KEEPIN' BUSY

Well Hello There! Where have you all been??? Oh that's right, it's ME that pulled the vanishing act! It's been kinda busy around here, and obviously I'm not the type who can enjoy summer and blog at the same time! But I just had to pop in and wish everyone Happy Fall, and share what I've been up to these last several weeks.

1. JUNKING-No matter how busy life gets, I always try to make time to go junking. The garage sales have been awful, but I seem to always find a treasure at the flea market. That's where I found this picnic tin. It fits in perfectly with the Fall decorations!

2. SEWING-New curtains were long overdue in the living room. I didn't know exactly what kind I wanted, but I did know that they would have green in them, and I also knew that I would be making them. I love using sheets to make curtains, because how else can you get so much yardage for so little? As soon as I saw these sheets at Walmart, I knew we had a winner! 

I like how they turned out. And I love the price. Two windows, four panels, all for under $8.00. You can't beat that! And if you're curious, the tinfoil in the flower pot is to keep the kitty from digging in there. Oh, and I didn't dust at all before I took this shot. Not apologizing, just stating a fact, so don't enlarge this or you  might sneeze just from looking at it! 

3. GARDENING-I started this project, and I'm still not done with it. I've since dug up all of those plants, laid down the weedblock fabric, and am slowing replanting. I have a crazy feeling that this project is going to carry over into next year.......

4. WE HAD A GARAGE SALE-This is what happens when you buy everything that you like, but it won't fit into your teeny tiny house! If it's sitting in the attic or in cupboards, I'm not enjoying it and I need to get rid of it. The worst part about having a garage sale? I can't go garage saling!  

After the sale was over, I only kept a few things, like this tray. I figured, why not decorate my porch the way that I decorate the inside of the house? 

So now I use trays on the porch too!

Nobody bought this poor little picnic tin at my sale. OK, OK, I actually pulled it from the sale before it ever got started! It's received a makeover, and I'll share it when it's completed!

5. CUTTING OUT OWLS-I hate it when I've got an idea in my head, and I can't find it in any stores. So I had to make it!

We've got tons of wood in the garage, so my only cost were those big buttons and an aching back from lots of time using the scroll saw and jigsaw. 

I like it!

6. CURB SHOPPING-This umbrella is in great condition, and the colors are so perfect for Fall. Thank You Mrs. C for throwing away this gorgeous umbrella. I've been admiring it from afar, or rather, right across the street! ~~~~~~~~~I'm hoping to get back to blogging on a regular basis, and trust me, once we have our first frost, alot more of my time will be freed up. Gardening is my passion, but this has been one long dry summer. It will be a relief to pack the hose away! Looking forward to catching up with everyone and seeing what you've all been up to!    

TO PAINT OR NOT TO PAINT MY WEEKEND FINDS!

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of My Weekend Finds, the continuing saga of one girl's quest for more junk!~~~~~~~My Mom has been in the hospital and is now in a nursing home rehabbing, trying to get strong enough to go home. Anyone who has been in this situation knows how stressful it can be, and that it's also important to make time for the things you love, so I've been squeezing in a little junking!

I was seconds away from spraypainting this curvaceous bird cage white, but something stopped me.  

You see, I want to hang it where that Stars and Stripes sign is on the front porch. Will it just fade into the front door if it stays black? Does it need to be white to give it that cottagey feel? Please help! I know it's just paint, but I'm trying to avoid wasting paint and time! 

I think I'm going to make that pink quilt top my winter project. Wish me luck! And I'm going to see if my sister, who is an amazing quilter, can do anything with all of the pieces in that little black suitcase. Got all of this for only $6!

Whenever I can, I like to show what I've done with my finds. In this case, that Napco canary plate is a new addition to the bird room bathroom. A couple of years ago, our daughter asked "What's with all of the birds in the bathroom?". I hadn't realized I had so many in there, so since then it's become The Bird Room!

New additions to the holiday decorations.

A heavy metal Abe Lincoln bookend(?) and a huge flower frog. That thing is bigger than my palm! I think I'm going to start rubbing Abe's nose for good luck, like they do at his tomb in Springfield, Illinois!

I think I've been watching entirely too much Downton Abbey! My sister bought all of the seasons and let me borrow them. I can SO picture one of these tiny silver bud vases in one of the ladies' rooms!

Pardon the mirror reflecting the chalkboard on the other wall. This is by the back door and that's where I've hung my newest vintage camera.

More old Girl Scout stuff for my budding collection: A collapsible cup, compass and pocket knife. Still hoping to find my old uniform and beret packed away at my Mom's someday!~~~~~Did you find any good junk over the weekend? And could you please help me decide whether or not to paint that birdcage?!?

MY WEEKEND FINDS

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of My Weekend Finds, the continuing saga of one girl's quest for more junk!~~~~~~~~~~The finding of junk has been pretty slow going. So slow that what you are about to see is 2 weeks worth of junk. 

Ever since seeing a vintage green plastic bird cage on a Flickr friend's photostream, I've yearned for one of my own. Unfortunately they can be very expensive. I think I must have won this beauty on Ebay literally minutes after the seller listed it, because it was a Buy It Now deal, and the price was amazing! I'm crazy about this thing, but it boggles my mind to think that it survived all of these years, being that it's hard plastic. How did it not get dropped, and shatter into a thousand pieces?!? 

While we're up on that bookshelf, let's look at the new girl on the block! It's the girl in the middle, flashing the bling on her finger! I found her at the flea market, and Mr. Old Glory said that as soon as he saw her on the seller's table, he knew he was in trouble!

The little shabby blue can on the left is the newest addition to the watering can collection.

And while we're up there admiring the watering cans, you might as well take a look at the birdie for the bird cage that sits up there. I think I said in my last My Weekend Finds post that as long as I'm collecting bird cages, I might as well have some birds in there too. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?!

I found this picnic tin at the flea market too, and it's almost identical to the one under those little watering cans, but it's alot bigger. I spotted it soon after arriving and asked  Mr. Old Glory to carry it the rest of the way. That's the sign of a real man, one who is willing to carry a picnic basket while walking the flea market! 

I know I've mentioned Mr. O.G. alot in this post, and this pink pre-lit tree is the perfect example of why I think he's just the greatest. I brought it home from a garage sale and I told him that I was going to use it in my Easter decorations. The man just said "Oh! That's nice!". No questions asked, no giving me a look like I'm crazy. You gotta love a guy like that, but I bet alot of you junkers have very tolerant husbands too! Later this week, I'll share some junk of the garden variety. So, did you find any good junk that your hubby had to carry home for you?! 

NEW JUNK IN THE GARDEN

Let's see what's blooming at the cottage this week!~~~~I decided at the start of this growing season that I wouldn't do a garden post every week, because if you follow my blog, you've seen it all last year! So instead I'll just share new junk I might find and a periodic update on what's blooming! 

I've had this rusty......milk carrier?... for quite awhile. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it, but it was going to take some time.

So I started collecting vintage blue Ball canning jars. I'm sure I could have made this all come together faster, but it was a case of forgetting that I was supposed to be looking for blue Ball jars!

Finally, enough jars to fill the carrier! And here's what's blooming this week:

Ladybells. Don't you just love that name?! They're pretty, but they're also the bane of my existence. They spread eeeeeverywhere!

Gooseneck Loosestrife. Go ahead and say that fast three times, I dare you!

Monarda. Or Bee Balm. Whatever you call it, it looks like fireworks to me!

Every time I make a bouquet from the garden, I always include hosta leaves. 

This little collection of flowers couldn't be left out in the sun, so it's now sitting by the back door. A little cottage-y welcome!

I found this birdfeeder at a garage sale weeks ago. I was just going to paint it and place it somewhere in the garden. 

But then I found this while on vacation. It's been called everything from a lifeguard chair to a lighthouse since we brought it home!

But when I put the two things together, and plunked it in the garden in the middle of all of the daisies, it became a trellis for my cottage garden!

I weaved the pink rosebush onto it, and although it's pretty much done blooming, it's going to look amazing next year! I've always wanted something like this for the garden, and actually contemplated making one myself. This was much easier! I'm bananas about it!~~~~~~~~~~So, have you found any interesting junk for your garden?!? 

Persistence Pays Off!---MY WEEKEND FINDS

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of My Weekend Finds, the continuing saga of one girl's quest for more junk!

Every week at the flea market, IT would be there, and every week I would leave IT behind, yearning for IT to be mine.

But alas, it was way too expensive for this cheap girl! Perhaps I could find one cheaper on Ebay. Ah yes, but   the shipping would be a killer.

Last week, a glimmer of hope. Everything on the table was 50% off. Momentary excitement, but Rats! Still much more than I could justify paying. Then I remembered that this seller slashes his prices by 75% at the end of July. But would he do it TODAY?

YES! Yes he would! It's a garage/shed to go along with those tin dollhouses. Isn't it adorable? 

That hose is so neat and tidy, unlike mine, which is always sprawled out across the driveway, ready to trip someone.

GAH! Look at that sweet wheelbarrow and old timey mower!

I know it's supposed to be a garage, but it's most definitely cute enough to live in!

I can't wait to drag the ladder into the house so that I can put it up on the shelf next to my dollhouse! And I think it's official: I need some dollies to go along with the house and garage!

The watering can with the little girl and the butterfly is the newest addition to the collection.

You might have already seen the Tonka truck in my patriotic decorations, but it's a recent find, along with the  two vintage sand pails. The seller was actually using the fishy one as an ashtray, and I think he thought I was pretty silly to ask about it, but he gave it to me for free! Never EVER hurts to ask....

I found a clip-on bird for the cage in the bathroom. If I'm going to collect bird cages, there might as well be some birds in there, right?!

The little yellow bud vase on the right is a recent find.

A big bottlebrush wreath, a tiny elf and a fluffy deer.

And an old transistor radio. I guess the reason why I'm so drawn to transistors is that when I was younger, I would always have mine with me, and it was always tuned to WLS. Does anyone remember Larry Lujack? What a great disc jockey he was! And what a thrill to be able to pick up that station when we would be on vacation, 350 miles from Chicago and in the middle of the Northwoods of Wisconsin! As a teenager, it was definitely a Godsend!~~~~~~~~~So, what kind of junk did you find?