Copy Cat Party

Hello, everyone. I have high hopes of joining Debbidoo's Magazine Copy Cat Party. This was my inspiration photo, saved from a magazine from several years ago that I finally framed.

Here is my own version of this board:

It's not identical, but gives the same effect, or at least, that's the idea; remember, I'm new to blogging!


Thanks to Debbiedoo for hosting this party.

Michele

Collections

One of the thrills of the continuing hunt at thrift shops, yard sales and the like, is finding something that's part of an ongoing collection accumulated over the years. One of my collections is of miniature chairs. Small, but not dollhouse sized ones.

I like all of these, especially the black Windsor chair that was a gift from my friend Tricia, and the little wooden one on the right, because it actually folds up. The tramp art one made of clothespins is fun, too. These are pressed into service to hold candles, small decorations, plants and all sorts of other little accessories around the house. Another collection that lives in the kitchen is mainly tins of all kinds, old thermos bottles, flour sifters and utensils, as long as they're mostly red or have red handles. They live on a long shelf over the door to the hall. When the idea of grouping them together that way came to mind I asked Mr. B if he could build a shelf; he agreed, but before going to buy materials he went in the attic and found this one already constructed, the perfect dimensions.

These are just a couple of collections that have accumulated over the years. What do you collect? Have you ever stumbled on a great find to add to your favorite things in a thrift setting for not much money and felt your heart race as you dashed to pay for it before someone else snatched it up? Michele

Recent finds

We've had a lot of (very welcome after an exceptional drought last year) rainy weekends lately, so I haven't been to very many yard sales so far. However, twice lately Mr. B has called from the car to steer me towards some good events. A couple of weeks ago it was a rummage sale at Christ the King Catholic Church two minutes from our house. There I picked up two small Starbucks bowls, a glittery Christmas tree and an interesting Hadaki lunch tote, all for the grand total of $3.00. This past Saturday as he  left to run errands, he called with a sale in walking distance of our house. I grabbed wallet and keys and took off  to the drive half a block down the street. There I scooped up two Pottery Barn galvanized metal boxes with lids and label holders that still had their $18 price tags on the bottom, as well as a chicken wire tray, a large candlestick broken into three parts, but still very usable to make something with, three samples of Farrow and Ball paint from England and a wicker bag, $5.00 total.

Do you enjoy yard sales and church events? What were some of the best you've ever encountered?

Until next time,

Michele

Getting started

Hello! I'm Michele and with the help and urging of my good friend, Tricia, I've finally created a blog of my own. I love thrifting, making things, re-using things and decorating our house.

A word about that; because it is small and rented there are constant frustrations in working with the space and conditions available. It's more annoying since we've had access to HGTV, because there are myriad ways it could be improved if we owned instead of renting, but this is our reality. Fortunately local thrift and consignment stores offer plenty of material to use to brighten things up, display collections and acknowledge seasons and holidays. My days  are spent doing this, interspersed with tending our many cats, all feral rescues, trying to organize, cooking and cleaning. My evenings usually feature reading;the library is my second home. It was possible for me to retire several years ago, but my husband, Tim is still working. He is sales manager for a sign company, a huge bird watcher and amateur painter. I am a Christian and 30+ year member at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church.

My hope is to someday give back to others the pleasure I've had from reading many wonderful blogs the past several years.