Saturday Junk Fix

 I didn't get out much last weekend and so I was ready for a junk fix.  I hit the VOA and the new Bins for a look-see yesterday.

 I found this neat old cardboard manger at the VOA.  The figures inside are chalkware.  It needs a little TLC but has great "bones" so I am sure someone will enjoy it.  I usually avoid buying much Christmas for my Etsy because my space to store the things that don't sell is so limited but I couldn't pass on this one!  The two Forest Green teacups are also from the VOA.

 The hand painted tole tray and rose picture are from The Bins.  The back of the painting says Joan Case painted it in 1954 and she lived in Newport Oregon.  No fine art here but I love the subject.

 This might have been my best Bins score.  It has the original Madame Alexander tag.  I managed to wash it without any damage and it looks much better now.  I don't know enough about dolls to know which one it fit but will list it with measurements.

 A great little toffee tin that I did NOT put in the dishwasher - LOL!  That sailor looks pretty pleased with himself.

 A stack of patterns that I need like a hole in my head.  I bought the one on the right because I had the exact same pattern in high school and remember the dirdle skirt my mother made for me.  Patterns for men and boys don't sell well on my Etsy, no matter how old they are, but I can't resist some of the old graphics on them, especially not at Bins prices. Also a pretty piece of old filet crochet lace and peeking out behind that is a Daisy Kingdom nursery pillow kit.

 Vintage evening dresses always seem to be popular.

A pretty floral plate.  I have the exact same one hanging on the wall in my bedroom - LOL!  How things like this end up at the Bins really is testament to one [wo]man's junk being another [wo]man's treasure.

 This bedspread is something I have never seen before.  It looks to be floral terry washcloths that were crocheted together.  It is heavy and really quite pretty.

It has some stains like it was accidentally washed with something red and one washcloth has come loose on one edge.  First I will try to remove the stains and then I will see if I can repair it.  I have a front-loader washing machine which really doesn't lend itself to soaking things and I don't have a laundry sink so I have to figure out where I can soak it.  If I can't mash it in to the kitchen sink I may have to resort to the bathtub.  I really hope I can rescue it because it is very pretty and very unusual.
It is football day in American.  Go Seahawks!!

Button Love!

Oh my!  After a marathon of cleaning and sorting, I can finally reveal my favorites from the recent Button Motherlode.

You can click these pictures bigger but I took a bunch of close-ups so here we go on a photo-heavy post.

All of these buttons on the ecru paper doily are glass.

I adore those clear ones with the painted flowers!

The milk glass buttons right below them are whistles.  Sorry I didn't get an angle where you can see the side with two holes.

Big white Moonglows.

There is a little black and white china stencil down at the bottom, above the glass flowers.

These rhinestones are set in plastic buttons.  Glass rhinestones are a favorite but if it sparkles, I'll take it!

There were a lot of the tortoise shell-type buttons in this lot.

These cut steels are the result of my rescue attempt.  They were in the smelly tin that I had to dump straight in to the soapy water, in spite of what they were made of.  Just way too stinky to even have inside my house.  Naturally, they rusted.  I did the best I could to clean them up but I suspect the original finish was somewhat different than what I ended up with.  I am still happy to have them and managed to salvage about 20.

The black buttons at the top are unusual, or at least I haven't encountered them before.  The dark part is made from some sort of composite material and the centers are clear plastic that seem like it might have been poured in.

These beautiful blue buttons are metal.

BIG Lucite buttons with white centers.

I still can't get over the variety.  Those red buttons did not warp when I washed them.  They started out that way and I think that is the way they were originally made.

Looking at these photos, I see those green ones and the red ones down at the bottom could use a little more cleaning.

There are quite a few that I think are Bakelite but it isn't that important to me to know so I haven't bothered to test them.

I already gave these butterscotch ones another clean after I took this picture.

Love these little "gears"!

These have a metal ring set inside them.

More plastic rhinestones. I can't usually bring myself to part with them but there were so many duplicates in this lot that I listed some on my Etsy.  I will be putting together some mixed lots for Etsy, as well.
Maybe someday I will be a real collector and mount them on cards.  For now, I just started a new jar. I really should sort some in to categories and take some intentional pictures for Pinterest.  I already have a huge virtual collection on my Buttons board but I never seem to get around to posting any of my own buttons.  So many ideas and so little time.  I am going to ROCK retirement one of these days!
For those of you who suggested Barkeepers Friend for the mark on the Pyrex bowl - THANK YOU!  It worked like a charm and I have a new tool in my cleaning arsenal.

The Pay It Forward Project

I jumped in on the Pay It Forward swap way back in April.  We had until the end of the year and it took me a while to decide what to make.  I finally got my swaps mailed out last month and they have been delivered now so I can show you the project.

My inspiration was the Natures Blessings swap I recently participated in.  I had so much fun making my pages and wanted to make more to share.

Each little journal is one signature, bound with a pamphlet stitch.  They are each similar but not the same so everyone got a one-of-a-kind.

I liked the idea of leaving room for the recipient to make it their own so I left plenty room for them to add their own embellishments.

I included pockets so I could slip in a few tags and papers they can use for this project or another one.

The pages are heavy so they can hold up to plenty of playing.

I combined both vintage and new papers.  Some of the images are from my horde of Somerset artwork.  I always have a hard time using those but this was a special project so it was time to let go and I loved the feeling of sharing.

The stamps on these pockets are from a great Etsy shop called StampsForCrafts.  She has such fun assortments!  I ruffled some old crepe paper for the edge on these pages.

The covers, front and back, are vintage wallpaper.  I hope they will enjoy playing in them as much as I enjoyed making them!
Cataract update...  My surgery went well on Thursday.  I bounded out of bed yesterday morning, thinking it was back to life as normal.  Well, not so much.  DOH!  This eye seems to require more resting and sleeping.  I will set my expectations a little lower today but still hoping I can get out in the art room to work on that big pile of buttons on my work table.

The Button Motherlode

I heard through the junkvine last week that Nina had some buttons for me so I hit Nina and Joe's in addition to the new The Bins on Saturday.  Boy howdy!  I never thought you would hear me utter these words but I think I might have too many buttons - lol!  I couldn't open that big tin in the back for these sneak-peek pictures because there are some sick and STINKY buttons in there.  They went straight from the tin in to a sink of soapy water.  Luckily only a few had to go to the big button box in the sky.

Some of the tins are (were) really pretty, too, but I made a HUGE mistake and put them in the dishwasher and ruined all but one.  They came out nice and clean with most of the paint gone down the drain.

I have been cleaning and sorting for days and my work table is still covered. Buttons in a fabric softener box are okay in my book.

Lots of carded buttons.  I will keep the ones with pretty cards as they are but I think I will be removing most of them from the plain cards so I can wash them.  They are very dusty.

A lot of the cards are marked with original prices of 7 cents and 10 cents.  Those were the days!

This chocolate tin was the sole survivor from the dishwasher.  BIG lesson learned.

Broke my heart, or at least put a dent in it, when I lost this tin with the pretty flowers.  Black and pink is my favorite color combination.

My favorites will be another post.  I need to get busy listing as soon as I have room on my table to take pictures because the junkvine says Nina already has some more.  If you can't find me, look under the buttons!

The New "The Bins"

Goodwill opened a new Outlet Store (aka The Bins) here in Portland just FOUR blocks from my office.  DANGER DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!!  I did not brave the grand opening on Thursday since I had to work and it did cause two traffic alerts about crashes on the morning commute.  Confirmation that we are not alone in our passion for junking!

Since it is new it cleaner than the other one but I'm sure that will change in time - LOL!  I didn't make a giant haul but pulled out 11 pounds.  The "mod" fabric in the back is an apron.  The Holiday thermos was my favorite find.  It has a few dents but the liner isn't broken and will make a neat display piece.  The pattern is modern but perfectly Steampunk style.

Sequin scrim and a plastic doily with gold accents.  I haven't seen that one before.

I liked the drawer liner paper for the floral pattern but the scent is nasty.  It has been my experience that ironing it removes the scent - IF I can survive the process.  By the pound, you can afford to take the gamble.

The poor little blind dolly has already lost her head.  You know I love the ones with the wonky eyes.  Speaking of wonky eyes...  I will be getting my other cataract removed this coming Thursday and can hardly wait!  2014 is going down in the books as the year of not being able to see and I am more than ready to have it behind me.

Sweet rick-rack detail on the apron.

Three wooden frames for the future booth.  All of the fabric I picked up is fodder for whatever I can come up with for the back wall behind the booth space.  I am thinking layers of curtains but nothing "jelling" in my mind yet so just gathering inspiration.
It is football day in America - Go Seahawks!