Callaloo Soup

Quick Etsy Shop Update | Buttons and a Blotter

I just listed two new items in my French vintage shop on Etsy.

First some French vintage buttons from the well known brand Haute Nouveauté.

What is it about buttons stitched on cards?  I just love the look. The card still has the original price written on it in pencil. A very authentic touch!

Next is this wonderful wooden rocking ink blotter.

In doing my research I discovered that blotters have played many an important role in detective stories such as Sherlock Holmes' ‘The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter’. You can read a wonderful description about rocking blotters and other vintage desk items here.

Are there any bakers out there? I have two baking related vintage items that will be listed in the next couple of days. Stay tuned!

Tuesday To Do | Easy Book Page Garland

A few weeks ago while hunting in an as yet unpacked box in the garage, I came across a pile of hearts cut out from vintage book pages. I have a very vague memory of cutting them out for a Valentine's Day project last year, but I can't remember any details of what I meant to use them for. So I decided to use them in this very simple stitched garland to add to my craft room decor. And now you can too!

1. Cut out a pile of hearts from book pages. You can use punches or a die cutting system, but I did mine freehand for a more whimsical look. I cut them in a bunch of different sizes

2.  Before you put down your presser foot and start stitching, pull a long piece of the threads out from the machine to leave a tail for hanging it later. Stitch them together lengthwise through the middle.

Leave an inch or two of thread between each heart. I just kept sewing and would feed the next heart in every few seconds. I also alternated the sizes.

3. Finish off and hang!

Who says hearts are only for Valentine's day?

 

Tuesday To Do | "Home" Mini Canvas

 

 
Hello all! Today I will show you a simple masking technique using stamps that I used to make this mini canvas. This tutorial was originally done for Banana Frog when I was on the Design Team there.

 

Supplies

Canvas
Vintage book paper
Spray ink
Ribbon
Vintage Trim
Buttons
Distress Inks
Craft glue
Hiya Chick Stamp Set or stamps of your choice

 

First cover the canvas with the book paper using craft glue.

 

 

 

Then ink it up with some distress ink

 

 

 
Next you are going to arrange your stamps face down on the canvas, as shown

 

 

 

Then spray with your ink

 

 

Carefully remove the stamps and let the canvas dry

 

 

Now you can stamp the images in the blank spots.

 

Tip: Practise this on a piece of scrap paper first to see if you like the arrangement. You can see my test here

 

I have also found that this works best with stamps that don't have a lot of excess acrylic around the image, so I actually cut some of the excess off from my stamps.

Finally embellish with buttons, trim and ribbon

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoy trying this technique! 

 

Tutorial | Denim Capri Re-style with Vintage Trim

Happy Friday friends! Earlier this week I said I'd be sharing a fashion upcycle using vintage trim, and here it is! Disclaimer: I am not a fashion blogger, or a professional seamstress. You have been fairly warned.

 

So a couple summers ago I got these denim capris that were like my uniform, I pretty much wore them everywhere. But I couldn't really stand the length, they just seemed to hit at an odd spot.

 

 

So I wore them rolled up like this

 

 

(as you can see I had a helpful assistant)

I really wanted to do something different before starting to wear them again this summer though. I decided to add a vintage boho look with some vintage french trim from my stash!

 

 

Here's how I did it.

First I measured how long I wanted the capris to be and cut off the extra piece

 

 

Then I measured around the opening to find out how much trim I needed

 

 

 

 

After cutting the trim I then pinned it to the edges

 

 

I started and ended the trim at the inside seam where the join would be hidden. Then I stitched it on with my sewing machine, but this could easily be done by hand.

 

 

I used hand stitching to join the two cut ends

 

 

 

With the small bit of trim that was left I added a detail to the watch pocket. I did this part entirely by hand.

 

 

And ta da! Or maybe I should say voila!

 

 

 

(There's my cute assistant again)

In all I used about 1 yard of trim for this, and it took me less than an hour (you'd probably be faster without the cute assistant). And if you're wondering what to do with the cut off pieces, Kieran has the answer!

 

 

Here's another close up of the pocket detail

 

This really gets me in the mood for summer! If you're looking for a source for vintage trims you can check out my shop on Etsy.

 

Do you like doing fashion restyles? I find they are a great way to freshen up wardrobe staples when the seasons change.

 

If you enjoyed this tutorial please do share the link with your friends via the share buttons below :)

 

 

What's On Your Plate This Month?

Not your literal plate. Unless of course you want to share some yummy recipes? I'm talking about all your plans and projects? What do you want to achieve in March?

Apart from all the Etsy stuff I talked about yesterday, as well as my usual commitments, I am taking on a couple extra projects this month. First is the 30 Days of Lists, which I did last year (ok, total disclosure, started).

 

This time I am keeping it very simple, with just a small spiral notebook, some washi tape and a date stamp. One of the lists we made so far was goals for the month, which was the prompt for this blog post incidentally.

The other big thing is Project Simplify led by Tsh at Simple Mom.

 

I also did this last year and loved it, so I was very excited when she decided to run it again.

And this is already done, but it's March Mini Madness at write.click.scrapbook this month, and I got to make a minialbum with the January kit from Cocoa Daisy.

 

You can see more about it in my post over there.

So, as I was saying...what's on your plate this month?

 

 

A Few Updates About My Shops on Etsy

Hello friends! Just a quick little post to share a few things about my shops on Etsy. I have been a very busy bee getting the new Vintage shop stocked and running. I still have more to come before I see the end of my stash!

 

 

I have currently listed vintage buttons on cards, vintage doilies, and a variety of vintage trims, either in single lengths or as assortments. There's an item for every taste and budget! Still to come are loose buttons, vintage darning and embroidery threads, and vintage French book pages.

 

Pair of Vintage Trims

If you love crafting with trim and lace, you might want to check out my board on Pinterest dedicated to this subject. You don't have to be a member to see it, but if you do want an invitation just let me know in the comments.

 

My original shop is still stocked with my printable posters and chalkboard stickers. I am currently working on a line of journals and notebooks which will be appearing there very soon!

 

 

(Just a tease)

 

I recently launched a Facebook Page for the two shops, and would love it if you would "Like" my page. This is where I will be posting most of the updates and promotions about the shops, as well as hosting giveaways and freebies. You can click "like" over in the sidebar, or just hop on over to Facebook directly. I already have 57 fans for whom I am truly grateful!

And that's what's been happening in the Callaloo Soup Shops world! I'll be happy to answer any questions in the comments. I also welcome any suggestions you may have about items you'd like to see in either shop.

 

P.S. I almost forgot! Look for a tutorial using vintage trim for a simple fashion upcycle project on Friday!

 

 

Some Favourites from Etsy

Since I've been putting a lot of work into my shops on Etsy lately, I've been reminded just how awesome that site is. I took a look at the items I've been bookmarking for future purchases and I still love most of them! Here's a peek at some of the things I love

For Kieran

 

 

Urban Unisex Hoodie Pattern from Heidi and Finn

 

 

 

 Colour Matching set by Mama May I

For Me

 

 

Any bag from Luckycann. I already have this yellow one and love it!

 

 

Copyright Stamps from Avenue 55

For Lucas

 

Le Chef  poster from Villa Figura

 

What's on your Etsy wishlist?

 

Welcome Callaloo Soup Vintage

Happy Monday friends! After quite a lot of thought, I have decided to split my Etsy shop Callaloo Soup Designs into two shops. I seemed to me that having such a smorsgarbord of items for sale in one location could be confusing, and so I have opened a new shop Callaloo Soup Vintage to share all my French flea market treasures!

 

 

I currently have six sets of buttons and six sets of trim listed and will be adding more items over the next week. As always these goodies come direct from the flea markets over here! One of my greatest pleasures is heading out and hunting down these treasures, I love having to dig through all the estate lots to come upon the buttons and trims that make me squeal with delight! (Seriously, I squeal. You should ask Lucas.)

Here's a closer look at my favourite listing in the shop right now.

 

Later this week I'll be adding assorted trim packages as well as loose buttons. I also have some adorable doilies and tea cloths waiting to be photographed.

If you're not into vintage (and even if you are), you can still purchase my chalkboard label stickers and poster prints in my original shop, and in a few weeks I'll be adding a new section of paper goods too.

Thanks for stopping by and for taking a look!

P.S. To share this post with your friends you can use one of the share buttons below.

 

A Little Shop Update

I've decided to add a new item to my Etsy shop: a three pack of my popular Toddler Spoof printable posters.

The choice is yours! Choose any three of the posters in any of the 6 colours available for $12.50 (that's a 10% savings on buying them individually.)

Right now I am selling the posters in PDF format, but I am thinking about adding a JPEG option. That would mean more flexibility in printing sizes. Is that something anyone is interested in?

Also, I am always willing to create customised poster printables, so don't hesitate to contact me if there is something specific you'd like.

I'm hoping to come out with all new posters very soon toom so keep an eye out for that.

 

Who Are The People In My Neighbourhood?

I've had this song from Sesame Street stuck in my head for a couple weeks now, thanks to one of the gifts I made for Kieran (which I'll post about soon). And then I remembered that just over a year ago I did a Getting To Know You post, and thought I'd do that again, but call it something different! (Can you tell that I had a pretty musical childhood?).

So who are the people in my little blog neighbourhood? Are any of you still reading from a year ago? Leave me a comment saying Hi, and if you're up to it tell me how you found my blog, and the kind of posts that you like the best.

And not that you need added incentive (right?), but this weekend I'll choose a name from all the comments to get the pick of one of my printable PDF posters from my Etsy store.

So what do you say?