Bits and Bobs

When I was growing up, my grandmother always had what I call a 'Bits and Bobs' basket. It wasn't particularly fancy, but in the eyes of a small child, that basket held pure magic. Every time I was allowed to look through it, I found new treasures. It was one of my absolute favorite things to do: spend a rainy afternoon sorting through all of the trinkets in the basket.

A couple of weeks ago while cruising through the Goodwill store, I came across a charm bracelet. A Halloween charm bracelet to be more precise. It caught my eye the minute I looked at the case and asked the clerk to take it out. Upon inspection, it was clear to me that my grandmother wasn't the only one who had a Bits and Bobs basket! Each of the 'charms' was both glorious and goofy in their own right. In reality, they are just small pieces of plastic, glass or metal, but when combined, they form a very charming vintage-y charm bracelet. At just $2.99 I couldn't resist. I bought it. (You knew that was coming, right?) Here it is - see for yourself: Kitschy, no?

So. As you might have guessed, I was inspired. As it so happens, I have my grandmother's old basket. I thought what better use than to fill it up with Bits and Bobs?! I headed to yet another Goodwill store to see what I could find. Luck was a lady and I came upon a florist's vase filled with baubles - who knew what treasures would be inside?! - for just $14.00. Sounded like a fair price to me, so I bought it, brought it home ... and was thrilled! It was exactly what I'd had in mind; inside there were cute bobby pins with embellishments, actual charms (9!) with clasps, a couple of funky pins, a menagerie of vintage clip-on earrings, necklaces of all shapes and sizes that can be used as fun beads, a broken strand (but with LOTS) of black vintage glass beads, and so much more. Next stop was Patty's Antiques (which is closing - boo/hiss) where I came across a couple of $5.00 grab bags that had more fun vintage-y Bits and Bobs. Plus, I came across some old Monopoly game pieces, so I added those to the mix, too.

WHEW! Here's are a few photos of the new generation Bits and Bobs basket: Isn't it fun?!

Now I ask ya, who wouldn't want to spend an afternoon sifting through all the treasures in this basket? Not only that, I'm pretty sure I see some fun, funky, vintage-y charm bracelets on my crafty to-do list ;o)