From all of us to all of you...

...hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Fa la la la la!

Done! I finished the charms for the November Red Lead on-line charm swap and they are ready to pop into the mail. I needle-felted some red balls and then stitched some stripes with aqua embroidery floss, added an aqua pearl and some Midori ribbon and a charm is born! -- Lisa

Quick Fix for Feeling Overwhelmed

This morning I rounded up all my holiday ribbons and made a home for them in this charming, vintage tin I found last week at the Goodwill. Boy, oh boy, did that give me a happy sense of accomplishment.

And I just got this box of stray ribbon pieces back in order. This is a common 66 gallon plastic storage box. Each color gets its' own separate gallon plastic bag. This system really works for me. I keep this box within handy access. As I acquire new pieces, they are easy to file away.
And when I am looking for a certain color of ribbon, I can lift out that particular bag and see all my choices at once. -- Beth

Looks like the shopping moratorium is over for Lisa too!

One more day of the Midori Ribbon Warehouse Sale:
Sunday, Nov. 23
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
6th Ave. N. & Roy Streets
Seattle
Cash and Checks Only

Putter & Flutter

Normally, one of my favorite verbs is puttering - doing a little of this and that. But recently I've added flutter to my putter, and I'm here to tell you, it is not a productive combination.
Here's last week's project - components for felted wool Christmas corsages.
I got six completed and planned to make more. Same clutter (I promise to stop with the rhyming thing) on the same kitchen table.

Another stage of the project is the laundry basket brimming with odds and ends of wool sweaters and gloves to shrink into felt.

But wait, let's start another project! Bottle caps glued together waiting to become bottle cap bracelets.

Then I sorted through my vintage ornaments to separate out the ones with really skinny necks and fasteners. I'm not sure why this was necessary, but there they sit in a reading chair in my studio. Ironically, the ornaments are sitting on top of another unfinished project - a milk carton swap that I am quite delinquent in completing.

And finally, the ultimate distraction - shopping for bargains. A big bag of jewelry findings awaits organizing.

I know I'll feel much better if I finish one of these projects. Here I go! -- Beth

Fall cleanup, fun things and family treasures

I got a little bit of fall tidying up done on our deck today. I gathered all of the leaves that had landed there and surrounded three amber glass garden towers I made a few years ago. Besides loving amber glass, I adore the top pieces on each of these. I inherited the little vase, bird and small pitcher from my Aunt Iris. The items sat on a pantry shelf for ages.
After they were incorporated in these garden art pieces, I got to see and enjoy them all the time. These towers also look fab when they are actually in the garden, tucked among some orange and red day lilies.
The hardy fuchsia in this pot is still going strong, and we've had one frost so far this fall. They bloom profusely for months and late into the year, long after other blooming shrubs have called it quits.
Here's a closer look at the swell creations in the pot. All three pieces were made by a local artist, Kim Groff-Harrington - a true recycling queen! -- Beth

Santa's Workshop

I had to wait until our Holiday Entertaining Event was over before I could get serious about opening Santa's workshop in my home studio and spilling into our kitchen.

It may be messy, but it sure is pretty. Here I am combining all sizes of vintage ornaments into poufy creations.
I am totally smitten with Christmas corsages! Here's a table full of felted wool sweater pieces, vintage leaves, German glass glitter, various bits and bobs.

Here are the first three corsages I made in brighter colors. Each one contains a vintage treasure or two.

I tried some softer colors, and started feeling happier about my combinations.

Then the last one I made is my favorite so far.

All will be waiting for you at the salvage studio on Friday and Saturday.
And as long as I have this organized, big old gorgeous mess on my kitchen and studio tables, I plan to make even more! -- Beth

More YouTube for you

Part two of our YouTube series is available. Watch Amy create a holiday buffet table, salvage studio style.

Kicking off the Holidays!

First of all, thanks for making our Holiday Entertaining Event a huge success this past Saturday. There was good cheer in abundance. Santa and his elves are still working hard to bring in fun and funky holiday decor and gift items each week to provide pleasure and inspiration for the season.

Lisa and I spent our Sunday afternoon spreading the word about Holiday Entertaining Salvage Studio Style at the Ravenna Gardens store in University Village. We really enjoy meeting new friends and spending time with old (you know what I mean) ones. A big thank you to Gillian Mathews, one of the owners of Ravenna Gardens, for hosting this book event. She has supported us and our business from day one.

Our books looked particularly lovely in this prominent display.

There are two more times to catch our road show:

Sunday, November 16 at Value Village – 12515 116th N.E., Kirkland

Sunday, November 23 at PS Stores (formerly Packaging Specialties) – 2560 152nd Ave. #l, Redmond (Call first to reserve a spot.)

We’d love to have you join us! -- Beth

Which piece of silver do you want to adopt at our Holiday Entertaining Event this Saturday?