Two years ago Sweet Salvage debuted in Phoenix!

And it was an instant hit!  My BF Gail and I have attended every one of the events!

We didn't plan to wear black and white tops.  It just happened!

We ran into plenty of friends!  Maureen and Nina!

Tricia Samsal of Vintage Bliss.

I remember this fab bedroom!  I bought some of those curtains hanging in the background!

Loved the girly stuff!

 French, aqua and shabby white cabinet! 

Plenty to see everywhere!  Up, down under, behind, in the middle.  You have to look everywhere!

 Cupboards stuffed with wonderfullness!!

 Everyday things everywhere but in such cool displays!

 Plenty of French influence and shabby chic!  It was wonderful!

As I remember, it was hot!  Mr. Sweet Jim was handing out iced water bottles.  There were wonders and treasures to behold in every nook and cranny.  As you can see, I didn't take many pictures.  Too busy looking around and enjoying all the eye candy!  Nowadays I take tons of pics and post them on my Facebook page as well as blogging about my favorite ones and what I found.

Gail and I are planning to go again this coming Thursday to celebrate the second year of success for Sweet Salvage on 7th!  Thanks to Kim Rawlins, Katie Cryer and the entire Sweet Team (past and present) who have made each event memorable and filled with wonders and great finds!

Great estate sale finds today! Two keepers, one to sell later this year.

I went to an estate sale this morning very near my house.  I have to share what I found because I am very excited about three of the items!

I have wanted one of these little chests for years, but never found one at a reasonable price.  Well, today I found one at a very reasonable price!  It is staying in my kitchen!

Also found this great wheel barrow!  It is appropriately weathered and I can't wait to put geraniums and other plants on it in my backyard!  Can't believe that it isn't rickety!  It is pretty solid!

For my booth at Christmas time this year, I found this great sled!  It says "American" on it in the middle.  When I was loading it in my car, a lady came up to my driver window and told me that this had been her sled as a child.  She grew up in Illinois and loved sledding with this sled!  How cool!! 

Redid some displays in my booth.

Here are some pics of the new displays and items I put in my booth at Merchant Square today.  Those of you who live locally and do scrapbooking might like to know I am putting my rubber stamp collection out for sale.  A few at a time, but I hope to sell most of it at great prices for you!  Check it out!

I love this shabby white ladder, little green potting table and the shabby frame.

Love music pages rolled and contained in this big glass container.  Great way to display the music.

Plenty of pretty things:  tags, decorated book, rhinestone bling, vintage handmade picture of a dancing lady.

Pearls and . . 

more pearls!!

Plenty of vintage sewing notions, vintage sewing box, old tiny sewing machine that is an antique, pin cushions, etc.!

A bowl full of rubber stamps.  All in very good condition and many unused!  At screamin' deal prices!

I love this old picture.  It is hand tinted and hand painted.  I have never seen one done so well, let alone tinted.  Beautiful piece!!

A lovely lace dress that is in beautiful condition.  Label says Scott McClintock -- I can always pick out clothes designed by the McClintock's!!

If you live in the area, please stop by Merchant Square and check out my booth, C-6, and all of the many other wonderful booths in there.  You can even have lunch at Pittsburgh Willie's!  He has a restaurant in there now that has the best hot dogs as well as an expanded menu.  Plenty of tables and there will be outdoor seating when the weather finally cools off!!  Come for a visit!

Karla's challenge

Karla Nathan is having a blog link challenge on her blog this week.  You can visit her blog here Karla's Cottage and check it out.  I am "up for the challenge" today, so here is my post for her blog link challenge.

The idea is to post pictures of things you've created using those items you love to collect but are reluctant to use.  Here's a corner of a collage I made and the items I hesitated to use were the tiny aspirin tin with the stamp of the Christ child inside it, the vintage buttons and the tiny bottles.  The colorful rock was also something I decided to put there, but it isn't glued down.  See?  I can use it somewhere else maybe.

Here is a very pretty pin I decided (after much debate) that it made the cover of this old album.

But, I also used a lot of other items on this old album cover to give it a really vintage feel.  Like the hat feather that I attached a pin nib to, the old buttons, and that great old coffee dyed trim at the bottom.

This is another page from this big album where I used a lot of items I had been saving for a while.  Like the vintage orange flower corsage, more vintage buttons, vintage trim (left of the photo) and at the bottom.  I sometimes hate to use small bits of trims because I have so little of it.  But at times, "my artistic side" thinks better of it and I use the bits.

I love this little journal that I covered.  What I had on hand was the little wood button with the bee on it at the top.  Again, I hated to use it because I only have two of them.  Later decided it was just what the journal needed.

OK, now it is time for you to go over to Karla's blog and check out all the other blogs that have linked to hers with their great pics and ideas.  Go ahead!  Take a look!!

Petticoats and a child's dress

I am always on the lookout for pretty, square dance petticoats. Guess that is because I wore petticoats under my full skirts to poof them out when I was a teenager. Love these things!

I found these two petticoats at a flea market in Payson last weekend. The pink one is new and really stiff and fluffy. The white one is shabby, but I love it the best! I even added a tiny spray of vintage flowers tied with rayon ribbon to it -- so very Rachael Ashwell!! BTW, have you seen her new book "Shabby Chic Interiors"?? I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon.com. It came last week. Yummy, yummy shabby chic interiors. AND, all kinds of petticoats are hanging about in the pictures. These will be for sale at Merchant Square later this week.

This was folded up and bagged when I bought it. It said "vintage" on the bag. Didn't realize it was a small child's dress! Thought it was a vintage blouse. How cute is this??!! It is vintage, shows some wear, but in general it is in good condition.

Check out my booth in Merchant Square for all the items above. They will be there soon! I am still pricing all my "finds" from the weekend in Payson with Gail.

Working on shadow boxes

I have been working on a couple of new projects. Lots left to do, but I thought I would give you a sneak peek at what is going on in my work space.

I love these small shadow boxes. They are perfect for vignettes! Since I am a big hoarder of tiny antique and vintage treasures, this is the perfect way to display them!This is the first one I did using several vintage items -- lace, tiny pearls, spoon, perfume bottle -- and an old picture. The lace edge on the glass is actually a stamp and Adirondack snow cap white ink (thanks, Mike, for putting me on to that wonderful product!). This shadow box is in the "nearly complete" stage. I just want to stick everything down and add some "snow" at the bottom of the box. Also want to embellish and decorate the outside edges. I had a vision of seeing this Christmas angel through the frosty pane of a window. Did I succeed??

I hope the angel will be part of a three-projects-in-one class to be offered before Christmas. My idea is to create three quick Christmas projects to be taught in one class. Things to give as gifts or to decorate the home. Since we are all on a "budget" these days and have to watch every penny, many of us are going to be doing more "homemade" things for gifts and decorations. I know I am!!