Geekly Chic Around the World

I recently had an hour of free time and spent it trolling through Instagram hashtags looking for projects made with my Riley Blake Designs Geekly Chic prints. Here are some fun things I found!

Records Pillow and All-Stars Pillow made by Olivia of Hermit Crab Stitchery in Toronto.

Brookfield Bag made by Crystal using a pattern by Sara of Sew Sweetness.

Camera Quilt made by Connie from Sew Dayton in Dayton, Ohio.

Ellie Travel Case made by Nancy using a pattern by Heidi Staples.

Make It Snappy dress made by Ashley.

Mix Tapes dress made by Annika of Three Little Peas.

Records Corset Top made by Tamara.

Records Diaper Cover made by Emily of June Buggs Hatchlings.

Records & Tapes Dress made by Jane of Janey Babe Handmade.

FREE DOWNLOAD! 1976 Animal Plush Patterns!

You may remember this post I wrote about a year ago about some adorable plush toys I found pictured in a 1976 issue of Woman's Day magazine, and how unfortunately the patterns weren't included in the magazine--only available by mail. Well, guess what?! Last week the amazing Debbie from Salt Lake City found the patterns in her basement and was kind enough to make a PDF, which she sent to me so I could share it with you! Thank you, Debbie! Click here to download the FREE PDF (22 pages!), and if you happen to make Mitzi the elephant or Benny the bunny, or any of the other characters, please send me a photo or post it to my Facebook page!

Richard Scarry Is Golden

I found this Rabbit and His Friends Little Golden Book while thrifting recently, and bought it not only because it was written and illustrated by Richard Scarry (1953), but because my son is obsessed with platypuses (platypi?), thanks to Perry the Platypus from "Phineas and Ferb". Anyway, I thought I would share with you a couple of my favorite pages: the title page, with some chalk lettering (!), and the last page, which features a poster set in several kinds of wood type.

Hearts of Many Colors

I found this simple yet lovely set of watercolor hearts, done by Kathy Barbro for her blog Art Projects for Kids. It reminds me of pop art of the '80s. All you really need is a heart to send your Valentine's message! Enjoy the day!

12 DIYs of Christmas: Perler Bead Snowflake Garland

Today we return to The Red Thread for a fun way to make garland, for your tree or for your home, using Hama (or perler) beads. This one is fun for kids, too!

12 DIYs of Christmas: LEGO Ornaments

LEGOs are such the rage right now. I mean, they've always been popular, but lately it seems that more and more people are making things with them, and all sorts of things. Here are some fab holiday ornaments made by Canadian illustrator and photographer Chris McVeigh. Check them all out (including non-holiday kits like "Let Them Build Cake" and "Burger 'n Fries") on his Flickr photostream, get complete parts lists, or order complete kits online here. Genius.

101 Little One-Yard Wonders

This week's nautically-inspired Spoonflower Fabric-of-the-Week Contest is in partnership with Storey Publishing. Given a pattern for a girls' T-shirt, participants were asked to design the shirt using the theme "Under the Sea". The winner will be featured in the upcoming book 101 Little One-Yard Wonders, the third book in the One-Yard Wonders series by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins.

I chose to do a hand-painted design using elements from a mural I painted on my son's bathroom wall a few years ago. If you like it, please vote for it here. I would really appreciate it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

While I'll be cooking and the Mr. and little one will most likely be playing with trains, we will no doubt have the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade playing on the TV in the background. My son is three years old now and I think this year he'll actually be interested in most of it, specially the arrival of Santa. The parade focuses a lot more these days on live performances in front of the Macy's store, but the highlights for me are always the balloons. Here are some photos of balloons that appeared in the parade between 1932 and 1988. All the best to you and yours for the holiday! (Then get lots of sleep so you're rested and ready for Black Friday!)

Eek! Week: Vintage Halloween Diecuts

Like these? You can find more here! Happy Halloween!

Eek! Week: Vintage Halloween Stickers

Those of you who follow me regularly know that sticker collecting was my obsession in the early '80s...and then again in the early 2000s. I'm still trying to fill holes in that 1980s collection and frequently check eBay and Etsy for new listings. Today I thought I would share some 1970s and '80s Halloween stickers.

These first examples were made by Hallmark and include sheets with the Peanuts Gang and the Muppets.







The sealed pack of Trend scratch and sniff stickers in "Bone" and "Cave" scents is about 32 years old, yet I could still smell the scents when I took the pack out of its protective sleeve to scan it. I can remember finding these in Chicago, and my sister and I just couldn't believe Trend actually knew what bones and caves smelled like. (The "Bone" skeleton stickers smell like dirt; the "Cave" bat stickers smell like burning wood.) Below the Trend pack are promotional scratch and sniff stickers. In 1984, you could find a pack of three at the bottom of your box of Booberry, Count Chocula, or Frankenberry cereal.