Sweet Saturday -- sweet thrifting

One of my favorite things to do is hunting for treasures in thrift shops, antique stores and flea markets.  We have a lot of them around here and I usually find something good for almost no money at all.  A few weeks ago I had some very successful visits to some of my favorite shops.  I'm always on the lookout for vintage linens, either to use as is or to use in sewing projects.  I have to check out all of the pillow cases and sheets and I know that someday I'll find just the right thing.  I did find a sweet embroidered and crochet-embellished pillowcase this last time:

Delicious roses and that sweet crocheted edge!

I also found another crochet trimmed piece.  This one is a dresser scarf:

It's trimmed like that on both ends of the long fabric.  I don't even have a dresser, but I couldn't pass up these sweet roses.  Right now I just have it draped over the storage boxes that hold my writing.  Someday I'll have the space for a dresser and this will look lovely draped over it.  Or maybe I'll cut it up and use it for something else.  Who knows.

One more piece of crocheted goodness came home with me that day.  A doily:

I've been collecting doilies like this.  In the shops around here they range in price from 50 cents to a few dollars.  Some stores charge more than that, but I prefer the bargains.  It's kind of sad, actually, because I know how much work goes into creating a piece like this.  I use them as coasters and to help protect the paint on my bedside table.

Now the doily is holding my favorite candle.

I really need to touch up this table and give it a protective top coat (it's one of my favorite trash-picked finds... it's amazing what a little paint and some new knobs will do for worn out furniture!), but until then the doilies will do their jobs.

And as for furniture and face lifts... I found a great little cabinet begging to be taken home with me:

Looks a bit like it may have once held a clock.  I have been hunting for a little cabinet or shelf for years to hang in my Cleveland kitchen.  This would have been perfect.  I'll have to find a place for it in my next house.  Until then I'm not sure what I'll do with it, but I do know that I want to give it a makeover.  I plan on decorating the inside with scraps of patterned paper like I did with the back of my desk and my little storage drawers.

And paint the outside either a chartreusey green or a pale blue.  I'd love to find a tiny glass knob to replace the metal one, too.  Add it to my queue of furniture makeover projects.  I have a few things waiting for coats of paint.

My last find is not waiting.  I put it to use right away. 

I'm not using this little muffin tin for baking.  I'm using it to tote my supplies around when I'm working on a project.

It's perfect!  I'd like to find a few more trays or tins to use like this.  I always have multiple projects in the works and I like to carry them around with me to work on in different places. 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and that each of you are having a Sweet Saturday.  And if you have the time, stop by Diana's blog for more sweetness, too.

blowing my own horn

I haven't shared much on my blog recently about my projects for my Etsy shop.  There's always another blog post to write... And I don't really like to blow my own horn.  My Etsy shop has been slow in its creation.  I opened it last September and started stocking it in October as I slowly created inventory (one piece at a time).  I've had exactly one sale, which is ok.  Sometimes it can be discouraging, but I find that overall I'm very optimistic.  That might not make sense, but I'm ok with that, too.  Chapter 2 in the Artist's Way talks about the universe (or God, if you like) cooperating with our creativity, encouraging and helping, even.  Yes, this is a hard concept for me to wrap my head around, but I've been thinking a lot about it since I read the chapter before going on vacation.  A very interesting thing happened that day.  After lunch I checked my email and I had a message from one of the Etsy administrators.  He wanted me to send one of my necklaces to a TV personality and style expert for consideration for a TV spot on crochet trends.  This happened the very same day I read about listening for encouragement from the universe.  And what was my first reaction to that email?  Fear.  I wanted to give up and not send my necklace.  I had doubts about my necklace.  I had doubts about the logistics of trying to get a package sent out last minute.  I had doubts about my packing materials.  So funny because that is the very same thing that Julia Cameron explains in the chapter.  "We've gotten brave enough to try recovery, but we don't want the universe to really pay attention.  We still feel too much like frauds to handle some success.  When it comes, we want to go," she writes.  I scribbled "YES!" in the margin and this was before I got that email.  I pushed through my fears and sent my package.  My necklace was not included in the TV spot, but that doesn't really matter so much to me.  The whole experience was encouragement from the universe.  I'm listening!

I've gotten more encouragement this morning, too.  First an email from a lovely Etsy seller and blogger letting me know that she'd featured one of my bracelets on her blog.  Her blog is beautiful and I'm really happy to have found it!

I really love the bracelet she featured, too.

And the other one I made with the same yarn in a different color:

Truthfully, I'm very proud of the creations that I've been making.  They are all my own designs and when I'm finished with each one I'm a bit surprised by it.  Each really pleases me.  Two others that I've made recently both fill me with such joy.  This bracelet:

And this necklace:

(Each piece has been featured in two treasures, too!)  So why am I not sharing the joy???

After that first message today I then had two messages about pieces of mine being featured in treasuries.

This one by the wonderful artist Ayca:

And this one by Adva Bruner a textile designer who makes amazing clothing:

Hello, universe, I'm listening!

So I'll keep creating as I have been since I opened my shop.  I'm working on some plans to develop my business (and actually make it a business instead of just this thing I do).  I'll keep you posted.  Until then, I want to thank each of you for all of the encouragement.  It really means a lot to me.

back

My visit was over in a flash.  I can hardly believe it went by so fast.  I've already spent two nights back in my bed at the farm.  As always the transition has been jarring.  Plus my computer has been acting up so doing things like going through my photos and working on my blog are taking lots longer than they should.  For a moment I'll pretend I'm still on vacation and I'll share some of my photos from our visit to The Chicago Botanic Garden.

We started our visit with scones and coffee on the deck outside their restaurant.

And then we walked and walked and walked.

And had to visit the fruit and vegetable island twice because it's our favorite.

That arch is made of apple trees!

But everything was beautiful.

We also had a lot of fun hanging out with my dad and brother.  Eating all sorts of yummies, playing games, watching movies, walking in beautiful places.  And the concert was amazing.  My feet ached and I was hot and sweaty by the end of the night, but there's something great about live music.

And now I am missing Matthias more than ever.

Visiting

We've been having a good time. Trying to avoid the heat and the rain and eating too much, especially far too much junk food. But it's been fun doing some of our favorite things. On Friday Matthias and I visited The Grove, a living history and nature center where we had our wedding ten years ago.







We walked around and took photos and remembered the day.







Had to walk down the path to the gazebo where we had the ceremony.


























And we checked out the new outdoor pavilion that would have made for a fun party location.



















But we both agreed that our reception was just perfect inside the house.







We also had to visit the animals in the education building.



















And stop by the greenhouse.








and walk the boardwalk.







Everything was so pretty.



















We got back to the car just in time to avoid being soaked in the thunderstorm.

All in all the time is going by much too fast.