Relocating Vignettes...

When not in use - we keep our dining room table in it's 

smallest position and it serves as a nice 'foyer' table.

  I  keep a vignette of treasures on that table...mostly of 'goods' 

waiting to sell.  Tonight we had dinner guests and I needed 

to use my dining room table for - imagine this - dining!  

So what to do with all that stuff?

 I scooped it all up and moved it to my kitchen table.  Worked great - I didn't have to find storage for it...

 

... and it served as a nice greeting as my guests walked through the kitchen.  

(Someone brought me flowers - so out came a blue Ball jar.)

 This is the back of the vignette - nothing spactular -

 but didn't want to leave it empty since you can walk all around the table.

I wanted a Fall centerpiece for our dining table and my Fall decorations 

are still packed away.   So using what was in reach - 

I filled an old pan with some wooden clothespins, faux fruit 

and a candle in the center.  ...simple enough and took almost no time.

 

Do you ever play musical vignettes?

Blog Porn Spam - Beware...

Just a word of caution to my blogging friends.  

Be careful of 'referral spam'. 

My first PicMonkey photo editing attempt.

I don't know how they do it - but some very awful sites 

can show up in your statistics under 'referring sites'.

  Of course - they want you to click on them - and land where 'you don't want to'.  

Although blocking the spam may not be easy or possible - 

you can discourage it by not clicking on the links.

  Rather than clicking - copy and paste into your browser address bar 

(if you've got a filter on your computer!)   

We've been having computer issues & my filter wasn't in place and I didn't know it.    

Oh my - I think I've been scarred for life!  

At The Table...

But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, 

so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 

‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the 

presence of those who sit at the table with you. 

 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, 

and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 14:10,11

On the porch of our summer cottage.

 It seems God thinks pretty 'highly' of humility.
  Sitting in church this morning, I opened my bible randomly, 
waiting for the Sunday School class to begin -
and look what my eyes spotted...
 This is the one I esteem:
    he who is humble and contrite in spirit,
    and trembles at my word. 
Isaiah 66:2b 
Yes, I think God has a message for me today.

Sweet Annie Time...

 For the past several years I've been making a fresh

 Sweet Annie wreath for my living room.  

  I had an abundance to work with...

...and I reused the wreath straw form and even the wire.   
(I'm nothing if not thrifty...)

 I've gotten better at making this over the years.  

I used to make little herb bundles to afix as I went. 

 Now I just lay on the greens loose - trying to cover the sides - 

give a few wraps of wire - and do the same 
thing in the next section - overlapping as I go.

It's simple.  I'm pretty sure I spent more time cutting 
the greens that I did making the wreath.
  

And it smells heavenly!

 (Some year I'll get that panelling wall painted - some year...)

 

What did you do with your Saturday?

Swan Lake Project (an upcycle)...

Do you ever pass over something 'cause nobody else wants it so you 

figure you probably shouldn't want it either?  

Well - enter my little gold frame I used for this project.   

Somebody left it behind at the antique mall where
I rent - and nobody else wanted it.  

(And I almost didn't either - shame on me!)

 

 It worked just fine for a 'rush' project I threw together today.  

This old children's puzzle (from a yard sale free box a few years ago)  

and some old newspaper pair up nicely.

  A little matte decoupage and it's not going anywhere. 

 The frame was just a bit 'too gold' - so I gave it a light coat of 

black paint to tone it down - wiping it right off after applying.  

It made a subtle but necessary difference.

 

 Gotta love the patina of this puzzle - bends, tears and all.

 Ok - so maybe it's Swan Lake - farmhouse style!

Let me hear you say you'll never doubt your own instincts.  

And for goodness sake - don't try to be like everyone else!

Might as well like up to Transformation Thursday

Canning Pickled Beets...

We have a teeny garden.  And this year - my red beets 

didn't produce much.  But not to be deterred - I pickled 

and canned them anyhow.  Here's how...

1.  Scrub beets and cut off greens and roots - letting 2" of the 
top greens in place (so they don't bleed out their color).

2.  Boil till soft

3.  Remove remaining stems and rub off skins

4.  Slice beets into pan and add pickling syrup.
Syrup consists of equal parts sugar, water and white vinegar.  
For my little 1 pint jar (yep - just 1 pint...) - I used 1/2 cup of each.

5.  Bring beets & syrup to boil

6.  (Sealing Jars)
While beets are boiling - place canning inner lids into water 
in a separate pan (enough water to cover lids) and bring to boil.

7.  Spoon boiling beets & juice into clean jar.  (use canning funnel)  Wipe top of jar clean and top w/ lid 

right out of the boiling water and a canning ring (not boiled)..... 

Do one jar at a time.

8.  Set aside & listen for the sound of popping lids to let 

you know the jars have sealed.

And next year - hope for more beets!

From a Broken Clock...

I've had this broken little Westclox clock for a couple of years.  

It was left behind in the summer cottage we bought.  

It wasn't cute to display as is - so time to take it apart...

Clock parts make great detailing for projects...

(the rest of the story is - I needed hubby to turn every screw for me...)

 But for now - we'll just do a quick & easy project.  I noticed 

this little cute dresser dish I had laying around with nothing in it...

 Let's fix that...

Clock parts on display...Works for me!

Abandoned Fabrics...

Let's just say when a pretty fabric lands in my path - I do not detour!!  

(Just yesterday I found some gorgeous threads on a 'free pile' along the road.
  Good thing I picked it up yesterday - it rained cats and dogs today!)  

But I digress...

Sometime or other I came upon some gorgeous red toile.  

There wasn't much - so I used what there was. My plan was to 

make a little throw for the end of this bed at our summer cottage. 

But after using up all the toile in a patchwork combo 

- the throw was just not big enough.  

So I've got to come up with something else.

A project abandoned by someone else will come to my rescue.  

I found the blue toile and red ticking stitched together in a big bag 

of 'scraps' at a yard sale.   And there was lots of fabric in that bag folks!

Of course, it came home with me.  

Today - that red ticking will help me out...  

So a few snips & rips later...

...I cut me some patches from that wonderful ticking.

I'm thinking a border of ticking and homespun (also in my 'stash') 

will make this little throw an acceptable size.

Goodness I love fabric!

Linking to White Wednesday

Grow...

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our 

Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  

2 Peter 3:18a

This vine sprang up voluntarily in my flower bed and
 now is sporting huge gourds and pumpkins. 

Likewise, may we too voluntarily grow in our walk with Jesus 

and learn to know Him and His ways more and more.

   How can we do that?  By spending regular time reading His Book!  

It's a best seller and can truly change a life!

Upcycled Window Project...

I had a few 'extra' hours today and decided it was time to hit the 'project' pile.  

(You know what I mean right?)  

Had this old window that I scooped up somewhere for $1 I think.  

It looked awful 'before' - full of dirt and grime - 

and it had only 1 pane of glass.

This is the reverse side - after a good cleaning

I got out the creamy white paint and went to town. 

I kept the 1 pane of glass intact for a picture frame... 

...and backed the other 2 with leftover chicken wire from 

our chicken yard.  As always - 'ya use what ya got'.

(Tools needed were a tin snips, staple gun & hammer.)

 All the rusty hardware is original to the window - 

I simply left it and gave it a coat of matte poly.

 Not bad for a quick afternoon project.

Linking to Tweak It Tuesday @ Cozy Little House

Lots of good ideas and projects at this party - go see!

Booth Vignettes....

Thought I'd share some pictures from around my booth.   

I'm incorporating warm tones right now since we're heading 

toward fall.  This first grouping has a lot of earth tone fabrics, 

a basket and a wood file box.

(I should have used a flash I guess.  Even with editing these are less than great.)

Just found those cute and old miniature flags - 
so had to marry them to my patriotic bears.  

And who doesn't love a great little chalkboard?

That's a pair of cake tins I'm selling in that basket.

  The doll pin cushion?  Not sure how she got in there...

I have a few pinks left from the season.  

This crocheted child's dress is one of my favorites.

I mix some newer things with vintage.  When I find a cute treasure 

for a good price that I figure someone else will want -

 I get it - even if it's newer.

(After all - in our homes - we all mix new and old every day.)

This buying and selling thing is just way too much fun!

In Bare Form...

It's looking a little bare - my dress form that is...

 She sits in my living room - ever modeling some pretty 

feminine thing that I  have 'out there' for sale somewhere.  

But this sweetness, her recent outfit, just sold...

(gonna be in a NY movie actually - just shot her debut scene the other day...)

But then I remembered -  I have another piece of sweetness lurking in the wings...

 

 That's better...