All I want for Christmas......

Not exactly my two front teeth (I still have those, thank goodness), but one or some of these delectable vintage enamel floral pins I found on Etsy the other day. These cuties are all so affordable - I think they would make great gifts for anyone with a little fun and funk in their personality. They spruce up a serious jacket, add pizzazz to fabric purses and scarves, and in a pinch, can be turned into artwork (see the post "What the heck").

Well, maybe not ALL I want, but it would be a nice start ^_^

Featured above are:
Ray of Sunshine From curiouskitty
Vintage Blue Poppy from OriginalzbyMernda
Hot Pink Vintage Daisy from chubbybunnyshop
Vintage Huge Red Poinsettia from Kimaroo
Aqua Daisy from withinamilefromhome
Big Red from stephieD
Vintage Enamel Flower from PorkiePieDesigns
Vintage Pink Enamel Flower from VeroVintage
Haskell Look - A Girl Needs Pearls from KarmaRox
Set of Three from jessbobess
Moveable 2 in 1 from VaudevilleVintage1
Vintage Golden Topaz from LifeTravelsDesigns

What the heck.....

....is this? a trivet? what? Well, it's a nifty little item that I custom-requested from one of the best Etsy artists ever - dottyral. She was so great in pulling together my brain-child. A very fun project.

So here's what it really is. Let's start with the "brain-child." I have forever had an issue with the storage of my pins and brooches - they are awkward shapes, I don't like having them on top of each other to get all scratched, and it seemed like the pinbacks were getting duller and duller. And I wanted something attractive, too, for display of my pins so I would more easily access them and choose to wear them.



Then, last week, I came across these oh-so-cute pincushions in Dotty's shop, and I got an inspiration! You see, Dotty often makes an extra cushion for her pincushions just like the classic "strawberry" on top of the "tomato" that I am sure you are all familiar with. Here, it's the cherry on the cupcake. These smaller cushions are filled with a corundum sand called "emery" that serves to sharpen pins and needles.


Ah-hah, I thought - I need an emery cushion large enough to hold all my brooches! But how do you make a big cushion that won't be all sloppy and heavy? So, I contacted Dotty, and we came up with this idea of a slotted pad, to keep the emery to a minimum, and Dotty figured out how to fill and sew the slots together, creating the pad you see at the top of the page.



When it arrived today, I hopped over to Michael's to get a frame on sale, stapled the emery pad into the frame, and voila - the perfect display for all my pins, with the added bonus of a sharpened pinback every time I put the piece away after wearing.




So you decide: isn't this the greatest idea? I am sure Dotty would make one for you, too. Etsy artists are the greatest - thanks, Dotty!