Resolutions

I know it's customary to make resolutions on New Years Eve, but I made mine last week when the kids started school.

Now that I have all this 'free time' (ha ha) I'm marking some things off my wanna do list.

#1 Get my etsy store back up

 I've got a few things listed including this cute little altered box.

Listing is a lot of work!

  I envy people who have 200 things in their shops.  I'm trying to put a few things in my shop everyday, so check back.

#2 Have the biggest garage sale in Texas history!

Along with your usual garage sale favs:

 kids clothes, small appliances & curtain rods I'm unloading a ridiculous amount of great stuff!

Debbie told me to advertise it as a 'living estate sale' since I'm selling a lot of antiques & furniture.

 I thought that sounded great!

If your near North Texas check me out Saturday & Sunday.

Some items will go in my etsy shop.

You wanna see how much junk stuff I have?

Look at the size of this storage unit!

(This is after we emptied it out)

I'm not a crazy hoarder

(well maybe a little crazy)

It all started 4 years ago.

My parents died suddenly & I was left with a large estate.

The kids were only 2 then & frankly I just couldn't cope with letting go of everything.

One thing I learned from watching 'Hoarders' is that when a tragic event happens it can trigger hoarding behavior.  After we got this unit to store my parents things I found myself collecting...a lot.

I finally realized that it's the memories, not things that hold my family close.

I used to think it was fun to shop from my stash, now I just feel suffocated by it all.

Well, it's time to let go.

The kids are even getting in on the gig.

Selling old toys & hosting thier first lemonaid stand.

In case you don't read kindergarten, let me interpret.

Lemonaid stab/stand in Texas.

Call me Philip.

#3 Get in shape!

I gained some weight over the summer.  It was too hot to do anything so we spent a lot of time couching & snacking.

I had to give up my beloved Ben & Jerry's, very tough.

I'm trying to satisfy my sweet tooth with low-cal treats.

If anyone has good recipes please share!

Urban Legend

Warning: This is a long one, but the payoff's worth it!

For years I've heard the urban legend about a sweet old lady who bestow's happiness & riches of a vintage variety upon a lucky junker. I never believed it, until it happend to me! Last weekend while picking through a table at a garage sale, I stuck up a conversation with one of  the home owners.  I asked if she had any crafting supplies, fabric, lace, buttons. You know, your basic mixed media wish list.  The woman, Roxanne, told me she was moving & had scads of the stuff at home & was I interested? I gave her my phone number, went on with my day & figured  I'd never hear from her. 

Well, Monday evening while nursing my throbbing mouth, the phone rang. It was Roxanne, did I want to come over & see her stash?  Kevin was shocked when I grabbed my keys & headed for the door.  Even root canal surgery wouldn't keep me away from an opportunity to snoop through a sweet old ladies fabric stash! I took along a couple of my tattered collages to give her an idea of what I was looking for. 

Are you still reading???
This is the good part...
Roxanne starts pulling out these boxes filled with the yummiest, creamy, vintage laces. Before she even gets them all out, I asked her how much she wanted for the whole lot?  Nothing, she said. Nothing!
She insisted I take it all.  She liked my work & saw a kindred spirit.

Roxanne is an avid crafter & quilter.

And a long time collector of everything we LOVE!

Some of this amazing lace & trim was her Grandmother's.

Some very old,

yellowed from age,

some a little newer,

To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement.  But she wasn't done.  'Do you like buttons', she asked?

Of course they were sorted by color.

Pearly whites, cool blacks,

Those little bones are glass beads.

'Can you use costume jewelry'?

Lovely lockets,

Some vintage bling,

Old watches.

Then came the sewing notions.

I love this old satin blanket binding.

Some old Wrights, & some cool funky stuff.

These old embroidery skeins are awesome, ohhh the colors, & the labels!

She shared so many wonderful things, muslin, linen this old burlap looking ribbon.

As we poured through boxes, she shared her story.  She is a retired HR person, a lifelong crafter & leaving soon for Minnesota to care for a terminally ill cousin.  She also shared her love of paper crafts.  Look at the sweet cards she makes.

She recycles holiday cards & even paper bags! She shares her passion & her time, teaching seniors card making.

 I believe God puts people in our lives for a reason.  A casual conversation led to such a generous gift, from such a special lady.  Roxanne was as giddy as I was that night. So excited to find someone to pass her treasures onto, someone who'd love them as much as she did, & who would do something creative with it all. 

 My quick trip turned into a 2 hour visit, I left with 2 full boxes of lovelies & a new friend. Someday, (hopefully many years from now), I'll pass it on to a younger grateful artist.

Thank you so much for all of the birthday & get well wishes you left me! Everyday I am reminded of the wonderful friends I've made here in blogland. You are the best!  I'm about halfway through my oral ordeal (OMG, that sounds dirty), 3 days in a row of root canals, etc.  I have a week to rest & then big surgery next Thursday.  I'm just warning you, there may be some drug induced posts coming up!

GarUnge Sale!

Happy, happy, joy, joy,

The weather is warm & the garage sales are in full swing. I wore out my ATM card this weekend.  Every time I ran out cash, I'd spot another HUGE sale!  I was a Junkie, but  I got some sweet deals.

Tell me what you think.

$4 for this pile of books, including 3 old scrapbooks.

I cannot pass up these old childen's dictionaries.

$3 for these 2 tarnished beauties.

This might be a good time to warn you, there is nothing really 'pretty' in this post. After I downloaded the picutres I saw that there was very much a theme going on that day.

$5 for this old table.  The previous owner was an artist, I like the grotty painted top.

$10 for 2 sconces.  I'll paint & distress these for my bedroom, the one that's on the 2 year make-over plan.   Okay, maybe these will pass for pretty.

$1 for this rusty old sap bucket.

$1 for the white travel case. Have I shown you my suitcase collection?

It's where I stash my fabric. Believe it or not, I do have a system.  I keep the wools & velvets, on the bottom for now. 

Love the fork! These pieces can defiantly be worked into some art.

No, those aren't bugs inside this beautiful bottle. Just good 'ol funk.  Very cool bottle tho, & only $1.

$3 each for these giant Edison bulbs! I freaked when I saw them!

9 inches high! I don't know what they were used for, possibly a marque?

But this was my favorite find of the day.

An old hospital rolling bed tray, it tilts up, for reading, & can be raised & lowered.  It's so heavy & sturdy. The wheels are like a brown clear porcelain, never seen any like them.

It has such a industrial - vintage look, I think it would be the most excellent bathtub caddy. Now I just need a old tub!

If I told you how much I paid, you'd never believe me!

Come back tomorrow for part 2, I have a great story for you. I gotta make this short today, I'm having oral surgery.  I am the WORST patient ever when it comes to this kind of stuff.  I am not in a happy place, but my friends keep reminding me how it'll all be worth it in the end.  Hope you all have a better day than me! LOL

Weekend from my weekend!

Wow, talk about a wild weekend! I need a weekend, to rest from my weekend. - You know what I mean?

Friday we worked on getting our vegetables planted.  If they make it to harvest it will be a miracle.  The kids have already dug them up & re-planted them 5 times. 

They also think if you water them every hour they'll grow faster.

Saturday was our neighborhood garage sale.  Instead of participating, as I should have, I continued to help the economy!  On garage sale mornings, the kids get a couple of dollars from their piggy banks, we pick up Dunkin Donuts for nourishment (aren't I a good Mom?) & hit the road.  My kiddo's love finding treasures of their own.  Our rule is, if you bring something home, then you have to donate an old toy to Goodwill.  Now that I think about it, we've probably bought back our own toys! Full circle right?  Here's a peak at my haul.

I love these stitched dish towels, the birds are so cute.

Lot's of little jewels.

The rhinestone safety pin was .50!

Old French school notebooks, they contain tons of maps & pictures.

And the linens & lace! I'm so dang happy people don't appreciate these things.

They were practically giving it away.

The last house we hit was grunge paradise! Rust everywhere.  I love the way the residue from the vanilla stained that bottle. Very cool.

I told you there were some rusty treats! Look at that crazy sprinkler on the left. Great base for an assemblage.  I bought a bunch of mason jars & covered jam jars.  Someone told me they are actually snuff jars?! Whatever they are, I cannot get the lids off. Age & rust have seared them together.

I jumped all over these Army accessories. I love the olive drab color, & the wool on the gloves is wonderful. Wish I could find a sweater like that. Don't you love the number on the canvas bag? I will so be using that in some sort of collage. There was also a little shoulder bag to hold a canteen, my son confiscated it to play GI Joe. I found a very cool puppet show/lemonade stand for the kids at one house. They spent the rest of the weekend making funky, ghoulish Kool-aid & pawning it off on everyone in sight. I wish I'd taken pictures.

My greatest task this weekend was getting my new blogshop open!

You've heard the quote 'it takes a village' right?! Well I have 2 super stars working on my blog. Our sweet Karen, & Michelle at Shabby Creations.  Michelle is the whiz who designed my beautiful header last year, she also created my blog shop.   Karen is working so hard 'foofing' up blogland, but took time to help a poor friend. She talked me through the process of setting up shop, & what she couldn't explain over the phone, she just did. 

 Dawn talked me down off the ledge a couple of times, & Rose kept me laughing through it all.  Rebecca & I shared our shop trials & triumphs via email.  BTW, Rebecca's new shop is ready too!

I'm pretty proud of myself & grateful to my friends for helping me to accomplish one of my goals.

These pictures are from 'the shoppe'.

So now you know what I meant about needing another weekend! Hope your's was great too!