What I was up to last Weekend.

I know it may seem that all I do lately is blog and craft, but NO I also Estate Sale shop for my antiques business. I went out Thursday morning and bought some neat old hardware, vintage tools, and iron garden edging.

Friday I started out in my hometown at this lovely home, with a lovely golf course view, with lovely stuff...but no lovely stuff for me. That is the lovely, good-natured home owner {in the pink} waving at us taking her picture.

Went to two other local sales..{bought a Victorian strap iron bench, garden cart, cool tools and old books} before heading about 30 miles west..



...to an "edge of town" farmette along the Fox River with several out buildings including this old barn. Note to readers: This cute little barn is actually a VERY BIG barn!



The old Ford truck is really just a front end sitting next to the barn...not coming out of it.



You can just see the top of the pretty, restored turn of the century farmhouse peaking over the top of the tent.



This is the surplus of a couple who are full time antiques dealers. The barn is FULL of ready to redo furniture projects.

Notes to self:

1. Don't bring home thousand pound things that no one else wants.
2. Don't leave indoor things OUTSIDE.



I asked the wife what was up with the sale, and her reply was that it was time "to do things differently."



I am walking toward one of the helpers who is picking up two of my purchases...some dress forms who are going to need "remodeling".

Bought some neat old silverware for a project. And a box full of vintage {but unused} folding, cardboard egg carriers with great graphics.



Saturday I was out again very, very early, and Sunday I was at this flea market shopping.



Saturday afternoon: Went to two Estate Sales in the morning. One in a house that had been closed up for 18 years! The handwritten sign: "DUCK" meant just that. I had to bend over in half to get into the very scary basement. The things I do for my customers.

Snow-Guys get on the Bus!

Today I am posting about what I have been working on in my studio {aka: the basement}.

I just finished 24 of these vintage bottle Snow-Guys, but before they get on the bus for the big time {Texas Antique Shows in the Fall} I got some of them to pose for a picture....Note: They are going, I'm not, boo!

...so you all can begin thinking about Christmas and making some gifts for your friends and family.

Never too early to think about making Christmas presents.

Now is the time before you get too busy!!!



Check out how they started. I showed their beginnings when I participated in the Where Bloggers Create blog party.



The most expensive part can be the clay for their heads, but it you have a Michael's or Joann's, just use your discount coupon.



All the other elements are bits and pieces that you might have around the house
.. old books, buttons, jewelry snippets, glitter and tinsel...
now get those brain-wheels turning and see what you can come up with..

White Wednesday

Had to... just had to.... join the White Wednesday blog party hosted by Faded Charm. Love her blog name, her blog, and this blog party!!!!!!!




Today I'm showing a little wire cloche I made, filled with old butter pats, and adorned with a little bisque girl.

Here is the post I wrote about making the cloche.

Enjoy your day traveling around in the wonderful world of white!

Another Ridiculously Easy Photo Holder

Difficulty Level: RE,NK {Ridiculously Easy, No Kidding}



You may have some of these in your garage or left over from when you collected garden antiques.



You may have some of these ~ either your own ancestors, or some borrowed ancestors.



You'll need some wire. Here I am using 19 gauge dark annealed steel wire (available at your local hardware store).

You can use other wire. I just like this weight, and the fact that it is black.

You'll need wire cutters and a pen...I like Sharpies..they are just the right diameter.




Cut your wire into 9 inch lengths and wrap one end around your sharpie tightly 3 or 4 times.



Then wrap the rest of the wire around your hose nozzle from top to bottom, cut off excess.



Stick photo in the tightly coiled end.

Here comes the creative part.
What do you have that you want to display...
placecards, love notes, kids' photos, to do lists....

and what other heavy things do you have that you could wrap wire around....other garden tools, old printer's blocks, silverware.......???????

Have some fun with YOUR stuff!!!!! The stuff you already own.

What I am Creating Now!

Many of the "Where Bloggers Create" readers have inquired about what I am working on now in my Studio {AKA, the basement} so I thought I'd show you.



These snowmen are in the early stages of completion...I know Christmas July?...but, these are for a special order due in two weeks.



See glimpses of my studio in the next post. Enjoy the rest of the wonderful posts in the "Where Bloggers Create" blog party!!!

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share my snow-guys with you!

Where I Create

I am participating in the exciting blog party Where Bloggers Create being hosted by MY DESERT COTTAGE....so...

Imagine me {making snowmen, yes snowmen!} in an unfinished basement...AKA, my studio...




surrounded by unmatched, trash-find wood shelves, working on Costco folding tables...




filled with stuff collected over many years...




some of it planned for a specific project...




some of it collected for future projects...




some of it just because it was cool, neat, cheap, interesting...




fun, or free...




and some JUST BECAUSE...




as I get older...




I am more willing to actually make things with all this stuff...not so worried that it will be all gone...not so worried that I won't find more...




Now I make things to sell so these bits and pieces can have a new life, and other people can ENJOY THEM.

Warning: Mopeds Ahead

This Outdoor Wednesday post has little to do with my passion for antiques hunting. It is much more about the ADVENTURE of hunting for antiques. It's about the unexpected and unplanned.



I started out in a pretty typical place...at a gate waiting for a garage sale to open.



The most interesting (and cheapest) thing turned out to be a view of these pretty, and vigorous climbing hydrangeas covering the neighbor's fence.




They deserve a closeup. Just perfect...very green and very lush.
Forget the antiques, I want some of these.



Later we went to a lovely neighborhood where the houses are in a wooded area and clustered together by historical-style themes. I have always loved these houses, and they have held up well over the past 25 years.

This is the view from the back porch of the Estate Sale. The antiques were lovely, abundant, pricey and I wondered how the family is ever going to clear the house to put it on the market.

No antiques purchased here either, but another lovely view.



On the way home we stumbled on a tiny flea market with about 8 vendors. The most popular booth had ladies' purses, scarves, and accessories.

No antiques here of me either.

.

My last stop was to see what all these kids were doing. They were on a moped rally riding from downtown Chicago to Illinois State Beach Park for a BBQ.

There were more than 100 riders. They had come from all over the country...New York, LA, Texas, Virginia, Minneapolis to do this ride. Talking to them about their passions...riding, traveling, photography was the highlight of my day.

The day turned out not to be so much about my passion, but the beauty all around me and the passions of others.

Hats Away

I think this post covers all of the Thursday Blog Party topics.

I used thrifty hats, the rack is vintage, I did it myself and I had to transform a pile of hats to a "okay again" hat display.

If you aren't interested in any of that you can just skip to my almost 50th post giveaway at the end....

It was a supposed to be easy "how to". It turned out not to be that easy.




This should be easy. Hats on a rack, right?



These thrift shop hats have been hanging on this thrift shop rack for at least 5 years until someone decided they wanted to try one on...then ALL the hats came tumbling down.



Recently I decided I to put them back up and post about how easy this display is to make. Ha. Don't try it with a camera on a bouncy old bed...



Use wire on the insides of the hats so you have something to keep the hats on the hooks. Don't start this project if you are hungry, tired, cranky, or impatient.




Pretend that they are all neatly lined up like you would do it, and just imagine how cute they would look over your bed, doorway, or on your front porch.

Bringing the Outside Inside

Today I'd like to do something a little different.

For this Outdoor Wednesday I'd like to show you how I bring the OUTSIDE to the INSIDE of my home.



I so love the way they look outside, that I made some permanent arrangements of eggs with nests to have inside. They are all under glass domes with wood bases that I painted black.



The top two were made faux eggs and nests. The last one has a real egg and nest that was abandoned.

The leaves and stems are a combination of real and faux. On the backside of the domes, I attached old bird, nest, and egg prints.

The bird print in the last photo is attached to the backside of a glass microscope slide.



I call them Life Under Glass. Thank you for letting me share them with you.

I'd love to see and hear how you bring the OUTSIDE inside.

Ridiculously Easy: Ruler becomes a Star

Project difficulty: VVE {Very, very easy}



Most of you probably don't have this many folding rulers, but it only takes one to become a STAR!



I only wish I had thought to share this project before the 4th of July. Always a day late and a dollar short (as my mom used to say).




Well, here it is. Fold out the ruler sections to form a 5 pointed star.

You'll have a few sections extra. You could cut the extra off... but why ruin a perfectly good ruler.

Just keep the extra folded. Wire or glue the last section together to finish.



I made about a dozen of these for the flea market last weekend. I hung them from a market umbrella in the center of my booth.



Wouldn't they be fun to decorate with during the Christmas holidays? Or for you Texas girls---everyday of the year!!!