Royal Wedding Swap

After saying to myself that I wouldn't again...I am! Can't believe I am, but Heidi is a fabulous swap hostess (i.e. very strict on "flakers", as she calls them), and I had such a great time in her Very Vintage Valentine swap a few years back. She has wonderful ideas, and her idea this time is a swap to honor the wedding of William and Kate at the end of April. This is a British and/or wedding themed swap. I already have some goodies that I have tucked away and am having a ball thinking up ideas. Head on over to Heidi's blog for all the details--HERE.

Some New Clips in the Shop

These two vintage image clips/charms have been added to my shop today...finally finished them yesterday. Enjoy!

Nickle Bin Find

I LOVE the 5 cent bin at our local thrift shop--the small bin full of broken bits and pieces of jewelry. The ladies all know me there. My kids know that whenever they go there, mom will pour through that bin to find any and all treasures. They are usually very patient, and I need to remember to reward them accordingly (like a piece of gum to chew while waiting, for example). It's somehow therapeutic to paw through bits and pieces of jewelry things to find those few treasures lurking near the bottom of the bin. Lately there has been nothing--only zillions of postage-stamps-stuck-on-paper pins, knitted support-the-local-high-school bracelets, and plastic jewelry pieces. Yesterday, I found these. I was so excited...finally some small treasures. They are obviously from an old, broken necklace or bracelet and measure about 3/8" at their widest. They are the daintiest of milky-white glass flowers with orange centers. I'm looking forward to creating with these little gems. And an added blessing in this? I expected to pay a nickle for each flower, but the lady gave them ALL to me for 5 cents! I love the nickle bin.

Birthday Fun

Well, it was a rather *sad* week as we came off of Gram's memorial service last weekend and went through her things this past week. So many memories. Mom was kind enough to give me some special things that were Gram's which I shall enjoy. More pictures on those things some other day. A dear lady from church bought me a perm for my birthday, so I spent Friday morning to get that. Wasn't that thoughtful? Since I usually give myself a home perm to save money, I felt totally spoiled having this. On Saturday (my actual birthday), Mom and I went out for a cinnamon roll and tea for breakfast then on to two antique malls (without children!) for some looking around for the afternoon. Thankfully, there were lots of sales going on as well as customer appreciation snacks and specials. We had great fun. I got this little pile of goodies to resell and/or create with. We had great fun. My parents, husband, and kids went out for supper then later came back to our house for cheesecake. Yum! My husband got one of those sampler cheesecakes which was a wonderful twist to the regular birthday cake. He certainly had a great idea!

My dear brother sent me these beautiful flowers. They are certainly a nice perk to the kitchen table. It was a nice, relaxed birthday, and I'm truly thankful to be with my family and have some relaxed enjoyment.

Spring blooms!

What a good and needful week for spring to bloom! How nice to have a bit of beauty and cheerfulness today... to see evidence that the gloom of winter truly is past. These little crocuses have opened their sweet faces to the sun and blessed the day with a tiny spot of beauty.

Goodbye, Dear Gram, for Now

An intestinal flu. Weakness and falling. Hospital stay with improvement. Nursing home for rehab. Quick decline with confusion, pain, pneumonia, and more pain. Difficult past weekend. Back to hospital with amazing pain. Short time of intense suffering than all is quiet. All in 10 days. It's amazing how quickly one's life can be over. Yes, she was old. Yes, we knew it would happen some day not too long down the line, but it is always hard when someone passes away. However, in 1975 at a little Baptist church, a message was preached about God's Great White Throne judgement---the judgment on all who had never admitted they were sinners, realized there is a penalty for sin, believed there is a Redeemer (Jesus Christ), and prayed seeking repentance for sin and asking Him to be Lord and Saviour--and Gram made sure she was on the way to heaven that day long ago by admitting and repenting, believing and praying. She did not want to be at that judgment and wanted to be sure her name was written in the Book of Life. Her mind wasn't clear enough to make that decision at the end. What if she had decided to wait, to put off that decision? It all happened so fast. She was in too much pain. Her decision many years ago determined her eternal destiny on Monday. Her soul stepped out of her ailing body into the presence of the Lord. Though we are grieving so right now, we are comforted with the peace that she is there in heaven and know we will see her again someday.

Latest Perfume Bottles

I've had great fun embellishing lately--though not having a great deal of time to do as much as I'd like. These were completed and listed in my Etsy shop this past week. Enjoy!

This one is a pretty old Czechoslovakian bottle with old jewelry pieces on it.

This one has a beautiful sparking spray of rhinestones. When I got it done, I thought it had an Asian look to it.

This have a springtime theme with plenty of pastel flowers.

Retro Air Popped Popcorn and Pepsi

We're popcorn junkies. I'll admit it. My husband probably gets his love of popcorn from his grandfather. Grandpa was known for liking it so much, that at his funeral someone had given a bouquet of flowers with a popcorn bag stuck among the flowers (we thought it was a very original gesture and so "him"). I was given an air popper for a bridal shower gift, and we popped popcorn all the time with that thing when we were first married. It was cheap and fun, and we'd play board games in the evenings with a bowl of popcorn. Then we eventually got a microwave and have had microwave popcorn all these years. We'd get Jiffy Pop whenever we went camping and would shake those things over the fire until our arms felt like they were going to fall off. But the smell of wood smoke, pine trees, and popcorn in one delightful whiff was worth all the effort. Well, we lately for some reason we've had a hard time finding a microwave variety that tastes good. That coupled with the thought that perhaps it would be healthier to return to the air popped variety--with real melted butter and our own hand sprinkling of salt (perhaps I'll get some sea salt for lower sodium)--we invested in an air popper. They were hard to find! We had a 20% off coupon at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and were able to get this cute retro-looking popper for $16. Not bad. Mmmmm, we've been popping away since then and enjoying every moment. It's quite entertaining to watch (the kids love it--especially the popcorn that flies off into the kitchen somewhere) and actually faster than a microwave believe it or not. The bag of popcorn was cheap and will last awhile. We like the idea of knowing exactly what is on the popcorn and feel healthier as a result.

As a side note (and not having much to do with being healthier!)...we discovered this "Throwback" Pepsi with its retro label. I remember this logo from when I was a kid. My family was a group of Pepsi drinkers--some drinking much more Pepsi than they should have. My husband and I have cut way, way back on sodas, but they are certainly a nice treat from time to time. I was shocked when he got this at the grocery store the other day...."I remember that label!" I told him. Wow...this is going back a ways. It is nice that they are using just sugar and not high fructose corn syrup, artificial ingredients, sodium benzoate, and such in it....worth it, we think, and, well, a fun splurge from time to time.

New Hand-made Piano Bench

Thankfully my hubby grew up working with his contractor father and isn't afraid to work with his hands--in fact he enjoys it. We received a piano last fall so that our children could start piano lessons. No, they haven't given up the violin but are taking BOTH piano and violin (it's good form them...and I know someday they will be glad they did). Their violin lessons are more intense, and piano lessons are more relaxed...because, well, Grandma is teaching them (she is very talented, though doesn't play as much as she used to) and gives them a lesson every other week. It has been great fun for the kids as well as for Grandma. They have time one-on-one with her, and she has the great joy to teach her extensive knowledge to some eager grandkids. They have played for nursing home church services already and are dong well (they elderly folk there think they are just wonderful!). Anyway, we obtained this piano (with a promise never to sell it) only it came without a bench. Well, hubby built this one and did a fabulous job, I think. Perhaps someday I will make a little cushion for the very top, but I think it looks pretty just as it is.

....Speaking of Roses...

...I've had fun lately making mini sets of thumbtacks/push pins. These have some beautiful rose pieces in them--one a guilloche pink rose with plenty of candy pink and rich red colors and one with an Old World coloring of reds and golden yellows.

Roses from Hubby

I love how when my husband comes home with flowers...he is ALWAYS grinning from ear to ear as if he were really, really pleased with himself. Well, he should be, and I'm always pleased when he comes home with some. It doesn't happen terribly often, but when it does I'm just thrilled.

Somehow he always knows when I need them most and what in particular would be the best flower. Guess that's part of being married for over 20 years! Thank you, dear hubby. These smell wonderful and are such a pretty, bright spot in my day.