30% Discount

Dancing Bumblebee Cottage *loves* repeat customers!

Did you know we send out a 30% off coupon after you've shopped the store twice?  That means when you purchase a 3rd time from the shop, anything you purchase will be discounted 30% for that one-time event!

It's our way of saying "Thank You" for stopping by.

The coupon will be shipped to you with your purchase!  So grab a cup of tea and head on over to the shop and see if there's just a little something you can't live without.  The link is in the right sidebar!

Impulse Purchase

Sometimes someone else's favorites on Etsy tickles me fancy and turns into a favorite of mine which turns into an impulse purchase.

It's being shipped from Australia and will end up in the kitchen at our lake cottage.  I'm thinking I may use it as a small curtain in the front kitchen window.

:)  I love Etsy!

Taste and Visual Memories

My husband made Eastern North Carolina style barbecue and cole slaw last evening.  When we lived in Rocky Mount, NC for 3 years, I became obsessed with the barbecue from Gardner's.  It had a tangy, slightly spicy, vinegar taste and was usually served on pulled pork.  One taste of the barbecue and my mind immediately went back to the mid-1980's.  Suddenly Brunswick Stew, Collard Greens and Black-Eyed Peas raced to the forefront of my mind and I was one foot in heaven.

It just takes one taste or a vision of something from the past and suddenly we are transported back.  It's like there's a file in our brain tucked neatly away until suddenly all the memories come tumbling back into our conscience.

I love that, don't you?

It's like this listing on Etsy:

Betsey Clark Playing Cards

(Source:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/121768658/vintage-bridge-playing-cards-betsey?ref=usr_faveitems)

These photographs took me right back to my grandparent's dining room.  Here my grandmother and I would play the card game, Fish, with these exact cards.  Sometimes my cousin would be included or a friend, but oftentimes it was just my grandmother and I.

This was the dining room table.  My great-grandmother is on the left, next to her is my cousin, in the back is my brother on the left and his friend on the right.  Next is my friend and then me probably taken in 1978 or so.  That table saw many a card game with Betsey Clark cards.

My grandmother has always been there for me from when I was young:

and even is today (I am SO blessed!):

While I think of her often and speak with just as much, looking at the cards takes me back to Sycamore, Illinois to the dining room table and hoping I was the next winner of Fish.  Just another reason to love vintage and oh! a husband that can cook a mean Eastern Style Barbecue!  :)

Farm Girl Aprons

Awhile ago, I pinned this adorable tutorial:

Apron Tops

(Source:  http://mayamade.blogspot.com/2010/09/apron-bouse-how-to.html)

What a delightful and very easy idea!  Spring is just around the corner and it'll soon be time to get dirty in the garden to get it ready for planting and what better idea than to use aprons tied at the shoulder for a stylish yet very practical smock.

I'm a sucker for aprons, especially very worn aprons.  Not too long ago, I picked up a set of 4 aprons from a central Missouri farm house and they have been recently listed in my Etsy shop.

Look closely and each apron tells a story.  You can just imagine a farm girl from long ago grabbing one of these aprons as she stood in front of the cook stove preparing breakfast for her husband and children.  Later in the day, the apron would catch wind as she stood at the line hanging clothes to dry that were recently hand washed.  There are stains, holes and fading but I think that adds loads of character.

While perhaps these aprons are too worn for use in the garden today, they sure would look lovely hanging on a wooden peg in the kitchen if just for a reminder of those who toiled the land before us.  If you are interested in the aprons, please click my store link to your right.

There are so many vintage aprons on Etsy and even new ones that you'll have no problem finding just the perfect match to wear next time you're outside working in the yard.  Have fun!

The Corn Belt Dailies Dress Pattern

Some time ago, I wrote a blog post about mail order sewing patterns.  Here's the link:

Mail Order Patterns

I'm making a concerted effort to continually list all of my vintage sewing patterns in my shop to make room for Spring auction finds.  This means I'm still finding intriguing patterns such as this 1940's-50's dress pattern:

Almost as neat as the pattern is the envelope it was shipped in:

Ah, The Corn Belt Dailies sounds like something I'd subscribe to even though I live in the center of suburbia.  Growing up in Sycamore/DeKalb, Illinois among DeKalb cornfields, my heart always skips a beat when I find something vintage relating to corn.

The postage was 1 1/2 cents.  How does one calculate a 1/2 cent anyway?

Yes, I'm still smitten with mail order patterns probably far more than the normal Butterick and Simplicity patterns I normally find.

If you love vintage clothing patterns, click my store link on the right for a large selection that is continually growing!  

Sassy Scarf

Neck adornment is so "in" right now.

source:  http://pinterest.com/pin/74027987596967747/

So while going through my boxes of vintage sewing patterns to list on Etsy,  I was tickled to find this pattern for a Sassy Scarf:

Take your favorite material and cut to the specifications listed and you can do all sorts of different designs with the scarf including a bow, side drape, side tie and an ascot.  It's not too late to run to the fabric store and buy heart fabric and whip up a few scarves with the directions for your Valentine!

Snow, Snow, Snow

While the upper East Coast was hammered this past weekend with a record blizzard, thoughts came to me about the blizzard in the 1970's in northern Illinois.  Of course I was maybe 8 years old or so, but I remember the blizzard very well.  The TV was on in our house and I recall listening to the newscasters talk about O'Hare Airport and the mess the snow was making in Chicago. It sure was pretty in my eyes and luckily there are a few pictures to commemorate the occasion.

Here's my mother in front of our house: (As a side note, yesterday marked 4 years since her homecoming in heaven!  I miss you, mom!)

My grandparents shot a few photos that are in the albums I just scanned:

Nice to look at from a very far, far distance!  Stay safe and warm everyone!