Monday, December 22, 2014

Ornament Exchange - Dream Catcher

This is the fourth year that my sister and I are exchanging handmade themed ornaments. Here are some of the past ornaments that I have made. Book, Paper Clock and Cotton China. Beginning from the Paper Clock, we started the themes based on the wedding anniversary gift suggestion. The first year being either Paper {traditional gift} or Clock {modern}. I like to create the ornaments using both themes.

This is the third year {again, not counting the first Book ornament} so the anniversary gift suggestion is  Leather {traditional} or Crystal {modern}. We also added a twist this year because we both bought old player piano rolls while thrifting in Las Vegas recently so we agreed to add the piano roll paper to this year's ornament.
I made a Dream Catcher ornament.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Designing My First Putz House

I have been fascinated with Putz Houses ever since I found my first vintage ones here. Somewhere, in the stack of crafting to-do ideas, was the desire to create my own unique Putz Houses.

I finally decided to design a Putz Cabin as a gift.
I started with a base cut from the plastic packaging of a Sizzix Alterations stamp and die set. It was sturdy yet light. I cut the house frame from thick cardstock.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Counting My Blessings, Enjoying My Life

I needed a little time to stop and count my blessings. I realized that I am blessed with so much right now and sometimes I need to slow down and enjoy my life.

A week ago I went to the Carson Rubber Stamp Convention. It is about a 45 minute drive via the freeway so I kind of take it for granted that I can always attend it when it comes to town.
But what I am truly blessed with is that I had the opportunity to spend some time with Tim Holtz. Back in August, Tim sent me a box full of goodies to play with. Oh the joy! But then I began to stress about what I could possibly do to thank him for his thoughtfulness and generosity.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Good News: Creative Life Update

I haven't posted anything creative or thrifty in quite a while but that is only because I haven't had time to create or thrift in quite a while. Sometimes the Universe just throws so much at you all at once and things just have to fall off your plate.

My Life in Brief:
Work: Finally got a promotion! It is doing all of the same things I was doing before but now getting a bump in salary. Woo hoo! I tend to take on any impossible project they think up and then get it done. A catalog created in 12 working days, Sales presentations with over 200 mockup packaging samples, A year's work of rebranding exercises... I'm on it!

Other Work news:


Design: My die designs were introduced at the Fall International Quilt Market. My Fox die was the Sizzix Number One seller at the show. My Monster die was number two.
My Reindeer die also sold out. {I created these examples of how to use my reindeer die. The top reindeer is me with the heart antlers. The left one is Dear Handyman. He's British so his antlers are a little different. The right one is my son who loves to tease Dear Handyman.}
Freelance: I have also been doing a massive number of freelance hours. I really enjoy my freelance. It is a great opportunity to do some creative designs but I can't share anything here. I can tell you that crafters love them. I just don't have my name on any of them but that is okay.

Thrifting: I've been to only a few estate sales but just haven't had the time to post anything new to my Stuff to Treasure store but it is still full of unique vintage treasures. The holidays are coming so you might find that perfect vintage gift for someone.

Personal: I am taking an emotional and mental break for a few days. I am being harassed by my Home Owner's Association which is stressful. Life is so crazy at times. When the Universe throws stuff at me, I need to stop taking it personally and just walk away. I am okay. People I care about are okay. Life is about the here and now and that is okay too.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Eileen Hull and Paper Trail

I ran into Eileen Hull in the middle of a Walmart parking lot tonight. Almost literally ran into her as she was walking across the parking lot.
We had picked up a few things at Walmart and were leaving the parking lot when I saw the cutest vintage trailer with a Scotty dog on the front. I made Dear Handyman drive around the back and sure enough it said Paper Trail so I knew it was Eileen's.

I took a few photos in front of Scotty and jumped back into the car. As we started to drive away again I saw a woman walking past holding an In-n-Out cup. I jumped back out of the car and ran up to greet her. Luckily we have known each other for a while or it would have been a very strange encounter.

She had just experienced her first In-n-Out burger and fries for dinner. That is a totally California experience!

She is in town to visit Sizzix this week. Hopefully she will come in a day early and I will have a chance to spend some time with her.

Nicest person, EVER! Such a great bit of serendipity to run into her, in a Walmart parking lot.

Monday, September 1, 2014

Awesome Labor Day Weekend Digger Sale

We found an awesome digger sale that looked promising. It was a bit of a drive but since we hadn't been out for a while we decided to splurge.

My favorite find, and I have to credit Dear Handyman for snagging this treasure, was this small 7 1/2 inch metal globe. I collect globes but I didn't realize the significance of this one particular one. In fact, while waiting to pay, two people offered to buy it from me. With a little research I discovered that small globes like this are a little scarce so they are more valuable. A great addition to my collection!
I found this old green Climax Family Scale by Landers, Frary & Clark. The glass front is intact and it still works.
Found a three piece canister set in the same shade of 1940's green.
I have never seen an anodized aluminum salad serving set before so this was kind of fun. There is a large serving bowl and eight colorful individual bowls.
I also found a small wooden box filled with toys and other bits. I liked the printing on the side of the box. What better way to organize art supplies than in a vintage school crayon box!
Included in the box were two old glass bottles containing French art adhesive, two small metal fish, a tintype photo, bone objects, wooden climbing monkey toy, handmade wooden toy with compartment holding a Mason's pin, metal bird claw, cardboard goat, glass cross, old ceramic dish and tiny metal boat.

I will add some of these items to my store at StufftoTreasure so please stop by to browse.

Hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful Labor Day Weekend.


Thursday, August 28, 2014

Thank you Tim Holtz!

Today was like Christmas in August thanks to Tim Holtz.

Every year I design Tim's catalog for Sizzix and all of his packaging for his Alterations line. I adore working with him. He truly has the ability to know how something will look before it is created which makes my job so much easier.

Earlier this year I caught up with him at the Stampers' Convention in Carson, CA and he was so sweet to offer to send me some product if I would send him my wish list. It took several weeks of making and then trimming down my wish list but I finally sent it off to him and today a box full of creative magic arrived from him.


It felt like Christmas morning as I carefully opened the box. There is more awesomeness in this one box than I could ever imagine. And, as Tim said to me today "You're going to have a lot of fun!" Where to begin and how will I ever find the time to play with everything? I could just squeal with happiness.

Thanks Tim and Mario!

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Paper Succulent Garden

What do you get when you combine the popular succulent gardens with the trend of decorating in creamy white color schemes and the desire to recycle thrifted treasures? The answer is a DIY paper succulent garden.

Friday, May 23, 2014

An Amazing Week!

It has been an amazing week with lots of high points and one low point. And looking back, the low point wasn't really all that bad but it did shake my faith in the honesty of people.

My week started last Friday. I had the day off from work so we went to an estate sale. I have been doing a lot of freelance lately so this was my first opportunity to go thrifting in a while. I witnessed lying, cheating and stealing and that was the conduct of the estate sale company!
I was on the hunt for a set of these Pyrex Dot bowls.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Reading the Fine Print

During our thrifting adventures, we went to an estate sale that was advertised as "One Day Only" but buried in the text of the listing was the fact that this was "one day only" of the clearing out after two days of selling. Very confusing and disappointing since they had advertised photos of things that they must have sold many days before. But on a positive note, we had a wonderful conversation with a retired Navy man who was very inspirational.

We started the day at a fun sale and my favorite find were these vintage Gurley Halloween Witch candles. I had learned about Gurley candles after finding these Christmas candles a while back.
We also found a large number of Knee hugger elves, gnomes and pixies. Not quite sure which ones are which but most of them still have their "made in Japan" stickers.
I couldn't resist these Rooster glasses. The images are so playful.
Later, at the "One Day Only" sale I found a set of small tart pans that looked like sunflowers. Won't these make a cute Summer project!
The last thing we found was another working Westclox Baby Ben clock to add to my collection.
So the moral of this week's message is to read the fine print of any advertised sale if you want to avoid disappointments. And if you happen to meet a retired Navy man {with nine children} while waiting for a sale, strike up a conversation with him because he will inspire your dreams.

I will be adding some of these items to my Stuff to Treasure store so please check back often for more interesting vintage finds.

Hope everyone had a great day of Thrifting.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Bucket Lists and Wish Lists

I love horses. One thing on my Bucket List was to learn to ride a horse. I rode for a few years until I fell off {my fault: my instructor said something, I said "What?", the horse heard "Whoa", the horse whoa-d and off I went over the shoulder but didn't get hurt.} So I don't need to ride anymore but I still love horses.

And one of the many things on my Thrifting Wish List is Trophies. I like old engraved trophies. I also look for award ribbons. So imagine my joy when I found a 1955 award ribbon for a Horse Show. Cool right? But it gets better. The ribbon is for "Victor McLaglen Light Horse "A" Troop Horse Show". Victor McLaglen was an Oscar-winning English-born actor who starred alongside such big Hollywood names as John Wayne and Shirley Temple. He even has his handprints in the cement outside of  Grauman's Chinese Theatre. He later went on to form a semi-militaristic Light Horse Brigade here in California. This is an horse show ribbon from a 1955 event. Oh-so-cool!
Other fun finds this weekend was a nice Town and Country Pyrex Cinderella bowl. 
A pair of Danish Modern salad serving tools.
And some vintage, real glass glitter and decorative bits.
Learning about history is one of the thrills I get from Thrifting. It is so much fun to find treasures on my Thrifting Wish List. All of this is what keeps me going especially at 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning.

I even went to a local Button Show to get a little education on the value of various buttons. So much to learn, so little time. Hope everyone had a great day of Thrifting.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Spring Thrifting and Hummingbird Rescue Service

The Spring weather this weekend was beautiful. We attended a few sale and Dear Handyman had to work so I spent some time helping him. While working on a house, a hummingbird flew in and was stuck between a window and the shutters. I had to climb a ladder, gently catch the hummingbird in a towel, climb back down the ladder {while gently holding the towel} then release the bird outside. For one brief moment it sat on my hand before it took flight. What an awesome creature!

My favorite find at the sales were these Spun Cotton Birds that kind of look like hummingbirds and an old velvet floral Corsage.
We also found a large stash of vintage Disneyland tickets. The earliest ones date from 1965 and the latest are from 1980. These tickets bring back such fond memories of trips to Disneyland as a child.
I love finding vintage Christmas decorations. These are two corsages, a large mercury glass candle and bottlebrush table decoration and three sets of mercury glass and bottlebrush wreath earrings.
We found several old handkerchiefs. My favorite is one that I believe is designed by Tom Lamb but isn't signed. It is of a Duck that looks progressively more wild as the poem describes: "Oh! Henny is a wild duck, as wild as wild can be! wilder than any duck you ever did see! I love wild ducks.
Other hankies include Disney's Seven Dwarfs, Howdy Doody and some Valentine hankies. Also found some lovely German Scrap.
I hope everyone had a great day of thrifting. And I hope everyone is starting to enjoy some lovely Spring weather. As always, I will get some of these items into my Stuff to Treasure store.

Linked to:

Friday, March 21, 2014

Don't Judge a Sale by its Description

In my search for interesting sales this weekend, I overlooked a sale that was advertised as "Plants Yard Decoration". I wasn't interested in those items so I didn't look at the photos. It wasn't until I ran a search using keywords on Craigslist that I found a much more intriguing list of items at this sale.

The moral of this lesson is that it is always a good idea to check out the listing of all sales that are in your area and within the timeframe of your day.

My favorite find were these vintage Christmas pieces. I love the Empire Plastic Santa but the oddly shaped Mercury glass ornaments in the front are interesting as well. I have never seen this shape before.
We don't usually buy purses at estate sales but this one was in such good condition and unique. It is made from strips of metal in a basket weave pattern. 
I thought this copper enamel bowl was such a unique shape and I liked the bright sunflower design. It is made by Bovano from the 1960s.
Found a Fenton Hobnail turquoise blue small vase. So petite and pretty.
I like these accordion style sewing boxes. This one is in such great condition and it has these rounded knobs on top that look so 50s. Wouldn't it be fun to fill it with all kinds of Tim Holtz's inks and embellishments to have handy for crafting? 
I hope everyone has a great weekend of thrifting. Check out my Stuff to Treasure store for many of these and other treasured finds.

Linked to:
Coastal Charm, Ladybug BlessingsMod Vintage Life, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia and SirThriftaLot

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Finding Old Photos and an Old President

Sometimes you find the most amazing things in a box of thrifted treasures.

My favorite find outside of the box, was this nice grungy hanging scale. It would look so cool holding a hanging plant.
And of course I love finding Pyrex especially a nice set of refrigerator dishes.
But the most surprising and exciting find was some papers that I discovered in a box of old photos. The box was filled with old cabinet cards and homestead photos from the Kansas and Oklahoma Territories before they became States. Mixed in with these photos was a Kansas Territory Land Deed signed by President Chester A. Arthur in 1882. This was a period in American history when the U.S. Government had laid claim to lands belonging to the Native American Indians and then sold land deeds to Settlers.

Here are some of the old cabinet cards, homestead and township photos.
 Also in the box was an old 1920 United States Passport.
World War II Ration books.
Unused 1904 St. Louis' World's Fair Postcards.
And some unusual postcards for holidays such as Washington's Birthday and the Fourth of July.
I was hoping to find some old tintype photos {there were a few in the box} but instead I found some awesome pieces of real American history. I will get some of these items in my Stuff to Treasure Store

Hope everyone had a great day of thrifting.

Here is a little history of what was happening in 1882 around the World:
The Red Cross was established
Morgan Earp {Wyatt's brother} was assassinated in Tombstone, AZ
Outlaw Jesse James was killed
Queen Victoria ruled the British Empire
First district lit by electricity {New York}
First World Series Game was played {Cincinnati vs. Chicago}
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