Vintage Lace, Rick-Rack and Granddaughters ~

Oh my how the years have flown by

I watched her being born...(*sniff *sniff)

This is my oldest granddaughter Allysha.

She just turned 10 years old...and

She is visiting me this week.

We went to her favorite store yesterday

The Goodwill ~

This was my bargain of the day.

Old rick rack still in their original packaging

I got 20 packages in lovely pastel colors.

Some will be landing in my Etsy shop soon~

My adorable little granddaughter Keira

stopped by to see me on Sunday

*AND* Brought me this beautiful photograph

I love it!

Vintage lace runner found at a thrift store...

Isn't the lace beautiful ~

Here it is on my dresser

My dresser and mirror are the only things in my bedroom

that are not painted WHITE

*BUT* I want to do that

Someday.

Have a beautiful day today.

Blessings~

Fun Repurposing Items ~

I love to use items in a different way than they were intended so I thought I would share a few of my ideas today.

This is a vintage comb tin (I think) that I have in my bathroom and I put lotions, mascara and other goodies in it~ A vintage planter in my kitchen holds tea bags ~

I use vintage butter pats to hold my teabag after taking it out of my tea~

Vintage teacups are great for a lot of things...they hold many items. This one is in my craft room~

A vintage vase holding pens ~

Another vintage planter holding hubbys tea bags...we like our tea...lol ~

I think I have shared this one before. A vintage match holder in my bathroom holding q-tips ~

Where did this little sweetie come from? Somehow she snuck in here. LOL Before I could blink she hopped up and grabbed two q-tips...

Then hopped down and instantly proceeded to put them in her ears!!! Of course I had to snap a photograph, but then I grabbed them and said "You should never put these in your ears"...Love her to pieces...I don't repurpose her...I LOVE her to death just as intended by my Creator! Have a lovely day today.

Blessings~

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow ~

My last lone peony from my garden...

Their stay is much too brief...here today and gone tomorrow~

Peonies

By Mary Oliver

This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready

to break my heart

as the sun rises,

as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers.

and they open

pools of lace,

white and pink

and all day the black ants climb over them.

boring their deep and mysterious holes

into the curls,

craving the sweet sap,

taking it away

to their dark, underground cities,

and all day

under the shifty wind,

as in a dance to the great wedding,

the flowers bend their bright bodies,

and tip their fragrance to the air,

and rise

their red stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness

gladly and lightly,

and there it is again

beauty the brave, the exemplary,

blazing open.

Do you love this world?

Do you cherish your humble and silky life?

Do you adore the green grass , with it's terror beneath?

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,

and softly,

and exclaiming of their dearness,

fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,

their eagerness

to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are

nothing, forever?

Blessings~

Dictionary, Shorthand and Old Lace ~

What do all these have in common you ask?

I found them all this weekend...

Cheap!

Love this huge very old dictionary...it is over 4 inches thick!

$1.00 at a garage sale~ Lots of vintage thread and partially made lace tablecloth ... The original instructions are even included to finish it... doubt I will be doing that ~

Vintage shorthand books...these would make neat collage papers~

Total of five vintage books, package of old paper doilies, vintage rose plate (10 cents) and balls of thread. Grand total was 2.60.

Went to a parade of garage sales and got everything at the 2nd sale.

Wish I had known that...lol

I would have saved myself swealtering in the heat for several hours.

Blessings~

I Wonder...

Do any of you artists ever have days when the creativity just isn't flowing?

I love to create...

I love to dabble in this and that

and

I even make things periodically to sell...

but...

I have been in a slump lately.

The creativity is just itching to get out even as I sit and type this.

I want to be making something...

creating anything...

wonderful,

but what...

For now I will continue to ponder and I will share these lovelies with you~

I love vintage postcards with scripture verses on them.

Imagine my delight when I found not one , but four this past weekend.

50 cents each...snatched them up right away.

I like to think I am stimulating our lagging economy with my $2.00 purchases here and there, but I highly doubt it. LOL

This verse is for you (MG)...praying for you.

I think I made the resolution on these high enough so that if you right click on them, they will get larger and then you can save them to your computer.

Blessings ~

Sharing the Giveaway Love ~

You just have to hop over to Vintage Bella Studio and enter her giveaway! It is awesome and includes the gorgeous items in these pictures and a lot more~ Isn't this book just gorgeous?? I would love to own this ! LOL Just click here to enter her giveaway ~ Blessings~

Favorite Sites ~

Aren't these rose decals gorgeous? Some of you have asked where I purchased them so I thought I would share some of my favorite sites with you today. The places where I purchase some of my goodies.

ROSE DECALS~ Cozy-Cottage is where I purchase most of my decals. I haven't purchased any for several months now , but she has very good quality items.

The Wild Rose is also where I have purchase a few decals. She has the postcard type shown in the photo above. If you need them a certain size she will do that as well.

Initially I purchased decals from both of these ladies on ebay and then went directly through their websites for additional ones.

BOOKS~

Maybe most of you know about this site , but I have to share it for those of you who don't.

Best Book Buys Online - I always check out this site for any books I want to purchase (new or old) before looking anywhere else. It will show many different sites and where the books are the cheapest. I have gotten many great deals by utilizing this wonderful site.

MAGAZINES~

MagazinesPriceSearch -I wouldn't buy many of my magazines had I not found this wonderful site where I get them cheap.

In the past I purchased 4 years of Country Home for under $5 (that is not per year...it is for all 4 years!). Although I just checked Romantic Homes on this site and it is now over $26 a year where in the past I have purchased it for $14 a year. It is definitely worth checking out though.

FREE ANTIQUE CLIP ART ~

I am pretty sure I have shared this site before , but just in case someone missed it just click here Antique Clip Art . Wonderful images that you can use for free.

That is all I can think of right off hand. Hope you find this little bit of info useful.

Blessings~

I WON...Quite Awhile Ago...Oops ~

I feel so bad. I just had to add another post today. I won these wonderful goodies from Inis Lovely over at A Lovely Thing on May 31st and I never posted them on my blog! I am so sorry Inis! I can't believe I did that! I use my sliver pen a lot and I love it and all the other goodies too~ She sent them all wrapped up pretty and it was just like my birthday opening each lovely gift. Pop over at her blog and say hello and tell her that I sent you. She is having a giveaway now of rhinestone spreaders. They are gorgeous! Blessings~

Desire of My Heart ~

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart".

Psalms 37:4

Have you ever thought about this Bible verse....Really...Truly... thought about it? When we are walking with God day by day...He loves to give us the desires of our heart. Sometimes we may think it just coincidental if we just happen to find that perfect thing we have been looking for, but I think not. He loves us so much and how can He not be delighted when we are~

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Home Goods store. ( can you really be in love with a store?... I AM)

I was so excited to stop there on the way up to our daughter's house this last weekend as I haven't been there in a long time!

And the item I had pictured in my mind...the desire of my heart....THIS chalkboard. Tickled pink when I spied it underneath a pile of stuff on a clearance shelf .

It was on my list (well...my mental list) to look for a large chalkboard for our entry way that didn't cost a fortune because this girl doesn't have a fortune to spend. I was thrilled that it was only $15.00.

I hung it up today and I love it. It measures 20.5 inches x 24.5 inches and it is even the perfect color! I love the detail on the frame...thanking God for fulfilling yet another simple...tangible desire of my heart ~

My hubby thinks he is so funny...when he came in the door from work I said, "did you see the chalkboard" and he said "yes , did you see what I wrote"...he SAID he added the words, "Now that I am home"...but he really didn't. LOL Too cute!

Vintage style wine corks from Michaels. I can look all over the county for neat corks and then go to Michaels and find them! I got a few other small items, but didn't get pix taken of them. Oh and...the angel wings votive candleholder in the first photo...another Home Goods find for only 3.99. Have you found any goodies lately? I would love to hear about them ~ Blessings~

Victorian Afternoon Tea ~

Come along with me to an afternoon Victorian Tea at the Holly Hotel in Holly, Michigan~

My granddaughter and I on the steps leading up to the entrance of the Holly Hotel where her , my daughter and I took Victorian Tea on Saturday at 2:30 pm ~

Grand entrance to the Holly Hotel ~ This table greets you as you first walk in the door ~ We walked through this entry way into the room for our tea~ Beautiful decor in the entryway~

Love this antique teapot~

My sweet granddaughter sitting in a most elegant chair~

One view of the room from our table~

I love this ceiling!! I have seen a lot of old tin ceilings, but not like this one. Someday I would love to have a tin ceiling in my kitchen.

Now on to the delicious food ~

Our food was just perfect for a Saturday afternoon tea~

The first course consisted of:

Pecan scones with a dollop of raspberry cream

Chocolate muffin

Mixed fruit compote

(which consisted of pomegranate, black raspberries and blueberries...if I remember right)

All I know is that it was all wonderful!!

Our second course included:

Pate canape with roasted plum

Saffron cucumber tea sandwich

Spinach Mushroom Pinwheel

The saffron cucumber sandwich and the spinach mushroom pinwheel were both very good. In fact I could have made a meal out of those pinwheels if they would have let me! SO delicious!

But...not so fond of the pate. My daughter told the waitress, "we are naughty...I guess we just aren't refined enough".

I can't eat anything that resembles liver and neither could my daughter. That is one thing I have never developed a taste for. Our first clue should have been when we were seated and our waitress told us that she would change one of the sandwiches for our granddaughter with something else because she probably wouldn't like one of them....we should have asked then what it was...lol )

Our last course was dessert~

Cheesecake baked in paper (loved this presentation),

Chocolate tart with a dollop of chocolate mousse,

a tiny flaky pasty with a dollop of raspberry cream.

It was delicious!

We had tea served to us along with glasses of ice water and lemon. My granddaughter was trying so hard to be a little lady and she really did a wonderful job , but she got so tickled about them constantly refilling up her water. She would take a sip or two (literally) and over the waiter would come and fill it back up. After the third fill up, she was giggling. She told us later that she counted and they filled up her glass 7 times!

All in all it was a very fun day and a neat experience ~

Blessings~