Nostalgic Artifacts in Country Living!

I have been Country Living fan for years and a few months ago I was contacted by the Magazine regarding my Etsy shop Nostalgic Artifacts

They were working on a piece for the October issue titled "Scientific Discoveries", and they wanted to use some vintage pieces from my shop section "Oddities."

I sent them off...and here it is!

They people at Country Living were so great to work with...I am so happy they chose my shop, and would love to work with them again (hint, hint!)

AND we still have lots of great vintage science at Nostalgic Artifacts...although the Litmus Paper Vials did sell. Check us out, we are always filled with unique finds!

Here are a few other fun items from the shop:

English Poison Bottles

 Spooky Tin Types

A great collection of Test Tubes


Thank you Country Living Magazine!

How I spent My Summer Vacation.....

hi·a·tus 

2 a : an interruption in time or continuity : break; especially : a period when something (as a program or activity) is suspended or interrupted <after a 5-year hiatus from writing>

 Apologies for the long blogging hiatus but it has been a busy, albeit wonderful summer and I had to step back from the blog for awhile to refresh, re-energize and re-focus.

Fully refreshed I would love to fill you in on my summer adventures!

Nostalgic Summer is so happy and proud to announce that over the summer we placed our jewelry in two wonderful shops in the Minneapolis area.

 The first is Doodle Bird Design + Gifts located at 2803 E 42nd St, Minneapolis, MN 55406

                            "Minneapolis's newest little store is big on MN talent."

The second shop is The Gumball Collective located in NE Mpls Arts District 

at 158 NE 13th Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55413

Both shops are unique and I am happy to be a part of them. I know they will be successful!

We spent more time than usual at Nostalgic Summer Summer Headquarters, and the plan down the road is to make it our PERMANENT summer headquarters! (More on this in another post)


It's good to be back blogging and I have lot's to talk about, flea market adventures, summer fun stuff, our cabin renovation (taking place right NOW!), jewelry and artifacts updates.

But first a bit of Summer fun!

 Lily and Audrey just can't settle down when they know we are on the way to Summer Headquarters!

 ....And I feel the same way.

Here's my summer in pictures:

We LOVE boating!

 Garden Harvest.

 Cabin Bouquet.

Labor Day sightseeing trip to Fergus Falls...this is the State Hospital built in 1890. Wonderful architecture!

Went to the Minnesota State Fair....I haven't been for 10 years and it has not changed! Wonderful people watching here.

Flea Market in Detroit Lakes...I spent a lot of time here (more on this in a later post).

 I will leave you with this....sunset on our little piece of heaven.

It's good to be back....I hope you will follow my blog for all our summer, fall, winter and spring adventures!

Summer Headquarters......

 In a few days we will be packing up and heading off to our summer home for our yearly extended stay.

I look forward to these few summer weeks and always find it goes by so fast. 

There is always some major project on the "to do" list we tackle. This year it is the bathroom redo.

But we do find time to rest, relax, and enjoy the company of friends and family.

 "The summer night is like a perfection of thought."  ~Wallace Stevens

And we always start each day with a long morning walk when the air is still cool.

 "In summer, the song sings itself."  ~William Carlos Williams

I will also be scouring the great flea markets, antique and second hand shops in the area, finding unique, interesting pieces to add to my shop or upcycle into one-of-a-kind jewelry!

Have a great July everyone.......and if you find your self in Ottertail County, stop by and say "HI"

"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability."  ~Sam Keen

GIVEAWAY TIME!

 It's been to long, and I think it's time for another Nostalgic Summer **GIVEAWAY!**

This giveaway will be FUN, a little different, and just a tiny bit of work for you. Here are all the details;

Nostalgic Summer LOVES making jewelry that makes you HAPPY...but we hardly ever see you happily wearing your new Nostalgic Summer Jewelry, so..........We here at NS would LOVE to see pictures of EVERYONE in their NS jewelry!

Here's how this will work: Don't be shy...put on your NS jewelry, your prettiest smile, and take a pic of yourself and send it to renee@nostalgicsummer.com
We will do a blog post with all the photos...and YES photoshop is allowed! (believe me, my hair and ahum...eyes need a touch of photoshop)


Now for the **GIVEAWAY** part!!! YEAH! Everyone who sends in a picture will be eligible. The prize will be $100 worth of NS jewelry! The drawing will be random so everyone has an equal chance to win!
So comb, your hair, put on some lipstick, and your NS jewelry, be creative, and send your photos to: renee@nostalgicsummer.com

Please send photos by June 26th.
Don't let Audrey & Lily down.....they would love to see you looking as GREAT in your jewelry as they do in theirs!

 Spread the word to everyone you know who owns a Nostalgic Summer piece.

It's been too long............

It has been too long since my last post, but we have been so busy here at Nostalgic Summer World Headquarters and our Summer Headquarters are now open!

So here is a short catch up with more to come very soon!

We opened the Summer Headquarters late this year, the slow to start spring and everlasting snow kept us away. But it's now open and we are ready for a lovely summer!

We participated in several wonderful Art Shows this spring, a few new and one wonderful show we did last year as a benefit for the women of Cornerstone Women’s Shelter. They were all great shows...but I'm glad the spring shows are over! We did make the Eden Prairie News for our booth at the Arts In The Park Show!

Arts In The Park

I've been hard at work on a few new pieces....I'm so happy with this new line "The Geometric Collection" and the positive response! 

Here are a few pieces from The Geometric Collection:

The Floral Triangles

The Chevron Triangles

Geometric Ovals Necklace

All the above pieces are available on Etsy

Elongated Rectangles....coming soon to Etsy

Black & White Ovals

I hope you've enjoyed this peak at our new collection....Happy June!

"And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days; Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune, And over it softly her warm ear lays." ~ James R Lowell

~ Earth Day 2013 ~

"The earth is what we all have in common."
~Wendell Berry 

 Happy Earth Day Everyone!

I have been pondering what to write for this my third Earth Day post, in my last two I introduced you to my father: Earth Day 1970-2011

And talked about my company's vision: Earth Day 2012

So....This year I want to talk a bit about how in small ways we can help to make a difference.

I run three Etsy shops, Nostalgic Summer,  Nostalgic Artifacts , and Été Nostalgique De Luxe. Needless to say I use a lot of packing materials, and when I opened Nostalgic Artifacts I was concerned with all that wasteful packing I would have to use for the very fragile items I would be selling. 

Here's how in my very small way I am trying to alleviate this problem, and maybe give all of you ideas for keeping your packaging "Green":

90% of the boxes used in all three shops are recycled. I've found if you visit your local business they will be glad to let you take used boxes off their hands, and every package I receive is recycled 100%.

All my packing material is recycled....Shredded magazines, old wrapping paper, etc....

It looks very nice when shredded!

 And great in the box!

I do have larger, fragile pieces that shredded paper will not work for, so I use packing peanuts....I KNOW THEY ARE SO BAD!....but I also get these from a local business who would otherwise throw them away, and I feel reuse is a much better idea. I do recommend to all my customers that they reuse these peanuts also.

I enclose Thank You cards in each package I'm shipping out and I use....yes you guessed it....recycled paper! I use paper samples that another business was eliminating.

I know none of these ideas are grandiose, but I feel any small step you can take will help. And if everyone took small steps we would have a grandiose change for our beautiful planet!

I would LOVE more Earth friendly ideas...so please leave them here in the comments.

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world." ~John Muir

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." ~Native American Proverb

 

  We are linking this week with:

What We Accomplished Wednesday

*IT'S A FACEBOOK CELEBRATION!*

We've cracked open the champagne and are celebrating here at Nostalgic Summer world headquarters!

Last week Nostalgic Summer's Facebook page earned it's 777th follower...and since 7 just happens to be my favorite/lucky number I thought 777 must be really lucky.........So to celebrate I am holding a very special  "777 SALE!"

I've chosen seven pieces from the Nostalgic Summer line that I will sell at the special price of....you guessed it!...... $7.77. *WOW!*

Here is a look at each piece and the description:

Green and white tin bangle ~ $7.77 plus shipping.

Donkey Bead Pendant ~ $7.77 plus shipping.

Tin Oval Earrings ~ $7.77 plus shipping.

Tin Round Earrings ~ $7.77 plus shipping.

French Fashion Pendant ~ $7.77 plus shipping.

Happy Hour Pendant ~ $7.77 plus shipping.

Tin Heart Pendant ~ $7.77 plus shipping.

To purchase any of these seven pieces send a message to: renee@nostalgicsummer.com with the name of the item you would like, your shipping address, cc # & the 3 digit cvc on back of card. You will receive a confirmation email once we process your order. Or if you prefer we can send you a bill through Paypal.
 

The special sale will end on 4/20/13...unless items sell out sooner. This is a first come, first serve offer.

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL MY 777 plus 1 FOLLOWERS!

“We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small gifts.” 

~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer ~