Whimsy Jar Swap

I love swaps! Especially whimsy jar swaps! This is the second one I have participated on the MaryJane's Farm forum but the first that I facilitated as the swap "mom"
This is the jar that was created for me by Dana in GA. All my favorite things just bursting out of the jar! She packed the jar with tea, Lindt chocolate (oh boy) lovely pieces of crochet, buttons, and lots of cute bits for scrapping. How could I note share this with you. (Except the chocolate-sorry) I forgot to take a picture of the jar I sent her, it was very vintage looking and I really had fun finding all her favorite things! I made a label for the out-side of it by scanning a 1960's sewing pattern and trimmed the jar with ric-rack (love that stuff)

glitter-graphics.com

Thrifting & Crafting

Hello there! Hope you didn't think I had fallen off the face of the earth! Thought it was about time I posted although you will notice that I have been doing "maintenance'"on my blog ;ie some nice sparkly seasonal pix and holiday music. On the topic of the music, I am always looking for new tunes to check out, so tell me what your favorites are and maybe I can add them to the blog music.

Okay, of course I have several UFO's on the go at once and I am resolved to the fact that when you are a crafter that is just the way it will be!

Still working on making yo-yo's, that's one of those sit in front of the TV crafts that doesn't tax the brain too much! Here are just a few of them. I made some & some were sent to me as part of a Farmgirl swap. There are a few really tiny ones in there about the size of a nickel. I might sew them onto holiday towels, glue onto baskets, make into pillows or perhaps just display in jars.

Today I did a quick little craft, an altered clip-board. I enjoy these as it's a great way to use up the scraps left from other projects. This will be for one of the ladies at the Women's Aglow group.It's nice to send someone home with a surprise. I hope she likes it.

This little child's rocking chair has been patiently waiting for me since I picked it up for $5 at the flea market. Finally finished the new cushion and back for it. After the winter (when we are not usinf the fireplace) I will sit it next to the fireplace.

Let's see, oh, a quick visit to the rummage sale this morning. Just a few gift basket trims and also discovered a sweet little doll. I think she does have a funny expression on her face but I love the colors she is wearing and orange pom-poms on her toes!

And last but not least an English bone china cup & saucer. (one can never have too many of those)

I hope you have enjoyed looking at the pictures and I promise to be back soon!



Angie

It's a Give-away!

Hey, found a cute give-away for you to enter! Check out http://muckbootsnaprons.blogspot.com/2008/10/bloggy-giveaways.html

Dalyn has a really sweet blog and yummy stuff to give to one lucky winner!

Did ya miss me?

So, it seems, like everyone else who starts a blog, my plan had been to post every day! Oh ,you know, thoughts on world events, pictures of all the projects I've completed, recipes I tried and added to the successful list. Books I have read. But alas, I was so busy doing these things I have not had time to write about them!

If you visit my blog on a regular basis though, you will note that my blog list continues to get longer as I discover sooo many other creative souls out there. Also, my playlist expands for the same reason.My ideas list grows, as does the books to read list and so on and so forth. But, just to let you know, I'm still here and still pondering in my pink room.

I don't imagine that I am the only person who struggles to find balance between reading about crafting, reading etc, and actually doing it. Some appear to do it better than others, I'm not one of them but I can live with that!

Yes, I could spend more time in the morning composing witty repartee and uploading amazing photos or I could have my quiet time with the Lord. Yes, I could burn the late night candle and do the same or get the sleep I need. I always joke about not enough hours in the day but I'm not so sure that that is the answer. How we use the hours we have is what is important.

So, if you have stopped by, thank-you. Enjoy the music, enjoy the other blogs and as soon as I have something stupendous to share.....I promise you will be the first to know!

Ta-Da!

Okay, now I can show you the re-usable grocery bag that I made for the Farmgirl swap. This went to Corinne in Kuwait and she has just received it. I originally bought the fabric to make an apron but it probably would have been too busy for my 5 foot frame. I love the way it came out and I know it will hold a lot. I used a re-usable grocery bag that I already owned as the pattern. What else is nice is that all I had to purchase to complete this project was the binding!

Fall Giveawy!

Just thought I would let you know that Kay over at http://therusticcottage.blogspot.com/ is having a fall giveaway! You can win some of her scrumptious soaps! Head on over and enter! And yes, fall is just around the corner. Cooler mornings, cooler nights nd beautiful sunny days!This is soooo my favorite time of year.

Thrifting 9-13-08

This time of year, since the weather is co-operating, what better way to spend a few hours than rummaging and thrifting! I came home with one or two nice things, including another cute little tin. This one was all dusty and appeared to have been over-looked for a very long tine. Soooo, I bought it home, cleaned it up and put it up above the kitchen cabinets with the last one and a few others that I already had. This one is marked West Germany on the bottom.
Last week I picked up these wooden doll parts. I have been keeping my eyes open for wooden spools, so these caught my eye. The bag of heads are actually labeled as package tie-ons. The bags of body parts I am planning on turning into cute little pink ladies. I am looking forward to using up all those little pieces of fabric and trim that you just cannot throw away! Yes, I will post pix when the girls are done!

Oh, I just re-did a really neat cigar box. I am please with this one, it is not my usual sytle, I tend to go a bit over-board with my re-do's but I tried to keep this one simple. This cigar box is quite big and the wood is rough so I knew that I did not want to paint it. So, all I did was clean off the old cigar label and place a new 'label' in it's place and then just add two pieces of paper from my stash. Now it is a very handy spice box for the kitchen! Not bad!

Thrifting

So, went thrifting today and found a few fun bits. I picked up these vintage doily patterns for pennies! I think I paid the same price they were way back when! I cannot imagine that I will try them all but perhaps one or two and these patterns never go out of style.

I also found this interesting little box. I assume it is for jewelry and perhaps is made of Bakelite? I just thought it was a bit unusual.











This little tin is marked from England and for a quarter, well, how could I pass it up. (I know, another dust collector.)

Crafty friends

These are some beautiful gifts I received from new friends Mary & Kristin in Florida. Aren't they just lovely! Check out the cheese box! Yes, the base is a round cheese box and Mary made this beautiful top for it. If you look real close, you will see all the pieces that went into making this. I was so thrilled to add it to my collection of special hand-crafted keepsakes ! Now, not only does Mary make these boxes and is a painter but also a jewelry maker! Kristin is following in Mom's footsteps and creates very pretty pieces, she has a real eye for color and design. Look at this lovely jewelry that also came home with me!

(Oh...and imagine this!!! The jewelry is pink!)

Hugs to Mary & Kristin.

Crafting in the Pink Room

Well, I have not posted in a while because I have been busy with lots of crafting and thought I would share with you what I have been up to. I just finished a re-usable grocery bag for Corinne for a MaryJanes Farmgirl swap. Here is the bag that I received from Kelly who made one for me. Isn't it sweet, and so much nicer than the ugly ones you get at the gorcery store! I will post a picture later of the one I made as I don't want spoil Corrinne's surprise!



Let's see, what else...well, I did find this cute little table for $5 at a yard sale a couple of weekends ago. I am debating what to do with it. My instinct is always to decorate or embelish but I don't want to over-do this one.

As you can see, someone has already begun the process of stripping it to re-finish I imagine.

I'm not sure if I should just finish the job. Any ideas?

Oh, and of course, I am alsways busy making dish-cloths! I know, I hear you groan! How many more dish-cloths does the world need? Well, I enjoy making them, small, portable and inexpensive to make. When we drove down to FL to take my son back to school it sure helped the miles go by! Here are just a few that I have made recently, some as part of a KAL (Knit-Along) on MaryJanes Farmgirl forum)

Good for a giggle

Okay, solved the mystery of the crunching sound and thought I would share this so that any of you bloggers who like to add all the 'extras' don;t have this happen to you.

I assumed the the sound was linked to my playlist. Boy, I spent hours trying to diagnose the sound. E-mailed every techi I know and probably some I don't! Anyhoo....finally deleted the playlist but next time i was on my blog, there it was again! Wellll.....ummmm. when you 'adopt' one of those cute little animals to add as a widget, well, they have to eat right! yes, and they crunch very loudly!!! So.......if you decide to 'adopt' a widget pet, it might make some noises that you least expect. Needless to say, Lambkins is toast (or should I say Lamb Chops)

Why the Pink Room?

Yes, there really is a pink room! When we moved into our house, we aquired more sq footage than in our previous home. I was able to have my very own crafting space! What a treat! Over the past 6 years it has evolved into a crafting/reading/sewing/knitting/scrapping and so much more room! I did not intentionally set out to have a pink room but it sort of just happened along the way. (and the abundance of pink keeps the guys out!) I know that I am blessed to have this space and love to spend time here. I am always keeping my eyes open for pink 'stuff' and as you can see, the pink is threatening to burst out of it's seams!

These are just a few pictures of my stuff! When/if the room gets cleaned up (LOL!) I will take some 'room' shots for you.

(When I left England over 20 years ago, I came with just one suitcase. Perhaps I am 're-stocking'!)