Oh So Sweet!

Origami box using wallpaper tutorial

2010-08-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Lora Jean's Magazine tutorial, I now have project for the wallpaper I've been saving for that someday I'll use it in some way craft.
Lorajean's Magazine,: Origami box tutorial {and a contest}

Dressy, Colorful, Designer and Vintage Scarves

2010-08-02T11:40:00.001-07:00

I’m excited with my new endeavor, launching Look Again! an online e-store

We welcome you to Look Again at the treasure finds we have found and are making available to you. Our items will be primarily of the gently used variety. If it appeals to us, then there is a good chance it will appeal to you too!

Please do bookmark us so you can find your way back to the store
lookagain.ecrater.com/

Added some beautiful scarves to the store. You’ll want to take a look! (little play on words there, since name of the store is Look Again! )

Uses for designer and vintage scarves besides the usual fashion accessory; curtain valance, frame them, use as dresser scarves, use to make pillow slipcover, use in upcycle crafting/sewing, sew a few together to make table runner, make a tablescape by draping scarf from vintage purse with pair of glasses and place a thin column lamp placed in purse, What uses can you think of for scarves, vintage or otherwise?

Echo Black on White Striped Scarf

Offering this Echo designer scarf in a bold black and white stripe pattern, edged with an orange stripe finished with a larger red stripe. 100 % silk.

No tears or holes. There is a tiny run across part of the width in one place, but it is not obvious. I almost missed it in my examination of the scarf. Appears to be new or if used, has been very little use.

The Echo name in designer scarves has been around since 1923. In fact Echo claims that it was the first brand name ever printed on a scarf.

Charter Club Silk Tropical Floral Scarf

Offering a Charter Club designer scarf in vibrant colors in a tropical floral pattern edged in blue/green. The Charter Club logo is visible on the corner of the scarf. The tag indicates Charter Club, 100 % silk, made in Japan, with copyright icon - Macy's. Instructions indicate dry clean only.

The scarf appears to be new or if used, lightly used. There are no tears, holes or runs, the edges are rolled hem and beautifully stitched.
Scarf is rectangle measuring 35" by 18".

Vera Green Scarf

Vintage Vera! Offering this Vera scarf, likely from the 1970s based on large signature and no ladybug icon. All Vera designs are copyrighted. color green

Scarf is large square in size measuring 22 1/2" by 22 1/2 ". Green with green mountain pattern. The fabric feels like a chiffon, or sheer type fabric. There are no tears, holes or pulls. The rolled edges are in very good condition.

If you don't know the Vera name of designer scarves, a brief history. Vera Neumann, artist turned textile designer's scarves are known for their graphic, bold patterns (flowers, dots and geometrics) and Vera's signature in the corner. One way to tell the age of the scarf is by the size of the Vera signature - the smaller the signature, the older the scarf. Also through the 1960s until the late 1960s, the ladybug icon shows up alongside the Vera signature.

The Vera signature gets larger; the ladybug icon makes a comeback in approximately 1973 with the larger Vera signature. Disappears again through the 1980s, and makes a comeback in present day scarves.

Project; Her t-shirt ruffles meets his shirt

2010-07-21T18:52:00.001-07:00

How-To: Upcycled Ruffled Shirt Pillow

Tricia of Oh So Crafty shares her tutorial for making this cute ruffled pillow from a man's button-down shirt and a t-shirt.

I am subscribed to Craftzine which features crafty artists and projects. I enjoy seeing the creative minds at work, sometimes I marvel at how minds work in thinking up these projects.

WWII Poster ‘Use it up Wear it out – Make it do!’

2010-06-29T12:21:00.001-07:00

Or Do Without….

Thrift Find – Pink Kimono

2010-05-16T15:12:00.001-07:00

More thift find sharing. I don’t think this kimono is vintage, but I liked the pattern and color. For now I have it on hanger on closet door to please my eyes when I wake up in morning. Later I thought I might use the fabric in a remake project. Which reminds me that I need to snap some photos of the wonderful linens I found when I was thrifting with my mom in her town earlier this year.

Big Blue Bottles

2010-05-16T14:18:00.001-07:00

On the return route home from our Mother’s Day drive to Cathlamet and Puget Island last weekend, we stopped at an Antique Shop we have bypassed on our several trips south. The house and location was a dairy farm, per the owner, and now that they are not farming, they rearranged the space into a home-owned antique shop. I got to browse the shop finding several items on my mental ‘must have’ list. But my mental list and our pocketbook are often not in agreement, so I did what I typically do – fill the shopping cart in my head until it is time to check out. Then I decide on what item(s) are an absolute must – may not be there when I come back someday. My pick for today were a set of oversized blue Ball mason jars. That was a must. And a small extra tidbit purchase was the tea cup and saucer.

Crocheted Open Weave Mesh Scarf for Spring

2010-05-16T13:10:00.001-07:00

Looking for a light weight spring season type scarf to crochet, I came across pattern for open weave mesh scarf. First I tried the pattern on some ribbon yarn my mother had brought for me, but I would have needed about two more balls to get the scarf to a long enough length. The ribbon yarn made up into a neck scarf and that may work well too. I had some lemon colored light weight acrylic yarn that I used and it gave me the longer length scarf I wanted. It does crochet up quickly. I’d like to make a few more of these mesh scarves.

In the Pink – oil painting

2010-05-16T12:20:00.001-07:00

My most recent oil painting drying in the kitchen. I didn’t name the painting ‘in the pink’, although it does have pink tones in the sky and water. But sitting on my pink formica table with chrome pink chairs, ‘in the pink’ seems to fit for this photograph. The oversized Ball blue mason jars in the background were a find from antique shop a week earlier. The card is artwork note card my stepdaughter created and send me for Mother’s Day.

Colorful Palette of Scarves

2010-05-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

I can’t help it, in my thrifting, when I run across a colorful scarf that appeals to me I just have to add it to my collection. I don’t wear them very frequently, mostly when I have reason to dress up, ie, going to town, meetings – that sort of thing. After years of 8-5 employment and dressing for the office, I don’t regret that I don’t have to do the ‘morning routine’ each and every morning any more, but I do miss career dressing sometimes. Scarves work well for career dress up.

This is not the full collection, nor are all the scarves vintage, but I liked the color palette combination and it is cheerful to wake up to each morning. I have about 3 more collections that are more vintage. One includes a Japanese motif pink silk scarf that I just love.

Illustrated Recipes - ez visuals to follow

2010-05-14T17:32:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from Crafzine blog post : I was telling my friend about this practice, and she asked if I had ever visited the site Recipe Look. I hadn't ... but I'm so glad she pointed me to it! It is a blog that posts illustrated recipes. Anyone can send one in!

Law of the Garbage Truck

2010-05-13T14:57:00.000-07:00

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of the parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the Hospital!"

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck." He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that happy people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it! Have a blessed, garbage-free day!

link

The end of a 90 year era - Monkey Puzzle Tree is down

2010-03-15T01:54:00.000-07:00

(photo of our home is among the featured illustrations in 'Back Roads of Washington', 1992, drawn by illustrator, Earl Thollander)

Saga of our 90 year old Chilean Monkey Puzzle Tree ( Araucaria araucana ) comes to a close. The tree was planted in the front yard of our house, we are given to understand, some 90 years before we ever arrived on the scene. When we bought the house, the tree looked ragged along the lower branches, and the previous home owner told us it was not unusual for this species of tree to look like that when they reached these mature ages. He told us the story of how the species of tree came to be planted in Bay Center, Washington as it is not native to the area, although the climate is conducive to nurturing this species.

When our house was built in 1892, by a barge builder, the house was given to the daughter and her husband - the Bochaus. In those early 1900's there was ship travel on our Willapa Bay and the Willapa River. The ships might harbor in Bay Center and spend a day or night as guests of local residents. Mrs. Bochau would entertain the ship captains in her home and one of the ship captains (Capt. Cook, I believe) gifted her one of the seedlings of the Chilean Monkey Puzzle Tree he had as cargo on his ship.

The tree grew successfully through their lifetime, and on into the life spans of the next two owners of the house. By the time we came along to to buy the house in November 2002, the tree was well into it's maturity. However, these are prehistoric trees and have an incredible lifespan, living well past 100 years. The tree was not beyond it's years, but it did succumb to some infection and it began dying from within.

The first year, we enjoyed the giant tree with it's giant limbs and it swayed gently in the heavy windstorms. It was well rooted and not likely to fall over even with the highest winds. The first spring, I learned how prickly are the 'leaves' if you can call them that on the branches, as I did the yard spring cleaning. As the lower limbs lost their green, I asked a neighbor to cut off the lower limbs in hopes we could save the tree. It seemed to me the logical, compassion, caring and nurturing thing to do to try to save the tree. I neglected to consult my husband on my decision and that was one of the few times I have seen him livid. He was 'not ready' for the mangling of that great gracious tree, no matter that it had dying lower limbs.

Over the years the tree continued to die from within, turning browner and browner with each passing year until there was nothing left of green on the tree limbs even at the pinnacle of it's height. But it continued to stand, testament to the community of it's long history in Bay Center. I pointed out to my husband that there was nothing green left on the tree and it had indeed passed into that place where trees are no longer among the living. He would not be convinced easily. He had been following for a few years the attempt of a new branch shoot trying to grow and what was left at the tip top of the tree that was still green. He would not agree to the reality that the tree was no longer healthy or even living.

When the limbs became dry enough to begin to break off, I grew concerned that one could fall on someone passing beneath and insisted the tree come down. Our neighbor, who has some experience with bringing down trees agreed to take it down. He was able to get all the limbs cut off and the top of the tree when there was an accident kickback with the chainsaw. The kickback went across the top of his hand, and we are all blessed that it grazed his hand with no damage to the nerves or connecting tissue. My husband rushed him to hospital where they attended to his hand, but it did cost him some work on the fishing boats during his time of recovery. He has said he would come finish taking the tree all the way down, but a few years have passed and he has not taken it down. I can completely understand his reluctance! Nor did I really want him to take on the challenge as the county power lines create a tripod quite close to the top of the tree.

I explored having the tree made into a totem pole, asking the person who made the totem pole for our neighbor down the street if he could make one from the remains of the tree. He said the wood is too soft and if he made a totem, the features would split with the wood, ie, the eyes or nose might split causing a caricature image -- not very totem like. So for a couple of years the trunk of the tree has been standing, withstanding our powerful Storm 2007 winds of 140 - 160 mph.

Another neighbor thought perhaps to use the wood from the tree to make unusual wooden crafts as it is a desired wood for such projects. We agreed if he could take it down, he could use the wood. He came, he saw the power line obstacles and changed his mind about taking it down. He suggested that the county might be willing to take it down.

Last week as I was leaving the community heading to town, I saw the county people doing some roadside tree cutting and stopped to inquire if they could take down my trunk of a tree. He said he couldn't do it today as they had full schedule but would come back, to which I said no hurry, the tree will continue to stand. Surprised to find a work crew from the county in front of my house today, he kept his word and did come back to take down our tree.

It was fascinating to watch as with their power equipment and trucks they were able to stabilize the tree while someone else using chainsaw cut through the lower trunk. The truck with the stabilizing equipment held the tree steady, lifted it and gently swung it to the side of our road, laying it down gently.

She lies there in less than all her glory now, having been stripped of her limbs and foliage, a tall trunk of a tree that used to be and is no more. Good bye dear Monkey Puzzle Tree, we did not get to enjoy your heyday and were there at the time of your demise, but we truly respect your tremendous history.

Coyote Moon – Native American – Chant - Meditation

2009-07-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

Our weekend out of town; The Story.

2009-07-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

Our weekend; The Story. I have a peridontist appointment about every three months, in a town about 2 + hours from where we live. So we have turned it into a weekend getaway, and a visit with my mother who lives in a nearby town to the town where my peridontist is located.

Had my peridontist appt Friday and the report was good - some small improvement actually. Not much improvement, but far better than deterioration. Then we went to my mother's home, spent the weekend. and then came home to our animals. Our cat and dog remain at home, and so our time away is limited to a safe duration for the cat and dog to fend for themselves. Now that my cat bite is healing and the cat is healing, life is returning to normal. (A couple weeks earlier the cat was bitten by an animal, and in not knowing she was bitten, I picked her up, more rather tugged her out of her hiding place and she bit me…not at all her usual behavior, she is a very loving cat. We didn’t see her wound at the time, but knew something was wrong with her. Arthur spotted her wound, and we took her to the vet, who gave her a vaccine, and told me was more concerned that I get myself to hospital to treat the cat bite. I did, was vaccinated and given antibiotics, the incident reported to County Health, the cat quarantined at our home for 10 days and we are both mending without incident, the primary concern being exposure to rabies). When we returned home, our dog Jake resumed eating again. He misses us when we are gone and gets sad - depressed. Dogs have feelings. Oh, and our cat too, she has feelings, misses us and glad when we return home.

After my peridontist visit on Friday afternoon we drove to my mother’s home, picked her up and went out to eat. We live in a rural town, and there aren’t a lot of restaurants or places to eat, so we enjoy the opportunity of eating out at different restaurants on the days of my peridontist appointments. It’s an eating out together date we look relish. Choosing a restaurant in the town where my mother lives proved not to be as obvious as it might seem. We kind of scoured what we knew to be restaurants in her neighborhood, opted to go further away, settled on Black Angus, since I was hankering for a nice steak lunch. We got there and it no longer has lunch, open for dinner only. Must be the economy. The hour was growing late into the afternoon, I was hungry now, and we had not eaten breakfast that day, or at all, so we wound up at (oh yuck!) Old Country Buffet. Arthur likes the many choices of buffet restaurants, and sometimes so do I, but Old Country Buffet is not one of my favorites. We both really enjoy the buffet variety of primarily healthy choices at Sweet Tomatoes restaurant, but there were none the town where my Mom lives.

Saturday Arthur spent the day home, defrosted Mom’s freezer for her because it had become so full of ice that the ice on all the shelves were touching each other, no room for food. He took care of some other taskings for her, then spent the rest of the day fooling around with installing stuff in his old fashioned computer. Not the laptop kind, the big bulky kind. Some guy he knows had given him some Linus software to download or told him about it. Anyway, it was a dead computer (not working) and when Arthur finished the download it sprung back to life, installed Windows XP and is sort of functional again. He was delighted. Still needs an audio driver and something else that would permit it to link to internet. He was just intrigued that it started working again...kind of like a guy tinkering in his garage with his power tools, only Arthur likes to tinker with puter.

Saturday I took Mom to Farmers Market in Proctor area of Tacoma. That is a district that more resembles Portland or some Seattle districts; organic, green living, conscientious choices - that sort of thing, and an amazingly cool, fun grocery store with very upscale item choices. For a mere $309.00 you can purchase a wheel of gourmet cheese! An experience in itself. (I’m being a bit snarky – it would be very unlikely we would ever spend that kind of money on cheese.) We visited a new consignment shop in her immediate neighborhood – delightful items, colorful, fun, upbeat, cheerful. I liked it. But I didn’t buy anything, because in truth, neither of us need another thing!

And more for the hunt of treasure than because either of us need anything more in our homes, we went to a few garage sales. What was being offered wasn’t the kind of garage sales we were looking for - more like junk sales. We had fun anyway because we toured many of the University Place neighborhoods, the million + $$ homes with breathtaking views of the Narrows water, Narrows Bridge, the outlying island. And alongside the million + $$ homes, are more modest ranch style homes. You can be on a ‘house of dreams’ street and turn to go down the the next street which could well be a quiet and modest street of different ranch style homes. University Place neighborhoods are in interesting mix of income levels. After our tour of neighborhoods, I took her to visit Charlie at cemetary where his ashes are placed. It is a beautiful, peaceful cemetary, a place of quiet serenity amidst the hubbub of getting from here to there. Nice place to quietly reflect on life. I know, it may sound like a strange juxtaposition to reflect on life when at a cemetary where the dead are buried…..but that is how it works for me.

We went back to Proctor district that evening to have dinner at a niche Mexican restaurant (not a restaurant chain) because Mom said she heard good things about the food and atmosphere there. Lively atmosphere with mix of old and young people dining. I had a Taste Assault dish called Chicken Mole, although it would be better named Chicken in Mole (prounounced molay) Sauce, because the sauce was Outrageous - 6 ingredients, and I can remember plums, almonds, mole (an unsweetened chocolate), and some other ingredients. It wakes up your taste buds like wowza! Not hot or even spicy, flavorful would be the word I would use to describe it. Flavorful with each bite. Arthur took a menu and will experiment at home with making the mole sauce because I liked it so well.

Sunday we took Mom to her church (St Andrews Episcopal Church). A bit of history here; my mom lost half her sightedness recently and is vision impaired now. Mom had been saying she felt she needed something inspirational amidst all the doctor appointments and bad news. Along the way, I decided to call the Priest at St Andrews to talk to him about Mom. When she was a child, she attended Episcopal church in Spokane. I explained to him her childhood church exposure, and her current medical condition with being sight impaired, being told by her doctors not to drive anymore. He agreed to visit Mom immediately and arranged for someone to pick her up and take her to church on Sundays.

She has been to St Andrews now, a few times, and wanted us to visit her church. We wanted to visit it also, as I enjoyed the upbeat conversation with the Priest - he was energetically young, even though he isn't young. That Sunday they had special guests, a singing group who livened up the entire worship service with renditions of the hymns done to foot tapping music. Guitars, tambourines, horns, and one of the gals playing guitar was barefoot! Felt like we were at a campfire gathering! Geesh! But the worship service having a combination of traditional liturgy, the laying on of hands for healing, the Eucharist, and the lively music with a welcome invitation to all does reflect ‘The Emerging Church’.

We loved the church, it had accommodations our little church building isn’t equipped to have, and if we lived in that area, we would likely attend that church. Afterwards we ate at a restaurant in her immediate neighborhood that she is fond of - an old fashioned restaurant left over from approximately the 1950’s era. So lots of eating this weekend, way too many calories, and Mom had a nice weekend. So did we.

Oh and at the Farmer's Market I bought some snow peas that were priced below what is usually charged for snow peas, so I bought enough to freeze. Bought a couple of tomato plants already bearing tomatoes, and a basil plant. I didn’t plant a vegetable garden this year, and haven’t spent much time outside with the herb and flower gardens, so keeping it light this year. Weather hasn’t been too cooperative where we live – cold, rainy, then unseasonably blistering hot, then cold again. At the market, I found a growing salad bowl planter that I wanted and Mom bought it for me for my birthday gift. The planter has growing lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro plants - salad ingredients, and that is the extent of my vegetable garden this year. Except all the herbs I have been growing for a few years now.

And I was delighted to learn about a lovely tasty sauce called Chimichurri? Oh, I tasted some at the market, and just had to buy one - lime Chimichurri. Great to use as braising sauce for grilled vegetables, on meats, or just straight on healthy chips or fresh veggies. Taste delight!

It was a rather sweet weekend. Last year around this time, we had visited Mom and she and I went to Lavender Festival on Vashon Island, ferry ride over and back, a beautiful, clear, sunny day, making the waters deep blue and picturesque. There was a Farmer’s Market there too, and we visited that Farmer’s Market

Book; American farmhouses : country style and design

2009-06-09T12:28:00.000-07:00

American Farmhouses: Country Style and Design by Leah Rosch

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I like to study the architecture of homes of bygone eras.

View all my reviews.

Book; Forgotten Household Crafts

2009-06-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

Forgotten Household Crafts by John Seymour

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
From the point of view of someone who grew up in Europe, it was more intriguing to read not only the how it was done, but the perspective from a child growing up, seeing the results of how it was done.

View all my reviews.

Book; The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Pacific Northwest

2009-06-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Pacific Northwest by Lawrence Kreisman

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Actually it was quite comprehensive and regionally specific.

View all my reviews.

Oil Painting is so much brighter though

2009-05-25T12:49:00.000-07:00

I created 5 new paintings in a day. I was really into it that day. Two oils and three acrylics. Trying acrylics was new for me, see the post below.

Here is one of the oil paintings, and you can see the paint is so much more vivid.

Acylics or Oil? My New Acrylic Paintings

2009-05-25T12:43:00.000-07:00

Trying my hand at acrylics. Reason; well oil painting can be rather toxic from what I hear and read, and you know, I'm just getting along in years and not too anxious to gunk up my lungs and system. I also have read that Bob Ross designed his wet on wet paints and thinner not to be toxic, so maybe I'm safe to continue using those products. Adapting the wet on wet technique of oil painting to acrylic paints, which dry quickly and less the medium of the oil which permits the paint to blend and stick to paints already on the canvas. I'm at a disadvantage.

Three acrylics, and I really do not have the 'art' of photographing my paintings, so pardon my amateurish photography. Early efforts with acrylics;

Vintage Finds - Collectibles

2009-05-25T12:18:00.001-07:00

Holidays are over and the 'Company's Coming' size dining room table not needed now, so shortened it and added lighter table dressing for that fresher summer look.

I think I got some pretty good thrift deals on these plates.

-- a dozen Anchor Hocking Peach Lustre plates. While I'm not collecting these, I see the peach lustre pieces everywhere I find a collectible shop. This time, the price was just too good for me to pass up. I don't need more dishes, but hey, this is how collections get started, eh?

-- seven Homer Laughlin plates - rose edge design. This was at an estate sale, owner passed, and I am told these were her favorite dishes. They show years of use, wear and tear. But I am a nostalgia, vintage buff, and again price was too good to pass up...but I don't need dishes!!

Handkerchiefs - my latest fun thing to do..

2009-05-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

I don't have those lovely vintage type handkerchiefs, and am at the mercy of finding them at thrift stores, collectibles and such like. So I went and found some because I found a few fun ideas for how to use and wanted to give some of the projects a try.

In my painting/sewing room, the upstairs cupola, I used the handkerchiefs to create a window treatment. The view outside to peek views I have from the cuploa of Willapa Bay will inspire the paintings, while the breeze will softly blow the handkerchiefs, creating a lazy, billowy effect.

The back door, which leads out to a not so nice mud room, is an old fashioned French Door set up, that leaves a few things to be desired. For Summer look, I want to add handkerchief curtains. Can seam sew the handkerchiefs together, or hand sew the corners together, adding columns and rows of handkerchiefs. Can pin them together, ie safety pins. Can add lengths of string and clip on with cafe curtain clips, clothespins. Lots of different approaches. Right now I'm hand sewing the corners together and have one column on each window. Will add additional columns to fill the window spaces, depending on how many handkerchiefs I have available to use.

Dance-Off! What baseball players do when rained out

2009-05-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

Fun video, College baseball, players from UConn and USF, filled in some of the time during a 5 hour rain delay with a Dance off Thursday, May 21, 2009. Enjoy and wow do I envy their ‘young’ energy!

Flowers Arrived; doesn’t the gift of flowers just make you smile!

2009-04-23T08:09:00.001-07:00

Daughter and son-in-law had flowers sent to my house; meant to arrive Easter weekend. Since we live as far away as we do from urban centers, it takes UPS a bit longer to deliver, so the flowers arrived a couple days later than they planned, but the flowers did arrive.

Came in a florist box that looked like long stemmed roses might be inside. Opened the box to find fresh spring flowers, a hefty square glass vase and florist preservative packet, along with a happy greeting card from my daughter and son-in-law.

I learned later in talking to my daughter that she had chosen another arrangement, but where we are located there are no florists in close by vicinity that could accommodate the choice she made. I am happy with what was sent – fresh spring flowers that are still looking fresh a week later. Picture below.

Two new oil paintings - just finished and still Wet! Unoriginal title of 'Cabin by the Lake'

2009-04-23T07:18:00.001-07:00

After a too long time away from my paints, brushes, and the messy operation that is oil painting, yesterday I completed two paintings! The paintings I've accomplished grow fewer and fewer over the years since 2006. Lots of reasons why, but I hope this change in momentum means 'I'm Back'!

I sought out the old painting clothes and found I've outgrown them (that means I weigh more now than I did when last I wore them). Time to set aside another set of painting attire, in larger size.

Painted this scene in 16 x 20 size. And then painted the scene again in 11 x 14 size, although it has variables from the larger size, making both 'originals'.
I took photo of the larger size and the paint is still Wet!

The house just doesn't have much accommodation room for paintings to dry. There is the cat who can jump up anywhere, so the paintings need to be in a room with a door that closes. And as I looked around the house, I see we don't have many 'roooms' that have doors that close. Then there is the odor of oil painting that can permeate the air. If I'm going to paint frequently, I need to figure out the logistics for these challenges.

So we put the Wet Painting on top of a wardrobe (a place the cat has not yet figured out how to climb) and I snapped a few photos ... not very good photos due to the angle of looking up at the painting, and the paint is still ..... well Wet!

Well I'm flattered,The Crochet Dude stopped by my blog and left a comment

2009-04-14T20:45:00.001-07:00

So hey, thanks Crochet Dude - he actually has a name = Drew Emborsky, aka, The Crochet Dude. He left a comment at my post about using his pattern to make travel jewelry purses. Thanks Drew!

Odd coincidence or serendipity because I have a grandson (9 yrs old), nickname 'Drew' who plays basketball, x-box, football and is also fascinated with Grandma (me) teaching him to crochet. He is determined to learn and gives it a serious effort. I told him about how cool it is that The Crochet Dude has such fun patterns. The very next day we went to my granddaughter's high school art show and sitting there crocheting some fantastic hats and scarves was ---- wait for it --- a guy. Now if that is reassuring and inspiring for my grandson to know guys out there DO crochet. It will spur him on in his own efforts to learn to crochet - not like Grandma, but like 'the dudes'!

Another placemat purse; crocheted fingerless gloves, crocheted wrist cuffs

2009-04-14T20:26:00.001-07:00

Got the packages out in the mail to my older daughter and her family. Pictures of the tote/purse I made for her; again using placemats and napkins for the interior pockets.

I adapted the many patterns I found on blogs, to make some simple channel pockets for the interior of the purse.

I crocheted 2 pairs of wrist cuffs (above) using fun fur yarn for my two teenage granddaughters.

And I crocheted each of them a pair of fingerless gloves (below)

I made a bunch of these using 'The Crochet Dude' travel jewelry bag pattern

2009-04-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

Last year I bumped into a crochet blog by a Guy! Yep, and he calls himself 'The Crochet Dude'. His crocheted creations were different and fresh. I was quite taken with them, and the idea of a guy who not only could crochet but come up with his own creations was enchanting! He had a few free patterns, and I was happy to try his pattern for 'Travel Jewelry Purse'. I liked it so well, that I made several and gave them as belated Christmas gifts. I may have taken a couple of photos and posted, but I gave away more of the cute little purses than I had taken photos of as a record. So I made some more and this time took photos.

As for 'The Crochet Dude' -- well he was snapped up by the industry pretty quickly - I mean what's not to like about his creations and work! Now he appears on radio and television shows, has his own website, books, and has left his humble beginnings on blogspot. But he didn't kill the blog, just moved on to other things, and here is the link to some of his free patterns that got me going on making these adorable little travel jewelry bags. They are entirely useable for other things besides just jewelry. I like to tuck one in my purse to hold some of my cosmetics.

Love the finished purse with it's ruffled top. I played around with making several layers of ruffles because I so liked the look of the first one I finished.

And for a dual-colored purse, it was fun to put colors together and see the results. This is one of several I worked up using different color for outside and inside. Above is the black outside of the purse closed up. Below is the purse opened to reveal a contrasting color of orange inside pockets.

Then I wanted more pockets, so I adapted the pattern to make an outside ring of pockets, along with the inside ring of pockets.

Two placemats turn nicely into a hanging organizer

2009-04-09T10:06:00.000-07:00

Enjoying the crafty ideas I've seen in crafting blogs for using placemats - or better said - for upcyling placemats. I finished up this one in a jiffy, an organizer, using two placemats, sewing up the channels and well, I sewed it directly onto a plastic hanger. Quick as that, I have a pretty little fabric bathroom organizer, or a cosmetic organizer or perhaps a child's room organizer.

I hope to make more of these. A variation I did make, again using placemat, was to fold it in half along the long side and sew up four channels, making a roll up organizer which I am using in my purse.

An impromptu chair cover with matching covered pillow

2009-04-06T22:44:00.000-07:00

Helpful hints from bloggers prompts me to try new ideas. This is a recycle, refashion idea. Using a pillow case that I picked up at thrift store, it becomes a chair cover with enough left over to cover a small pillow.

Soft chenille makes warm crocheted scarf and hat set

2009-04-06T22:09:00.000-07:00

Among my completed crochet projects, here is a long scarf and matching hat that I crocheted from the chenille yarn. I was showing my basket full of finished crochet projects and my mother was taken with this set. I rather had it in mind to gift it to her when I made it, so I'm pleased she was happy with it.

Placemat to Purse; made for a nice gift to daughter

2009-04-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

Didn't do so great in keeping up with adding my completed projects to this blog. So a bit of catch up if I may. In fascination with working placements and napkins into purses or totes, I made this one for one of my daughters. Intended it for her birthday in February, and the trip she was taking to Hawaii to reunite with her husband returning hone from his second Iraq deployment.

I had some nice gray linen placemats with matching napkins, and following many photos on the blogs, I made this purse.

Craftivism, what is it? Where did it come from? Who thought that one up?

2008-12-26T09:09:00.001-08:00

Well, whewww, someone put it together – activism + craft = craftivism. That works for me!

Because it is possible to go beyond banners, email petitions and chants as ways of fighting for a cause you believe in. You could have a knit-in, papier-mache puppets, teach a crafty class for kids- all ways of turning that energy into a more positive, more useful, force. Atrocities are happening in our front yards and on our televisions and we need to find ways to react against what is happening without either giving up or exploding.

This is less about mass action or more about realizing what you can do to makes things around you better.

Read more - link here - Craftivism.com, created by Betsy Greer, who advanced ‘craftivism’ as a Masters thesis. Now she’s talking, no, excuse me, now she’s crafting --- with a message!

Gives me that elusive concept that I have been struggling with for over a year now. How can I go from 5 years of intense and passionate activism to end the Iraq war to dabbling in exploration of hobby crafts – how are those two things congruent at all? Looks like maybe there is a common thread, after all.

Where do those familiar sayings come from?

2008-12-24T07:52:00.000-08:00

Adding this bit of information that was circulating around the internet a few years ago. Seeing it surface again in one of my subscribes, I thought I would add it to my blog.

** LIFE IN THE 1500′S ***

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water
temperature isn’t just how you like it, think about how things used to
be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in
May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting
to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.

Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house
had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and
men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By
then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence
the saying,

Don’t throw the baby out with the Bath water..

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood
underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the
cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it
rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall
off the roof.

Hence the saying It’s raining cats and dogs.

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed
a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess
up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung
over the top afforded some protection.

That’s how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.
Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get
slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor
to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more
thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping
outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway.

Hence the saying a thresh hold.

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that
always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things
to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They
would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold
overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in
it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme,

Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old..

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.
When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It
was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would
cut off a little to share with guests and

would all sit around and chew the fat..

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content
caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning
death. This happened most often with tomatoes,

so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of
the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or

the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would
sometimes knock a person out for a couple of days. Someone walking along
the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were
laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would
gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up.

Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of
places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the
bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these
coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the
inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they
would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the
coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would
have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to
listen for the bell;

thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a …dead
ringer..
.

Holiday Gatherings are Gaily Wrapped Gifts

2008-12-13T11:34:00.001-08:00

Lovely holiday luncheon yesterday. Dear Lady put on a sit-down holiday luncheon for about 20 women in our community. If it had been 1950, the luncheon might have looked like women wearing shirt-dresses with petticoats to make them flounce, hats and gloves, and a fashionable purse. But it isn’t 1950, and that is not what the women looked like at our luncheon yesterday. Although, our dear hostess, bless her heart, had a gift for each of us at the close of the luncheon --- individual hand-sewn aprons that she had been making since the previous summer. She made them specifically to gift to each of us at her holiday luncheon.

I would share photos, but I haven’t obtained permissions from the women, so in respect for their privacy, if I have photos that don’t reveal faces, I’ll post those later.

I’m just tickled with the holiday festivities this year right here within our small little village. Open house party, holiday luncheon, church potluck, Women’s Club potluck coming up next week, annual Christmas play put on by the children, Open house party on New Year’s Eve, chili dinner – bring breads later in January. Perhaps these gatherings have been the norm here for several years, but I’m just entering into all the festive fun this year, so it’s all new to me. And as such, it’s like opening a lot of gaily wrapped presents, different in form and shape.

Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates

2008-11-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

Playing around with the templates to my blogger blogs and I ran across this gift from this blogger, some fresh new 3 column templates to use. I liked what I saw and immediately began changing the templates on several of my blogs. You can play around with your templates too --- visit her site . Oh and a little bonus, she has added many holiday templates

View Driving Home

2008-11-23T18:21:00.001-08:00

I was capturing some of the scenery on our drive home. We were driving home as the sun was starting to set. I was able to get a nice set before we lost the light. Not bad considering these were taken as a passenger in a moving vehicle.

Eric O'Shea - Commercials

2008-10-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

Here is his bit 'TV Commercials' in 2007. Great Fun!

Who killed the electric car? - video

2008-07-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

Slideshow of family photos

2008-06-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

Dropping in a slideshow of some family photos I had saved online over the years. Weddings, newborns, get togethers, and our life together in Bay Center.

Windows Live Spaces

My daughter Bree's talented scrapbooking

2008-03-13T16:31:00.000-07:00

I wanted to show a bit of my daughter's beautiful scrapbooks. The photos are of two miniatures she made for me and 'Dad' as 'remembrances' when she and the kids joined her husband at his newly assigned duty base. (He is military, returning Iraq veteran and currently in Iraq again in his second deployment).

Thrifting Finds!

2008-03-13T14:12:00.001-07:00

I love the chase of 'thrifting'. Those splendid finds at thrift stores, vintage anything, and those quality made items at affordable prices just not so easily found in today's department stores. Along my years of thrifting, I've picked up items that I still treasure. What was more a budget necessity back in the day when I was a young wife and mother, has now become less of necessity and more one of my all time favorite 'hobbies'. Today though, with recycling, refashioning, green living, sustainable living, meaningful living, or just plain stretching the budget, thrifting has become popular in it's own right.

My recent 'thrifting' finds:

Above - a version of the 'Northern Exposure' cannisters with my friend the Moose keeping watch. I have always liked that old tv show 'Northern Exposure'. For a short time there was a decor motif that included Northern Exposure type symbols, ie, the Moose (one of my favorites!), the Northern evergreen trees, bears, rustic cabin decor, canoes, and such like. Decor and motifs seem to change quite rapidly now and no sooner does one get on board with the latest colors, schemes, styles and motifs and it changes. Pretty good strategy to keep consumers consuming, don't you think?

above and below - My growing hat collection - an array of assorted hats. For all occasions, gardening, casual wear, and even for those times when my Sweetie is 'Driving Miss Daisy' in our ancient 1984 Cadillac the size of a boat with something like 400 horsepower - inherited from my mother - and it still is roadworthy, oh and doesn't use any more gas mph than our other vehicle. One day Sweetie drove me over the Megler Bridge to Astoria, and I was wearing a hat I'd bought in Hawaii when visiting daughter there for her graduation. I commented that I felt like I was being chaueffered in this big car - and said I feel like 'Driving Miss Daisy'. That became one of those jokes between us.

Another find which is not that hard to find is colorful scarves (for crafting and decor) -- photos below -

I picked up a load of placemats at the thrift store - mostly to use in my crafting projects, but this set with the vintage pattern cherries (not vintage placemat set) was just perfect for my kitchen table as it is arranged now. I change the arrangements on my tables, kitchen and dining frequently. Not as frequently as some, but once I get tired of a 'look' then it's time for something new on the table.

It's not your Grandmothers or even your Mother's crafting

2008-03-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a time of retooling for me. Getting to that age for women that is the Big M word, and now that I'm in it, there, I'm startled by just how big a 'change' in life it really is. Wondering why more women don't talk about it, but that isn't quite the focus of this blog so I won't fill it up with all my thoughts and reflections - maybe that is another blog I might make. My attention is by necessity refocused then on some pro-active work towards making this change a bit more positive and upbeat while I continue to look in the mirror and no longer recognize who is looking back at me.

For weeks now, no more like several months, I've been fascinated by the amount of talent out there blogging about homemaking skills; crafting, needlework, sewing, beadwork, decorating and well the list goes on and on. But I'm particularly struck by how a new generation of young women have taken up the old arts and brought amazing new flair to their creations. I have long crocheted, but pretty basic kinds of afghans, baby blankets, hats, scarves. I have made a few afghans which is probably more king size bedspreads. It takes me 6 months working consistently to finish one. I put down the crochet hooks several years ago and now that I am picking them up again, I am fascinated to find how much the 'old crochet' has become the 'new crochet'.

There are amazing types of yarn out there now, and crochet projects have taken on a whole new life in the hands of the new generation. There is a yarn type for everything from elegant, to classic, to standard, to fun, to whimsical. New patterns being made, new ideas being tried and it's become an industry of it's own.

I remember how startled I was to watch the old fashioned scrapbooking become a new industry in the hands of the younger set. Quilting became it's own kind of industry with amazing fabrics. And now I am watching the transformation of another industry in needlecrafts, crocheting, knitting, felting, needlepoint. I'm wowed!

My daughter has become particularly talented in her scrapbooking. I think it kept her sane during her husband's first Iraq deployment and is keeping her sane now in his second Iraq deployment. I can well understand the need to be doing something with your hands to help calm the worries, and I was pleased she found a niche for that with scrapbooking. She has made some wonderous scrapbooks. I think I'll take a photo of one of the miniature scrapbooks she made for me and show it here.

My older daughter has made a transformation for her entire family in taking them vegan and learning to find the food products, cook them and develop a pantry and a whole new repetoire of recipes and approaches to eating healthy food. Over the years, I have attempted modifications, and have been proud of my efforts, but daughter has gone the full gamut and has become what I consider to be an expert in the art of vegan. It's more than just eating in a certain way, it's a way of life and living with food and products that are free of animals or animal products or animal testing or animal abuse.

My son took himself on a serious regimen of transformation several years ago, dropping a lot of weight and becoming a tall, thin man, inclined towards athletic sports of basketball, soccer, skiing, snow boarding, and several other adventursome activities and sports.

I'm thrilled to see the directions my now grown children are taking their lives and believe me it's not quite the same world at all as the one of their mother, as the one of their grandmother. My two oldest granddaughters are now sixteen years old and are the newer generation. I love seeing the fresh new approaches the young and younger generation bring to the table.

Paper Art Greeting Cards I received

2008-03-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

My step-daughter is amazing in keeping faith with acknowledging every occasion. She has a large family and never misses anyone's birthday, anniversary, congratulations, holiday or whatever else there is to celebrate. I don't know where she finds them, but over the last couple years she has sent me the most adorable greeting cards. I place them around places in my kitchen because the cards make me smile, make me feel happy.

Thought I'd show off her artsy taste. Here are three of the cards she has sent me.

Crochet Market Bag, one for baby too!

2008-03-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

I made a wee little market type bag using baby yarn, a bit of a diaper type bag for extra diapers, bibs, a bottle, an extra outfit, maybe. Should tuck nicely into Mom's purse.

And then I made another adult size market bag but not for marketing, to hang on my bedpost as a place to tuck away my nightclothes.

16th Grandchild and another crocheted baby blanket

2008-03-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

Another new grandchild and the family continues to grow. This is our 16th grandchild, and to welcome him, I got busy crocheting a baby blanket.

Close up view

Christmas in February - finally got my handcrafted gifts into the mail

2008-02-13T16:03:00.000-08:00

I'm late (as usual) getting Christmas and Birthday gifts out to my kids and grandchildren. There is my son, who also has a birthday two days before Christmas; my two grandddaughters who were born in a set 2 months apart and turned Sweet 16 this year in November and in December; my two daughters and my two sets of two grandchildren in age sets of 7-8 yrs old and 2-3 yrs old.

Well, I did get the gifts to my husband, mother and step-daughter timely - before Christmas. But the delay in getting out the gifts to my kids and grandchildren took me into February. I really had wanted to do some homemade craft type gifts this year along with purchased gifts. It took me a bit to get all the handcrafts done and I finally got all the gifts wrapped, packaged up and into the mail by this week, Feb 10. My daughter's birthday Feb 13, and the packages for her family arrived today - just in time for her birthday. Woo Hoo.

Slideshow below of the completed crafted projects I made to include in their gift boxes this year.

Doing Something Positive - The Urban Pioneers are doing it, so can we!

2007-11-11T08:32:00.000-08:00

Excellent video encapsulating wide array of concepts in Sustainable Living. These Urban Pioneers got a jumpstart back when it was called self-sufficiency- meaningful living, abundant living, simplistic living, getting off the grid. And they go even further back ... see the video below. Big hat tip to Path To Freedom Journal blog.

from the Path to Freedom Journal blog 'about us'
On 1/5th of an acre, this family has over 350 varieties of edible and useful plants. The homestead's productive 1/10 acre organic garden now grows over 6,000 pounds (3 tons) of organic produce annually,providing fresh vegetables and fruit for the family’s vegetarian diet along with a viable income.

In addition they have chickens, ducks, goats, brew their own biodiesel (made from waste (free!) vegetable oil) to fuel their car, compost with worms, solar panels provide their electricity needs, a sun and earthen oven is used to cook food in.

Thrift Store Shopping Tips

2007-11-10T10:30:00.000-08:00

Thrift Store Shopping Tips

by: Sintilia Miecevole

If you are tired of seeing the same old clothing styles at mall department stores and boutiques, it may be time to add a little spice to your wardrobe. Rather than looking just like everyone else, thrift stores offer access to unique items not found anywhere else- at least not in the last twenty or so years! Not only are thrift store clothes relatively inexpensive, but they can also be ultra hip. If you approach it the right way, you may be able to create your very own personal style by mixing the old and the new.

When you first decide to embark on a thrift store shopping spree, there are a few things to remember. Firstly, a lot of thrift stores only take cash, so if you are used to grabbing Daddy’s credit card and going to town, you’ll have to make other arrangements. Some stores do take checks, so you might want to have your checkbook handy. Secondly, a lot of thrift stores do not have dressing rooms, so you’ll probably want to wear a light t-shirt so you can try on your finds right where you find them. And most importantly, you are probably not going to find anything that fits you absolutely perfectly. You can’t go in looking for “your size.” You will have to try on what looks promising and see if you can alter it in any way if needed.

Believe it or not, thrift stores in the hippest parts of town generally have the least hip clothes. This is because there are hundreds of people just like you who are picking through their stock of wearable items every day. If you want to find authentic vintage clothing at inexpensive prices, you’ll have to drive to the most uncool parts of town. This could mean the suburbs, and it could mean farmland, depending on where you are located. You will find, however, that it is well worth the drive, and that your treasure is definitely another woman’s trash.

Shirts are typically the easiest items to find at thrift stores, because they allow more flexibility in the fitting department. You can find some excellent western shirts in rural areas, and there are always witty t-shirts on the little boy’s racks. If you are looking for a good pair of jeans, however, you might want to check the men’s section. Thrift stores typically stock a plethora of pleated-front tapered-leg acid-washed jeans in the ladies section, so you will rarely find anything cool on those racks. However, the men’s section can be filled with surprisingly girlish slacks in interesting colors and textures. There have also been known to be great pairs of vintage Levi’s hanging in the men’s racks.

If vintage dresses are your think, you will have a field-day going through the strange fashions of yesteryear that you will find in any thrift store. Once you make your way past the obnoxious flowery Sunday dresses and the strange lime green pleated skirts, you may find one or two keepers. Don’t give up until you looked at the last one, because chances are there will be a diamond in the rough there just waiting for a little nip and tuck from your sewing machine.

Thrift stores are also an excellent place to find work clothes for a job interview or a new office job. If you’d rather save your money for more fun items, you can always replenish your work wardrobe with some inexpensive black skirts and dress shirts from the local Salvation Army or Goodwill. Work people will never know that your new suit only cost you five bucks. They’ll just be happy that you’re not wearing your favorite club get-up to the important meeting again.

About The Author

Sintilia Miecevole, host of http://www.formshopping.com provides you with shopping information from franchises, business, great buys and seasonal items to ecommerce and more. Be sure to visit http://www.formshopping.com for the latest information.

Source: Articles 3000

« One Man’s Trash… Could Be Your Treasure - 3 Rules Of Thrifty Product Sourcing

2007-11-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

Thrift shops and consignment stores can be excellent sources for your product inventory — they always have fresh items to pick through and you can find some great pieces for rock-bottom prices.

• Consignment stores, are commission-based. People bring in products for the store to sell on commission — what doesn’t sell is returned to the owner.

• Thrift stores are often ‘not for profit’ and get most of their goods via donations.

In comparing the two, thrift stores are typically more willing (and able) to bargain with you simply because they have more room to do so.

Online retailers sometimes feel that these types of resale stores are not a good place to find inventory because there’s not enough of a profit margin. But author Kate Holmes, founder of Too Good To Be Threw (http://www.tgtbt.com), disagrees. Holmes asserts, "These stores have a very limited market. If nobody in their town happens to want to buy a pair of Jodhpurs that week, those Jodhpurs will be sitting there waiting for an eBay seller to snap them up.” The end result can be amazing deals on quality items with an online demand.

In addition to a narrow market, Holmes also cites restricted space as a factor in second-hand stores’ bargain pricing. She points out, "They only have so much space, so they can only carry so many things. If they can move an item on and bring something else in, they’re pleased with that.”

3 Rules of Sourcing Products in Thrift and Consignment Shops:

1. Shop the Edges. Even resale stores tend to carry certain types of products. What doesn’t fit a shop’s profile, they usually want to move out quickly. They tend to put these products around the store’s edges, so start there.

2. Shop Often. These stores are constantly turning over product and bringing in new items, so don’t let a dry trip or two discourage you. Your persistence can pay off in a big way.

3. Cultivate Relationships with Shopkeepers. If they like you, they’ll be much more willing to give you deals. They may also be more willing to set things aside for you, if they know what you’re looking for, and guide you to items you might have otherwise missed.

If you’re just starting out, a good place to find resale stores is in the Yellow Pages, under either “consignment” or “thrift.” Don’t be afraid to ask shopkeepers if they know of other stores in the area — if they don’t have what you’re looking for, they’ll usually be happy to refer you to someone they think might.

Product Sourcing Radio is Created and Hosted by Chris Malta and Rob Cowie of WorldwideBrands.com, Home of OneSource: The Internet's Largest Source of Genuine, Factory-Direct Wholesalers for online sellers. Click Here for FREE E-Biz & Product Sourcing info!
Source:www.isnare.com

Source: Articles 3000

Let's Talk About Thrift Stores

2007-11-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

I do and don't like to shop at Thrift Stores. I love thrift store shopping when I have extra money to spend and encounter those thrift stores that are clean, well merchandised, and prices are affordable, and I feel like I have purchasing power. I don't like thrift store shopping as much when I have fewer choices and absolutely have only XX dollars to spend and I'm not in the 'mood' for gently used anything. Usually when I'm in those kind of moods, it's dark anyway and I'm more in memory of childhood days when sometimes it was 'hand-me-downs', and not much other choices. So, it's a frame of mind for me.

Over the years, from teen, to young parent, to middle aged parent of almost adult kids, to grandmother, my identity, self esteem, and needs have changed. In my teens, having cool, new clothes of the 1960's made a major difference to how I felt about myself. As a young wife and mother having fun clothes was important to me as I assumed my new identity as wife and mother. As a working wife and mother, career woman of the 1970's and 1980's, having a professional wardrobe was important to my sense of identity. Making sure my children had new home, new clothes, new toys, plenty of groceries was important to my sense of being a successful parent.

But in the 1980's something happened. Brand name labels became the 'have to have' among kids and with the brand names came gradually escalating prices until ridiculous prices was the operating word. Tennis, running, basketball shoes jumped to over $100.00 a pair and kept climbing. And that was rather my own personal 'wake up call' and when I put my foot down, explaining to my children, by my logic, that this brand name label clothing was a marketing device and nothing more. I wasn't going to buy into it.

Not so easy for them, because part of their forming identities was tied to what the kids at school were wearing and having whatever was the newest, coolest marketing product. Things like Cabbage Patch dolls began the trend towards 'must have at all costs' toys that parents needed to get for their children. Where was this mentality coming from, I wondered, while I didn't purchase Cabbage Patch dolls at outrageous prices? Well I did purchase some of the trendy toys of that era for my children, but only in what I considered to be an 'acceptable and affordable' range by my standards.

Fast forward through the 1990s to the present, and the trend of buying the newest, latest products is a firmly entrenched mentality among families today. I shudder at the challenges my children, now adults with children of their own face in their efforts to satisfy the perceived wants and needs of their children. If I were faced with some of those financial challenges now, I would have to consciously work to stay above the fray.

But now I sound like my own grandparents sounded to my ears when I was a lot younger. So I've reached 'that age'. Even so, I have growing concerns for my adult children and my grandchildren because I sense strongly the lifestyle we enjoyed when I was raising them is more elusive as they raise their own children.

I began frequenting thrift stores for the fun of finding those very special finds --- cut crystal, unique bags, vintage tablecloths and napkins, yard ornaments, occasional kitchenware. But I didn't 'have to' shop thrift stores, so it was a fun way to spend an afternoon and I was spelunking, looking for those great finds. And then I tried my hand at looking for certain collectibles and antiques in thrift stores and the best of the best thrift stores were when we lived in a city that had wealth that was measured only by more wealth. I found some of the best quality of whatever I was looking for in the thrift stores that dotted that city. It was my ideal of shopping manna.

When we moved from the city to a more rural setting, in region known to have a shrunken economic baseline, so did the availability shrink in the shrunken towns that comprised the region. The spelunking changed and took on a different element, but was still fun, because I could ocassionally find authentic antiques at thrift store prices, and collectibles not yet priced at collectible prices. When we made the decision to go from two incomes - his and mine to one income - his - we felt proud of our decision, made the shifts to tighten our belts, and I earnestly began to look at reviving all the dollar saving hints and tips I'd learned growing up as a child in an economically-challenged family.

I wanted to see if I could do with our household what some of the Depression-era people did to creatively stretch a dollar, recycle, re-use, re-fashion, and remake. It wasn't easy to find reading material on such things, and I wished I could have been in the tutelage of some of the elderly who knew how to do what I did not and could teach me. I realized that I had grown accustomed to the ease of consumerism, and began to contemplate ideas like what if.......

-- what if the economy implodes and we have no choice but to revive some of the older skills?

-- what if we couldn't drive cars any and everywhere because gas cost too much and global warming was a concern?

-- what if and the what if's went on in my mind

And perhaps it could be called an intuitive sense of changing times because as a society, a nation, we seemed to have reached a point of needing to reconsider lifestyles permitted to evolve at the hands of marketing devices.

I'm most encouraged though by the creativity I am seeing among the young families and especially the young women of today as they try to manage their lives and lifestyles on a shrinking dollar. I see a revival of a need to find creative ways to re-use, re-make, re-fashion, re-cycle, and I see young families finding ways to do more with a bit less and keeping a good spirit while doing so. For some it seems to be an effort to restore or return to a prescribed faith-based lifestyle that puts women in their homes with their families. For some it is a flair for the artistic in finding new ways to create clothing, fashion, home decor, gifting. For some it is the challenge forced upon them.

And the thrift store takes on a new prominence in the modern era. Or so it seems to me. So let's talk about thrift stores.

2007-11-10T09:07:00.001-08:00

Then and Now

Over the years, the imaginary character, skinflint curmudgeon, has been evolving as our own times have been evolving. When he was invented, there was a movement towards abundant simplified living, living off the grid, meaningful living and enriching the act of living. Since he was invented, politics in this country (USA) has so altered the landscape of living life enough that there are economic conditions that rather force a change in lifestyle for those not among the wealthy and more wealthy.

Erosion of middle class economics, inflated housing market prices, inflated and rising petroleum/gas prices which absolutely will have impact on our carbon-based economy and way of life. Meanwhile the discretionary income margin we permitted for ourselves when we deliberately reduced to one income lifestyle has been consumed by the ever increasing petroleum-based essential products, like groceries, heat for our home, and for us there no longer is a discretionary income margin. Every dollar is budgeted and accounted for and we have yet to make what will be required cuts to manage the cost increases ahead.

So while our fun little character, skinflint curmudgeon, was just going to give ornery type old fashioned advice in a whimsical kind of way, it is becoming less fanciful fun and more a necessity to shave costs, squeeze more out of the dollars we have and look at new ways to manage our lives since the foundational plan of our younger years will not carry us well into our later years.

Our weekend trip to Leavenworth, WA

2007-08-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

Morphing

2007-07-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art

Music: Bach's Sarabande from Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 performed by Yoyo Ma

'The Store Wars' -- may the farm be with you - a fun video

2007-07-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

A fer fun video 'The Store Wars' -- May the Farm be with you.....

Someone having fun with the message. Made Sweetie,a die-hard Star Wars fan chuckle.

Cool digs in the Pacific Northwest

2007-07-01T07:10:00.000-07:00

Chris - are you cool enough? Article in the Chicago Tribune about a newly opened hotel in your 'Pearl District' in Portland, Oregon. Video shows the building and room, and it is so 'Pearl District' for sure. Check out the video at the link.

Ace Hotel

Portland,

1022 SW Stark St.,

Portland, Ore.

Beautiful hipsters sip coffee, read magazines and listen to alternative rock music under a vintage hotel sign. Stacked old books and suitcases make up nightstands. Converse sneakers wiggle inside the lobby's black-and-white photo booth.

Welcome to the 79-room Ace Hotel Portland, where chic meets cheap and minimalist flair mixes with military earth tones.

And, despite a retro feel, the hotel also offers Wi-Fi, flat-screen televisions and even turntables in some of the rooms, all uniquely decorated -- some with walls painted by local artists and other touches that mix vintage with modern.

read more and watch the video at this link.

Pit Bull vs. Porcupine

2007-06-25T06:14:00.000-07:00

What do you get when a pitbull picks a fight with a porcupine?

A BALD PORCUPINE!

Comments: Apart from the fact that the poor pooch pictured above is mislabeled as a pit bull (she's actually a bull terrier), these pictures are authentic. They were originally posted on a community bulletin board by the dog's owner on May 25, 2005. The terrier's name is Inca.

"Thousands of quills were embedded even in her tongue," her owner explained. "The vets worked for quite some time to get quills out and even still could not get them all. The one's that are left will work themselves out over time. Inca is home and on antibiotics and pain killers."

In a follow-up post dated July 13, Inca's owner reported that "she is just fine and has just the odd broken bit come out once in awhile. Other than that she is back to her old self."

Moral of the story: Dogs and porcupines don't mix.

from About.com Urban Legends and Folklore

Now for some solid information about removing porcupine quills, see article at The Pet Center.com

Having watched our own dog and my mother's dog suffer with their first encounter with porcupines, I'm in favor of taking the dog to the vet and letting them anesthisize the dog, remove the quills rather than try to pull them out myself. We had a neighbor who's dog encountered a porcupine and the neighbor used a treatment that I wouldn't recommend or so we heard when we inquired if the dog was okay. Had to do with dousing the dog with gasoline and yanking out the quills. Not sure the point of using gasoline, but hey - it's still a shade of the wild west where we live, so who knows where this remedy came from over the generations.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse 1940 (Galloping Gertie)

2007-06-15T08:21:00.000-07:00

Galloping Gertie - the Tacoma Narrows Bridge sways, swings, gyrates, and collapses 3 months after it is built in 1940. Two different videos share the news. A) studious, factual depcition and B) 1940ish sensationalized newsreel footage.

The Evolution of Dance guy

2007-06-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

One of my all time favorites! The Evolution of Dance guy

Canoeing on Willapa Bay to Long Island

2007-06-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

A video that explores a canoe trip of the estuaries of Willapa Bay (Long Island). Looks like what we look at every day living on Willapa Bay. Pleased to have found this google video - sharing it here.

First Post on 3 column blog

2007-04-09T15:07:00.000-07:00

Nothing to say, needed to begin with a test post.