Indulge Your Shelf

I hate all this talk about the United States Postal Service going belly up!  Receiving mail has always been one of the joys of my life!  Despite my love of all things digital, I would hate it if I didn't hear the letter carrier's footsteps on my porch, then the doorbell, and look to find things like this on my doorstep: beautiful old linen pieces, hand picked by Linda Sue ... and wonderful old books, mailed off to cheer me, and give me fodder... for future scrap booking pages that will be the bomb! (How adorable is that little guy?!) If you've never had the pleasure of reading Linda Sue's blog, All I Ever Wanted , or visiting her Etsy shop, GollyGollyGolly , to read her hilarious product descriptions, you are missing out! No post office?  Then who would bring me my blog giveaway winnings? Like this package of ephemera from Michele ? She so generously wanted to share the above pieces from her 19th century scrapbook find ! (Aren't they wonderful?) If you are ev...

As you may remember, I have been trying my hand at auctions lately.  While I enjoy the lower prices and the excitement of bidding, there is a downside: you often end up with things you really didn't want.  This is because they were in the same box with the thing you did want. Usually, in fact, I will bid on a box lot and end up with the one wanted item along with a dozen unwanted items.  I still got a great deal for that one item...but I have to take the rest of it home anyway. Case in point: I really wanted this beautiful beaded purse -- all shiny pearls, so chic and in amazing, not-one-pearl-missing condition! But, it came in a box with these pheasants. Now, there was also this cool, very old hat thing in the box, which I can still sell. But...what am I going to do with those pheasants? And this old camera?  Now, granted, it is a cool old piece. But, I know nothing about cameras like this. And I'm not really eager to educate myself right ...

I was inspired by my friend Lisa to make a little front door hanger like the one she showed recently on her blog: I bought a small hanging basket from the thrift store and a few silk flowers from the craft store; the rest of the materials I had already at home. I used gesso on top of burlap which I glued to the front of the basket; that became the "canvas" that I painted the house numbers on.  I printed out a scan of a favorite cabinet card of mine, punched a hole in it, and fastened it to the burlap with some pretty brown velvet.  I hung a skeleton key and a crown charm to it -- very much like Lisa had done on her door hanging! I wrapped some vintage lace around the rim of the hanging basket and glued it in place.  As you can see, I chose an autumn theme for the flowers.  I also stuck in some rusty bed springs and I glued a tag made by another Texas friend, Cami , to a stick so it could become part of the bouquet!  I printed out some sheet music with the t...

I think Fall is my favorite season in the thrift stores.  As soon as September hits, there are all kinds of new fun things like Christmas decorations, and right now, great vintage clothes which they have been setting aside all year for Halloween costumes!  I can (and often do) spend way too much time laughing at all the great vintage things on the costume racks! Last week I made a date with one of the gals I'd met at Jeanne's Soiree to go thrifting; Maija drove down from her home north of me and we hit three thrift stores, three scrapbooking stores, an antique store and a Tuesday morning -- all within the space of five hours!!  Are we good or what?  Here we are when we stopped for a frozen yogurt treat at Pinkberrys!  (Did you notice my thrifting gear around my neck?  It's a magnifying glass with a light that I use to read those tiny backmarks on old china!) I found some cool stuff everywhere we went, like the little baby coverlet above; it is embroide...

I couldn't stop gasping when I beheld this treasure. Feast your eyes:   What detail!  What talent!  What beauty! It's everything-I-love, a gift from Tami for my birthday. The gift came in a beautifully decorated hat box, and included vintage linens, scrapbooking embellishments, notecards, and a crocheted and embellished pin keep. The box it was mailed in was decorated with vintage wallpaper! To be "understood" by a friend is, I think, among the greatest gifts of all! I am so lucky!

I enjoyed the weekend -- especially the parade my son participated in with his high school marching band.  They marched in Florence's Pioneer Days celebration.  It was a PERFECT September day. That's Ben in the middle, playing the trumpet. They sounded great, as usual! We enjoyed the way the whole town came out for the celebration;  besides the parade, there were crafts, antiques, and lots of great food! We met so many friendly people as we enjoyed our sausage and pepper sandwich in the park! Here is some of what I bought at the "Junktique", which was like a flea market -- just a few little bargains!  I got that handful of vintage, bell-shaped glass Christmas ornaments for $1. A very cute little teacup and saucer for my collection; this one shows the Koeln Dom cathedral that I spent so much time in and around when I lived in Germany.  It brings back very happy memories. I bought this beautiful etched glass shaker for $1 and plan to fill it with glitter and use ...