Though The Family would contend that I ALWAYS get Carried Away with my Projects, I do find that I get Insanely Carried Away at the start of a New Year! *LOL* There's something so Energizing about the Fresh Start of a brand New Year that Invigorates me and makes me want to Freshen and Change just about everything up. You name it and I'm probably Re-Doing it after the New Year rolls in... the House, the Cottages, the Showrooms, the Garden, Wardrobe, the Pantry and Fridge contents... see what I mean... Insanely Carried Away! *Smiles* I got a lot of Heart when it comes to New Beginnings you see... I'm totally Game for it, so I go for it in a Big way!
So New Year's Day I rolled out Early and went Pickin'... yep, I found that lots of my Fav Pickin' Places were actually Open on New Year's Day and oddly nobody seemed to know about it because only a paltry few showed up to 'Pick'! *Color me Happy!* Which was Awesome because nobody was competing for the Great Inventory of Found Treasures and the few who were there seemed Intent on Pickin' Clothing and so nobody was vying for what I was Sourcing! *Joyful Leaping Thru the Air! This was certainly Pickin' Valhalla!*
So such Treasures as Fab Vintage Suitcases, Red and Gold Scrabble Tiles, Vintage Industrial Lighting and Interesting Chachkes were MINE ALL MINE!!!
I was previously such a Hoarder of Vintage Suitcases that The Family thought we could be Moving again at any point in Time and I could be packed and ready to go with everything we own on a Moment's Notice! *Winks* It took me some Time, but once I began Editing my Vintage Suitcase Collection and began being more Discerning about which Type I would hold onto and which Type I would Let Go of, most I now 'Pick' for the Showrooms and Keep only but a Select Few. Much to the Relief of The Family!
Though the Larger one of this matching pair with my Lucky Number Seven and the Great Original Labels still legible and attached was mighty Tempting to not Let Go of. But by Morning I'd Priced it too and off to the Showroom it went with it's Smaller Companion.
In fact I was Proud of myself for not struggling at all with 100% of this 'Pick' going to the Showrooms... even the Huge Round Vintage Suitcase and the Large Golden Jewelry Box with numerous deep drawers....
Lined in Lucious Vintage Gold Velvet and in Pristine Condition it was quite a 'Score'. Yep, though it could have certainly Organized many Bits and Bobs I utilize for other Projects and Creations, I Let Go of it too.
I had recently Sold the Vintage Bridal Veils I'd Sourced in a previous 'Pick', so I was Jazzed to find another Custom Made One to put into Inventory.
Though I Love Vintage Hats, I now only keep a Select Few of those too in my Personal Collection and the rest... and all Vintage Bridal Veils end up Showroom bound... and are Popular Sellers.
Vintage Millinery is something I'm Passionate about even though I rarely wear Hats... but mostly only because it's so Hot here in the Arizona Desert that wearing them I find to be uncomfortable. But for Decor, nothing beats Beautiful Vintage Millinery Collectibles in my opinion.
And I rarely pass up Vintage Lace... whether its Wardrobe, Panels, Accessories or just Fabric. So to Source TWO Beautiful Lace Dresses with lots of detailing in one day, Cha-Ching! This one is in a Lovely Tea Stained Sepia Lace with loads of Pearls and Beading Accents.
An Attempt to give you more of a Close-Up of the Detailing, there's a lot of Hand-Work here and the Color of this Lace is simply Divine!!!
Now the Second Dress was a similar Styling but in a Classic White Lace.
And some Bling Accent that really Sparkled in the Sunlight. The Vintage Dress Form in Room 114 is now Modeling this Dress with a Vintage Mink Cape. {Photos to follow in a Future Post.}
That's right, I didn't have any Time to Photograph any of the Finished Projects I did on Day No. 2 of this New Year... and ya wanna know why? Because I got completely Carried Away and things Snowballed and Spun out of Control Quickly like an Avalanche that there was no turning back from or getting out of the way of! A Modest Project to Re-Vamp Showroom #114 turned into a Major Project of Epic Proportions that took Hours longer than Anticipated... all day Actually!
Yes, my Projects tend to take on Beastly Proportions once they begin and devour all Time and boundaries of Sanity. The Man Anticipated this, since it is my Typical Pattern, especially at the Beginning of any New Year. *LOL* I'm going to Re-Do one Showroom, I says Bright and Early this Morning, since the G-Kid Force were being Entertained away from Home for the majority of the day, giving me Rare Freedom to get things done. I'll be back in a couple of Hours. Sure you will, he says... he knows that tho' I THINK I will get this done Quickly, the only thing that will actually be Quick is how Quicly things will Spiral out of Control once I begin my 'Project'! *LOL*
Of coarse he was right, as usual... what began as just a Re-Foof and Re-Freshing of the Showroom... soon became a Major Re-Decorating, Cleaning, Re-Arranging and Re-Styling of the entire Showroom! I literally took almost everything out of it that was Inventory and began almost with a Blank Canvas! And once it was done... HOURS and HOURS later... well, it looked and Felt so damn good that I had the Momentum now to move on to Showroom #133 didn't I? *LOL* I'd called Home and The Man was Okay languishing in Bed watching his Sports... the Kiddos weren't going to be Home until Dusk... so I was on a Roll, I couldn't stop now! The Avalanche had begun and was barreling downhill wiping out everything in it's Path and making a New Landscape in it's swath!
And in between all of this flurry of Insane Work I'd undertaken I was also Negotiating Deals with Customers and other Dealers on the Christmas Inventory I was wanting Gone... I'm not one to pack it all away until next Season... I'd rather 'Pick' Fresh Vintage Seasonal Inventory every Year if possible. And JUST as I was in the Home Stretch of getting it Done and ready to go Home, completely Exhausted but Happy... the Inevitable happened.
You see, The Man had Encouraged me to Pick up some 'Filler Shifts' at Work now... if the Mall needed a Replacement Key Dealer on an Occassional Second Shift where I would Fill In for someone who couldn't make it or needed last minute Coverage. I can't yet do Regular Scheduled Shifts, but he's at a stage in his Recovery where I can Work Occassionally, when he's having a Good Day. And my Friend Sue comes in just as I'm wrapping up Showroom #133 and says she's not Feeling Well and could I take her Evening Shift Tonight, which begins in Forty-Five Minutes!?! Uh oh... but I can see she doesn't look Well at all... so I call The Man... and he says Why Not do a Sunup to Sundown now... because we all know that once I Stop, well, the Body will Seize Up... and a Body in Motion tends to stay in Motion... so Make Hay while the Sun Shines Girl! *Winks*
So yep, that's how 'Modest' Project No. One for 2014 became a 'Major Insanity' amount of Work on only the Second Day of this New Year... but hey, that's just how I Roll when I've got a Heady Bite of the New Year's New Beginnings Bug! *Winks* My Kids always said I'll never get Rusty with Age, I'll go out in a Blaze of Glory doing something totally Insane for an Old Lady! *LOL*
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian