Vintage Children's Books

My mom recently went to an estate sale and picked up these neat things for me.  These elementary school Science books from the 1950's are fantastic.  If my science books had looked like this I think I would have enjoyed the subject a little more.  Now all I need are a couple Erlenmeyer flasks and I'll have a really cute display!

This rotating disk from the 1930's shows Inventions on one side and Wonders of the World on the other side.  You turn the dial to the item you want and it tells you who invented it and what year, etc.  

A set of children's dictionaries from the 1960's in vibrant colors.  My favorite part is the pictures inside like this one explaining Biology. 

Thanks Mom!

Come one, come all!

Last weekend I threw a big first b-day bash for my precious little girl. This was a bit of a challenge considering my commitment to not buying anything new (besides food). I started with some vintage circus inspiration and went from there...





I collected old sheets and fabric from the thrift stores and trims from an estate sale.



I made a circus tent backdrop with sheets and trim. Flag was made from a vintage wallpaper sample book from the 70's I bought at an estate sale years ago.



I put fabric backing on vintage frames and printed circus font letters on paper I already had for a bday sign. You can find the free font here.



Vintage Fisher Price circus train from my grandparents house, popcorn boxes I found in my pantry and filled with caramel corn, a vintage circus book I had and animal cracker boxes for favors (they're edible, so I figured they were ok to buy).





Little vintage trunks and suitcases made for good platforms.



After inquiring at several bakeries about a custom fondant cake and finding out that they were hundreds of dollars, I decided to make my own. This was a crazy project and took me almost a whole day, but I think it turned out pretty cute. I had to use 9 inch cake pans for all the layers because I could not buy a 6 inch pan or find anyone to borrow one from, this made it more difficult, but it is amazing what you can do with what you have. I am really learning that the solution to things isn't always buying something new. I topped it with an elephant toy and candle. For some tips on working with fondant, click here.



I made flag banners from a variety of vintage fabrics and stapled them to twine. Actually, I cannot take credit for this, my sweet Camille made these, what would I do without her?!!





Our little family. :)



First birthday cake...mmm, delicious!

Children's Bookplates

I went to an estate sale today while my parents watched the little one and I found some adorable children's books from the 20's through the 50's. I will try to take some pictures to share with you tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some vintage style bookplates (from Oiseaux) that I am absolutely in love with. I am trying to justify buying some of these because I tend to pass a lot of books onto friends.

Ebay Win: TEA SET!!!

I just won this adorable child's tea set from the 1950's on ebay! I am so excited because it is plastic, but has the prettiest details. Ruby is going to love it when she is old enough to know what a tea set is.

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

Last night I was keeping an eye on this Ebay auction while simultaneously watching a movie and in typical Beth form, I forgot about it at the last minute. Multi-tasking always gets the best of me; it's why I always burn the grilled cheese. I am so sad to have missed this adorable Betsey Johnson dress for Ruby. It was a 2T, so I guess I have two years to track down another one.

HOW-TO: RETRO APPLIQUE PILLOW COVERS

I'm four days overdue and going INSANE!!! I have been keeping myself busy working on these pillows for the baby's room and they are finally done. I have never done applique like this before, so I had no idea how they would turn out, but I have to say that I am very happy with the result.



I started with two chartreuse pillow covers from IKEA. ($7.99 each)


A little sketch I did of the birdie pillow.


I sketched some patterns on cardboard for the bird pillow. The flower pillow I just cut out freehand.


I pulled some fabric from a bin that I keep of all the scraps from vintage dresses that I hem. There were some really fun retro prints that went with the colors in the room. I then traced the pattern on fabric and cut it out.



Next, I glued all the pieces in place with fabric tac.



I added some matching embroidery thread and buttons to finish off the project.

Another must have item for my baby's room is an owl shaped pillow! Here are a few that I am considering after an extensive Etsy search. Maybe I'll even make my own in my spare time. :)

From Pretty Lil Things

From Joo Sweetie


From Pinch Face



From The Small Woods



From Manic Muffin Totes


From Cuore



From Zemphira