Hot Fun...

I wanted to take full advantage of my few days off (before I start my new job Monday) so we planned a few fun outdoor activities...unfortunately Matthew chose to go fishing with his dad in Canada instead of hanging out with us and Shelby had to work so Sebastian and I set off for Stillwater. I wanted to stop at an estate sale in White Bear Lake on the way but had to promise him ice cream as a bribe. He chose a yummy banana split...he tried his best but couldn't finish the whole thing. (and no, I did not finish it for him.) Isn't it funny how a little ice cream can make someone so happy?You can't make a trip to Stillwater without sitting by the river...especially when the weather is this beautiful!
We relaxed under the shade of a tree for a bit...ok, I relaxed and Sebastian played Pokemon on his DS. We were hoping they'd have to lift the bridge for passing boats but alas, there wasn't any boat traffic, not surprising for a Thursday afternoon. Thankfully he didn't protest too much when I told him I wanted to do a little browsing at Rose Mille and Country Charm Antiques.

Here's the loot I picked up at the estate sale and both Stillwater stores.

I'm going to attempt to turn these antiques knobs into curtain tie-backs. Not quite sure how I'm going to do it but I have an idea.

This scale was way way underpriced at the estate sale. I love the green color so much that I might keep this one for myself and sell the black one in my studio in my Junk Bonanza booth.

I know I have too much vintage lace already but I just can't pass it up, especially when the price is right.
I know there's no way I'll be able to bribe Sebastian to come with me to more sales today so I'll just have to wait until tomorrow. It's another (hot) beautiful day in Minnesota so we're off to the zoo to see the newly renovated polar bear exhibit!

Tiny Tins

I haven't felt very creative lately...been too busy scouring antique shops looking for tiny tins like these that I found over the weekend. I'm not sure what did it to me, probably watching too much American Pickers on Monday nights. Have you seen it yet? If you enjoy treasure hunting you'll probably enjoy this show. Anyway, I haven't the slightest idea what I'll do with them but suddenly I see them EVERYWHERE! This fabulous lace was so cheap I couldn't believe it when I uncovered it hidden away in one of the booths...I just wish there had been more!
I bought this picture because every single one of the ladies is wearing a pretty snazzy hat...and I love the fact that not one person in the whole bunch is smiling.

And, no, I didn't realize when I was buying it that the cute little white one with the seal still afixed to it was for curing constipation. Maybe I'd better start paying more attention? Maybe one of these days creativity will strike and I'll get some items in my shop! Or maybe I'll just go hunting for more tiny tins!

Saturday's Finds...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! This was the first year, in more years than I can remember, that I had both my sisters and my brother (and their families) here for the holiday. My oldest sister lives in Virginia but recently bought a house two streets east of us so they moved some of their belongings in on Wednesday. Since she doesn't get to do much treasure hunting, Saturday I took her to a few shops Tom and I discovered last summer...for those of you in MN there's a stretch along highway 8 between Forest Lake and Taylors Falls with quite a few really good shops...My sister filled up my truck with her finds and this is what I brought home... Never can have too much vintage lace and millinery! I'm a BIG collector of religious (christian) memorbilia and my niece, Madison, surprised me with the vintage crucifix in the bottom right corner. I've been looking for a composition doll for quite some time and found this one in a box with another doll and 5 doll heads for $15...she needs a little work but the price was too good to pass up! Some of the doll heads will be perfect for spooking my niece Jordan...one of them just might end up under her bed (don't worry, she's 14 so it's not as mean as it might sound)!

And here's another journal I made for myself. I've got about five of them now (one of my New Year's "plans" is to keep journals)...I can't decide just how I'm going to do it, I might use one journal for each quarter of the year. It would be nice if I could just wing-it but I must have a touch of OCD because everything has to be carefully thought out and planned. We'll see what happens!

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday break. Sebastian and I got out to play in the 14 inches of snow that fell over the past couple days...it's back to work for me for a few days before the New Year's celebration.

Inspiration Journal

There are a few blogs that I read on a pretty regular basis, most of which are artist's blogs and let me tell you, I am in awe of the talent of these women. A few of these blogs had posts detailing swaps between these crafty ladies and, WOW, some of the goodies they swapped made my heart race. So, I came up with the brilliant idea of searching for swaps I could join...not the best idea I've ever had...
I found a site that is all about swaps, every kind of swap you could imagine and some you couldn't. So I found a few that were right up my alley and joined in...I took great care to make sure the items I made for my partner were top notch and went above and beyond what was required to make sure my partner was thoroughly pleased with her treasure. Each day I waited eagerly for the mail delivery and my first swap package finally arrived. I ripped into it with the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas morning but when I saw my treasure (and I use that term losely) I think I nearly cried....but I told myself not to lose hope, the next package would contain something magnificent. The next package came and the next but they all had the same outcome as the first...utter disappointment. The last swap was for an altered journal, I figured how could this go wrong? I waited and waited and finally got an email from my swap partner letting me know she would be late sending my treasure. Ugh! When it finally arrived...Yep, you guessed it...MORE DISAPPOINTMENT. The actual journal was nice but the "alterations" were hideous at best (wish I would have snapped a picture or two). So I immediately ripped everything off the front and back and decided to alter the journal for myself...at least I knew I wouldn't be disappointed.

A little vintage lace, a page from a vintage bird book and a few other vintage goodies and the ugly journal is transformed.

I've decided to use this as a little inspiration journal...and needless to say, I won't be joining in anymore swaps from that site!