Miscellany.

Do you guys mind a photo dump post? I got the idea from my junking buddy Shara …I’ve been so slow about posting lately that I have a backlog of pictures that you might not have seen unless you’re following along on Instagram. (By the way, DO follow along on Instagram! I’m much better at posting there than I am here. But I’m trying to get better.)

Because I fell into the habit of buying every piece of reclaimed wood that I found along the way, my garage is slowly being turned into a giant woodpile. The wood takes up too much room and I’m starting to worry there might be critters living in there, if not now, surely when the weather turns colder. I don’t make signs that much anymore because they don’t sell well for what I have to price them — the sad fact of the matter is that places like Hobby Lobby make such cute wood signs these days, and sell them so cheap, it’s not easy to sell the handmade ones and it’s just not worth spending so much time on these signs for very little profit. (Although, I must say, I sold every sign I brought to the Junk Ranch. Maybe just make them for that venue?) The long-winded point being: I don’t want to store this much wood if I’m not going to be using it on a regular basis. So I’ve set myself a deadline: whatever I haven’t used by the date of the Daisies and Olives Holiday Open House will be thrown out. This is kind of striking my creativity bone a bit, this deadline, and I made this tray yesterday. I plan on making a bunch of Christmas trays as well, as well as a few Christmas signs, so hopefully that pile will be greatly reduced by November 13th.

I love this little needlework picture I got at the thrift store for under $3. It was in a hideous frame that was falling apart but that was easily remedied. It’s at the booth right now with kind of a steep price tag because I secretly want to bring it back home for the kids’ room.

I did a few new print designs specifically for the Junk Ranch. I didn’t want to just have the same old stuff I had in June.

This is one of my favorites of the new designs. I love this quote so much that I want to have it tattooed on my kids’ four-year-old arms. (Not really. Just metaphorically.) They’re both “weird” — Jack a bit more weird than Emme — and I look at the next 13 years and see some difficult times ahead. I so much want them to understand how unique their “weirdness” makes them and how beneficial that weirdness will be in their lives. I think this quote should be required reading for every child — that’s why I made it into a nursery print. I hope it will find its home in a nursery or two.

I love this one but I didn’t have much to do with it — it’s all about the beautiful art by Marusha Belle. And oh, that Jane Austen quote. I swear, if you’re ever looking for a romantic quote, just google for Austen quotes. She’ll steer you right every time.

I went on a bit of a whiskey binge (hic!).

Almost makes you think I need a drink or two, right?

And here are some fantastic finds that I got from Amy, co-founder of the Junk Ranch, when she was liquidating some of her stock:

I got meeeeeeelions of vintage jars.

I’m trying to come up with a good plan for these babies. I was told on Instagram not to try and nail or punch holes in them in order to put them on a banner, but someone else suggested I try drilling a hole. I would LOVE to build a marquee sign to hold them — I think it might be pretty easy, I would just need to put some rails on a board — but I don’t know if I have the time to do that right now.

Okey dokey, that’s about it for now. Thanks for allowing me to meander through my photo file. Hope all is well with you guys.