Summer Treasure Hunts... And Some News!

Wow.... I hardly know where to begin! It's been a while since I last posted, as I've been so busy doing the things I have been excited to tell you about! I have tons of pictures to go along with some of the "news" I had mentioned in my last post. 

First of all, I'll start with my "announcement". Well, believe it or not, I love to make things other than just cards ;-) There are so many things that I have in my brain that I really want to create and get working on. And for some time now, I have had many friends and people I have met tell me over and over that I should sell my hand made things. But I always felt funny about it. I didn't feel right taking money from my friends, but so many of them really pushed me saying that they really want to buy them and yet they couldn't just take them. So I have decided to take the plunge and start selling! 

Well, you know how it goes.... one thing leads to another and once the brainstorming began, it became more than just selling cards to friends! My plan is to make lots of different things and to start an Etsy shop as well as sell at various boutiques and craft fairs.

I have been busy boing not so fun "business stuff" going places like City Hall and registering my business name, getting my seller's permit, obtaining a tax I.D., etc., etc. 

But some things I needed to get done were really fun. Such as.....

The fact that I will need inventory! And that means lots of supplies for creating things. That's where some of the best fun comes in! I plan to continue to create mostly a style with a "vintage flair" so to speak, and many of the things I will make will have some antique or vintage item incorporated into it.  

And as you probably know if you are a follower of mine I LOVE antiques hunting! So this part of my "work" is really a blast for me. Originally from New England, it wasn't hard to find places to go rummaging through old things to buy when living there. But since moving to Southern California, it's been a little more challenging. But thats not to say I have not found some great places to go looking. And here is one of my husband and my favorite areas. It's a town known as "Olde Orange". It's got a great old town feel to it- and absolutely filled with many places to buy antiques. 

As I headed over to one of my favorite stores, I saw this car coming down the road

I wanted to chase it down the street and jump right in, but I just didn't have the nerve. So I turned and walked into this awesome store- fully in the mood for a "vintage" experience ;-)

Check out some of the dealer's displays:

I love how light and bright this area is with the delicate pink and white and all the wicker.
There's just something about old children's clothes, baby items, pretty dishes and the other things here that I absolutely can't get enough of.

Seriously- my dream is to own my own antiques store some day!!!

Bird cages and old kitchen wares are so popular now.

And old photographs. But I find it so sad that there are so many that have no names or information on them. Yet the mystery about who those people were and what their lives were all about is certainly intriguing.

So much of this was considered "junk" not long ago. Ahhhh..... if we'd only saved more of it lol! ;-)

Okay, so although I didn't happen to buy anything there for crafting, I did come home with an awesome old milk crate! My husband actually spotted it first. And believe it or not, it was from the very same dairy where as a child I would get ice cream cones in the Summer back in Connecticut! Imagine- an old wooden box from a small family owned dairy on the North East Coast ending up here in Southern California- and Mike finding it for me all these years later! I just had to have it! I can not tell you how many memories I have of my Mom taking all us kids in her station wagon there- me and my brothers and sister, lots of friends and cousins- out for a Summer treat; usually dessert on a hot July evening.
Now I am on a quest to find some old milk bottles to go in it. But I am determined to find them from that particular dairy. It may take a while, but I am hoping some Ebay seller will come through for me at some point ;-)

Okay.... now on to my next jaunt: and this is where I really scored on some awesome things for my crafting endeavors ;-)

My daughter Katie and I got up super early on a Sunday morning to go to a wonderful flea market/ antiques fair. It happens once a month and is held out by the fields of Irvine CA by where the old El Toro Marine bases once were.

It started out cool, with a good amount of marine layer, just right for walking around and checking out all the fun things the dealers had to offer.

But it was a good thing Katie and I wore hats, because that layer didn't last too long and before we knew it the Southern California sun was shining hot!!!

Not that I need another chandelier, but I did spot a PINK one that I was super tempted to buy for my youngest daughter's bedroom. However, we had recently had a ceiling fan installed in there, so the only place it could go would be her closet. I decided to pass.

Katie had a little trip down Memory Lane, finding one of her favorite childhood toys.

She also found something one of her brothers once played with. Certainly not "antiques", but I guess even the early Ninja Turtles are now considered "vintage/ collectible".

Although I was finding (and buying) things left and right, we were having a hard time finding something for Katie. She is a photographer, and had a few things in mind she hoped to get for photo shoot props. There were a few that would have worked wonderfully, but the prices on them were just too high. Finally.... we came across this great frame! And the seller let us have it for just $5.00! SCORE!

And see that little white wooden child's toy hutch behind Katie? We we just loved it and thought it would be a darling way to display some hand made things at a craft fair. Sold! And the sweet lady let us use her dolly to get it to the car (It was a bit heavier than I had thought it would be).

We decided to take a little break from the hunt and walk over the the Farmer's Market they also have going on each month right next to tall the antiques.

There's nothing like fresh California fruit...

.... especially strawberries!

 There was so much to chose from: lots of beautiful organically grown produce

And for some people an adventurous balloon ride!

No way Katie.... you can continue to ask me until the cows come home, but I will NOT be getting myself into that thing!!!


I had sooooo much fun! And in the end, I went home with LOTS of treasures:

The cute white hutch, a darling magazine rack, small shutters I can clip some cards onto, a tall narrow shelp that my PTI stamp sets fit perfectly in, a cute desk organizer for letters, another desk organizer I plan to display cards in and an old sewing machine cabinet drawer. I have seen a lot of these painted and "repurposed" but I think I will keep this one as it is. Maybe I'll use it to pit tiny notecards in when I sell them at a craft fair or boutique.

And here are the "little treasures" I acquired- all ready to be incorporated into my creations:

Antique buttons and small prisms- so pretty! Oh- and I found something I'd been looking for for a while: over on the far right is a lovely old glass door knob. Perfect for my craft room door!

Lace and trims! And lots of them :-)

And not that I "needed" this, but I just thought it was so sweet. I found this little old hand stitched sampler which a lady had put into one of her old painted and distressed picture frames and I just loved it. However, it was the end of the day and I had run out of money. But my dear husband joined us after he got out of church and purchased it for me :-) Isn't it darling?

And at one point when buying several things from one dealer, I picked up this big jar of buttons. There are tons in there- mostly commons, but some good "special" ones too- and LOTS of buttons on cards. She sold the whole thing to me for just $5.00! Haha, I said it would be worth $5 just for the fun of sifting through them all.... and it was true :-)

More prisms, too.

And finally, lots of lovely old bottles! I can hardly wait to pretty these up!

So there you have it: an update on what I have been thinking, doing and planning.

Thanks so much for stopping by to see what I have been up to. I have lots more to share with you in the coming weeks. More pics and stories of my Summer treasure hunting, as well as details to come about my Etsy shop, which I will be opening soon.

I'll also be back in a few days with my latest card creation.

I'd love it if you'd take a moment to leave me a comment. I always so enjoy hearing from you!

Wishing you many blessings and lots of Summer fun!
~Sarah