Little Altered Frame with Love from Across Blogland

A while back I came across this very cheap plastic frame at the second hand store. And when I say cheap, I mean less than a dollar. 

I liked the shape, but wasn't really all that sure on what to do with it. 

My first plan of attack was to remove the backing that was less than desirable. 

Here is a very terrible cell phone photo of the frame with some gesso. I thought maybe gesso would let me "stain" the flowers with some ink. It didn't really work like that though...so had a variety of things I tried until I was happy!

Thankfully Lizzy Hill sent me some A-mazin' flowers to work with! 

Want another shot of them? I KNOW! They ROCK! I added some cheese cloth and leaves and some itty bitty little seed beads...and it all made me so very happy!

Did you see the purple ones at the top near the little bangle that Helen sent me?

Marivic sent me that very cool black pin too! Lots of fun stuff on here from some awesome bloggers.

Now the idea for printing on canvas came to me from Lisa from Kansas. It was terribly easy. She suggested ironing on some wax paper on the back of the canvas. Mine was too thick so I just cut it to be 8 1/2 by 11 and it worked just like paper! Had to feed it through twice to get it to print, but I was really happy with how it turned out!

Now, just need some of those hangers that stick on the back and I'm good to go! Oh, and a spot to hang it....

Hope you slid happily into your Monday after a fun weekend! 

And, thanks girls in Blog Land for your inspiration and for making my project come together so nicely!

Happy Mother's Day in Glass

Well, Lexi and I are off to hit Lowville with the Aunt who is visiting from California and meeting my Mom at a spa day. We are all pretty excited about this!

It's pretty much a blue moon when my Aunt is in town and even more so that we're all going for a massage....my last one was...um....four years ago perhaps? Lexi wants her nails done and perhaps a hair extension. I wonder what THE MAN will say if it's HOT PINK? (shhhhh)

I just wanted to share my Mom's art here today. Hot off the table, this window was custom designed and is LOVELY!

It looks like a second one is cut out below. I can't even imagine two of these in one room. Mind blowing!

So, have a great Mother's Day, Girl's Day and Sunday!

Flea Market Therapy

So yesterday was wet and cold. In fact, I thought I saw a snowflake, but it might have just been an apple blossom fluttering around.

On the rare occasion I get sick of working at home, I try to wander out for some retail therapy. Problem is....there is not a lot of that where I am.

Today the lack of cheese in the fridge made me think I needed to head for Canton. I was seriously considering a sandwich, but with no cheese? For sure time to find lunch elsewhere!  ;-)

I decided to go to the indoor flea market. So a long time ago when I was in college, they used to have an Ames Dept. Store right in Canton.

Not sure when it closed, but recently they opened a large chunk of it up for vendors. It is good for a garage sale fix in the middle of winter. Or during a rainy early spring day.

I tried to take an overall photo, but too many nooks and crannies to really get a good feel for it all.

Instead, let me introduce you to Orange Blossom. YES, she is UGLY. VERY. (horrible photo too, but it's from my phone) For some reason I get the idea I should buy this thing and make it better. I think it's the legs I like. So far, resisted the urge.

I also resisted the lure of this itty bitty little baby couch that has seen better days. It is still adorable.

Also very temping was this fancy clock. Lucky for me, I don't have a mantel which is where I am pretty sure this should go. The metal trolley car on the top is separate....

And what did I return home with? The spoils of the Thrift Store? Just a cup of coffee from Burger King next door and a smile! I'll save them all for another purchase....

Happy Friday!

Spring Busy Page for Scrap For Help Challenge

Our lawn is a mixture of grass, clover, and a whole lotta dandelions. We embrace the little yellow flower unlike our city friends. Firstly, when you are mowing, you can clearly see a green edge amongst the yellow. Secondly, there is something therapeutic watching them shoot out of the side of the mower. Thirdly? The bees and butterflies freak out over them!

Seriously.

My lawn and trees are a buzzing mass of happiness.

Insects hard at work gathering.

I'd like to sit outside in a lawn chair and just listen to the hum but the wireless doesn't reach that far...plus there are the blood thirsty black flies...also hard at work.

So, what is one to do? Send out the 11 year old with a camera. She came home, had a frustrating day at school so I suggested she chase around some of the butterflies. Not sure what they are, but they are everywhere! See them up there with their orange, black and white spots? Made a great die cut!

WHO wants to bet my Dad identifies them for me and they eat something I like......

So out she went in the bright sunshine, with my camera. Got lots of cute photos and she only got one really bad bug bite...

Thought I'd link this page up with Scrap for Help where they require the use of an old envelope! Mine has the dandelion photo peeking out.



Also used some very old lace on here that was passed along by Marilyn.

And grabbed a bag of VERY old Close to My Heart and Stampin' Up paper. Felt good to use some of it up!

It included this perfect butterfly or moth paper!

 Of course my very favorite part of this page was this vintage advertisement featuring a dandelion! Thanks Marivic!

And I leave you with the infamous words of an old boss who liked to walk around and say:

BUSY BUSY WORKY WORKY

Very annoying. :-)

Sweet Little One Card

Had to make a quick little card for my cousin who just had a new baby. Just a few scraps out on my table so added them to a card with some grungy ink!

It's funny, the card is always the fun part...now to get it in the mail with a check! But, that is way easier than a new baby! 

It's all fun and games until....Scrapbook Page

I had a bit of fun with this page this past weekend.

I had stopped by the local craft store and he had this kit in from October Afternoon I had to have...so mixed that up with my new May Scraptastic Kit and I had a ball. I always love blue and yellow.

I had an awesome sketch to use from Sketches with a Twist where Lizzy C. is on the design team.

Wanted to use three photos, but Lexi only would let me take one and then hid under a pillow. She was having a bit of a moment this weekend. Thankfully she is a cheerful child and it went better than I thought it would.

But you can read the journaling for yourself....I do really hate this slow painful transition into teenage years which is why October Afternoon cheered me up a bit. I had two dresses to pick from and went with the pink....I miss the twirly dress days where we didn't have the drama.

And here is close up of my fussy cutting. I cut this ticket out of the blue paper that is scallopy. I want to enter this page in the latest ScrapFit challenge for fussy cutting!

My title cracks me up. Reminds me of a Mom yelling:  It's all Fun and Games until someone loses an EYE! Or Gets HURT! which is why I came up with it since Lexi was a bit hurt. Oh well, this is just the TIP of the Iceberg and I rest easy knowing she will not grow up to be a meanie 'cause I'm not letting her!

Anyhow, Happy Tuesday!

Dirt Therapy

A nice long weekend with Friday off inspired me to go chipping on Sunday. Now, it is still early Spring here, so no need to get a whole ton of flowers to start doing the boxes on the deck..but it was perfect time to get a nice load of wood chips.....for the flower beds. Plants are still real small so it was easy to chip around them.

I always love going to Millers in Lisbon. It's probably about a half hour drive from here and the scoops of chips are HUGE and the plants amazing.

I of course had to have a good wander around first. Had a moment in here with the hanging baskets. We are in a bit of a windy open spot so something this amazing would have to be watered constantly to keep it happy, so avoided those.



















More wandering. Had a HUGE moment in this greenhouse. I will have to go back to get my flowers for my deck for sure.

AND, Mr. Miller loads me up with two scoops of chips using his tractor. He is a good dude and helps me cinch the load down with the tarp so I am not losing chips in town. This is one of the reasons I drive out. I know he will help when I fumble with the ratchet straps.




















And my purchases.....Just a few goodies, mostly peonies because I really like them!

And home to chip up the garden! For the record, I only needed a scoop! But, now I have some on hand and don't have make another trip out later.

On the way home, I got an urgent phone call asking that I stop and pick up frog food. Evidently the small people headed my warning. I told them they had better be enjoying the sunshine or I'd make them help chip the flower beds when I got hom. Guess that meant frogging to them so they had a good wade in our stream out back.

The bull frog's name is Dirby and smaller one is Leopard. He has a birth defect, see his missing foot?
Anyhow, the logic of how much nicer the stream was compared to the bucket won so they got let them go once I got home. Not to mention they googled bull frogs and learned that Leopard was likely food for Dirby...ooops!
























And, fast forward to chipping all done!


























And just a lil glamour shot of my new geranium that I had to have. So pretty all ruffly and pink. Hopefully I will NOT have to bring it in due to cold, snow or ice, but you never know with the North Country!

Hope your Monday includes some sunshine and flowers....but not any manual labor! I am a bit stiff from all the weeding and pitch forking. Good thing the day job just involves sitting here!

Sunday Story: Ladder Luck

Dad is taking a break a bit to do some writing this summer. So I thought I'd step in for him now and again with a short little story and also some art made by other people! So, today is a quick little story from last weekend. Linking this up to Sian's Story Telling Sunday!

So if you have been following my blog, you know we've been working on our barn roof. It's a massive undertaking when you are weekend warriors like THE MAN and I.

Now THE MAN has been on roofs since he was a peewee. Me, never.

So, when I scaled the ladder a few weeks back I thought I had done something big, even the deep calming breathing when I hit the top and stepped off. THE MAN did his best to look impressed and say GOOD JOB. But I know he was thinking oh crap. She is going to be horrible on this roof helping me.

So, no amount of deep breathing can make you be good at a roof. I think it's a skill you hone over much experience. No time for training me. When you put the slats on before the metal, you do want to get your steel on sooner rather than later due to making nail holes ALL OVER your shingles. Thankfully, Dad Pratt arrived and as a past employee of Pratt Brother's Roofing, he was nimble and comfortable about giving us a hand.

Here is a shot of our uneven roof, adding the slats to make it even and also give the steel something to be nailed to.

NOW the fact Dad Pratt is involved does not get me off the hook for helping. The big sheets of metal still needed to be schlepped up the ladder not to mention keeping the guys lubricated with drinks and meals.

Last weekend I had my show, but was around Sunday to help carry steel. So, they had gotten all the way around to the back of the barn and had set up the ladder. THE MAN and I were carrying the steel over to the ladder and he was pushing it up to his Dad on the roof.

A gust of wind hit us causing our steel to bend bow and start flying out of our hands. We were paying attention to that when the ladder was also affected by the wind and it started to fall. THE MAN being a tall guy, reached up as it was falling and pushed it out of the way from hitting us or the steel. It was a random motion but since I woulda been squashed like a bug...one I much appreciated.

Needless to say, we stopped to eat an early supper and count our blessings!

I believe they will be finishing this project today, thank goodness. But then that leaves the house...wish me luck!

A Little Time

So the other day I asked my Dad what Mom might want for Mother's Day. It was a bogus question because he never thinks of things like spa days and chocolates and flowers...and for some reason that is the direction my brain tends to go.....

He of course said TIME.

I hear ya Dad. My eye balls lately have been swimming, my head pounding, and breathing has been hard.

They came up with new tasks for me at work, which at the outset are always difficult, but then later you get your stride and things flow a lot better.

PLUS, I am taking on a new role in the Scrappy Community. (CHECK OUT MY SIDEBAR-yes I am yelling and jumping up and down at the same time!! SO EXCITED. But scary?)

Like anything new, sometimes my breath gets caught short and I have a moment of panic.

What if I am not amazing, what if I am not good enough...

That has been running through my mind for my new work tasks and new scrappy stuff.

I do my best to squash thoughts like these. They do nothing but make me worry and fear is one thing I detest. So, solder on, do what you always do and it eventually makes sense.

Today, it makes sense and I'm breathing. For one thing, I took the day off. The second thing is the lost of internet for yesterday and part of today made me sit back and read a book.

The Hunger Games to be exact. And, I realize that perhaps my trials and tribulations (although it is of course fictional) are just minor in the scheme of things! Plus, running around like a crazy chicken does nothing for making progress.

So, last night I also finished up a project. I glued one washer on my newest OTP item with hot glue. Very impressive, Mitra. But you see I had purchased button magnets and although I started my project with four, I somehow ended up with only one. And a magnet does no good as a closure without another magnet.

See it down there on the bottom?

It is always the last 10% of anything that is always the hardest. THE MAN suggested a washer and I had a DUH moment.

Anyhow, where I am going with this post is that I am going to give Marivic a hand with  her two fabulous shops. If you haven't figured THAT out already...

Have you met her yet? Seen her tags? She packs HAPPINESS in small little cellophane packages.

SERIOUSLY. The inside of my crazy little box there is one of her tags. Not to mention, all the doo-dads on this box with the exception of the cover and the clock are from one of her kits.

Marivic (aside from being one of the nicest people in blog-land) runs Berry71Bleu, a blog with fun challenges, and has two etsy stores Zeus and Zoe and Berry71Bleu, the shop for her tags.

Her tag gave me inspiration to make this little trinket box for Mother's Day. I plan on tucking a locket in here with a photo and perhaps some fancy chocolates...and a spa day gift cert too maybe?

And a side view. See why I need the magnet?

Head on over to play with her latest Mother's Day challenge and tell Marivic I sent ya!

Real Scrapbook Layout for Scrap Friends

So in the interest of keeping it real, I will admit I like to play on Challenge Blogs that my friends DT on.

Reminds me of stopping by when they have a garage sale, baby shower, open house, you know kind of thing. Or a quick wave and a honk if you see them out and about while driving past their house! HONK HONK!!!

So, this page is no different.

Lizzy Hill is on the DT over there at Scrap Friends I believe. Coolio sketch they had to use. LOVE IT.

And don't worry, all that writing there on the top? One of my favorite quotes of all time by the Skin Horse. I found my book from when I was in grade school rattling around my daughter's room the other day and was reminded of standing up at Sue Streeter's wedding and reading that section of book in the church.

Hold on I will post it here so you don't gotta squint.



The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it. 
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
"I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. 
But the Skin Horse only smiled.


So, yes a bit of a cryptic post for me, but that is where my brain is at these days. Just keeping it real!

oh and hey Lizzy! HONK HONK Saw ya in blog land!

Easter Dinner Layout for Bird is the Word

Had fun messing around with this page over the weekend.

I used a sketch from Lets Capture These Sketches and a handful of paper that I had out that all matched, but needed to be united in a cohesive layout. The challenge is now closed, but I wanted to make a note of what I used here on my blog and give credit!

Sketches seem to help with making random papers cohesive, weirdly as does inking the edges.

Had fun making some blooms for this page. This is a Tim Holtz tattered blooms die that seems to always get a lot of mileage with me. I used up the rest of the paper I had left after cutting out the flowers. Added in some German stickers too, while I was at it.

And oh bottle cap love going on here, who woulda thought my Big Shot would smash them down into a cutie pie frame? A perfect little 3D Center for my flower with a bit of hot glue and a cute brad!!!! THANKS LIZZY HILL!!!

And, used the latest word that is up at Bird is the Word:  LOOK/SEE! Two good words to help you with some journaling or a page!

And, if you are reading this on a Wednesday, let me be the FIRST to wish you a happy Hump Day!

Kew Garden's Page: Another Freaking Scrappy Challenge

Nothing like a fresh new month. Whoohoo!

New challenges up around Blog Land. Another Freaking Scrappy Challenge is no different!

This month's challenge:
I realize that for the southern girls, this is not springtime – but in the Northern Hemisphere – 1 May is springtime, and time to be out in the gardens. Scrap something about your garden – how you love to be out in it, or what it means to you, or alternatively how you hate to be outside gardening at all. If you are not a gardener ‐ you could also alternatively scrap about an outdoor sanctuary that you appreciate –perhaps your mother’s garden or a park????


Now, this was a really tough call for me. I LOVE gardening. Love it. I have plenty I could scrap about. Problem is, I usually do lots of garden pages. In fact, I even have a little garden scrapbook...

I could scrap my parents GINORMOUS vegetable garden, I am sure they have various cool photos. In fact, I know they do.

But, I had this fancy dancy paper from Ruby Rocket that I won....It's their Vintedge Line. See, proof I am LUCKY! I didn't have to do anything but leave a comment!

I feel SURE I will win lotto at some point! Vegas here we come!

The poor girl blogging from  Ruby Rocket was at CHA and said she'd post pictures but then didn't get a chance. I am SURE she was in the middle of paper/travel/hotel/craft overload. So, anyhow, I posted a comment and told her it was all good. It IS all good. We make promises daily and do our best to make them, but sometimes things like life sorta jump in there and next think you know...you are sending some girl in NY paper from Australia. ;-)

So, back to my initial point. New paper means you get to try to make it work with something, which is why I went on a deep dive for these Kew Garden photos from way back. It is some pretty paper with some very great patterns...want some???

If you play along? I am sharing some. Might even throw in some of the new flowers I've been making...smaller accordian blooms...to match it!

Like I used on my page here!

And the other fun thing I did with this page was use a super amazing sketch by Heather who has the coolest blog ever and is running a sketch challenge over at Scraptastic.

Also, this page goes along with another challenge over at Pixie Dust Paperie where they have a challenge about scrapping a city like London! Whohhooo! Check it out! Love the London Card.

Fun stuff! Wish the photos were a bit better, but what can I say. It was ages ago and I had to take a crawl in a dark closet to even find them!

So, gather up your flower photos, your best veggies, your deck container garden shots and give it a play. I promise I'll stalk you and ask you all sorts of questions. I do love green and considering the snow around here, I will have to enjoy your greenery and blooms. Happy Tuesday!