The Old School Desk

Here's my son sitting in an old school desk that my mom bought years ago. She probably picked it up at an antique store or garage sale or maybe the side of the road. She embarrassed me... that was before these things were cool. Now I've turned into my mother, yes, the same mother who embarrassed me. Luckily my kids think it's cool and I don't embarrass them.

What do you think the kids that used these desks back in the day would have thought if their teacher told them that someday kids would have phones that they carried around with them sitting on their desk top? They probably would have said, "yeah, and we'll fly to school in our cars."

Anyway, I love it. I think it's pretty cool. I had it in my room when I was about his age....and I think I may have sat in a desk or two like this in Jr. High.

Antique Garden Charms

Well, I guess it helps to network if you have a small jewelry business. I've been making jewelry for about 5 years now and adding new creations as I've gone along. Besides making jewelry I decorate antique bottles, make gypsy windchimes, mixed media pieces, needlework and my newest creation is garden charms.

When I was at antique alley last weekend I started talking to a woman in a booth where I bought an antique chandelier prism. I was telling her I was buying the prism to replace one that had been broken on one of my garden charms. She asked me what a garden charm was. I explained the best I could and she asked to see them. The next day I went back with a bag of my garden charms. She really liked my vintage-looking garden charms and commissioned me to make several of them for her to sell at flea markets. She gave me all the antique chandelier prisms she had and told me to use them to make as many charms as I could. Woo-hoo! I felt like a REAL small business owner! I've FINALLY realized how important networking is and that it's not so hard. I think sometimes us creative people who make things just don't consider ourselves legitimate businesses... at least I don't. I'm trying to change my frame of mind when it comes to my business.... first of all, that I actually do have a business. After this week I will now have my creations in two businesses (maybe more since one of the business owners said he knew more people that might be interested in my stuff.) Now I just need to get out there and show my stuff.

Does anyone else have the problem of marketing your creations? I'm really trying to overcome my fear of ... rejection? It's hard to create something and have someone not interested in it, but really... so what? I need to remember that there are plenty of people who like my stuff and are interested in buying it. I'm going to put myself out there this week and see what happens!

These are the pieces I was given to "create" with.

and...

here are some vintage garden charms I created....

I loved making these! I made nine of them in just a few hours.

Hope everyone has a wonderful, creative week~

Vintage Love Bottle~

{In honor of Valentine's Day I will be posting "love" pictures until Feb. 14}

This is an old bottle that I altered.... i *heart* it

Antique Shelf

My dining room shelf . . .

This shelf is, I guess, sort of a homage to my mother, Willeta. She loved antiques, even when they weren't the "in" thing. She was always coming home with something from the antique store. When I was young I thought she was so uncool or just plain old. I wanted a house decorated with cool clay sculptures, glass coffee tables and smelling of eucalyptus like my friend Kathryn's house. Little did I know that 30+ years later all the stuff she loved and put in our home is all the beautiful "in" things that I see on my favorite blogs. Luckily, I still have some of her things so as I get older those pieces are making their way into my home.

The framed pictures are of my parents.

The small bottles on the left side of the shelf were hers.

The framed heart is a beautiful antique card that she put in a frame.

The frame isn't very pretty so I plan to re-frame it in something more ornate.

. . . . more of my dining room shelf

....and this frame and flower are sitting on the floor and propped up against the wall in my dining room. I bought the frame at a flea market for $5. .... it's worn and beautiful! The flower is from Wal-Mart... yes, I said Wal-Mart. I saw it one day when I was hanging out in the flower section. Most of the flowers were not very pretty, but this one caught my eye. I put it in my basket, then put it back. I really needed all my money that day to buy groceries. It wasn't very much, I think maybe $5., but that would buy a couple of gallons of milk and my budget was pretty low that day. A week or two later the flower was still there, so I bought it. I just love it for some reason. I plan to attach it to the frame and hang the frame empty on the wall. I'll be sure and post a picture when that project is done.

... the more I think I want a more modern look for my home .... the more antiques seem to creep into my house. . .

Hmmmmm...... maybe a little angel named Willeta is whispering in my ear