Wow, what a wonderful response from yesterday's post on my bullet bra pattern! I worked out cup sizes B-DD yesterday and YES, I will be doing the biggest cup sizes that I can, for all of my "heavily blessed" sisters out there.

 This pattern will be a little unique too, in that you will be able to choose your cup size and band size separately so if you have a small rib cage and big girls, or vise versa, you can get a perfect fit. There's some extra math involved and since I have the math capacity of a kindergartener, I'm doing my best to make it simple.



I have always said that the single most important garment that a woman should have is -not- a little black dress but a perfect fitting bra. A great bra makes you look good and feel good inside and out. When your girls are perky and lifted, you walk taller, smile bigger and feel fabulous!

 Since I started this blog, it's been all about embracing your body for what it is and understanding that we all come in different shapes and sizes. It's funny that we are all completely different sizes and shapes but we all share the same problem- finding a perfect bra!

 My sister, sister-in-law and mom have generously agreed to let me borrow their boobs so I can test out different cup sizes before I post this thing. Thanks, family!




Anyway, while I was working out sizes yesterday, I sat in bed in a pile of my vintage bra and girdle collection and wanted to show you all of my bullet bras from simple cottons to embroidery and sheers. I hope that these original bras inspire you in your bullet bra sewing!

I always love to check out vintage lingerie to see how it was constructed and all of the little details.Although I wear this stuff all the time, I'm not in the habit of showing off my undies until now! I'll be going over instructions on how to create these unique stitching patterns, using lace or sheers and all the details that make a handmade piece of lingerie really special.

 Although they look quite complex, bra sewing is very easy and fun! Once you get your size correct, you can knock out a few of these in an afternoon with very little fabric.

Vintage advertisements often include gorgeous artwork. Some are funny or reflect the state of society during that era. They're colorful, unique and really should be displayed! I always buy old magazines when I find them, not only for the reading and inspiration but for decorating.

 Some of my local antique malls sell vintage ad pages for a buck or two per page so I can stock up on a bunch of colorful pieces for less than the cost of a burger and fries. A single magazine or catalog is loaded with beautiful pages so if you can score one online or out shopping, you can decorate the whole house!
This 1940's lingerie ad is my absolute favorite. She adds some color to the bathroom. 



 Trim the ads or if they are already small, lay them out on a background of pretty vintage wallpaper, wrapping paper or scrapbook paper.



 I use garage sale or dollar store frames throughout my house. You can also find really cheap frames at thrift stores. If you don't like the color, a coat or two of spray paint does the trick!



 Make collages in a single frame or group similar ads together on a wall. Line the kitchen with funny food and drink ads and deck the bathroom with cosmetics and lingerie pages. I hang a few of my favorite makeup and fashion ads in the bedroom for inspiration while I'm getting ready for the day.





 Vintage ads bring color and kitsch to a room and those who visit your home will enjoy your gallery of life in the past.

Other Ideas for Vintage Ads

This morning we had some errands to run and while stopping at a small neighborhood grocery store, I spotted signs for garage sales all over the place. I was almost able to contain myself when I saw a sign on the same street that I bought my 1950's china cabinet from last month.

 I remember going inside and seeing all kinds of kitchen pretties, vintage figurines and furniture that were being prepared for an estate sale in a few weeks so my heart skipped as I saw that the china cabinet house was now holding a garage sale!

 The first find was this funny vintage dress with a full skirt, red piping and a large Missouri patch with the words "St Louis" embroidered on it.



What a strange dress, right? Well, I later found a pattern in a box of craft books for a square dancing dress so I'm guessing that this lady was a competition square dancer or something of that nature.


 I desperately wanted to get my hands on some of the glass figurines, of which I found a few!




 Also among the pretties was a box of craft books- mostly The Teddy Bear Review and other old lady craft books from the 80's but I did find three late 30's and early 40s quilt pattern books and two late 50's Christmas booklets. I will be scanning the books, especially the one on how to wrap presents to post for you here because there are some KILLER ribbon how-to's in this book and I must share it with you guys!



 I also left with a vintage peachy lace shower curtain (background above) for my pink bathroom and a very pretty mid century bowl with lid. I've seen this pattern online before but now I can't seem to find it and there are no markings. Does anyone know what the pattern is?



And finally, the most awesome thing to come into my house today was my little niece, Miss Junebug, born less than two weeks ago! She did a whole lot of snoozin' and being held and kissed by her cousin, Olivia.

 

I went to JoAnne's this morning to pick up fabric for a 1920's dress that I'm making for the next issue of Hey Doll! and I came out with 3 beautiful cotton prints that I had to share. They're having the Daffodil Dash Sale this weekend so these were all 30% off.

The one on the left was the last bit of the bolt. I was hoping for enough yardage for a whole 20's summer dress but sadly, just under two yards on this one so it will probably become a hat and scarf or blouse. I really love this print and the colors- so Art Deco!

The one on the right is down right fabulous, I want to reupholster every piece of furniture in my house, including the curtains, bed spreads and shower curtain in this fabric. Am madly in love!

to the left: 2012 DS Quilts Collection for Fabric Traditions to the right "mercer" De Leon Designer Group * The Alexander Henry Fabrics Collection 2012

This gorgeous mid century inspired fabric on the left was an accidental find. I was just moving down the remnants aisle to keep the cart moving so Rhys would chill out and I saw this for $7 a yard plus 50% off. Crazy in love with it as well. This print is going to be throw pillows for my living room...and perhaps a few for my bed.

 The one on the right will be my 1920's summer dress from a pattern that I am drafting based on a 1920's pattern from a book. Stay tuned for the pattern, instructions and details of the finished dress in the May issue of Hey Doll Vintage Magazine.....Now what has Beetsie Wan done with my presser foot?

To the left "composition: coral" The Alexander Henry Fabrics Collection 2010  To the right 2012 DS Quilts Collection for Fabric Traditions

Today,  little Rhys is two years old! He's turning into such a cool little dude and we call him "Beetsie Wan"


 It all started when he was a tiny baby. Olivia called all babies "Beets" because she couldn't say Rhys and "Beetsie" as her little nick name for him. So we had Beetsie cats, Beetsie bears, Beetsie babies...all things Beetsie, including a little family of toy swans. And since she couldn't say "Swan" they were "wans" Mommy wan, daddy wan and Beetsie wan. We thought it was so funny, we called him Beetsie Wan or just Beets and the name stuck.



Over the past two years, Va-Voom Vintage readers have seen me through my pregnancy with Beets, his birth and growing up into a tough little man.



He's very into chocolate, watching Backyardigans or "gins" and calling me and his father both "Daddy". He is very much not into having his hair washed, being still  or potty training.

He has a really badass scar on his forehead from where he crashed a few months ago and although I cried my eyes out when they glued his noggin back together, all he wanted was a sticker from the nurse. Yep, tough guy!


 He likes tattoos, pirates and growling like a monster, yelling "win-o, win-o" when he wants the wind in his hair and being in every single photograph for this blog because he cannot be away from mommy (the daddy lady) for any period of time.





                                                            Happy birthday, Beetsie Wan!

On day two of my weekend with Daffny, my mom watched the kids all day so we could play dress-up and goof-off with photographer, Monica Moore.



 We covered the 20's-60's in about 5 hours, I think. Most of our pictures will be featured in future issues of Hey Doll. We shot inside and all around the outside of my house. We did some of this




and a whole lot of this


We had so much fun. Monica is such a cool, funny and talented gal.I could hang out with her every day!

 After the photos, we planned on cooking but were beat so we went down to the street for some dinner. We took Daffny to Lewis and Clark's down the street, which is always very yummy.



When we left, I spotted the horse and carriage parked across the street. I've lived in the area all my life and have never gone on a ride.Daffny said "You only live once. We're doing it!" So we hopped on and took a 20 minute ride through town, with Arthur, the dog for company.





Brittany's 40's outfit                                                                           Daffny's 30's outfit
40's dress- The Vintage Haberdashery St Louis                  30's style dress- Brenda Sue's Warrenton, MO
40s Jacket- private estate                                                   rhinestone clip- borrowed from Brittany
40s corde bag- private estate                                             vintage rhinestone drop earrings-garage sale
40's brooch- borrowed from Bunny

Brittany's 50's outfit                                                                         Daffny's 50's Outfit
50's purple shirtwaist dress- garage sale                               50's blue shirtwaist- from Brittany
lucite "B" brooch etsy                                                          lucite "D" brooch- handmade by Brittany

Brittany's main street outfit                                                             Daffny's Main Street outfit
1940's sailor playsuit-handmade by me                                     40's cotton dress- etsy
using Wearing History Pattern                                                 1940's brooch-etsy
40's sailor brooch-borrowed from Bunny                                 assorted plastic and bakelite bangles