Booty Call!!

Jewelry booty, that is! Yes, we did a bit of saling today. And just when I thought my morning was going to be a total loss, jewelry bargain-wise, we zipped off the main street for one last Huge Garage Sale sign. And I hit the jackpot! The woman running the sale even brought out a great big box of jewelry she hadn’t put out yet. Needless to say, I was in hog heaven!

Here’s what I got:

Chains, chains and more chains. And chains with sparklies.

Faux pearls, bows, butterflies, beautiful beads. The copper looking circles is a stretch bracelet of bars of those circular designs and I'll probably use the bars for something new. The Husband wanted that elephant, probably because it has a chip and he felt sorry for it...

I scored some really sweet little chains of crystals. Some of them are even signed, so I need to do a little research before I start upcycling. They may be more valuable as vintage finds.

I had to sit with this bunch of chain and untangle it but it was worth it! That pile of green, however, fell apart and scattered beads and gold spacers all over the place! It's okay, though, since I would have taken it apart anyway. Half my job is done:-)

I actually found a couple of things I'll keep for myself. The bracelet at the top is bead weaving, which I don't do. It's sparkly purple crystal and I just couldn't pass it up. The bracelet in the center is big plastic "gems" in all different colors. Ahem... Couldn't pass that up either... And I collect small old bottles but they have to have some sort of particular value to me. I have some with city names and one with my maiden name I got from someone in England on Ebay.

This one says "Sanford's Inks Half Pint And Library Paste". Since it referenced libraries, I (altogether now) couldn't pass it up...

Raina is amazed at my treasures!!

Do What You Love!

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Saling, Saling!

Betcha can guess what I’ve been up to this morning! Yes, went to a few yard sales and a Mercantile Flea Market in uptown Fullerton. AND Tall Mouse’s 43rd anniversary sale (all full price items 43% off!). Quite a busy day. And I must say, KFC’s new grilled chicken is FABulous! Just so ya know…

First, here’s The Husband posing in front of a wicked cool mural on the way into the Mercantile market.


And here’s some of the morning’s loot.

Who can resist cats, especially when all the rhinestones are intact!!


I love big clear lucite beads and these are SQUARE! I can picture the earrings and other cool stuff now!


Aren’t these lampwork beads pretty? I love the colors!


This bagful of $1 colored plastic goodness should not and could not be resisted! A few of the beads are corralled by a string of gorgeous amethyst I got for ~ gasp! ~ 75% off at Tall Mouse, a local arts and crafts store.

These are the pretty things I got today. I also got some connectors for chains and other little, practical jewelry making stuff. And in preparation for a class on glass charm making, I got a soldering iron, copper tape and glass squares. But, really, how photogenic are those?? Well, they will be when they’re part of new, fun jewelry, but right now, not so much :-)

After all that shopping, it’s time for a cool beverage and a few minutes of being a cat lap. Both my kitties love lap time and they both have their distinctive ways of cuddling ~ my boy cat likes to just plop on my right leg and fall asleep with his head under my arm, my girl cat first has to stand on my lap and have her butt rubbed, then she sits and kneads my chest, then flops across my lap and cuddles under my chest. They’re my babies and I love cuddle time, even if it means less reading and jewelry making time.


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Productive Morning Saling

The Husband had the luxury this AM of going into work late (of course, that means he has to work late…), so we had the chance to do some yard saling. See why I love to sale on my other blog, maresjourney.blogspot.com.

Anyway, here’s the haul (ok, it‘s a rather small haul since we got up late and our time was limited. Let‘s call it a haulette, then). The shirt I bought as inspiration for The Battle of the Bulge I’m currently waging. And who could resist such blingy shoes for a buck!

Here are some excellent charms I can use on my Charm N Bead pieces.

I got these earrings not only because they’re hearts, but because there are spaces I can use to attach chain or jump rings to make them very big charms.

The heart and fleur de lies can be used as charms and the black and silver earrings will make some very classy ATC very happy.

Here’s a close up of the detail on the little shoes. I have a pink and sparkly shirt these will go excellently with. A girl’s gotta have some fun and bling!

So, all this cool stuff added up to less than $5. Awesome, huh!?

Here’s my #1 Yard Saling Tip:

Every night, throw your change in a special purse or tin. Then when you go yard saling, you’ve got plenty of change to whip out and spend easily and the people doing the yard sales love you for not expecting change for a $20!

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My Name in Cloth Paper Scissors!

Ok, none of my design work got published but my name is mentioned in the Popping the Question section of the new November/December issue. The question was “What’s Your Favorite Art-Related Book”. So I quickly e-mailed my answer a few months ago and there it is on the glossy page! We have to get our thrills where we can, right? For those of you unfamiliar with Cloth Paper Scissors, it’s a cool magazine devoted to collage and mixed media art. And in case you don’t get to see it, my fave art book is “Artist Trading Card Workshop”. I guess that’s not too much of a stretch for me, huh?

In other Bear Chick news, I’ve got most of the art moved over to Bearchickart.etsy.com. I’ve been working on more of what I’m calling the Charm N Bead series of jewelry. Now I need to do some photographs when I get back from grocery shopping and get those on Etsy, along with a piece of vintage jewelry found while saling (yard saling, that is). I have a few pieces to post, by and by. Here’s a pretty Trifari brooch in fairly good condition:

Otherwise, the day job has been busy and the kitties have been mushy, wanting lots of attention, which I try to give since, well, why have pets if you’re gonna ignore ‘em! The Husband has been working both weekend days through October but that ends this weekend, so we’ll have some daylight together again.

Trying to come up with the best deals I can offer on Etsy… Freebies or free shipping domestically… I’m aiming for the Grand Opening next Saturday of Bearchickart.etsy.com to decide what the holiday deal will be.

Laters!

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