A Birthday, Books, and a Box.....

"Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wings of time."

~Jean Paul Richter~

Last Tuesday I celebrated my birthday marking the beginning of my 46th year of life. I spent a pleasant day largely entertaining myself doing one of the things I love the most, browsing around in my favorite flea market, Through The Years.

One of my favorite booths is chock full of books. The volumes in this booth are not the heart stopping worn musty leather bound books I love to browse through but they are equally intriguing. All the publications are newer and arranged by subject: cooking, decorating, needle arts, quilting, painting, paper crafts, etc. I happened by one a lucky day when the booth owner had just stocked with some delightful titles that I had seen at Barnes & Noble. Here is what I purchased:

In This House, A collection of Altered Art Imagery and Collage Techniques by Angela Cartwright and Sarah Fishburn. This volume has artwork by a host of talented artists. I can't wait to try out some of the techniques. The page shown below is part of a larger piece of art by Nina Bagley entitled 9A Firefly Lane. Mixed Media Collage, An Exploration of Contemporary Artists, Methods, and Materials by Holly Harrison. This one is not so much my style as it showcases contemporary art. I appreciate this style of art and see the beauty in it but I am not particularly drawn to it. What drew me to this book was the new techniques that I can incorporate into my own artwork. I love learning new applications for various media. I loved these fabric pieces entitled Blest Foreboding by Sharon McCartney.Fabric Memory Books, Techniques, Projects, Inspiration by Lesley Riley. I saw a fabric book made from old linens in a magazine and I was intrigued by the concept. This book features one such book plus a host of other ideas.Autumn Leaves presents THE FOOF-A-LIFE that shares, reflects, and shines with the warm and wonderful designs of Foof-a-La. Ten talented artists share their paper crafting inspirations in this dreamy book. Below is a Songbird Banner by Marilyn, so sweet!

These next two I bought as gifts. Let's Play Tag is a Leisure Arts publication that shows creative ideas and techniques for making tags. I have a friend who is just getting into paper arts and her favorite thing is making tags so I thought she might enjoy this. Paris, London, Rome tags by Anita Byers shown below.You're Invited to Tea Tag.Vintage Collage-Works by Mary Jo & Sunny Koch is full or artful ideas using antique ephemera. I already own this one and love it. I thought my friend might enjoy it also. I adore these little matchbox place cards, beautiful bottles, and songbird clips!

Oh, but my Birthday trip only got better, not only did I get books, books, marvelous books, I got a big beautiful box. After spending time in book heaven I meandered over to a booth that always has the most delicious primitive items. I still had my special $10.00 to spend and I needed to find something good.

For as long as I can remember my maternal grandmother gave me $10.00 for my birthday. She always told me to spend it on something pretty and never anything practical. She always wanted to see what I had bought. Of course when I was young it was a toy or candy of some sort bought at the local five and dime, Ben Franklin's. In my teen years it mostly went to buying 45 records. In my adult years I usually visited a flea market and found a trinket or treasure. This year was no exception of where I spent it, the only difference was that I would not be able to show her what I bought.

In honor of her memory I gave myself $10.00 to spend and in the same spirit of celebration I set out to find my special something. This year it was a box. Not just any old ordinary box but a beautiful rich patina time worn box. I saw it sitting on an old table, upended, and empty. As soon as my eyes rested on it my imagination filled it with possibilities.

Maybe I could use it to store my shoes:Possibly to provide my paints with a place to rest:Or to hold a few objects that feather my nest:

I had no idea where this old trunk box would go, I only knew it was going home with me! My grandmother would laugh over this purchase. I can here her exclaim, "They gee~eee, wha~ought kind of pretty did you find?" This box would tickle her because she would see it as trash but exclaim over it as if it were treasure. I would tell her of all the wonderful things I could do with such a box and she would later laugh whispering to the aunts how she had to fuss over my purchase.

Books a $125.00 value ~ all purchased for $21.00.

Battered old trunk box ~ $10.00.

Birthday memories ~ priceless!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy