Really?? I haven't posted since AUGUST????

If you know me you know I LOVE antiquing, junking, picking....whatever you want to call it! I LOVE the thrill of the hunt, seizing upon that special find and hoping I don't gasp loudly when I do....I'm trying to get better about that part but it's hard! To support this ummm habit/addicition I sell in three antiques malls, on ebay and etsy! Whew! I don't sell EVERYTHING I find of course. It is only for the things I find that I don't want but can't pass up OR if I am tired of looking at it at home! Case in point....the lovely tray pictured below! I have had this for years. I have used it in the kitchen as the holder for the salt & pepper shakers, napkins and toothpicks. Then it held a part of my sterling topped vanity jars.....notice I said PART! I have also used it for perfume bottles. So it has been fun but adios sweet tray!

 This photo shows some of my pickin' finds from last week! Lots of jewelry, some good, some bad, for selling, crafting and keeping! Please note the AWESOME antique purse frame underneath it all!

 Here are more photos of my booth, lynnesfinds, at New & Again Antique Mall in McAllen, TX. This is such a fun place as they have all types of things, not only antiques. Crafts, collectibles, vintage, you name it! They even have a tearoom for lunch and Karaoke Kafe on select evenings.

 These birds were one of my "collections"! Adios, birds! They are truly beautiful pieces but once I tire of something, bub-bye! Alot of folks love it when I "tire" of something!

 I crafted this standing iron cross by embellishing it with all sorts of vintage jewelry which makes it unique and one of a kind. I also repurpose vintage jewelry by making "new" jewelry out of it. Plus I decorate picture frames and am about to start a new "project" with my vintage jewelry....photos soon! In this picture are also several pieces of vintage and antique sterling items including a gold rimmed sterling thimble, very nice!

 Antique cameos anyone? These are all old or antique, are carved or etched authentic shell and have backings of gold filled, sterling or authentic gold. If they haven't sold since I took this picture last week they would be a great Mother's Day gift which, the way the year is flying by, will be here before you know it!

 Upon entering our local grocery store this past Monday I was hit with an explosion of Valentine's Day offerings! You looked to the left and it was plants, flowers and balloons everywhere!

 If you glanced to the right there were cakes of any color combination you could imagine, some good some not so good, cookies, cupcakes, chocolate covered strawberries, etc.

 I know when I whipped out my camera some folks were thinking, um, weird, and others just smiled fully understanding my awe!

Lastly, these cookies did not come the grocery store. These were made for me by a sweet friend who is the best baker I know! They taste as good as they look! Happy Valentine's Day and more posts to come.....and you won't have to wait 6 months either! :)

Booth Sign & Altered Embellished Bottles

Don't you just LOVE old dictionaries??? I pick them up when I can as they come in so handy for crafting of all kinds! Right now I am working on a sign for my new booth. I wandered all over Michael's last night getting all kinds of inspiration.  Got a little distracted, too, if you know what I mean!

 When I got home I started looking around for something to make the sign out of. My husband even got into it, too! He kept saying use something you wouldn't expect, something no one else has. He ended up pulling out of my many piles and stuck away corners of stuff this old carved oak piece. It was probably the top crest of a dresser or sideboard mirror and long ago I had started to spray it white. I decided to mod podge dictionary pages for the background which I love to do.

 I was so wound up with excitement I just sat down and got with it. It went really fast and is now all done and ready for the embellishing!

 My daughter had bought me some chipboard letters a couple of years ago and I had to search awhile to find those suckers. You have no idea how many places I could have put those things but I found them, finally, and they will look just great. More pics later when it is done.

 Last night while I had the mod podge and dictionary out I got inspired to finally embellish some old bottles....something I have wanted to do for ages. That is really the reason I didn't finish the sign...hee hee. Once again, I got totally distracted!

 I cut the pages and mod podged them onto the bottles and left them to dry. I actually made myself go to bed or I would have kept going!!! With the time change I went to bed at 2:30. This morning I fully intended to go to church. Forgive me Lord, I didn't quite get there but I did work on my bottles.

 After over 30 years in the antiques business, plus still scouting and buying all the time, I have quite the stash of old goodies to work with. I love keys and the largest bottle got a key that still had a little paper tag as to what it opened. I left it with the old string and tag and tied it up with an old button and paper flower. It now shares space with a vintage lavender earring. I used old handmade lace, antique and vintage buttons and odds and ends of old jewelry and assorted bits and pieces on the other bottles, too!

 I also have vintage beaded and embellished trims, old silk binding, vintage tiny nosegays and old dress clips to play with. With all my stash the possibilities are endless.

The tallest bottle still had it's original rusty lid so I left it alone. The others I added old clip on earrings for the tops. Well, for a first time try I think they turned out pretty good, don't you? These are now headed to my new booth.....they close at 6:00, I can just make it!! Later gator!

"Girl's Trip" to Gonzales, TX and the Barn Sale & Berclair, TX

 My sister-in-law and I took off this past weekend to go to a sale I was wanting to shop at that is only once a year. We are talking 3 1/2 hours away but I didn't care!! We first went on a wild goose chase to Houston, another 3 hours, to see 2 cool stores and only made it to one that was still open. Very nice stuff but too pricey for me.....I did get lots of ideas though. Now, back to Gonzales! These pics are of some of the vendors at the Barn Sale. Remember to click on photos for a closer look. This booth was real interesting and look at that bluish gourd!

 This booth is a lady from San Antonio that had really neat stuff. I wanted that vintage pink Christmas garland so bad I could taste it but I held back! She also had the great pink Christmas table cover, too, and very old ledgers.

 There's Teresa holding purchases, my birdcage and browsing. This sale was set up in a livestock show arena and a stock show/rodeo was going on at the same time in another arena next door......lots of cute "cowboys, cowgirls, cowchildren-is that a word?"! When they weren't competing they were in here shopping, sorry, no pics!

 This vendor had really cute items such as hand painted furniture and accessories, western type jewelry and other goods, all very nice! Turquoise was the theme here!

 Lots of retro items in this booth. They really had the merchandise loaded in here. Now that I see my own pictures I would have liked some of those old crates!! They make great displays when stacked!

 These chicken feeders/roosting things are so fun. Apparently they are a hot item and big seller! There were booths with baked goods and also Dublin Dr. Pepper....if you haven't had a Dublin Dr. Pepper, you are missing out! Okay, here's me! I got lots of compliments on my necklaces. One is full of a kinds of hearts and the other is all kinds of things. It took me several years to find just the right things and most are antiques or vintage pieces. I am collecting for a necklace of crosses and a necklace of turquoise and silver pieces. Stay tuned!

 We just about died over all the antique homes in this little town. They were just awesome. This one had MARBLE steps to walk up to the porch. Beautiful!

 There are all styles of these older homes. Alot of them are kept up but we also saw alot that were in disrepair. We want one!!!

 Look at this gorgeous home. Hard to believe it was in this small town!!! It is a stunner for sure!

 And I had to take a picture of this old filling station. It had all the old advertising still on it and was in really good shape. That winged horse sign on top is worth a small fortune!

 When I was growing up and we would go to Missouri on vacation we would see these old painted advertisings all over the place. Nowadays, they are painted over, worn off or the buildings have been torn down or remodeled. I was tickled to see this still on the side of a building in downtown Gonzales!

 On the way up and back I showed Teresa this old mansion in Berclair, TX. This town is halfway between Beeville and Victoria on Hiway 59. It is almost a ghost town with very few residents but they do still have a post office. This old mansion sits back off the road and is open for tours and special occasions. Everything else in this town is dilapidated, falling down, etc. so this is a sight to see.

 This old building sits right on the road and has caught my attention every time we go thru so this time I stopped for pictures. Please click on the photos for details of the bricks. They are all handmade with rocks, glass, shells, etc. Some are dated 1946 and all are in great condition. This building is like one big piece of folk art. Mosaics at it's finest!

 Well just wanted to show you our trip and what we saw. Have a great week!!!

...just had to share my "Roses"!

 I have a vintage glass brick vase sitting in my dining room windowsill. It has become a gathering spot for stems of bone china roses.

 I find them at estate sales, garage sales, antiques shops and elsewhere. I may find a couple, a bunch or one and I stick them in this vase.

 I love the colors and variety. These will all end up some day in my mosaics but for now I just enjoy them.

 This box contains about 30 something bone china rose groupings and place card holders. I purchased them on eBay back in the spring but too much was going on to open the box up...so it sat.

 Until now.....look at all those peanuts. I LOVE peanuts. Yes, they are messy and a pain in the rear but oh how I need them for packing when I sell on Etsy and eBay. They are great!

 This is what is in the box! They are exquisite, beautiful, delicate....you get the picture. They will make some of my mosaics just pop!

And lastly, on top of my microwave! Yes, my mother didn't raise me this way..it just happened. Again, look at the variety of flowers. This isn't just roses. There are all types of flowers in this group! Creations are coming, don't know when, but just had to share!!! Have a wonderful week!

My new booth!!!!

 Finally!!!! Yesterday I spent 7 hours working on my new space and I can tell you, I am exhausted!!! Anybody remember that great aqua table from an earlier post??? It is now center stage and covered up with cake stands, garden art, etc. made from vintage ceramics and glass.
  Before I unpacked these though I took everything out of all my locked cases. I dusted and cleaned the glass shelves and then unpacked the new "old" stuff I had priced and brought. Then the fun part! I slowly started arranging my merchandise and I just love how it all turned out!

 In this case I focused on pinks, cranberry, gold, black and pearls with a few other things mixed in! I love mirrors too, and collect them, so see the three I have in this case. Remember to click on my pictures for a closer look! I took these pics just as I was ready to leave so it was quick and not close, sorry. Better pics next time! The mall owner was ready to go so I took them fast!

 I love this cabinet as it is lit, large and locks! I grouped items by color this time and really like how it looks. I find when I am shopping that I am drawn to groupings like this so I decided to give it a try. There's a lot of interesting items in this case.

This is my locking gun cabinet turned showcase. It was at an estate sale that I conducted and had no buyers so I bought it. I am so happy with this case. It could use some extra goods so I will bring more later. Believe me, I have LOTS to bring. It is hard when you are a dealer AND a collector. When I am out "hunting", I can ALWAYS find something to buy. Most of you out there know what I mean. Sometimes I just have to say calf-rope! Enough is enough.
  Just kidding! I can never get enough....................

Vintage Birdcage Project Update & My Colorful Antique Daybed

 I posted this picture the other day and told about finding it. I absolutely love this sweet birdcage but the blue had to go!!! I dislike most blues, not AQUA & TURQUOISE which I LOVE, but do not HATE blue like my grandma did. Oh how she hated blue, anything and everything blue and she wasn't afraid to tell you about it either. In the early 70's my Dad had a Satellite Sebring, sooooo cool, as his work vehicle-he loved teeny-bopper cars. Anyway, you guessed it....it was electric blue-again, sooooo cool- and Grandma hated it and she let us know!!! Secretly I wondered if my Dad picked blue just to get her goat, ha! Just to clarify (if you are not my family) this grandma is my Texas grandma. My Missouri grandma couldn't hate anything, at least that is how I remember her!

 Look at my birdcage now after several coats of Krylon "Ballet Slipper Pink"-isn't the name even sweet? It is perfection!

 To top it off I found this perfect green depression glass bird feeder/waterer at a local shop! Of course I jumped right on it, while mildly gasping 'cuz I was so excited, AND it was half price! I hope nobody heard me! And this green is just my color, too. A lot of colors are "just my color"!

 Obviously, I LOVE color, just look at my refurbished antique daybed! (Click the picture for a closer look) I am 53 years old and I slept on this as a young teen when we would visit my grandparents home. They lived in Independence, MO and had awesome garage/estate sales there. My grandma actually bought this at a garage sale for fifty cents!!! It had a pull out bed inside and was covered in a torn faded velvety fabric. When they passed away years ago we stored this at our warehouse. Well, a couple of years ago I finally got inspired and had it fixed up. I found the fabric on eBay and painted the wood black and my local upholsterer finished it up. Then I just started adding throws and pillows-check out the hot pink crushed velvet 1960's bedspread! This is actually in my dining room right now but I have used it in the living room, too! What do you think? Wild, right??? Gotta go now......have a colorful day!