Wow, Friday again! Where does the week go? It has slipped through my fingers. My blog has the capabilities of letting me create a post and having it publish in the future, so today I am taking advantage of that. You will see this Friday morning, but I am composing it Thursday night. Works for me! I can sit here and wait for the rain (I know it is coming) and have a glass of wine while I share the images I shot for you today.
I know, I know, you want to see what is inside the printer's cabinet. This will be a lengthy post, but mostly photos. . .

Obviously, this is a button drawer. I'm not sure why I have such an attraction to buttons. As the photos progress, you are going to wonder why I have such an attraction to so many odd things! But, speaking of buttons. . .

These are all Mother-of-Pearl buttons. They don't make these anymore, except for the button artists who still carve them. I am lucky to own a few that my grandfather carved.

Here is a piece of shell showing the holes where buttons were stamped out. I find this amazing!

This is a Button Counter Paddle. It has a wonderful worn wooden handle. The paddle was thrust into a barrel of buttons to collect exactly 144 of them to dump into a package for sale. There are button paddles for all sizes of buttons - baby ones to coat buttons. This is how buttons were counted in the late 1800s. Heard enough about buttons?

Here is a random junk drawer shot. It is full of jewelry findings. Cathy, we should do a trade bag :-) I'll wait until you are settled in Singapore! For quite some time I made jewelry with findings, which means with whatever I find! The tiny doll heads on the left - their necks fit perfectly in a vintage typewriter key. You just need to drill a hole in the top of their heads with a diamond bit (under water) to make a fabulous charm. And speaking of doll heads. . .

These come from the old abandoned doll factories in Germany. I use them for my 19th Century Sisters. They are larger, and their necks fit perfectly into a bottle cap. . .

And those printer's drawers hold even more. . .

Pen nibs, button cards, vintage papers (the one with the flag is my father's perfect attendance card for the month of February 1930. He was not absent nor tardy a single day in February of 1930. Signed by his teacher Tressie Box in Violet Hill, Arkansas. Thank you, Rose, for giving it to me. And the little white glove? It is hand made out of the finest leather for a very tiny child. I can slip two fingers inside the wrist. I only have the one. Are you beginning to see that this modern girl has a vintage soul?

Bundles of old letters. These were written by a young man in the air force during WWII. His letters home are so touching.
All of these findings get scanned in and used in digital collage work. Which, by the way, I have not done lately. I am itching to get back at it and use the old photos I found at the flea market. A story always comes together as I work. I don't always share the story because I'm not sure the viewer wants my story. I sometimes feel that they want their own story with the images.
There is more, but I think I'd better save some for next Friday. Better yet, come see me! Take the (very short) studio tour. We haven't even gotten into the threads and fabric or the paintbrushes and paints or the tools and metal working.
To be honest photography is what is pulling at me and has been for the past few years. I have only made one quilt since my father passed away 5 years ago - it was for my oldest when she graduated from Teacher's College at Columbia University in New York with her masters. How I wish I did not need sleep! Ever feel that way? Ever have so many ideas and so much to accomplish that you want to work at your art full time?
I am beginning to ramble, but as a wonderful person told me: it is not rambling, just meandering like a river.
All for now. Have a great weekend. . .
~~karen
Almost forgot! Big Picture image for today is Morning Light.
