Goodbye Christmas

Now that the Epiphany has passed, I have no excuse not to take down the Christmas stuff, but I don't want to. I force Husband to leave the outside lights on until January 6 (the Epiphany, or Three Kings Day), and I usually start taking down the Christmas stuff the following weekend. I just know the house is going to look and feel so bare and cold without all of it. So, I thought I'd share one last shot of Christmas with you.

I found these little treasures right before Christmas at a local thrift store. I got them all for 25 cents! I'm sure I'll repurpose them in projects for next Christmas.

We brought our Christmas guests to my favorite little town in OK last week, and I had to stop in for some bargains at one of my all-time favorite antique malls. I picked up a few treasures.

Antique ephemera: 100+ year old TX property deeds, an Easter card, and a couple of Christmas/New Year's cards.

A bag full of vintage light reflectors. I'll add these to my collection to make more ornaments next year.

More ornaments. The striped one will be used as a hot air balloon, and maybe some of the small ones, too.

Now I can sigh, "Christmas is over."
 
 

Bits and Bobs

Yes, I just had a garage sale to clean out all the stuff that had accumulated in the shed. No, I don't need to continue stopping at thrift stores and antique sales. But I can't help myself. Here are a few recent finds. They are all quite small, so they don't take up much space. They just fill in a little crevice of my craft room.

The little parasols are party toothpicks. I have a little bag full of different colors. I think they'll make great fairy umbrellas. The vintage baby safety pins and box full of gray straight pins were 25 cents. How could I pass them up?

This couple came in matching frames. Someone's long-lost relatives that no one remembers anymore.

This was a great find. A framed collection of dried flowers for 50 cents. The frame was hideous, so that's probably why less-imaginative people left them sitting there.

Someday I'll used these treasures. For now, they are collecting dust awaiting their new home - as soon as I find a place for them.

Weekend Treasures

We had beautiful weather here this weekend, so we took a day trip out to the country. We had lunch and shopped in downtown Weatherford. My favorite place to eat is the Whistle Stop Cafe. Their nutbread sandwiches are to die for! Then we hit the antique shops and picked up some treasures. Here are some of my finds.

I could hardly contain myself when the lady at the store told me the price on this vintage candy box: $5. If she had 10, I would have bought them all. I collect vintage Valentine candy boxes, and I don't have any in blue. This one is my favorite! I got the vintage Christmas corsage for $5 and the old (very old) buttons for 25 cents each.

No, I don't need more trim, but when I see these lovelies priced at $2 a bundle or bag full, I can't resist. There are yards and yards here. Some will end up in my etsy shop.

More trims and three almost full rolls of seam binding. The little red mushrooms are another favorite find. Again, if they had more, I would have bought them all.

I LOVE finding bags full of odds and ends that a dealer obviously sees no value in. I bought everything here in a ziplock bag for $3. The sewing pattern and vintage Dennison address labels were worth the $3 to me, so everything else is just a bonus!



Be sure to check out the finds at Apron Thrift Girl this week!