Garage Sale and Junk Store Finds

I love garage sales, junk stores, flea markets, and antique shops. There are many little towns around that have revitalized their downtown area and are filled with little shops and some even have monthly "market days" where vendors bring their wares. Exploring is a fun way to fill an afternoon. Little finds that can be used to organize my scrapbook and sewing supplies are an added bonus. I spent the beginning of the week doing some reorganization and using some of my finds. This little wire rack I actually pulled out of the trash. Someone decided they didn't want it anymore so I decided to make it mine. It is great with the lined baskets I found at IKEA. The top shelf holds my Autumn Leaves Buttons, and some pictures that haven't been sorted yet. The middle shelf holds some sewing projects I hope to complete very soon. And the bottom shelf is pictures that my husband took that will be transformed to scrapbook pages and cards.

These are old ceramic canisters I found at a garage sale. I used to keep my buttons in a plastic bags in an old basket under my sewing table. I now have them sorted and stashed in these canisters. One for white buttons, one for colored buttons, one for buttons still on the card, and one for the buttons that are too fantastic to use. They are the ones I pull out just to look at. They are the antique buttons I have collected over the years. I know that I should use them and enjoy them, but I just haven't found the perfect project for them yet. :>P

I found this wire wall rack in an antique shop in Georgetown, TX this Saturday. It is perfect for storing my iron when it isn't in use. Drake's daddy knocked over my ironing board when he was little and so I have a fear that Drake might do the same thing. Now the iron is up in a safe place and I don't have to worry about my little darlin' getting burned.

A friend was going to put this printer's tray in a garage sale so I called dibs. It is perfect for my acrylic paints, paint dabbers, and stickles. I love having everything with in reach when I want to use it.

After seeing Donna Downey's Rubber Stamp Ladder storage on Patter Cross' Blog, I decided I needed to get some of my Rubber Stamps out where I could see them and USE them. I found a shelf at the Citywide Garage sale for $3 and another printer's tray at Market Days in Wimberly. Now some of my favorite stamps are on the wall.

But my favorite is the paper towel holder I found for $.50. I had all my clear stamps in plastic sleeves in binders. I always tried to store them upright so they didn't get smashed, but would have to lay them down to look through them. I got a couple of big binder rings and now 3 notebook binders of stamps are all in one place. I can quickly flip through and see what I want to use.

So now with everything organized and neat, it is time to get busy creating and make a mess again. Stay tuned for more projects to come. Same place another day......