Still moments

Linen Book

I was shocked and so pleased to find this book at an estate sale one Saturday afternoon. I could hardly believe my luck that no one had picked it up yet. I even gasped somewhat and looked around in disbelief... (I also found some records of the Great Hits Big Band era in mint condition!)

The illustrations inside are so great! Not to mention that it is made of linen (surprisingly I didn't know books had been made of linen at one point), but it is also from 1895. Something about it caught my attention.

See the 'm' for 'mug and mouse'.

Little owls!!

What more can I say? :)

The last page the writing is intelligible...

Zebra.

How great is that rooster?

Faded and lovely.

So... sorry for the unannounced break but school just started again and I am having to get back into the swing of things. Not too sure what to expect from my courses.

So far so good anyways.

Hope your day is full of happiness,

Callie

the magical bean

(P.S. I've been loving listening to The Band Perry's song IF I Die Young, while with Kaitlyn (we both love country music)! Hope you enjoy.)

My gift to Kristie

This is what I sent to Kristie....

The little panda head is a pouch...
Here is what it looks like on the inside.

I drew this little monster on her card...
I decorated a moleskin notebook with my hand carved mushroom stamp.

I am so happy she liked it! :)

Been busy sewing, getting ready to go back to school, trying to find a job, and have been feeling rather uninspired as of late....

Hopefully things pick up soon.

I've been loving listening to Laura Marling lately.

This one is a current favorite: Rambling Man.

Gift from Twistyfishies

I was ecstatically overwhelmed to receive a package in the mail the other day from Kristie of Twistyfishies. When I sent her an 'angel' package in the mail, as a part of the Crafty Goodness Swap, (she never got anything), I sent it off and expected nothing in return.

However, she kindly sent me a thank you package in return. I am so pleased that she did.

I love everything in it!

As you can see in the above photo I got not one but two monster plushies!

Also inside were some sweet stickers, a lovely card, and her card and tag (both are designed so prettily I had to show you).

All in all it was an amazing gift.

The package was really nicely wrapped up...and I would've showed you but I was so happy to get it I tore it up to quickly to get any photos.
Can you blame me?
I mean how much cuter can you get than a one-eyed bat monster?
He is definitely going to hang up in my car.
Already, the yellow monster sits in a place of honor on my bed.
All it needs now is a name...
Any suggestions?

Thank you so much Kristie for your kindness. I really appreciate that you took the time to make all these wonderful goodies for me.

If you haven't already checked out her wonderful etsy shop, Twistyfishies, please do. She has such cute amigurumi, plush monsters,and felt plush. Very talented, is she not?
Also she has a blog of her own, here.

Once again thank you Kristie!
XOXO, Callie
the magical bean

Knitted Cup Cozies

I have been pestered, (lovingly mind you), by my family, when we went to Starbucks that I should knit up some re-useable cozies.

Since I do enjoy being eco-friendly as well as knitting I thought, why not?

I used the pattern Reusable Hot Coffe Cup Sleeve from the book Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

They were really easy to make!

One skein, of trusty Noro Silk Garden, made five.

Although the last one is two rows shorter than the others (it really didn’t make a difference to me).

Enjoyable, mindless knitting.

While photographing... Sheila had to 'help'. Good ole kitty.

Happy Tuesday!

xoxo, Callie

the magical bean

More Matryoshkas

This summer I introduced you to my first finished matryoshka (aka Russian nesting dolls), here.

Well, time has surely passed and two more are finished.
:)
The newest one I did, paid homage to the sun.
(Back)

The smaller they get the harder it is to get more detailed.

I really think I need to get some tinier brushes soon.

(Front)

(Back)

The next one I used the sunflower,(my favorite flower), as my inspiration.

I decided to alternate between open and closed eyes, to keep it interesting.

I like her green leaf head-piece quite a bit.

So only two more to go!

WOO HOOO!

Hope your Monday was great!

xoxo, Callie

the magical bean

Style Inspiration

1. Untitled, 2. Juliana, 3. Untitled, 4. Drops cardigan, 5. Seventeen - May 1954, 6. sunday, 7. Loretta Young, 8. Untitled, 9. Leading ladies., 10. Bridal photo, 11. Blue Dress, 12. tova dress, 13. pompom candy, 14. I will be back shortly, 15. Julie Arkell, 16. mad woman, 17. Picture Day, 18. CN00023268, 19. 20081019, 20. photo shoot:: preview, 21. Hedy Lamarr, 22. golden crown, 23. Appliqued skirt, 24. wedding shawlette - side, 25. 31-decorusoculi-wm

I've been really wanting to update my wardrobe lately.

I have been looking for inspiration, and I thought I'd share!

Some blogs that have amazing style:

Vixen Vintage

Some Girls Wander

The Snail and The Cyclops

Some other inspiring style blogs I adore are:

The Sea of Fertility

The Hidden Seed
Dear Golden

Happy Honey and Lark

Also I have been really loving looking at Burda Style.

One day, I somehow stumbled upon this pattern store called Colette Patterns.
Love all they have and really wanting to start making my own clothes.

This dress in particular I really want to make, called Ceylon.

I'm obviously leaning more towards, feminine dressy looks :)
Have a happy Saturday!

XOXO, Callie

the magical bean

Vintage Quilt

While perusing an estate sale a bit ago, I came across some really great finds. Two of which were these really great vintage quilts that were from the 30'S or 40's. I loved them right away, and since they only needed minor repairs I inquired as to what they cost, since I couldn't find a price tag. It turns out they were a steal... so I bought them and came home quite elated.
So in the mean time I have worked on repairing them.

This is the first one I have finished. It only had one real issue with it and was that the binding was totally ruined. My mom helped me to pick out some reproduction fabric from that around that time, and I worked on it in between riding in the car and watching movies.

The finished product really makes me happy.

I love the colors and the fact that it was entirely hand stitched.

This is the material that we chose . It has these little bunnies on it flying planes.

I really love all the fabric from the 20's, 30's and 40's.

The bright yellow shapes are what really drew me to this one. It reminded me of these cookies I made for a cultural project in my Spanish class called Alfajores. Probably since it looks like a cookie shape cutter to me, or a flower. Either way I love it.
(Photo from here)

I really have an urge to make these cookies all of a sudden.

Happy Friday!

XOXO, Callie

the magical bean

Butterfly Pin

If you remember that crochet butterfly I showed you a while ago, in this post, that was partially finished?

Well, it has been finished for a while now and I just realized I neglected to show it here.

So ta-da here it is!

I have been wearing it on my winter coat. It really brightens up my wardrobe.


I love how it looks against the green, and with my beautiful scarf that I got for Christmas.

One more finished project.
So happy,
XOXO, Callie
the magical bean