Some summer crafting

My friend, Stevie, is a very talented crafter. She is always coming up with great ideas for things to make. Her recent projects were to "summer-up" her back porch. She has a couple of chairs that she cover the cushions in a pretty material. 

She made these cute pillows to compliment the dotted pattern of the chair. She did the monogramming herself. (Check out her work at www.steviemaraies.com)

She painted a Mason jar and bought some pretty spring flowers to fill it with. 

She hung this sign she had bought.

She painted an old yard sale table and stenciled her last initial. She colored in the stencil using a sharpie. The result was cute. 

Now she has a great little relaxing area on her porch.

Graduation Time....

My granddaughter, Shelby Rayne, graduated from kindergarten last night. Amid all the excitement and bouncing around, she did find time to give me a big hug.

It is amazing how much a child can change in one year. Just last year, she refused to smile, look or talk to a boy. Now she talks to them, cuts up with them, and calls them her friends. 

She was so excited getting ready for the big performances.

I could tell she was trying so hard not to grin when they walked in to the traditional graduation music.

They performed some adorable songs about animals and going to the zoo.

Her favorite line from the songs (and she has been saying it for a couple of weeks) was "When people ask us if we speak rhinocerous, we say "Ofcourseerous. Don't you?"

The big moment when Mrs. Barnes puts her graduation metal on her.

Mrs. Barnes was a fabulous teacher. She really brought Shelby out of her shell. 

Her best friend, Lilly, was in Mrs. Jones class. They were so happy that they got to graduate together.

All of the graduating classes performed the big number together. It's a little blurry. But they did a good job. 

The song  has beautiful words.

With just one small voice
Singing out a song
With just one small voice
Singing sweet and strong
One by one they’ll grow
And together sing along
And then soon all the world
Will be singing

Weekend Wrap Up

I had a yard sale this past weekend with my daughter and her mother-in-law. We had a great time. I picked up these cute little bowls. 

Sunday, Hubby and I went looking at new grills. We have narrowed it down but not bought one yet. I think he wants this one. It has infrared burners and a place for a rotisserie.

We bought some Boston ferns for the front porch. I love them. 

I visited some antique stores this weekend and was thrilled with my finds. I found my very first piece of Pyrex England. I was beyond thrilled. I have never seen any of that line locally. Of course I snatched it up. 

I found this adorable vintage coin purse. My cousin, Patty, collects vintage coin purses and beaded purses so I knew she had to have this. 

When I opened it up, it has a rain bonnet in it.

We went through this tunnel years ago and I never thought to get a thimble for my collection. The lady where I usually buy most of my Pyrex gave me the thimble for free. 

I have been looking for the rectangle Town and Country dish. I was thrilled to find it today. 

You remember I recently bought a tea for two in pink and I already had blue. I made the comment I needed to find a yellow. I never dreamed I would. But this was one of my finds for just $5.00.

A cute little bud vase for just .25 cents.

My little juice glass. I love the red flowers. I must be into red flowers right now since that is my new blog design. I found a new place for free designs and I'm test driving the new look to see how I like it. 

For almost two years, I have wanted the Glasbake tulip baking dish. I never dreamed I would find it. Especially for just $8.00.

I am a huge Garrison Keillor fan, especially his Lake Wobegon. We had these tapes years ago and I don't know what happened to them. Now to find a way to convert them to CD. 

Over all it was a great weekend.

Memorial Day Tribute

It's not a moment in time. It's not a special day. It's not a weekend celebration. 

It's a loving memory of those who have given their lives to protect our freedom. 

The unsung heroes. The Marine, the Soldier, the Sailor who placed his life on the line and with the blink of an eye that life was gone. Given to protect the lives of people he never knew or met. People who would be protected for generations to come. All because he answered the call of duty and made the choice to serve his country. 

To some, it is someone we didn't know and we can go around and just enjoy our weekend with no thought to what this day means. But to some, it was a husband or wife, a mother or father, a son or daughter. The ones who gave their lives for our freedom left behind a family that cared. A family that loved. And a family that still mourns their passing every day. 

Please remember to utter a thank you during your busy weekend to celebrate and praise the very ones who are responsible for your right to enjoy the holiday.

Sunday Morning Songs

Projects in my future...

I was at a friends house yesterday for our annual yard sale. In her beach room, she had this cute frame with real shells inserted into little insets in the frame. My daughter-in-law just gave me some beautiful shells for the beach room I am decorating for the grandchildren. I saw this and thought "I could do that if I could find a frame." 

When I went back out to our yard sale, I discovered this frame that my friend was selling. I snatched it up. I had some craft supplies for sale and had these paint brushes and this blue paint. Guess I will be making a sea shell picture this week. I want to get some scrapbook paper that is either sand or sea background for each square. 

I bought a striped comforter and then found this anchor material. The comforter is for the day bed in the beach room and the anchor material is going to be for some throw pillows. 

While getting ready for our yard sale, I found these kitchen towels and bread cloths that I had bought last year. I want to do some appliques for various holidays on these. 

It's good to get the "I wanna craft" mood back again. Stay tuned for results of my projects in the upcoming weeks.

Anchors Away....

I love anchors. I am working on a pillow project that involves anchors. I decided to go to Pinterest to see what anchor items caught my eye. Here are some of the things I fell in love with. Hope you enjoy.