What's One More?

Guess what I found at an estate sale? Yep, another macrame owl.  I like the color of this one.

I got a "bulk" deal on everything I bought which included my eight-year-old's must have trinkets.  So the owl averaged out to about twenty cents.  Fine by me. Although I doubt the original crafter would be thrilled.

If you missed it, here is a previous post about my other owls.

Enjoy!

Gurley Wednesday

With December getting closer every minute (obviously), I am giving Wacky Pack Wednesday a well deserved vacation for the rest of the year.  In its place, I bring you "Gurley Wednesday." For anyone unfamiliar with Gurley candles, you can read a brief history here when I posted a couple of Easter candles.  If you want a detailed history, check out Wikipedia.

Ninety-nine percent of these candles I inherited from from grandmother, and about ninety percent of those were purchased by my mother to give to her mother in the 1950s.

Enough groundwork, I give you Gurley candle #1:

This was always one of my favorites.  Notice Rudolph is wearing Santa's hat?  Cute.

And as I have said before-- these original prices just kill me!

Enjoy!

TT/Keeping Warm

The Tag Tuesday theme this week is "Keeping Warm." I usually freeze all winter since I keep the thermostat fairly low, and the one thing that warms me up for about a cozy half hour is hot chocolate. I pour boiling water into one of those packets (I know-- how gauche) and hold the mug in my hands for awhile before drinking it. So I shot a picture of said chocolate in one of my favorite mugs (was my mom's) and made a tag out of it.

And, no, I don't like marshmallows (real or fake) in my (real or fake) hot chocolate.

Enjoy and stay warm!

Christmas Chalet

I hope you weren't expecting anything too grandiose from my post title.  I picked up this wooden folk-type piece at a second-hand shop for one reason only: see second photo.  I thought there must be something I could do with it.  

Well, at this time of year, what else could I do?  It's the first decoration to be set out at my house.  Mainly because I'm not going to put it away then pull it back out in a week or two (I don't put holiday decorations out early-- don't want to dust them more than I have to!).

Enjoy!

Christmas Cards With Style

With Christmas right around the corner, I decided to post some old, vintage, retro, mid-century (you chose the adjective) Christmas cards. They were purchased from antique stores years ago when you could pick them up for fifty cents apiece. Those days are gone, I fear.

Can't find new cards like this. I set these (and others I have) around the house as part of my holiday decorating.  They remind me of "Christmas past."

I am linking to Mockingbird Hill Cottage's "A Favorite Thing."  Hop over for a look. Always something interesting.

Enjoy!

Don't Look At Me Like That

My daughter left her "stress ball" on the bathroom floor (where else would you put it?). So before a nosy, one-year-old Coonhound found it, I picked it up and set it on the sink.  The next time I went in there, this face greeted me.

This is the thanks I get for saving a life?

Enjoy-- and don't forget the Black Friday sale at Etsy!

Wacky Answer

I bet most folks knew yesterday's (11-21-12) Wacky.  Saran Wrap can turn into Satan Wrap occasionally! And Wacky Pack Wednesday will be vacationing for the rest of the year as we bring you "Gurley Wednesday" to celebrate Christmas and olde tyme decorations.

Thanksgiving 2012

Wishing everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Enjoy!

Wacky Pack Wednesday

Here on Thanksgiving Eve, I bet many of you will be wrestling with this product later tomorrow.  So when it won't tear, wrinkles, folds up on itself, think of this Wacky!

And in case you're wondering, this is a newer reissue hence the funky background.

Enjoy!

TT/Music

"Music" is the theme at Tag Tuesday this week.  Where in the world do you start with that?  Well, I thought of one of my favorites, Jim Morrison, and the rest just fell into place.  The lyrics are from The Doors' song "Wintertime Love."  Kind of appropriate.

Enjoy!

Gurley Thanksgiving

If you've been keeping track, you know my grandmother had quite a Gurley candle collection.  Only three are Thanksgiving candles.  I know, these are not rare.  I've already seen them all over Blogland, but they're mine.  I had to post about them since this is my first Thanksgiving with a blog.

The prices slay me.

Enjoy!

New House Update

Just to prove that I'm not all talk, I have been working on the "new" dollhouse.  See it again here.  I painted all of the white trim as it was not finished and what was painted was slightly yellowed and slightly sloppy.  I also painted all the ceilings and primed the bathroom and kitchen for wallpaper.

I stopped at a local dollhouse shop (how lucky to have one three minutes away-- maybe that's more dangerous than lucky!).  The kind owner gave me a few wooden shingles which I already used to replace the damaged ones.  I also bought these two pieces.  Very nice because they were both on sale.

I had this empty picture frame not in use so I cut a playing card to fit.  They are great because they are so sturdy, no wrinkling, and you can often find scenes more or less to scale.

And have you ever been browsing the web and thought: I could make that? Well, case in point: I made this mini cat tree out of cardboard, a dowel, some string, and an old towel.  Considering the cost of most minis, the "I could make that" phrase better be heard a lot around here!

I papered the bathroom, made a box valance and roman shade, and even made the "tile" flooring.  It's card stock squares glued to a file folder and Mod Podged.  Not bad.

The kitchen got the same treatment.  The chairs and table I found online at a pretty reasonable price.  And the tile and curtains match the wallpaper better than this lighting shows.  Trust me.

So there you have it.  I'm waiting for more wallpaper to show up that was backordered.  Wallpapering a room in 15 minutes is such a satisfying experience!

Enjoy!

Kodak 2-A Premo

It's Saturday in my world so I am linking to Mockingbird Hill Cottage's "A Favorite Thing."  (Boy, these weeks are flying by!)  My grandmother, who was a farm wife at the time, bought or was given this camera in about 1919.

It is a Kodak 2-A Premo Folding Camera (nice, zippy name).  They were made from 1916-1926 and were sold for eight dollars on average.   This is the camera folded up.

I also have the original instruction booklet.

Obviously, Grandma did not take advantage of this free offer-- Kodakery?  Kinda funny.

And, believe it or not, I even have the original box with many necessary additions of tape.  I had to add some after shooting this too.

Surprisingly, to me anyway, these cameras do not garner much money today.  10-50 dollars is all, but I like its style, design, and history, for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, I don't have any original photos taken with this camera.  However, I do have several copies (see Monday's post for one).

So is it me, or is there something kind of weird taking pictures of a 93-year-old camera with a digital camera?  Hmm... wonder what Grandma would think?

Enjoy!

Authentique Nov Challenge #2

For the November sketch challenge at Authentique Paper blog, I decided to also make a card.  They allow multiple submissions which is pretty nice.  I used their Splendid papers, Delight and Richness (I sure am getting my money's worth out of these papers).  The girl is cut from an old sewing pattern as are the bits of pattern pieces, obviously.

Thanks again, Authentique!

Enjoy!

Wacky Answer

Yesterday's (11-14-12) Wacky Pack was pretty easy, right?  Accent seasoning.  I never use it so did look it up to see what's changed over the years.  The label is pretty much the same, but the price?!  Yows-ah!  And how do you spell "yowsah?" Yowsa? Yowsha?  I could not find it-- help me out so I don't look too illiterate!

It's Magic

A couple days ago, Thrift Core posted info on cleaning up thrifted purchases.  One tip was using those "magic erase" type sponges on price tag "goo."  That same day this mod cutting board caught my eye.  I bought it at an antique store 15ish years ago.  It's been in and out of storage; currently it is "out" and resting on my kitchen back splash.  It has had price-tag-residue on it all these years.  So I tried the magic sponge trick.

It was magic!!  How nice!

Thanks a mil, Van!

Enjoy!

Wacky Pack Wednesday

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, here is a cooking related Wacky. Recognize it?

Enjoy!

TT/Brown or Sepia

A color theme this week at Tag Tuesday: "Brown and Sepia."  Naturally I thought of old photographs. I xeroxed the photo shown yesterday and "sepia upped" the background with watercolor paint.  The livery ad on the bottom is a rubber stamp (Tim Holtz); I stamped it on old, yellowed paper.

Enjoy!

Winner? What Does That Mean?

Believe it or not (I still don't), I won a blog giveaway recently!  The very fun, very vintage Dorothy Prudie blog held a magazine giveaway.  My package arrived with the speed of light and besides the magazine, I received these other goodies.

Have you ever read a copy of "Mary Janes Farm?" Quite creative and unique!  And speaking of creative and unique, take a look at the Dorothy Prudie Etsy shop-- way too cute fabrics and patterns.

Thanks much Dorothy Prudie!

Enjoy (I am) and Happy Veterans Day!

Marine Corps Birthday

In honor of the 237th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps, here are a few patriotic items from around my house:

 postcard

 poster

Windsock; this is the second one we've had; the first blew away during a storm-- we never did find it.

I am a bit biased as my dad, uncle, and husband were Marines, and I have a cousin currently serving.  So thank a Marine, hug a Marine, take a Marine out to dinner.

I am linking to Mockingbird Hill Cottage's "A Favorite Thing" this weekend.  The U.S. Marines should be every U.S. citizens' "favorite thing!"

Semper Fidelis!

Wacky Answer

So most readers knew yesterday's (11-7-12) Wacky Pack, right?  Libby's juice.  But how many remember the TV commercial jingle?  "When it says Libby Libby Libby on the label label label, you will like it like it like it on your table table table..."  My brain remembers the dumbest things, doesn't it?

Wacky Pack Wednesday

Not wanting to get into any trouble, I'll let this Wacky speak for itself.

Enjoy!

TT/Celestial

We're looking skyward this week at Tag Tuesday.  "Celestial" is the theme.  Being a Leo, I started there-- um, and I kinda ended there too.  My tag is rather simple. However, I did paint the background and did actually buy sequin stars as I didn't have any.

Enjoy!  What's your sign?

Vote Stickers

Believe it or not, I do have some stickers from the 1970s that were not made by Topps.  These "vote" stickers were manufactured br Donruss in 1972.  Donruss started producing trading cards in the 1960s; they are still around today but known as Panini America.  I have 20 of these cards-- not quite a complete set.  I thought they were so cool back then.  Guess I still do! Here are a few:

    

This is the back.

Enjoy!