Tuesday's Treasure Box

I help out in one of the Sunday School classes at my church. The main teacher had asked me to look for old hats when I was at yard sales. She has the Pre-K class and wanted to have the hats for tea parties during play time. I've been keeping my eyes open, but haven't found anything....until Saturday.

I went to a yard sale at the local Senior Center. When I rounded the corner into the main room, the first table had some ladies hats. The prices ranged from $2 - $5 per hat. Well, I didn't really want to pay that much and I had just stuck four $1.00 bills in my pocket before I went in.

I picked out three hats I liked but they totaled $15.00. I explained to the lady what I was going to do with them. I told her I only had $4.00 in my pocket and didn't want to go back out to the car and asked her if she could sell me one of them for $4 instead of $5. She said since it was for the church, I could have all three hats for the $4.00. WOW! I was thrilled. Here is what I got.

Then as I looking at some things a few tables away, the lady from the hats comes up to me and says, "Here, take these for free. I think the girls will like playing with them with their hats." It was a bag of red and purple boas. She was right, the girls would love those, too.

Well, I know the little girls in the class I knew the plain hat was not going to get played with much. I also knew that the one with the purple ribbon would be really popular between two of the girls. So I took the hats home and decided to do a little "work" on them.

I started with the one with the red roses. I took off the roses.

Then I hot glued the purple ribbon on and tied it in a bow. I am not a great bow maker, but the girls will love it simply because it is purple.

Then I took the one that was just plain and hot glued the red roses on the front of it and on the back, I glued a gold button.

Now we are ready for tea.

It was worth it....

I went to a yard sale Saturday for Relay for Life. I only found one item there, but it was SO worth the trip. I have been searching and searching for a cream and sugar set. I finally found what I was looking for. Check out the price tag. Just $1.00 for the set....

Since I have been accumulating some good finds, I decided to do some rearranging on Saturday afternoon to display some of my treasures.

I started out with the wine rack and removed my rooster stuff. I am not sure where I am moving it to. But here is what I did with the shelves. Remember the oval glass platter? I used it to set the cream and sugar bowl on.

I placed the little stack of saucers right beside it on my new white scarf.

I displayed my long awaited coffee cup and saucer on the same shelf and this was the end result.

Then I took the white milk glass platter from several weeks ago and placed one of the milk glass vases along with a little pitcher and toothpick holder I already had. I sat my milk glass speckled hen salt dip on it and it made a pretty centerpiece for the second shelf.

Next, I worked on the baker's rack. I just haven't liked the way I had rearranged everything a couple of months ago, so I decided to move some things around. I found this Depression era recipe book in my collection.

I thought it went cute with the little tea pot from last weeks treasure hunt. So I put them on my other scarf I got the other day.

Then I dug through a drawer of utensils and found some wooden spoons to put in my crock.

I paired it with an old red plaid apron that Mom gave me over 20 years ago. It is so old that we aren't even sure where it came from. I used one of my recent Pyrex bowl finds and this was the finished product. I must say I was very pleased with the look.

I put my casserole dish from the estate sell on the top rack and this was the end result. Notice my homemade apple butter on the bottom rack. I can't wait until September to make some more.

I still have some of my new items that I'm working on so I should have another post of changes whenever I figure out where to put everything.

Hope everybody has a great week.

Looking for a place to Land...

I have a lot of hyper energy. It is hard for me to sit still for long or to simply just relax. Even when I'm relaxing, my mind is racing with plans and projects. A mother of one of my friends recently asked her, "Does she ever lite anywhere?" I must admit for a 55 year old grandmother of five, I seem to have an abundance of energy. (too much chocolate?)

I thought about that question and I don't guess I do. But then I started thinking about it and wondered why I never seem to land in any one place for long. I think it is because I simply enjoy life. I love what God has bestowed upon me. I love the ability He has given me to squeeze every single ounce of joy from every moment He gives me. I thank Him every day for the little simple things in life that bring me happiness. I appreciate every breath I breathe and every step I take. I don't strive for greatness or world fame.

I have two bible verses that I love that I think explain why I squeeze such joy from every moment. The first one is my favorite verse when Paul wrote:

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.- Philippians 4:12

and the other one is

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalm 118:24

So I guess that is why I never lite anywhere for more than a moment.

Found some great bargains.....

The yard sales yesterday were everything I had hoped they would be. We ended up finding a few more that weren't advertised in the paper. All total, we went to either 7 or 8 sales total. Here are some of the lovely items I couldn't pass up.

This casserole dish will be a lovely addition to my bowl collection. It doesn't have a name on the bottom, so it is not a Pyrex. But I fell in love with it for just $2.00.

I love scarves. I use them on dressers, tables, stands, shelves, just about everywhere. I am always looking for things that are a little different. I picked up two of these for just .25 cents each.

I have become obsessed with pink lately. I have a couple of rooms in the house that different shades of pink go very well with everything else in the room. I found these gorgeous artificial flowers for just a quarter, so I had to get them.

I was beyond thrilled when I found a new milk glass vase that the flower fit perfectly in. Do you notice the pineapple cut and shape of the vase. What a great way to say welcome when you enter a room. I only had to pay .50 cents for this lovely.

And look at these unique pot holders. I actually did not have to buy these. My friend, Sherrie, is getting ready for a yard sale and found these in an old trunk of hers and she gave them to me in swap for a little rooster salt dip.

I found this basket at one of the sales. It has the look of a Nantucket basket and was just .25 cents so I snapped it up.

I'm going to use it for potholders, starting with the ones Sherrie gave me. These will just be for display. They are too pretty to use.

I found this little Christmas tray for .25 cents, but I didn't want it for Christmas. I am going to paint it lavender and use it in the lavender bath to set bath salts, candles, or something on.

I found this cute little celery dish for just a $1.00 at the estate sale.

At another estate sale, I found this clear dish for $1.00 as well.

Not a bad haul for just $5.75. Now comes the fun part. Where in the world to put some of these items.



What's happening in Kodak, TN today?....

......Yard sales. Lots and lots of yard sales.

I got the call at 8:15 on Thursday morning. My friend and thrifting partner had just looked at the morning paper and yard sales abound for the weekend. And most of them within a 5 mile distance from our house. As I looked through the paper to see what was for sale, I realized this was going to be one of those MUST GO days. So we are heading out this morning.

There are four sales that list antiques, two that lists dishes and housewares, two estate sales, three with books, three with furniture, one with linens and two with collectibles. All these items are my sweet spot when I am yard sale shopping.



I would love to find some cute little jelly jar juice glasses or even regular juice glasses.



I am also on the lookout for floral valances for my office. Something bright and cheerful. Would even settle for something in a pretty stripe or calico print.



I am looking for a pretty pink vase or something that will go well on the little table with my new pink pitcher. Call me crazy, but since it has Columbus landing in America, I would love to find a children's book on Christopher Columbus.



I would love to find an inexpensive table to put in the kids room by the window. I still haven't found what I'm looking for.



Of course, I will be thrilled to find any of my favorite things to look for like Pyrex bowls....



Or some new piece of milk glass



Or perhaps something from the vintage Indiana Glass...



I would also like to find a snack plate with a cup.



No matter what I find, I am hopeful that I'll get a few good deals today at least. There are showers going on in the area so that will probably keep a lot of people at home. But hey, that's why they make umbrellas. It's hard to tell what I will come home with.



Meet Hank and Walter

I would like to introduce you to Hank the Honeydew

And Walter the Watermelon.

Hank and Walter came home from the Co-op with us yesterday. Now some may call us crazy for planting just one plant of each. But the truth is we have a history with watermelons that made us a little timid in trying to plant melons again.

Let me take you back in time. The year was in the early 1990's. Allen and I had just moved into our new home and had over 2 acres of land. The house set in the middle of one acre and there was a little incline behind it that went up to the trees behind the house. On that incline was a prime piece of flat land for a garden. It had just a touch of a slant, but was perfect for some tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers and peppers.

We had not had an official garden in many years. I do not have a green thumb at all and hubby had always dabbled in the basics of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. As we were picking out our plants, he saw some plants for those little round cannonball watermelons. He wondered if he would be able to grow any so he bought six little plants hoping to get at least a few cannonball melons that summer.

Imagine our surprise when those six little plants started growing and just about took over the entire garden. And they weren't those cute little round melons we expected. They were the biggest oblong watermelons I had ever seen. And the vines were loaded. They just kept growing and growing and producing more and more, bigger and bigger watermelons.

It became a family joke that we didn't have to go to the garden to pick watermelons. If you waited long enough, a vine would just grow down the hill to the house and place one on the back deck. We picked them. We ate them. We gave them to friends and neighbors. We may even have given a few to strangers....just to get rid of them. We were being overrun with watermelon.

As summer came to a close, the construction company I worked for threw a huge picnic for all our employees and subcontractors. At that time, hubby had one of those big truck tool boxes in the back of the truck.

He filled it with watermelon and iced them down. After the cookout, he opened the tail gate and sliced and served watermelon all evening. People were taking them home by the arm load. I can honestly say that after that summer, we had no desire to ever see a watermelon again.

Until yesterday......

When he started looking at the honeydew plant, I spotted the watermelon. We exchanged a look and he said "NO WAY!" I just smiled and picked up a plant and said, "You grow your puny little honeydew and I'll grow a single watermelon plant and see who has the best luck." I'm going to have to keep an eye on him. I came home yesterday evening and found him watering BOTH plants. I accused him of trying to sabotage Walter by over watering. But he assured me both plants were doused the same. We will see. I may need to sneak some Miracle Grow into Walter's soil.

This should be an interesting summer. Stay tuned for the progress reports on Walter and Hank.

Much ado about nothing....

Sometimes when I write my blog, I wonder if people think I'm a tad "scattered" since I jump from topic to topic. Well, today will be one of those days. In the overall scheme of life, there is nothing on my blog today that will make a major difference. But it's just stuff I wanted to talk about. And who better to talk to than my blogging buddies.

I wanted to show you where the pink pitcher landed. I want it on this little table, but I don't know where I'm going to put the table and I don't really like what is on it right now, but at least I found a spot to put it. I'll have to keep my eyes open for something else to go with it on the table. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

One of the things that the Thirty One company suggest we do is to have a Why? bag that we use at shows to hold items that we can share with the group as to why we became a Thirty One consultant. I thought that was a good idea. I decided to implement into my company. I am going to do a why board instead. It will be ever changing because it will feature items I am saving for or trips I want to take. This will give me a goal and an incentive to work harder for what I want. I found this in my storage closet. It will make a perfect Why board. It can change as my needs and desires change.

First thing I'm going to place on it will be a picture of the TV we have decided on. We are probably going to get it sometime in the next week or two.

I ordered me a new business card holder and I got it Monday. It is gorgeous. The design is called Black Parisian Pop. I got it because it matches the pattern in my portable office bag for my Thirty One stuff.

Hubby used one of our restaurant style dish cloths to clean his grill. It obviously ruined the towel so it will be going in the rag bag for outdoor use only.

Since it was already ruined, I decided to experiment with it when I washed it. I sprayed the left side with Zout stain remover. I swear by this stuff. I like it much better than Shout or Spray and Wash. I didn't pretreat the right side. Then I washed it in my regular All detergent...no bleach.

Here was the result. Notice the left side did come a lot cleaner and the right side is still stained. I know the left side is not perfect, but look at the difference in spraying some Zout on it before washing.

Well, we are heading out this morning to run to Big Lots and Home Depot to look at flower pots and flowers. We've been to Lowes and couldn't find what I'm looking for. Hope I have better luck today.