Gulf Animals in Need of Our Help

In light of the ongoing, and seemlingly unending tragedy in the gulf, I have decided to give 10 percent of my Etsy earnings to a much deserved charity,  Defenders of Wildlife .  As a teenager, I was a member of this organization.   Months ago I became a member of Etsy for Animals, and since part of being an active member of this worthwhile group of animal lovers is to give to an animal related charity,  I have decided to once again focus on Defenders.   I hope anyone who reads  this will somehow give to the gulf oil spill tragedy clean-up.  Some of the ways you can help is by shopping at Etsy, and search for Team EFA, to see what handmade goods you might find that members have to offer.  Or you can give to your own animal related charity, it does not have to be Defenders.  Every bit helps.  I also urge you to consider joining EFA yourself, and see how good it feels to give part of yourself.  These animals need us. Please do what you feel you can. 

~~ Ladies Night Out in My Hometown~~

Recently my good friend Terry decided to throw a Ladies Night Out party at her house, complete with lots and lots of food, wine tasting, shopping and demonstrations. Pampered Chef, Silpada, and my art were all the featured items, and good laughs were had by all. What a great way to kick off Summer, with friends and all the things ladies love to do. Thank you Terry!

A sideboard filled with some of my things

The Pampered Chef!

The hostess herself, my good friend Terry and the Silpada Queen, Shannon

Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun!

~~~ Something New Out of Something(s) Old~~~

Have you ever had  a mental vision of a project, and when it came to starting the project, nothing went right?  That's how it started when I began making this chippy room dividing screen out of shabby old doors.  I wanted one to take to my art shows as a display piece, and use it at home for a photo prop for my Etsy shop items. I couldn't get it to look "just right",  I spent more money on the elements than I had planned,  and it caused a few curse words I must admit!  But now that it is finished, I love it even more than I had anticipated, and am glad I persevered.  Made of old doors, rusty hinges,  a vintage looking chalkboard, (my little girl wrote out the welcome sign) antique doorknobs, rusty hooks and finials, an old wire basket,  an old hat rack and last but not least, cute little metal letters that spell out my "name".  My friend Marie of SantAngeloDesigns on Etsy sent me these letters a couple of months back and I have waited for just the right use for them.  Thanks again,  Marie.  You made my shabby old dividing screen cuter than I had even envisioned!

~~~Antique Shopping Jackpot!~~~

On a perfectly wonderful Spring day, my friend Amy and I took off for a day of antiquing.  I have been finding a few great deals lately and today was no exception.  I wanted to show off my finds! 

I have a project in mind with old silverware. I love that tarnished aged patina!  I found a lot of 21 mixed pieces for $7.

This was probably once  somekind of a tool box. The original paint and aged look is perfect for either an assemblage or shadowbox.  $4!!

This vintage wall cubby is going to either be a cute storage shelf in my daughter's room for her Webkinz, or I might use it for display at shows.  It measures 32 inches long. $12!!

I found some other outstanding deals that I had a hard time passing up.  I am finding that antiques are so afffordable right now. I have no idea why anyone would want to purchase anything new!

Why Me?

Yesterday a huge bolt of lightning zapped our phone line.  It may be 3 more days before it is repaired. This morning, we lost power for no apparent reason. An hour later, the power was restored ( still no phone), but the Direct TV satellite dish is not getting signal. Although our bedroom tv works, the family room one is "searching for signal".  I have neglected blogging lately so I logged into my blog, and began visiting my favorite blogs, but when I try and leave a comment, I get an error message I have never seen before.  When I try and go to Google Blogger help, it sends me to a help forum where all I see is other frustrated people posting about problems they are having. NO where is there a number to speak to a live person for help, and NO one from Google Support has bothered to commment on any of the problem topics going on.  There are several people commenting there on the same error code I am getting, but no answers!

This has been one frustrating week and it is only Wednesday!  If anyone has ever gotten an error code

(bX-fh6cn9) when trying to make comments at blogs, what did you do? How was it remedied?  Please help!  And forgive my venting!!  I am sorely neglecting blogging and visiting my favorites, but this time it is not even my fault!

*~*~*Happy Spring/Happy Easter~*~*~

Some of my favorite Easter finds throughout the years.  What are everyones plan's for Easter this year?  I think it will be a quiet one for us, a trip to our cabin.  Time to start enjoying the outdoors again.  Fresh air, birds singing, grass greening, everything coming to life again.  Part of what Easter represents to me.   I am hoping beyond all hope that we might have an owl nesting in one of our 2 owl boxes. I will keep you posted!

~*~*A Need to Connect With Mother Nature*~*~

Spring is here!! It has been in the 60's and sunny every day this week, and how good it feels to shed the jacket, throw open the windows and clean out the screened porch, welcoming birds and green shoots of flowers.  Although this weekend much to my dismay, we are predicted to get snow and slushy rain.  Back to reality! But one can dream and plan, and in the mean time I have been working on an assemblage which shouts "outdoors" & "nature" and "Springtime"!!   Have you ever created something to sell and when it came time to list it, you weren't sure if you could actually part with it?  This is one of those creations. Available in my Etsy shop , similar to one I sold several months ago, only larger.  Hurry up Spring, only this time to stay!