New Teacup and Saucer

I really wasn't looking for a new teacup and saucer.  I was actually looking for a teapot--the perfect teapot with fruit on it to be exact.  However while at a flea market a few weeks back and while looking for that teapot (which I never did find, by the way), my eye immediately noticed this beautiful teacup and saucer.  Isn't it pretty?  The price was right, and I bought it. 

It is "Tapestry Rose" by Paragon.  While I was checking it over for cracks and chips, the man thunked the edge of the teacup with his finger and it "rang".  He said that that is the way one checks for hidden cracks.  If it does not "ring" and instead "thuds" it has a crack or chip somewhere.  I didn't know that!  So not only did I have a pretty teacup and saucer, but I learned something new too.

A Blizzard is Coming

We really can't complain.  It IS the middle of December, and winter has to arrive sometime...and today and tonight and tomorrow is the time!  We're supposed to get up to 16".  Yikes!  It snowed a little yesterday, and it WAS pretty with big "snow globe" flakes falling coating the trees with a heavy coating of frosting snow. 

I did an Etsy treasury (thanks, Craft Cult for the widget below) to celebrate the snow coming.  Remember snow days?  Those were glorious days when school was cancelled.  There would be a dull sound outside...a muffling of all sound.  My brother and I would peak out behind the curtains to a heavy layer of snow...with perhaps more falling.  We'd listen to the radio and hear that school was cancelled.  Hooray! We got to sleep in...maybe have a hot breakfast...play outside.  No quizzes or tests that day.  What a great thing a snow day was for a kid!

Musical Themed Things

Guess I've had a song on my mind lately!  Finished these finally and have posted them to my shop. 

This one is a jewelry embellished ornament...complete with a shrink paper music score. 

Then, I just finished this music stand today.  It is made of felt and embroidered to look ornate.  This also has a shrink paper music score of "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" on it.  I made the paper into a bead for stitching onto the music stand.  Hope you like these!

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name:  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." Psalm 100: 4-5 KJV

Giving thanks to God today for all of His blessings and most importantly for His salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, my Redeemer (see very bottom of blog for this) for the peace in my heart regarding eternity.  I'm thankful for this country and the freedoms we still do have.  I'm thankful for my wonderful husband (thanks, Honey, for the beautiful flowers here!) and two children and the rest of my family. 

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation."  Psalm 68:19 KJV

 

Our Montana Sapphires Arrived

What a delight to go to the mailbox...and to realize....it's them!  They came!  Remember many posts ago my post about finding sapphires in Montana on our trip last June.  We had such a great time.  Well, we paid for and parted with our daughter's big beauty and four of our own pretties.  They were sent overseas to be heat treated and cut.  You sort of "never know" when you do such things for the first time.  Will they really do it?  Will we ever see them again?  Will they switch these raw sapphires for pieces of glass?  Well, thankfully we dealt with a trustworthy company, Gem Mountain, and they did indeed arrive.

What do you think?  Our daughter's is the gorgeous beauty in the middle (just shy of 1 ct. at 0.9 ct. for perspective).  We will have it put into a ring when she is older and can truly appreciate it.  The other four are mine--two round and two princess cut.  They all differ a bit in color, but I don't care!  I'm just thrilled that they turned out so well and that they are here.  What a great memory!  Now...it's up to my dear husband to design something with a jeweler for me with these. ; )

Thank you, Troops, Past and Present

Happy Veteran's Day to all of our vets! 

Just where would we be...what freedoms would we have...if it weren't for dear men and women who have given their time...and even their lives...for us.  We were at the big state veteran's parade in Milwaukee yesterday.  It was good to shake hands with some vets and thank them for their service.  We encouraged the kids to as well (especially our oldest).  They need to learn at a young age to respect and appreciate our military.  Today in church we honored the one veteran who attends as well.  How great to have a day to honor our military...an often overlooked and unappreciated group in our society.  Thank you for serving, dear Vets!
(Thank you, Graphicsfairy, for your picture)

Little Mitten Earrings

Just added these to my shop. 

They are little--1 inch or less in size--and are made of felt and pearly white glass beads. 

They are fun to make, and I can do custom colors if I have the materials to do so.  These could certainly be worn from now until the beginning of March around here--the snow can last that long.  Hope you like them!

Ordained

"For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." Romans 13:1b 

The word "ordain" according to the Encarta College Dictionary means "to order or establish something formally...especially by another authority".  So many decisions were made yesterday on the local, state, and federal levels.  Some were good decisions, and others were very unwise...even wicked according to the Bible.  Oh, yes, the Bible.  Who cares about what the Bible says?  Many people obviously don't...but I do.  We can be puffed full of pride convinced that we've won victories because of what we somehow did or didn't do or down in the dumps mourning decisions that have been made.  BUT...thankfully we can rest in God's Word, the Bible, and know that no one is in any position in this entire country on any level without God's knowing it and allowing it.  I believe in God who is the highest authority in every situation and know that He allows things to happen in order to accomplish His purposes whatever they may be.  I'm thankful to serve a God who is above all and is in control of everything.  I'm so thankful for the above verse...it is comforting and empowering. 

Published? A Gasp Moment

I'm behind...I admit it.  I'm behind in mending, in sorting, in cleaning out things...and in reading all of my magazines.  I subscribe to Tea Time, Romantic Homes, Victoria, and Romantic Country...and I just love every one of them.  They are inspiring, beautiful, and a delight to read and look at.  Life happens, and I've just gotten behind in reading these. In receipt order from oldest on top to most recent on the bottom, they are in a nice neat stack on the corner of our bathtub.  I love to read them when I take a bath, and let's face it....it was an awful hot summer to be lingering in a hot bathtub reading these (but that's beside the fact).  Well, today....TODAY...I picked up my August 2012 issue of Romantic Homes and had a total **GASP** moment when I turned a page and saw this...

These are my vintage jewelry thumbtacks!  I was shocked...stunned.  I SO wish I had seen this months ago when it arrived in my mailbox.  But better late than never, and I'm very, very thankful for Jacqueline putting these in a beautiful picture in the magazine with a shout to my Etsy shop. 

What a blessing! The funny thing is that I had originally sent these to a previous address of Romantic Homes, and I was really disappointed when they were returned in the mail.  So, I did more homework and found their current address and sent these again.  I'm so glad I did!

Shabby, Chippy Pink Miniature Furniture

Aren't these adorable? 

I found them at an antique mall and just thought they were the cutest.  They have shabby chic charm.  I just got done reading an article (was it in Romantic Homes?) about a lady who collects vintage miniature furniture and has pieces around her home.  Anyway, they have been listed in my shop if you'd like to see them in more detail.

They have a lot of potential, and I can see them on a wreath or hanging on a door knob or just sitting on a bedside table. 

Vintage Jewelry Embellished Spoons (and a Fork!)

I admit to being inspired by a pin on Pinterest...and have gone with the idea.  I've embellished some very pretty spoons (both demitasse and regular) and even a fork with vintage jewelry bits.  They really look pretty just sitting there, but I've included thin satin ribbon on each so that they may be used as an ornament of some kind to hang somewhere in your house.  The ribbons aren't on these yet in this picture, but when I listed them in my Etsy shop I showed what they would look like with the ribbon on.  What do you think?  I really like them and have listed them all in my SHOP (including a pink one that isn't shown here).  I call them spoonfuls of sparkle!

Thank you, Lee!

I received my altered Altoid tin full of buttons--all with a fall theme--as part of the 2012 Fall in Love with Buttons Swap hosted by Laurie at Button Floozies. 

Lee was my partner, and she sent a beautifully embellished tin full of pretty fall themed buttons. 

I just love the porcelain one on the top and the large shell one inside not to mention the many others she included.  I'm delighted that she was able to find so many with a fall theme. 

Needless to say, I'm delighted!  Thank you, Lee!