...S'MORE fuel.

I am smitten by 'creating' with 'Found' objects!

With the weather Finally warming a 'bit', my latest obsession is...

DRIFTWOOD.

There are So many beauties of Driftwood (besides it's naturally wondrous beauty and characteristics)....

Starting with the scenic locale's that you MUST go 'in search of'.

...and the Fun Cafe's you find (in search of Java & RestRooms!!)

~there is always the added Bonus of alternative finds (BEACH GLASS!!)

Some alternative finds, however do not come home! 

NOTE TO SELF: look more closely at that COOL piece of 'driftwood' before reaching for it - teeth and 'eye balls' are a NO! 

Nautical inspired vase

Sandpail - Driftwood PENDANT display
w/ pottery bowl for holding packaged units!

 While out combing the serene water shores that are 'Pre Season', there is much time for meditation and inspiration can strike at ANY TIME!


Driftwood stores Beautifully, and when you tire of working with it, the disposal of excess supplies is FUN and THRIFTY too...

Campfire!

ie: S'more Fuel!!

Do not fear - I have not forsaken my love of ...

PLARN!

(ie: recycled plastic bags)

~OR~

BUTTONS!

~OR~ 

BAKING!
(Easter Pie!!)

~OR~

STUFF.  

But lately our main source of 'stuff' is our Attic inventory!!

???  Does Anybody know anything about these old Woolworth tags or WilliamSonoma mini copper molds:????

 Hope you all enjoy your day, however you choose to spend it!!

...Fu. Lu. and Shou.

Is it legal to just be finishing up decorating at 2pm on December 25th?

Well, it's done, anyways.  Inclusive of a BOXFUL of 'new' Vintage ornies found in the 'haul' I recently mentioned and TWO (2) GINORMOUS.BEAUTIFUL ornies gifted to me by 'L' (one shown in this picture - with the pine trees!)

Of course, all of this decorating was made possible with the help of TV Christmas specials - including the classic 1988 PeeWee's Playhouse Christmas.  Yeh, so, I'm an 80's girl.  I can't help it!!

The NE has had a little Holiday Gift from Mother Nature this year - in the form of a 'free trip to warmer climates'!!  Christmas Eve in Central NY state was about 70degrees!!!!

So, what's a person to do?

MAJOR Seaglass Trip!!!!!!!!!

Seaglassing in December -

Without a coat-

or gloves-

in New York State!

Merry Christmas to ME!!

but wait...

it gets better!

J found a BLUE MARBLE (the.Holy.Grail. of seaglassing), then shortly later I found MY FIRST EVER MARBLE! and it is GREEN - for CHRISTMAS EVE (of course!).  Then we found another old round worn blue piece of glass....  YIPPEE! YIPPEE!

~ AND ~

on the ride home...

a Beautiful Moon Rise!

I have also been enjoying the Holiday season in the Studio - 'Playing with the Angels'!

(not to worry - bottom left was an attempt at a Holly Leaf with Berries - I didn't mutilate a poor angel THAT badly!!)

I AM going to give you 'snippets' of the contents of 'The Haul' gradually, so as not to completely overwhelm / bore you!!  And, 'Yes', I HAVE gone through ALL of the boxes already!!  I think this is my favorite find - or at least for now it is ;-)...

Three (3), 13" Ceramic / Porcelain / China figures that I found in the bottom of one of the boxes. Not sure of exact age - if anyone has any info I'd love it!!  I have found that they are:

SANXING (deities)

"are the personified ideas of Prosperity (Fu), Status (Lu), and Longevity (Shou) in the Chinese traditional religion."

PROSPERITY.

STATUS.

LONGEVITY.

Three 'Deities' I don't mind having in our home as we head into another year!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

...and The Bucket List is a 'bit' lighter!

...3,000 miles...10 days...5 states...2 countries!

I haven't been to Canada in about 10yrs. , and now in the last month I have been there twice!!

'Nova Scotia' and 'New Brunswick' have been staples of my Bucket List for years - NO LONGER!

What an AMAZING ROADTRIP!!

...and I am 'single-handedly' trying to bring back 'The Hat'!

Who else would be soo amused by the Bathroom Signage?

"Who is that Crazy Lady in the Hat, taking pictures of the Men's Bathroom??" !!

Now we are back home, and trying to get 'in-the-swing-of-things' again!

Saling... charm bracelets, Vera Bradley Bags, old Crisco canister (we collect them in different colors), misc. jewelry, Fossil watch, sqwish toy, mink Poodle pin, Dr. Seuss birthday figure, ..and S's keys?!?

Did you see that - TWO sweaterclips (one is even a signed LISNER, on original card!



AND a Great FirePlace screen!!  Bought with the 'intension' of taking to the shop to sell, but we better get it there quick, 'cause jewelry display images are dancing in our heads!!!

It is hard to tell from this horrible photo, but we also picked up a GLITTER CROW w/ a lime green tummy!!

Taking advantage of our Wonderful 'at-home' weather, A photo shoot has been in progress in our yard... 

Wouldn't these be sweet 'mannequins' for a Fall Craft show,

Do you know of anybody who makes Build-a-Bear / Am Girl Doll clothers for resale??

THAT's all for now...

and remember:

a

FOUR for 4

HAPPY FOURTH of JULY!!

Hope EVERYONE has been having a lovely weekend!

In an effort to clear a 'little' inventory,  we are having a 4x4 SALE in our ETSY shop - svelteSTUFFj....

Details: 40% off with code BLOG4

Dates: FOURth ~ FOURteenth of JULY (7/4-7/14)

no 'new' pics, but thought you might enjoy...

(didn't quite have enough candles for my Dad's recent 84th celebration ~ so we improvised with what we had!!)

ANYBODY know the name of these flowers???????

Stop by our etsy shop, and get the 'goods' before they are gone!!

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAY!!

...FANCY!??

Just back from a brief  'holiday' with 'The Girls (+1 hubbie)'.

Beautiful... Relaxing...Layed Back...

EVERYTHING a 'Vacation' (as opposed to a 'Trip') should be!  I even sunburned my wrist, as I wasn't wearing my wristwatch.

Needless to say, females 're-kindling' (while '+1' fished...) led to some interesting conversations (okay, maybe a 'bit' of alcohol was involved...).  After talking with some other 'native-vacationers', one member our group described the acquaintances as 'FANCY!'.  This led to in indepth conversation as to what she meant.  We all started inputting our own definitions of 'FANCY'.  What is YOUR definition of 'FANCY'???????

So, now I'm home and unpacked...
NO, this isn't the luggage I packed to go,

...this is EXTRA CARGO I picked up as we were ending our vacation.

All packed and leaving the lake, on our way out of town at 11am, we caught glimpse of a Church setting up a yard sale - WOO-HOO!!  The PERFECT ending to a PERFECT week!!

I think it is a Really good thing that we were on a bit of a time-crunch, as well as space in the CAR being limited!! 



I think I managed to make our stop worth-while (wink!wink!)! A couple of retro 1/2 Aprons, Adelaide Hunter Hoodless Souvenir dishtowel, vintage Dr. bag, Rope fish boat-bumper, Wolf Sculpture Owl, Alexandria Bay Souvenir plate, Austin Prod. chalk sculpture, Blue Mountain Pottery Mug, France Fridge Beverage glass Jar, Tupperware burger, Rubens pitcher, 3metalFrog business card holder (?), WearEver Aluminum Teapot, Mardi Gras mask, 2 'Terms of..' towels (golf & fishing), and a whole bag of Canadian vintage recipe books/manuals/advertising!!  Nothing was priced individually, they just looked at the pile and quoted a price.  These items averaged out to .40¢ each!!

**I Forgot to mention those incredible 'child' skis that I saved in-the-nick-of-time, as they were being tossed into a truck ~ enroute to The Dump!?!

We've been having a ball going through and researching all of these CANADIAN finds!!

Now...

 back home...

trying to play 'catch-up'!

Up early to gather some RIPE berries before 'The Rains' that we are supposed to have for the next 4days!  Managed to get 6quarts - and did you know that if you stain your hands 'mulberry purple', that 'red raspberry' stains GLOW??

and then the rains set it.



PERFECT time to make a Mulberry Pie...
and dream of 
'FANCY dinners at The Lake'...

...and 'FANCY' sunrises...

...and my Favorite 'FANCY' turquoise Boathouse...

...and 'FANCY' sunsets.