Oh the finds....

...I found

Michelle and Mame of Willows never cease to amaze me with the amount

of product that they bring and how they display it. 

Their talent for styling is amazing and it just makes me drool.

We did get to talk about lots of things and one of them was

the influence that Eddie Ross is having on the way that we

look at "junk" and the way that we display that "junk".

Now you and I know it is not junk but to some they just don't get it.

Someone discards these items and we rediscover them and make them our treasures.

When I traveled to KC this summer Mary Carol Garrity amazed me as well.

The difference at Willows' booth, all the  items are "found" and not

mass produced in China.  They have a history and were once loved

by their previous owner.

Again, it's all about how you display it and how you show someone why you love it.

Something as simple as the flash cards we used in grade school are now

ALL THE RAGE!

Another key is having lots of similiar items.

One of a kind might not be enough so collect like crazy. 

Collect what you love!

So what did I come home with....here are my finds and why I love them!

Love, love, love, these apothecary bottles and I had to

pair them with

this oh so cool vintage syringe I found on etsy.

That syringe is huge and is made of glass.  I do not know the guage of the needle but

let me just tell you it would really hurt.  My kids are most scared of this item ... not even the

witches scare them more.

Perfect for my new style of Halloween decorating.

Yes, I said new style and The Accountant is just going to cry again.

Another new love... and Michelle if you are reading...I want more of these.

These are old iron arrows from weather vanes.  I want a whole wall full of them!

I can see them just above the wall leading into my family room.

They are very heavy and well detailed.

Michelle please I need more !!!!!

These are both pewter and silver pitchers.  I love pitchers because in the next week they will

be filled with lovely fall leaves.  I am trying something to preserve my colorful

leaves by sitting their stems in glycerin and water mixture.  That way they won't fall apart after the first week.

Another display of old books with my creepy witch hand.

The book I picked up is in the middle.

This is a School District Register for District Two in Stephenson County Illinois.

The earliest date in this book is 1863 and it chronicles the schools development,

building and funding.  Money coming in and going out.  It is amazing to look

and see what things cost and how they built this school from the ground up.

Finally, I have a collection of bird cages and picked up one more...

This one is over 100 years old and is a nice companion to my other little one...

Opppps ... I have one more sorry...

I left Shea in the background because it just cracks me up!

This box has a wonderful patina (yes, I have a collection of boxes) and this one

is specifically colored for Halloween.  So I am pairing it up with

my friend from last years Country Living Fair.

Now ... in my next post ....if I survive working through my Halloween Decorations...

I will tell you about my love of old witches. 

It just so happened that I lost a great deal of my decorations up in the attic.  A glass globe cracked and spilled water in a box.

 That box baked in the heat and created the must unbelievable amount of

mold you have ever seen in your life. 

Thank goodness it was a rubbermade box and it did not infect anything else.

So, a little fyi for all of you who might store decorations in your unheated/uncooled attic....

don't store snow globes, they will crack and cause a great loss.

The up side...I get to start over with some new items for my every changing style...that is what is driving me crazy.  I don't like many of my stuff any more....yes big problem right now.

Creative Challenge!