Practice Makes Not-Quite-Perfect and a Giveaway

If you’ve been coming here for a bit, you may recall the vintage Christmas ornament tree I made a couple of years ago: it was a spur of the moment idea, assembled with a lack of permanence, knowing it wouldn’t be going anywhere beyond my living room.

But ... then I thought, "What if I make a version that can travel?" Maybe all the way to my antique mall space where vintage-Christmas-loving-folks can find it and (very carefully) take it home?

What. If.

So I unleashed the vintage ornament stash, pulled a rusty screen from the stack in the garage and experimented with making an ornament tree that’s put together somewhat more permanently than the original one.

  There were some tough decisions to be made involving beading wire, string and heavy duty sewing thread. Not to mention a scary moment with a GIGANTIC needle.  

Please, always wear sturdy shoes when crafting.  Bedroom slippers do not qualify.

 In the end, a slightly less GIGANTIC needle threaded with the heavy duty thread worked best for tying the ornaments to the screen.

I guess my inner seamstress is still lurking somewhere after all. 

( It took about six whole minutes of gluing the caps onto the ornaments, my lap and the tips of my fingers for me to decide that step needed to be eliminated from the process.

Immediately. )

Working my way to the top.

No more split ends.

     I knew that rusty wire would come in handy someday.







      So after gluing, tying, wiring and knotting, I think I have this figured out.

And if you’re not opposed to having my vintage Christmas experiment arrive on your doorstep, I’d love to give away this vintage Christmas ornament tree.

Just leave a comment before midnight PST, Monday, November 5th, and you’re entered.

 This giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere in the world.



My Vintage Soul Sister

 

There's a vintage crafter on the opposite side of the country from me and more than once, usually after she’s posted some especially heartbreaking photos of the mounds of vintage Christmas she’s brought home or maybe an amazing vintage find that was just sitting on the curb, I’ve had to control my instinct to get in the car, uninvited and unannounced, and drive like crazy for three days in order to pillage the vintage loot she's found.

And it would be nice to meet her in person while I’m there.

Pillaging.

For now, I’ll be happy with the idea that some of her vintage loot just might come to me (or you!) because this generous vintage crafter is kicking off the vintage Christmas season in the very best way possible: With a giveaway!

 

 

If you’d like, you too can drive on over (before midnight this Friday) to Linda’s blog, My Vintage Soul, and get entered to win her handcrafted vintage Christmas wreath.

Merry Vintage Christmas!

  (Too soon? No way.)

 



Shampoo. Rinse. Repeat.

 

It was a Saturday just like any other.

I got up early.  Left the warm house and headed out the door into the cold (32 degrees!) morning.

Nothing too unusual as this is my typical yard sale routine this time of year … with one tiny exception.

This past Saturday’s yard sale was in my yard.

That’s right. The days have been numbered for the ‘What was I thinking?’ pile and The Garage Where Cars Can’t Park.

 

Fresh as a daisy.

So I set up my old junk out there on the driveway for a couple of hours because that's as long as I can stand it, then made a trip to the local senior center thrift shop to donate the unsellables (ouch --- so many unsellables!) and was ultimately rewarded with some room to move in the garage.

I was not rewarded with a big pile of cash unless you count the snack-size ziploc bag filled with quarters.

 

Praying for it to stop

Combine that room-to-move with yet another sunny day here in Oregon and suddenly it’s Bathtime for Blow Molds, in preparation for their upcoming trek to the vintage Promised Land (my antique mall space).

 

Look who's crashing the nativity

Will this weirdness never end?  I suspect my neighbors would like an answer to that as well.

 

(The outcome: I made a whopping $47! I am not a fan of having yard sales! Someone even tried to pay for a 25¢ item with a fifty dollar bill! You cannot make this stuff up! Never again!)