3 Shop Displays....

Sharing some thrift shop dress rack displays with you today.  

I enjoy creating these with whatever I can find in the 

store that's not already in a display somewhere.

In honor of our nation's birthday this coming week - I scrounged 

and found some things to create the vignette below...

Usually my vignettes start with an inspiration piece.

  Then I try to find wares that I can group with it.  

In the grouping below - my starting point was the

 yarn trimmed black tote.  It seemed to suggest

a feminine accessories theme - so I went with that.

Color is everything...

Vintage pieces are my favorite things to work with.
  They give a display interest and a bit more of a stately presence.  

This last grouping has a number of vintage pieces (7 actually!)  

Can you find them?

Linking to the  Let's Talk Vintage party.

Booth Things & A Visit....

Several weeks ago, a fellow Etsy member contacted

 me to find out about the antique mall where I sell.

   She was wanting to come for a visit.  Today was the day!   

After introductions and a quick catch up - I turned her loose in the mall.  

Later I found her having a blast in this display of

 vintage clothing that has newly arrived...

...and no wonder!  Her Etsy description includes this lovely statement...

"I grew up in a home filled with colorful fabrics and the constant humming of a sewing machine motor. 

My mother loved to sew and could create the most beautiful and amazing things.

 As a child I learned to machine sew, hand sew, quilt, embroider, and needlepoint..."

  Sounds like a delightful childhood.  

 (Yes, one of us is shorter than the other...)

 I'll leave you with a few scenes from my booth from recent days...

 

 What a delight to meet Susan today!

Turns out she is somewhat local so we may be able to meet again.

And that is what makes this 'online thing' so, so fun.

Have you had any special meetings lately?  ~Joyce

Saturday Sightings - An Albino What?....

 In my travels today... this was sitting on a yard sale table...

Yep - it's all stuffed and mounted.... Yep - it's albino.

  Any guesses?

They told me it was a small ground hog!  I realize you can't 

tell scale from the photo - but it was about 15" long.

  It wasn't as 'chubby' as I usually see them.

I didn't even want to go near it!  

That's enough wild life for me for one day.

Any interesting sightings in your Saturday? ~Joyce

An Unexpected Reason to Thrift Shop...

It is no secret that I love to shop at thrift shops, yard sales and the like.   

I thought it was because...

1.  I save tons of money

2.  Inventory spans several decades making for unique purchases

3.  Home decor can be much more interesting and less cookie-cutter

4.  It's fun

5.  I don't have to wait for 'sales'

6.  There are no mall crowds, etc.

But - I discovered I have a new reason.  

Recently I picked up a super-cute pair of shoes.  

I knew I wouldn't wear them often - but couldn't wait till I did!  

(Translation: had them 2 weeks but hadn't worn them yet!)

My new reason to shop at thrift shops?  

So that when the dog tries out my shoes before I do - 

I don't have a meltdown cause they only cost $3. 

Okay - I am bummed... really bummed... they were so cute!  

But I'm pretty happy with myself that I simply tossed the shoes

 in the trash and gave the dog a swift escort to the back yard.

Maybe this weekend I'll come across another sweet pair...

10 Ways to Enjoy Each Day of YOUR Life...

Ever feel like everyone's else life is better than your own?  

Especially when looking at their 'online' life?  

Me too!  

Here are 10 ideas to help you enjoy each day of your life...

1.   Bring nature indoors.

Flowers are always a pick me up.  A supermarket bouquet will work just fine.

But this time of year you may be able to cut your own.  

Wildflowers or even just neat grasses will do.  

Think ferns... tree branches... pretty weeds...  pine cones... you get the idea.

2.  Change something.
 

 We have a very messy backyard this time of year thanks to 

several mulberry trees.  I helped My Love get rid of some 

overhanging branches... actually we're still working on it.  

Looking forward to a neater yard this June!

 

3.  Look for improvement.

We have a dog that has been a training challenge - to put in mildly.  

We're talking many tears have been shed over this dog's ways.  

BUT.. she is getting better.  And for all her roughness - she loves fruit!   

Today I enjoyed watching her help herself to the

 mulberries from our felled branches.

 

4.  Try something new or different.

A new recipe would be an obvious choice.  But for me on this day - 

I decided to do my product photo shoot right smack in the middle 

of my sunny driveway.  (Never did it there before.)  

I found I could move in any direction to avoid shadows.  Worked great!

5.  Make an easy supper.

I eat mostly gluten free and dairy free.  My schedule is full. 

 It gets old trying to keep food on hand.  Keep it simple and be OK with that!  

Vegetarian Chili is great for special diets.  It also makes a big dish 

and has no meat to thaw making it quick, easy & cheap to throw together.  

I do mine in the crockpot.  Did I mention it tastes great?

6.  Praise yourself for something you did that worked.

 I'm happy with my patio planters this year.  I didn't even always 

have patio planters - so that's a double praise to me!

7.  Enjoy it 'how it is'...

We have a postage-stamp sized vegetable garden.  

We have more shade than we should.  It doesn't do 'great' 

and is slower than others people's gardens in my area.  

But it's our little garden and I enjoy tending to what there is.  

8.  Think on a recent good happening.

 

I was with a group of ladies over the weekend on a thrifting trip.   

Oh my - such good times and memories made.  

And bargains too!  How fun is that?

9.  Create a new outfit.

It's fun to get something new once in a while.  

On my recent thrifting trip - my focus was shirts and tops.  

BUT - working with what you already have and

 trying it in new ways works too. 

10.  Enjoy the nature in your own back yard.

We love watching the birds at our feeders and in our birdbath.  

And whatever else happens to show up...

 And one last bonus tip... Smile through your day!  

Everything goes better when you smile.  Truly.

Now enjoy this day that God gave to you. 

And enjoy tomorrow too!  ~Joyce

 

An Amish Garden...

During a girlfriend road trip over the weekend - we stopped at an Amish store.  

Someone happened to glance out a window at the 

back of the store and look what we discovered...

Were you expecting a vegetable garden?   Nope - it was this 

meandering flower garden tucked in the back yard.

   All that beauty and it was not a bit visible from the road.  

No, I don't think they hid it on purpose.  It's probably just where they had room to put it.  

I helped myself and walked around the back of the store to take some pictures. 

 

They had some amazing hostas too.

And across the road was this lovely old school or church building.

Oh I love road trips!