Special News and a Few Fun Finds

I'm so excited about some special news; I've been published!!!!

Amy Powers, a very creative crafter, contacted me after seeing my Sewing Wreath on Pinterest {thank you to whoever Pinned me}. She asked me to do a tutorial to include in her online publication. Well it is finally finished and the publication, Inspired Ideas, is awesome and so beautiful. I am just so honored to be featured among such illustrious designers such as Charlotte Lyons and Jone Hallmark, {two designers in particular that I've always admired}. I'm still pinching myself. Amy has done an amazing job of showcasing ideas and tutorials that you won't find anywhere else. Visit her site to purchase an issue. I promise that you will be inspired!

The rest of my weekend was filled with family activities. My son had another motorsports event {his competitive driving skills are gaining positive attention} and we also had a family birthday party but I was able to squeeze in one estate sale.

My favorite find was this torn card mixed in with some vintage sewing notions. I first saw the word "Barbie's" and the picture of Midge and wondered what could be on the other side.

Then I turned it over and found these short zippers that were probably used to make Barbie clothes. It is dated; 1963.

I also found an old Lotto game with wooden number pieces. I plan to use the pieces for altered art projects.

It was a busy weekend filled with exciting news and family events but a rather quiet weekend for estate sale hunting. That's okay because there are always more sales to look forward to. Please don't forget to check out the Inspired Ideas publication.

This is linked to:

Coastal Charm, Her Library Adventures, Hey What's For Dinner Mom? and Mod Vintage Life

Tiered Records Candy Display

A while back, I had bought a tiered, silver-toned, serving stand at a garage sale. The silver coating wasn't very good but I liked the fact that the stem could be removed.

Then last week I was at an estate sale and found a stack of old records of various sizes. I noticed that there were some unusual old 33 1/3 rpm records that were only 7" across plus some that were only 9 3/4" across, both of which are smaller than the full-size records.

I decided to combine the smaller records and the stem of the tiered serving tray to create a fun and unusual tiered candy display. Wouldn't this be great as a centerpiece for a 1950s themed party!

I am honored to be featured at:

Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Reduce, Reuse, Upcycle





The 36th Avenue




Saved By Love Creations

Cut Out + Keep

This is linked to:

504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, Between Naps on the Porch, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blue Cricket Design, Cherished Treasures, Coastal Charm, Creating a House of Grace, FaveCrafts, Finding Fabulous, Frugalicious Me, Home Savvy AtoZ, Homemaker on a Dime, Keeping It Simple, Life Made Lovely, Lovely Crafty Home, Making the World Cuter, Marvelously Messy, Mod Vintage Life, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Not So Simple Housewife, Passionately Artistic, Running With Glitter, Sew Can Do, Sew Much Ado, Simply Designing, Singing Three Little Birds, Somewhat Simple,  Sugar Bee Crafts, Sumo's Sweet Stuff,  The 36th Avenue, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, The DIY Showoff, The Girl Creative,  The Shabby Creek Cottage, The Southern Institute, The Trendy Treehouse, Thrifty Decorating, Vintage Wanna bee and What Allie's Making Now

A Good Karma Sale Day

We met a lovely, old woman while waiting to go into an estate sale today. She said that she had never been to a sale like this before but there was one thing that she wanted so badly that she woke up early and used her gasoline to come there. She said that she had even done a "dry run" the day before so as not to get lost. The dear lady even had her fingers crossed that no one else would buy the item before her. I told her that if she found what she was looking for then she should hold on to it or someone else might take it.

She was right behind me when they called the numbers to go into the house. I skirted from room to room and came across her as she was looking at a sewing machine. I asked her if that was what she came for. She smiled like a little girl and said "Oh, yes!" I told her to put her hand on it and not let go while I got someone to help her. She was the happiest person at the sale.

So often I go flying through a sale hoping to find some special treasure. This time it was the sweetest thing to see someone else get the treasure they had been seeking.

But we didn't do too bad ourselves. My favorite find was a bunch of yardsticks and rulers. I'm saving these up for a future project.

I found a lot of large and small wooden spools. The larger ones are carpet thread and about 3" tall.

I liked these heart-shaped Candlewick glass bowls. The seller said that they were ash trays but I think they are candy dishes. I think they are from the 40s or 50s and have that slight old-glass, purple tint to them. Wouldn't they make a cute Valentine project.

The same seller also gave me a bunch of her grandmother's hankies. Because I bought all of her grandmother's sewing notions and Candlewick glass, she said that her grandmother would probably have wanted me to have her hankies as well. I think she gave me about 12 of them for free. Thank you grandma!

We had a fun day, did a good deed and received some lovely treasures for free. I love thrifting!

This is linked to:
Apron Thrift Girl, Coastal Charm, Common Ground, Creating a House of Grace, Her Library Adventures, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, It's a Very Cherry World, Mod Vintage Life, Savvy Southern Style, Tales From Bloggeritaville, The Brambleberry Cottage, The Colorado Lady, The Thrifty Groove and Very Merry Vintage Style

Combining a Couple of Thrifted Objects

Years ago, as an art student in college, I once found a box full of shoe trees at a thrift store and used them for a project. Since then, they have always held a nostalgic creative spot in my heart.

Flash forward to today and another pair of thrifted shoe trees. I decided to create something useful by combining them with parts from a photo tree.

I used the shoe trees to form a sturdy base then added the wire arms from the photo tree. The images displayed are from the Graphics Fairy. 

I added burlap rosettes and buttons as accents. These are such a playful, decorative display solution while being extremely thrifty at the same time.

I had so much fun turning these beautiful Found objects into useful, decorative items.

This is linked to:
504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, All Thingz Related, Between Naps on the Porch, Beyond the Picket Fence, Cherished Treasures, Chic on a Shoestring, Common Ground, FaveCrafts, French Country Cottage, Frugalicious Me, Homemaker on a Dime, I {heart} Naptime, Keeping it Simple, Lovely Crafty Home, Making the World Cuter,  Marvelously Messy, My Romantic Home, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Not So Simple Housewife, Paisley Passions, Passionately Artistic, Rook No. 17, Running With Glitter, Savvy Southern Style, Sew Can Do, Sew Much Ado, Simply Designing, Singing Three Little Birds, Skip to My Lou, Someday Crafts, Somewhat Simple, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Tatertots & Jello, The 36th Avenue, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, The DIY Showoff, The Girl Creative, The Shabby Creek Cottage, The Shabby Nest, The Southern Institute, The Thrifty Home, The Trendy Treehouse, Thrifty Decorating, Truly Lovely, Twin Dragonfly Designs,  Type A Decorating, Under the Table and Dreaming, Vintage Wannabe and What Allie's Making Now

Back on Track for Estate Sale Hunting

It felt great to be back on track with a day of estate sale hunting and no car trouble {explanation here}. Yay!

My favorite find of the day was this vintage, red and white, glass spice rack. We had to wake up pretty early this morning to be one of the first few people in the door for this sale but this made it worthwhile. It is just so adorably vintage.

Another great find today was this doll's suitcase. I love vintage suitcases and this was sitting on the floor, in the middle of the room, on the third day of a sale! It was meant to come home with me.

We also found this vintage canister that is very similar to the green bread box I found a while back.

I love vintage Christmas decorations so I was thrilled to find this large, red, bottlebrush wreath and several strands of mercury glass beads.

I also found a box of vintage Bubble Lights. I might have Dear Handyman re-wire the plug before I attempt to plug this in.

The last thing I found was not the kind of thing I normally buy but I have a beach-themed project in mind and this was perfect. I found a good-size piece of real coral. It has so much texture and adds a lovely beach feel.

We also saw a lot of amazing things that we didn't buy because of the price. We saw a library card catalog drawer set for $750. That was hard to walk away from but I couldn't justify the price. There was also several yards of vintage barkcloth in a tropical print that was so beautiful but it was $125 and I had to walk away.

Honored to be featured at:

Very Merry Vintage Style

This is linked to:
Brambleberry Cottage, Common Ground, Creating a House of Grace, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, It's a Very Cherry World, ModVintageLife, Savvy Southern Style, Tales from Bloggeritaville, The Colorado Lady, The Thrifty Groove,  Type A and Very Merry Vintage Style