Happy Valentine's Day and it's time: Friday Flea Market

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Yes, I know it's tomorrow but I certainly didn't want to wish you Happy Friday the 13th!

Wherever you are tomorrow, whatever you're doing, remember you always have at least one person who loves you - ME!

The floral above, by the way, is/was in the Corner Nest (Elizabethton, TN) the last time I was there.  Isn't it gorgeous?  

And, today is Friday - FLEA MARKET time!  

For you prim lovers, I have this wonderful piece of folk art - carved soap stone!  I don't know when this was done or who the artist was...

Also, a cute set of three scented, waxed outhouse hangtags...

And finally, this altered bottle:

Click on any of the sale item pictures or click HERE to take you to my Flea Market Page!

Please be sure to visit the others who are participating by simply clicking our red logo:  

One of us surely has something that you can't live without!  

Sorry, I've been MIA - is it too late to wish you Happy New Year?

     Here it is, the second week of the year and here I am with my first post of the year!  For someone who really wanted to see 2008 end, I have really been slow to get started with 2009.  Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to check on me; my family and I are fine - the past two or three weeks have been a stretch of time where my get-up-and-go truly got up and went and forgot to tell me where it was going.

     We had about a ton of rain the other night (okay, maybe half a ton) - enough that my hubby was concerned the creek might flood its banks.  He went out to check on it and look what he saw:    No, not a snake.  Here's another shot:    Can you make it out?  There was actually a pair of them - salamanders!   And they were huge!  He put a Coke can on the ground before he took the pictures so I could see how large they were.  They were at least twice as long as the can.  

    The two of us will be heading out again for Indiana in just a few short days.  My grandson will be born January 16 (if not before).  I'll be taking sewing supplies with me, along with my camera(s) because I'm STILL working on a few items I wanted to put together BEFORE Christmas.  That lets you know how far behind I've allowed myself to get.

   I have somehow managed to do a few florals for Valentine's Day.  They've proven to be pretty popular at the shop (the Corner Nest in Elizabethton, TN) in the past and I've already sold some.  Here are a couple I've made:

     

I ended up putting a couple taller flower stems in the baby shoe.  It looks really sweet.  Too bad I have no idea where the other shoe is.  

I've been hand-dipping individual florals and stuffed cloth hearts into scented wax and I love the primitive look of them.  If you have silk flowers that have lost their shape, try dipping them into wax and allowing them to dry upside down.  

This old teapot was in a boxlot I recently purchased at an estate sale.  It didn't have a lid and the handle had been broken but mended.  I love the windmill design and of course you know how I don't like loading up our landfills with items that still have some kind of reusable value.  I've added these and a few others to my Webshots album if you want to take a look.  I'll try to get the rest uploaded in the morning.  

    Finally, are you wondering whether I had a monthly Giftaway last month that you missed?  Well, I decided not to have one because it was such a busy month for all of us.  But, yes, there will be one this month and here's one item that will be included:

Isn't it cute?  A handpainted wicker cup and saucer!  Yes, there will be a bundle of other items included, as usual.  So, stay tuned and be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the drawing.  All of you who commented in the month of December will receive extra chances for the January Giftaway, so keep commenting!

And, have a very blessed and Happy 2009!

Resolutions, Valentines, etc.

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS?

I think not. Not for me, anyway. I stopped making them years ago, about the same time that I finally realized a truth about myself. I'm lousy at keeping them. Instead, I set a variety of goals for myself throughout the year and give myself a specified amount of time (or a certain date) in which to accomplish the goal. Do I succeed? Not always. But at least at the end of the year I'm not beating myself up because I didn't accomplish any of the resolutions I made 364 days previously.

My hubby cheats. He refuses to look at it as cheating, though. He simply makes the same resolution each year - to do better this year. He admits that it takes into consideration every aspect of life and is a somewhat generic proposition. Me, I'm a "name it and claim it" person who refuses to set unaccomplishable (probably not a "real" word, but one that works here) goals. For example, I might have a goal to clean and try to organize my studio. I know I can accomplish that one. But to set a goal to keep it clean and somewhat organized? Not only unattainable but laughable. Others might be able to do it for their personal areas but not someone who has been a multi-tasker since 'way before the term was made a term. Within the course of, say, five minutes in my studio I may be sewing on one of my three machines, painting, beading and embroidering. Scissors and fabrics are flying, things get pushed aside, pushed over, spilled over, tossed to another table...

It's my world, meant only for me, my imagination and the processes that I put something through before it is carried out of the room as a finished piece of work.

...and on to Valentine's Day

Ah, yes! The day we honor for Lovers! Or, is it the day Lovers honor? Whichever it is, I started working on some things for this special day a couple months ago.

We yesterday removed all our Christmas trees from the shops and all Christmas-y type items (except for a few items remaining from our mark-down sale). Tomorrow (Monday) I'll return with Valentine and other romantic-looking items. We have a red (yes, red!) tree that will hold smalls. It should be cute - pics to come!

...and other things

We have a wonderful photograph (we think it's the original) signed by wildlife photographer David Shepherd. It's dated 1967, so it would be one of his very early works. We sent info on it to Christy's Auction in hopes of finding out what the value is. It is one of my fantastic finds from a sale I went to a few months ago. I'm embarrassed to say how much I gave, so I won't. But, I love it and it's hanging here in my office where I get to see it every day. If you know anything about his mid 1960's work, please let me know. I'd love to have some history of this piece.

This is one of my shorter posts, but I promise to be back soon with lots of pix for you to look at and updates on our trash-to-treasure work. As for this moment, I need to crawl into the depths of my studio and get some things accomplished.

Thanks for stopping by; you know I love to hear from you, so please feel free to leave a note!