In Lieu of Garage Saleing

Attic Gal Rachelle says:

We took the family to my old stomping grounds in San Diego for spring break, and so instead of my usual Saturday morning garage sale spree, I decided to take my family to, and my chances at, the big swap meet in the parking lot of the sports arena.

Mostly there were a lot of booths with swap meet stuff: t-shirts, cleaning supplies, items "as seen on TV", and the like.  But around the perimeter are the garage sale type booths, where I felt right at home digging for treasures.  

There were some fun things:

I came home with a few treasures:

Some more milk glass for my collection.  I bought a few pieces, and my hubby, who wandered away, came back with a few more for me.  He is so sweet.

My favorite is this teeny tiny little chicken covered dish.

I also got this box of chandelier crystals.  I've got plans for those.

And a handful of vintage postcards for 25 and 50 cents each.

It was a fun morning, and I got my Saturday morning fix, but it just wasn't the same as a good tour all over town garage saleing. For one thing, the prices at the swap meet were higher, and at a garage sale you always have a chance that the seller has no idea what they are selling, or just wants to get stuff out of their garage.  Besides, the thrill of the hunt is half the fun, and there is just more hunt at garage sales.

The swap meet was fun, but I'll stick with the garage sales.

P.S. I found one more thing that is so absolutely fantastic that it deserves its very own post!  I'm not going to tell you what it is, but here is a clue:

Good-bye 'til then.

A Little Inspiration

Last week at a garage sale I found this absolutely beautiful soft and flowing white skirt.  I didn't know what to wear with it.  

Then a few days later I saw this big shell pendant at Michaels and it reminded me of an Easter egg.  It inspired me.  I decided that I would make a necklace for Easter to go with my new skirt.  So I bought a bunch of pretty blue and silver beads, including a little bird, a little nest, and a little feather.  I had no idea what I was going to do, but I thought they might work.  

I didn't make the necklace until I found a blouse.  I had to go to several real stores and try on a gazillion blouses before I found the perfect teal top that was equally soft and pretty as the skirt.  I made the necklace the perfect length for the blouse - you can do that, when you make your own jewelry.  Then, because I am a bit OC about having matching jewelry, I made earrings and a bracelet to go with it.

Don't look too closely, as I am not an expert at beading by any means.  Jewelry making is not my thing, as it were.  But I have learned the basics from my very talented sisters and friends.  I am thrilled with how my birdie themed jewelry turned out.   Even the little silver beads are tiny feathers!

(I should tell you, though, that I didn't do a very good job.  My necklace kept falling off all day.  Maybe I can convince one of my talented friends to reinforce it.)

Still, I am so glad that I followed through with my little bit of inspiration.

What I am trying to say is that if you see something that inspires you, and you get an idea for a project, just go for it - even if you're not an expert in the field.  I firmly believe that we all NEED to create, and we all can, we just need to find the courage to do it.  You might just like what you come up with, and when someone compliments you on your creation, it just might make your day!

Now go and follow your inspiration.

A Few Fun Finds

Attic Gal Rachelle says:

Who is that masked garage sale marauder? No one is fooled by Attic Gal Rachelle's disguise. Actually, this is an improvement from how I usually look on Saturday mornings.

I didn't buy the mask, but I did find this at that same sale:

Yes, I found this huge nest basket. It actually wasn't for sale. The lady invited us into the house to look at some furniture. I noticed the cool basket and commented. The lady said she just bought it, and loved it, but since I liked it so much she offered it to me for $5! It is brand new. No joke.

Then seeing my excitement over the basket, she said she had some stone eggs to go in the nest, and she threw them in for free! They are beautiful polished stone. This one has fossils.

Still, when I got home, the eggs got lost in the huge basket. I remembered a big terra cotta bird I had found months ago at a GS that now lived in the backyard. He fits his new nest perfectly, don't you think?

At the same sale I also picked up this big beautiful Italian stoneware footed bowl. Just the night before I had thought I needed something cool to corral my bread in, then I found this. $5. Perfect.

This past weekend, since it was Easter weekend, the garage sales weren't so plentiful. But I did find this funky quilt that had been made out of old embroidered dishcloths(?) that tell the story of the three little pigs.
"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff..." Love the little brick house with the pig peeking out.

This little piggy plays the fiddle.

And I also found another interesting sheep for my lamb collection. Love the blue.

And a few weeks ago, while Attic Gall Alysa was fighting off the crowds at her Martha Stewart-esque garage sale, I was out on the trail without her. I had a great morning. I found these milk glass teacups. There were 6, but one broke while on the road. Sniff. Sniff.

I also found a stack of fantastic design books, that I have been really having fun digging through for inspiration. I'll have to post some of my favorites sometime. I also found this pretty Fenton glass "bird of happiness" for a quarter. She is hand painted, and the flowers sparkle with glass glitter. Isn't she just sweet?


I also found this little silver trophy cup. It is sterling! Another quarter. And this pudgy little glass bird that the lady let me have for free! And guess where I found this box of postcards featuring vintage soap labels? At Alysa's own garage sale. She never opened the box. I'm so glad I did, because lookie what was inside:




She said she was selling them because she didn't send post cards. Well, sending them never crossed my mind. I can craft with them, of course. I am gonna have fun with these! Sorry, Alysa. You snooze, you loose. Just kidding. We'll make something fabulous together, OK?


OK, now one last fun find, guaranteed to make your mouth water:



These lovely shelves made from weathered wood, old doorknobs, light fixtures, and hardware.


I don't need them, and I'm still trying to decide which kid to get rid of to make room for them, but I had to have them.

I'll figure it out. Until then, I'll drool lover them as they lean against the wall.


Attic Gal Alysa says:


"Attic Gal Rachelle, all your items make me drool! I love those shelves. Wouldn't it be fun if we had a shop? Then one of you could enjoy 1 or 2 or all 3. I'm glad you are posting your finds so I can enjoy them all over again :)

Are these the cutest boots? Look at the detail. Lelli Kelly boots for girls. The lady said she paid $95.00 for them. Luckily, I picked them up for $2. I placed them in the washing machine and waa-laah, ready for when my little ones feet.

Look at the details

Couldn't pass on these pink True Religion cords for my daughter.
There were three of these Vera Bradley aprons. The lady selling them said she got them at a conference and they were not her style. Lucky for us, they are ours. Both Rachelle and I were able to enjoy this find. Vera Bradley, we love your style.

I know I purchased more items than this. I need to get better about posting right away as I tend to forget what I purchased. It's to be expected as I'm older than Rachelle.

Have you found anything fun lately? Please share with us.

Sakura

Attic Gal Alysa says:

Cherry Blossoms outside of the National Cathedral

(Picture compliments of my dear friend, Doreen Wallace)

As I've been teaching my 4th grade Japanese class this month, we've been discussing Sakura -- Cherry Blossoms. If you have ever been to Washington DC during this time of the year, you've hopefully experienced the National Cherry Blossom Festival. It is a two-week festival that celebrates springtime. Back in 1912, Japan presented Washington DC with more than 3,000 Cherry Blossom trees representing the two countries' friendship. Check out thewashingtonpost.com for some amazing pictures.

I was visiting Attic Gal Rachelle the other night and saw that she made a faux-cherry blossom tree. Since I'm homesick for DC and we don't have many cherry blossoms in the desert, it was the perfect craft to make my homesickness go away. I had to do one for myself. Easy peasy craft -- I love those.

1. Find a branch. I found this on the ground while I was out running.

2. Have dark pink tissue paper and light pink tissue paper. Cut a messy circular shape. Make the smaller ones with the dark pink and the large shapes with the light pink.

3. Wrap the dark pink smaller shape around the eraser part of a pencil. Attic Girl Rachelle used the point of her pencil. Either way. (Sorry for the fuzzy picture. It's hard to take your own pictures when you are the crafter.)


4. Wrap it around the end of the pencil. (Ahh, much clearer. My daughter helped.)


5. Put a drop of elmer's glue on top.



6. Put the large light pink shape on top of the glue.


7. Wrap this one of the pencil and on top of the dark pink.


8. Add another drop of elmer's glue.

9. Place the blossom somewhere on the branch.

10. Let it sit there for a bit to dry.

You can add a few blossoms like I did,

or add a lot of blossoms like Rachelle did. Fun craft to do even with children.

Enjoy bringing a little Japan and a little DC into your home.

A Little Eggs-citement

 Attic Gal Rachelle says:

My kids and I have been having a bit of eggs-citement making Easter eggs around here.

This time, I decided to blow my eggs, so that we could keep our eggs for decorating.  Let me tell you, nothing is more eggs-citing than blowing a bunch of eggs.  I spent a hour Saturday morning, using a nail to carefully drill holes in each end of the eggs and break up the yoke, then blow on  one end to get all the egg matter out.  (Not pictures for you, my friend.  I do have my dignity!)  Then I carefully washed each one out and put them back in the open carton to dry.  Please note:  My Darling Hubby was about two feet away from me the whole time I was blowing my brains out through these 18 little eggs.  That evening, when I was ready to decorate them, they were gone!  When I enquired of my DH, he said he had thought they were trash, and had thrown them away!  How does a man not notice his woman sitting next to him blowing on a bushel of eggs?  But the good man did some digging in the big trash can outside and rescued all but 4.  My hero!  A real man will dumpster dive to save his woman's eggs.  See what I mean?  Eggs-citing!

Here is what we did with our rescued eggs:

Aren't these ones just fun?  These came from a kit I got after Easter at Target last year.    We decoupaged them with paper grass and butterfly images and set them in tiny flower pots.  But you don't need a kit.  You can easily snip blades of grass from green paper, or I have seen this done with actual blades of real grass.  You can use butterfly stickers, or even little flowers or birds would be darling in the grass.  I have seen the tiny pots at craft stores.  I just love how they turned out.  My kids had fun making them!

With the rest of the dyed eggs, we slathered them in glue and sprinkled with fine glitter.  Then decorated with strips of zigzag paper, flower sequins, punched out leaves, and seed beads.   You just can't do these wrong. 

I have been dying to try my hand at covering large wooden eggs in decorative paper.  It was a bit more work than I expected, but who doesn't love to make a sticky mess?

I started by wrapping paper around an egg to measure the paper, then cutting it into a rectangle.

Then I folded it the long way and cut slits all along the unfolded edges.

I unfolded it and wrapped it around the egg, then snipped the ends of each strip into darts, careful not to cut too much, so that the paper would fit around the curves of the egg.

Then I decoupaged the paper onto the eggs, and carefully smoothed the papers down over one end and then the other.

A thin layer of glue and chunky clear glitter covered a multitude of errors.  

I heart glitter!

I learned the hard way that the thinner the paper the better.  I have seen it done with pretty origami papers.  That would be ideal.  This egg is covered in card stock, which was a pain to work with.  But I HAD to have a paisley egg, so what choice did I have, really?

OK, so these eggs aren't really that eggs-citing, but I was anxious to try them, so I did.

Happy Easter, all you attic diggers!

PS  Is there an easier way to empty out an egg shell that doesn't involve putting my lips on a slimy egg?  Please share.