A Few Thrifty Finds

Ok, anyone still out there? I have been MIA for only 2 months or so! If you are still reading this, thank you!

I was cleaning/sorting my vintage and thrifty junk finds, and I was struck with the need to capture photos a few of my recent treasures.

I found this sweet little set of 4 pink glass dessert plates for $2.00. The cutie-pie grapefruit pincushion is an etsy find from a year or two ago. The store is SeaPinks and it has the most adorable offerings for handmade felt pin cushions.

This little wall hanging I found so sweet. It has 2 to 4 layers to create a dimensional effect. Even the little bee and flowers have an extra layer. 

This was intended to show the details, but it was difficult to get closer without reflecting off the glass. I also have a thing for velvety ribbon, so this little piece totally charmed me.

This find was at a random stop for an estate sale sign. The ladies running the sale were making great deals on everything because the sale was thrown together very last minute by the homeowners. And, sadly, the house smelled like cats had been living there without people. Yuck! There were lots of diamonds in the rough, but nothing worth bringing home with that smell.

I did pick up a pewter water  pitcher and the ladies through this book in for free when I picked it up (it does not smell, thank goodness - except for that old book smell). It may not look like much to anyone else - other than a vintage children's book. But to me it is a childhood memory. My grandparents had us over every Sunday for dinner. They had remnants of toys and books from my mom and her siblings. Not a lot, but back then we made due with our imaginations and the front yard.

In the old books my grandparents kept was a set of Peanuts books from the early 60's, this one included. The books had very retro covers with bright bold pages inside. In this one, each new page started with "Happiness is...". Similar to our imaginations, the list was all very simple things, like a warm puppy, a thumb and a blanket, and playing with friends. So simple, and so true.

And my last item of the day~ I almost fell over when I saw this beauty. It was working perfectly as a display stand for some vintage gloves, jewelry and odds and ends. A four-tiered silver-plated server. I assumed that it was NFS, but was so pleasantly surprised that it had a price tag - a very reasonable price tag. It could use a good cleaning, but I love it just the way I found it, too, with all its patina. I need to decide what to use it for first. Wouldn't this be great to hold craft supplies on a desk?

I hope to be posting more frequently! But life as a momma bear can be pretty darn unpredictable.

Until then... Happy junking treasure hunting!

Getting in the spirit

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in my home! Not outside, however. Cold and very, very grey! Not excellent photo opportunities so some of these images will be a bit grainy since I had to brighten them up.

This is a small vignette in my entry. I moved my little desk to another wall to make way for the "fancy" Christmas tree. This is my White Christmas area. Our family tree, in all its color-filled glory, is in the family room. Guess that's a bit redundant.

Somehow we ended up with two trees 10 years ago, and I decided the tree in the foyer would be all decked out in white and silver. I'm still loving it a decade later. My husband and kids love very colorful Christmas decor. And I agree - a family tree should be as fun as possible. So it was a great compromise.

This little fella is from Kirklands. I liked his neutral colors, the book pages peaking through and his dusting of snow. Oh, and 50% off doesn't hurt at all. :)

One of my favorite garage sales finds of the summer was 2 boxes of vintage silver glass ball ornaments. Still in their boxes, no less. I think I paid a dollar for them. Gasp! The patina is gorgeous. I wish it were more obvious in the photos, but as I mentioned, grey, grey, grey skies around here.

I added a few bottle brush trees under a bell jar. Then sprinkled them with coarse kosher salt. Isn't it the cutest? Glass bell jars and teeny tiny trees - honestly this little piece makes me smile inside and out.

I have an old silver sleigh - don't even remember where I got this one. I filled it with a bag of pinecones I got at Goodwill for 50 cents. I was really happy to find them, because the scented pinecones at stores are so potent they give me a headache. And make my husband sneeze. These were completely odorless and crazy cheap to boot!

Pinecones are such an easy way to add texture to any setting. I got 3 large sugar cones from Home Goods that I so badly wanted to add to my Christmas decor. Unfortunately, when I got home, realized they were scented - and not cinnamon - something like heavy floral soap. They would be perfect in a basket in a bathroom, or tied with ribbon hanging in front of a window. But just opening the bag made me itch like crazy. Super sensitive to perfumes around here. Boo hoo...

So that's my peak at my entry table. Hopefully I will have time (and natural light) to post more soon. I have photos to upload of my fancy tree and want to do a post about handmade ornaments. And of course, my treasured childhood ornaments.

Are you getting in the Christmas spirit, too? Or has the bug not bit you yet?

Sometimes I link up with the following fabulous linky parties: The 36th Avenue, A Ruffled Nest, At the Picket Fence, Atkinson Drive, Be Different Act Normal,Between Naps on the Porch, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blissful & Domestic, Bowdabra Blog, Cheerios and Lattes, The Chicken Chick, Coastal Charm, Common Ground, Country Momma Cooks, Crystal & Co (The Mommy Club), The Dedicated House, DIY Show Off, Elizabeth & Co., Embracing Change, Faded Charm, Family Every After, The Farmhouse Porch, Finding Fabulous, Fine Craft Guild, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Free Pretty Things!, French Country Cottage, Fresh Eggs Daily, Ginger Snap Crafts, Happy Hour Projects, High Heels and Grills, Home stories AtoZ, House of Hepworths, Hubby Made Me, I Heart Naptime, Lil' Luna, Ladybird Ln, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Little Becky Homecky, Mandatory Mooch, Milk & Cuddles, Mod Vintage Life, My Repurposed Life, My Romantic Home, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Nap Time Crafters, Nifty Thrifty Things, Not Just a Housewife, One More Time, Project Inspire, Primp Your Stuff, Redoux, Rooted in Thyme, Savvy Southern Style, Shabby Art Boutique, Simple Home Life, Six Sisters' Stuff, Skip to My Lou, Someday Crafts, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Stuff and Nonsense, Tatertots and Jello, Thirty Handmade Days, Timewashed, Tip Junkie, Twigg Studios, Uncommon Designs, Under the Table & Dreaming, The Vintage Farmhouse, Western Warmth, ...

Little Things Thursday

It's the little things that make us happy.

Like how I love the fact that the house we bought almost two years ago had existing hydrangeas planted in the backyard. Full, lovely, bloom-all-summer-long hydrangeas. They range from pink to blue to purple. I know you can vary the color by changing the soil pH, etc., but I love to see what nature will bring on it's own. So pretty!

I just cut a few that were on their last days. The following are just a few that survived the night.

Two blooms are perched in a smaller white enamel pitcher from Ikea on a petite desk that is painted a soft shade of grey. I got it from Urban Farmgirl at the Kane County Flea last summer. Hopefully I will add better photos of the desk some day. I just love it.

The chalkboard on the wall is also from Urban Farmgirl. Matching grey/white paint. I have been SLOW to update my message - you can see a heart from my Valentine's Day message!

I can't stand chalk dust. Could be from having to pound the old black erasers on the brick wall outside my 4th grade classroom. Could be asthma. Either way, I much prefer the Chalk Pens they have now. 

I saw on my beloved Pinterest a better way to make signs on my chalkboard. I have been using my free-hand, wing-it approach so far, but I will see if I can try the new and improved technique next time. If it works, I will come up with something clever to put in a post. :)

For a sweet and simple vignette in the powder room, I used a few vintage bottles I have collected. I played around with their arrangement. {The stem in the clear bottle was acting a little zany, but it was such a lovely shade of blue. I forgave it, heck - I embraced it. We're all a little bent now and then.}

I had found the tiniest, pale bloom. I thought it was beautiful and so dainty. It deserved to be displayed all by itself. I placed it in an old silver creamer. I love me some patina.

I tried it out with the bottle collection. The combo made it look larger. Not so dainty anymore. Trick of the eye, I suppose.

I heart my blue bottles the most. I have several, but these two little ones and the clear bottle seemed to fit the stems best. The lettering on the bottles is so fun - it adds character and texture. Each one I have is different.

The image above makes me think it's tilted, but again - just a trick of the eye. Whether it's the perfectly imperfect bottle or the bend of the stem. 

I had many more in this much taller version of the same pitcher from Ikea. This bouquet was in a little alcove that I can never decide what to put there. They were a deeper purple than the rest. Some may think there is a lot of white going on here, but I'm fond of it myself. White, pure and simple.

Not sure if I trust these within arms reach of my little firecracker, though. This will probably be a short-lived display. This is NOT how the rest of my house looks - and I'm really digging its simplicity.

I'm going to try drying some out. I've read that the best way to dry hydrangeas is to leave them in their water until it is all gone. I'll post images if they turn out!

~All images are my own and can also be found on my Pinterest boards. ~