Green

I get asked about leaf clips often. They are the perfect little detail to add to your ‘do.

I just listed five new sets in the shop for those of you who have been waiting for them.

Have a great weekend friends!

xo-thea

Using My Vintage Sewing Patterns

As mentioned a few days ago, i basically went on a sewing rampage. Aside from the Garden Dress I mentioned, I kicked out three bedsheet dresses. All made from vintage patterns and vintage bedsheets.

Technically, the Simplicity Pattern shown here isn’t quite vintage.

I share the information about them in this video.

As with every sewing project, I learn something new. Let me know which one you liked the best!

-Thea

Weekend Sale!

I’m having a little weekend sale over in my Etsy shop! Vintage clothing, vintage fabrics and kanzashi are all included. No code necessary.

15% off orders $30 and up.

Sale ends Monday.

I need to make room for new pieces and autumnal themed things that are coming soon!

xo-Thea

Vintage Jumper Dress and a Panic Attack

In my constant hunt for vintage fabrics, I recently found a bolt of dead stock denim fabric. It’s a mid-weight black and white striped cotton/poly blend from Quincy Fancies. It was originally sold for $1.49 a yard. Amazing right?

The original bolt tag.

Compare at $2.99 yd!

I have been wanting a durable dress to be out in the garden in. Something that won’t get caught onto the blackberry bushes when I walk by. Something with big pockets for my little shears for cutting flowers too. In my vintage pattern collection I had this “Easy stitch n’ save by McCall’s Misses Jumper from 1997. Pattern number 8878.

I thought this combo would be an excellent mix for what I wanted. The pattern is very easy to work with and follow. I did have to size it down a bit to fit my shorter frame. I also had to do a full bust measurement for the bodice as well. I actually need to take it apart and size down a smidgen more to fit me better.

You can see the loose fit in the bodice.

I cut everything out and dug out 14 “close enough” matching buttons and then called it a day before sewing it together. Well, in that time my younger dog Yuki (she’s almost 3) had a small seizure.

It wasn’t something I had personally seen or dealt with before. She was napping in front of a fan and then popped up and did this weird stiff crouching stance like she was frozen. John thought maybe she was choking and couldn’t breathe. He attempted to see if anything was blocking her airway. But that wasn’t it. My knee jerk reaction is always, to go outside and get some air. By the time we made it to the back door (everything seemed like in was in slow motion) she seemed to calm down. John and I were still in complete panic mode and decided to rush her to the emergency vet. I held our 70lbs puppy all the way there because she doesn’t like car rides and she was a drooling mess. The ER vet was 100% awesome and totally patient with two babbling panicked ding dongs (us). Yuki had returned to her very happy wagging self when she was examined and we were basically sent home after a bit. It all turned out okay and she’s fine. But boy, John and I were on the verge of losing it. As John’s cousin Jennifer said “Take my husband but not my dogs.” Ha!

Yuki the evening after her seizure. Totally chillin’ like nothing ever happened.

After all that stress build up and needing to closely monitor Yuki (in case there were more seizures), I continued making my garden jumper dress. However, since I was so worked up I totally oversewed the thing. I did all French seams and marathoned made this. While staring down Yuki the whole time, making sure she’s okay.

That was quite eventful to say the least. Yuki is thankfully okay and was treated by a special visit the night of her seizure by her favorite “boy” who drove all the way out to see his dog. I am very happy with my new garden jumper dress. The pattern was great and super easy. The buttons/buttholes were time consuming. I’ll most likely make another one but with either a zipper front or snap buttons.

The kanzashi I am wearing in the photos. Coming soon to the shop!

Thank you to everyone who reached out and sent good vibes and especially stories of your own pets. They all really helped me settle down. I appreciate you all! - xo Thea

Vintage Show and Tell - Furniture From Forslund Catalog

The Closet Historian is one of my favorite YouTube content creators. I recently found myself binge watching her Cataloging Catalogs playlist. I loved looking through them with her and just seeing all the clothing pieces and accessories that were available. (And that I wish I had now.)

In a recent thrifting trip, I recently found my very first vintage catalog. I thought it would be fun to do a little show and tell about it.

Furniture From Forslund - Carl Forslund Grand Rapids Michigan (United States) Catalog copyright 1959. Paperback 112 pages. Aside from Carl Forslund's furniture, also featured are Owl Hollow Pressed Glass, Westmoreland Milk Glass, Mason's Ironstone Vista and more! I know it would be better and clearer to offer a viewable online catalog. Perhaps in the near future I could do that. But until then enjoy browsing along with me. - Thea

New Stock and My Sister In Law's YouTube Channel

I’m continuing to add new casual pieces to my shop. I only have a few more to share here and then it’s on to making new pieces.

I have to admit, with damaging my main lens on vacation earlier this month I am having a little learning curve with my replacement lens. I’m not 100% happy with these photos. But I am an artist, are artists ever 100% happy? (Hahahaha)

Speaking of my vacation and happy - my sister in law Laura is a vintage seller and YouTuber. This is temporary until Survivor chooses her as a contestant or until Rick Steves takes her on as a side kick.

She pops into antique malls and thrift stores and shares what she finds. She is into the bohemian and MCM aesthetic a bit different from my taste, but like how she is in real life she’s fun human and entertaining to watch. Also, she’s my sister in law, so if you have a connection to our beloved Rick Steves let us know if not, give her a follow.

In her latest episode she shared a little bit of our family vacation and some Oregon Coast antique/thrift finds.

During her hunt she came up on some vintage kimono. They were all in good condition, nothing I would use for my work. She mentions my work in the video too.

While I have new items soon to be in the works for my shop here, I am also cranking out new prototypes for 6 by 6. I’m pretty excited about what I am doing over there so I’ll be bouncing back and forth between here and there with posts. Follow me on Instagram for daily updates if you’re interested in following along.

xo-Thea

Shop Update!

Yesterday I shared on my Instagram, that I recently found a cache of vintage kimono fabrics that I hide from myself. Or put in a “safe” place for later. But before I will allow myself to start working on new pieces, I have to share some pieces I never photographed.

Thea Starr on Instagram

I have a handful of casual wear pieces. No formal occasion pieces will be in this update. These pieces were all made last year before I knew that there wouldn’t be any in person craft or wholesale shows.

Thea Starr on Instagram

Thea Starr on Instagram

Purple has long been a favorite with my customers and I already got a couple of messages about these gals.

I still do all of my own photography and photo editing.

I wanted to have everything listed yesterday, but spending most of the day in the photo booth with those lights fried my eyes. So, I’m listing things today. I will send direct links to those who asked about pieces already. But check back this evening (Pacific Time) and I should have things up by then.

Thanks so much for continuing to follow my maker’s journey. If you follow me on YouTube, I took a little break after my boys moved out. I had lots of cleaning (and still have) lots of rearranging to do. Every kid, just leaves massive amounts of stuff in the family home as per tradition and mom gets to figure out where it all goes. But I hope to film later today or tomorrow.

xo-Thea

1960s Vintage Vibin'

In my constant quest for vintage fabrics, I often happen upon vintage clothing. I am compelled to save them and find them new homes on selling sites like my Etsy store. I just can’t leave goodies behind.

On a recent hunt, I found a handful of vintage dresses and one romper that were not 24’ waist. Bigger (normal) sizes are a bit harder to find in the vintage department.

I upswept my grays for this shoot. :)

Most of the items were in the 1960s style like the dress pictured above. The 60’s isn’t my vibe. I prefer some uptight secretary look from the 40’s or 80s with longer hems. The world got enough of my bare gams when I played roller derby.

But there was something about this print that reminded me of my Aunt Onalee. There is a picture some where with my Aunt wearing something very similar to this with the flash brightening up her face an illuminating her smile. If I were to keep this dress, I’d call it my Onalee. Since I felt the connection, I had to do a little 60’s shoot.

I’m hoping to find this gal a new home. She’s a vintage size 14 with a ton of stretch. Up to a 42” bust/38” waist and 38” in length. For reference I’m a 38F/44” hips and I’m 5’4” on a good day. I had tons of room to move and stretch in this. The Brand is Sacony and you know it’s polyester. I do already have it listed but if you are interested, leave me a comment below to inquire about it’s status.

The kanzashi worn in this shoot will be available in my shop shortly.

xo-thea

Just An Old Biddy - The Almost Empty Nester

My sons moved out (again) yesterday. We’re all close as a family and I often feature them in my blog/vlog. I think the assumption after your nest is empty you turn into an old biddy. While, I’ve let my grey grow out and I’m into old vintage things, I’m far from being a biddy.

I recently told my sister in law who has a toddler and one on the way, the days are long but the years are short. Offspring grow up fast. But In my experience so far, you will always be needed and called on. Often. Have you met my kids? Or even just watched us in my videos?

My sons only moved a few miles away and I feel lucky for that too. College and work opportunities is stuff only the big city can provide in this season of their lives. I did it too.

My next chapter already has a line up of projects, family stuff and cleaning because my boys are messy.

Also, my nest isn’t empty my youngest a college student, still lives at home (college student too). The only one of my kids that doesn’t have to share a bathroom. In a large family that is a HUGE deal. Especially when brothers are involved.

I’m not sure if I will have time for a video this week since I’m sorting all of the remainders from my boys’ move. But check out my Instagram this week. I recently happened upon some really fun vintage stuff recently that I am very excited to share.

xo- thea

Super Mario Circle Skirt and vintage fabrics in my Etsy shop

I don’t know why it slips my mind to post here when I upload a video. But here we are.

I recently turn a Super Mario bedsheet into a circle skirt.

It was a fun make, but the fabric was horrid. I go into that in the video.

Speaking of fabric, I have recently uploaded some vintage fabrics from my stash into my Etsy shop.

Why not here you might wonder? Well, Etsy’s SEO is quite good for that sort of thing and I’m taking advantage of it. Also, shoppers there are like Amazon shoppers. They seem to careless about the aesthetics of your shop as a whole and are just interested in the products. So, its easy to just toss up some random goodies in my shop over there. Maybe I’m wrong, but so far its been working for me.

I’m currently editing a new video for tomorrow whilst sitting in front of a fan. I do whatever I can to avoid the sun and the heat during the summer. Some people complain about the rain and gray skies, I complain about the sun and the heat.

More tomorrow! xo-Thea The PNW rain lover.

On Our Menu - Vegetable Pancit Bihon

This is an accompanying post to a video on my channel linked below. (Available May 19, 2020 12pm Pacific.)

I loathe big stories before the ingredients list when I am looking up a recipe. So, I’m going to give you the details right up front.

Basic recipe ingredients:

• 1 8ounce package of Excellent Brand Rice Stick (We used 2 packages in this video.)

• 2 carrots julienned

• 1 medium yellow onion sliced

• 4 cloves of garlic (at minimum) chopped (We used 8 cloves.)

• 2 stalks of celery sliced

• 1 cup of snow peas sliced

• 2-3 cups of cabbage or bok choy sliced (We used bok choy.)

• 2+ tablespoons of soy sauce (to taste)

• 1 tablespoon of Filipino fish sauce (optional)

• 1 small lemon sliced and seeded

• Ground black pepper to taste

• A neutral oil like canola for the pan.

• Water if needed. (Traditionally, chicken stock is used.)

• Optional but traditional (chicken, pork and shrimp) small bite sized pieces cooked after the onions and garlic. Or as Jina says in the video use leftover meat.

Basically follow the steps in the video and you’re good. This a very tasty easy side dish or meal to make.

Substitutions:

• If you cannot find the Excellent Brand of Noodles at the store or on Amazon like I can. Maifun rice stick noodles also can work.

• Tamari. I get asked this a lot from my gluten free friends. Yes, you can substitute tamari for soy sauce.

• Also, as stated in the video I cannot confirm whether or not if the noodles I used are gluten free or not so I will leave that up to you to discover.

“A person I know makes it differently.”

Ahh yes, that is one of the greatest joys in life isn’t it? We all add our own personal touches to dishes that make it ours. I personally have never tasted to lasagnas that are the same.

This is a tried and true version for us that I learned to make from my mom and stepmothers. (All of my stepmothers were Filipino too.)

Are you sure you’re Filipino? You don’t look like it. Also, should you be making a Filipino dish if you’re only “half”.

I have laughed in someone’s face when I was asked am I sure that I am Filipino. If you knew my mom, you’d know she’s undoubtedly my mother. I just happen to look like the other parent that created me.

I am proudly Filipino with a sprinkling of another Asian heritage. My children (who are a quarter Filipino with darker skin than I have) and I are white passing. Genetics are wild like that. However, as many biracial people will attest, we are whole people with blended heritages. This is my cultural experience and I get to claim it. Just like I get to claim my German heritage from my dad.

Left - Thea’s Mom. Right - Thea’s Lola (Grandma) 1970s.

I did not have the “typical” white American childhood. My mom suffered from culture shock when she came to America and I witnessed a lot of that. I also went to school with “smelly” lunches and other “typical” “my mom is from another country and speaks another language” stuff.

My children have a Lola (tagalog for grandma) and got to experience very Filipino things too.

Like with many cultures, I, and now my adult children get to express their appreciation for our heritage through the dishes we make. Sharing a meal with your people, friends or family is the best way to show fellowship for a lack of a better term. If you’ve ever met a Filipino, you’d know there’s nothing more that we like to do. Share a meal, sing, dance and have togetherness. I am proud to share this little of togetherness with you.

Mabuhay.

Thea

Some favorite thrift finds and my first button down blouse.

John and I had a vintage hard to find Legoland Castle set(s) to share this week on my channel. So, I thought it would be fun to share a couple of our favorite thrift finds too.

In other news, I made my first successful button down blouse. I’ll be dedicating a post to this in the future as I am currently making more. I am genuinely surprised that I got the fit right in the bust, but boy howdy - I am stoked about it.

In other sewing news, a neighbor in my local Buy Nothing Group offered up a big box of vintage sewing patterns. I was on it and was lucky to be selected.

There are so many goodies in there, I can’t wait to try a few of them.

Sorry to those of you who follow me for my kanzashi work. I just haven’t had any new projects that are completed to share. I still do make them. Also, I am indulging this sewing bug that I have. I really do appreciate the support and encouragement on my sewing projects.

Tomorrow’s blog post will be a long awaited one and it’s a recipe. So come back tomorrow for that.

xo-Thea

Vintage 1970's Nishijin Pachinko Machine + Mother's Day 2021

I took a hint and a few nudges and very recently started sharing some vintage things I’ve happened upon or acquired. First was my 1940’s Vanity. That was on my wishlist for so long, I felt it warranted a dedicated vlog/blog post.

Just a few days after acquiring my vanity another long wished for item was checked off of my list.

A vintage Pachinko Machine!

After some Mother’s Day shenanigans, John and I share a bit about the machine in my video this week. John did have to do some light repair with more to do in the near future. It is fully functional and super fun. it is everything I hoped it would be. As mentioned in the video, we do intend to mount it on a wall of our family room and do an entire photoshoot around it. Because, it’s us.

Admittedly, the entire reason I’ve wanted one is due to the movie Kamikaze Girls. That movie influenced so many aspects of my life when it came out. I often say that my aesthetic is a cross between Kamikaze Girls and Morticia Addams. At least I aspire it to be that.

My bebes doing pictures right.

My Mother’s Day was a good one. One of my long standing gifts for Mother’s Day is a group photo. As you can see, we get creative with that too. I love my brood, they are a fun bunch. I am extremely lucky.

Not sure where Trevor is for this picture but this is one of my favorite pictures from this weekend.

For those of you who follow me for fabric, you are in luck. This week I am adding some new vintage fabric yardage (That’s right yardage!) to my Etsy shop. I have some incredible mid century deadstock fabric that I plan to take an obscene amount of photos of.

Stay tuned for that.

xo-Thea

I made a dress out of a bedsheet.

If you’ve been with me for awhile, you know i am all about repurposing vintage fabrics. I reuse all that I possibly can reuse from a damaged vintage kimono. A few years ago while thirsting I started to notice some really pretty patterns on some vintage bedsheets. I had the intention to use them to make curtains and decorative hold things with them. But it dawned on me that I could use them to make dresses.

There’s tons of fabric to use! It’s more affordable than heading into JoAnn’s for a some fabric.

In my video this week, I talk a bit about it.

xo-Thea

My 1940's Vanity

In the hub-bub of last week on a supply run to the fabric store I popped in to Goodwill that was on the way. The thrift gods directed me there to present me with a find that has been on my want list for a very long time.

A 1940’s vanity set.

Obviously this warranted a full vlog post about it. I explain why I wanted one so badly as well as some recent failed attempts on getting one.

xo-Thea

Designs in limbo - Laser cut creepy Valentine.

Typically, I would share this sort of thing over at 6 by 6 Arts, but I felt this was a bit more of a personal design. Also, these days I have my hand in many projects, why not use this blog a hub for everything.

I recently shared this on my personal IG account. It is a design in limbo. It was meant to be a valentine for my girlfriends. This is actually just the first iteration of it. The final ended up being a bit better.

However, at the last moment I worried that some of my friend’s really wouldn’t appreciate the creepy spiderwebs, So I withheld the gifts.

It was meant to be a brooch.

I should add that I don’t do Valentine’s as a holiday. I just got overwhelmed with work during the holiday season with John working outside of 6 by 6. My plate was just too full until after New Years. I thought it was a good idea to send friends a “random day” gift instead of a holiday gift.

With my fear of the creepy spiderwebs not being for suited for all of my friends, it was back to the drawing board as they say. It took awhile but I think I’ve come up with a good replacement. I know I am a tease for saying that and not sharing anything, but I promise I will once the new thing has been sent.

It’s off season - (I rarely design within the coinciding seasons), I am a tease with information and yes, I do plan to produce these. The better version of it that is.

I know this is so random, but welcome to my life! Being a creative maker for me is being completely random often in large amounts then I go into a dry spell.

Let me know what you think about my spider web valentine. Too creepy for you or just right?

xo-Thea

My first linen dress and John's birthday. (Vlog)

Yesterday was John’s birthday. There’s still not a whole lot one can do to celebrate a birthday. But we made the most of it and had an excellent day. I give a little run down in my vlog below.

No about that dress. You can see me wearing it in the vlog video too.

I got the fabric from a thrift store for $3.99. It was just a smidgen over 2 yards of fabric. It’s a warm burnt orange shade that I don’t think I’d choose for myself. But the thrift store gods provided and the pricing was on my side.

I had never sewn linen before and I learned quickly that you can’t make too many mistakes with it due to the nature of the weave. It’s some squirrelly stuff. But I love my linen store bought clothing so much I’m willing to try to make my own.

Vintage coordinating floral cotton fabric for the pockets.

I didn’t have quite enough fabric that the pattern called for. I made some length adjustments (the pattern was for a midi length dress) and I opted to use a vintage cotton floral fabric for the pockets.

I ran out of vintage buttons! I only needed one more to be able to have enough to make it fully functional (and modest) dress. Until then, I’m wearing it as a tunic with leggings which is pretty awesome in my book.

I’m definitely ready to take on my next linen project now that I know what to expect with it. Being the fabric nerd that I am, I’ve read up on the history of linen. Truly amazing. Even the wikipedia page for linen is an interesting read.

I hope you’ll enjoy the video and I hope your Monday has been a good one. xo-Thea

Domestic Adventures - Ginger Beer

This is sort of a flash back post in a way. These days my main content is fabric based. Once upon a time I posted recipes regularly and shared what my growing family was up to. The current “season” of my life is a bit different. I’m learning to cook smaller meals since my nest is emptying. Which in turn adds to the benefit of focusing on foods and drinks that are more adult geared.

Enter ginger beer. John and I recently became ginger beer obsessed. We love the bitey taste. The only bummer is that the really good ones are pricey. So, off to the internet I went to see how ginger beer was made. I quickly discovered it sounded “easy” to make at home.

“Ginger Bug” mush.

Easy in quotes because there are steps involved. First - you need to make a ginger bug. I basically followed this recipe. It does take some dedication, but so far it’s been worth the effort to me.

Draining the liquid from the mush.

My current dilemma is attaining really nice affordable sealing flip top bottles. Good ones that keep things super air tight. I do not recommend the IKEA ones.

The good-good.

My personal tips are : Make sure everything is clean. Use filtered water. Be mindful of the temperature of where you store it. Fermentation time will vary due to temperature. Get really good sealing bottles.

Juicing lemons for the beer.

Since I’m new to this recipe I don’t feel comfortable giving a step by step walk through. So, Im just sharing some pictures of the process I follow.

Remember any home brewing is risky and always be wary of anything that smells off or looks bad.

The final mixture. Ginger bug juice, lemon juice, simple syrup and water.

My kitchen is usually a laboratory anyways, so this was a welcome addition. When it warms up I will be adding kombucha back to the mix too.

Below you can see that I don’t have any of the fancy things, Just some cotton cloths and mason jars. I wash and sterilize everything weekly. Even the sourdough starter jar.

A corner of my kitchen counter. The ginger beer fermenting in the left back. Sourdough starter front and center. My ginger bug in the back right.

I hope that helps those of you who asked questions on IG & FB. AGAIN I am not an expert of even a super proficient at this so Google your pants off on the topic and adventure at your own risk.

xo-Thea

The end result. I drink it as is or with a splash of vodka. :)

So what's up with all the sewing?

Today I used my vlog to address that question. While I did film it in a constant blurry vision state today, my sights are clear on my sewing intentions.

Nothing is happening right away, but I am starting to get requests just from the work I’ve already shared and I wanted to say something now.

I am not sorry for staying at home and being there for my kids when they were little. I feel so very lucky and wholeheartedly thankful for that opportunity. Things didn’t start off with like for me, my eldest was 7 years old when I made that change. My life and it’s hurdles pushed me to continue on that path up until last year. Although, I have to say that my kids who are all adults now, seem to need me more than ever. Not for daily basic things, but for adulthood sounding boards and perspectives. What life season to be in.

I am going to take this opportunity and do what I can with it. Whatever keeps me playing with fabrics for the rest of my life. My handmade clothing is coming. I don’t know when or how many things I can offer at once yet. But I know it will be something and I will share all the details here and on YouTube.

Don’t worry, I’m going to keep making my flowers until my hands won’t let anymore. The same goes for all of my 6 by 6 Arts with my husband. This is just some bonus action. Stay tuned!

xo-Thea

Everyone needs a cape.

I’ve been sitting on a yard of wool tartan fabric for a bit now. I decided after being influenced by some Youtubers and my rewatching of Outlander - i needed to make a cape. What eccentric’s wardrobe doesn’t have a cape?!?!

I didn’t have a pattern. But it’s a cape, how hard could it be? In my vlog video I describe that I used a round tablecloth as a “pattern”. I also swoosh around in the cape for visuals. Now I have at least 5 more capes to make and have had some great conversations about capes with friends. I wasn’t expecting that, but I’m glad for it.

I am trying by best to have a healthy balance of continuing my kanzashi work, laser cutting work and growing past my intermediate sewing skills. I have hopes to turn my sewing skills into a part of my business. I’ll go more into that soon. I do address a bit of that in my vlog too.

I am feeling the spring vibe, both visually and with allergies and I’m adding some new pretty spring blossoms to my shop. As the vaccines roll out, wedding and other celebratory events are happening again in the not too distant future. I am open to discussing some custom work but my availability will be very select. While I am able to employ my two daughters for administration help, I am the sole creator of my pieces at this time.

As always thank you for following my adventures!

-xo Thea