Bonus -- Happy Birthday Collector's Antique Mall!

This is window is very special -- it's the 20th birthday window for Collector's Antique Mall!

It's so amazing and awesome in this day and age for a business to not only stick around for 20 years, but to also grow and just get better!  The store has the best dealers and customers, and both of us Blackbirds spend a lot of our time and money there, you know-- adding to the collections...

So enjoy our present to Collector's Antique Mall -- this bright, ice cream parlor themed birthday window!

(You may notice the frames on the wall -- we framed newspaper clippings and such to be like a walk down memory lane!)

On the Radar -- The Beetles

Made by The Dusty Raven, on Etsy, here.

The Blackbird girls are known for their love of beetles -- both the bugs and the band.  But lately, one of us has been dreaming of beetles, thinking of beetle-inspired crafts, buying beetle items -- like a little cast iron beetle.  She's been talking about them lately, and she got me interested.  So I did a little searching to find some new, and old, examples of beautiful beetle design.


So today's round-up is for the other Blackbird girl, as an early "Happy Birthday" for her, from me.  Because, as you may or may not know by now, what inspires her, inspires me -- and vice versa.  I'm very lucky to have such a great business partner, comrade in craft and design, and best friend.

From here.

From Amy Kristine prints on Etsy, here.

From The Realm Collectibles on Etsy, here.

And for her to dream of, this by Elsa Schiaparelli in 1938, from here.