Saturday Fun

 First off, let me apologize for the wonky angle on this picture!  My camera was "exhausted" (I love how it announces it's dead battery) and I was in a hurry to take these pictures so I could, um, dive in to that tin of buttons.  I gave it about 10 minutes on the charger and snapped fast.
I actually bought the little wheelbarrow last Monday.  I had an errand to do at the bank and Nina and Joe's Division Street Antiques just happens to be two doors down and this little treasure was sitting outside. It will be headed to the garden and planted.  I made a quick stop to buy it and went back on Saturday to take my time.  There is always something new.

 They know my love of button and had this seriously HUGE tin waiting for me.  It must weight 15 pounds.  Of course, I couldn't resist the old scrapbook with the roses on the front.  I haven't paged through it all yet but it is from the 1950s.  There are some fun scraps inside to that will be a future post.

 I picked up a couple more yardsticks.  I have a table I want to top with them.  This is the first time I have seen the little hatchet cookie cutter.  Surely it must have come in a set that had some cherries, too.  Imagine, cookies for President's Day!

 I am always on the lookout for interesting photos for my altered Altoids tins and these fit the bill.  Now if I could just find a good deal on the tins! I am almost out.  I use the old style with the flat lid.  A couple of years ago I found some reproduction ones on line and bought a whole case but they are almost gone and the ones I am finding now have a huge minimum order.  Does anyone know a good source??

 Ahhh...  the buttons!  These are the "real deal", meaning an unsorted lot in as-found condition including all the odd things that end up in button boxes.  Yes, that is a rock on the top.

Naturally, I couldn't resist poking through just a little to see what kind of treasures were in store.  Luckily there don't appear to be any sick buttons, just very dirty.  I will show more once I get them all sorted out and cleaned up.
On Saturday afternoon I met Laurie aka Magpie Ethel at Monticello Antique Mall to give her a bag of craft stuff I picked up for her at a recent estate sale.  We enjoyed a cup of fancy coffee and a nice visit as we strolled through the booths.  I picked up two more yardsticks for my project.
It was a good day!

A Little Birdie Told Me...

 ... a little play time is good for the soul.  When a recent poke sack purchase included a tiny top hat, my muse came out to play.  I made a little steampunk bird, a'la Magpie Ethel style.

I have two of her adorable "party birds" and this little fellow looks right at home with them.
Party on, my birdie friends!

Sunday Picks

 I have been occupied with family affairs this past week but indulged in a junk fix at the VOA this morning.  It wasn't one of those red-letter visits but I came home happy with a glass flower frog to add to my collection and a boatload of little millinery flowers to add to inspiration kits.

The Kewpie in her little hand-crochet dress and the baby rattles were found in separate parts of the store but seemed to be calling for each other.  Cute isn't my usual style but they were just too sweet to leave behind. Sometimes "adorable" is a perfect reminder that life continues to renew itself.

The Bird Cage

I haven't decided if I will join in on Where Bloggers Create this year because my art room hasn't changed much since last year. If I am, I need to change up a few things.  Step one is the birdcage I told you about in this recent post.  I think I have figured out a spot for it.
You know how I am about using what I have for projects so last night I gathered up birdies, cut some branches off the lilac tree and dug an old bag of reindeer moss out of the shed.  The moss was so old it had faded to grey so I spilled it out on the lawn and dunked the chunks in some watered-down Sulpher Green Dyna Flo.  I had the mojo going so I didn't even wait for it to dry completely.  We'll see how THAT works out.  It is a read birdcage so the bottom slides out so I was able to arrange the branches inside with just tension holding them in place.  I used hot glue (set on low, thank you very much) to attach the nest, birds and moss. I grabbed a ceramic bird off the top of my refrigerator to ground the arrangement.
Now on to clearing out the spot for it's new home!

Junky Weekend v.3.0

 The last, or maybe the MOST, of the junk from last weekend.  Since it was a full-on digger sale I couldn't resist going back on Sunday to see what else had been uncovered.  I did pretty good on resisting the linens but did grab a few tiny doilies, that piece of fabric in the back of the photo and the blue runner under the bucket. The jewelry box had been used as a sewing box and had a few buttons and pins inside.  As a woman who keeps her pins in a jewelry box, how could I leave that behind!

 My very first EVER McCoy planter.  I found it buried in a box under a workbench.  The little flower frog was laying in the bottom so, of course, it had to come home to be added to my collection.

 No less that 10 poke sacks, all spilled out on the table in my art room.  Only one zip-lock baggie full went back in the donate pile.  Lots of buried treasures.

 Yes, I dug out another bonsai pot.  Another gal at the sale told me the chartreuse planter is also McCoy, even though it is just marked USA and not under the glaze.  For 50 cents I tossed it in my box but not so sure about it.  The cute car planter has a paper "Swank" sticker on the bottom.

 A neat old cooking pot filled with even more ribbon and trims.

Loads of crafting stuff and yes, Laurie, that Scotch tape tin is in your bag!
It was a stellar weekend in junk land because I LOVE the hunt!

Junky Weekend V.2.0

 This was my second estate sale on Saturday.  Not a big pile but some fun finds just the same.  The dishes in the back are Danish and cleaned up quite nice.  The leather travel journal is about a trip to Europe in 1961. I have never found baby shoes so BIG.  I think these must have been worn by a 4 year old.

 Proof positive that every generation has known how to party!

 I scored a poke sack of buttons that were so sick that a lot of the bag was dead.  I could see a few good ones I thought I could salvage so picked it up anyway.

After cleaning and sorting, these are what I was able to salvage.  Not bad!  You can click the picture bigger.  The black glass ones are unusual in that they have two tiny sew-on holes on each edge. There are also a couple of small MOP whistles.
Next post will be the Sunday return to the digger sale.

Junky Weekend v.1.0

 It turned out to be a fun junking weekend and I haven't gotten a single thing done around the house.  Sometimes we need a weekend like that - you know?  I don't usually take my photos outside but there were a few garden things I really didn't want to bring inside.  That wooden box is the perfect shade of "Grandma green"!

 A huge liquor bottle that will stay with me because I think it is fun patio decor and a galvanized bucket of heads {don't judge!}.

 The biggest aluminum colander I have ever seen and a mother load of lace.

 The lace will all be headed to Etsy, once I get things sorted out.

 Bonsai pots for $1 each - heck YES!

 Another big pile of vintage patterns because I am just stoopid on those things and can't help myself in spite of the amount of work they are to check and list.  These are three of my favorites.  Groovy!

A neat old Carpenter magazine from 1929 will be headed to my son in Pennsylvania.  I'm sure he will "enjoy" the ad for asbestos shingles since he is currently enduring working in a full-on hazmat suit and respirator in 85 degree heat while he tries to clear asbestos from the cellar in his 200 year old farmhouse.  Sorry Andy.
Stay tuned, this is the first round of the weekend.

More Recent Junk

 I did score a few more treasures during my 3-day weekend so time to share before it is weekend again.  All of this is from a Monday trip to the VOA.  I have always wanted a birdcage but it will NOT be holding real birdies since I have plenty of the other kind.  I am searching a spot in the art room to enjoy it. The ashtray will be added to my Forest Green collection.  The jewelry box has a music box that still works and plays "Always".  The globe light will get a make-over for the garden.

 I was delighted to find these two photo albums and they will be headed to Etsy.

 They are made in Chechoslovakia and the images are of Prague.  I don't know if they are vintage or not but they have that look.

The Peonies are in full bloom now and it has been dry so the rain hasn't knocked them over.  I only cut the ones that tip over from the weight and rest their heads on the lawn.  I enjoy them outdoors, on the patio, due to the bugs that so dearly love them.  Why would they not!