5 Minutes for Mom Ultimate Blog Party

This is a milestone for me - joining a "linky" party. Reason being: I am almost completely technology challenged. I did not grow up with a tiny hand-held computer for a toy. I played with dolls, hopscotched, hid and seeked (sought), played school, bathed my dollies, went to the library where I borrowed all the Madeline books, almost never went to the movies, took piano lessons, put on plays with my playmates which we charged our parents to attend and all those sorts of things. We had no computers in school or university. I never even saw one until my kids got an Pong game on a small Atari computer for Christmas one year. And the computer invasion has amplified since then until it has taken over my phone, my TV, my desktop, my lap, my purse, my shopping habits, my recipe collection, my communication with friends and relatives on Face Book and on and on...............

I solicited technical help from my dear sisters on the castteam   http://www.castteametsy.blogspot.com/          (Christian Artists Street Team) on etsy to help me understand just how to get that little pink badge that you see over on the right column of this blog. If you click on that, it will take you for a visit to the http://www.5minutesformom.com/  5 Minutes For Mom blog home page. Two sisters blogging about Mom Entrepreneurs. If that's you, too, pay a visit to their blog. I think you'll like it.

For the "linky" blog party, I am supposed to share a little about what sammysgrammy is all about  https://www.etsy.com/shop/sammysgrammy?ref=si_shop. It all started because I'm a "collector". I collect vintage linen. My collecting fever started when I wanted all handmade lace trimmed napkins for setting my dining table. I didn't want plain linen napkins. I wanted them embellished with the hand crocheted lace made in the 1920's, 30's and 40's.

I began going to estate sales. I discovered plenty of lace trimmed linen. More than I could ever use. I began to re imagine the napkins into other things. Mainly angels. Angels were in vogue then. Everyone wanted them. Either to trim their Christmas trees, or to give as a Christening gift or hostess gift or just to hang on a door knob. I sold a lot of them at craft shows and on consignment at local gift shops. I had not heard of etsy yet.

My estate sale habit got bigger and bigger and I began to branch out to collecting other than just napkins. But I was and still am in love with vintage linen. The more embellished it is the better I like it. Handmade lace, embroidery, fancy needlework, monograms, stitchery, etc. It always gets re imagined and reused to make something that will delight a modern bride or homemaker. Fortunately, I discovered etsy and sammysgrammy was born.

                  This purse is completely re imagined, using vintage handmade lace doilies.

               Banner made with vintage lace trimmed hankies

Bride's wedding garter re imagined from a strip of handmade lace. Interestingly, young girls practiced their crochet skills making strips of lace. The mama's then used these strips to festoon everything linen in the household -  towels, pillowcases, table linens, bed sheets, and petticoats.

It delights me no end, to rescue these treasures at estate sales before they end up in a landfill. Sadly, many have. I delight to remake them into something that can still be used today - almost 100 years later. A true heirloom.