Jeanette Janson-Mixed Media Artist

Christmas and Birthdays

 
Last summer I stumbled across a grouping of vintage Christmas cards while flea marketing.  I tucked them away, knowing I would pull them out when the season rolled around.  I'll be sharing them with you as the days lead up to Christmas.  I think they are great looking, but I'm not sure what to do with them.  Right now they are sitting in a basket on the table.  If anyone has any neat display ideas, let me know.

I'm excited to share with you that my assemblage bird article is being re-run in the Artists' Cafe' magazine.  If you would like a copy, you can order it here.

This issue promises to be a good one, so don't hesitate!

Tomorrow is my birthday, so I hope to relax and take a day off.  We are going shopping in the afternoon and then stopping for dinner afterward.  It will be a pretty tame day, but that's OK with me.  My DH already surprised me with flowers today and bought me a jewelry armoire last week. 

Another year over....I don't feel all that different from who I was 20 years ago.   Everything has changed, though.  My kids are all grown up, I live in a different place, have new people in my life.   Hopefully I am a little wiser and a bit stronger than I was then. 

xo Jeanette

Thankful

Thanksgiving was quiet here for us.  It was just the two of us along with our furry friends.  I still cooked a 13 lb. turkey and made a big meal.  We will be eating leftovers for quite awhile!  Even though we were by ourselves, I have a lot to be thankful for.  A wonderful loving husband, my son, home safely from Iraq this year, my younger son, finishing up school and together with a great gal, and my mom, a very special lady with a zest for life.  So you see...I am very blessed.  Christmas is right around the corner and that's when they will all descend upon us!  We will greet them with open arms!

So, besides eating turkey all day, I did some new listings in Vintage Supply.  I really didn't want to fight the early morning shoppers, so I stayed home.  Here's a sampling of some new items available,

Alphabet Home primer

A dozen distressed tags

vintage escutcheon plates   
  

This is just a few items I have listed, so take a look around this weekend and see if anything appeals to you.  I am also thinking about offering gift certificates that would be good for a year,  anyone interested?

Ok, must go, it's getting late.  Hope everyone enjoys the weekend!

It's a Vintage Life

In my last post I showed you the beginning of my vintage camera collection.  On that note, I thought I would show you a few more of my favorite things that I have collected.

A doll grouping in my studio

 
  
Printing blocks lined up on the mantel

I've had these little cast iron figures forever!  My mom had them in the home when I was growing up and they got handed down to me somewhere along the line.

  
Watch parts in my studio

A wooden ruler holds old photos.  Just slide them in between the slats.

This frame holds photos of my grandmother as a child.  Wasn't she adorable?  I wish I had known her....

A fire engine red spice rack for my kitchen. 

 
  These clocks don't work, but I like the way they look....so they went up on the wall!

What do you collect??  I sometimes try to pinpoint my style, but it's constantly changing.  I just know that I have always loved antiques and vintage things....I guess that's what feels like "home" to me. 

One last note,  "The Shoppe" at Somerset Studio is now selling Assemblage Bird Kits.  You can also purchase these in my etsy shop.  These kits have everything you need to create your own assemblage bird.  Easy to follow directions are included.  These would make great ornaments to hang on the Christmas tree!

Camera collection

I've been collecting old cameras for some time now,  just picking them up here and there, never paying more than $20 apiece, sometimes much less.  I love the black and silver color and the industrial design of them.  Before I knew it, I had a "collection!"   We installed this shelf in our den the other day and now they are all up, out of harms way.  I think the shelf looks a little bare, but we'll get around to fixing that soon :)

Besides home improvement,  I've been finishing up orders and listing items in my etsy shop.  I have quite a few assemblage birds available now as well as some new typewriter key jewelry.

 
 

 
I think this jewelry would make the perfect stocking stuffer this Christmas!

Speaking of Christmas, I've been receiving gifts in the mail almost everyday.  I am a part of a "12 days of Christmas" art swap.  We all make gifts, mail them out to each other and open one everyday leading up to the 12 days of Christmas.  The gifts are so pretty, it's almost too much to bear!  I will share more about this with you when the time comes to open them.

It is time for me to relax a little now...the last few days have truly been hectic.

Nighty-Night!  
 

Birds of a different feather

Boy, things have been super busy around here lately.  So much to do, so little time!  We had a yard sale on Friday which turned out better than expected.  It's something that needed to be done, so we decided to bite the bullet and do it.  The weather was perfect and we cleared out all of the debris in our attic.  Now we can actually get to the Christmas decorations without breaking our necks!  So glad that is over with....

After the sale, I jumped right into bird production.  I have this grouping almost ready to go.  Some will go out to a wholesale order and some will be posted online in a few days.  I have some really cute designs, so I hope you will stop by my etsy shop to check them out.

Speaking of birds, I put this "fake" crow in my birdcage.  Do you think it looks too cheesy?  I'd love to have a real taxidermy crow, but wouldn't want one to die for it.  This one is Styrofoam covered in duck feathers.  I ordered it online, so I didn't see it in person until it arrived.  I think it's Ok as long as you don't look too close.  The beady plastic eyes bother me a little.

And lastly, I have been sorting through my rusted jewelry findings and listing them at Vintage Supply.   These are great for art projects and jewelry making.

Hope your weekend was a good one!  

 

 

 

Auctions & Artwork

Although I had a lot to do this past weekend, I couldn't resist stopping by this local estate auction.....these events are always so much fun.  I was tempted, but I really behaved myself and didn't buy too much.

This sale was well publicized and there were lots of dealers scrutinizing the items.  It was a competitive lot when the bidding started.

A lifetime of collectibles up for sale.

This is just the tip of the iceberg clothes-wise.  The closets inside were packed with dresses.  If I collected vintage clothing, it would have been a dream come true.  They auctioned off 5 different closets full....the bidding heated up between about 3 different people.  

 A long day for the workers.  Although I didn't stay......I heard the auction continued until about 4 that afternoon.

I found a few odds and ends that I will be listing in Vintage Supply soon.  A reminder that Wednesday, Nov. 11th will be the last day of our 20% off anniversary sale. 

I just restocked on more of these brass tags.

 
Rusty metal snowflakes!  Perfect for your Holiday gifts!

And speaking of the Holidays.....I have Frozen Charlotte ornaments available once again in my etsy shop.

  I'm not entirely happy with the way the charlotte photos turned out.....the paint technique and silver leaf really came out beautiful on these angels.  I had a hard time capturing that on the photos.  I promise, you will be pleasantly surprised with these cute little vintage angels : )

A day at the Flea Market

We spent the day at the antique show/flea market today and I thought I would share a few pictures with you.  It was one of those days that is both exhausting and exhilarating at the same time.  You know that feeling don't you?  I am now very satisfied as I look around me and admire my treasures.

Lara shared the day with us and found lots of her own goodies.

Button, button, who's got the button?  

I am really drawn to these old stoves.  If I had room I would have brought this one home...it was so small and cute!

 Things always look better in groupings, have you noticed?

 
These would make great plant stands! 

Stay tuned to see some of my wonderful finds in the supply shop.  And a quick reminder....everything is 20% off until next Wednesday!
 

20% off Sale

How time flies when you're having fun!  And oh my, what fun we have had this past year.....rising at the crack of dawn, scouring the flea markets, sweating like pigs during  summertime auctions and hitting the brakes for roadside tag sales.  All in the name of art!  Vintage Supply Co. began a year ago this week and it has taken on a life of its own.  To show our appreciation, we are offering everything in the shop at 20% off.  This sale will run until November 11th.  At that time, many items will go back to regular price, including the frozen charlotte dolls.  When you make a purchase, pay the full amount and I will refund you immediately through paypal.  I will reminisce for a few moments about some of my favorite finds during the past year....

Brass tags.  I am always on the lookout for them.  We don't have all of these available anymore, but have other styles to offer.

Skeleton keys... I can never get enough keys!  I love them all and continue to add new ones to inventory on a regular basis.

 
A staple for any mixed media media artist, rusty chain!  We rust this ourselves if you ever wondered.  It's nasty business with acid and bleach, but the results are great!

 
A book filled with autographs from the 1940's, belonging to a girl named Jenny.  A "Jenny" bought it from me and was thrilled to death with it.  I felt like it was meant to be!

Leather baby shoes in robin egg blue.  These were found along with about 6 other pair in the bottom of a box at a large sale.  I  tried to keep my cool, but I think I started hyperventilating when I saw them!

  I found several bonnets at the same sale.  So cute, I almost couldn't part with them!

Handwritten letters, a lost art.  I could spend hours going through these.  They usually don't say anything terribly important, but the sentiment is there.  I still have several lots of these available.

A small ledger, chock full of vintage notes, numbers and figures.  The little size made this booklet very special.  I think it went to someone who will really appreciate it!

I hope you will look through the shop and see if anything interests you.  If not now, please continue to check back.  We have LOTS of items in the wings, waiting to be listed. 

Happy Shopping!

Happy Halloween!

So, what are you doing for Halloween this year?  Going to a costume party?  Trick or Treating with your little ones?  We have a tradition that begins about a week before, we start watching scary movies.  It's really the only time of year I can stand them.  I like a good scare, but the blood and gore and graphic violence is not for me.  Here's a few of the movies we watched.  This, this, this and this one.  All pretty good.

Other than watching movies, I've been listing a lot of new things in the supply shop.  There's some cool watch movements.

 Supply lots

Brass tags

and hardware.

Next week will be our 1 year anniversary at Vintage Supply Co., so look for specials on all items.  If you want to wait until purchasing something, that's up to you, but it might be gone if you do!  Stay tune for more news!

And speaking of anniversaries, Happy #2 to my darling husband.  He surprised me with these beautiful pink roses today. 

Tomorrow is actually our day (you didn't think we got married on Halloween, did you!?) so we are going to go picnicking if the weather is nice.

Hope you have a good weekend!  
 

Preparing for the Holidays

I really cannot believe Christmas is right around the corner, but it's true!  What happened to those lazy, hazy days of Summer that seemed to blend together from one day to the next?  **Sigh**  I miss those days already.

I guess I am starting to feel a little "Christmasy" because I got my gifts for a "12 days of Christmas" swap ready to be sent off today.  I can't tell you what I made yet, but this is how they look all wrapped up.  I tied little brass tags on the outside with the number 10 on them because I had the 10th day.  I have these tags available in my supply shop if you need any for a similar project.

 I got a group of Charlotte angels made for a tree at our local art gallery.  I spent most of the afternoon setting that up.  I used vintage clip-on earrings for ornaments on the branches and small cream colored silk roses stuck in between the branches. 

I did take some photos to share with you, but they somehow got lost in between transferring them from my disc to the computer.  So aggravating!!!  Ever since I got my new Kodak printer weird things have been happening with my camera disc.  I don't understand what is going on, but something is not right. 

I will be making more angels for my etsy shop, so stay tuned for those.  I know my etsy shop has been woefully empty lately, but I hope to remedy that soon : )