Putting It Out There

I'm sorry this bad blogger has been so absent this last week.  It wasn't all work and no play.  I have been working on this little project that has been rattling around in my head since I picked up the box at The Bins quite a while back.  I call it a Wunderkammer...  a cabinet of curiosities.  Does it make anyone else feel totally pretentious and filled with anxiety to ask the cost of the materials plus something that isn't even minimum wage for the time and just put it out there and hope people don't think it is ugly and make fun of you?  I pressed publish and listed it in my Etsy tonight.  GAAAAAH......

A Big Dig

 I wasn't planning on hitting any sales last weekend since I was pretty tired already and still have not gotten caught up on the Etsy listing.  When I saw Magpie Ethel's post about her haul from a local digger sale I just had to head over there and see what they had for me.  Oh, my goodness, this house was packed to the rafters, literally.

 I dug the closets in the cellar, I dug under the rafters in the attic, I dug through the garage.  I am POSITIVE I missed a LOT.  There was that much.  Don't hate me, this huge pile of lace was $5.  They were seriously trying to move stuff out and priced accordingly.

 I dug through box after box of sewing patterns under the eves in the upstairs.  I broke a sweat and tied my jacket around my waist and my glasses kept sliding down my nose but I soldiered on.  As Mike and Frank would say, I was junk drunk.  I wish I could have thought of a place to store the creepy old manikin that was up there.

 A neat wooden box and odd little bits and pieces for assemblage projects.

 I dug for a good two hours and the only thing that finally stopped me was exhaustion.  It was pitiful.

 Isn't this a neat jar?  I know it isn't old but I haven't seen one before so home it came.

 A quick look at just a few of the patterns I found.  Sweet old patterns for little girls...

 And for big girls!

 Swing your partner, Yee Haw!!

When I got home I hauled it all in the house with the husband shaking his head that I bought a boatload of work for myself.  Big sigh.  I don't seem to be making any headway on getting caught up....

Jumping For Joy

I don't know who this girl is but I would like to be friends.  8+)

Fourth Monday Of The Week

 It has been crazy-busy around here since vacation ended and I have been back to the office so I'm just now getting around to posting the last of the vacation junk. A nice little pile of loot from my weekly Sunday pilgrimage to the VOA.  A poke sack of sewing notions, a little forest of bottle brush trees and a wee bench that will be a perfect photo prop after it gets a make-over.  I don't know why these words won't justify left and I'm too tired to figure it out so just going with it.  Sometimes it's okay for things to not be perfect!

A little herd of Wades for the Grand's collection.

 My very favorite find was this lux fleece blanket.  It is a double layer with an even thicker, solid maroon fleece on the other side and so, so cozy feeling. I couldn't find a single thing wrong with it so someone else was tired of it and it made my day.  Don't you love when things like that happen!

As quick as it was cleaned up I placed it on the bed in the spare bedroom.  The colors are perfect and I think my little Grand will feel like a princess snuggled up in this!

Random Vacation...

 Vacation means I don't go to the office, it absolutely doesn't mean I stop junking!  The little pile above is from the VOA.  Laurie and Danielle, I think THIS pair of shoes finally fits my fat-footed little walking doll - yay!  I didn't care for the pink cabs on top of the two treasure boxes but thought they would be cute filled with buttons.  I re-colored the cabs with alcohol ink and one is now cranberry and the other one purple.

 A few pretty buttons I forgot to show you.

 We just got back from the beach last night and these goodies were from several places including the Lincoln City Goodwill store.  What, everybody doesn't stop at Goodwill when they are traveling??

 Sorry these pictures are so poor.  I took them after we got home last night and was apparently too tired to take a decent picture.  I really scored on a huge poke sack of ribbons so that motivated me to pull the empty spools off my ribbon storage to make room for new.

 I know this is a wacky vacation picture!  We like to stay at the Ester Lee Cottages when we are in Lincoln City.  They are old, probably built in the 40s or 50s, and still have a lot of the old-school beach vibe.  I thought this pink and mint green bathroom was so adorable I had to show you.  Probably not a color combination I would choose in my home but perfect at the beach!

And lastly, some pretty pink flowers growing outside a place where we stopped for breakfast.  The leaves remind me of Coral Bells but those flowers are completely different.  Does anyone know what they are??
Today I am trying to stay motivated to get a bunch of Etsy listing done so I can make some room on my workbench to actually do some projects - imagine!

What a Fun Day!

 I am mostly on vacation this week and began the week with a big TREAT - Danielle from Blessed Serendipity is visiting in Portland.  I met her and her dear husband and lovely daughter at Monticello Antiques.  We were joined by Laurie of Magpie Ethel fame.  We shopped, we chatted, we shopped, we chatted....  Her husband was endlessly patient and we had so much fun getting to meet in person.  She brought me a sweet package of goodies wrapped in the silk hankie above.

 This is the bracelet in the center of the photo.  She made it herself!  How cute is that button with the two little doggies.

 It is wrapped in a piece of vintage embroidery and the sides are finished with grandma-green rick-rack.  That girl knows me well!

 We also visited my new favorite antique store, Nina and Joe's Division Street Antiques.  This is my loot from both stops.  Click the picture bigger so you can get a closer look at that jar of buttons.  I noticed it when I was there a few days ago but didn't pay much attention because the buttons are kind of ordinary.  Danielle picked it up and pointed out it has a bail on it and it is an early Crisco container.  Kudos to Danielle for finding it for me!

 The new needle books she gifted me have already been added to my little collection.

Lastly, and very leastly, A little strange notion I had the other night.  I made these garden markers a few years ago and they have somehow all ended up stashed in a drawer.  I pulled them out and "planted" them in the fountain garden.  Saturday night I was on the patio after dark and noticed they reflect the lights and sparkle at night - happy bonus!
The week is off to a very, very good start.

Blingity-Bling!

 I promised I would give you a closer look at the pile of sparkly treasure I posted about last time so here we go.  These are the glass rhinestones.  I put them in the pink jewelry box that was holding the MOP buttons for the photograph.  They look so cozy I might just let them stay.

 This is the whole pile all sorted out, less the really ordinary ones, of which there were very few.

 These are my favorites of the non-glass.  Those brown ones with the orange dangles are wood.  One has come undone so I need to either find some old string that matches the others or re-tie them all.  The big plastic one on the far right is one of the most interesting buttons I have found.  The filigree leaves on top are metal.

 A bunch of MOP and the plastic rhinestone buttons.

 Here is a closer look at that bone button.  Most of the bone buttons I find are small and very utilitarian.  This slice is unique.

 There was plenty of non-button goodies, as well, and these will be put to good use in my inspiration kits, especially all that rhinestone trim.  The necklace with the baguette rhinestones is broken but can also be re-purposed for artwork.  Those black things are big sequin beads.

A little more of the non-buttons.  My favorites ate those two black and sliver shoe clips and the old red barrette.  Down at the bottom, center are a group of round rhinestone beads.  A very fun sort!!

Fun At Nina and Joe's

 It has been at least a couple of weeks [gasp!] since I have visited my new favorite honey hole, Nina and Joe's Division Street Antiques.  Oh my, those two know their junk!  I looked at every single thing.  Twice.  And touched most of it.  8+)

 As usual, Nina had some buttons set aside for me to look at.  You can't see a lot of them in these photos but you know I will share when I have them cleaned and sorted.   A nice batch of MOP buttons came in that pink jewelry box like they were just sitting there waiting for me to find them.  How cool are the graphics on that 1902 story book in the back plus a neat old candy box over there on the right.

 There are quite a few rhinestone buttons in this sparky pile of vintage goodness.  I can't wait to poke through it!

I know you aren't supposed to take any wooden nickles and I didn't, I paid for them.  Who could pass on a gallon bag of them, I ask you?  Okay, I am off now to run my fingers through those rhinestones!

Late Summer Bounty: Black Tomotoes

 These little black beauties were a happy accident.  Last Spring I told The Farmer to be sure he included some cherry tomatoes in The Farm because I think they are just like little bites of sunshine.  When he went to buy tomato plants, the store only had one cherry tomato plant left and it was a black tomato.  Well okay, something new to try out!

They were black right from the start so we didn't know how to tell when they were ripe other than to pick one and bite it.  We eventually figured out that the slightly green bottom turns pink when they are ready.  They look just like plums and they are yummy, indeed.
We also have traditional tomatoes that are coming on strong now.  We have been eating something from the garden nearly every day since the start.  First was lettuce and radishes then the peas, beans and summer squash.  Now we are starting to harvest the root crops like turnips, rutabagas and beets.  Late summer bounty!

Friday UPDATE!  Lunch at my desk today - SO good!

New Buttons

 I made a large button score last month and I am remiss in sharing pictures of my favorites.  I apologize in advance because I am sure some of these photos overlap.

 Plastic buttons with rhinestones.

 China, bone and some carved MOP on the right edge.

 These are all glass except a colorful wooden one peeking up from the bottom.

 Interesting metal buttons, some very pretty MOP and those brown buttons have a scout emblem on them.  I usually find green.  Does anyone know if they are Boy Scout or Girl Scout?  I was thinking maybe Cub Scouts??  I am sure I can find out on line but I haven't made the effort yet.

 Interesting plastic buttons.

 More plastic...

 The two in the upper left are both tight tops.  There are several uniform buttons in this picture and I have never seen ones like that discus thrower or the lighthouse.

 Love that big Lucite button!

 As always, click the pictures bigger to get a better look.

 The mauve one with the white wash are among my favorites.  There is a rather plain little Bakelite in the lower left corner but I will take Bakelite in any form!

 A couple neat deco-style in this lot.  My Granddaughter's little cousin picked up one of the red ones and declared it a Target button - lol!

 Pierced is always good.

This was a very large lot and took quite a while to clean and wash and my stash for Etsy is well replenished!  Now, seriously, I am going to get busy getting my work bench cleared off.  I mean it this time.  Here I go...