Great finds!

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I took a day off for myself and made the rounds of the thrift stores. Score!! The photo below shows some of what I brought home.

This is a LARGE drawing board. Other than a couple of scratches in the masonite coating, and one missing latch on the bottom right, it is in great condition. The drawing board lifts up, and there are two large storage compartments underneath. It even has a carrying handle! Ten bucks. Really!

Isn't this lovely? It's in like-new condition, and I fell in love with it. It's about 10" wide by 7" tall by 3" deep. I'll use it to hold return address labels and stamps on my desk.

This fabric was all stuffed in a bag and cost me $3.60. The top piece is a feedsack--it still has the chain stitching in one end. The two blues and the yellow are about a yard each, the green is almost two yards. The prints and solid blue are 100% cotton from Cranston, and the solid yellow may be a blend, but I'll have to do a "burn" test to find out. There were also two pieces of navy, but they were obviously polyester, so out they go.


This beautiful little domed box had a $30.00 price tag on the bottom. I think I paid $2.50 for it. It is about 6" across and 3" deep, japanned steel. I love the subject matter--a fabric seller showing his wares to a fair damsel. Or are they gifts for his beloved?



More finds-- I actually bought the 14" x 18" printed tin tray about a month ago at a thrift store, but the rest I bought today. The blue bottle and the red vase are for a future bottle tree. I love the colors! I bought two Anchor Hocking glass bowls, and three Pyrex bowls for $2.00-3.00 apiece. The Pyrex ones have an aqua tint to the clear glass.


This gorgeous 18" pillow is my final find. Hand-embroidered top with tucking all around, and a zippered back; all on butter-colored fabric that I think is charmeuse, but I'm not sure. $3.95--I kid you not. Who could pass this up? It will look great on a guest room bed.

Needless to say, I had a blast today, until I went grocery shopping. Now my feet are sore from walking. That's not unusual for me, as I have bone spurs in both heels. There are times when it is very difficult for me to walk at all. I bought some Glucosamine and Chondroitin capsules today, I hope they help a little.

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Belinda Spiwak's mmartfriends group on Yahoo is doing a swap of bracelet charms. I signed up to do 7 sets of 6 each, although I am actually doing 10 of each. Here are representatives of my first 4 sets:

and the reverse sides:

1. wire-wrapped glass hearts
2. wooden tags, stamped and decoupaged with roses
3. stacked buttons on wire
4. miniature wooden alphabet blocks with decoupaged sides and a finial on the bottom

These were harder to photograph than to make! The top picture is a scan, the bottom a photo. Neither worked very well. I'll have a whole month to finish the other three sets. I have some ideas, but they are only tentative right now. I'll post more pics when I get the rest done.

I've always loved charm bracelets--I have several that I have bought over the years. This one will be special since the charms will all be handmade. I can hardly wait to see what I get in the swap!

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I have been using my Wii, although I have to admit that I enjoy Animal Crossing a lot more than I do Wii Sports! I want to get the Wii Fit for my birthday next month, and at least try to do some yoga or other balance training on it. I have a tendency to fall (usually on my knees!) and hope to prevent any further injuries. I don't really expect to lose any weight using the Wii, although that would be welcome! But improving my overall fitness is my main goal.

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