Button Bounty Giveaways and cold feet in July??

antiques/junking, collections, Etsy Goodies, jewelry, vintage paper/collage art

Notebook_020 Before taking Sugarwings to a movie this afternoon, I hung out with Beth at an auction for a while.  I didn’t buy much, the prices were outrageous for some reason.

I got a $2 shelf to fix up (hopefully as a booth display piece for Silver Bella, I applied to get a vendor spot) and this rug for $10.Notebook_025

The colors of the rug are just right for my pink, brown and ivory kitchen.Notebook_024

But I absolutely fell in love with the hand crocheted trim!

Notebook_017

It was rainy and CHILLY?? Wait a minute, what happened to global warming?  I haven’t even jumped off my boat into the lake yet this year, the water is too cool for me, which is really odd for July.

Once my sandals got wet, I couldn’t get warm for anything.  I tried wrapping my feet in packing materials.Notebook_019

But what really helped was a plastic bag over the packing papers.

Luckily, Beth is a heck of a lot of fun. Or I wouldn’t have spent 5 hours sitting and shivering with my feet wrapped up like some weirdo while all the bidders at the auction were driving prices up too high to buy anything.Notebook_028

Beth always does well at auctions and estate sales.  Garage sales are where I find the best stuff.

Before the auction, I went back to Roxanne’s sale, other wise known as the Bling and Button Bargain Blowout from yesterday.Notebook_029

My, my, she has pretty things.  A pair of embroidered pillow cases for $2 and more buttons, of course!

She has more jewels to show me, but threw her back out and couldn’t get to them yet.  Notebook_015

She let me take a photo of some of her artwork, don’t you love this vintage button bouquet?Notebook_032

This Italian box was 25 cents. Its in good shape, but I bought it to alter a bit. 

Right now, it is being used as a display for some giveaway prizes.

I gathered up summertime colors of bright greens and yellows, and added pearls to the mix for my July giveaway.Notebook_031

Vintage buttons, 3 brooches, 3 pair of earrings,  a pendant, and pearls, all in cheerful colors and styles for summer.Notebook_033

I got as many excited comments about the buttons in the last post as I did about the jewelry, so I made the giveaway half and half.Notebook_051

Then I wrapped them all up in a pretty yellow hankie that has touches of shiny, metallic gold in a floral motif around the edges.

To that, I added a vintage millinery rose and a clip on crystal earring, and it is all ready to go to its new home.

All my comments for the month count, so leave one as often as you like, I randomly chose one from sometime during the month.

But, hey, that is not all! I decided to join in on Inez’s Christmas in July giveaway too.

Christmasinjulygiveaway

Notebook_054 Since I bought old greeting cards at the Bling and Button Bargain Blow out, I thought I’d give away a few Christmas ones, along with Red and Green buttons, jingle bells, and some cute red flowers with rhinestone centers from an old sweater clip.Notebook_055

So, every comment you leave this month is entered into TWO drawings, not just one.Notebook_039

I managed to do a little bit of Etsy listing, not much.  I seriously need to set aside a day to get things listed to sell, instead of running around having fun, shopping and playing with the fairy grand baby all the time.

People ask me how I manage to do all the things that I do. The truth is, I just have fun and don’t do what I should be doing. That is the secret!Notebook_056

Maybe tomorrow, I’ll get more listed…. or maybe not.

I did finish this tag that I started when I had my blogger’s craft day, Thursday.

It is made with all French ephemera, and topped off with some of the prettiest velvet millinery posies I have, as well as a sweet little earring I got at the garage sale yesterday.

At the bottom, I have a mother of pearl button on a rectangle of old ivory. 

If you’d like to buy it, it is $8, and that would save me from having to list it on Etsy, so I won’t charge postage. sold, thanks!

My buttons are selling well, so I’d like to offer a "special" on those.  Here are the prices:

$3 plus $1 shipping for one large handful

$5 plus $1 shipping for 2

$7 plus $1.50  shipping for 3

These are for blue, warm browns, blacks, greens, metals, or a mix with white.

Just email me if you’d like some too. 

A shiny day and an idea for a giveaway

antiques/junking, collections, Etsy Goodies, give away, jewelry, vintage paper/collage art

Jackpot!Bloggers_craft_day_044_3

There was an ad in the paper for a garage sale that had vintage hats, and I really wanted to go at 7am when it opened.

But Sugarwings had a sleepover with me last night, and neither of us are exactly morning people.  By the time we got up and about and she was ready to go out, it was after 10 and I almost didn’t think it was worth the effort to go that late in the day.Bloggers_craft_day_046

But we made the trip across town, mostly just to get out of the house  and see what there was to see.  I didn’t expect to find hats.

I was right, there were hats, but no flowered ones, so I wasn’t interested.

But— there was tons of jewels! and buttons! and old greeting cards!!

Did I mention, DIRT CHEAP– AND NICE.  Really nice!

By dirt cheap, I mean 25 cents a pair of earrings.  And a big, antique apothecary jar of buttons for less than $10, same for the cute little lemonade pitcher full of buttons.

And get this– greeting cards were 10 cents, and the kind hearted, sweet seller had a huge rubber maid tub full of them.

Sugarwings found a cute baby doll, and some old, hand made flannel nighties for the new baby, plus a vintage sun suit for herself, all for $1 each.Bloggers_craft_day_077

While Sugarwings took her afternoon nap, I cleaned and sorted some buttons.Bloggers_craft_day_053

While not all are colors that I will use, I can still see their beauty and hope others will be able to use them. I’ve listed a few packs on Etsy for $3 each

Bloggers_craft_day_056

I’m guessing that the Etsy packs are about an ounce or so each.  More like an overflowing handful.Bloggers_craft_day_050

If you are interested in old buttons and would like a $3 handful, plus $1.50 postage, you can email me, or check these packs on Etsy.

I can make up more for you in a mix of colors too.

All will be different, but I promise not to just fill your bag with boring, plain ones.  That would be mean!

I enjoy having jars of buttons out to look at, and to use for projects, but I certainly seem to have more than a lifetime supply right now.

Bloggers_craft_day_064 While sorting buttons, I kept wondering what I missed at the sale today while trying to juggle a 23 month old as I shopped.

So, when I took her home, I stopped back by the glorious garage sale to see what was still left.

And man, there was plenty!Bloggers_craft_day_059

Not only was there a lot more jewelry, the seller brought more out while I was there. No one else was shopping that late in the day, so we got to talking and had a lot in common.

She reads the same magazines and even had a copy of the Somerset Life that I am in right now.Bloggers_craft_day_066

She says there is MORE jewelry that she will bring out, so I am going back tomorrow.

Actually, I have no choice, I have to go back.  I forgot my checkbook and she let me take all of this home without paying.

Only in Kansas, huh?  Vintage bling for 25 cents a pair, to be paid later.  Bloggers_craft_day_072

She is an artist herself, she makes bouquets of button flowers.  I wanted to take a photo, but (BAD BLOGGER!), I forgot my camera, and while I was there, someone bought her button creation, so I can’t get a photo tomorrow when I go back.Bloggers_craft_day_074

How pretty is all of this??

And this isn’t all.

I stopped to visit Sugarwings on my way home, (it is hard to be away from her for too long) and I let her and all of her little friends play in the jewels and gave them lots of pieces to keep.

The mommies of the little girls got necklaces, and the girls got vintage earrings to clip onto their pig tails, and little bracelets and pretties for dress up.  Bloggers_craft_day_076

We had a great time, playing with the treasure chest of sparklies, those kids were fascinated with it all. 

Little Clover was wearing earrings clipped all over her hair and her shirt, while her sister Calliope had made herself a bracelet with broken pieces clipped together with earrings.

(BAD BLOGGER! No camera!!)

I decided that for my July giveaway, I would share the bounty and giveaway some of today’s loot.  A handful as a gift to you will only cost me about $2!!  What a bargain.  I’ll wrap it up in one of the 25 cent vintage hankies I got today too.

Yes, there were linens too! And more cards, I bought another big stack of old greeting cards and was only charged $1 for the stack.  Definitely going back tomorrow!!  And I will take a photo of what I put together to give to you as a present.

If you like vintage sparklies, please  leave a comment on any post. All comments for the entire month are entered.

A housefull of crafting bloggers

vintage paper/collage art

Craft_day_at_karlas_036 Craft day was such fun! We laughed and talked and played for about 8 hours and the day flew by like it was no time at all.

Bloggers_craft_day_017 And I actually got the studio cleaned up!

The tables were all cleared for work space and I just sat out some wallpaper pieces and the tags for each person to mark their spots. Bloggers_craft_day_033_3

It didn’t take long for all the tables to turn into this!   Everyone brought such interesting piles of goodies it was a day long adventure just to check out everyone’s stash of stuff.Bloggers_craft_day_031_2

Especially our new pal, Gwen. She is a reader who answered my blog invitation to come by and play.

I’m so glad she did, what a fascinating and fun person. She was an FBI agent, stationed in France for years and brought back the BEST French ephemera.Bloggers_craft_day_043

Gwen gifted all of us with French book pages, and Shawn brought her Cuddlbug. We were rolling papers through it and embossing everything in sight.

I kept wanting to put pasta through it and make embossed noodles for lunch.

Bloggers_craft_day_042 I actually got very little made today. This is a 100% French papered background for a tag, I will add a picture to the center later.

I was busy Cuddlebugging a lifetime supply of papers to use later, and scanning all the cool old Frenchie things that Gwen brought!

Bloggers_craft_day_038 We all made books too, here is one by Marilyn. I had my binder out and she used some Cuddled papers, post cards, and sheet music to create this.Bloggers_craft_day_025 

Since I met Marilyn and Shawn through our Birds and Bonnets Swap, I thought it was appropriate to use the screen from that swap as part of my centerpiece for lunch.Bloggers_craft_day_028

Shawn’s daughter, Bethany had a good time sipping out of a tiny teacup at lunchtime.  She was adorable all day, one cute thing after another.Bloggers_craft_day_019

Lunch itself was pretty great, everyone brought a dish, and all were tasty!  Shawn even brought each of us a bag full of home made marshmallows.  I was going to arrange them on a pretty plate and take a photo, but I ate them. Sorry.Bloggers_craft_day_026

I  know this isn’t the best picture of Beth, but she is only looking worried because I threatened to knock her over and steal her hat.

She taunted me all day with this rose encrusted gem of a hat that she bought for $5, and that I couldn’t take my jealous, little, beady eyes off of.Img196

Gwen is a reader that has never left a comment, and I hadn’t met her before. I’m so glad she took me up on the invitation and came out today, along with our other blog friends. 

Sometimes I wonder who is out there reading this, and it was very nice to meet one of "silent majority" who is on the other end of the blog, but I never hear from.

I’m sure she won’t mind if I share this with you, it is an old ad from a magazine she brought today. I scanned it to print and use for backgrounds.  Please feel free to use it for your own work too, just click and save.  I’d love to see what you do with it, if you make anything from this ad.

And thanks again to Beth, and Shawn, and Marilyn too for the fun time!

ooops, another one frittered away and gone

family, parties, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

Summer_garden_and_gifts_061There is a party here tomorrow.  A craft day with blog friends, that I am really looking forward to. But, somehow, today got away from me, and I haven’t got my craft room picked up yet.

I might just be saying, "Welcome, kick some crap out of your way and make yourselves at home!"

Summer_garden_and_gifts_047

I did make little giftys for the crafters coming.  B for Beth.

(why it is such a wintry tag, I don’t know, maybe I had the air conditioner too high today and was chilly??)Summer_garden_and_gifts_052

And an M for Marilyn.Summer_garden_and_gifts_053

S for Shawn.Summer_garden_and_gifts_055

And Gwen  gets a G. I haven’t met Gwen yet, she is an antique dealer at the mall I used to be at. Beth has a spot there too, so they have met. I am looking forward to meeting her, Ive seen some stuff she has made and love what she does!Summer_garden_and_gifts_064

My speakers are finished, covered with wallpaper and neatly tucked under the new cabinet.  I was afraid they might look cheesy, but I think they will be fine. I also painted the cords so they disapear too.

The rest of the day was put into making a scrap book for Sugarwings.  Summer_garden_and_gifts_059_2

Have you seen this site on flickr where you can make your name in a variety of letters? I did that for the fairy grand baby, then wrote something about her  for each letter.

Too bad there are no C’s in her name, because she is very Cuddly and Cute.  Summer_garden_and_gifts_060

This photo of her hard at work on her painting is mounted onto the artwork she did that day.

Summer_garden_and_gifts_056 I found this cool Wizard of Oz paper and couldn’t wait to use it to back  Sugarwings in her Halloween Dorothy costume.

(the opposite photo of her with Twinkles, says "every Dorothy needs her Toto".Summer_garden_and_gifts_057

Aren’t these papers fun?

I used a close up of the baby’s ruby slippers on the first page, then inside the card on the second page, is another picture of her in her costume.Summer_garden_and_gifts_058

Am I obsessed or what?   Here I am cutting out pictures of the baby all day instead of getting ready for my craft party!

Oh, but isn’t she cute and cuddly???? Do you blame me at all?  Looking at her photos was a beautiful way to fritter away a day.

A garden tour

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers, redos

Summer_garden_and_gifts_043 I finally found the perfect stereo cabinet to match my new dining room table!

Well, almost perfect.  The black speakers stick out like a sore thumb when I tucked them underneath the cabinet.Summer_garden_and_gifts_041

So, Twinks helped me (and I have to say, she really isn’t as much help as she thinks she is) cover them in silk brocade wallpaper over the box and cut up lace curtains over the woofer/tweeter parts. 

I know they aren’t exactly gorgeous, but they will kind of blend into the background now and not stand out like the black did.Summer_garden_and_gifts_013

Today started out humid and in the 90s, but a light rain brought the temperature down and made weeds easy to slide up out of the ground, so I spent some time in the veggie garden this afternoon.Summer_garden_and_gifts_012

LUSHNESS was overflowing everywhere! 

Our garden is planted inside the foundation of the 100 year old  barn we had to tear down.  Years of manure and composted hay on the site make for some fantastic soil.Summer_garden_and_gifts_010

I’ve added compost to it too and use plenty of Miracle Gro.  Sometimes, I think it might be too lush!  I’ve had to trim back the spaghetti squash just so we can get in and out of the gate.Summer_garden_and_gifts_022

There is green everywhere in my yard.  This year, all the plants are enjoying the milder temperatures and extra rain.Summer_garden_and_gifts_023

My large perennial beds are thriving, with no attention at all.  Summer_garden_and_gifts_024

These are just "ditch" lilies, but I enjoy their dependability and abundance.  And especially the fact that they choke out all weeds and I haven’t touched this bed since I planted it 16 years or more ago!Summer_garden_and_gifts_026

The overgrown green plant in the right hand corner is another that chokes everything else out. I have to shoot it with Round UP to kill it off regularly, or it would be the only thing growing on my land!Summer_garden_and_gifts_028

Too bad I don’t have more plants in bloom right now.  The problem is that I didn’t fill in around the perennials with enough annuals this year.  I knew I’d be going to DC and taking some other trips, and didn’t want to make the yard work too complicated for my son while I was away.

Right now, I have hoses and sprinklers running to key areas (mostly veggies and new plantings) and all he has to do is turn the faucet and it all self waters.

Of course, a sprinkler system would be nice instead….. but not in my price range.  Summer_garden_and_gifts_035

I’ve done my best to plant traditional Kansas plants that take care of themselves and adapt to the weather conditions.

If they start to brown up in August  when the ground gets dry, I know that is just normal and let them go, they’ll rebound and come back in September when things cool off.

That just makes me appreciate the yard even more when it is going through its lush phases like now.

Flocked Finery and hot dogs

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, magazine pictures or articles, vintage paper/collage art

Summer_garden_and_gifts_006 I got some of the best new (old) wallpaper!  I had to make something with it right away, so put together this card with one of my painted cupcakes and some other vintagey pretties.Summer_garden_and_gifts_004

The same flocked paper is used as a background for this tag.  Summer_garden_and_gifts_002

Sissy sent me these ballerinas, and I made one into a fairy to tie to the cover of the photo album I am sending to her.Summer_garden_and_gifts_007

All three new papers are wonderful, but I haven’t had a chance to use the other two yet.

If I would stop buying wallpaper, I could probably afford the good camera I whine about wanting. 

I really like my camera, but I sure do drool over photos taken by Carol and Sara.  Both of them use Canon Rebels, and their pictures are always so good. Of course, both of them are great stylists too, that sure helps!Img153

Speaking of Sara, she has added my two latest magazines to the list to the side of my blog.Img154

She is always so fast when I ask for something to be done and I am still thrilled with the blog design she has done for me! I hope to have some extras added some day when I have time. I’d like to have a seperate page with my blog roll and "about".  But, I seem to always have other things to do.  Someday I will get that blog roll revamped and more blogs added to it.

I am such a blog addict, I read so many more than what I have listed there!!Summer_garden_and_gifts_020

Sara isn’t the only person I need to thank today. LOOK AT WHAT BETH MADE!!!!!!!!!!

I don’t knit and never will, but I love to look at yarn shops and day dream about the gorgeous colors.  I bought a specialty ball of yarn and Beth whipped up this scarf for me out of it.
Its even prettier in person, soft and sweet and lighter than air.Summer_garden_and_gifts_040

This came  in the mail from my friend, Shawn.  The first thing I noticed about it, besides how cute it is, of course, is that the name "Nathan" is in the sheet music on Twinkle’s wings!

Shawn is coming to my blogger’s craft day this Thursday. If you are a KC or Topeka area blogger and like to do paper crafts, let me know if you’d like to come too.Summer_garden_and_gifts_039

Amy is the winner of my June Garage Sailing Giveaway Prize Pack, and since her blog is titled
"Bunny Rose Cottage" I added this cute enameled bunny charm to her gift.

I haven’t decided what my July prize will be yet.  But all comments on all posts count for the month, whether the prize has been announced or not. Summer_garden_and_gifts_038

Looks like July is finally here, it has turned hot! The poor dorkies didn’t even want to work in the garden with me this morning, I came in and they were lounging on the bench in the breezeway out of the sun.

Happy Fourth!

celebrations, family, Food and Drink, Sugarwings

Jens_yard_053 Happy 4th of July weekend!  I hope you are all having a good one. Mine is filled with Sugarwings, boating, yard work and pickle making.

Jens_yard_055

This is my first ever attempt at canning, and it seemed to be way too easy. There must be some botulism lurking somewhere in these jars, because it just seemed too simple to do.

My biggest problem in canning was getting the labels right. These are too big, I’ll need to make more if I do more pickles this week.Jens_yard_031_2

And what do you do with a baby while you are trying to make pickles and she wants to help?

We sat up her art table in the kitchen and gave her some cucumber stump  "stamps".  Jens_yard_030

I cut the end of a cuke, carved a design in it with a knife, then let her ink it up with her washable markers. 

They really made pretty stamps, with a watercolor effect.  And it kept the fairy grand baby pretty happy while her daddy and I  chopped and pickled.Jens_yard_041

This year, fireworks were shot off over Lake Clinton where we keep our boat.  The air was cool, the stars were out, and the water was calm, a perfect evening for watching the exploding colors in the sky. 

We parked far away from the dozens of boats tied up together, so it was like a private light show of our own.

Now, off to do some yard work and take advantage of this unexpected mild weather, not typical at all for July in Kansas!

How to become a fairy, and the Hat Whisperer strikes again!

antiques/junking, celebrations, fairies, family, how to's, Silver Bella, Travel

Jens_yard_019 At a sweet shop in St Augustine, I picked up a bag of Key Lime Pie hard candies. I can’t belive I still have this many left, they are so good and they remind me of the beach every time I pop one into my mouth!Jens_yard_017_3

I miss the beach!

So while my mind is  still lingering in vacation mode, I made some scrapbooks to send to Bobbie, Sissy, Randy and Kevin as a momento of our trip.

By the way, the bikini babe is my Sissy who is in her SIXTIES.  She’s always been a teeny tiny thing.Jens_yard_016_4

One day while sitting on our balcony and watching a storm roll in across the ocean, we saw a rabbit hop across the sand. 

That is why I turned these pages into "beach bunnies".  I didn’t know there were rabbits on the beach.  I thought that all those long eared hopping rodents lived in my yard and were busy at home eating my plants while I was on vacation.Jens_yard_011

I filled the books with lots of memories of the trip.Jens_yard_006

This cute, scallopey edged card stock comes in a package at Michaels.  One $9.95 package made 4 scrap books, with some left to make at least one more.

  I used my binding machine to put the pages together into a book after they were decorated.Jens_yard_002 

Here is how I turned us into fairies:

I made  5×7 copies of a picture of Randy’s garden and wallet sized copies of a photo of the three of us, then cut us out.Jens_yard_003_2

Hosta leaves in the garden photo were cut away with an exacto knife.  I cut around the plant, so that I could lift the foliage and slide our picture underneath.Jens_yard_001

Before gluing the photo down, I spritzed Glimmer Mist on watercolor paper, glued the cut out picture of us to it, then drew on wings and cut it all out.Jens_yard_005

Once the wings were done, I slid the sister picture under the hosta leaves in the garden picture and glued it all in place, then glittered and dood dadded it up.

On Bobbie Sue’s album, she is holding a magic wand, on Sissy’s she has one to hold. I used vintage stick pins for wands and just poked them through the photo at an angle and added a drop of glue.Jens_yard_008

I tried to add a lot of hand drawn elements, like lady bugs and vines on the pages that show us setting a bag of lady bugs free in the garden to control pests. Jens_yard_009

Randy raises butterflies, so can’t use any chemicals out there.Jens_yard_012

I used a lot of Glimmer Mist some pages before adding photos, and did all the writing and drawing with metallic or sparkling pens, so the books have some shimmer to them.Jens_yard_024

While in St. Augustine, I put my Hat Whispering skills to work.

Most vintage hats I saw in this touristy area were EXPENSIVE.  $38-$200!!!  My goodness.  Lots of hats were in these antique shops, but few were in my price range.

While in one fancy antique mall,  the hat search looked hopeless, but I told my sisses that I felt one upstairs, and walked up the stairs, around the corner and into a back room right to it. Loaded with pink and red velvet roses, it wasn’t cheap, but it was affordable and beautiful and some how it had called out to me. 

I bought only 3 hats all week, for $4, $9, and $15.   But, it does go to show that even in a high dollar shopping area, with the right hat hunting skills, millinery flowers can be affordable!Jens_yard_021

I kept my souvenir shopping to a minimum.  3 hats, lots of candy, these two shells, and a handful of old charms. Oh, and a pink St. Augustine hoody.  I love trashy tee shirts and sweat shirts from tourist trap shops.

The shell necklace pictured IS NOT from a tacky shell shop!!

It is hand made over 80 years ago by my great aunt, Caroline.  The lovely box was hers too. She gave me those years ago, along with the turquoise pendant that was her mother’s and the wonderful green glass bead necklace that her grandfather made. Yep, lucky, lucky me!!

6a00d8341d319d53ef00e5528e843088331 Speaking of lucky- I got all the classes I signed up for at Sliver Bella! I was at the keyboard the minute sign ups began.  Here is what I signed up for:

Secret Santa Diary/Pam Garrison, Saturday 1:00pm

Home for the Holidays/Pam Garrison, Friday 11:30 am

Christmas Pageant/Teresa McFayden, Saturday 8:30
am

Soldering For Virgins/Sally Jean, Friday 8:00am

Winter Faerie Shrine/Kim Kwan, Saturday 1:00 pm

                                        Total  510.00

Yes, the price went up this year, but it is worth it!! If you haven’t booked your trip yet, do it now before it is full, I can promise you it will be FUN.

A fairy wonderland garden and a Prize Pack Giveaway

celebrations, Etsy Goodies, fairies, family, flowers, give away, Sugarwings

Jens_yard_007 See why I am glad to be home? I missed my Sugarwings.  She had a sleepover last night and we played tea party with her dolls and then this morning she let me semi-French braid her hair.  Jens_yard_022 I think her hair grew while I was gone. 

After the fairy grand baby left to go home, I listed a few things on etsy, wrapped packages, and got some things ready to mail.Jens_yard_015_2

These are the gifts that I am sending out to the 8 winners of the drawing from the pool of card makers.

Jens_yard_016 Sandy, Melissa, and Sherry– I still need your addresses.  Jen, Lili, Alice, Irma, and Robin should be expecting something in the mail soon, theirs is on its way.

Thanks again to everyone for their help!  And here is a note from my great Aunt Caroline’s niece, Caroline Beth, who hosted the 100th birthday party:

Our Aunt Caroline had the BEST birthday!

Most of the praise goes to all of you who donated your time and effort to show so much love and affection for a lady you’ve never even met. What a heartfelt effort!

Thanks to Karla and her sisters who were "everything" to her on her special day. She’ll talk about this forever and we’ll be delighted to listen.

All of us who were lucky enough to spend the day with Caroline were amazed at her vitality and glowing disposition. You could watch as she gained even more positive energy from her well-wishers. The cards sent a huge burst of appreciation for a life well lived and a lady well loved.

We can’t thank you enough for the blessings, thoughtfulness, and amazing beauty of your creations.

God bless you all.

Carolyn Beth ( another of Caroline’s nieces)100th_birthday_florida_016

Caroline’s birthday wasn’t the only one we celebrated while in Florida on our Sister Trip.

We got to spend time with my brother-in-law, Randy the Birthday Boy Nathan, who lives in a house filled with antiques, laughter, and fun plus a magical garden full of fairies.100th_birthday_florida_005

Around every corner there is a surprise in this yard.100th_birthday_florida_004

Its full of whimsical elements and beautiful blooms. 100th_birthday_florida_009

Not one inch of space goes to waste here.  To make it seem  larger, there are winding paths that keep you guessing about what is around the corner, and a mirror is hung on the bright red garden gate (I want to try that trick!).100th_birthday_florida_006

This old iron railing was picked up at a garage sale,  and re-purposed to become trellises.100th_birthday_florida_007

It seemed like everywhere I looked, there was a smiling face looking back at me!100th_birthday_florida_013

More garage sale finds brighten up this corner.  The shiny thing hanging in the foreground is a chandelier found in the trash and taken apart to add some sparkle to the garden, since sparkly things attract fairies.100th_birthday_florida_084

See, I told you so!100th_birthday_florida_082

And the fairies have shelter on rainy days, here in this vase turned on its side and tucked under the foliage.

Randy and Kevin’s garden is a vacation in itself!  I could spend all week just exploring all the nooks and crannies there.100th_birthday_florida_075 

My sisses and I spent a day crafting with Randy, (that explains the blue, glitter encrusted fingers). Then we spread lady bugs around the garden to eat pests, this lush landscape is not only beautiful, it is chemical free!  100th_birthday_florida_098

Our craft day consisted of making fairy pages for each other.  This is what I did for Sissy.  She and I both love the smell of Birthday Cake scented candles sold at Kohl’s and have had some serious bonding time while sipping wine and burning a cake candle, so the background of her fairy page is of sprinkled frosting.100th_birthday_florida_057

Bobbie Sue is deep into genealogy, so the fairy page for her is made from photos of my great grandfather and his brothers glued to a copy of some hand written family history.100th_birthday_florida_047

And after seeing Randy’s back yard, you’ll understand why I made a fairy gardener on "I love you" paper for him.100th_birthday_florida_055   

My little friend and fellow fairy lover, Adeline Grace, is turning 7 this week, so when I saw a poem in an old book, titled "Adeline" I cut it out and made a faery birthday card for her with the poem glued inside.100th_birthday_florida_040

The best vacations are ones where I get to make things, so I loved my crafting day, and also my chances to play in the sand and make  a "Twinkle". 

Ooops, I almost forgot to announce the winner of June’s Garage Sailing Giveaway Prize Pack-

it goes to:

Amy

Thanks to everyone who left a comment and entered the drawing.  Remember, all the July comments go toward a prize too!

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