Great giveaway from Yvonne at StoneGable

Just had to share a great giveaway going on at StoneGable blog.  It's a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker!  I'd love to have one of these.  Check it out here:
http://s888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/stonegable/?action/>
Good luck!

A Few Thrifting Finds

Well, I said I would post some of my finds so here's a few.  The silver dish was 79 cents because it had the florist foam still attached.  I removed most and loaded the dish with some of my sea shells.  The table was found at a yard sale a couple of years ago for $3!  I love the old farm style of it. 

The stone piece was found at a local antique store for $9 for a set of two.  I also found the aqua blue insulator from the old telephone poles.  I love the color and it was only a buck!  The starfish were puchased at the beach on a vacation.  I LOVE seashells and have a huge collection that are stuck in jars, containers, dishes, whatever...all over the house. 

More shells!  The vase is from Old Time Pottery.  They were having a huge sale and this great piece was a little over $4...what a deal : )  It's kind of dangerous for me to live in a city with an Old Time Pottery store.

This little grouping came together sort of by accident.  I found the black pedestal at the antique store for $1.  I wanted to use it somehow on my island.  I knew it would include my birds and the pale blue color somehow.  When playing around with the arrangement, I thought of using the cookbook to add height to one of the pieces.  I didn't like the dust cover so I removed it to a wonderful surprise...the original book is a wonderful aqua blue color!!  If you don't have a copy of The Joy of Cooking, you should definitely be on the lookout for one.  I now have 3 copies...one for each daughter's hopechest.  I actually began reading this cookbook after seeing the movie Julie and Julia (one of my favorites).  I had never considered reading a cookbook but I learned so much!  I haven't tried any of the recipes yet but it's on my list of things to try.

Well, that's just a few of the items I found.  I have a couple more that were projects that I wanted to complete before revealing them.  They are now finished and I hope to have before/after pictures for you soon!  Hope you've enjoyed visiting.

Hylabrook

I visited my favorite antique store today...Hylabrook Antique Mall in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  Being the 4th of July, the booths were decorated in red, white, and blue.  I went in search of...nothing in particular except bargains, whatever they be and did I ever find them.  I think I spent over 2 hours there.  I actually went in before lunch and was in there so long that I was starving but I didn't want to leave yet.  Becky, the sweet saleslady (and someone I've known for years from my antiquing ventures) shared some cookies with me so that I could make it through.  Antiquing is hard work, you know, I needed some sustenance to make it through my treasure seeking adventure!  Anyway, after 2+ hours, I emerged from there with about 6-7 bags of goodies for less than $60!  I haven't unpacked the car yet so I'll get pictures posted of my finds as soon as they're unloaded.  In the meantime, enjoy some pics I took of the booths...and, if you're ever in the Murfreesboro area, be sure to stop by and check them out.  Click here for their information. 

I took this because I love old, mismatched silver.

This booth always has an eye-catching display!

Primitives and ironstone

Really wanted these cuties but they were $14.95 each : ( 

And the glasses would have gone so well with this! 

I hope you enjoyed.  I'm going to get some sleep.  I need my energy tomorrow to unpack my goodies!

Local Antique Store

Well, I remembered to put a camera in my purse for the next time I ran across a great find that I wanted to share.  So, with my camera in my purse, I had to visit an antique store or what's the use?!  So, I stole a few hours for myself this afternoon and visited a local antique store.  It was actually their window displays that drew me in...like I needed enticing.  Anyway, as I entered and met the owner, I asked if I could take pictures for my blog.  She was delighted for me too.  I had so much fun.  A little too much fun looking as I forgot to get my camera out until I left.  I must have gone into treasure hunting mode and obviously forgot the purpose for my visit.  I did remember, however, to ask the owner if it would be okay to link to their website.  So, here it is!  http://www.walnutandvine.com/  You can actually see new items for sale as well as some sales on their website.  Just to let you see what enticed me, I did get a picture of the front windows before I left.

  I promise I'll get more pictures next time!!

Thrift store shopping is always a treasure hunt. Sometimes I find great deals...other times nothing except the same ol' junk I've seen in the store forever and wonder why they don't just throw that stuff away. Anyway, this morning my youngest daughter and I ventured out to pick up a bookshelf from a friend and being early to meet her, we stopped by one of the local thrift stores. Today was a good day. I found these wonderful glass pieces that I don't know what exactly to do with yet. Their price...(drum rolllllll)...49 cents for all 5!! There are actually 5 pieces. Two of them were stuck together in the picture and I didn't notice until it was already taken. I also snagged a couple more bargains while I was there but they were just a book and some knitting needles for less than a dollar each.

Thrift stores aren't the only place I frequent in search of treasures. Yard sales are great but when I can't get to them (which is happening more often to my dislike) I shop antique stores. I had an antique booth many years ago and absolutely loved it. It was too time consuming for me as a young working mother so it had to go. A couple of things I discovered while selling "antiques" is: first, a real antique has to be over 100 years old...everything else is just vintage...actually that's a broad term but it works for describing old items; second, most antique dealers are avid yard sale people. You're very likely to find the best finds from yard sales in antique malls. I know, I won't get it for the price they did but after all, they did the legwork when I couldn't so I'll pay a little more...not a lot more but enough to cover their time and effort. The above picture is what I found at an antique store this past week. I wish that I had had my camera that day to get a picture of the display for these items. It was great! (Note to self: keep camera in purse!) Anyway, these little metal pieces are molds for costume jewelry from the 40s. They had tons of them and they were 75 cents each or 10 for $6!! The book is an old children's health education book and the napkins are, well, they are pale yellow with chickens so I had to have them, lol. These will definitely be added to some altered art, hopefully soon. I'm beginning to actually have some free time and can't wait to get back to some projects.

Speaking of getting back to projects, I know I introduced ya'll to George a while back. Well, this is Rosie. She's almost finished and I can't wait to get her done. I do think they make a cute couple sitting on my cabinet for now.