star wreath

A couple of summers ago I bought this star wreath 

at a garage sale.

Nice, heavy wire base.

Gross plastic greenery.

(Sorry, I neglected to

snap a picture of the

wreath in all of

its loveliness.)

I figured I would remake it...

someday.

I dug it out this spring.

Decided that simply adding 

some green moss

would give me the

look I wanted.

Simple, quick project. 

Sure.

Just because everyone else 

hot glues moss on things,

doesn't mean that worked

for me.

Just because it was a beautiful day,

doesn't mean I planned to spend

two plus hours outside 

spraying adhesive on moss and trying

to get it to stick on the wire frame.

Just because Steve has the best 

crud remover around,

doesn't mean it took green

moss off my Oscar the Grouch-looking

fingers and hands.  (Luckily it wore

off in a week or so - yaaa...)

Just because the moss stuck

well when sprayed with glue,

doesn't mean the moss stayed glued

after a few days.

Funny thing how frustrations can

turn into something even better.

Needing to somehow restick some 

of the moss,

I grabbed some twine and began

to wrap.

This ended up being the touch that

made this wreath look really great.

Thanks for reading!

Denise

coke crates

Through garage sales

I have found a couple of coke crates.

One man was selling many, in all colors.

I could have had them all (20 +) for ten dollars.

Rain was coming down, and

off course, I didn't need that many.

I have told myself there can be no regrets

when I thrift.

But, I do think about those crates and how they would have made

some fun gifts.

The yellow crate holds my cookbooks on top of the

fridge.

The red one is up in the garage.

I really do need to go find it.

Probably a good thing I didn't get the 20 + crates because they

would be up in the garage, too.

Take care,

Denise

This looks much better!

Last year,

I decided I'd had it with our

note and picture filled

refrigerator:

every imaginable type of magnet,

layers of notes hooked on clips,

and clips sliding down the door with weight.

Drove me crazy!

Old metal frames from

Goodwill and garage sales

to the rescue!

After some white spray paint

and magnets,

our refrigerator is organized

and fun.

I added some lovely magnets

Michelle made with Lily.

Love that punch of color!

This idea works using a combination of

frames with glass

and without glass.

I don't think it matters

if the glass is kept in or not.

In fact, some of the frames

are too heavy with the glass.

Of course art from a budding artist needs a frame.

Even the football

schedule looks special.

Now, on to using

the rest of my many

metal frames somewhere

else in my home!

Take care,

Denise

update on mission sale purchase

When I bought the brown leather case

filled with photography items,

I immediately thought of letting Eric look at

everything inside before I pitched or gave it away.

Interestingly enough,

I forgot that Eric and Erin donated a trunk-load

of stuff to the sale.

Yes, that case was donated by Eric.

Oh, well, I figure the dollar I paid for it was

donated to a good cause.

Plus, we all got a laugh.

Take care,

Denise

Thursday

Michelle and Steve are on their way to Cincinnati

for the Paul McCartney concert.

Birthday present for Steve from me.

Kind of wish I was going,

but it will be a nice father/daughter adventure.

So, I am on my own until tomorrow.

First of all today, I tried to get a picture of Miss Mookie.

With half a dozen very blurry pictures, this is the best.

Mookie is leaving her "food cave" where her

food is safe from Henry.

Bought a Starbucks gift card for a teacher friend

at school who helped me yesterday with my new

Smartboard and my new laptop.

He is very helpful with this sort of thing and seems

to enjoy helping some of us teachers who aren't

so gifted in the area of technology.

I just remembered I have $$$ on a Starbucks card.

Why can't I ever remember I have those?

Hopped over to Mom's church for their annual

Mission Sale.

We donated tons this year.

Of course, I always find stuff there to buy, too.

I rationalize that I am donating to a good cause.

I came home with these...

The brown case is some sort of old camera case.

There are a few old photographic odds and ends inside.

I will let Eric look at them.

The leather is in great shape.

I will probably use it as storage at school.

The tackle box is a great green color.

Hardly any rust (just the right amount.)

With cubbies inside,

I may use it in the craft room

or at school.

Plus, inside there is this really cool folding, wooden ruler.

These are Mom's sweet friends who charged all of three dollars

for everything.

I also found out that the tackle box belonged to his father.

I like that.

 Later, I think I may

paint some frames,

clean up the craft room,

read a book,

take Henry for a walk,

sweep up cat hair (always!)

craft in my journals,

or

watch a movie.

I'll just see how the day goes.

At least I have a guard dog!

Take care,

Denise

tis the season...

I do like garage sale season.

Always trying to keep a bit of cash on me,
I will stop at any sale that looks promising.

Last week, the Speedway High School music department  had a sale at school.

I always feel as if I need to help them, so I do try to find something to buy.  :-)

Last year, I found my brass bunny bookends (which I decaupaged in old book pages.)

Well this year, I found a very heavy metal stool and an old picnic basket.

Not sure what I will do with the picnic basket,
but I will probably at least add some fabric lining.

The stool would look great with our Hoosier cabinet
(if we end up having it downstairs in the bar area.)

The bottom of the stool was wrapped in cardboard and tape.

Funny little felt and tape booties covered the feet.

Once everything was removed,
 and a fair amount of cleaning was done,
 I am quite happy with my seven dollar donation to the Speedway High School music department!

Until next time,

Denise

Saturday

Well yesterday, the "best garage sale" neighborhood was almost a bust.

Most of the sales featured tables piled high with clothes and had plastic toys littering the driveways.

I say "almost" because I did find this wonderful globe.

Lately, I have been wanting to find some old globes.

Not only do they have the most beautiful colors,
I find it interesting to see how many countries I can find that no longer exist.

This globe was probably one that rested in one of my classrooms as I grew up.

The Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics is boldly printed.

Plus, I bought this globe from an elderly gentleman who guessed I was a teacher
(do only teachers buy globes?)
He was so very sweet as he proceeded to tell us about his great-grandmother
who was a teacher in the late 1800's.  

This gentleman and his globe made my day.

On another note for the day...

We, of course, somehow ended up at the Twist n' Pup after dinner.

Having an ice cream parlor just down the street can be dangerous during warm weather!

A big storm blew in (luckily we live close by) and a transformer blew.

We  spent the evening (until 3:00 am) without electricity.

I really didn't mind since we have a nice cool basement.

I lit candles and we read by flashlight until we dozed off.

Ahhh, summer in Indiana.

I am already loving it.

Denise

what's your shopping style?

For many, many years, I have relished hunting for bargains at antique stores and garage sales.  

I love digging through dusty shelves for that perfect white vase,
or exploring neighborhood garage sales for pillows or brass bookends.

It is always fun to think about fresh ways to fix secondhand objects.

Michelle and I have become partners in this adventure,
and today we plan to set out to one of the best neighborhood garage sales in Indianapolis.

 Hopefully, we will find some treasures in someone else's castoffs.

Denise

Swedish Love

 Back in the early 1970's, I was lucky enough to travel to Sweden.

I loved the people.  

The food was fresh and tasty.  

The vegetable gardens were magnificent.  

The homes were clean and colorful with bursts of red (my favorite color.)

Coming home, so long ago, my suitcase was filled with Swedish treasures.

Those treasures are still in my home today.

Swedish country lady

Dala horses

hand-blown cut glass

traditional wooden Swedish heart

Christmas Ornaments

hand carved wooden animals

silk-screened Christmas cloth

Astrid Lindgren's The Brothers Lionheart (a most beautiful fairy tale)

These items still bring memories of my wonderful time in Sverige!

Denise