals on my skin. Livens me up a bit.

5. If you could have a house anywhere in the world, where would it be? 

A little village in England. With a thatched roof, large tree in front, and garden in the back.

6. What is one of your favorite qualities about yourself?

I'm resourceful and flexible. I tend to adapt well to unforeseen circumstances and make something from what I have around me. 

7. Where do you want to be in 5 & 10 years?

On a little one to two acre plot of land that I can grow flowers and veggies on. And have a small house with a front room that I use for a tea shop in the fall and winter and another room with hardwood floors that is used solely for epic dances!

8. How long have you been married?

I got married when I was a baby, so my husband and I will celebrate our 10 year anniversary soon!! Whoa! It went so fast too! Love that man! ;-)

9. What is your favorite wine?

Probably a Riesling with fruity notes like grapefruit

10. What is you favorite desert?

I love me some salted caramel anything! Ice Cream, chocolate, etc. Put on some caramel and a little sea salt and you have my attention.

So there you have it!

10 Questions that I made up (or borrowed from Pam!).  I hope you enjoyed reading them and getting to know me a little bit.

 Now......Here are some lovely ladies I nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award! 

Jayne @ Handmade Cuties

Angela @ Whimsy Ways

Bee @ The Wooden Bee

Ashlee  @ ABpetite

Lara & Tura @ AHKA Vintage

Amanda Jo @ Amanda Jo Crafts

Claudia @ Images By CW

Sheryl @ Sher's Creative Space

Dorothy Days @The Dorothy Days

Shirl @ Creations by Shirl

Mohala @ MoKeKuMiLei Creations

Sunday Shout-Out! – ImagesByCW

There are many people I want to thank and I want to give each one a special Sunday. This one goes out to Claudia at ImagesByCW. Thank you!!!!! You've been a supporter of my blog from the beginning and I appreciate the time you've taken to be active in that support.                                        

Please visit and support ImagesByCW:

- Blog

- Shop

 - Facebook

        - Twitter        

Feature Friday – Illuminated Perfume

Intoxicating, mysterious, memorable. All words that can describe experiences, people, and places. But they can also be used to describe aromas and the experiences, people, and places brought to life through those scents. We all associate certain smells with specific people we love or have lost, places we've visited or spent our whole lives growing up in, experiences that were only lived once or traditions that come and go over and over again. For me, I associate the smell of cotton, rain soaked wood, and coffee with my husband. I remember my dad every time I smell cigarette smoke on leather. I love the smell of old books and decaying leaves in the fall.

Today's featured shop is one that, for me, deals in memories, both in conjuring them up and making them new. Roxana at Illuminated Perfume creates botanical fragrances by hand that are natural, organic, and sustainable. Here is how she describes her work:

“The botanical perfumes I create are very concept driven and fabricated by my own hand. In keeping with the spirit of the exquisite handmade artifact, the quarter ounce perfume flacons arrive in a couture crocheted pouch. Each fragrance is illuminated with an image by artist and concept designer Greg Spalenka. All these aspects create an intimate interaction with the beauty of nature. While studying in art school I took classes on bookmaking and letterpress printing. Later when I lived in New York I owned a Van der Cook flat bed Letterpress housed in a brownstone in Greenwich Village. The love of craft is embedded in my artistic psyche. As William Morris, I embrace the primacy of the handmade object and wish to bring that heritage and romance to my fragrance line.”

I went to her shop recently for the very first time and found myself reading through all her fragrance descriptions. I was doing this for quite a long time and felt myself becoming more captivated by her relationship with her fragrances with each aroma described. It was like reading a diary of an ancient sorceress that crafted the world around her. I want to give you an example. This is, by far, the longest feature I've ever done, but her writing is worth it. The description below is for just one of her perfumes. Chiaroscuro. I fell in love with this fragrance like you would fall in love with a person you've never met. A lover who wrote his thoughts and desires, but never sent the letter to his desired one. Come read with me:

"Chiaroscuro, the name of this conceptual natural perfume, has its origins in the world of Italian painting, referencing tonal contrasts. The literal translation of the word is light-dark. The perfume is sweet and dark, naughty and nice. The sweetness of the jasmine is amplified by myrtle and spice contrasting against patchouli and jatamansi (spikenard). The liquid perfume represents the dark/scuro aspect while the solid is the light/chiaro side. Chiaroscuro as a liquid perfume begins quite dark and indolic laced with notes of roots and camphor. As you journey through the night in the deep moist woods a clearing of jasmine is illuminated with the light of myrtle. The robust fragrance features a very unusual scent evolution by moving from dark to light with deep, warm notes that linger like a dreamy lover. The fragrance is imbued with a bouquet of tinctured jasmine sambac blossoms I have gently gathered and extracted all Summer long. The palette of botanical essences: essential oils, absolutes, c02 extracts and tinctures is vast. The fragrance begins extremely dark and heavy moving is a voluptuous, sensual and feminine fragrance.

"Return often and take me at night, when the lips and skin remember.~ A snippet from a poem by Constantine P. Cavafy 


Chiaroscuro is a shape shifter, she is both the beauty and the beast from mythical heroic stories. She is the light of the luminous moon and the darkness of the night. She is the spell caster, anoint and envision what you want to manifest for the next season."

Gorgeous. And that poem...

In the case that you've been hooked like me, she has a blog too. She has the most beautiful photography and journals there and it was nice to feel a bit of magic stirring inside after getting lost in her musings. 

To visit all her tantalizing creations, click here.

And make sure to make a stop at her blog.

Thursday Thrill – Private Eye

As the fall weather takes hold and the leaves are just now turning and floating their way to earth, a cool headed reserve creeps in and I start feeling a bit private. Private eye, that is. As I type this, I'm listening to Frank Sinatra and raising my eyebrows as if to question the motives of people that aren't in the room with me. Crazy? Maybe. Fun? Yes.
 
Now just imagine if I had this outfit. I could do all kinds of sneaky things and people would follow me with their eyes wondering what fantastic cases I'm solving at this very moment. I would just tip a corner of my hat in their direction to let them know I know what they're thinking and that they are right. I do solve fantastic cases. And I look damn sexy doing it! 

 Perfect for fall investigative detecting or just for looking amazing next to that poster of Sherlock that has been plastered onto the train station wall, this 1940's cashmere dress can do the talking for you. And is that a beaver fur collar? Why yes, yes it is.

To add just a bit of flirt to this vintage dress, 
let's add a pair of 1930's shoes in brown twill with a ribbon accent and stacked heels. Slip on a gold geometric rose ring made with a vintage button and your day time adventure begins. The only thing left to do is put a dab of an intoxicating aroma at your neckline, so that memory of jasmine, myrtle, and mystery are the only things left on the minds of people you meet.

Find the featured items here:

Dress by WildHoneyPieVintage

Shoes by MsTips

Ring by ChatterBlossom

Perfume by Illuminated Perfume

Wordless Wednesday – Nature Burst

Tuesday Treasury – Give Thanks

Last week was Thanksgiving in Canada and before you know it, it will be Thanksgiving here too. My husband went to Canada last week, not to celebrate the holiday, but to mourn the passing of his grandmother. Family from all over North America gathered together for a kind of thanksgiving, tempered with sadness. However, thanksgiving comes in darker times too and my husband gave thanks for having known such a wonderful woman and getting to call her grandma.

To view individual items in this lovely treasury by Brandi from SweetHarvey, click here.

Sunday Shout-Out! – Handmade Cuties

There are many people I want to thank and I want to give each one a special Sunday. This one goes out to Jayne at Handmade Cuties. Thank you!!!!! Your kindness and supportive comments have encouraged me many times and I truly appreciate that you try to make peoples' days better.                

Please visit and support Handmade Cuties:

- Blog
- Shop
- Facebook

- Twitter  

                    

                                                                  

Feature Friday – Sea Pinks

Today's little feature is for a little shop. Little in size (under 50 items right now), but big in charm. Jenny, the creator of Sea Pinks, describes her shop this way:

"Sea Pinks is a cozy place where you can find charming embroidery and fun stuff for sewing or just fun stuff!" 

I agree Jenny! Cozy, charming, and fun perfectly describe your work. From citrus fruit and pumpkin pin cushions to honey bee change purses, each of your creations is worthy of a smile. To visit Jenny at her Sea Pinks shop, click here. 

Thursday Thrill – Wedded Bliss

Today, I'm giving you some wedding bell thrills. Of course, you wouldn't have to wear this for a wedding. You could just as easily say, "Honey, I'm wearing this to the grocery store. Deal with it.". However, let's pretend you aren't as crazy as I am and go with the wedding theme. This dress (and the everlasting love for my husband, blah, blah, blah) would have me renewing my vows in a heartbeat. 

DearGoldenVintage has already reserved this vintage 1920s/30s lace dress for someone and that someone is sadly not moi. Wouldn't you love to see who gets to wear this?! The ecru silk lace is creamy soft and the cut is on the bias (which means its twirly!). A soft swooping neckline and cute little rhinestone buckled belt are just perfect for creating an unassuming nod to elegance.

Plus, there are the shoes...oh those bow adorned silk slip-ons from the 1950's (and in my size! Arg!). Pair the ensemble with translucent molded earrings that have a rhinestone center and your vintage wedding is ready for its bride. 

Find the featured items here (and browse the rest of the shops goodies):

-Dress by DearGoldenVintage

-Shoes by PaisleyFaceVintage

-Vintage Earrings by ChatterBlossom

Wordless Wednesday – Sunny Day

Treasury Tuesday – Marie Antoinette

Sarah from PeriwinkleCards recently made this beautifully dark and lush treasury that my antique pendant luckily got to be featured in. There is a distinct feeling of broken dreams and forgotten loves, but I guess that's fitting based on the title given. 

                               To view individual items in this treasury, click here.

Sunday Shout-Out! – The Dorothy Days

There are many people I want to thank and I want to give each one a special Sunday. This one goes out to The Dorothy Days. Thank you!!!!! I've really appreciated all your help with the blog world! Thank you for being a great team leader!                                          Please visit and support The Dorothy Days:

- Blog
- Shop
- Facebook
- Twitter                              

Feature Friday – Forestblue Factory

There is bouncy goodness headed your way today! Prepare your heart to be uplifted and your feet to feel lighter. 

Forestblue Factory creates handmade toy gifts inspired by the love of nature. Her little animals are posable and made with fine quality organic and natural wool. These little beings seem to come alive in her photographs (which are beautiful!). Here is how she describes her work and how it all started:

"Bunnies and bears inspired by love of nature"

"When I was a small girl I made most of my toys from old T-shirts, tights or socks, giving dolls buttons for eyes and yarn hair. I kept just one toy from that time - an old worn down black horsie I made when I was about 9 years old. Years later, in a creative unrest I began making toys: little bears and bunnies, moose or mice. They are all made to appear sweet, friendly and heartwarming. I love being creative and take extra pleasure in making my animals for you!

Forestblue animals stand for love of natural materials and uniqueness. They can be fully customized or completely tailor made upon request. Attributes like scarves are crocheted or made from upcycled cotton or woolen sweaters. When one gets adopted, I make sure it arrives safely to his new home by wrapping it in plastic and paper and if necessary in a carton box. I try to reuse most utilized dispatch materials.

I offer you One Of A Kind heartwarming little animals inspired by love of nature, gifts, art toys, collectible toys, design toys, all handmade from colorful quality wool and yarns."

To visit her lovely little friends, click here.

Thursday Thrill – The Sophisticate

Sweet and sophisticated is on our Thursday Thrill agenda today. Last week, we had an eye-popping red bouffant bombshell, but today's thrill is more demure. 

To me, these pieces say, "that girl has her life together and a good head on her shoulders, but gosh darn she's cute to boot!". Look at the delicate diamond cut-outs on the neckline of this 1950's floral dress. So tasteful, but fun and flirty at the same time!

The shoes are a rare find as they are in nearly pristine condition. They were owned by an obviously very tasteful lady near the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina before making their way into the hands of PosiesForLulu on Etsy.

And I think I knew as soon as I saw this dress that my magnolia fascinator was the perfect accessory choice! "You Call Everybody Darlin'" has a vintage gold earring upcycled into the centerpiece of this ivory hair flower and I think it just speaks to the gentility of the whole outfit. How charming would a girl look pulling out a cute compact from a little handbag to freshen up before heading out into the wide world.

Items Featured:

-Dress from Rococo Vintage

-Shoes from PosiesForLulu

-Hair Flower from ChatterBlossom