Garage Sale overload

I am on garage sale overload! I went to a estate sale on Friday that was so cool that I spent 2 hours there (and had to call Ken for backup and additional cash) and then I went back today for half price day and found even more fun things!

Here is a small sampling:

A really cool art deco pair of orange glass candlesticks. These are heavy and sleek. So very cool and I LOVE the color!

A diminutive bird to hold recipes or place cards. She is just over an inch tall and so cute! I found 2 of these.

A neat old moonstone and brass set of screw-back earrings. I love that these are so detailed, they have intricate filigree on the backs. So pretty!

This is a very small peek at what I found at that great sale. If that is what estate sales are always like I am going to make sure that I attend many more.

but then, the garage sale find of the year..

Ken, Annie and I pulled up to a garage sale not expecting much. It was the last one that we were going to before heading home. Their advertisement just mentioned 'household goods and a washer and dryer set'.

I looked around and was happy to see two pieces of Frankoma pottery in the Ranch pattern. I picked them up for cheap, found a neat fall leaf table runner and went to pay.

There was a table with 4 brightly colored bowls, slightly dusty and marked from 7-15 dollars each. I looked at them, and then decided to pass since I had spent too much money at the estate sale.

As we drove away I told Ken I should have bought them, even though I didn't really know what they were. I decided to pull out my phone and Google what I remembered of the largest bowl. I knew I had seen the style before but couldn't remember anything about it until my Google query pulled up "carnival glass". A quick, more detailed Google later and I knew I had to get back to that sale.

We were almost home so dropped Ken off and then Annie and I went back.

The bowls were still there (thank God)

The lady explained they were her husband's grandmas bowls. The grandma had died and they didn't like the bowls so they decided to sell them. I couldn't pull my money out fast enough and 40 dollars later I held myself back from running to the car with them in my arms.

Here is one of them.

This is the largest, and ironically, the least valuable. I bought a carnival glass book and have spent about 2 hours on the internet researching this find. This one is a Grapes and Cable pattern by Northwood.

Just look at the purple glow when you hold it up to sunlight!

I am hoping to get about $80-$100 out of this one. It is the only one that I have listed on eBay. The other 3 I am trying to decide if I should list and hope for the best, or contact an auction house specializing in carnival glass. One of the bowls, ironically the $7 one, is worth at least $300 and maybe more depending on the color classification.
This new hobby/money making adventure of mine is just like a full-time job but I am enjoying it way more!

Speaking of job, I start a part-time job doing court clerk work on Monday! Nervous about it but hoping for the best :)

Finds of the weekend

While searching for items to sell, I am discovering that I have 'theme' weeks. One week a bunch of nice sweaters with price tags still on them. Another week books, yet another old kitchen items.
This week it is glass.
When I started I DID NOT want to sell glass. I was terrified of shipping something breakable but then I gravitated towards glass, pottery, and china pieces . And, after the cats knocked over a couple not pieces (luckily not too valuable) I decided it's not the end of the world if something does happen. I don't want unhappy customers, and I don't want to damage anything, but I also don't want to not do something because I am scared. I enjoy the smoothness of glass, the weight of a blown glass piece, the delicateness of it.

This week I found glass pieces that I love, here are a few of them.

A blown glass bowl. The center is a sapphire blue shading to a clearer blue and then fading into a emerald green at the edges. Its about 11" across and 4" tall, not overly large.
It reminds me of a morning glory.

A Swedish blown glass mouse.
I used to have a collection of Swedish blown glass birds that I loved, but over the years they were misplaced or broken. This little lilac guy reminded me of how I used to hold my glass birds in my hand and feel the round little plump glass tummies.

A squat little mushroom, not glass but (I think) alabaster. It is smooth and heavy, about 3" tall and just fun to hold.

A blown glass mushroom. I like the transparent, delicate blue.

A set of two miniature pink depression glass sherbert cups. I believe that these are the Cameo design. There is a shield with a faint dancing figure inside, swags and garlands. From the research I've done these are probably modern production and are the appropriate size for the American Girl line. I just love how tiny they are!

I also found an Irice pink glass perfume bottle and a vintage cup, saucer, and plate with a pinecone pattern.
I did pick up a few non-glass items this week too; vintage Strawberry Shortcake napkins, new cross-stitch kits, and Veggie Tales movies (tempted to keep these for myself, I LOVE Veggie Tales)

So now I am going to busy the next couple days getting all my goodies listed on my eBay and Etsy stores!

We also went to see Clay and Annie march in the Marching Band state championships. Their band got 3rd in their division. Good job guys!

Hope you all had a good weekend!

Placemat Purse

When Ken and I out at garage sales the other day I found a really cool set of placemats. I loved the gingko pattern and the fact that it was a brown and light blue print, currently my favorite color combination. I knew right away I was buying them and I was gonna take them home and attack them with scissors and a sewing machine.
I am SLOWLY teaching myself to sew. I bought a book (The Bag Making Bible by Lisa Lam) about making purses and bags about a week ago. I am mainly interested in how to make pockets, attach zippers, and lining. I didn't use any of those skills with this project :) but now I know what a gusset is, and I used a technique to help me make the bottom of this purse square.

After a phone call to Tami to receive some motivating words, I started.

The placemat was already lined, which was great, until I had to attach the magnet snap closure. I had to rip a seam to attach it. But no big deal, with my mad Green Bottom Bag making skills I managed to create a shape that passes for a purse!


Then I fabricated handles and the flap closure piece.

Then I got all kinds of crazy and made a bottom for the inside of the bag. I took a scrap of fabric and wrapped a piece of plastic canvas, then stitched through all the layers to secure.

It turned out pretty cute and I learned some lessons to apply on the next one. I still have a few more bags to create from this fabric, stay tuned!

Craft of the day

While cruising around the web awhile back I came across a site that had directions for a book wreath. I kindof forgot about it until yesterday when I was thinking about crafts to do (like I need any more) and I decided to try it.
I couldn't remember where I saw the idea, but I knew the jist of it so I bought a foam wreath while I was in town.
As a side note, Rachel and Addy spent the day with me. We went to a craft show, Joannes, Ross, Hobby Lobby, picked up the kids, and then came to my house for a 4 1/2 hour marathon session of crafting. Rachel beaded really cute hair clips!
I didn't take any action pictures of the wreath making, but here is the finished product.

It is fairly big, I think the wreath form was either 10" or 8". I took the pages out of an old book I didn't want, inked the edges with brown, then rolled and glued. The only glue I had was an old-school HOT glue gun. I only have 1 blister this morning on my thumb so I think I did pretty good. I don't really know how long it took me, but we watched How to Train Your Dragon and Finding Nemo before I was done. I think I am going to make a couple more to take to craft shows. Now that I have the process down it should go much faster. I really like the way it almost looks like a giant Zinnia!

8 years

Eight years ago I came to a fork in the road.
Only it wasn't my choice of which way to go.

I now am on the path without a mom.
You know how you hear how if you want to get pregnant all you see are pregnant people? Well, when you don't have the mom that you were very close too it and you are shopping by yourself, it seems like everyone is shopping with their mom. Old people with their even older moms teetering down the aisles, a young man trying to find cookware for his new place and his mom telling him that one was a piece of junk, a young woman with her mom and her baby browsing the childrens books. And then I remember that I have memories of my own with my mom, memories that not everyone has gotten to experience and I smile and keep moving down my own path.

Button magnets

I made myself some vintage button magnets a few weeks ago for my idea board. I really liked them, so decided to make some to sell on Etsy.


The main problem I had the first time was that I accidently knocked one over and it set off a chain reaction of half-done magnets sticking to each other and making a gluey mess. So, this time I got smart and covered the back of a mini-muffin pan with tin foil and stuck each magnet on their own dome.

Worked very well I might say!

I also have vintage checker magnets drying and am in the process of designing display cards for all of them. Fun way to spend a Monday afternoon :)

Favorite way to post on eBay

Rachel and I hit some garage sales yesterday. I was on the lookout for some more things to list on eBay. I did find this cute Sheffield Strawberries 'n Cream casserole dish and some glasses. I am kicking myself over not picking up a stack of old car owner manuals. Oh well, live and learn.

I haven't done too bad selling on eBay, about $250 in a month. I hated listing things though and thought my postings looked amateur and unprofessional....until last night!

I took the time to really look at a site called Sellers Sourcebook. It is almost like blogging now, I get to choose a template and everything is organized and much cuter.

Here are some examples:

Oregon Mills Wool Blanket blah boring yawn

Arizona Blakely Glasses pretty! eyecatching! professional!

I will be going through as listings expire and updating my old style. At least now when I am listing I feel like I am doing a much more professional job.

Pillows!

Just listed a couple of pillows on my Etsy page.
This one is made out of a flour sack. Great material to work with! It feels so crisp and runs through the machine like a knife through butter.
Compared to our bags, I can whip these babies out in no time at all! It feels great to get things done so fast.

We are also making burlap pillows, a little rough to sleep on but look fantastic! No pictures of those yet but soon! We are printing different designs on the burlap, so far crows, pumpkins, crowns, bees, and keys. They look really cool.

I am going to have Annie draw some orginal artwork for an 'Anneliese' line of pillows too. Keeping everyone busy!

not much happening

Not much happening around here, just decorating for Halloween.