My New Studio Companion

She still needs a name, but more about this antique mall find will be shared soon!

Balancing Out The Bright

One of the things I love about having a Flickr Photostream is seeing, so plainly, color patterns in the images. Yesterday, everything had hints of yellow. Today, as I loaded photos, I noticed everything took a turn to the rustic and earthy. Sometimes the transition in the stream in the palettes is subtle and other times, like today, it is more obvious.








(as a side note: My hubby and I have recently become addicted to American Pickers on Netflix. He called me yesterday and said "I went pickin' on lunch". It is something we both have always done with my estate sale adventures and his garage sale ones. It is fun now to have a little lingo to go with the junk rummaging. Check out the cool antique oak apothecary cabinet he found for my studio!)

Seeing these photos today compared to yesterday is interesting to me. It really punctuates what is going on creatively for me right now. The book I am working on writing at the moment couldn't be more different visually than my first. Color wise, it will be like seeing yesterday's photos (aka Totally Twisted) side by side with today's (aka Rustic Wrappings), when you hold both books in your hands. What is wonderful is that both are still so completely me. I love old rustic rusty objects and the sentimental thought/feelings to hold. And, I am loving the process of going back to my roots, so to speak (do you remember the days when I oxidized everything I made?), and exploring the wonderful possibilities in this design style. It is making for some really magical studio time, lemme tell ya.

I can't wait to get to that studio now and finish up the project using those little resin-ed papers. You know, pages from a love story, written and printed, more than 100 years ago makes for the best little details in a design.

Finding Frivolous Furniture Friday

With all deadlines met and the next few weeks open to doing-what-ever-i-want in the studio, I had a little FUN yesterday! I hit my first estate sale in weeks, nah, months. Granted, estate pickins are slim this time of year anyway, but you can usually find 3-4 on a Thursday or Friday 'round here. There is a website that lists the sales and most sales have photos of what will be available at that sale once it opens. It had been so long since I had been to a sale that I had really gotten out of the habit of checking to see what was coming up. If it weren't for my hubby, I would have missed out on some really good finds yesterday. He spotted this cabinet in an over exposed, flash washed, photo and sent me hunting. Isn't it wonderful?!





There is an antique store owner in The Hungerford Building where my studio is. Ray seems to think this cabinet might be from The Stickley Brothers Quaint line. He is gonna drop by and check it out. I can't wait to hear what he thinks. I really want this for myself in the studio, but Ron is begging me to bring it home. We'll see. It is hard to move something already full of my materials ya know. He'll have to make it worth the effort.

SO, then... in the garage of this same sale, I found this.






Oh yes, an antique card catalog!! I have no idea in the world I am going to do with it. The things weights over 100lbs and it's hard for two grown people to move it. (oh yes, solid oak through and through) It is so amazingly quirky. Oddly enough, it isn't nailed together and we don't think it is supposed to be. It isn't like there is a nail missing in one corner making it wiggle or any glue marks, nothing. It literally doesn't have a single nail in it. There is a rather interesting lock system to it too. We are still trying to figure it out. You can't really close all the drawers all the way because of the locks or the locks block them from shutting, but if you leave a drawer out, reach your hand in, trip the lock, all the drawers shut perfectly. It is amazing. Would you believe, I nearly walked away from this. I called Ron at work, told him about it. Told him the price was $110 and I was feeling like that was way to much to spend. I ened the call with him and not two seconds later we called me back and said "get it". So, I did. Now what am I gonna do with it? I do love it and it looks wonderful on this table in my living room. Such a cool piece of history too. We were all talking last night and Andrew's school is the only one that still has a card catalog in the library.

Isn't finding really frivolous, unnecessary, furniture on random Friday afternoons the best pass time? I wonder what next week's sales will hold!

Talk About A Golden Afternoon...

aka... What Is Up With Me And Yellow These Days
aka... I Thought I Hated Gold.
aka... Even The Margaritas Are The Right Color
(all honest and true, possible post titles for today)











You'll have to excuse my spotty posting of late. Such is life... when it rains it pours and my plate is very very full right now. Happily though, I got to spend a few hours with my good beady friend Christine while she was in Rochester this past weekend. Naturally, being the wonderful host I am, I dished up a day full of sun and junk and margaritas. If you come visit, I will take you too ;)

Props & Beads

Thanks to all of you for the cyber hugs and well wishes yesterday. Today is a new day and although things aren't 100% better, I am hopeful. Really, that is all I can ask for. Hope that each day has the possibility of being a good day. Now, enough wallowing. I never was one to wallow for too long. On to brighter things!!



Check out these goodies!! Yes, a pile of rusty old house junk is all sorts of goodness. LOL. Last Friday afternoon, during what was the worst day of that cold I had (I am all better now, thanks), I went on an adventure with my Mom and sister. They wanted to hit a few of the city thrift stores, so I tagged along. I literally hated every minute of the thrifting. The two of them like to go to the inner city, shady neighborhood VOA stores, and Salvation Army stores. To me, that is not thrifting. It causes me to panic, and all I see is nasty ghetto garbage along with the bums and paper bags outside the stores. Ugh, I just shuttered even thinking about it.

Thankfully though, while driving down Main Street in the city, I spotted a gem of a spot I have been dying to visit. REHOUSE!! Oh it is heaven. Instantly I was happy as a clam, seriously. Buckets of door hinges, row upon row of old windows, *sigh*... antique claw foot tubs, sheets of patina-ed ceiling tile tin, *gasp*... knob plates, stripped moulding, and light fixtures too!! Who knew? I scoured the aisles and made my choices...

Brass drawer pull plate


Metal door knob back plate


Claw foot from an old tub


Piece of wall candle sconce


Part of a painted ballister


Instantly I knew why I was in the store and what I was looking for. These make fantastic photo props!! I have been quietly working on pieces of jewelry for book 2 and these props are going to help me take some killer photos of the finished designs. I can't wait!! Unfortunately, you are going to have to wait. I can't share any details of book 2 just yet. I haven't even submitted the proposal. But Oh.My.Stars, it is gonna be out of this world. I am so excited and inspired by the "twist" I have on this one. The concept is like nothing you have ever seen. You are going to flip through the roof when you see this and say "why didn't I think of that?" and then you are gonna thank my for doing all the work on figuring out just how to do it. LOL. Yeah, it is that cool. :)

I can't leave you completely hanging though. So here are a few beads I played around making yesterday. Of the group, that "LOVE" bead is the only one that made the cut. It is going to be used in one of the book samples. Intriguing, no?

Pink Rangs

First, thank you SO much for all the pink bead love yesterday. I am thrilled you like the results. Pinks aren't colors I usually work in and it was fun to break out of my color box a bit and explore the possibilities.

Here are the first bangles created with the pink beads. So yummy. I am finding I don't care for the shade of fuschia wire from Parawire with these particular beads, so I went with the soft pink instead and it is divine. I love pink and gray together! (Yes, the beads look a little greenish, but they are actually transparent gray!) I had to resist editing all 20 or so pictures I took of these, and it was ever harder to narrow down to just a few to post here. (There are more over on FLICKR.) And before you ask, yes, these are taken ;)





I am having a blast photographing these bangles on a set of art books from 1883 that I picked up at a thrift store for $15. There are seven books all together and one of them has some handwritten script dated Feb 13th 1895 (my birthday 115 years ago). I don't think this is a style of photography that will work for my bolder, brighter, crazy, colored jewelry, but is a sweet match to these bangles.

This will be the last set for at least a week! I busted the pin in my punch pliers so unless I can find a really really tiny bit for Ron's drill, I am just gonna have to find something else to keep me busy. I think I'll manage.

You're Really Gonna Like This

My Mom recently found this rather unassuming old ledger at an estate sale. Oh my stars... it holds some serious treasures inside. Take a look for yourself...
















Literally, page after page after page has been scrap booked with antique ephemera from the late 1880's - early 1890's. It is amazing. There are calling cards, advertisements, calendars, article clippings, Sunday school cards, note cards, and more. AND who ever made this, I think her name was Bertha Anthony (because her name appears a lot, a photo of her, and her 1892 report card is in it!), adhered the pieces to the pages of the ledger, right over simply gorgeous script... which dates to 1875 and earlier. Hot dang it is amazing. You can see even more images from the insides in my Flickr Gallery Set: The Ledger. Who knew scrapbooking was so big in the 1880's?!? And wouldn't this make an amazing back drop for vintage-inspired jewelry designs? What a treasure, it is visiting me at my house and I am loving every minute with it.

A New View

Okay, what is it with me and salvaged windows? Really now? I can't get enough of them. I think I am up to eight in places through out the house. This latest one, over the kitchen sink, is courtesy of my sister. She found this gorgeous window for $5 at an estate sale. What you can't see in the photo is that those diamonds of glass actually bubble out. The window is dimensional!! The side on the living room sticks out about three inches from the frame. Cool huh? Anyone else salvaging old windows out there?