CasaSugar

Ask Casa: Displaying Vintage Aprons

CasaSugar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:00:03 -0800

Hello CasaSugar,

I have a collection of perfect condition '50s aprons. These things are cute! I would love to display them but I have no idea how. I have a hook that I hang my everyday apron on, but I don't think 10 aprons would look good on that! If you have any suggestions I would appreciate it!

Natalie

To see my suggestions, read more.

Hi Natalie,

I, too, am an apron fan, so I can understand your impulse to decorate with them. According to Country Living, vintage aprons, if they're in pristine condition, can fetch a decent price, too, so your collection isn't simply sentimental, it may also be valuable.

There are a number of ways you could display your collection. Here are a few of my suggestions:

Choose shadowbox frames, and carefully fold your aprons so they display the best section of each. Then, hang the aprons, in the frames, in a collection of three or more aprons.
Make curtains out of the aprons by hanging them from curtain hooks along a kitchen window.
Follow Punk Glam Queen's lead and simply hang your aprons together in your kitchen. You can use cute coordinated hooks to pull the collection together.
Try tying your aprons around kitchen chairs or stools as chair skirts.
Take photos of your aprons and create a gallery of apron photos, if you don't want to fold and display the real aprons in frames.

Do any CasaSugar readers have other suggestions for displaying vintage aprons? Let me know your ideas by commenting below.

Cheers,
CasaSugar

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Cool Idea: Aprons Outside the Kitchen

CasaSugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:00:00 -0700

While I'm not a fan of retro ideas about housework falling to women, I have happily embraced one remnant from days of household cleaning past: the apron. While most everyone associates aprons with kitchen work and baking projects, I've found them to be incredibly helpful when cleaning the house. I used to change clothes before tackling a big housecleaning job, but now I just tie on a cute apron, like this Flirty Everyday Housewife Apron ($29) from Etsy seller Momomadeit.

To see another place around the home where I find aprons an essential accessory, as well as many more cute aprons from Etsy sellers, read more.

Another spot I've recently started wearing an apron is in the garden. One advantage to an apron is that it's a lot less clothing to throw in the washer after you're done cleaning or gardening. I wore a dress for planting my garden this weekend, and thanks to my gardening gloves and apron, I didn't have a speck of dirt on me! I admit, it was an experiment initially, but it's one that's become a gardening and cleaning habit. Seriously, anything to prevent my laundry pile from growing makes me that much happier.

Etsy Find: Spring Cleaning Apron

CasaSugar — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:00:00 -0800

If your home is looking so fresh and so clean, but your clothes are getting trashed in the process, I've got a great solution for you: wear an apron. I admit that I have a substantial collection of vintage and vintage-look aprons, and tying one on before I start a massive cleaning project makes me feel better prepared for the task ahead. This Spring Apron ($30) from Etsy seller DecorativeInstincts comes with an oven mitt, which is definitely more YumSugar's territory, but hey, once you get your house clean, you could try for true domestic goddess sainthood and whip up some cupcakes, right?

CasaSugar Stuff on ShopSugar!

CasaSugar — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 16:23:52 -0700

There are many things that excite me about CasaSugar, and one of them is the site's logo. I absolutely love the salmon and brown color palette. (It's okay for me to brag about it, since I didn't design it.) Anyway, I'm pleased to announce that the ShopSugar store on CafePress is now stocking CasaSugar gear!

There are tons of cute clothes (I particularly like the ringer tee) as well as lots of home-related goodies, like CasaSugar mugs, tote bags for eco-friendly shopping, aprons, and coasters. If you buy something, don't forget to share it in the Show Us Your Sugar group.

Roundup: Weekend DIYs

CasaSugar — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 05:30:24 -0800

If you're enjoying a homey Sunday and need a project, you're in luck. I've rounded up some of my favorite DIY projects from the blogosphere to keep you busy. For any green thumbs out there, why don't you start with Giant Jeans Parlor's idea for turning a bread pan into a succulent planter. For more ideas, including wedding to-do lists, pantry labels, free apron patterns, and much more, check out the slideshow. Source

View Slideshow ›

Casa Capsule: The Week That Was

CasaSugar — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 10:30:49 -0800

What will be 2009's Keep Calm and Carry On?
Learn about a cool natural earth building method.
Don't forget to enter January's Su Casa Challenge.
Try out my ideas for displaying vintage aprons.
Zooey Deschanel graces the cover of February's domino.
Check out Wallpaper magazine's 2009 design award winners.
Do you own a dress form?

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Link Time!

CasaSugar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:00:42 -0800

Learn how to stamp your sheets.- AT:LA
Stitch up your own apron.- Craft
Danny checks out cabinet collections.- Danny Seo
Los Angeles has water cops who bust faulty faucets.- Forecast Earth
Meet artist Samantha Hahn.- Simply Stated
Be the best guest at a house party with this cheeky wine bag.- Shelterrific
Was this house worth a $103,000 loan? - Charles and Hudson
Energizer has a new solar charger.- Re-Nest

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Gift Guide: Last-Minute Gift Baskets

CasaSugar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:15:26 -0800

If you're running out of time and scrambling for gift ideas, I maintain that a pretty gift basket always comes through in a pinch. Today, I've rounded up two different baskets from World Market. These items should give you a good starting point for your own finds, and give you an idea of the items available from World Market with which you can assemble a pretty gift basket. World Market is a great choice for this type of gift, since it carries a wide variety of low-priced, pretty home accents perfect for gift baskets.

For my first gift basket, I pulled together pamper-worthy bath furnishings and accessories. From pretty glass-knobbed hooks for your friend's silk robe to eco-friendly drawer liners, the lucky recipient of this gift basket will definitely get a powder room upgrade. Assemble all of your finds in a pretty wastebasket or storage basket, stick a bow on it, and you're set.

To see another idea, read more.

Here's another gift basket idea for your eco-oriented nature-loving friends or family members. They can use this basket as a farmers market tote and take the cute reindeer towel with to wrap up delicate fruits or vegetables. With eco-cleaners, a gardening journal, a great green guide, and a cute apron for cleaning or gardening, any eco-loving gal will fall in love with this gift basket.

What do you put in holiday gift baskets?

Open House: Handmade Presents For the Holidays

CasaSugar — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:00:30 -0800

This weekend was a big craft push for me. I sewed pillows, aprons, and bags. I strained infused oils made from garden herbs and turned them into hand salve, and I also worked on some embroidery. It wasn't so much a relaxing weekend as it was a furiously productive one, but I feel relieved to have a good number of my handmade presents ready for wrapping.
Last year, 25 percent of you told me that you were making holiday gifts. That's a pretty big number! This year, are you doing the same? If you've never made handmade gifts in the past, are you doing so this year? Tell me about all of the projects that you have in the works, that you hope to still start, and which ones you've finished. Anyone have a brilliant idea for last-minute craft projects? Share them with the rest of us in the comments!

Architecture Styles: The Shotgun House

CasaSugar — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:00:49 -0800

The Creole Townhouse isn't the only architecture style the world should thank New Orleans for. The Shotgun was also developed in the Louisiana city between 1850 and 1910, and is the predominant type of house there. A Shotgun is a long, narrow rectangular structure, usually no more than 12 feet wide with doors opposite each other at both ends. Each of its three to five rooms open onto the next with no hallways to beget privacy. The Shotgun gets its name, legend has it, from the saying that a shotgun blast at the front door could pass uninterrupted through all the rooms to the back. To hear more about Shotguns, read more

The structure is typically a one-story house raised 2 to 8 feet above ground on brick piers, and also features a narrow front porch covered by a roof apron and supported by columns and lacy, Victorian jigsaw brackets. There are several variations of this style, including the Double-barrel Shotgun, the Camelback, and the Double Width Shotgun. Double-barrel Shotguns are basically duplexes, or two separate Shotgun houses sharing a single, central wall to allow more houses to be built in an area. The Camelback is a Shotgun with a second story built onto the rear of the house. A Double Width Shotgun is a single structure that's twice the width of a normal Shotgun.
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Japanese Toile Apron, 2 Potholders or 4 Kitchen Towels - $9.98	1001 Ways to Save the Earth - $9.95
Mrs. Meyer's Lavender Cleaning Supplies - $4.99	Reindeer Jacquard Kitchen Towel - $5.99
Vetiver Hanging Bundles - $9.99	Recycled Glass Flower Pots - $6.99
Caliente Medallion Applique Journal - $10.99	Culinary Herb Planter Seed Kits - $14.99
Golden Gate or Arc de Triomphe Kitchen Towels - $3.99	Brown Bamboo & Rattan Double Handle Basket - $7.99