A New Look

New chapters, different seasons - whatever we call them, we all go through changes in life. We change our hair or our glasses for a fresh look; or maybe we change the paint color on the walls to freshen things up. It's no different in the blogging world. It was time for a face-lift on my part of the blog world, while I was at it I decided to brand my blog with my business name just to make things cohesive. So, while I am now using Found on Brighton as my blog and business name, don't worry, you can still find "me with my head in the clouds"! I'll still write about the things that are on my heart and that make me who I am - art journaling, my faith, photography, the thrill of the vintage hunt, and whatever strikes my fancy!

The Thrill of the (Vintage) Hunt

Oh, the weekend we had! My sister and I spent Saturday hunting down vintage shops and finding great deals at thrift and resale stores from Caledonia to Hudsonville, MI. Today we went to a vintage marketplace with 150 vendors held at the Kalamazoo Speedway. The rain held out and we saw so many great ideas.

Painted Farmgirl ended up being our favorite shop.

We have both followed The Found Cottage on Instagram for quite a while, so it was fun visiting in person.

Some of my vintage finds:

I'm looking forward to working some of these items into my Etsy shop and, of course, playing in my art journal with some of these finds. We are planning our summer to make time for weekend sister's road trips and the thrill of the (vintage) hunt.

Follow our adventures and see what we find at facebook.com/groups/FoundonBrightonVintage

My niece, Lizzie, went along with us and got inspired to create a new addition to her shop of hand-painted signs, The Chevron Rose.

May your week be full of finding things that make you smile. :)

Introducing...

Found on Brighton Vintage

For as long as I can remember I have always had a love for vintage – historic architecture, antique and vintage decorating, and now incorporating vintage into my art by making altered book art journals and using ephemera and vintage office supplies. It has long been a favorite pastime for my sister and me to drive through historic districts, take detours just to drive by an old house, and, of course, we have always combed antique stores, thrift stores and flea markets – and now our daughters enjoy it too! I have always used vintage items in my home decorating and renovating. For me, half of the fun is the thrill of the hunt! I’ll get an idea of an item or style I want and will hunt and hunt until I find it at a price I’m willing to spend, because I’m thrifty and budget conscious also. 

Back in the day we called vintage “country” or “primitive”. Now it’s shabby chic, urban or modern farmhouse, rustic, industrial, or flea market style. The latest revival of these styles combined with the trend for re-purposing, reusing and altering vintage items, I find my love of the hunt and collecting has been reignited. But what can one person do with all the bargains one might find? I only have room for so much and have really reduced the clutter over the years to a simpler style. But the thrill of the hunt remains! So I have decided to add vintage items to my current Etsy store, Found on Brighton,  which sells altered book art journals and vintage paper packs and ephemera. I am also starting a group on Facebook – Found on Brighton Vintage – where I will share the vintage items I list in my Etsy shop as well as sell them directly from the group to those who live in my area. In addition to a place to showcase what I find and sell I have a desire to share vintage resources - other online vintage sellers, vintage markets and shops in the Michigan and Ohio area, ideas for how to use vintage items in decorating and art, and a way to connect with others who enjoy vintage. You can also find ideas for how to use vintage décor on my Vintage Décor Inspiration Pinterest board and how to incorporate vintage items in art journaling or mixed media on my Found on Brighton Ideas Pinterest board. 

My sister and I recently took a road trip to Charleston, SC to visit my daughter. We have dreamed of taking a road trip for close to 25 years but were never able to get past day trips or weekend trips due to the demands of life with kids and jobs. But now we find ourselves in a new season of life and our Charleston road trip sparked in us plans to visit flea markets and vintage markets and meet up for day trips and weekends pursuing our love of all things vintage. Our finds and reviews and sharing resources along the way will be another feature, both on my blog and in the Facebook group. And my husband will also be a part of our adventure from time to time as he likes to dabble in re-purposing furniture and other items occasionally. (He also likes vintage architecture, décor and especially classic – aka vintage- cars.) So if you enjoy things that are vintage in your home decorating or art why not join the Facebook group and join the conversation.

I just listed the first batch of vintage home decor items in my Etsy shop.!

Vintage enamelware.

My One Little Word 2016 ~ Rest

It's the middle of March already and I haven't really shared much about my word for 2016. Selecting a word to focus on has been a valued practice for me for a number of years now. Some years my word has really impacted my life and other years my word has just kind of been in the background not doing much. I made the decision that this year I would throw myself wholeheartedly into having this be a year where my word has a big impact on my life. This means I am taking my time and letting the prompts and exercises steep like a good cup of tea and I'm not being driven by the calendar.

Flip-side of my January divider page

A good quote to start the focus this year.

So, why did I choose REST as my word this year? There's a lot encompassed in this word for me. First, and foremost, it is about resting in God and trusting Him. I want to live wholeheartedly and that can only come as we walk in step with God and what He has for our lives. I'm resting in Him to focus on getting healthy this year - changing how I eat, exercising, looking at emotional and mental health, and keeping away from things and outlooks that cause burnout for me. This year I am intentionally slowing down in order to focus. In fact, I am focusing on four areas: spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical. I'm setting goals in all of those areas. My focus this year is to try and change or add a new habit each month and then build on them for health. In January I focused on adding more servings of vegetables to our diet - I've gotten really creative with adding spinach to many dishes to increase the vegetable intake!

Definitions, synonyms and a Scripture verse to support my word.

There has been a lot happening surrounding my focus on Rest in the first few months of the year and it feels like a really good start.

February divider

Flip-side of Feb divider

My Intentions & Goals this year

Following along with Ali Edward's prompts and the OLW community help me stay focused and keep creative ~ creativity is one of my emotional ways of staying healthy! I highly recommend her class.

Tracking my February practice - eating more fruit

February begins the practice of Lent

Each year I embark on a journey, but this year the word "pilgrimage" seems to fit my direction better. A pilgrimage is a journey to a holy place ~ that holy place for me is called REST. What journey are you on this year?

New in my Etsy shop, {found on brighton}:

Have a good weekend. I am off to our staff retreat this evening and tomorrow.

Meandering 2.26.2016

"Meandering: adjective; the act of following a winding or indirect course. Ramble, roam, zigzag, circuitous. A blog post about a variety of things; a little bit of this and a little bit of that."

I have a "thing" for office supplies. I love to walk into an office supply store and wander the aisles and ponder all of the new crisp papers and folders; the variety of planners and products to organize my life; labels, dividers, envelopes, pens, pencils - the list goes on and on. I don't exactly get what the appeal is, but I'm hooked! It is no great surprise then, that office supplies have made their way into my art practices. I shared previously that a stop on day one of our sisters road trip provided a wonderful supply of new and vintage office supplies. So once I was home I started playing and using these new found items in my art journaling projects. One of our great finds were two dusty boxes of old ledger paper. I had fun the other day stamping and stenciling on it.

Along with the ledger paper I have used some other office supplies in my art.

Hole reinforcements decorated with ink and paint

Mailing label, plus ledger paper as a background page.

These office supply goodies have made their way into my Etsy shop too. I now have a few Office Supply Ephemera Packs available here.

I have written posts about my recent road trip with my sister  here and here. I didn't get much of a chance to visit any parks and do any birding while on vacation, but I did see some birds. One of the highlights for me was on a walk on the trail behind my daughter's when I spotted an Eagle!

I saw a few birds that we don't have in Ohio:

Northern Mockingbird

Best I can tell this is a female Boat-tailed Grackle

And then it was just nice seeing some of the water birds again since they have migrated from the north for the winter.

Last Sunday after church Sai'Vion and I and my friend Rox went to the Window on Wildlife to watch the birds for a while. Sai'Vion is very interested in animals and is really enjoying birding. He is doing a great job of remembering the birds names and how to identify them. I, of course, am a biased god-grandma, but I'm pretty impressed with how engaged he is for a nine-year-old! We're ready for Spring to come and bring the migratory birds back to our area.

Well, that's all the meandering I have for today. 

Thanks for stopping by!