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!

My shabby antique corner cabinet!

  I adore this cabinet! My family was heading back home from our daughter's college graduation last December. As we always do we shopped on the way home. We like to visit Laurent Street Antiques in Victoria as they are a mall with lots of vendors. They did not disappoint me! This cabinet was in a back room, undecorated, all by it's lonesome and with a big SALE sign on it! It was talking to me! I took my husband back to look at it and of course, what do ALL husbands say??? "Where are you going to put it?", right? I had a corner cabinet I was NOT in love with anymore so it was going......I told him I was going to make an offer and if they took it, great, if not, I wouldn't buy it! He seemed pleased with that! Especially since "he" would have to unload our bags and stuff in the back of the truck to fit this in! He was secretly hoping they would not accept my offer! Well, you know the answer and it is now in my hallway corner and brimming with favorite things!

  This cabinet is oak and would look wonderful refinished BUT who in their right mind would screw up that great shabby peely gray and pink paint? Not me! Now for the contents.....remember, you can click on all my pictures to get a better closeup view! I have little antique cups/mugs with all kinds of sayings...the one behind my handsome son's senior photo, one of many, has my initials! The little hearts frame is my husband with this same son as a baby! The small antique boxes are from my mothers collection. The dried flowers are one of my daughter's bridesmaids bouquets from her January wedding. And I have a matching vintage brooch and bracelet made of lucite and aqua berries found on eBay. I have a small tole tray at the back...I collect those, too! The large photo in the back corner is of my children long ago at their grandparent's home, looking out the dining room window one Easter. By the way, my parent's own the William Jennings Bryan home in Mission, TX. He lived here only briefly and there is a state historical monument out front.

  This shelf has one of my daughter's senior photos next to a wedding memento. There are more antique boxes, a antique paperweight and antique pincushion. There are 2 antique sterling repousse bud vases, unpolished sorry, with Charlotte's bridal bouquet next to them. There is also a very small jar FULL of old monopoly game pieces, love them! I collect antique mirrors so one is a backdrop on this shelf, several embellished domino holder/stands that I made and a tiny purple wooden bench found long ago at an antiques mall.

  From my recent purchase of milk glass came these wonderful medicine bottles. In all our 30 plus years in the antiques business I can say that I had never seen them in milk glass before. I found the little aluminum "laugh" letters on Etsy, the cups held heart shaped sweethearts conversation candies at the wedding and the vases & pewter goblet held individual fresh flowers there, too. The enameled flower decorated opaque glass box is an estate sale find. And check out another of my son's senior pictures sitting with a tiny hand painted vase on a little wooden lavender chair. It is one of my favorites of him with his bass from orchestra.

 This shelf holds more domino holders, dried flowers, antique milk glass medicine bottles and another of Charlotte's senior pictures. It was taken at a railroad loading station with a train car in the background. These sterling and milk glass candle holders were used at the wedding along with another bridesmaids bouquet. We also used the old scale in the wedding decorations and yes, I collect all kinds of clear jars and old mother of pearl buttons, any size! I collect LOTS of different things!!

  These galvanized buckets with enameled number hanging tags my daughter found at TJ Maxx for a song and we used these to hold flower arrangements on each table at the reception. They were awesome and we had lots of comments about them. The mercury glass type candleholders were also at the wedding/reception.
  I love the little wooden beaded trim around the top of this cabinet and please take note of the use of faded pink paint on the carvings. I am so glad to have found this wonderful piece and I have loved filling it with favorite things!!!

My antiquing junking shopping extravaganza..................

 Here is my faithful shopping companion. I fell in love with this truck on a used car lot 7 years ago and she has been wonderful. We have been on many trips, antiquing expeditions, 4 years of college move ins and move outs, across the country and in between. She can pull into an antiques shop without being told, ha!

 This week I have had extremely successful shopping for antiques, crafts supplies, projects, etc. My cup, or, truck, runneth over! I am particularly excited about that woven purse/bag. It is like new, very nicely made and is going to be transformed into a MacKenzie-Childs knock off, or at least my version! I can't wait!

 I made a house call to a former customer's house. She was downsizing and needed to get rid of a few things. Oh yes, that is music to my ears! I bought this antique wicker rocker and a small collection of milk glass items. My grandma collected milk glass for many years and I now have some of her pieces so I add a few things when I find some I like. Of course, some of these , I "like"! Duh!

 This customer helped me pack them into a box and here is a sampling of the goods. In over 30 years in the antiques business I can honestly say I have never seen milk glass medicine bottles like these. Jars, yes, bottles, no! Some of these items will be added to my booth, some on eBay and Etsy and some are MINE! That antique black milk glass bottle with the stopper, OMG! I LOVE that!

 I kinda opened up some of the paper to show some of the other pieces....more bottles, jars, shakers, vases, etc. That oval flask could be a goodie, we shall see. I think I will list it on eBay and see how it goes.

And because my truck is FULL I took my son's truck out this morning to a sale way out in the country. The ad sounded so good I HAD to go! I'm so glad I did. This wonderful antique oak dining table said "take me home" and I did! It will be at the antiques mall later today hopefully! Well I had to show what I have been up to this week. I hope I am not so bad-good-next week. I will post again soon to show off my great shabby peeling paint corner cabinet and all the neat things in it. Don't miss it!