Back to Stitching

This past weekend I took another one of Jessie Chorley's workshops (Jessie pictured above). Of course it was dreamy like the first time. Some photos of the creative juices flowing and head to Jessie's site to see more of her work.

I can't show you mine yet, because it's going to be for my mom, who reads my blog :) but here are other works in progress from the other attendees. 

Rust

Recently I paid a visit to the Rust jewelry showroom. I've been a long-time reader of Artemis' blog, junkaholique and have always admired her handcrafted jewelry. For some time now I've wanted to have a look at her jewelry and showroom in person, and to meet her of course! I purchased a fox necklace, like the one shown below, and I just love it. I had a locket in mind when I went for my appointment, but I fell in love with the little fox. The fox I choose was created from a mold that Artemis carved. It was also just really nice to browse the showroom, looking at all the beautiful jewelry and Artemis' creative, junk inspired styling. All images here are by Artemis from her web site and blog. 

The fox necklace above, and the beginnings of the mold below. 

More beautiful Rust jewelry... I really like the charms with a stone. 

And the wedding collection... so beautiful. 

And her blog, really, you have to head over and read it if you don't already... just head over, you'll see.

The woman behind the magic... 

Tea Party on Columbia Road

Last Saturday I went to Jessie and Buddug's summer tea party at their shop on Columbia Road. It was great to say hello to them again, and I got to show Jessie my embroidered Amsterdam in person, which was nice since we could only get so far in class. The shop looks wonderful, and as usual, is filled with beautiful and inspiring creations by Jessie and Buddug, including a great dollhouse. Jessie's dad custom built the dollhouse, and Jessie and Buddug have filled it with handmade miniatures. It's beautifully displayed in the window. It was hard to get pictures of it with the reflections from the street, so if you're in London, go see it in person (though there is one picture of a bed in the dollhouse, below). Here's a peek in the shop. To see more pictures of the shop from my previous visit, click here. 

Georgia Junkin'

One thing I wanted to do on my trip back home was go junkin' with my mom in the sticks. We thought about driving to Opelika, AL since my mom knows of some junk stops along the way and some in Opelika, but she had also heard that Monroe, GA was a great place for junkin'. A quick Google search led to Sassytrash, a cute blog where we saw some pictures of the great antique malls in Monroe. Monroe isn't exactly the sticks, but the photos were all we needed to see to make a decision. And off to Monroe we went! Our first stop was The Cotton Depot. It's a great antique mall, with booths that are very nicely merchandised and with prices on everything. I swear I did not look at one thing that didn't have a price. And the grounds outside are so pretty too, with beautiful plants and garden furniture. The prices were very reasonable too--downright cheap compared to London prices! Here's a peek into The Cotton Depot, our favorite junk spot in Monroe. 

So many beautiful linens here!

A lot of creative walls in the booths, like using old doors to hang pictures. 

Cute bike up high on a table with an umbrella lamp. 

 A lot of creative ways to display merchandise.

 Old tins and trays. I just love old tins and trays all mixed up.

 More displays on doors.

 Lots of cute vintage toys and dolls. Looks like Raggedy Ann got pooped from all that ironing. But still happy.

 My mom and I loved this rattan sofa, and I liked the globe too.

 Lots of great, old chairs. I wanted these two to bring home.

 Lots of great, chippy painted furniture too.

 I loved this plant stand.

And this wee iron bed. It's hard to tell the size, but this bed was child sized and thought it would be great on a porch.

 I saw so many great quilts, also at very reasonable prices.

 And more chippy furniture. This table was pink. Cute.

We were buzzing with excitement when we left to hunt for more junk. We went to three other pretty good places before stopping at the Monroe Cotton Mills Antiques. This antique mall is HUGE with a mix of everything. In general it's not as cute or well merchandised as the Cotton Depot, but there are still lots of treasures to be found here. I'm going to let these last pictures speak for themselves because my sister is here and we gotta go take all these kids someplace before we go nutso!! But Monroe is definitely great for antiques and junk, and if you get hungry, head to The Butcher Block for some country cookin'. Enjoy your junk eye candy! 

Head to Sassytrash to see some wider shots.