bubbledog blog

new art for my home

I've been meaning to post some pics of these amazing prints that I picked up last week in DC.  The first two that you see in this post are by Strawberry Luna.  The prints are each hand screen printed (as are all of the prints in their shop) and are even nicer in person.  I had to go back to their booth three times to decide which prints to get because everything there was awesome!  I love the Scissor Sisters, so that print was a no brainer... the Coffee Thee and Me print is so cute (yet sophisticated at the same time) that it also had to be purchased. 

I also purchased a poster from El Jefe Design.  When I walked past the booth, I was immdediately drawn to the colors and illutration on this poster.  When I got closer and noticed it was for a Flight of the Conchords performance, the cash was already coming out of my wallet.  This is another poster I was really fond of, but ultimately, the first one I saw won.  Check out their site for some great stuff!

Those three posters are truly amazing, but my very latest aquired piece of artwork may be my favorite.  The artist's name is Lily and she was visiting my house with some good friends of mine from London, England.  Not only did I get this beautiful piece of art, but it was also signed... with a little help from Mom & Dad.  Thanks Lily... now I need some artwork from her sister Bea :) 

 

liquorville

Anyone that knows me well would appreciate the irony of me buying a set liquor decanters.  You could never really classify me as a drinker, but how could I possibly pass up this amazing set of bottles?  Each glass decanter is about nine inches tall, rectangular, and has a building screenprinted on the front.  The roof tops are removable with a little plastic stopper inside to function as the cap to seal off your hooch.  A completely awesome thrift store find!

tinicum arts festival

Though the day has turned out to be mostly overcast, this morning was absolutely beautiful.  It was the type of morning where you just need to get out of your house as quickly as possible and go do something outdoors.  Luckily, about 10 minutes away, the Tinicum Arts Festival was going on, so problem solved!  I had stopped at this festival a few years ago and, though the style of arts and crafts isn't typically my taste, there are some great artists there and it is a nice setting to spend the morning (and they have amazing real potato french fries).  

I picked up a few items... and downed a basket of fries (mmmm.....).  My favorite items of the day were the cute orange tabby cat gourd ornament I bought as well as these great black and white cards (which I will be using as prints for my wall).  The cards are by Mr. & Mrs. Rose who had some really nice graphic illustrations including many of the various bridges along the Delaware River.  The most interesting thing about it was that they live in my town and no more than a mile from my house.  Go Milford, NJ!

 

new art for my wall

While at the Art Star Craft Bazaar last weekend, I was able to get away with only making one purchase.  My booth was smack between two talented artists, my friend Laura from Dog Bone Art on my right and an illustrator, Jamie Zollars, on my left.  It was great to be sitting amongst such talented people, but also a bit intimidating.  The whole time I was in my booth, I could see this amazing silkscreened Bug Parade print at the front of Jamie Zollars' table.  I was able to get one at the end of the second day and I now just need to get out and get a frame for it (sadly, framing is my Achilles' Heel... for some reason it takes me forever to get around to doing it).  When it is framed, I am thinking of adding it to my dining room wall in either the top or lower right hand side... what do you think?

dreary saturday

Today is one of those gray rainy days (though it hasn't rained yet) where it would seem appropriate to stay in your pajamas all day and spend a good portion of the day horizontally.  That being said, I somehow managed to get myself up and out of the house before nine or so.  I've needed some clothes for work and decided to go check out the outlets at Libery Village in Flemington. 

On the way to the outlets, there was a church community yard sale and I couldn't resist stopping.  I found this cool turquoise pyrex-like salad bowl with matching serving utensils.  There wasn't much else there, though I did find four vintage 9.5" Fiestaware plates.  A few dollars later, I was back on the way to the outlets.

I actually had quite a bit of luck at the Calvin Klein and J. Crew outlet stores.  Some great deals and a lot to choose from.  Those outlets are hit or miss.  The coolest part about my time at Liberty Village was seeing this Richard Scary kiddie ride.  If there weren't any people around, there would probably also be a picture of me riding it :)

garage sale goodies

Yesterday was the Holland Township town wide yard sale.  This can be a frustrating afternoon with a lot of driving and parking and LOTS of yard sales with kids toys and clothes.  In my book, current kids toys & clothes are followed closely by baskets and country arts & crafts as ingredients for a horrible yard sale!   

After a few duds, I eventually found a couple of good sales.  I'm not really a collector of most depression glass stuff (it's a little too fancy-pants for my taste), but these items were too good a deal to pass up.  They are in great condition and all six pieces were $5 total. The depression glass score was great, but this collection of five old salt and pepper shakers was the winner of the day. 

  

The artichoke was orignally what caught my eye.  The guy that was selling them had a whole box of old shakers.  He actually asked me if I wanted the whole box and I am kicking myself for saying no.  He sold me these five sets for $1 a piece!  The artichoke and those lettuce head looking guys are ceramic, the atom bombs (?) are plastic, the bird shakers are wood, and those gorgeous orange beauties are bakelite.  I think all of these sets were never used except for the white bombs. 

I have to get busy on figuring out ways to display all of this cool stuff I keep finding.  As of now, most everything is in closets or packed in boxes.  I need some sort of large display to enjoy it all... maybe I will find one at the next sale?

rummaged

Twice a year, the Visiting Nurse Association of Somerset Hills has the most amazing rummage sale.  They take donations for about a month and then have a huge sale that takes place over three days.  They have several tents and you travel from tent to tent looking at TONS of things for sale.  Today, I was at the sale for about two hours.  I went into their Kitchen, Housewares, Furniture, Vintage, Office, Toy, and Appliances tents.  I came away with some good deals and spent a total of $60.  Here are a few of my treasures:

clockwise from top left: 1.  some toys and things from the 1980s (the Mr. Sketch markers will be blogged about soon)  2. Little Twin Stars Kiki & Lala dolls from 1976 (not in the best condition, but I have never seen them before)  3. various kitchen and household items (the white dishes are ceramic serving dishes from Eastern Airlines; the little enamel teapot is an addiction of mine - I buy them every time I see one)  4.  a three tier corner plant stand (I have wanted this exact stand for quite some time)  5. some plush tomato or apple guy (anyone know what it is?)  6.  some string art from 1967

There are a few other items, but I didn't get around to photographing everything.  Now I just have to start my countdown to the next VNA sale!

thrifty saturday

Today was one of the first nice warm days that we have had and, for me, I deemed it the official opening of flea market and yard sale season.  We decided to head down to the Golden Nugget Flea Market in Lambertville to see if they had anything good.  It's still a little early in the year, so it wasn't completely full of vendors, but it was enough to satisfy my need to look around at old junk!  I only ended up purchasing a Sony "Dream Machine" clock radio which I'm assuming, judging from the amount of mustard yellow, is from the seventies. 

Following the flea market, we headed down to some thrift stores in the Trenton area.  On the way we stopped at IT'S NUTTS which is a cool old restaurant that has had several reincarnations since I have lived in the area.  They seem to always pick a name that has six letters so that they can re-use the awesome sign out front (I think it has been F-I-F-T-I-E-S and J-I-M-M-Y-S to name a few).  Though the service was terrible (yet pleasant), the food was awesome!  I had a ceaser salad and cuban sandwich that were both out of this world.  It was reasonably priced too... something like $28 for two people!  I would highly recommend it if you like good food, but don't mind waiting to get it ;)

Following lunch, the thrift store action was good... not great, but not bad either.  I wound up buying a few more kitchen items that I definitely don't need, but were just too cool to pass up.  Two little dessert bowls, a teapot, and a funky metal covered bowl for $6 total!

 

stuff for my walls

I am still shocked and amazed because, over the weekend, I found four things to hang on my walls.  I don't know why it is such a challenge for me, but I find it to be the absolute hardest thing to do when decorating in my home.  It seems that I like so many things when I see them, but when considering them getting mixed in with my furniture, things never seem to work out.

Well, while shopping in downtown Somerville this weekend, I managed to purchase three antique prints and an iron wall hanging.   The jury is still out on the iron piece... it is a partridge in a pear tree, but I had never seen anything like it before and decided it was worth the $18 it cost.  It's stamped Sexton copyright 1966 and it is about 15" wide.  I am thinking it might go by the door to my deck, but it is going to have to try out a few locales before finding a new home.

My favorite find of the day was a large screenprint that I just fell in love with.  It is a four color print and is signed and numbered by the artist (#42 of a run of 250 prints).  I am guessing that this might also be from the sixties, but I'm not completely sure.  It is framed and matted, but both frame and matte are hideous and will be replaced (I took the liberty to crop them out of the pic).  The actual printed area is large (about 18" by 23") and has already found a home on a bare wall in my living room.  It reminds me of illustration style from old childrens books. 

 

love is...

... finding a vintage chair that works with your new Ikea couch.  I found this Jack Cartwright chair at The People's Store in Lambertville, NJ.  I can't express how completely satisfied I am... it is as if it was made for my house.  I tried to date it from it's tag, but the date is faded - I think it says 1969, but only "196" is clear.  I have been looking for a side chair for my Ikea Kramfors sectional for the last year, so I was thrilled when I saw this chair.  I like things to match somewhat, but I don't want all the furniture to be exactly the same... in other words, I don't want a furniture store showroom in my house.  So, "find chair" can be removed from my to do list, leaving "find artwork" to complete.