Repurposed Crates

These crates come in so handy and can be used for many different things. I'm using them right now for displays. Best part, they were free!!!!

Barn Haul

Wow! What a great day!!! This morning I had an awesome time of worship with my sweet daughter. Followed by a delicious homemade lunch at my mothers to celebrate my sister's birthday AND the completion of her book. (now available as an ebook with hard copies in two to four weeks.) Soooooo very proud of my sister!!
This afternoon, I was fortunate enough to be able to start cleaning out an old barn with lots of really cool stuff in it.
Didn't have time to do anything with it today other than unload it, but I'm super pumped about getting all this and can't wait to dig in!!

My aunt told me I would think I had died and gone to heaven when I saw it and she was definitely right! I seriously thought I was gonna hyperventilate because I got so excited! Didn't have room for everything, so have to make another haul next week.

I've seen so much on pinterest using wine bottles and I've done a couple of them, but I finished this one today and thought I would share it.
Obviously, I started with an empty wine bottle :) I cleaned it good and spray painted it. The flower is actually one of many from a "wall cling" pack which I found on a clearance rack for $3.99. After that, I simply added the burlap, ribbons, and a sprig from a box of artificial flowers I had.
I'm pretty pleased with the finished product although I do think I need some taller flowers eventually.

 My sweet husband stopped at the flea market this morning and picked up this table for $15! Love it and it was perfect for this display at store!

NEW! Vintage Baskets - Hand Made in USA!

My sweet neighbor, June, gave me a brown basket for Christmas. Being as brown just happens to be my favorite color and I love baskets for organization, needless to say I LOVED it. When I told her how much I was enjoying it, she informed me it was Made in the USA by her own sister. Now, the basket was handmade with pieces of material. I requested her sister get in touch with me if she was interested in selling any to me for resale. I heard from her promptly, and got baskets yesterday. They are BEAUTIFUL. Not sure how she made them so fast at the colors I requested but needless to say, I am very impressed with them.

"Group" picture of baskets.


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Large blue & brown basket.



Such inticrate detail!

Pink & red - perfect for Valentine's Day!

My personal favorite!

If the baskets weren't darling enough on their own, each of them has a different 'story card' attached. How stinkin' cute is that???



I took them to shop and added the requested purple ones to our 'Paris' corner.

Looking pretty good!



Back Road Lunch Break Treasure Find

So, I know I am supposed to be working on my website, and I did last night. I spent at least two hours looking for backgrounds/wallpaper/layouts and I still don't have one. But, I will get it done. But I HAVE to make at least two posts tonight.
I sit in front of a computer four days a week at my 'full-time' job as an Administrative Assistant. Lots of days at lunch, weather permitting, I just hop in the car and drive a few miles just to get away. I love love love taking a back road. I'll take extra time and extra miles over the interstate ANY DAY! So much more interesting and you never know what treasures you will find!
Today was a beautiful sunny day (after lots of rain) so, I decided to venture out at lunch time to a different kind of antique/vintage/crafty mall. I stumbled upon this place about six months ago on another pretty day's lunch break.
Measured it today via quickest route and it was actually only five miles off my normal route!

 
This was the entrance....okay, so they still had Christmas decorations up, but I didn't let that stop me!

This place is basically just a lot of storage buildings with different owner's products in each one. They each have their own personality - some my style and some not so much, but that's okay, as my husband tells me "It's not always all about me!" hahaha

Really enjoyed spending about an hour here (I was on lunch break after all!) along with the beautiful day. Although, I love snow and could seriously use a few snow days to stay at home and have fun repurposing and crafting!

 Now, this wheel is definitely my style and I just happen to have one of these too!

 
Don't know why, but for some reason I like the parking meter, shutters and  the rusted grocery cart too??

Again, not sure why I'm attracted to the these - rusty old appliances?
I bet there are people reading this thinking "What a red neck!" haha
One of the good things about aging (there are a few!) is that you just don't care as much what other people think!

               May have to go back and get one of these  
               extremely cute vintage umbrellas!

Shutters again...so many possibilities!

Old door repurposed for shelves.                      My favorite purchase of  the day - Vintage sign!

Update: I went back to this place the following day and bought the door. Haven't gotten it home yet (wouldn't fit in my car!) But, I know exactly what we are going to do with it. So excited! I talked to the owner, Dee, for a good 30 minutes.....what a precious lady she is. I told her about my blog and although she didn't really know what a blog was, she was happy! I also purchased a CD for my sister's birthday while I was there. I told Dee I would give her some more credits so here is the main road sign and their information:

www.flatcreekvillage.com

If you are ever out her way, stop by and see Dee and her husband Pete. They are really kind Christian people and tell her you read about it here!

Rainboots!

With no snow and a lot of rain, I loved having my new rainboots today!

Sooo many cute, cute styles to choose from at http://www.beehivecentral.com

Handmade Marketing

Made from scraps of burlap, scraps of material, and extra buttons with a coarkboard underneath it all. Inexpensive vintage advertising made for almost nothing!
Could also do this for "Happy Birthday", special dates, etc.

 

Precious, Super gifts for kids!

Just got these in - Mary Meyer stuffed animals. They are precious. Very soft and would make a great Valentine's gift for that little someone who holds a big place in your heart! Several styles to choose from.
Took me a while to get them all to look at me and smile at the same time! hahaha

Salt Lake City, UT Shopping

I spent Christmas Day through New Years Day in Salt Lake City, UT. Always love to go there and stay with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law.
Ski conditions were not the best I've seen (for UT). Ended up only skiing two days, but sure had a blast the rest of the time shopping boutiques and small shops. What a blast! 
I'm still not sure why every time I said something, people would ask me "Where are you from?" :)  I actually asked two cashiers in a store "Are you all kin?" They looked at me like I was speaking a different language and ask me to repeat, so I did. Again, I got the same look. My bro-in-law then explained that they didn't know what "kin" meant. hahahaa
I am definitely from the South (and PROUD of it too!)

Anyway, I found some really cute things and met some super nice people! My absolute favorite shop was a small, crowded consignment shop named "Abode". Check it out at http://www.abodepfm.com/fr_shoplocalandwin.cfm



Got lots of 'Paris' stuff so I made a "Paris Corner".

Distressed bird pitcher.
(I added tissue paper and floral grass).

Cute burlap purse.

Some of my Abode purchases.





Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

I make really, really, really! good chocolate chip cookies. Just made three delicious batches and froze some batter for next time the craving hits us!

I always double the recipe below:

3/4 cup (3/4 stick) Crisco butter-flavored vegetable shortening sticks
1-1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar (1/2 box)
2 Tablespoons milk (I use soy milk)
1 Tablespoon vanilla flavoring
1 large egg (I use Egg Beaters)
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk chocolate chips*
* I also add white chocolate or butterscotch chips, M&M's, Reeses Pieces, or whatever we are in the mood for.

Preheat oven to 350oF.
Combine first four (4) ingredients in large bowl. Beat with mixer at medium speed until well blended. Slowly mix egg into creamed mixture.
Combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix into creamed mixture until well blended.
Stir in chocolate/butterscotch/white chocolate chips.
Drop by rounded spoonfuls of dough 2 to 3 inches apart on ungreased baking stone. Bake at 350oF. for 7 to 9 minutes. DO NOTE OVERBAKE
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.


01.20.2012

So, I made extra dough and froze it. Couldn't sleep last night so at about 2:00 a.m., I decided to make cookies for my customers this weekend. These turned out even yummier than the original ones I made! Must remember this! It was so nice to have the batter ready and all I had to do was add chocolate and white chocolate chips and bake!

HANDMADE SOAPS -

My closest sister, Janet, makes wonderful all-natural soap with fragrance using only pure essential oils.

Our newest addition is 'Baby Kiss' soap. Great for sensitive skin and eczema.

Creativity with Material Scraps - Vintage Flowers

I found some small 'fake' books at the thrift store for $0.49 each. I splurged and bought all six of them! :) Here's what they looked like when I got them home and cleaned them up a bit. Measure about 4 inches by 3 inches.

My mind was churning with ideas of what to do with them with items I had available (for free)! I've NEVER been close to being a seamstress. Actually, I still take missing buttons to my mother's house and she sews them on for me (I know, that's pretty bad). I love the vintage flowers made out of material scraps. I visited dear old Mom and got a few of her leftovers. Here's my first completed project with the books.

Considering this was my very first try at the vintage flowers, I thought it wasn't too bad. I am now working on the others!

Check back to see what I came up with and offer any suggestions!

My second completed book!