Update and Thrifting Notes

First – an update – Master Gryphon is doing just fine – he gives a big SHOUT OUT to his peeps and thanks them for their concerned messages to his Mum. Apparently a weekend of good drugs and “bed rest” were just the ticket (He did a lot of this)!

His “bum leg” (though still slightly bummy according to Mum) is much better. AND when they did his 3 month lung check today he is STILL cancer free (they said a year tops, and here is 15 months and still going strong). I swear he is going to out live me…I had some free time this morning waiting for Master Gryphon to have his stuff done at the vet (as an aside Dr. Carlson and Tech Katie ROCK at Northern Animal Clinic) and I found a NEW SOURCE (which I am not sharing with anyone) for thrifting. And to think, just the other day I was talking about how scarce it had been lately. I was certainly GREEN after Barb shared her weekend treasures (dang you girl).

Here is part of today’s score for me. See the card decks (free – they thought they were too “handled”).


Love the graphics on these Old Maid cards.
Sewing stuff (of course) – two lovely pin cushions, buttons, trim, some wonderful lace collars.
And of course books. Now I thought the bird and the wildflower books were cool but…
The cook books were THE big thing. My new source just kept asking me what I liked (Are you into cookbooks dear? You evil senior citizen, you know I am!) Oh my, yes. Especially lovely old ones like this Joy of Cooking.
And an old recipe box – the contents were interesting – but the box is even better. Lets take a quick tour of those Betty Crocker books...
For when I retire...

But I'm still a working girl...

And as the sun sets here in lovely mid Michigan (unfortunately not our cottage as planned), I thought I would leave you with this last pic (gotta get hubby one of those hats). Sigh, I'm good, Master Gryphon is good and balance has been restored in Thrifting Land ;->…Cheers, Jewels

We All Need Inspiration

I know I do. Since I started blogging I certainly have been inspired (and humbled) by the many friends I have made. There is so much wonderful stuff out there - and so much eye candy! It would be so easy just to sit in front of my computer for hours at a time! BUT I do find other ways to get inspired...

I have an inspiration board - everyone should have one. They are dead easy to make. Mine is an old frame I picked up at the thrift shop and a cutter quilt.

It really was in rough shape - the only piece that was intact was in the center.

I salvaged it and glued it on to an old piece of foam board that I cut down to size to fit the frame. Nailed into place on the back and - voila - it was as simple as that.

The fun part, of course, is adding items. I have lots of trinkets and mini pieces of art I have started to hang on my board. Items I find in magazines as well...

Isn't this inchie that Carol made wonderful!

Things from blogging friends like Beth...and my own attempts.

There are "blank" spots, but that's okay - the great thing about an inspiration board is that you can add and subtract at any time. Now if you REALLY want to be overwhelmed by a great board, go check out Elizabeth's.... And if you feel "inspired" to start one of your own - just Google inspiration board and you'll get lots of ideas. Cheers, Jewels

Best Laid Plans

Ah well - some things are just not mean't to be. Poor Master Gryphon. He often forgets he is a senior citizen and acts like a 2 year old. Which means asking his poor ole bones and joints to do things they just can't do anymore.

He so wants to please. And he ABSOLUTELY MUST know where is Mum is - including bounding up stairs to make sure I'm still in the house after a walk with his Dad.

He seems to have developed a bum leg - so no long car rides to the cottage -which means no family vacation. So we will save those days up and use them later. Meanwhile, we need to tend to our wounded soldier... will let you know the results after his visit to the Vet on Monday. Guess I'll spend some time catching up this week on all my projects (see, there is ALWAYS a silver lining ;->)!

Henry (aka Harry) Carpenter

Well my dears Thrifting has been pretty sparse of late. Either not enough time, nor anything I would even consider bringing home. I did, however, manage one interesting acquisition.

As you know, I love old books. This one is not "exceptional" in any way - a nice cover, though it looks like its been through some trying times.

Some nice illustrations (gee, I wish Master Gryphon or Miss Gwendoline would fetch for me - just not dead birds). So I thought I'd purchase it. Little did I realize, until I got home, that I had also acquired some additional "treasures".

Robinson Crusoe was owned by a young man named Harry Carpenter. His teacher, Madge Sires (?), actually gave it to him in 1921. Now it just so happens Harry tucked some interesting documents in his book.

There was not just one, but two Home Report Cards from 1926. Harry was an okay student - he seemed to be best at Printing (?).

To the right of his marks are his "Citizenship Record" (yikes). You can't tell very well from the scan but a red check mark "indicates Weakness" - Harry was not so good on the "Do I work until the job is done?" (of course not, he was busy reading his book!).

Harry also left a letter from a friend, Arthur Thomas, in his book dated Nov. 1 1925.

Not sure if Arthur was upset about the fact his "professor is a woman this year". He talks about not passing last year but hopefully doing better - meanwhile, he also talks about basketball (hmm - that might explain the poor grades Arthur).

Anyway - love those unexpected treasures. I'm hoping Thrifting will be better next week as we head out to cottage country to enjoy watching the seasons change in September. Hope to have lots of lovely pictures when I get back! Cheers for now, Jewels...

Happy Holiday!

What a lovely way to start a holiday Monday! I started with a run and saw some deer and turkeys - very few cars on the road to bother me.

G&G and I then went for their morning "constitutional" (don't worry - I'm leaving out the messy bits). Yes thats them in a blur to get things taken care of...

Meanwhile, I couldn't help but notice the end of my street - we live on a court that is out in the country - our house is on a 2 acre woodlot which we love.

The end of our court is a little mysterious - a short dirt road...

...leads to a neighbouring nursery/horse stable (sorry, could not get close enough to introduce the horses due to Miss Gwendoline's practice of talking too loud)...

...which also leads to this wonderful pond - I'll be back with more "fall" pictures when the colours turn. There was fog this morning so a mist lay over everything.

Of course the main thing is to get back for breakfast (according to G&G) but I thought I'd pause and check out the garden.

Got my first Sunflower - I know, I know - I planted the seeds way too late and in a not so sunny spot (we don't have very many of those in the woods) - still I'm keeping my fingers crossed everything will bloom before too long.

Meanwhile the rest of the garden is taking on that autumn feel...

And the Mums are coming out to....anyway, for those of you who get one, have a wonderful holiday - back to work tomorrow! Cheers, Jewels

ATC Tutorial and Give Away

Well September is here which means our Guild will be kicking into gear again for the 2009/2010 season. It also means time for my monthly Artist Trading Card (ATC) exchange with three of my Guild peeps. I thought I would not only give you a “look see” what I’ve done this month, but also share the steps on how I actually made it.
We always do ours in fabric, but ATCs can be made of pretty much anything as long as they follow some basic rules:
2 ½ x 3 ½ inches in size (just like a Baseball card)
Exchanged not Sold
Vital stats on the back
(You can GOOGLE ATC to find out more but WARNING - you will also pull up stuff on Air Traffic Control – who knew). After that, it’s pretty much up to you how you make it. I know the gals I exchange with all have their different styles and approaches so you are only seeing my take on how to make them.
First off – what’s your muse! Fortunately we have a theme already lined up for each month – but even then I either get overly ambitious or stuck for an idea. This month it is “underneath the sea” – I went back and forth on mermaids, treasure chests, fish…finally settled on a Seahorse.

I love scanning images or finding them on the web (but be sensitive to copyright) I usually copy into Microsoft PowerPoint (do I need a copyright sign here?) so I can ensure the size is right and adjust. I usually print a paper copy first (black and white) to check.

Then print on to fabric. You need an inkjet printer for this (though there are lots of creative ways to transfer images on to fabric). I get my trusty Michaels coupon to buy the fabric I use to print on – mind you there are many ways to prep fabric to go through your printer (some definitely more economical). I typically design my back label the same time and print those out as well...

Books have been written about it!
Once that is out of the way – my card usually consists of 1. Fabric Layer 2. Batting 3. Paper back (Heavy Stock). Have fun choosing your fabric layer (you can get really creative).
This fabric looks watery to me – a very pretty batik (which Carol will like ;->) – it is actually more purple then it looks in this shot.
First step is to adhere the fabric to the batting – I use either Wonder Under or Steam a Seam(whatever is at hand). TIP – do NOT get carried away with the Iron! Too much heat results in a lumpy top! (been there, done that)
Then you get to “play” and see what kinds of embellishments will look best – looks sea weedy to me! TIP – you need to decide what order you are going to adhere/sew things into place – especially if you want to achieve a clean finish on the back – more on that.
I decided to sew my little fella into place first and then sew around the edge edge of the whole card – including through the paper backing (Don’t worry, I will show you how this gets covered – though some times you can just leave as is).
Then I fussed and got my “seaweed” in place – whatever glue works for you. Since the gals I exchange with like to use the plastic baseball sheets for storing their cards I normally try not to go over the edge (though I may buck a trend some time this year just to be different!)
I also like to set my cards under a stack of books overnight to “flatten” out (unless there is an embellishment I don’t want to do this to).
Finally, I adhere the labels on the back – which covers up that sewing you saw earlier!
So there you have it – by the way notice that I made SIX this month instead of four? If you want to own an original piece of Jewels art work let me know (but I don’t want to see you making millions on EBay with it LOL) and I will send your way (first two folks who ask will receive)! Meanwhile, hope you enjoyed some of the other cards from past exchanges – enjoy!

This and That

It's been a dreary day here in Michigan - overcast and cool - very Fall like weather and wayyyyyy to early for us. So I've been catching up on projects. WARNING - one is not for the faint of heart...

You may remember Daisy from an earlier posting. She went to a very good home via a Silent Auction. However, her new owner (a proud Grandmother) decided the eyes need to be changed so that Daisy was "baby safe". The only solution - surgery (log off now if you are squeamish!). And so it had to be done. It took me awhile to decide what to do, but searching the Internet helped - amazing the things you can find! Unfortunately, I copied and pasted the instructions I found into Word and failed to keep a link to the blog (so I can't give credit). Anyway, I like the added eye lashes....
So now Daisy has her sight back and can return home... Another project - well there is nothing like a deadline to get you motivated. My niece will be celebrating her birthday next weekend and I have been remiss in finding her something. So I made the following

I hope she likes it! (Kate, if you're reading this - don't tell Syd - will be in the post Monday). Now on to ATCs for September 8th when our Guild starts up again - where DID the summer go!