just a few more G's!

My GRR, my grandma! On every card and every gift she ever gave me she always signed it Love Grr. Grr comes from her teaching me to say Grandma as toddler. She would say "Say GGGRRRRRRRRandma, and of course only ever said the GRR part of the word. Now my Grr is lost in a sea of Alzheimer's but my Granddad has kept up the tradition, every year my birthday card is still signed love Grr! That make me so happy!

Gingham! Oh how did I not think of this one of my most favorite fabrics ever!!! Gingham aprons remind me of my Grr! She always for a "Green" one with Cross stitch. Very much like this on that I use as curtains in the studio windows.

Guacamole, for this one I knew just where to go, straight to my favorite food blog! Mud Pie Gourmet! I am sure you will see why it is my favorite. What lovely photo and nice stories to go along with her food and recipes, yummy recipes!

Glitter Glue! Oh we like our glitter glue around here. Yesterday I learned several things about glitter glue

• I get more on my pants than on the project, this was not missed my Janet my wonderful neighbor that goes by Anonymous here on the comment sections or by my chiropractor!
  
• It is great for teaching how to count by 3's
• Elmer's 3D glitter glue rocks! Janet I think you bought this for Maddie for Christmas!
  

Ok now hold on it gets really bad right about here!


The Gremlin! Oh yeah, that was a cool ride! Not that I can say much cuz I had a Vega just one step away from a Gremlin! My vega was named Gertie, another g word!

Gluteous Maximus! Sorry I just had to go there!

On this note I will end the G's! Thanks to those that contributed to my fun! I like comments and collaboration, working at home can be lonely! Thanks for letting me know that there are people reading my beloved blog!

If my Grr could do it, then so can I!

Now I am not saying that my Grr (grandma) was perfect but she was to me! She raised 7 kids, ran a household and sold Avon and Tupperware part time --- so what if she couldn't cook! To me she was a hero and my icon. When things got hard at home we played Yahtzee and eat chocolate cookies.  When she was too busy I got to help her sort Avon orders. I miss her so much is hurts my whole body, she made childhood tolerable, so today I look to her to make today tolerable.

I am in a bit of a mood today, I've worked all damn weekend and I am supposed to be homeschooling my kids as I type, but my house is DISASTER and I hate it! Now this mess didn't happen overnight that same pile of art supplies, that pile of magazines has moved from one corner to another for weeks. (alright full disclosure it's been months!!!) But come hell or high water I will beat that mess into submission.

My weapons of choice, my Grr's apron and my MIL's aqua Electrolux from the 50's that is exactly like my Grr's. I found the apron in my Aunts garage the night we returned home from my Grr's wake. She was always losing stuff, always! This time she actually found the item that was missing, that night she gave me the best gift, her handmade gingham apron. Tattered and stained I wouldn't love it any other way. I am sure Grr knew I really need it that very hard night. This apron is what Modern June is built upon! Love, memories, and Chocolate cookies!

I am off to clean and channel my inner GRR! Who knows, I may even find a few things!

Memories: Tupperware

Four generations of Tupperware loving ladies!!

The Etsy Blog has a great post about Tupperware this weekend, wow, the memories that I brought back to me are wonderful!! In the center is my Grr, with a very cute little me on her lap!! My Grr is the woman that inspires me every single day to be a loving mother and hard working bread winner. My Grr was a Tupperware and Avon lady!! She was the mother of 7 kids so she had to do what she could to help out. When I was very young she would let me take her sales slips and sort her orders. I really loved that, it was like playing store. 

So instead of spending the afternoon proofing pattern text I sent down the Tupperware memory lane. Did you know that there are 33 pages of Vintage Tupperware listings on  Etsy? I love it!! 

Here's my childhood kitchen:

 

I have no doubt that my mom still uses this set of measuring cups.

My Grr had these tumblers. I grew up drinking out of these! I want the stirs, real bad!!

But my mom had (has) this tumbler set. You can tell the era just but the color and style.

As a child I had no earthly idea what this funnel was really for. But I used to play with it in the dish water all the time. 

My moms most prized possession, the harvest gold cake carrier!! Of course she had the pie risers inside. She's a pie maker!! I love my mamma's pies!!

I might have to buy this, the green strainer of love, surly my mom won't send me hers!!

Just looking at these salt and pepper shakers I am able to mentally feel what my moms felt like. Back then she fried everything and since these sat on the back of the stove top they felt disgusting. So greasy!! Okay, not all Tupperware memories are pleasant.

Oh, the countless pitchers of tea and Koolade I made in a pitcher just like this. The vacuum seal button was the best!! 

My mother has 4 sisters and countless aunts so when we got together for the holidays it was Tupperware-bowl-palooza! Everyone had the same set of bowls so when it came to clean up time everyone would fight over whose was whose. You don't mess with another woman's Tupperware!

I would fight for a 1972 Easycrisp!! I bet my Mom got this as a wedding gift, that was the year she married my 2nd dad, I was four!

Want. Need. Must. Have! Lettuce Crisper of love! Can't you taste the iceburg lettuce now? 

Oh boy, does this take me back to Easter Sunday!! Every year the Easter Bunny would hide our hand-dyed eggs. Then before mass my mom would make deviled eggs and carefully place them in this container. It was always cold enough outside for her to leave them in the car during church. 

I know my mom had a Jello Mold and I know for a fact she never ever used it, what a shame!

Aw!! These really take me back!! My sister is 12 years younger than me so I remember playing with Busy Blocks with her more than I do when I was of age!!!

Oh man, the toy sorter!! Did you all have one of these? I hope you did, it was the best toy in the world!


Great! Now I miss my mommy and need to buy vintage Tupperware!!

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!

TV appearance

Here is the link to my TV Debut! It is funny how fast 4-5 minutes goes by. I have to say, now that it is over, I can say... "that was a lot of fun!" What great hosts, producers and crew. Thank you WTVR!

In my 20's I spent half my workdays on the sets of film sets doing wardrobe. Oh how I love being backstage. But, I always wanted a little screen time! Well, to be honest, what I really wanted was my own Movie STAR trailer! LOL

I love the pillows that I made on the show. Maddie has used them to decorate the living room. They look fun with my giant heart over the mantel. The pillow tone down the tacky!

How cozy is this little corner of the couch. I have my TV pillow and my Grr's quilt. Heaven. I miss my Grr so much. I heart you Grr!

my grr

This weekend I was told that my dear grandma, my Grr was entering hospice. I am not going to get really chatty but I would like to say that she wore the most wonderful aqua blue gingham apron with white cross-stitch. I have missed her for so long due to Alzheimer's but I had no idea how much till now.

Tonight I will finish up the last 7 items of Modern June's Holiday 2007 orders, and tomorrow after I leave the post office I am going to love on my babies, make my Grr's chocolate oatmeal cookies and play Yahtzee. Just like she did with me.

Christmas 2007

What a crazy Christmas! Let's start off back before Thanksgiving... I have never ever been that swamped with work since my days on the movie sets doing wardrobe. Yikes, 12 hour days 7 days a week. I estimate that I constructed at least 89 aprons in less that 25 days. Man oh man, can you say burn out? But I am not complaining just amazed and tired still.


Just after I sent my last Modern June packages out in the mail, finally got the house completely decorated for the holidays and made my very first real family meal in weeks I received the call that my Grandma, My Grr, had passed away. Even though I knew this day was coming I still was overwhelmed with grief. I was not at all prepared for this. The woman that way always there for me and my family was gone. But trust me she still make us laugh. She was a very happy woman always smiling and laughing.

Friday before Christmas I hopped on a plane and made my way home to Missouri. But what a time to go. I would miss my dear sweet Maddies 10th birthday, going to see Santa and Christmas Eve.

Maddie and I were lucky to have 3 wonderful people to take part in making sure that Maddies birthday was in good hands. Janet posted a Happy 10th Birthday sign on our front window. And Don took good care of the the kids even though they were all having melt downs that day. That he was still sane is all I could ask for! But Christi was the best ever! Christi gave my birthday girl a wonderful dinner and play date. What a wonderful distraction for Maddie, Aidan and Don. Janet and Christi I can't thank you both enough! I owe ya big time : )


Meanwhile in Missouri I was thankful to be busy helping out with all the preparations for the services. My wonderful Aunt Peggy had things so well planned. I can't imagine all the things that she learned that week. All the little details that go into making such a wonderfully special memorial. She had the most wonderful idea of making memorial boards, photos of all the people that surrounded my Grr with love. I was to put my crafty-ness to work. I was just glad to have a hand in making sure everyone could see what a great life we were given thanks to Mary Moylan Lewis, my Grr.



I arrived back safe and sound in-spite terrible turbulence and icy runways. My plane got me home just before Santa arrived. I think I was home before 1:00 a.m. Desperately I tried to go to the grocery store and Walmart to try and get a Christmas dinner. I had not thought of this until I was changing planes in some very cold city up north. No Christmas ham for us!

When I arrived home Don and I stayed up and did all the wrapping, well I was not much help really. But I tried anyway. I did fret over all the little traditions that did not happen they way they should, about the nice dinner that we would not have. I went to bed all upset that this would not be the best Christmas ever.



Boy was I wrong, we had the most wonderful time. In our jammies all day long, napping or cuddled up reading and playing all day. And thanks to my m.i.l. I was able to make a diner version of a turkey dinner, Open face turkey dinner. Yummy! So all and all, as long as we have each other we can't go wrong!

Merry Late Christmas everyone.

random shopping

So yesterday there was a really cool RED laundry line thingy (sold) on the front page of Etsy, I got so excited because I thought it was a card shuffler. Oh man, I have such great memories of my Grr's card shuffler. When I spent the night with her we would stay up and play canasta, and I would shuffle the four decks of cards needed. So I could not rest until I found one for my very own, ebay to the rescue. Wish me luck I have a bid on the one above.

Now I need to get this so I can teach us how to play. My Grr had to teach me time and time again.

apron day

apron day, originally uploaded by ModernJune.

When did Modern June go from being an apron company to an oilcloth company? I guess it was a slow and steady progression, but we still make loads of aprons. Today will be my day to photograph the lonely aprons that hang on the rack waiting for a good hard working home to go to!

Here is one of my favorite vintage aprons, it reminds me the crazy quilt that my Grr sent to me for Christmas after college. My Grr always wore her apron and today I start wearing them again too. What a bad example I have set for you all! Go and put on an apron and get in touch with your inner Modern June.

xoxox! Kelly

Fund Raiser for Alzheimer's!

In memory of my dear Grr, whom passed away last December, I am having a Modern June style fundraiser! A portion of all Modern June sales go towards my Aunt Peggy's new of $13,000. She has already surpassed the first goal of $10,000 AND her second goal of $12,000. I hope to help her reach this incredible goal.

For years she and other members of our family have participated in the Kansas City Memory Walk. All funds go to help the Alzheimer's Association advance important research into better treatments and a possible cure for Alzheimer’s. For the millions already affected by the disease, the Association offers care, education, support and resources in communities nationwide.

Time is running out; the walk is less than 3 weeks away.

This year over 200,000 people across the nation are expected to take part in Memory Walk. Now is the time to "MOVE" and our destination is a world without Alzheimer's. I hope you'll be able to help, but if not, it's OK. Thank you very much for your consideration; it is deeply appreciated.

So, if you have been waiting to purchase some Modern June goodies please do so soon. NOW's the right time to buy from Modern June and know you are giving hope at the same time. I will keep a running total for the next 3 weeks in the side bar of this blog. I have 61.20 in the kitty already!

To find a Memory Walk near you check out Alzheimer's Association.

Please help us remember those that are suffering, those that we have lost and help the rest of us to hope. SHOP MODERN JUNE!!!

Paper LUV

Here are four paper items that I have loads of luv for!

Aren't these totally cool and oh so Modern June. They are perfect! zou zou's basement makes great greeting cards and much much more!

Banners, you know I love me some banners! These will be great for those times someone is sending a Modern June goodie straight to a friend! I love to gift wrap and having the perfect card to key!

Paper craft is one of my families most entertaining thing to do, we like to listen to an audio book and cut and create! These are from paper box.
I can't wait to my a my own mini-obama-fig, yah for change!

And this little piece of magazine love is tucked away for my next day off! I am going to curl up with a nice cup of coco, my Grr's crazy quilt and read this from cover to cover on Thanksgiving day. The December issue is my favorite one of the year, well, maybe the Halloween issues ties with the Christmas issue! Oh, I wish it were Turkey day today!

Math

We've had a fun time getting back in the swing of homeschooling this week. Why? Games and lots of history. Our favorite math game has become Yahtzee. We've played it every day since my husband brought home this fun Oogie Boogie set. Don knew that Yahtzee was a game that my Grr and I played all the time. My DH also knows that we love the "Nightmare Before Christmas," so this made a great gift. And, the custom dice are totally cool.

My kids learn well when we take a multisensory approach, and this game is perfect for that. Leaning while you're having fun is always a plus, isn't it? The game works on skip counting, addition and multiplication. My kids have a hard time with memorizing details, so hopefully this game will help the information sink in. So far, so good!

Mantel Junk

mantel display 19/365, originally uploaded by ModernJune.

Where does one get cool junk? This is my burning question every time I see a cool home on Apartment Therapy or Design Sponge. I just love junk! Today I will share just where I got my treasured loot from.

• The door is from on old ironing cabinet, and I rescued it from the alley. I stored it in the shed for years before I found a place for it. I love the worn paint and attached hardware
• The iron gate was found in the alley behind the same house but years later. I have had to rescue this from my own alley several times, my husband kept trying to get rid of it. Someday I want to have it sandblasted and use it for tissue paper/wrapping paper, just like a local store has done.
• I finally found the perfect way (for now) to display my Instant Roadtrip, 6 Postcard Set from Roadside Photographs. I found this Los Angles based photographer through Paper N' Stitch and Etsy, two great market places.
• The giant M came from Artful Vintage, ahhhhh, I could really spend some money in that Etsy Shop!
• My sweet green gnome was present from my cute hubby, we saw it in a Busch Gardens shop, he snuck back and bought it for me! How fun is he?
• I have no clue where I got the orange vase, maybe from a frequent trip to the Lakeside thrift shops.
• I saved the best for last... my cherished Irish Cottage that came from my Grr. When my Grandparents went to Ireland in the 80's they brought back tons of these, one for every child and grandchild. I received mine a few months after she passed. I love this music box so very much, it reminds me of winding up the old one that sat on her mantel through out my childhood.

I am sure it looks like junk to some, but to me it's a mantel loaded with memories!

aprons

This is sweet little story that my Aunt Julie sent me! Enjoy

APRONS

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a pot holder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.


When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

Send this to those who would know, and love the story about Grandma's aprons.

REMEMBER.........

Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.

Her granddaughters set theirs on the kitchen counter to thaw.


I miss my GRR!

Flickr Badge, Cool blogs and Tie one one

Flickr has not learned that NO ONE can find how to make a damn flickr badge. You can search forever and never find this gem of a tool. This includes me every-time I want to update it I can't find the bleeding thing!

So, here is the link for making a flickr badge so the next time I need to update it I can find it with out wasting 3o minutes or more. I can find here on my own little bitty blog! Yeah!

Ok I am back, I just had to share these cool things I just found!!How could I have not known about this cool blog? Apronista! I knew of Deanna from Domestic Chickyfrom the many apron flickr groups. Yeah more apron fun to be had! I can 't wait to read more!

You know how it works you find one great blog and then you learn about other cool ones. This next site, OMG, it is so me! happyhousewifeclub.com There is also a daily podcast. I am checking that out today if I ever stop and get off this chair and a way from this computer!

Then some how I found this site check out these gingham aprons. They are so like the aprons my grr made and wore! They make me want cookies and to play Yatzee.