Questions, Comments, and Snide Remarks

Thanks for joining in on the fun!

Here's where I hope to document my wanderings and post all the tips and tricks I've learned from others, and through my own trials and tribulations. I'll start first with a tip:

Tip #1: When applying paper to a two sided piece of chipboard where the holes have already been pre-punched, apply paper to one side, punch out the holes through the paper, and then apply the second piece of paper. This will make it easier to find the holes and punch them properly.

OK, so much for that! Now, on to the fun stuff - where to get the goodies. As I occasionally do on a Saturday, I spent the day wandering around downtown Phoenix exploring antique stores, thrift shops, and other places with my mom. Today we headed over to 7th Avenue and explored a couple of nice places. First was the antique mall on the corner of McDowell and 7th Ave. This is a place with lots of small dealers all under one roof. While there are some higher end (and higher dollar) antiques, there's also a lot of great stuff for the collage artist at a reasonable price. I bought a small tin type photograph for $4 and my mom found a rustic bird house with a license plate roof for $5.

A little further up the road is Antiques on Camelback and then the White Dove Thrift Shop. I thought the prices in the White Dove were a little high for a thrift store, but the merchandise quality was good. White Dove also has a store in the east valley where I think the pricing is more in line with other thrift shops.  We finally ended up at Melrose Vintage. This place looks like something right out of the magazines - white shabby chic furniture, light airy linens, vintage accessories, and YES, scrapbooking supplies! They had a huge selection of "blanks" by which I mean chipboard clocks, frames, purses, etc. for you to decorate. They had a good selection of tools and some nifty beads and soldering supplies. Their paper stock was well, vintage style, in keeping with their store. So, if you were looking for themed papers, you are out of luck. I was most intrigued with their display pieces. They used old mini loaf pans to display the beads and an old garden stand for paper and other accessories. I just wish the displays would have been for sale (although I probably couldn't afford them). Not an inexpensive place to shop, but they had some really unique pieces, I'll definitely be back. Check out their store online at : http://www.shopmelrosevintage.com/

Please feel free to post your own tips in the comments section of the blog that way we can all learn from each other!