~ESTATE SALE HUNTING and ONE Fabulous Vintage Mirror~

~LAST SATURDAY'S ESTATE SALE LIST~

One great thing about Winter be-bopping right along is that it takes me closer and closer to the AMAZING OKLAHOMA ESTATE SALES that take place every Spring and Summer. Oh~we have them during the Fall and Winter months, too, but I'm always so preoccupied with the Holidays that I rarely get a chance to shop many of them. Besides...who wants to get out when it snowy and icy? By the time it warms up enough to suit me I find I'm having serious Estate Sale Shopping withdrawal...

~AMAZING VINTAGE MIRROR~

At one of the Sales we visited last Saturday I found this 2die4 mirror! It was priced at only $20 and I certainly couldn't pull it off the wall fast enough! I had big plans for the beautiful old thing! I knew immediately it was destined for my Formal Dining Room

Now...I'm not one to let grass grow under my feet! Once I arrived home I wasted no time in removing the mirror from it's lovely old frame and cleaning it up until it sparkled like new (well, sorta...you know how vintage mirrors are, right?)...

~TWO LIGHT COATS OF PAINT~

The frame was coated this fabulous bronzy-gold color and I actually loved it! Still, I opted to soften it with an easy dry brushing technique! The photo above is after a couple very, very light coats of my very favorite creamy cottage white paint!

Simple to do... Just dip your SPONGE BRUSH (I used a 2" one) into your paint and then squeeze out most of what soaks into the brush's foam body. Gently TAP the paint onto your frame using the flat side. This allows the original color of the frame to show through. Do this a couple of times and Wah Lah...you are done!

~UP-CLOSE VIEW~
Isn't She FABULOUS?

I don't know WHERE else I could have found such a charming mirror for such a low price! :) Didn't it turn out amazing? The backside of the mirror was stamped 1920!

~ANOTHER CLOSE-UP VIEW~

~BEAUTIFUL and ROMANTIC~

All in all we had a fairly good day of treasure hunting. LOTS of things were terribly overpriced and that always puts me off. Even so, we also found a wonderful pair of vintage glass doorknobs (front, back & faceplate) that will look perfect on the French Doors my guy recently installed! I also hauled home a neat set of old shutters that I'm going to use for display in my little antique booth...

I'd love to know what's popular where you live! My sister, Linda, who lives in Tennessee said that auctions are big in her state... We have those here too, but I rarely attend them. My hand has a tendency to shoot up into the air ALL BY ITSELF and that ends up costing me a lot of money...

Blessings to you as you look forward to the gifts and grandeur of Spring...Rebecca

~FROM MY HEART TO YOURS...Down My Creative Path~

~FROM MY HEART~

This morning I prayed a simple prayer.

I asked God to help me to stay true to my calling.

As I stood in front of a wall of fabric, lovely old laces, trims, baubles and shimmery vintage finds, piles of fading graphics and a sea of colorful paints, I couldn't help but wonder, if just for a bit, what it was that caused the lull in my creativity. I've so needed to find my way 'back home again'.

For years I've known exactly what I've wanted and where I was going.

I've happily blazed my own trail, charted my own course.

When the critics said I couldn't. God said I could. And I did.

For over seven years my passion for following my heart was my compass and it never failed to steer me in the right direction.

How then did I end up in muddied water? I've always had within me a clear understanding of my purpose and even though there have been moments when I was not 100% positive exactly what my calling was, somehow I always knew within my spirit when I strayed from it.

It seems every single day some new TREND begins. Some amazingly fabulous website pops up offering the latest, greatest SOMETHING-OR-OTHER (probably made in China) and then we scurry on over to see what we are missing out on...

The only thing I've missed out on is being true to myself...

Time for me to return to my first love. Back to the loveliness and comfort found in shabby old laces, soft pink roses, gently faded cottons and the blended menagerie of everything that's dearly loved and aging.

It feels so good to be home again.

Love to you~Rebecca

~MORE FREE CLAPSADDLE GRAPHICS...and The Beauty Herself~

~Sweet Ellen Clapsaddle~
At About 10 Years Old

Last week I shared with you some aging graphics from the ever popular Miss Ellen Hattie Clapsaddle. By now you know how much I love this artist's work. While doing even more research on her life I FINALLY found a couple of pictures of this extremely talented lady! I just had to share them with you... From what I understand these are the only two photographs of her that remain today.

~Ellen Hattie Clapsaddle~
At About 20 Years Old

While organizing some of my seasonal images I came across a few more I think you will just love. I know it is early in the year, but for those of you who plan ahead (like me!) Easter isn't all that far away!

Feel free to use these darling Clapsaddle images as you please. I'd love to see what you do with them!

~Original Easter Postcard~

~Sentiments Removed~

~Isn't She Wonderful?~

~Cleaned Up A Bit~

~Brundage or Clapsaddle?~

~Cleaned Up - Sentiment Removed~

The vintage postcard above is unsigned and I'm not positive who the artist on this one is. Sometimes the work of Frances Brundage and Ellen Clapsaddle looks similar. I've included this one for you because I love both artists!

Blessings to you as you continue to create beautiful things within your happy heart...Rebecca