Sponsor Spotlight! Art Deco Dame!

This months spotlight is on a dear friend of mine, Desiree of Art Deco Dame. She is a lovely person, mother of 2 kids, and vintage seller extraordinaire! She writes a kitschy little blog called Pretty Little Things, and sells on Etsy as, you guessed it, Art Deco Dame. I have always loved her shop, and have picked up a few bakelite pieces of her in my day. Right now she is having a 30% off sale, so the prices are all very reasonable!
Here are my current picks form the shop! A darling 50s dress, a bakelite brooch to die for, and a sweet hat with pom pom balls... who doesn't need pom pom balls in their life??


SO go on check out her shop, and stop on in at her fan page where she announces sales and giveaways.

Art for sale?

As many of you know, Toma (the boyfriend) does some magnificent edwardian era style paintings that he sells on Etsy (tomaelias.etsy.com). We have gone one step further on his art work, and turned his original paintings into tiny keepsakes. I am so excited on this project, and I know I might be a little biased, but I have seen these in real life and they are pretty neat. He has made Brooches, Bracelets, Necklaces and Lockets, all with either the male or female painting. We finally got them up on etsy this week, so I thought I would share with you guys.




The top image is the originals, that he is saving for a gallery show in Astoria next month. But the jewels are all available and ready to ship in time for Christmas.

Ok, Ok.... enough shameless plugging. Back to vintage next entry!

Weekend Update with Twila

I just wanted to pop in on the blog this weekend to let you know I am having an SALE in my Etsy shop Twila Jean Vintage. The sale is celebrating my new name, look, and model! It is for 25% Off through this Monday. Prices are super good, including the Lilli Ann Princess Coat, which is under the $500 mark with the sale.

Friday Frocks

This friday's sneak peeks are coming live and direct from my new Etsy shop! Well, it's not exactly new, but thanks to Etsy's new name change policy I was able to rebrand my shop as Twila Jean Vintage! I am SO excited to unveil the name change, along with my new model while I am out pregnant. Her name is Gabrielle, and she tumbles on tumblr, and rocks the studio in vintage dresses. She has the most amazing classic look, I am thankful to have found such a lovely talent to help present my goods.

Sponsor Spotlight!

This weeks addition to our new sponsor list is Lady Lux Vintage! Nancy the woman behind the website, takes a bright and modern edge to her vintage shop. It's very classy and clean which makes shopping a dream. Lady Lux can be spotted on Etsy, Facebook, Twitter, and even good ole Blogger!

Here are my shop picks! I think this tie would look just amazing on Toma... if I could get him to wear anything other than black that is.

Friday Frocks (a little early..)

It has been suggested to me by a few people that I should start blogging some sneak peeks of what is headed into my etsy shop, Exquisite Bones. I have decided maybe I will give it a whirl, so I am now dedicating my Friday posts to "Friday Frocks" a preview of what's headed to the shop. The blog will be the first place to see new items, which gives blog readers a first chance to buy or reserve them. Ok, enough with the blah blah blahs, onto the goodies.




As always, many thanks to photobucket, for screwing up my images. I wish I could figure out a better host for my pictures.

Starving Artists

Last week was Toma's first art walk in Portland. In stall 406 he was selling his paintings and prints on the side of the street like a gypsy pop-up-shop. As a diligent, micro-managing, let-me-do-it, kind of girlfriend, I was of course there to help set up and get things looking the way I wanted them.
It was about 85 degrees, and we were in direct sunlight. The beautiful glowing sun caused my make up to melt, and my false lashes to fall off, as seen in the image below. All in all, we handed out lots of business cards, sold lots of post cards, and even a few prints. I rather like the traveling tent shop experience and am quite excited for the next adventure!





The next shows are Olympia, WA and then Astoria, OR. We seem to be all over the place these days. We could also use your crossed fingers that we land a space at Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle this December. I am so excited for where are lives are leading us, and the children. Life is so very good, and so very full of possibility!

It's My Party

This year, in 5 days, I am going to be 25 years old. If you know anything about me, you know that birthdays are my favorite thing.. ever. I had grandiose plans of a spectacular quarter century party, but alas... unfortunate life events and severe bouts of depression have led me to cancel entirely. I think this will be the first year ever I do absolutely nothing to celebrate my birthday. I guess on the bright side this gives me a year to plan for the lesser important '26' shindig.

If you follow my facebook you know I was planning a birthday Prom for my party. I had a dress and all. A fabulous 50s party frock, fit for a birthday queen. Are you a birthday queen? Well then, have at my dress! It's here and ripe for the picking via my Etsy Shop!
Doesn't it look like a poofy dream? Get your self a Tiara and paint the town purple! I hope my party dress finds a fabulous home, and gets the loving it so desperately needs.

Also, check back tomorrow as I have some info on a very special sale from Lime Crime!!!

Sponsor Spotlight: The Witchery Vintage

I am more than pleased to welcome Metro ex-Housewife's newest sponsor: The Witchery Vintage! Sandra, the proprietor of The Witchery, is sweet as pie and is a vintage blogger herself which you can find and follow here!

By day Sandra brings home the bacon as a high school teacher, but does it fabulously dressed in vintage frockery. In her spare time she slings vintage on etsy at fabulously reasonable prices.
And those painfully adorable models you ask? Those are her daughters! What a delight that must be for her to have such beautiful ladies available for photoshoots!

Sandra can be found on facebook as well promoting her fantastic business, you can "like" it here. I encourage you all to meander over to her Etsy shop and see what kind of witchery you can get yourself into.

A big thank you to Sandra for being our newest sponsor! You have a beautiful vintage-loving family and I wish you well with your delightful store.

Want to win a free dress?

I had the pleasure of modeling a dress for Shristi Studios recently and she is now holding a contest! Go vote for you favorite photoset and you are automatically entered in a drawing to win one of her dresses in your size!

Vote for me if you love me! I took these in a vacant lot near my house. I thought they turned out rather neat.. although I was chased off by the rain during the shooting.

So go vote if you like... I am number 2 *hint hint* Haha. Have a great weekend guys and good luck!

Tilted.

I had the chance to do a trade with a lovely blogger this month. On my end I received a lovely hat from Heidi over at Ketty Doll. Its a black hat with darling yellow grosgrain ribbon bows on each side. It comes with a wide hair comb attached which keeps it, right where you put it! I am so please with this darling little chapeaux!
The packaging is noteworthy too, I have never seen something arrive at my door dressed so fancifully.
I love the nude lady detail! If you want to win me over, send me vintage nudies... I love that stuff. Haha. I took some pictures of the hat, in my teal kitchen, hoping to capture the spirit of the packaging.

(click to enlarge images. Dress is for sale HERE.)

I got many compliments on the hat yesterday, and I wish I could own one in every color. I am hoping Heidi is going to be selling her hats on etsy, so add her profile as a saved seller... in case she lists some hats!

Now, for the candid shot of the day. This has to be my favorite picture of me ever. I think it fully represents my personality, cartoonish and silly. Hope you guys like it too.
I hope you check out Heidi's blog, and keep a watch on her etsy shop! I am so glad I get to own one of these sweet little toppers.

A Midweek's Lunchtime Dream

Do you love my title above? It is a total fail of a play on words, I am not feeling the writing vibe today. C'est La Vie! Solanah popped by to help me photograph a bunch of dresses for my Etsy Shop. She was up in my face taking pictures of me getting ready. That girl loves playing with the camera.

We photographed a ton of dresses, most of which sold the same day I got them in the shop. These two are still there, and I have more coming late this week. I am loving the black evening gown, its floor length with pink... you can't beat that!
Of course for her hard work of looking fabulous in my 30s dress, I had to treat her to lunch! So we hit this great little bar downtown. It's all old exposed brick and hardwoods, with cute old theater seats in the waiting area. I had some most excellent fish and chips! I love halibut...a lot.

Well, I am off to the post office, I have a metric ton of stuff to ship out. See you all again this week!

The Epic Vintage Buy

I wish I would have captured more photographic evidence of my buy at a collectors house this weekend. The collector happens to be a friend of mine, and it was a blast to sip wine and dig through endless piles of vintage frocks. In the end, I came home with several really amazing pieces, heading to the shop this week. I nabbed a few 40s evening gowns, some darling 30s day dresses, and a couple 50s dresses.
I am dreadfully in love with the 30s brown and pink dress! its AMAZING. There are many more dresses than just these shown above. My closet/living room is overflowing with goodies. I made a few other buys the day before which include a floor length 50s prom dress! I simply and completely cant resist good vintage.

After this weekend vintage free for all, I had a photoshoot with Vorpal Images. We were shooting some dresses for Dismantled Fashions. I snapped this quick shot when I got home, of how my hair and make-up looked at the shoot.
I can't wait to see the final shots, as Vorpal never ceases to blow me away with their awesome photographic skills. Of course, I will share the final shots with you when I get them. Hope you all had a good weekend, I am off to photograph all the goods I bought this weekend, and get them listed in my etsy shop!

Feeling Quite Fourties

As I anxiously await spring this morning, I was taunted by foolish mother nature and her Sun, Rain, Hail, Sun, Rain, Wind weather pattern. I did manage to snap a few pictures of my outfit, in the fleeting sunlight of the morning.
The skirt is a lovely 40s Jantzen that was a gift from Solanah, and the blouse we scored out thrifting one day. The messy closet behind me is my Etsy Workspace filled to the brim with frocks, shoes, hats and whatnotery.
Today was Etsy picture day, thus my 40s style victory rolls. I was photographing some beautiful 40s dresses! I am so excited to list them this afternoon.
Well, I am off to cozy up with some warm tea, while I continue to wait out winter, and welcome spring. Warm weather please!

Hitting the Town with Solanah

I know, I mention her a lot, but seriously, Solanah is nearly my bestest of friends. I am quite fortunate to have a chum who is into vintage, and shopping and best of all, likes my kids! Yesterday we hit the town, doing what we do best: thrift. We headed to portland, and scored quite well vintage wise. After, we shared lunch on Hawthorne, at Bread and Ink Cafe.
I love the above group of pictures, I feel it really identifies my main interests in life. Beer, Food, and Shopping. You would not believe how much food I ordered at lunch, enough for a family I am sure.

Here is a sneak peak at what I scored for my Etsy Shop, and one little dress that I am keeping all for me... The red one with the stripe bow. Seriously then, would you sell it? No, I think not.
Expect these new goodies later this week. Plus a few more pieces, including a decadent 40s rayon dress. Oh, how I love the thrill and excitement that comes along with buying vintage frocks!

Working Hard For the Money

Today was dreary and cold here in the pacific northwest, so I decided I better get some work done. I have felt quite unmotivated to work on my Etsy Shop the passed couple days, so I am glad I was able to get to it. I only photographed a few pieces today, as my little one was not in the mood to deal with etsy day.
Daughter dearest loves to run into pictures when I am taking them, so every 5 pictures I take there is a child head visible in the foreground. I am excited about the stuff headed to the shop tonight! There is a beautiful 70s wedding dress (pictured above..sort of) a 50s little black dress, and a killer 50s shirtwaist dress. Be excited, I know you can't help it...

The Exquisite Photo Studio and Home Office

I may have mentioned when we moved here that I had to struggle to find a space to shoot photos for my Etsy Shop. I also had the problem of storing all the frocks, hats, and shoes. Well, I present to you lovely readers, my workspace:

(click to enlarge image.)

My storing closet belongs to my 2 year old daughter. She has a wardrobe in her bedroom, so she does not need this closet. It's now full to the brim with old clothes and shipping supplies. I also do my photography in her room as she gets the best light in the whole house. She does not seem to mind, as the kids play in the other (bigger) bedroom down the hall filled with toys.
So what does it look like in the bedroom when I am not using it to shoot pictures?
I know, I know... I live a super glamorous life! All joking aside, this is my work space. This is where all the Exquisite Bones magic is made. And for the record, that yellow dress is for sale right here!

Doing the Jitterbug

I had the immense pleasure to meet with the creator of Jitterbuggin last week. Her name is Kim and she is a complete delight! She graciously allowed me to photograph her workspace to share with you all, and fed me chips and wine while we chatted about business!
She works out of her Portland home studio making fantastic 30s and 40s reproduction pieces. While she admits she does not enjoy sewing when she is not inspired, she has a stunning vision for vintage design. Beyond bolts of fabric and cute thread lined doorways, hangs some custom made garments waiting to go out. The fabric is delicious and high quality, and all the seams and stitches are finished to perfection.

(click to enlarge.)

I was so happy to get to meet with her and take a look at her line up close, so I could be sure that it was great quality product. It is, It really is! Gosh, that sounded cheesy, ha ha. All in all I had a lovely afternoon with a great seamstress, and just wanted to share my visit with you all.

You can find some really great wardrobe staples in Kim's shop. Blouses, trousers, swim wear and more. Now, don't you want to go check it out?

Jumper and Middy Blouse $150.00

40s Style Swim Suit $120.00

30s/40s Overalls (the come in other colors!) $115.00

You can also chat with Kim on Twitter and Facebook!

Photoshoots and 40% OFF Sales.

Last week I had the chance to model for a local photographer in my vintage attire, in my vintage kitchen. I shot with Mr. T PDX and am super pleased with the little teaser shot I was given. More are on the way, but this is one of my absolute favorites.
The idea behind this shot was a housewife on break and drinkin' it up a bit before the husband comes home. I think it turned out just peachy.

On another note, I am having a clearance sale in my etsy shop, to celebrate my new house and new photo backdrop. The sale section is here, and prices are marked down 40%.

The 30s stripe blouse and 50s shirtwaist dress are included in the sale, as well as many other items. So do feel free to pop over and see if there is anything you need.