Just Listed



I just listed these here at jillruthandco.



Made from vintage trays, burlap, and embroidery hoops. The magnets are from vintage buttons--can you ever have enough old buttons???



The coffee advertising image I used on two of them is really neat.



The text on the clips came from a 1950s school text book. "Tom said, Sally said..." Fun stuff.

The Auction Story Continues...



More from the absentee auction--These Bibles were in a box in the no bid pile, so I got all of them plus other books for $.25. (The bush in the back is our rhododendron in full bloom!)



This was part of the "other books" I got with the Bibles for a quarter!! It's damaged, but the leather is like butter it's so smooth.




And inside was this dried flower sprig. Don't you just wonder? What was the occasion? What was on her mind the day she tucked it away?



This poem was written on one of the inside pages of one of the Bibles. I couldn't get all of the text in the picture, but you get the idea.



This was the Bible the poem was written in. I'd say she took the poem to heart. I don't know what I'll do with these Bibles. I took a lot of photographs of them today. All of them are embossed with the owner's name. All of them show the love they were given. For now, I am honored to have them.

New Collection



I have a new collection--zippers--not just any zippers however. These were painstakenly taken out of old clothing by a woman oh so many years ago. She probably would laugh that now her frugalness has a name and is not only good for the world but fashionable--Now we call it going "Green". I wonder what she would have called it?



These and the clothespins behind came from an auction on Sunday. One I didn't even go to! I left bids for the first time at an auction because we had a First Communion to go to out of town. The clerk with the auction house very graciously took my $.50,$1.00, and $2.00 bids. I did leave one bid for $10. When we got home there was a message on the machine that they had some "goodies" for me. OH MY GOODNESS--we came home with the suburban FULL. After I got there I asked if I could see all the items that were no bids and that's what really topped it all off. I gave them $.25 for items or piles. Then she said take whatever else you want for free. Yes, I did take more. (The yellow crock in the first picture was free.) This actually may be a sickness, but gosh it was fun going through all the boxes.



AND, the zippers...These are all listed here in my Etsy shop. There are more zippers from the auction that are new. Anyone know any good project with zippers? I've seen pouches made exclusively from zippers, but would love to hear any other ideas!
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April Showers



It's raining a beautiful, gentle rain today.



These are passion flowers just errupting. (I believe Pasque Flowers is the more formal name.) Some years they bloom at Easter and they are purple~~hence the name. I really like them. They have a neat fuzzy seed head after they're done blooming.




An overhang of cedars over part of the garden. The sound of the water dripping off was somewhat serene. I wish you could take photos of sounds.



Not the best picture, but a blooming bush of some kind?!



Ahh...a fresh tilled garden just waiting.




My garden clogs...I love these to just slip on to get wet and muddy when you need to run out on a day like this.

Here's to May Flowers!

Finished Products



The paint covered beautifully and the stand is now in my Etsy Shop. It really wasn't a transformation but a serious improvement in person from the worn finish.



This is staying in my home for now. I love it and it inspires so many more ideas. The shape is quite wonderful. I even liked the shadows it cast when I took the painting pictures last night. (The previous post.)
I had bought a box of silver and gold metallic spray paint at the lumber yard auction when it went out of business so you may be seeing a lot of metallic here.

Spray Paint Bandwagon



Since garage sales aren't in full swing yet, and I'm going to miss the next auction in town, AND since my little gals are a little easier to take out---we've been to the nearby thrift store a couple of times lately. Not something I've done a lot before. I've found some great items although a little higher priced than garage sales and auctions. I guess I consider it a donation since they are all charitable thrift stores!
The above is a great magazine rack/ashtray holder. I had removed the ashtray to clean it up.



I love this clock but really didn't dig the country blue. I think there should be wire "steam" coming out of the top, but it was missing.




I've been seeing some awesome transformations with spray paint all over the blog world. And even though I've certainly used spray paint a few times I usually don't think, "Hey, I'll just paint it!" when I see something that need spiffing. Well, now I'm jumping on the spray painting bandwagon. I'll show you the final product soon--I hope--if I can get back out tomorrow to finish. And if they don't turn out like I plan---well---the whole idea will just disappear into the blogosphere!

Cool Treasury


I really like this treasury I'm in. Those vintage flash bulbs are mine. I'm thinking I want to use that photo again sometime--I just really like it. Thanks thisilk for including me! You can view it here until tomorrow and then it expires.

Sharing the Vintage Joy



I sold this case the other day out of my Etsy shop. Here is the reply I got today:

"I received the vintage case today. OMG!!! I LOVE it. I'm going to use it for my wedding. My wedding theme is vintage glam so I thought the guest can put the gift cards in the case instead of a wedding card holder, something differnt. Can't wait for the guest to see it. "

I just love that others get as excited as I do about this stuff-and what a cool idea---a "vintage glam" wedding!

Easter is Coming Cloche


I found these cloches on sale at a gift shop recently. These are vintage Easter postcards I made copies of and then stitched around them with metallic thread. I took a part of the card I cropped off to make the little folded stand for them.



I've seen recently where someone made vintage cloches from old light globes and old knobs--really neat. As soon as I make one; I'll share it and the site.




Poor little chick is out of focus.



I made these eggs from a pattern I found on Whip Up . The pattern was contributed by Retro Mama. If you like any kind of crafting you need to check out Whip Up--there is some talent out there. I've only skimmed a few posts, and need to go back.



The fabric for these eggs came from one of my sweetest garage sale finds. It was a big bag--I mean BIG bag of vintage scraps of fabric for $1. I've been using the scraps for little scrappy projects and with how slow I am at getting to get projects done, this bag is going to keep me happy for a loooong time. There were even pieces of dresden plate quilt patterns and sunbonnet sue patterns in it. Not reproduction fabrics either--these were the real thing!



More cloches usually sitting empty waiting for me to fill-- I love my Easter nests. Thanks Retro Mama!!

BTW-the eggs are somewhat easy to make but you really need to be exact in sewing them. With scraps, like I used, you don't really know where the bias of the fabric is and some of mine wanted to distort. Ahem--they aren't so perfect. Oh, well!

Jim Martin 1961-2000

My first husband Jim, passed away nine years ago today. I've been thinking for awhile about what could I say today on my blog. There is a big risk in putting something so monumental as death into words especially when you aren't an accomplished writer. My conclusion was that there is no way for me to try to express in words how much we loved him, nor what my faith journey has been before, during, and after his death. I also can't express what a miracle it was that God brought Randy into our lives five years ago and consequently blessed us with two of the sweetest little girls. For those of you who don't know me, Jim died while exercising on the treadmill in our basement. Yes, it was his heart at the age of 38. He was a family practice physician and we had four children, 10,8,5, and 5 months.

So, that being said, I decided to share just a little about Jim's love of antiques and refinishing furniture. He refinished a lot of pieces and loved to collect too.





When I met Jim, he had a shefflara (umbrella plant) in his dorm room. He loved it. This is the one remaining plant still alive from his funeral. It's running amok, and is severely neglected. When I went to take a picture of it this morning, I noticed there was new growth.




Our bed he refinished.




Our collection of ships that he loved.




My spice cupboard that I tried to refinish, but never completed. Jim took over and got it done.




A dry sink or commode that he refinished.




One of many in our collection of telephones that he refurbished. It's plugged in and works!




Two more of our phones (also work, the top one is connected) I wish everyone could hear the sweet sound of dialing an old phone. Honestly, it's a neat experience. If I were a writer I could describe it better! He also refinished the plant stand (smoking stand?) they are sitting on.

This is only a sampling of items he restored and of what he liked to collect. Maybe I can show more another time.



Jim's folks gave this cross to me. Someone in their town made it. Isn't it beautiful?




One of my favorite pictures of Jim with our son Will. Will would play or watch t.v waiting for Jim to get done on the Internet. He would check the reflection of the computer monitor in his glasses to see when he was done. Then they would play "dinosaurs" on the computer together.
About 3 weeks or so after he died, Will crawled up in my lap during Mass and put his head against my chest. He whispered, "I can hear your heart. That's good."

Today, I pray for all those suffering loss. May they feel the arms of Jesus around them in their grief. Amen.

100 Sales!


Yippee! My jillruth shop at Etsy just made it's 100th sale. Wanna make it 101??? Check out that fine camera above! Just a little-- as they say "shameless self promotion". Somebody has to do it!
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