Sometimes you need a kick in the pants.....

For the last 18 months  or so, I have been struggling to be creative and keep my little blog and micro business going. A super busy, high stress job and long difficult commute were the biggest drain on my time and energy, really wore me down and made it difficult for me to spend time working on new product and ideas, I would get spurts of energy, but could not seem to keep the momentum going. But now one month into the new job with a much shorter commute, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. But I still have not been creative. I sometimes need a kick in the pants to get me moving. Well, I got that kick, decided to go ahead and participate in the Home for the Holidays show in November, will be my fourth year and I am pretty excited about it.

 

It will be back on our usual weekend (November 10th) my mom and my friend Kim, (who makes amazing concrete planters and wine chillers) along with several other crafters are going to join me in the booth.  Should be a fun event, and it was just what I needed to get me going again.

 

So when I hit the Nashville _Flea Market this weekend, you know what I came home with!

 

 

And not much more!

 

August is a toss up month for me, If I did not need the flatware in my stash, I may not have bothered, There was not much to be found. Other than the spoons, I only came home with a couple treasures.

 

I almost passed on these salt and pepper shakers because the vendor was beyond rude, So rude in fact that I will not shop his booth again.

 

 

And this scrapbook (empty) probably circa 1940's caught my attention. I will probably use for some of our own family photos.

 

 

I totally forgot to show you this Nashville flea market find from a couple months ago. This has been on my wish list for a long time. Love it! It is very old and has obviously been used a lot! I love that as well.

 

 

I have had some luck at the local thrifts lately. Like this Turkey platter, old and beat up, but I still like it!

 

 

And this darling gravy separator.

 

 

And a random green Pyrex casserole.

 

 

Huh....I must have Thanksgiving on the brain already.

 

Next months Flea Market should be a really good one! But I will be hitting the thrifts until then!

 

So off I go into a new week with a bunch of new projects and ideas swimming around in my head for the Home for the Holidays show, I think it was just the kick in the pants I needed to get back in the groove!

 

I will check in with you soon hopefully with some new ideas to show you!

 

Hope you have a great week!

Catching up and getting back into the groove.....

It has been another busy week happily training at my new job but now it is time to start getting back into the blogging groove!

 

These finds were from the July Nashville Flea Market, I have also had a couple successful trips to the thrifts that I hit during my lunch hour, but we will get to that next week!

 

July and August are always a toss up for me and the Flea Market, again, not a full market, lots of vendors do the mile long garage sales, but I still found plenty of treasures to make it worth my while!

 

My favorite find of the day? The Hazel Atlas Robin Hood glass. Spotted it from a few tables away and immediately made a bee line for it! So happy I did!

 

 

Now of course I need to find the plate that goes with it! Always love a new addition to the flea market thrift list!

My son loves the Fire King Game Birds dishes, I found these two dinner plates for 2.00 each to add to his collection!

 

 

I grabbed this medium sized yellow Pyrex bowl.

I grabbed two of these Woodland pattern Pyrex custard bowls, we already use them constantly!

Ok, confession time. I have always had a thing for these goofy frog sponge holders, but I never found one that I really loved, they were usually just too creepy, goofy or hippy chick for me. But this guy is perfect for me,  a pretty deep green glaze, I really liked him.

 

 

Sales are going well at the Basement, some fun events are coming up there in the next month, I will let you know more as we get a little closer. I will definitely be doing some more hammering to get some new, fun products out there before the sale events. And I will most definitely be doing some more lunch hour thrifting!

 

Will be back to show you some of my recent lunch time flea market run finds next time!

 

Hope you have a great week!

 

 

Another hiatus seems to have occurred.....

I honestly had no intention of taking so long in between posts!

 

It is not that I have not been hammering or buying more flatware (I have) and not that I have not been hitting the thrifts or the flea market, I certainly have, and it is not that I have not been working on any  projects, I sure have, but I guess things just kind of got away from me.

 

First off, I started a new job. It was time, between the long commute and the increasing work load, it was burning me out, with no chance of anything changing in the future of that job, I decided it was time to go. I was thrilled to find a position back on my side of town doing a job I really enjoy. Plus, with the location of my new office, I am right back near my favorite thrift shops! Now I can hit them on my lunch hour again! Woot!

 

I still need to get some pictures of my recent thrift and flea market finds, hopefully I can get to that this week. So, what can I share? I have been working on a project for my Mothers "reading room" at her house, basically a big collage of snapshots of some fun vintage books that we have collected over the years. I have the pictures taken and printed, now we just have to assemble.

 

I enjoyed taking pictures of some of my favorite books, and am excited to see the project all put together!

 

I have also been on a mission to get a decent picture of a hummingbird this year, getting closer! This beautiful boy comes to visit my feeder often! He is gorgeous!

 

So now that I am bouncing back from the brink of exhaustion and working close to home again, I will be making it a priority to get caught up on getting pictures of the new stock I am bringing to the Basement, and all my thrifting treasures from the last couple months! Also, it certainly is not too early to start thinking about the holiday craft shows! And I sure need to get hammering for that!

 

Talk again soon! I promise!! 

Grail Piece....

It has been a pretty busy month (ok six weeks) since we last chatted. A lot and not much has happened. The a lot part, two flea markets, weekends packed with yard work and gardening, two birthdays, mothers day, a graduation and a death.

After four months of caring for my sweet pit mix Daily, we had to make the decision to put her down on April 23rd. What we thought was an inner ear infection that she developed New Years weekend, was most likely a stroke or possible brain tumor, with her advanced age there was not much we could do other than keep her safe and comfortable. But, once she could no longer walk on her own, we made the decision to let her go. It was more difficult for me than I expected. Although she was not our first dog, she was my first dog and we really had a special bond. I will always miss her. I had a rough couple weeks, although I felt better after getting her ashes back. But even then decided I needed something else to remember her by, so of course I turned to vintage. She was a Pit Bull/Dalmation mix, so when I saw this Takahashi figurine I decided it was a good representation for her.

 

 Rest in peace my sweet girl, I will always miss you.

Ok so, onto the not much.

Not much crafting. As a matter of fact June will be our last month for our booth at The Basement. We are really not selling very much. I think I am the highest grosser of the bunch of us. I make enough to cover my booth fee every month with a little extra spending money to play with, but really, not enough to justify an expensive booth.

So what is next? Honestly, I have no idea. I still plan to participate in the Fall show at our community center, but other than that? I am not sure yet.

But until I do know for sure, I am still most definitly be going thrifting and treasure hunting! So are you ready for the last two months of flea market finds? Get comfortable, there is a lot.

First off, the least popular addition to my quirky collection. The chalkware Chipmunk. I swear someone had one when I was growing up and vacationed in the Upper Peninsula of MI or maybe Door County WI?  Reminds me of the North Woods and I love it! And I am the only one that loves it LOL, my family was not impressed, so my sweet Chipmunk now lives in my she shack where I can enjoy her.

No way I was going to pass up a couple swan salt and pepper shakers.

Mix and match of random glasses. Love the size and shape of all!

What, more purple bottles? Yup, love them!

 I just love this tiny bottle!



So pretty together and with the rest of the crew.

Tuplip cannister, will be lookig to find the topper!

I already have the smallest bowl from this set, working my way up!

The Library of Entertainment and Wisdom. Love this old beautiful German book. Who am I kidding, I love all old books.

 No way I would pass up taking Sherlock home!

So beautiful!

Terrible picture, but this is a large Chenille Bunny crib blanket. Almost mint condition, I initially walked away from it, changed my mind, came back in time to see someone else eyeballing it, thankfully she put it aside and I swooped in and grabbed it. LOVE the size and weight, not to mention the bunny!

An assortment of pink pyrex!

What? A cream and sugar found together? Unheard of, so I brought this pastel Hazel Atlas set home with the stray saucer for sure!

Oh and speaking of Hazel Atlas, my obsession with Hazel Atlas childrens dishes is still alive and well. Little Red Riding Hood childrens tumblers. Love!

 

And last but not least, my Grail piece. I NEVER see the Fire King 1970's Daisy pattern outside of the internet. I love this pattern, I never see it in the wild. So to say I cussed with excitement when I saw it is an understatement. I was that excited! Smallest of the cannister set, you bet I will find the rest, no matter how long it takes. Best part? 5.00.

 

So that is it for me right now. But you ask what is going to happen to the blog now that I am pretty much out of retail opportunities? I think I will still keep it going, maybe just slightly change my focus a bit. Regardless, hope you are willing to hang out to see what comes next!

 

Hope you have enjoyed a good long weekend!

That did not take long......

I was prepared to spend the next several months looking for the fourth Hazel Atlas "alphabet" tumbler, call it luck, but one popped up on Ebay right away! And I grabbed it FAST! 

And I love it!

Love having a set completed, now what to go after next?

And I sort of scored at my favorite indoor flea market. These Esso mugs have been sitting at my favorite indoor flea market for months, as a matter of fact. I bought the bowls that were sitting with the mug set months ago. Every time I went back to the flea market they were still sitting there and I stopped and looked at them, then passed them by because they were selling as a set and I did not want six mugs. I suspect  that may have been why they were still sitting there months later, no one else wanted all six mugs either. Well, I finally just bit the bullet and bought the entire set. Works out to 5.00 each which, based on my research is pretty much the going rate, so, not a bargain, but not a bad price either. And my husband and son like them as well, win/win I say.

And we finally (almost) finished our front porch update. I still need to stain the main posts, (if it ever stops raining) I am really happy with how it turned out. It was in desperate need of an update.

And finally, what is going on in the workshop? Well, I did get a bunch of new herb markers hammered out and delivered to the Basement. And, I decided to make a couple new boxes. Only one has sold so far, so it is not like they are flying off the shelves. But I wondered if it was because they were stained and not painted, or if it was because they had specific herbs attached. So, I am making two more, bigger, square, painted (soft ivory) and probably with a handle of some kind attached, making them almost basket like. I plan to put more general spoons on this set like, flower garden or kitchen herbs, maybe that will be more like what people are looking for, not everyone loves the look of stained wood as much as I do. 

Sales at the basement have been ok,  but we have had such a cold wet spring, I don't think anyone is getting out as much as they usually do, and no one is out gardening. Hoping as the weather starts to warm up we will see sales pick up with the temps!

Until next time, hope you are having a great week!

Knocking those Spring projects out....

We are not having the prettiest Spring. But looking at the weather channel, is anybody having a pretty Spring?

I have decided that this is not a bad thing because since it is so cold and nasty, we are having no problem throwing on our coats and working outside on yard cleanup and projects. I am sure that once it does warm up, I will be so happy to have my front porch complete and my she shack back together. 

First project to finish up, the address blocks!

Leftover wood from our front port column project, I just thought they would be fun as address blocks. Love how they turned out! I think they are just a fun kind of funky addition to the porch.

Originally I had painted our front porch shutters as part of the make over, I was not thrilled about painting them because I really wanted new wood shutters, but I was not willing to spend the 500+ to buy them. But once I painted the shutters what turned out to be a painful garish raspberry color (oh so NOT the Oxblood I had picked out~bad paint mixing I think) my husband decided, yup, he can build wood shutters. The style I wanted was very simple, and he was able to make them very quickly and easily for a grand total of 50.00. Much better than the original price estimate. I stained them this past weekend and we should have them up this week. Cannot wait. All that is left is staining the columns and a good pressure wash and I will be able to do the fun decorating part and the front porch will be finished and ready for Spring!

Surprisingly, the continued cold weather has not really bothered me for some reason. I am still content wearing my hoodies and baking muffins. But what is bugging me is that my poor violets are taking a beating. They keep trying to come back, but after two nights of hard freezes, I counted myself lucky to be able to salvage a nice little bundle. I like to get at least one good violet picture each Spring!

And my poor tomato seedlings.....they are surviving and looking pretty good, but, they are looking pretty wild and squiggly, they need some good sunshine so they will stand up straight! But I am excited at the prospect of having some beautiful tomatoes this summer!

The other thing about the weather staying cool, I don't feel bad spending time inside at my favorite indoor flea market, made a couple trips......more on that soon!

Hope you are keeping warm and looking forward to when we finally get some nice Spring weather!