1930s Pattern Treasury

My newest treasury in the series highlights the 1930s. This was a hard treasury for me because many of the items listed were actually from other eras, usually the 40s. So I decided to do a treasury on 1930s sewing patterns. There are some really beautiful patterns on etsy right now and many are under $35. Most of the patterns in my treasury are $25 and under. Enjoy!

1930s Sewing Patterns

UPDATE: 7 patterns sold from this treasury in the last 2 days and I have updated it with more 30s goodies. FYI- if more patterns sell I am not sure that I will be able to update again as the choice of patterns is dwindling quickly, especially patterns under $40. If you are thinking of visiting this treasury, do it soon ;)

Mad Men Inspired Free Burda Sewing Pattern

Home sewers get yourselves over to Burda and download this vintage inspired dress pattern for FREE. Yep- free. I think its adorable and the collar is to die for! It is a size 36, but with a quick visit to my page on resizing patterns you can change all of that.

Life Photo Archive

Most of us are aware that Life Magazine has a photo archive, but I always seem to forget too. How is that? Anyhoo, to make it easier on all of us here are the direct links to our favorite decades. Click on the years, not the picture.

1930s

1920s

1940s

1950s

Life sure had an obsession with women preening themselves. FYI- the photos are hosted by Google, so you can modify the search box to look for a specific subject by adding it to the search box, just don't remove the year and source:life items. For example, if I add fashion to the 1940s search I get these results. Fun, right? Here's another for 1950s rock 'n roll. And finally, a search for vintage wedding pics from all years.

Learn to Sew with Va-Voom Vintage

Brittany at Va-Voom Vintage is hosting an online sewing tutorial for beginners. It begins on Friday Aug. 13th and you will be learning how to sew this wonderful butterick retro apron in 3 seperate posts. If you are interested in joining along, please view her initial post here to see what supplies you will need to get before the "classes" start.

On the Town 1940s Treasury

I couldn't help myself. I made the 1940s treasury right away. Its called 1940s Night On the Town. This time I included items for men and women- everything you need to get dressed up for a night with a 40s flair.

Click here to view these 40s gems!

50s Pink Treasury

I have decided to put together a series of etsy treasuries focusing on each era of the 1920s-50s. Depending on what is available for each era I will also try to have a theme. My first era series treasury is a 1950s group of pink goodies called 1950s Dream in Pink.

Click here to see the most recent items in this pink rockabilly heaven!

Shabby Apple Boysenberry Pie Apron Guest Giveaway

Shabby Apple Boysenberry Pie Apron Guest Giveaway

Grosgrain Blog is having a Shabby Apple Apron giveaway to introduce their new line Boysenberry Pie. Click on the link above to see the details.

EDIT: As of 1/30/11 the giveaway is still open

Rockin' E Jamboree in WI

There is a a 4-day Elvis Tribute event happening in Green Bay, WI at the Oneida Casino from Aug. 26th-29th. It's called the Rockin' E Jamboree and Wanda Jackson is going to be there! Big Sandy will be there too! In fact, there are a bunch of great acts playing and here's the schedule:


Thursday, Aug. 26 Doors Open 7pm
LOUNGE
7:00pm Round 1 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Contest
BALLROOM
8:00pm Garry Wesley
9:15pm James Burton & James Intveld
10:45pm Bill Cherry

Friday, Aug. 27 Doors Open 4pm
LOUNGE
4:00pm Round 2 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Contest
9:00pm Round 3 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Contest
BALLROOM
4:30pm Pete Hutton
5:45pm Eddie Clendening
7:00pm Ted Torres
8:15pm Travis LeDoyt
9:45pm Kingbees (Jamie James) & Stray Cats (Slim Jim Phantom)
11:00pm Scotty Moore Guitar Tribute

Saturday, Aug. 28 Doors Open 12pm
LOUNGE
1:00pm Round 4 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Contest
5:00pm Round 5 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Contest
9:00pm Round 6 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Contest
BALLROOM
2:00pm Pep Torres
3:15pm Brian Lee Dunning
4:30pm Sue Moreno
5:45pm Garry Wesley
7:00pm Donny Edwards
8:15pm DJ Fontana & His All Stars
9:45pm Wanda Jackson
11:00pm Victor Travino Jr.
12:00am The Listre Kings

Sunday, Aug. 29 Doors Open 12pm
LOUNGE
1:00pm The Lustre Kings
3:30pm Ruby Ann
6:00pm The Modern Sounds
BALLROOM
2:00pm E - 56
3:15pm James Intveld
4:30pm Dwight Icehower
5:45pm Big Sandy
7:00pm Final Round Ultimate Elvis Tribute Contest
8:45pm Ryan Pelton
9:45pm Travis LeDoyt

I think the Elvis contest is hilarious and I am tempted to enter because I rock on Elvis songs AND I haven't seen a picture yet of a female Elvis impersonator on the contest site. Really?!? I might have to make this right...

New Look for Etsy Shop? Opinions Please

Dear Readers,

I need your help. I am in the process of a major overhaul of the look of my etsy shop Tart Deco, especially incorporating a consistent look in the photos. Can you let me know which picture you think better fits what you think embodies the name Tart Deco or even just makes you want to visit my shop? I'd really like to find something that is a bit more flirty and fun that catches the eye. I will also be experimenting with some make-up ideas, so there may be a part 2 to this. Any input is greatly appreciated!

Picture #1

Picture #2













EDIT: After reading the comments and getting a few more from Facebook, I edited the first picture to incorporate some of the elements mentioned. I even "added" make-up to the model. See what you think-

Mend & Make Do

Va-Voom Vintage turned me onto this great sewing project on the New Vintage Lady blog called Make & Mend Month. I l-o-v-e finding vintage Mend & Make Do pamphlets and I have used some of the tips to repurpose items that I have to give them a new life. This challenge comes at a perfect time because I have a 1930s apron that is very fragile that I plan to reinforce and attach to another pinafore apron for the Alice in Wonderland apron swap I am in.

There is half of July left so you can still join in the Make Do fun! Below are the suggestions from New Vintage Lady on how to participate. Make sure to stop by and post to let her know you are joining the fun!

Just for fun, here is a scan from one of the Make Do & Mend pamphlets in my personal collection.

Reproduction Oxford Shoes

I am a big fan of Masseys to find comfortable and affordable vintage-inspired shoes to wear with my vintage and repro clothing. I personally prefer getting the catalog (so old school!), but you can browse online too. I have found the best luck with 20s-40s shoes, specifically with the shoe brand of Ros Hommerson. This particular maker has an eye for classic styles and I wouldn't be surprised if they are directly inspired by vintage shoes themselves.

There is a pair of lace-up oxford heels that are just wonderful by Ros Hommerson called the Nellie Oxford. They are come in five different colors, navy, black, brown, grey and camel, which is really a tan/brown combo. They are a bit pricey at $80, but Masseys is always running some kind of sale, so if you wait a bit you can probably get them cheaper.

Apron Swap

A few of you were interested in some of the swaps I have done so I thought I would let you know about the latest one I just signed up for. It is the last Hot Mama Apron Swap of the year and the theme is Alice in Wonderland. It sounds like tons of fun, so if you are interested head on over to the swap to get info. Sign up closes July 17th!

More 20s Goodness- Flappers and Philosophers

If you are a 20s lover then you should know about the free ebook of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Flappers and Philosophers" available at the University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. It's a bit large at 10 MB, but completely downloadable.

They also have Fitzgerald's Tales of the Jazz Age.

(pic from printedandbound.tumblr.com)

Pre-Prohibition Beer Being Brewed!

If you are a beer drinker and love vintage, here's some interesting news for you- Miller discovered a pre-prohibition beer recipe from 1919 and started brewing it and selling in select areas. Its called Batch 19. Being that I live in Milwaukee, where Miller is located, I am lucky enough to have multiple places to get the beer. I am not much of a beer drinker, but this one I gotta try.

This seems like an awesome beer to have for a 1920s wedding!

Here's more info from the Facebook page-
In 1919, beer was banned. Barrels were broken, breweries went under and recipes were lost. When beer came back 14 years later, it was never the same. That is until now, because in 2004, an old logbook was discovered in the brewery archives dating back before 1919. Batch 19 is inspired by the last batches of beer brewed before Prohibition made it illegal.

They also have more back story on Facebook, but just in case you aren't a FBer, click on the pic below to read it.

1920s-40s Radio Shows and Music

I just discovered a new online streaming station called the 1920s Radio Network. It actually plays radio shows and music from 1920-40s, including some enhanced shows so they are more clear. It's the bees knees....

Vintage Grab Bag Giveaway Winner!

This is Luna. She was my helper for today to pick the winner of my vintage grab bag giveaway. I figure it was only fair since my other cat Nigel got to pick for the last giveaway ;)

So here is a pictorial review of the whole process:

First I went through and tallied the entries and printed them out on paper. I cut them all to the same size and put them into this lovely mini hat box to mix them up.

I then dumped them onto our 1930s table (which desperately needs to be refinished) and let her sniff around the entries until she clearly picked one to play with... uh, I mean... chose the winner through careful selection.

After she chose the winner, I opened it up and let her make sure it was the one she wanted. She definitely wanted to chew this entry up, so I took it as a sign. Yes, this is all very scientific.

As you can see, she picked Vintage Grrl as the winner! Congrats Vintage Grrl! I have sent you an email and you have 48 hours to respond and claim your vintage goodies.


Thanks everyone for playing! I will have another big giveaway in the fall. In the meantime, I so enjoyed the pictures that people sent to me that I am hoping to feature some of them in a blog spotlight series of vintage lovers, so keep your eye out for it!

Last Day to Enter Vintage Grab Bag Giveaway

Hello Cats and Kittens! Today is the last day to enter my Vintage Grab Bag Giveaway. Make sure you enter on the original post!

You have until midnight central time to get those picture entries to me. There are less than 10 entries so you've got some pretty good odds on this one (wink).


Just to refresh your memory, here is what I have in the kitty so far:

A Vintage gingham apron in your choice of color (pink, blue or green)

Custom Tart Deco hair flower to match the apron

Vintage embroidered hanky (depending on your name, I may have one w/ initial)

Vintage cook book

A CD of scans from various vintage hair/wedding/sewing books & magazines I own (all out of print), plus some extra electronic goodies

Vintage sewing pattern with printed instructions on how to resize

Vintage sewing notions 

Just added: vintage stockings & pair of vintage rhinestone earrings!

I look forward to hearing from you. The entries I have so far are pretty nifty!

I Love Lemons Treasury

I just made up a fun etsy treasury that is full of fun lemony vintage goodness!

Make sure and stop by to pick up some of these super great items.

Vintage Grab bag GIVEAWAY (closed)

As promised, here is a post on my summer giveaway. It's going to be a good one because I am in the process of a purging to cut down on my possessions. You know how that is- you move and realize just how big your storage space really was? Yep- we had two. Now that we live in a much bigger space with an attic to ourselves I am able to see how much stuff we really have, so my loss is one lucky reader's gain!

Here is what I have so far:

A Vintage gingham apron in your choice of color (pink, blue or green)

Custom Tart Deco hair flower to match the apron

Vintage embroidered hanky (depending on your name, I may have one w/ initial)

Vintage cook book

A CD of scans from various vintage hair/wedding/sewing books & magazines I own (all out of print), plus some extra electronic goodies

Vintage sewing pattern with printed instructions on how to resize

Vintage sewing notions 

Just added: vintage stockings & pair of vintage rhinestone earrings!

Remember that the hair flower will be matched to the color of apron that you choose, as well as the hanky (with a possible initial if I have one to match your name). There will also be more surprise goodies as I continue to go through my stash over the week! I haven't even touched my jewelry yet (hint hint).

Since this is going to be an extra special giveaway, it calls for extra special rules to enter. I want to make sure the prize goes to someone who truly loves vintage and will enjoy it to the fullest.

HOW TO ENTER:

** E-mail me a picture of you wearing your favorite vintage (or vintage reproduction) outfit and a short blurb telling me about it. Do this first. This is mandatory to enter! If I really like your pic and story, I may even give you an extra entry (wink)!

After you send me the picture, you can do the following for extra entries-

- Follow this blog and leave a comment on this post letting me know (or telling me you already follow)

- Post about this on your blog and leave a comment with the direct link (this will get you two extra entries)

The giveaway is open to US residents only due to shipping costs. International readers can enter if they pay for the difference in shipping. Sorry, I am a poor grad student right now :(

~To the 7 readers who voted on my giveaway poll and left a comment on the post (meeyeehere, kelly, vintage grrl, dolly cool clare, emily, stefanie valentine, and jann), you are automatically entered with one entry, even if you don't send a picture. If you want more entries then you can also do the above steps.

The giveaway ends next Friday, July 9th, midnight (central time). I will post the winner on Sunday the 11th.

GOOD LUCK!

Awwww...Come On!

Remember the post on how I thought my left leg was trying to kill me? Well, yesterday I had a reaction to the medicine I was taking for it and ended up with a fever of 101 and super swollen lymph nodes. So today I went in and after much prodding and many tests they decided to put me on steroids for a few days. So if my typing sounds a little lower, it's the 'roids :)

Anyhoo, I don't want to delay my giveaway much longer, so I will post something on it tomorrow, whether I have a picture of the items or not, so people can start obsessing about my goodies... and my giveaway prizes (HA!).

Wow, for a sick girl, I am in a pretty good mood. I guess the steroids are working!

(Pic courtesy of fda.gov)