Winding Down

Hi, Friends,

Our day began with violent thunderstorms and lots of rain; good thing I went ahead and got over to the Manna store on Wednesday. Here's the latest loot, from that trip and a couple of small excursions before that.

I got some books, a mug and a new squirrel puppet. Pottery Barn pillow shams, silver baby fork and Mary Engelbreit note cards.

Some green earrings and a bracelet from the Salvation Army last week. From bags at Family Thrift two new Punch Studio pads with magnetic closures, new Anne Taintor magnets and mirror, a bag full of toiletries from British Caledonian Airlines and a can with tiny components of a manger scene, plus some toy binoculars whose exterior I covered with paper cut from a map.Oh, and a silk scarf from Harold's.

The stone with the bird on it is from Dollar Tree, right down the street from Manna. There were other bird designs too, I remember an owl.

Most of these things are for resale, except some of the books, the bird and a couple other items. Manna has fairly low prices, and I seldom pay more than $2.92 for anything from Family Thrift. Salvation Army is a lot pricier, so that stop normally only happens on 25% discount day. 

Looks like we're on the downhill stretch towards Mother's Day weekend. Between the holiday and our stormy weather it's hard to say if there will be many yard sales tomorrow.  May all your plans then and Sunday work out perfectly!

See you next week!

Michele

Curb Appeal

Last week on the way to run errands I pulled over to wrestle into my car a battered wicker chair someone had put out for heavy trash. With the addition of a cocoa mat lined basket from Big Lots and a few plants from our local nursery it deserves to stay out of a landfill since it's now a thing of beauty.

Shabby doesn't necessarily mean there's no life left in an old chair! Maybe it's a little rickety for sitting, but the plants don't mind.

The plants are portulaca, purslane, gazania, calibrachoa and a small, unidentified fern.

This is a fun way to upcycle something so it doesn't add more to the city trash collection. Now I'd better go water these recent arrivals so they'll stay happy and grow.

Do you like container gardens, or strictly go for beds in the ground?

Till next time,
Michele

Mostly a Drive By

Hi, Friends,

I am running way behind today so this is going to be a quickie. Last month in the post Thrift Desert I showed a jar full of letters bought in a bag. They're the same size as Scrabble tiles, but white with  no number for scoring on them. Today in honor of the birds of spring they were used for this:

Then to prevent some of my purry pals from stealing them, I did this:

Now they are safe, at least from those without thumbs. It's fun to use these for short messages, less permanent (and much easier) than big signs. Or maybe it's just me, easily amused.

Hope your Hump Day has gone well and you're heading towards the slide to the weekend.

Michele

After the disaster

Hi, Friends,

You know how it is, you start a project that seems fairly straightforward. Until suddenly, it's anything but. Saturday Mr.B and I got a few plants at the nursery. One was intended to replace the specimen in the fairy garden that had grown so large it dwarfed (forgive the expression) the house and whole landscape. It didn't feel like a big deal, until trying to uproot it caused a veritable tornado effect, upending and dislodging everything the poor fairies had set up so nicely. Even after its eventual removal, some things remain lost. The gazing ball, the mushrooms and more. I put the new, smaller succulent in next to the house, relined the path and set up the birdbath and water pond again. Today I added some new elements. Let's hope the fairies approve.

They now have an umbrella, a small table, replacement gazing ball and a few flowers.

The flowers are some little foam shapes mounted on toothpicks. The ball isn't pretty and shiny like the marble, but is a big round pushpin.

The umbrella is the paper variety often seen in summer drinks. The table is a saucer from a tea set, mounted on a toothpaste  tube cap. And although he's rather hard to see, a little brown dog has come to visit and is sleeping on the doorstep.

And here's one more picture of the whole landscape. Let this be a lesson in what not to do, if you make a fairy garden of your own. Make sure your plants are tiny and slow growing, so you don't end up creating a disaster inadvertently!

Till tomorrow,
Michele

Monday Mini Effort

Hello, everyone. I hope your weekends were fun and relaxing. It was too cold Saturday morning to find any yard sales--a statement never before heard in the month of May-- so that was disappointing. Still, the longer the intense heat of summer holds off, the better.

Today was occupied with getting birthday wishes off to my younger son (Hi, Theo!) and remedial cleaning after Mr. B was home for 48 hours. When it was time for a break, no ideas at all sprang to mind for a project or anything to make. Until a small pile of ??? who knows, handkerchiefs for children, maybe, turned up. After a quick press and rummage through my stash for the right color of seam binding, voila! A cheerful little banner to show you:

These are all bright, folk-art looking cloths in primary colors.They seem vaguely Hungarian to me, but that may not be right. There is a sixth piece but it was oddly faded compared to the rest, so didn't make the cut. It certainly is an easy way to add some interest to the edge of a shelf or over a mirror and a simple way to display small bits of hankies, scraps or quilt blocks. 

Here is one more shot:

Now, back to real chores. Have a great week.

Michele

Weekly Wrap Up

Hi, folks,

We are enjoying very cool weather for May, such a pleasant surprise. Here are a few of my recent buys, some for us and others to resell:

There are some books, Pottery Barn place mats, striped place mats, a new wallet because  my old one came apart, a sunflower tablecloth, Molly Brett matted picture, new pincushion, cat embroidery, Ralph Lauren sheet, toy binoculars, a enameled metal can for sugar, girls pants new with tag, Smith and Hawken metal basket new with tag and a two pack of small notebooks. One is labeled "great ideas" and the other "crazy ideas". Oh, and one of those silver plated casserole holders people in blog land make cool things from.

There is also a ziplock bag full of doll furniture and accessories, like miniature books behind the sugar can, which I'm hoping will be  the inspiration to make something soon.

Flossie wants to know where the cat toys are. Sorry, Floss, no kitty fun from this week's haul.

I thought the  pants with horses on them were cute and should be salable  since they're new. The RL sheet has bears on it. I've sold mugs with the same bears--hockey, cowboy, captain, etc. several times so perhaps this will arouse interest too. I like the black cat embroidery for its whimsicality. The Molly Brett illustration has bunnies, a bird and flowers; I'm sure there is an empty frame  somewhere it will fit into. 

Not shown: a curb picked chair that's still in my car, grabbed en route to get a haircut. 

Have a great weekend, whatever your plans may be!

Michele

May Small Change

Hi, all,

I'm still more than a little aMAYzed that it's May already. I've nothing big to report, but did want to shift my April showers front door decor.  It seemed like a fine time to break out the hydrangea wreath bought several months ago.

Hydrangeas are beautiful; I wonder why we have had no luck growing them? My grandmother always had big bushes and she didn't  do anything special,  they just grew.

That's my small effort for Thursday. Or, as an old friend of mine used to call it, Friday Eve.

Have a good one!
Michele