A tisket. A tasket. A stair step basket.

Confession: I have wanted a stair step basket since seeing one in my high school sweetheart's house back in 1996/97. What makes me laugh most about this, is my sweetheart's house only had like 5 steps, but his Mom still had one of these baskets and I *LOVED* it.

Fast forward to this past weekend when Jen and I were touring the Raleigh flea market. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, and then I saaaaw her staaaanndding theeerree. Sorry, I love the Beatles. On a table full on random stuff, there was my stair basket. It was kind of like love -- it came to me when I was not looking for it. Here's a before shot (well, after I cleaned it up a bit).


As lovely as it was in its natural state, I wanted to give it a little punch. I grabbed an old scarf, some card stock, and an old mini Japanese print calendar. And, TAA DAA ...

Happy creating my friends ....

PS -- While admiring my new basket, I looked up to see Maple-girl carefully watching over me. She seemed generally pleased with the basket. And, we called a truce -- she promised not to eat it. However, she could not vouch for Franklin gnawing on the basket. Keep your fingers crossed!

Weekend Warriors.

My dear friend, Jen and I decided to check out the local flea market this weekend. It took about 2 minutes for us to realize how freaking cold it really was out there (33 degrees -- this is wicked cold in NC), particularly when the wind decided to put on a little show for us. BRR baby BRRR!! Somehow we managed to brave the cold for some good girl-talk and decent rummaging.

Some of my favorite finds were these random boxes of mannequin body parts. We struggled with thinking about creative ways to use these pieces ... aside from sticking them in the ground in your garden. This is exactly why I love Jen so much -- we enjoy a little dark humor!

I wanted to take home ALL of these vintage clocks, but just could not justify droppin' all that coin for "art" since none of them actually worked. Jen really wanted to take home this little hippo guy, but he was a tad on the pricey side. He was so cute. He looked so sad. It's probably because he was so cold!

We found ourselves swept away to a Moroccan hideaway. This guy the most *amazing* rugs for sale ... and at some seriously good prices. However, there is a strict moratorium on rug and lamp purchasing at the Elmore Ranch. So, I admired, took pictures, and walked away with a heavy heart.

We also stumbled upon a box of great vintage letters from advertising signs. I searched desperately for an "E" ... but walked away empty-handed. Oh well.

Jen fell in LOVE with this one vendor who sells Asian inspired furniture. We "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed over a couple of pieces that she could use in her bedroom. She was sold on one particularly piece, but the spirit of my Mother summoned me to suggest another piece that was a bit more functional, but just as beautiful. After making this suggestion, I shuddered quietly thinking about all the ways I am becoming more and more like my Mom. HA!

Finally, we decided that we needed the reprieve of some HEAT, and headed to a few local thrift stores in the area. We had a FANTASTIC time! How could good friends, thrifty finds, and mild frostbite not equal good times??

Stay tuned for another posting showing how I crafted-up my little stair basket I picked up on our excursion. I am super pleased with how it turned out!

Keep on keeping on ...

Working and Thrifiting; It's called SYNERGY, y'all.

My new job sometimes provides me with an hour or so between appointments. Most of the time, I am waaaaay out in BFE, so what's a girl to do but find some small-town thrift stores? I stopped in one "thrift store" and wrestled my way through racks of stinky clothing and tables piled high with crap (the broken dishes actually had food still stuck to them). I left heartbroken that such a place could actually consider itself a thrift store.

Luckily, I have managed to find some lovely goodies recently, so I wanted to update and share ...

One of my favorite finds is this Bingo set. I remember reading about VRS finding her Bingo set at an estate sale. Mine is not as vast or as vintage as hers, but it was still such a thrill to open an inconspicuous box and find this little prize. Why are Bingo cages so freaking cool? I don't know, but they certainly are.

I also found my new quest in life. I stumbled upon these dishes and I fell in love ... hard. I love the design on these dishes more than anything I've ever seen before. I rummaged the shelves of that Goodwill like no body's business, but only found four dishes -- two dinner plates and two bread plates. It any of you find these dishes during your thrifting adventures, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE alert me ASAP. I will pay you to snatch them up for me and ship them my way!

I also found a sweet little table cloth covered in strawberries. For some reason, strawberries always remind me of my childhood. Perhaps it is because I spent so much time huffing sniffing my Strawberry Shortcake doll. Oh, and here's a little wooden serving tray with a gorgeous glass topper. The glass is what drew me to this piece -- it's thick and smokey. I have never seen glass like this paired with a wooden serving piece. Neato.

All righto, that's all for now. I hope everyone is enjoying the new year. What an exciting one it has been so far! Happy creating to each of you ...

Dear Last-Reader-Standing,

I can't believe it's been almost TWO months since I last posted. The holidays hijacked my life this year. Normally, I really enjoy this time ... feeling like the Yankee Candle "Home Sweet Home." This year was less warm-cinnamon-and-mulling-spices and more like the-tree-is-falling-over-the-turkey-is-dry-leave-the-eggnog-gimme-the-bourbon-straight. No seriously though, I am soooo glad the holiday season is over and done with.

I have started a new job this year, and I am super excited. With that, I needed to create a home office for me, since I see kids and their families out in the community. Since cash is tight, I set out to re-purpose, re-design, re-decorate and make myself a new space. I only bought one new piece for this room -- the filing cabinet (and that was of course from a local thrift store).

I *wish* that I had taken a "before" of this room, but alas, I did not. So, I'll just give ya the money shot(s) ...



So, now my craft room is my home office. I am slightly sad about having to fuse my creative space with my work space, but in the end I think it turned out nicely. And unfortunately, I think for the next few months (until I really get a handle on all my new responsibilities), I'll probably be more work-y and less creative-y.

I am stinkin' JONESIN' for some thrift store/flea market action. The last two trips I took were completely business-like. I was looking for something specific and was not allowed to browse until my heart was content. Boo hoo.

All right, it's way too late and I need to get off to bed. Thanks for hanging in there with me. And I'll thank you in advance for hanging with me for the next bit of time, as I get accustomed to the new job.

Happy creating my friends ...