Finally!

It's been a very long week with no time for fun.. I've missed playing with my jewelry.  Last night I eeked out a little time (very little before my eyes quit focusing on me and I had to go to bed) and this morning has been wonderful.  Finally, I've been able to get something done. 

In my last post, "Third times a charm..... Right?" I spoke of many trial and error attempts to complete a project and mentioned you'd get a look into those things I made somewhere in future posts.... well, that's this post.  It seems like forever ago. 

My first and second attempt became a necklace of it's own.................

 

Now, what to do with the original pendant.  I ended up making two different links, used jump rings to piece it all together and got another project completed.  Amazing how a couple hours of work can take two weeks to get accomplished.  If only there were more hours in the day.....

 

 

You can find an easy tutorial on the square component here.  I was able to complete a pair of earrings as well.  Unfortunately, now it's time to clean up my mess and quit for the day.  Hopefully it won't take two weeks before I can have some jewelry fun again.

 

 

Home at Last.....

Great trip with mom... we had a blast.... but I am so happy to be home... sleeping in my own bed..... setting my eyes on that handsome man I married....  I really miss the twinkle in his eye..... his smile.... So Good To Be Home!

Pulled into the driveway and fell in love all over again! 

Made it home on Saturday, which happened to be my birthday.  When I left I'd been working on clearing out some invasive plants that I "love" no longer..... I've had them at one house or another for 14 years and last year they starting doing something funny.... looks like an animal slept on them and they just won't stand up......UGLY!  So, I've taken on getting them gone..... not as easy as you'd think (they call them invasives for a reason).

Anyhow, I almost got them out in one small area in front of the house.... almost.... and the plan is to rock that area and put a fountain in  (we've had a broken one in the shed for a couple years). 

To make a long story short (well, shorter...) when I pulled into the driveway my hubby was standing in the front window as I pulled by and saw that beautiful fountain set up and he'd removed the rest of the invasives....... Happy Birthday!

Featured Artisan

This months Featured Artisan is from Russia..... I found her shop on Etsy and am quite intrigued by her work.  She does a lot of wire crochet which is amazing to me.  I have never tried it.... maybe someday.... it is so delicate and beautiful.  Her pieces are truly works of art!  This is one of my favorites.....

 

Here's another......

 

 

You can find more of her work on her Etsy shop at........Ksemi

Home Sweet Home....

Mom and I are on our way home.... I am getting excited and also planning out the many projects I must get busy working on.... it's a daunting list.  First and foremost is my landscaping......

Before this wonderful break from reality I was working on weeding and putting down new mulch  (I've already put out 6 yards) it looks great but I've got a long ways to go. 

Mom wanted me to take some close-up's of flowers for her to use in her artwork..... I took these right before I left and am a little nervous as to what I'll be coming home to!

Tables....

 

More concrete..... Love it!

 

This little table we made and is in my husbands office.

This table we made and sits on my back patio.... I am still in love with it!

This table we made for Jason's workplace..... I love the color combination and am hoping to make something for myself soon.....

Third Times A Charm....Right?

I woke up with a plan.... to finish off the necklace portion for a pendant I'd completed a couple weeks ago...

Needless to say my plan has gone awry.  I made a chain composed of 1" long links as well as portions of 1 x 2 chainmaille but decided it was too delicate for the pendant.  Strike 1!

So, I came up with an idea to mimic the weaving pattern from the pendant into leaf shaped links that would replace the delicate links of the necklace (leaving the chainmaille portion alone).  Strike 2!  By themselves I love them but together..... not so much!

Now, third times a charm.... right?  Tomorrow, I have a plan..... 

Road Trip.... Headed South!

The saying, "If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans" comes to mind.... loudly!

Mom and I headed to Florida on July 10th and had quite the beginning to our trip.  Multiple bumps in the road.... but with a little patience and a good laugh..... (it was either laugh or cry)... we were finally on our way.

Day One:

The riverfront in Paducah

We didn't make it very far today.... Paducah, KY (that's only about 3 hours from my house....yep, long morning of mishaps).  We plan to hit some antique shops in the morning and then continue on, stopping along the way when we see something intriguing.....

Day Two:

Wow, the riverfront in downtown Paducah is absolutely beautiful.  There's a wall covered in historical murals.... on the other side is the river..... truly breathtaking.  There are many adorable shops within a couple blocks walking distance.  One I really loved was Courtyard East Antiques and Books..... a book store mainly.  I have a not so secret love affair with books.  If you love books this is a great shop with a little bit of everything..... lots of military.... and much, much more. 

some of mom's finds... she's fascinated with
letters right now.

We spent the night in Murfreesboro, TN.... intending to go to a flea market in Dunlap and possibly hit one in Maryville as well....

Day Three:

We were up and moving at the crack of dawn, drove to Dunlap..... no flea market. 

Fair Warning..... if you are using internet sites to find stores and flea markets and they advise you to call the store..... they aren't kidding... call the store! 

Finally, after finding a flea market and not being very impressed we headed towards Columbus, GA (we had a plan.....quit laughing)!

We found a great set of shops right off I-75 in Ringgold, GA.  Two huge malls were open with a great selection of antiques and refurbished items.

Antiques by the Fountain and Gateway Antique Mall.

We spent the night in Columbus, GA.  Got in late and hit the sack, hoping to find a flea market in the morning..... (you guessed it, another one of those internet finds....we hadn't learned our lesson yet).

Day Four:



Ends up..... the flea market was actually a large indoor mall, across the street from our hotel.... how convenient is that! 

Great..... if it was open..... not till 1pm, it's now 8am.  Yeah..... not waiting for that one.

A quick look at the map and we decided just to go for it and head to our next location.... Dothan, AL.
Turned into an excellent day.  Dothan is a lot larger than I expected it to be and we found three adorable, fun-filled antique malls.  All of which I'd make the drive to visit again.  We had a great time!

Plaza 2 Antique Mall, Old South Antique Mall and Land of Cotton Antique Mall

Yes, it took us four days to get to Florida.... actually more like four in a half.... but who's counting!  We probably could of driven for a while and made it home last night but we had already driven quite a bit and we shopped the other half of the day and needed a good night's rest.  Dothan seemed like a good choice for the night. 

Dothan to New Port Richey, FL was an easy drive..... don't know how it took us all day to get there (oh who am I kidding.... I know exactly why it took us that long)! 

Webbs Antique Mall and Smileys are two large malls right off I-75 about 40 miles apart but due to inclement weather Smileys' power was out and we were unable to check it out..... hopefully we'll be able to stop in on our way home.

We had such a great time traveling down here and now our time is nearly up.  We've been in Florida for a little over a week and Thursday we are heading back..... not sure how many stops we'll be making (the car is pretty near full)..... who knows.... maybe I can eek out little room somewhere for a few small treasures!

Estate Sale Up-Do's

I am a bargain hunter at heart.  I love to find a piece that's seen better days and find a way to breathe new life into it  (especially with a vintage flare)...I have found so may cute things and the ideas are flying.  Here's one of my favorites:

 

I love these small end-tables and this lamp/plant stand combo..... absolutely adorable!  There are some minor rust issues at the base... (it needs some TLC)...)... but it'd be beautiful simply cleaned up (with a new shade of course) but I'm thinking a bold, bright color would be awesome!  Hot Pink!  Turquoise!  With a Funky Fabric Shade.....  What a cool addition to any room.

My love of Concrete....

 

I know that's a very weird thing to love.... but I do.... I Love Concrete!  My husband made the mistake of taking me to World of Concrete in Vegas many years ago and it's been a love affair of mine ever since.  These are two of the waterfall projects I've completed so far.... with hopes of doing many more. 

 

Spring Growth

I absolutely love this time of year. It's so exciting to walk around the yard taking an inventory of how things are doing.... what made it, what didn't, what changes I'd like to make, etc.  I just love it.  Over the last couple weeks everything has filled in and begun to truly take shape.  I'm always amazed at how quickly that happens. 




This is one of my favorite irises and it just happened to be the first one to bloom this season. 

 This is out in the island under the birch tree.  The peonies are all ready to bust.  Can't wait for them to bloom.  I can't remember what the yellow stuff is but it blooms real early in the spring and it spreads like wild fire... I have two bunches of it in partial shade.  In the background (on the left side of the picture) I have some "little henry, sweet spires".  They haven't bloomed quite yet but when they do it's heavenly.... smells great!

 I love to plant a few bushes/trees for structure and then fill in with perennials.  I tend to avoid annuals, although grandma got me started with a few geraniums and I do love the pop of color they add.... (I think I'm switching to petunia waves though in the future... they spread better).  As you can see here.... the bottom left is a striated grass while the right is gooseneck loosestrife.... both of which spread like crazy and are rather invasive.  I need to do a little "pulling" this year but for now they're fine.  I usually wait for a rain in the spring and fall and go out and pull it up where I don't want it (which I've already done this spring).... that controls it good enough for me.  If you don't like things to spread, neither of these are a good option for you.

This is the view from the garage end of the yard towards the island and the road.  You can see the sidewalk to the front door in the middle of the picture.  I love birch trees, I've used them repeatedly in my landscaping.... they're my anchors. 

This little azalea I bought a couple years ago at the very beginning of the season for a few dollars.  I bought about 14 of them at the time.  They were one of the first things I planted.  They are slow, slow growers but they are coming along.... slowly. 

I'm standing on the front porch looking out towards the island and road. 

 Nothing says spring like baby birds.  Too cute!  I hope you're as inspired by spring time as I am.  Happy Gardening!

Featured Artisan...

I'd like to feature work from different artisans I've discovered throughout the month.  One of my favorites is Vortex Glass Works on Etsy.  I am a huge fan of reptiles and amphibians.... frogs being one of my favorites.  I absolutely fell in love with these little guys.....

 

Vortex Glassworks is located on the Oregon Coast and offers unique borosilicate glass sculpture, paperweights, pendants, and beads.  Their stuff is really great.  Take a look!

Lazy Days of Summer.....

Sun, sand and a good book.... what more could a girl ask for?

Round One....

 

 

On July 10th I hit the road with my mom on a "buying trip" to Florida.  It took us five days of traveling (with lots of detours) to make it down and we've been hitting every resale shop and flea market we've come across since.  Our vehicle is very close to full (we really need a bigger car) and we still have the trip home.... what to do, what to do?

Here's a peek at the things I picked up on the way down.  I also have four boxes of breakables packed away from shopping here in Florida.  Needless to say we have had a blast!  Stay tuned to see what I do to re-create many of the items you see here..... can't wait to get started.