i've always been a fan of thrift shopping and have definitely come across some pieces i just could not walk away from. so here is the deal: this is the first of many posts about those things that made it home with me. also a small way i can keep up with posting during the summer
last week i was in the always wonderful re-use center in burlington looking for a new planter for my venus flytrap lovingly named Leatherface...and i found one!
i'm not sure what plant is illustrated on the sides but the size and depth was perfect. it has holes for the option of hanging it also with a rubber plug at the bottom for easy draining. now all i have to do is get the right soil for Leatherface and wait till he's out of winter dormancy. the tricky thing is that venus fly traps tend to look like they're dying when it's in dormancy so really i'm waiting to see if the little guy is coming back to life *crosses fingers*
those of you who have gone to the re-use center, know of the front entrance book shelf. a horrible thing for a book lover like myself. all the books and old records in the front entrance are for free! oh goodness greatness, i'm normally there for almost half an hour looking through all of them for potential collage pictures or something simply old and beautiful. needless to say, i'm giant sucker for vintage and way old books.
green and red. the green one is a science textbook from 1951 and yea it's a little torn up but there were some pictures that really tickled my collage loving heart. i even plan on doing something with the cover and spine. the little red book i just had to grab! although the cover has a bit of water damage, on the inside a date was written that took my breath away. nearly 100 years old? beautiful! looking up more information on the novel, its not one i would actually read. but again, it gave me some ideas for collaging...though it would be a sad thing to tear apart such an old and pretty little thing. we'll have to see how i feel about using it when i'm looking to use old aged paper and text.
this next book i snagged is kind of a mystery.
obviously it being in another language makes it that but what got my attention was how beautiful the illustrations are on the inside.
i tried translating the title of the book to hunt out more information on just what this book is about and there really wasn't much out there. by the way it looks and the title (translating to "Angels, who ground on change" according to babelfish) i can only guess it's a long poem about different types of women. regardless the illustrations and coloring is beautiful so it came home with me.
on my way out i also grabbed a small collection of baking recipes.
i have always been more of a baker than a cooker so when i saw these the 60's housewife in me screamed to take them home. a few of them have lard in the ingridients but i have full intention of replacing that with butter. i'll definitely be trying out the strawberry shortcake and gingerbread recipe sometime this summer. there was another pack of recipe cards for traditional cakes which still, four days later, i'm still thinking of. i sometimes hate having to control how much i take home...sometimes.
this final piece was actually the first purchase of the day, but it's far too beautiful that i had to leave it for last.
i mentioned that my workshop will be spruced up during the summer with inspirational images, colors and textures. slowly but surely that little corner in the cold basement will be so ultimately inspiring for working long and into the night both during the summer and school year, and i think it's well on its way.
how amazing is that thing?!
i mentioned in my last post that i have a thing for strawberries. there is something about them is that pretty adorable and happy and just generally cheerful and what better thing to put right in front of me in my workshop than a big crewel embroidered strawberry vine. i was staring at this frame for such a long time in the store, i even took pictures of it with my cellphone but i just couldn't go home without it. i knew i'd think about it for the longest time and i hate when that happens. so there it is, beautiful and old and in front of my crafting face.
in the next few days i'll be posting about a few other things that came home with me over the last year or so, ready your eyes and hearts!
internally yours,
sister valentine
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