Monday Is Fun Day - Tree Silhouettes

Brass tree from a thrift shop.  Background artwork by Kelli Busch.  Frame from HomeGoods.

Monday Is Fun Day - Vintage Nut Container

What catches your eye when you're in a store?  For me, the first thing is color, then style, then function.  Kind of sad that function comes last, but that's the way it is.  And when I'm buying decorative accessories, those priorities seem OK to me.

Anything aqua, pink, or mint green gets my attention right away.  When it has more than one of those colors, even better.  

This is a vintage plastic box that somebody decorated.  I found it at my favorite "Parisian flea market".  It's 9" from one pointy edge to another.

It originally held a "deluxe nut mix", consisting of five kinds of nuts roasted in oil and salt, with an additional five chemicals as preservatives.  One of them is used to make polyester resins and is also used as an aircraft de-icing fluid.  Hmm. 

The gold inner border is original - I can tell based on the scuffing.  The paper and spiffy pink flower are recent additions.

This is how I display it on a bookshelf.

Monday Is Fun Day - Elephant Pin Cushion

Here's another from my collection of vintage ceramics turned into pin cushions.  I gravitate towards animals, but only certain kinds.  Up to now it's been only cats and dogs.

  But now I'm excited to welcome this cute elephant.

It lives in this little shadow box with elephant button "pictures" on the wall.

Monday Is Fun Day - Dog and Cart Pincushion

Over the weekend, I bought more pin cushions made from vintage ceramic planters.

Here's a dog pulling a cart.  I have it paired with a vintage postcard...

... and some other fun objects.

Monday Is Fun Day - Chair Pin Cushion

When I bought my three sewing baskets a few weeks ago, I also bought this chair pin cushion.

This is where I keep it.

Monday Is Fun Day - Cat Sewing Basket

I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics last week looking for a sewing basket.  I found three that I really liked and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't narrow it down to just one.  I reasoned that I could always return any of them if they didn't work out for some unfathomable (decorating) reason.

We live in a dog household, but I sure like cat motifs.  I think it's because cats look more homogeneous as a species than dogs do.  Often when I see a dog motif, it might be of a breed I don't particularly like, so I won't buy it.   But almost all of the cat designs I see are cute, in my opinion.

It was only this morning that I cut off the tag and decided to keep it.  Part of me found it hard to justify so many sewing baskets in my life (I'm not even talking about the other four I already own).  But once I removed the plastic trays inside and viewed them as regular, albeit extremely decorative, baskets - then I was sold. 

This basket now contains all the fabric and pattern for my next project, a new apron for my mannequin.  And that's the cat's meow.

Monday Is Fun Day - Embroidery Motifs

Our quilt guild held a Market Day earlier this month.  Some members were selling things they no longer had a use for.  And in many cases, there were members like me who DID have a use for those items. 

I can never get enough of embroidery motifs, especially stylized modern ones.  As soon as I saw the "Poodles Promenade" page in A Rainbow of Stitches, I was sold.  I don't do cross stitch, but there are more than enough embroidery designs to make the purchase worthwhile.

Monday Is Fun Day - Cow Planter

A few weeks ago I bought a magazine on mini gardens and terrariums.  One article was on vintage animal planters, which inspired me to visit an antique mall and a thrift store.

I found a cow, a poodle, and a swan.  Poodle and swan to follow on future fun days.

Monday Is Fun Day - Balsa Wood Tree

Lots of this happening outside this time of year.

I bought this balsa wood tree (flowers sold separately) at an art museum last month.  

I like how stylized it is, and I also like how flat it is.  The branches and flowers are only 1/8" thick.

I guess it's not very "arty" for an art museum, but it's a revenue generator for them.  We both were happy with the transaction.

Monday Is Fun Day - Mini-Gardens and Terrariums

Last Friday at Barnes and Noble, I bought the last copy of Mini Gardens & Terrariums.  I hate spending $10 on a magazine so I put it back on the shelf after giving it a good once-over.  But in the end, it was just too much fun to pass up.

Oftentimes when I buy a magazine, it winds up on a pile and it might take me months or longer to get to it.  Or else I'll start it and then not finish it until who knows when.  But I read this entire issue the same day it came home.  

Yesterday I did some shopping to augment some pieces I already owned.  And today I'm going to spend the rest of the day making you-know-whats.

Monday is Fun Day - Vintage Cat Pin Cushion

The last time I was at the place that I bought my vintage dog pin cushion from, I found lots and lots more of them.

This time I bought the cat.  

It wasn't until I took the photographs this morning that I noticed the scissors charm.

Monday is Fun Day - Duck with Egg on Head

I have a set of wire cubbies on the edge of my sewing table, and I swap things in and out according to whim.  

Right now, one of the cubbies has this duck which I bought earlier this month from my favorite "Parisian Flea Market", during their Easter-themed weekend sale.  The duck would have been cute unadorned, but I like it even better after the owner got done decorating it.  She has such creative ideas.

At the duck's feet, you can see a tiny ceramic figurine of two mice that I bought the same day.

Monday is Fun Day - Elephant Pillow

A new pillow for the chair in my sewing room.  This week I'll start a quilt to go with it.

Monday is Fun Day - Bon Printemps

It's not quite spring yet, but one can still anticipate the upcoming bon printemps, or lovely spring.

I picked up this nest over the weekend from a local "Parisian flea market".  It was the first time they were open this year.

I had to look up bon printemps when I got home.  For all I knew, it meant "check out this cool nest!".

The small pedestal is something I picked up in the clearance aisle of HomeGoods the other week.  It only cost $2 and I love pink, so I figured I could find some use for it.  And it didn't take very long.

Monday is Fun Day - Micro Poodle

Smaller than a thimble.  How can anyone make such a tiny thing out of glass?  

Believe it or not, I bought this at Wild Birds Unlimited.

Monday is Fun Day - Tie-Dye Bunnies

Two to give away, two for me to keep.  Not sure who gets what color yet.

Monday is Fun Day - LED Lantern

10" (excluding handle) lantern with an LED light bulb, from Wild Birds Unlimited.  It comes in about six different colors.  It's a little over scale for those campers in the background, but just right for me.

Monday is Fun Day - Preteen Wallpaper

Years ago I bought a wallpaper sample book at a big-box home improvement store.  For a long time, it just took up space, then I decided to cut out the samples I liked and dispose of the rest.  I used one on a purse, I think, (where is that thing?) and recently I dug out a couple more of them.

I didn't want to trim it to fit in my genuine Art Deco frame, so I just double-sided taped it to the outside.  Why not?  

Preteens and their toys have stayed pretty much the same for decades, but the technology behind them hasn't.

Monday is Fun Day - Spiral Notebook

I have way too many spiral notebooks and ring binders.  But when I see something fun, it's hard to resist.

HomeGoods is where I picked this one up.  I liked the saying on the cover.

And the way the colors match my reading chair.

Monday is Fun Day - Sewing-Themed Keyrings

A few weeks ago I was in a sewing machine store, waiting at the counter to check out.  This was a different store than the one that had the fun tweezers.

But they had something almost as much fun: three different keyrings, and all of them light up when you squeeze them.