What a Surprise!

What a nice surprise I had today!  My friend Mary and I got together today at Panera Bread.  We hadn't gotten together in a while.  She surprised me with a beautiful burgundy crochet lap blanket that she made.  It is so wonderful and thoughtful.  I love it!  It looks wonderful on my pink hall chair.  But I'm sure to use it tonight when I sit to read the newest issues of Flea Market Gardens and Flea Market Décor.  The newest spring issues are here.


After I left Panera Bread, I stopped at the Sparrows Nest in McHenry.  I found some really nice treasures.  2 Japanese items:  plate and bowl, a kids pattern for a Power Ranger costume, a bag of buttons, a terra cotta angel (for my garden), and an assortment of vintage pins and earrings.  I used my 25% off coupon so I only spent $20 today.  I was so excited. 


There is an estate sale on Kishwaukee Valley Road in Woodstock from today until Sunday.  I'm hoping to shop it tomorrow.  I just hope it doesn't snow.  It sounds great from the ad in the paper.  We'll see.

Jewelry On My Mind

Another day with jewelry on my mind.  I woke up with some new ideas and couldn't wait to try them out.  Since it is too cold outside to do anything, what better way to enjoy the day.


I had found a wonderful aqua stone pin (the pin part was broken) a few years ago at a garage sale.  The woman was selling her moms vintage jewelry.  I loved it! but wasn't sure how I would use it.  I just happened to have the perfect chain for it and just attached it.  Sometimes beauty is just simple.  This piece is simple, but perfect.  It's a keeper.


The other necklace started with a cameo and just blossomed from there.  I had 2 wonderful black vintage sparkly earrings that worked well with it.  Sometimes its just a matter of playing around until the pieces "fit" with each other.  I love how this piece came out also.


Another forecast for sub zero temperatures tomorrow.  I wonder what I will create?

Creating.....Jewelry

Today was a creating jewelry day.  A day to be inside anticipating the arctic cold for the next 2 days with highs of -9.  I was in the mood to stay home and create.

I finished 5 necklaces and 1 pair of earrings.  I  had sooooo much fun putting together vintage pieces to create something fresh and fun.  I especially love cameo pieces and used 2 of them today in the necklaces.  I also love bling and found a way to incorporate that into the pieces.  The contrast of a black and white cameo with sparkly stones is wonderful.  I loved the black and white cameo when I found it a while back.  It could be used as either a pin or pendant.  Since the pin part was broken, I knew that it would become a part of a necklace.  It is such a wonderful piece.    I made one of the necklaces simple with a pretty blue stone pendant.  I also had some rhinestone pieces that I made into earrings.  I had used the other part of them a few weeks back in a necklace.  It's fun to take apart a piece and be able to use all of it for something else.  Nothing goes to waste. 

Close to 30 years ago when I was visiting in Sausalito California, I bought a great pair of bronze filigree earrings.  They are large and fun and I loved them!  I wore them constantly.  Fast forward to today.  I haven't worn them in over 20 years, but still think that they are wonderful.  So, I used them in a long strand necklace.  It looks great.  I am so glad that they will still be worn and not just hidden away.

I love the idea that vintage pieces can be transformed into something that can be cherished today.  It is fun to create pieces of jewelry like that.  Did I mention that I had lots of fun creating jewelry today? 

I Drove Through the Blowing Snow.....

I drove through the blowing snow to get to a Caring Transitions estate sale in Woodstock on Applewood Lane off of McConnell Road in Woodstock.  McConnell road had so much snow blowing onto it that I almost slid off of it a couple of times.  But, I trudged on.  I'm glad that I did.  I found 2 fabulous cement statues for the garden.  One of mushrooms and the other is a frog spouting fountain.  Nothing better to get me into gardening mode and thinking of spring.  The price was right at $10 each.  I sat through a Seed class last night at the U of I Master Gardener office in Woodstock and thoughts of spring haven't left me yet.  After today's weather, I don't think that we are even close to spring yet.  Oh well!


There is a kids book sale (some adult books too) at the Algonquin Township Office this weekend.  I stopped in today and found some nice books and comics.  Kids books are 50 cents each and adult books are $1 each.  Since I'll be inside, some new reads are a good idea.


I looked at the estatesales.net website and saw that there are estate sales in the next few weeks close by.  Treasure hunting will keep me from going stir crazy.

Sewing Pillows

Another few days of sewing more pillows.  The unfinished quilt tops are fabulous.  I didn't want to just leave them in a drawer, so I finished the edges and made them into pillows.  I bought the unfinished quilt tops at a garage sale this summer and knew right away that they would make great pillow covers.  I love to sew pillows.   You can get as creative as you want with them.  They make quick changes to any décor.  I change them seasonally in my home, but I always manage to keep some of my favorites out all year long.


I stock up with zippers at JoAnn Fabrics when I have 50% off coupons.  I used fabric from my stock for the back.  I'm always buying fabric at sales even though my closet is pretty full.


I wanted to mention that the Gardenfest brochure is on the website for McHenry County College in Crystal Lake.  The class listing is extensive and the classes cover so many different gardening topics.  I'm so pleased with how well the planning has come along.  This will be a great Gardenfest.  I hope all of you plan on being there on April 5!


There is a gardening weekend Feb 7- 9 in Madison Wisconsin at the Alliant Energy Center.  It sounds like a fun weekend or day trip.  Melinda Myers is giving a few classes and I have always wanted to hear her presentations.  There are quite a few gardening workshops in the next few months.  For those of us who can't wait to get our hands into the dirt, these classes are lifesavers.  It makes spring seem right around the corner.

Springtime?...Flower Pins

I haven't visited the Salvation Army thrift store in McHenry in a long time.  Today was the day.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that it has become better organized and cleaner.  Those were a few of the reasons that I hadn't been in there for awhile.  After today, I will visit there more often.


As usual, I stopped at the jewelry counter first.  I found some wonderful vintage springtime? vintage flower pins.  I really adore those pins.  These were white and yellow.  I also found a vintage goldtone flower pin and a goldtone bracelet.  The prices were great from $2-$3 each.  As I was walking around the store, I spotted a Continental hammered aluminum handled tray for $2.50.  Of course, I had to have it.  I loved the design of the handle.


I'm looking forward to treasure hunting at the Salvation Army thrift store again soon.  I'll add it on my pathtojunkentreasure.

Thinking of Summer.......

It's another day inside with -14 degrees this morning and a high forecast of 4 degrees.  Another day that the boys are off of school.  Boy are they excited!  So, I'm thinking ahead to warmer days and summertime by the water.  When I woke up this morning, the thermostat had stopped working and my second floor was 42 degrees.  It has taken most of the day today to warm back up. 


I was sewing in my chilly room, but hoping that thoughts of the beach would warm me up.  (I managed to sew through the chills).  I made 2 pillows today with a sailboat/water theme.  I had purchased the unfinished boat quilt pieces from a garage sale this past summer and knew that I wanted to make them into a pillow.  I used blue sailboat fabric that I also found a while back at a sale for the back of the pillow.  I had to finish the quilt blocks with blue and red borders.  They came out really nice.  I just may keep these for myself. 


When I bought the boat unfinished quilt pieces, I also bought other unfinished quilt pieces.  I was just looking through my fabric collection and found some pieces to finish them with.  More pillows are on the way.....


But I'm taking a break now to eat the brownies that just finished baking!

Sewing....pillows

Since I'm pretty much snowed in, I sewed another rooster pillow.  I decided that this one would be without trim since the fabric is so pretty on its own.  I had already sewed a rooster pillow the other day with black and white trim.  I love how they both turned out!  I am out of lots of decorative trim and can't wait for treasure hunting to begin to find more.

Tomorrow school is closed since the wind chills will be around -40 degrees.  I want to sew a few more pillows with a summer theme.  (Maybe that will help me to cope with the cold weather.)

It's nice to be inside when it's snowing.  Last night, the boys and I were driving home from Loves Park and it took us so long in the snow.  It was scary and nerve wracking.  I'm thankful that we made it home safely.  So, tomorrow, we will be inside where we can just watch the snow from where it's safe.  Drive safely in the snow and try to keep warm.

Happy New Year!

Hope your New Year is filled with love, good health and happiness.    And warmth.  We have had soooo much snow recently and freezing temperatures that I have stayed inside and worked on some projects.  I am busy making pillows that I will post in a few days. 

I usually keep the Christmas decorations up until after Jan 7 (since I celebrate Serbian Orthodox Christmas on that day), but since the temperature has kept us inside, I finished putting it all away today.  I'm sorry to see it go.  I love Christmas.  It seems to have come and gone quicker than ever.
In its place, I decorated with red, pink and hearts for Valentine's day.  I love to display the upcoming holiday in advance so that I can enjoy it.  So, while the wind is howling tonight and blowing the snow around, I'm enjoying all that is Valentine's day decorating.  I have some great crochet pieces with roses on them in pink and red that I have chosen to display.  They are so wonderful to look at.  I'm always on the lookout for crochet doilies.

I'm lining up projects to work on.  I'm sure that I'll have a lot of time in the next few weeks to work on them since the cold will keep me inside feeling crafty. 

Snow for Christmas!

We already had snow on the ground when we got a few inches on Sunday.  Today it is so blustery cold that you can't spend more than a minute outside without freezing.  It is so unbelievably cold.

I thought I would share photos of my yard/garden in the snow.  I don't cut down or clean up anything until the spring.  I like the look of dried flowers with the snow on it.  The leaves protect the plants from freezing and thawing so that they can survive the winter.  I look forward to the cleanup work in the spring. 

Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year!  Have fun on your pathtojunkentreasure.

Creating....Necklaces

Yesterday I made 4 necklaces.  I'm loving the creative process and the results.  The necklaces are fantastic.  I had to keep the long stranded pearl one.  I fell in love with it.  It is so me.  My tastes keep changing and growing.

I used rhinestone pieces, clip earrings and other spare pieces to create the necklaces.  It's soooo much fun to see how treasures fit together.  Like they were meant to be.

I know that I'll be looking for pieces to create more jewelry as I go through my pathtojunkentreasure.  I would like to make rings next.  Keep checking back......

Today I went through my thread collection.  When I collect, I collect.  I can't stop at just 1 or 2.  It's usually way overboard since if I like something, I really like it.  Until my tastes change.  Anyway, I have over 150 vintage wooden spools of thread that I'm going to put on Ebay.  They are beautiful colors in cotton and silk.  They would be great displayed in a glass jar.  I know that someone else would love those. 

Creating.........Jewelry

With my Christmas shopping and decorating complete, I wanted to start on some projects that have been sitting for a while.  I really want to start making vintage inspired jewelry and have been saving treasures to do that.

So, yesterday I sat down to try my hand at creating.  I made 3 bracelets and am so excited with the results.  I am tempted to resume my Etsy store in 2014.  I used vintage screw back and clip earrings, charms and necklace pieces to design these bracelets.  They lay nicely on my wrist and wear well.  I am hoping to try my ideas on necklaces soon.

I placed them on a seashell mirror frame that I'm using as a tray.  I found the mirror last week at the Ridgefield Antique shops in Ridgefield for $12 (near Crystal Lake) while looking for Christmas ornaments.  I can't pass up seashell anything no matter the time of year.  The bracelets look really nice laying on the mirror for these pictures. 

I'm also going to start making pillows again for different seasons.  I love to change out the pillows.  It can change the whole look of the room.  JoAnn Fabrics is having a big sale so I'll stock up on zippers and thread.  I'll keep you posted......

Christmas Gifts

The kids and I spent a wonderful day with my Cousin Barb in Deerfield.  We always go out for a special lunch before opening presents.  This year, we went to Cheesecake Factory.  I always wanted to go there.  I have to say that the Adam's Peanut Butter cheesecake ripple was fabulous.  I love peanut butter and it was peanut butter paradise.  Austin got the Smore's cheesecake, Ethan got the Hershey's Chocolate Bar cheesecake and Barb got the Chocolate Raspberry cheesecake.  We sampled each other's just to make sure we weren't missing anything. 

Barb gave us some wonderful gifts, but I wanted to show you 2 in particular.  One is a metal cuff bracelet that is made out of vintage license plates.  It has New Jersey on it.  The picture doesn't do it justice since I couldn't fit in the words.  It is too cute.  The second gift is a collection of elf ornaments and figures.  I love elf figures.  These are great!  I already added them to my shelf display.

Here is something to look forward to:  A Vintage Market on April 25-26 in Rockford.  They are on Facebook.  I have gone to one of their sales when it was in a house.  Now they are having the sale in a farm field.  There are so many great vintage treasures and hand made items that there is definitely something there for everyone.

Proven Winners is having their gardening event on February 1 at Boerner Botanical Garden in Hales Corner Wisconsin.  It is a fun event but a little pricey.  Tickets are $70 per person.  You do get lunch and a bag of stuff.  Check it out at:  www.provenwinners.com

Estate Sale Treasure Hunting

I did stop at the Caring Transitions estate sale in Crystal Lake today.  I only had to wait outside in the cold for about 30 minutes.  The rooms were so tiny but there were some nice treasures.  I bought a wonderful vintage wire bell shaped mistletoe holder that had vintage ball ornaments around the bottom and dried mistletoe still inside.  I loved it!  I don't have anything like it.  For now, I have it sitting on top of some vintage ornaments.  It does look nice there.

Since I was in the treasure hunting mode, I stopped at Savers in Crystal Lake.  I hadn't been there in awhile.  They had lots of Christmas items but not much else on the shelves.  I did find a milk glass grape pattern bowl by Westmoreland for $5. 

Marshall's in Crystal Lake will be closing its doors the middle of January.  I'm going to make it a point to stop there to see what treasures I can find.  I really like that store.  There doesn't seem to be another one that close by.  I'm sad to see it go.

Vintage Treasure Hunting

Every Christmas, I make sure that I visit the Colonial Antique Mall on Lake Street in Woodstock.  I am bound to find some great Christmas treasures there.

Yesterday was my day.  Not only did I find some treasures, but I saw a few friends.  What a delightful few hours I spent there.  I like the different booths and the eclectic collection in each one.  I found a great gold glitter Santa (still in his original package for $5), 2 tinsel hanging sticks (still in their original packages for $2 each), a great gold bell chain for $4.50 that I'm using on my fireplace mantle to give it something more and another item to put in Caldwell's stocking.  I can't tell you what it is or show a picture of it because he and a co-worker Dan sometimes read this and I don't want to give it away.  The kids and I think that it will make a wonderful stocking stuffer.

Tomorrow is an estate sale by Caring Transitions in Lakewood.  The descriptions sound really good.  Maybe I'll see you there!

Christmas Tree

We got our Christmas tree on Saturday at Menards.  We have been going to Menards every year to get our tree.  (The price is right there and the selection is pretty good).  They still had some nice trees left.  This one wasn't shedding many needles and it is still drinking plenty of water.  All good signs.

While the kids and hubby were watching Men In Black 3, I decorated the tree.  I don't like stringing the lights so Caldwell helped this year.  I do love, though, hanging the ornaments.  I was selective this year and didn't put up every ornament that we have.  I only bought 1 new ornament this year.  It is a blue ball with Santa and his sleigh on it,  I bought it at Seasons by Peg on the Woodstock Square.  It is a lovely ornament.  The tree has a crafty, country, glitz look to it.  I hang ornaments that I love, not for a theme but for the mood I'm going for.  I just love to sit and be around the tree when it's all lit up.  The boys thought the tree looked "beautiful".  I couldn't agree more.

Dragonfly Dress

I got to wear my vintage designer dragonfly dress to the Master Gardener Recognition banquet (aka Holiday Party)on Friday.  I got this wool dress at my friend Kendall's garage sale this summer.  She had bought it at an estate sale.  At $4, it was a treasure.  It fits me perfectly.  I love that it is wool, but I especially love the silver glitz of the dragonflies on it. 

Cookies for Santa

This plastic vintage cookie jar gives new meaning to cookies for Santa.  Isn't it adorable?  I fell in love with it instantly at the holiday open house at Carriage House Antiques in Crystal Lake last night.
Austin and I stopped by (he enjoyed eating their summer sausage and drinking hot chocolate) to see what treasures we would find.  I spied Santa on a shelf and grabbed him quickly.  I also found some vintage ornaments.  They had lots of ornaments.  It was fun to see how many of those ornaments I already have at home.  (Sooooo many more than I thought I had)

Today through Sunday Kimball and Bean in Woodstock are having their holiday open house.  My friend Cecilia will be there with some of her creations.  It sound like lots of fun.  Kimball and Bean have great architectural and garden pieces and so much more.

I'm hoping to get to the Antique Mall on Lake Street in Woodstock before Christmas. I always find wonderful Christmas items there.  Now is the time to hunt for those holiday items.

Look What I Found!

Just as I am preparing for winter and Christmas, I stop at a Caring Transitions estate sale in Woodstock and found a wonderful shabby white iron planter for $20.  I couldn't pass it up.  I was already planning ahead for spring and what I would do with it and where I would put it.

You just have to grab that item when you see it or it will be gone.  I loved the patina and the scrolls on it.  I was surprised that it was still there.  Lucky for me!  That's why I love to treasure hunt.

Carriage House Antiques and "Good Stuff" 21 E. Crystal Lake Ave in Crystal Lake is having their holiday open house starting on Thursday Dec 5 from 3-8 and then Friday-Sunday.  I love going to their open house.  Always so much to see and to buy.  There is always a good assortment of ornaments.  I'm looking forward to this. Plus there are refreshments, a raffle and door prizes. 

It's Christmastime.....

I always usher in Christmas the day after Thanksgiving.  Christmas is my favorite holiday.  After clearing away the dishes and food from Thanksgiving, we headed out for Black Friday specials.  We sometimes go out early Black Friday morning, but this was the first time we headed out on Thanksgiving.  I wanted to get some good deals at Kohl's and I did.  Some really nice sweaters  from $9.99 to $15.99.  I also had a $5 off coupon plus 15% off.  The savings were worth the trip.  Kohl's also gave out Kohl's cash to be used the first week of December.

So, I spent about 5 hours on Friday creating my winter wonderland.  I love putting up my 3 vintage tinsel trees and looking through my vintage ornament collection.  I forget how many wonderful ones I have.  This year though, I put up less then usual.  (Which is still a lot).  All the while listening to Christmas music.  Tonight, we will stand in the cold on the Woodstock square like we do every year, to watch the lighting of the square.  It is really magical. 

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with those you hold dear and may you usher in the Christmas season with health and happiness.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a happy healthy Thanksgiving. 

I have a lot to be thankful for.  We lost power for 2 days this week and with no power is no heat and no water.  It's not fun....very stressful.  But, it could have been much worse.   I'm thankful for all that I have. 

I have been thinking about my Baba (Grandmother) lately.  She passed away 9 years ago.  I grew up with her around all of the time.  She made the same cookies all of the time, but we loved them.  I only make them around the holidays.  I have been wanting her sugar cookies for some time now.  The last time I tried to make them, they were missing something.  So, today, I tried again.  I use the same type of cookie tins that she did.  They came out perfectly.  Even if I say so myself.  Just taking a bite brought me back to my days with Baba.  The memories are precious.  At least I gave my family a taste of what I grew up with.  I have shared my memories of her with them and they feel very close to her.  I'm thankful to have had her in my life. 

I hope all of you have wonderful memories of loved ones this Thanksgiving. 

Felted Knit Purse

I finally had some free time to finish a felted knit purse that I started a few months ago.  It turned out really nicely.  I used a multi colored yarn on the top portion for some color.  After looking through my pin collection, I find a really nice one that blends in perfectly.  It felted nicely.  I always love the finished look of the purses.  The felting is always unique and the shape always varies.  This one came out just right.

After having the boys Christmas picture taken today, (at Portrait Innovations in Algonquin.  We had a coupon for a holiday special of 56 portraits for $12.99 plus a free coffee mug.)  we headed across the parking lot to Half Price Books to sell them 3 boxes of books.  We got $25 for them and ended up giving it back to them with purchases we made.  I have another few boxes to take after I see what doesn't sell on Ebay.  Ethan and I cleaned out his bookshelves this week and I am selling his collection of Star Wars books on Ebay.  His room looks much neater and now he has room to buy new books.  We love Half Price Books. The problem is that we always find something to spend our money on.

Vintage Santa Fun

I love Christmas!  I especially love vintage Christmas treasures.  Every year, the day after Thanksgiving is spent decorating for Christmas.  I just love rediscovering my treasures as I unpack them.

Today, Ethan and I spent the day going to doctor/dentist appointments.  Since we were in Lake Zurich, I thought why not stop at the Goodwill.  We haven't been there in a while.  It has changed so much since we were there in the summer.  It's a little more chaotic and messy, but, isn't that the thrill of treasure hunting?  While looking through the Christmas decorations, I spotted two Santa's that I don't have in my collection.  One is a red plastic Santa that held candy.  Since it had an orange sticker on it, it was half off.  So, it cost 25 cents.  The other is a black Santa.  I haven't been able to find one in my treasure hunting.  He was 99 cents.  I was so excited.  I had to glue some of his fur back on, but he looks great.  He is going to stay a part of my collection.  I just love it!

Mistletoe Magic

Mistletoe Magic was so much fun at Grace Lutheran Church in Woodstock yesterday.  I found soooo many wonderful sterling silver rings, a necklace and bracelets, a few vintage pins and 2 wonderful knitted hats.  Of course, one was for me and the other one is for a gift.   Not to mention that the kids and I bought a lot of cookies.  We started out with 2 lbs of cookies.  Before we left, we ate a few in the car and knew that we needed to go back inside to buy 1 lb more of our favorite ones.  So, we did.  We also bought a tin of brownies and chocolate chip cookie bars.  Yum!  We saw so many of our friends at the sale.  It was a nice festive atmosphere to catch up with friends.  I look forward to this sale every year.  It is held on the first Saturday of November.

We did get to the Algonquin Library book sale on Friday night.  We managed to fill up a huge bag of books, dvd's and video games.  The next sale is March 13-16, 2014. 

I will be updating  my pages with 2014 sale dates so keep checking back for dates to add to your calendar.

Bookshelf Clean Up

I was tired of looking at the chaos in Austin's bookshelf.  He had books and stuff everywhere.  It was time to tackle the cleanup.  I wish I had taken a before picture.  We took out books that he was done with and will take them to Half Price Books to make some money.  Some of the books we put in a "keep forever" box.  Those were books he loved and couldn't part with.  I only have about a dozen of those "keep forever" boxes in my basement.  On Friday, we will be adding to his bookshelf since we are going to the Algonquin Library book sale.

2 Rummage Sales in One Day!

2 rummage sales in one day is heaven.  I am so glad that I was off from subbing.  Sometimes things just work out perfectly.  Austin was off from school also, so he joined me in treasure hunting.  We spent the morning at the 1st Congregational Church on Pierson Street in Crystal Lake.  Austin found some Pokémon cards and Transformer toys.  I found a flag pattern milk glass plate for $2.50,  bags of fabric pieces from 50 cents to $1 each, a vintage pin for 50 cents and vintage earrings for 50 cents. 

The Methodist Church on Crystal Lake Avenue in Crystal Lake had their rummage sale starting at 5pm, so Ethan and Austin both went with me.  We did find some video games and Pokémon cards so the boys were happy.  I found a beautiful milk glass pedestal bowl for $6, vintage pins for $1-2 each and a vintage scarf for $2.  The scarf is really unique. I loved it at first sight.

It was fun seeing our rummage sale friends twice in one day.  Since the season is winding down for rummage sales, we won't see them until the spring when the sales start up again.

This weekend is the Christmas craft fair at Crystal Lake South High School in Crystal Lake.  It always has such nice items.  Friday Nov 1 is the Algonquin Library book sale starting at 4pm.  (You can go on Thursday but have to pay an entry fee).  This is a really good book sale.  Plus you get cookies and something to drink afterwards.  Nov 2, Saturday, is Mistletoe Magic at Grace Lutheran Church in Woodstock.  This is my ultimate favorite sale.  There are wonderful craft items plus vintage jewelry and trinkets.  The best part is that you can buy cookies by the pound that the members make.  We love that part!