Glitter War

One of my good friends on Etsy, Flirtdeux, challenged a group of us regulars to try out her new creations - miniature houses, reminiscent of the old Putz houses that everyone loves so much. She graciously sent me and the other participants 3 stamped houses, which we had to cut out, assemble and then decorate, two of which were to be part of the Glitter War house decorating competition and one which was our 'practice house'. 

My other Etsy friend, Fyrecreek, did a Halloween House the other night and posted pictures and it was so adorable, that I had to steal her idea and put my own spin on it. I painted the house a rusty orange color and then glittered it with orange glitter, the roof was painted purple and then flocked with matching purple flocking and then I decided that wasn't quite enough so I went back and put darker purple polka dots on top. 

The trim was painted black and then I used black embossing powder on top of it. The chimney was painted green and flocked in darker green.I cut out a couple of windows and used pieces of yellow acetate in the spots which will glow a nice golden color when lit up. I found itty bitty bats in my old scrapbooking supplies and stuck one in a window!! It's a work in progress but I think it's pretty cute so far!!

  

The houses are itty bitty - measuring about 2.5" tall and super fun to decorate!! I can't wait to get started on my Christmas houses - they are going to be pink and aqua and kitschy and perfect!! Next time, I'll remember to paint the underneath side of the roof so that you can't see the beige color from the paper. I didn't realize I'd forgotten to paint it until I took the pictures. Oops!!

Thrifty Tuesday

The estate sale from the other week proved to be such a success. I found pretty sheets:

Fruity dish towels:

 Two charming aprons:

Four Japanese Stacking Mugs:

And two sheets of super groovy gift wrap:

I also found a ton of great vintage Christmas stuff that will have its own post!!

Monday Morning Mooos

Hola, friends. I'm happy to say that we made it through the storm with minimal damage and without any real loss of power. Unfortunately, many in the area weren't so lucky. The common area between our apartment building and the one behind us looks sort of like a war zone with tree pieces all over the place. There were several large trees down on the surrounding property when the honey and I ventured out yesterday morning. We went to my ex's house to check on things since he's out of town and as suspected, we found extensive damage to the willow tree that sits beside the deck and then of course, we found this when we went inside:

 

Yeah, that's water in the basement. Luckily for him, he removed all of his possessions from the house prior to the storm. Luckily for me, I don't live there anymore so I don't have to deal with the mess!! He did ask if I'd plug in the sump pump and drain the water but at that time, it was still raining outside and I told him no. I wasn't going to spend several hours down there draining water when it was still raining. Hopefully by now, some of it has receded. 

So, after we left his house, we tried in vain to find a restaurant open for breakfast. The couple of places that were open were completely packed so we kept driving, ended up down in Annapolis, took a really long route back home, saw more storm clouds rolling in and then decided to give up on our quest to find food and came home. We both ended up taking naps right here in the living room, beside the pooches. When we awoke, the skies were bright blue, there was a gentle breeze blowing and you'd never have known we just went through a freaking tropical storm, mere hours before!! 

I was going stir crazy from being in the house all weekend long and our recent lack of any sort of fun, seeing how the honey has been working 7 days a week for the entire month of August so I insisted we get out of the house and do something entertaining, which led us up to Timonium to the Maryland State Fair. It was a perfect afternoon, especially since we got in for free! I am cheap and I don't think this fair is all that good and I certainly wouldn't pay $8 to get in. Since it was free though, I figured why not. 

Our first stop inside the entrance was the Cow Palace. There weren't as many animals as I was expecting. We saw this cow and her baby, Kendall. At first, they had their backs to us but when Momma Cow saw I was trying to take pics, she actually turned around and walked towards us. The baby was too freaking cute!!

 

 

 

 Kendall Cow, 6 months old

 

 

The Alpacas were next to the cows. I love Alpacas!! Their cute little hair just cracks me up. Once, when the ex and I were over in West Virginia, we were driving back to his aunt's house where we were staying and as we turned into her long drive way, I noticed something at the top of the road, near her house. I thought it was a herd of deer but oh no, not quite. Seems the neighbors down the street forgot to lock up the barn and their entire group of Alpacas ventured out and ended up at the Aunt's house. So there we were, hooking up Alpaca's to leads and taking them back down the street. It was hilarious. I'd never walked an Alpaca before but I quickly fell in love, even though one of those suckers stepped right on my foot. Surprisingly, it wasn't that heavy!! 

The Alpacas at the fair weren't very friendly though and seemed kind of mad that I was in their faces taking pictures. I guess they'd been dealing with crazy city folks all day though so it's understandable. 

The honey and I didn't ride any rides, and after getting our fill of junk food, we took one last stroll through the Palace, where I promptly stepped in a fresh cow patty and then called it a night. Overall, I enjoyed seeing the animals but didn't feel it was worth the 40 minute drive to get to the fair. I probably won't go back since this was my second time going up there and I just don't think it's all that great. 

Anyhow, it's Monday, the honey is back to work, I'm home and I have a to-do list a mile long. I've been neglecting my chores and I need to get caught up on those. I also have orders to package and mail today and tons of items that need to be photographed and then listed on Etsy. I think it's time to turn off the laptop, get a refill of coffee and get cracking on those!!  

A Hurricane Party of Sorts

So, like many people here in the Mid Atlantic, we're eagerly awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Irene. We've got batteries, flashlights, duct tape, plastic sheeting, gallons of water and enough junk food provisions to last at least 3 days. I grew up in SC and have weathered my share of tropical weather so this storm doesn't really worry me too much, aside from the prospect of going days without power (thus, no hot water!).

The balcony has been cleared of all possible projectiles, the car has been emptied of any valuables that would be ruined in case of a downed tree. 

I ran out last night for last minute items and Wal-mart was wiped clean of all all soup, canned goods, water, chips, and oddly enough, bananas. We were wise enough to get our supplies on Thursday, but that wasn't without having to go to multiple stores. It took trips to 4 different stores to find gallons of water, 2 stores to find D cell batteries. 

So, instead of hitting any estate sales this weekend, I'm hunkering down with the honey and the puppies and in the event that I do have to venture outside, I bought some black and white houndstooth wellies at Target the other day, so at least while I trudge through 6" of rain water, my feet will be dry!! 

In lieu of an actual hurricane party, I invite you to celebrate Mother Nature with me by enjoying 20% off of all items in my shop my entering the coupon code "irene20" at check-out! There's the possibility that we may lose power for a while. In the event that we don't have electricity, shipping will resume as soon as the power returns.

Here's a picture of the outer bands on the storm rolling in: 

VTT - Vintage Bath Towels

Hola, vintage peeps. Today, I'm going to participate in Vintage Thingies Thursday, hosted by the lovely Colorado Lady. Please stop in and visit!! 

Today, I'm showcasing my love affair with vintage towels. The patterns are so fab! 

The colors are (mostly) delicious! 

The quality is unlike anything you'll find today, as evidenced by the fact that these babies are still in great condition some 40 years later. 

Towels I bought 3 years ago are not in this same condition. It's true when they say "they just don't make 'em like they used to". Sad, isn't it? 

Thanks so much for stopping by to check out my vintage towel collection. Find towels like this in my Etsy shop!

Destashing Again

It's that time again - time to tidy up the linens, clean out the cutters and make room for a new batch of yummy goodies. For months (years?!) I've been meaning to take these bins of cutter sheets and make fat quarters and squares out of them. My space and time just doesn't permit such activities so I decided to put them into like-color bundles and list them on Etsy.

 

 Green Gingham Sheets $25

The other week, my mom and dad came to MD to retrieve the rest of my stuff from my old house and take it to SC. While here, I let my mom rummage through the cutter boxes and pull out any sheets she loved.

 Hot Pink Sheets $33.50 

Mom pulled out lots of pretty coordinating sheets to start her sewing business with. Those sheets are going to make gorgeous aprons and other wearables!! 

Olive Green Sheets $33.50

I'm so glad she took so many sheets off my hand the other week -- I cannot imagine how many I would have to list if they were all still here!! And despite my best (recent) efforts to only buy sheets that are in excellent condition, it never fails that after I get home from a day of thrifting and start sorting through all of the newly acquired linens, I run across a couple that have a small flaw here or there that I didn't notice while I was in the store. Now, instead of just throwing them into the cutter bins, I'll go ahead and match them up with other cutters in the same color family and list them for all of the quilters and crafty people to use!

 

Orange Butterflies and Stripes $33.50

All of these cutter bundles ship in a medium Flat Rate Priority Box, so that's perfect!! Normally, I can only fit one sheet into a Flat Rate Envelope, which mails for $5, so this is really saving a lot of money on shipping!!  Perfect for building a stash, too!