Happy Day in Junkland

 For those of you who haven't been bitten by the Instagram bug yet, this is my junk-a-rama from last Saturday.  Days like that are what keep me going back because you just never know.

 The doll is an Annalee Victorian Santa.  I got oodles of those old slider bingo cards.  Some went to the booth and some are listed on Etsy if anyone is looking for some.

 The barkcloth drape was my favorite find of the day and has already sold.

 I'm really trying to avoid more ornaments but it is hard to resist when they are in original boxes and even harder when they are pink teardrop shapes.  The old Snoopy pull toy had an adorable waddle to his walk and has already moved on to a new home.

 I needed another satin vanity box like a hole in my head but this is the first one I have seen that was two colors.  That's a good enough excuse, right?

 I'm getting well stocked for Christmas.  Maybe too well stocked since it is barely June!

Close-up shot of this interesting handiwork.  Two colors of rick-rack woven together and then crocheted in to an edging.  If any of you are interested in decoding the pattern just let me know and I will be happy to send it to you.

Bye-bye Santa, See You Next Year!

 I hope you all had a lovely celebration of comfort and joy!  I know that, for some, saying goodbye to the season is bittersweet but, for me, it marks a new beginning as we head toward a fresh new year. That said, I clearly won't stop finding and buying Christmas any time soon.  As I put things away for next year I am thinking about how fun it will be when I open those totes and "find" them again next year.

 I hardly ever find Thanksgiving so I was delighted with this honeycomb turkey!  Santa and the scale are questionable purchases since both are missing parts.  The scale functions but it is missing the tray on the top and Santa apparently had a sleigh wreck and lost his arm.  I dug and dug in search of the missing parts and finally decided to bring them home anyway and see if I could find a way to rescue them.

 I also found a honeycomb bell.  My favorite part are the suggestions for how to use it.  I never thought of topping a package with one and what a stunning presentation that would make!

 The tattered little book in front of the ledger is called "The Green Primer Sanders Pictorial".  You can barely make out the title on the cover.  It was printed in 1850 and the illustration inside are gorgeous.

 I also found a turkey cookie cutter so I guess it was a turkey day for me. 8+)

 I have a little collection of metal Oregon souvenir ashtrays.  Florida will be moving along to someone else although the flamingos makes it tempting.

 Two new to me needle cards added to my collection.  Click this one bigger so you can see the rocket.

 A big pile of old plastic shower decorations.

 A batch of foil reflectors. They are in much-used condition but would still look beautiful on a tree.

I got three of these beautiful velvet rose package decorations.  They are not vintage but have the "look" and I can't resist a velvet rose.
Time to get busy shifting gears in the art room!

The Week in Junk

 A few fun finds from the past week.  We all know I have a weakness for suitcases so no surprise there.  The wooden hanging shelf in the back is sitting on its side for the photo.

 The suitcase is filled with lace ruffles.  The pictures in the frames are ugly but I adore the Italian frames.  The book is a vintage French children's book. I translated the title and it is The Wooden Tiger, or something close to that.

 I used a food mill like this when I used to can back in "the day".  My mother and I just called it a Foley.  I'm sure Foley probably made something besides food mills.  Mine didn't have these pretty red wooden handles. Two strands of pink glass garland.  I'm pretty surprised that I'm still finding Christmas.

 I dug and dug in hopes of finding a mate to the insulated mug but only one was to be found.  I adore the color!

 A box of adorable note cards.  Click this one bigger so you can read them.

 Plastic Christmas do-dads.  I have been bagging them up and people seems to like the little bags.

Three rolls of very vintage Christmas paper.  I rarely find it and was delighted when I spotted these.  It is similar to tissue paper but thicker.
Junking is one of my happy places so I hope you are finding time for some, too!

A Little Christmas

My time has been occupied with a family illness and Thanksgiving guests but I did find a little time for play.  You might remember when I found this raggedy little Putz house last Spring.  It was in very sorry condition but it still functioned so I couldn't resist!  I straightened and re-glued and glittered it up.  When you pull the string on the side Santa circles the chimney and it plays Santa Claus is Coming to Town.  I don't know how much decorating I will get done this year but this will be delighting me with it's little tune every time I pass by!

The Halls are Decked!

 I have been 100% obsessed focused on getting all of the Christmas priced and staged for the "booth", which is really just a set of shelves.  I am happy to say that I am DONE!

 I went over on Saturday and Sunday mornings and started feeding it in.  I think I have crammed in about two-thirds.
I think this Annalee Santa looks kind of "Grinchie" - LOL!

  I still have some vintage kitchen left to rotate out for the season.  Rotating out the non-seasonal merchandise is my frustration.  Not everyone buys Christmas but the space is so tiny that I really don't have room for both so have to figure out where I'm going to store the off-season stuff.  I think I'm going to throw my name back in the hat for a bigger space before next year.  Anyone else have this issue??

 These are all phone photos and I can't back up far enough to get good pictures so I apologize for the wonky angles and poor quality.

 I held back a few things I still have to list on Etsy but I'm pretty burned out on Christmas at this point and looking forward to a break so I can look at something else for a while and get interested again for my own decorating.

 I can't believe I put some of these ornaments in the booth and might have to snatch a few back for myself!  I am proud to say that I was at The Bins today and found a couple of plain Shiny Brites and I PUT THEM DOWN.  Step away from the ornaments, Kathy.

 I hope the ornaments survive in this wire basket.  I was thinking of putting a wooden bead garland across the back and hanging them from that but they stuck out too far so they made the top shelf kind of unusable.  Fingers crossed.  And toes. These are the good ones.

 The Peanut gallery.

This little knee hugger is my favorite.  He has a bell inside and jingles when you move him.
If you are still here at the end of this long post - thanks for listening!

Christmas Catch Up

 Christmas is all packed away for another year here but I received some surprises at Christmas time that I wanted to share.  The framed fairy quote is from a local friend, Carol (no blog).  The sheet music under the glass is French.  Where in the world did she find THAT! The lettering is on top of the glass so it has wonderful depth.  Here is the funny thing, she doesn't consider herself a crafter.  Well, me thinks she is mistaken.  Thank you, Carol.  It has a place of honor on my desk.

 This beautiful card is from Cathy at ma vie trouvee.  She always uses unexpected colors and yet it says "Christmas".  I love those rhinestones and that creativity!  Thank you, Cathy!

This gorgeous card is from Maureen at Victorian Studio.  It has about eight different layers giving it a wonderful dimensional quality.  She uses her amazing accumulation of tools and knows just what do with each one.  She has me Jonesing to learn about Cuttlebug and Sizzix and Cricut.  Thank you for your inspiration, Maureen!