I had to wade through knee deep water for garage sale finds this weekend!

........but did I score! I went out in the pouring rain on Saturday morning, as there was a community sale at a gated 55plus condo development not far from me. They hold it once a year and I usually pick up a couple of things, not too much. Well.............it was well worth wading through knee deep water with my shoes on to get what I got!

 

Believe it or not there were alot of people at this community garage sale event. I took the above picture on a little strip that were no sales, but the cars were lined up along the street wherever there were garage doors open!

I got my feet wet when I crossed the road to this sale...........I was in there for about 10 minutes and it started raining buckets! The drainage couldn't keep up and the water was a foot deep across the road  so what was a girl to do?...........just walk through it to the car!

Shoes, jeans, up to the knees.

I DIDN'T CARE, I WAS SKY HIGH ON WHAT I GOT AT THAT PARTICULAR SALE!

Other enthusiastic and hardy garage salers were taking off their shoes and rolling up their pants to get into the sales! It was only in the odd area that it was bad like that, but it was contiunally pouring rain, so not much chance of staying dry!

I continued on and 2 more sales I also was on a high when I took my goodies to the car.

I looked like a drowned rat when I got home but I was loaded!

MORE  jewellery, rhinestones galore!

awesome china, even chintz!

linens!

old lidded picnic basket

beautiful old print in fab gesso frame

I will post pictures probably tomorrow, the rest of the weekend was busy, busy, and yesterday was the last day of the antique sale, so I have to unload the car yet, and I am in a real mess in the house.

Spread out all over the place.......gotta start putting away and cleaning up.

Watch for my finds, and enjoy your Memorial Day holiday, all of you in the USA!

We have a winner....Cottage Charm Giveaway

Congratulations Ramona! The Paper Princess over at Create-With-Joy......
This has been so much fun and I met so many lovely bloggers and saw so many beautiful blogs!
I'll be sure to take part in this wonderful giveaway next year too! Welcome to my new followers too!
Happy Memorial Day!
Meanwhile, I'm going to email Ramona right away and let her know the good news!

I have lots to tell you about my weekend, so check back!

Beautiful Finds and some funky ones too! Don't forget to enter the giveaway, it ends soon!

I am thrilled that I found these at the antique sale I'm involved in (see post below) .....I wasn't even really looking.......just standing talking and there were two little bags in a basket near the floor that caught my eye.
This was on Wednesday, the first day of the sale, when we finally could take a breather, it was as usual, extremely busy. I'm glad nobody else saw the two little bags....$2.00 each....

One bag contained  a length, at least 2 yds, of beautiful beaded trim, and a little bundle of floral wreath trim, both must be 80 or 90 years old! The beads are faceted and have a coppery metallic coating. I pulled off a loose one and scrubbed it with a scouring pad and some powdered cleaner and it looks like they are black glass or jet that have been coated with the metallic finish!  I love the coppery shine!

 

The other bag contained what I thought was just a bunch of black beads, and that fabulous old metal capped tassel. Ends up that the "beads" is actually a long Victorian black jet glass beaded applique, it would have been attached to an article of clothing, probably a very glam dress!'

It's all there, just gorgeous, I will have to get a shot of the whole thing layed out and post it at some time.

 So now I'll show you what I got at a garage sale I happened on today when I went to the post office.

 

I bought all but 2 pairs of earrings for 25 cents a pair, 2 pair were 1.00. They were all in little plastic bags, pinned to a big board. I might go back and get some more, but I did take all the rhinestone ones.

 

Aren't these wild? ....and that's not all of them! At least 8 more pair, some more stripes, and some others that are just really neat! I'm probably going to use them in a crafty project or two....

And if you haven't yet entered my giveaway that is part of the Cottage Charm Giveaway (link on sidebar), you still have some time! Last day is May 29th to enter. Scroll down to find the post for the giveaway.

Come see the antique sale I'm in this week!

 So many treasures, such great prices! Wish you could all come, but it's probably a long way for you seeing as I'm in the middle of Canada!

See that cream and green woodstove? Well, it used to be my mother-in-law's, then came  to our home when we were out a bit in the country. We had to sell it when we moved away from there and that's how I met the gal who started having these sales twice a year. It makes a great display piece doesn't it?

The sale (only twice a year we do this) takes place from Wednesday to Sunday at a friend's place in a lovely old barn......2 floors plus more outside! I don't pick up alot for the sale like I used to but a couple of the girls gather from auctions all year and we all are also picking things from our own collections, making room for more or just plain making more room, lol!

Below is an a slide show, so you can get an idea of how it's set up, etc.

Slide show below, is another friend that's out of town. Her sale is in a double garage, you'd never know it from the way she sets up. It's on today til Sunday.

My most treasured garage sale find REAL EYE CANDY

No it's not a whole Victorian crazy quilt, but to me it's just as great a find!
I think it was made to hold lingerie or gloves?
Isn't it wonderful? Sorry to tease yesterday, I just didn't have time to gather the rest of the pictures and tell the story.

Found at a garage sale at least 15 years ago, this has been a favorite treasure. I just love to look at it and marvel at the tiny pieces that have been super skillfully embroidered!

The variety of the pattern and the different colored threads used, omg! Have a good look by CLICKING TO ENLARGE........(on my laptop, I have to click, then click again once the picture is up)
The overall size of this bag is 11.5" x 8"........look at all of those pieces!

The inside is lined with the lilac colored raw slik that you see binding the top edge.

Old plastic or bone rings have been attached and a twisted silk cord is threaded through them.

Each side is different, one of these days I'm going to count up how many pieces were used,  bits of grosgrain ribbon and silky fabric........pieced together and surrounded by feather stitching that has been done in different colors.

Below are some closeups that I loaded onto a collage page. You can CLICK TO ENLARGE

As I look at this beautiful textile work of art, I imagine a lovely young woman in a white lawn dress, sitting in her parlor, in front of a fireplace, a little dog at her feet, stitching with nimble fingers while she dreams of who knows what..........other times she is sitting on a garden bench in the shade, surrounded by beds of beautiful flowers, her needlework basket beside her on the bench......
I could go on and on with my imagining........ 

Catching up and a real treasure of mine

I just am teasing you with this one picture, but I want you to CLICK ON IT TO ENLARGE IT so you can see just how beautiful and intricate the embroidery is. One of my treasures!

Sorry I haven't been back since Friday! I feel like I'm running in a million directions for the last few days and it will get worse! There are just too many things happening all at once!

After my fabulous Friday garage sale finds, Saturday was a bit of a bummer! Even with the curbside giveaways and all the garage sales, I didn't get any great finds, a few bits and pieces, that was IT!

oops.......yes I did, I went back to where I got those half dress forms and they had found one more, a little bigger, same price 5.00, a real steal! So now I have 2 and my sister has 1......we're both thrilled!

I will try to get back here soon with some more news and pics. In the meantime I'm leaving you with a picture of one of my great garage sale finds from years back.....one of my most favorite things that I will never part with.

I'll show you more pictures and tell you what exactly it is in another post soon. Meanwhile, CLICK TO ENLARGE the picture and look at that embroidery.  It is done on those little bits of fabric that are less than 2", some on pieces only just over or 1", different shapes and sizes!

It was a truly FABULOUS FIND and I'll share more on it soon!

Friday Garage Sale Finds! I am so excited!!!!

Would you believe  2 of them! Both were wearing a pinned on black bandana, sitting on the driveway, I almost missed them!!! I have an antique dress form but she's a little bulky (I'll say!) to take to a craft show and you can't sit her on a dresser, so I've always wanted one of these, not vintage, but sooo nice!

My sister has been wanting a dress form, but I knew she'd love one of these and so I got the two of them

$5.00 each wooooooopeeeeeeee!!

The couple had closed up a gift shop and were getting rid of their inventory. I'm going back tomorrow morning, they have one more a little bigger, I'll check it out!

Adorable little old chippy country stool......it will go to the sale I'm in, but those garden markers are going in my garden! So cute!

 

........no linens this afternoon, but I got these which I'm very excited over getting......framed vintage petitpoint pictures! The 2 medium sized ones have damaged frames, but the others are perfect and so sweet! I'll be putting them on Ebay.....I just love 'em but can't keep 'em!

I didn't go this morning as planned, good thing......even when I left around 1.00 I kept seeing signs but they didn't start til 4:00 pm! Was getting frustrating til my first sale that was open brought me those half mannequins, or what ever they're called.

I'm a happy camper! Hoping I'm on a string of good luck! There are many times on a Saturday morning I can drive around for 2 hours and come home with 1 or 2 mediocre items that I didn't really want, but just had to satisfy the urge, ya know what I mean?

Wish me luck for tomorrow! I'll be out the door early!...and a 50th wedding anniversary come and go to attend in the afternoon too! (different end of town, maybe I can hit a couple of sales on the way?) Good luck to all of you this weekend! Love seeing and hearing about your finds!
Don't forget to enter the giveaway a couple posts down!

I won a prize, the weather's great, weekend garage sales coming up!!

A nice surprise yesterday! June over at DEZINAWORLD let me know that I had won one of her Spot Prizes! It was for creating this collage, which I just love and had so much fun creating!

June makes beautiful collage sheets that she sells for creating altered art and digital art. I got to pick a free sheet! Can't wait to find some time to use it! There is never enough time in the day!

Friday today, and that means a trip for groceries with my eyes peeled for garage sale signs!

This weekend is the 2nd time ever for a curbside giveaway!  People put out their unwanted "stuff" at the curb and it's FREE!!

Sorta like  free garage sales!...........Hoping to find some treasure, the price is sure right!

The weather has turned beautiful so there will be lots of garage sales too!

Wish me luck!!

Look! Pink Teacups Vintage Crochet Doily and Daffodils one too!!

From my fab garage sale finds on the weekend!! See the post below! I spent some time this morning preparing some of my linens for my ebay auctions.

Isn't this fabulous!! I listed it at 9.99 as the opening price......pretty fair I think.........such a unique piece.........go and have look at my ebay auctions if you want to see more pictures of it!
I have never had one of these and I have collected, bought, and sold for almost 25 years!!

This pretty one I just got yesterday.........the daffodils are kinda faded, but it has that really shabby cottage appeal! It's listed too!

.........another listing...silk embroidered iris.......I'm having a flower filled vintage linen week!!

This is my favorite...........not listed,...not for now...I have to hang on to it for a bit. It has some breaks on the outer edge, but I don't care!! Never had this pattern either, it is sooooo pretty!!

Well, hope you enjoyed and don't forget to enter my giveaway, one of just many that are signed up for the Cottage Charm Giveaway... just scroll down to see mine and there's a link for you to look at the many others!

I've been having a ball blog hopping and entering the giveaways and it has opened my eyes to many fabulous blogs that I may never have found!

Woohoo! Garage Sales Were Great Today ~treasures!~

There were alot of sales this morning, the most there has been so far. I started off early, planning to be home by 10:00 at the latest, but I kept going on and on, lots of signs!

Finally gave it up when I started hitting a string of bad ones!

But I was happy, happy!!

Look at all my treasures!

I should have taken more of those plates! So pretty and at 50 cents each!.....Got some nice pink doilies, one is little dimensional teacups and saucers around the edge of it! I'll show you when I get it washed up. Got that crochet white tablecloth that's underneath everything too!....perfect condition and just beautiful and lacey!

 

I think that's a Wilendur red rose tablecloth, no label, but it's huge, 15 panels of roses! Some bits of jewellery and a cute country ironstone pitcher, a little petit point rose picture.....I get so excited when I start unloading and looking at my haul! Sometimes I've forgotten already what I've bought!!

 

The teapot will go on Ebay, I don't like shipping china but this one should be worthwhile. It's a good one!

 

Couldn't resist this pup! Heavy!! Don't know if he's an old one or not, but he'll keep me company until I take him to an antique sale I go into in a couple of weeks.

 

This great big picture is sooo unique!! Probably 50's and a view of a plant filled windowsill with the other side being a winter day with snow covered spruce trees and bluejay and cardinal and a couple of other birds flitting around in the yard!

 

Wish I had a place for it.......I just love it! Well, it will go to the sale....sigh....

 

Taa daah!! Really OLD,and heavy for its size.....a child's wicker chair. I can see it's been painted a couple of times........Really great condition, it will go to the sale....a few years back I would have kept ALL of what I picked up today, but.......gotta be good....downsize, downsize!

 

There's that cute little guy again, and he's sitting on 2 old hooked mats, with labels from Quebec.........for ebay....

 

For me! A fluffy, like new vintage wool blanket in a cream color, not too big, I'm going to use it as a throw in the bedroom.
It's now time to get to work on a project I had intended on getting at this morning. Hope you enjoyed!
Don't forget to enter my giveaway below!
...and HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY TO ALL MOM'S OUT THERE!

The Sweetest Package in the mail from Vintage Susie

I just couldn't wait to open it! I won this giveaway from sweet Susie over at   Vintage Susie & Wings! She makes these wonderful fabric pins, but she wrapped up the pin and embellished the little package so beautifully!

Inside....the beautiful pin and a handmade tag, (to die for!) ...and look at that little vintage hair comb/pin.....that was on the outside of the package.

Oh Susie, you are the sweetest and I just love what you sent! Thankyou, thankyou, and  bloggers, if you haven't been to visit Susie, please do so, I just love her blog and you will too!

COTTAGE CHARM GIVEAWAY! I'M IN!!

What fun! I found this wonderful Cottage Charm giveaway over at The Twice Remembered Cottage that will be going on until the 29th of May and decided to jump in!
What could have more "cottage charm" than PANSIES!

I've had this lovely handpainted vintage dresser dish for some time, but felt it would be appreciated by one of you who truly loves to decorate with country cottage, shabby chic, or vintage victorian style!

I am also including 3 pretty reproduction hatpins made by a friend years back, I have duplicates of these so I'll put those in with the dish.
As well, I'm including the lovely little dresser runner, vintage filet crochet, with roses in the pattern in each corner...........one of my favorite types of vintage crochet work is filet crochet....

I hate to do it, but must limit the giveaway to USA and Canada, our postage rates are way too crazy!

To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment on my blog, on this post, and you'll be entered!
For an extra entry,  become a follower, and then add another post letting me know. That way I will be sure to get your 2 entries in!
I am looking forward to "meeting" you!

If you'd like to join the giveaway, by all means do so! See the list of entrants and the rules, etc by clicking on the giveaway graphic below.


I will need an email address to contact you if you are the lucky winner. If you don't have one on your blog or profile, you'll have to let me know if you are the winner.
The winner will be announced here on my blog on May 29th ,so please check back. Have fun entering the many great giveaways, you will enjoy visiting all of the participating bloggers and their lovely sites! I'm going to be busy getting around to them all!    GOOD LUCK!!

Wow! Lookie what I found!

No.......I didn't buy them!.......found these listed on Kijiji, just browsing for display items for displaying jewellery then got caught up in mannequins and dress forms!

I just did a search for my area. Would you believe you get the mannequin and the wedding dress 

which is vintage 60's -70's for $150.00!!!!  Two were available...Wow!

That seems like a really good deal..........too bad I don't need anything that LARGE....besides which my husand would FREAK out seeing these supersized "barbies" hanging around the house!

They sure are beautiful though.......sigh....

AND HERE'S JOE ! Hypoallergenic.curly haired horse!

I'm having one of those days, I can't focus, not getting anything done, so while I was into my pictures, this jogged me to post about the horse that daughter Sherri purchased while we were away in Arizona.

You can read about Sherri and her riding and the rescue horses she visits HERE

This is an American Curly Horse (lots of information and interesting notes on this site). I'm sure most people don't know that there is actually a horse that people with allergies can deal with!

Kiera has a major peanut allergy and some other allergies, horses being one of them. She had to be very brief in her visits over to see the horses and Sherri had to change clothes, wash up good before coming into their own home after horseback riding or being around the horses.

Sherri was browsing the web and horse sale ads and found Joe. She made a trip to Regina, Saskatchewan, about a 5 hour drive and decided to have Joe brought here, on trial, (yeah, right! I know my daughter!)

Anyway, he has this really soft long curly hair and Kiera can bury her nose in his hair and no allergic reaction at all! She is not as horse crazy as her mom, but does like to visit them and is learning to ride.

The whole idea of a hypoallergenic horse is great! If you know someone with allergies that would love to own a horse, pass on the information.

This is Joe without his winter curly hair. Picture was sent to Sherri when she was enquiring.  They shed in the spring and although he looks off white through the winter, underneath all that hair he's completely different!

Sunday Postcard Art Weekly Challenge

I have been waiting for the opportunity to use this image of the "sew sweet" little girl......she is advertising the thread, but she's not exactly sewing....she is making a "cat cradle".....I remember how to do the very basic one! Anyway, here she is, hope you like her!

Sewing was the theme this week for Sunday Postcard Art , my first challenge for this site.

6 RoBiN'S NESTS IN A ROW!!! Under my deck!

 

Amazing! Last week (Sunday) I noticed the scant beginnings of 2 nests on the beam under our deck. We are usually host to one family of robins each year.

Yesterday, Saturday, after the rain ended I took a walk around the yard and was shocked to see six nests, almost completed, lined up on the beam!

Row housing for robins? !!!

 

I have never seen the robins make nests with the long grasses hanging. They are usually nice and neat and made more of tiny twigs and bits of skinny straw type grass. Peeking through the deck boards I can see they still need some lining and have seen a pair of robins going back and forth with bits of nesting material in their beaks. I thought at first I might be hosting some very strange bird families, not robins!

The above are last year's robin family...........I'll keep you posted on what goes on in the nests this year!

I was still looking at the nests when this little guy came scooting around the corner, spotted me, and went for the nearest hiding place. I kept still and got a few great shots.

I was so still, he pranced right past me within a foot of my foot, across the yard to the neighbor's.

so guess what I see ?

Hop Hop Hop........

I had the camera in hand so got this shot!

I figured luck was with me, so ventured to the back of the yard to see if the geese were close by........

Yep....! Those two have been nesting in the field just behind our yard.

I wonder how long before I will see them leading their family on a walk!

Have a great week!