Wednesday, October 25, 2006

stuff! we love stuff!

My dear Auntie Tina, purveyor of wondrous jewels, mentioned that she feels the urge to shop and was wondering what sorts of stuff we like. Well now! We like all sorts of stuff, Auntie Tina! Here’s an enormous list of the things I keep my eyes open for when I’m in thrift shops or at garage sales.

P.S. Auntie Tina – do pop over and check out what Julie did with one of those fantastic ostrich feathers….so pretty!

P.P.S. New project underway - more posts soon!

Textiles
--Any sort of old garment for cheap that is made of 100% wool, silk, or linen in a solid color. We can reuse the fabric for accessories, trim, guards, hatbands…you name it! The color isn’t that important since we love to mess with overdyeing things (with humorous results much of the time… we are especially good at inadvertently turning things pink that are intended for our husband’s outfits…oopsie.)
--Anything cheap and leather in a natural color (or black). Leather is great for bindings and accessories like gloves or belts.
--Leather gloves in natural colors. We’re thinking about trying our hand at embroidering cuffs for on gloves.
--Anything that looks handwoven, most likely in a solid color. Things like handwoven placemats are wonderful to use as coverings for our baskets (to conceal things like water bottles and cameras!)

Jewelry
--Brooches/pendants – Generally rather geometric, symmetric designs are good. They didn’t have a whole lot of fancy gemstone cuts then, so I remove rhinestones and replace them with other things. They loved pearls, so most anything with a stylized design in pearls can work. Heavy metal pendants such as the one I used on the end of my yellow silk girdle are fantastic.
--Earrings – I usually wear some sort of drop pearl earring.
--Enamel – Anything with squarish enamel settings is perfect. I keep an eye out for buttons, although I’ve yet to find any. They called these “ouches” and stuck them on anything that held still long enough!

Odds and ends
--Small wooden bowls or platters. These are really nice for arranging a little period lunchtime snack.
--Pewter or wooden goblets.
--Feathers – We’re always keeping an eye out for natural-colored feathers for on hats.

2 comments:

Julebug said...

I do believe you thought of everything, cuz I can't think of anything to add. :)

Anonymous said...

Aunt Tina here,
I loved Julie's hat, and I am now on track to do some fun shopping. I have my list and hopefully within a couple of weeks, or less, you will have a new surprise to share as you like. What talent all of you have, it is truly amazing. Did you get that from me?? Ha Ha. I Love you, Auntie Tina