This & That

This & That is the theme of the day since I have a little of This & That to share. First, isn't this such a cute little tee? Check out Sherry over at Prairie Home. She has an awesome blog and also sales items at her barn. I've got my tee ordered and can't wait to get it.

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Can anyone identify what is in the next pic?

What did you guess? Eggs? Potatoes? Rocks?

No, No, & No!

Did you guess gourds? You got it!..........they are egg gourds all dried and look like Easter eggs.

You can paint them, decorate them, or leave them natural for Easter decorations. Since I really can't stand the plastic, bright eggs used as decorations I thought these gourd eggs are really neat. I'm not sure what I will do with these yet.

Found them at the flea market last Saturday for 25 cents each. I had a booth again and did much better than the first time I participated. I also picked up a vintage luggage rack and an urn.

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I've also been spending a little time with my new friend Mod. You may know her, you know, Mod Podge? I have been thinking of decoupaging eveything since I did the plate stand. I had not decoupaged since girl scouts I think when I put magazine cut-outs all over a trash can. I had totally forgotten how fun it can be. Here is what I did the other day..................a toile clipboard. I have a lot of wallpaper scraps left from the toile kitchen redo so wanted to use some for the clipboard.

Herbal Blessings, Mandy

No Auction Today

No auction for me today as I need to stay home and get something done. I have done a couple little painting projects........a little stool and a wooden stand. The stand looks real bland so I think I will decoupage some old music to the top and maybe some pressed flowers. I'm not a big fan of 'antiquing' with paint so I will jazz it up another way.The stool was plain brown and I glued on the wooden wreath and painted it white. Cute, I think for a little girl's room or a shabby chic room or bathroom or beside a fireplace.......I can think of a lot of places for it. I plan to take it to the flea market next Saturday though.

I also bagged some of the potpourri I make and am calling it Cottage Garden Potpourri. It is flower petals and herbs from my garden. I do not let any petal of any kind go to waste and toss them all in this huge hat box I have and after they have dried I add either lavender oil or rose oil or sometimes both, and orris root as a fragrance fixative. After deadheading flowers in the summer I save all those petals. I find it very relaxing to rest outside after working in the garden and pull apart the parts of the plant I want to save for various crafts, etc.

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After I am done with this post I plan to put together some little dried flower wreaths that will go in some of the old picture frames purchased at auctions. I will post pics when they are done. Here are the supplies waiting for me to assemble them after getting cozy in a comfy chair and hopefully finding an old movie to watch.

Just Bee

Today was my Saturday to work....9:00-12:00....so not bad but would have been nice to sleep in. Stopped at a flea market afterwards and found this bee. It will go in the garden. I have other bees out there as I have started to collect them (kinda, sorta) since my last name starts with the letter 'B'. Plus bees are so important to pollination. Most the time it's just me and the bees in the garden and of course lots and lots of butterflies too.

I'm not sure what kind of glass this bee is made of but I can tell it is vintage. The glass balls are painted on the inside a silver and gold color. The wrought iron also matches the wrought iron on the porches of Calendula Court. Can't wait for Spring so I can find her a herb to perch under.

Speaking of Spring........................here are some of my flower pots waiting patiently in the garage for their annual seeds.

Can you see the pink SALE sign? Everyone knows the yard sale is at my house when the pink signs appear on the street corners.

Making Tags

Yesterday I tea-stained some paper to use for making tags. These tags will be the price tags for the items I sell at the upcoming Flea market and also for BLOOM~N~Bottles. This is something I just came up with and wanted to share how I do it.

First I make a pot of hot tea and use about 6 tea bags per pot. I use regular tea for the brownish color. Flavored teas can be used for color variation.......like chamomile for a lighter, yellowish color, chai for a reddish color, etc. I pour the tea in a cake pan and place one piece of computer paper at a time in the pan. Let the tea soak through and then take the paper out and lay it on a towel. (Note.......you will have a tea-dyed towel also so use an old one!)

The splotchy old look comes from squeezing the tag bags on the paper and also pouring more tea on. I just ladle more and more on throughout the day..............................................................After the paper dries, it looks like it is 100 years old. Now you can run it through your printer.

After that I glue old book pages to the light side of the paper (so the old, darker side shows) and cut out individual tags.

Then I use my Bee stamp with sparkly gold ink. Don't they look old? These I cut but if the edges were simply torn that would be cute too. Today I will be pricing all the items for the flea market next Saturday. It will be fun to go through all the boxes of stuff I have acquired and see what all is there.

WOO-HOO

I just have a quick second to share my good news.......................................(drum roll)......................I made my first sale on Etsy!!!!!! I was so excited to see that e-mail come through with the subject; Esty Sale. Ok, I know I am getting way to ebullient about this but that means I am a few dollars closer to 'Destination Paris.' Since I am confidently sure the buyer will show off her beauteous BLOOM~N~Bottle to everyone she knows I must get busy and create some more. In order to do that I need more vintage rhinestone jewelry so last night I went ebay shopping and won the 2 lots I bid on. Here they are.......................................................................

I am very anxious to get these so I can craft away an afternoon as my mind wanders off dreaming of the treasures to be found in Paris at the flea markets there.