Tuesday, December 11, 2012

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like.....

CHRISTMAS! 
Yes, it's definitely that time of year again- a time when there are not enough hours in a day (well...that's always true, but even more so now!)
However, although I am not quite finished, at least I have made progress and it definitely is staring to look a lot like Christmas in my house!

When I logged onto FaceBook yesterday, I saw a post which had included the following picture:


Maybe I am crazy, but it definitely reminded me of my own house, and that is what has inspired me to share a little of my own personal Christmas decorating with you.
Here is how "decking my halls"is coming along (so far)


Okay- confession time: I've actually had a lot of help. My husband and one of my sons did all the lights (SO many not shown in the pics!). And my youngest daughter not only decorated the entire tree, but she did all of the unpacking of everything else as well. Wish some direction, she has pretty much done all of the decorating herself. 


Every year I make sure to pull out at least a few of my favorite Christmas books from my childhood. This little one may be my all time fave. It's a bit worn to be sure, but so well loved. To be honest I wouldn't want a new copy even if I could get one. So many memories of my mother reading this to me when I was younger... you just can't replace things like this!


And now the search is on: for phonograph needles! My husband and I recently bought this antique Victor "talking machine"- and lots of wonderful old records for it- including several Christmas albums. I can hardly wait to crank it up and play them on it!


I came home the other day to a surprise of many packages under the Christmas tree... all wrapped by my husband!!!


Yummm.... one nice thing about having a daughter who works at Disneyland: She brings us their awesome candy canes! We don't have to wait (and wait, and wait) in line for them :-)
Thank you, Katie!


Even with all the fun going on, I am managing to devote several hours a day to my Etsy shop. But that doesn't mean I can't add holiday touches to my work, right? I just purchased this gorgeous etched crystal bowl with sterling silver base at an estate sale. So to photograph it, I figured some Christmas candy would work well inside.



Now I am trying to decide if I even want to sell this, lol!
Just kidding... it's going to be listed soon. And in case you are interested in it, I am offering all of you- and only you, my dear blog followers- a special holiday discount to my Etsy store! From now until the end of this month, you can receive 15% off all purchases in my shop by using this coupon code: MLSBLOGFRIEND
I have listed lots of wonderful new things lately, and if you hurry I will ship them out a.s.a.p so that you can hopefully get them in time for Christmas gift giving! You might also give your own wish list out and the coupon code, too. Or maybe you just want to treat yourself ;-) In any event, I hope you'll check out my shop, and find something you love!

As always, I thank you so much for stopping by today. I wish you much, much happiness and special blessings during this season~
Sarah

Monday, November 5, 2012

So Much To Do.... So Little Time!

Isn't that always the way? Gosh we lead busy lives; I know I am not alone!!!
But don't get me wrong- I am not complaining. I like being busy. But then again I hate that I have not had time for two things in particular: blog posting and crafting. But I assure you, it's only temporary. I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Anyway my post today is just to show you a little of what I have been devoting much of my time to.
It's my new little business- my Etsy shop. It's funny, I planned on just using Etsy as a way and place to sell my handmade cards. But, it quickly took on a life of it's own.

If you've followed me here for a while I don't need to tell you how much I love antique stores, flea markets, garage sales and estate sales. I have been "on the hunt" for a lot of years (more than I care to admit, lol- it makes me feel old!). And it didn't take long for me to discover that the antiques-store- owner-wanna-be within me could satisfy that desire a little bit through Etsy :-)

So I will share with you some pics of recent shop additions (because I know everyone loves pics!) and just say that now that I have 110 items listed (told you I have been busy!) I am thinking I can slow down with that process a little and get out my ink pads and paper again :-) But I also will tell you I have only just begun... there is a TON of stuff I still need to list!

Oh how I love rhinestones. And jewelry...



And "girly things", like this vintage compact


And since I use SO much lace in my projects, I have decided to sell lots of it in my shop. Here is some gorgeous dusty rose lace wrapped around an old wooden spool and held together with a little stick pin I made.

Beautiful white lace wrapped onto vintage textile bobbins

More pretty collectibles: here is a blue and white demitasse cup and saucer. Don't you love the little butterfly handle?

And a great shabby chic find: this lovely white pitcher with pink and green flowers

Antique Bavarian china teapot with matching sugar bowl and creamer

And of course I have perfume bottles in my shop. Here's an awesome pink one with silver filigree and a frosted heart shaped stopper with love birds on top- in great vintage condition. Isn't it lovely?

And one more thing I couldn't have a shop without: antique buttons! These have great clear shiny rhinestones. Perfect embellishments for vintage style cards!



Well, thankfully it has not been all work and no play. My husband and I have managed to get a little time off for some fun in the California sun.  Just driving along the coast makes us feel as if we are on vacation- even when we are just minutes from home ;-)


And it's always good to remind ourselves how beautiful the beaches are and how much we love getting our feet in the ocean and sand. It's so easy to take for grated what is in your own "back yard" and so we try hard not to fall into that trap. God created such beauty and we should make sure we take time to stop and smell the roses- or the fresh salt air in this case!




 I even managed to get a pic of my better half.. not always easy to do ;-)

And just to prove that we do have "seasons" in Southern California, here's a little "Fall" shot for you!

So there you go- a little "tour" of the shop as well as how I choose to spend my leisure time.
But back to work I will soon be... there are some great estate sales I plan to hit later this week and crafting ideas whirling around in my head.
Yep, as I said: So much to do, so little time.

I will try not to let too much time pass before I post again, though. Thanks so much for your patience and thank you as always for visiting. I hope you'll pop on over to my Etsy shop too, and let me know what you think. I'd LOVE to get some feedback from you!!

Until my next post, I wish you many blessings.
And for those of you who live in the great country of ours, don't forget to vote tomorrow! :-)


Wednesday, September 19, 2012

And The Winner Is.....

(Drumroll please) 
The winner of the My Little Somethings giveaway is....
JUSTIN ODOM!

Well, I know Justin is an awesome photographer, but I don't know that he is a crafter ;-) Maybe his wife is; I guess we'll find out :-) Hopefully all those goodies will be enjoyed!
 Anyway, thanks to Random Thing Picker, Justin's name was chosen from all of you who "liked" my FB page, and I THANK YOU all very much! 
I love doing giveaways, so be sure to stick around because you just never know when I will be doing another :-)

Before I run, I just want to let you all know that my ETSY shop is officially open! I have just begun listing and have MUCH more to add. I have cards available and will soon have vintage items (perfume bottles, jewelry, vintage dresser scarves, old buttons and lace, etc.) and will be selling lots of stamp sets and other crafting supplies as well. I'd love it if you took a minute or so to check it out HERE

And as a little "teaser" I'll show you a preview of a few of my items soon to be listed:

 Vintage hand held dresser mirror



 Etched crystal perfume bottle with frosted stopper



 More lovely vintage perfume bottles



Pretty vintage triple strand of white faux pearls- with awesome rhinestone clasp

Those are just some of many things that will be available in my Etsy shop. I hope you like what you see and will come visit me over there!
Thanks again so much to all of you who have been checking out my FB page!
Wishing you many blessings, as always!
~Sarah

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Announcement AND Giveaway!

Hello my blogging friends! 
I know, I said I'd be back but it took me a little longer to get here than I had anticipated ;-) However... it has been for good reason. I have been up to some really exciting things that I want to tell you about, AND I am going to be giving away a bunch of fun blog candy!

First of all I want to share some pics with you showing what I was doing for a big part of the Summer. (You'll get my reason for sharing things as we get closer to the giveaway details!)

If you've been following me at all, you know I LOVE antiques stores and flea markets. And it's "all about the hunt"! :-) So I went to as many flea markets, antiques stores, estate sales and even garage sales as I could over the Summer. And WOW did I find some awesome stuff! Here's just a small a sampling:

 This was one of several flea markets I attended in Southern California. The weather was great but boy the sun could get awfully hot. You have to be extra careful when picking up things like silver. Ouch! ;-) 

 And here's my oldest daughter. It was so great to have her join me on so many of my treasure hunts. She always makes it even more fun!

 Ooohh.... don't you just love this store? I could have been in there all day! I got lots of inspiration in this place!

 The ladies who do the displays in here are fabulously creative!

 Oh, how I love old perfume bottles. Can you tell ? ;-)

 Some more of my sweet and feminine finds

 Bottles for altering and repurposing!

 Another passion of mine: antique buttons!

 I love tiny glass ones, too. They are so great to use on cards. 

 And of course I found some wonderful lace!

Check this out: A fantastic old knife tray filled with various wood objects- mostly textile spools and bobbins. I love the rolling pin with different handles on each end. 

Okay, so there you have a sampling of where I went and the kinds of things I found. Now for the really cool part of all of this:
(A little background first) For as long as I can remember I have loved pretty things. Especially old things that have a history and tell a story.  And as I got older I even started to appreciate things maybe not quite so "pretty" but maybe rustic would be a good word for them. Still, the old vintage and antique things that have a great history are what I enjoy most- and what inspires me to create. 
And for years I have had a dream: To someday have my own little antiques store. I dream of buying an old barn and refurbishing it to house all sorts of wonderful treasures to sell to people who are passionate about antiques- and who love to hunt for them- like me ;-) My cousin and I used to say that one day we'd buy an old barn to live in- and from the rafters we'd hang wagon wheels made into chandeliers.  Well, I'll admit I love my home and don't really long to live in a barn anymore, lol, but to have one as an antique store would be a definite dream come true!

Yet as my Mom would often remind me, "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride". And the truth is, I can't buy a barn to make into an antiques store right now. Not that I don't still hope for one some day, but for now I am going to settle for an alternate kind of store. (And here comes my announcement!)
I am opening an Etsy shop this weekend! I am also planning on selling at various local boutiques and some flea markets. Yes, "My Little Somethings" is now going to be my little business as well ;-) 
And I'll bet you can guess what kinds of things I will be selling, right?
Hand made cards, of course! But also other hand made items AND vintage treasures!! Also, I will be selling supplies in my Etsy shop- including vintage items like lace and buttons for you to use when creating your own projects!

So that's why I have not been posting much lately. I have been super busy hunting for things and getting things ready and made.

So to kick this all off, what better way to get started than with a blog candy giveaway?


 I have put together a group of items- lots of supplies (since I know most of you are crafters, too) and some fun vintage things, as well. Also I am including some things handmade by me ;-)

 Here are the supplies. Among this group of stash are things like rubber stamps, Tim Holtz distress ink, 2 wood frames for altering, a Stampin' Up! chipboard book, rub ons, Martha Stewart baker's twine, Sizzix die, eyelets, ribbon, Stickles, a bar punch, and embellishments

 And for the "made by me" items, I am including a boxed set of mini gift enclosure cards with envelopes. These will also be sold in my Etsy shop. 

And here are some really fun vintage treasures- and supplies, as well! 
There are 3 different laces: the beautiful yellow lace is wrapped around an old textile spool. I love them for adding a primitive look in my studio- or anywhere in my house, for that matter. There are 6 yards (yes YARDS- not feet!) of this gorgeous lace wrapped around the spool and secured with one of my hand made stick pins.
And then there is royal purple lace. Soooo pretty! 5 yards are wrapped around an old vintage bobbin and secured with another stick pin made by me.
And there is some dainty white lace, too. That is wrapped around an old wooden Coats & Clark spool and has a little stick pin- made by me, naturally ;-) There are 3 yards of the lovely white lace.

Besides all that lace, there are a ton of vintage buttons. A whole pile of fun plastic, wood, mother of pearl, etc. And finally, I am including some fun vintage costume jewelry. Did you know brooches are coming back in style? Yep- they sure are! And according to Nordstrom's Department store, vintage style brooches are among the top ten fashion items for Fall. So here you have a chance to win a couple of vintage brooches- and 2 pairs of cluster earrings. Wear them OR repurpose them like I do! They are great to use in all sorts of crafting :-)

Okay so how do you win all this yummy stuff?
It's EASY to enter my giveaway! And I am going to give you multiple ways to increase your chances!
All you have to do is go to my new FaceBook page here 
http://www.facebook.com/MyLittleSomethings
and just hit the "like" button on the page! It's as simple as that!
(Note: If you already have liked my page, you have an entry.)

And tell all your friends about it. If a friend also likes my page and mentions your name saying you sent them there, you will get TWO additional entries! And there's no limit to the number of friends you can refer- each getting you two more chances! And finally, if you have a blog and post this to your sidebar, with a link to this giveaway, you will get FIVE extra entries. Just let me know in the comment section  here on this blog post that you have done so. (Then I can visit your blog, too!)

So there you have it- lots of ways you can get entries to my giveaway! The winner will be chosen one week from today, Wednesday September 19th. Thanks so much for visiting me today. I hope to see on FaceBook. Also, please stop by my Etsy store this weekend! Good Luck!

And as always, I wish you many blessings,
Sarah



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Using Brads For Scrap Your Crap!

The Summer is flying by and already it's time for another challenge from Scrap Your Crap!
This month we are using brads and/or eyelets- and I chose brads :-)
Here is the card I made, and I found the rhinestone brads to be the perfect finishing touch:



The two patterned papers I used are some of my very favorite prints I think Stampin' Up! has ever made. They are both from the (retired) Parisian Breeze Specialty collection. Matched with SU! Chocolate Chip and PTI white card stock, it's really a gorgeous combination. Both patterned papers are textured, and I also used an embossing plate for my top white layer. With the beautiful combination of colors, patterns and textures, I am really pleased with how this card came out. 

So now it's your turn! Head on over to the Scrap Your Crap blog and check out all the other cards and scrapbook pages our design team has made to inspire you, and then create something of your own! And please be sure to share it with us! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I know I have not been posting much as the Summer is keeping me super busy with school out for all these fabulous, fun weeks! But before long, school will be back in session and you'll be seeing a LOT more of me here! And really soon I will be sharing more about all that I have planned for my crafting future.... I have a lot I have been working on and am getting ready to share all the details with you very soon. I am so excited and can hardly tell you all about it :-)
Until then, I wish you a wonderful remainder of the Summer with many blessings!
~Sarah

Items used to make this card include:
Stampin' Up! Parisian Breeze Specialty papers
Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip and Crumb Cake card stock
PTI white card stock
Stampin' Up!/Sizzix Texturz embossing plate
Cheery Lyn Design dies: Fanciful Flourish and Exotic Butterfly small #2
Spellbinders Nestabilities Fleur De Lis rectangles die
Stampin' Up! tiny tag punch
Stampin' Up! hand held hole punch
Beige lace and thread
Handmade stick pin
Rhinestone brads from the Stampin' Up! Pretties kit
Stampin' Up dimensionals



Summer Antique Finds

I know many of you are either getting ready to send your kids- or even yourself- back to school, and are about to get started with "Fall". I actually have about one more month before school starts here. So, I am still feeling as if I am pretty much in the middle of vacation. I will admit that my "normal everyday routine" has pretty much stopped. Vacation mode is in full swing; I try to just concentrate on having as much fun as I can with my family while we have time. We'll all be back to the grind soon enough ;-)

With that being said, vacation does not mean I take a break from my love of antiques hunting! My husband and I still continue to do that pretty much every chance we get. Sometimes I will go off either on my own or with my oldest daughter if it happens to be a day she is off from work. And this Summer has actually proven to be a very good one for me, "hunt wise"! Let me show you just a few things I recently acquired when Mike and I were out and about:


Isn't this cool? Okay- I admit, I don't know much about real country living, so other than knowing that this used to be on a farm, I can't tell you anything about it, lol. Nonetheless, I was crazy about this old rustic can as soon as I saw it and just had to splurge on it. I don't even know if the price was fair, but given the prices on everything else where I found it, I think I must have done well. And if not, so what. I was happy to pay what I did for it and I am loving how it looks by my front door ;-) 

So... if you happen to know what this was once used for I'd love it if you can leave a comment here to tell me!! :-)

Next we come to this really special find....


I have wanted a nice old wagon wheel for many years! As a matter of fact, when we were teenagers (many, many years ago!) one of my dearest cousins and I used to dream about owning an old barn some day. We also decided that inside we'd hang old wagon wheels that we would make into chandeliers. Well, although that dream of mine did not come to fruition (well, not yet anyway), at least I now have an old wagon wheel! 
It's bigger than it looks in the picture, and I'm so happy with the way it looks here where Mike set it up against our fence in the front yard among the tall flowers. Doesn't it look great?


And next is another very fun "find"~



Pretty, huh? Obviously it has been restored, but it was restored very well. It's such a lovely old trunk, and looks really great in my upstairs hallway. 

Can you believe that we purchased all three of these wonderful items from a garage sale?! Well, the man who was selling them was downsizing. His wife had passed away and he just had way too many things. He even let me go into his house just to see his late wife's cookbook collection. There were hundreds and hundreds of wonderful books and he was hoping to sell all of them to one person. Needless to say I passed on them, but I did see that he had a lot of other items he needed to sell as well. The trunk I bought was one of three beauties- all of which had me tempted. Seriously, if I had the room for them, I'd have bought them all! But of the three I chose this one due to the pretty shape and color of the wood. It is definitely more unusual than most old trunks I tend to see for sale. 
I also bought some other fun things from him- all smaller items. I'll try to get some pictures of those to share at some point, too. 

Finally, I would like to share with you one last item for today. This was found in an antiques store in Old Orange, CA by my husband when we were there on a hunt a last month. I can not believe I missed it, and am so very glad he saw it and showed it to me! Let me tell you about my "connection" to this awesome piece:


Okay, so it's a milk crate from a dairy, right? So what could be so special about that? Well, this dairy was in Connecticut- about as far away from here as you can get without leaving the Country. It made it all the way to California. Just like me; I came all the way from Connecticut too. And THIS very same dairy was the one where I used to get ice cream cones EVERY Summer of my childhood!!! Seriously- what are the odds of finding something like this? I don't remember exactly when, but I believe they went out of business when I was in my late teens or maybe early 20's. But from the time I was a very small child until then I would have ice ream many days and nights every Summer from Maple Shade. I have so many awesome memories of that place. And I just can not tell you how cool it is to have this. And now I am on a mission: To find some milk bottles from there! I actually did find one on eBay. But, it was a really large one and would not fit in the crate due to the metal dividers. But I am hopeful that at some point I will be able to locate at least one. 

OKay... there you have it for now. I know a lot of you are like me and love antiques and the fun of the hunt. These are just some of the many cool and interesting things my husband and I have found this Summer; there lots more to share so I'll try to post more pics soon. 

Thanks so much for stopping by. I'll be back later today with my next project for the Scrap Your Crap blog so please check back real soon! 

I'm hoping you'll leave a comment, as I always love hearing from you :-)

Wishing you many blessings as always~
Sarah