Indulge Your Shelf

Dennis has been at his new job for about a month, and seems happy so far.  I'm getting back to feeling normal, despite missing Paul Simon, and we are even thinking about adopting a little friend for Art Garfunkel sometime.  Maybe. For the most part, I'm staying away from thrift shops and estate sales, but every now and then I "treat" myself to trip.  One Sunday there was a great-looking estate sale near our gym, so after we worked out I convinced my husband to stop by.  That was where I found this fabulous horse poster! From an annual festival in Spain, this is a commemorative poster from 1974.  There is one created and sold each year, and they are collectible.  I just could not get over the horses!  And the colors! And this beautiful work of art is an original hand stitched tapestry from around the same era.  Hard to see in the photo, but it is carefully framed in these beautiful pieces of walnut.  I wish it was signed!  I just...

Who needs Halloween when Christmas is coming and you have this scary Santa? In true auction-spirit, I paid too much for this Rushton Santa from shopgoodwill.com than I EVER would have at a regular Goodwill!  I had to have him.  Does he not just scream vintage Christmas?! At 99 cents, these Shiny Brites I picked up from a different thrift store Saturday were much more my speed.  Gosh, it was just like the good old days: I was having such a great time finding treasures and filling up my cart.   I lived the dream for a while and then I put most of it back since I'm not selling vintage anymore.   I left behind a pair of FABULOUS Arthur Woods ceramic candle holders from the 1960s, a perfect pink footed Hull planter, and a blue early Pfalzgraff flower pot exactly like this one .  I'm still dying to go back and get those candle holders.   I can't find a photo of them anywhere online to show you so what does that tell you? Here's what I kept: th...

I participated in a Fall Tag Swap -- look at all the Autumn-y goodness I received the other day! Some went with Halloween... while others favored the Fall season in general!  (Above tag by Jane.) But I really liked ALL of them and will have fun using them in my Fall decor!  (Above tag by Tami .) Here's a look at the ones I made and sent off: I guess it's not always easy for the swap hostess when you make different tags... but I just really like the fun of the variety! Some of mine had a fabric base, while others had a Fall-ish paper base; most of them I sewed together (this is a view of some of the backs of the tags.) This one was my favorite: (Guess what?  I kept it!) Take a peek at Button Floozies if you'd like to see my Fall Button Tin Swap given/received!

You might be wondering what all I bought while at those fun warehouse sales and antique malls in Kansas!  Well, the answer is: not too much!  There was so much wonderfulness, but I was somehow content to enjoy it all -- the mood, the texture, the styling -- and not feel the need necessarily to take it home with me!  Here, though, is what did fit into my suitcase: Puss, in boots!  Halloween style, no less! There were some nice examples of vintage Halloween paper decorations, and all were priced according to their rarity.  The most expensive single piece I saw was $12, so when I found this one much later in the day for $2, I felt I'd really scored! I loved the red and green price tags -- I think they will be great for Christmas crafting! That little piece of architectural trim was just too fun to pass up for $1.25! Pretty glass buttons from West Germany, and, on the right, that fun ticket stack from a 'mexican cafe' in Kansas City! Fun old cur...