Not all the treasures on my list; and not all were found where I thought I would find them, but they were found none the less.
I found a 3 piece sectional couch for 65.00 on Craigslist. Man I love Craigslist. You have to be careful but I do love the ability to find things I need and pay less for them then I thought I would have to.
Here is the sectional...
I am not a fan of the two different fabrics and the two different colors, but those are simple fixes and the couch itself is in fantastic condition. Especially for 65.00! I can get fabric I like and recover the couch and make it more my personality.
I found this fantastic creamer...
This retro sugar dispenser...
and this Wonderful punch bowl...
The bowl came with 8 cups and the ladle for .... 1.50! Yes that's right I paid 1 dollar and 50 cents for a punch bowl, 8 cups and a ladle!
It also has a slight chip in the bowl...
I paid 50 cents for the creamer and 75 cents for the sugar dispenser.
I also got the Spitfire this adorable hat for .50 cents.
I also found a copy of ghostbusters and some curtain rods I needed. Total I spent 5.00 for all the lovely treasures I found. Total spent for the weekend for lovely treasures 70.00 I think that I made out really well.
Having fun watching movies piled on the new couch... PRICELESS!
Having fun with my family while hunting for treasures, even more Priceless!
Today my lovely girls The Bookworm & Spitfire are going to go on a treasure hunt. We are going to see if we can find many lovely things.
Our goals are to:
1. Have FUN!
2. Find lovely treasures for our home.
(we are searching for tea cups, saucers, creamer dish, sugar dish and maybe even a lovely tea pot. Hopefully not matching sets.)
3. A sofa. I really really really want a sofa. so maybe just maybe in our adventures out and about we will find a sofa!
4. Tea Towels. You can not have a lovely tea party without pretty tea towels and maybe even a couple of doilies.
I hope that we will find lovely treasures and have loads of fun on our girls Treasure hunt day. I am sure it will be an experience we wont soon forget! I will be sure to post pictures of our finds soon.
I intended to post this about 4 days ago but sometimes the best intentions are waylaid by life.
I was watching YouTube videos on hair styles one day and discovered Rope Braiding. This is something I have seen on other people but never knew how to do it. So here is the video:
Taking that and combining it with this other video by the same person:
I created a way to make a crown braid for shorter hair. My youngest daughter The Spitfire has shoulder length hair and she looks down right adorable in this rope braid around her head.
Taping, as it was called in early Italian Renascence, is when you take ribbon and "tape" the hair down by going over the braid and tying it in place.
With my darling Book Worm I started hers on each side of her head and up kind of high to create a side braid on her head.
I then wrapped the rope braids up and pinned it on the inside of the other braid.
Then I wrapped the other one over the top of this one and pinned it as well.
Then I taped it into place with the pretty green ribbon.
I didn't get pictures of the Spitfire with her hair as I went but here it is finished.
As you can see her crown goes all the way around her head. I did this by doing a french rope braid and going all the way around her head starting in the bangs area and working around her head. Then I pinned the tail end right under her bangs.
To do the taping I started with ribbon that is about 3 lengths from arm to mid chest. yep do that 3 times and that's about how much ribbon I used. Then for The Bookworm I started at the back in the middle. I went from under the hair and pulled up a loop in the middle then I pulled the ribbon even and slipped the tails between the ribbon to secure it. I then took one side of one tail and wrapped it going up towards her forehead and then back down to the middle in the back. I repeated this on the other side and then tied it in a bow when I got back to the middle. This style held in her hair for 3 full days.
For The Spitfire since I went all the way around her head I started in the front and just wound the ribbon around her head, tying the ribbon down with each sew into her braid. when I got to the end of the braid I tied the ribbon in a bow. Because her hair is shorter and there are shorter pieces in there it did not last as long. If I wanted it to stay I would have to use a few short pins to secure it better and then I am sure it would last a good long time.
You will need 1 plastic yarn needle and ribbon to do the taping. You can find a yarn needle at any place they sell yarn and crochet or knitting supplies. Any Ribbon will do but try to use thinner ribbon that fits in the needle hole easier.
I hope that some of you will give it a try, it sure is nice and cool for the summer and helps distribute the weight of hair more evenly.
EDIT* adding pictures of the girls hair front view.
Book Worm, front view
Spitfire Front view
Sisters together.
You will notice that the Spitfire has a hard time holding still in pictures. Its why she is my spitfire, the kid just can't sit still. Not that she wont or doesn't want to, its that she simply CAN NOT! :)
Hope that helps give you a better picture of what the styles look like. I also can picture these with adorable silk flowers pinned in the hair all around the braids. :)
I am a race fan. I have been a fan since I was a little girl. I remember sitting with my parents watching cars speed past with the sound cranked up. I have never been to a race and it is a dream of mine.
Since today is the first day of the races I thought it would be fun to go into some history and facts of how nascar was born.
If you are already a nascar fan then you already know that the sport was born in the south. During prohibition men with fast cars would race through the back-roads of the south to deliver moonshine and other liquor often running from the law. They would modify their cars to make them faster then the cops and they knew their area well enough to zip past them in a spray of gravel.
Nascar recently opened a hall of fame in honor of some of the greatest drivers in nascar history. You can check out thehall of fame, its inductees and learn more about those greats who have come before.
The last death at Daytona happened 10 years ago with the death of racing legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. You either loved him or loved to hate him. He was a no nonsense kind of driver who made no apologies for the way he raced on the track. He died on the last lap with an innocent looking crash. His accident created a whole new push by nascar to make the cars safer, make the walls safer and included the introduction of the Haans device.
One of the things I love about Nascar, the drivers and families involved in nascar is the fact that they undeniably support our military. Before every race there is a singing of the national anthem, a prayer, and at least a few people publicly speaking about supporting our troops over seas and honoring them.
But make no mistake its the roar of the engines that thrills me.
There was a time long long ago when I remember Saturday meant getting up at 6am to start a cartoon marathon. Great cartoons too! Am I the only one who remembers this? Greats like Tom & Jerry and Loony Toons, an hour each. Interesting ones like the Smurfs & He-man (for my brother) or Care Bears (for my sister). Sitting on the floor in the living room in our pj's with our bowl of cereal dry so we didn't spill milk on the carpet! Hours of cartoons, usually until at least 10am maybe even 11 if there was a Saturday morning special on. Then Mom & Dad would get up and tell us to go play outside. Outside where we were left to our own devices to create mud pies, play in the trees, play in the play house, or dog house whichever was more entertaining at the moment, play with the dogs, eat oranges fresh out of the tree. Saturday used to be great!
I even remember about 10 - 12 years ago Saturdays were still good, not great but good. My oldest two kids would get up and watch cartoons allowing me to sleep in. I loved Saturday mornings as a parent! I loved them as a kid too but lets face it as a parent they were so nice to get that one reprieve in the morning. Sleeping in is such a rare gift for a parent, especially when you have more then one child.
Now on a Saturday morning you might get lucky to find some cartoon on some channel if you have those extra channels like Disney or Nick, but if you are a person who only has a few channels you are SOL. You wont even find cartoons on at all most of the time, and should you chance to find any child friendly programing it is likely to be old, reruns of mediocre shows that were not worth watching in the first place.
I would like to petition the major networks CBS, ABC, NBC to bring back our Saturday morning classics! Pink Panther, Loony Toons, Muppet Babies, Tom & Jerry, Smurfs, Care Bears and give back a tradition that is lost on this generation.
I love the crisp air and the anticipation of cooler weather.
I love the smell of rain on the earth.
I long for days spent quietly with a good book.
I am a crafter and I long for a craft room where I can lock the door behind me and just create.
inside of the diaper bag I made for my cousin.
The outside of the diaper bag.
A post stitch crocheted baby blanket for my cousins baby. Booties to match.
The most colorful star ripple blanket made for a dear dear friend. I have made a couple of baby blankets that have the same pattern but I love this one with all the vibrant colors.
Relaxation masks filled with a blend of lavender & rice. They make wonderful soothers for headaches and are good either hot or cold.
I love to create wearable fun jewelery too
My favorite thing that I have made was made for myself for the first time in over 15 years. It is called the Wool Eater and I love this blanket. it reminds me of fall. It is lap blanket size and had I not run out of yarn I would have made it larger, but it is perfect for sitting under with that afore mentioned good book.
I think the time has come for me to break out my crafting skills again, they always seem to take a back seat in the summer as I am usually busy doing so many other things. The fall is when the crafting bug starts to hit and I have miles of yarn that need to be used, yards of fabric that are calling for me, piles of beads that are screaming to be made into something beautiful to wear and lets not forget all the creations in the kitchen I am longing for. Apple pie, pear torts, fresh baked breads and soups and stews. I love to cook too... perhaps tomorrows blog will delve into that subject. Today I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into things I love & have created.
