One Page At A Time

 Here I am, once again apologizing for my absence.  Making a living sure cuts in to the play time!  My week was not totally without accomplishment in the art room.  Since my eyes are cooperating a little better I stitched up the first page in my antique crochet sampler book.  It seems like it could still use something but I'm not sure what so I'm calling it done for the moment.

As usual, I got carried away on the scope of this project and there are a LOT of pages.  Hand stitching really isn't my thing.  I don't have the patience for it.  This project will be a page at a time, like my altered quote books.
I always think I need to complete one thing before I can start the next.  I think it is because my Mother would only let me bring out one toy at a time.  I had to put it away before I could bring out a different one. Sometimes I rush too much to finish something because I want to move on to the next idea.  Thanks Mom.
Hear ye, hear ye, throughout the land!  I am a big girl and I hereby give myself permission to work on multiple projects simultaneously.  Now if I only had a 100' workbench!

About Those Buttons

 Time to show you the buttons I teased about in this post.  These are the "keepers" I picked out of the pile to add to my accumulation.

 A wonderful, big, celluloid with an applied bird and a set of buttons with a raised green center.  Love it when I find this type!  I don't think they are technically "hat" buttons but that is what they remind me of.

 This rose is applied, too, not molded inside.  I am always happy to find vintage buckles in the  poke sack.

 The purple and black button is a dome-shaped tight top.  I should have taken a picture from the side. It is at least 1/2" high.  I think the two gear shaped buttons are likely Bakelite.

 The button at the top is wood.  The set at the bottom is plastic and they feel like Bakelite but I have never seen it with streaks like that.  Maybe a reader will enlighten me!  They are about 14" thick and perfectly straight sided with no taper of any kind.

 I apologize for the crummy picture here but the button right below the buckle is a dark, stunning, carved MOP.  I don't usually like the dark ones but I do when they are carved like this!  The silver floral buttons are plastic, not metal.

 Plastic rhinestones.  This is the first time I have found the ones with the white border.

Glass and china.  Sadly the Calico is pretty worn out but I will take them most any way I can get them.  At least when they show wear it is a fair bet they are old and not reproductions.

R&R At The Oregon Coast

 I was able to take a long weekend off work for some much needed R&R so we headed to the Oregon Coast for a couple of days.  My husband indulged me with a few junking stops and even helped me "pick" a big stack of patterns.  He was a fast learner, barcode = NO.  Yes, I managed to bring home a big pile of work for myself.  I have SO many patterns I haven't even listed yet but it's hard to resist when you find the right kind at the right price.

 An ivy bowl to add to my little collection, A sewing basket for Etsy, vintage postcards for the lace book project and a sweet assortment of old greeting cards.  Those are actually from Nina and Joe's.  I wasn't ready for the junking to be over and stopped there when we got home to say hello and see what's new.

 I seldom buy single buttons but this Tight Top was so unusual I had to have it.  It makes me think it might be some premium from Camel cigarettes, maybe for a smoking jacket??  It is sitting on top of a vintage brown evening bag that will be heading to Etsy.

 This needle book is a questionable purchase because the condition is so bad but the subject matter is so good I figure I can find some way to mount it so I can add it to my collection.

 I am always on the lookout for old photographs that whisper a caption to me for an altered Altoids tin.  Can you hear Baby saying "I carried a watermelon"?  That pretty piece of barkcloth in the background is from Nina and Joe's.

 A few swizzle sticks for my collection.

 All of the postcards have roses except the one one the top. Sorry I didn't spread then out for the photo!

 Little girl patterns are not good sellers for me but how could I resist rumba pants.

 This is our view from our room.  We could watch those waves for hours.

 The weather was gorgeous with clear sky and little wind the entire time.

 We had dinner at Roadhouse 101.  It is the home of Rusty Truck Brewing and the decor is a ton of fun.

They even have lighted tap handles.  We would have bought one for The Husband's collection but the owner wasn't there.  Dangit, we all lost out on that one!

And so I will end the post with a beautiful coast sunset.  We scurried back home on Saturday afternoon with a parking lot of traffic headed the other direction for the start of Spring Break in Oregon.  Perfect timing!
I will be making the rounds now to catch up with everybody.

Estate Sale Loot

 Me and my new glasses found time for two estate sales last weekend.  The first house was tiny and there was still a line outside when I got there at 1:00pm on Saturday.  Shortly after I got there they threw caution to the wind and let everyone in.  What a zoo!  I had to hold my box on my head and wiggle through the house.
I needed to stop at the grocery store to buy my contribution to the St. Patrick's Day potluck at work on Monday.  On my way home I stopped at a private estate sale BECAUSE I COULD SEE THE SIGN!!
The prices at these two sales was on the opposite ends of the spectrum.  The first one was priced so they could mark down on Sunday and still make money.  At the second one they just clearly wanted stuff gone.

I didn't score a lot but was happy with my finds.  This sweet little blue heart pillow will be heading over to Etsy when I get around to it.  It could be used as a pincushion or maybe an inspiration board to pin pretties on.

 I picked up a vintage pink chenille rug, another aluminum tray for my collection, a box of buttons {the keepers will be another post}, a vintage spice jar and a clothespin bag.  The bag is pretty worn but I have never seen a frame like this and I'm sure someone {maybe me??} will take a pattern and replace the bag.

 This wall plaque goes with a similar one in my kitchen so it is already cleaned up and hung in there.

 I bought an instant collection of button hooks.  They were priced very strangely as the ones with plain metal handles were more expensive than these.  I don't know much about buttons hooks so maybe that makes sense.  I just knew I wanted them!  8+)

This set of a button hook and a fingernail cleaner are headed to Etsy.  The antler handles are unique and I expect it was a man's dresser set of some sort and may have had additional pieces at one time.  Underneath is a big stack of plastic doilies that cleaned up very well.
It was a good to get a junk fix!

Trying A New Technique

 I was inspired by Diane at My Art Journal to try a new technique this week.  I have quite an accumulation of bits and pieces of costume jewelry and this seemed like a perfect use for them.

 I picked out a group of random earrings, pins and pendants and used E6000 to attach them all to the top of a wooden cigar box I had in my stash.  I let it dry overnight.

 Next I painted over the whole thing with Glidden Gripper.  Once that was dry I went over the jewelry pieces with watered down black acrylic paint and then dabbed it back off with a wet paper towel.

 I went back in with silver, violet, turquoise and green mixed with pearlizing medium and just randomly dry brushed, wiping off what I didn't want with the wet paper towel.  I let that dry then painted the rest of the top black.

I wanted something more than a plain black background, but not too busy, so I used my fall-back black and white dot paper.  I got out my Fiskars Shape Cutter and one of the oval templates was just the right size to fit around the jewelry collage.  I inked a bit with black Stazon then used Mod Podge to glue it on the top.

 I used the same paper on the sides and then inked a little more.

 Next, I needed to give it a more finished look with borders.  I had some braid trim in the my stash that was lurking somewhere between lavender, pink and gray.  An odd color indeed but ALMOST what I needed.  I used the same colors I had used on the jewelry thingy and did some more random dry brushing.

 I used hot glue to attach the trim around the bottom edge...

 And around the embellishment on top.

 I painted the inside black then covered the bottom with a coordinating paper.

I decided to leave the original label in the box because I like the logo and just added some layered paper petals with a tiny cabochon in the center.  I finished off the outside with a good coat of clear spray acrylic to seal everything.  I didn't take another picture after that last step but it did get everything that final "blending" that it needed.
I hope you are finding time to try something new!

I Can See Clearly Now....

 ...the rain is gone... I can see all obstacles in my way!  Well, more or less.  I FINALLY got my new glasses today.  When I first put them on I could see two of everything but my brain is slowly figuring it out.  As I was driving home from work tonight I was marveling at all the signs and leaves on the trees that I could see.  Heck, I bet I'm going to be able to tell the difference between a squirrel and a leaf crossing the street in front of me!!  This has been a real lesson in being grateful for good eyesight, I can tell you that.

Now, as promised, my favorite buttons from last weekend's junk.

Two gorgeous little paperweight buttons and two red satin glass buttons with rhinestones.  This is the first red satin glass I have found.

Some pretty MOP buttons.  The dark ones are not usually my favorite but this carved one is beautiful.

A few interesting plastics.

Glass buttons including two 3/4" blue Moonglows and a black glass whistle button (bottom left).  It was a small button score but lots of fun "keepers".
I can't wait to see what I can see now that I can see!

Latest Junk Finds

 I am still fenced in by the driving bubble but managed to get a good junk fix between the VOA and Nina and Joe's Division Street Antiques.  Several of these finds will be staying with me.  A new Forest Green bowl to add to my collection, three new bird figurines and that vintage straight-sided measuring cup at the top left.

 My latest obsession - doll heads.  The eyes are what get me.  Wouldn't you think she would have a little less attitude when I just rescued her?

 I'm a sucker for anything French and was happy to find this pretty blue card of bone curtain rings mixed in a bag of buttons.  Love love the "Grandma Green" button and buckle set!

 I have always wanted one of these shoe cobbler things.  I don't know what they are called.  I haven't decided if I will keep the bird plate or pass it along.  The bird figurines on it are very dimensional.  I have been looking around the house and haven't spotted a place for it but will probably let it "steep" for a while.

The bag of buttons was small but turned out is was an amazing assortment and at least half are keepers.  They are all soaking now and I will do a separate post once they are clean and sorted.
A good junk fix is good medicine!