Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day! Of course, everyday should be Earth day, so don't forget all those planet savings feelings when the day ends. It's been a while since I've posted anything. I'd like to say that I've been really busy, but that isn't very true. I'm happy to report that I think spring might finally stick. Yesterday I spent the afternoon cleaning up the horrendous mess that took over the balcony during the winter months. The sun shining and temperatures warming means garage sale season is starting! With that in mind, I'll share some of the fun things that I've picked up at the thrift and occasional stores recently.

The lovely clock above I found at Urban Cottage. I saw it in a picture in an e-mail they sent out and decided that being there when they opened for the monthly sale was so necessary! My BFF, Toph, drove us there in his apparent death trap. Of course he told me it's probably on a recall list while we were driving- haha... We got there safely and the clock was there in working order, score! It ticks really loudly and needs to be wound. I haven't quite figured out how to get it to keep time, but apparently this is just a trial-and-error thing that comes along with old clocks. Based on my own Internet research, it was made by the Lux Clock Manufacturing Company in 1961, the last year of production by the original company before they were bought out by the Robertshaw-Fulton Controls Company.

That same day, we went to Flamingos. They open a day earlier than Urban Cottage, so I went there the afternoon before with BJ. He bought me a square blue Ball jar with a lid and I didn't have money on me to by the sewing chair I spotted out front. I decided that if it was still there the next day when I went with Toph that it was meant to be. The month before I passed on another sewing chair that had been redone which was out of my price range. This chair was better because it was cheaper, the seat opens, and I get to make it my own! I found some really cute fabric at Crafty Planet that I'm going to recover the seat with, but I think I'm going to leave the cream part because it isn't in that bad of shape. Once I refinish the wood I think it will match the table housing my Singer, Doris. I realize that I never posted about her like I said that I would. The studio is a disaster area due to housing things for a massive garage sale I'm going to be having in Redwood in June sometime. I've been slowly adding to the pile(s) since last fall. Once all the crap is out of there, I hope to have an awesome reveal of the finished chair and my beautiful machine!

Arc's has been good to me so far this year. I found a big green Pyrex mixing bowl that matches the green of the crazy daisy design. I've also been picking up the Corelle plates with that design when I find them to use as everyday dishes. One of my best finds from there is the yellow casserole dish with a lid. I found another red refrigerator dish at Urban Cottage the month before the sale at which I bought the clock. It wasn't red anymore, but it had a lid, which my still red one didn't have, so I bought it for the lid.

I found a couple of Temporama plates and a serving bowl. Knowing that things rarely stay together there, I made sure to look through the whole aisle to make sure I wasn't leaving any matching things behind. A lady had been looking at the bowl and set it back on the top shelf. If she came back for it later, tough luck because I scooped it up!

I also found this super cute Coq Rouge plate by Holt-Howard from 1962. My mom has the santa salt and pepper shakers that probably everyone has seen, but one of her stupid ex-boyfriends put salt in it and didn't clean it out before storing it for the year and most of the paint came off of both of them. They are things that I looked forward to seeing every year as a child and hoped they would be mine one day. They still will, but I think I'll probably need to find presentable ones before that. Anyway, this plate was a steal and I'm so glad that I didn't set it back down as I had thought of doing.

BJ took me to see the dinosaur exhibit at the Science Museum. It was a fun exhibit, but the movie at the Omnitheater wasn't really worth what they charge to get in. There was a long break between our times at the exhibit and the movie so we decided to get fries from the restaurant on the top floor. I was pleased to see that they compost. We've finally started composting after getting rid of our garbage can back in December. We had a lot of scraps collected and I'm happy to finally get it going, although it would be ready to use in our garden this spring. We have been making the transition toward zero waste, but fitting it realistically into our lives. I don't mind "wasting" my time dusting knick knacks and collecting is something that is actually ingrained into my DNA- I come from hoarders and collectors. I've really enjoyed making more food from scratch. I bake one or two loaves of bread every week and we made peanut butter for the first time last night! Overall, it saves a lot of money buying in bulk and not wasting time, resources, and our precious environment on useless packing,especially plastics, is gratifying. 

One of the random contests on Neopets was to make a gnome themed garden ornament of sorts. Seeing as how I love all things gnome and I make and sell garden decorations, I was uber excited for this contest. I decided on a Hasee Bounce-esque bobble mushroom. I hand sculpted the little Hasees. I sculpted the mushroom around a big barn nail as I do my other mushrooms, but I added a spring to the cap to make it bobble. It was challenging getting it to not act as top-heavy as it is, but I managed. I really think that I deserved first place, not because I'm me, but because the other entries weren't that stellar. Plus, mine BOBBLED! These guys can literally bounce up and down, but TNT was only impressed enough to give me second, so this is still the highest trophy I hold for random contest. Boo...

May is fast approaching and I just finished making and glazing all of the peepers I'm making for the show. I have 90 of them, so I hope people buy them up! I'll be in booth 66 at the Elk River Arena's 24th Annual Spring Arts and Crafts Fair Saturday, May 3, 9 am-4 pm and Sunday May 4, 10 am-2 pm. I'm also going to be at Johnstock again this year on Saturday, May 31 10 am-4 pm. Spread the word and come check them out! :)

*All the links to stores are not sponsored, I just really love these places.