More Inspiration

Because I LOVE fall and Halloween, I'm always on the look out around this time of year for craft magazines with good ideas, and this one--

Well, there's just SO MUCH in there, it's hard to know where to start. BUT start I did--at two more thrift stores and then Michaels to hunt for supplies.

Yes, I thought about going out to the flea market this morning, but I decided I'd rather sleep in and have a lazy day. I might go to the flea market tomorrow morning, but then again, I might just stay home and "play" instead.

I found a TON of good stuff at the thrift stores today--especially the first one I stopped at (both were Goodwill stores). I can't really show you much of what I bought because some of the things are surprises/gifts for people and some are "supplies" to be made into other things and aren't too exciting to look at yet, but I CAN show you a couple things I bought. First, another teapot (with the tape still holding the lid on).

I have no idea if this one is old or not, but it's much the shape of the teapots made for Lipton except larger, and it's much the same color glaze as was used on some of my other vintage wares, so old or new, it fits in well with my collection--AND it was only $1.99. Score!

Then there's a hodge podge of Halloween-y things in the next photo:

One of the stores had a ton of owl figurines, and since I enjoy putting owls out for fall and Halloween, I picked a couple of small ones I liked--they're easy to tuck into small places. (I also found an owl soap dish, but I didn't get a photo of it.) Then there are two black metal things--those WERE some kind of candleholders, I think, but I'm going to use them as stands for pumpkins. By the way, candleholders make awesome pumpkin stands--just make sure you don't use the ones with the spikes to hold the candles in place--pumpkins don't do so well for long with spikes stuck in them! And, of course, there's the tray itself. It needs a little work because the wood veneer is coming loose in one place, but I can fix that with some glue and clamps. I'm not sure about the painted haunted house, but I can always do something else to it--there's plenty of Halloween "art" out there to decoupage.

Check out these plates:

These are "new" goods at Goodwill. I love chickens, gingham checks, and red and white, so I was very tempted but I resisted. But I thought you'd like to see what cute things can be found new at Goodwill along with all the second hand stuff.

Finally, remember I mentioned a giveaway? I like the old Red Wagon books because they contain a lot of folk art/primitive patterns for applique. At one time, there were three designers who were a part of the Red Wagon design team and you'll probably recognize the names--Gerry Kimmel Carr, Linda Brannock, and Jan Patek. I found this Red Wagon book at the thrift store, Red Wagon Originals (1992)--

I already have this book so I though I'd give one away. (I also found the other books in the photo at the thrift store, but I'm keeping those--sorry!) The designers of the projects in this book are Gerry Kimmel Carr and Linda Brannock; it contains patterns for 16 projects and most involve folk art applique. (There's a full-size quilt with the cats from that placemat you can see on the cover that would make a terrific Halloween quilt!) If this book sounds like something you'd enjoy, leave a comment and I'll draw a winner on Monday night and post the name of the winner in Tuesday's post--you need to come back on Tuesday to see if you've won and email me to claim your prize.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!