Thursday, December 9, 2010

Christmas Explosion!



When my sister-in-law walked into the house she said, "It looks like Christmas EXPLODED on your dining table!" It had.



But out of the chaos came shimmering order!



I've been working on using up all my vintage planters, ornaments and Christmas figurines from Lefton, Relpo, Enesco, etc. Above is a cute little woodland brownie.




Here are "baby" and Santa.



Baby's First Christmas, all tangled in mercury bead garland!




This is the sweetest flowergirl! Kinda like a pink Eliza Doolittle.




I bought her at a rummage sale then proceeded to drop her on the floor as soon as I got her home! :( Fortunately I was able to glue her backside together and use her in this cute Christmas tree collage. Some of her flowers got chipped so I just gave her a whole new bunch of vintage millinery posies.




Here is a cute "Spaghetti" Santa!
I am still working on a few more trees. I'm hoping to get them on ebay before Christmas but time is so short!




Here are some tags I made from vintage Christmas wrap. I just cut out the designs, glued them to cardstock with gluestick, scalloped the edges with scissors and sprinkled with glitter. A hole-punch makes for easy tie-ons.

I hope you are finding all the time you need for your own Christmas Crafting! It's hard to do, isn't it?! I hope to have more to show you before Christmas. Sorry I've been gone so long but sometimes blogging has to take a backseat to LIFE! ;) Thanks for sticking with me!
Love
rosie

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Recent finds


Not much time for thrifting or g'saling as the summer winds down. But I recently stopped into one of my fav shops that I've managed to pass by for 4 months... Whenever I do that, I find so many goodies, its almost like they were just saving them up for me to come claim them. Above are some vintage notecards, brand new, 50 cent per box.




A tole style wall hanging $2.





Not a very good photo but this sparkling 3-tier pressed glass plate was $3.





5 vintage ceramic place cards that will be scattered around the house and hold various love-notes written in dry-erase pen to my family.



2 folk art pin cushions. Sooo intricate! and look what they are made out of...




A TIN CAN with the sides all shredded for rolling up into scrollwork! 1$ for 2.




Check out this little china night light. It glows the most perfect shade of pink! $1.50





I picked up this Emil Schmeckenbecher tweety bird for $2. I took it apart and found the clockworks inside were beyond my ability to repair. :( So I put it back together, but before I did, I repainted the faded bird and gave him new plumage. Even though he can no longer sing, he looks more beautiful than ever! My daughter pointed out that I forgot to give him eyes so I'll have to find a couple seed beads for that.





I found this bust of a child at one of the few G'sales I've gone to this summer. Look at the detail in her hair styling.






Doesn't she have the sweetest smile? She had a little flaw that I had to repair with filler . You can see it next to her armpit. All I need to do is cover it with a bit of paint. $3 well spent.

Hope you are able to enjoy the cool spell and get out to some sales this weekend!
rosie

Friday, July 30, 2010

1 dollar bargains or How to Make a Crown from a Wastebasket!



I REALLY hope you have a Hy-Vee grocery store in your area. They have the BEST deals! I was there today and got a rotisserie chicken (for my son's lunch...he is a GROWING boy!) for just $3.99. Also there was a clerk in the store standing behind a hula-skirted tahitian bar hocking fresh Margaritas for $4 a piece...now that's my kinda store!

Anyway, last week they had their Million Roses Sale. Beautiful long stemmed roses for $6 a doz or .50 apiece! I got them in every color of the rainbow. (Orange is my favorite.) What a terrific deal!






My next bargain I found directly in my own thrift shop (the one I manage.) The ladies who take-over when I have a day off put out this basket of vintage baby shoes for .50 a pair! I bought the whole lot of seven pairs! They are soooo adorable!! But PLEASE! Someone tell me what to create with them! I found one idea on line for a pin cushion but I want to do more! AND it must include Glitter!




Check out this Mermaid Crown! Okay, it wasn't a dollar but $2.00 still qualifies as a bargain. It's really just a floral spray with beads and shells but fashion it into a loop and it is the perfect mermaid crown! It decorates the framed print of Torrey Pines Beach that I recently purchased in San Diego. (ps-This is NOT the wastebasket crown...keep scrolling).




Here is my $1 Queen of Hearts Crown (and the King of Hearts Crown, too.)



My kids were recently in a production of Alice in Wonderland and I volunteered to make the crowns. (I actually had to beg to do it because it was supposed to be student-run ONLY!) Anyway, I saw the black wire wastebasket at Dollar Tree and inspiration HIT!





The king's crown was made from two .50 candle holders that I took apart and glued together. I used red glitter fun-foam for the hearts, fat chenille, red boa, and red ribbon to embellish so they really cost more than $1, but that's the price they started at.




Here are the Queen of Hearts, the King of Hearts and the Naive of Hearts. My son was the king.




My daughter was the Cheshire Cat. All the kids did a wonderful, professional job! The director was just 16 years old! He has a great career ahead of him!

Please send me your ideas for the baby shoes. I know there are some very creative bloggers out there!



Have a great weekend,
rosie

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Sister's Day Out Continues at Urban Barn !



(Please bear with me as I try updating the appearence of my blog! HTML is new territory for me!)

Urban Barn is a wonderful venue run by a group of very talented ladies in Escondido, Ca. If you are in the area DO NOT miss their up-coming Grand Opening Event! It begins TOMORROW! Unfortunately, I am back home in muggy Missouri and (sniff) cannot attend...but I hope to see lots of photos from those of you that DO!




While I was in San Diego, my sister's, our friend Judy and I continued our
"Sister's Day Out" by visiting Urban Barn. It was so much fun!





My sister's very preggers daughter, Vanessa joined us.




A very large warehouse contains all the goodies!




I didn't know where to look first!



Vintage glam everywhere!








Check out this incredible be-jeweled lamp! It was spectacular!

Lots of sparkling chandys.

As we stood chatting, a dealer carted in this large vintage fuschia light-up sign. You should have seen the all the women in the place...they ooo-ed and awww-ed and hovered over the sign like swarming bees!

Urban Barn also has an outdoor area with lots of talented vendors showing off their creations. I met some lovely ladies including Lori Martin (see her beautiful home HERE!) and Lisa Loria (in photo below) from Vintage Bling.
She makes the most beautiful jewelry and belt buckles, not to metion her unusual "Bling Babies." It was so nice to meet her. She is a very sweet girl!

Las Tres Hermanas
Our "Sister's Day Out" was so much fun! Even if you don't have any sisters, grab a couple of girlie friends and plan a day of flea market shopping! You won't regret it!
rosie

Thursday, July 8, 2010

The Mermaid's Mercantile


Our holiday in San Diego was wonderful! We spent most of our time with family at the beach house in PB (Pacific Beach).



The kids got plenty of Boogie-boarding time even though the last few days of vacation were wrought with "June Gloom." That means "chilly and overcast" ALL DAY!



But I wanted to tell you about one of the highlights of my trip: "Sister's Day Out!"



I made my invitations and sent them out before I even got to San Diego. I didn't want anyone to miss out on the fun!




Our first stop was "Out of the Blue" in Solana Beach. Owner Debi Beard hosts a gorgeous outdoor shopping venue called "The Mermaid's Mercantile." There were so many talented women showing their beautiful wares, I didn't know where to look first!



Here are just a few photos of the day:








All the booths seemed to glow under the lace canopies in the California sunshine!






I apologize for not getting the names of each lady who set up these lovely vingnettes!

I didn't get a photo of Laura Zeller's booth but she has the cutest handmade baby items. If you are in need of a one-of-a-kind baby shower gift, you will do yourself a favor if you visit her at "Posies Boutique."











This bed was SPECTACULAR! The headboard and footboard were encrusted with polished seashells.






Here is a closer view of the footboard. I am guessing Debi had a hand in this gorgeous creation.






Debi is the sweetest, talented girl!!! Visiting her shop is like stepping into a fairyland! I didn't want to leave! I SO want to come out again and take one of her fun classes!





She makes beautiful shell covered works of art done with a meticulous hand. I wish you could see all the wonderful things in her shop!



After a fun morning at The Mermaid's Mercantile, my sisters and I had a great lunch at:



I was sooo hungry I didn't think to take a picture of my YUMMY French Toast!




My sisters Rosemary and Raymie and I had a wonderful day, along with our good friend Judy. (My vintage beach hat is courtesy of my sister, from her vintage collection!)



There is more to tell about the day, including our visit to Urban Barn but that will have to wait for my next post!

God's blessings!
rosie