Days of Autumn & Halloween

The days of Autumn are upon us and Halloween is fast approaching.

The leaves are starting to show hints of Autumn colors, the nights are cooler... it is my

FAVORITE weather season of the year!

I've put away our Summery displays and have redecorated our home for

Autumn & Halloween

 

Our dining room chandy is original to this home, but I've always found it boring.

I've added crystals to it over the years and during the various holidays, I add on other embellishments.

Our "H" initial works great for Halloween.

 

My felted raven I created at Karla's Cottage's 2012 event, Romantic Gothic Ghost

I picked up this poor owl on clearance as his left eye was missing...

perfect for a cheesecloth eye patch!

 

Autumn is here!

 “No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face."

The Autumnal - John Donne

 

 

Pickin Treasures: Christmas Decor & Vintage Textiles

I receive weekly estate sale emails from estatesales.net

If you enjoy estate sale shopping and are not currently on their email list, I suggest you try them.

They are set-up throughout the USA.

This week I received my estatesales.net listings and there were a ton of them!  Since I no longer resale, I try to rationalize my hunt...Do I have a couple of extra dollars for treasures... is there anything I really need...NO!  Somedays the desire to just go 'treasure pickin' consumes me and the hunt is on. 

Rarely do I look for large pieces, I mainly hunt for unique decor & gifts as well as items for my mixed-media artwork.  I have a hard time saying "NO" to holiday items and vintage textiles!

Here are the treasures I picked this week

 A beautifully weathered-patina small child's sled...perfect for a Christmas tablescape!

Christmas tidbits 

 Deep basket shining full of vintage Christmas ornaments.   

 An adorable vintage deer Christmas centerpiece

  Vintage dove ornaments with spun cotton around their wings, one vintage glass bird ornament and a vintage, quirky bird caroler than really needs some loving.

 Beautiful vintage textiles & Celluloid!

 My plans for the wonderfully aged pieces of Celluloid are to someday use the round-scalloped orphaned box lid as a frame/base for something special; the cylinder

will hold a mini Christmas tree this year and the square box will house trinkets in my studio.

 

Last but not least...precious vintage, handmade needle holders.  

I love this time of the year as the cooler days of Autumn arrive!  It is my FAVORITE season!

 Even though my days of resale are over, I continue this time of the year to go on my 'pickin' and Girls Rule road trips.  This coming weekend Julie & I will be hitting Fabulous Finds on Highway 99 , 230+ miles of garage sales & flea markets through the Flint Hills of Kansas.  So excited!

Update on BLING IT ON - Altered mini Altoid tin Necklace

Just to let you know I am waiting for photos of the other altered mini Altoid tin necklaces from our BLING IT ON swap.  Once I receive them, I will share them with you.  I have received a couple and they are WONDERFUL!

Till then, here's the necklace again that I created

 

 

I thought I'd highlight this feature of my necklace as I was tickled when

I found it hidden in my junk drawer

I was in primary school in the sixties.  How many of you recall using Prang watercolors for school?

Do you remember the older sets came in metal tins with pop-out trays that held the paint?

Well, that is what the oval tin is in the photo above holding the HOPE bird image.

I picked up a handful of these vintage metal Prang watercolor trays with their beautifully aged patina from an estate sale.  I tossed them in one of my odds-n-ends junk goodie drawers.  I knew some day they'd make a great frame.  

The bird image is an image off of an old greeting card, I reduced its size and added HOPE.  I lightly Mod Podged it to the tray and then added thin layers of the Mod Podge Dimensional Magic, allowing each layer to dry thoroughly between applications.  I added the sparkly vintage rhinestone on the last two layers of Mod Podge Dimensional Magic, adding just enough on these two layers to hold the rhinestone in-place, but not cover it.

My husband often wonders why I bring home the odd items that I do.  Well, because, someday those odd items find wonderful new homes.

BLING IT ON - Altered Mini Altoid Tin Necklace

Over the summer, along with a group of friends, we shared an Altered Mini Altoid Tin swap...

"BLING IT ON" 

It was in June that Gail created this lovely altered mini Altoid tin necklace for me as a birthday gift

 

This group of friends, inspired by Gail's beautiful necklace decided to share a swap together.

Ironically I drew Gail's name for the swap and was delighted to create something back to her.

I had envisioned a pink and green sparkly, blingy, rhinestone beauty with some Victorian flair to it, but sadly none of my treasures would fit on the mini Altoid tin.

I scoured many flea markets and antique stores attempting to find smaller pink and green sparkly, blingy, rhinestone treasures, but none found and the swap due date was approaching.

After tearing the design apart FOUR times, and using what smaller findings I had, here is the altered mini Altoid tin necklace I created for Gail

I am excited to see the altered necklaces created by the other swappers!

I hope to have photos of them soon and will share them with you.

Hope your day is BLESSED -Tami