On Thursday, August 27, I wore this fun 1970s Mystic Beach, SC cropped t-shirt that I picked up recently through the Ooh La La Frocking 1962 & Onwards Facebook group. 

I love the colors & scene on this t-shirt.  According to the website, Tee Fetch, the t-shirt first appeared in the US sometime around the Spanish American War, when they were issued by the US Navy.  By the 1920s, the word t-shirt appeared in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.  The first printed t-shirt appeared in 1942 on the cover of Life magazine; & by the late 1960s, t-shirts sported commercial advertising, souvenir messages, protests & other forms of self-expression.

With my fun t-shirt, I wore one of my tropical-themed charm bracelets.

This charm bracelet includes Cracker Jack/gumball charms, as well as tropical coins & a mother-of-pearl gemstone.  I especially like the little blue glass fish & the vintage Treasure Island charm.

I also wore a pair of earrings that I made from vintage pinwheel buttons & silver beads.

I like the way the yellow in the buttons matches the yellow in the t-shirt.

To see more of my jewelry, check out my website at http://paulinesjewelrybox.com.  And, as always, thanks for reading & for supporting small businesses!

2During July, I spent 12 days traveling in Wisconsin visiting family & friends.  I spent the first few days in the Menomonee Falls Area.  Next, I drove up to Kewaunee to see my good friend, Pam.  On the way, I stopped at the J & J Antique Mall just outside Manitowoc.

There I found several fun things, including this set of vintage plastic dominoes.

Here's a necklace I made recently with 3 of the dominoes!  I also used vintage chain & black beads.

I also found this fun set of tins.

I haven't made anything out of the tins yet, but I've got lots of idea I'm looking to try.

Finally, I found these fun little colorful plastic & wood beads.

And here's a necklace & pair of earrings I made from them.

I love stopping at the J & J Antique Mall because it's just off I-43 on my way to Pam's, and I pretty much always find a thing or two there -- sometimes for me to keep (like the hatbox from Milwaukee that I found one year), sometimes for me to give to Steve (like the slot cars I've found there), & sometimes for me to use in jewelry-making.  This time, I hit the jackpot in terms of finding things to use in jewelry!

That's it for Part 2 of this year's Wisconsin trip.  To see more of my jewelry, check out my website at http://paulinesjewelrybox.com.  And, as always, thanks for reading & for supporting small businesses!

On Friday, August 14, Steve & I went to the Iowa State Fair for the first time in at least 5 years.  The Iowa State Fair is supposed to be one of the best in the country.  I've only gone to one other state fair (Wisconsin) & the last time I did that was over 40 years ago!

We like to go first thing in the morning when the buildings aren't even open yet & the fair is just "waking up".  In the past, we usually spent most of our time in the animal barns & walking through every building.  This year, though, we decided to skip all the crowds in the buildings & mainly spend our day walking around outside & stopping at various places to listen to the free entertainment & people watch. 

One of the buildings we did spend time in was Pioneer Hall, which is where they display antiques & have artisans demonstrating crafts from the past, like caning, basket-making & printing.  They also have country & blue grass musicians perform pretty much all day.

We really enjoyed our time there.  They also have a few antique vendors in Pioneer Hall, & I was pleasantly surprised to find something I thought I could make jewelry out of -- a small bag of what almost look like tiddliwinks to me.

Yesterday, I made a fun pair of earrings out of some of them . . .

The other things we enjoyed was walking around the midway looking at all the colorful rides & games.  We have an HO model of a carnival at home & we came away with lots of ideas for rides & booths to add. 

It's always fun to see the latest in stuffed toys you can win -- this year, it's minions! We won't be adding minions to our model carnival, however, as it's set up more to look like 1940s - 1960s.  We would like to think of a way, though, to add some tiny stuffed toys to the game booths.

We'd like to add more kiddie rides & we thought this one would be really fun!

Two of the rides we liked the most were these 2 spooky ones.  We have a haunted house ride & got lots of ideas for how to embellish it from these -- like adding cobwebs & tombstones!

By mid-afternoon, we were worn out & heading for home after a fun day at the fair!

On Thursday, August 13, I wore this lovely lavendar 1940s seersucker dress with rhinestone buttons, as well as a fun 1960s hat & woven wicker purse!   I got all 3 at Dorothea's Closet Vintage over the last couple of years.

Seersucker is a "puckered" fabric.  According to the Fashion Guild, the name "seersucker" is derived from the Persian word for "milk & sugar" - shir o shakar.  I especially love seersucker for it's lightness in the summer.

With my summery dress, I wore 2 pieces of jewelry I've made recently.  I made this necklace using a broken part of an old necklace, as well as beads & chain (including rosary chain) that I've picked up at various flea markets, antique shows & garage sales.

I chose the beads & chain that I thought best complemented the pearlized stone & rhinestone in the pendant.

I also wore a pair of coneflower earrings I made out of old tin lithograph scraps & beads that matched the purple in the coneflowers.

I thought the necklace complemented the rhinestone buttons on the dress, while the earrings complemented the lavendar color.

To see more of Dorothea's Closet Vintage clothing, check out the shop's website at http://dorotheasclosetvintage.myshopify.com.  To see more of my jewelry, go to http://paulinesjewelrybox.com.

As always, thanks for reading & for supporting small businesses!

During July, I spent 12 days in Wisconsin -- visiting my home town, family & friends, & camping -- and treasure hunting along the way for things to use in making jewelry.

My first stop was a couple of days in Menomonee Falls, my hometown.  While there, I had lunch one day with a couple of friend from high school, dinner with another high school friend, lunch with some cousins, & dinner another night with a niece.

I also visited my old church & grade school.

I was really lucky that they were doing some remodeling inside; as a result, I was able to walk around inside.  In fact, I got a tour from a guy that turned out to be the older brother of 2 of my classmates back in grade school!  It was funny how little some of the classrooms & lockers had changed from what I remembered as a child!

And, I got to walk around inside my old high school, which is now a middle school & was open for summer classes.

Like my grade school, much remained the same, including the gym, lockers & hallways!  A big difference, though was in how the classrooms were set up -- I remember individual desks & now it's all tables arranged so kids sit in circles.

I also walked the trail by the river & waterfall, & the lime kiln part,

I love that the village has preserved the old lime kilns & built a trail along the river!  Here's a view from the trail of the river a bit farther down from the falls.

And here's one upstream a bit.

While I didn't find any jewelry-making treasures this leg of the trip, I had a fabulous time visitng friends & family & "walking down memory lane"!  My next stop was at an antique mall just off I-43 before Manitowoc on the way to visit my friend Pam in Algoma, however, & there I did find several fun things.  But that will have to wait until next Sunday!

As always, thanks for reading & supporting small businesses! 

On Wednesday, July 29, I arrived home from Wisconsin after spending 12 wonderful days there visiting family & friends & camping up in Door County!  For my trip home, I wore this really fun 1960's paisley shirt!

I found the shirt the day before at this really fun vintage clothing store in Madison, Good Style Shop.  I actually ended up picking up 4 other vintage blouses (including one covered in sequins from the 1940s), & 2 vintage purses!

According to the Fashion Guild, paisley has a long history in Asia & the Middle East, & dates to the 18th century in Europe.  The 1960s saw a resurgence of its popularity in conjunction with interest in Eastern culture & belief. 

With my fun shirt, I wore 2 pieces of jewelry I'd made recently.  The first is a fabricated necklace made our of copper & a stone a friend gave me that she found a couple of years ago when we were camping in Peninsula State Park in Door County, Wisconsin.

Here's a close-up of the stone/pendant.

I also wore a pair of fabricated earrings I made out of copper & vintage lucite "cabochons".

For both the pendant & the earrings, I used liver of sulfur to add patina to the copper.

I had a fabulous time while I was in Wisconsin, but I must admit it also felt good to be home!

To see more vintage clothing, check out Dorothea's Closet Vintage website at http://dorotheasclosetvintage.myshopify.com.  To see more of my jewelry, go to http://paulinesjewelrybox.com.

As always, thanks for reading & for supporting small businesses!

I spent 12 days in July in Wisconsin, & on July 22, I wore this fabulous 1940s peasant blouse when my friend, Pam, & I went to Red's Pub & Grill, just south of Algoma, Wisconsin.

Peasant blouses were popular in the 1940s thanks to Hollywood film star, Carmen Miranda.  They were loose-fitting, with short puffy sleeves & a scooped (or square) neckline; pieces of ribbon were often gathered around the neck & sleeves like they are in this blouse. 

Red's Pub & Grill has open mic on Wednesdays, & is a regular stop on my annual visits to Pam.  Here's a picture of Pam & Mick playing & singing; Pam plays rhythm & Mick plays base.

With my 40s peasant blouse, I wore a necklace made out of tagua nut beads that I got earlier that day, as well as 2 pieces of my hand-crafted jewelry.

The first is a good luck bracelet that I made recently.  All of the charms & gemstones are symbols of good luck.

I also wore a pair of chain-mail earrings I made with silver jump rings & black onyx beads.

I love going to Red's whenever I visit Pam.  The music is great & it's been fun getting to know the musicians that play there!

To see more fabulous vintage clothing, check out Dorothea's Closet Vintage clothing at http://dorotheasclosetvintage.myshopify.com.  To see more of my jewelry, go to http://paulinesjewelrybox.com.

As always, thanks for reading & for supporting small businesses!

On Wednesday, July 15, 2015, I wore this very fun 1940s wraparound dress, 1940s hat, & 1950s mesh purse.  The dress & hat are courtesy of Dorothea's Closet Vintage.

While wrap-around dresses were popularized by Diane Von Furstenberg in the 1970s, they were designed as early as the 1930s by Elsa Schiaparelli & in the 1940s by Claire McCardell.  I especially love the colors & "ship porthole" print on this one, as well as the white v-neck bodice.  The light material & butterfly sleeves make this a perfect dress for a hot summer day!

With my vintage outfit, I wore 3 pieces of my jewelry, including this necklace.

I used an old micro-mosaic pin for the pendant, & lapis gemstones & faux pearls on the chain, as well as vintage seed rosary beads to complement the colors in the pendant.

I also wore this bracelet made with vintage starburst buttons & sewing-related charms (scissors, thimble & iron).

And, finally, I wore a pair of earrings I made from broken vintage rosary medals & blue glass crystal beads.

I especially like the way the 2 different rosary charms complement each other.

To see more of Dorothea's Closet Vintage clothing, check out the shop's website at http://dorotheasclosetvintage.myshopify.com.  To see more of my jewelry, go to http://paulinesjewelrybox.com.

And, as always, thanks for reading & for supporting small businesses!

Today's Dorothea's Closet Vintage outfit is a 1940's red & black dress with bright red buttons!

Clothes in the 1940s were often very bright & colorful, like the skirt & buttons on this dress.  Zippers on dresses were still on the side, like the one in this dress.

With my dress, I wore a hat from the 1940s/1950s that I got through the Ooh La La Vintage Clothing Facebook group, as well as a 1950s red necklace & a 1920s red rhinestone & celluloid bracelet that I also got from Dorothea's Closet. 

I also wore one of my newest doggie charm bracelets , , ,

The bracelet features Cracker Jack/gumball charms of various breeds of dogs, including great dane, collie, scottie, pekinese, & bulldog; as well as a fire hydrant charm & a small heart-shaped locket with a dog on the front!

One of my favorite color combinations is red & black -- I love it in this dress & in the bracelet!

To see more of Dorotheas Closet Vintage clothing, check out the shop's website at http://dorotheasclosetvintage.myshopify.com.  To see more of my jewelry, go to http://paulinesjewelrybox.com.

And, as always, thanks for reading & for supporting small businesses!

On Friday, July 3, Steve & I attended the 24th annual Good Guys Heartland Nationals at the Iowa State Fairground.

The weather was perfect & we saw some really great hot rods, custom cars & rat rods!

We also spotted several Rat Finks! Rat Fink was created by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, who built custom cars starting in the late 1950's.  He also designed & created drawings of cars & monsters, & spray paining t-shirts with his designs.  When he painted monsters driving custom cars, people lined up at his booth.  His most famous creation was Rat Fink; by 1963 teenagers across the country were buying Rat Fink models & t-shirts!

The first Rat Fink we spotted was this Surf Rat on the back wondow of a rat rod truck.

This next one was on the engine hood of a rat rod.

This next one was on the ignition key of a rat rod.

And this last one was on the back of a rat rod.

Of course, we also stopped at our favorite booth inside the Varied Industries Building!

There I found another Rat Fink t-shirt to add to my collection & another Rat Fink charm in a color I didn't have (he's sitting on my hat in the picture)!

Here's a close-up of my new charm . . .

And, of course, I wore my Rat Fink jewelry to the show, including a necklace I made with an official Rat Fink charm that I picked up at the Good Guys show last year . . .

Charm bracelet made with official Rat Fink charms, as well as record, dice, tiki doll, & 8-ball charms . . .

And earrings made with official Rat Fink charms . . .

We sure do love those hot rods, custom cars, rat rods & of course, Rat Fink!

To see more of my jewelry, check out my website at http://paulinesjewelrybox.com.

And, as always, thanks for reading & for supporting small businesses!