PINK VALENTINE'S DAY TREE

Last year, I found this pink, pre-lit tree at a garage sale. I've always wanted a small-ish tree to decorate for Valentine's Day and Easter, so I grabbed it. But I wasn't too crazy about that plastic stand these trees always come with. 

Cupcake Sprinkles is trying to draw your attention down to the new stand I fashioned for it.

It's the legs from a small tea table that had been sitting up in the attic for years. But that wood grain color just wouldn't do.  

So I took the "stand" off and put it in a big box and spraypainted it pink in the bathroom. Really can't wait for spraypainting season to start up again. So much easier to do that outside or in the garage!  

Much better! Now time to decorate the tree....

I knew I wanted to put valentines on the tree, but I didn't want to use any of my vintage ones. So when I found this book, I knew I could use these flocked cards without feeling guilty about gluing hangers onto the backs of them. 

I've always loved that kitty card with the hearts all over it. What would you call that? They're not polka dots, so maybe they're polka hearts? Or Hearta dots? Probably just a cat with hearts all over it, right?! 

That owl was definitely going on my tree. 

I think this one is my favorite. You insert the petals in the slots......

And pluck each petal to see if he loves you. Yes, no, maybe so. He loves me!

I even used one of the kitty cards to make a topper for the tree.

I don't think I'm done decorating the tree yet, but this is what it looks like so far. I wouldn't mind tucking in a few more little ornaments here and there, if I happen to find some vintage-y ones that I like!~~~~~This is one more project, started during the deep freeze of a few weeks ago, completed! And speaking of deep freezes, we're in the middle of another one, so if I can just take a moment to say this: Dear Mother Nature, I surrender!   You've been kicking my butt for weeks now.  YOU WIN!!! Now can we please have a warm-up, like in the 20s? That sounds downright balmy right now! Stay warm bloggy friends! 

$3.00 Valentine's Day Wreath

I'll admit it. Whenever there's a threat of bad weather, it scares the bejeebers out of me. Although home is my favorite place to be, I hate to not be able to go somewhere. So a few days before we were sucked into the polar vortex that plunged us into sub-zero temps and made it impossible to see out of any of the windows, like our kitchen window above, I panicked and went out and got supplies for a few projects. 

I've had plans to make a valentine wreath for the back door for awhile now, so I grabbed that white wreath for an after-Christmas, rock bottom price of $2.00. I already had the glitter letters, red Dollar Tree Christmas ornaments from two years ago, and the embroidery thread. The ribbon is from Hobby Lobby, but I ended up returning it and using ribbon I already had, also from Dollar Tree two years ago. 

This package of glittery hearts from Dollar Tree caught my eye. I knew that they would add some extra sparkle to my wreath, so now a $2.00 wreath + $1.00 glitter hearts = A $3.00 Valentine Wreath!

Here's the start of the bunting I envisioned for the wreath. I wanted to use capital letters, but I was missing an M, so lower case it was! I was tempted to buy some of that cute baker's twine that I see everywhere, but the polar vortex was coming and I had no time to spare! I remembered I had tons of embroidery thread in every color of the rainbow, so I decided to somehow make that work. 

I twisted some pink and red thread together, and it looked cute so I went with it. 

And here is the finished project. I'm pretty pleased with my $3 wreath!~~~~~~I was going to share some of my other projects, but then I decided to do a post about each one separately. It will force me to blog more often!~~~~~~~My new motto: BAD WEATHER IS GOOD FOR CRAFTING!

MY BEST JUNK OF 2013

Well, we're into our first junking week of the new year, and I didn't find a darn thing! To console myself, I took a look back at the junk I found in 2013. While there wasn't a quantity of junk, we've all learned that it's quality that matters! Here's 13 of my best finds of 2013, in no particular order: 

1. Chein Watering Can---The price of this watering can was waaaay out of my comfort zone, but after alot of trial and error on Ebay, I finally won this long sought after can! 

2. Pink Zenith Tube Radio---This was a flea market find. I've had alot of great luck finding pink radios, but I think I've finally reached the point where I can safely walk away from one without buying it! 

3. Glorious Green Plastic Bird Cage---Another item that was hard to find, but persistence pays off!

4. Hand-Quilted Butterfly Quilt---Honestly I've reached my limit as far as displaying and storing vintage quilts are concerned, but when it's a real beauty, and only $3, you're a fool to pass one like this up!

5. Dollhouse Gardening Shed---It was weeks before I finally talked the flea market seller into letting me have it at my price. I had to have it! Not only is it super-cute, but I think my dollhouse needed it too. Click HERE to see my dollhouse and the other three sides of this sweet little shed.

6. Patriotic Picnic Tin---I've been trying to own one of these for years. It finally became apparent to me that I wouldn't/couldn't pay the going rate for one in good vintage condition, so I settled for a banged up one. Still love it to pieces! 

7. Lady Head Vase---After years of collecting and selling these, I've fallen back in love with them, and particularly the more modern-looking gals like this one. She's a real charmer, even with a cracked neck. And those tacky plastic flowers are fantastic! 

8. Girl Scout Camera---I'm crazy about vintage Girl Scout stuff! Don't even think about trying to win one of these on Ebay unless you've recently won the lottery. This camera was a happy cheap find at an antique store.

9. Red Tonka Truck---All it takes is the right flea market seller to turn up on a given week who is not asking an exorbitant amount for a vintage toy truck. The Ertl wagon/cart was a nice find later in the summer. Christmas Tree/Pumpkin Farm is OPEN for business!

10. Aqua Pyrex Fridgies---Ever since I decided to add some aqua to our kitchen, I've wanted some fridgies, but the only place I saw them was on those amazing Pyrex-loving blogs. Again, I wasn't comfortable with the price, but I knew I'd seriously rue the day if I passed them up. I'm still ruing the day, but it's because I didn't get the matching big-size fridgie!

11. BECO (Bernard Edward Company) Pink And Black Bird Cage---Did I need another bird cage? No. Did I want a pink and black one? I only hesitated a second before I lifted it off the shelf, so the answer is YES. It pays to stop at the thrift stores every single time you're in the area!

12. Birdie Clothespins and Why Yes, Another Watering Can---I originally bought these birdies to go in my cages, but I've since replaced them with vintage ceramic parakeets. So they're still waiting for me to find something cute for them to do/hold around the house. The watering can was another pricey addition, but the collection needed it!

13. Insect Flash Cards---Each card is a little work of art, and I'm just waiting for the right vintage picture frame to come my way so that I can display them all on the wall. I like bugs. Some of them are very pretty, and they all have their part to play in nature. As long as they stay outside!

It wasn't very hard to come up with the 13 listed above, because it just wasn't a very good junking year. But these next two pieces of junk deserve a little merit:  

1. Flickery Christmas Lantern Decoration---It's the epitome of vintage Christmas decor for me. It's a lantern, it's plastic, and it lights up!

2. Cement Deer Statue---I especially love my garden junk, so when I saw this deer at an estate sale, I didn't take my hands off of it until someone came around to take my money and slap a big SOLD sign on it. This is what he looked like back in April when he was lovingly placed in one of the gardens.

Here he is, 3 weeks ago. 

And here he is today. You can barely see him anymore!   

Will it ever stop snowing?!?!

It's been snowing all day, and Monday the high is expected to be -10. That's 10 below zero! This snow isn't going anywhere for a very long time!~~~~~~~Thanks for looking at all of my "special" junk. Wishing everyone a year of good junkin'!!!