Can't stop creating

We had our second Saturday in our new "Boutique".  We have to iron out some growing pains, which of course comes with every new venture, but we are trusting that things will work out.  I advertised in four media and will continue to do so weekly.  We have to try and be fair to each other and respect each others thoughts, feelings and ideas and I'm sure as each of us finds our own "happy ground", things will be great.  We are an easy going bunch and so far work well together and just like a marriage, there has to be give and take and right now I seem to be the one who has the most items (after years of creating) so I have to be prepared to give way when someone else needs to express themselves and have the focus on them instead of on my crap, I mean craft.  That being said, here are a few of my latest projects........

I picked up this tiny chair at one of the thrift stores...........

and painted it white for the gorgeous old-fashioned doll Laurie made me to sit on.................

how cute is that?

I picked these keys up also at the thrift store and shabbied them up to look like old stone...................

As they were

Midway

Finished, to look like old stone

I also made what we call "Hooker Boards", which can have a multitude of uses, including hanging up your coats, or just for decoration.........................

From this

to this

and from this

to this

I found this wine bag recently and decided to paint on it and spruce it up.  It is now in the Boutique for sale.................

Wouldn't this make a delightful gift to give your host/hostess with a bottle of his/her favourite wine?

One more item before I show you my very favourite pieces.  This shelf I picked up a while ago and almost tossed it because I couldn't come up with anything special but whilst shuffling through my bits and pieces I found this pretty rose and decided to add it................

And now for my latest attempts at painting.  These are done in acrylic on wood and lightly sprayed with a Krylon lacquer to seal them.



Of course, I am saving the very best for last.  The latest photo of my darling grandchildren Rhys and Katherine with their parents.  Can't wait to see them all next month.



'Til we meet again, God bless, be healthy and happy.

Church Street Boutique

Saturday was the first day that the Church Street Boutique was open.  All-in-all, it was a very successful day, not a great deal of people came through but then we haven't even started to advertise.  I think that advertising will be the next thing on our agenda and I will have to investigate different sites where we can advertise for free for hobbyists.

The three of us, Carol, Gary and myself are very satisfied with the way the "boutique" is looking (not bad for just over a week's work - we only signed the lease about 10 days ago), and we are hoping that it will become a place where our friends, both old and new, will stop by, pick up a few gifts (especially now that Christmas is fast approaching) and perhaps have a cuppa with us.  I am providing (thanks to my son Gareth) a microwave, coffee pot and electric kettle, as well as the coffee, creamer, sugar,  teabags and mugs to get us started.

Here are a few photos I took of how it looks today.  We are trusting that it will change as we sell and replace items.  Check it out.............

I paid the "boutique" two visits today to sort out some items and price others.  Carol, Gary and myself did the rounds of Value Village and Habitat for Humanity looking for items from which to create our masterpieces, LOL and we actually did find quite a few choice pieces.  Must have been the day for it as other times you can drop by and find nothing.  I spent this evening painting up what I had bought and of course I will show you in the next blog, so until then, have a wonderful week.  We have lots of rain at the moment, as I "speak" it is battering against the windows.  Fall is almost upon us and it never fails, as soon as the kiddies go back to school, the weather changes.

I'll keep this one short for a change and will leave you with a picture of my darling grandson Rhys............

and his beautiful little sister Katherine



Retirement is so much fun

If someone had told me that I would be having so much fun in my retirement I would have smiled and thought to myself that it couldn't be that great, but it really is.  I am so busy.  The only drawback is that the days are just flying by, so I had better enjoy each day as it comes.

Off to the movies with the ladies from the Library (Helena and Janis).

Famous author Clayton Hammond (Dennis Quaid) attends to a public reading of his new book, The Words, centered on Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper), an aspiring writer who lives in New York City with his girlfriend, Dora (Zoe Saldana). With the help of his father (J.K. Simmons), Rory gets a job as a mail supervisor in a literary agency and attempts to sell his first novel, that is continually rejected by publishers.
Rory and Dora eventually get married and, during their honeymoon in Paris, Dora presents Rory with an old briefcase bought from an antiques store. Returning to America, Rory finds a masterfully written manuscript in the briefcase and transcribes it to his laptop. Mistakenly assuming Rory wrote it, Dora encourages him to meet with a publisher, Joseph Cutler (Zeljko Ivanek), who offers Rory a contract upon reading the manuscript, which Rory accepts. The book is a hit, and Rory becomes an awarded author.
Hammond takes a break from the reading and goes backstage, where he is introduced by his agent (John Hannah) to Danielle (Olivia Wilde), a student and amateur writer who wants to interview him, and notes that he is separated from his wife, although he still wears a wedding ring. Hammond agrees to meet her after the ceremony and returns to the podium, where he continues to read the book.
The second part of the reading details Rory's encounter with the Old Man (Jeremy Irons), who reveals himself as the true author of the manuscript. He explains that, as a young man (Ben Barnes), he was stationed in France in the final days of World War II and fell in love with a waitress named Celia (Nora Arnezeder). They got married and had a daughter, but the baby died shortly after birth, leaving the couple bankrupt. Unable to cope with the loss, Celia left the Man and moved to her parents' house. The Man then used his pain as inspiration to write the manuscript, which he sent to Celia in a briefcase, convincing her to return to him. However, she forgot the briefcase in the train after her trip back to Paris, and the manuscript was lost. Infuriated, the Man abandoned Celia. Upon hearing of this, Rory attempts to credit the Old Man for the novel, but the Old Man refuses, leaving Rory alone, forced to live with his mistake.
The public reading ends, and Danielle accompanies Hammond back to his apartment, where she pressures him into telling her how the story ends. Hammond confides with her that Rory told his wife the truth, and her disappointment was such that she left him. His attempts to give the Old Man proper credit were undone by Cutler, fearing that his reputation would be tarnished. Desperate, Rory sought the Old Man one last time, and the Old Man revealed that, years after he abandoned Celia, he spotted her in a train station as he was returning to America, having found another husband and had a daughter with him. The Old Man claims people always move on from their mistakes, as did Celia, and Rory will, too.
Danielle continues to pressure Hammond for more details, and he reveals that the Old Man died not long after, but Rory never moved on, and was tormented by nightmares until he focused his grief on another book, one that'd allow him to tell the true story of the manuscript. Rory titled the book The Words.
Danielle kisses Hammond, but he pulls away, fearing to move on. As he is forced to question himself and see if he is ready, he remembers Rory lying in Dora's arms as she tells him everything will be alright. It's left unclear if The Words is a semi-autobiographic book, with Rory being Hammond's surrogate.

Just returned home from the movies and this one was an enjoyable one - had a little twist at the end.  You will have to go and see it for yourselves.

Last post I showed you pictures of "Church Street Boutique" in it's original state.  Here are a couple of new photos showing how we have improved the look with painting the walls and floor.  Still quite a bit to do, but it is taking shape..............



Here are a few more "crow" pillows I have made and painted...............

Would you like to see some more of the sets of cushion covers I have made - you would?  Oh, but you are so kind...............



No better way to end this post than with a couple of photos of my grandkids.  Rhys (three years old) had his first day of pre-school and loved every minute of it and sweet little Katherine (nearly six months) is just a happy little girl..................

And that's it until next time.  God bless and have a great week.