Pretty maids all in a row.....

If you saw this lot of beauties on ebay, would you bid on them?
For .99?

Well, I did, and obviously I won! Unbelievable! Now to be fair, they did all have that ugly gold hair that some people decided to paint on these cuties (what's up with that?) So I took out my nail polish remover and banished the gold!

Like a little girl, I can't stop playing with them! I know a lot of artists use these in their work, I just haven't decided yet what I'm going to do with them, other than probably clothe them somehow....maybe with some crepe paper or old lace.

This amazingly old wicker and leather sewing basket was at one of our local antique malls, I almost didn't open it because I knew it would cost more than I wanted to pay.....but that wasn't the case so off it came with me. It's my favorite one to date. The lid is all a marbled leather like the edges in this photo and also on the scissors holder on the lid that you see above. 

And the lining, well, just stunning!

How about these unusual items? My head whipped around so fast when I saw these I think I might need some physical therapy!

Hmmmm, photographic cards in weathered old boxes, this needs further exploration.....be still my heart!!! Have you ever?

Super thick matte photography boards, the type that they put old photos on waaaaaay back in the day. Perfect for so many paper projects, collages, journals, etc. etc.!

And I saved this for the last, because if I put her up as the first photo I know I'd lose a lot of you! She is the creepiest doll I've ever seen and I found her on Etsy. Her eyes open and close which just adds to the creep factor (that and the fact that when they do open and close there's an eerie sound also!) I kid you not! Go ahead and click on her picture to make her bigger, I double dare ya!!!!!!! She's guaranteed to give you nightmares tonight...
This doll will be front and center with some of my Halloween decorating this Fall. And yes, she came with the rhinestone "dance" pin already on her. I wrote to the seller asking her where she found this doll, if she knew any history on her, etc. and haven't heard back from her.....she's probably just so thankful to be rid of her! And I adore her......different strokes and all that.
Whew, long winded today, hope you all have a great rest of the week! It's cool here today, about 71 degrees, and I'm in Heaven..:).

A baseball game, the Pooh movie, antiquing, and Sailing...

We had a super fun weekend, packed with all kinds of Summer!
Friday evening we attended the last baseball game of the Summer for our local baseball team, the biggest attraction (besides the food of course!) being the fireworks after the game....spectacular!
On Saturday we did a little antiquing, then went to see the must see movie of the Summer for us, The Pooh Movie. It was so cute, our dd loved it (she's the biggest Pooh fan in the world).
Then on Sunday we were invited by a very good friend to go sailing on his boat. Took us less than a nanosecond to say yes!

Some of the boats in the harbor....

When we first started out it was sketchy going because there was no wind.....ummm, kinda hard to sail without it! But with patience, the trusty wind came up and we had quite a ride!

A shot of the sun going down as we headed back in.....to eat dinner and have some wine on the boat.....such a relaxing time.
I would so love to have a boat someday!
Hope you all had some time to relax over the weekend...not much of Summer left here before school starts again....wish we had two more months of it....:).

A New Mascot for my studio......

Our eyes met across the crowded aisle, and she seemed to be beckoning me....I ignored her for as long as I could, but seeing as how she was pretty much the first thing that you saw when you walked into this particular antique mall...well, I couldn't get her out of my mind. She "spoke" to me like no stuffed toy ever has before, and I will covet her forever.

Her name, appropriately, is Swani and she's a vintage Gund.

I'm telling you, they just don't make things the way they used to folks! The attention to detail on this swan is amazing to me, not to mention the colors! Muted and wonderful, except for her beak and feet which are a vivid orange...

Her close up! Trust me, she looks so much happier in my studio than she was in the shop....her tag said "needs a new home".
It was serendipity.....

It seems to be a creative time for me.....

So my newest Halloween puppets (from Rhonda's Originals on Etsy) are so fun to make. She provides the patterns, and I get to embellish to my hearts content! Above you see Bronwyn, an elegant witch.......

And this is Hermione, another elegant witch! (both in my etsy tonight!)

An an awesome find today, an ancient business book (soon to be in my etsy).

And a gorgeous French/English dictionary (soon to be in my etsy)

And some fabulous vintage Dennison parcel post adhesive stickers (soon to be in my etsy)....thanks for looking!
More fabulous finds coming soon! I've been lucky lately....!

New in my Etsy!!!!!

Yesterday I got away by myself for awhile and followed some estate sale signs.....found the most fun swim cap ever! It makes me smile every time I look at it.....:)

I found this old file box while thrifting and decided to make it prettier...for recipes and such.....

Awesome antique book, found at the same estate sale as the swim cap.........as was the amazing quilt below.

Isn't this a pretty quilt? I've always loved this pattern, and this one has the pretty jadeite green borders....all this and more listed in my Etsy today! Hope you're all having a relaxing Sunday....I also had time to make a fresh blueberry pie with my dd today....we'll be eating well tonight!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program.......

Just a really short entry today.....to talk about a passion of mine.
TOMATOES!
I adore tomato based dishes, of all kinds!
One of my passions is to preserve tomatoes so that I can enjoy them in the dead of winter. I love making pasta sauce or any Italian dishes more than anything.....
So I googled how to preserve fresh tomatoes (short of canning them) because I don't have the desire to use a pressure cooker, etc.

So I came across a site that said to merely toss some of your tomatoes (preferably Roma's if you want to make a thick sauce) into some boiling water for at least 45 seconds, then put them in ice water to peel the skins off......then squeeze out the seeds and put them in a ziploc bag (make sure you squeeze all air out of it).
Then, come November, when your dying for some fresh made spaghetti sauce, there you go. Take your bags out of the freezer and make your sauce.

I'm all over it, can't wait. Sounds so much better than canned tomatoes....don't you think?

New in my Etsy....back to school time....being sick in the Summertime

Well hello! It's been awhile, no? I've been busy trying to figure out Etsy's new "search"....never a dull moment on Etsy! I've also been busy creating my favorites....journals. Mine are all one-of-a-kind because, quite frankly, the skies the limit when it comes to designing journals. And since I really don't like to repeat my designs, they're a perfect fit for me...:). The journal above is a "Dreams" journal, meant to sit beside your bed (or wherever you do most of your dreaming!) It has mostly a French theme with lots of crochet lace and pretty fabrics added in, not to mention wallpaper.

And this is my "think happy thoughts" journal. These both come with their own bookmark so you can mark your place...I'll be listing them both this afternoon in my shop.

We've also been doing a lot of back to school shopping for clothes and supplies...usually my dh takes our dd out for her school supplies but this year I tagged along (more fun than you can imagine!). We're very lucky because she adores school and can't wait to start back (I was the same way).
Isn't it amazing how much variety there is nowadays with school supplies? I'm astounded at all the choices with binders, notebooks, even the scissors have decorated handles!
I've also been working on a special project for a wonderful customer who is getting married in September and I was flattered that she wanted me to make a personalized notebook for her wedding....I'll be starting on that probably tomorrow.

I've also been sick, courtesy of my dh (he loves to share...:)
It just never feels right being sick when the weather is beautiful outside, does it? I'm hoping I kick it to the curb right away because he was sick (and is still coughing) for more than 2 weeks now! Wish me luck friends, hope you're all well!

Beach finds.......Part Two

Continuing on with my vacation/birthday beach finds, most courtesy of my fabulous MIL, MaryEllen. She gifts me with a gift certificate every year to Yankee Trader and it's just so much fun!
Chris owns Yankee Trader and it's a fantastic and huge antique store....needless to say I don't have any problems......ever....finding enough to buy in this beautiful store. Check out these gorgeous platters....did I need more? Of course not! Could I resist these?
Of course not! (double click to look close up).

Beautiful!

Velvet hangers, couldn't resist.

Pretty old deck of cards....

This item is hard to explain...I'd never seen anything like it. At first I passed it over just thinking what a cool box with pretty graphics, etc. On second glance, after opening the box....oh my word!

A gorgeous booklet.....

Measuring items and charts....

A gorgeous soft doll that looks ancient and so beautiful

Two amazing old books, the blue one is Joan of Arc, the other has the most amazing drawings inside!
I didn't do a whole lot of shopping this trip, but when I did I was very fortunate.....this trip was more about spending family time at the beach and sight-seeing, which we did a lot of also....
when we were in Astoria for the second time this trip we happened to be there when a Coast Guard ship was returning home after 6 months on the coast of South America doing some drug containment work....it was so cool to be there to see them re-uniting with their families.
What great work they do for our country!

Beach finds.......Part One....)

So we're back from a week at the Oregon coast, which is always much anticipated, and we really needed it this year. My dh got a wicked eye infection just before we left so I got to drive...and what normally takes about 3 hours took us 4 1/2 because of two accidents we passed on the way....:(.
The photo above is the stunning Vintage Hardware store in Astoria, which is in the historic and awesome Astor Hotel (I should say former Astor Hotel, now it's a decadent crumbling beauty!) As I was oohing and aahing my way through the store I happened to look down and see an incredible vintage trunk drawer sitting on the ground with a few items in it.....I was praying that it wasn't there as someone's "stash" and took it up to the counter.
The nice lady said they had just gotten it in from an estate sale and, "How about $15"? Ummm, "How about, o.k."! 

Inside it were these two boxes, one an old candy box with amazing graphics, and the other is an old men's stockings box. I love how someone took the time to actually stitch the edges of part of this box together!

Another photo of the trunk drawer, isn't she pretty? I love how the outside is faded and the inside is still bright with the most beautiful roses, here I show it with some laces I bought in another store, a huge bag of crochet lace for $6. I washed them all and let them dry in the sea air (which I miss already)!

Ooops, can you tell I'm a bit obsessed with this? They also had another one just like this one that they had attached to their wall as a shelf, I'd love to do this if I can find just the right spot.

The first thing I found (and quickly grabbed because it was only $5, was this all leather binocular case with awesome velvet lining inside. I love how someone did a make-do with an old garter to keep it closed.....works perfectly. I plan to do a neat project with this case.......

This old print was purchased in another store, it's an old Seaside beauty contest....this will probably go in my dd's bathroom since she has a Seaside and vintage theme in there already.

Another amazing find in the Seaside antique mall, this vintage roll of wallpaper.......for $5! Couldn't grab it fast enough.....

Anyway, it is good to be home even though we did have a great time (and even though my poor dh developed a horrendous cold shortly after we got there). I felt so bad for him but he tried to rally most days and rest on some others.....all in all it was a great time and I'll be back later in the week to share more finds with you.