A slump in creativity....

I have been experiencing a bit of a creative slump lately.

 

Not that I have been depressed, sluggish or really busy. I guess I just have been happy not having a project to work on.

 

But I am constantly surfing Pinterest looking for new crafting ideas...does not make sense. I guess maybe I am looking for inspiration, and just have not found it yet.

 Sure, that works.

 

Last time I felt inspired to create was December. When I was out last Fall Small Business Saturday shopping with my mom , we found the cutest decoupage picture made with a vintage baby outfit pattern. Loved the idea, but not the subject matter. So off I went to find a pattern that would be more fitting for my Mom's sewing room.

 

I had a lot of fun looking.

I was really happy with how it turned out, it made for a fun unexpected Christmas gift. But since then? Nothing.

 

I have not even been doing a lot of thrifing. I hit the thrifts on my lunch hour, come back with nothing and surf Ebay for a few minutes each night. Nada.

 

So what have I been up to?

 

I have kept busy. My husband and I are enjoying hitting a new place for lunch at least once a month, and I have been reading, planting the seeds for my summer garden, watching Midsomer Murders and Russian Doll (am I the only one who was totally intrigued with that story?), Bullet journaling, purging crap out of closets and doing some general spring housework.

 

I became obsessed with making good biscuits. Thank you Joanna Gaines for your excellent biscuit recipe!

Cheese and Sausage biscuits, YUM!

And I have enjoyed a couple very indulgent trips to Trader Joes. Always fun finding new favorite things there!

The Cheddar with Carmelized onion on fig and olive crisps are my new obsession, and these Golden Gooseberries are delish!

Trader Joes flowers brighten even the dreariest of days!

And I was very excited to head out with friends and see one of my favorite bands play in February.
Its been awhile since I hit downtown Nashville on a Saturday night. It was a blast and Disturbed puts on one heck of a great concert. They sound as good live as they do on their CD's.

So although I have not had a lot of crafting or thrifting to blog about, its been a fun, relaxing and restorative couple of months. Looking forward to finally figuring out what craft project I want to tackle next

And hopefully next month the weather will cooperate and I will be able to hit the Nashville Flea Market, although I think it is time I branch out and try to find some new junking spots.

So hang in there, I hope the next couple months will start to pop with some new fun ideas and projects!

Hope you have a great week!

 

Frankenglass.....

You remember my broken Jadeite McKee custard cup? Well, I gave my solder idea a go. And.....well, we have Frankenglass.

BUT...I feel like I am on to something and I still think this is a fun idea and a viable "rescue it" option,  it is my Soldering technique that is lacking.

 

Practice makes perfect right?

 

I have more to practice on, lets see how the next one turns out!

 

But until then, lets talk about how tenacity and impulse shopping work together.

 

First, a word on being tenacious. I have a belief that all things on my thrift list I will ever want will eventually come through one of my three main vintage hunting venues, my favorite indoor flea market, the Nashville flea market and Ebay. 

 

On ebay I have a list of searches that I do every..single..night..without fail.

 

Sometimes it works out really well, like this time. I jumped into bed one night this week and immediately dove into my Ebay searches. One of the first searches I do is for Enid Collins Box Bags. And this time I scored. I don't think it had been listed now, a buy it now that was reasonably priced for a change. 25.00 plus shipping...and I love it!

 

Second, the "I gotta have it impulse" Buy it now? Why yes, I sure will, come on! It has acorns on it!! Why I am I so into acorns lately?

 

 

Love, love!

 

 

Seems that lately, Ebay is the only antiquing that I have been doing. That time of year I guess.

 

What else I have been doing is making the most of my "Hobbit time" I finally found THE most perfect chewy molasses cookie recipe. My husband is asking me not to make them often because he cannot stay out of them and neither can I. They are THAT good. Pinterest win.

 

 

And during my run to Trader Joes, I had to grab some gorgeous roses, It think I could be perfectly happy with just the eucalyptus. Smells so good!

 

 

Maybe I will drag myself out to the Nashville Flea market next weekend, or even hit an antique store or two. Maybe even find a NEW antique/thrift store to explore next weekend...and adventurous Hobbit am I.

 

Hope you have a wonderful week full of happy adventures!

 

 

Happy 2019! And: January the month of the Hobbit.

Happy 2019! Hope you all enjoyed safe and happy holidays. I know I certainly did!

 

If you have been following my blog for any amount of time, you know that January is usually my "Month of the Hobbit". Some people jump into the new year with high energy, running to the gym for work outs, and diving into their new year resolutions with zeal. But I am happier starting the new year a bit slower. My goal in the past was to spend every weekend in January in the house. Working on projects, reading, brainstorming craft ideas, actually thinking out what resolutions I would like to make for the year, baking and cooking. But overall, relaxing. Sounds nice huh?

 

Sounds nice, but It rarely ever works out that I can actually do this...I am a Hobbit failure.

 

To be fair, I think my expectations for January are a bit unrealistic. I have two busy kids, only one of them drives so,  not really fair to expect my husband to do all the running around, and to tell the truth? I have caused myself a lot of undo stress busting my butt trying to get all of my errands run by Friday night.

But Is it really worth it?

 

For 2019 I decided, no, it is not worth it. So I am taking a more relaxed approach to the beginning of my year. Trying to limit my weekend running around, while not forcing myself to restrict it, but still making time for my January goals. T
So far, this approach is working out much better! I have had plenty of "Hobbit time" so far, but have not stressed about having to run out,

 

One thing I have not been running out to do, is the thrift shops. I just have not had that "buzz" making me want to do any Antiquing. I have not even really done much eBaying, but I did find one good buy, that turned into a heartbreak...or Jadeite break I should say.

 

Yup, the risk of eBay. Sellers that don't really care about what they are selling and do a crap job packing. I bid on two darling vintage Jadeite McKee custard cups. The seller did a very poor job packing and of course one broke. Seller of course ignored my email reporting the poor packing resulting in the break, so unless I want to fight with eBay to mediate I was just going to be out of luck.

 

 

Or am I?

 

I love these cups, and it breaks my heart that this vintage glass is lost forever...or is it?

 

The Japanese fix broken pottery with gold...why not fix jadeite with solder, since gold is not really in my budget.

 

So I pulled out the broken one and started to wrap it.

 

 

Then I went out into the garage to solder it and I realized I was out of wire. Hobbit won, I am not running out to Lowes. Amazon here I come. It will be here on Tuesday. So with any luck, I will have a mended cup to show you next week!

 

I like to think of it as a kind of stained glass inspired mending project. I am really hoping it will not look like Frankenstein's glass monster, LOL.

 

So this is my craft project for the month, and I am really excited, it is making me look more into stained glass work and back at the beautiful Pyrex charms and necklaces made from broken pottery, What about a hybrid of the two? I really enjoyed making the couple charms I made a couple years ago, what else can I do? Stained glass and vintage glass mesh project? Who knows! I (sadly) have a stash of broken vintage glass, what can I get into! I am already looking at a glass grinder...I think I have the bug!

 

So here's to January! A great month to learn, recharge and flex your creative muscles!

 

Hope you have a great week!

 

A very literary end to 2018......

I seem to have been a bit book obsessed lately.

 

What kicked it off was a beautiful Ralph Waldo Emerson book I spotted for sale on Instagram. I missed out on the sale, but have been obsessed with finding another copy ever since. This may take awhile, but I am committed.....or should be committed...jury is still out on that.

I discovered as I searched for the Emerson book I am obsessed with acquiring, was that he had many very beautifully printed books. This one caught my eye first.

 

 

As beautiful on the outside as the essays inside.

 

This one I really fell in love with.

 

 

During Halloween, we were watching the Disney movies, The adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, The story of Mr. Toad was an excerpt from the book "The Wind in the Willows"  trying to remember the stories bugged me for a couple weeks, I decided I needed to read the book. Went to pull it off my shelf and realized....I did not have that book anymore, whoops. Yes, I could have ordered a brand new copy from Amazon and had it in two days, but no, I decided I needed to wait a month for an old copy, still in pretty good shape for 1957. And I really love it!

 

 

Then last weekend, while visiting my husbands family in Kingsport for Christmas, I got to dig around in my mother in laws old cookbooks. They are a beautiful combination of horrific concoctions, and some real gems.

 

It seems that everyone in the late 60's ate a very large amount of tinned meats and tomatoes, broccoli, "salad dressing", cream of anything soup, MSG added to almost everything and lemon jello.....yuck.  My daughter and I had a great time trying to out do each other finding the most disgusting sounding recipe.

 

Scary to report that the salad cook book appears to be the winner in the gross out category. The "salad dressing" and lemon jello put it over the top on the gross out scale.

 

But the graphics in the books are fantastic.

 

 

But I will certainly try several of the recipes!

 

So here we come to the end of another year. I have to say that overall 2018 was a pretty darn good year. And I am looking forward to what 2019 will bring!

 

Hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a safe and happy New Year!

 

SPLURGE!!!!!!

Tis the Christmas season and everyone is allowed a little splurge right?

 

That is what I keep telling myself anyway.

 

Ok, maybe not necessarily splurge on themselves, but I had a really good month's sales at The Basement in November. Typically I reinvest at least half my profits, but no, not this time. This time I bought myself a little present, one I have been looking for for a very long time.

 

But first, remember this?

 

 

I found this little gem at the Nashville Flea Market last December, a bit of a splurge at 20.00, but not really, they do tend to be a little pricy. I really wanted the TEA canister I saw at the Flea last year as well, but at almost 80.00 that would have blown my entire flea market funds budget, so I passed, and regretted it ever since.

 

But when I saw my profits at the Basement for November, my mind wandered back to that Tea canister, so my fingers went searching for it on Ebay, just to see.

 

Well, I saw.

 

 I saw that there were two out there for the same price including shipping as I found it for at the Flea Market. I also saw several more for A LOT more.

 

Merry Christmas to me!

 

 

It was a splurge, but totally worth it as far as I am concerned!

 

In my search, I also ran across these! Nice to balance a splurge with a bargain right?

 

Pepper and Sugar: .99 plus 4.99 shipping= BARGAIN!!

 

Yes they are missing their caps, but I will find them, or something that will work instead!

 

 

Salt...I am looking for you next, coffee....your too expensive I doubt we will ever meet.

 

But you never know...

 

Hope you are enjoying the Holiday season so far!

 

 

 

Flea Markets and Antique Shops......

Another Thanksgiving come and gone, I hope yours was as lovely as mine was!

 

And another Black Friday come and gone, I hope yours was a relaxing as mine was. Mine was lovely because I hit the Nashville flea market and not the local malls!

 

Attendance was pretty light at the Flea on Friday, lighter than in years past (vendors and shoppers alike) which was great for me, but continued sad news for the market in general. I was able to leisurely stroll through and look at everything. Between the Flea Market and shopping on Small Business Saturday, I managed to make out with a nice little haul!

 

I did break down and buy some more spoons for any upcoming projects with Bean and Betty (My friend Kim). These actually came from a different vendor than I usually buy from, same price and they do not look like they have been used in a crack house. The cute little strawberry dish cloth was a small business Saturday find from one of the local antique shops that I don't stop into nearly often enough.

 

 

A couple more things for joint Bean and Betty projects, I think the tea strainer and funnel will both make a darling tea light/candle holders. Not sure what to do with the aluminum scoops, but I will think of something!

 

 

And more aluminum, this film canister caught my eye as I strolled through on my visit to the Basement on Small Business Saturday.  Not sure what I will use it for yet, but it is really cute!

 

 

I found some great bowls a well, I can never say no to a new bowl.

 Especially when it is a "Grail" piece like the blue Pyrex stripe. I had found a couple pink Pyrex stripe bowls but at 45.00....I decided to pass. The blue I thought was a splurge but still good price at 20.00.

 

 

And I could not pass up the Chalet bowl! Especially not at 5.00!

 

 

This divided Fire King Baby plate was an Ebay find, not a bad price, I think I paid around 12.00 including shipping. The cute milk glass salt shaker and spice jar? Well, those are my shame. I did not look closely enough at them when I bought them, I loved the cute flower  and gorgeous cherries design on them. Had I looked closer, I may have noticed that they were probably temporary decals someone carefully glued on. The decals immediately fell off as soon as I tried to wash them. Grumble....take you time and inspect your purchase before you pay! I way overpaid for them, lesson learned.

 

 

My pink scores! The pink Fire King mug is possibly my favorite flea market find! And the cranberry Pyrex bowl, Small business Saturday find. I love the shape and size, I have another in the same size and use it often, it is nice to have two now!

 

 

And last, but certainly not least, more random swig glasses. The Baby animal swigs were a great buy from one of my favorite dealers at the Nashville flea, the rooster? I passed on him last month, saw him still sitting there this month and decided to grab him. My daughter has been wearing the rooster glass out since I brought it home last month, so I suspect the second one will get just as much use.

 

Such a fun weekend with lots of great food, fun shopping and plenty of time for relaxing!

 

This week, aside from jumping into Christmas shopping, I am brainstorming for some new craft projects, I hope to have something to share with you next weekend!

 

Until then! Have a great week!

 

6th Annual Home For The Holidays Show...

Another show come and gone, this was my fourth and finally, my last.

 

Show was large, I believe we had more vendors this year than in any years past, a lot more direct sales than we have had in the past, sadly not as many crafters but we had some pretty great food vendors!

 

There was good turn out traffic wise, with five crafters in our booth, it was a nice mix. I am kicking myself for not getting a picture of the final booth set up from Saturday morning. The pictures below are from Friday night, so it was missing he final things my friend Kim (Bean and Betty) brought in, our knitter and her lovely scarves and throw blankets and the last few things I slammed together Friday night. The booth looked amazing and was very full by the time the show opened Saturday morning. I was really tickled.

 

 

My mom made these darling pot holders and bowl holders, they sold like hot cakes, but she still had some left over.

 

 

I loved how my trees turned out, two of the big ones sold and one of the three tiny trees. I whipped the tiny trees together Friday night after I got home from setting up the booth, I was also up hammering more Succulent themed spoons as they go so well with Kim's concrete planters.

 

 

The signs, and planter boxes with the vintage labels did not sell, well one did to a friend of mine. The two tiny trees that did not sell and the big tree above I am keeping, the rest of the trees as well as the remaining ornaments are already at the Basement, hoping they will sell there.

 

I managed to walk away with only one purchase for the day, and it was from my own booth.

 

 

 Yup, I had to have this creation of  Kim's. Candle holder, vintage coffee filter in a concrete base. I am a candle junkie and this cute creation just had to come home with me.

 

Sales were very slow for me this year, I suspect it is because my stock is available year round at the Basement, which is why I will not be participating next year, but I will certainly continue to sell at the Basement, but does that mean that I am finished doing shows all together?

 

Nope!

 

Although I have been back and forth about that for some time now,  it turns out so has my friend Kim. These shows are a lot of work, but they are easier and a lot more fun with a partner. So we have decided to partner up and work a couple shows in Nashville together. Our stock works well together and it is always easier to work a booth with a partner, especially one who is as fun and inspirational as Kim, and when your stock blends so well together. I think the partnership is just what we both needed to spark some new inspiration and ideas! Not to mention it will bring the fun we have both been missing back into the creative process and shows. We think we will find a lot of interest at a pop up show that happens in Hillsboro Village in Nashville every few months. But more to come on that as we get closer to that show.

 

Until then, I am going to keep hammering away and hitting some new junk shops wit Kim looking for collaboration inspiration and more treasures for myself!

 

So stay tuned to see what creations Bean and Betty with My Hobby can come up with next!

 

Looking forward to the holidays! Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!