Great Book Giveaway at FaveCraft

Hi friends!  If you're not a subscriber to the FaveCraft newsletter, you should join.  Right now they are giving away a great trading card book using your photos called "Trading Card Treasures."  Check it out here:  http://www.favecrafts.com/sweeps/Trading-Card-Treasures-Book  I haven't made ATC yet so winning this book would be a great motivator.  Anyhoo, I just thought I would share FaveCraft  with you.  Make sure you sign up for their newsletter.  You'll get awesome craft ideas for all ages everyday.  Like I need more ideas...I can't handle all of my altering addictions as it is!  BTW, my jobots are coming along.  Aluminum is not being very cooperative with the soldering so I'm experimenting with other techniques.  Probably just end up grabbing the Gorilla Glue...best thing since duct tape!

Announcing the birth of my first...

JO-BOT

meet

"George"

Well, after rummaging through my husband's toolboxes, antique and thrift stores, junk drawers, and the endless supply of do-dads in my supply cabinet, I'm proud to announce I've "birthed" my first JO-BOT (Junk Objects roBOT).  He's about 8 inches tall and 6 inches wide.  I'm quite proud of how nice he turned out.  I'm not sure of the names of all the parts but here's what he's created from:  vintage Altoids tin, springs, vintage house fuses, an old Christmas bulb, and then that thing that makes his face...an electric part of some sort?  My father-in-law would know for sure.  OH!  And his bellybutton is part of a snap.  

George will be listed on Etsy soon.  Hopefully to find a new home.  There are three more in the works...waiting to be assembled on my work table.  I hope you enjoyed meeting George...he was so much fun to make.

Oh no...another great idea for altering objects!!

Well, I came across some new (to me) objects that just NEED to be altered.  It's your every day household objects such as old aluminum coffeepots, vintage tins, machine parts, fuses, you name it!  I first saw these in Cloth Paper Scissors' "Where Women Create" magazine.  Amy Flynn, a North Carolina artist, is one of the women featured in this issue.  Her creations are amazing.  Her website is: http://www.ifobot.com/gallery.html and it's worth visiting.

Also, if you check out Etsy under Handmade Robots, you'll see what I mean.  Here's one from Etsy's Reclaim2fame:   http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=32155968  They are adorable!

So, since discovering these new creations, I've scoured antique stores, thrift stores, my kitchen cabinets, and my husband's tool boxes for parts.  I have a small one in the works.  His name is George and will hopefully be "birthed" this weekend.  I'll be sure to post some photos of his "arrival" when I'm done!

Well, that's not a long blog but I wanted to share my new discovery.  Hope your area of the world is finding some warmer temperatures right now.  We've finally made it to the 40s!!  Stay warm!

This photo was taken by my daughter one day while out just snapping random shots.  I thought the composition, textures, and colors were very nice so I'm posting it!  Thanks Edie for the photo!

The goodies I found yesterday!

I had to travel to Cookeville, TN, yesterday to meet my sister.  I had been there a few weeks ago and found an antique store that I wanted to visit again.  Well, that visit was pretty much unfruitful.  I picked up a couple of vintage office rubber stamps but nothing exciting.  However, I saw another antique store around the corner that I had not noticed before.  It was on Main Street and I assumed it would be somewhat expensive being right in the middle of downtown...WRONG!  They had the BEST prices...the photos above, which are mainly of Vietnam soldiers in Seoul and a family fishing trip...were 10 CENTS EACH!  I loaded up!  The photos were one of the first items I noticed when I walked in.  When I finished devouring the basket of old photos, I began to notice all sorts of great things.  I kid you not, I'm a freak for vintage aprons and, lo and behold, hanging all around the walls were aprons, aprons, and more aprons...none of them priced over $7!!!  I was in heaven.  I ended up purchasing this sweet red one below.  It was $3!

There is another, black toile apron hanging under my red one, in case you're wondering.  And, ignore the date..those dates on cameras are as annoying as the 12:00s that used to constantly flash on VCRs!  Anyway, back to my goodies.  I am just fascinated by ephemera...old, new, it doesn't matter.  Well, I saw a basket of old valentines and birthday cards.  They were pretty cheap at 50 cents each but as I worked my way through the pile of cards, I began to notice small notebook pages with writing on them.  They were notes about a lady that was expecting...one page was notes on what she received at her shower...another page listed her visitors at home after she had the baby...several were her notes about the baby, named Marjorie or Marjie for short, her first smile, her first tooth, and so on.  It was precious!

I took my goodies to the counter to add to my pile.   (Does anyone else do that? I usually begin finding things at antique stores then take them to the counter and tell them "I'm going to start a pile?"  I guess they know what I mean...I always assume they do as I walk away to find more things to add to my pile!)  When I gave them to the shop owner, she pointed out to me that the valentines and birthday cards were actually for little Marjie...the baby whose first years were recorded on the pages!  Ok, it just doesn't get much better than that.  So sweet : )  Ok, on to more goodies.  The last two items weren't as exciting but I love them all the same.  The first of these was a bunch of vintage christmas bulbs with the twisted flame tips.

And, for the last but not least of my finds...a family of deer.  Actually the tall one is an old flocked deer and the smaller two are just cute, little plastic ones.  I love the old flocked toy animals.  For some reason though I feel a yearning to douse them in vintage iridescent glitter...I hope I can resist! We'll see!

Okay, I sort of lied, there is one more thing I purchased BUT I just got them today...at my favorite thrift store.  Someone had just donated a huge bag of old aluminum molds and I just had to have them.  I hope my hubby doesn't read this post.  He may remember that I just sold a bunch of these last fall at our auction...and yes, I did!  I missed them so much I just had to buy more...who knows, these may even be mine that I sold...I just bought them back!  (Don't laugh, I think I've actually done that before...donated something then saw it months later, loved it, and bought it again!  It's got to be some sort of disorder, I just don't know what!)

Well, I hope you've enjoyed viewing my finds as much as I've enjoyed sharing them with you.  If you ever get to Cookeville, Tennessee, you MUST stop by West End Antiques on Main Street.  They really do have some great finds with even better prices!!

The tornado that went through here...it's name--CREATIVITY

I don't know if you can tell much from the photo but this is my crafting cabinet.  It's filled with jars full of trinkets, buttons, game pieces, old jewelry, glitter, baubles, and practically anything and everything else.  The drawer hanging open is fully of my rubber stamps.  This picture was made AFTER one of my creative streaks.  I had just finished making the book houses posted earlier.

This is my work table. Normally, the top would be clear, offering a large work space.  This, however, is what happens as I begin working on projects.  The more things I pull out, the smaller my work area gets.  In the photo above, my work area ended up being on top of the spiral notebook!  By the way, when I'm creating, I HAVE to have my little DVD player.  Usually it's playing A&E's version of Pride & Prejudice.  It's great company when I'm working in my craft room.  I've seen the movie a ba-jillion times and I could tell you what every scene is just by the script.  But, like I said, it's great company PLUS it's 5 hours long!  The only thing is you have the annoying task of switching the 1st and 2nd discs half way through.  Another thing I have to have while working is my CHOCOLATE : )  The photo below is a picture of my trash can after a creative session!

Yes, there is more than chocolate in there...the rice chips were an extra snack during this session.  They're actually too messy to eat while creating.  That's why I like the chocolate bars.  They just pop right in your mouth...perfect!

Well, I know this isn't much to share today but I just had to blog before heading to bed.  Tomorrow I hope to post some of the great finds I discovered at a great little antique store today.

Good night John Boy!