Weatherproof Thrifting

We woke to a wet, soggy morning. This kind of put a damper on my garage sale agenda so we switched to Plan B: Indoor Rummage Sales.

My favorite find was another Princess phone. I love the look of these and this one works perfectly. Yes, yes, yes... I will get this and my other phone in my store as soon as possible.

We found some industrial, metal, library card catalog file drawers in great condition. Plus we got a wall file unit. This would make a cool, industrial / retro magazine rack.

And now for a little bit of Japanese trivia. My mother had a few old Japanese Kamakura Lacquerware pieces so I grew up handling these every time they needed dusting. I know how they feel compared to modern plastic reproductions. So when I found these two tea trays at an estate sale I felt a need to rescue them. Kamakura is an area in Japan where these carved lacquer pieces are made. If you've ever seen photos of the Giant Buddha statue sitting outside then that is from the Kamakura area. I don't know much about Kamakuraware but I do know that these are carved wood. The whisk in this photo is actually a Tea Whisk used in Japanese tea ceremonies.

Hope everyone had a great day of thrifting.

Honored to be Featured at:

Stylish Once Again

This is linked to:
Brambleberry Cottage, Coastal Charm, Common Ground, From My Front Porch to Yours, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, It's a Very Cherry World, Mod Vintage Life, Savvy Southern Style, Sir Thrift a Lot, Stylish Once Again, The Colorado Lady and The Thrifty Groove

I {heart} California Thrifting

We have been having some unusually cold weather here in Southern California but today it was close to 80 degrees and absolutely gorgeous. It was a wonderful day to head in to Los Angeles and do some thrifting.

We found a lot of interesting vintage treasures at an estate sale in the hills above Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles. I added photos of the area at the end of this post.

I'm always looking for mid-century modern ceramics so I was thrilled to find this Arabia of Finland ceramic bowl.

I also found this vintage French salad spinner. It operates like the old tin top mechanism and has a great shabby chic look. The spinner can also be removed so it can be used just as a basket.

Found two Tensor desk lamps that look so retro and work perfectly.

I think this is a spinning display/storage rack for 8 track tapes. I just liked the mid-mod design.

I also found a large basket of wooden spools and a box of old air mail envelopes.

I've lived in Southern California all of my life and have only been to Elysian Park to watch the Dodgers a few times as a child. It was great to see how beautiful the area looks today.

Above is the view looking Northwest towards Griffith Park in the distance.

Beautiful Elysian Park in Chavez Ravine facing South.

On the Pasadena Freeway towards Pasadena. The Rose Bowl is a few miles from here.

On the way to get some breakfast we came across a movie production crew filming at a High School in Pasadena. This is one of those days that I love California!

I've added many of these items to my store so please stop by and check it out. I hope everyone had a great day of thrifting.

This is linked to:
Coastal Charm, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, It's a Very Cherry World,  Mod Vintage Life, Sir Thrift a Lot and Stylish Once Again

I am honored to be Featured at:
Stylish Once Again

My Moment of Fame via Tim Holtz

As if working with Tim wasn't reward enough. Or having him invite me to stand next to him while he demonstrated at the Sizzix booth on Sunday wasn't enough to make me swoon. But then he introduces me and acknowledges my work ON CAMERA!

And thanks to his generousity and the talents of Mark Giles and Christine Urias of Scrap Time and Sizzix for letting me design Tim's catalog and packaging... I have a brief moment of fame in the papercrafting industry.

Check out the video while I finish swooning for a bit.

Thanks Christine!

CHA Day 3 - Vintage and Repurposed Displays

I love how vintage items were everywhere at CHA. I shot some photos but I apologize ahead of time because I may not have noted which booths had these delightful ideas.

I may have to steal this first idea because it is so clever. I think this is from Cosmo Cricket's booth because I see that cute chef on the card. They used a vintage drawer front as a shelf. Awesome! 

I know that I just threw out a bunch of these old wooden slacks hangers. I never would have thought to use them as a display item. Simple but very clever!

And speaking of hangers and clever displays, here is how Tim Holtz used old wooden hangers to display artwork. Notice the ladder holding the hanging lights. Brilliant!

This is another one of my friend Debi's clever booth displays. It is an umbrella with a chandelier spliced into the handle. This wouldn't work if you were superstitious about an open umbrella in your house but  you might want to make an exception for this clever idea.

I loved this collection of old clocks on the wall. I could see myself collecting these.

Finally, I was amazed to see the original drawings that were used for the new Tim Holtz stamps for Stampers Anonymous. These were displayed on a drawing table. I don't think I've ever seen original sketches displayed at a show before. I was priviledged to hear Tim's Business Manager, Mario Rossi tell me the whole backstory of how these were created.

I hope some of these images inspired you. I guess I go to the show more to meet people in the industry and see how creative people display things rather than to see what is new from the different manufacturers. Many informative bloggers and podcasters have all of the new offerings covered. I am just a Crafting "Groupie / Stalker / Super Fan" that takes pictures with crafting super stars and odd things on walls. But, oh wow, am I inspired!

CHA Day 2 - New Products, Sweet Colors

I am normally a rather shy person but I have discovered an entirely different side of me when I am at the Craft and Hobby Association tradeshow. Maybe it is because I love the industry so dearly that I am not afraid to go up and introduce myself to people I don't even know.

There is just so much to see that I often forget to take photos. I found that I took an equal number of photos of displays as I did of new products that delighted me. So today's post will be about some new products and tomorrow I will share photos of how some booths were decorated using vintage treasures that are so dear to my heart.

I noticed that many of the colors shown could be described as "cheery vintage". This is the Vintage Market line from Sizzix. My friend Jen drew these amazingly sweet dies. There are button cards, old scales, Mason jars and many other designs. And my other friend Debi created the samples and styled the display. It is all so inspiring.

Another example of cheery vintage colors is this line from Cosmo Cricket. Wouldn't these chef images look great to decorate recipe cards! I loved the colors and retro images.

This is a line from Echo Park. I love the little girl illustration on the bottom left and the soft pastel colors. How sweet is this!!!

 These adorable baby lines are by Kaiser Craft. They look like sweet old baby cards.

If you follow Tim Holtz's blog then you know that he in introducing a line of stamps of sketched images for Stampers Anonymous.  Here is a display of some cards and tags made with those stamps.

And finally, with Valentine's day right around the corner I wanted to share these amazing Valentine's themed cards using Tim Holtz's dies from Sizzix.

Tomorrow I will share some of the vintage displays I found all around the CHA showroom. Vintage is still so popular.

CHA Winter 2013 - Star Struck!

I already admitted that I am a Paper Crafting "Groupie / Stalker / Super Fan" so it shouldn't surprise anyone when I say that I had a great time visiting with some wonderful Stars of the paper crafting industry at the Craft and Hobby Association trade show today. I will share more photos of the displays and new products later but today's post is all about Star gazing.

My favorite super star is the oh-so-talented Tim Holtz. I am holding the Sizzix Alterations catalog that I designed for him. He really is absolutely brilliant and so creative. Love love love working with this guy!

Karen Burniston is another designer that amazes me. I got to know her a few years ago when I designed her logo. I love how she thinks in 3 dimensions and makes things pop!

Another designer that I adore is Eileen Hull. I don't think anyone could be any sweeter than Eileen.

I just met Brenda Walton but I feel like I've known her for a while. I worked on all of her Sizzix packaging and her attention to detail is amazing.

That's it for the Star gazing. I will be returning to the show again tomorrow so I will have more photos of new products and some awesome display ideas. Vintage display ideas were everywhere.

A Marriage Proposal and Great Thrifting

I had a good laugh today at a Living Estate Sale when the seller's son jokingly proposed marriage. First I had a nice chat with his mother, then asked him to empty lots of boxes because I just wanted the containers. He laughed and said that I asked him to do so much stuff that he should just marry me. I told him that I would have to check with Dear Handyman first. When I mentioned this to Dear Handyman, his response was "Well, how much of a discount would he give us on our purchase." That's my Dear Handyman... a quick wit and always looking for a bargain!

So my favorite find today was this vintage Typewriter table. This has been on my Thrift Wish List {which I keep forgetting to put in writing.}

We also found some vintage Pyrex bowls.

Aluminum cake carrier with an acorn pattern.

Several bottles, some marked "Japan" on the bottom.

Several vintage Christmas treasures.

And here are some of the containers that I had asked to be emptied. Don't you just love the aqua blue colors.

I am going to try and post most of these items in my Stuff to Treasure store. There might be some delay because tomorrow I am going to CHA {Craft and Hobby Association trade show} and will post photos of the show as soon as possible.

Hope everyone had a great day of thrifting! Did anyone else get a marriage proposal?

This is linked to:
Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, Sir Thrift a Lot,  Stylish Once Again and Under the Table and Dreaming

I am honored to be featured at:

Stylish Once Again

Designers Craft Connection Blog Hop - January

Welcome to the January issue of the Designers Craft Connection Blog Hop. I know that many of the participating Designers will be traveling to the Craft & Hobby Association trade show this coming weekend. I hope to have the opportunity to meet some of them in person. This is such a creative group!

The theme for this month's blog hop is "Handmade Home Décor". I chose to do something practical but a bit unique. My project is a pillow using an old Japanese technique.

The uniqueness of this pillow is that it is neither square nor round. It has eight corners so is similar to a cube but it isn't a cube. And it is made from four pieces of fabric.

I once made this as a child and thought it would make a unique, if not hard to describe, home décor project. Here is another view.

The complex shape makes this an interesting pillow. I used two different fabrics but it could be even more interesting if it had four various fabrics. I plan to experiment with other combinations and maybe make it a little smaller the next time.

Please use the Designers Craft Connection {DCC} button on the right to hop through more Handmade Home Décor inspiration ideas.

Just One of Those Days

Has anyone else had this happen to them?...

You wake up early on a Saturday morning, hit the road in anticipation of a great day of thrifting, find yourself the first one in line at the sale... and then find NOTHING worth buying!

Well, not exactly "nothing". I found a nice vintage glass juicer but it was way too expensive and had a slight chip. There were also some great old gears but the seller said that a collector would pay top dollar for these so he would not come down in price since I only wanted them as art parts. So the only thing I bought was an old wooden ruler.

I did finally buy a few odds and ends at a garage sale but even there, the seller said that someone had offered her way more for items than what I was willing to pay. So I just bought the few bits for crafting purposes.

Since it was such a slow thrifting day, I thought I would share a photo that I took while driving over the Gerald Desmond bridge near Long Beach, CA. This bridge spans the Port of Los Angeles with views of Rancho Palos Verde in the distance. This was taken just as the sun was rising.

Here are the few crafting bits that I found. I do like the measuring tape. It was a promotional piece from American Motors in 1968. I like that it is so Americana: red, white and blue.

The seller said that this was an old tinsel garland. 

I hope everyone had a fun day of thrifting.