Having a quiet month!!

The month of March was very quiet as regards "thrifting" and "creating", so this is going to be a very short post.  I need to find a few small wooden items (e.g. tables) to paint and re-purpose.  Donations are always welcome, LOL  It's hard to find items like this as I don't drive.

I found this gorgeous frame and found that it matched a few others I have in my apartment which contain lovely crow pictures painted by my dear friend Laurie, so rather than recycle it, I mentioned to Laurie how great it would look with another of her crows in it.  Of course, she was kind enough to whip one up for me and here they are, one without a painting and the other with.

 Aren't they gorgeous???  Thanks so much Laurie.

This is a piece I did myself of a crow on burlap in a shabby chic frame - it's in my Boutique, for sale.

I picked up this shelf and painted it black, an easy fix....

It's now in my Boutique for sale. 

I decided to turn all my jewelry into grab bags in the hope that I could finally sell it all.  It has been a few years since I did all the craft shows where things like this sold very well, but now not so much.  In each bag I have a minimum of seven items which I am selling for $5 a bag.  They are now in my Boutique for sale and also in my local grocery store, City Meat Market and they have been doing very well there.  They are so good to me.  They also are a great little family grocery store which sells locally grown produce as well as organic meat, etc.

I worked on this delightful mailbox. It needed a new coat of paint, another easy fix.

I bought this old wagon, I think it was one of the original 'Little Red Wagons'.  It certainly has taken a beating over the years but it is still in very good condition and strong....

And that's about it.  At the moment I am working on a little table/plant stand, whatever, it can be used for either and am filling holes in the top and sanding it.  When that is done, I will decide what colour I will paint it and whether I will shabby chic it.....

As usual, I am leaving you with a couple of photos of my darling grandkids whom I hope to go and visit in a few weeks, now that the snow is beginning to go away, although someone told me today that it is supposed to snow again either tomorrow or Saturday, enough already!!!! LOL

Katherine, the birthday girl, just turned two....

 Big brother Rhys, mischievous as usual...

 Birthday girl opening presents from Grandma (me)....

 And, darling Rhys again - can't wait to see these darlings......

Well folks, I hope that wherever you are, you are well and happy.  Until the next time, take care of yourselves.

Hugs, 

Dear Friend remembered, and more!!

Only a few months ago, my ex-colleagues and I lost a very good friend and co-worker to cancer.  She had struggled with this "devil" for over twenty years, always silently fighting and putting on a very brave face.  She had the most wonderful sense of humour and would have us in stitches, sometimes at the most inappropriate times, especially when the head honcho was close by and would almost catch us carrying on like silly teenagers.  Ah, those were the days.  I hope that she is now resting in the arms of her Creator and with those she loved.  The reason why I am mentioning her is because many years ago she gave me a beautiful angel as part of a Christmas present exchange, and every year since I have brought it out of its place of honour in my curio cabinet to top my tree.  This year, it felt so different as I placed it on top of my little Christmas tree, the memories and emotions came flooding back and I uttered a small prayer for the repose of her soul.  Rest in peace my friend.  Here are a couple of photos of the tree, graced with the angel.

Now on to other things.  As usual, I have been working on this and that and will be putting them in my Boutique in the hopes that someone will take pity on me and my hard work and buy them, LOL   I nearly always forget to take photos before I begin a project and this first one is no exception.  I found this in an almost abandoned shop a few weeks ago and got up the nerve to go inside and ask the owner if he was thinking of selling it.  The sweet young man gave it to me, so I dragged it home on my shopping cart and here it is..... oh, I did buy him an apple juice and muffin the next day from City Meat Market for his break.

Talking about City Meat Market, here is a wooden piece I did and they bought it to go along with a welcome sign that I sold them earlier in the year....

I just love those people, they are the kindest, sweetest people I know and all their produce is top quality.  There is nothing that they won't do to assist you in your shopping needs, even going out of their way to bring in special items for you.  In my case, they keep me stocked up in ice-cream, pralines and cream of course!!!!  Merry Christmas Rosina, John, Lori, Jamie, Christian and their families.

I found a really old, beaten up piano stool at one of my local thrift stores - it really was in a pitiful state, but not too far gone for me to attempt to revive it.  It still has a few more sonatas worth of life in it.  Here is the before picture, followed by the afters........

I even sawed about 1/2 inch off the legs so that I could fit them with little caps as the original feet had been removed.  I looked online for feet but the prices were just too high to justify me buying them as my prices in the Boutique are very reasonable.  Just have to give it a little more "protection" and it will be ready to sell.  Do you like it?  This is one of the things that I would love to hold on to but I can't keep everything I like - my apartment isn't small by any means, but enough is enough, LOL

Okay, the next two items are magazine racks.  I guess they don't have to be used as such.  I thought one of them would be ideal to use as a Library "holder".  Books and DVD's borrowed could be kept here, easy to see and easy to find when due.  Here they are......

From this....

To this.....

And, from this....

To this....

I made a dear friend a set of three cushion covers to go with a table runner that she had bought for her coffee table.  I wish I had taken a photo of a covered cushion to show just how pretty they looked.  This is the cover, freshly ironed.....

I painted two mirrors - they were white but I think they look so much more elegant painted black...

Re-finished a shelf, from this....

To this....

I chopped off the duck.

And my final projects for this month are wooden signs for that delightful man in your life who likes to have his own space.  Here I will show you the work in progress.....

Let's see if I can find a couple of photos of the little darlings (my grandkiddies, Katherine and Rhys) to end this post..............

Thanks to Anna their most loving day care provider for the photos.

If I don't get around to posting again before the New Year, I take this opportunity of wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  May Christmas be everything you need it to be and the New Year bring you good health and happiness.

Hugs,  

Baby, it's cold outside

It's looking like a beautiful day out there today, in spite of it being -20 celsius, Brr.  If I do decide to brave the elements and walk to the mall I had better put on my long woolly knickers, heavy coat and my "owl" toque!!  Just kidding, I don't have an owl hat, okay, and I don't have long woolly knickers either, but I had better wrap up really well 'cos "baby, it's cold outside".

I hope you  all had a great week and are well.  It still amazes me how fast the weeks are flying by.  It was okay when we were young, but now that I am somewhat older, okay, I have been tried and tested a few times, LOL and am closer to 70 than to 60, it is sometimes a bit of a concern to me.  The good Lord only promised us approximately three score and ten and I'm fast approaching that and I still have lots of crafts to make, "so Lord, slow down, you're going too fast, gotta make my retirement last".

As usual, I have been at it again, thrifting, painting, crafting and such, but boy, have I had fun doing it.  The little boutique that I share with two others and where I have my "stuff" is looking really good.  The three of us have a blend of very interesting items for sale.  We are still in the infant stage but we are hoping that more people will hear about us and come visit us on Saturdays.  It is located in a not well travelled spot so it is only through advertising and word of mouth that people find us.

That's a little glimpse of the boutique and now to show you what I have been up to lately.

Did some artwork...........

  

which resulted in a few similar but in different colours.....

I found two cute little bottles in the ThinkKitchen store in our local mall and added a decal which I purchased online from The Polka Dot Closet http://thepolkadotcloset.blogspot.ca/.  Carol, the owner and very talented lady has lots of very interesting ideas on how to use her decals.  I just love them.

I improved on some plaques and turned them into key racks......

From this............

To this..............

I have had these butterflies for quite some time and wasn't sure what to do with them - I think they look great on here.  Amazing what a few decals and hooks will do.

I made a few more wooden signs (sold a "Welcome" one last week to my local grocer for their store - Thanks City Meat Market).

They started out something like this, after having cut out the letters which were then painted and glued to the painted and stressed wood.

This is a cute "whatever" I found at the local thrift store and it goes so well with my "primitive" items that I am keeping it.

I still have lots more things to show you but I had better stop before I drive you nuts.  So I'll leave you with one last one.  It was a donation box apparently handmade by a gentleman when the thrift store first opened.  I was lucky enough to get the last few existing and I turned mine into a Valentine box.  I guess the time of year gave me that idea.  What else could they be used for?  If someone buys it, they can use it any way they like.

Well, that's it folks.  Sorry I don't have any new photos of my darlings (grandkids), but hope by the next blog I will.  Have a wonderful day, whether it is reading a good book, doing some crafts or even going for a walk.  'Til next time, God bless.