I came home late last night with a few treasures, not the least of which is this Irmi bank- and the Nikon D70 the images were taken with.

This piece of vintage Irmi is a money bank!!  I found it sitting forlornly in the “last chance” room at The Guild Shop.  To say it was a steal is an understatement!

Just for fun I searched the flickr Irmi group and ebay and could not find another bank (but did find this cute irmi giraffe!), so I’ve decided it’s rare!

The novelty of having mom home again has worn off.  The kids were good for, oh, 2 hours?  The have spent the rest of the day fighting with each other- making me wonder why I came home at all?!  I’ve sent them to the (empty) bathtub together to work it out.  I’ve told them I am tired of their fights and they have to sit in there until they can find a way to be kind and work together (I may not see them until bedtime at the rate they are going!).

Hope your saturday is a bit more peaceful….

Saturday I took the “girls” into PHX for some urban thrifting…I was dying to visit Hollywood Regency, but didn’t have the guts to go in with 2 kids….maybe next week.

We did manage to hit a few thrift stores, one where we found these beauties.

She couldn’t live without them…shortly after the shoes were purchased, I went and ate my 3rd Coconut cupcake of the week at Urban Cookies….and I introduced my daughter to the Chocolate Velvet cupcake.

Tuesday while searching Goodwill for a toddler bed (which we didn’t find) we came across this cool “old” chair.  My husband is the pickiest man alive when it comes to his chairs so I ordered him to sit in it.  He deemed it comfortable and we brought it home for a mere $10!

It is in great condition, all I did was vacuum the seat and back; wipe everything down and use some orange oil to enhance the wood!

Now, if you are going to be in the area on November 20, I’m teaching an embroidery class at Frances, you’ll learn the basic stitches while making this cute gumball machine.  There are also a bunch of other cool classes at Frances too, if you are interested!

I took off Friday afternoon to grab some batting at Jo Ann’s….but got distracted at Goodwill.  I found this beautiful Brooch for a mere $4, it’s about 3″ in length and 2″ or so in width.

It is so beautiful!  I’m mentally going through my wardrobe for just the right outfit to wear it with! I just LOVE the colors.  It is marked on the back “Made RM in Italy”, I googled around but couldn’t find any good info on the maker.  I suspect this is from the early to mid 20th century.

I also found my new favorite shirt….with pretty pin tucks!

Paired with my white cotton lawn skirt (also thrifted last summer) it make sme feel like I should be picnicing near some beautiful green field or something.  I’ve been mentaly deconstructing the shirt, wondering if I could recreate it.  In theory I know how to make pintucks…in practice…well, I’ve never tried.  But wouldn’t this blouse look great in a light weight red print cotton, something like this?

I hope your Sunday finds you relaxing and doing something that brings you joy…

I found this yesterday on a trip with my husband to DI (his new fav. place to look for books).  I love it.  When I opened it, I found the polka dots!!  I love it even more.

I didn’t realize until after I brought it home that Royal Traveller is part of the Samsonite line, it’s the bag that just keeps on giving!  It will be perfect for trips here.

Here is a sneak peak at a new line I am working on for the shop, should be ready to go this weekend.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend and returns to a secure job monday morning!

It had been awhile, so the daughter and I did a little thrifting today.  I always spend way too much time in the book section…i swear my collection of Little Golden Books rivals any Goodwill store!  Of course I added 3 more to the collection today- my favorite being this one.  I also snagged a Sunset Basic Gardening book- this year we WILL plant a garden!  And this little number that I bought only for the illustrations!

I also found a great set of old Pyrex nesting bowls, a set of 4, in beautiful shades of green, but at $35 I had to pass them up.  My heart nearly skipped a beat when I saw this:

It’s finds like these that make me so glad I have a young daughter to dress.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my son too, and was just as excited when I found this for him.

But, Oh, the details on this sweet little number!  The scalloped peter pan collar, the smocking-with roses!  I heart Janie & Jack clothing, especially at thrift store prices. {edited- I just found it listed here, it’s from the Feb ’07 line and was originally $58, I paid less than $10 for it!}

While reading over at the Baby Gardner today, I was made aware of some new child product safety standards that will make it impossible for crafters to legally sell their wares.  It has to do with something called Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.  Read more about how you can help here.

The thought of actually penning a letter to my congressman scares the pants off me.  I’m horrible at business writing and am sure that I would sound like a kindergartner saying, “hey, it’s not fair, I want to play too!”.  So, if someone out there would like to pen a letter and let the rest of us use it, please let me know!

On to more pleasant things, I did a little shop update today- some aprons and a bib.  AND, I decided it was time for a holiday give away!!  Simply leave me a comment telling me your favorite holiday dish and you will be entered to win this fun towel and pot holder set.  Comments are open until I go to bed Friday night (I have a date with the husband, so it should be late).  I’ll announce the winner Saturday morning!

A few weeks ago I was browsing Goodwill for a pair of pants, instead I found this diamond in the rough for $2.

It was a good size and didn’t have too many tacky “things” on it that would need to be removed, so I bought it.  I used my scissors and wire cutters to remove the ghastly bow and “crystallized fruit”, I did save the little birds nest that were on it though.  After everything was off I fluffed up the branches a bit, making it appear more full.

I ventured out at about 8pm on Black Friday to grab these little things from Micheal’s.  They had a huge selection of do-dads for making your own wreath.

I only used one of each bunch of berries, and about half of each spool of ribbon.  I started by ripping the silver berries off the large stem, and then using their wire to wrap it around different wreath branches.  Then I filled it in more with the aqua berries.  I wanted the birds/nests to be a bit symmetrical at the top of the wreath, I spaced them out enough that I could put a large ribbon in the center and hang it.  After everything else was on I tied a bunch of small ribbons and adhered them to the wreath using some 24 gauge wire I had (I would recommend something a bit heavier).

I wanted something simple but pretty and was very happy with the results!  It now hangs on our front gate, welcoming all who visit!

All together it took me about an hour to create and cost me approx. $9.  I could maybe be talked into making a smaller one…if anyone is interested.  Go forth and create!  Happy Holiday decorating!

with the budget crunch of 08 i have been trying very hard (ok sometimes not trying at all) to watch my spending and cut out the superfluous.  on my way to the studio today (to drop off the nov. class samples) i saw a yellow sign advertising a church rummage sale…i dropped my stuff off and raced over there with 15min until close.  sure enough there were things I just couldn’t live without and real steals.

the pyrex and stationery are in the shop.  i cannot resist that aqua color, if it went with my kitchen i would have kept it for myself.  the scalloped stationery was too cute, and i totally dig that gold box!  i did snag one thing for myself.  a great proctor-silex ice cream recipe book.  i loved the illustrations.

have a fantastic weekend everyone!!

I did a little thrifting today…not that I need anything, but sometimes it is fun to look.  I found a plastic cake carrier- which I was actually wanting/needing for something that I can’t share yet.  And then, then I found a bag of wooden spools of thread for $4, I simply couldn’t pass it up!

The best part about collecting these is that they are still usable (and I do use them).  Their practicality is what keeps me from feeling guilty about collecting them.

In other shop news, here is what I am working on:

I listed another set of address labels last night, Holiday Themed.  For those of you who are on the ball with your holiday letters (we have a cousin who manages to get them out Dec 1, I don’t know how she does it!).