Under Construction

Please forgive the appearance of the blog as I try to figure out how to create a new template. I keep messing up, but I'll figure it out......eventually.

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

This California girl loves snow. Living in Sacramento my entire life, I was never able to have the enjoyment of waking up to a fresh blanket of snow on the ground. If we had frozen dew on the grass, baby it was cold.

BUT living in Missouri is a different ballgame. The first major snow storm was set to come through our area Friday night into Saturday and drop 5 to 10 inches!!! But by Saturday afternoon all we had were a few ice pellets and lots of drizzle that would turn into ice by the next morning. It seemed there would be no snow in my future. But by late evening (well past the the time frame that was forecast), the drizzle turned to ice crystals then to big fluffy snow! Finally, I was able to wake up to glorious snow on the ground.

I know if I lived further north, this would be a joke. But, for this snow newbie, it was heaven.

I've Been Elfed

This is the cutest thing. I wish it would allow me to place the video into my blog, but it will only allow a link.

Get Elfed at this link.....

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1393253321

and

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1327483564

Look Who's Helping Now....

My new assistant...

What Was I Thinking?

I seemed to be a little ambitious when creating my vacation TO DO list (I forget to add sleep to the list). So, while I only accomplished a few items, I did have a few bonuses added to my list.

I didn't get to make the sleep pants out of vintage sheeting (still top of my list), BUT I did get to create a few matchbox drawers. Here is my favorite. They are so cute and I am now on the hunt for miniature items to place inside.



I also haunted the local Goodwill for neat items and found this vintage planter. It had these strange holes (I think it use to hold a music box) and I had an idea.....cell holder/recharger. Granted the idea in my head didn't quite translate to reality, but it still was a good one. I was just "creating" late one night and added the quilt and pillows. I know it is cheesy, but with a little tweaking it might work.



Now for the added bonuses of my week off. Look at the new additions to the ever-growing brood. My sister rescued "Ellie" from the local Sonic. She had been seen around town for the last several weeks and had made her "home" at the Sonic. I have to say, we instantly bonded and she is a great dog. She's housetrained, polite and gets along with the other dogs. We are looking for a forever home for her, but since she is so good, she can hang with us until then.



This leads me to the next bonus. Meet Petey, my first horse!!! Yes, I know he is only 4 feet tall. But a horse is a horse, of course (sorry, couldn't resist). Anyways, we were asked to give him a new home and we happily obliged. This photo was taken at his previous home and I will have new photos up soon.



BTW, that is a 4 year old standing next to him. I told you I was looking for "miniature" things. :-)

More Inspirational Things

I'm looking forward to some creative ME time this weekend. I have been working on a creative, but monstrous, project at work and I think it ate my brain. So, I am ready to get back to MY type of creative fun. In order to do this, I have been looking for inspiration. Look what I have found.

SouleMama created these brilliant lounge pants. How much better could this be..vintage, comfortable and beautiful!!



Painted Pony had this photo of a matchbox drawer on her Flickr page. I recently joined Swap-Bot and these matchbox swaps are very plentiful. I had no idea what they were, but after seeing these photos, I can't wait to create one...or two.



Wrens Nest made these beautiful tomato pincushions and needlecase. There is a needlecase swap I would like to join and this is a great inspiration.



Picnic by Ellie (love her name) posted this photo on her Flickr page. This photo stopped me in my tracks. It is beautiful and VERY inspirational. The colors are wonderful and the fabric is amazing.

A Few Favorite Things

I'm still alive, I just haven't had the time to blog much. I've been trying to catch up with some custom designs, visiting with visitors to the farm and creating new stuff to show a local boutique owner. I'm taking vacation the week of Thanksgiving and hope to get refreshed and rejuvenated. In the meantime, here are a few favorite things I have found online lately.



You can find Princess Tea Party Annie at Raggedy Old Annies. Isn't she great?

Georgia Peachez blogged about her BEAUTIFUL computer sleeves and matching totes. I love her choices of fabric and her use of vintage barkcloth. They are great.

Fresh Vintage blogged about these great suitcases. I love them and I'm on the lookout for one of those great white ones.

Also, I joined Swap-bot.com recently. I sent my first swap to the Czech Republic this week and I'm excited to receive my first swap. I'm still trying to figure out the swap thing and if anyone has some information, PLEASE let me know. I'm sure there are other sites that I can join and information on these would also be helpful.

Finally!!

My youngest daughter has avoided getting her ears pierced for 15 years!! She finally took the plunge on Saturday (she didn't want to be like Oprah and get them pierced at 50). Fear has held her back from a lot of things, but the last year has been full of new and exciting things for her. But, isn't that what growing up is all about....spreading the wings and finding your strength? Now, as a parent, the balancing act is allowing this and keeping them safe and healthy. That, I'm sure, I'll figure out when the grandchildren come along. Until then, I will continue the nail biting and growing gray hair.

Help! I'm Running and I Can't Slow Down

Oh my!! I feel like my head is on fire. I have been running and running and I'm not even in shape! My husband had surgery last week (he's fine) and between trying to get work caught up and taking care of him, I am out of control. I had no email access for 5 days and, let me tell you, I missed it.

Before the surgery, I was able to attend a local estate auction. I love auctions and I have an entire blog planned on that topic. But, for now, I will just show you my finds. I only spent $7.00 total and had a ball.

I know she is straight from the 70's, but isn't she adorable? At first she looked like a funny turtle....and then....they put on her shoes and I had to have her. Apparently, I was the only one that felt this way about her, because I only paid a $1.00! I'm going to name her, but I haven't found the perfect name yet. Every time I look at her, she makes me smile.

This was a great find for $1.50. I have a matching suitcase and the train case will go perfect with it. I have been warned by the hubby, though. NO MORE LUGGAGE!! I know, I know. But they are so great. In my defense, I use them for storage. The train cases make great jewelery boxes.

This will match perfect with my other vintage red thermos. I only paid $1.50.

I did get a little creativity time in this weekend. I made 3 Haley handbags and put them on Etsy today.

Look at the inside of the gray purse. I love this purse because it's demure and subtle on the outside, but when you open it up...WOW!! Your true personality is clearly seen.

Heavenly

I received the Cath Kidston catalogue yesterday. My heart be still...I love her products. They are so fun and simple.

I love this sewing box.

Fall Clean-Up Week

In my area, it's apparently the bi-annual clean-up week. The piles start slow and gradually grow, until you feel like you are driving an obstacle course. Last year, the scavenger bug hit me and I joined that group of people that lurk amongst the piles in the night. I felt like the outcast robots from the movie 'AI'.



At work, I gained the nickname "Dumpster Diving Donia," which should have offended me since I have never dived into a dumpster, but I just took it as a compliment to my creativity.

The first find of the night was a huge, and I mean HUGE, panda bear and her baby. Who would want to throw that away? The next morning I understood why. Unfortunately, momma panda had an accident and stuffing beads spilled out and completely covered my mini-van's floor. While it was a noble idea to save momma and baby, it was not meant to be. She promptly went to my own dumpster.

But, by far, the best find of the night was a metal office chair. This chair was VERY vintage and right up my alley. It wasn't pretty at the beginning, but I saw the vision. A fresh coat of paint and floral fabric took the rusty, greasy chair to a comfortable, pretty chair. Plus, it's a great addition to my vintage metal chair collection.



While I love vintage shops, garage sales and flea markets, I don't think I can "dumpster dive" again this year. I just don't feel it and I'm not ready to lurk through the night. I'll leave that to the brave ones.

Happy Things

Life has been very crazy in my house. But, who's not busy? My sister-in-law flew in from California for a quick weekend and this allowed me the excuse to go thrifting and sightseeing. I found this great yellow planter ($2.00) and a really cute saucer ($1.00).



Since I was in the city (that's what us country folk call it) I was able to visit the fabric store and I hit the jackpot. Amongst the clearance pile was this beautiful cinnabar tapestry I bought at another store a few months ago. It made some beautiful purses and of course I was unable to find any more of it...until now. I saw it and snatched it up fast.



Since my sister-in-law had never been to St. Louis, we did a little sightseeing and I learned things I didn't know either. It was fun. We had lunch at the Boathouse in Forest Park and drove home. Since it has been several years since we have been back to California, she brought us Sees Candy and a few other goodies. I was hoping she could sneak In-N-Out Burger on the plane, but that was a no go. Oh how I miss the best hamburger in the world!

I also got some great news about my Mimi business tote. Several people bid on the bag and there might have been a little bidding war going on. I am very proud and I hope the winner is happy also.

In a Disney Frame of Mind

In addition to my obsession for vintage items, I LOVE Disney. As a teenager, I thought liking Disney meant I was "immature"....fast forward "a few" years and now I'm a bonafide Disney fanatic. Well, maybe not completely fanatical, but close.

It's been about a year since I was in "the World" and I'm long overdue for a visit. Mickey has been sending me letters begging me to come back home and I'm ready...just not able. Don't worry Mickey, I'm working my way back to you. But until then, pictures and dreams will have to suffice.

I've been in a little bit of a funk lately. I've had a lot of commitments and no time to really do what I should. I've had a little bit of writer's block and unable to think about blogging while I had all the other "stuff" in my head. But I think I have the commitments out of the way and I now look forward to creating fun items and blogging away.

One of the things I have been stressing over is a business tote I voluntarily committed myself to making for a fundraising gala. The stressful part is that this gala is for a very important cause and I wanted to ensure my piece was not looked at like a joke. After an entire weekend (and about 10 broken needles), I think I accomplished it. I feel very proud of this bag and its accessories and, so far, it has had very positive reviews. I can't wait to see how it does at the auction.