"Signs" of Spring

Not only are my tulips and crocus popping up, but so are the sales.

My friend Cecilia and I went on a road trip and discovered Waterford Unique Antique Market at 209 N. Milwaukee St in Waterford Wisconsin.  It was such a fun place and we found loads of treasures. One space that we both loved was Bailey's Blissful Scentsations.  She makes the most wonderful soaps from goats milk.  Each bar has a scalloped edge.  We couldn't resist buying a few bars.  One of her soap displays was a vintage bathroom sink holding the men's bars of soaps.  It was really fabulous!  We especially loved the truck inside the old True Value store.

I lucked out recently when I found a barn sale.  My van was filled in every space available.  I bought some of the most amazing farm items.  I kept a few things (of course) and am putting the rest, little by little, into the Carriage House.  I only find a sale this great a few times a year.  How wonderful that it was so early in the season.

In between all of this treasure hunting, I wanted to create small Easter gifts.  I used terracotta pots and hot glued vintage trim to each of them.  I shredded a French dictionary to use for the filling and added rabbit and chick figurines and some eggs.  For the greeting, I used vintage Easter greeting cards and attached them to wooden sticks.  I think they are pretty cute.

I came across this red truck at the Waterford Unique Antique Market and had to have it.  For now, it's holding one of the Easter pots.  It was too great of a treasure to pass up.

Wishing all of you a wonderful Easter!  May it be blessed with family and friends.

Happy treasure hunting!  Start looking for those sales....

Thinking of Spring

We missed the heavy snow that fell in the Chicagoland area yesterday.  I was so happy.  I do love the snow, but at this time of year, especially when we had a warm weekend, I can't wait for spring.  It doesn't help the feeling since I spent some time outside, without a coat, cleaning up the yard of Christmas decorations.  Things were finally thawing out.

Inside was beginning to feel like spring too.  Away went the hearts and out came the Easter decorations.

I rarely find vintage Easter decorations, so when I do, I keep them for my collection.

My mother always makes stuffed cabbage (the best by the way).  So one year, I bought my brothers and her a pottery cabbage bowl.  Some were plain on top, one had some vegetables and a few had a rabbit.  I put mine out every year for Easter.

While shopping at Aldi, I couldn't pass up flowers for $1.50.  The house looks so much brighter with flowers on the kitchen table.

I have been changing them around with this assortment that was a birthday present from my friend Christine.

Since spring means that flea markets/rummage sales/garage sales will be starting soon, my friend Mary gave me a very thoughtful gift.  She filled a mason jar (that has a chalkboard space on it to write on) with items I will need when treasure hunting.  There was a flashlight, tape measure, hand sanitizer, coin purse with a dollar and a penny in it, a small bungee like cord, arrow sticky paper pads, black sharpee and of course, jolly rancher hard candy for sugar energy.  She had it in a great bag with french inspired tissue paper.  I'm going to try to decoupage the paper onto some vintage clip boards.

Which now brings me to the Vintage Shop Hop.  There are now over 270 shops in Illinois and Wisconsin that are participating on March 4-5.  It is sure to be a good day.  I will be at the Carriage House on Saturday March 5 for the Shop Hop.  Stop by to say hi. https://www.facebook.com/VintageShopHopEvent/

Another date you might want to write down is for Gardenfest at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake on April 9.  Every year the University of Illinois Extension McHenry County Master Gardeners hold a full day of gardening classes for beginners to advanced.  This year's keynote is: Kerry Ann Mendez. Registrations is now open. http://www.mchenry.edu/gardenfest/

On May 14 is the Proven Winners event at the Chicago Botanic Garden with P. Allen Smith.  He is an amazing speaker whom I have had the pleasure of seeing before.  I can't wait for this event. https://www.provenwinners.com/Outdoor-Living-Extravaganza-2016

I noticed that a few of my crocus are peaking through the soil.  Spring is definitely on the way!  Keep looking for those sales to find treasures to fill your garden.

Happy treasure hunting!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you.  I hope your day is filled with love and beauty.

I recently made these hearts with vintage trim and small doilies that I have collected over the years. I have an obsession with vintage trim.  I can't pass it up even if its only a tiny piece.  There is always a use for it.

This one made use of a vintage corsage that I just couldn't pass up.

Here are all of the hearts together:

I displayed them on a great silverplated tray that I found for $5 at a garage sale.

My 2016 Favorite Flea Markets page is updated with all of the current dates and websites.  Make sure to put these dates on your calendar.  It will give you something to look forward to, especially since tomorrow is supposed to be brutally cold here in Illinois.

Happy treasure hunting!

Hearts and Wishes

Yesterday was an emotional but fun day for me.  I turned 50.  I know that the number shouldn't matter but for the past 6 months I have been re-examining my life and remembering some childhood experiences and I just can't believe how fast time flies.  (Made even worse by Ethan turning 18 on Saturday). Today, I'm fine.  I thought too much and felt too much.  I have a lot to be thankful for and that's what I should focus on.

My good friend Cecilia spent the day with me treasure hunting.  We always have so much fun together and she made me enjoy my day for what it was.  We went to one of my favorite stores in DeKalb called, My Favorite Things.  It was her first time there and she loved it!  Last time I was there I bought a small heart sewn from vintage quilt pieces so there were some tattered places on it which added to the charm.  This time I found 2 more but slightly larger.

These had even more tattered places on them to add to their charm.

I also found a wonderful green rusted and chipped iron plant stand.  I have sold a few that I had displayed in my sun room and now have it down to three with this one included.  It is fabulous!  

Notice the snow outside of the door?  The sunroom is not insulated so I don't spend much time out there right now.  I have been slowly going through my planter collection and as soon as it warms up, I will be able to find a home for this stand in the sunroom.  For now it looks great on its own.  Like a giant flower.

Happy treasure hunting!

Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake

While I was getting my car tire repaired, I took advantage of the free WI-FI and looked up ideas on Pinterest.  I came across a recipe for Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake from Taste of Home and since I had frozen blueberries I thought I would try it.

It was easy to make (one of my baking requirements) and most importantly, it is delicious!  The recipe is on my Baking section on Pinterest if you are interested.

Since I decorate extensively for Christmas, I keep my decorations for Valentine's Day at a minimum. I like treasures with pinkish flowers and lately I have started a new collection obsession with small floral pitchers.

Make sure to check out the Vintage Shop Hop (https://www.facebook.com/VintageShopHopEvent)
March 4-5 where at least 250 shops in Illinois and Wisconsin are participating.  Each stop has their own specials and lots of treasures.  Carriage House Antiques is on the list!  It's such a fun way to have a day of just vintage shopping.  Obviously you can't get to each shop, but its nice to find out about other shops for a future trip.  We had people coming in throughout the year that had found out about us from this event.

Happy treasure hunting!

Barkcloth Pillow

Finally on Monday, I stopped by Material Girl in downtown Crystal Lake to get the wonder tape that I needed to complete the pillow I had been wanting to make for some time now.  (The downtown area in Crystal Lake will be having their "Slidewalk" sales this Thursday through Saturday.)  The Material Girl has beautiful fabric to choose from and there will be some fabric on sale.

I had found a small piece of barkcloth fabric this summer at a garage sale.  It was the perfect size to make a pillow. Recently while cleaning out my linen closet, I came across a variety of trim that I had forgotten about.  One of them was a rose colored tassel trim.  It blended perfectly with the flowers on the barkcloth.  I love the big bold print of the flowers.  It is so vivid.

I stopped at Shy Violet, an antique store in Burlington WI today.  It is in the downtown area.  There is also a nice clothing consignment store that was having big sales a few doors away.  Shy Violet has 3 floors and it was fun to look through.  I also like to compare prices with what I sell to make sure I'm on target or sometimes a little lower.  (Shhhh.  My secret).

Shy Violet was on my bucket list of places to visit as is Lucky Junk in Arlington Heights.  Lucky Junk is open this weekend (starting tomorrow) so hopefully I will finally make it there.  I do enjoy the downtime from all of the sales that I go to so that I can visit local businesses that I don't always have time to get to.  I'm trying to get in as many places as I can.

Happy treasure hunting!

Finishing Projects

Since this weekend was extremely cold (again), I decided to finish some small projects that have been on my to do list.  While spring cleaning, I was going to throw out a dried flower bouquet when I remembered that I had a white/black enamel handled cup that would be perfect for a floral arrangement.  I used some floral foam to hold the arrangement, but didn't glue it down.  I didn't want to ruin the cup so that it could be used many more times.

I put the arrangement away for now since the flowers were more for the fall.  I am very pleased how well it turned out.   All because I didn't get rid of that enamel cup!

The second project that got finished today was in Ethan's bedroom.  He has a large turtle collection and it was getting really dusty.  I had a wonderful soda crate from Paterson New Jersey that I couldn't part with, so Caldwell hung it up for me.  I didn't want to put any holes in it since there were already open slats in the crate.  He used large washers with the screws to hold the crate in place. I rearranged the turtle collection and cleaned it up.  It was hard to believe that many turtles fit on his shelf.  Ethan wasn't sure at first that he would like it, but after he saw the finished project, he was pleased.  My spring cleaning in his room is now complete!

Notice the 3 framed aluminum pieces on his shelves? He made those when we visited the Wendell August Forge aluminum foundry in Grove City PA.  We had visited the original foundry many times before a fire burned down the building.  They have since rebuilt in a different location in Grove City. You could pound whatever design you chose from their selections onto a piece of aluminum to get an understanding of the process that goes into making a piece of hammered aluminum.  I love hammered aluminum (where at one time I had over 300 pieces) so it was always fun to visit them.  Sometimes we got to watch an artisan at work.  They had a museum of their older designs where one of the pieces on display was a covered box that I had sold on Ebay. I didn't know it was for them until I visited their museum and saw it there.  I don't know if they have a museum in their new place since I haven't had a chance to visit it.  They are still making pieces today and the new location also has a showroom where you can purchase their items.

I was just about to start a pillow project when I realized that I was out of wonder tape.  Too late and too cold to go out to buy more so I'll have to start that project tomorrow.

Have a wonderful week! Hope you find some treasures.

Extra Touches

I love Christmastime, but look forward to putting away the decorations for a less crowded house. Since Valentines Day is coming up, I put up my vintage Valentine treasures.

The adorable girl planter I found at a garage sale last year.  The red felt hearts I made a few years ago and attached vintage findings to them.  There is a ribbon on them for hanging, but sometimes I just prefer to rest them on a tray.

I am just about finished spring cleaning my house. Ethan loves paint by numbers, especially religious ones.  I have an idea for using a crate as a shelf for his turtle collection.  I'll be working on that soon.

A few years ago, Austin wrote to Weird Al Yankovic (his favorite) and received a signed picture of him.  He was soooo excited and of course wanted to display it.  I had a wire bicycle basket (I love wire baskets) and used that as a container on his wall to hold a few things.  There is even a frog climbing on it.  I love the look on his wall.

I haven't changed these items around in a few years since we are all happy with how they turned out. Decor has been changed around them, but the boys like how their rooms look as is. At least I can get into their rooms to give them a good spring cleaning.

I'm hoping to be finished spring cleaning completely by Friday so that I can visit some sales/thrift stores.  I deserve it!

Happy treasure hunting!

Still More Organizing

I took advantage of the cold weather to continue organizing and cleaning out.  My goal was to go through my linen closet.  I finished it quicker than I thought I would.  Here is how it started out:

I couldn't fit anything into it.  The top shelf held my fabric collection.  Piece by piece I went through it and discarded a lot.  I tried not to put too much thought into it or I knew that I would keep most of it.  To my surprise, once I started putting pieces on the "do not want" pile, it got easier.

I had gone through the tablecloths in the past, so I didn't need to spend too much time on them.  I did pull out a few embroidered tablecloths that I didn't want.   I also went through all of my yarn and put knitting/crochet needles and purse handles into the "do not want" pile.  There is so much more room now for future treasure hunts!

We spent the afternoon in Lake Geneva WI when the snow began to fall.  It is beautiful there anytime of the year, but especially sitting in Starbucks by the fireplace with the snow coming down.  It made for a wonderful afternoon.

Since the temperature forecast this week is expected to be in the teens, I'll start my spring cleaning really early.  Wishful thinking on my part.

Stay safe and warm during these snowy days.

Happy New Year!

Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year!  I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday.  I did even though it went much too quickly.  Much more quickly this year (I thought) then in the past.  I guess that happens as you get older.

I still have my Christmas decorations up.  (Except for the tree which was too dry to keep up any longer).  I celebrate Serbian Orthodox Christmas on January 7th so I usually keep the decorations up until after that.

Then, the cleaning begins.  I am going to tackle an early spring cleaning to get ahead of myself. Especially since the weather forecast is for extreme cold next week.  A perfect time for me to stay inside and do some work.

I spent 4 1/2 hours redesigning my space at Carriage House Antiques yesterday.  I took out all of the Christmas treasures and put in lots of white.  The January issue of Country Living spotlights milk glass.  I recently went through my milk glass collection and took out the duplicate pieces and ones that I didn't want anymore.  I added them to my space yesterday.

There's also some pieces on the side shelves.

I definitely like how the space is much more open now.  It seems brighter and easy to look through. Here's a picture from another angle.

I'm looking forward to doing some thrift store shopping today.  I didn't get to do that much while the holidays were here.  I did get to an estate sale on Saturday and found quite a bit of vintage embroidered Christmas linens.  I was thrilled!

Happy treasure hunting!

Organizing and Cleaning Out

At this time of year after I'm finished shopping for gifts, I like to get my house organized.  I started cleaning out the file cabinet in my basement and organizing past paperwork.  I am usually very organized but things started to slip away from me a little.  It felt really good to get back to being organized.

I usually start going through my closets for items to donate (and sell to Clothes Mentor in Algonquin/Lake in the Hills) and then I work on the rest of the house. It feels really good when the clutter is gone.  (I will start working with the boys on their rooms over the holiday break from school).

During the summer, I found a wonderful cherub lamp that needed to be rewired.  I put it away for a future project.  (I have one more lamp that I need to work on soon).  I had been saving a shade that I had from another lamp that I thought would work well with it.  And it does!  I finally rewired it and I'm so happy with how it looks in my bedroom.  I needed something more.  I was tired of the lamp that I had been using since my childhood.  This cherub lamp works well with what I had in mind.

The basement will be on my list next to reorganize.  I will bring in the new year organized and happier with less clutter.  With more time to craft and hunt for junkentreasure!

Vintage Christmas Decorating

The snow is falling today in Woodstock.  We are not supposed to get much accumulation.  I love the snow (when I'm watching it from home).

I didn't put out as much vintage Christmas decorations this year as I had in the past.  I chose the treasures that I hadn't set out for a while as well as ones that I found this year.

A few of the bottle brush trees were found this year.  The pink one was a gift from my friend Cecilia. It is on an oil can with rhinestones around the base.  She had it wrapped with the most beautiful ribbons.

My three small aluminum trees come out every year.  Each has a different theme.  All Santa:

Round/shiny ornaments:

Vintage figure ornaments:

This wind up musical Santa is a favorite flea market find from last year.

We put up our Christmas tree (a real one that we usually get at Menards) early this year.  We had time on Sunday so we decided to decorate it so we could enjoy doing it.  My friend Mary, who also likes to knit, gave me this wonderful felted ornament that she purchased at the Woodstock Farmers Market.

My tree is usually decorated with an assortment of ornaments.  No theme really.  The ornaments were found on travels, memories of the kids activities or ones that I just really loved.  The tree is always full and we have fun talking about them as we put them up.  Each year different ones go up depending on which ones we like at that moment.

Enjoy this wonderful season of decorating with treasures that you love!

Bargain Holiday Decorating

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I usually host Thanksgiving, but as soon as the company leaves, I'm taking down the decorations and getting ready for Christmas.  I really love Christmas and all that goes along with it.  I didn't put out as many decorations as I used to, but it was fun to look at all of the vintage Christmas treasures that I have.  It always amazes me what I have found over the years (and what someone was willing to part with.  I guess that's why, "One man's trash is another man's treasure.")

This year I found some really inexpensive fake trees, garland and wreaths at the thrift stores that I frequent.  I really like the plastic holly anything, especially for outside.  It looks nice, but withstands the harsh weather.

The wreath on my garage only cost me $6!  It shows up well against the color of the garage.

I try to put something decorative over the well cover so that area of the yard doesn't look so bad. I just wrapped that plastic holly garland around an ice cream parlor chair and stuck a fake tree in the mix.  This cost me $3.

On my front porch, I keep a black iron bistro table and chairs with a decorative iron stand on top of it which I decorate seasonally.  I used a plastic wreath and stuck a fake tree that was decorated with fruit inside the wreath.  This cost me $2.

It doesn't have to cost a lot to decorate.  Since these are outside, I don't feel bad if they get ruined by the weather since I don't have that much money invested in them.  I usually can use these things for something else, even if I break them up and use them in a different decoration.

On Friday evening, the Woodstock square had it's lighting ceremony.  This year we took along Austin's friend David.  He had never seen it before.  He was delighted, as we were.  Getting in the holiday spirit gets an early start.  (And it's for free. Another bargain!)  The Opera House has trees decorated by various organizations and there is always a line to get in to see them.  The display is also open for the rest of the holiday season.

Have fun getting ready for the holidays.  Take some time to hunt for that treasure!  Many stores are having holiday open houses and are stocked with that one of a kind item.  Enjoy!

Snow, Snow, Snow

Wow did it snow!  Unbelievable for the first snowfall of the season.  I'm guessing well over 12 inches in my yard.  The boys and I thought we had enough time to get home from Peoria yesterday (since the snow was forecast to start around 9pm).  Boy was I in for a surprise when I hit Rockford,  It was horrible. The snow had started before 6pm.  How can something so beautiful be so dangerous in the dark?  We made it home safely, but I was way too stressed after that.

This morning, it was beautiful with the trees covered in snow.  I love the snow when I'm home safe and can enjoy it.  It was a good day to stay home and get things done.

The Holiday Open House at Carriage House Antiques is this weekend.  I worked on Thursday and it was soooo crowded.  It was so much fun to see the happiness on everyone's face when they found a vintage Christmas treasure.  Tomorrow the store is open from 12-3.

I can't wait to decorate my house for Christmas.  I love vintage Christmas treasures and just love to open the boxes where the ornaments are stored.  Every year is like finding something new!

A few sales are still popping up.  Happy treasure hunting!