There is no way for me to adequately explain my finds this Friday. Mostly the sales were kind of poopy, to match the weather. I hit a couple, and only found a vintage potholder that I liked. Then I followed a sign to an unassuming little brick bungalow, and immediately realized it was an estate sale. The good kind of estate sale-  with the stuff sorted and in the garage. (Unlike the one previously, with grammy’s wigs and toothpaste still on the bathroom counter. I felt ill and left that one. It’s just so disrespectful.)

Anyway, the lady holding the sale was chatty about her mom, and I learned she was an art teacher, and her grand-daughters had cleaned out her basement and were planning a trip with whatever money they could make. In the garage, I found box after box of craft and art supplies. Doll-making stuff, sewing notions, baskets of  threads and ric-rac and silk ribbon. My arms quickly overflowed, and I picked up a soda-pop box full of sequins and glitter and put my stuff on top. There was so much I couldn’t even look through it all- and instead just asked the girls how much for the whole box. $10, they said. I gave them $12, what I had in my wallet. On the way out, I saw a vintage tin picnic basket with two handles, and the paint like new. They said I could have it, since I gave them extra money.

When I got home, I sent the kids to the play room and started sorting my treasures. Aside from the awesome picnic basket (which I have looked for images on google, but there are none) I have more craft supplies (and they are good supplies- from the 50’s, when things were made in the US and had substance. Even buttons feel different than they do now…) than I will ever use.

There are tiny pin-boxes of every color and shape of sequins, from birds and bells to large rounds. There are glass test-tubes with cork-stopper full of real glass glitter, and strings of brass beads and faux pearls. There are googly eyes and fasteners and doll-joints and ric-rac. There was a glass flower-frog in the very bottom. There were brass bells and chenille pom-poms from back when they were made of cotton. The skeins and skeins of 100% silk ribbon was very exciting- even though I have never embroidered with ribbon. I will now.

I promise pictures soon. A kind and lovely friend has sent me a fantastic camera, and when I learn how to use it, I plan a whole bunch of pictures, and not a lot of droll, boring words. Really. No, I mean it. I promise. I do.