Be Our Guest: Stacey from A Sort Of Fairytale

Be Our Guest: Vintage Playing Card Tags

Hello Mercantile Muse Readers, I'm Stacey, from A Sort Of Fairytale and Maggie Jane's Vintage, and I'm so happy to be here Guest Posting today!  

I'm a I'm a Flea Market, Estate Sale, Thrift Store, Vintage Lovin' Wife and Mom. We just bought our first house and I am busy trying to make it the vintage style home of my dreams on budget (a word I wish was not in my vocabulary).  My Etsy shop, Maggie Jane's Vintage, is where I sell vintage and handmade decor, gifts, and supplies.  I also sell at local flea markets (am a total flea market junkie) and vintage markets/events.  I host an Etsy and Online Shop Link Party on my blog, every Thursday, so if you have a shop you would like to promote, come on over and join!  My full time job is Stay-At-Home Mom and my part time jobs are blogging at and selling vintage, and I can honestly say that all three jobs and my life itself are definitely a sort of fairytale!

Today, I have a little crafty tutorial for you!  Do you have any vintage playing cards that you think are pretty, but don't know what to do with?  I just love the images and illustrations on vintage playing cards, they're like little pieces of art!  They also make really good tags for gifts and pretty much anything you want to label.  Here's how to make your own:

Vintage Playing Card Tags

 Supplies:

Vintage playing cards - available on Etsy and in Thrift Shops

Scissors

Hole Punch

Ribbons, Lace - new or vintage

Scrapbook Paper

Paper Punch

Adhesive

Punch out paper shapes with your paper punch, I chose a 2.25" scallop

punch by EK Success.  These shapes will be the labels you attach to the cards.

(Note from Pam.......don't let not having a paper punch stop you, you can cut out whatever shape you like with scissors and use that!)

Use adhesive on the back of your paper punches to secure the punch to the playing cards.  I chose a tape runner adhesive, but you can use any type of adhesive you like (i.e. double sided tape, rubber cement, elmer's glue, hot glue gun, etc).

Affix the paper punch to the center back side of the playing cards.

Using your hole punch, punch a hole at the top center of the card,

I just eyeballed it, but you can measure if you like.  

Cut various styles of laces and ribbons into blank 13 inch lengths, or 

to another length you would like it to be.

Fold ribbon or lace in half and feed through the hole punch and bring

the ends back through the loop, then gently pull tight,

so it looks like this...

Back view of finished tag.

That's it, you're done!

I was also thinking you could add buttons, cabochons, etc. to embellish 

the tags and make them extra fancy.

This is a super easy craft that is full of vintage cuteness, and is a nice way to recycle/upcycle vintage items.  With the holidays coming up, this would be a fun way to embellish all of your packages!

Thank you, Pam, for letting me guest post on your lovely blog today!

Pam: No, thank you Stacey............Love that tutorial and certainly something anyone could tackle. Thanks so much for the time you took in preparing and sharing your vintage playing card tutorial on Mercantile Muse!  I am definitely pinning this great tutorial on pinterest!  (Remember,if you are a pinterest finatic, you can easily pin anything on the Muse via the pinterest link at the bottom of any post).

I encourage you all to stop by Stacey's wonderful shop to see all the goodies she's got in store!

2nd 'Gotta Have It Link' Party & Prints Coming Soon

First, I'd like to say that I was overwhelmed with the response to our link party.  Since so many shop owners stopped by and linked up, I want to give you all a heads up that tomorrow is the start of our second  'Gotta Have It' Shop Link Up Party. Be sure to stop by and add your shop to the party and spread the word!  If you don't have an online shop, no worries. Stop by anyway and do a little window shopping. Browse through the shops that have linked up. I promise, you won't be disappointed-- there is sure to be a wonderful variety of things.  It's just plain fun to look around.

On another note, we are currently waiting on a new printer that will allow us to offer museum/gallery quality archival prints of my illustrations at Bates Mercantile Co. I'm very excited about the new printer given previous feedback from many of you, and our customers, about wanting prints as an option. The printables that we offer just aren't for everyone as they can be a little intimidating for those who are a little less tech-savvy.  We are REALLY excited to be able to offer high-quality, archival glicee prints........just as soon as the new Epson R3000 printer arrives.  Anyone have any paper suggestions? Input always welcome.

Wishing you all a super Tuesday. I've got a long list to take care of including the dreaded bookwork (is there anyone out there who likes it?), as well as putting new items in the shop and printing off and preparing new note card sets to go into the shop. Add that to my 3D business list and my head is spinning!  Feel free to stop by Bates Mercantile Co. later in the day to see what I've accomplished.  What's on your list?

It's a little brisk here today. If you were worried about the dog being cold, don't be. He's staying all warm and cozy, curled up on the couch with his blankie.  It is a dog's life afterall.