Vintage Storage for Acrylic Paints

Today we have vintage storage for paints from the studio of Michelle McCord who writes, "I found this wooden pepsi crate long ago at a garage sale of all places and decided it makes GREAT storage for my paints! It kekeps them contained and not all over my scrap room."

Vintage Storage Ideas for Stamping Supplies

Today we bring you a peek at how three of our design team members store their stamping supplies. These are some really fun ideas! We'll be back next "Flea Market Friday" to share a few more.

From Lisa Dickinson . . . "Here's my stamp "cupboard" - it's actually an old orange crate that someone built drawers for. I found it at a flea market and painted it distressed red. The four drawers hold inks, acrylic stamps, wooden stamps, and stamping supplies. :)"

From Stephanie Howell . . . a vintage 3-tiered wire basket with acrylic blocks on top, inks in the middle, and wooden stamps on the bottom.

From Betsy Sammarco . . . "This is an old cabinet top I found at a warehouse. I appeared to be altered to it could be free standing. I got it because I just loved the knots and color in the wood."

"I loved the shelves inside and store my wooden stamps and ink pads here."

"I was so inspired by a Flea Market Friday post from Doris using an old drawer for storage that when I saw these, I just had to get them! I use them for my paints, mists, ink pads, and acrylic stamps!"

Betsy Sammarco's Vintage Mortar and Pestle

Today's vintage find is from Betsy Sammarco who writes, "This is a very special item in my house. It may not look like much. As a matter of fact, it even has "vintage goop" stuck on one side of it.

This old wooden mortar and pestle was a birthday gift to me years ago from my mom. It was given to me the birthday after I graduated from pharmacy school and passed my licensing exam. What a very special and appropriate gift to give to this vintage-loving-pharmacist! This gift says a lot about me and is so much of who I am.
I've mostly had it on display in various places around the house, but lately have been using it as storage for my chandelier crystals.

This vintage find holds my crystals today and holds a very special place in my heart always!"

Thanks for sharing a treasured "vintage" memory with us Betsy!

Vintage Easter Decor from Becky Novacek

Here is a little vintage Easter inspiration from Becky Novacek. We hope you are all having a lovely holiday weekend with friends and family.

Mini-Album Storage

I polled our design team and found a few fun mini-album storage solutions for you. This first one is quite delightful. Michelle and Stephanie both keep their mini-albums in vintage suitcases.

Michelle says, "I have a love for vintage suitcases! I have two different stacks of them in my home and use them for all sorts of storage like fabric, kids crafts, felt, computer parts, and yes, MINI ALBUMS! It's soo easy to just grab the suitcase from the stack, open it up, and let the reminiscing begin."

And here is Stephanie's mini collection in her charming vintage storage.

Lisa and Ranjini both keep theirs in plastic bins for long term storage, but have open storage out and about where their mini-albums can be swapped out and enjoyed as the seasons change. Lisa's wooden fall bin is shown here.

Ranjini says, "I keep mine in a shallow round basket in the great room for both storage and to share with anyone who wants to peek at them. I change them out when they get old and as I add new ones."

Shimelle keeps hers on a shelf she got from the children's section at Ikea. She says, "I keep various mini albums and a couple canvases on top, and it's right behind me when I'm working at my desk."

How about you? Do you have any special mini-album storage solutions you'd like to share with us?

I am in love with littel drawers for storage lately. This is one I found in some of Jenni's Vintagefest piles and she let me abscond with it. I know I am a very lucky girl. I keep it next to my computer to hold all those little bits of paper with quotes, lists, and notes to myself on them. I put the title on it with black JBS Kindergarten Alpha Rub-ons.

This one, well, I don't remember. Maybe it was from Jenni too? Possibly her last yardsale. Lucky, Lucky me. I keep my in progress mini-albums in it. It's very flat and lays nicely atop my basket of punches. I have a small scrap space and so appreciate condensed storage options.

This is a library drawer that I got from my pal Sherri. Library drawers are the perfect size for all those Maya Road lunchboxes that you've hoarded. This is a great storage system for random loose embellishments.

One more . . . I know Marcy Penner wouldn't mind if I shared this one. Look HERE for a fabulous under the bed storage system with old drawers. I want some of these! Bad!

Love Notes

I bought these beautiful little works of art at a Flea Market last summer.

The woman who sold them to me said they were Victorian Calling Cards. She explained that in the Victorian era, a person would bring this card with them when visiting a friend and place it on their friend's entry way table.

These cards are inscribed with the callers name underneath the flowery decoration:

If you google "Victorian Calling Cards" you'll find lots of information about them and how they were used. I'd love to incorporate them into some type of project, but I'm just not sure what yet. Aren't they sweet?!

The postcards below were my dear father-in-law's and were discovered after he passed away. He was great at saving memorabilia and showed us most everything, but these we did not know about. My father-in-law was Italian, and my husband thinks these may have been given to him while serving in the Army during WWII in Italy. Each card depicts a pencil drawn scene of a man and woman in love and some have an Italian sentiment.

Some of the sentiments are:

"Ti prometto il mio sincero affetto." I promise you my sincere affection.

"Sogno un amore puro e sconfinato." I dream of a love pure and without end.

And this post would not be complete without a photo of my fil:

I imagine this kind, quiet young man in his uniform with these postcards in his pocket.

It makes me smile!

Wintry Mantles

I have heard several people mention how sad they were to see Christmas get packed up because it left the house feeling so bare in the new year. I love how Stephanie and Becky have both decorated in wintry whites, golds, and silvers. It's an elegant look that doesn't have to come down immediately on January 1st. Just remove the stockings and enjoy the winter scene till it's time for Valentine's decorations to make their appearance. This first set is Stephanie's . . .

. . . and here's Becky's.

Christmas Eve . . .

Happy Christmas Eve! We hope you are having a festive evening with family and friends! Here is a peek at Kerry Lynn Yeary's bit of holiday sparkle . . .

Isn't this just the cutest way to bring your everyday decor in line with the season?

On KL's blog you can find a mini tutorial for making the tiny tassle hanging off the basket. We'll be back tomorrow with some Christmas Day peeks at what the new year has in store for JBS Mercantile!

Grandma's Snowflakes by Betsy Sammarco

These beaded snowflake ornaments are made with beads from my grandma's old costume jewelry. Grandma gave me her old jewelry years ago and much of it was broken. I took the strands apart to use the beads, caps, and clasps in various crafting projects. One Christmas, everyone in the family received one of these as a gift. Not only are the snowflakes pretty ornaments, knowing that they are a part of Grandma makes them even more special. Here are just a few I've made: