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Music Monday "Manhattan" by Sara Bareilles

I warned you last week that this might happen.  And it has.
The new Sara Bareilles CD hasn't left my player since I stuck it in, so I've chosen another one of her songs for Music Monday for the second week in a row.
And also, as I warned you last week, you might wanna have your Kleenex nearby for this one.

I love how bare the production is on this one.  Just Sara's gorgeously heartbreaking voice, the piano, and some very sad sounding horns.  Perfect.

"Manhattan", by Sara Bareilles off of her new CD, "The Blessed Unrest".

Estate Sales in Dallas This Weekend

no ninos!! furry, or otherwise!

It's time for the weekly edition of Estate Sales in Dallas This Weekend...

I was intending to just stop by one estate sale this afternoon that was near my house.  It was by the "Lucy and Ethel Do Estate Sales" people.  In the email I read, they said it was small, but they used words like antique and vintage to describe the stuff for sale, so of course, how could I resist?  Clearly, I could not. By the way, there email also said (in all caps!) "NEVER EVER BRING CHILDREN OR PETS".  So Lucy and Ricky had to stay home. 

But they probably would've eaten some stuff and it just would've cost me more, so maybe we're all better off with them resting at home instead!

Happily, it wasn't that small.  Although you couldn't go in all rooms of the house, there was plenty in the rooms you could go into. I found this very unique music box.  First of all, I've never seen one with metal horses circling around.  But secondly, and most importantly, it plays "King of the Road".  KING. OF. THE. ROAD.  Not the typical music box song!  GREATNESS.

I also found these beautiful vintage buttons.

vintage rhinestone buttons

I also stumbled upon a couple more vintage trinkets I felt I couldn't possibly live without...

a little vintage pin-  made to look like ivory

lilac and silver vintage pin

vintage gerbera daisy clip earrings

I also bought these teeny tiny silver spoons.  Each one is has a different headstock on it.  I have got to figure out a way to incorporate these into some repurposed vintage jewelry.  They are so cool!
I'm in love! I'm in love!

vintage silver salt spoons

The woman at the check out told me to tell all my friends about this sale, so Friends, I'm telling you!  It's going on now thru Saturday at 3pm, located in the Lakewood area of Dallas.  The address is 6875 CarolynCrest.

I felt like my luck was pretty good today and going home too soon would just be wrong. So I picked another sale to go to, located in Richardson, close to where I grew up.  I'm always willing to drive out that way...it's not that far, and it sends me back in time.

Although I didn't find a whole lot at this house for me, it's definitely worth checking out!  The owner of the home and his wife have been storage warriors before Storage Wars were even cool!  They have a warehouse full of stuff that they will be bringing in to sell over the course of the next two weeks.  They've decided to sell everything, buy a Merry Miler, and travel!  The man, Carl, was really nice and I feel like you could get some good deals!  They'd just like to get rid of this stuff, and apparently, they've got lots of it.  Here's what I found, for a steal!! 

more vintage pins..because I could never have too many!

They're located at 6875 La Manga in Richardson.  Like I said, it's going on this weekend and next.

Hope you have time to get out to these and/or many other estate sales listed in the Dallas area this weekend!  Happy hunting...

Repurposing Trash into an Orchestra!!

This is the best form of repurposing I've ever seen...  The Landfill Harmonic Orchestra. Amazeballs.

Music Monday "I Choose You" by Sara Bareilles

Sara Bareilles' new CD "The Blessed Unrest" just came out this past Tuesday and of course I got it immediately.  I love her.  She's got one of my favorite voices.  Her songs or either very happy or very sad, and I love those two extremes!  She writes great melodies, and well, like I said, I love her.

For Music Monday, I picked one of the happier songs off the CD, a song called "I Choose You".  It would be a great song to have played at a wedding!  Just to note, had a picked a sad song, it would have most definitely been "Manhattan."  That one is gorgeously heartbreaking, and may have to show up on a different Music Monday installment, so be forewarned and have your Kleenex nearby.  But for today, get up!, dance around!, and kiss someone you love, and tell them, "I Choose You"!

3 Estates Sales to Check Out in Dallas This Week

I typically hit estate sales on Thursdays and/or Fridays.  The up side of that is I get to see the stuff on the first day it's available.  The down side is that there aren't any mark downs, and I can't do much (if any) price negotiating.  But I kinda hate to haggle anyway, so really, it's all good.

So I thought I would start blogging about the estate sales I thought were worth visiting each week/weekend, if you're into that, and you live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.  Most estate sales run about 3 days, with mark downs beginning on the 2nd day of the sale.  More than likely, you still find great stuff and you'll get it for a better price than I could have by being an early bird!

This morning, I went to 3 estate sales, and all of them had lots of 1950s-1970s stuff-  Clothes, artwork, furniture, etc.  That's a sweet era for me.  All of these are in Dallas, mainly in the Lake Highlands area.

First, I went to one at 9710 Windy Terrace.  It was a David C. Turner estate sale, and I go to those often.  They're usually in the Lake Highlands area, and they're usually smallish, older homes from the 50s and 60s.  Their prices are pretty fair, especially so if you go on the 2nd or 3rd day.  Here's what I bought from them today:

vintage watches, cufflinks, gold butterfly dish and silver filigree pendent

silver vintage filigree pin- a closer look, because it's so pretty!

vintage watch faces, and a few bands- 9 of them!!

I found all the watches in a baggy with the cufflinks (which I don't care much about) for $15.  That is a seriously LOW price if you've ever priced vintage watches!!  Just one easily could have cost me that much!  And the fact that there was little plastic naked doll in the bag just shows me someone working that sale had a sense of humor.  I mean, how random!  And the butterfly was just a few dollars and I really like it.  I use cute and unique little dishes like this one to hold baubles in my studio.

The next estate sale I hit was at 6840 Northridge.  This one was put on by Clutterblasters.  The name makes it sound like it's just a bunch of crap they ticketed to sale, but it's not clutter at all!  Look what I found today... and there's still plenty to find once mark downs begin tomorrow!

See Saw statue for in the garden-  LOVE THIS

vintage chain (with tassels!! yay!), vintage earrings, and cufflinks

Guess how much the statue was... You're never gonna get it!  So I'll reveal:  $6.  Probably my deal of the day.  Besides those watches at the first sale. The jewelry was priced fairly, and I know with those chains, I'll be able to use them for lots of different repurposing projects.  I love that old base metal-- Today's costume jewelry just doesn't compare.

And the last sale I hit today was at 10748 Eden Roc Drive.  (Someone doesn't know how to spell! Roc? What? hahaha) Lucy and Ethel Do Estate Sales is the company that organized this one.  Here's what I found there:

carved wood box and fancy glass candle holder

small metal trivets and the coolest, ever!,  toothpick holder

let's get a closer look at the toothpick holder!!!  C'MON!!!!

The trivets were $2 each, the wood box was $4, the candle holder, $4, and the toothpick holder was a steal at $6.

Although all of these estate sales were put on by companies rather than just a family, they're all the fair, non-snobby ones.  Pricing is fair, the people are fun to talk to, and it's pretty well organized, but not too organized to take away all the fun of hunting! Oh and they don't charge sales tax like a lot of the people who put on estate sales do.

this is the kind of receipt I prefer when shopping estate sales!

So go check them out this weekend if you get the chance!  Happy junkin'!  :)

Music Monday "Army" by Boy

Not only am I just in love with this entire Boy CD, I'm absolutely crazy over this song.  It's called "Army". I have listened to it so many times, and I think I will never tire of it.  It was so meaningful to me the first time I listened to the lyrics, and it continues to be just as powerful- no matter how many times I listen to it.

We all need an army, no matter how big or small.  I'm so glad I've got mine.

Repurposing and Redesigning Vintage Jewelry Before and After

I had written a "before and after" post of some vintage jewelry I had repurposed recently, and I got to thinking, "Hey, this could be a regular installment for my blog!"

So here's the 2nd installment of the "Before and After" series.  Hope you enjoy, and hope it inspires you to do some repurposing of things you love, but that need a little redesign to fit into the modern world. (Or, I would be more than happy to do it for you!)

When Fermin and I were in Boerne several months ago visiting our great friends, we made it to a few estate sales.  (Well, of course we did!) Somehow, I glossed over seeing these earrings, but my friend, Kelly, saw them and said, "Kerri, I bet you could do something with these."

vintage clip earrings- BEFORE

They were simple, in that they were just small little clip earrings.  But once I looked a little closer, I saw their exceptional design. They're a silver colored metal base, and underneath some sort of epoxy, there is a deep emerald green, surrounded by waves of gold with some gold rhinestones along the edge. 

I cut and sanded off the clips so the backs were night and smooth.  Then, I just added some beads that I thought complemented the  the earring's design and colors.  Now, they're dangle earrings for pierced ears.

repurposed vintage earrings- AFTER

Just a slight redesign, but now you can quickly see how special they are! These earrings, as well as other repurposed and vintage jewelry are available at my Resparkable Vintage online boutique.

What's Old is What's New

I've been sparkling up some repurposed vintage jewelry pieces available in the Resparklable Vintage online boutique! (And if they aren't showing up there yet, I promise, they will be in the next day or two.)

So here's what's new:
A bracelet that was made with a pendant from a vintage bracelet that was missing it's clasp...

pink, purple and gold repurposed vintage bracelet

A couple of longer necklaces, great for wearing by themselves, or layering with other pieces...

faux pearls, rhinestones, tassel, and chain= repurposed vintage necklace

vintage green and gold flower pendant on a long gold chain with green dangle beads

A little art deco...

vintage rhinestone art deco pendant on a simple chain with a few dangle beads

Some vintage porcelain pins...

Vintage Cara China Yellow Porcelain Rose Pin

Unsigned Vintage Porcelain Bouquet Pin

And even a funky little 1960s wall clock...

GE Telechron 1960s Wall Clock

Yes, typically, Resparkable Vintage is all about vintage and vintage repurposed accessories. However,  I found this clock at an estate sale, fell in love with it, and brought it home.  But after weeks of trying to find a good place for it in my home and failing, I've decided to find it a home where it can do more than just sit on my countertop, annoying my husband.

All this and more!  Getting out to the mall is just such a hassle. (boo!) And so much of the stuff there looks the same. (ug!)  At Resparkable Vintage you'll find lots of one-of-a-kind items, handmade with serious love, by me!

Blinged Out Turtle

I just finished my first painting class at The Creative Arts Center.  I wanted to learn a little about mixed media, so I decided to make this turtle.

Mixed media turtle

Fermin's brother and his girlfriend recently had a little girl-- so, we now have a cute little niece.  Her name is Abigail, but her parents sometimes call her Turtle.  I wanted to make something that looked really child-like.  I totally copied a drawing I had seen and changed it up a little by added shells, bright colors, changing up the little girl's hair to look more like Abigail's, and of course, blinged it out with some jewelry parts.

blingity-bling!

I had to give the turtle some flowers for her hair!

So far, I haven't gotten up the nerve to give it to Abigail and her parents.  I don't know if they'll like it, and if they don't, I don't want them to feel weird about it.  I had fun making it, and using little Abigail for the inspiration for my first mixed media painting! 

Repurposing Vintage Jewelry Before and After

I buy lots of vintage jewelry.  It's something I just can't stop collecting!  I love it when I find a pair of old earrings, or a necklace in perfect wearable condition.  But I love it probably even more when I find a discarded piece of jewelry someone thought was no longer wearable.  That's when I actually end up having the most fun!

Here's an example:

vintage rubber plastic clip earring  (BEFORE)

I found the above funky little earring in a pile of vintage stuff I bought.  I got the earring for a great deal, because there was only one in the lot.  Wouldn't they have been cool earrings, if only there were two!?  They were made of this funky rubbery plastic material, and had leaves in a vibrant orange, white, accented with a little gold around a white plastic flower and an old rhinestone in the center.

But even with one earring missing, I knew I could breathe a little life into the one I bought and make something I would love!

The first thing I always do is clean the pendant and all vintage parts with a toothbrush, and then I start putting everything together.

I get out tons of stuff before I start narrowing down my choices.  Eventually, I decide what color and sizes of beads and chain to use.  For this necklace, I used little white beads, and orange beads because I just loved those contrasting colors in the earring- now known as the pendant of the necklace.  I also used 3 or 4 different vintage jewelry chains to keep it interesting all the way around.

various vintage chain and pendant combined with modern beads to make something brand new!

various links of vintage chain connected with orange beads

I don't know if while I was working with the pendant the center rhinestone dropped out, or maybe it wasn't there in the first place, but I noticed a missing stone.  But I save old pendants for "harvesting" things like rhinestones that have fallen loose.  I found one just the right size in this old pendant...

Sometimes, I rework something over and over until it's just the right balance, and it looks just like I had envisioned it.  Sometimes I get it right the first time, and other times, I spend hours and hours on a single piece.  Sometimes, it feels a little frustrating, sometimes it flows from beginning to end.
Almost always, it's rewarding by the time I finish it!

a single vintage earring is never trash to me! (AFTER)

Belated and Celebrated

My actual birthday this year wasn't so grand-  any day that starts out with a plumbing backup and then having to have a plumber out is not great.  In fact, it's kind of shitty!  After that got taken care of, I rushed off to my yoga class.  But my least favorite yoga teacher was subbing for my favorite yoga teacher.  And I had to leave the class early due to low blood sugar problems.

But aside from those minor mishaps, the days surrounding my birthday were very happy and celebrated!

I got to go out to many dinners with great friends, I got two massages!!- one at a spa, and one at my Chinese foot reflexology place I go to often, Lucy and Ricky were on their sweetest behavior all week,  I received flowers, gifts, and cards from my very sweet and thoughtful friends, and Fermin played hooky from work one day to spend with me. 

Happy, happy, happy...

wishing...