It was the best of sales, it was the worst of sales

I recently went to an estate sale that advertised "97 years of accumulation". The sheer amount of stuff was overwhelming. So overwhelming in fact, that it didn't even occur to me to take photos. And decades of filth covered everything! I swung wildly between total joy and complete revulsion. But, you know me girls, I can find a diamond in the rough anywhere!

Vintage necklaces (the minty green one still has the original $2.95 price tag attached), old plastic baby hangers, miniature perfume bottles, "cross stitch" playing cards (never opened), FRAGILE mailing stickers and a package of Dennison St. Patrick's Day stickers.

2 lovely prints; one of some European bridge and the other one of some European dude chatting up some European babe in some European town square a couple of centuries ago. Filthy!

A bunch of Smokey Bear stuff. I especially like the blue foil ashtrays for stubbin' out your smokes instead of tossing them into a nearby forest.

I scored in the ephemera department. Floral greeting cards,

pink owl stationery,

kittens and more florals. When I got home, I took a long, hot shower.

Birds of a Feather....

...flock together on a vintage sea foam green jewelry box. My friend Emily just brought these into the shop. I had to stop myself from squealing out loud. She uses birds and lace and flowers and buttons and ribbon!

She even finished the inside of the box with cheery orange buttons.

Wouldn't you just love one of these for Valentine's Day?

The One That Got Away

No, girls, not a man. Please. It was a glorious work of junk art and I fell, head over heels. Vintage jewels fashioned into a gold framed flower arrangement. In a persimmon velvet basket!

The colors and shapes and textures!

Sparkling, like stars in a midnight sky.

But it was not meant to be. Price: $45. Really? Surely whoever is doing the pricing put the decimal point in back of the 5 instead of in front of it. No? What has happened to my favorite thrift store? I took photos of my beloved and walked out in a huff.

Junk Becomes Useful

There are few things in life more fabulous than vintage necklaces with chunky plastic beads. They remind me of candy. And my great aunt Helen. While watching Mad Men reruns or listening to Adele, I take them apart to make earrings that look like this:

I have accumulated quite a collection of the end bits of the necklaces...the claspy thingies. Because, you know, I might need them someday.

Then one morning, when I least expected it, I had an epiphany. I rushed over to Dava Bead, bought chain and jump rings and other shiny objects and repurposed the claspy thingies into new necklaces. What do you think?



Special thanks to my model (and daughter), Emma.

Stuff I Got on my Spring Vacation - Part I

Girls....We're down to the whole point of the trip to London...THE JUNK!
Let's start with the small stuff first, shall we?

Collection of vintage floral-ish and bling-ish brooches. Each one has a story, of course. The one with the little cottage is a tiny painting. If I had to choose, I think my favorite is the top middle one...flowers and a jewel!

Buttons: mostly green, some shell, all fabulous and cheap. Just like me.

These beauties all signify membership to a club of some kind; dancing, bowling, swimming, even bee-keeping. They can be found in abundance at markets...very charming and so British!
My favorite is the one with the child's face. Mary Reynolds won it in the "Sunshine Dancing Competition" in 1936. I also love the silver one to the left of Mary's. It is so worn (and must have been truly loved) that the lettering has all rubbed off. Sweet!

Junk Becomes Useful ~ Part 6

Today's riddle:

What do you get when you combine vintage buttons from your collection...

with fab old fruit doodads you found in a stranger's attic at an estate sale?

You get Tutti Fruitti Spring rings...

and hair clips!

I'm putting these in my Etsy shop this weekend!

Grab Bag

At a recent sale, there were several plastic sandwich bags full of jewelry bits tossed haphazardly on the dining room table. I snagged this one that was marked $1.50. Just so you know, I don't like paying more than $1 for anything, so this was a stretch for me.

Just look at what was buried in all that bad 80's pot metal!

All of these pieces will be repurposed into rings and hair doodads. I like the shiny green rhinestone gem best of all. Which one is your favorite?