Summer Beach Collection

I love summer. Summer means going to the beach, eating grilled food, having bonfires, and best of all, my birthday. Perhaps my favorite summer pastime is going to the beach in Ludington, Michigan. Here are a few items I would like to stock up on before my next visit.

Natalie One-Piece via Anthropologie

Sunglasses via Old Navy 

Reef Bohemia Sandals via Piperlime

Fieldcrest® Luxury Medallion Beach Towel via Target

Straw Bag via H&M

Staring at the Sun Hat via Urban Outfitters

Silverblayze Supplies and Vintage: Moving Sale

I am getting married in September, and I am going to move to a different part of Michigan. Instead of hauling my etsy listings to my next location, I am reducing prices.

That's right, I have reduced the price of all vintage clothes and boots to $15!

                                   

                                              

Black Leather Boots, Grandfather Sweater, Ruffle Blouse, Princess Trench, Periwinkle Trench, Suede Boots

What a steal! Be sure to keep checking the S A L E section of Silverblayze Supplies and Vintage, or visit my blog for other sales and reductions!

I have reduced the prices of other items in my shop as well.

Let's Resist the Ordinary

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation."

Henry David Thoreau, Walden; or, Life in the Woods

Wordless Wednesday: Ominous

A Vivid Moment

"I left the woods, spreading silence before me in a wave, as though I'd stepped not through the forest, but on it. I left the woods silent, but I myself was stirred and quickened." 


Annie Dilliard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Etsy Finds: Star Buttons

Etsy is perhaps the online resource for unique beads, buttons and baubles. I may be a little star crazy, but I cannot resist these cheerful yellow buttons! Projects from cuffs and cozies to totes and tees would benefit from such crafty embellishments.

Tiny Star Buttons by Forbeadin' Treasures

Cute Star Buttons by snovej

Shooting Star Buttons by cozzymom

Coffee and Tea Dyed Yarn

Although many of us enjoy iced coffee or sun tea on a warm summer's day, they are not just for drinking--you can also use coffee and tea to dye yarn! I have been interested in dyeing for some time, and Friday's rain made it a great day to experiment. 

Natural fibres (cotton, hair, linen, silk, wool, etc.) are easily dyed.  For centuries humans used herbs and berries to change the color of fabric, yarn and even paper. While modern commercial dyes have consistant color, they sometimes include strong chemicals.

Dyeing yarn with Kool-Aid is an alternate to using commercial dyes. Using packets of Kool-Aid you can dye a broad range of vibrant colors. I recommend the following tutorials: Leethal's Crockpot Kool-Aid Dyeing, Knitty.com's Dyed in the Wool or Eunny's Techniques: Self-Striping Yarn).

Coffee and tea can be used to dye fibres as well. Many crafters use them to make fabric, yarn and paper appear aged. I chose four teas (green, black, Earl Grey, and chamomile) and a coffee for my experiment.

I boiled water in a tea kettle and poured it into mason jars. I used two types of yarn: a wool blend and silk ribbon yarn. Both were from thrifted sweaters I unraveled. I looped the yarn around my arm to create loose sections.  I soaked the yarn in lukewarm water with splash of vinegar, pushing the air bubbles out of the yarn so it would be thoroughly saturated. The tea brewed for an hour before I added the yarn.

Left to right: Bigelow Green Tea, Tazo Awake Tea, Coffee, Twinings Earl Grey Tea, Chamomile Tea

The yarn soaked in the dye for four hours. I rinsed it in the sink, and then I gently pressed out the excess water with towel. After the yarn dried I roll it into balls.

The variables make the dyeing possibilities endless. I got five different shades of soft brown. A darker hue would require another tea bag and an overnight soak. 

My next project for the yarn to explore knit, crochet and macramé texture.

The ABC's of Genuine Happiness

via Pinterest

Wordless Wednesday: Roost

Knot Your Average Swap

Summer is almost here! Leigh of VeryLoveLeigh is hosting a friendship bracelet swap, and you are invited to pull out the embroidery floss and knot a friendship bracelet for your BFF blogger friends!

via Trapped in Her Closet

Email Leigh at leighann.meyer {at} gmail . com for details.

Etsy Finds: Coal Miner's Daughter Necklace

I am in love with PoleStar's jewelry on Etsy. I am drawn to the Coal Miner's Daughter Necklace's simple elegance. The herkimer diamond pendant and oxidized sterling silver give the necklace a vintage appeal. It would be stunning with a solid color tank top or dress.

Coal Miner's Daughter Necklace by PoleStar

Wordless Wednesday: Seeds

The Reader's Journey

We read privately, mentally listening to the writer's voice and translating the writer's thoughts. The book remains static and fixed; the reader journeys through it.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss pg. 180

Found on Pinterest

Pinned in La Vie Boheme;via VeryLoveLeigh

Wordless Wednesday: Violet

Etsy Finds: Bulky Yarn Painted Blue

It was difficult to choose today's Etsy Finds. Much like brushing paint on paper, dyeing yarn takes an artist's touch. I focused on the color blue; those results were narrowed to ply. After making several reluctant cuts, I am quite pleased with this collection. The following seven yarns are soft and luxurious, bulky and blue.

Anduin River by chimera

Capricorn by SouthernMystic

May Handspun Yarn by fuzzyfibers1960

Murky Waters by Artemisia Ink 

Seasong by Bee's Knees Knitting

Denim by LadyRSanti

Ultra Violet by SheepingBeauty

A Thin Line

"I was within and without, simultanously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life" 


The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald.