Little House on the Sale Counter

Lookie, lookie what I found! My local Tuesday Morning store is already putting out its Christmas wares and these fabulous Cody Foster houses were in the mix. They are from his 2004 Back Porch Friends Collection and were marked down to seven dollars each!!! Needless to say, there aren't any of these little beauties left at my store, LOL, but maybe you can score some for yourself at a store in your area. Ooh, and I think they are going to look great with my Christmas in July trees. I just had to share. Hope your day is filled with delightful surprises too!

Cupcakes for Sharing

My three year old had her first school program today. In honor of the event, I made cupcakes for her class as a special snack. When I delivered her and the plastic tote full of frosted treats to the classroom this morning, we were greeted with immediate enthusiasm. Toddlers are fully aware that cupcakes trump teddy grahams and goldfish crackers... hands down... any day.

On my way out the door, I heard one little girl say, "Ooh, CUPCAKES!" My little darling countered with, "These are MINE, NOT YOURS!" Nice, right? I could make apologies for her behavior but let's be honest, I think she has heard me say the same set of words in regards to baked goods numerous times. I mean really, we are talking about cupcakes here.

Pumpkins and Plates

I put Thursday's momentum towards giving part of my kitchen a fall face lift.
I guess at this point in our relationship, you have figured out that any decorating I do involves the use of dishware in some capacity. Plates are the dishware of choice for this little spree. Oh wait, plates are almost always my dishware of choice.
This is the autumn version of my kitchen wall. You might remember its Spring and Summer look as well. I'm thinking those other four plates need ribbon or something to jazz them up a bit. If glitter isn't right for the job, then by all means ribbon is.

Autumn Inspiration

Yesterday I received the latest copy of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion in the mail. I love it when this magazine arrives, because it's always loaded with inspiring bits of whimsy. The current issue is no exception. The cover alone makes me want to drag out all of my Halloween decorations immediately, if not sooner.
Here's a peek in the closet where I store my treasure trove of orange and black autumnal goodness. Time will tell whether or not all this stuff actually sees the light of day this year though. Stay tuned...

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?