Pay it Forward

Wow! It's spreading like wildfire, this pay it forward idea! My blog list was full of people participating and I finally clicked on Tonya's site to figure out what was going on, why so many blogs had the same picture up.

I'm close to 100 followers and wanted to do a giveaway. I'm a procrastinator. I would've gotten to 200 before I got around to it! This just pushed me in the right direction. Here is how it works:

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Pay it Forward

The first 5 people who comment on this blog post will receive a handmade gift from me. In return, you must FIRST write a blog post explaining Pay It Forward 2011. Then.... send out a handmade gift to the first 5 visitors who leave a comment on your post. Take your time...you don't need to send them all today or tomorrow.
This is such a sweet way to connect with friends or meet new ones, by sharing things we create with our hearts.

"It's not the size of the gift that matters, but the spirit of paying it forward."
Don't forget to include your email address in your post so that I can email you to request your mailing address.

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That's it, easy as pi (Happy Pi Day by the way). Now I just have to decide what to make and send on to my 5 followers. That just might be the only hard part!

The sun is shining and this is the first day of a new work schedule for me, minus one part-time job. It will mean less money in the bank, but more time with the family and I think that is more important, though happiness doesn't pay the bills, lol. It also means my sleep schedule is turned on its head, but I will get through. What I need to do is start exercising on the days that I sleep late but need to get to bed at a decent time (read: normal time like the rest of the world) so that I'm tired. Scrubbing floors, painting walls, and doing general spring cleaning will do the trick too. More dinners with the family! Yay! I will squeeze in crafting time and everyone will be happy. : )

~Michelle

Consignment Store Finds

I've been working a different schedule this week, helping out at one of my part-time jobs. I couldn't say no even if gas for the car is an arm and a leg! Today I'm home with a sick kid instead of working, so I thought I would blog. : )

I have had some time to kill between getting home from work and picking the kiddo up from track practice after school, so I've been roaming around town. I went to a shop I've driven by tons of times, but only stopped in once when they first opened a year or so ago. It's called Pieces. My tastes have changed since then and I thought I would see what they have that fits my new design tastes. Wow. I was tempted, but only walked out with a small $8 item this time. Here are some of the things I was drooling over, taken on my cell phone......



Old crock with a 5 on the side. 5 gallons?



These lamps reminded me of Pfaltzgraff. They look nicer in the shop and need shades. They are Ethan Allen.



I couldn't move back enough to get a full shot. Just an old box.



Wooden tray

Wow! This would be great to have as a decorative piece, but I have no place for it.



Little stool with a drawer.


One of my problems is that I don't know what's a good price for some items. They also have a tag system at the shop where as time goes on the price goes down, but you risk losing the item if someone else stops in before you get back and falls in love with it too!

The crock was around $50 and will go down to $33 at the end of April if it's still there. I have no idea if it's worth $50 or even $30, but either way I couldn't get it. I don't think I could have lifted it to get it in the car anyway, lol.

I almost bought that little stool with the drawer. It was $12. I would probably paint it and change the knob out, but I wasn't sure if I should spend $12 on it. So silly. So instead I spent $8 on a piece of "punched tin" that isn't handmade or probably even made in the USA. Oh well. I will stop in another day and see if the stool is still there.

Isn't that stove great? Oh how I wish I had a place to display it. I can picture a small crock of old utensils and other kitchen goodies displayed on it. I think it was only in the $200s which I thought was a good price. Again, not really a clue though, lol.

I'm glad I stopped in the shop. Lots of things to look at. There were even some matching pieces to the little Pfaltzgraff creamer that I found at the thrift store for 50 cents. She had the sugar and creamer for $6 and a bunch of other cups to match. I'm not sure yet if I want to collect more of this design, so I kept my wallet firmly snug in my pocket.

I do want to grab the lamps. I can't remember their price and I can't zoom in enough to see the tag. I do remember seeing that they are Ethan Allen and I wasn't shocked at the price. Maybe I will have to make a stop of there in the next few days. Our living room will be painted blue this summer, hopefully, and they would look great. The one table lamp we currently have is green metal and just doesn't fit. It's a hand-me-down from my in-laws and is actually kind of dangerous as it has these leaves wrapped around it that can be painful if you bump against one. I could use a lamp in my craft room so it will move up there when we paint.

I stopped into the thrift store yesterday and it was 50% off the entire store! I will post about that another day. Now it's time to check on the kiddo and fill my coffee mug. We have had nothing but rain for the past few days and I've managed to keep the headaches from attacking. Hope you all are staying warm and dry. : )

This week's thrift store finds

I have to pass the thrift store when I go grocery shopping (that's another reason why hubs is the grocery shopper in this family!) and of course couldn't help myself!

Not too many finds this time. A Pfaltzgraff milk bottle that is a soft yellow color and a Yorktowne creamer for $.50 each! No chips on either one. The creamer will probably be saved for after we paint our living room blue. Strange place for a creamer, but it will probably hold something else or just decorate a shelf. I can't find anything about the milk bottle online, but it is marked 'Pfaltzgraff Mexico' on the bottom so maybe it's not a popular thing here in the US.  Looking up the pattern name on the creamer, I fell in love with Village. I will be keeping an eye out for this pattern in the store from now on!

I also grabbed four small dessert-size wooden bowls (3 the same, 1 different) for $.90 that I can't wait to paint.

Since it was 50 cent day (on Mondays, a particular colored tag is only 50 cents), I checked out the wool sweaters as well. Two really nice men's sweater vests for - you guessed it - $.50 each. They felted/fulled up beautifully and will be the base of a few penny rugs in the near future.

I wanted to pass on this tip to anyone who felts/fulls sweaters. I ran them through the washer and dryer, and one of them didn't seem to budge. Hmph. 100% Merino Wool on the tag. I remembered something I read somewhere to cut the seams, so that's what I did. I cut up the sides on the seam and threw that sweater back in for round two. Ta-Da! It shrunk up nice!

A memorial

I've been saddened over hearing news of a woman, Lisa Roswell, who was washed away in her car a river here in NE Ohio due to the flooding we have been having. I was surprised to learn today that she was a cross-stitch designer. Of course I had to search out her designs. I did not know Lisa, but in memoriam I feel pulled to purchase a pattern and stitch. Boy did she have a thing for Halloween! "Gather" looks to be my favorite pattern out of all though. I think I will spend a little time reading her blog and getting to know this creative lady who is gone well before her time. Rest in peace...........

It's been a good day.

We decided after 48 hours of tummy troubles to take the doggy to the vet. We went to a new place as our last vet used to charge an arm and a leg, but we thought we were doing the best thing for our pup by going to the "expensive" vet. Silliness. Exam, shot, 3 pills....$50! Our old vet would charge us that just to walk in the door! Hopefully we will all get some sleep tonight as we are all tired and getting a bit cranky from taking him out every few hours around the clock. I'm sure the doggy doesn't enjoy it much either.

I ordered a small amount of wool from Ram in the Thicket to make another penny rug and more green for shamrocks. That's the beauty of Ram in the Thicket, you can just buy a small amount (3x18 inches) or as much as you need. I got my package today! I love getting mail!

You can see from this next picture how well the 'burnt sugar' and 'barnboard' go together. I have sunflowers planned for those two. The 'barnboard' is a new addition all the way from across the pond! It has a tweedy look to it with shades of golds, greys, and brown. Burnt sugar is the gold and vergennes is the green. Love that green!

Maybe I will do a little stitching tonight if all goes well with the pup. I think he is ready for a nice long nap after his trip to the vet! Me too, and I didn't even have to take him. Thank you hubby!

I hope you are all having a nice Saturday as well. Stay warm!

Oh boy!

I'm still nursing a sick doggy and I'm pooped - no pun intended! He was up every few hours last night to go potty and again this morning, so even though hubs helped a few times last night I still didn't get much sleep. It's like having a newborn baby!

Here he is last Fall enjoying all of the smells that come across on the breeze. Some days his nose is always up in the air!



Look out for that leaf!



Enjoying the Fall leaves

 We had a ton of snow fall very early this morning so it turned into a snow day. Kiddo was happy and I was happy I had one less thing to do this morning since I was so tired.

It's going to be a bottomless coffee cup kind of day!

No stitching for me today, just work.

Stay warm!

I had the strangest dream.......

I think we were at home (though it wasn't our current home) and there was this sort of shed in the backyard where my MIL kept her 'extras' for decorating or whatever, not real sure. I never really looked in it because it was all 'country' and not my style, but then I really took a look around one evening when it was raining (and for some reason this shed didn't really have windows) and I noticed lots of prim goodies! I said to hubs that it's raining and it will get ruined, might as well take it inside. lol. So I grabbed tons of stuff (it seemed to be set up like a store, everything set up nice on display) and took it to my house and decorated with it.

It was so bizarre! I wish it were true. *sigh* I could hold all of my prim goodies in my hands if I had to. I think with future thrift store excursions and garage sales this summer, and after we get the walls painted in our kitchen and living room, I might just start prim cozying up our house to make a home! It's only been three years. lol.

I think I might be a little sleep deprived and hence the strange dream. I do get plenty of sleep, it's just not in 8 hour segments. I'm a night owl, but the rest of the world revolves around day shift. Silly. : )  I put the kiddo on the bus only to come home to hubs telling me the doggy has "The Big D." You know what I'm talkin about. It's just noon and we have been out three times and hubs took him out twice. Poor guy. I'm making him rice and chicken. I read that we are supposed to hold food for 24 hours, but have you ever tried to keep food from a pug (he is pug/beagle mix)??? It ain't gonna happen. So we will just give him little helpings of rice and chicken. It's going to be a long day, but thankfully he is very good at telling me he has to go, go, go!!!    : )  He is snuggled up on an old comforter on the floor next to the computer desk so I can keep an eye on him. Such a good boy when he isn't feeling well.

Hopefully you are all having a nicer Thursday. : )  Stay warm!