Jessi's Toy Party

The ever fabulous and fun Ms. Scrappy Jessi is hosting an oh so fun Favorite Childhood Toys party May 1 (Happy May Day!). My mother has all of my childhood photos but I did manage to find a few from the fun collage my sister made me for my birthday. One "toy" I loved was old clothes. Playing dress-up was so much fun. I especially loved silky things and high heels! I think that is an old piece of lingerie in the above photo. I remember pulling the gauzy overlay over my head and pretending I was a bride, or maybe it was a princess - in any event it was fun!






One of my all time favorites is the Sit 'n Spin. How much fun I had spinning myself into a dizzy stupor. I used to also like to spin round and round without the toy until I got dizzy. I guess it was a good thing I never fell down and hit my head!

Shrinky Dinks! These were so much fun. Color them in, put them in the oven and watch them shrink up. I don't remember what I did with them after but I do remember watching them shrink down. And of course, Smurfs - loved that cartoon.

Holly Hobbie! Do you remember her? I took this photo off of Google but it is the exact sleeping bag I used to have. I used to love this thing. I would curl up in it to watch TV or just to take a nap. So warm and snuggly.

One of the toys that most sticks out in my mind is my Holly Hobbie kitchen set. I searched high and low for a photo but couldn't find one. This is the closest I could find. It wasn't one of those molded plastic sets that you see today but made out of printed press board with real tin kitchen goodies. So much fun! I so wish we had kept it. It would be so much fun to have today and to pass on to any future children I have. Alas, I think it went to Goodwill or perhaps that big toy box in the sky.

Don't ya love my Sesame Street sheets! This doll was given to me by my godmother and was always one of my favorites. As you can see, she made an especially nice pillow. I think I still have her somewhere....

Thanks for visiting. Off to see what other toys are being remembered!

Happy Weekend!

Happy weekend everyone! Whew, I can say that I am happy to have the past week be just that, in the past. I'm the events director at a university and we are in a very busy time of year. This past week saw 4 major events and lots of hours above and beyond the usual. Now I can sit back and relax somewhat as we ease into the end of the school year and plan for one of my favorite events - commencement. It is a wonderful feeling to see all of the happy graduates and their families and know that you had a part in helping to make their big day special.

The above flowers are a beautiful centerpiece from a florist friend of mine. She does such amazing work. I love the color combos.


I have had some time to work on a few projects. My sister asked me to make a simple birthday wand for a friend of hers. This is what I came up with.

Hubby's best friend recently became a new father. We went to see his beautiful baby girl and I made the proud new mama the above bracelet representing the April birthstone of diamonds (of which I was fresh out!)

I'm active in our local Red Cross and made the above necklace for their silent auction coming up in a few weeks.

I'm really loving the way this piece turned out. I found the fun time piece and then the brooch, and rose bracelet (not pictured). All had pink and came together to make this necklace which I have listed in my Etsy.

Happy Weekend!

Prayer Candle

The ever so sweet and talented Mary has blessed me with this prayer candle. Taken directly from Mary's post "The idea…it’s a game of tag with a difference, rather than looking inwardly, we look outside ourselves and bless, praise and pray for 3 blog friends. By participating in this endeavour we not only make the recipient of the blessing feel valued and appreciated, but we are having some fun too. We’re going to see how far the bloggin’ blessings can travel around the world and how many people can be blessed! Recipients of a bloggin’ blessing may upload the above image to their sidebar if they choose to. If you receive a bloggin’ blessin’ please leave a comment on this thread here so that we can rejoice in just how many blessings have been sent around the world."

Thank you sweet Mary. I'm choosing to pass this along to:
Heather at Speckled Egg
Britt at Sparkled Vintage Charm
Jenn at Jenn's Nook

A while back Liz tagged me for more weird things. I can't think of any more! My brain is fried right now. I did post some here.

A Piece of Cake

I'm loving this cake box from Moth to a Flame Studio. I used it to hold a gift for my sister-in-law's 40th birthday and it was a big hit. Looks good enough to eat!

I'm going to be away from my blog sporadically over the next week as I'm in a crunch time at work. I'll be dropping in on everyone but not as often as usual. I'm looking forward to this weekend when things will get a little quieter!

Have a great week.

Junque Received!

Tricia was my swap partner for Junque in my Trunk. This is the beautiful set of boxes she sent me. Love the colors and images. Perfect for spring.

Check out all of these goodies!

I love these word beads.

This cute little tiara is currently residing on one of my porcelain birds.

Beautiful hankie.

Thanks so much Tricia!

I Want This Dress

Did you see this adorable vintage inspired dress worn by Carrie Underwood at the Country Music Awards? I saw a photo in the paper this morning and instantly began trying to figure out how to copy this look (since I can't sew this is probably going no where!). I love the color and style, the seed beading, the cummerbund with rhinestone brooch, the adorable ankle tie shoes and the fun pink rhinestone (or perhaps in her case diamond!) heart necklace.

Speaking of dresses. I have had two high school students e-mail me about the prom dress I posted here for Natasha's Virtual Prom back in November. In case any others are reading this I want to let you know that sadly, I do not own this dress but downloaded the photo through Google Images. If you are interested in vintage prom dresses, check out your local yard and estate sales, auctions, vintage and thrift stores, and ebay. Any other ideas for prom goers interested in finding the perfect vintage dress?

Junque in My Trunk Swap

My partner for Heather's Junque in My Trunk swap is the fabulous Tricia from Vintage Bliss. Tricia and I have pretty much the same tastes so it was easy to shop and collect for this one. Above is the lingerie box that I sent her. Love these so much. Found this one at a local antique mall.

This is a little salt and pepper set that was originally a souvenir from Hawaii. I just thought it was adorable!

A sweet little girl blowing bubbles. I thought this might be something fun to add embellishment to or hang in a window as is.

A vintage paper wedding bell.

A porcelain bell along with some antique and vintage jewels.

A bunch of goodies. I love the blue glass of the antique bottle.

Tricia loves Parisian chic.

I found a lot of these beauties at the flea market. Some moth holes but for the most part in good shape. I also loved the roses.

When Tricia's package arrives I'll share more goodies from this fun swap. Thanks again to Heather for hosting!

New Life for A Time Worn Piece

This is a china cabinet that belonged to my husband's great grandmother (or great aunt - he isn't 100% sure). We recently inherited it from another family member that could not longer use it. It came to us rather beat up and in a dark wood finish. Shame on me for not getting before photos. Hubby fixed it all up and now it holds our Christmas china as well as some other goodies.

You just can't find furniture like this anymore - unless of course you go antiquing or junking!


A pretty card from pretty friends.

We installed wallpaper along the interior back. It is subtle but brings a nice dimension to the cabinet and pulls everything together.

Have a wonderful day!

Balloon Art

Hubby's 12 year-old nephew's artistic interpretation of Margot walking on her leash. You should see this kid! The balloon art he comes up with is amazing. He was making bunnies holding Easter eggs, flowers, giraffes.... Quite the little artist.

Have a great day.

Paper Globes

After seeing Heather's vibrant and fun paper globes in the most recent issue of Home Companion, I thought they would be the perfect addition to our home decor. I made a total of four globes. They are easy and quick to make. Best of all they make a great visual impact either grouped together or on their own. Heather's blog has complete instructions.

What fun spring projects are you working on?