Tiny Tin Charm!

Finally found something to do with these quirky, cute little vintage tins!  Fun necklaces with inspirational words to think about!  Each one has the cutest little elephant added to it. 

What do you do with a teeny tiny tin that formally held pommade or slave....wear it like a charm!  What do you think?

Vintage Purse!

"If a man empties his purse into his head,

no man can take it away from him.

An investment in knowledge

always pays the best interest."

-Ben Franklin

Don't you love this purse necklace?  Found it on the second day of a local estate sale.  It was half-price...purchased by me for a whopping $2.50!  I immediately bolted home to attach it to a chain...added the crucifix and black bead...and promptly put it on.  LOVED IT!

This was the humble beginnings plopped on a table.

This is how it ended up!  Very edgy...rock-ish...vintage...old...and yummy!

Spools of Questions

"When you examine the lives of the most influential

people who have ever walked among us,

you discover one thread that winds through them all.

They have been aligned first with their spiritual nature

and then only with their physical selves."

-Albert Einstien

I always have an affection for little baggies of wooden spools of thread.  This is my latest pile of favorites!  I always wonder what makes a person find certain objects to be appealing?  Why when you see them you get a warm and fuzzy feeling inside?  What stories could these threads tell?  What items did they pull together?  When did the owner sit and use these threads?  Why would the owner save the empty ones with the full ones?  Many, many questions......many, many thoughts...very few answers....just more questions.

Little Sharp Shoes!

"The true artist has the planet for his pedestal;

the adventurer, after years of strife, has nothing broader than his shoes."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

These adorable little Buster Brown, patton yellow and navy shoes were at an estate sale I accidentally found this past Sunday.  My daughter and her friend stumbled upon the signage upon returning from church on Sunday when the pull of a sale got in front of our need to eat.  FYI: attending estate sales can be beneficial to weight loss or at minimum delay.

We eventually found the sale and drove up to a quaint little 1500 square foot rancher styled brick home.  I would guess around 50+/- years.  Upon entry, the immediate impression of the home was one of "feminine".  All lighting was filled with gold leaf, prisms and glass beaded chain...the carpet was pink shag...the dishes were floral chintz...and the woman of the house was a size 4.  I was under a visual assumption that no man could possibly live here...or ever has.  If so, his space for stuff must have been in his car.  The somewhat modest four bedroom home had the use of one bedroom for the intended purpose.  In it was a giant canopy bed draped with mucho lace and white trim.  But, the remaining three bedrooms were used as closets for approximately 1500 pairs of shoes (numbered determined by the company organizing the sale)...all in the original boxes... rack after rack, after rack, after rack, after rack of clothes ... plastic bins flooding over with purses and belts...and scads of numerous piles of accessories and costume jewelry stacked everywhere.  It was like walking into the yard sale of Amelda Markos...followed by the final closeouts of Feiline's Basement nationwide...and the looming presence of the remains of someone who could have benefited from a "I'm A Binge Shopper and I need help" twelve step program.  The magnitude of the number of clothing items was astounding.

And to compound this visual over stimulation....there was one shelf in the closet of bedroom two that held six pairs of children's shoes.  Hmmmm?  I wonder who once stepped through life in these little shoes.  The pair that spoke to me was the patton bee-bops above.  I have a sneaky hunch the owner of the home purchased them.  I guess they were about 45 years old, clearly worn, and obviously treasured.  These shoes had style in their day...and oddly enough, that style was still radiating.  So cute....so adult, yet so small....and one of maybe 10 things that could be defined as being over 10 years old in the whole house. 

What made them special?  Why did she keep them?  What little adventurer had experienced strife in these shoes?  I just wonder....

Art House CO-OP!

I recently had the pleasure of getting to participate in this fun project by Art House CO-OP!  These were the rules of engagement.

"708 artists from around the world received five 3x3 inch canvases from us, along with five words submitted by the Art House Community.  Each artist's task was to visually interpret the words, one word per canvas.  Our goal was to create an encyclopedia that connected each word to their visual interpretation, showcasing one canvas from each artist."

Above is one of my five canvases.  My word was "whit", which means 'particle, bit, jot'.  My canvas featured a teeny tiny piece of embroidery and the words "itty bitty".  All mounted on a vintage bingo card.

This is the cover of the book.  It truly is an encyclopedia of words defined by the artist's interpretation of the word.  It is fantastic!  Below are a vew of my favorites. 

Obviously, I love the whitty ones!  (puh-dump-bump)

Enjoy and Have A Great Day!

Embellished Scarves!

My mantra for this upcoming gift-giving season of Christmas is certainly going to include something handmade. I often think strongly about it....do a lot...but, still end up with those last minute gifts I must leave to a quick purchase from the store. By golly, NOT THIS YEAR! I am thinking ahead...making ahead...and stocking up for the season. At this point, the gift can be food...art...or embellished...and my latest project is scarves. I was so excited to find these tartan scarves. They just needed a little embellishment...yea, this is where homemade came in. It only took one college football game on television today to complete three scarves. Just a few scraps of fabric, buttons, ribbon and embroidery thread...voila' scarves that look very similar to my art.

Tell me what you think...

"There is a thin line between love and hate

and that thin line, my friend,

is a scarf."

-quote from a scene in the sitcom "Friends"

A Little Piece of Heaven

See this cute pony? Do you know what he is looking at?

This cute puppy. My Daisy was fascinated by the pony. I guess she has never seen one. She wanted to spend the day hanging on to the fence and whimpering for her new found friend. Do you ever wonder what they are thinking?

Had the great pleasure this past weekend to stay at an awesome retreat. If ever in the Rising Fawn, Georgia area....need a little getaway filled with beautiful views of nature...this is a little slice of goodness.

I don't camp....I'm not really outdoorsy....I like all the benefits of running water, heat/air conditioning, food that I don't cook...but, I do like the visual and exercise benefits of being in nature. This little haven supplied it all. Wild Moon Ranch and Resort a little piece of heaven.

Just Had To Share!

Last weekend I went to what has always been one of my favorite big junk sales. But....it was somewhat of a bust. Annually a favorite antique mall in my fair city holds an all day yard sale in its parking lot. The past few years I have attended it was fantastic! Approximately, 50-60 vendors and oodles of great stuff at outstanding prices, and everyone always willing to negotiate. The more you buy...the cheaper it gets. Well this year...it was not so good. The morning was cold and damp, and only three vendors showed up! Argh.

But, as any motto of a good junker clings to in her time of disappointment...."stop and look anyway...even though it looks like nothing is calling your name." I did. There was one little man just beginning to unload his trunk and there it was...the pristine tulle and pipe cleaner angel...almost hanging out of the box of broken ornaments with minimal delicate consideration. I saw them about 10 paces out....I focused.....I walked toward with indignation...I picked up off the ground.....I asked the price....and I got TWO of them for one dollar! Yippee!

Notice the dainty gold pipe cleaners that created her toe shoes! Awesome! Just had to share!

A Little Innocence!

"Being part of the natural world

reminds me that innocence

is never lost completely;

we just need to maintain

our goodness to retain it."

-Jewel

Just a little innocence flitting around in my yard on Halloween night!