...out like a Lion!

Just when I thought that my 'stuffing karma' had frozen over for the Winter, and all had been calm as a Lamb for far too long... When I was beginning to think that all I would be left with until the Spring thaw were crafts and 'clean-out' projects...

L.A.R.G.E. red ice cube Sparkling in the deceptive sun.  Frozen with silver garland in a Candy Mold... just HOPING it will melt SOON!!!!

The Thrifts came through in a BIG way for me last week!!

Cashier at my fav Thrift: "You're buying those Ugly Coasters??!  That's gonna cost you a Quarter you know!!"

I just had to laugh at her, 'cause I knew what the little tag on the back said!

 Then a few mugs caught my attention.  As an Interior Designer of the 80's, I was familiar with WAVERLY for their fabrics and wallcovering...

 and apparently they also did a complete line with corresponding china - who knew?!   Replacements say these have long been DISCONTINUED, so hopefully somebody is looking for them!!

On the same shelf... ((sigh!)) six. Bennington Pottery. White. Mugs. By David Gil. 1967. OH MY!  I must get these out of here before I cave and keep them!!

I also picked up several metal cookie
cutters and a lightweight copper creamer
to use in some METAL STAMPING projects!!

On my way out I spotted a Gallon Ziploc bag... 

FULL of FUN polymer clay beads & miscellaneous!!
OH the possibilities for one dollar!

Some little pendants & earring creatings I found in the bag, just waiting for their future life!

IT'S FEBRUARY EVE EVERYONE!
TIME TO GET YOUR RED GOING!!!
(**Yes, I DO realize the Lamb/Lion reference is supposed to refer to March - I'm just taking a 'January Stuffing Liberty' here!!**)

...DEPT 14

I have  'new-to-me' additions to my 'tool box' arsenal...

I'm sure any of you who follow me on PINTEREST can guess in a heartbeat what my latest obsession is...

 I've been lurking in the aisles of the 'Big Box' craft stores for quite a while... just waiting for the right sale / coupon before I made The. Plunge.  The other day I was discussing 'metal stamping' with my boss at the 'old downtown Hardware Store' - he gave me The.Most.Puzzled.Look and said "We have those."  Then proceeded to show me a low, corner shelf in the hardware that held several of the most WONDERFUL pre-loved, dove tailed wooden boxes in various sizes of LETTERS (only one PLASTIC box of Numbers!!).
((sigh))
It was LOVE at first sight.

 and now, 'DEPT 14' joins the rest of MY special TOOLS ~ all of which live in MY special TOOL BOX!!  
Okay all you bloggers - fess up, I KNOW YOU have your own quirky SPECIAL TOOLS & BOXES TOO - I want to hear about them!!!!

The 'clam knife' is probably my
FAVORITE 'all-time-go-to' tool!

You were wondering 'WHY the blue evening bag?' - I could tell!  Well... It is in there to hold all of the 'essential smalls' - you know The 'Metal Chalk', The extendable magnet, The small metal file, the hole punches in various sizes, the boyscout canopener, the line level...

...and FEBRUARY is Rapidly approaching ~ is Everyone getting their V-D mojo on?!

...Neumann to the rescue!

We have no 'degrees'!

We have no sun!

 What is a person to do?

No Sales!

...motivation for venturing outside to Thrifts is almost as low as the temperature...

MAYBE...  pulling out some of my 'pretties' would put a smile on my face??

YES.

I think so.

VERA Scarves!
Yes, a couple of evenings of sorting through my TOTE BOX of scarves was a sure-fire cure 8-) !

I have a few 'old-faithfuls' that I wear on a
constant basis, but it was FUN to venture to
the bottom and find some that I had forgotten
about...

Several Boring SOLIDS that
every wardrobe needs, but they
will go back to the bottom of the
tote...

I had forgotten that VERA did a series of 'V'
scarves!  I think that I must have picked this up before I
got married.  Now that I have a 'V' initial they have gained
a more prominent position in the Tote!!

Are you wondering about duplicates?
I thought that I had F.I.N.A.L.L.Y. found my FIRST double in...
My deeply adored GRAPE pattern ~

NOT QUITE!!

It DID HAPPEN THOUGH!

I am rather pleased that it was one of VERA's GEOMETRICS - I so prefer these over some of her later flowery designs!  To me, this speaks of VERA!

 Not to mention PANTONE's 2014 color is RADIANT ORCHID (aka PURPLE).

Maybe it's a 2014 sign... They look like 'stained glass' panels to me.  STAINED GLASS = ADHESIVE (SOLDER!!) + GLASS (SEA GLASS)

Maybe this mean GREAT things are going to happen as far as me FINALLY conquering this art of soldering.  Plus a continuation of my Sea / Beach Glass creations.
Maybe it's wishful thinking.

now all 392 little gems are back in their TOTE, safe & sound, ready for new Journeys!!

...BUTTON results are IN!

REMEMBER my 'BUTTON SELECTION DILEMA' for the 'Infinity Scarf' I was in the process of creating??!

Well, just 6 days later, the body of the scarf was delivered to me! AND this morning I made my selection, and attached the buttons !!  The vintage, oval, blacks from the AUBURN BUTTON WORKS were the winners - 
I'm kinda proud of OUR (Thanks T.!!) joint design-build and (BEST PART) Completion of this little Winter project!!!

..."every day is a Winding Road"

During our ~BRIEF~ 'heat wave' (above 20°), J & I had Cabin Fever, and decided to go check out the Sea Glass Beach.  The beach was still covered in snow, but apparently we weren't the only ones with cabin fever!!  BRRRR.....

The Thrift Shops haven't provided me with anything new to show you either, except some NASTY leftover Christmas 'gift-pack' flavored oils (ewe!!) and melted candles ~  **NO THESE DID NOT COME HOME WITH ME!**

 On the Creative side of things, I DID have The.Most.Enjoyable Saturday!!

Fri. night I was chatting w/ a friend (T.) who saw our 'Pedestals' at 'The Craft Show that Shouldn't Have Been...', said she had been thinking about them and might want to buy one.  I knew T. crochet.  I told her I had a proposition for her...  

   You see, I have loooonggggg been admiring these Winter knit & crochet Infinity scarves that are so popular now. (*Did you know this is just a come back for them?  They were originally popular back in the 1950's - 60's, but were called SMOKE RINGS; which is now Politically incorrect! VERA did quite a few in silk!!*).  I would trade her a PEDESTAL for her time in making an INFINITY. She loved the idea.  We set a date for Sat. am - B-fast, and then off to hit some yarn shops in search of a pattern and yarn.  OH, my!  Now I was getting a bit nervous and a rash was starting to set in... B-fast - YES!  Patterns & 'Old Lady' sewing shops - not.so.much,  hmmmm......

   

We went to TWO yarn shops, talked to the sweetest lady at the first shop, I FELL IN LOVE with all of the Delicious yarns (and I don't do fibre arts!!), she taught me all about weights and the type of results that could be achieved with Bulky vs Extra Bulky.  They had all kinds of scarves, collars and shawls made up that I could try on... I made sketches, took photos (with their permision & HELP!!), got measurements (T. was impressed that I ALWAYS carry a tape measure in my purse!).  So in the end... I don't want 'just a basic Infinity Scarf' - we didn't need to buy a pattern, we created our own!  'My Designer T.' is making me a custom 'svelteSTUFF' creation -
I can't wait to see it!!

T. is doing the 'bodywork' and then I will be adding the 'details'.  I came home Sat. night and went in search of BUTTONS!!!
 I just.happened.to.have a Basket marked BUTTONS in the Attic Studio (you are surprised aren't you?!!)
What Fun going through those vintage treasures!
I only need THREE (3!) though...
So the tough part is going to be the 'final' decision
(but I'll make that when I can see the whole thing together!!)

"Jump in, let's go
Lay back, enjoy the show
Everybody gets high, everybody gets low
These are the days when anything goes

Everyday is a winding road
I get a little bit closer
Everyday is a faded sign
I get a little bit closer to feeling fine"

Sheryl Crow - Every Day Is A Winding Road

...breath of FRESH air!!

Is anybody else out there having trouble trying to load photos onto their blogs?

Maybe our lines are 'FROZE' from the BIG CHILL that IS 2014,

or

Maybe it is just operator failure...

no, I think I like my BIG CHILL Theory!

(OUR POOR DINING ROOM BECAME HOLIDAY #@!&  WHILE THINGS WERE SORTED AND PUT TO 'REST' FOR ANOTHER YEAR...)

  Being 'Home-bound' for so many days left me with no excuses for not taking down all of our XMAS decorations though....

FINALLY!  All of our toys were put away for another year, and order has come to the land...

Then, the thermomemter ACTUALLY read 23° and it was time to PLAY - OUTSIDE!!

First time with skates on in about 15 years - it wasn't Pretty by any stretch of the imagination - but it was SO.MUCH.FUN!!!

Of course a stop at the Thrift was a MUST!!

I think everybody was thinking the same thing, because pickings were rather slim...

Boggle Game - that I should have checked closer, as it only had 3/4 of it letters and no timer!! (4) metal plate stands .10¢ea, lap-size chalkboard .25¢ , aqua hangar, Pampered Chef mini-whisk NIP .25¢, (2) New packages of candy bags, 'Musical Note' Cookie Cutter .10¢, Jewelry makers magnify glass on stand, couple of 2/14 Magazines from FREE/TRADE rack...

OH, and I can't forget the 'ODD' .50¢ bag of fruit...

I bought it mainly for this beautiful LARGE-rubbery bunch of retro GRAPES

...and these two beaded pieces were
 a nice bonus...

?BUT? Can anyone explain to me THE WHY of
S.I.X. Hard Plastic LEMONS???

NOTHING Earth Shattering, but I am also happy to report that there were NO BROKEN BONES in the SKating re-Debut ;-) !!
...and these two little sweeties REALLY made my heart skip a beat!

I guess I can't use the need for a 'third hand'
as an excuse any more!!

Have you ever seen one in this color before??
I begged the manager at the Thrift to let me buy it!
She really thought that I was nuts!

...365 of 2014.

 

Here we are. Three days into it, to be specific!

remember this PIN??

Still, a 'Bright & Shiny' NEW Year...
Brimming with potential and possibilities,
Now what shall we do with it?
2014.
"RESOLUTIONS"... my, how I dislike that word. I recently read the definition of this word to be "Your 'TO-DO LIST for the first week of January ".  I thought that to be rather appropriate!

 Harmony~ Happiness~ Creativity

Yes. I think these three simple words will make Perfect 'goals' for ME for 2014!  They apply to sooo many important aspects of my life...


Family...Travelling... Saling... Purging... Gardening... Cooking...  

We'll see.  Anybody else out there have plans for their shiny new 2014??  I'd love to hear them!!

ETSY recently published this article on a '365 Creativity Plan'.  I found it interesting, and I didn't want to lose it, so here it is...

1. Take a 5 minute walk and make something where you end up using what’s available. Leave it there for someone else to discover, but be sure to document it first!
2. What do you collect? Work with a collection of objects you have in your home (or borrow a friend’s, if you like).
3. Transform an old book into something new by cutting, folding, gluing, etc.
4. Create or alter something so that it disappears into its background.
5. Can you create something using a material that will dissipate quickly? (For example: soap bubbles, smoke, butter on a griddle, cream in coffee, etc.)
6. Turn today’s junk mail (or spam email) into something much more appealing.
7. Make an image with just words or letters. You can cut them from a magazine, draw them yourself or print out words on a computer to work with.
8. Re-interpret your favorite childhood story.
9. Make a unique trophy. Bonus: award it to someone!
10. Add a face to something that normally doesn’t have one.
Be sure to visit my site, MakeSomething365.com, where I’m cataloging 365 projects to inspire folks to start their own! And, of course, let me know if you do start your own project and I’ll be sure to share it there too.