I Sure Have Enough Vases for This.

This is such a simple idea, and could make a ho-hum centerpiece into an awesome one — on the cheap.

From Martha Stewart (who else?):

Mmmmmm.

I love everything about this picture. The benches as shelves, the color in the background, the delicious collection of hobnail milk glass.

From O at Home:

See that ruffled vase on the top shelf? The big one? I had that at the Bazaar, and it didn’t sell. It was only marked $16! What gives?? After reminding myself of this photo, I think I’m going to have to keep it.

Fun with Wallpaper Samples.

Oprah Magazine has featured this idea twice now (I’m pretty sure that both of these pages are from separate issues):

Using wall paper sample books as a patchwork wall. I LOVE this look and think it would be cute in the nursery, but where do you find wallpaper sample books with such cool wallpapers in them? Do you just walk in and ask a wallpaper store if they have some they’re getting rid of?

Plus, how do you affix them to the wall? Do you have to, basically, wallpaper with them, or could you rig them with something that would be easier? I can see it ending up being a hot mess, with curling edges and falling squares. But so cute!

The Aftermath.

Sorry I haven’t written in a few days — I think I’m still in recovery mode, as pathetic as that sounds. I went back to work for three days last week, and I am ashamed to say that that kind of did me in. Seeing as how I start back officially on Wednesday, I guess I’d better adjust ASAP. I will miss waking up at 9 am and going to Dunkin’ Donuts for my two Boston Creme donuts (WHAT? The babies insisted. Shut up.) and meandering around town at my leisure. Of course, in the last week, I’ve tried to squeeze everything I SHOULD have been doing over the past two months into these last few days — there was just so much I couldn’t do while I was trying to get ready for the Bazaar, because I was storing so much merchandise in the dining room and the soon-to-be-nursery, there was no room to navigate. Over the past three days, I’ve gotten everything moved out of what used to be the craft room in preparation for painting — and its eventual transformation into the nursery. As soon as all of the final touches are on the new craft spaces I want to put some pictures up as I’m proud of some of the “found” spaces I’ve utilized around the apartment to re-locate my crafting supplies.

I have not been doing a lot of thrifting lately, though I did score some awesome baby clothes on Saturday (all girls, though — why is it easier to find girls’ clothes at yard sales than boys’?) but here are two recent finds. First, a set of four lustreware tea cups:

They’re really beautiful and delicate but as soon as I got them home I had buyer’s remorse — they’re exactly the kind of thing that I am trying very hard not to buy: something with no resale value and something that I can’t really do anything with — I have no room for them anywhere and even if I did drink tea, I would need more than the thimble full that these would provide. Sometimes, you have to look at a really lovely item with a good price and say “pass;” my overstuffed apartment is evidence of that.

I found these apothecary jars on Saturday at a yard sale and am intending to put them on eBay. There are 13 of them in all, in various stages of disrepair.

Those are glass plates over the labels. So cool! There are probably three of them that are in really good shape, including this one, which has a recessed label:

And in the batch there were these two unmarked, unlabeled amber bottles with stoppers:

And this one is the oldest one, but I don’t know what to do with it. The cork stopper is pushed all the way down into the neck of the bottle and I would have to dig it out to get it out, probably ruining the cork. It’s still got wax over the cork — surely it’s been opened?

So I know nothing about these — I’m hoping my bottle expert friend Roxana will sound off on what she thinks.

Tomorrow I’ll be finishing up the house and shopping for paint samples, then school starts, and there won’t be any good yard sales this weekend because of the holiday, so I’m thinking I won’t have a lot to post about — however, tonight I have to got through all of these magazine tear sheets I found while cleaning out the craft room and if I find anything particularly interesting, I’ll probably scan them in and set them to post over the next week. The weekend after Labor Day weekend is the Andersonville Yard Sale, so look for some thrifting news after that!

More vintage nursery.

So far, the nursery will be two cribs and five thousand nursery themed knick-knacks. Who needs a changing table or a dresser?

Vintage print by one of my favorite vintage illustrators, Bessie Pease Gusman.

Okay, I love these, but what’s the story? Two high school graduates died immediately following their graduation ceremony and went to heaven as angels? It didn’t strike me as strange (because I was so taken with their cute faces)  until I got them home.

These three hang on the wall.

I have always loved Lefton’s bluebirds. I usually can’t afford them, but this one had some small chips, so it was affordable.