Jeanette Janson-Mixed Media Artist

What's new at Vintage Supply

I've been working away lately, trying to build the inventory back up in Vintage Supply.  I've got lots to choose from now, so stop by when you get a chance and take a look.

Cool old hardware.  Most of this is lightweight enough to be bended and manipulated.

Postal doors that need just a bit of cleaning up.

This is an assemblage I made awhile back using a postal box door similar to the one above.  I've also seen people make banks and other things with them.

Religious medals can be fun to work into jewelry pieces.

It's always nice to have a few extra watch parts on hand.....I'm just sayin', a girl can never have too many deconstructed watches.

A large solid pocket watch....it even comes in the original box-with the warranty and cleaning cloth.  How unusual that it would still be all together.  Someone must have cherished this watch.

A little of this, a little of that!  Everything you need for several projects!

WWII ration tokens.  A great bit of history....repurpose into scrapbooking, jewelry making and artwork.  You get a dozen for only $5.

This old Victorian fan is just so delicate and lovely.  It really needs to be displayed in the proper place.

Watch faces...another good item to have on hand.  These are affordable, too.  $9.99 for the whole batch.  I've made earrings and other jewelry with these.

Here's a pair of earrings I made out of watch faces that I cleaned up.  I drilled holes in them and hung dangles below.  Easy and something different that you don't see everyday!

And last, but not least, some lovely old chandelier crystals. You could hang this as a swag or take it apart and use the pieces individually.  It's a beauty.

Well, here we are at the beginning of another week.  Hope you have a good one.  

I'll leave you with a little something to think about~

"If you're depressed, you're living in the past. If you're anxious, you're living in the future. If you're at peace, you're living in the present." -Lao Tzu

Wine Tasting and a visit to the farm

Seems like I've jumped right back into my activities and vacation time is becoming a blur now.  Last Friday night was the Main Street Wine Tasting event in our town square.  The artist's co-op that I am a member of was participating as a sampling location, so I spent the evening helping out with that.

It's a good way to get people into the gallery that have never been by before.  That can lead to sales, sign up for classes and good PR.

I helped with tending the front desk that night.  Here I am with Fay...she is a member that works tirelessly at the coop.  She's got a great talent for organizing events and working out all the details that are required.

They do this wine tasting about once a year and thankfully the weather cooperated this time around and attendance was good.

The next morning, I headed over to The Farm at Rabon Creek.  This is a cool place where the Farm Fresh Antique and Artisan Show is held every Fall.  Some jewelers were doing demos and it was a good day to get outside.

My mom loves going on girls day trips together.

Kara made me a rosebud ring out of wire.  I love it!

A silverplated creamer made a perfect planter.  Check out Donna's etsy shop.

So cute!  This is going in my kitchen window.

It was nice and quiet there, but this is what it looks like when the festival rolls around.

They have a pinterest account HERE if you want to see more pictures.

I'm going to be a vendor again this year, so I'm really looking forward to that.  

OK, so another week is here and there is much to do as usual.  Thanks for taking the time to stop by.  Hope you have a good day!

 

Antiquing in AZ

I have a few more photos to share with you from our Sedona trip.  You know me, I always need to scout out the antique shops or flea markets wherever I go.  This is so much more up my alley than taking pictures of landscapes.  Although the scenery there was gorgeous, you can only take so many photos of mountains.

Rusty old wheels have a beauty of their own.

I love the skulls and antlers!  Another item that would have been tough to bring home on the plane....but I was tempted!

One or two of these would have been perfect in my garden.

Or three or four of these.  Oh well....

Amazing sculptural horses outside of a Sedona gallery.  Love the rusty gadgets!

Acres of antiques in Cottonwood, AZ.

I love this primitive shrine!

Can you see the beauty in this old truck?  

How about in this abandon tractor?

A typewriter left in the outside yard of an antique store.  The keys were pretty much shot....it was a pity that it was cast aside.  

Junking jackpot!

A makeshift sculpture I happened across on a trail.  That's cool.

One more landscape photo....couldn't resist taking this photo on our way to the airport in Phoenix.  Lots and lots of cactus along the roadside.  

Well, I guess it's time to stop reminiscing about my vacation.  There's work to be done here.  I spent most of yesterday updating my supply shop on etsy.  Lots of new things listed...check it out!

 

Sedona Vacation

I just got home a few days ago from a wonderful trip to Sedona, AZ.  We booked it last fall and the timing was perfect for us.  Sounds silly, but we both needed a change of scenery after losing our dog and this gave us a fresh start.  (People who dote on their pets....can't believe I am one of those!)

What a little slice of Heaven this area is.  

Unique to the area are the red rocks.  

After a bit of sightseeing, I made a stop into the local arts center.  Very cool place with lots of beautiful handmade jewelry.

It was fun to see how it's run by members just like our local co-op.  

We took a train ride on the Verde Canyon railroad one day.  

The south rim of the Grand Canyon was only 2 hours away, so we had to go there, too!

We found a trail that ran right along the edge.  Scary in spots, but not many other people around, which was nice.  

Lots of hiking that day.....also got windburned and dehydrated.  It couldn't be helped, no matter how much water I drank, it wasn't enough.

I love these handmade sculptures that were displayed outside a shopping center in Sedona.  They were a tad out of my price range.

The umbrella project was going on to benefit Hurricane Sandy victims.  You can read about it here.  I would love to have bought one, but I can just see myself trying to bring a hand painted umbrella on the plane home!

I've got a few more photos to share with you (a few hundred to be exact), but I'll just pick out a handful more in my next post.

Hope you have a good weekend!

 

Bottlecap Birdhouse

We have a Springtime fundraiser coming up at our Art Co-op in May.  This time we are all making birdhouses that will be sold during a wine and beer tasting event in the town square.  I put my thinking cap on because I have never made a birdhouse before....how hard can it be, really?

I found this handmade one on a shelf in our garage and decided to recycle it.  It was a left-over from my husband's scouting days....one that he could not bear to part with for sentimental reasons.  He was happy to donate it for the cause and I got to work decorating it.

I picked out a bunch of colorful bottlecaps and flattened them out with a hammer.  Next came drilling a hole in the centers and screwing them to the roof of the birdhouse.

One down, lots more to go.

(PS-I have these bottlecaps on sale at Vintage Supply-Buy one get one free-HERE)

After awhile they were all in place and it was time to do something with the sides.  I pulled out a few of these wires and stapled them into place.  When bent, they made perfect stems for my flowers.  Then I screwed more caps into place and I'm almost done!

The final step was painting some grass around the bottom and then the artistic part is complete.  We sealed it with a few coats of urethane to protect it from the elements.

I may end up bidding on it myself....I have just the place for it in my backyard!

 

A tribute to our pup

I'm going to try and write this post without getting all teary-eyed.  Here it goes...a week ago today we had to make a hard decision, but I feel like it was the right thing to do.  It was time to put our little pup out of her pain.  

(This was about 5 years ago)

She's been battling cancer, congestive heart failure and more for awhile and it finally caught up with her.  Up until a month ago she was perky and playful, but we could see her slipping and knew she didn't have much time left.  She was at the point where the vet told us to keep her on painkillers.  She was also losing her balance and wasn't interested in eating anymore.  It would have been selfish to make her suffer any longer.  We made that dreadful trip to the vet and held her til the end.  We are missing her like crazy, but each day gets a little better.    

This is one of the last pictures we have of her.  Napping with the kitty.  She lived a long life of 16 years with the last 6 being with us.  When we found her, she had heart worms and was unwanted.  We got her back to health and spoiled her rotten.  We gave her the life she deserved and got a tremendous amount in return.  

So now the house feels big and empty, but we know in our hearts that we did the right thing.

 

Flea Marketing

I've been battling a cold for the past few days, but I didn't let that stop me from a flea market venture yesterday.  I knew my adrenaline would kick in as soon as I started scouting for bargains and treasures.  

We were up at 5:30 and standing in line (with many others) a little before 9.

The sun was shining, the weather was gorgeous and it was a great day to be out shopping and people watching.

This was before it got too terribly crowded.  It's a big show, so I was quickly trying to see as much as possible without getting stuck in one booth for too long.

I tend to loose all track of time and space when I find a section that I really like.

Jewelry, buttons, baubles hardware and lots of little tins to look through.

  Too many pretty little things to ponder over.

Bins full of chandelier crystals.

I kept moving and came across these huge rusty metal letters.  No room in the car for these.

I love that old wrought iron bed frame.

Lots of temptations.  Maybe I should have rented a u-haul!

That Gulf sign would look perfect on my old tobacco barn out back.

Vintage garden ornaments...cute.

Wow!  So many gorgeous rhinestone brooches in one place!  ...and they were attracting people like bees to honey.  These were not being sold at flea market prices... more like full blown retail.  I'm sure they were worth it, though.  These were all in A+ condition and really gorgeous.  It was fun just looking.

I splurged on this one.  Not a great picture, but a real beauty.

I also went a little crazy buying vintage military medals.  They are so ornate and most of them have writing or dates on the back.  I love pretty shiny things, but something with a history behind it really intrigues me.

I found this gorgeous little silver plated rosary carrying case.  I couldn't leave it behind.

A bit of costume jewelry is making its way home with me, too.

As the day wound down, we hit the road with our satchels full and wallets empty.

Now that the past few busy days are behind me, it's time to camp out on the couch and nurse myself back to health.  It may be a good time to drag out those Sex and the City DVD's...or maybe have a Project Runway marathon!  

 

It runs in the genes

If you're a fellow artist...or even a creative person, you will understand what I'm saying here.  It's hard to stay focused on just one medium when there's so many artistic avenues to explore out there!

 I've dabbled in making jewelry in the past.  My mom is a silversmith by trade and I grew up with her working away in the studio, creating beautiful pieces.  I wish I had some of those today, but most of them were sold off long ago.  I just hope some of her talent was passed down to me.

Here she is at her workbench.

Some of her beautiful jewelry on display.

A few years later, right before she retired.  That's my uncle with her.  His picture is in my last posting.

I learned about jewelry making from her, and I've also taken some classes on my own.  I went to Squam one summer and focused in on just jewelry making.  It was fun, but the accommodations were a bit rustic.  I guess that's what people like about it, though....getting back to their roots.  

Just recently, I took Deryn Mentock's basic jewelry making class online.  This was an informative-work at your own pace class that was a great refresher course for me.  

I've gotten right back into the swing of things and I'm so excited to be making jewelry again.

I'm able to take a lot of vintage brooches and chains I had and incorporate them into my work.  I love those little porcelain dolls, too...so you are sure to see those pop up over and over again.

So, I'm happy to say that I'm putting my new studio space to good use.  It's so nice to have a place to work again.  I don't have these pieces up for sale yet, but I hope to get them listed in the near future.  

In the meantime, I am taking some days off from jewelry making to restock Vintage Supply.  We have a lot of new items listed and more coming soon.  We have our 1st big flea market of the year this coming weekend and I can't wait to see what we find.

Til next time!

 

Family visit and time for a SALE

Gosh, you know company is coming and you try to prepare for it, but it always sort of wears you out.  Don't get me wrong, I love my family and I'm thrilled that they make the time and effort to visit, but it always leaves me a bit depleted, energy wise, no matter how hard I "brace myself" for them.  (That sounds awful, doesn't it?)

The thing is, my uncles are in their 80's and they still act like they're about 17.  Lots of teasing and laughs are had during their stay.

Here they are with my mom.   You see so many seniors these days obsessed with their health and living in the past.  Not this group....they are true models for making every day count.  Seriously, I am going to travel and have fun and stay just as active as they are if I'm lucky enough to be around at their age!

These past few weeks have been so nice that I decided to run a little Spring sale in both of my etsy shops.  At Vintage Supply, everything is 20% through the 28th.  I try to keep my items affordable anyway, so an extra percentage off really brings the prices way down.  

There's even new things that just got listed!

These dress sample cards came out of a salesman's book.  I'm keeping a few to frame and hang in my studio.  I think they're very spooky looking (in a good way)!

In my etsy art shop, I have also put almost 1/2 of the items on sale.  You will find birds

for about $20.  That's way low for the amount of work that goes into these, but I am feeling the need to let go....

You will also find some Charlotte angels and other goodies on sale, so check it out.  There's a "SALE" catagory set up on the left hand side of the screen when you get to my etsy shop.

OK, I guess that's all for now.  Have a good week...and don't forget to check out the sale. Think ahead.  It's a great time to stash away a gift or to treat yourself!

 

Welcoming in Spring with a Sale

It's time for a sale.  In celebration of Spring being officially here, we are having a 20% off everything in the shop.  We have close to 200 items available and some great deals.  It's the perfect time to stock up for projects now and later! 

Click on the picture to shop.