This is a post that’s been sitting in drafts since the beginning of October!  Between October and Christmas, I ordered three boxes from my friend Julia of , so I have a bunch of fun English antique finds that I have yet to photograph and share.  For some reason, all of the best antique art and writing supplies seem to be found in the UK and Europe.  So, I love having a dear friend who looks out for things for me.  Anyway, since I have a lot figured I would spread out sharing all of those goodies so we can all enjoy them in small helpings.

In this post, I’m sharing a few of what Julia called “bits and pieces.”  Of course, she says it in her lovely English accent.  “I’ll just add some little bits and pieces to your next box.”

Some of those bits and pieces included old sealing wax sticks in blues and greens…

Julia has learned that I don’t mind things that are broken.  In fact, I was asking if she’d send me some of the antique pottery shards (casualties of WWII bombings) she finds when digging in her garden. I’ve told her to basically send me the UK’s old garbage.

I haven’t played a lot with sealing wax, but I do have a couple of pretty seals and I just need to pull them out and add a few seals to my sketchbook to practice and experiment.  I’m storing the broken bits in a glass jar with some of my powdered pigments.

She also sent me an older copy of Pride & Prejudice…

And an .  Oh, that was a fun book to look through!

Off of to use for lino printing.  I mean, why use new ones if you can find cool-looking old ones?

Julia also sent me some lino/wood carving tools.  The handles are fitted to accept new blades, so I can reuse them over and over.  Again, why have plastic tools when I can use ones with wood handles?  If you’ve read my blog for a while, you know I am a firm believer in having beautiful tools and supplies and creating an environment that is inspiring.  When you love your tools, even if they feel like they are too good for your ability, they spur you to be better.  They encourage you to grow and improve to be worthy of them.  (You can read about my lino cutting/printing ventures HERE.)

In that particular box, I also got some old books.  A few of them have lovely handwriting in them and others are blank, so I can use them as a very fancy and unique sketchbook.  Speaking of sketchbooks, mine has been sorely neglected.  I really want to get back to sketching every day.  I did do a lot of painting over my break and I’ll share those in a future post.  (An original art sale will be coming soon, too!)

I have also been slowly growing a collection of .  The books themselves are filled with interesting information, but the real treasure is the art supply catalogs listed at the back of some of the books.

I actually look through the books to see if any antique supplies I have are in them or to pinpoint pieces I want to keep an eye out for.  Julia and I were both delighted when I found the listing for the antique charcoal box she found.  We were able to see that the box was an amazing find because it was fully equipped and original.

After I get a box from her, I open it up like it’s Christmas morning…savoring each find.  I usually organize things and then start to play – cleaning, testing things out, looking through the books.

With all of the uncertainty of the past couple of years, receiving her boxes has been an unexpected source of inspiration that arrives at my doorstep every so often.  A little piece of Europe can visit me until I’m ready to visit it again.

Julia lists her antique and vintage finds regularly in her and on Instagram.

If you’re interested, I actually filmed the unboxing of my November box of goodies.  You’ll be able to hear my excitement and see the wonderful things Julia has been able to source for me…