Art Spirals

Last week I got a partially constructed victorian balsa wood dollhouse at a garage sale -- for free! The folks were so frustrated with it, they wanted it off their hands. So the girls and I glued it together last Sat night...we had a blast, and this weekend, they and I (well, mostly they!) painted it. And here it is in all its glory!

From Kids' Art

From Kids' Art

Aren't these GREAT? Can't you see them on some lovely creation? I'll probably take them apart and use them sparingly. They were a (large for me) $4 for the pin but they were just too cool to pass up. The pin back is behind the top one, the other two dangle on a chain. For more finds this a.m. from estate and garage sales, see my piacasa album. Today's sale finds start here and go forward, but you can of course browse the whole album. These are finds from the month of May. And here's another cool one:

it's a polymer clay piece, I think, that was attached to a handmade paper box, ripe for altering.

I'm fascinated lately with the vintage crocheted potholders in cotton with deep rich colors. I found a couple more today, including an unusually shaped one that looks like a vest.

From Garage Sale F...

it's the one that's white with red running stitches. Recognize it now?

it's on "Queenie" my younger daughter's bear with a new name....it had a generic name before, but she needed a "Q" item for show and tell this week, so Queenie she became. Doesn't she look like royalty in her vintage wear?

And this was another fabulous piece found today for $3. An original watercolor, postcard size mounted in a clear acrylic frameless frame, of a windmill in Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Germany. I'm gaga over simple watercolor that's not overworked, and this is pretty darn close! much better than I could do, as a matter of fact, but it's something I aspire to. Over halfway down this page is a photo of this windmill. There's a society to restore the mills around the world. I've always loved watermills, they were not common, but not rare, in the part of Pennsylvania where I'm from. Beautiful old buildings. So, this was a neat bit of research from this casual purchase!
http://www.ohz.shuttle.de/ohz/kgs-schwanewede/windmill/Hi...

I've been doing less garage saling than usual, I'm finding it more of a burden to have extra things in the house, more calming to get rid of stuff. So I'm more selective usually, and I don't go to as many sales. This weekend I only went to two, but I found some good things.

The collection of stuff. The basket is one of those slanted top kind, the book is going to my friend who entertains a fair amount of out of town company.

These beads are interesting. I don't plan on ever wearing this as a necklace, but the texture and heft of the beads makes me think they're maybe a bakelite or some preplastic material. I love the bright colors and think they'll work well in other pieces. When I saw this tureen, I realized I'd always WANTED a tureen...especially now that cooler stew/soup fall weather is coming. It's a lovely pottery, even the ladle. I liked this hokey new potholder of a saguaro cactus with blossom. The sweater is a Talbots lightweight cotton blend, good for work.