Parts of a whole

I will never ever ever again turn down a $5 bouquet of flowers at the grocery store. I will also never ever ever again put them all together in one vase. Talk about divide and conquer ...

Things to make and do

I've been on a "let's make stuff" kick recently. Here are the two latest creations ...

I made a wreath for the front door (at the "request" of my husband who said our current wreath was not "summery" enough -- who knew he was even paying attention). I wrapped a thrifted wreath in ribbon, added some "flower" buttons, and called it a day.

This next piece hangs in our kitchen. We purchased the large outer mirror at the flea market a few years ago. It was missing the center mirror, so we got it at a steal. Our original plan had been to make some kind of string art in the center, but that plan failed dismally. We later added the smaller center mirror (I think we found it at Target). This past week, we added on these vintage Christmas lights. The glow it makes is so lovely ... perfect for candle light dinners.


Well, I hope this was a great weekend for everyone -- mine was busy, but fantastic. I'll be posting some pictures soon of this weekend's adventures.

Happy creating to you all ...

"X" marks the spot

My darling husband showed me this earlier this evening -- no wonder I married this man! gslar.com is a website devoted entirely to locating garage/yard/estate sales in your area. Just type in a location, click on the markers to read a brief description of the sale, add the ones you want to your trip, and print out directions for your own thrifty excursion. Can it get any easier? Here's what I found in Raleigh for tomorrow. Holy shnikies, my Mom and I will be busy! Bring it on ...

Inspiration from odd places.

I meant to post this a while ago, but it's never too late to share. Because of her, and because of this, I went here, and now we have this. AWESOME.

If you'd like the full history of piggy bears, please email me, and I'd be happy to share. Be on the look out though, piggy bears are lurking everywhere ...

What to do when there's nothing left to decorate? Re-decorate!

We've been in transition for a while. It all started with a couch -- a red couch, that I just couldn't pass up (it was $50). And with that, came a whirlwind of change. I could shoot myself for not taking before shots, but I'll share the final product with you.

First, the living room. We painted it a golden yellow (it was a sad pale pea greenish color). I changed out the curtains and added in the most comfortable couch I have ever sat on.

Next on the list -- the office. We moved the couch from the living room into the office, added three new bookcases (two large ones with glass doors and small one off to the side). We also moved the dreaded treadmill upstairs. That was a feat! Let's just say it was heavy as hell-o and I was crying by the time it was all done.

Finally, we put on our brave faces and tackled our basement. Half of our basement is home to my husband's man lounge -- complete with pool table, full bar, dart board, etc. The other half is now an organized space full of basementy-items, a work table for my husband's nerdery, and home to my thrifty finds that have not quite found a forever home.

And so there it is. Several weeks worth of reorganizing, rearranging, and redecorating. Phew, I'm spent (and so is my sweet, sweet husband who patiently participated in all of this).

Happy creating y'all ...

Pay it forward ...

A friend of mine tagged me in a very fun game ... a chain letter of sorts. But, instead of sending a letter, you promise to send a handmade goodie. I couldn't resist! I posted this on FaceBook, but thought it would be fun to share it with some of my blogging buddies. Here's the scoop ...

This is a crafty game in which the first five people to respond to this note will get something made by me! This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:

* I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.

* What I create will be just for you! New! Not something I made previously and have just laying around.

* It'll be done this year (2009).

* You have no clue what it's going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something over the internet.

* I reserve the right to do something extremely strange and/or cheap.

* I may well do more than 5 random creative acts if more than 5 people want random creative things.

What's the catch? Simple really -- in return you need to post this text into a note of your own and make 5 things for 5 others (and tag me so I know you didn't cheat!).

All right, let's get to making ...


Here's my first creation. I went through a couple versions, but ended with something I really enjoyed making. I haven't made something in FOREVER, and I forgot how therapeutic it can be to get down and dirty with some hot crafting magic. I hope my friend likes it!


Also, I'm including a sneak peak of one of the great finds (the gold arch floor lamp = hotness!) from this past weekend's yard sale adventures. I went home to visit my family, and found myself up and out EARLY Saturday morning with my Mom and Sister. We had a great time. I promise to post more pictures, but I have to get them from my Mom -- I forgot my camera. You won't even believe the new kitchen table I found ... aww yeah!

Hope all is well. Happy creating all ...

I won! I won! I won!

I can't remember how I stumbled upon Two Dog Pond (perhaps it was by way of Lisa's RetroStyle) ... but I'm glad I did. Rachel, the owner of Two Dog Pond, creates beautiful soldered glass pendants, and holds weekly contests to connect a clever saying with one of her images to make a final product. If your saying is picked, you receive a pendant with your cleverness written all over it! How cool is that??

Two weeks ago, the image I saw in Rachel's contest reminded me of me circa 1984. My parents used to tease me about how much I pouted, and the little girl in the picture had that same sass and pout that I do did. So, I entered my saying -- "Princess Pissy Pants." And I WON!

Thank you so much Rachel -- I LOVE IT! Be sure to stop by and play round or two with Rachel ... you could walk away with your own lovely pendant.

A Thrift friend = A Forever friend

One of my dearest friends from high school is here for a weekend visit! It was only natural that we found ourselves wandering around a few local thrift stores. Is there anything better than thrifting with a long-time friend? I believe not.

We reminisced about spending many of our days in high school scouring local thrift stores for cool "old man" pants to wear -- a trend that has since faded. Now our eyes are peeled for furniture, art, knickknacks, as we both have houses to decorate. Regardless of what we are looking for, our love of thrift remains!

The pickin's were slim this weekend, but Julia scored a BEAUTIFUL sewing machine. Check it out!

The husband doubted my ability to find a user's manual for the machine -- silly silly man. Within five minutes, I'd found Julia two manuals to get her started on her own sewing journey. I am so excited for her! I can't wait to see all the beautiful things she creates ...

A tisket. A tasket. A stair step basket.

Confession: I have wanted a stair step basket since seeing one in my high school sweetheart's house back in 1996/97. What makes me laugh most about this, is my sweetheart's house only had like 5 steps, but his Mom still had one of these baskets and I *LOVED* it.

Fast forward to this past weekend when Jen and I were touring the Raleigh flea market. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, and then I saaaaw her staaaanndding theeerree. Sorry, I love the Beatles. On a table full on random stuff, there was my stair basket. It was kind of like love -- it came to me when I was not looking for it. Here's a before shot (well, after I cleaned it up a bit).


As lovely as it was in its natural state, I wanted to give it a little punch. I grabbed an old scarf, some card stock, and an old mini Japanese print calendar. And, TAA DAA ...

Happy creating my friends ....

PS -- While admiring my new basket, I looked up to see Maple-girl carefully watching over me. She seemed generally pleased with the basket. And, we called a truce -- she promised not to eat it. However, she could not vouch for Franklin gnawing on the basket. Keep your fingers crossed!

Weekend Warriors.

My dear friend, Jen and I decided to check out the local flea market this weekend. It took about 2 minutes for us to realize how freaking cold it really was out there (33 degrees -- this is wicked cold in NC), particularly when the wind decided to put on a little show for us. BRR baby BRRR!! Somehow we managed to brave the cold for some good girl-talk and decent rummaging.

Some of my favorite finds were these random boxes of mannequin body parts. We struggled with thinking about creative ways to use these pieces ... aside from sticking them in the ground in your garden. This is exactly why I love Jen so much -- we enjoy a little dark humor!

I wanted to take home ALL of these vintage clocks, but just could not justify droppin' all that coin for "art" since none of them actually worked. Jen really wanted to take home this little hippo guy, but he was a tad on the pricey side. He was so cute. He looked so sad. It's probably because he was so cold!

We found ourselves swept away to a Moroccan hideaway. This guy the most *amazing* rugs for sale ... and at some seriously good prices. However, there is a strict moratorium on rug and lamp purchasing at the Elmore Ranch. So, I admired, took pictures, and walked away with a heavy heart.

We also stumbled upon a box of great vintage letters from advertising signs. I searched desperately for an "E" ... but walked away empty-handed. Oh well.

Jen fell in LOVE with this one vendor who sells Asian inspired furniture. We "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed over a couple of pieces that she could use in her bedroom. She was sold on one particularly piece, but the spirit of my Mother summoned me to suggest another piece that was a bit more functional, but just as beautiful. After making this suggestion, I shuddered quietly thinking about all the ways I am becoming more and more like my Mom. HA!

Finally, we decided that we needed the reprieve of some HEAT, and headed to a few local thrift stores in the area. We had a FANTASTIC time! How could good friends, thrifty finds, and mild frostbite not equal good times??

Stay tuned for another posting showing how I crafted-up my little stair basket I picked up on our excursion. I am super pleased with how it turned out!

Keep on keeping on ...

Working and Thrifiting; It's called SYNERGY, y'all.

My new job sometimes provides me with an hour or so between appointments. Most of the time, I am waaaaay out in BFE, so what's a girl to do but find some small-town thrift stores? I stopped in one "thrift store" and wrestled my way through racks of stinky clothing and tables piled high with crap (the broken dishes actually had food still stuck to them). I left heartbroken that such a place could actually consider itself a thrift store.

Luckily, I have managed to find some lovely goodies recently, so I wanted to update and share ...

One of my favorite finds is this Bingo set. I remember reading about VRS finding her Bingo set at an estate sale. Mine is not as vast or as vintage as hers, but it was still such a thrill to open an inconspicuous box and find this little prize. Why are Bingo cages so freaking cool? I don't know, but they certainly are.

I also found my new quest in life. I stumbled upon these dishes and I fell in love ... hard. I love the design on these dishes more than anything I've ever seen before. I rummaged the shelves of that Goodwill like no body's business, but only found four dishes -- two dinner plates and two bread plates. It any of you find these dishes during your thrifting adventures, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE alert me ASAP. I will pay you to snatch them up for me and ship them my way!

I also found a sweet little table cloth covered in strawberries. For some reason, strawberries always remind me of my childhood. Perhaps it is because I spent so much time huffing sniffing my Strawberry Shortcake doll. Oh, and here's a little wooden serving tray with a gorgeous glass topper. The glass is what drew me to this piece -- it's thick and smokey. I have never seen glass like this paired with a wooden serving piece. Neato.

All righto, that's all for now. I hope everyone is enjoying the new year. What an exciting one it has been so far! Happy creating to each of you ...

Dear Last-Reader-Standing,

I can't believe it's been almost TWO months since I last posted. The holidays hijacked my life this year. Normally, I really enjoy this time ... feeling like the Yankee Candle "Home Sweet Home." This year was less warm-cinnamon-and-mulling-spices and more like the-tree-is-falling-over-the-turkey-is-dry-leave-the-eggnog-gimme-the-bourbon-straight. No seriously though, I am soooo glad the holiday season is over and done with.

I have started a new job this year, and I am super excited. With that, I needed to create a home office for me, since I see kids and their families out in the community. Since cash is tight, I set out to re-purpose, re-design, re-decorate and make myself a new space. I only bought one new piece for this room -- the filing cabinet (and that was of course from a local thrift store).

I *wish* that I had taken a "before" of this room, but alas, I did not. So, I'll just give ya the money shot(s) ...



So, now my craft room is my home office. I am slightly sad about having to fuse my creative space with my work space, but in the end I think it turned out nicely. And unfortunately, I think for the next few months (until I really get a handle on all my new responsibilities), I'll probably be more work-y and less creative-y.

I am stinkin' JONESIN' for some thrift store/flea market action. The last two trips I took were completely business-like. I was looking for something specific and was not allowed to browse until my heart was content. Boo hoo.

All right, it's way too late and I need to get off to bed. Thanks for hanging in there with me. And I'll thank you in advance for hanging with me for the next bit of time, as I get accustomed to the new job.

Happy creating my friends ...

My current obsession.

I scored this while visiting my Mom a few weekends ago. I still drool a bit when I see it in the office. It's ... just ... so ... awesome.

I see a bathroom and I want to paint it ORANGE.

I'll begin with the obligatory apology for such a lapse in posting. Here are some, but not all the reasons; work, family, new computer (hooray!), traveling for the holidays, etc. Please please please don't think that I was purposely ignoring all of you dearies! I wouldn't dream of it.

So, on with the good stuff. I managed to repaint our downstairs bathroom this weekend. I mean with all the oodles of time I have, why not spend some of it painting a room that has already been painted?? This marvelous idea stemmed from an impromptu Target trip where I found this AMAZING shower curtain on sale. At such a steal, I couldn't help myself. But, it just wasn't going to work with my *bright* green bathroom. The only reasonable answer was to use the inspiration I've been receiving via How About Orange, and just paint the room to match the shower curtain!

Here's a shot before ... GAMMA GREEN!



And here are a couple shots after I let loose with some Maple Orange!! Ooooh, even my husband loves it. It's just so warm and inviting. Yum.

We'll be heading out of town for Turkey Day, so I might be off the radar for a few days. But, I promise to jump back on track and get this train a rollin' once again! So, have a great Thanksgiving and happy creating everyone!

PS -- A special shout out to my friend, Jenny. I *promise* to come visit the shop after Turkey Day!!