Family Treasures and giveaway plans!

It’s in the family…

A love for vintage and kitschy treasures, that is. :) And I am so blessed to have such wonderfully generous family. I'm thrilled to see so many of them reading my blog, and my aunts and uncles especially are always so giving to me. It's one of the things I absolutely love about my family, and that's nothing new!

My uncle Patrick and Aunt Theresa are, by trade, "pickers"! They've always enjoyed hunting for all sorts of items and reselling. In fact, several of my favorite things are gifts from Uncle Patrick and Aunt Theresa, including fabulous art deco vases, a vintage Singer sewing machine, and more! I know, I know...I'm lucky! And you may want to stop reading now if you're prone to jealousy, because I'm about to talk about the GIANT TUB of costume and vintage jewelry my aunt and uncle brought to me at our last family get together for Easter.

Naturally, I was stunned. I couldn't wait to check it out! I won't be hoarding all of it to myself, so before you write me off as a glutton, please enjoy the pictures and check out my plans for some of this wonderful stuff below!

First things first; that wonderful homemade jewelry cleaner!

I went ahead and made a big batch right in my kitchen sink! Did you catch the blog post where I shared the recipe? I highly recommend it...check it out here! Jewelry Cleaner Recipe

So many interesting pieces shined right up...

These patches are so fun. Uncle Patrick is French and his mother (to whom much of this jewelry belonged to) is as well. There were some little French treasures here and there and though I'm not sure where they came from (France or U.S.A.) it still made me smile.

One of my favorite highlights: vintage rhinestone buttons!

Can't deny the power of the unicorn...

The little parrot pin was my favorite!

So what do I have up my sleeve?

Well, the sheer amount of jewelry I was gifted made me realize I really was looking forward to giving some away as gifts, creating new DIY items, and doing some fun jewelry give-a-ways for next month! You can expect to see some colorful and creative things coming for summer but I'll officially announce my "MayDays" jewelry giveaway plans this week! My mantra is "pay it forward"...

Thanks so much Uncle Patrick and Aunt Theresa, and to all of my family who has so generously given me things over the years. I love you!

Have a great day!

Treasures of Today

Starring...

The Treasures of Today’s thrift

In a mere five minutes post-work, I scored the mega-fabulous kitsch monster of an owl planter you see above for 99 cents. 30 minutes later at home, a plant had already taken residence in the ceramic goodness that now sits on my dining room table. The owl powers are growing.

This beautiful 24 karat plated glass bowl with lid and all of the wonderful antique jewelry inside was a lovely gift my boss left for me on my desk yesterday. She is so thoughtful. I just about squealed with delight! The cameo picture brooch is huge and quite old...I about flipped on that one. Had to share and say thank you for my good fortune.

I am so blessed by the thoughtful people in my life.

Costume jewelry makes me sing; 99 cents worth of bling.

Oh! And this! This! A 1949 children's book for .49. WONDERFUL, frameworthy illustrations and photographs. I try to pass up vintage books because there was a time when I just went crazy with them. This was just too great. I know I will frame several of the pages!

This 1977 pop up Wizard of Oz book was simply just. Too. Cool.

Gifts included as a big scoreboard, the items in today's blog totaled $4.00.

Have you been Thrifting lately?

Places I would highly recommend for fabulous deals on antiques, if that is your bag:

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-Hope's Outlet at any location in Muskegon, MI or Grand Haven, MI

-Lakeshore Rescue Mission Thrift in Grand Haven, MI or Muskegon, MI

-St. Vincent De Paul's in Grand Rapids, Mi or Muskegon, MI