School Daze

Three weeks ago I embarked upon my sixteenth year of teaching. I've heard that in more civilized realms of the country, school starts after Labor Day, but not in my neck of the woods. I mainly wanted to let you all know this because I realize that since the onset of school I've only been blogging about once a week. I soooo appreciate each of you stopping by to visit each day, and I hope you continue to do so despite the lulls between my posts. I know I will get a good rhythm going again once a few of the plates have stopped spinning, so to speak. Then it will be back to jars and cakes and crafts as usual. LOL! Thank you for your understanding and your friendship! I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend. I'll see you next week!

Birthday Loot

Hello dear friends! I recently celebrated my birthday so I had to pop in and show you some of the goodies I scored.
The people in my life have figured out by now that I am a crafty girl, and they buy accordingly.I am now set with part if not all of the new Martha Stewart line from WalMart. That's right folks, you heard that right. Martha Stewart craft products are now available at WalMart! Be still my heart. By the look of things I think I need to get busy glittering and stamping immediately.LOL! Hope each of you are having a great day!

Soldering 101

I have been a fan of soldered charms ever since the day I spied Sally Jean's magical ad for hers in the Home Companion magazine. I love to give them as gifts, to wear them, and to use them as embellishments around my home. Needless to say I was thrilled when her book on the topic of making your own charms was published.

Well, I've had the book for awhile now, but I have never been brave enough to jump in and try to create something of my own, on my own. Fortunately my dear friend Jamie, who makes all types of jewelry and who is no stranger to soldering, volunteered to guide me along on my molten metal adventure. The photo above shows the result of our Sunday afternoon of crafting.

Go ahead, click on the photo. It won't hurt my feelings. They are extremely rough looking up close. Oh, and from far away too, but I like them anyway. I think I fall into the category of folks who "overwork" the solder. LOL! Anyhoo, I'm glad I gave it a go, and I didn't even burn myself! The thing is, you need to practice and practice and practice some more to get better. Great, add one more craft that I enjoy, yet have no time for, to the list.

Stepping Out With My Baby

Lately I have been drooling over all the shoes in Anthropologie's autumn catalog. I love their overall vintage flair, and I can totally picture myself doing the Charleston at a dimly lit speak-easy while wearing any of them. Unfortunately, the price of a pair of these is directly proportional to their beauty.

Things were looking rather glum on the fall footwear front until I found these charmers for only $24.99. I know, I know, the heels aren't chunky, but they will be perfect for dancing the Black Bottom anyway. They also go great with this vintage purse that my mom used to carry. And to answer the question...Yes, it does feel good to Payless.

Zinnias for Remembrance

Every year around this time my neighbor's beautiful zinnias are in bloom. I have always loved these flowers, but I have never planted any of my own. I always think of it too late.

Seeing these flowers does however remind me of a handout I colored in the second grade that featured these same blooms. That was circa 1977 when Crayola had just started making florescent colored crayons. I think there were only four or five magic colors in a small box, but they were perfect.
The crayons could be applied heavily to recreate the more vibrant tones,
or a lighter hand could lead to more subtle shades. They were the ideal colors for my ideal flowers. Ahhh zinnias....Ahhh second grade.

Just Another Mantle Monday

The last venue for my end of Summer makeover is the mantle. The last time I showed you this area it was spruced up for Spring. I was finally tried of looking at the bunnies, so I decided to mix things up a bit. You have seen some of these things before, but this is the new grouping. I had everything in place but then I decided I wanted to make things a little cozier by adding fabric underneath. I found this striped piece at Target. It's a curtain panel from their Shabby Chic line. The yummy candy colored stripes and ruffle put this over the top for me.
Okay, guilty as charged. There are more faux flowers in the mix as well. And I had to add a pooch here and there too.
I think these little displays will be in a holding pattern until the Halloween decor makes its debut. The way time is flying though, that'll be next week right?