Japanese Artist Serizawa

Every since I my first trip to Japan, I have loved the art of Serizawa. Keisuke Serizawa (1895-1984) was a Japanese textile artist and designated by the Japanese goverment in 1956 as a "National Living Treasure". He specialized in Katazome stencil dying, a technique popular in Okinawa. He was also known for his works on paper, especially calendars, done in the same technique. Some of his calendars are still being reproduced today. I have a few greeting cards, prints, a furoshiki (cloth for wrapping) and one of his calendars.

Greeting card front and back


Calendar pages


Pottery making and Paper making prints

Flea Market Sunday 2

This is what I purchased last weekend at the Rose Bowl Flea Market:
• Vintage stamps on envelopes for collage projects.
• Vintage playing cards for other projects
• Several pieces of crocheted lace (I really need to learn to crochet!)
• A silk scarf (new but a bargin at $3)
• A children's book (Rosalie, the Bird Market Turtle)
• An old train case (I'd been wanting one of those for awhile)
• and last but not least, a straw hat because it was so darn hot out!

Here are more pictures of things I didn't buy (but really wanted to!)

Funky metal animals- a whole menagerie!

A vintage dress that would have been way too big for me but I love the floral pattern.

Anyone need a door knob?

Really cool clock faces. Susan, the owner of the booth (#HM93) stocks all sorts of vintage pieces for artists to use in projects. If you need something special, you can contact her at rubyandpearlgirls@yahoo.com.

I love these lights made from mason jars. The owners of "Chandeliers" (Row W5 at the flea market) also have a really nice blog that you can see here.

I love old buttons so these bracelets really caught my attention. They were made by the owner of the booth and you can check out her blog here.

Flea Market Sunday

L.A. has lots of flea markets and the Rose Bowl Flea Market happens the second Sunday of every month. So last Sunday, we got up early, braved the hot sun and went shopping! What I love about going to the flea market is that there is something for everyone-treasures priced from as low as 50 cents on up. After blowing my limited budget, I could only admire and take pictures of some of my favorite things:

Vintage perfume bottles make a statement


Beautiful velvet ribbons in muted colors. This booth had lots of great antique train journals, buttons and lace among other things and all were artfully arranged. The owner also sells on Ruby Lane and you can find her here.


How cool are these antique toys...


I would love a collection of these stools..the colors are so fun!

Match Book Art

I love anything vintage and graphic, so naturally I was attracted to these vintage Russian match box labels that date from the mid 1950's.

Trip To The Zoo

A few weeks ago, we actually went to the zoo. I hadn't been there in years. We spent lots of time watching the Gorillas-a male (silverback) and his harem. The two in the photo are some of the females.

Some of our other favorites included the Elephants and Meerkats

Big Horn Sheep

Pink Flamingos

and Giraffes