Sorry it’s been awhile since my last post. I hope to rectify that here shortly by forcing myself to take a little time to write each day. Oh, but we’ve been sooo busy with our Etsy store. Omigosh, it is now officially an obsession with these air plants!
We’ve added a bunch of new pieces to the store, check it out here. What is really crazy are the lengths we will go to now for finding new ideas. I put in the description of our latest piece that I would share the story here.
Okay. We are always on the lookout for new things to use with our air plants so we haunt thrift stores, estate sales, craft stores and the like. On our way to our air plant supplier for some new stock Friday, we see a couple of cars parked along the side of the road. A sure sign of a yard sale (although we didn’t see the sign at that point). Of course, we had to turn around and one of these days I might actually pick up that bumper sticker that reads “Warning-will brake for yard sale”.
Not a table in sight but we pull over and park behind another truck. Sure enough, people are walking back to their cars from the fenced back yard (darn, just missed those cute wooden flamingos painted a bright pink that every Florida yard should have). Oh well, they were much too big for our air plants anyway. I digress, sorry.
Our neighborhood features homes on 1 acre or more so there is actually a dirt drive cut across this property leading to the back yard, which is weathered wood privacy fence. Lo and behold, there are three or four cardboard arrows mounted on stakes along the drive to follow even though a couple may have been skewed by the wind. Once you enter the gate you see a large shed that has a few toys scattered in the open front, so you know you’ve found the right place. To the right (behind the house) they have made a nice area with a pond and waterfall and seating to relax. It was nicely done and it made me want to befriend them so I could sit there and relax too. Again, I digress.
So upon turning into the shed, there are the usual tables set up and shelves all around with the usual stuff of yard sales to sell. Bric-a-brac, xmas stuff, other holiday items and of course the toys, which even the grandkids must have outgrown. Jackpot! There is a nice collection of bottles too that are really neat and really cheap. He even threw in the stories of them for free (mostly from cruises they had taken over the years). Now, those bottles are great but as we moved around the circle set up, I am captivated by a collection of alligators. Plush, ceramic, plastic alligators are all featured and I had to ask about the story. Over the years these things had been collected based on this man’s nickname of Gator and he was from Idaho so I had to ask if they have alligators in Idaho. He said, “No, there aren’t any alligators in Idaho” and so my response was to ask him if his nickname had anything to do with their moving to Florida. We had a little chuckle then I gathered up most of his gator collection, some of the most interesting bottles, and his M & M collection.
Making our way back to the truck, our arms burdened with our finds and a little lighter of pocket, we already had some ideas of how to use these new treasures. These are an ideal draw for the kids for the upcoming exhibit we’re planning to do and once you get the kid’s attention, Mom and Dad will look too. Having another baker’s dozen of items to use in the shop didn’t stop my hubby from stopping in again this morning. Boy, I’m glad he did. Apparently our interest in his gators got him thinking about other gators he could part with and so we have added several new gator items to our collection.
I know I only get to keep them a little while, but I sure will enjoy them until they find a new home.
