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Like many of my readers, my "go to" shopping places do not include the malls.  In fact, other than groceries, cleaning products and toiletries, I rarely buy anything that wasn't pre-owned.  Shopping the thrift stores, yard sales, and consignment shops requires a reverse kind of thinking.  Although you might have a "would love to find" list, you go without expectations and generally come home with things that hadn't crossed your mind. For example, yesterday I picked up this framed picture of Saint Anthony.  It measures 33"x 29".  Did I have a spot picked out for a picture this size?  "No!"  And I still don't.  But I have a solid friendship with this Patron Saint of Lost Things.  He has saved me time and again in my searches, so when I saw it, there was no doubt it was going home with me. At that same yard sale I picked up this set of drawers.  Not on my non-existent list but they do fall into that storage/container category tha

You all know how I can't resist a furniture rescue so it's no surprise I didn't pass by this little chair when I saw it in the alley. Cute enough but... heaven knows I have a plentiful stash of single chairs.  Without a seat this one was begging for a non-traditional approach. I turned to one of my new favorites....Majic spray paint.  This stuff is great for a no primer job.  I have used it in black and in white but this time I went for the color of the year and chose Tangerine.  (The label says ORANGE but I'm going for poetic license here.)  PS:  This stuff is great on metal too.  I've used it on lamps and chandeliers with great results. There you have it!  That's the Majic part. I have seen this idea in a variety of places and always thought about giving it a whirl.  This was the opportunity I couldn't pass up. Obviously my plants have a little growing to do before it looks lush and blog worthy. But I'm not known

This past weekend was the monthly meeting of a group I belong to that has been meeting for over 25 years.  We deviated from our regular agenda of discussing and analyzing our dreams to a special program for some of our members who turned 60 this Spring.  Part of that ceremony involved bringing an item that had special meaning for us that we were now ready to release.  We were allowed to then choose an item someone else brought and take it home with us.  I am delighted to share with you the item I brought home with me. This sewing machine was part of a collection that belonged to my friend's mother.  This little machine measures 10" wide by 6" deep and 9 1/2" high. The needle moves when you turn the wheel with this handle. It even came with instructions for threading. This shows it from the back where you see the lever that raises and lowers the presser foot. Imagine what might have been constructed or patched using this little machine. As

As of April 6th, I have a new grandson named Nathan.  Nathan has a brother named Gabriel who was born exactly 17 months ago on Nov. 7th. So when I saw this cute idea on Pinterest I quickly pinned it knowing I would be making one of these as well.  (Pinterest is such a great resource for creative ideas.)  You can see step by step instructions for the one shown above on Whipper Berry. I started by marking off the inches.  That was going fine until I reached 39. (rather mimics life, don't you think?)  Anyway, I thought about stopping for the night but kept going even though I was getting tired.  You would think I would have learned by now that is never a smart idea.  Yes, I lost focus and put the number 39 above 37 without skipping a mark.  I was able to clorox out the number, tea stain the burlap and then put the little red stitching back in with a colored pencil.  ( When things like this happen, I always tell myself that only God is perfect. That's my story and I'

fabulousk.blogspot.com Have a fantastic Easter.

My daughter has a blog devoted to children's literacy.  This week, because April is poetry month, she shared  her favorite poetry books for children. (She is also doing a give away of one of these books.)  I happened to be at her house while she was working on this post and I browsed through a few of the books.  I was really impressed with one in particular titled, Hailstones and Halibut Bones, authored by Mary O'Neill.  It is beautifully illustrated by John Wallner but for this post I am adding some pictures from Pinterest to a few excerpts from the book. (ysvoice.tumblr.com) RED Red is a lipstick, Red is a shout, Red is a signal That says: "Watch out!" Red is a show-off No doubt about it---- But can you imagine Living without it? (flickr.com)   BROWN Brown is a house  On the edge of town Where wind is tearing The shingles down. (Zoom In)   ORANGE Orange is a happy day Saying good-by In a sunset that Shocks the sky. Orange is