my new crafty stuff!

Here are my new toys from the craft swap!

I love me some buttons!

What pretty colors and sweet prints! this is the only fabric that I bought home.
Thank goodness!

The leather punch was almost a grand as the tin of buttons! Some day I would love to get back to working with leather. I spent a lot of my costuming days tailoring mens clothing. In the mid-90's it was very trendy to turn a Shakespearean drama or a serious opera in to a leather-Fest. I did a lot of leather craft those days. There was a show at St. Louis Opera that had about 12 pairs of leather Jeans in it. And there was a show st The Shakespeare Theatre that had a lot of long leather tail coats in a show.

I am thinking cute spring messenger bags with these funky 70's colored clasps!

I am in love!

I love the old labels!

Local crafty updates!

Don't delay, applications for the Handmade Holiday Craft Show are available now!

Click HERE to access the online application for the Richmond Craft Mafia's Handmade Holiday Craft Show at the Visual Art Center of Richmond.

The application for the Handmade Holiday Craft Show must be submitted online and be accompanied by the nonrefundable $5 application fee. Be sure to read and fill-out the application carefully - only completed applications will be considered by the Jury.




We have a new home for the craft lounge. Jenny, the lovely owner of Richmond's first sewing lounge Fleur Fabric Boutique, has graciously offered us space for our next monthly get together.

Come join us at 119 N Robinson St (next to Halcyon's) from 7:00 - 9:00 pm this Monday September 8th.

The organized craft will be button pendants and badges. We'll supply plastic canvas, wire and pin backs. Please bring buttons, cutters, a folding chair if you have one and your imagination. Fleur Fabrics has a great selection of vintage buttons and some bakelite starting at only .10 cent each!

Let's get crafty people! origingally posted on the Craft Lounge Blog

Craft Swap has been postponed. But don't fret we will reschedule soon!

Look what I found today!

I must show off! I am proud to say that if you Google Oilcloth Splat Mats, I am the 8th listing! Yahoo, I mean google! I guess that explains all the orders of late. The photo here is my new splatmat. For a more finished look this version now has binding of coordinating oilcloth. And I love the custom Oilcloth Art Smock I made for a two year old. I hear from her Mom that she loves to get messy when she paints. Never heard of that before. Never happened at my house... You know that it happend right after I took these pictures. Maddie went to town splatter painting. I can tell you for sure that Oilcloth whip clean!

So I have spent the weekend catching up on orders and my HUGH pile of things half finished. I started developing my newest product... The Modern June Oilcloth WALLET. I have wanted to make these for ages. The first proto-type is a mess right now. I don't want to cook I don't want to sleep all I want to do is work on # 2 tonight while it is fresh! The problem is I blogging too long. I just can't stop!



I did get out for bit Saturday afternoon for a little "me time" and to check out the Richmond Craft Mafia's Valentine Show on Saturday. If anyone is near Raleigh, North Carolina they will be there doing a show with the The Handmaidens this weekend. The craftmanship was so wonderful. I wanted more than I could buy. Oh man I love shopping.

Look what I got for me! I have a sweet Craft Friend, Maryellen Kim at Twist Style. Maryellen I decided this is my "Key to Balance". This picture does not do this piece one ounce of justice. The closure is a vintage glass button. Oh I have waited a long time for one her treasures. Worth the wait! If Modern June made jewelry it would be just like hers! I am so jelous!

I also got this cute bib and burp cloth set for a new baby at Don's office. LOVE the fabric! Don't you think I need it for aprons? On the way home I realized that I just made my own bibs that morning out of Oilcloth. Oh well! Monkey and Me stuff is so cool and the new Momma is friends with Beth. BTW she has a new look that I am gaga over. I want the dress in my size. I'll post when she gets it listed!



Ok for the weekly "Look what I found today" part of my posting...

Look what I found today! Sew Mama Sew! What a great name and they have a really lovely site. Check out the wonderful fabrics I really like the stack of fabrics, it reminds me of spring. I need spring!

Not only do they have a lovely selection on fabrics they also treat you with vintage buttons...you know I love vintage buttons!

Have a great week! Kelly

The start of a great love!

I really need some sunshine. I have lots of photos to take. I need to photograph these splat mats so I can package them up. I love this pile of splat mats. It is Mexican oilcloth crazy. I love, love, love oilcloth the colors, the smell, the feel.

My love for oilcloth comes from my "GRR". I even know the exact date December 25, 1973. My brother was 5 days old and my mom and he had just arrived home from the hospital. My grandma had taken me to see my new baby brother.

Well on the way home I remember it was snowing like mad and my Grr caused a young woman to rear end her car. The woman was really nasty but the people that lived on the corner of the street where we were stranded for hours were great. While my Grr took care of the car,the police and the really ill-mannered woman I was taken in to their home. I was given treats to eat and I was given my first oilcloth purse. They even told me that Santa knew I was coming to their house and left if just for me! How sweet was that. The bag was so shiny, white and had that oilcloth smell. I wish I could tell her all about this crazy journey I am on, but she has been suffering from Alhimezer for over a decade. Man I miss her!

It was about a year ago that I rediscover oilcloth. I was gearing up to sell my vintage aprons at the Farmers Market. I needed a few more things to sell. I thought long and hard about what I would want to have for the market. " basket?" that lead me to this photo in one of my favorite cookbooks, The Healthy Kithchen...

Now I new I was not taking up the art of basket weaving so I came up with the Market tote. This tote was designed with the market in mind, the height is not too tall and the depth is wide so you can see your goods and so they will not get squashed (and if they do hey it whip clean!)


























A lingering icky cough has troubled my hubby, my kiddo's and now me! Coupled with a rainy day I say--- day off! No school, only fun work, and a lot of couch time reading with the kids!

What I really want to do today is this! Lynn told me about this yesterday. I am so upset that I can not find my favorite vintage tea towel. It has the calender from 1968 the year I was born. A trip to The Robin's Nest is in order. I am sure to find something FAB there! If I can not find one there bet I could find a nice repro tea towel at Feathernesters. Shopping and rain don't mix with me today. I wait till tomorrow. Maddie and I can have an afternoon of it. A lovely Mommy date!


So for today it's this pile of scraps that will have my fuzzy attention. I am seeing oilcloth button flowers. Remember those special vintage buttons I have been hording, let's see what I can do with those! I post that later!



This one is better than the first one that I had posted, it was to big and wonky! I like that one a lot!

g is for ginko leaf

Ok last night I asked for some G words to post about. Well I can have some fun now that I have a list of great G words! Keep them coming!


Filigree Ginkgo I large fine art print by Bees Knees Studio! A Richmond Craft Mafia craft diva! You can check out her profile here! Erica I love your super hero spokesperson! Tortoro is perfect for you! I love love love Totoro!



Ginkgo Porcelain Earrings by Tasha McKelvey the Richmond Craft Mafia's maker of pottery, buttons & jewelry! Tasha is craft rock star! I want these earrings so badly! Don--- hint, hint!

Repro Depot is having a super sale! Husband this might be a hint for you! Books, crafty books, home books, just books!!!!

huge 25% off sale!

enjoy 25% off all patterns, buttons, ribbons, patches, notions, books and gifts*
(*except gift certificates)

sale runs through Tuesday, November 27th.

Gift Envelope Tutorial

I posted this tutorial on the Modern June's blog yesterday, I thought you all would enjoy it too...

At Modern June, we offer free gift wrapping to all our customers. I just love taking the time to make a package pretty, special and reusable. I have a lot of pretty boxes and paper for just such occasions, but how can you get it to its destination, looking great without spending an arm and a leg on shipping? Enter my old assistant and friend Suzanne, from Silver Tree Art. She makes the most lovely, reusable, fabric gift bags from fabric scraps and trims. Having received several of these sweet gifts over the years, I soon realized that this was the perfect solution to gift giving and shipping!

I don't have a pattern, but I do have a method. To start with, I always use scrap fabric, usually oilcloth scraps, but cotton and paper would also be a fantastic alternative. Use what you have! If you like the look and sturdiness of the oilcloth, head on over to my other shop Oilcloth Addict for great selection.

Stuff you gotta have:

• your gift 
• sufficient fabric to createan  envelope and a flap. 
• trim, ribbon, ric rac, or buttons to use as a closure
• cutting tools
• sewing machine

You would think that as a professional pattern maker I would do this more methodically...

no way! This is a down and dirty project. D and D all they way!

  Simply lay your gift down and eyeball a bit of extra space around it.

Add a 1/2 inch seam allowance (S/A) while trimming off extra.

Angle cut your flap.

Flip your fabric so it's right sides out, match up your scallops and sew using a 1/2 SA.

Attach tie, in this case ric rac, leaving one end long enough to wrap around the back of the package once, then add 8 inches--the second tie will be an additional 8 inches.

Bar Tack your tie in place at the 8" mark.

This time I used red ric rac as a tie, but in the past I have sewn on a button and slit a hole to close up my envelopes. Either way, it's great fun and a good way to use up what's laying around.

Add your tags and load her up! I made a heart out of some oilcloth and used it as the tag. Just make a tiny slit and slip it on.

college day collage

Back in college I used to frequent this wonderful place called the Tea Haus. There you could buy loose tea, tea pots and upstairs vintage clothing. At the Tea Haus you did not by a cup of tea in a paper cup, no you received a pot of tea with a oh so kitsch tea cozy, they were of the crocheted type. There was a tea menu and a food menu on the tea menu you could select you tea by type of tea or buy ailment! My favorite was PMS tea or cramps tea. Lunch or dinner could be purchased for just a couple of dollars. It was great!

One of my best-friends worked there for ages and we used to take over a table for an entire day it seems! I am surprised at how much I miss that place! I went back to Warrensburg, Mo for a retirement party for my most favorite college Professor about 4 years ago now. There I met up with super groovy costume shop friend of mine that also hung out with me at the Tea Haus. We checked in to the hotel and then scampered giddily to the Tea Haus, all the while swearing that if it changed on bit we would die.

It has not changed one bit!

Not even the best part was the wall that was along the long steep stairs. It was the most wonderful collage of old 1960's magazine photos I have ever been privileged to see. I know that sounds absurd but to me it was as impressive as REAL art. I am a pop-art kind a girl, all kitsch!

Well yesterday I was glancing around the e-iverse and I checked out an Australian blog that I love to read. Meet Me at Mikes and what do I see, collage to rival my best memories!!!! You have to go and check out the door. Those are the inside covers of Golden Books! I am Giddy I tell you! But wait it gets even better. Check this out the walls for the changing room. Yep you guessed it the inside pages of all those wonderful books! I love it! I want to try on cloths!

This is the most groovy shop you have ever seen, via computer of course. I want a store just like it! How very Modern June! They even have stitch night, were everyone comes out and pile around a table to make cool stuff! Dreamy! There bundles of vintage fabric and buttons of every color to be had. I tell ya GA-GA, totally GA-GA over this place!

Good luck with the second store!

Working with...

After a long day of travel (and travel drama) I am here!!! I am in Austin and ready to shop the Country Living Fair today. Today I'll be combing the fair for vintage goodies to rehab with oilcloth, laminated cotton, and chalk cloth.  I'll TWEET my way through the fair, so please follow me on Friday and hep me decide what I should buy up.@modernjune and follow #CLFair.


I thought I would show you what I have to work with, what I brought from home! Bundle #1 is a few fat quarters and two half yard cuts of chalk cloth

 Bundle #2 is two yards of oilcloth and some cotton bias.

Bundle #3 is just a bunch of oilcloth scraps.

Bundle #4 is two yards of laminated cotton, some oilcloth bias, a jar of buttons and a lot of ric rac. 

Sooo.... What am I going to do with all of this? 

Tomorrow I'll fix up my finds on the stage, it'll be my own little trash to treasure show. But wait, there's more, I'll even be raffling away a two of the projects to some lucky winners.

July Craft Lounge

Come one, come all! Tomorrow's RCM Craft Lounge will be held at the Northside Grill, see map for directions! This month, the project is "Button Flower Broaches." We will have scraps and buttons galore! Please bring some scissors, needles, and your creativity. The fun starts at 7:00 PM -- we have two huge booths reserved. FYI... they make a great Cuban and wonderful Margaritas!

what inspires me?

Here is what is on my clippings wall!
I would love to see yours too.
So post your clippings
So leave me a comment
and I will check it out!

Inspire me!

I will do this idea some day!

This gave me the idea to make table cloths! It's so damn pretty!

I am so jealous

She is so cute! I would love to show my aprons like this on my new website that I have in the works!

These to make soap with there own herbs that they grow. Love that! There we many other great photos of them and their kids. What a life!

Some day I would like to carry kitschy books like the cake books in my booth and on my site.

I love this necklace. Last winter I was going to make jewlery Ha ha that never happened. I also love the colors in this bedding. I have a store that I would love to make aprons for and I think this color palette would be lovely in her shop.

I love this...buttons on a skirts waistband! Someday I want to do that on an apron! Pin boards HA! I laugh at the idea! I like tape on paint! I am not afraid! I made a set of these dance costumes when I was pregnant with Maddie. Cool to see them again! I understand that these are not mine but remakes of them. Spandex only lasts so long! esp on dancers!

This is my new wall above my new desk. I am putting peoples promos up there.
The clip boards are to do lists, show info sheets and an ongoing shopping list. I need one more for my order sheet. I have started printing out any and all esty sales reciepts to help keep up!

Look what I found...

FANCY FENCES, Girls' 4t Dress, vintage linen tablecloth

by MomaPear
I would have loved to have put Maddie in dresses like this! WOW! I just love this idea!!!

Zipper Pouch Coin Purse, Blue Red Green Vintage Mexican Tablecloth

LOVE THIS!!! Look what Mary's Bags ETC. is up to....what a great idea!!!!
She also makes greeting cards with the tablecloths too.

Vintage Retro Tablecloth Tote with Gingham

Vintage tablecloths, red buttons and gingham --- oh my!
Totes by Charlotte is making some super cute totes, HMMMM this might really need me!