Hi, I'm Melissa.
Welcome to Squirrel & Bee Home, my little corner of the internet for people who can't walk past a vintage find, a good piece of paper, or a project that's "just one more coat" from done.
I've spent years making things: painting furniture, upcycling thrift-store silver plate into wall art, teaching DIY classes and filming craft tutorials. Somewhere along the way I fell hard for the art itself. Today I design vintage-inspired printables, die cuts, papers and rice paper for makers like you, from 1950s kitsch and primitive Christmas to gothic carnivals and Victorian fairies.
What you'll find here
- Melissa's Designs: my original art as digital files you can download and print instantly, and as printed rice paper and waterslide transfers, printed to order here in Jacksonville and shipped flat.
- Handmade, Thrifted & Repurposed: one-of-a-kind pieces we've found, rescued or remade, plus John's turned wood.
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Home Decor & Craft Supplies: a few favorite supplies and seasonal decor, while they last.
Meet Sue, my partner in crime (and in business)
Sue Wilson has been my best friend for more than 20 years, and she's my business partner too. Sue is our treasure hunter. She buys storage units with an eye for great furniture and vintage style, buys out entire estate sales, and is always on the trail of the next great find. By day she's a professional real estate photographer for house flippers, which means she often gets a first look inside homes where the owners have left their treasures behind, and we're invited in to give them a second life. Many of those rescues end up in Handmade, Thrifted & Repurposed. Follow along on Facebook and YouTube for the fun (and occasionally dusty) treasure-hunting moments!
Want to see what we mean? Watch the day we dug up a buried hoard at a house Sue was photographing →
Turned by John
My husband of almost 40 years, John Marro II, is a disabled U.S. Navy submarine veteran and a wonderfully patient woodturner. His segmented bowls and vases are pieced together by hand from walnut, maple, cherry and purpleheart, then turned on the lathe. You'll find them under Handmade, Thrifted & Repurposed. Each one is one of a kind, just like him.
Come make with me
Every Thursday at 8pm Eastern, I go live on Whatnot for DIY and paper night. I print rice paper, show projects, and answer every question (and occasionally get heckled, which I fully deserve). You'll also find me on YouTube at @SquirrelandBee.
And if you like free things, and who doesn't, join the newsletter at squirrelandbeehome.us/free for a free printable every week.
Thank you for supporting a small, handmade business. Every order means a real person does a happy dance.
Melissa