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 antique mall booths!

 Just wanted to do a quick update on my antique mall booths! These two photos are of my booth at Mimi's Attic in downtown Weslaco, TX. I have been rearranging both spaces, bringing in merchandise and freshening up.

 I have two vintage/antique showcases on the aisle and then you can step into my booth. I have a great lighted cabinet full of great stuff-on the right. At the back is a very long old tailor's table, display only, that I will be loading up later with some type of shelving, crates maybe? Not shown is another very large multi shelved lighted display case also chock full of great collectibles and antiques.

 This is my booth at Weslaco Antiques Mall only 2 doors south of Mimi's! I just completely rearranged this booth. It was long overdue and now is so much better! Remember you can click on the photos for a closer look! All the items in this booth are now half price! I am wanting to not only rearrange the booth BUT bring in all new (old) merchandise! Lots of great stuff to pick from so if you are local, come on down!

I have other news, too! As if two booths is not enough I am now at a third antiques mall but this one is in McAllen! My new space is inside New & Again Antique Mall at 1101 Upas, one block off Tenth street and very easy to find! Hours are Wednesday thru Saturday 10:00 until 6:00 and Sunday 12:00 until 6:00. These photos are the "befores", obviously, but my camera quit on me for the "afters"! I am headed over there tomorrow to take some more goodies and updated booth pictures. I have been blessed with great sales here already, thank you God! If you are local check out this nice mall run by some very sweet sisters! Thanks for checking in with me!

Where Have I Been????

Yes, I have been MIA...missing in action. My plate has been full and running over! For the past 2 1/2 months I have been working on my own parents' estate sale. My parents have downsized and I am selling what didn't fit or they couldn't take. It has been long hours and lots of work but we have done some good. We have had many friends, family and customers to the house, a few at a time, for private selling as parking is not the best. And for now we, my helper Janelle and I, are taking a break mainly as I now have some other estate sales to start seeing about. My parents have lots more things in storage and we will get back to their house later to re-stock and re-open. As for this week, I signed a contract for an estate but cannot really start until probate is done. My next appointment for another sale is later this month as that is when the heirs will be here from Chicago. So for now I am working (playing) in the yard as spring seems to have sprung! Just look at this photo of my passion flower vine. This vine has finally just taken off and has flowers all over.

 Have you ever taken a really good up close and personal look at one of these flowers??? Alien I tell you, alien! Look at it! As a child growing up in the early 60's we had one of these vines on our patio. There were wrought iron columns that held up our patio roof and this vine was on one of these columns, lush and beautiful! When Hurricane Beulah struck in 1967 this vine said goodbye. The ferocious winds kept pulling at the patio roof slowly yanking the wrought iron columns with it. Once the bolts on the columns gave way the vine tried to hold on.........but not for long. We will never forget watching the roof fly up and then over our house and across the street only to plunge into the neighbors garage door! What a sight! Hurricanes are so powerful!

 At the corner of our house are two bottlebrush trees. They are both covered in blooms today and it is a wash of long red spires! Remember to click on my photos for a closer look!

 One old wives tale is "March roars in like a lion and out like a lamb" and today is one of those days. Taking these pictures was hard as the winds are gusting at 45 mph but I kept snapping away to get some good shots.

 Here is a closeup of these pretty and unusual blooms. They are just long spires of red fluff and I love them. The birds also like to hide in these trees or rest in them at night. Occasionally there will be some nests, too!

 Also in the front yard there is a rose bed that follows the sidewalk to our front door. In the fall I noticed some rose bushes were dying plus two large shrubs at the front window. Little did we know then but termites, and ants, were munching out on them AND our house. Yes, we got the bug people to kill all those pests and we are filling in plants that were lost. Here are the new rose bushes.

 I have a thing about the word "variegated". In simpler terms it means two-toned. I LOVE two-toned roses!!! You will not believe the colors that these will be. When we bought them they were blooming and when I saw a couple of them they made me gasp they were so pretty. Oh yes, my husband was along for this as we bought these roses for our 31st wedding anniversary. That, my friends, is a long time for a marriage these days. I am blessed with a wonderful man!

 Our son is digging up the rose bed and getting the old soil out. We just had a truck load of topsoil brought to the house this morning to mix with some manure compost. Yes, those roses are going to be blooming up a storm! I can picture them in my mind already!

 In the meantime, I was at our local grocery store Sunday. They had some gorgeous flowers and tons of roses in their floral department. A dozen roses were only $8.99! How can you pass that up? I sure can't!

 Here is that word again......variegated! This is what I am talking about folks! Two-toned and out of this world beautiful! God is such an artist!

So, bloggers, I am back. Refreshed, ready to go and blogging regularly. I have lots of other news, too! But I will save that for another day! I hope everyone is having a glorious day today.....I sure am!

Christmas time!

 Here is our Christmas tree for this year. Actually it probably looks like this every year. We are very traditional and buy the same type of fresh tree every year and use the same ornaments, though adding a few, each year. Remember to click on each picture for a better look!

 Frazier firs are wonderful to decorate. They are not too full with lots of branches and nooks and crannies to put my ornaments. I particularly like old, vintage, antique glass ornaments with some newer ones scattered about.

 I am especially fond of mercury glass ornaments in the shapes of fruits and veggies. Some appear to be sliced open and others are the whole piece. I also LOVE antique mercury glass beaded garlands. The finishing touch on our tree is when I am completely done putting on the ornaments I apply the garlands like icing, draping each garland in swags across the tree. Please note the large bead garland, my favorite, and very hard to find in this size.

 I also love pink and this box of pink goodness I found recently at a local thrift shop for 69 cents!

 Here is a display of vintage and antique Christmas themed china pieces that I got from my Mom. Please notice underneath it all is an assortment of holly and poinsettia silk embroidered antique linens. Both of these collections took years to find.

 I have it displayed on an antique cupboard in my entry. The floor lamps on each side are vintage Mexico which were the standard black color and now creamy white. Hanging above are 2 vintage holiday themed brass wreaths and an antique architectural piece decorated in what appears to be a lyre covered in roses....awesome.

 This picture does not do the rose covered piece justice as it is just gorgeous in person. I hate to admit this but I have probably owned this piece, bought at an estate sale, for maybe 20 years and only recently got it out from under our bed and hung it up.

 I think domes are it! This antique one I bought at a customer's garage sale a few years ago for $35.00 and I like to leave it out year round. On eBay they are several hundred dollars so I am very careful with it. I treasure antique marble lamps and probably have 7 in several sizes scattered about my house.

 More vintage pink ornaments overflowing out of an antique pressed glass punch bowl. Another collection is old silver and these victorian silver plated pieces are some of my favorites. The spool cabinet  that all this is sitting on is a family piece. Many years ago a relative let us go thru his mother's house to see if we wanted anything. It was in horrible shape and was going to be razed. My mom spotted this cabinet but it had no drawers. Once she started poking around she found all the drawers scattered about the garage, yard and elsewhere. She had it refinished and displayed in her home. It is now used as an end table in my living room.

 We bought about 8 pink trees in two sizes at a local shop probably 8 or 9 years ago and we would use them at Christmas in our antiques shop. Everybody wanted to buy them but we enjoyed them so and couldn't part with them. Now that the shop is closed they are used in my home and my parents. I have a nice collection of vintage pink ornaments that just look wonderful on this tree. Check out the antique angel hair decorated angel tree topper.

And if you have followed my blog you know that I also collect MacKenzie-Childs pottery. These canisters are the originals from the 1980's. I decorate with alot of my pieces and also use them for dinnerware. My husband likes it too so he has spoiled me plenty with some of my bigger pieces. This setting is in my dining room on a small buffet...more antique mercury glass beaded garlands in old glass jars, vintage Christmas trees and reindeer and another holiday themed brass wreath above.
  I hope you have enjoyed seeing my version of Christmas decor! Merry Christmas everybody and have a blessed New Year!