A customer shares
I love it when a customer graciously shares pictures of something they’ve bought from my store. Seeing items in their new home is a feeling akin to finding a loving home for a kitten you can’t keep no matter how much you’d like to.
CM bought some Lucite candlesticks and shared photos of them in his home. Here they are, all the way from England………
Don’t you love the windows and other collections? Thank you Craig for allowing me to share your pictures!
And any of you, my friends, if you buy something from the Etsy shop or my booth, I’d love to see how you use the items! If you’d rather I not put the pictures on the blog, just say so.
To bring you up to date on what’s going on around here. Our internet is still so dang slow. Anything that is picture heavy, I lose patience waiting for them to load and half the time they don’t completely load. I don’t have the time or patience to wait on pictures to load on Pinterest or blogs. And believe me, I miss the inspiration. I’ve noticed when I’m not being visually inspired, I start to get the blahs. The yucks. We plan to remedy the internet situation shortly by changing providers, but they have that nasty habit of wanting money up front, and it seems like that money is always going for, oh, I dunno… gas… LOL Anyway, I’ll be glad to get this problem fixed.
We’ve been back to the barn sale. Or maybe I should call it “stuff for sale in a row of added on outside work rooms to a little house”. Pictures of the latest will be coming up.
And it was a very good day
It’s been awhile since I’ve had anything exciting to talk about. No really great sales, just not much going on, but last Saturday turned out to be worth the wait. I got out Friday morning early and circled the same 5 yard sales waiting for someone to open up. Nearly 2 hours I rode. Finally, two of them started putting things out. Finding nothing, I got bored and went home. Fearing Saturday would be the same, I didn’t bother to get up at the crack o’ dawn. I didn’t get out until after 8:00! You’d think all the good stuff would have been gone by then. Perhaps the biggest competition stayed in that day. Who knows? Here’s how it all went down:
1st sale:
Eh. Not a great start. I actually bought John Wayne for the glass globe.
Sale #2:
A lot better:
I’m in love with Boo-Boo Head Doggie. He’s made out of Syrocco and is in pitiful condition. The busts were made in Italy. I’m thinking I’ll paint the wicker angelfish.
Sale #3
No, that’s not a mistake. It was a big, fat nothing of a sale.
Sale #4:
Who could resist a pile of green handle man tools? Apparently I was the only one they spoke to. Maybe that’s why I don’t sell tons in the booth. Nobody around here gets it. But you do… don’t you??
I was actually pretty content with the days finds, but there was one more, about 40 miles away that I couldn’t resist. It was advertised as a barn sale with woodworking materials, upholstery fabric and junk. I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough money, so deliberately didn’t try to get there early. Made it there about 11:00. Sixty seconds later I was so excited I ’bout wet my pants. Or maybe I did, but was too excited to notice. I thought about taking pictures but my cell phone had picked that day to go crazy. There was so much, I didn’t know which way to turn. And other people were there getting stuff I’d have like to have! Nooooo!!! Turned out the sellers just wanted us to make a pile and they’d price it. And the price turned out to be very affordable. Wanna see what I came home with?
(One of the first things I spotted was a 6′ silver aluminum Christmas tree in it’s box. I got it, but didn’t take a picture.)
I’m keeping the doorknobs and the aforementioned tree.
That’s barkcloth on the bottom. The brown and black is zodiac upholstery fabric.
There’s more of this fabric than I can tote.
Musty smelling trim.
Old Christmas tree stand.
Another old Christmas tree stand, but I’m a little sad that that’s rust and not dirt.
I actually got two lamps. The other is drying out. It was naaaaaasty.
That was all in the cab of the truck. The bed was filled up with this:
Let’s see. There are 2 mid century chairs that I want to put some funky fabric on, a newel post, a small rolling stand with no top, two metal trays, a tall turquoise rolling cart, a tin panel, a tall stainless steel rolling cart, a little vanity chair, a turquoise seat stool, a record player stand and two beach chair frames.
There was actually more stuff, but it was boring. Woodworking trim, stuff like that. Ricky and I went back a couple of days later and he loaded up on tools. I got some more things we didn’t have room for in the truck and will go back for them next week.
And how much money did I spend the day? Under $100. Do I win the prize for the best bargains?
7 hours of shopping work for this?
Good grief! I only went to the sales on Saturday, but there were more to go to than I had time for. Both yard sales and estate sales. I didn’t pick and choose. Just went in order. All day I trudged up and down steep driveways, gazed at tables laden with people’s cast offs, toured houses of the deceased or the moving, and it seemed to be the same story everywhere I went. Nobody had anything of interest for me. I don’t know if it was the mood I was in, if I started on the wrong side of town first, or if there truly was nothing of interest out there. I did find a couple of things that should pay for my gas when they sell, but in the end, I’d have been better off if I’d stayed at home. This was the day’s take:
A Panasonic flip clock radio (Why didn’t I stage the picture better and hide the cord?), a piece of so-so fabric and a badly broken clock. And…….
An old movie projector, a broken slate, a trinket box with a chipped corner, a white Bible and a white child’s prayer book, a cheap hour glass – or is it a minute glass? – and a little Christmas tin.
Oh, I forgot. Some sheets to use as muslins for the pants pattern I’m still(!) trying to make fit. How pitiful is that? It seemed if I was remotely interested, it was too expensive. I do regret not buying the brown transfer plates for $5 each at the first sale. She started out wanting $10 each and came down to $5. She paid $65 a piece for two of them, for Heaven’s sake! But I never make good decisions at the first sale of the day. Maybe she doesn’t make good decisions at antique shops?
On another note, I need to grumble. Our DSL is flying away at the super sonic speed of old dial up. This is so frustrating! I wanted to view the live feed of the Etsy workshops on Friday, but all I got was the spinning wheel. No movement of the picture and no sound. Pinterest is a pain. Pinterest! All the pictures won’t load. So until we do something about this or it gets better – cough – I’m doing only what I have to do on the internet. Work and check emails. And play Words With Friends with my son. It’s too annoying to try to do anything more.
19 Big Burlap Bags
Ah….. How many of us would get excited to see a sign at a yard sale saying, “Burlap Bags”? But I didn’t see any, so asked about them. She hadn’t had time to get them out yet and asked if I wanted one. Well, I might want more than one if she’ll bring them out. She did. And I did. She said they were big, but I didn’t realize just how big. 41″ x 37″ in bag form. Double that if you open them up. They were a darn good price and I bought them all. All 19 of them.
But what does one do with 19 big burlap bags?? Yeah, yeah. I know. Share with friends, maybe sell a few. But I want to be sure I’ve had my fill before getting rid of any. So, OK. Make a pillow, cover a chair seat and/or back, make some kind of sign. Table runner. I don’t think any of my rooms could use them as curtains. I suspect the lady selling them had the same problem. I can imagine she was excited to get them then ran out of ideas of what to do with them. Or didn’t have the time to put the ideas in motion or lost motivation.
Since a stack of burlap isn’t a very interesting picture, while I was outside I took a few pictures of some blooming things. Oh, don’t worry. I won’t do endless pictures of flowers. Some folks enjoy seeing pics of flowers, some don’t.
That picture is just too bright.
These are better:
My husband started these pink flowers from breaking a sprig off his mother’s plant. He’s the gardener in the family, taking after his mother and grandmother. I stay away. There seems to be flower poison in my skin. I can’t grow anything.
That’s what I do. Put the garden junk in strategic places. This is a great little corner that needs some thought. I bought this cooler a couple of weeks ago and just set it there in the corner to keep from piling it up somewhere until it found its home. Maybe it’ll stay there, maybe it’ll go somewhere else or maybe I’ll sell it. Who knows?
Peeks at the new craft room
Only peeks, though. I’m far, far, far from ready to show it. There’s still a filing cabinet in here that doesn’t belong and I don’t have everything arranged. There’s also a piece I want to use in here where the filing cabinet is now.
I was given, yes given this old, hand made cabinet. It’s on an iron refrigerator base that stands, oh, 2-1/2′ tall or so. The total height of the cabinet is about 6′ and it’s over 3′ wide.
I’d just started putting things in it at that point. Still don’t have it like I want it.
When we first brought it in, Oreo investigated every inch. There is no glass on the doors. It originally had cardboard which is still on the back, but I tore it off the front and sides.
She liked it and will have a bed on one side of it.
The top now sports a suitcase my friend Melanie gave me, an old drawer and some vintage wallpaper rolls.
The state fair ribbon came from the same home as the cabinet.
I’m using these old boxes for storage and am amazed at the prices these days! I suppose that’s to be expected though with the industrial look all the rage. I’ve been lucky to find them for a dollar or two each at estate sales. The wonderful shelves you get a glimpse of were made by my husband. Such a talented man!
This is a metal shelving unit I picked up at an estate sale a few years ago.
The front of a little metal cabinet that is holding my glues.
I fell in love with these two clip boards with their fancy clips. I do believe I sense a new collection coming on.
The mid century light fixture I found late in the day at an estate sale. Set me back a whopping $2.00! The man right behind me would have snatched it up if he’d seen it first. He was so jealous.
The shade to the lamp on my desk. Another bargain. Don’t remember how much now, but the brass lamp with its original shade was well below $20.00. I had it for sale in my shop, but hoped all along that no one would buy it even though, at the time I had no idea where I could use it in my home. But it found a spot! Yay!
You might have figured out that I’m going with an industrial/mid century modern look. I find the two styles go well together. One of these days I’ll have the room finished enough to show the whole thing. Who knows when, though?
So what’s been going on lately? I’ve been obsessed… OBSESSED… with trying to get a pants pattern to fit me perfectly. Years ago, I had a pattern that I used to make all my pants. It fit correctly and I never had to go buy pants, trying on pair after pair after pair. I’ve gained a lot of weight since then and things have shifted. Toward the floor. So the tweak I made way back then doesn’t work now. I tried a few years ago and finally gave up. But got a hankering, a determination, to do it again. It’s too time consuming and frustrating trying to find ready made pants to fit. I have a weird “crotch oddity”. Oh, I’m not deformed or anything like that. My be-hind is somewhat lower than the industry standard.
I’ve been consulting the book Pants For Real People and found a similar fitting tutorial that was on sew-whats-new.com years ago. (I’m glad I printed that out since it’s no longer there.) I’ve tried all the suggestions these two sources have given, tried a Bonfit sloper thingy, made countless muslins, all with no progress. I did find Don McCunn’s web site and he’s addressed my particular problem, so I think the solution is right around the corner. I’m taking a few days break from them, though because our son is up for a visit for a couple of days.
Now you’re totally up to date with my fascinating life. Fascinating. Baaaahahahahaha!
How fun are these pictures?
This will be a quick post. I just wanted to share these two pictures I bought last weekend. I didn’t buy much at that sale, but couldn’t resist these pics.
Gasp! How shocking! But, Angelina could learn a pose from this girl. And at least this young lady has some meat on her bones. Speaking of meat on bones…..
God bless him! But aren’t they both just the cutest things? There were some other pictures of the little boy that made me think he might have been mentally handicapped. I want to hug him and pinch those cheeks. Bet he got a lot of that.
That’s all I have for tonight. Oh! Today was the day Google was supposed to have changed everything up. Did I disappear from your readers or subscriptions or whatever was supposed to happen?
Booth redo pictures
Where have I been the last 15 days? Beats me. Time just goes by so fast! I’ve gone to the sales the past two weekends, but other than that, I have no idea. Except for the few days I’ve spent working in the booth. I haven’t even added much to Etsy. Now I’m really scratching my head trying to figure out what I’ve been doing with my time if it wasn’t blogging or Etsying. Hmmmm.
Here’s what I can show for a few days time. Last week I bought an Art Deco sofa and chair and a 1970′s dresser. We took them straight from the owner’s house to my booth at the Pickle Patch. And the challenge was on. How to find a place for them. It looked impossible, but I did it! Began a little spring decorating while I was at it, too.
I do love that table, but it takes up room and it’s time to move it out. I wish one of my living areas was large enough to use it as a coffee table. 
It’s hard to tell, but this little black table has the cutest clock face knob. And… Oops! What a “fo pa”! I’d better get down there first thing tomorrow and remove the yard sale sticker on that basket. LOL And just in case you’re wondering, my price is only $6.00. So maybe if anybody sees it before I get it off, they’ll think kindly of me and realize I’m not trying to rip anybody off.
The aforementioned 1970′s dresser. $175.00
Aaaannnd, the sofa and chair. That’s the original fabric, too. How cool is that? .
I didn’t take pictures of the whole booth. There are a few other spots I skipped over. Just hit the high points.
If you’re in east central Alabama, please come visit us at the Pickle Patch Market on Hwy. 280 in Sylacauga. The mall isn’t so large that it’ll wear you out walking through, but it’s large enough to have a nice variety. And, I feel compelled to say this, you won’t feel dirty when you leave. It’s one of the nice, clean malls. You can also have an Italian meal at Giovanni’s next door. The mall is open Tuesday – Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 11-5.
A Valentine project
This is from last year, but I haven’t done anything this year, so I thought I’d resurrect this one. Melanie, Tiffany and I got together last year and made assemblages/collages/whatever-they-might-be-called from heart shaped jello molds. This is my result.
Since I haven’t decorated for Valentine’s this time, I’ll content myself with looking at the picture. You can see theirs, and I promise they are worth the look, {here}.
I’m linking up with Common Ground’s {Vintage Inspiration Friday}.
And remember. If you subscribe to this blog through Friend Connect only, I’ll disappear in March. Please resubscribe either through Linky or the subscribe link. Please do not use Friend Connect. Thanks!
Look what a friend gave me!
Yes, she GAVE me it! We’ve known each other most of our lives and she was a next door neighbor for several years before moving across town a few years ago. She changes decor fairly often and is minimalizing. When she has junk to get rid of she kindly thinks of me! So she called and said she had a lamp for me if I wanted it. Y’all know I rarely turn down free, so I took off to her house. This is what she had:
Wow! Really?! Apparently it was an oil lamp that had been electrified in the 1940′s or 50′s. I believe I can take the socket off. I’m sure it had a matching glass globe at one time.
It’s way fancier than my usual decor, but it just might have to go in the spare bedroom with {this bed}. The bedroom that I haven’t even thought about thinking about starting the redo.
It’s been broken, but I say who cares?
Since this isn’t my normal thing, I don’t know this mark. Do any of you? I thought maybe Dresden, but didn’t find this one in the Dresden marks.
On another note, Google seems to be punishing those of us who don’t have our blogs on Blog Spot. They’re discontinuing Friend Connect and I haven’t heard if our feeds will automatically be transferred to Google Reader or not. It kinda looks like not. So if you follow me, and I sincerely hope that you do, please follow with a…uh… feed… thingy. Straight out Google Reader subscribe thing or whatever you use to see your feeds. Thank you ever so much. This is annoying.
Redecorating the pantry
There’s this little room next to the kitchen. I believe when the house was built it was a porch and next to it was a carport and next to that was the laundry room. A previous owner made the carport into a “playroom”, left the laundry room where it was which then opened into the playroom and turned the porch into a… hmmm… well…. we always called it a breakfast room but it was/is much too small for that. I call it the pantry with a roll of my eyes, but it’s really just the little room next to the kitchen. We’d thought about knocking out the wall between the two rooms, but there was more storage space if we didn’t. Anyway, I got a wild hair last fall to redecorate and this is the result.
My Latest Etsy Items
Other places I hang out
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