Anna's Minis and Junk

Tool Holder

2012-01-17T13:55:00.003-05:00

I made my own tool holder for my pliers from my old Prismacolor marker stand. I've got more pens than will fit in the stand any way. I saw a tool holder in the MicroMark catalog that works the same way for $20. I love reusing stuff I've already got.

The little red trays you see behind the tool holder are from the local eye doctors office. They are great for holding current projects.

Two late introductions

2012-01-16T14:00:00.003-05:00

I became an AUNT December 5, 2011. He was 23 days late and weighed 9 lbs 10 oz.
I'm so excited but I haven't had the chance to meet him yet. My brother and his fiance' live in Oregon.

Isn't he adorable?

We also welcomed another furbaby into our home on the same day my nephew was born.
This is Deuce.

Somebody left him in the parking lot of the store where a friend works.

Christmas Minis

2012-01-13T14:30:00.000-05:00

I made a bunch of miniature holly for wreaths.

I created a couple different style miniature ornaments for gifts this year.

I found a bunch of these 6 panel door kits at Ernie's Attic back in October. I knew I wanted to incorporate them into christmas gifts but I wasn't sure exactly how until about a week before Christmas.
I made the door knobs out of plain flat top bead caps and some antique rhinstones from my grandmother.
I wrapped a lot of minature gifts for these Christmas balls

This isn't mini but I had to share a photo. This is my brother's house.

He was featured on the MSN homepage on Christmas as one of the top light displays to visit.

Meet the newest members of our household

2011-10-13T15:00:00.001-04:00

I thought I would introduce the two newest furry members of our household. When my boyfriend moved in he brought his dog Scarlet.

My cats were scared to death of her at first.
She has made herself right at home

Then we were adopted by this sweet little kitten from across the street.
Her name is Storm Shadow because she is a ninja.

My other cats weren't too fond of her in the begining but now they are one big happy family.

Yard Sale Find

2011-10-12T15:00:00.002-04:00

I haven't been yard sale shopping lately just haven't felt the urge but last weekend I decided to stop at one sale down the road from me this is all I bought

I didn't need a microwave cart but for $10 I could really use a rolling storage cart for all my miniature landscaping supplies. I'm still working on getting it organized but here is what it looks like full of stuff..

Sam had to check it out too.

Latest Miniatures

2011-10-11T15:00:00.000-04:00

I've been slacking on blogging lately. I'm such a bad blogger.
At least I have been working on miniatures lately..
I've been working on floral tape plants this is my first attempt at a fern

I used a bunch of soft wire and brown floral tape to create this tiny tree.

(sorry it's a bad photo I took this with my phone camera)

Hobby Builders Supply Warehouse Sale

2011-09-22T14:00:00.003-04:00

I bought a LOT of stuff at the warehouse sale.
I got all these kits for $10

Garage Kit for $20

Royal Garden Pergola Kit for $8

Conservatory Kit $23

Magazines $1 each

Wallpaper .50 cents each

Stairs .25 cents each

Bag of Plastic Plants $2

Door $3 and 4 pots for $1

Miniature Designs

2011-09-21T14:00:00.000-04:00

Metal Minis

I bought 10 Grab Bags.

Atlanta Miniature Show

2011-09-20T14:00:00.000-04:00

I got to attend the Atlanta Miniature Society Show this weekend. I didn't spend a lot of money at the show but I went to Miniature Designs and the Hobby Builders Supply Warehouse sale. Today I'll show what I bought at the show.

Another Update

2011-07-20T10:00:00.000-04:00

A lot has happened since my last post...
I got dumped by my creative muse back in May so my polymer clay dragon is still unfinished. :(

I took my first trip by train to Vermont to visit a friend.

Went on a few bad online dates including one where I twisted my ankle.

And then I found the man of my dreams on Facebook.. I've actually known him since middle school just hadn't seen him in years. He is such a sweetheart and is so good to me. He really makes me happy.

I can't ever seem to find time to update my blog anymore. I do still try and look at everyone elses blogs on a daily basis if I can.
I've been working on miniatures a little bit lately in my free time. One of these days I'll actually finish a project that I can be proud of.
I miss having things to blog about. I can't promise that I'll actually keep up my blogging but I am going to try to at least post pictures on a regular basis.

Just a quick update

2011-03-24T14:07:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to update everyone. Creativity has returned to me. I've been working on a polymer clay dragon this week in my spare time. I've been dating a guy who also enjoys sculpting so I was finally inspired to pull out my polymer clays. My new fella is also into steampunk stuff and has been making pendants out of old watches.
I hope to get pictures posted soon of all the creative stuff being made in my house. I've missed blogging but haven't had anything to talk about until now. Hope everyone in blogland is doing wonderfully.
I thought I would share the picture of my most recent tattoo that I designed.

mini hugs,

Anna

I just wanted to update everyone

2010-12-03T15:17:00.002-05:00

A lot has been going on in my life lately. I just signed a lease for a new house today. I'm moving out on my own. I look forward to this new chapter in my life and I hope to be back blogging before long. I won't have a computer at home so it may still be a while. I just wanted to touch base with all my blogging friends that are out there and let them know I'm still here..
I miss everyone.

mini hugs,
Anna

I'm a bad blogger

2010-09-30T15:33:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging for the past couple of months.. I haven't been doing many projects lately. My energy is usually drained by the time I get home and I don't have anything to talk about on here. I just wanted to touch base with everyone and tell you all that I miss you. Please keep me in mind next week as a go to a specialist after getting a CT scan.

mini hugs,
Anna

I've missed my all my blogger friends

2010-08-18T13:00:00.003-04:00

I have a lot of updating to do. I've missed everyone so much. Life still seems to be giving me lemons. I decided it was time to start updating again.
Here are the pictures I promised to post from my weekend getaway with my mom.
The first night we stayed in a hotel (not worth taking pictures) The second night we ended up renting this cute little cabin.

It was just great spending time with my mom. I would have been happy to just stay indoors all weekend.. It was soooo hot!
I had never been to Helen, GA so we drove up there... its like Panama City Beach without the beach... I'm just not a fan of the crowds. I felt so sorry for the horses pulling people around the horrible traffic.

There weren't a lot of thrift stores up there. Most of the ones we did go to were overpriced. I did manage to find a few things in my price range.

I forgot to take pictures until I had already taken everything apart in the cabin.
I'll try to keep my blog more up to date from now on..

Stressed out

2010-08-02T14:48:00.002-04:00

I'm so stressed out with life right now that I can hardly even force myself to post anything on my blog. I haven't even been keeping up with reading blogs lately. I couldn't even make myself go to yard sales this weekend. I'm unhappy with work. I'm sorry if it takes me a while to get back into blogging.

Sorry

2010-07-28T16:03:00.002-04:00

Sorry I haven't kept my blog up to date. I keep forgetting to upload all my new pictures. I just got an iphone so I'm trying to figure out if I can upload straight from my phone or what. I had a great time this past weekend with my mom. I'll try to remember to upload the pictures when I get home.

Rain... Additions to my happy list.. 101+++

2010-07-21T15:00:00.001-04:00

102. Standing in a clear clean puddle in the grass during the rain.
103. Walking barefoot in the rain across a warm parking lot.
I forgot about this one till I did it again today. (new yellow box flips can't get wet)

Please excuse me as I rant..

Its been a really stressful week at work. I smarted off to my boss at work. I've been a temp here for almost 2 years. I wanted to know if I'm ever gonna be hired on or if this is it... Plus I haven't had a pay increase the entire time I've been here and I've been given a larger workload. I covered for our secretary of engineering last week. (and again tomorrow) I won't be here on Friday because I'm going on a vacation with my biggest supporter....my mom.

We are going to the NW Georgia mountains to go Thrifting and yard saling all weekend. I'm packing up a big tote of beads and jewelry making stuff to bring along. We haven't made any reservations anywhere and might not stay in the same place both nights .. we are just winging it.. I need a break and so does she..
I can't wait this is going to be a great weekend!

yard sales

2010-07-19T14:18:00.003-04:00

There were a lot of local yard sales this weekend be cause we had our Annual Homespun Festival down town. Arts and Craft show with lots of food and fun. I didn't attend the festival because I don't do well in crowds. I decided to stage all of my finds together in one photo rather than each sales find. I've got a mirror and a small table in my car still so I'll have to photograph them some other time.

Front and center is the collapsible shoe storage and bench $2 (nut came unglued from the bottom rods) easy fix

$1 for both the wire mesh containers. .50 cents for the square basket. .25 cents each for the zipper bags. $3 for the hand painted wooden containers. $3 for the tray table. .50 cents for the hand carved wooden box. $1 silver ship container. $2 Wellington Pin. $1 black & white tree photo. $1 swede round container. .50 cent black window container. $5 Craftsman Dust buster. $1 silver clock ($50 price tag on back)

Cats and Snakes

2010-07-16T15:00:00.001-04:00

My cats have a wild curiosity about my pet snake Azimuth. After feeding him on Wednesday night he stayed out in the open in his cage(I think he was sizing them up) He seemed just as curious about them as they were of him. I managed to get a few cute pictures of them checking each other out.

Luna was just sitting back and watching.. but Delilah seemed to want a more "hands on experience" she kept pawing at him thru the glass... While Chloe took the high approach on top of the cage.

Yard Sale Saturday

2010-07-15T14:57:00.000-04:00

Saturday started off overcast with a comfortable breeze so I thought I would get out and see what junk I could buy..
Found a group yard sale in a parking lot near my work. One lady was a beekeeper selling honey. I ended up talking to her for a long time about beekeeping. I told her I wanted to learn how to do beekeeping. She told me she would teach me everything I needed to know and help me get started. Of course I bought a jar of honey too.
I bought these jars for $1 each. I already have them full of odds and ends.

I got each of these jars for .50 cents

This cute change purse was .50 and the Brighton bag was free.

I got these good sized nesting boxes for $5

I followed the signs to a benefit sale a couple of blocks away.
I got these cool metal boxes for .50 cents each.

Dog bowls .50 cents each. $4 for all the GI Joe accessories. (the guns are so detailed)

I also bought a bunch of baked goods.

Thrift Store Finds

2010-07-14T14:32:00.000-04:00

Last Tuesday I had to go to Hiram so I decided I would visit my favorite thrift stores while I was in the area. I even went to Goodwill.. I bought myself two "girlie" shirts.. (I normally shop in the mens section for big comfortable shirts)
I stopped at A twist of life thrift got the paint for .42 cents.. Patina for .82 cents, metal bracelet .52 cents and the elephant bracelet for $1.82

I went to another thrift store across town and get a new pack of iron on transfers for dark fabrics for .25 cents

Watch .50 cents

Work is getting in the way of my blogging...

2010-07-13T15:30:00.001-04:00

I've been working my arse off at work this week.. I'm covering for someone. I haven't had a chance to post anything. When I got home yesterday and logged online my boyfriend needed the computer. I got to working on my craft room again and never took the time to blog. After working on a PC all day I really don't want to use another one when I get home.
Monday after work I worked on my craft room again. The jig for my drill to be used as a lathe had fallen back behind a set of rolling drawers in the corner. Part of it had broken off but it wasn't anything I couldn't fix with Elmer's Glue.
Before

After I got it all glued up I decided it needed something. So I got out all my random colors of Model magic and cutters and started decorating. I think It turned out really cute even if I did run out of black before I could finish.
After

ADD strikes again

2010-07-13T14:30:00.000-04:00

I just thought I would share the stupid thing I did. Over the weekend I was still working on cleaning and organizing the house. One of the many tasks that needed to be done was get the couch cover put back on. I washed it last week and had hung it up to dry in various areas of the house. I got the first cushion cover on and apparently got side tracked while going to fetch the second one. I think I ended up cleaning out the cat box in the process. I didn't think about it again until the next morning when I saw this...

Toby couldn't decide which way he liked it best so he decided to give them all a try.

Look What I found!

2010-07-09T15:10:00.003-04:00

While I was searching for my printable fabric I came across my old Maple Town critters. They are all naked so please don't laugh. They were well loved. My friend and I used to play with them outside in the woods. I didn't have many but it looks like I've got Katie's extended family here in Georgia..
I have the entire bear family but only daddy gray rabbit. I also have a larger white cat and some of the other cheaper off brand names. I'll take pictures of the rest of them another time.

I remember being jealous of my friend in Florida.. she had all the Maple Town Families. I loved playing with them. I wonder if she still has all of those...? I'll have to ask.. I played with them every summer when I was visiting family in Bradenton.

Steampunk jewelry??? maybe

2010-07-08T17:16:00.004-04:00

Every Wednesday night I go to my parents house to eat so last night my mom asks me if I'm still gonna make Steampunk stuff. She had a small jar with all this cool old antique furniture hardware...like key holes and drawer pulls. She had gotten them from my great grandmothers estate back in 1991 and hadn't done anything with them yet so she passed them on to me..
I've got all kinds of ideas for them. Now all I need some leather tools so I can make wrist cuffs and other things.. I've got plenty of leather.

I also raided my old jewelry drawer from high school.

glass beads

2010-07-07T15:02:00.003-04:00

I had a busy weekend and didn't get to work on any glass until late Monday night. These are my favorite colors to use.

I want to really play around with the swirls I like the way they look. The new torch makes all the difference in the world. The glass flows so much better now. I attempted to make a heart pendant last week but it didn't survive the cooling process.

Steampunk Charms

2010-07-06T13:57:00.002-04:00

Just a quick post of all the amazing charms I received in the Steampunk Charm Exchange.

Steampunk Swap

2010-07-03T11:01:00.002-04:00

I meant to post these yesterday but things got busy around here. Here are the pictures of all the charms I made.

I still have to take pictures of all the charms I received.

Yard Sales and Fireworks

2010-07-01T14:00:00.001-04:00

Saturday was the annual Aragon Bar-B-Que in the neighboring town so I knew there would be yard sales close to it. It's a big deal around here. Aragon is a tiny little town without any redlights but people were coming out of the woodwork for this thing. Its a little festival with a few kiddie rides and games and lots of good food. They usually have a couple local bands play music and the adult league softball teams play games all day long. At 10pm they have a firework show.
(I love the fireworks setting on my camera)

I only found one yard sale in Rockmart and picked up a couple things.
Got these bracelet parts for .50 cents.

This craft book was $2

I headed to Aragon to look for more sales. A local church was having an indoor sale.
I got this used chopper for $1... I've needed one for my fimo for a while.

I got this brandnew leather wallet and jewelry for $2

There was another sale around the corner but all I got there was two new Plano boxes for $5.

What's in your keepsake box?

2010-06-30T14:00:00.000-04:00

I was looking thru my keepsakes box the other day and thought I would share some of the items contained within. Does anyone else have a keepsake box? What do you keep inside?

I've been collecting messed up coins for as long as I can remember. My favorite one is the blank penny.. I found it in a new roll of pennies when I worked in retail. The pennies on the left are from various places. PCB zoo, Rock City, Six Flags and the Silver Comet Trail. The two smashed coins were the only two coins recovered from the train tracks. The ones on the right side are just various abused coins. One quarter has its sides rolled in forming a bevel on both sides of the coin.. Some are just bent and twisted and some are overused.

I save any wheat pennies, 50 cent pieces or dollar coins I get. I love the look of foreign coins.

I also save paper money from around the world. I found one in a box of stuff from an estate sale. Most of the others I've had since I was a kid.

The best keepsake of all is the green stone my brother brought home for me from Scotland. I love the color of it.

I have another keepsakes box that I've saved all the ticket stubs and cards since Todd and I have been dating.

My first Bubble Beads

2010-06-30T10:37:00.002-04:00

I made these Sunday night. I decided to only use my new glass rods and stringers.

I made some other beads but I haven't taken pictures of them yet.

Craft room and Glass store

2010-06-28T15:00:00.000-04:00

Finally got my craft room rearranged.
I still have more sorting to do but atleast the end is in sight. I put all my glass making supplies in the black milk crate I found on the curb. Everything fits great. I put all my glass rods in a plano box after I took these pictures.

I will take better pictures this afternoon. I was still cleaning when I took these Saturday.
I drove to Roswell, GA Friday morning to visit Flametree Glass. It was the coolest store. The owners were very friendly and helpful. Here is everything I bought there.

On my way home I stopped by a thrift store I'd never been to and pick up a few things. I bought a large bottle of Sobo Glue for .69 cents, a picture frame for a certificate for .50 cents, this huge bread book for $2.69

and a bag full of watches for $3.99

Progress is being made!!!

2010-06-24T18:11:00.003-04:00

I decided to take Thrusday and Friday this week as mental health days from work. I don't get paid vacation or sick days.
I'm so glad I took off work.. I've been really stressed with work lately and I needed some "me time".
I got a lot done today in my craft room.

Before

After

The craft room looks better but most of the stuff that was in there is now sitting in the living room waiting to be sorted out.

Chloe even claimed her bunk bed before anyone else had a chance to steal it.. lol

I'm not finished yet but atleast progress has been made.

Creative Slump & Vacation

2010-06-22T13:19:00.000-04:00

I was not feeling very creative this weekend so I didn't get anything done besides laundry.
This whole week I have the house to myself so I'm working on getting my craft room rearranged. I needed to be able to use the living room for a storage area. I should have started on it yesterday after work but I decided to play a video game on the big screen in the living room.
My boyfriend and his son went with his family to Panama City Beach. I didn't want to go this year. Plus staying home alone is a vacation of sorts.

If I manage to make any progress in the craft room I'll update with pictures but it will probably be a quiet week on my blog this week. I'm still reading blogs daily but won't really have anything to post on mine.

Glass work

2010-06-18T14:13:00.004-04:00

Yesterday evening we had a big storm roll thru so it was a lot cooler outside. I decided to work on glass beads again.
As soon as I tried to light my torch I could tell something was wrong with it. It took about 5 tries for it to light and it kept spitting and sputtering the whole time I was working. I had just changed my canister of gas so I knew it wasn't out. I checked up on it online and discovered that everyone that has owned a Fireworks torch says they don't last long. The get gunked up and can't be disassembled for cleaning. I guess I need to look into buying a Hot Head torch.
I did manage to make 5 beads but it took forever for the glass to melt and was difficult to work with.
The yellow bead shattered when I tried to take it off the mandrel.

101 Things that Make Me Happy!

2010-06-17T15:56:00.003-04:00

Anna over at Chickens in the Basement posted her list the other day so I thought I would try to make a list of 101 things that make me happy too.

101 Things that Make Me Happy!
1. My Family
2. My Boyfriend Todd
3. Wednesday night supper at my parents
4. My dog Toby
5. my cats Chloe..
6. Delilah..
7. Luna..
8. Sam
9. Watch parts
10. Good deals
11. yard sales
12. Thrift stores
13. Thunder storms
14. Rain
15. A/C
16. friends
17. blogger friends
18. vintage jewelry
19. vintage stuff
20. All animals
21. Bare feet
22. Yellow box flip-flops
23. Comfortable jeans
24. T-shirts
25. Free stuff
26. Leather scraps
27. Crafts
28. Polymer clay
29. Tools
30. Glue
31. Good books
32. Soft sheets
33. Rainbows
34. Ladybugs
35. Tiny seashells
36. Fresh country air
37. Morning dew
38. Fresh strawberries
39. Sound of babies laughing
40. cats purring
41. Learning family history
42. Sweet tea
43. Chocolate
44. Ice cream
45. old sliding pocket doors
46. old metal doorknobs
47. Please
48. Thank you
49. Old wooden tools
50. Old photos
51. Butterflies
52. Kitty kisses
53. Finding gemstones
54. Feathers
55. Magic markers
56. Good music
57. Meteor showers
58. Glass
59. Beads
60. Metal findings
61. Flowers
62. Honey bees
63. 4 leaf clovers
64. Finding money in the dryer
65. Cats making biscuits
66. Sound my dog makes when he sees another dog
67. Fluffy clouds
68. Hugs
69. Cheesecake
70. Streams
71. waterfalls
72. Sunglasses
73. Classic chap stick
74. Sunday comics
75. Fridays
76. Cooler weather
77. finishing a jigsaw puzzle
78. cats on catnip
79. funny videos
80. lemonade
81. granny smith apples
82. fried green tomatoes
83. coloring books
84. moon
85. dependable cars
86. pedicures (I’ve only had 2 my whole life)
87. nature
88. Muppets
89. Labyrinth
90. robin Williams
91. garden fresh tomatoes
92. having a job
93. having roof over my head
94. being debt free
95. finding clothes that fit on sale
96. doodles on paper
97. my digital camera
98. chimpanzees
99. gorillas
100. orangutans
101. Prozac

100th post

2010-06-16T15:14:00.002-04:00

This is my 100th post.... and I don't have anything to blog about. (crickets chirping)

I haven't done any glass beads lately been too hot outside.
I haven't worked on miniatures because my craft room is still a mess.
I have been working on my craft room everyday. I've discovered that I don't have enough room for all my containers.
I've really got to work on the storage side of the room.
This is what it looks like from my desk

The lovely picture on the wall was here when we moved in, it is covering a huge hole in the paneling that was also here when we moved in 6 years ago. I think I might remove the old kitchen table from the room completely. Probably put it on the back porch to do glass beads on. I'd planned on using the tv in my craft room but there isn't a cable wire in there so the tv has just been stored there for a few years. I'd love to be able to open the doors on the entertainment center again.

Yard Sales

2010-06-14T13:29:00.004-04:00

Friday during lunch I stopped by an estate sale that I had been to last month. They had uncovered more stuff so they were selling again.
These watches were $1 each

Gloves were 75 cents

These items were 50 cents each

These necklaces were just 25 cents each

Saturday morning I decided to just hit the local sales. When I walked out the door just after 8am it was nearly 90 degrees and muggy. I knew I wouldn't last long out in the heat so I decide to do drive by shopping. There were two sales just a block away from our house and they seemed to only have kids stuff so I didn't bother getting out of the car. I had seen one on Craigslist that said they had crafts so I headed towards it. When I got to the sale I discovered that it was the same yard sale I've been to 3 other times. Her yard is nicely shaded so the heat wasn't so bad.
She had put out a lot more stuff than the other few times I'd been there. Tons of craft stuff and selling it cheap.

$2.50 for everything.

close up of jewelry

Steampunk Charms are done

2010-06-11T11:30:00.000-04:00

I finished my steampunk charms last night. I might still add a little bit more to each of them but the over all design is complete. That is a huge weight off my shoulders. Ya'll will have to wait until after the swap is complete to see all of the designs. My cats kept trying to help. Delilah sat and watched for a long time but as soon as she started messing with the charms she was removed from the desk top.
Chloe came to help while I was cleaning everything up so I took a few cute pictures of her.
I almost got a picture of her yawning but my camera wouldn't focus on her until right after the yawn. But little pink kitty tongues are cute too.. lol

Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to finish organizing my craft room.

Steampunk and Glass Beads

2010-06-10T12:01:00.000-04:00

Last night I finally created a Steampunk charm that I love. What do ya'll think?

I haven't worked on my glass beads in over a week since I've been cleaning and making steampunk charms. These are the last set of beads I made... I don't really like any of them. The colors came out ugly..

Steampunk Charms in progress

2010-06-09T14:00:00.000-04:00

I thought it would be really easy to put together a dozen Steampunk charms... boy was I wrong... There are too many decisions to make. I spent most of the evening yesterday disassembling watch gears and pins. (I finally figured out how to remove the pins in the center of all the gears) Those things are sharp. I don't know how many I've gotten stuck in my fingers so far. Handling watch parts is dirty.
I have all these ideas in my head of what to do but making it work in metal is difficult. I guess I need to figure out how to solder everything. I bought a wind up clock a while back at a yard sale and took it apart of all the gears and stuff. I'm worried that the charms might weigh too much.
I want to figure out some way to incorporate a couple of the 9mm shell casings I saved from my first time firing a gun.

Here is a sneak peek at some of my layouts so far. (I'm not really happy with them yet.)

The 3 plastic drawers on the right hand side of my desk are packed full of "steampunk stuff".

Craft Room Cleaning

2010-06-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

I've been working on getting my craft room functional again. I worked on it all weekend. There still isn't enough space for all my craft stuff.
This is what it looked like back in March.

This is the progress I made by Sunday afternoon.

This is the $10 bookshelf I got at a yard sale a while back. I moved all my books off my wire shelf to this one.

My desk on Sunday.

This is what it looked like last night while I was working on Steampunk charms.

Books and Glass Beads

2010-06-03T14:35:00.004-04:00

This past weekend I went to Barnes and Noble and finally used the gift card I got for Christmas. I bought two books

and

So I tried out one of the techniques used in the lampwork book.
I'm pleased with the results for my first few tries.
My glass disk kept shattering before I could add all the dots to make the flower petals.

Yard Sale Finds

2010-06-02T15:00:00.000-04:00

This weekend my friend Tonya and I hit a few of the local yard sales and an estate sale. The estate sale was crazy that lady must have bought every holiday decoration she could find and then left them in the package. There were dozens of boxes of holiday decor. Tonya bought an entire box full of pots and pans for $10. There was a really nice set Betty Crocker cookware and another full set. Plus muffin pans and a pasta pot with strainer lid.
I was looking for smaller stuff... like jewelry... I only spent $2 at the estate sale and this is what I brought home.
7 new watch bands. (I'm not sure why I bought them) all but one is 10kt gold.

and a box of random jewelry. The bracelet is 24kt gold.

Found another sale across town and bought these three red hat society bracelets for .20 cents each.

We went to one sale out in the country that smelled horrible. The cow poop fertilizer on the lawn made my eyes water. I picked up a new in package green wire picnic set for $2 but I forgot to take a picture.
I found a bunch of jewelry for $1 each at the smelly sale. The necklace on the bottom right hand side still has a price tag for $18. Notice the little kitty paws at the top left hand corner of the picture, she was being so helpful.

Delilah loved her bling. Chloe seems to be jealous.

Chloe decided that they weren't her style.

Sam wasn't interested in any of the yard sale finds.

Aging Solutions Links

2010-06-02T09:30:00.000-04:00

Here is a link to the Micromark page for Blacken-It
http://www.micromark.com/BLACKEN-IT-4-FL-OZ,7267.html
I've ordered lots of things from Micromark.
Here is are step by step instructions for using Blacken-It on an army model.
http://www.swannysmodels.com/Blackenit.html
I bought Patina-It this weekend... I'm not really happy with how it looks. It looks more like I painted the metal green rather than actually turning the metal green. It also rubs off easily.

This is a different brand but it came up every time I did a search for aging metals.
http://houseofantiquehardware.com/s.nl/sc.13/category.145/it.C/.f

Aging Metal

2010-06-01T13:30:00.001-04:00

I completely forgot that I had bought Blacken-It solution back in February.

I tested out all kinds of different metals to see how they turned out. Before is on the left after on the right.

I'm really happy with how they all turned out. I didn't age any of the watch parts because I want them to stand out against the blackened parts. I'll have to pick up some more E6000 glue because the tube I have has completely dried up.

Steampunk

2010-05-27T15:07:00.002-04:00

I need help with aging metals. I have lots of new jewelry findings that I would like to look old. Does anybody know how to age them?
I've been trying to work on my Steampunk swap for http://ipokedabadgerwithaspoon.blogspot.com/
I have a bunch of these gears collected up to use..

I can't decide on the other elements of the charms. I haven't ever designed anything like this. I'm going to try to go to Michaels Crafts tonight to get some antiqued looking brass and copper materials to use.
Thank you Glenda at http://peppercornminis.blogspot.com/
for the tip about washing all the watch parts with soap and hot water. I wouldn't have thought of that and would have been really mad when the parts wouldn't stick with glue.

Monday's Beads

2010-05-26T13:00:00.000-04:00

Photobucket is down for maintence today. So I'm hoping I can load my photos straight into blogger.

I worked on my steampunk swap last night. I was using a tiny screwdriver to take apart an old watch when it slipped and I ended up with a screwdriver buried a quarter of an inch under my fingernail. It hurt so bad and bled like crazy. I finally got the gear off I'd been working on and called it a night.

Glass Beads

2010-05-25T13:30:00.000-04:00

I tried to make beads last night but the wind kept blowing my flame around. I did manage to make 10 but I haven't uploaded the pictures yet.
I put all of the beads I'd made by Sunday on a string just to see how they look. I'm pleased with them. I've since added 10 more to the strand I'll post photos tomorrow.
I think I'll take a break from glass beads tonight to work on my Steam punk charm swap with http://ipokedabadgerwithaspoon.blogspot.com/
I love the name of her blog it just gives me a funny mental picture.

These are the remaining weekend beads that I made on Sunday.

I broke two on Sunday.

Saturday Beads

2010-05-24T13:00:00.001-04:00

I went to Hobby Lobby on Friday after work and got more glass rods. There weren't any black or white rods in the packs so I guess I'll have to order them online. I made a few beads on Saturday morning only using my new rods.

I only broke one bead Saturday.

Do you believe in Ghosts?

2010-05-21T13:00:00.002-04:00

I am a believer of spirits and ghosts. I love the show Ghost Hunters and I'm always in search of the paranormal. I just wanted to see how many of my blog land friends were also believers. The only spirit I've ever seen with my own eyes was a white German Shepard we had when I was growing up. My parents had also witnessed this same spirit running past the windows in different locations. We stopped seeing him when we got a new dog.
This picture was taken at a local cemetery in Rome, GA.

Do you see the soldier sitting on the stairs?

Weekend Plans

2010-05-21T12:36:00.003-04:00

I bought two tanks of fuel for my torch on Wednesday but I haven't really had time to create the past couple of days. I plan on going to Hobby Lobby after work today to get more glass rods. I'll have the house to myself all weekend so I plan on creating a lot of beads.
It's supposed to rain tomorrow so there probably won't be any yard sales. I really don't need more stuff. I still need to assemble the 6' bookshelf I bought last Saturday at a yard sale. I want to reorganize my craft area. The shelf will take all the books off my wire cube racks and free up space for all my craft containers. I know my boyfriend would love for me to get rid of a lot of stuff but maybe if I just make it all fit in the space better he will be happy.
Wish me luck. I'll have new beads to show off on Monday.

Tuesday's Glass Beads

2010-05-20T14:00:00.001-04:00

The one in the center is a vessel instead of a bead. I wanted to try something different

I ran out of fuel while making this one

Monday's Glass Beads

2010-05-19T14:00:00.001-04:00

The goofy shaped one is one I stopped on because it was sticking to the metal

Yard Sales

2010-05-18T14:45:00.001-04:00

Apparently the steroid shot I got on Friday was still kicking my butt on Saturday. I couldn't get cooled off. I probably should have stayed out of the sun completely.

This weekend I decided to keep it close to home for yard sales. The church down the street from my house was having a indoor yard sale so I started off my morning there. I didn't find anything that I had to have. I heard about a community yard sale across town and decided to check it out. Almost every other house in this subdivision was having a yard sale but nobody had priced anything. (big yard sale pet peeve) These were the most crowded yard sales ever. There wasn't any shade in the whole neighborhood. Back to my car air on high driving on to the next sale. Mostly old kids toys and nick-knacks being sold. I did find two wooden tray tables for $5. I also found a black 6' bookshelf new in the box for $10. I ended up leaving that subdivision before stopping at all the sales, I just couldn't take the heat.
I drove back towards where I work and knew there were at least two sales in the shade. I found a plastic case for .25 cents and a box of domino's for $2. I called it a day before noon.

Making Glass Beads

2010-05-17T14:00:00.000-04:00

I love the Glass bead making kit I got for my birthday. I have had so much fun making beads.

These are the first 5 beads I made on Thursday night. The large blue one on the right broke.

Here are all the beads I've made... (broken ones too)

I loved the colors in this one but it broke when I tried to remove it.

A few more of my favorites

Ear Problems and glass beads

2010-05-14T11:49:00.003-04:00

I went to the doctor today since my ears weren't any better when I woke up. He said I had a lot of congestion in my ears... I don't have any other congestion How did I get suddenly congested in my ears. He gave me a steriod shot again and a precription for Alegra and nasal spray (yuck, I hate nasal spray)
I thought I was going to go postal in waiting room.. all the screaming little kids and tv noise. They took me to my room and I waited almost an hour by myself just to see the doctor for 5 miniutes.
I went to walmart to get my meds filled and was overwhelmed by all the sounds in there. Another hour wait to get meds so instead of waiting in the loud store I went and bought ear plugs and went in to work. I should have just stayed home today even with ear plugs the noise is getting to me.
I couldn't stand to listen to the tv last night so I decide that I would finally try out my glass bead making kit. I went on the back porch and worked on them for about 3 hours. When it finally got too dark and I couldn't see what color glass rod I was using I called it a night. I only managed to make 5 beads. One turned out great, the others leave a bit to be desired. I took pictures while they were cooling but I didn't upload them yet.

Strange Auditory Issues

2010-05-13T11:45:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I started feeling pressure in my ears almost like cabin pressure on a plane. This morning when I woke up it was like a sound overload every noise is making me cringe. I'm hearing a constant pulsing in my ears almost like a helicopter. The sound of the phones ringing at work are over whelming. Whenever the door opens to the outside the pressure increases in my head and everything get louder. Even the sound of my own voice is hard to handle. Deep sounds seem to bother me more than anything so the sound of all the guys in the office talking is making me shudder. I never thought every day sounds would affect me like this. I just feel like crying.
Am I going crazy? Has anybody else ever had something like this happen?
I tried to get an appointment with the Dr but there isn't a Dr in the office today.

Yard sale finds continued

2010-05-12T13:43:00.003-04:00

After shopping all the local yard sales I decide to drive to Dallas. There is house on the way to Dallas that has a yard sale every weekend because they are on the main highway. I picked up a lot of stuff from that sale. But this cute little locket was the best.

I got all the beads

and all this jewelry

I went to a sale from Craigslist and found these cute Dutch paper mobiles and cards. I would have searched for more but it was too hot standing in sun in the driveway.

I went to Goodwill and found a couple of cute necklaces but I couldn't force myself to pay $4 each for them since I planned on taking them apart. I ended up leaving there empty handed. I stopped by another thrift store and didn't find anything there either. My last stop was A Twist of Life Thrift store.. I found this cute necklace that is heavy as lead.. (I think the beads are made of lead)

I headed home after that and took a nap. My brother called and woke me up about 8pm to tell me that he and his wife were at my parents. I ended up going over there until about 2:30 am playing the card game Quiddler. We had a blast.

Yard Sale finds

2010-05-11T14:30:00.002-04:00

There were a bunch of yard sale within a mile of my house this past Saturday. It was a perfect day for junkin with nice cool breeze. The first yard sale I hit had a bunch of jewelry for sale but no prices so I picked out everything I wanted and asked how much she wanted for it. $3 for all of this...

There was a yard sale across the street from this one but I didn't go to it.
I drove to another sale across town that I'd seen on Craigslist but apparently they didn't have the sale. On my way back into town I saw another sign and decided to stop. I only picked up this cute puzzle there for .50 cents.

I stopped at a few more sales but didn't find anything worth buying at those. I found an estate/yard sale two streets over from my house. I hit the jackpot on jewelry and watches at this one. I only spent $7 for everything I got here.
$2 for all of these..

.25 cents each for these..

.50 cents for each of these..

.50 cents for each bag of watches..

.50 cents for this working antique ladies pocket watch. According to the serial number it was made in 1896. American Waltham

I ended up with 12 watches from this one sale. I love old watches. Something about all the gears. If they don't run they get disassembled for parts for steam punk stuff..
More pictures tomorrow of my Dallas area finds.

Luna & Delilah

2010-05-11T09:13:00.001-04:00

I just thought I would share the cute photo I took last night.

Delilah update

2010-05-10T13:30:00.002-04:00

Delilah seems to be doing a lot better. This morning she and Luna were play fighting. I tried to get pictures but they wouldn’t slow down enough to take any. Delilah also seemed to take great delight in attacking all the laundry I was trying to fold last night.
She loves having her belly rubbed and rolls over any time I pet her.
Her belly looks rough in this picture but it doesn't seem to bother her at all.

Thanks for all the well wishes for my kitty.

Kitty update

2010-05-07T13:51:00.002-04:00

Delilah stopped bleeding externally last night. I'm concerned about her bleeding internally though. Her gums seemed a little pale this morning. I'm going to keep an eye on her and if they don't start to turn pink again I guess I'll be taking her back to the vet for another blood transfusion. She and her sister have been cuddling a lot. Luna wants to play but Delilah doesn't.

I kept them in the bedroom with us last night. Every time I heard them moving around I switched on the light to check on them. I'm so glad I got the fixed when I did or we wouldn't have know about the rat poison and we would have lost her.

Delilah (long post)

2010-05-06T16:14:00.004-04:00

I picked up my cats at 8am this morning. There was paperwork and antibiotics for Delilah. She was meowing like crazy and Luna was just chilled out. I talked to them both the whole way home and put my fingers in the cage to pet them. As soon as we got home and I got them in the bedroom I opened the cages. Delilah came out instantly, Luna was a little hesitant. I sat down in the floor with them and Delilah started climbing and rubbing all over me and being extra affectionate (not normally like her she is usually aloof) When she climbed off my lap I noticed a blood stain on my pant leg. I picked her up and her belly was covered in fresh blood. I checked her gums and they were almost white. I called the spay and neuter clinic that did the surgery and they told me to get her to the vet asap. So I got her cleaned up and called the vets office.. they weren't open yet. I gave them some food and water and they both ate. I set up an appointment and got a towel for the trip back to cedartown. I let her out of the cage in the car so she wouldn't act so crazy. I laid a towel across my lap and she just sat there the whole ride looking out the window. The vet read the paper work and once he saw her he said one of the sutures had come loose. He wanted to run a couple blood test and see how her blood was clotting. While we waited on the blood work she climbed all over me like a jungle gym.

She tested negative for FeLV and her blood count looked ok a little on the low side. Her blood was extremely slow to clot on the slide he took and the clot was extremely weak. They suspect she ingested Rat Poison in the past couple of days. They gave her a vitamin K shot to counter act the poison and I have to give her a vitamin k capsule every day for the next 3 weeks to get it all out of her system. They also put one suture in her belly where the bleeding was occurring but by the time I got home again she started bleeding from another spot higher up. Her gums are pinker than they were this morning but not as pink as her sisters. I guess its still touch and go.

Cats

2010-05-06T06:49:00.004-04:00

Yesterday morning I took my two outside cats to have them spayed. Well about 6 pm last night I get a call that Delilah wasn't doing good. They had to open her back up due to internal bleeding and her blood was brown. They said they were giving her a blood transfusion already when they called me. They called me back again at 8pm to tell me that her color was coming back and that she looked better but there was a possibility that her body could reject the donor blood. Everyone please keep Delilah in your thoughts. I go to pick them up at 8 this morning. I'm hoping she will be alright.

Bead Books and my first bracelet

2010-05-04T13:02:00.006-04:00

I ordered some bead books from www.edwardrhamilton.com. They have great deals on books. I got two bead books, a bead kit, two books for Christmas presents and a book for my dad's birthday with free shipping.
I'm not really impressed with this book but its got a couple cute projects.
$4.95

This book has some amazing projects that are a bit advanced for me. $5.95

This is the book from the beading kit I bought. (I threw away the box before I took the pictures) $5.95

I started working on my first bracelet last night. I'm using memory wire for a long spring like bracelet. This is the style my mom has been wearing lately so I'm making it for her for mothers day.

Yard Sale finds

2010-05-03T13:34:00.004-04:00

Saturday started off really cloudy with a chance of rain. I was determined to go to at least a few yard sales before the rain came. I headed towards Cedartown to Church Rummage Sale. I didn't get pictures of everything because I'm storing a cute doll house shaped book shelf at a friends house until I get it fixed up. I bought it for $3.
I got this bead kit for $2.

I got both of these for .25 cents each.

I searched Craigslist for local yard sales and borrowed my boyfriends GPS to navigate to them. My first stop was way back on this country road covered in potholes. It started to mist a little so they were moving things to their porch when I pulled up. I spotted a cute drawing table and stool for $15. I was trying to see if it would raise up and they told me I could have it for $10 and they would load it in my car. It looks brand new they said their daughter just used it to stack stuff on. They also included a little roll of paper.

After I left there I went to another sale on the same road. This was all I found for $1.

I stopped at a couple more sales on the back roads and left empty handed from one and only spent .25 cents at the other.

I headed to Hiram for an Estate/Yard Sale not expecting to find anything good. Everything is usually over priced at estate sales but I found some great buys.
The yard sale part was a bit lacking but the estate sale was very organized. The only thing I found out there were these 6glass syringes for $1.

The glassed in porch was full of plastic containers. Rubbermaid drawers, shoe boxes, etc... I resisted the urge to get any of them. I found this little craft container full of floss and ribbon for $2.50.

Then I went out to the living room to fight the masses over the jewelry. I found these two bracelets for $2 and necklace for $2.

These were $1 each

These were .50 cents each. I plan on taking them all apart for the beads.

I had my eye on a few other things but ladies were snatching things up as fast as possible.
There was another Church yard sale in Hiram and I found this cool unused roll-up tool box for $3 that I'm going to store beads in. The dividers were still wrapped in plastic.

I bought these pieces of jewelry and bookmark just for the beads for $1.50.

I ran in to Michaels for some memory wire. And then next door to Petsmart for meal worms and crickets. I didn't even stop at Goodwill store. I was headed back towards home when I decided to stop off at the Twist of Life thrift store. I picked up this necklace, bracelet and ear rings set for $1.82 and the other bracelet for .52 cents.

I'm going to try to make some bracelets out of all the beads I have. I'll keep yall posted on my progress.

Random Stuff

2010-04-30T16:21:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the complete randomness of this post.
Our office got a new Xerox printer that is Eco friendly. The "ink" is wax instead of toner powder. The waste is just a small black wax block that could be melted into crayons. It will write on paper just like a crayon.
I printed off a few mini stained glass designs on overhead transparencies. The cool thing about the ink is it leaves a raised surface so I think this will work to my advantage for coloring. If I get a chance this weekend I'll paint a few with Gallery Glass and take pictures.

Gift

2010-04-29T14:00:00.002-04:00

My boyfriend bought me this awesome birthday present.

I can't wait to try it out. I just have to buy the fuel for the torch and I'll be trying to create some beads.

Its my birthday!!!

2010-04-28T16:30:00.001-04:00

I can't believe I'm 30. Yet I don't act like it. My friend at work brought me this mylar ballon so everyone would know its my birthday
and rainbow cake from the bakery (my favorite)

Weekends Thrift Finds

2010-04-28T14:04:00.003-04:00

Since it was raining all day Saturday there weren't any yard sales.
I went to all the local thrift stores and only got a few things. I didn't take pictures of any of these because most are still in my car. I went in to Goodwill not expecting to find anything but found a few good deals.
I bought one of those puzzle roll up storage mats new in the box. I also found a pasta cookbook for my dad for his pasta machine. As I was standing in line to check out I spotted the best find of all for $7.67

I looked it up online it retails for $69.95. I love clip art. There are 29 Cds included in this set. All the cds are there and in perfect condition. The book has about 1,000 pages and its in great condition.
I got these beads and findings at another thrift store.

I stopped at the Dollar Tree and found these cool colors of super fine glitter.

I found this beading loom at Walmart so I finally used up the money left on my gift card from Christmas.

Beads

2010-04-27T14:00:00.002-04:00

The lady selling the beads asked me how long I'd been beading I told her I didn't really bead but I wanted beads for making miniatures. She said she had another lady come in looking for beads to make lamps out of. She started picking out all the beads she thought looked like miniature lamps. I didn't even look for beads that size I was going for the smaller bottle sizes. Plus her 4 year old grand-daughter was sitting on the table showing me all the beads she thought were the best. (she was so cute) I spent a lot more money than I had planned. But I found perfect beads for perfume bottles. I will probably end up going back for some lamp size beads and to dig thru the large pan of beads that I completely overlooked (until I looked at the pictures).
These Czech glass beads are so beautiful

Grade A cats eye beads
12mm

6mm

Jade beads

I can't remember what these are...

Polymer clay cane beads

Cute little bird beads

Birthdays

2010-04-27T10:44:00.003-04:00

Just thought I would share a picture from 25 years ago.
Today is my wonderful boyfriend Todd's birthday and tomorrow is my birthday. I will be the big 30. Oddly I'm kind of excited. Having birthdays in the middle of the work week is a drag because we still have to go to work. We don't really have any big plans. He got his birthday present early this year. He wanted a metal toolbox for his truck so thats what he got a few weeks ago. I don't know what he's gonna get me because he always waits until the last minute to buy anything.
His mom wants to take us out to dinner one night. And my mom wants to take me to the Goodwill or thrift stores for my birthday since thats about the only places I shop now. I need to find new stores to go to. Seems like everything is still the same stuff I've been looking at for weeks.
Happy Birthday Honey I love you!

Bead Sale

2010-04-26T13:39:00.003-04:00

I went to the bead sale I found on Craigslist when I got off work on Friday since I wasn't sure what the weather would do on Saturday. I have never seen so many fancy beads. I think I spent almost 3 hours digging thru them.

Check back tomorrow for all the beads I bought.

What are these things?

2010-04-23T14:54:00.005-04:00

They make great lids for nail polish bottles. But I don't know what they are called or used for. This is what the inside looks like.

I started painting them different colors last night using model car paint pens.

I'm going to a bead sale I found on Craigslist tomorrow.
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/art/1691034719.html
The lady is a retired store owner selling off her remaining stock. I'll be sure to post picture of my finds. I also plan on going yard sale shopping in Hiram & Dallas again (if the weather holds out). I hope I'll find better stuff than I did at the flea market last weekend.

Bottles from Beads

2010-04-22T13:30:00.001-04:00

I put these together last night while watching Ghost Hunters. I plan on making more but I'm going to paint the little gold tops different colors. I need to dig thru my collection for small round beads to make fingernail polish bottles. A lot of these beads came from the swap I did with Carolyn at http://fabshabbyroses.blogspot.com/
Sorry if they are a little burry... my camera battery was about to die.

I used fake diamonds for the lids to these I thought it would look fancy.

I don't know what these little metal findings are but they make great lids. I have a lot of them. The hole doesn't go all the way thru so I think they are some sort of cap for straight pins or something. They have little clasps inside the tube that hold onto wire or pins.

West Avenue flea market

2010-04-20T14:20:00.001-04:00

Finally it was after 10am and the SweetHomes Antique Mall and Flea Market on West Ave was open. I forgot to take pictures as I walked in but I've posted a link where you can see a vendors pictures of everything. The place used to be an old mill and there are metal shaving pressed into the wood floors. I had been to this one years ago too but the setup had changed. I wandered thru the open booths and came across a booth called the "Vintage Needle" owned by Debora McFearin. I found lots of craft supplies at great prices. As I went to pay for my finds I saw this beautiful display cabinet and asked if I could photograph it for my blog.

It's a 1909 German Simplex all original. I was amazed by all the vintage patterns that were still in perfect condition. She even opened the case to show me some of the stuff.

Please visit her photo album on her site to see pictures of the whole flea market http://vintageneedle.net/album/sweethomes/
Here is everything I bought from her...

And the only miniature related finding...

Flea Market waste land

2010-04-19T14:30:00.001-04:00

Saturday morning I woke up early with a bad case of heartburn. I took some Tums and decided to start my day. I sent my friend a text message to see if she was still going with me. I rode around town to look for yard sales while I waited on her to let me know something. After not hearing from her for over an hour I figured she had over slept and I headed towards Cedartown alone. I passed by a yard sale in the middle of a field since the grass was so wet I didn't want to walk around with wet shoes all day. I went by the first Flea Market on West Ave only to discover it didn't open until 10. I decided to drive to one I'd never been to about 5 miles past that one close to the Alabama state line. I pulled up to an old school where only one car was parked outside. One lady was managing an entire school full of stuff.
Everything was over priced and nothing really caught my eye.

The first room you walk into is the old gym it was packed full of stuff like an episode of hoarders. you could only look at the stuff in the front section.

There was this little room with a strange smell filled with junk

I ended up not buying anything.
I went back to the other side of town to another old elementary school. I had been to this place 10 years ago I bought a huge portfolio for my artwork for $2 back then. But everything looked almost exactly the same as it did then except the prices.

The old sewing machine was really neat but for $90 it didn't even turn and I don't think all the parts were there.

I wouldn't have wanted to go to school here as a child this is just too creepy..lol

I walked thru the whole building a couple of times just trying to find something so I didn't walk away empty handed but I couldn't find anything worth buying.
Come back for more tomorrow. I haven't even taken pictures of my finds yet.

New blog name

2010-04-16T13:10:00.003-04:00

I decided to rename my blog since I show lots of other stuff besides minis. So now its Anna's minis and junk. Unless I can think of a more creative name. This weekend I plan on visiting some local flea markets in my county. I haven't been to them in years. I'm really looking forward to browsing thru them with a friend too. Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures of the market. If I see any yard sales on my way there I'll stop. I don't really have an urge to visit Goodwill this week so I hope I'm not gonna miss any thing good.
I have become addicted to two shows on the History Channel called "American Pickers" and "Pawn Stars" They show some of the neatest old stuff and talk about the history of them. I really want to visit some of the places that these guys go on American Pickers. If you're interested in old junk like me then you should definitely watch these shows.
http://www.history.com/shows/american-pickers
http://www.history.com/shows/pawn-stars

Beads

2010-04-15T13:29:00.002-04:00

These are just some of the fancy glass beads I got this weekend from a yard sale.

These were covered in a wax like substance. I rubbed each of them on a towel to remove the wax. I'm guessing its a polishing compound.

These still have a waxy coating on them. But not a thick as the others

These are the metal beads that were in the mix.

These are the beads that I plan on making mini bottles out of. The beads in the center section are from the swap I did with Carolyn at http://fabshabbyroses.blogspot.com/

Does anybody know what these are?

2010-04-14T12:44:00.003-04:00

These tools were in a pencil box I got this weekend at the scrapbook yard sale. I have no clue what they are or how to use them.

Projects

2010-04-13T15:19:00.003-04:00

Every mini project I work on has its own tackle box container.
I have one for my pipe cleaner bears. All the supplies I need (besides my pliers & glue) are ready to be used whenever I want to make some. I've already measured and cut the parts and have them separated.

Of course I have another plastic shoe box full of whole pipe cleaners.

I have another tackle box for my gift boxes, wrapping paper and ribbon.

One box for my hat supplies.

One box for my Christmas ornaments and wreaths.

And one box just for finished projects that I can carry to show off easily. Because none of my miniatures have a home. My finished presents with bows and mini animals are in separate containers that fit in my purse.

?? Followers???

2010-04-13T12:58:00.003-04:00

I don't get it. Yesterday morning I started out with 112 followers. By yesterday afternoon I was down to 111 and now I'm down to 110. Where is everybody going? Is it something I said? I promise I'll never do it again.. please don't leave me... LOL
I guess some people were jealous of my yard sale finds... lol

I hit the jackpot of Yard Sales

2010-04-12T14:30:00.006-04:00

I only saw two yard sale signs in my town this weekend. We had to run to Dallas Friday evening so I was looking for signs there. I lost count of the number of signs that were posted so I knew exactly where I would be going first thing Saturday morning. I decided to check Craigslist for additional sales in the area, that's when I found the ad for a Giant Scrapbook Yard Sale. I knew I had to find that one as early as possible. On my 15 minute drive to Dallas I stopped at a couple of yard sales. The first one was a moving sale that seemed pretty bare. As I started to walk away I spotted this tackle box with fancy glass beads and wire. So I bought it..

Then I was on a quest to find the Scrapbook yard sale. I tried calling the number to get directions but my phone decided to shut down on me. (my battery had exploded)
I drove around for about 30 minutes just trying to locate it from the few directions I did manage to get. Just as I gave up and was headed back towards town I happened to see the tiny 8.5x11 neon sign for the scrapbook sale... woohoo..
I drove way back into a fancy subdivision where all the drive ways were too steep to even see the yard. I spotted another sign and about 6 cars parked on the street. I climbed my way to the top of the driveway to see the most wonderfully laid out sale ever. They must have had 300+ rubber stamps on two tables in the garage. I started grabbing things I liked and they offered me a bag to carry everything. My bag was bursting at the seams when I spotted this Craftsman Rotary tool with flex shaft.. It looked brand new with the instructions still there for $10. I grabbed that up before anybody else could.
They told me I could put all my finds by the garage door so I could continue to shop. I found a couple of other things and was ready to pay when I walked past a container filled with polymer clay & supplies. I started digging thru the box to see if there was anything I wanted when they told me it was $5 for the whole box. I snapped the lid on it and added it to my pile to pay for. Here is everything I bought there.

After leaving that sale and getting lost again. I finally made it back into town where all the yard sales were. Most of them just had clothes and purses. I stopped at a church yard sale and found some interesting books there.

After that yard sale I stopped at the unusual thrift store I had gone to last week. They have their new arrivals in the front room so I didn't spend a whole lot of time there but I did pick up this stuff

I didn't find anything at Goodwill this week. Everything was over priced again.

Tutorial pipe cleaner bear

2010-04-09T13:30:00.000-04:00

I finally figured out how to show all steps in making a pipe cleaner bear.

Here are the pieces you need. The plain wire is just to show the bends. For larger images just click on the pictures.

First take the 3" body piece and fold in half. The fold is the nose.
Using needle nose pliers fold in this shape for the head.
Next fold to make the bear's rump.
For the legs take the 2" piece and fold like this
Insert legs in the fold of the rump.
For the arms take the 1.5" piece and fold like this
Insert arms into upper body and squeeze body closed tightly.
For the ears fold the 1" piece like this
Tighten the curl of the ears to hold in place once on head.
Roll the ends of the hands and feet to desired size and bend at the ankles.
All that's left now is to give him a face. Use one thread of embroidery floss to create a nose. Fold thread in half and knot.
After wrapping thread around wire the desired number of times slip needle under threads to secure and trim of excess.
Use no-hole glass beads for his eyes and glue in with tacky glue.
To make other animals just alter the length of the ears and add tails.
Be sure to use fluffy pipe cleaners so the wire doesn't show thru the fur. Glue on paw pads if desired. I punch mine out of fuzzy ribbons.

I love Swaps

2010-04-09T12:40:00.001-04:00

Carolyn at http://fabshabbyroses.blogspot.com/ and I did a supply swap. She sent a 5x5x5 box packed full of mini supplies. And she sent me one of her handmade leather purses. I love it.

I really like doing supply swaps because I like to see all the little things that other people collect to make minis.

More pipe cleaner animals

2010-04-08T15:00:00.000-04:00

These are the rest of my mini pipe cleaner animals...
All the puppies

Rainbow of bears

Unfinished animals

mini pipe cleaner animals

2010-04-07T14:15:00.001-04:00

As soon as I figure out how to explain how to make these pipe cleaner animals I'll post it on here. I think I'll have to make some mock wire figures just to explain the shapes to bend.

More yard sale and thrift store finds

2010-04-06T20:15:00.003-04:00

I was cleaning up my craft room and ran across these interesting decorative balls that I bought at a salvage store a couple of years ago. They had two boxes with 12 each in them so I bought them both. (you can never have too many miniature supplies) lol.

Last night when I went to take pictures of the 3 sets of stamps I bought at the yard sale I discovered that 2 of the sets were exactly the same. Grrr...

I got this digital scale at one of the random yard sales we stopped at for $1

This is the handy little tray table I bought for $1.50. Sam thought it might have food on it.

My last stop of the day was at a wild thift store. They had all sorts of odd things. I'll have to go back there this weekend too. They had a ton of ceramic glazes but I don't do ceramics. I bought a dozen 1 cup size ziploc containers for $1.
I searched thru the toys and games for anything that might be useful and came aross this Italian lite toy for $1.

I bought it just for the light pegs. They look like little bottles already.

I also found this old mathmatics game for $1. I bought it just for the wooden pieces. They are the perfect size for mini presents.

Well that's all of this weekends finds.

Yard Sales & Thrift Store finds

2010-04-05T14:54:00.006-04:00

It was a beautiful day for yard sales. There was a 5 family yard sale just a couple of miles from my house. There were hundreds of Barbie dolls still in the boxes scattered all around. I don't think I've ever seen so many Barbies outside of the toy store. I wish I had thought to take a picture (my camera was in my pocket).
I found this paint holder for $3 it holds 80 bottles of paint on each side. I don't have that many but I thought I could put my Gallery Glass paint in it too.

The next yard sale was across town. The couple who owned the house had just sold their home so they were clearing out all the stuff they didn't want to take with them. I spotted this Rubbermaid set of drawers as soon as I hit the driveway.

I went in the garage and spotted this little box sitting under some other stuff. When I uncovered the logo on top I knew I had to buy it. Its the company that my boyfriend has worked at for the past 9 years.

I decided to drive to Hiram to go to the Goodwill store for my weekly fix. On my way there I saw a couple more yard sales that didn't have a whole lot of interesting stuff.
I found a brand new pasta machine out of the box at Goodwill for $8.98.

I bought it but I didn't keep it. I already have one for my polymer clay. My dad asked me to keep a look out for one because he wants to make his own pasta.
I also bought a couple of short sleeve button up shirts for work.
On my way back towards home I stopped by a thrift store that I hadn't been in before. Everything was really cheap there. I found this little ribbon and cross stitch kit that contained all this silk ribbon so I bought it for 50 cents.

I can't wait to go back to that Thrift store again. I didn't get a picture of the little tray table that I bought for $1.50. I'll try to get pictures of all of the rest of my stuff tonight. It was a busy weekend.

Happy Easter

2010-04-02T08:34:00.001-04:00

Easter Bunnies

2010-04-01T15:54:00.007-04:00

I thought I would share the pictures of the bunnies I've made out of pipe cleaners. All these little guys are just sitting in a box now waiting to be displayed.
Hopefully when I get home I'll still have the energy to set up some Easter baskets. I'll post pictures tomorrow if I get them done tonight.

And the winner is....

2010-03-31T08:24:00.003-04:00

It took about 20 tries to get the name to show up on camera....

Congratulations Jody, email me with your mailing address and I'll get your package sent out asap.
Thanks to everyone for entering.
Mini hugs

Last chance to enter Giveaway

2010-03-30T08:53:00.003-04:00

Last chance to enter my 100 follower giveaway. I'll draw names at 5pm Eastern standard time. I'm giving away hole-less beads, vintage seed beads and some of my handmade miniatures. Time is running out to enter. Be sure to comment on the posting below.

100 Followers Giveaway

2010-03-29T16:06:00.000-04:00

I'm giving away hole-less beads, vintage seed beads and some of my handmade miniatures. Comment on this post to be entered in the drawing. I will draw names March 30th so enter now.

Yard Sale Finds

2010-03-29T11:34:00.004-04:00

I went to a couple yard sales this weekend. One was at a local church that had been flooded a while back so they were trying to raise money. They had a huge pile of craft stuff. 5 containers of Lace, 1 trash bag full zippers, 1 trash bag full of patterns, 1 trash bag full of doll parts, 2 bags full fabric, 1 box if craft books and 2 boxes of thread. They said I could have all of it for $10. I had to pass I don't have that kind of storage space. I considered buying it and picking out what I wanted and donating the rest to goodwill But I don't think it would have fit in the back of my car. Plus my boyfriend would have tossed me out if I brought home that much stuff.
I picked thru it all and bought this stuff.. They only wanted $1 but I gave them $5 just to help out a little.

The box of lace I bought has a bunch I can use for minis.

I also went back to the little antique store with the trunks. They want $50 for trunk with the most damage. the top is warped from water damage. I think I'll just keep going to the local auctions and try to get one there.

He brought in these two printers trays that I really wanted but I wasn't gonna pay $40 each for them.

100 Follower Give Away

2010-03-29T11:33:00.002-04:00

Time is running out to enter. I'll draw a name tomorrow after work.

Forgotten Thrift store & yard sale finds

2010-03-26T15:41:00.001-04:00

I got this cute little craft loom at a thrift store about 7 or 8 years ago for 50 cents. I pulled it down off the shelf yesterday to take a picture and realized I had started a rug and never finished it. Now I know why these colors were in a separate baggie in my floss container. Its been a couple of years since I used it.

I found this cool spice rack turn table thingy at an estate sale a couple of years ago. I only have sequins and confetti stored in it now.. Can't think of anything else to put in there. I did have hole-less beads in it but they kept falling out and jamming up the measuring device.

I found this weekly pill storage container at Goodwill a couple of weeks ago and forgot to include it in my finds. It's currently holding all the grapes I've been working on.

Craft Room Mess

2010-03-26T09:24:00.001-04:00

I wish I had a lovely craft room to show off but this is what I have to work with. I took over the dinning room and made it my craft room. Sorry it's so messy. My cat Sam wanted to be in the picture, she likes me to watch her eat. The cats use the edge of my craft desk as a nail file. I have to feed them on the desk to keep the dog from eating their food.
We got the craft hutch for free. It wasn't very stable so I shored it up with a couple of 2x4.

I store all my miniature accessories in this set of hardware drawers.

I think I'll have to spend the weekend reorganizing in here. Wish I could work on it now but I've got to get some work done.

Leather & Suede Gloves

2010-03-25T14:49:00.001-04:00

I thought I would show off my collection of suede and leather gloves. I love leather. My grandmother gave me these old leather gloves that she had worn the finger tips out of. I cut apart the seams and try to use every park of the leather for something mini

She also gave me these gloves that she had lost the mates to.

I found the long pair of white gloves at an antique mall/flea market they are stained and yellowed but I don't mind since I like making my minis look used.

My mom gave me one of the black gloves from her stash and the other is my driving glove that I lost the mate to at some point.

I found these suede purplish gloves at a thrift store a few years ago. So far the only thing that has been created with them were the wings to the dragon marionette that my mom carved. They just happened to match the stain she was using perfectly.

I've found random bits and pieces of leather to add to my collection over the years from old wallets and scrap cutoffs.