Let Me Introduce you....

 to the newest member of our Deer Collection...

Doesn't he look like a content little fellow?

A while ago I did a blog article on our collection of cement garden deer, most of which now live inside our home...

http://acollectivejournal.blogspot.com/2010/10/we-collectdeer.html

This newest member of our collection came to us via the Dude...he happily lived out in her front yard "forever" or as she said, "she can't remember when he wasn't there"! 

As she needed to move and downsize her "stuff" my husband and I offered to help her have an Estate Sale....this is the prize we carried away from her sale...he obviously could not be left behind and needed a good home where he would find other friends...so he came to live with us..

The Dude knows she can visit him whenever she wants to :) and he loves it because he has a special spot right next to the fireplace where he is safe and secure...and loved!

Thanks Duuuuuuude ♥

VE

The Wonderful World of . . .

Troll dolls!!!

 

I love troll dolls, they just plain make me smile and I want to pinch their cheeks!

 

Here is a web site dedicated to trolls:

  Troll Doll Guide

 

Through Etsy, I met Rebecca who takes such good care of her dollies, she provides them with anything they could possibly need.   Every troll needs a Snuggie, don't they?

(Click on photo to go directly to her Etsy listing)

 and if you visit her shop, you'll see other items your troll can't live without!  She makes the smallest items I've ever seen and all for dolls!  You can find her here:

 (Click on banner to visit her shop)

 

She has documented the lives of her dollies for the rest of us to see and posted their lives on Flickr:  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beckynot/3743567442/in/set-72157621567865860/ 

 Take time to go through the thumbnails and read her comments!  Fair warning, don't do it while drinking your morning coffee!

 

(Click on banner to visit her shop)

 

Another Etsy seller that makes sure to keep the trolls alive is Last American Hippies.  I visit her shop often to see what she has for troll dolls.  My all time favorite listing is this one:

(Click on photo to go directly to listing on Etsy)

Momma always says to wear clean undies! 

 

And from ACJ's own, my favorite card from GoodGosh!

(Click on photo to be taken directly to listing in Etsy)

Makes me giggle every time I see it!

 

And for those who can make their own doll clothes, here's a pattern for you!

From allsfairyvintage 

(Click on photo to be taken directly to listing on Etsy)

How can you NOT smile when you see these?  They bring back such fond memories.

Thanks to Beckynot and LastAmericanHippies for keeping the trolls out from under the bridges!

 Have a great weekend,

RWS

SMILE!!!! It's Friday.

Sometimes, at the end of the week, ya just do NOT want to think any more. I know, it’s not Saturday yet, but I’m brain dead, as one of my cohorts would say “my hair hurts”, it’s been a long week, and I just feel like smiling. Don’t you just want to smile today too? So I thought I would just share with you one of my all time favorite songs. It always puts a smile on my face, and I hope for the next 2 minutes, it puts a smile on your face too.

Happy Friday J

“Duuude”

If you can't see you might as well look good when you do.

I forget when I had to start wearing "cheaters", but much to my annoyance I've had to wear them more and more as time goes on.  I figured if people have to wear these why not make them a little bit more interesting?

All you need are reading glasses, (preferably with a wider plastic frame because it won't work on thin metal ones) and paint pens. It's easier if you have the narrow tip ones since the space is so small.

You can go crazy with the colors and designs or you can go more understated which is what I prefer. 

Have fun!

I have probably 6 pairs of these spread out here at work so I have one at hand wherever I'm working. Of course they always seem to disappear, but God forbid I start wearing them on a string around my neck! If I do that you will hear me wail "I've become my mother!" clear to China.

Peggy ~ Goodgosh ~ GG 

Steampunk

designsbloom

I always had an idea of what steampunk was….well, sort of.

I knew I liked some of the altered pieces I have seen. I love how they use watch parts and little gears and things, but I never really knew the whole story behind it.

The following website explains it much better than I ever could;

http://www.steampunk.com/what-is-steampunk/

This is what it says in the dictionary;

Main Entry:   steampunk

Part of Speech: noun

Definition:

a genre of science fiction set in Victorian times when steam was the main source of machine power; also written steam-punk

Here I found several different items created in the steampunk style.

These two are made from recycled Altoid tins.

SunnySkyeCreations

jackandcatcurio

These are done with old book pages;

lunaclaydesign

BlackBaroque

Of course there are some really cool pieces of jewelry;

TerrisTreasures

CosmicFirefly

This is just fun, I think everyone needs a little UFO.

WytcheHazel

(jj)

A FINGER MONKEY?

You might be wondering what in the world is a finger monkey! First, a finger monkey is a primate. Second, it gets the first part of its name due to it being finger size in length! This cute little primate hugs and grips on to your finger so tight that it pulls your heartstrings and you wish you could take it home with you. Finger monkeys are, as a matter of fact, pygmy marmosets. They are also known by the names ‘pocket monkey’ and ‘tiny lion’. They are native to rain-forests of Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia.

The head and body together measures only 5 inches, however, its tail can grow up to 8-9 inches. The males weigh up to 5 oz, and the females weigh a little over 4 oz.

Finger monkeys are exotic pets and you can and you can pick one up for $2,000 - $4,000.

A pet finger monkey needs a lot of attention. Like other primates, the finger monkey is not well-behaved initially, but can be trained. The habits that your finger monkey will learn in the first two years, will stay with it through its life. They require a lot of attention and patience. Just make sure you don't lose it somewhere! You'll never find it again.....

I want one! I really do!

pepper/Helmet Head

Where do I Store My Stuff!!!!

One of the problems any seller or collector has is how to store the stuff we are selling or the items we don't want to display.

           

  At our home we love vintage and antique items so over the years we have repurposed some vintage items and now they are our "hidden" storage :)


We love old Hartman suitcases....I use them stacked in my office to store the items I have listed for sale...the tag on the front of each suitcase tells me what is inside it...since I can never remember where each item is!

VintageStation did 2 treasuries full of vintage luggage, all of which is for sale and could soon be your hidden storage area...

                   Suitcases
                        or
                   Suitcases









I am also a collector of fabric...but where to put it all until I use it????  An old rack full of gym baskets was our solution...each basket labeled as to contents....

Peppercorns2 did a great blog article on vintage wire baskets...check it out...you will find some great ones!
                                                                    
 Vintage Wire Baskets

Another hidden storage in our home is old tool boxes, big ones....we love these because they work wonderfully well as coffee and end tables while hiding all our magazines and books.....

Here are some storage ideas I found on Etsy :)

                                                                                                      DailyMemorandum
                                                             

Holliezhobbiez

                                                                                                                                                  
                                                       luckylittledot

What ever your storage needs I hope these suggestions start you thinking of unique solutions just for you!


Enjoy.......VE

Bakelite

I've been told I can smell Bakelite a mile away!  That's okay with me, I love the stuff.  I love the look, the color and yes, the smell! 

I collected Bakelite for a long time and when I decided to cut back, sold a lot of it but I still can't resist it, I just collect certain items now.  I'll show some photos later in this post.

First, some history and photos:  Bakelite Exhibition  The first photo on the left makes my heart flutter!

They'd have to clean the drool off this display if I visited:  Bakelite Jewelry – bracelets & similar Bakelite type jewelry

And one more:  Bakelite Boutique .com

Just a few items from my collection, I love the flatware and can't get enough of it!  I often set my table for company using old Fiestaware, Bakelite and EAPG.

Some items I sold but can't delete the photos.  LOLOL!

I found a bunch of uncut tubes at a flea market, this black bird was the last of the large ones.  The pear pin was found at a thrift shop!  Buttons are often mixed in with a large jar of buttons, so I stand around shaking jars all the time!

I like hat ornaments made from any material!

Have a nice day!

RWS

Never Drag Your Feet When You Know Change Is Coming

Last September, I was questioning the possible downsizing that I was facing.  Yes, I needed to do it, but didn’t know just how far “down” that sizing had to be.  Well, to keep it short and sweet, I had to go from a 4 bedroom 2 story home (well, 2^nd story was only a bed and bath) to a storage unit and the bare minimum to take with me to my new temporary room.  I think I deleted a few of the photos I had of the house back then, but do have a photo of the garage.

Last September

In the process of downsizing and moving, some great friends came to help with the process.  Some helped to sort and pack, some helped me realize what needed to “go”, and then some came to help with a moving sale.  You don’t realize how much you have until you try to separate it enough for others to see it in order to sell it. 

Here are some photos of the house just before the sale started.  (I promised a few people that I would share some)

The garage

The desk

Kitchen table and dish set

Back yard

Kitchen

And now, some when it was all over.  The biggest lesson I learned, never drag your feet when you know a big change is coming your way.

Waiting for final pick ups in the garage

What used to be my "craft" room

packing up the leftovers

I had some incredible support during this process, and am now preparing to enter the next chapter in my life.  Scary, exciting, challenging, new.  I can’t help but wonder what tomorrow will bring!  

Happy Friday everyone!

Duuude (aka Julie) 

Some Proverbs. What on earth do they mean?

This is what started me thinking....I saw this saying.

"Silk and satins put out the kitchen fire"

I thought "What the heck does that mean?"  Usually I can come up with my own warped and usually wrong idea, but that one had me stumped so I looked it up and here's what the lesson is:

Its one of Benjamin Franklin's many Proverbs that relates to overspend, spend all your money on Silks and satins, scarlet and velvet and you wont have any money for the essentials like food and heating.


So that started me thinking of some of the other proverbs that spew out of my mouth and where they originated from such as:

"Get one's Goat"

 A 20th century Americanism said to have originated in the practice of stabling a goat as a soothing mascot with a highly strung Thoroughbred racehorse. The horse could be made fractious and prevented from winning if it's goat was taken away unscrupulously. 

"Chip on one's shoulder"

From a custom originating in the USA, but also known in Canada, in which a person who was looking for a fight carried a chip of wood on his shoulder and invited people to knock it off: anyone who did so agreeing to a fight.  

I think it's interesting the sayings that have been passed down through our parents and their parents and new ones we pick up from others.  And I have more I ponder, believe me. :)

What are some of the ones you say and do you know where they originated from?

Peggy

Frozen Charlotte

Ever since I was little, I loved dolls, especially small dolls. My mom even let me play with her bisque dollhouse dolls. Anytime I was given a new doll, it found a home in my dollhouse. Of course I liked the dolls that were jointed best, but….the frozen Charlottes were just too good to pass up.

                                            

They came in such tiny sizes. The smaller the better as far as I was concerned.

shadesofakasha

                      

This link gives the history of frozen Charlotte;

http://artdollsonly.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-doll-history-frozen-charlottes.html

There are hundreds of these tiny dolls still around, many of them have been damaged over the years. I have found that there are many artists that use these broken dolls and doll parts in their art.

StJoshua

Some use them in their steampunk jewelry;

loreliekaydesigns

wondrousstrange

           

Others use them in their mixed media/altered art.

razzledazzlestamps

I think this is just wonderful…these poor little dolls with such a sad story have been given new and wonderful lives.

VintageEnvy

(jj)