Bella Dia

Weekend Thrifting

Well, I feel like I got a little lucky thrifting this weekend. Not a lot of stuff, but things I really like which is just as well since I don't have much room to store anything. This is a Smokey the Bear twin sheet that I'm in love with; it's in great shape and very clean too. Aren't the images cute? And the colors? I can't wait to do something with it. I'm thinking a large tote to take to the lake.

Just look at that deer with the flowers in his mouth and the baby bluebirds in the nest, so cute!

Vintage pillowcases - I love finding these too.

This pretty fabric has been made into a rather unattractive smock so I'll be picking it apart and using it for something else.

I thought this piece had a real Japanese
feel to it. The fabric is more subtle in real life.

A few dishes - a sweet little pitcher that has a hairline crack in it so it can only be used for dry stuff and a Pyrex refrigerator dish that's in perfect condition and a nice small size too.

And bark cloth! A rare find for me so it was exciting to slowly pull these from the shelf whilst looking around making sure no one saw the treasure I just found. Not really a problem - the only other people were the shopkeepers and they're children playing in the toys and an old man trying out dustbusters.

And lastly, a small size apron in
an adorable print. I'm not sure if I'll be able to resist cutting this up for something else.

A close-up of the apron fabric;
I love the little horses.

Little Box Bag

The beautiful box bags that Amy has been doing reminded
me of a little one that I pulled from storage a few weeks ago
(oh yes, I'm quite the packrat!) I want to say that I made
it when I was about 10 (1970) which would have been
when the Enid Collins bags were popular. The box itself
was painted, then decoupaged with the little angels that
were cut from holiday cards. I really like the chain handle.


This is what it looks like on the inside: the top and bottom
are lined with felt and the mirror is just glued in. Not nearly
as swanky as what Amy's been doing but I'm
quite fond of it all the same!

Recent Purchases

Here are some of my latest purchases from thrift shops, flea market, and eBay. I love this feedsack - it reminds me so much of some of the sweet little Japanese prints I've seen.

I got these buttons at the flea market. I'm not thrilled with them but sometimes you've just got to take what you can get. My favorite is the brown flower.

I bought a big bag of scraps at the thrift shop and was surprised to find this cutie in the middle of it all. I'm thinking maybe it was part of a group of fabrics representing the whole alphabet. I wish I had better luck finding vintage fabric; all that I usually come across is polyester knit and I haven't been able to work up a love for that yet.

And another vintage pillowcase - love the colors. I'll put these and the other fabrics I found in the vintage fabric Flickr group.

And here are some buttons I bought off of eBay - my favorites are in the front. I was expecting these to be larger so I was a little disappointed but it was a good deal anyway.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend and was able to keep somewhat cool. I finished my projects for Plush You and got them in on time but it was a late night for sure. I'm still working on my studio but I should have some pictures up later this week. My father found this wonderful workbench for me so I've had to move things around a bit and work on organizing everything. It is already so nice to have all my stuff in one place - my heart skips a bit every time I enter the room :)

Swaps - They're A Good Thing

I was one of the lucky ones to get in on Dawn's/Dawbis first catalog trade and this is what I made for her. I didn't put any pockets in the tote but made a zip bag instead and then decided, what the heck, and made a matching quilted card. Seeing it all together I'd hate to think that you think I like things all matchy-matchy 'cause I don't, but there it is anyway. I love this fabric and I feel you can't go wrong with gingham either, such a happy pattern. Poor Dawn had an allergic reaction to a bee sting over the weekend just when she was introducing her second catalog, but I hope she's all better now. If you want a chance to participate then you need to get on her mailing list so you'll be notified when her next catalog of work is available. I'll show you what I traded for as soon as I receive it - can't wait! Check out her Flickr set if you'd like to see her work.

Collecting: Vintage Cannisters

I've picked up several new sets of cute vintage cannisters lately. As I've said before (I have, haven't I?), I use them to store all kinds of bits and bobs of the crafty kind. I am in love with this woodgrain set.

This bright and sunny set goes well in my new studio. My palette for the studio is a pale robin's egg bluish green, turquoise, yellow and brown.

I don't remember if I shared a picture of this set before, I've had it several years now - I love pussy willow and paired with this bluey green I couldn't resist. I'm sharing it with you now because look what I found at the flea market this year:

This set is in much better condition - so shiny! It makes me feel lucky when I come across things that match with others that I already have, like finding a penny on the sidewalk.

Weekend Recap

Most of the weekend I was plagued with
migraines; I take medicine for them that works well but I still felt drained and kind of out of it if you know what I mean. If there is anyone out there that gets migraines and you haven't seen a doctor about them then get thee to a doctor fast! I suffered with them for years and it never really occurred to me to do anything but deal with it as best I could at home but that usually meant two to three days of headaches and a week of just feeling plain ill. Now, with a prescription, I'm back to almost 100% in just a few hours. I hate hearing that someone suffers from migraines without a prescription; they are so awful but with one of the several good medications you can get your life back again.

So, do I sound like I'm promoting
some kind of new pill or something? ;)

I've been working on my pieces for
the Plush You II show that are due on, uh, this Thursday. Jeesh, I'll probably be the very last one they receive but it will be there, I promise. I'm doing something a little new so I hope they like it.

The picture is of Tom Kitty in my
rocking chair in my new studio - doesn't he know that I am this close to banning all cats from my studio? They act like they own the place! More pictures of my studio later this week :)

Interview with Make

Natalie over at Make Magazine's blog interviewed me recently. Take a look here and let me know what you think - it's my first ever interview! Thanks to Natalie for her interest in my work and her patience :)

What's Going On

I apologize for not posting lately,
everything has been snowballing and I've been trying hard to keep up. I started a new job (payroll for a construction company) a few months ago and even though it's only a few days every other week it has still had an impact on how much I'm able to get done at home. Sometimes I feel like I have four jobs: single mom to three kids, homeschooling, Bella Dia Designs, and now bookkeeping. Anyway, I hate to sound like I'm complaining because I'm really not, I just want my readers to understand what's going on and why my posting can be erratic sometimes.

We had some relatives visit last week:
my aunt, cousins and their children. It was really great to catch up, we hadn't seen some of them in more than a dozen years. We had people over for Fourth of July and my sister and her family lived with us for the last two weeks while their home was being renovated - lots of people going in and out but so much fun! I've gotten really good at making mojitos too - my drink for the summer :)

I don't have any pictures yet but the kids
and I have been changing rooms around so I can have my own studio! After many color samples and painting the entire room three times, I am finally happy with the color! I think it will really help me be more productive since I'm not constantly having to move things off the kitchen counter and dining table. Pictures to come soon!

I still have backorders and special
projects that I'm working on so if you've been waiting I'm hoping it won't be too much longer. Also, I get a lot of questions (about my work etc.) which I love, but I feel bad when I can't always respond in a timely manner so I thought I would put together a little FAQ. If you've been waiting for a response from me then I'll answer your question there and I guess if you have any questions or info you'd like me to include then email (sea at cox dash internet dot com) or comment and I'll see what I can come up with.

And because I don't believe in a post
without a picture... this is a photo of my three treasures, from the left -
my laughter, my inspiration, my sunshine :)