Yard Sales with Grandson

A few housekeeping notes before my post:

1. I LOVED the Royal Wedding...just bought a magazine about thei couple's lives...don't care if anyone thinks I'm nuts...I LOVED it from start to finish!

2. Neutrogena DISCONTINUED my Healthy Skin Rejuvenator machine and pads! I popped off a "hot" little email letting them know exactly how I feel about them and their new replacement, The Wave...horrible little waste of money machine! I just cannot take another discontinuement of anything!
3. Back to CVS Drug Store...still trying to replace discontinued Revlon #110 Blush Chrome lipstick. Have moved on to another brand...will report result in several days.
4. Sephora has told its clerks that it plans to DISCONTINUE my Sephora Primer. Is this a vast worldwide conspiracy? What is this world coming to?! Bought Bare Minerals Primer...was so disappointed...will NOT pay $38 for Smashbox.

Now................. I feel better. This hasn't been a great week...I felt in great need of encouragement and guess who came to my rescue?! My 14 year old grandson....what a wonderful young man!

Do you have any idea how great it is to have your grandchild ASK to spend the night with you?! I told him that if he'd go with me to a few yard sales, that I'd give him some "seed" money and he could put some things in my Flea Market Booth...well, I taught him a few tricks and guided him in the direction of his first acquisition, a Fiesta platter, and he was off to the races!

Here's our haul for the morning...we each spent about $25. We can't wait to see if we can at least double our money...I seized on the teachable moment...re-counting your change to make sure it's correct...the art of negotiation on an item...the correct placement of price tickets on an object...and the arrangement for maximum exposure in the booth!! Oh, what a fun morning!

Some of our fun plates...Great Smoky Mts. ; Tennessee; 2 cute Dog Plates; Fiesta and a wonderful woven basket that is now residing in my basket collection area!


An ET glass (1983) and a Mississippi glass!

This little rocking chair was put together with NO NAILS...like a puzzle. A friend rescued it from the garbage and gave it to me...3 Gail Pittman Valentine's Mugs and a precious angel Bear...


A Miss Bunny dummy board...to set by the front door next Easter!

His big purchase, a perfectly good electric Black and Decker hedge trimmer.

He also found hedge clippers (which needed a little de-rusting, but he decided to keep the price low and let the new owner "fix them" up himself and a child's bench and tennis racket.

Cute wooden molds...

A coconut owl with rope eyes...love it...

He remembered "old grandmother's" advice...anything with horses or dogs...

Then we hit the Motherlode...our piece de resistance....two rocking horses...that nayed and clippity clopped when you squeezed their ears...they retailed for $100 each!! Oh, happy day!

He bought the black and white one...I, the unicorn (which had never been used...not ridden once!) We were in Yard Sale delirium!!

After a Root Beer and some chocolate chip cookies baked by the ladies of the church where we were shopping, it was on home. We priced in a frenzy to get things to the FM by noon!

A nutritious Sonic Chicken nugget lunch and we were finished for the day!

Can't wait to see our earnings next week!

Hoping you had as great a Saturday as I did,

Cross Easter Card Tutorial

Because Easter is one of the most holy days in a Christian's year, I wanted to do something special for my grandchildren's teachers. Because of other commitments, I was limited in my time, but I wanted the gift to be a unique one. I decided to paint small wooden crosses attached to an Easter card.

These are the resulting cards.


I began with a small wooden cross that I purchased from Michael's.

After painting the cross brown, I Mod Podged tissue onto the cross to add texture.

Then I began the painting process.




After painting, I chose the above papers to cover the front of purchased ivory folded cards.


I adhered the crosses to the paper covered card with white glue, and then Mod Podged the cross and a small area surrounding the cross. I like to shade my paintings, and the MP'd area would allow for better shade control. The paper would have soaked up too much paint without the MP. I had an area with some "tooth" on which to shade using watered down acrylic.

I wanted to attach the Bible verse, John 3:17, to the front of the card, but I wanted no hard edges showing. I resorted to a trick that my teaching friend, Wanda, devised. She attaches a piece of tissue paper to a piece of printer paper...folding the tissue edges over toward the back of the printer paper and taping them down. Then just run the tissue covered paper through your printer and your words are nicely imprinted on the tissue. Then I attached the verse to the card with more you know what...MP!



I completed 10 cards...in a little over five hours. Hmmm...so much for a "quick" gift. After inking the edges of the cards with Tim Holtz ink, I attached some glittery, vine covered brown ribbon in the corners and placed an Easter message inside the card.

*I am linking to Boogieboard Masterpiece Monday and Amaze Me Monday this week.

I hope your day was Christ-centered,

Something Larger Than Ourselves..Athletic Banquet

Have you ever been so engrossed in a project that all things around you fade into the background and the ever present target looms larger and larger as its "due" date approaches? That's where I've found myself over the past two months...as I helped prepare for my grandson's school's first ever athletic banquet. It included both Junior Varsity and Varsity Athletes.

This small school, Park Place Christian Academy, has added a grade a year and will graduate its first senior class next year. Because of its small size, its athletic program is in its infancy, so this banquet was a "historical" first...it had to be special! Boatner Hall was the scene of the gathering, and the event was held in memory of their classmate Jason McAdory who recently passed away.

Here are some of those special things which occurred.

We had a great attendance...237 reservations were made. We have 70 athletes.

A Welcome table ushered in the attendees and even our tickets were pretty!

A silent auction, with all donated items from extremely generous people, was super fun. And I won all my grandchildren signed me up for..lol.

The athletes were dressed appropriately and looked absolutely stunning...

Pictures were snapped all during the evening and will be quite a treasure in years to come. A picture of all athletes was taken and a mat signed by all. This will be framed and have a special place of honor as a reminder of another school "first".

The food was catered by "Remember When", a small Brandon restaurant. A true banquet it was!! Baked chicken, the best Twice Baked Potatoes I've ever eaten, green beans, rolls, dessert and sweet tea...The dessert table was centered with an artistically designed tiered fruit centerpiece and was as beautiful as it was delicious.

With superior help from the Boosters and Mr. Willie, we served all 235+ in 17 minutes.

Decorations: glass cylinder centerpieces were filled with mercury glass stones, silver shred, gray and white tissue topped with white hydrangeas. "Scripture" tents lined the center of the tables with appropriately chosen verses from the Bible. Fillers included gray and white pearly balloons anchored with weights of silver and white polka dot tissue. Candles were in abundance and provided shimmery ambience. Our program featured our specially designed "P" on the front cover, was heather gray with forest green print and included highlights of the evening's events. The mood was festive and appreciative.

Above pic is before lights were dimmed and candles lit... :(
A specially made video and appropriate music played during dinner. Featured were shots of all the athletes from the time they were old enough to hold a ball until now! Many of the families sat "as families" rather than the athletes separated from their parents.

Speeches by coaches were poignant and thoughtful. The winning of awards was tempered with the advice to remember where our talents come from.
After the event, many stayed to help clean up (now "that's what I'm talking about"!)

We are led by a great Booster board/officers and a phenomenal school Administrative team. From top to bottom, things went smoothly and it proves when people are of one mind and work together, great things CAN happen.

Personally, I can't think of a better way to spend a Thursday evening. When I left, I was tired (that's an understatement), but extremely grateful for the way everyone, even people who didn't have an athlete involved, pulled together to express delight in the accomplishments of the players and their skillful coaches.... but even more, I was grateful to be a part of a gathering of those who are like minded in their worship of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ. What a tremendous way to usher in the Easter weekend.

In the name of Jesus, Who was and is and is to come,

*I am linking to Beverly's Pink Saturday. See button at right to join.

Where 'O Where?

Dear Friends, I have NOT vaporized! I am still here...I am working diligently on my grandson's first athletic banquet and when not working, I am sleeping. This self imposed "vacation" from blogland has upset me! I miss you and feel very unsettled not being able to communicate. "I vill return."

Don't give up on me,

Please, Flutter By

I am a butterfly, bird and bunny kind of girl...no huge dogs who jump up for me! I love to watch the aforementioned little creatures...because butterflies and bunnies are quiet and gentle, and birds have a sunny disposition for the most part. (Please, don't think I am anti-animal...I just don't like to be slurped "on.") I am happy to report that the butterflies have arrived in my yard and I thought it was the perfect day to capture some of their beauty and grace.

So out came the tissue, paints and Mod Podge! Steps here included: tearing white and caramel colored tissue paper into wings shapes. Cutting out a scrapbook paper body. Using scrapbook paper to "edge" all around. Mod Podge all onto canvas. This is the foundation. The picture below is the starting point.

From here, I painted the background, the details of the butterfly (veins, etc.) with acrylic paints. I then used Tim Holtz distressing ink to "age", painted on subtle gray squares

and outlined squares with black ink.

With lots of patience and some tweaking here and there...here is the result.

Lately, all my pictures appear darker than they really are and of course, this is no exception. Let me get up close and personal and maybe you can discern the real deal.

The texture is added with the crinkled tissue paper. I use tissue as a foundation for most of my mixed media art.

The weekend was hectic...lots to do...little time for everything...I had to put on the brakes and say, "Stop the madness!" and take a butterfly break. Hope your week begins and ends well. I am linking to Metamorphosis Monday...that's appropriate, isn't it? And Boogieboard Cottage!

Flutter on by and visit,

Bring Back Pink!!

For me, PINK SATURDAY always poses a conundrum of sorts. (For those of you who are new to this blog, I enjoy linking up with Beverly at her blog, How Sweet the Sound, on Saturday. She sponsors a party where all the bloggers who participate show something pink. Click on the words PINK SATURDAY above and visit!) Beverly was even kind enough to feature my blog last Saturday!

Here is what I have noticed about myself. On Thursday, I begin thinking about what I'd like to highlight. Of course, it must be pink and therein lies the dilemma. I begin poking around in drawers and such trying to unearth anything pink...did you understand what I just said? IN DRAWERS AND SUCH! Gulp...I must admit, that most of my pink items are tucked away.

It seems to me that most of you who participate in PS proudly display your pink for all the world to see....on a daily basis. But, I on the other hand, have hidden mine away. My guest bedroom was once all in pink...very fluffy,very frilly, very flowery, very feminine. Then a very dear relative moved in for a year or so, and he being male, the pink and white scheme seemed a little...well, TOO over the top...even for someone quite unfazed by such nonsense.

So out went pink and in came a more contemporary "gender neutral" scheme. Now, those words frighten me...I've noticed that MANY things in our society are going that direction...gender neutral. So I am reconsidering ... I might just bring back the pink in my life. What in the world is wrong with BEING feminine and expressing it in different parts of your home, I ask? Well, the answer is NOT ONE THING!! Do you feel the same way?

My entry today in PS includes my mother's little pitcher collection. She loved ALL things pink, and I love these little reminders of her femininity. She wasn't much of a collector... a few things here and there, but she loved her pitchers. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

May pink be an expression of your femininity,

Ode to Revlon #110 Blush Chrome

Anyone who knows me well, or who has read my blog over the past 8 months, knows that I have a great affinity for the forlorn or odd. Maybe I AM an odd duck after all. (I had hoped that this fact might not come to light and I've tried to appear normal for years, but there is that Odd Factor that has attached itself firmly to my personality and I just can't shake it.) Every product on the market that I LOVE is destined for the "discontinued" column. My love=certain doom. So that must make me odd...nobody likes the products I like...thus, discontinued.

So my tale begins (rather ends.) I wrote another post about trying to come to grips with the discontinuance of my favorite lipstick. How I was reduced to dumpster diving at Hudson's Fire sale store for the beloved tube of Revlon's #110...how I even considered for a fleeting moment buying an already opened (and sampled..eeek!) tube. This is quite traumatic to me...Revlon has stopped production of MY signature color. Ah, Revlon Blush Chrome #110. It's been a part of my persona for years (and years). No other color quite highlights my features like #110.

(Sidenote:) When aging, among other things, your lips shrink...thus some may turn to collagen injections. But with #110 by my side I was able to hold off the process of the shrinking lips. I began noticing the phenomenon several years ago...I started looking in my 5x magnification mirror more closely...I added 350 Reader glasses and got a stark look at reality! Holy cow! Where'd my mouth go?!

(Note: a friend once told me that as you age, your mouth turns downward and to always go about your daily life smiling...so for the past 10 years I have taken that advice. But my smile looks like a smirk...it's hard to press against the forces of nature...if I run into you somewhere and look like I am disgusted, I am NOT. I am trying to hold up my down turned mouth with the shrinking lips. Very hard work.)

While peering into the 5x mirror, I suddenly remembered a tiny much older lady in my church who always wore her lipstick outside her lip line...NOW I understand what she was trying to do...restore just a little of her youthfulness and dignity...add a few inches to her once pouty persona. (I believe she wore Revlon's Cherries in the Snow and if you are above the age of 40 YOU KNOW that Cherries In The Snow has been around since the Garden of Eden)...so WHY, I ask you, would Revlon choose to push the delete button on #110 and keep that not so lovely CITSnow? I have no answer...I only have my memories.

Thus began the saga (and I mean SAGA) of trying to select a suitable replacement. I have exhausted my Ebay supply. I have assigned "pickers" all over the US on #110 "Watch For" alert. I have offered a king's ransom for an unopened tube. I have looked everywhere...for some color that approximates #110. I had considered retirement from my job but alas, I can't afford to because of the extra $100 a month spent on new lipstick colors. My makeup drawer looks like something that a archaeologist would unearth...bones lying everywhere...except in my case it's lipstick tubes. What on earth do you do with hundreds of used only once tubes of lipstick?

It's with a heavy heart that I announce that I have officially picked a new color...oh, I know, when you see me, you will think, "What's wrong with her? Is she ill? Her little spark is gone. Somehow she just doesn't look the same". It's the lips...it's the new #610 that makes me look like I've gotten trapped in a tanning booth.

Carefully, look. Can you see the subtle difference? If you are a lipstick aficionado, you can. To those of you who just slap something on your mouth and rush out the door, it won't matter. But there are those of us who carefully apply lipstick to our lips...who love to make the little "bow" of our face look just right. #110, of course, is pictured on the right...See the orangey cast that the new #610 broadcasts? What a shame...what a waste of chemical engineering.

Even the name sounds inane....Goldpearl Plum...what a dumb name. Now, Blush Chrome #110! That's a name! Oh, well enough of my troubles. Just remember me today...that 3/4 of an inch of #110 pictured in the first photo is all the product I have left...probably all that's left on the earth...in the universe...when it's gone, it's "Goodbye Cruel World"....sad day.

May none of your lipsticks EVER be discontinued,