Friday, January 31, 2014

Paper Submissions

I am participating in two paper challenges this week. Inspiration Avenue's theme is "Hearts and Flowers." I made a tag, using an image from Crafty secrets.

The second is for Think Monday, Think ATC. Their theme is "Glasses" as in eyeglasses. Speaking of which I really need to get some!

Thanks for looking!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Valentine LO

For the Saturday Sketch challenge for Kaisercraft this month, I decided to do something a little different.  Instead of using a photograph, I copied three of my old Valentines to make a Valentine decoration.  By the way, the top two Valentines have been mine since new, given to me as a kid from friends. The bottom one I purchased a year or so ago.


Have a lovely day!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Wacky Pack Wednesday

So who remembers when most laundry detergent was a powder and came in big boxes? I do I must admit.

This Wacky is spoofing Cheer detergent which they still make, but the packaging certainly doesn't look like this anymore. The colors are similar, however.

I probably sneer more than I should when doing laundry.  Hope I don't look like that woman on the box!

Hope your day gives you nothing to sneer at!

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Brrrr...

I know I'm not the only person in the world who is cold right now. This has been a long, snowy, frigid January. Sunday the temp was tolerable.

Yesterday was more like intolerable.

However, the sun did shine most of the day. That does make the world seem a little better.

More cold today then a gradual warm up. At least February is in sight. There is hope!

Hang in there, people! And if you live somewhere above the freezing mark, count your blessings!

Monday, January 27, 2014

Monday's Muster #4

Owls this week!  One wall in my kitchen is home to vintage owl trivets (and one cutting board). The yellow one in the lower left started it all about 15 years ago at a church rummage sale. My sister found the round, ceramic one at a thrift store. The others came from Ebay.


This is a Holt Howard, or "Howard Holt" if you're like me and said it that way for many years.


Another "HH."


I obviously like the mod, funky design of that hippie era. And I do use them occasionally-- I always know where they are!

Enjoy your day-- my region is in a deep freeze!

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Bird Tags

This last Christmas I was given some crafty paper and stickers to play with. I recently put some of it to good use and made these bird tags. The birds are chipboard stickers. Pretty nifty item.


The tags are pre-made from kraft card stock which I'm liking a lot these days.

Sooner or later these will go in the Etsy shop. I'm holding off adding new items as I'm thinking of opening a second store, separating the paper crafts from vintage items. I haven't quite decided yet. If I do, you'll be the first to know!

Enjoy!

Friday, January 24, 2014

Thrift Finds-- Finally!

Since Christmas, the thrifty finds have been very thin to non-existent around here, but I finally had some luck this week.  What a nice feeling to see some interesting items! The unopened box of Snoopy valentines was a real stroke of luck as I was just thinking it's time to buy valentines for the annual school kids' exchange.

Very vintage rolling pin and one of those "flip open" address books for your desk; it was never used.

Not sure if I'll have any luck selling this shoe. Kind of old-fashioned, but it is pretty and in fine condition. Reminded me of an aunt I had who collected figurines of shoes. This egg cup is cute.  Might not be too old. Anyone know for sure?  It was made in Germany.

I rarely do this, but I went back to the thrift store later in the day to see if these plastic dishes were still there.  They were. Fun set.  I like the sugar bowl and creamer!

And as long as I went back... I bought a few more things.

Can you imagine crocheting this dress, hat, and teeny booties (or do you spell it "bootees?").

Even found a few goodies for my daughter.  All in all, it was a good day even though it snowed non-stop!

Enjoy!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Shoes ATC

I haven't posted a challenge entry in quite awhile. This ATC is for Think Monday, Think ATC and their theme, "Shoes." The main image is from a 1918 Ladies Home Journal. I added the yellow background with a marker. The text is from the same shoe ad.


I don't know about that slogan-- those shoes look awfully narrow for my wide foot!

Hope you're wearing comfortable shoes today!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Wacky Pack Wednesday

This week's Wacky might be a test for your memory. Apparently, they still do make this product. It can be found at some of those "retro" type candy stores.

Do you remember Charms Candy Squares?  I do.  They were first introduced in 1912 and were called "Tropical Charms." The candy was even part of WWII army combat rations. The Charms company merged with the Tootsie Roll company in the 1980s.

Happy Wednesday!

Monday, January 20, 2014

Monday's Muster #3

Monday once again so that means another collection. This week I am showing print blocks, and they are all the letter D. Why? Both my first name and my husband's first name starts with D. I haven't added to this collection in quite a long time. I started it before print blocks were so hip and trendy and pricey. As you can see, there are a variety of sizes. Some are wood and some are metal, probably lead.

Here is the largest and smallest together. Notice the penny I put in for scale.

These two are a little unusual. The one on the left is a wooden base, but the D is rubber. The one on the right is also a wooden base but a metal printing surface.

I actually have these displayed on a printer's drawer that is hung in my living room as a shadow box.

The reason I'm not showing the entire shelf is my daughter has laid claim to many of the cubbies, displaying things like this.

The larger blocks don't fit in the drawer and so are on a nearby window sill (that I would like to paint this summer-- we'll see).

As a footnote, my dad had a printing press and all the components, including huge drawers and a variety of blocks when he was single. He got rid of everything after he got married. Say it ain't so!

Have a nice Monday!

Sunday, January 19, 2014

More Snow

We had more snow again yesterday. Not tons thankfully, but this has been a rather snowy, dreary January around here. Would be nice to see some sun, but in the meantime, we have this...




No swinging for awhile.

Hope you see some sun today!

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Catching Up On Smashes

I finished a few Smash pages over the holiday season and finally am getting around to posting them. Up first in the "Favorites" book is my favorite Christmas recipe. The pictures and info are from a post I did in 2012-- made these pages relatively easy to create.





Here is a page from my "Quotes" book. 

Another spread in the "Quotes" book.


The man on the right is my great-grandfather. Probably taken in the 1920s, but I don't know where. Looks like some sort of park. The train picture is a copy of one from the 20s also. It was in my grandparents' album. Have no idea where it is or why someone took it, but it worked out here.

So now you're up to speed on my Smash books.  Breathing easier?  Ha, ha...

Have a good day out there!

Thursday, January 16, 2014

The 2013 Camouflage Award

Last January I awarded a Christmas ornament this honor-- being so well concealed on the tree tree that I missed taking it off. The winner this Christmas was Choo Choo Train from the Rudolph TV show (Island of Misfit Toys). It did a good job hiding way on the bottom.


Congrats, Mr. Train!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Wacky Pack Wednesday

I decided to stick with syrup this week (no pun intended-- unless you think that's funny). This sticker, however, is much newer than last week's. It goes all the way back to 2010.

Mrs. Butterworth's has only been around since the 70s.  I would have thought it was older than that.  And did you know her first name is supposedly Joy?  I could make another bad pun about Joy in a bottle, but I better quit while I'm ahead.

Have a nice day!

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

2013 Journal

Last year I decided to keep a journal.  Something I hadn't done since high school. I was inspired by the Project Life posts I'd seen around Blogland. I also saw the idea of jotting something about every day on a handmade calendar early in the year. So I made a blank book into a journal and wrote about each week which seemed a little more do-able to me. I designed the cover with scrapbook papers and stickers.

For each month I made a collage as a sort of title page.  That was more fun than the writing about my life part! Here are a few:


August is my birthday month in case you're wondering about this one.




It was kind of fun, but to tell the truth I was glad when December rolled around and I was almost done with it. I also avoided writing about the negative things in life which unfortunately left me to usually report on the weather! If this book survives, future generations might be rather bored. At least they'll have some pictures to look at.

Do you keep a journal? Do you write about everything or just the weather??