Bored is not in my vocabulary!

But, one day, I was bored (gasp ~ horror ~ shame). 

You see, I was waiting for the weekend sales at JoAnns to purchase a few items so I could continue sewing the one project that I had going on... which meant that I didn't have anything to work on! The dishes were done and the laundry was put away, and I didn't know what to do with myself!

Grizz is usually the antsy one who gets bored easily. I am usually never bored, since I always have several projects to work on - but most of my sewing stuff is already in SD! All it took was Grizz laughing at my bored self once, and I was diving in to my available scraps.

 Scraps!!

 I took these 1-1/2" squares...

 ... took them to machine...

 ... and created this...

 ...which turned into this...

 ... followed by this (thank you antique store 75% off vintage fabric!)...

 ... my project kept building and I took less and less pictures...

 ... here I thought I was done...

... but it needed a strap! Now, I have a fun little purse to use when I get to go out without Peanut :) 

(otherwise, all I need is a diaper bag!)

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Linking Up...

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Antique Store Sale!

 Craigslist is an amazing thing, isn't? We have been able to sell some furniture, and it lets me know about garage sales... AND it informs me about sales at local antique stores! Woot!

Case in point: a vender in a downtown shop was selling out... everything in his booth was 50% off - BUT the Christmas things and linens were 75% off! I'm not kidding... vintage linens were 75% off :) I was a happy lady when I saw that Craigslist post :)

Then, Peanut was in a crazy mood - there was no way she was settling down for a nap anytime soon... this always means we get to go on an outing! We drove downtown and I strapped her into the front-carrier. It was time to browse :)

We found the booth, and although I could have purchased many more items, I restricted myself to these goodies... an embroidered table runner, 3 fat quarters and more than a 1 yard cut of vintage fabrics. Happy me!

I also found this Little Golden Book in another booth. Not on sale, but I *need* it in my future sewing room ;) My entire purchase was under $10!

When Mom was in town in August, we made sure to make quick stops in several antique stores and fabric shops. Well, I had never heard of this store, so we missed walking by it because we turned around one block too early! Oh well, I took a few pictures of items I knew she would be interested in and sent them to her. It's almost as good as shopping with her :)

Sewing Fun at Garage Sales

On that same Friday when I found this Christmas gold-mind, I also picked up some sewing goodness!

 There were two sales right next to each other. The notions were at the same sale as the Christmas wrapping paper, and the mini-ironing-board was at the one next door. It was only 50 cents! The top of it is pretty dirty, so I'm in the process of making a new cover. I also have decided to paint it - I'll show you the finished product later! I was just so happy to find one, since I've been looking for one every since sewing this newborn dress. Lately, I've been struggling ironing the hems on the shorts I'm sewing for Hopeful Thread's July project, so I know this will help me out!

 As for the sewing stuff - the lady said 5 cents each for the bias tape and the trim and she wanted a dollar for the pinking sheers. She had two pairs, but the other one chewed up the fabric she gave me to test them out. This one cut like a champ though, so I'm glad I didn't buy one at JoAnn's like I've been meaning too lately!

 She said 50 cents for all the buttons... not too shabby, especially when there were a few still on the paper!

These are my favorite - although I'm not sure I believe it when they say they are "genuine pearl buttons." Really? Hmm... I suppose cowboys/farmers wear pearl snaps on their shirts, so I shouldn't be surprised!

Overall, at the two sales, I spent $2.75! That includes the vintage wrapping paper and an old Bingo game (I wanted the cards for some craft ideas that are spinning around my head). Add that to the $10 archery target for Grizz at a different sale (they wanted $15 but they took my offer!)... not a bad Friday morning :)

Christmas In July - Wrapping Paper

Last Friday, I set out with Neighbor and her mother for a morning of shopping - this included a few garage sales on the way to the mall. We found quite a few fun things (including a archery target for Grizz so he wouldn't feel left out while at work, ha!)

 I was so excited when I found these two boxes at one of the sales - it's cute, old wrapping paper! The lady of the sale didn't have any prices on things, and it seemed like she took any offer we gave her. Considering that, I should have tried to go for less, but I'm not going to complain since I got both boxes for just a dollar! Sure, one of the boxes was half gone, but I still think I did alright considering how much brand new wrapping paper is!

The half-used box also had a package of Christmas cards! Thus, I'm thinking a few of my girl friends are going to get these cute forest animals in the mail come December!

There was one sheet of stickers too - they are the kind that pop out and then you have to lick them. That kind always reminds me of the stickers we used at Sunday School when I was younger...

 Look at all that Christmas goodness! The picture doesn't even show all of the pieces in the boxes. I want to use them, I do, but I know it's going to be hard come gift-wrapping time to actually cute into some of these sheets!

Here are close-ups of just a few of the pieces... I promise I won't show you all of them!

 Ok, so this one might actually be easy to cut into... who ever thought Santa should be bright pink?! Perhaps I'll wrap our niece's gift in it. She loves pink and I think it would make her giggle. I can just hear her "Mama, Santa's not supposed to be pink!" :)

 To be honest, I might have walked right past the boxes, but when I looked in one of them, I saw that one sheet was full of game birds. And yes, this bird is very dear to my heart, so I couldn't pass them up! I'm thinking this will have to wrap my mom's gift :)

 This one just makes me laugh. It reminds me of Disney's Fantasia for some reason. I can just see these illustrations walking quickly about their Christmas business while Christmas carols are playing in the background!

 Here's what Santa is supposed to look like - a big red nose and a cheerful wink!

Then look at this cute snow-couple. *Sigh* Wrapping paper just isn't the same anymore!

 This little guy looks just like the youngest boy in Peter Pan - look at those pajamas!

And his sister gets the treat of putting the star on top of the tree. Perfect :)

 Ok, Ok, I promised I wouldn't show you all of the paper close up, so I'll stop with this one - just know that there are lots more sheets of lovely vintage goodness. I'm sure I'll get laughed at when I show up with gifts wrapped in old-fashioned paper, but I just can't help what I love!

Christmas in July: Sing with me?

I needed another cool weather reminder... it's another hot day in the apartment!

 I found these pieces of Christmas music a few months ago, I think. I knew right off the bat that they would not be staying in their pristine condition :)

~Santa Claus is Coming To Town and White Christmas were found for 50% off at an antique store.
~The Beginner's Carol book was found at a flea-market-thing for very little as well

 I fell in love with the front cover of this sheet music!

 And isn't that just the perfect picture for a White Christmas?

 The piano book has the cutest illustrations, too!

 So sweet!

Since these were purchased for a low price, I didn't feel one bit bad about ripping them up and using mod-podge to adhere them to some canvas. Here's a sneak peak!

I want to add some rub-on words before showing you all of my creations! I'm thinking they'll be perfect for gifts or for hanging on our own walls :)

Thrifty Kitchen Finds

I think one of my favorite parts about going thrifting and antiquing is all the learning I do while researching different items! It's just amazing how much information you can find online about vintage and antique glassware. Back when I was younger and going antiquing with Mom and Grandma, all we had was a few books with price lists and reproduction information. 

Anyways, here are a few of my finds lately. I probably am done buying casseroles, but I would still love a few bowls! But, even if I don't buy anything, I can still research things that I see and compare prices to Ebay! :) And another fact, if Grizz thinks I need to get rid of any of these pieces before we move again, I'm not out a lot of money (I definitely didn't buy these things at an antique store!)... perhaps I'd try selling them first though?

 This was found at a garage sale in Helena. Before this item, I didn't know Fire-King made items that looked like Pyrex! This pattern doesn't have a name, but it is commonly referred to as Cornflower Blue - not to be confused with Corning's Cornflower Blue!

 I bought this 2 qt item for $2.

This pyrex piece is a Goodwill Find. It is the smallest size of cinderella mixing bowls in the Crazy Daisy Spring Blossom Green nesting series.

 I have already used it quite a bit. My favorite part is the spouts on the side - they look like handles, but are actually great for pouring!

 Since taking this picture, I have cleaned this part - magic eraser did the job well!

 Remember when I said that I want a Fire-King Jadite Swirl or Batter Bowl? Well, turns out my grandma has one that she still uses! Isn't that cool?

This small bowl was another thrift store find.

It is the small milk glass bowl by Fire-King, and would match so well to some jadite ;)

 Last but not least... A divided casserole by Pryex!

 Pattern: Snowflake Blue

 Cute, right? AND it had the cover!

 I think it would work great for a casual relish tray...


Like I said, I'm done buying casseroles - we have plenty! But I still have an eye out for bowls... there's just something fun about using vintage items in the kitchen :)