Laume's Studio

I'm in non-purchasing mode nowadays - in everything from clothing to craft supplies. Well, more specifically, no purchasing anything new. And what I do buy, new or used, only sparingly.

But, there are some opportunities one shouldn't pass by. I was driving home from an errand yesterday, through the industrial area on the outskirts of town where I don't often go. Driving by the recycling center, the building supply company, the feed store, I spied a bunch of signs with arrows that all said "Barn Garage Sale". Barn garage sale? So, are they selling barns? Or having a garage sale in a barn? Or selling barn supplies? I had to find out.

It turned out to be an enormous warehouse sized barn the local antique and collectible dealer uses for storage. He generally gets his merchandise from buying up abandoned storage units and sifting through them for the treasures he puts in the shop. This was where he had left everything else.

It took me over an hour and a half to do just a cursory up and down every aisle. I spent $7. I was pleased because, a) I only bought a little bit, meaning I didn't bring home much of anything I had to find room for and, b) I did find some goodies, most of them crafty finds.


Here's what I found. Unlike recent photos, this one you can click on to enlarge so you can see stuff. Clockwise from bottom left: A tiny dish for my tea bags, fifteen art stamps, a dragonfly for Joli's fairy room, a bag of small birds and nests, a bee (missing one wing, but I can make him new wings), a tiny ceramic tile still attached to whatever it used to be part of - it's painted pictures of herbs with a saying from Poor Richard's Almanac - "Much virtue in herbs, little in men.", some black elastic string, a bag of embroidery thread (and a few misc. ribbon flowers and heart cutouts), some leather and beads I thought could be reworked to accessorize my forest fairy costume, two sets of knitting needles (sizes 1 and 2, almost invisible in the photo), and (in the middle), a rolling line marker.

And here's my favorite find. An entire five pound can full of plastic letters and numbers. They have little tabs on the back so they can be used on one of those old fashioned display boards one sees at deli counters or such. I'd love to find an actual board and use it to write poetry, quotes, affirmations, or messages. But if not, the tabs will be easy to clip off with a scissors and the letters can be glued onto other projects. If, that is, they just don't end up being a can of letters and numbers for the family to play with just as they are. William already asked if he could have them. And I assume the grandkids (those old enough not to eat them) would love to play with them too.

My house and garden are screaming for me to notice them, clean them, organize them. Can you hear them?

(AAAAAAAAAHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhh.........HELp us.......)

That is, those sections that haven't given up and are laying about virtually comatose. Yet, cruel woman that I am, I'm going to turn a deaf ear to it all today and do some crafting instead. Rather, I'm going to try to hack my way into the jungle, aka the studio, in an attempt to make the guest bed accessible (which means I have to find it first - I vaguely recall it being in the corner directly across from the hall door) and hopefully (fingers crossed, knock on wood), start back up on some projects or at the very least find them as well.

Wish me luck. If you don't hear back from me in a day or two, send a search party.