All Wrapped Up

 I wasn't planning to go out this morning but it was so  nice, I couldn't resist. I only went to a couple yard sales and did mange to come home with some goodies.  At one I got a bin of wrapping paper and gift bags.  Inside, down at the bottom were some lovely vintage papers.
There was an assortment of tissue papers.

                 There were even a few Japanese type wrapping papers.  Lovely metallic details and texture.

             The juvenile papers were fun.  Children working, playing and riding their trusty steeds.

                                                           Animals acting like children.

              For the men in your life, modes of transport decorate all occasion wrapping papers.

                                                     There were wedding and birthday papers,

and baby papers that look more suitable for framing than wrapping and later tossing away!
Did you find anything interesting this long holiday weekend?

I Won!

 Alpha Stamps has a weekly giveaway and for a very long time I have tossed my name in the hat.  Well, last week it was my turn to win!  The theme this time was paper dolls and yesterday my package arrived in the mail. There were paper doll clip art sheets, a whole pad of Graphic 45 paper and a whole lot of other little bits to spur you on to great creativity.

                               There was a Shackman set of Bette Davis paper doll pieces.

And a lovely assortment of embellishments and some great chip board shapes.  What a very nice surprise.  Go ahead, and sign up for Leslie's newsletters.  You could be the next lucky winner.

Blooming Spring

 This time of year we have trees busting out in bloom.  This apple is tucked in among the lilacs.

 This is one of our pear trees.  This poor little broken tree has been blooming since we moved here seven years ago.  The other, larger pear is well attended by the local deer so you never really get any fruit from it. They eat it all.

                                      I don't know what this is but the little flowers are pretty.

                                                          The lilacs are my favourite!

                                            The yard is full of bright yellow dandelions too.

Food & Family Journal Part Two

 My cousin's journal arrived a little while back and I have just completed my two 2-page spreads.  Every journal will have the same recipes, however, the size and shape of each journal will affect what I do creatively in them.  This book is fairly large so it was fun picking out just the right scrap book papers for my background. Above is the dinner spread.

And here is my dessert spread.  I also made some extra little things to go with it, however they are a surprise for its owner when it finally makes its way back to Colorado. I am looking forward to seeing the next book that comes my way.

Thrifting With Denise

 Yesterday I shared my finds from the town-wide yard sale and today we wind things up with our other thrifting adventures.
These two lovely art glass glasses are for Joshua. He's my yellow fellow.

                           Totally mid-century and perfect filled with sparkling lemonade!

 This was found at Value Village.  I don't go there often and don't usually find much either but this is really neat and still works.  They just don't make office supplies like they used to.

 I found the red shoe in one part of the store and Denise turned up the other at the other end of the store. Someone had used hot glue to add sparkly cord and pom poms to them.  Thankfully hot glue is easy to pop off.  They will be fun to use at Christmas.

 I found this plate last year at a yard sale.  The birds are silver.  Not sure I want to polish them or not.

 At Goodwill Denise noticed these lovely candlesticks. When we picked them up I noticed they had the exact same design as the plate above.  Naturally they came home with me.

                I love the simple forms of these Boda animals.  At one time they were very popular.

                                                              Aren't these beautiful?

 I always laugh when I find such neat natural elements at Goodwill.  You never have to leave the country to turn up such wonders.  This kind of sand dollar is called a "sea biscuit."  It does look a little like a big puffy cookie.

This little tree is covered with glass "stars" and is stamped Japan on the bottom.  I wonder what it was created for?
Happy hunting now that the warm weather is here and the yard sales have begun.

Another Merrickville Town-Wide Yard Sale Day

 Last Saturday, Denise and I head out early to Merrickville to join the crowds in search of fun treasure.  We passed by this house with ponies grazing in the yard.  I got permission to take a few pictures of them.  A fun sight early in the morning.

 This was the scene coming into Merrickville from the east.  Lots of bargain hunters out that day.  Everyone was in a great mood.

 I found this fun mid-century decorative lamp for Marty.  It goes perfectly with the funky kidney shaped table I found for him at Goodwill a while back.  It's destined for the "man-cave" at the other house.  He loved it!

 I found this lovely vintage velvet, some cotton trim, a little crochet and the metal thing is actually a folding travel hanger. Not too visible are a few rectangular chandelier crystals in the centre.

 I can never resist these wonderful Victorian sentiments in fun frames.  This will be my fourth.  With nine foot ceilings they hang very nicely above our doorways.

                     This is from a print society.  Just needs a little cleaning up.

                     Although blue really isn't my colour I was smitten by the unusually shaped frames.

             Who can pass by an old brush or kitchen tool.  The turned handles were very nice.

               Another wonderful wooden box filled this time with templates for technical lettering.

 From teeny tiny to more normally sized alphabets.  Another tool whose time has passed with technology making things less labour-intensive.
I also found a few books and a lovely wooden Valet for Marty from Eaton's.

                  The best find of the day was this fabulous kitchen table with enamel top. The drawer just needs a new bottom and even though the two leaves are missing it is perfectly wonderful and useful.
It still has its original paint.

I love the wheat motif and the enamel is all but perfect.  I had made a picnic lunch to nibble on throughout the day and had lots of water on hand.  Denise also found the things that were on her wish list.  By the time we were ready to head home it had gotten quite hot so we made a stop at the ice cream shoppe.  A good day all around.

It's Been A busy Week!

 I'm back.  It's been a very busy week.  My BFF from high school was here for a week of girl time and we certainly filled each and every day.  There was the Merrickville town-wide yard sale (more pics from that later), a spur of the moment trip to the dentist to repair a broken tooth, shopping and thrifting and even gardening.
In just a week, the world here has just exploded with life.  Leaves are open and the flowering trees are all abloom.  It's wonderful!

 As Denise left, it was time to  ready the house for yet another viewing.  The dogs know something is up.  Here is Odelia, longing for her fuzzy blanket and waiting for life to return to "normal."

After the viewing, the fuzzy blanket is returned and it is time to resume the far more important "couch time" with Aaron.
Happy Mother's Day weekend to all you moms out there.

"Smash" Journal Circa 1885

 I recently got this wonderful Victorian scrap book from the 1880's.  The little calendar pages inside were a good clue to when it had been worked in.

 Inside it is a riot of colour on every page.  Whomever this belonged to, they sure loved their flowers!

 I included just a few to inspire you and to help you keep hold of your own goals in the garden, while we wait for that  pesky threat of frost to finally passed.

                                                       Each lithograph is most dramatic.

                               It kind of makes you want to go dig in the garden doesn't it?

Well, I think that's enough over the top colour for one day.  Now go add a little colour to your own world today.

Bright Spring Morning

                                   I woke up this morning to all manner of lovely surprises.
                                                       The sun shone through the trees.

                                           The birds were already very busy with their day.

 And in my back yard was a family of wild turkeys!  I went out the front door, then tip-toed over to behind our "bird" tree but these timid birds knew I was watching and quietly gobbled their way to the back of the property.  I tried to get shots of the males all puffed up but that didn't work. In this shot they blend very well into their surroundings.

The trees are finally starting to show life again. And , dear friend Denise is on her way here for a week-long visit! I hope that today is full of lovely surprises for you too.