Building Your Brand

Hello, folks! Just thought I'd alert you to a little series of guest posts I did for my good friends at the Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar blog on the topic of Building Your Brand. Look for an installment every day this week, and hopefully take away a tip or two for your handmade or small business!

Spring Saints Special!

In celebration of Spring, I'm offering free shipping when you buy any 3 Sweetheartville Prayer Candles from now through April 15th! If you've had your eye on one or a few, or need some Mother's Day gifts, now is your chance. Happy Spring!

Extreme Turtle Makeover

We've had this turtle step stool since my little one was a baby. My mom found it at a garage sale, and according to what's written on the bottom, it was made by a local man in 1974. I have always intended to recover it, but it was one of those projects I kept putting off. Well, 37 years and several hundred tooth brushing and hand washing sessions later, it was getting kind of gross. I started thinking about recovering it, but wasn't sure what fabric to use, since it does see so much action in the bathroom. Then it hit me: oilcloth!



I ended up having to replace the deteriorated foam rubber inside, and then covered the new foam with a layer of batting. It's better than new now, since water, bubbles, toothpaste and other kid messes just wipe right off!

And speaking of messes...looks like one too many bubble blowing sessions and a long winter have left my front porch in need of a good mopping. I'll add it to the list!

Roadside Fun Postcards

I just added these fun postcard sets to the Sweetheartville shop! Get your kicks on Route 66.

A New Crop O' Saints

I am just tickled to death to share with you some new art I've been cookin' up over the last couple of weeks. Allow me to introduce you to some lovely ladies, those Patron Saints of the Domestic Arts.

First we have St. Flora, Patron Saint of Gardening:



Then comes St. Helene, Patron Saint of Sewing:



The lovely St. Charlotte, Patron Saint of Crochet:



Followed by St. Lucy, Patron Saint of Knitting:



And finally, St. Maribel, Patron Saint of Embroidery.



All of these lovely lady Prayer Candles are available in the shop with more to follow, I'm sure!

We Have a Winner!

According to random.org, Steph from the oh-so-glamorous Tart Deco is the vintage beauty giveaway winner! Congratulations Steph!


Thank you to all who entered, and stay tuned because I think we'll do this again soon!

Vintage Beauty 4th Blogiversary Giveaway Deluxe Gold Turbo!!

Hard to believe I've been randomly posting on and repeatedly neglecting this here weblog for four years today. We've laughed, we've cried, we've given embarrassing glimpses into the state of our mental health. Yes, it's been a mildly amusing ride, and I've met some really fabulous people because of this thing, some of whom will be lifelong friends. So to say thank you to you, dear readers, I'm giving away a whole mess of vintage beauty goodies. First up we have a Betty Dain Chiffon Personality Hood, and seriously, who doesn't need one of these? When you're out and about and those Spring winds commence to blowin', sure, onlookers might catch a glimpse of your Judy, but your hairdo isn't going anywhere. Plus, this thing actually adds glamour to expensive hairstyling, if you can believe it.



Here we've got a couple of 60's era hair nets...



And two others featuring the Doublenet Twins...



And my personal favorites, the Kurl-Katcher and a Jac-o-net envelope featuring a silver-haired beauty that sort of reminds me of something you'd see on one of these.



As if all of that weren't enough, I'm going to throw in a Beauty Button and a vintage dryer hood votive.



All you have to do to enter to win this worthless crap fabulous prize is to take a quick gander at my shop and tell me which Beauty Button you'd most like to own and then leave me a comment here before midnight Central time on Friday, March 11th. I will choose a random winner on Saturday, March 12th. Please make sure I can contact you if you win. I will happily open this to any international readers, but if you are a winner who lives outside the U.S., I will replace the votive with an alternate (lighter to ship) goody. Good luck!

Mr. Waffle

We like to keep breakfast fun around here.

*Tape strips from this post and yesterday's courtesy of Photoshop genius Pugly Pixel.

Where The Magic Happens

Get your dirty minds out of the gutter! This post is about mine and The Mister's shared office/studio/crap containment area. Adding a new member of the family means that some room swapping is in order, so I've pared down my vintage lovelies and craft supplies and somehow managed to squeeze what's left into a rather tiny bedroom.


This is where the designing, creating, and packing + shipping required by Sweetheartville takes place, along with Welcome Little Stranger songwriting and recording sessions. It's also where a whole lot of interneting happens.
On the top of this old medical cabinet which holds crafty odds and ends and enough vintage rick rack to choke a magnetic donkey, I've displayed some artwork by my talented friends Heather, Sam, and Sara, and some inspiring photos and bits of paper that I change out from time to time. The vintage beauty products are just a few sent to me by my incredibly, amazingly generous friend Bob. Thank you Bob!


Wanda just returned after her whirlwind tour of OKC, and now resides in a place of honor overlooking one of my most favorite possessions, a tintype of my mom and dad made on a trip to Silver Dollar City a few years before I was born.
Just a little peek inside Sweetheartville!

Wallpaper Wants and a New Shop

Hello there! Sorry to be such a stranger around these parts. Between getting ready for baby, record breaking blizzards and cold temperatures (-31 degrees!), sick relatives, and just general exhaustion and pregnancy woes, the ol' blog got put on the back burner. One thing I've been up to is opening up a second Etsy shop to sell some vintage wares as well as some handmade goods that don't quite fit in at the Sweetheartville Shop. Stay tuned for lots of vintage craft books and patterns and more housewares in the near future.


Another thing going on around here is some serious wallpaper coveting thanks to these designes from Elli Popp.



Really, doesn't this last one just scream "Sweetheartville"?


In the works are some new Sweetheartville prayer candles, a giveaway, and maybe a new Welcome Little Stranger tune or three. I promise not to be so scarce around here!