Just a Couple

I only went to garage sales in the afternoon on Saturday. Just a little bit...as I'm supposed to be prepping for my own and figuring out how to sell what I have. It's addicting though...thinking the most amazeballs things could be out there for me to find...

 This beautiful UPco planter

 A glass making book

This beautiful ballet dancer in an amazing frame. It's old, maybe forties, and I have no idea who the painter is. I want to keep it for myself, but it is so far from anything I own already. I mean, completely different. Maybe I'll have to paint a room around it.

And this wasn't from this weekend, but this is a selection of vintage wallpaper I found in someone's basement. I think it is awesome.

I feel like I always see posts where people got a jar of beads or buttons or something and they had something special in them and I NEVER see anything like that.
Except.
Except for YESTERDAY! I got a JAR OF WONDERS! A big giant jar of junk jewelry!

Magnificent!

Some Weiss earrings (singles, of course), some crazy bangles...they're all a little mushed or squished or have parts missing. But, I'm pretty sure I can make something amazing with some of them, and find some use for others. The best feeling was breaking it open when I got home and looking through it. BEST BEST BEST!

Did a lot of cleaning

and no thrifting. But I thriftily found some things I had forgotten about:

70s family

Very heavy nursery frame with field mice and balloons.

You me and ours bar set.

And, because the Easter bunny brought me some new craft punches (bless you, Martha Stewart), I made some nursery art for friends of ours who are having a baby. They have a gender-neutral woodsy themed nursery, and I liked the idea of making a very colorful tree.

I spent a lot of time cleaning and trying to get things sorted for the Mother of All One Day Yard Sales...hopefully coming this May to a yard near you...my yard...

awesome.

 

Have you heard of Recite? This site will turn any quote into an awesomely designed poster for you. FREE ART! YAHOO! I like it.

Happiest when making things...

I've been using picmonkey to create printables for the library. I made this little note for my bear, and I think it is adorable. It's in a very small format here...but I have it in a larger one if you'd like to print it out yourself...
Things at work are the pits right now. I try to remember the great parts of my job instead of dwelling on things I can't change. One of the great things is that I get to make stuff all the time. That's awesome. Even if sometimes it's just flyers.

Treasuries!

I will admit, I have not been working as hard at etsy stuff. I haven't been hustling, which is what you have to do. Maybe I've lost my mojo, or my love for it. I'm not sure...

I've been cleaning out the basement, and making bins for a one dollar, two dollar and three dollar table for my May yard sale. I think we're getting a little overwhelmed with things, and, if I'm not selling, then I can't be buying.

So for the next few weeks, until my May garage sale, I'll be hustling on Etsy and Ebay - to see if I can love it again, or I should try to get rid of as much as possible that I don't find to be REALLY beautiful or useful. I love planters, and tins, and always will find uses for them - it's just that I know other people will be so happy with them too!

I didn't buy anything this weekend, but I did buy things AFTER I posted last weekend.

This is a VERY dirty vase I found at the Only-Open-Sunday-store:

And this is after I cleaned it:

It does have some mottling, but I think it is big and Beautiful! It's a USA vase, and I think it's awesome.

 

I also got this footed planter - Kidney shaped Brush - for sale.

I also bought another planter (surprise) and a piece of California pottery for a buck! sweet!
In other news, my dogs:

fin.

In Which it is The Pinnacle of Selling and I am Unprepared

I showed at another craft fair. Andy says no more. I work really hard to get everything together, and Long Island doesn't appear to be my place to sell things. I do okay online.
Everything's crazy. Hurricane Sandy cleanup at the library is really hard. It's still a lot of physical work and my poor little out-of-shape librarian's body is unhappy about the whole thing.We're starting on the fifth week of all of this stuff, and everything's off. Andy's schedule is kind of back to normal, and I'm working 9-5s, which is unusual for me, as I used to work different times almost every day.
Now, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone and I didn't have time to really get myself together for it. So, I'm afraid I won't sell as much as I wanted to.
Some recent additions:

Shiny Brite Ornaments

Vintage polish ornaments

An awesome Murano glass bowl. It's beautiful and it has its sticker! I don't know a ton about glass - I've just picked up things I think are pretty. But it's definitely something worth looking in to. I listed the bowl on Ebay, hoping it will make someone the perfect present (and right quick!)

 

Now, for something completely different:

A long time ago (months), I bought this tumbler/vase. It is white ceramic and it has deers in a forest on it. I thought I found some answers about its maker, but I cannot find the info again! Anyone know anything? It was made in Germany (from the partial sticker at the bottom) and it has a mark I haven't been able to match.

Thanks for any help you are able to provide, friends!

Also, use the coupon code SWEETDEALS for 10% off anything in my shop - vintage or handmade!



In Which We have a PlayDate

On Saturday, I went to Gail's and we had a playdate! And I brought my camera, because Baby Joe has been totally gyped in the picture department!

Here he is! He is a very smiley baby!

Quinn directed this part of the photo time. He didn't want to sit on Gail's lap, said "No", so we figured it was over. Then he moved and sat next to Baby Joey on the other side and started smiling! He had his own ideas about what would make a great picture of his brothers!

We played outside!

James picked me flowers.

Our morning was super fun, and I just love the stuffing out of these guys!

Tee hee! Friday Favorites!

Hey! It's me! Here!

Favorite Kids Books...Part I

I feel justified to say Part I because I read a lot of books and am bound to forget some that I really like.

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
Sweet and awesome book about what could happen if we encouraged nature to take over...

The Man Who Didn't Wash His Dishes by Phyllis Krasilovsky, illustrated by Barbara Cooney
If you didn't wash your dishes, eventually there would be a consequence. I super love the 50s illustrations by Barbara Cooney. It's totally red and black and white like an old school Italian restaurant.

The Birthday Fish by Dan Yaccarino
Cynthia wants a pony, and gets a fish instead. What to do, what to do...

Franny B. Kranny, There's a Bird in Your Hair! by Harriet Lerner and Susan Goldhor, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
I'm pretty sure the title says it all. But Franny B. Kranny marches to her own beat, which I always dig.

Squids will be Squids by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
Why is this book so funny? I'm not sure. But it is an easy way to tell new parents that there is still an awful lot of funny things that they can laugh at with their kids.

The Sheep Fairy: When Wishes Have Wings byRuth Louise Symes, illustrated by David Sim
Wendy is just your average sheep--but a good deed makes some crazy stuff happen...and she saves the day! What could be better?

So this is just a few. If I haven't gotten these for your kids, and you want 'em, I'll be sure to add those titles to your holiday stuff.