Elizabeth Holcombe ~whimsies and words~

Four Dollars and Twenty Cents

Hello, My Friends!~~~

This has been a wonderful estate sale weekend!

First it began with a once-in-a-lifetime treat! I happen to work next door to a house which was having an estate sale this Fri-Sun. My good friend and "boss" called me on Thursday and asked if I wanted to come shop early. Let me think---YES! This little house was packed with tons of stuff. My friend told me the lady was a hoarder and that the house looked a lot cleaner when we got to shop. I bought $50 worth of goodies most of which I will use in future projects. It was a wonderful treat to get to go into the house and shop a day early. The next day (Friday) I worked for my friend in the morning and saw a huge crowd waiting to get in. I arrived earlier than I usually would to work so I could have a place to park on the street. When I left the street was one way with cars on either side all down the street.Whew!

But the sale I want to tell you about is one that Hubby and I went to in Alexandria, VA in thos wonderful neighborhood of mid-century modern homes! Silly me, I forgot to bring my camera. The estate sale was wonderful! Full of delightful little stuff that I love. I had to dig dig dig through some dusty, musty, boxes. It was nasty dirty grungy work, and I came out filthy on the other end. I poked around in every nook and cranny, got on my hands and knees, but who cares? I found two bags worth of fabulousness!

Here are a few close ups:

Scraps, wrapping paper, birds, trims, wooden people, and an apron!

Lots of vintage mercury glass beads and even some on wires which I have never seen before. And gorgeous millinery flowers!

Parasols, millinery flowers, and even a teeny tiny Japanese kokeshi.

I got to the sale almost near the end of the day and was surprised at what I still found hiding at the bottom of boxes and drawers.

The gentleman running the sale took a brief glance in my bags and said: "I don't know...hmmm...you might not be able to handle what I'll charge for all of this." He smiled and said, "Four dollars...and twenty cents for tax."

I nearly passed out. Then I paid my money with a huge grin on my face!

~~~Hope you all hit an estate sale as good as this one!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

 

A New Addition!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

A new addition to my I Love Lucy, Mattel Barbies, collection arrived yesterday evening!

This is a double doll set with Lucy and Desi!

As usual Lucy is so very pretty!

And Desi is as charming as ever!

Here they are as part of my massive collection of 21 Mattel "I Love Lucy" dolls! I can't photograph them all as they line the upper part of the wall of my studio!~~~XXOO, Beth

What Is Wrong With This Picture?

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Perhaps the warm breath of spring we had last Friday was the seasonal abberration, and the snow we got last night is the norm. Either way I prefer the breath of Spring. On Friday, hubby took the day off, and we put down layers of leaf mulch on the gardens, and created a new lettuce garden bed. We worked in short sleeves and got a little pink from the sun and even grilled out for dinner!

This is one of our veggie gardens this morning:

The three pots are new, bought at IKEA on Sunday, and will be the home of bell pepper plants. Yesterday I ordered bulbs, seed potatoes, onion sets, and a pea fence. I also stopped at the local garden center and purchased these:

The seed packets look so forlorn in the snow. Last year I planted leafy things and peas on March 10th. I'm hoping that the weather will gradually push toward spring SOON, so I can get out there and dig, dig, dig! But the snow is nice, pretty, and it is, after all, February.~~~XXOO, Beth

Hey There, Big Boy!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Look who came to visit our suet feeder this morning!

This fellow is the largest woodpecker I have ever seen! He is actually a Pileated Woodpecker. Look at this talons. Our cat was very interested in him, but I bet this bird could carry kitty away!~~~XXOO, Beth

Just So Silly!

Hello, My Friends!~~~~

I have not yet told you that this April 30th, Suzy and I will be participating in the Hampton, VA Art & Soul vendor night event. Suzy visited vendor night last year, and was inspired by the ever delightful Sue. Suzy called me right after the event and told me we seriously needed to use vendor night to de-stash. She is so right and we have a lot of stash to let go! So, I am taking Dime Store Chic on the road for the only time this year, and am so excited about it! With the bad weather outside, I decided to go ahead and sort through my stash and get it ready. I have never done anything like this before and didn't want to look like a goof in front of the seasoned professionals. I'll be blogging about Art & Soul vendor night as the event gets closer, and I have something of interest to tell you.

As you can see the boxes of goodies cover a good part of our basement floor.

 
But what has inserted himself into all of this de-stash?

Our kitty, Gyro, has decided that the stash destined for Art & Soul is his. What a very silly kitty! And speaking of silly...

There are 16 gnomes on this springtime wall decoration! It's official. I am going winter crazy!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

More Gnomes!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

By popoular request, I have added more gnome goodies to Beth's Bagz today! Thanks so much for your interest and have a gnomey day!~~~XXOO, Beth

Gnomeo, Dear Gnomeo!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

I am so looking forward to seeing Gnomeo and Juliette! How fun and with Elton John music, magical!

Keeping that in mind, I created my own little slice of gnome Heaven!

This cute gnome trio is here today! Tomrrow, I go to the movies!~~~XXOO, Beth P.S. Oh My! The gnomes above have already SOLD! Thanks, Constance! But never fear, I will be listing more Gnomeo-inspired pin cushions! But there are new spring time goodies in my etsy shop today, such as this vintage wooden cutie:

Winter Miracle

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Last summer my wonderful neighbor, Molly, gave me an orchid that she no longer wanted. It had lovely blooms on it and I set in in a shady place of our back deck. The blooms eventually faded and dropped off leaving us with two green stems and some leaves. Not being an orchid expert I asked Suzy what to do with my now all green tropical plant. Her advice was to bring it indoors when the weather turned cold, give it a splash of water now and then, and to ignore it.

I did as she said and this was our reward...

Lots of buds and two flowers (although I am showing you one here)! Mr. Snowman is wondering what the heck is going on with this tropical beauty hovering over him. He'll have to adapt as I love this taste of summer in winter. I try not to admire it too much as Suzy said, "Ignore it."~~~XXOO, Beth

More!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

I am honored and thrilled at the positive response to my coloring book totes! This evening around 7 pm EST I will be listing a few more in Beth's Bagz etsy shop.

Thanks so much for taking a look!~~~XXOO, Beth