I made this shadow box last year, and now it's reminding me to start Christmas crafts NOW, if I'm going to get any done this year. So many ideas, so little time!
I am a sucker for a grab bag. It must have started when I was little and I'd be on vacation with my family and we'd go into one of those off-the-beaten-path gift shops and there would be a little plain brown lunch bag with a label saying "Grab Bag". Usually it was only 50¢ or so, but that was about all the money I usually carried around back then, so it was a weighty decision. I would agonize over it for hours it seemed. Sometimes I'd pass on it or not have enough money, and to this day will never know what wondrous things were in the bag. Other times I would spend my hard earned 50¢ on that grab bag. I'd open it excitedly, imagining jewel studded tiaras, toys that would entertain me for hours, or the ultimate prize: Candy. Candy is gold to an 8-yr old. I honestly don't remember what was in most of the grab bags I bought as a kid, but it sure wasn't any of the things I had imagined. The only time I didn't feel cheated was when I got a bag of smooth, polished rocks. They were really cool.
Fast forward almost 40 years, and I'm wandering through Goodwill, and see a huge clear plastic bag bulging at the seams, and stuffed with all sorts of things: paper pads, pencils, mini books, toys, ribbon. But that's only what you could see. The inner contents were hidden because the bag was either stapled or taped shut. Sometimes it's possible to shift the contents a little to see what's underneath the top layer, but it still doesn't show everything. I took that one home, and have since purchased many similar bags, and can tell you that I've only been truly happy with about 3 of them. The rest of the unwise purchases had maybe one or two good items, and the rest was blech. But yesterday was different. This bag looked special. I could see a couple things that looked good, and a bunch that I could only partially see. It did seem to be all scrapbooking stuff--not just a hodge podge of totally unrelated things, which immediately justified purchasing it. I didn't even hesitate--just put it in my cart. The little voice in my head was saying "Maybe it's the ONE!" When I got home I couldn't wait to rip into it. I was so happy and so relieved to find that almost every item was brand new in its packaging, and was also something that I would actually use on my cards and scrapbook pages. My favorite things are the sewing pattern rosettes from Studio Calico. Another fun discovery was a little handmade album made with the sweetest papers. I can't imagine why anyone would give it away. If you made that album and you happen to see this and recognize it in the photos, thank you so much! So now of course, next time I see a big grab bag, I will have the pleasant memory in my head of finding one stuffed with crafty goodness, and will end up buying it, forgetting that a good one only turns up about 3% of the time. It's so much fun though! Not too many great estate sales lately, but I did find a few things at Goodwill. The vintage blocks were made in Germany, and have such pretty pictures on them. Several old Little Golden Books that I just couldn't pass up, although I probably should have looked at them a little closer. One had a page missing, and another had pen marks throughout, so they'll go into my collage scrap box. The book in the top right is called "Home is a Very Special Place--For Children Who Some Day May Want to Leave It and For Parents Who Will Wonder Why". Written in 1961 by Eva Knox Evans, it has some words of wisdom that would probably make the world a better place if everyone were taught this from an early age. Here's a sample: "One of the reasons we have such a wonderful country is because each person can worship the way he likes. It has been that way from the beginning. It is one of the reasons people came here in the first place." And regarding all the different religions: "Let's suppose that there is a great high hill, and everyone in the world needs to get to the top. They need to get to the top because of the wonderful things they will find there....But imagine that there is not just one path that leads to the top of this great hill. There are hundreds and hundreds, leading from all the different places of the world. Many of these paths are well-worn because of the millions of people who have traveled them through the long ages. ...But the particular path that is chosen doesn't make much difference. The important thing is to get to the top of that hill. And the most important thing of all is that all the paths lead there." Other parts of the book talk about being proud of our own family customs and traditions, but respecting others at the same time. Now I have the old Coca Cola song stuck in my head--"I'd like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony..." Allow me to introduce my blog. Readers, meet my blog. Blog, meet my readers. It's nice to get the formalities out of the way! Hopefully you'll come back and visit often so we can all get to know each other better! Today I'm posting a little taste of fall. If you haven't already tried the Pumpkin Biscotti from Trader Joe's, I highly recommend it. It goes perfectly with a Cinnamon Dolce Latte! I'm excited to get outside and take some fall photos. It rained earlier and the colors always seem brighter after the rain, so I hope to get some good shots. |
AuthorHello! I'm Sarah. A wife and mom who loves estate sales, thrift stores, pretty papers, books, and coffee. I'm a left-brain gal, trying to wake up my right-brain and have fun with it. Archives
January 2015
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