A tattered old lampshade for $.50, I've already got plans for it...a whole bag of old wooden and plastic clothespins, valentines, playing cards, an old tattered pincushion, an old curtain panel for $.50, an old box of puzzles, an old photo holder and two old metal compacts.
(I really need work on my photography skills!). The boys had plans to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs so I headed to the second estate sale alone. I saw a vintage Christmas angel and immediately fell in love with her...she was marked $12 but I just couldn't bring myself to spend that much. I left without purchasing anything although there were dozens of things I really wanted. I thought about that angel all day kicking myself for not buying her...I knew If I went back on Sunday she'd be gone but since everything would be half off I decided to go back. I got there right when they opened (along with about 20 other people) and the angel was right where I left her, I had planned on spending the $6 but found that the price had changed $12 to $2 (or did I misread it the day before?) so she was only $1. What a bargain...and her candle still lights up! Do you think it would be wrong to display her all year round? 
Here's the other loot I bought for half off as well...I seem to have a Christmas theme going...
(again, my photography is crappy at best)
To top off my lucky weekend I headed to Goodwill to see what they had for the half off Sunday/Monday tag sale and found this absolutely ADORABLE vintage writing desk...I sat there staring at it, opening the top drawer, opening the bottom drawer, opening the little screened doors, back and forth, back and forth, trying to decide if I wanted to spend the money on it (although it was dirt cheap but hey, I didn't even want to spend $12 on that vintage angel), called Tom to get his opinion (he was no help)...I knew I had to make a quick decision because two other vultures were circling waiting for me to walk away so they could swoop in...so I grabbed the price tag off and ran to the check-out. I'm so glad I decided to get it! I'm not quite sure what else I'm going to add to it but everytime I walk past it I do a little happy dance.
To top off my lucky weekend I headed to Goodwill to see what they had for the half off Sunday/Monday tag sale and found this absolutely ADORABLE vintage writing desk...I sat there staring at it, opening the top drawer, opening the bottom drawer, opening the little screened doors, back and forth, back and forth, trying to decide if I wanted to spend the money on it (although it was dirt cheap but hey, I didn't even want to spend $12 on that vintage angel), called Tom to get his opinion (he was no help)...I knew I had to make a quick decision because two other vultures were circling waiting for me to walk away so they could swoop in...so I grabbed the price tag off and ran to the check-out. I'm so glad I decided to get it! I'm not quite sure what else I'm going to add to it but everytime I walk past it I do a little happy dance. Unfortunately I won't be doing any treasure hunting next Saturday, I'll be running the Boston Scientific 5K. Maybe I'll have time to check out some sales after the race???
Makes my favorite time of the year a little more enjoyable!
I also found all sorts of paper treasures but some of them smell a little musty. I think I heard that storing them in kitty litter for a bit takes the smell away. Does anyone know if that's true?
I also found these adorable picks and couldn't resist...I think I'll make up some little Christmas kits for my shop with these little cuties, the vintage millinery and the little metal jello molds shown in the pic above.
I used one of those old photo envelope cards, cut staggered pages from Cosmo Cricket papers and sewed them all down the fold of the photo card. I'm still trying to decide if I want a title on the front.
Turns out that the old photo card wasn't strong enough to hold up under the stress of the stitching (and the weight of the pages) and everything started falling apart. To reinforce the seams I glued paper, fabric and ribbons as sort of "seam bindings" to hold the pages in the book.
Then on Sunday I lost my oldest child and only daughter Shelby...ok, I might be exaggerating a little but she did leave us to head off to college. I cried a hard, ugly cry Saturday night after eveyone went to bed, this time wasn't because I was worried about her being ready and able to be on her own, it was because I'm really REALLY going to miss her. The University had the entire 'Move-In' process down to a science...it all ran like a well-oiled machine and if you've never seen it, you should, it's really quite something. I actually laughed and had fun even though a few hours later I had to drive away knowing I would not see her again until Thanksgiving. I'm doing surprisingly well considering...but I find myself constantly wondering what she's doing now.
The rest of the weekend, in between funerals and college move-ins, Tom and I painted our fence. What a chore! So far we've gone through 8 gallons of tinted stain and still have the entire back of the fence to paint. That will have to wait until next weekend though...we both have to nurse our right hands back to health, they're somewhat crippled right now!