Crafty Stock-ups

Today I had quite a bit of luck in the craft department as far as the estate sale haul. It was super fun digging through all the fabric and sewing notions with my ma. She caught some things I would've missed.

Like this:



A dresser scarf half finished with such a pretty peacock. I got another one just like it that hasn't been worked on. At this particular garage sale, the lady was selling fabric - and this included those scarves - by the bag. Price of bag? $1.00!





At another sale I got the crewel kit that's keeping the fabric company for $1.00. It includes a zipper and a lining and instructions. I've never done crewel before, but this looks like a lovely project. I like having a stash of little project kits. Especially come winter when going out thrifting is not so pleasant. Nothing like a little project, an old movie and a long afternoon free.

We also came across these:



They all came together in a bag and we waited until we got home to separate them all out and divide them between us. What fun! And I found a few treasures for the I Heart Pink and Aqua Swap I joined.

For $2.50, I scored a Weave It at another sale







It makes the cutest little square coasters. I was thinking of making some to border a small square hooked rug did a few years ago. We'll see what happens. I'm still working on that chair and D's (my husband's) hat. I've been itching to make a rug though lately. Ever since D decided to make a little office in our basement, I've wanted to make him a rug. Just to make the place a little more comfy. He has said he likes the austere, light bulb dangling from a cord, no nonsense atmosphere of the basement because it helps him concentrate. All I can think is cold tootsies!

Other finds were all for the garden. I've been looking for garden statues since we moved in. They are scarce and the ones I do find are in boutiques for prices I can't even pay for indoor bric-a-brac. These were all $1.00-$2.00 a piece.











D has been having good luck with finds, too. Check out our new fish plate:




And our new artwork. It tells a story I find inspirational.



So, that's all for now. Time to enjoy my fam. I leave you with pics of earings purchased at Classic Facets from the costume jewelry drawers. The fine jewelry I'd give my teeth for, but they don't take teeth for payment. Just gobs of cash I do not have. I wish they'd hurry up and put pieces for sale on the web.

My new earings



Ma's new earings

Fantasy Friends

Still on the subject of jewelry, check out these lovelies:

The Carmen Lucia Ruby


A gorgeous emerald cameo


Both are from our national collection at the Smithsonian. I was lucky enough to see all the lovelies in person!



That's me and the Hope Diamond. The largest blue diamond, I believe, in the world.



Gorgeous, isn't it? Probably would look great with my newly thrifted jean shorts and a white cotton tank top. You know, everyday wear.

You can see more of our national gem and mineral collection here:
http://mineralsciences.si.edu/collections.htm

Or, you can get the guide. I have it and it was a great purchase. It has tons of closeup shots and histories for most pieces.

http://www.smithsonianstore.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=15547&parentCategoryId=3302&categoryId=3306


Time to pick up ma for a trip to Classic Facets. If I splurge (or she splurges) I'll post the pics.

A Girl's Best Friends

My mother is visiting right now. My sister-in-law was here last week and together we scoped out the best boutiques in Denver and Boulder. My mother will now get to enjoy all our hard work and simply waltz into the best of the best. One stop I'm very excited to go to is an antique jewelry store in Boulder.

http://www.classicfacets.com/Welcome.html

I had been there a year or so before but this time I noticed a wall of old drawers. I inquired as to what was in them. Costume jewelry was the answer. Organized by time period, color...

I started to have palpitations. I am a BIG jewelry fan. Fine, costume, candy - you name it, I wear it. Would you like a peak into my collection?



Here are a few of my pins. All vintage. The parrot on the far left was a gift from my mother-in-law who shares my love of vintage jewelry and came across a cache of fabulous treasures from my husband's aunt or grandmother on his Dad's side. I can't remember which. I spent a few hours in May labeling old photos of his family taken in the 1930s and 1940s and I can tell you that both women had impressive wardrobes complete with accessories to die for (sigh).

The three tiny buttons for Liberty Loans, Pacific Mutual, and Hoover came in a miscellaneous bag of buttons and notions I bought years ago at a thrift store. I probably only paid $1.00. The circular rhinestone broach was a gift from my mother. The large rhinestone flower was a gift from my mother-in-law from an estate sale. The two colorful flowers were $2.00 a piece at an estate sale. Finally, my little friend pressed against the side was 50 cents at a garage sale. It belonged to an eccentric aunt, I was told. It's a sweater pin. The head has a pin on the back and so does the tail-like part. You wear them one on each side of a sweater as a type of closure.



I have a very stupid, stupid allergy. I can't wear earrings. None. Not gold ones, not hypo-allergenic, not titanium. Nothing goes in the holes in my ears. Sometimes I do try and within a few hours my glands swell and my ears get red and it's just not a pretty site. I can wear clip ons, however, and have amassed quite a collection of screw backs as well as clips. Some are very old. I get them relatively cheap since most modern women do not enjoy clip ons or screw backs. Here are just a few pairs.

The gold pairs with the aqua colored rhinestones were $1.00 a pair at a rummage sale. The shell ones were 50 cents. The pink flowers were $2.00 at an estate sale.

The blue tiles with the seagulls are probably my favorites. They are from the same cache of awesomeness the parrot pin came from. I was taking a second look with my husband's aunt. She was the one to find them. "Look at these!", she said. I glanced over and shrugged. No, no, no, she insisted. I should take them, too. "They're unusual", she said. She was right. I love them and never wear them without getting a compliment. Especially if I wear them to an antique show. The dealers go ga-ga. I married into a very smart family. Lucky girl am I.

Oh, and that tiny silver ring? It has the smallest of acorns on it. A gift from my husband who bought it on the sly from a garage sale.

So, now I'm off to the gym while mommy has a conference call. Then, we shop. Oh, do we shop!

Dirty Panda, Dirty Chair, Dirty Me

This was the grungiest of conquests I have had in a long time. Meet my new friends:



The little green circular sticker reads $10.00. What a steal for what must be an antique rocking chair. Look at that lovely dark wood -



Oh, wait a minute, what's this?



It appears I can easily write my name in this dark wood. Why, it's not the color of the wood at all that I'm seeing but decades and decades of dirt and dust. And if it's covered in dirt and dust, then it can only mean one thing -

IT'S A TREASURE!!!!

Just like my other pal here





That little red dot means he was 25 cents. This is because he's missing an ear. But who could resist a face like this?




So, after my garage sales and what nots on Friday, I had a lot of work to do.



And after a good scrub, Panda was ready to dry in the sun, nestled in his new garden home.




The chair, however, was a different story.



Now what to do? I could paint it I guess. Or maybe paint the cushion (which is ugly). I could sand it down to a more even, natural color. Whatever I do, I now have a project. I really thought all I needed to do was hose this baby off and I'd be rockin' by dinnertime. No such luck.

Today was a perfect day to hike about in the mountains. The wonderful thing about living in Denver is that you're never but 20 minutes by car to a beautiful mountain trail with loads of interesting rock formations, sunny meadows, cool shady nooks and (my favorite) bunches of colorful native wildflowers. A couple bottles of water and a quick slathering of sunscreen and you're set for exploring nature at it's best.


Bee Balm grove


Indian Paintbrush

Does anyone know what this is?



Such a pretty hike.


And when we got home, there were projects a plenty to work on. I sanded down the chair. So now it looks like this:


One more job sanding and then comes the stain.

And for bedtime, there's always my husband's hat to work on



(yawn) And I think it's about that time now. Goodnight to all!

picnics, pin cushions and pretties

What a nice few days off last week. Went to a few estate sales and garage sales but didn't come across the motherlode I was (and always am) hoping for.



Pretty tablecloth with matching napkins. Garage sale purchase. The lady had many lovely linens but this set was priced just right at $5.00



Makes a nice background for some great buttons I found at another garage sale. They were all in a sewing table drawer. I think I bought the lot for less than $5.00 including the curious eye glass.







And I finally finished winding some soft alpaca yarn into a ball. I love alpaca and I bought this bit at an alpaca store in a little mountain town on my first wedding anniversary, telling my husband it would someday be a snugglt hat for him on our snow shoeing adventures.






Oh no.

Nothing is safe in this house. Especially yarn.



One can control the situation with button force.




I also bought a very nice and long set of double points. They are made of pine and so smooth! Just a pleasure to knit with. I love working with double points and prefer it to circulars. With circulars, I always have ones that are too long. The wire reminds me of some painful catheter-like object that wants to poke me in the eye at work (RNs know what I mean). It's hard to find good, long double points. I was very happy to come across these. I was also happy to come across this practical little info on double point hats:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4762176_knit-hat-double-pointed-needles.html
Just a nice bit of info to use as a spring board for your own patterns and yarn. I love patterns but hate having to use the yarn the author chose and fool around with gauges. I am resistant. This stubborness is responsible for many 75% finished projects that are hanging up in little individual tote bags in my craft room closet. Like a small yarn graveyard perfectly arranged for my mother to tsk at (she's a knitting teacher, you know). I'll have to do a post on this sad little corner of my house. Maybe even given these away to new homes that will finish and cherish them. But that's for another time.

I close with pictures of a wonderful garden I went to with my husband. I woke up early on Saturday and made my way to the Highlands area of Denver where, after a good cuppa, I went to this cheese monger:
http://www.stkilianscheeseshop.com/

I bought some nice cheeses and crackers. Then I woke up hubby, dusted off a picnic set we received after our engagement, packed up some choice condiments and went here:

http://www.hudsongardens.org/

What a nice day for a picnic!












Just love these pin cushion flowers! I wish I had them in my little garden.