Hunting and Gathering and Wishing and Hoping

 A few recent finds...  The buttons and the yellow satin box are from the Monticello Antique Mall.  I stopped over there last Saturday and took the official plunge by signing up on the waiting list for a small space.  I love my little Etsy shop but I have to admit I am a little burned out on all the photographing and listing and STORING.  I don't intend to give it up altogether but I would like to ratchet it back to just the smalls, like I started with.  I don't know how long it will take or if I will even get a space but I have my fingers crossed!

 The rest of the treasures are from my old reliable VOA.  The bowl is Pyrex.  The crows are because it is Halloween - LOL!

 I found these awesome old skates pushed to the back in the sporting goods section and they had waited for me until they were on half price.  I grabbed them before I even knew that so it was a happy surprise at the checkout!

 I adore the old wooden hangers with words.  Did you see the one in the photo up above?  Magic and joy.  I'll taken 'em!

These are a few of the recent favorite buttons.

The Pyrex bowl was dirty, as vintage finds often are.  I figured I could just wash it and all would be well.  Well, not so much...  I have tried Magic Eraser, SOS, Goof Off and Bleach.  NOTHING is budging this mark.  Anyone have any ideas or I just donate it back??

Strange Notions

 NOT strange notions - awesome notions!  I stopped in at Nina and Joe's last week and Nina had a box she had bought at auction with me in mind.  Oh my goodness - yes!

 These vintage curtain tie-back tassels are glass and have a very high-end feel to them.  They might even be Flapper necklaces but I'm thinking curtain tie-backs.  They are currently hanging around Mona's neck so she can play dress up.

 Old cording and a stack of cute little table place cards.  They have a little flap to fold over on one end so they stand up.

 Here is a closer look at the silver tassels.  There are nine of these and they are tied together with a piece of vintage chenille.

 Some perfectly tarnished gold metal trims.  I adore the patina on these old trims.

 They remind me of the notions you see in articles about Tinsel Trading Company.  That little flower basket applique is marked Germany.

 These tassels with the big glass beads have a couple broken ones so I will probably take them apart or maybe keep them for myself.

 This metallic trim is pretty tattered but I will be able to salvage out some pieces that will be great for altered art or lace books.

Last of all, this adorable little "project".  Click it bigger so you can read the instructions.  You can use this card and one of Mother's empty thread spools to make your own little piggy pet!
If you know anything about any of these strange notions - please do tell!

Bloggy Love and Button Distraction

 Well, I don't even know where the past week went, besides behind me!  I'm going to blame it all on Suzan at Old Grey Mare.  She gifted me with an amazing goodie box this week and it included buttons and buttons and more buttons.  My button OCD means I have to pick up each and every one and turn it over twice and it takes some joyous time.  The were all clean and mostly free of strings so much easier to sort and admire that my usual routine.  There was no denture cleaner required.

 This big whistle button was one of my favorite finds.  It reminds me of Texas Ware marble.  I did a little looking on the Internet but was not able to find anything about Texas Ware making buttons.  This is a big 1" diameter button.  If anyone know more about it I would love to hear!

 These are glass buttons.  I adore the charm-string button on the far right and the painted green one on the far left.  Green buttons always seem to be few and far between.

 BIG red plastic buttons that I have never seen before.

 Dyed and carved mother-of-pearl.

 Interesting plastic and metal buttons plus painted wood buttons.

 Pierced plastic - love these! There were a lot of red buttons and some look to be Bakelite.  I don't know how she could part with them and so grateful that she did.

 These are beaded over glass and even prettier in person.

Tell me you couldn't lose a week in this amazing gift of goodness.  Thank you, Z, for all the goodies and especially all the smiles!

Saturday Loot and Some Guidance Needed

 Saturday was the much-anticipated re-opening of Division Street Antiques after their annual buying trip.  There was line outside, the store was jammed and I was more than a bit overwhelmed with the crowd.  Between the catching up and the crowd I wasn't able to make many decisions but I didn't come out empty-handed!  I didn't even get a picture of my favorite score of the day.  My older son has been looking for a vintage table-top microphone to re-purpose.  Joe told me he had one in the shop so the hunt was on.  Between several of us searching it was finally found and purchased.  My son came by a little later in the day, before I got a photo, and whisked it away.  He is happy so I am happy!

 I grabbed these two chairs for my imaginary mall booth.  Yes, I have put out the feelers for one and I am accumulating some inventory.  I introduced these two to Mr. Clean and his famous Magic Eraser and they are cleaning up to that chippy white patina that is so popular right now.  HERE IS WHERE I NEED SOME GUIDANCE...  I am sure I will get multiple opinions but I want to hear them all.  The paint is chippy and it is old enough that I'm sure it contains lead.  Do I seal them with a clear coat, which will make it harder for the buyer to strip off if they want to go in a different direction or do I leave as-is and let buyer beware?  Please do tell what you think.

 I grabbed a couple pieces of barkcloth for the wire basket project.  The glass doorknob has a chip but it is flat so stands up nicely to make a sign.  As soon as I learn how to do that.  The wooden bottles are interesting.  One is clearly a needle case.  The four shorter ones held split-shot for fishing and the two laying on their sides are pencil leads.  All have been emptied of their contents and will be re-purposed.  The picture of the BFFs will find a new home on an Altoids tin.

 Interesting odds and ends.  The things on the right are plastic window shade pulls in a design I haven't seen before.

 Be sure you click this one bigger.  These little fellows are a HOOT and I bet they were able to get into a little trouble together!

This old cabinet card has a great steampunk vibe I couldn't pass up.
I'm looking forward to getting back in there when it is a little less crowded and I can see the whole story.  Congratulations to Nina and Joe on a great re-opening!

I Received A Random Act Of Kindness

When I arrived at work yesterday morning I turned the corner and noticed the light was on in my office, which is odd.  I was delighted to find that a co-worker had heard I like buttons and had left a baggie of them on my desk. How lucky am I and what a great start to my day!  

The buttons above are the first Moonglows with rhinestones in my accumulation.

These are my other favorites.  The black and white buttons are glass and I haven't found any of those "pearly" ones in a square shape before.

This is the whole story.  I adore buttons and what an unexpected and delightful treat! 

Colder Nights

I don't do any seasonal decorating any more, as you can tell from the total absence of any pumpkin pictures on my blog, but Mother Nature certainly switches up the look around here.  The colder nights always start painting the Hydrangea blooms lavender and eventually a deep burgundy color. Even when they have been baked and faded by the Summer sun, they still put on their Autumn show.  I never dead-head it until there is nothing left except the skeletons because I adore watching the colors change!
No blog-worthy junking hauls lately, which is probably a good thing, but I have been busy working on my "Pay it Forward" projects, at long last.  I have them all packed up to go in the mail tomorrow and will show what I made sometime next week.
They say the first big rain of the season is on the way.  I have snugly new house socks and I am ready for some cozy.

Nature's Blessings Journal

 Back in August I mentioned I had decided to participate in Karla Nathan's "Nature's Blessings" journal page swap.  My beautiful handmade journal arrived in the mail this week.  There are three signatures inside, each made up of six page sets decorated by the other participants.

 Karla made the covers and binding and added these sweet charms on the spine.  The rules of the swap were for half of the pages to be blank so the recipient could decorate them on journal on them.  I didn't photograph the blank pages but they all feature pretty papers and some decoration, as well.

 I will forgo the commentary and just let you enjoy all the eye candy.

So much inspiration I can't wait to play in this book!  If you would like to see more of the pages from the swap you can visit Karla's recent post here.  Many thanks to Karla for hosting this event.  I am thrilled with my book and all the gorgeous pages!

Recent Finds

I am really trying to limit my gathering for a while and focus on listing on Etsy because my art room is a serious heap.  The hunting and gathering is just so much more fun and the photographing and listing feels like a daunting chore lately.  I think I might be a little burned out on Etsy and I'm not really sure what to do about that...

I couldn't resist the round jar.  I have filled it with MOP buttons and will enjoy it for myself for a while before I pass it along.  The Infant of Prague is my third one and makes the collection official now.  The mugs are clearly not vintage but they have Margaret Loxton images on them, which I love, so will be staying with me.

The wishing well is McCoy and already listed on my Etsy - yay me!

These sample cards of trims are a favorite find.  They are from high-end Scalamandre Silks.  Each sample is just about 4" long so a perfect size for cards and crazy quilting.

I divided them in to three lots for Etsy and one has sold.  Whittling away at the pile...