Wishlist: Pocket Watch Necklace

Pocket watch necklaces are nothing new. There have been many kinds, repro, new and vintage floating around the blogosphere for many years.

I don't have one and still want one.

I love these beauties. All on Etsy.

This cutie is from GeluguAccessories.

 

I love the delicate cover on this one from Beadix

This one from J2hike is classic. Can't go wrong!

The numbers on this one, also from J2hike are great.

As much as I like the ease of buying a pocket watch necklace...I really love the idea of buying a watch, adding a chain and making my own necklace.
Maybe once I'm back to Stage Managing in the fall.

Lisa.xo

Tutorial: How to Get the Smell of Mothballs out of Vintage Clothes (Eco-Friendly/Green Method)

I bought a dress at Ruby Slipper not long ago. Yeah! Right? No. I didn't realize until I got it home that it REEKED of mothballs. By some stroke of luck in all the years of vintage and thrift shopping I have under my belt I have never bought anything that smelled of mothballs.

Here's the dress in question. You might remember it from my outfit-a-day challenge in June. So cute right? I was bummed.

So I set to work researching how to get rid of the stink. I was very determined to find a method to clean the dress without resorting to more stinky chemicals. Green and Eco-Friendly was the word of the day. And so until that time this dress hung in the far corner of my basement so I didn't have to look at its cute stinky self. Sorry dress.

I tried several methods. I'm not sure if it was the last one that actually worked, or the combination of several stratagies that finally un-stinkafied this dress.

Number One: A Wash in White Vinegar

First I tried washing it in white vinegar. Gentle cycle on my front load washer. Now I wouldn't recommend washing all vintage in your washing machine, but this dress felt like cotton or poly cotton blend. And it stunk, so I figured I couldn't hurt it anymore that it already had been.
I actually washed it twice this way. To little effect. It stunk less, but was still rank. So I hung it back up in the corner of the basement and did some more research.

Number Two: Air Dry Outside

I only did this for about an hour. The site I visited recommended that the garment be left out for as long as possible. I am paranoid and was worried about sun-fading as well as someone swiping my dress. Not that that would happen, my neighbourhood is so safe and I have to, on occasion, have to remind myself that not everyone considers vintage clothing to be the equivalent of large diamond necklaces.

Dress: 2. Lisa: 0

Number Three: Soak in White Vinegar

I didn't read this anywhere (at least I think I didn't). I just thought that maybe test number 1 didn't work because the vinegar was too dilluted in the wash to be effective. Vinegar is cheap, so I thought "What the hell! Let's give it a try." I filled up my utility sink with some vinegar, enough to cover and tossed in the 'ole stink dress. And I let it sit. For an hour.

After an hour, I drained the sink and put the dress into my washing machine on the Rinse Cycle. Then hung it to dry.

I am happy to report that the smell had faded a little! But I could still smell mothballs.

Number Four:  Vodka Spray

I'm sure this is the one that worked the most effectively. I will go straight to this method in the future (if such an occasion arises).

It's simple. you'll need: a spray bottle, vodka and the stinky item in question. I also used a funnel because it ensures that all the vodka gets into the sprayer without a mess. (I bought a set of four funnels in different sizes at the dollar store)

Once you've got your vodka in the sprayer you may want to mix yourself a drink. I made a Screwdriver. For this you will need OJ, ice and a glass! :)

Spray your dress (or other stinky item). I sprayed it in and out as this dress has a lining. I also made sure that it was damp. This was no light spritz. It wasn't dripping wet, just saturated.

Then I hung the dress to dry. (now is a good time to drink your cocktail!) The vodka dries without leaving a residual smell. I did not wash the dress afterwards. It has been washed enough I thought.

This seemed to work wonders! The dress no longer smells! I was thrilled! Plus it is a method you could use on Dry Clean Only items.

And couldn't wait to pass on this information to you all!

Here are a few links to the sites I found most helpful while researching:

Answers.com 

How to Get Rid of Stuff.com - this site also explains what mothballs are and how they work

eHow.com

Lisa.xo

Outfits: A Fruit Basket

I wore this to the Fringe today. One of the cast members told me I looked like a basket of fruit! LOL! I think it was meant as a compliment.

I hemmed this dress a little too...I'm on a roll...I'm seeing that it's making such a big difference in the way a dress looks on...I've created a monster in myself...I just can't help it!

Lily Hair Flower: Claires

50's Border Print Dress: Rag Time (in Ottawa)

Rainbow Peep Toe Wedges: Damita K

60's White Plastic Purse: Thrifted, Value Village

Red Bracelet: Thrifted

Paper Parasol: The Forks Market

Our show got a 4 1/5 star review in the Winnipeg Free Press yesterday! Check it out here! I'm so excited!

Lisa.xo

Family Photos 2: Family and Fashion

Well, The Winnipeg Fringe is up and running, as is our show. And as ususal, the combination of late night shows, work and the odd night closing the beer tent has left me tired.

I thought today would be a good day to share more family photos with you.
Enjoy!

 The young girl in the photo above is my Aunt Louise.

I just love the striped dress. It's so unique.

These ladies' outfits are also amazing!

I adore this photo! I just love the combination of the tailored gentleman under the umbrella reading on the rustic threshing machine. I want to frame this photo.

This is my Grandpa Cotton and my Aunt Louise.

 Another one of my Grandpa Cotton milking. Another photo I love.

Hope you loved the photos!

Lisa.xo

Show Time

The Winnipeg Fringe Festival starts tomorrow, which in turn means that the show I've been working on also opens.

Today I'm off to work then off to my last rehearsal. Tomorrow we have tech (which is when we move from the rehearsal hall to the theatre, set lighting and sound levels etc...) from 10am-3:30pm and open the show at 6:00pm! Yikes! I know we're ready though. The days leading up to opening are always the toughest to get through.

This is what I'm wearing today:

The weather has cooled off quite a bit (hence the pants). I thought I was looking kinda cute in my atomic print blouse and my straw fedora, but maybe I look like a Hawaiian tourist, just add a camera around my neck...lol!

Straw Fedora: Joe Fresh

Flower Brooch: Ricki's

Wooden Bangle: Ragpickers

Atomic Print Blouse: R'evolution

Leather Woven Belt: Thrifted

Denim: Forever 21

Flats: George

Lisa.xo

I've Got Two Cars Parked in My Living Room

Toy cars that is. The Boy has a new obssession with vintage and antique toy cars. The most recent ones he bought look great in our living room and have found a home next to my favorite chair in the corner.

Don't they look awesome? I love how they look so much I'm thinking about moving the bottom shelf up on that end table and cutting the legs so it sits closer to the height of the chair arm instead of buying a new table as I've been planning on doing.

I'm 97% sure this is what I'll do. I'm a real believer in use what you've got.

I'm not sure what this top car is.

The bottom one is a '62 (?) Jeep. We have the original box for it as well...I'm not sure where The Boy has it stashed.

This is the kind of "Man Decorating" I can get behind! lol!!

Thank you so much for all the Birthday wishes! :) I had a great day yesterday!




Lisa.xo

Happy Birthday to Me!

Tomorrow is my birthday. Not today. I turn (gasp!) 29. lol!

Anyway...yesterday I bought myself a birthday gift. I usually try to buy myself a birthday dress for my party, but that was just not in the cards this year. Instead I bought a plethora of lovely hats!

I've been so inspired by the lovely hats worn on Bright Young Twins recently that I was determined to get some of my own.
And if you remember this Wishlist post I've been wanting a lovely 40's tilt hat for some time.

I made three stops yesterday, but it was Ruby Slipper that was the ace in the hole. They had so many amazing hats in stock it took some time to narrow down my choices.

And please excuse my frizzy hair! It's so humid here you can barely breath when you're outside! My 'do went totally flat and frizzy today...  :(

Here's what I brought home with me:

This lovely lady was the first to go in the pile at Ruby Slipper. I'm not sure if she's 50's or 60's. Either way I really love the sculptured bow on top. It's so eye catching! I've got some chic high street dresses this will look amazing with!

This cute little 50's number was next on the pile. It looks black in the photos, but she's actually navy. And as you know I've got a weakness for anything red, white and or blue these days.

I'll have to wait to wear this one till fall/winter. She's from 1940. The owner had labelled all of the items she sold with the date. I bought a coat today with a date label on it as well. I just love, love, love the pom pom feathers on top.

This is another sweet 50's number I plan on wearing with a day dress. I can't resist a hat with flowers and netting.

OK. Brace yourself my friends for the next few hats. These are the real winners of the day in my book.

Speaking of flowers on hats, I would have never forgiven myself for leaving this 40's beauty at the store. I can't wait to wear her out!

This is the only hat I bought somewhere else today. I found her at Ragpickers. She's a 40's tilt hat!! Yeah! I was so excited when I saw her on the shelf! I'd really like to add some grey netting to this hat.

I've saved the best for last. This is my favorite hat of the day. Another 40's tilt hat!!! Double Yeah!! She may not be as visually dramatic as some of the others, but she in nonetheless my favorite of the bunch. I love the sculptured straw. It's navy! :) I'm bought some vintage millinery flowers at Ruby Slipper as well and I'm planning on adding a punch of colour to her.

I kindof can't believe I bought so many, but when it's good you've got to go with it. Plus, you only turn 29 once, right?

Lisa.xo

Ice Cream Outfit

Yesterday I spent most of the day cleaning house. It desperatly needed it. I think my favorite thing in the world is a clean house. It's just so unfortunate that it takes so much work the get that feeling! lol!

When I was done I decided to treat myself to some ice cream, so I freshened up, put Dave in the car and went to Dairy Queen for my favorite: an Oreo Blizzard!

This is what I wore:

As you can see I really love to emulate a subtle vintage look with high street clothing. The only drawback I'm finding with high street clothing right now is the desperate search to find high waisted items. I'm long in the rise and have a difficult time finding things that hit my waist. These white shorts from Forever 21 say high waisted on the tag, but as you can see they're about and inch or two away from hitting my waist. grrr...

I am also loving my new tooled leather purse and these shoes! I'm wearing them a lot! What can I say? They just go with everything. Walmart had these shoes in black as well and I'm really tempted to go buy them. We'll see what happens...

White Headband: Ricki's

Locket: Thrifted

Blouse: Ricki's

Shorts: Forever 21

Shoes: George (Walmart)

Vintage Leather Purse: Thrifted

Happy 4th of July to all my American readers! And I hope everyone else had a great weekend too!

Lisa.xo

What I Learned From Blogging for a Month Straight

I made it!! I'm so proud of myself for sticking with it and completing my challenge!
I thought after all that I would share with you what I learned after it all. In no particular order:

1. Some days it was really tough to find the motivation to post. I will never be one of those bloggers that  posts every day. As I said before, I enjoy my days off (like yesterday!)

image found here.

2. A short post is better than no post at all. Some days there was only time for a quick post and one photo.

I really wanted to find an image of a short wooden post stuck in the ground here, but couldn't find one...boo.

Please imagine one if you will!

 

3. Working at a costume shop is not glamourous. Here's the proof:

4. I wear am wearing a lot of red, blue and white!

5. I miss posting about my house. Expect a weekly house post going forward. I love sharing my decorating escapades with you. I really hope you enjoy them too (seeing as though my house is far from being overly vintage).

my living room, for those of you who may be new subscribers in the last month

6. Outfit posts are not as difficult as I once thought they were. I can get a quick outfit post up in less than 15 minutes!

Clock image found here

7. I'm excited to share more of my vintage dresses with you! They seem to be a hit! And I love wearing them too.

As we begin the month of July I will be testing out a weekly posting schedule. As I said, by no means will I be posting every day as I have been, but I will certainly be posting 4-5 times a week.

Thanks for all your support and comments! Each and every one makes me smile and brightens my day a little more! And welcome to all my new readers! :)

Lisa.xo