February Finds

The DH and I hit four estate sales Saturday but everything I bought came from the first one. He didn't find a thing but it was a nice day - and we knew bad weather was headed our way - so we enjoyed the sun and had a nice lunch at a favorite spot on the other side of town.

Even the first sale didn't look promising at first, but there was lace - a King Edward box filled with tatting. There were a couple of pretty pillow case edges buried in the bottom. A bit high priced, but there's quite a bit of yardage there and I just can't leave a sale without this stuff.

Another thing I can't seem to leave, even though they don't sell that well, are tissue holders. This is the first I've seen in this style - already painted aqua and with the painted stainless steel cover. The cover slides off to one side, and there are holes to hang it on the wall. The flowered hat still has the original price tag attached. 

These 1950s patterns are fun. A couple are unused. Patterns are sort of "hit or miss" sellers, but the envelopes provide fun cutouts for journals and the tissue is good for packing.

 This scrapbook has never been used. The little felt sandals were too cute to leave, and the embroidered piece has two birds which made it an instant keeper.

We're expecting more snow and maybe ice this weekend so I doubt there will be junqueing. My 30+-year-old sewing machine died last week so I have a brand new electronic one to learn. That should keep me occupied!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day, and sharing a few more heart-themed creations. This little piece was made from the lid of a candy box and embellished with copies of a vintage Valentine, crepe paper festooning, and Stickles. The background is the same Authentique paper that I used for the tags from my last post. 

A couple of years ago I stamped and sewed hearts on a few tags, inspired by Jackie of Good Grief Girdie fame. I can't find a pic of Jackie's on her blog but they were all wonderful, just like everything she makes. I had used plain manila tags for mine and didn't like the way they looked. Last week I decided to cut this stamped heart and surrounding seam binding ruffle from the original tag and use it to create this more colorful tag.

Much better! I have two more and I'll give them the same treatment as soon as I find the right embellishments.

Enjoy your day of love, everyone!

Here's My Heart!

There's been a bit of Valentine creating going on here. I joined in on Paper Crown's Valentine Postcard Swap and that inspired me to make a few things.

For the swap I copied a vintage Valentine and used it to create two tags. One will go to another participant and one will be displayed in the store. 

I'm crazy for the vintage rose trim and it goes perfectly with the pretty background paper from Authentique. The cream crepe paper, doily and little bouquet are also vintage. 

The back was just a bit too plain so I added two little hearts and a bit of lace trim after I took this photo. When I dropped my postcards off at Paper Crown there were already several on display - all wonderful! I'm excited to see whose I receive!

Cindy, the owner of Paper Crown, is the sweetest person and always doing something nice for someone. Since she's the swap "hostess" (and is giving everyone who participates a $5 gift card!) I made her a little box of goodies.

The embossed roses were cut from a vintage greeting card. The gorgeous paper on the sides is by Anna Griffin. The lace heart trim came from a recent estate sale.

I filled the box with vintage trim, buttons, a buckle, an earring, and a few other tiny items. I then bagged it up with some chocolate hearts. Hope she enjoys it all.

More later! I have a couple of other Valentine themed projects in the works.

You Know It's All About the Lace...

Vintage lace is one of my very favorite things so I'm always happy to find it at estate or garage sales, flea markets or antique stores - just anywhere! January sales yielded a fairly good selection of lace and other trims. Click on any photo to see a larger shot.

My favorite in the grouping above is the darker embroidered organza trim. I like the cafe' au lait coloring and delicate design.

The lace and trim above all came in a large bag - the only thing I purchased at that particular sale. I wasn't that excited about it at first but when I got home and dug through the bag there were some nice pieces. The embroidered rick rack is a favorite, and there were several little trinkets with it that have been added to my stash of "odd bits."

A local vendor had leftovers from a couple of estate sales and offered them at a small community fairgrounds a few weeks ago. I hadn't made it ten feet past the front door before the DH directed me to a table of lace and trim. He's a good scout! I got all the pretties above and more. 

I've never seen the Bonnie Brand bias tape before. It's soft and shiny polished cotton and looks to be a bit higher quality than what one normally sees.

These tiny heads came from the fairgrounds sale. The smallest is about an inch high. There's a chip on the shoulder of the girl but I love her face.

Last weekend was a bit of a bust sale-wise, but I did find this sweet little flower pot and a bit of bling. Aren't the rhinestone earrings and necklace wonderful?

I'm not seeing much of interest on the sale calendar for the upcoming weekend either, but keeping my fingers crossed!