If you have visited a few blogs or picked up a copy of Artful Blogging, you are sure to have read wonderful stories of friendships, collaborations and acts of kindness and sharing that have occurred as a result of these electronic pages. In the short time I've been blogging, I've already met some very welcoming and supportive people, but a recent post brought a whole new kind of surprise. Stacey, an antiques dealer in North Carolina, saw one of the tags I had done for a swap and wondered if I would be willing to make one for her in exchange for some vintage ephemera. Of course, I was flattered that someone would want one of my tags, but I also jumped at the chance for an exchange because I love seeing what vintage treasures turn up in other cities. These are the beautiful things that Stacey sent me. The two sheets of embossed die cuts are from Germany and are pre-WWII. They have a great patina that new pieces can't match. In the background, you'll see an 1872 issue of Peterson's magazine that is filled with great text, art and needlework projects. Stacey asked what kind of ephemera I liked and I mentioned I would love to have items I could incorporate into the little French fashion book I am working on. She thoughtfully chose items with that in mind-- the belt buckle was even made in France. Stacey sells her antiques at Booth 41 in the Gresham Lake Antique Mall, in Raleigh, NC and through Ruby Lane online. Stop by her blog Flotsam and Jetsam to meet her and visit her Etsy store sweettea16. Last time I looked, she still had some of those wonderful German die cuts available.
