Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Fantastic Furnishings

It's been a while since I've done some serious treasure hunting, but when my buddy Lisa sent me an email the night before this amazing estate sale, I knew I couldn't resist...and why should I? I've been really good lately and my house is nicely organized with nothing spilling out of the seams. :)

Well thank you Lisa for telling me about this sale...I found some real beauties on the furniture front!

I can do some real good front porch sittin' in this teal rocker covered with chippy paint. I just need to sew a pretty cushion for it.

This elegantly cut little cabinet was the first thing I spotted when I walked into the shed. I'm shocked that no one had bought it yet. But....this lady picked it up before I could get to it and asked the guy how much it was. He said $25. I watched her in suspense as she looked it over...unsure. "It's a fixer upper" she said as she put it down. I didn't waste a second before I picked it up and said "for $25? I'll take it!" It is missing a little side piece on the top...but it's a simple cutout that I could probably manage to duplicate on my scroll saw with little trouble. Whether I ever get around to doing it is beside the point...it still looks great without it!

This large, simple cabinet with glass knob was good cheap find too. I lugged it out of the basement along with 5 other things I was carrying. It was well worth the effort! And the 10 bucks.

This was the most expensive piece I bought at 40 smackeroos. It's larger than it looks in the photo and has really neat carvings and is in really nice shape, minus the dirt. It will look great when we move into our house in NY. I love it!

This heavy iron thing was sitting on the basement work bench amid all the rusty tools and nails. I'm not sure what it's purpose is...but I had to have it.

I'm so glad I snatched this up on the second round through the house...how did I miss it the first time? It's the perfect color, and despite the fact that I'm not huge into floral print...this delicate metal watering can works great when watering my tiny plants.

I'm always on the look out for mini muffin and tart tins for cake toppers. I'll add these to my pile!

I hit the jackpot on old millinery fruit and leaves. I'm sure these goodies will inspire some neat creation in the near future.

As soon as I entered the house my goal was to find the Christmas room that was photographed in the listing. Well...I wasn't the only one. This woman was in there scooping up all the best stuff! I was crushed...but still managed to find some great things.

I found this neat autumn-y ribbon in the shed of all places. It was there by it's lonesome among the shovels and old furniture. The guy told me to just take it. Yay! A little victory that helped me recover from the Christmas room let down.

And finally I scooped up these little vintage trowels. They helped me dig my way out the crowd!

Phew! I feel pretty good about the goodies I got at the estate sale...but what a thing it is to battle the hungry vultures (me being one of them) who are all after the same awesome old things! I'll hang up my estate sale bags for a little while and relish in all the previous flea market and estate goodies I've already acquired. :)

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Collaboration!

These four owls recently flew over to Jennifer Murphy's house to await our exciting collaboration! The day after the day after tomorrow will reveal the finished product on her website. I can't wait to see!! You must check it out as well. Her work is amazing (as I've said over and over again!) and I'm thrilled that these owls will be living with some of her adorable vintagey bears!

These Halloween owls are currently up for adoption in my Etsy shop and could be looking to fly home to you! :)

Friday, October 15, 2010

Last Hurrah for Halloween!

Tis the season to be spooky! I just love making Halloween goodies...but all good things must make way for more good things! I've really got to get going on all things Christmas...so that means this will be my last big batch for Halloween this year! It's a little sad...and it's hard to put away my tiny pumpkins and black and orange doodads. I do so very reluctantly. But first...I'll show you my fresh Halloween creations! They are ALL one of a kind and I'll be listing them in my Etsy shop over the next few days starting now. Get them before they're gone! :)



Tuesday, October 12, 2010

I'm in Love!!

I'm in love with little Sammy Squirrel! Made by the super talented Jennifer Murphy, whose work and style I've long admired. We did a little swap...she's got a menagerie of spun cotton zoo animals and I've got an adorable Sammy Squirrel! He's a one of a kind piece (the best because I'm the only one who has one like him!) and I almost slept with him in my arms the night he arrived in the mail...but I didn't want him to lose his adorable tiny acorn held in his adorable tiny arms as I rolled around during the night...so I resisted. :) LOVE him! Thanks so much Jen!!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Come visit me and all my Halloween characters this weekend at SOWA Open Market!

It's going to be a spoooooooky day this Sunday....

That is if you come to the SOWA Open Market! It's a free outdoor market where you can take a stroll with your honey (or your puppy!), enjoy the brisk fall air, and shop from numerous local artists, including many of Boston Handmade crafters. I admit...even though I've been on the road ALOT in the past couple of months and love holing up in my studio...I miss spending time outside and fall is my favorite outdoor season. If you live in or near Boston, then I hope to see you this weekend!

Boston Handmade at the SOWA Open Market
Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010 - 10am-4pm
460 Harrison Ave. in Boston's South End


Also, if you prefer to do all of your artisan shopping indoors, my characters and critters will also be at the West Elm craft event next Thursday. After that...I'll be a shut in until December!

West Elm's: "We Heart Handmade Art"
Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010 - 6-9 pm
West Elm, 160 Brookline Ave., Boston MA

Is just me or are you seeing double?

Take a double glance...they are in fact siamese twins! I've just made two sets of them actually. One pair are joined from the waist down, and the other pair are joined from the neck down...and what a pair they are! These girls have learned how to work together to get through life, and they're doing a great job...just look at those coordinating outfits!

Both sets of twins are one of a kind and are currently for sale in my Etsy shop. :)

Monday, October 4, 2010

Website News...

That's right, I have website news! And that news is that I am working on making some changes to my Vintage by Crystal website...and not just little changes...like I normally do where you barely notice it, but some major changes! I've already updated the front page and added an "About" page. I was really tired of the text heavy, image sparse front page and wanted something more fun and inviting. The front page will change every season and help keep things fresh. I moved all of my basic business info to the About page and added some fun links...including an amazing virtual tour of my studio, created by Russ Heller. I'm still working the kinks out on that, but you can check it out now and see if it works on your computer...it's really amazing!

The more major changes will happen in the next two weeks or so. After much thought and for many reasons, I've decided to stop offering made-to-order items on my website. It's more fun and less time consuming to create brand new and one of a kind pieces, and I'd love to bring you guys more of that. And since it's impossible to keep my website accurately updated with brand new goodies...all items will be offered for sale on Etsy. My current for sale section will act as a fun photo gallery of current and past work, in addition or perhaps instead of my current gallery. I'm hoping this move will help to make more time for myself, for this blog, and for exciting new projects! You can still order through my website for a short while...although I can't say until when just yet.

I'd love to hear what you think of the changes! I don't know how many of you have visited my website in the past, but I encourage you to all have a look-see and tell me what you think, good and bad, so far! :)

www.vintagebycrystal.com