Reporting from the beach

My goal for the summer was to come out to Block Island, help my friends with their B&B, sell a little jewelry and get lots of pictures taken, blogs written and posted, web pages composed, etc.

My other goal was to surpass 100 blog members and see the last of my Newbie Linky Parties at Debbiedoo's by the end of July.

Well, I'm definitely a little late getting to 100 blog members, I haven't posted since early July, and my friends have complained that I haven't even posted pics of the island on Facebook.

I have only one defense.

I'M AT THE BEACH!!!!

If you are one of my landlocked friends, consider this your "rubbing-it-in-your-face" moment.

But I've been busy too. I have graciously accepted my friend Diane's challenge to incorporate pieces of her Aunt Helen's costume jewelry into my jewelry. This box of sparkly treasures has been a ton of fun to clean and sift through.

A beautiful fish brooch loaded with marcasite adorns an asymmetrical piece with contemporary matte finish glass pearls and silver chains.

Sparkly little earrings that have lost their mates hang from vintage chains to become dainty necklaces.

A seemingly gaudy earring from the 50s or 60s becomes the centerpiece of an ornate necklace surrounded by contemporary glass beads.

A 70s copper choker collar (real copper, so not for the dainty or faint of heart) gets combined with glass crystals and simple chains.

I'm also finally using those vintage crystal chandelier pieces that I picked up in a Newport, RI antique store.

So with this post, I say goodbye to the unofficial official designation of newbie blogger and become "just another one of the guys" in this vast world of crafty bloggers. I hope you'll still come visit me from time to time. And I promise I'll do better at keeping in touch once I'm not distracted by the beach that daily calls my name.


I'm partying on the beach and at these fabulous sites:
Sunny Simple Life Simple Sundays
Singing Three Little Birds Inspire Me Monday
Our Delightful Home Show Me What You Got
Boogieboard Cottage Masterpiece Monday
Debbiedoo's Newbie Linky Party
The Ironstone Nest Transformation Tuesday
Beez Rental Designs Frugal Treasures Tuesday
Saavy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday
Full Circle Creations All Star Block Party
Primp Your Stuff Wednesday Linky Party
Made In A Day Made You Look Linky
The Shabby Creek Cottage Transformation Thursday

Was that a bird?

Additional musings about my particular crazy crafting style . . . while I show off my bleach pen project.

I like to have many different projects going on because lots of different kinds of things interest me and I don't like to be bored. As such, it doesn't bother me to go from one thing to the next fairly quickly. Like, how I am in the middle of cleaning my house and I get a hair up my butt about trying these Clorox bleach pen t-shirt graphics.

However, because I have so many projects going on all the time, I often think I need more focus in order to follow through on any given task. Such thoughts lead to spurts of motivation in which I make lists (as you've seen from a previous post), prioritize my projects, and clean and organize work areas.

These efforts lead to very clear-headed and decisive thinking in which I plan, for instance, exactly how many necklaces I'm going to make and exactly what they will look like, which beads to use, what findings, what the color schemes will be, etc.

Then the day comes to make the necklaces and something happens.

No, on second thought, not just something, but lots of things happen.

For instance, I put the beads together that I had planned on using and decide suddenly that the whole idea sucks and I need to re-work it. So I go in a totally different direction after spending all that time planning.

Or, halfway through the necklace I get an idea about some earrings to make and I stop to make them instead of finishing the necklace.

Or, before I even start the necklace I had planned on making, another completely different idea pops into my head because I'm thinking of someone in particular and designing with that person in mind.

These shirts were made while I was supposed to be cleaning my house, packing, and preparing to leave for my 2-month stay on Block Island. I had seen this idea on Pinterest from The Next Bird and I'd been wanting to try it for some time. She revitalized stained clothing by creating a graphic to cover the stain using a Clorox bleach gel pen.

The shirts I used had stains on them also. One was a bleach stain, the other were various stains because I'm a sloppy eater with big boobs and food just tends to land there. But these were favored shirts and I didn't want to get rid of them.

So I created several designs that would cover or mask the existing stains.

These are cotton shirts, which will bleach out easily, unlike a 50/50 shirt. A couple of them have 5% spandex, but that doesn't seem to matter. The long sleeveless one has a cotton knit top and cotton linen bottom. The loose weave of the bottom part created a lot of bleed on the bleach design, but I still love the end result.

This was taken a couple minutes after applying the bleach.
You can see my pen drawing of the design in the upper right-hand corner of this pic..

I highly recommend practicing your design on paper before taking bleach pen to cloth.

I used a double layer of terrycloth between the front and back of the shirt to prevent the bleach from bleeding through to the back of the shirt. I let the bleach pen graphic sit for 30 minutes before throwing the whole thing, terrycloth and all, into the wash. By the time I washed them, the bleach had done its magic and was practically dried up, so there was no transfer of bleach pen gel to the back or to the other shirts while in the wash (I washed all the shirts together, believe it or not).

Staying focused is good for some things, like making lists, planning, and organizing. And sticking to one's plan is good in some instances. But when it comes to creating, sometimes being easily distracted brings about wonderful twists and turns in the creative process. If I am too tied to the outcome I had planned on, I could miss an opportunity to let something spontaneous creep into the creative process, to look at a bold color choice, to create a piece that is a-symmetrical, to come up with a new earring design on the spur of the moment, or to create some fun new shirts when I should be cleaning and packing.

In other words, when I am creating, I have to remember to . . . . look, there's a bird!





I am on the coast and partying at:
Kathe with an E Anything Goes
Our Delightful Home Show Me What You Got
Kammy's Korner Trash to Treasure Tuesday
Skip to My Lou Made By You Monday
C.R.A.F.T. Making Monday Marvelous
Singing Three Little Birds Inspire Me Monday
The Ironstone Nest Transformation Tuesday
Debbiedoo's Newbie Party
Beez Rental Designs Frugal Treasures Tuesday
Centsational Girl Pinterest Challenge
Full Circle Creations All Star Block Party
Saavy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday
Made in a Day Made You Look Linky
Boogieboard Cottage Masterpiece Monday
Primp Primp Your Stuff Wednesday
The Shabby Creek Cottage Transformation Thursday
Days of Chalk and Chocolate Link Party
The Shabby Next Frugal Friday
504 Main Tickled Pink
My Repurposed Life Catch as Catch Can

Come see me at The Thrifty Groove!

I'm honored to be guest posting over at The Thrifty Groove today.

I was in Newport, Rhode Island at the end of May and found this fabulous consignment shop called Closet Revival. Go over and check out my post at The Thrifty Groove and leave Diann a nice comment so she can feel your love and support.

Diann is busy with her business in the summer and that's why she's asked some of us to guest post for her. I am more than happy to be a part of that since I'm all about thrifting and second-hand shopping, and since Diann's blog is full of thrifty inspiration.

Thanks again, Diann, for the opportunity!

What will you give me for it?

If you are like me and you go to a lot of garage sales, eventually you end up with a lot of stuff in your basement, garage and attic that you no longer use because you've replaced it with cool stuff you got at a garage sale.

Rented child loading wagon

Soooooo . . . . . . .

Time to have a garage sale and clean out my basement and garage so I can make room for more stuff.

Here's my short list of how to best go about preparing for your next garage sale.

1.  If you don't have one or more of your own, rent or borrow a small child who can do labor for you. Mine is 11 years old. She's my niece. She can't carry a lot, but she is really good at painting signs, cleaning, pricing, making displays, and counting money. Less work for me. Plus, she gets to sell stuff and make some money.

Rented child merchandising her own products

2.  Put out a good Craigslist ad. Garage sale junkies like me depend on Craigslist to find the best sales. A good Craigslist ad should list a lot of the items you are selling so people (like me) can decide if it is worth it to make the trip to your house. Ideally, you should be posting your Craigslist ad sometime in the week before your sale.

3. Pre-pricing. To price or not to price your items. My niece and I, we like to put price tags on things. What's a garage sale if you can't go to the drug store, buy some little stickers and adhere them to anything that's not tied down? Even so, when things are priced, people will still ask what you want for it. The lesson here: people want to haggle at garage sales. So even if you are pre-pricing, take that into consideration and give yourself some room to negotiate. People are always happier if they feel like they're gettin' a deal. I know I am.

4.  Pickers like to pick. Since I am totally drawn in by visual gorgeousness, I have to at least put some pretty displays out near the street because I believe it draws people in. But remember that "pickers" are often people drawn to chaos and the idea that they might dig through some things to find a treasure. So while you might do a little merchandising, leave a few things in boxes for the pickers to pick through.

5. Don't forget to have some change on hand. You want to be able to take people's cash immediately and give them change back if necessary.

6. Relax. Having a garage sale--much like going to them--is an opportunity to connect with fellow pickers. Maybe stock a cooler with bottled water to offer people if it's a hot day. Plan to hang out, sit and chat with your neighbors, who will undoubtedly stop by and maybe even buy something.

bootie one of my neighbors bought

7. Prepare yourself for failure. Nobody sells everything at a garage sale, not even you with your circa 1989 wok and your 1980s fishnet scarf with the knots on the ends (oops, that was me, not you). I plan a 1-DAY SALE ONLY, and then just put the leftover stuff in the back of the Jeep and head to Goodwill. But even before I get that far. I'll pile up the stuff that's going to Goodwill right near the curb, stick a FREE sign on it and see what happens. I live in the city, so there's free-style curbside pickin' goin' on all the time.



It's a hot one today, so we didn't get a lot of traffic, but so far I've taken in over $100, so that doesn't suck!

Happy pickin' y'all!

It's my birthday and I'm partying at:

Ladybird Lane Weekend Show Off Party
My RePurposed Life Catch As Catch Can 77
Boogieboard Cottage Masterpiece Monday
All Things Fee Calling All Crafters
C.R.A.F.T. Making Monday Marvelous
Our Delightful Home Show Me What You Got
Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Debbiedoo's Newbie Party
Today's Creative Blog Get Your Craft On
Beez Rental Designs Frugal Treasure Tuesday
Singing Three Little Birds Inspire Me Monday
Saavy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday
From My Front Porch to Yours Treasure Hunt Thursday
Shabby Creek Cottage Transformation Thursday
Made in a Day Made You Look Linky
No Minimalist Here Open House Linky Party
The Shabby Nest Frugal Friday
The Thrifty Groove Thrifty Things Friday

Block Island bound!

This is my first attempt at posting from my phone, but I couldn't wait to share my news.

I've been in Rhode Island for the last 10 days visiting friends, including a few days on Block Island, a tourist island off the coast where I used to live.

While I was there, I visited some gift shops and showed some pics of the jewelry I've been making.

It's one thing to show your handmade pieces to friends and family. They love you and always say such generous things. But when we take that step out into the world and show other people what we do, what we lovingly spend our time crafting, pouring our soul and heart into, it becomes a totally new adventure.

Remember the first time somebody commented on one of your posts? It's such a great feeling. It spurs you on to the next project.

If you are already in the retail business with your handmade creations, maybe you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, here's how it played out.

I walk into this adorable shop on Block Island. The proprietor is a lovely woman named Mary who has filled her shop with beautiful over-sized beach bags made of oil cloth or woven from jute, coastal accessories for vacation homes sitting atop old distressed wooden display cabinets and tables, and bright print sun dresses and summer scarves gently blowing in the breeze all around the front door. A gorgeous little shop.

I approached Mary to talk about the jewelry I've been making. I showed her a few pieces I had brought and she didn't seem too excited. She was polite though and said I could send her some pics by email and she'd let me know.

Then I showed her the pictures you see here of my new coastal-themed ceramic pendants, and I could see her expression change and her eyes get wide. She said her customers would definitely be interested in them.

And I found myself floating on air. It was all I could do to stay focused and talk with her further. But she gave me some good ideas on how I could complete the necklaces for fast sales in her shop and we are going to communicate further about how many pieces she wants and how much she'll pay.

I left there feeling like a million bucks. Me and my little ceramic pendants! In one of the nicest shops on Block Island! What a great feeling!

I'm going to clink glasses with the women who command the following:

Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday

Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Debbiedoo's Newbie Party

Primp Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

No Minimalist Here Open House Party

Today's Creative Blog Get Your Craft On

Not Just a Housewife Show Me What Ya Got

Shabby Creek Cottage Transformation Thursday

From My Front Porch to Yours Treasure Hunt Thursday

Embracing Change Creative Inspiration

All Things Fee Calling All Crafters

Uncommonly Yours Linky Party

Boogieboard Cottage Masterpiece Monday
Ladybird Lane Weekend Show Off
Skip to My Lou Made by You Monday
C.R.A.F.T. Making Monday Marvelous
Our Delightful Home Show Me What Ya Got
Full Circle Creations All Star Block Party

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Takin' this show on the road

It's gray outside, drizzling a steady light rain, and pleasantly hovering at around 63 degrees--a typical Spring day in New England, and I could not be happier!!

I'm out in Rhode Island visiting friends. I've been here many times and actually used to live on Block Island, a small island off the coast. So I've seen many of the tourist-type attractions. I've been to all the beaches, I've seen several Newport Mansions, lighthouses, etc.

What else can I possibly find to do in Rhode Island on a rainy, foggy day?

Really?? Do you really have to ask??

What are vacations for besides thriftin', antiquing, and shopping secondhand stores?!

So, the minute I landed on the ground on Sunday at around noon, I asked my friends to take me to a flea market in Charlestown, R.I. at the old General Stanton Inn. This flea market has been in existence for probably 30 years. I remember coming to it when I lived out on the Block in the 80s. It's a big one, chalk full usually, but it's a little early in the season here so there were a moderate number of vendors.

Fewer vendors means fewer customers, and we were there at the tail-end of the day on a Sunday when people are ready to cut some deals. My kinda thriftin' as you know! I got a few pieces of china there and, if I had driven out here instead of flown, I'd have been going home with a couple of pieces of wood furniture that were begging for a little chalk paint love. But alas, another time perhaps.

Closet Revival vintage clothing store

Then yesterday, we spent an extremely pleasant, albeit overcast day in Newport traipsing around from Salvation Army store to vintage clothing store to antique store and hitting other retail establishments along the way. The vintage clothing store was really adorable and I'm planning a feature on her some other time. The shop was extremely browsable (yes, spellcheck, I just made up that word) and the proprietor was a delightful young woman who, surprisingly, did not yet have a web presence for her shop.

Here are my finds thus far on my Rhode Island excursion.

I picked up the china and the pale pink glass candlestick at the flea market in Charlestown on Sunday. The other pieces of glass came from the Salvation Army thrift store.

See how the pale pinks are pulling these pieces together? Me likey!

This Nippon plate has pale pink around the edge. Yeah baby!

I love how this cup has ridges and dimples like a pedal. Isn't she precious?

Then the contemporary lines of this little demitasse cup just made me smile. Not as pale on the pink, but equally sweet.

Then, just inside the door of a really, really, really upscale antique store--we are in Newport, after all--was a tray full of random crystals from vintage and antique crystal chandeliers. The shop was full of chandeliers and I'm guessing the proprietor collected all manner of crystal chandeliers in order to replace crystals on the ones he had hanging in his shop. My mind started to wander and I started picturing how I could incorporate some of these crystals into pieces of jewelry. And so . . .

 

Imagine how that will look dangling from your neck? Can't wait to get started making some jewelry with these. I might have to go back and get more before the week is through.

I'm on vacation so I am ready to PARTAY!

Debbiedoo's Newbie Linky Party

 Singing Three Little Birds Inspire Me Monday

Simply Klassic Home Simply Klassic Sunday

Beez Rental Designs Frugal Treasures Tuesday

Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday

 Not Just a Housewife Show Me What Ya Got

{Primp} Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

 Apron Thrift Girl Thrift Share Monday

Beyond the Picket Fence Under $100 Linky Party

No Minimalist Here Open House Party

French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday

From My Porch to Yours Treasure Hunt Thursday

The Shabby Nest Frugal Friday

At the Picket Fence Inspiration Friday

Ivy and Elephant What's It Wednesdasy

My Romantic Home Show and Tell Friday

 

Free-style pickin' in rural Ohio

I love this time of year in Ohio. The trees are green. The wildflowers are still blooming. The temperatures are moderate. And everybody is doing spring cleaning and piling up their leftover junk outside on their driveways, lawns, in garages or at their local churches to sell to garage sale pickers like me. Woohoo!

After a few weeks apprenticing with the garage sale experts, the boyfriend and I are now feeling confident enough to venture out on our own and do some free-style pickin' in rural Ohio.

We picked a route that would take us to a small state park where we could do a 2 mile hike with the dog and then end in Waldo, Ohio for the famous fried bologna sandwich.

The boyfriend spotted the first sale. It was at a well-kept old farmhouse with a medium-sized barn and another small outbuilding. Only a few things were in the driveway, but as soon as I pulled in, I spotted something I needed a closer look at.

An old knee-hole desk was sitting in the driveway. I glanced at it but not for too long so as not to appear too interested, and then headed into the outbuilding to see what else she had. The woman of the house said it was half off everything today. They had started the sale last week and were ready to get rid of everything else. Just the deal-making attitude we're looking for. I told her I might be interested in the desk.

I went back to the desk, looked it over real good: nice dovetail work, nice details, a little scratched but nothing major, lovely curved front drawers, just a smidgen of veneer missing off the front of one drawer and replacement hardware. I started picturing what I could do with this desk immediately. I offered her $20, she took $25. Next thing I know, boyfriend and I are puttin' it in the back of my Jeep.

First stop and I scored a great piece! Now I was totally psyched.

One church rummage sale and several garage sales later, we stumbled upon a flea market/junk shop. It didn't look like much at first, didn't have a sign, just a few kids' toys and a couple old bikes outside of it. But once we got inside we discovered it was a long building with room after room of junk. Some of it looked like dealer space in a flea market. I started hunting and pickin' my way through it til I came to a room with mostly china and glass in it.

Turns out this flea market is being run by three siblings, all under 16, who started selling stuff from their own collections and are now buying and selling from garage sales, auctions, flea markets, and craigslist. Their dad was on hand to supervise at the shop and he told me this was all his kids' idea and he carts them around, driving from sale to sale to pick things up. But he made sure I understood that the kids do all the haggling, buying, pricing, selling, and organizing.

I was so impressed that these three kids are creative, ambitious, and driven enough to run their own flea market. They rent out space and take things on consignment, as well as stock the place with stuff they purchase themselves.

Here's a picture of one of the daughters (there are two daughters and a son) who was working the cash register. Absolutely adorable! They call the place All Stuff Flea Market & Trading Post. They have a Facebook page. I LIKE it! Hope you will too!

And check out the other great finds I bought there and elsewhere on our Saturday free-style pickin' outing.

I'm gonna link up and do some partyin' now:

Simply Klassic Home Simply Klassic Sunday

Debbiedoo's Newbie Party
Beez Rental Designs Frugal Treasures Tuesday
Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Singing Three Little Birds Inspire Me Monday
Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday
Not Just a Housewife Show Me What Ya Got
Made in a Day Made U Look Linky
The Shabby Creek Cottage Transformation Thursday
Beyond the Picket Fence Under $100 Linky Party
No Minimalist Here Open House Party
French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday
From My Front Porch to Yours Treasure Hunt Thursday
The Shabby Nest Frugal Friday

Where's Waldo?

Waldo, Ohio, that is.

The boyfriend and I were out free-style pickin' yesterday. Yesterday was the perfect day for a drive. The sun was out, the temperature was moderate. We decided on a general route, a 2-mile hike to take halfway through the journey, put the dog in the back seat and headed out.

Our route was dictated by our lunch destination.

The sleepy little town of Waldo, Ohio is not much more than a spit in the road. It's located alongside what is considered the main north and south route running right through Columbus, Ohio--state route 23. Travel north out of Columbus, through the sprawling bedroom community of Delaware, Ohio, en route to Marion, and--if you blink you'll miss it--Waldo, Ohio lies between Delaware and Marion, Ohio.

Why Waldo, you ask?

Because if you Google Waldo, Ohio, the second thing that pops up is a review of Waldo's G&R Tavern, a humble little tavern, much like many other taverns in many other small towns in our state. Humble outside, humble and unassuming inside.


(buffetbuster photo)

One significant distinction puts this tavern on the map in Waldo, Ohio and is the reason for the food review on Roadfood.com that pops up when you google Waldo, Ohio.

The fried bologna sandwich.

Oh yes, you heard me. Fried Bologna Sandwich. And this is not the pathetic little fried bologna those of us who grew up in Ohio had to eat in our school cafeterias during the 60s and 70s. No, this is the G&R Tavern's house made bologna, sliced 3/4 inch thick, topped with cheese, sweet pickles, and onion.

So before I regale you with photos of all my great free-style pickin' finds yesterday, here's some mouthwatering pics of G&R Tavern's famous FRIED BOLOGNA SANDWICH.

Plus, fried pickles and fried cauliflower on the side. If you don't like deep fried sides, this may not be your kind of place. They also had some pretty hefty pieces of cream pie, but we'll have to do that another time. We were both completely stuffed once we devoured the sandwiches, the cauliflower, and the pickles.

Stay tuned for pics and tales of free-style pickin' in rural Ohio.

Chalk is cheap!

Or . . . put your money where your chalk is . . . or . . .

Anyway, when I stumbled upon Sherry at No Minamalist Here and her post about making your own chalk paint, I knew it was the beginning of a life long friendship between me and my homemade chalk paint.

I picture me and my homemade chalk paint walking into the sunset . . .

I see us growing old together . . .

I see us retiring to Florida together . . .

And this is not a one-sided relationship. Oh no, just look at what I get back from my adorable chalk paint . . . the little things it does for me . . .

Remember the washstand I bought at a garage sale?

Just look at her now!

I used the Plaster of Paris option suggested by Sherry because Home Depot is just down the street from me. I added 1 part Plaster of Paris to 3 parts paint, although Sherry's suggestion was more like 1 to 2. And I still had to occasionally add a few drops of water to keep it from thickening up too much. It is plaster after all.  

The color is actually more cream than it appears in morning sun.

The beauty of the chalk paint, as many of you already know, is how easy it is to cover and distress. It covered that awful faux-cherry stain in two coats with no bleed-thru of the stain. No more priming! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!

After I let it dry til the next day, I sanded down the surface lightly all over with 220 grit sandpaper. Then I used 100 grit to distress it. Ending with 220 again to smooth it over. Then I applied a clear paste wax to give it a lustrous finish, smooth to the touch, and oh so purrrrrrty!

I heart my homemade chalk paint! Thanks Sherry!

And for those that are interested:

Project Cost Total $27

Wash Stand $10

Plaster of Paris (plenty leftover for other projects) $8

Leftover paint and sandpaper $0

Wax  (again, plenty leftover that will be used for other projects) $9

The only question that remains is . . .

Your place or mine?

I'm gonna party til I drop at the following sites:

Mod Vintage Life Mod Mix Monday

Skip to My Lou Made by You Monday

C.R.A.F.T. Making Monday Marvelous
Singing Three Little Birds Inspire Me Monday
Debbiedoo Newbie Linky Party
Beez Rental Designs Frugal Treasures Tuesday
Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Today's Creative Blog Get Your Craft On
Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday
Primitive and Proper POWW
Primp Primp Your Stuff Wednesday
Made In a Day Made You Look Linky
The Shabby Creek Cottage Transformation Thursday
Beyond the Picket Fence Under $100 Linky Party
No Minimalist Here Open House Party
Embracing Change Creative Inspiration
From My Front Porch to Yours Treasure Hunt Thursday
Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Feature Friday Party
The Shabby Nest Frugal Friday
French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday