Indulge Your Shelf

I've been indulging my button love the last couple of days, all over the kitchen table ! I'm going through my vintage and antique buttons that have already been sorted by color and choosing lots and lots to use for my art, and to sell, too! It sounds tedious, but for me it's like sifting through gems -- very tactile-ly pleasing! I especially love the black ones! Even though some of them can be grungy and dirty, it doesn't bother me! (That's true love, right?!) Here's what I ended up with -- and now I'm just itching to start creating! We're counting down to the first day of school, and I've been having some intermittent computer woes...both of these things are responsible for my posting less than normal right now! Please be patient and things will get back to normal soon!

You may recall when I blogged about this little table , asking advice on what to do with it: The number one most popular response was to paint it white. So, I did: I love it! Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to do this! As for my other projects: I am behind in creating more pillows for my handmade Etsy shop (I sold one today!) so I am going to get onto that in the coming days. Realistically, though, pillow-making may have to wait until after Ben's first week of school, which begins already on AUGUST 5th ! I know, I know: it's excruciatingly early. For the last several days I've been helping a friend's sister with their mother's estate; we had a sale at her home two days this past weekend. I noticed among the items for sale some really wonderful square dancing pins the mother had earned. "You can't sell these!" I cried. "No one wants them" she said. When I spied a ruffly square dancing outfit also on the sale rack, an idea was ...

I snagged this Feel Good wedding video from Leigh Ann at Freckled Nest : watch it and I guarantee you'll smile, maybe even cry happy tears! I wish them a lifetime of being as happy as they and all their friends were on that day! I scheduled this post, then saw on the evening news Saturday night that this video has become "an Internet sensation" with over 5 million views on YouTube and that song, Forever by Chris Brown, which is over a year old, has shot up to the no. 7 most popular Itunes download! I'm also feeling good that my pretty blue tablecloth was featured in a Treasury . Woo hoo!

I am selling a pair of my Aunt Delores' antique Samsonite suitcases right now in my vintage Etsy shop . What makes mine special is that they're very old, in very good condition, and come with the hard-to-find extras of the original keys as well as the original metal and plastic hangers. All of the clasps are intact. The interiors are the prettiest old rosy beige color -- reminds me of rose gold! One of the suitcases even has a metal medallion listing only two locations for the luggage company: Denver and Detroit! Check out The Naughty Secretary Club's "Suitcase Conversions" post for some great uses and reuses for old suitcases. (Me, I always think of the ending scenes of the movie White Oleander when I think of making art from old suitcases!)

In the midst of summer activities I've been thinking, "I've got nothing" compared to the cool finds, projects, destinations, ETC. that you all are blogging about! Such as: Susan from Blackberry Creek Home Arts linked to the quilt Jane Austen made ; you can still find some of the fabric that Makower, UK reproduced from the quilt on eBay. This was news to me, but not a surprise that someone with the patience to write novels like Jane could also labor over a thing of beauty like that quilt! Jen at the Sugared Songbird used Eileen's tutorial to make gorgeous flowers! I'm putting these on my own to-do list. Nikki has a Silly Lunch Ide a that looks like so much fun! Many members of the Etsy Bloggers Street Team are offering discounts this month for their annual Christmas In July celebration ...and Everyone Except Me is going to the beach! I applaud you all for your energy and ingenuity, and most of all thank you for blogging about it all so I can live vic...

The last few days have been a whirl. They included: The second weekend in a row of holding a garage sale; the first weekend, we were helping out our friends who are moving, at their sale. This past weekend, we brought their unsold stuff over to our house and sold some of our own along with it. Both sales were a big success! Celebrating our garage sales by going to Garden of the Gods National Park for a buffalo burger at the Balanced Rock Cafe. Shopping for various gifts; after one outing, I noticed a yard sale sign and followed the arrows until I happened upon a neighborhood I'd never even seen before. I've since decided that if we ever move into the city, that's where I'd like to live. While at that garage sale, I found my next project: It was $3 and I couldn't resist. How much fun can I have with this? Look at those wheels! One, unfortunately, is broken. Should I replace them? This little metal sculpture piece was in the "free" box. I know I...

I was pleased that these super fun draperies I blogged about sold in my Etsy shop today. I think they're actually going overseas, because they buyer mentioning sending them "to the US address." It's always so fun to imagine where your hand-picked/handmade treasures will end up in the world! In other news: Whee! I made it into a Treasury ! That's my salt and pepper shakers, one of three sets in that listing, in the lower right hand corner. (I've posted about this before, but it bears repeating that if you're an Etsy seller, here's a useful tool to use to find if any of your items appears in a treasury.)

I found a bag of completed quilt squares at a thrift store and bought it for the huge assortment of colorful pieces -- one can never have too much fabric, that's what I always say! When I finally got around to going through the bag, I found: Eight sections of four sewn together like this... Two sections of four sewn together like this... And two extra pieces! The photos don't do the wonderful fabrics justice...and all the pieces are all sewn by hand with tiny, tiny stitches! Can anyone tell me what kind of quilt can be made with these sections ? And if I have all the pieces? And where I can get a pattern for it? Thanks so much if you can help point me in the right direction!

For anyone who loves lace as much as I do, I wanted to delight you with this piece of lace that is made up of many smaller pieces of lace -- a lace collage, if you will -- by another lace lover! Each piece was carefully planned and executed... Combining the antique with the merely vintage... Salvaging the prettiest details... Arranged to please both the geometric and the aesthetic eye... It is the perfect size to cover my cedar chest, under the window in the master bedroom.

Wow! I just learned, via Etsy Beagles Blog , that my vintage vignette was featured in an Etsy Gift Guide called "Entertaining, Vintage Style"! I missed it, but I'm glad to know it happened!

Those who know me well know that I am a huge Jane Austen fan and have been for 30 years. I first read Pride and Prejudice in my freshman year of high school, grudgingly. From the title, I expected it to be something dry and preachy, and distinctly remember my relief and joy when I entered the world of Elizabeth Bennett! I know of some who re-read her books annually; I don't, but I confess to have read P&P at least five times that I can recall, and Sense & Sensibility three times, and all the others once or twice. I enjoy all of the movie versions as well, and multiple times. In fact, whenever I'm feeling depressed, a surefire comfort is to plunk in an Austen adaptation and get lost in her world. For our anniversary last month, my husband took the hint and bought me something I've been longing for: The Oxford Illustrated Jane Austen ! Here, via Amazon , is the official description: This beautiful set provides the definitive text of Austen's six ...

One of my favorite blogs to read, Button Floozie s, has an incredibly awesome link to a blog post by Capturing the Moment that shows some of the most fun uses for buttons on cards (or for scrapbooking) that I've seen in a long, long time. Button lovers and paper artists must check it out! If you decide you just MUST begin making some of those adorable button cards, don't forget that I sell collections of buttons by color in packs of 50 for $4 in my Etsy shop ! While you're there, you might notice that in the Button Floozie post just before that one is about my button collage (posted by my friend Marilyn )! It's a real treat for me, since I've been trying to join Buttons Floozies forever but they just don't have room for more members (sigh.)

This month's EtsyBloggers Team member spotlight is on Becky of the Etsy shop Miesmama ! I visited her shop and found a burst of creativity and color! I especially love her " Purple Cornflower Circle Art " - it's simple! And doesn't she take great shop photos? Then, she has this "Strawberries and Cream" bag that can take you through the whole summer! Plus, lots of other things, including little ponie and felted hair accessories! Be sure to stop by her blog, miesmama , to get to know Becky better!