A Circus Love Story - Jillian Rose Bailey and Vinni Bombo

I don’t know the whole story, only what I have been able to piece together through letters, post cards and my imagination.

The year was 1924 and the place was Hargrove Oaks, Ohio. Her name was Jillian Rose Baily and she was  a school girl living at home with her family. His name was Vinni Bombo and he came to town with the circus.

What brought the two together we will never know but it was their destiny to meet and fall in love. Jillian Rose was in the audience every night they performed and Vinni introduced her to all his fellow performers. When the circus left they wrote to each other.

I found this box tucked away in an old sewing box under a tray of threads at the thrift shop.

 

 

The mere fact that Jillian Rose kept his letters means that she never forgot Vinni or her love for him. We'll nver know why she never shared the story with any of her family. But had she done that they never would have given this away.

  

Inside this box is a story of love and loss.

  

Cabinet Card Photos of Vinni's fellow performers.

 



Post Cards from Vinni

 

The locket with a photo of her true love - Vinni Bombo

 

Don't worry Jillian Rose, Vinnie's letters are safe with me. And with Debbie at Ephemera's Vintage Garden.  You can view the entire Garden Carnival Collection HERE. 

 

For more about this 1924 Circus Love Story, including the letters Vinni wrote, check out THE VIDEO HERE.

 

The Carnival is in town!

I’m among friends here. Right? So I can admit how I used to feel about digital downloads. Right? They were in my NEVER-EVER-GONNA-HAPPEN list, along with stamps and TH Distress Inks. Fast forward to today. I am finishing up my term as a Design Team Member with Viva Las Vegastamps and cannot live without my Tattered Straw Distress Ink. Seriously folks, it is on almost every project I make. 

Now, let’s talk about digital downloads. In love. Cannot believe it took me this long to see how cost effective buying a kit is for the ever- on-a-budget scrapper like me. My first kit was a Vintage Zebra Journal using Cynthia's Journey from Ephemera's Vintage Garden. I love the way it turned out and it was the catalyst that forever changed my mind about digital kits.

When Debbie, of Ephemera's Vintage Garden, asked me to be a guest designer for her newest project Garden Carnival I was ready to fly through the air with the greatest of ease! Love the circus and love this kit. Check out my first project, a paperbag mini using Michael's circus themed paper bags, yellow/red/black polka dot paper and a bit of Washi tape. All the rest is from Debbi's kit.

Six folded bags and an afternoon of fun!

 

All stamps are from Michael's $1.50 bin

 

I have a love affair with envelopes

There is so much leftover that I am creating two more projects. Stay turned for the next one. Just a teaser but it's not an exaggeration to say it jut might be the thrift store find of the century!!! 

Have you tried a digital kit yet? If not, why not?

A day late but not a dollar short!

I am all aflutter because today yesterday is was National Butterfly Awareness Day! The main purpose of National Butterfly Awareness Day is to raise peoples’ awareness of Butterflies and their importance as pollinators in nature.

There is however one group of people who already know the importance of Butterflies – CRAFTERS! I can say with 100% certainty that each and every one of you has at least one Butterfly in your stash! Who am I kidding? You all have dozens, if not hundreds of Butterflies flying around your craft room.

 
Butterfly paper, embellishments, punches, dies, stickers and stamps. But, if you feel you might be lacking in the stamp department check out the selection at VLVStamps. They have 79 Butterfly Stamps for you to chose from, plus 4 Caterpillar Stamps.   

THIS is one of my favorite butterfly quotes. I may be known as the EllenBee, but Butterflies are a close second to being my favorite insect.

 

I used a piece of leftover corrugated cardboard, a scrap of Prima Paper, leftover lace and a bit of ribbon to make this very simple wall hanging. I rubbed white paint onto the corrugated cardboard then added two layers of distressed pretty paper and a handful of paper butterflies. In the center is a journaling spot that I carefully stamped and then EMBOSSED.    

The Metamorphosis of butterflies is one of the mysteries of Nature. The ability of these insects to change from the crawling caterpillar to the flying adult is magical. I believe it Butterflies, do you?