Some good junkin'!

Wow, what a good day I had! A couple of weeks ago, I headed out to the cattle barns flea & scored some great stuff! Who doesn't love a good junkin' day? Look at it all! Lots & lots of lace (which I neglected to photograph individually), rust, bling & ephemera....all my favorite stuff!

Scored another old dictionary & I bought this set of earrings for the farthings & shillings hanging from them.


Rusty doorknobs & doorplates, pearls & a wonderfully patina'ed base to something. I'm seeing a baby doll head on top of it. ;)

I don't know what this ring is from...maybe an old lamp but I'm envisioning it as a mobile w/ tags & junk hanging from it. Tiny crocheted rosettes, old spoons, lace....

tri-fold dressing mirror & beautiful old roses oil painting...

And buttons! I scored several jars of buttons!!!

My friend Junker Val, doesn't have a booth @ the cattle barns anymore so I made a quick stop @ Lone Star Antiques to see what goodies she had for me. She had some wonderful green stamps...I've been wanting some for my collages. I tell you what though....I licked so many of those stamps as a kid that my mouth puckers up just looking @ them. Blech! My grands didn't believe me when I told them how bad they tasted so they had to give them a lick & each made a face. I'm sure the taste hasn't improved any in 40 years. LOL And of course they had to use some on birthday cards they made for their Grouchy.

I also scored some lace from Val, as well as a wonderful 1920's French paperback...translated to English, it's titled The Princess of Cleves. But my best find was the old Ft Worth phone book from the year I was born!

It has my parent's number in it!!!!!!!

As well as my grandparents, my aunt & my uncle.

The ads are very cool...

and will provide me w/ a plethora of backgrounds for my art.

but I was shocked to see this. I just can't believe this was going on in my lifetime. I mean I know I'm old & all but gosh....

And I have to share this picture, I just this minute took of my Sonny Boy. I've been teaching him to sit-up & of course he gets a treat when he does. I'm sitting @ the puter, working on this blog post & I glance down @ my feet to find Sonny sitting up...waiting for me to notice & reward him. He held that pose while I took his picture & gave him a treat. I think he's got this lesson learned. ;)

I know, I know....he needs a grooming...but isn't he the cutest? Even if he is a bit scruffy!

Junkin' with a friend!

I haven't gotten a post ready about Birdsong yet (what fun!) but I wanted to share some recent junkin' finds....from guess where? Yep! The cattle barns flea again! I know y'all must get tired of hearing "I got this @ the cattle barns flea" or "this" or "this" or "that"; but the pickin's @ thrift stores have gotten so lean that I don't hardly shop anywhere else any more. Except garage sales...I still brake for garage sales. LOL

The cattle barns flea is dusty, hot & dirty...it's authentic junkin'! But it's a guaranteed $100 spent on great, old junk...at really good prices! So you get a lot of bang for your buck! My friend Jan had anxiety attacks at first; all she could think, was that she wanted to get out of that dirty, dusty place that sometimes houses cattle! Until she asked about some prices (hardly anything is marked). But the prices are good enough to win over even a neat-freak like her & now she is always twisting my arm to meet her there. *winking @ Jan* Just for the record, they clean up well the cows' mess, after the rodeo each year, before they reopen as a flea market.

This was my haul from our shopping trip a couple of weeks ago.

This was my favorite find of the day! A sweet, swwwweeeet , jointed charlotte w/ holes in the top of her head. The holes were meant for a ribbon to be strung through & a bow tied (or so the dealer said) but I'll hang a couple of jump rings from them & turn her into an adorable, shabby chic necklace. Can't you just see it?
Another tiny frozen charlotte.... the MOP mother pin I mentioned in a previous post ($3!!!!) & a wonderfully aged thimble.

I always pick up trinkets to use in my projects & lately, I've been snagging old watches & watch parts too. I bought the watch parts from Pam @ The Altered Muse (she had a booth at the cattle barns). She used to have a shop here in Ft Worth but it has closed. She is still having workshops out of her home though... I plan on taking her reliquary class sometime after Mother's Day.

25 pieces of beautifully tarnished flatware...lots of projects in store for them!

A gorgeous rhinestone belt ...wayyyy too tiny for my waist though! I'll use it as a necklace instead ....& a cheap pocket watch. The dealer charged me $2 extra for it cause it's still working. I don't care if it's working or not, I just want the case but I paid her $5 willingly.

rhinestone buckle (I'm like a magpie...I can't resist anything that sparkles!), lone earring ....

and I've been eyeing an old photograph album at the flea for a couple months. Being too cheap to pay $50 for it, I asked for his best price & was told $40. Still too cheap to buy it, Jan & I split it.

We took turns picking the cabinet cards. The subjects are good ones too...the first 5 picks were all premo. I wound up w/ 13 fabulous, large cabinet cards.

and 8 wonderful "frames" to use in my artwork. And I was too cheap to buy it. *shaking my head in wonder* Now I'm kicking myself for sharing it!!!

I shared a few of my finds from this junkin' excursion w/ swap partners...the MOP Mother pin, the french poodle pins & for a Birdsong swap, I shared the rhinestone "crown" piece above. The rhinestone necklace I kept for myself. ;)

I'll be back later w/ lots of pictures of the good times @ Birdsong. I think I'm gonna break it down into multiple posts though as I have a LOT to share!

Gotta love junkin'!

And you gotta love a man who loves junkin'!!!! I'm very fortunate that my hubby likes to junk, nearly as much as I do. It's one of our favorite quality time activities. And a couple of weeks ago, we spent a whole day hitting the cattle barns flea, a thrift store, an estate sale & some garage sales....look @ all I came home with!

The cattle barns is a great place to find cheap bling!



The old rulers were a thrift store find, the old photos from the estate sale; as were the sterling S & P shakers....$3!!!!! And check out the old notepad paper...another thrift store find & only 39 cents.

Beautiful sugar bowl...garage sale...$1!

This perfume bottle was at the same garage sale as the sugar bowl & was also only a $1. It's beautiful now that it's clean & sparkly.

The lace pillow is already employed as a display/storage piece for my vintage, rhinestone brooches. LOVE the vintage bird print & I cannot seem to resist cheap china. I gotta get into mosaics.

All kinds of dolls & doll parts! And a lovely pink tatting trimmed hankie...only a quarter!

The little crystal bowl is already filled w/ mica flakes & the "pearl" hearts are actually button covers but I'll use them in art projects.

I have plans for the thimbles for my girls for Mother's day...shhhhh! Mum's the word!

I snagged the watches @ a garage sale for 25 cents a piece....they'll be used as mini-shadow boxes in jewelry designs.

I asked one of my favorite dealers if she had any super cheap bling for me to use in my art projects. She gave me 2 boxes of junk to dig out of. I spent over half an hour going through them but it was worth it...alll the bling on this sheet music was only $3....TOTAL! And as you can see...there was some good stuff mixed in w/ the junk!

Speaking of sheet music, one of the dealers @ the flea had a box w/ a 3" stack of sheet music in it. One dollar for the whole box!

Found this wonderful old doll dress, slip & bonnet @ a garage sale for $4.

And this old, fabulous christening gown was another cattle barns find but I had to pay $10 for it. I'm planning on using my collection of vintage baby garments (didn't pay more than $3 for any of them) as a valance in the guest/baby room & this nice piece will be the highlight of it.

Found this vintage cake topper @ the thrift store for only $2.99.

And I somehow neglected to get a pic of the other one I scored....for the same price & @ the same thrift store...but you can see it here behind the little leather bound books.

Quite a haul, huh? I am almost done w/ my Easter decor...then it's on to the Easter crafting....can't wait! I have big plans for Easter crafting this year.

Good times w/ good friends!

Last weekend, I went on a wonderful crafting retreat w/ some of the girls @ Memory Lane Inn in Tyler Tx. Oh my goodness...what a set-up, y'all! Memory Lane Inn is a FABULOUS victorian inn, decked out w/ all the luxuries (wait until you see the stained glass!) & specifically set-up for us crafters. They had huge work tables w/ lights, plugs, shelves for supplies & drink holders (so you didn't spill your drinks on your work) plus they had a cricut, printer & computer for us to use. Oh yeah, and they had a candy bar...stocked w/ tons & tons & tons of candy. It was a crafter's haven! I has sooo much fun!

This is the front of the inn...charming isn't it? You ain't seen nothing yet!


Love the wrap-around porch w/ all the rockers. We laughed & laughed about my hubby talking me into keeping folding chairs in the back of my blazer...said I may need them. It didn't occur to me until we were shopping that he did that to deter me from buying too much...the sly devil! Little did he know, I'd have ditched those chairs in a heartbeat if I needed the room. LOL

This is one of the crafting rooms (there were 2)...we each had a huge work space w/ all the amenities. Love the little shelves...they were sooo handy. I thought about putting one on my work station @ home but I'd probably decorate it instead of leaving it bare.

This was the supply closet...full of stickles & inks & Tim Holtz products. I figured the supplies would be marked way up but she must have been selling them @ her cost...stickles for $2! And crackle paints for $4!

I didn't get any pictures of the girls, as I didn't even break out my camera until my car was loaded for the trip home. There was at least one of us in pj's & no make-up at all times though, so a group shot wouldn't have been possible anyway. But I do want to thank Cheryl, Alisa, Shannon, Joanna, Dana, Liesl & Marie for a wonderful, wonderful weekend!

Check out the stained glass! It was everywhere! Some vintage, some reproductions, all very beautiful!

This door led into the First Ladies Quarters...the most luxurious of all the sleeping quarters & the only one I didn't get pics of. :(

The kitchen was fabulous w/ not one but 2 swinging stained glass doors!

In the room beyond was the cricut, puter, candy bar & crafting closet.

*sigh*

LOVED this staircase lamp!

Now we go upstairs & this is where my photos get bad. As I said, I was literally loaded up in the car & about to leave when Marie convinced me to unpack my camera & take some pictures...I'm so glad she did! But you'll have to forgive the bad photos...I just rushed through taking them & didn't bother w/ lighting etc. Anyway, this is the media room although we never so much as sat in it.

And this was our room...it slept 6. I was concerned (very concerned) about my snoring but I wore breathing strips & crossed my fingers. The next morning, I was told by Joanna, that yes I still snored. (I knew she would be the one to say something LOL) She said it was only lightly but it was almost continuous...when there was a delay in bouts, she said it worried her & made her think "why'd she stop? is she still breathing?" *grins* Maybe next time I should take hubby's suggestion to bring ear plugs for everyone else instead of breathing strips for me.

The buffet? (dresser?) in our room...it's gorgeous!

One of the many beautiful chandeliers in teh house...this one was in our bathroom.

There were only 8 girls in our group ( we slept 6 in one room w/ Cheryl & Alisa staying in the First Ladie's room) & the inn houses 20 people so there was another group of women sharing it w/ us. This is one of their rooms. It's called Miss America's rooms because a Miss America lived in it back in the days when the inn was a boarding house....it slept 4.

This room was decorated closest to my style....loved the mantel! The picture on the right of the mantel is a newspaper article about the Miss America that roomed here. I think it was from the 20's & read "she can fry up a steak, sew a fine hem & she can read"...cracked us up that it was a big deal that she could read. That gurl done got herself an edumacation!

Another sleeping room...this one sleeps 8. LOVE the pillars & teh chandelier!

Another stained glass window in a bathroom.

The back of the inn was even more charming than the front.

With multiple seating areas (sure didn't need those chairs did I? LOL)

And a water pond.

The junk shopping in Tyler is awesome but these ladies are experienced, they're quick & they know what they're after. I thought I was good but I'm gonna have to step up my junkin' game if I wanna compete. I did score a half doll in great shape for $15, some aluminum jello molds (been looking for some for over a year to use as bases for misc art projects) & a wonderful old tin in a faded pink....it'll become some kind of altered doll.

Cheap velvet ribbon but it's old & nicely aged.

A mesh coin purse (I'll either use a patina finish on it or I'll stick it outside until the Spring) & I love the tiny, fine lace.

Crocheted snowflakes for art projects.

MORE aluminum molds...I hit the jackpot! 48 molds for $10!!!!

Cigar box full of aged embroidery floss. No need to tea-dye these!

2 china ballerinas for Caralyn's playhouse...@ 30 cents a piece (they were half off! LOL), I don't have to worry about them getting broken.

And a beautful, porcelain ballerina for my collection. I already have one just like her though (hate it when I do that!) so she'll probably become a swap gift for someone.

And I bought this tag @ one of the antique shops...couldn't resist it.

I can't share much of what I worked on that weekend, as I made the stocking for Joli Paquet's Vintage Stocking Swap, as well as a couple of goodies to go inside but I did try making some polymer clay roses. They still need to be baked (trying to find a used toaster oven!) & spritzed w/ some glimmer mist & the holes are so that I can string a tiny bead in the center. I'll share them again when they're finished.

And I also made some image transfer tags. I bought shiny contact paper & not matte though so I'm not completely thrilled w/ the way they turned out. I gotta find some of the matte stuff.

Wish I hadn't stamped gesso on this one but once it was done, wasn't much I could do. I'm gonna get a gold paint pen & add scrolly's to the stark white though & that should help.

LOVE this tag....you can just barely make out the prism I hung from the bottom.

You know what's one of the best things about hubby traveling (aside from having some alone time ;) )? It gives me the time to nurture, encourage & enjoy the friendships I've made through blogging & Paper Cowgirl. Today, I'm off to meet Jan & Marie for a fun day of tea rooms & shopping @ Lone Star Antiques w/ maybe a trip to the cattle barns flea.

But I better skip the cute mules & wear me some running shoes if I wanna keep up! LOL