Indulge Your Shelf

Even though I've been quieter than usual around here lately, I'm full of ideas.  Did you know I've written almost 1,000 posts on this blog?  I'm planning something special for number 1,000. I wanted to show you these fabulous earrings made by Betsy ; I have been wanting to own some of her little bird earrings for a long time!  These are made with grey mother of pearl buttons as the base (swoon!)  Isn't it fun how she used a sea shell as the mount? She makes some wonderful jewelry from mostly antique pieces (you know how much I love that!)  I have been dying for some of her watch face earrings, too, and so I treated myself: Isn't her packaging beautiful?   And look at the pretty glass and sparkle BUTTONS she included because she knows me so well!   Can you see the narrow little watch faces on that second pair of earrings?  Love! I also made a purchase from one of my favorite eBay shops, ipullgardenweeds , run by my buddy Linda. ...

The first thing I ever started to collect as an adult was penguins.  Yes, penguins. It started when I was 20 and worked in a large office.  For some reason we were having an office party and one of the games we played was to answer a bunch of questions about ourselves, such as our favorite animal.  I answered, "penguins, because they always look like they're dressed up."  Everyone in the office thought it was a hoot, I don't know why.  After that day, I began finding penguins on my desk.  Penguin candy.  Penguin book marks.  Penguin coffee cups.  A collection was born. I finally stopped buying penguins about 10 years ago.  I gave a whole bunch away before we moved to Colorado, and brought only my favorites with me. And now, I'm getting rid of all but a dozen or so of them. These are the ones I'm keeping: The card in the back and the box with the penguins on the beach are special to me because they were painted by my  husba...

I've restocked the shelves at Indulge Your Shelf ; here's a peek at some of what's new: Perfectly sweet terrier bookends Baret Ware tin From one old heap to another! Gorgeous embroidered bell pull Wow! mod tall ice bucket What a find!  24 Speedball nibs, all on a card! Wade ashtray Vera napkins Christmas Lights (the box is the real prize, though!) I may give eBay a try again with some of my collectibles.  I'm close to 500 feedback, and would like to get that new star on my eBay profile; plus, it's always good to keep your seller account current and I don't think I've sold anything on there in 6 months or more.

I just had to show you this beautiful offering by my friend Linda on eBay! It's a gorgeous sequined blouse from the '40's or even earlier, plus a velvet wrap that's unlike any I've ever seen and truly beautiful! This is the back: She's including as a bonus a lovely black evening bag from the same era, and a string of pearls! If only I thought I would fit in this, it would be mine ! I'll bet my Aunt Delores dressed up in something similar when she went out dancing, back in the day. Today my husband and I drove to north Denver to pick her up so she could stay with us for the weekend. She was visiting a cousin there for Thanksgiving. Tonight after dinner I enjoyed showing her some of the crafts I've been making lately. Tomorrow she will be helping us with the wreaths! I plan to take her to some thrift stores, too.

This little award traveled across the pond from Ireland and the blog of Micki , called Irish Muses ! Micki, who has lived and traveled in the US, writes about her life in Dunfanaghy, Ireland, which is necessarily filled with fibre arts, quilting, and reveling in all the beauty around her. She is a sweet blogging friend that you should know. Thank you, Micki! I'm to bestow these bears onto four blogging friends you should know, und zwar : Sandra Alli Marie Linda The last lady on my list, Linda, is a special Internet friend of mine who is just getting started blogging . You should visit and encourage her! I wrote about her wonderful eBay store a while back, here . Now she has a Bonanzle store, too. Here's just a small sample of some of her goodies: red and white plate childs hankie whimsical playing cards Also among her eBay treasures right now: an antique celluloid art deco pin, a lot of antique millinery pieces, a beautiful shaving mug, a totally unique antique wooden, c...

This is a great article about creating a tag line for your business, which I found through the always-great blog, Design Sponge . It got me thinking about having a tag line for my two Etsy shops . Way back when I had my first craft business in 1992, my company name was All Good People (which is now my eBay user id) and my tagline was, "Handmade with love from vintage materials." How about you? Does your creative endeavor have a tagline? Let me hear it! I'm looking for inspiration!

This morning I awoke and decided it was high time I visited my favorite second hand store. After all, I hadn't been there in, oh, five days or so. Time's a'wastin'! Then I thought better of it and decided, instead, to continue the ongoing organizational project in my "office", where I store my Etsy and eBay current, past, and future stock. I stood on the threshold looking in at my "stock" and groaned. How could I even consider doing more thrift/antique shopping? Is there such a thing as "Thrifter's Anonymous"? If so, I need to join. If not, I need to start it. Am I the only one who can't seem to stay away from the thrift store? I enjoy shopping for abandoned linens and fabrics more than I do for new clothes. When I'm feeling antsy at home, the thrift store is the first place I think of going to relax. It calls my name: "Laurie. Laurie! Someone just dropped off a feedsack quilt. Quick! Come and see!" I...

I just had to share this vintage tablecloth that arrived in the mail from my absolute most FAVORITE eBay seller, ipullgardenweeds . Isn't it lovely? The entire tablecloth is hand embroidered with these beautiful floral wreaths - each different - and it's in pristine condition. I am in love with this spring tablecloth! It's not the first vintage treasure I've purchased from Linda, who hails from Washington, and it won't be the last. My reasons are many: first, she writes the most wonderful, personal descriptions of all of her auctions - it feels like you've visited her shop and she has all the time in the world to chat about what it is, where she found it, how long she's had it, why she loves it so much, and what she thinks you should do with it once you buy it. I just can't describe how friendly her auctions are! Then, once you win the auction, she ships it out quickly and when you receive it, it's always wrapped up nicely so you feel like it...

Since I can't seem to make my schedule behave so I can post on the other blogs that do it, I'm going to have my very own Thrift Shop Finds Day...right here, right now. I hope you enjoy it and, feel free to participate and let me know you did; I promise to link back to your blog if you post something today! For clarification: I'm defining "Thrift Shop Finds" as items I find in second hand stores that I intend to keep and love -- not sell. (Although of course I do sell other really wonderful vintage and antique items online in my Etsy shop and on eBay .) The other day I found this amazing basket and I had to bring it home. I was so surprised at how beautiful it was -- not a scratch on it, and no tears or breaks in the wicker. What a treat to know that it was made in America! You can't see it very well in the photo, but it has a pie shelf inside -- like a small platform to divide the basket's depth in half. It's spotless. As you can see, it's n...

I've been going to town with putting together ephemera packs while I destash. I'm especially having fun with some male themed kits in anticipation of Father's Day. Here's a more modern one that I call "Little Boy's Pocket" - when I put it together, I imagined it could be things you might find while in the laundry room emptying jeans! This is available from me on eBay . Another couple remind me of my father and his time serving on a Liberty ship during World War II. There is some pretty spectacular pieces of ephemera from that time period in both kits. You can find both of these, and many more, in my Etsy shop .

I found this incredible vest that someone who is very talented with a needle and thread created from a graphically-pleasing (=gorgeous) antique quilt. So often you see people selling "cutter quilts" and while it pains me to know it will be cut up, I'm thrilled to find something like this vest that is a work of art in itself. Aren't the fabrics used in it classic? It's lined in luscious black satin. On sale now by me on eBay !