Extra Sprinkles

I'm Still Here

2008-07-25T10:25:00.002-05:00

Hello to all my friends in blogland. I miss you all so much!

Having my dear mother here at home with us has been, shall I say, challenging. Our days our filled with trips to the doctor, the physical therapist and then visits from the respiratory therapist. So between my road trips for work and everything else, Extra Sprinkles has had to take a back seat, at least for the summer.

I haven't gotten my ornaments painted, I haven't gotten my picture frames or mirrors painted, I have several pounds of polymer clay to work and, I haven't sewn a thing. I bought the most gorgeous fabric just before Mom came here and it is still in the shopping bag. Nothing has gotten done.

Our days our filled with trips to the doctor, which is true, I must report that Mom is in much better shape now than she was when we picked her up in Florida. The first visit to the doctor resulted in 5 medications being deleted from her daily routine. FIVE! She was being over-medicated. Now she is clear headed and much more mobile than she was before. I took her out to Home Goods the other day and she didn't even need to bring her oxygen with her. Things are definitely looking up for her and her mood has definitely improved.

Thanks so much to everyone who has left me kind posts and also to those of you who have thought to email me so we could stay connected. You have no idea how much I appreciate all of you. I haven't had time to visit your blogs, but I will soon.

Now that we have gotten into a bit of a routine around here, Shabby Hubby and I are taking a week away to decompress a bit. Our two daughters who are still at home will be taking care of Grandma and Grandma is looking forward to doing some cooking and bonding with the girls.

Dan and I are heading out to Maryland this afternoon to see some friends. We also hope to visit our oldest daughter, Kelley, in Arlington, Virginia and see our grandson, Aiden. We say "hope" because we do plan to see her, but she can be called away at a moment's notice, so nothing is ever written in stone when it comes to her schedule.

I have no pictures to share with you this time, just words of thanks and a promise that I will
be snooping around your blogs again very soon.

Hugs to you all!
Christine

On The Road Again......

2008-06-17T08:40:00.002-05:00

Tonight Shabby Hubby and I will be hitting the road for parts south. Grandma is ready and waiting for us and we will be so happy to get her into the car and get her back home with us.

Katie arrived home last night from her adventures in Florida and now Dad & I are heading right back down there. It would have been nice if she could have stayed and then driven back with us, but she was in a part of Florida further south. It would not have made any sense to go and get her because the plane ticket home cost less than the gas it would have taken to go and get her. She is so bronze and beautiful from spending nearly two weeks on the beach. sigh. I remember those days.

Shabby Hubby and I will take our time and hopefully get to Gainesville by Friday, possibly Saturday. We are looking forward to dinner in Valdosta with Francie from The Scented Cottage as we travel through Georgia.

I am taking my laptop with me so if I come across any decent blog photo-ops, I will post them for all to see. I just love the drive through Tennessee and hope we are able to do that in the daylight.

By this time next week Granny will be home, safe and sound and loved and hopefully she will be telling me where she thinks that picture would look better, and maybe that chair would work better over there, and while she's mentioning it, why don't I do something about that gray in my hair. LOL!
Music to my ears.

XOXO!

Katie Has Finally Called Home

2008-06-12T19:09:00.006-05:00

In an earlier post I mentioned that our daughter, Katie, has gone on her first trip away from home without mom or dad. She is in Melbourne, Florida with her bestest gal pal from high school, Jenny. Jenny attends college in Melbourne, studying marine biology.

Katie called to tell me that they have been spending every evening, late into the night, at the beach watching for the leatherback turtles and finally they got to see one. This picture is of Jenny taking her picture of the turtle. Look at how huge this thing is! Its face reminds me of the face on the turtles in "Finding Nemo". Am I seeing freckles?

This next picture is one Katie took of the sunset while they were setting up to wait for the turtles. Boy, do I wish I was on that beach, swinging in a hammock and sipping some kind of fruity rum drink with an umbrella in it. That place just looks so peaceful. sigh.

The Pink Sofa Has Landed!

2008-06-09T10:21:00.004-05:00

Happy Monday!

While I am preparing for my mother to come and live with us, I'm also continuing my re-do of several rooms in my house. This re-do is on a budget. By "budget" I mean I am doing everything on the cheap. I've spent thousands over the years on custom furniture and I've never been happy with any of it for very long. So this time I decided I was going to have what I wanted, in the colors I wanted and I am determined that I am not going to spend a lot to have it.

I was browsing through the Ikea store one day with my youngest daughter, Laura. Laura is so unlike me when it comes to decorating. She loves that contemporary, industrial look (yuck!). I allow my girls to decorate their spaces the way that they like. I figure as long as I can close the door so I don't have to look at it, they can have their rooms pretty much the way they want them to be.

As Laura and I were snooping around Ikea I found something I would have never thought to look for in that store: a pink sofa. Well, the slipcover they have is pink. Last Thursday I went back to the store and I bought the sofa and the pink slipcover. Being the cheapie that I am, I did not rent a truck. Believe it or not I got this thing into my Ford Explorer. I had to move both of the front seats up as far as they would go. That meant I was driving with the steering wheel almost touching my body. I prayed all the way home that the air bag would not go off. I'm sure the way I was driving was somehow illegal, but I was home in about 45 minutes and I was willing to do anything to get that pink sofa. I love it and can't wait to go back and get the comfy chair with the pink slipcover to match.

For an inexpensive sofa, this thing is pretty comfortable. The slipcover is 100% cotton, so it can be washed over and over. I am a happy little camper. Shabby Hubby likes it too. It is convenient that he likes it, however, at this point, I really don't care. I wanted this sofa whether anyone else likes it or not.

I have the walls painted a Benjamin Moore color, Frosted Toffee. I've got my lace sheers that came from the Simply Shabby Chic line at Target. My garage sale mirror is hanging over the cabinet I bought from Tickle Me Pink Boutique. The whole place is a work in progress, but I think it is coming along nicely.

So, if you want a pink sofa and don't want to spend a lot (less than $500 with the slipcover!), head on over to Ikea and if you are resourceful, you can save on delivery by shoving your body so close to the steering wheel that you can get it home for free.

Now I just need to find a coffee table that I can transform and a pretty rug to put in front of the sofa. Oh, and I need to make a pretty throw pillow or two. And maybe a crocheted pink and white afghan or something like that, if I can remember how to crochet.

Achoo!

2008-06-04T10:44:00.002-05:00

Oh, my nose was so red and my throat was so sore and the coughing just never ceased. I'm much, much better now but still a little bit of asthma hanging on. I missed all of you so much and every day I thought I would get back to my silly little blog and then my grown-up job would interfere.

Not much has been happening on my little website since I got sick because I just haven't had the energy to think about making anything, let alone actually create anything. But I feel the creative juices beginning to pulse through my veins once again and I will be back in full swing very soon, I pray.

On the family front there has been a lot going on. Katie is home from college and she is leaving on a little adventure today. She is traveling with her best friend from high school down to Florida where her friend goes to college. She plans to stay a week but she is thinking of snooping around to see if there is a school down there that would suit her studies a little better than the one she is at. On the one hand, I am thrilled that my baby girl, who has avoided change all of her life, is willing to take this adventure and, for the first time, actually go someplace where mom is more than a half an hour away. On the other hand, snif, I just got her home after a long and grueling school year full of sciences and math and phone calls home full of tears and I don't want her to go.

In addition to Katie leaving and not knowing exactly when she will come home, we have decided to go to Florida and bring my tiny little mother home to live with us. It's a long and unpleasant story that I won't publish here for the entire world to read. Let's just call this an intervention because my mother was not being cared for the way she should and deserves to be cared for and we are bringing her here to love her and care for her and make her comfortable. I do not know when exactly I am going to get my mother, but it will be in the next two or three weeks. I would ask any of you who pray to please pray for me that this transition will go smoothly and when I get to where my mother is currently living that I can get her out of there without any complications.

With everything else that has been going on, Miss Tammy Faye has been nagging me for a photo shoot as well as an adventure. She is with me today at my grown-up job and she finds it quite boring. Since she is a trendy, glamorous jet-setter, sitting around with me all day leaves her yawning. So I will have to get with her and find out exactly she wants to do. She told me she wants to go to Florida with Katie, but Katie would not be able to keep up with her. Stay tuned for the adventures (misadventures) of Miss Tammy Faye.

Thank you all for your emails and kind posts. It warms my heart to know you missed me. I will be visiting all of your blogs to let you know I'm still kicking.

XOXO!

What's In A Name - Part Deux

2008-05-19T09:59:00.002-05:00

I promised to post the winning name by today and I am keeping my promise. There were lots of great entries, however, since my cute little pink poodle does not seem to have a multiple personality, we can only have one name.

And that name is......(imagine you can hear the drum roll...)

Tammy Faye!

I was leaning toward the French themed names, but I kept coming back to this one and so did my girls.

The name just fits her, especially with those eyelashes. And her namesake, the real Tammy Faye, was really quite fashionable, so it just fits.

The winning name was submitted by Terisa of Running With Scissors.

Thank you, Terisa! Your magic wand will soon be in your hands. :)

Today is a busy day for me at my "grown up" job and I can't post any pics right now. Stay tuned because as soon as I have a free minute or two, I will be back!

What's In A Name?

2008-05-08T16:51:00.017-05:00

I was outside this morning, praising God out loud for the fact that there is FINALLY some color in my yard. My gorgeous pink crabapple tree finally exploded overnight. I thought it would never bloom and those tight little buds would just stay tightly closed, stubbornly refusing to share their sweet fragrance and stunning colors.

As I was standing on my deck, looking at the tree, I noticed that there were more shades of pink in the tree than I recalled from last year. Upon closer inspection, the mystery was solved. Somehow, this little stray poodle found her way up into my tree. It must have been the coyotes who patrol our neighborhood every night. How clever she was to hide herself among the pink blooms of my crabapple tree.

She is as sweet as can be and completely house broken. She follows me everywhere. There is only one problem; we do not know what to call the new puppy. We've had a family confab and nothing seems to fit so I've decided to have a Pink Poodle naming contest. The name should be feminine, I mean, just look at those eyelashes! And maybe a bit French-ie, but it doesn't have to be.

And just to make it interesting and worth your while to help us name her, the person who submits the winning name will receive the following: (Imagine you are now hearing the voice of Don Pardo announcing the lovely prize)

"Thank, you, Christine. One lucky winner will receive this gorgeous, hand-made magic wand designed and created by Jillian Haupt! Just imagine it all, ladies, the havoc you can wreak upon your noisy children, snoring husband, barking dog, meddling mother-in-law, crummy boss and nosy neighbors. With just one swoosh, all of the day's irritation can be banished from your existence. Comes complete with a lifetime supply of magic. Some restrictions do apply. Void where prohibited by law. Check your local ordinances. Back to you, Christine."

Thank you, Don! If only the Lovely Carol Merrill were here to help me demonstrate it's usefulness. :) Yes, ladies, with just one "swoosh" of this magic wand, all of those little irritations can be banished from your presence. To me, that's certainly worth a shot at submitting a name for this darling little pink doggie.

And, speaking of life's little irritations, and color combinations that make your eyes bleed, please enjoy the view I had as I came into the kitchen this morning.

There is nothing I can even say that could describe my reaction in socially acceptable terms. Needless to say, that jacket and shirt did not leave the house on his body a second time today. 10 years of therapy will not be able to undo the psychological damage that outfit caused me this morning. sigh.

Back to the contest:

1. Starting today, you can submit as many entries as you want.
2. Entries must be posted on my blog, in response to this post. No email entries, please.
3. The contest ends on Friday, May 16, at 6 pm.
4. I will announce the winner no later than the following Monday so that my daughters will be able to help me review all the entries. The winner's name will be announced on my blog, so be sure to check back. I will also send the winner an email and if the winner has a blog, I will post a winning notification on their blog.

I just know that with the creative talent you all have, someone can come up with a lovely, feminine name for my new little girl.

Jillian, if you win, I will have to think of a different prize for you. I'll come up with something good!

Thanks everyone! Put your thinking caps on and send me some good names!

Hugs to all!
Christine

My One Dollar Chair

2008-05-05T19:36:00.007-05:00

I got this chair for $1 at a local auction last summer. When I saw it, I knew I could do something with it. When I finally got the garage de-cluttered, there it was, waiting for a face-lift.

The wood was a nice color, if you are into the dark wood. It has great legs and nice details (unlike me) but that ugly green vinyl seat cover had to go. Thanks to M, from Tales From an O.C. Cottage for her great idea to use that pink curtain from Wal-Mart. As soon as I read her post, I rushed out to Wal-Mart and bought that curtain. Only $6 and change! The green vinyl cushion was rather sunken in the middle, so I doubled up on the batting. Now it is quite the comfy chair.

Voila!

I hadn't turned my back for 2 minutes and when I turned around, Ella had flown right into the chair to claim it as her own. She prefers the sun room to her perch in the powder room. I guess I don't blame her.

So let's recap:

Chair: $1
Curtain: $6
Paint: $4
Batting: $1.76
Cool Chair: Priceless

My Visit with Jillian Haupt

2008-05-03T19:07:00.012-05:00

When I woke up this morning, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and the weather looked quite promising. But, alas, winter is hanging on here in Illinois and the rains and dark clouds and cold wind came without any mercy. The weather didn't dampen my excitement, though, because I was going to the Elmhurst Art in the Park show to find Jillian and her wonderful fairy dolls.

I arrived at the show with my friend, Gisele, and we began our search for Jillian. We found her tent, but where was Jillian?

Jillian's friends, Susan and Rosann, told us that Jillian had injured her foot, however she was on her way back from having it taken care of. About 15 minutes later Jillian arrived. Yay! I finally get to meet her! She is as lovely and friendly as can be and I loved every minute I spent visiting with her.

And talented? OMG! I wanted to buy everything she brought to the show, but I've had my eye on Miss Ella since I first saw her on Jillian's blog. Now Miss Ella lives at my house!

I would show you what else I bought, but it's a surprise. Stay tuned because very soon I am going to have a contest and the prize will be an original Jillian Haupt item. Soon, very soon, I promise.

It was so cold and it was raining and I felt so bad for all of the artists. I hope tomorrow will bring them better weather.

After Gisele and I left the show, we decided we were hungry. So off we drove to Oak Brook. Many of you will be able to guess where I wanted to go. Yep, Cheesecake Factory. We began our long lunch with our green vegetable, grilled artichoke.

It was a lot of work but it was oh so yummy. Especially that garlicky dip. My, oh my. By the time the entree came, I was so into my artichoke that I forgot to take a pic for you. It was Bang Bang Chicken and Stuffed Chicken Tortillas with Sweet Corn Cakes. Gisele and I shared both dishes. The entrees were fabulous but they weren't as important as dessert. Pistachio cheesecake. Indescribably yummy.

And the best part of lunch was this little gentleman who was sitting next to me and was quite the little flirt. Such a face! I just wanted to smoosh his little cheeks and bring him home with me and Miss Ella. His mom decided it was probably best if he went home with her. sigh.

Today was a good day. :)

This is the Last Time!

2008-05-02T23:06:00.005-05:00

No more tagging me, okay? I'll play along this time, but I declare my blog a tag-free zone from now until Jesus comes to tag me. If He tags me, no worries, I'm home free!

Naughty Linda Jo has tagged me this time. I am supposed to list 6 weird things about myself, link to her, which I already do, and then tag three others. I love ya, Linda Jo, but I can't tag anyone else this time. Didn't Irma start this last epidemic of tagging? Naughty Irma!

Well, where do I begin. I can name 6 weird things about me, Cathy can name 6 more, Francie will be able to name 6 more different than the first 12, and so on and so forth. You get the picture. ;)

Okay, here goes:

1. I am very OCD about things being symmetrical. Sheets and bed covers must be even on both sides of the bed or I can't sleep. It takes me half an hour to get the tablecloth just right and when someone gets up from the table and pulls one side over so it isn't even anymore, I can't eat until I fix it. I straighten the pictures in my friends' homes, whether they want me to or not. I'm so distracted by crooked things that I can't even listen to them if I am looking at a crooked picture. I'm not as bad as Monk, but I'm getting close.

2. I can play 6 musical instruments. Big deal, huh? LOL!! No, one of them is not an orange wax Halloween harmonica (Remember those, Linda Jo?). Although, if you count that, it would be 7 musical instruments.

3. I read a lot of autopsies in my line of work and I once had to hire the wound ballistics expert that was used in the Eric & Lyle Menendez trial. (If you don't know who those boys are, you are younger than I thought). Did you know a lung can hold its form on the cutting board? And if you want to know what "wound ballistics" means, email me. I'll tell you. Eeeeeew!

4. I like to watch the movie, Signs, wearing a tin foil hat. Try it sometime, it's hysterical. Even my kids do it with me now. Ah....memories of dear old Mom. Won't that be a funny tale the family can share long after I'm gone?

5. Stranger than fiction brushes with fame: I was married to Kim Novak's nephew, I went out once with John Mellencamp's brother and my cousin was recently booted from American Idol. If you don't know who Kim Novak is, Google her. I'm not going to explain it. sigh.

6. My favorite movie of all time, okay second favorite movie because Franco Zeffirelli's "Jesus of Nazareth" is really my favorite-favorite, is Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Okay, that's enough now. You all know I'm, well, a little unusual at times. It just makes life more interesting. Who wants to be predictable? I like that I am predictably unpredictable.

Now, on to more interesting stuff:

Tomorrow is the Elmhurst Art in the Park show where the lovely Jillian Haupt will be exhibiting her work and I will be there bright and early. I have my eye on one of her new dolls. I hope it is still there when I get there. I will try to find some blog-worthy photo ops so I can share them with you.

Until next time......

Why I lLove My Job Sometimes

2008-04-30T20:50:00.003-05:00

As some of you know, my job requires a lot of driving. I'm on the road for hours and hours every week. In my line of work, we call the hours we spend driving "windshield time".

Sometimes I stop along the way at a new antique shop or a new fabric store that I find in the different towns and cities I travel to. I call the time I spend in those places "Nobody Knows Where I'm At And They Will Never Know" time.

Today I saw the most wonderful place and just had to stop. When I saw the sign it just screamed my name. Christine!!!!! Come here!!!!!! Of course, I pulled in. I would like to share a picture of what I purchased at this new place. I'll be visiting them again the next time I'm out that way.

It was yummy!

Nobody knew where I was and they'll never find out. Unless you tell!

I Love This City

2008-04-29T13:20:00.011-05:00

Where else can you go from being out in the country at a flea market on a Sunday and two days later take these great pics of the city, in the span of about 40 miles? It just blows my mind.

I had to go into Chicago today for my grown-up job and while I was there, perched high above the hustle and bustle below, I snapped these pics. Winter in Chicago is for the birds, but spring and summer are awesome. If you have never been here, you should try to visit at least once in your life.

Check out Lake Michigan, between the buildings at the end of the street!

You can see the John Hancock Building hiding behind another high rise below.

You can see the Sears Tower in the pic below, off in the distance (to the right of center).

Looking down from my perch, yes, ladies, I was outside, perched on the 23rd floor. Yikes!
This very old church is being rehabbed.

Well, that was today. Tomorrow I may be posting from St. Louis. I haven't heard for sure yet. For me, every day is an adventure. Not always a welcome adventure, but an adventure nonetheless.

Hope you are all having a wonderful week! I can't wait to finish my work this week and work on the pretties that I've been dreaming up.

Christine

Sundays in Sandwich

2008-04-27T21:07:00.013-05:00

You know it is spring in my neck of the woods the minute the Sandwich Antiques Market opens for the season. Today was the opening day and the market is held one Sunday a month until October. Not too many dealers today but enough to keep it interesting and to provide some much needed inspiration.

I wanted to share my favorite booth with all of you. All this great stuff was collected or designed and created by Marty Ballerton.

I've been visiting Marty's booth for a few years now and never really talked with her until I ran into her at an auction last summer. I told her how much I admired her work and how talented I thought she was at arranging her merchandise in her booth. The flea market management provides the ugly red and white tents, but looking past the ugly tent, you can see the detail Marty puts into her work.

Check out these great vintage aprons!

And these little Scotty dog sachets are so darned cute! I love the polka dots!

Where is Vickie Pink Pearl Girl? Check out these hats!

And this vintage purse!

I've been encouraging Marty to start a website because these pics only show the tip of the iceberg as far as her inventory goes. She's at least thinking about it.

If anyone is interested in any of Marty's items, please feel free to give her a call:

Marty Ballerton
Circa Designs & Vintage Textiles

630-554-2811

These last photos are of another booth that I like to visit for inspiration.

Next month there will be more dealers and by June's market there will be hundreds of dealers and thousands of people with funnel cakes, corn on the cob, corn dogs, lemon shake-ups, brats, burgers, the mini-donut guy and lots and lots of antiques of every kind and condition.

And, can you believe it, ladies? I didn't spend a dime today! Well, except for the $5 to get in.

Oh No, I've Been Tagged.....

2008-04-27T00:19:00.002-05:00

Naughty Sandy of Lu Lu's Fluffy Ruffles has tagged me. Oh, how I hate being tagged because I would rather talk about what I am doing, and not about me personally. Oh well, here goes:

1. Name 2 scrapbook topics I would like to do: 1) My geneaology and 2) My dogs.
2. Name the 2 best places I have ever been to: 1) Australia and 2) Split in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea.
3. Name 2 things I do every day: Pray and work.
4. Name 2 things everyone pretty much already knows about me: 1) I hate throwing things away and 2) I love fairies.
5. Name 2 places I wish to visit: 1) The religious shrines in Europe and 2) Tahiti.
6. Name 2 things you may not know about me: 1) 4th of July is my favorite holiday and 2) I have 6 Revolutionary War grandfathers. (I need to get that DAR application filled out.)
7. Name 2 nicknames you have had in your life: I’ve never had a nickname. Go figure.
8. Name 2 interesting jobs I have had in my life: 1) The job I’ve had for almost 30 years is pretty interesting. I am an insurance investigator. 2) In college I worked for a musician and hand-copied his musical arrangements for him, one stinking note at a time.
9. What 2 fun things I do after work: 1) Eat, 2) Sleep.
10. Name 2 things I would like to learn: 1) How to play piano, 2) How to speak Italian.
11. What are the last two things I have downloaded or CD bought: 1) A new online file tracking system for my insurance job (oh, how exciting!) and 2) add-ons for my browser. (Oh, how boring am I? I better get to the store and buy something, anything. Maybe some Michael Buble’.)
12. What are 2 TV shows or movies from childhood I still enjoy watching after all these years: 1) Bewitched and 2) I Love Lucy.

Well, that wasn't too bad. Now I have to tag three other online friends. Ah, but will they still be my friends after I've tagged them? Hmmmmmmm.

Okay, I think I will tag 1) Michelle of Rose Petals and Blooms, 2) Francie of The Scented Cottage, and 3) Cindy of Angel Heart Designs.

Sorry ladies, these are the laws of blogland. You are officially tagged and you must respond. :)

The Garage ...Phase 2

2008-04-21T10:10:00.003-05:00

Every muscle and bone in my body is screaming out in pain right now. O-M-G! Even my hair hurts! But, I think it was worth the body pain to get this garage in shipshape condition. Just take a look! This is how it looked after the first power-wash. Shabby Hubby mopped it all down with a good cleaner and then I power-washed it a second time. There isn't one spider still living in this garage. May they all rest in peace!

After the floor dried, we only brought back in the items that are going into my garage sale and my painting projects. Oh, and the 2 lawnmowers, huge snowblower (it could clear the runways at O'Hare), the three weed wackers and the four gas cans. The floor is too clean now to put the cars in the garage, so they are still in the driveway. The garbage trucks comes tomorrow and I have a funny feeling that we won't be their favorite stop. But at least I finally got Shabby Hubby to relinquish the thirty-year-old rusty snow shovel that hasn't seen the light of day in at least 5 years.

Well, it's all over now but for the garage sale. Once that's over with and the items that don't sell go to charity, we will be able to get all THREE cars into the three-car-garage for the first time in 10 years!

I'm on a roll, so keep your eyes opened for my next re-do. Now let's see some pics of what you are all doing to de-clutter. ;)

The Garage ....Phase 1

2008-04-19T18:15:00.007-05:00

I have a tendency to run out of summer before I run out of auctions. The result is a garage full of stuff that I can't do anything with until the weather gets warmer. Hence, I also end up with a 3-car garage that only 1 car will fit into....sometimes. This is in addition to Shabby Hubby's TWO lawnmowers, THREE weed wackers, FOUR gas cans...you get the idea. Two of my pink sisters from MMP, Cathy & Francie can testify that my garage did indeed look like this when they came to visit me in February. My garage has looked like this since the last auction I attended in November.

Okay, so today it was raining and I was really aggravated because I had been waiting all week to get to this project and now I wasn't going to be able to haul everything out into the driveway to hose down the floor, sweep the spider webs out of the corners and then sort and put back what I was going to keep and what I was going to haul to the thrift store. About 2 the sun came out and I dashed to the garage and started. I decided to toss projects I knew I wasn't going to get to within the next 6 months. That meant lamps, lamp parts, all the sorded little "I can do something with that" what-nots. Gone! It didn't hurt one little bit. I thought it would at least sting a little, but it didn't. Everything that has been on Ebay at least twice and didn't sell went straight to the thrift store. I'm not doing much Ebay lately so what was the point in holding on to it all? You are absolutely correct, no point at all! It's gone!

I couldn't put anything in the driveway because it started to rain again. Argh! So I did my best. I sorted into sections the stuff that goes out to the garden, the patio, my front porch, my front garden, etc. Those things will get hauled outside tomorrow and placed in their proper positions. I got all the garden tools hung back on the wall and then started tossing. My recycle bins are full, my two trash bins are full and we took two huge loads to the thrift store. That is Shabby Hubby in front of me. He was not a happy camper because I just tossed stuff into the back of the truck as I went along. As you can see, it was raining again. :(

After all of that, I can probably get the little PT back in the garage again. I cleared at least that much stuff out today. Everything has been sorted and moved out or into it's proper waiting area until I get it outside, hopefully tomorrow. I know this doesn't look much better, but I can actually see the concrete floor now in more places than I could before.

All that's left for me to do now is get the garden decos out into the garden, the patio furnishings out where they belong in front and in back and then I can organize the rest and get the floor and walls washed down. Then I can paint the furniture that needs painting and recover the seat cushions that need to be recovered and get my little paint booth set up again in the corner. And the garage will stay neat and tidy....that is until I run out of summer before I run out of good auctions. ;)

Stay tuned for Phase 2 of "Christine De-Clutters".

Long Time No Post

2008-04-16T20:46:00.004-05:00

Well, it has been almost two weeks since I last posted anything. Time flies whether I'm having fun or not. Since we last chatted I've been to a couple of auctions and found some great stuff. Some of it is already in my boutique. I'm kicking myself because yesterday I took a little break from my grown-up job and went hunting for vintage rhinestone jewelry and, while I found some great things that I bought, I didn't buy something that I can't get it out of my head. It was a vintage Jeanette pink milk glass cake stand. OMG, how could I not buy that? I saw it and wouldn't even pick it up for fear that the price would make me faint. But now I can't stop scolding myself for walking away from it. I found one on Ebay (Item # 370024797861), if you want to see what it looked like. I tried to post a link to the listing but it was very long and wouldn't copy and paste on my Mac and I'm too comfy to go down to my Windows based laptop and do it. So, if you want to see it, just pop that item number in on Ebay and you can see it.

We had snow on Sunday and it was 70 today. What gives? Today it was so windy that my little mother-to-be robin had a difficult time staying in her nest. Poor little thing. I don't know why she didn't pick a better tree.

I've been working on more picture frames this week and I will begin my mirrors soon. Here is one of my frames from this week. I'm teaching Shabby Hubby how to paint so that he can help me. He wants to be involved in what I'm doing and I thought he could at least do the initial coat or two of paint and that would really save me a lot of time. If it turns out that he does a good job for me, I might make him available for hire. :) There are more than just a few of us who could use the extra help now and then to get our work done faster. Now, if I can just get him to mop floors I would be in Hog Heaven, wherever that is.

I took a stroll through Cathy's blog yesterday. You have to go and read it yourself. It's a really sweet post from her Pink Fairy Cottage.

I wish I had more interesting things to say this week. My grown-up job has had my attention the past two weeks. In the span of two days last week I logged almost 1000 miles. My poor little PT Cruiser is really racking up the miles. I had a flat tire on Friday and had to drive around on that humiliating spacesaver spare until Monday when the two new tires arrived. No, they couldn't repair the flat and no, I couldn't get away with just one new tire. sigh.

So that's what has been going on in my life since our last visit together. I hope your tires hold air, your hubby's will help you, your children are healthy and that you dream up wonderful new creations that you will share with the rest of us.

Until next time.......

Christine :)

It's Hunting Season!

2008-04-05T22:09:00.003-05:00

I am so happy! It was 60 degrees today and our local flea market was in full swing. Well, as full as it could be now that they are tearing up most of the land that was the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, IL to make way for progress. Our fairgrounds property sits on prime commercial real estate land. Every year they are taking a little bit more so that fewer and fewer dealers can set up. Shabby Hubby and I used to have a regular spot there for years and years, selling antiques. As we got older we found that it was really a lot of work; packing and hauling and packing up and hauling it back. We gave all that up a few years ago.

Look what I found today!
I just love these little baskets. These were all I could find that was worth buying today. It used to be a great flea market, with tons of vintage items. Now every other booth seems to be knock-off designer this or that. There were three candle makers in a row. Sigh. And don't you just love it when the person who is selling items has no idea whatsoever about the treasure you are taking off his hands? Love it!

I'm keeping these cuties for now but someday they may end up in my boutique. You never know with me. My kids tell me they never know what to expect when they walk in the door. Will there be furniture to sit on or will Mom have ditched it all and started painting the house again? I get bored easily. :)

Now that the snow has finally melted the auctions have started up again. Tomorrow is a doozie and I can't wait. Limoges! Bavarian! Germany! Oh My! I am so excited. I haven't been able to go to an auction since October. I've got my trusty number holder so I don't have to worry about where it is. I have my notebook and pen and, of course, my camera in case there are any good blog photo ops.

I should have been painting and glittering frames all weekend. However, when I woke up the this morning and saw that sun, I grabbed Shabby Hubby and out the door we went. We came home long enough to go to church this evening since we will be heading out to the auction first thing in the morning. I just love a good country auction with haywagons loaded full of treasures.

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. I am!

Hugs,
Christine

And the Winner is......

2008-03-30T23:33:00.003-05:00

Janet of Beloved Creations has won the darling pattern and coffee mug from The Sewing Basket! Thanks to all who stopped by and left a comment on my blog.

I've been busy creating all weekend and can't wait to show you all what I've been up to. I hope to have some pics posted soon. I made some new picture frames with my roses and they are stunning, if you don't mind my saying so. :) I created some darling accessories for my natural soaps plus I began a sewing project tonight that I was soooo into that I didn't want to stop. But stop I must so that I can get up in the morning, get to work and get back to that sewing machine as fast as I can.

I'll post some pics as soon as I have 5 minutes and some decent daylight. In the meantime, I wish you all a great week and lots of sales!

xoxo!
Christine

Wandering Around Wisconsin

2008-03-22T21:18:00.007-05:00

I have had to travel over 700 miles and I have spent 19 hours in my car since yesterday morning. I had to go to Wisconsin TWICE in two days for my "grown-up" job. If you watched or heard the news yesterday, you may have heard that northern Illinois and Wisconsin received a winter storm blast that just knocked our socks off. By the time I got to my first destination yesterday, my cute little PT Cruiser looked like a dirty little popsicle.

Visibility on the roads was really terrible and by 2 p.m. this is what it looked like:

While I was driving home today, I stopped for lunch in a wonderful little town, Plymouth, Wisconsin. I stopped for a sandwich in a little coffee shop and then took a break and walked up the main street, looking for something interesting. I found exactly what I was looking for when I stumbled upon a wonderful little shop, The Sewing Basket.

What a great store! Patterns, embellishments, beads, unusual notions and something really cool that I bought but it's a secret until I unveil it in a new project. I'll tell you about that later. They even had felting supplies and wonderful kits for making the most unusual and artistic scarves. I'm sure The Sewing Basket is well known in that area, but I felt like I had just discovered an incredible hidden treasure.

I have never seen so much great fabric in one place. I live just outside of Chicago and you would think that I could find anything I want within a few blocks or miles. I would be willing to make a special trip just to visit this shop again. And the next time I go there, I am going to make sure I have plenty of time to browse and shop. I could have spent the whole day there.

I want to give this fantastic shop a proper "shout-out" so I'm having a give-away. Just leave a comment on this post and you will be automatically entered to win a pattern and a cute coffee mug. The pattern is called "The Idea Bag" and you can make several bags with different designs from this pattern.

Leave a comment on my blog and your name will be entered to win this great pattern and cute mug. The winner will be announced next Sunday, March 30.

Have a Happy Easter!
Christine

Look What I Can Do!

2008-03-19T14:12:00.012-05:00

Isn't that what we always said to our mothers whenever we colored a new picture or made something new with popsicle sticks? I am still so amazed whenever I create something pretty and that little girl who still lives inside my head always wants to show her mother each new thing she has made. My mom lives 1600 miles away so my friends in blogland will have to do for now. I hope you don't mind. :)

I've been so busy with my "grown-up" job lately that I have not had time to work on the projects that are swimming around inside my head. Last night I decided that my head would explode if I didn't make something new, so out popped this beautiful picture frame. I found a very drab pedestal frame and gave it a sweet pink wash. I then drenched it in my favorite stuff, vintage German glass glitter and I dressed it up with my gorgeous handmade clay roses, some pearl beads, some vintage rhinestones and, voila! I just love it! No matter what type of lighting I use, I can't get the pictures to do this frame justice. It really sparkles and is so pretty in person. I hate to part with it but I can't keep everything I make. Where would I put it all?

Vintage Rhinestone Jewelry used to create fireflies

Strand of Rhinestones Encircle the Base

I am calling it "Framed in Beauty". How sweet would a newborn baby girl's picture look in this? OMG!

I am feeling much better now. I have promised myself I will carve out a little bit of time each week for creating. Stay tuned because I have several more projects that still need to be converted from just "thinking about them" to actually "creating them".

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Christine

It's All In The "Apostrophe"

2008-03-18T21:24:00.004-05:00

In keeping with the Irish theme this week, I found this great sheet music cover. Of course, it should say "Rosie O'Brien", but I'll accept "O'Reilly". At least it has an apostrophe.

Feel free to drag this image to your desktop and use it for your altered art project.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day From Chicago!

2008-03-17T19:14:00.002-05:00

Do You Like My New Hat?

2008-03-16T15:34:00.005-05:00

I must say that I am quite ashamed of myself for being away from blogland for so long. Sometimes life just gets in the way and then I suddenly realize that it has been days and sometimes even weeks since I have added anything new to my blog. I really need to get myself better organized with a proper blog and newsletter schedule. I promise to try harder.

Over this past weekend I had two wonderful friends staying at my home; Cathy Scalise from Treasured Heirlooms and Francie Thornton from The Scented Cottage. Cathy and Francie came to Chicago to attend the Country Living Women's Entrepreneur event with me and some other online friends. One of those other friends was Georgia Mallory of Grandma G's Cottage. What a delight to finally meet these creative, talented women in person! Pictured from left to right below are Cathy Scalise, Georgia Mallory and Francie Thornton.

While Cathy and I were waiting for Francie and Georgia to arrive, we did a little scavenging around and I found the most wonderful vintage hat. It is a sculptured style hat, covered in velvet fuchsia leaves and has two large satin and velvet fuchsia roses. It still has the pink netting in the front and is in excellent condition. I just love it.

Front

Back

Top

Should I keep it or sell it? If I keep it, I will be tempted to pull it apart and use the leaves and roses in a project I've been thinking about. However, I am saddened at the thought of this beauty being lost forever at the hands of my snips and glue gun. I don't collect vintage hats, but I love vintage millinery flowers.

Okay, I think I will sell it. If you would like to purchase this pretty, please click the link:

(I just removed the link because the hat now belongs to Vicki of All Bliss Be Thine. Thank you so much, Vicki! You are going to love this gorgeous hat.)

I am currently going through and editing my photos from the Country Living Event. If I find some that don't make me look like I weigh 1000 pounds, I'll post them.

Have a great week everyone!
Christine

Get Inspired

2008-02-04T15:12:00.001-06:00

click here to view my slideshow!