Enjoy A Cone

So, apparently there is a market for these....

Who knew? On Friday I was doing some ebay "research" to find out more about these....
That is when I discovered the market for the ice cream cone dispenser. I did a search for "ice cream cone holder" thinking that might be what these cones are. Well, up popped a couple of the dispensers with pretty good bids going. It certainly caught my attention because I am the proud owner of one. I was garage saling several weeks ago and not having much luck. Thinking I needed to buy something I decided this was a unique find. And for $1 it satisfied my "need."

I thought it might make a cute candy dish, flower planter, craft organizer....I'd think of something. It was unique and I liked it. Well, I don't like it that much. You see, the two auctions ended yesterday. One for $71 and the other for $58! Can you believe that?! So, mine is listed here. It's up to $6.50 already which means I've already made a profit. Love it!

Back to those little cone things. Does anyone know what they are? They are marked "NUTBROWN made in England." I found some other Nutbrown items on ebay - baking and utensils - but I didn't come across anything like them. I'm just curious. I don't think I will sell them. I can see them in some sort of stand holding flowers, buttons, etc. But then again....we'll just have to wait and see!

{"If you want to give it all you've got," Jesus replied, "go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me." Matthew 19:21}

Flowers to Cheer You

Well, actually they are flowers to cheer me. Ha! I had a rough morning and was feeling down. Driving along I noticed how many wildflowers were blooming alongside the road. I stopped at about three different places, hopped out of my van and cut the flowers. I always worry about what people think of me stopped alongside the road. Oh, well. I just couldn't resist these flowers.

Isn't it nice of God to provide us with such beauty? These aren't flowers that someone planted in their garden. These are a gift from Him!

{"See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land." Song of Solomon 2:11-12}

The best things in life...

....are things you buy at garage sales. Oh, wait! That's not exactly how the saying goes.

I love this sign. Our youth group had a garage sale this weekend to raise money for people going on mission trips. They made $1400. The sign and the candlestick are a couple of the things I bought. The sign was painted by our youth minister's wife. She is very talented. The board came from a trip where the youth (or might have been the college group) went to help clean up after a natural disaster (tornado or hurricane). Guess I need to get the story straight. I really should get the details. I would like to write on the back of the board where it came from.
I bought these a while back at a garage sale. I think they will be great on cards or packages.
Anyone know anything about bonnets? I think this may be considered a button bonnet. I know it is not a great picture since it is just laying flat on the table. It appears to be quite old.

Today on our walk my friend and I encountered three snakes. They were sunning themselves on the trail. We had to walk around them. I was pretty creeped out. I think they may have been cottonmouths. I don't want to go back. I need to go back. Walking is good and I really love it when the weather cooperates and we can be outside. Why do the snakes have to sun themselves on our trail? I don't like worms and I certainly don't like snakes. Yuck!

{We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. I Cor. 10:9}

Making-do

I love "trash to treasure" projects. It is fun to make something useful out of "junk." One of my favorite blogs is Margo's . She makes some fabulous projects! And, of course, I love the JunkMarket gals. Have you seen their new book? Love it, love it!

So, anyway, I was thinking that "trash to treasure" may be a relatively new term, but the concept isn't new. People have been "making-do" with what they have for years. I wanted to show you one of my favorite "making-do" items.

This vanity (or dressing table) was my paternal grandmother's. Her father made it for her out of old fruit crates. I'm guessing that was somewhere between 60-70 years ago. I don't know for sure. I never knew my grandma. She passed away when my dad was a teenager. I've been told that I look like her. (I would share a picture but it is packed in a box somewhere right now.) My Sweet Girl is named after her.

I've had this dressing table since I was probably 12. It is now in Sweet Girl's room. It is empty at the moment since we are kinda living out of boxes for a few months. Usually I keep her feeding supplies, linens, etc in it. When she was a baby I hung a dowel in the center to hang her sweet little dresses.

The fabric has changed over the years and it really needs to be cleaned up and painted again. The top could probably stand to be refinished. But I cherish this piece of furniture. I think of the love that went into making it. I can picture my grandma sitting in front of it, then at least one of my aunts, then me. Now it belongs to Sweet Girl.

It doesn't have much monetary value, but to me it is priceless. Hopefully it will "make-do" for many more years to come.

Another Card and Another C

Hello! Here is another flashcard greeting. This was sent to my SIL. I hope she has received it by now. The last card I sent to Colorado took 10 days. Crazy! I've been busy and having trouble getting cards done. These have gone together pretty quickly because I haven't done any stitching or added a lot of embelishment. Just trying to keep things simple.

I've added another "C" to my collection. I wish I would have taken a better picture because it is beautiful. I don't know what it is. At first I thought it was a large pillow sham, but it is not. The only place it is double thickness is around the edge. I'm not sure how I will display it. Any ideas?
I found it at the thrift store for 50 cents "as is" because there are a couple holes in it. I picked it up thinking how pretty it was and then got really excited when I realized it was a "C."
Here are some upclose shots to see the detail. If you click on the pictures you can enlarge them to see them even better. It appears to be quite old, but I don't know a lot about vintage linens. I just know that I am happy to add this one to my collection.
{"She shops around for the best yarns and cottons, and enjoys knitting and sewing." Proverbs 31:13}

71 cents

Just thought I would do a quick post tonight. Tomorrow the kids and I are heading back down to Magnolia for the weekend. There is a house with potential that I need to take a look at. There is also a very good possibility that someone else will make an offer on it before the weekend. We'll see what happens. I'm still praying that the right house will become available at just the right time.

Well, you know that I like to find bargains at garage sales and thrift stores. I also like a good grocery bargain. I use lots of coupons and do a pretty decent job of keeping the grocery budget under control. Some weeks are better than others. This past week Kroger had a great sale going on. If you purchased 10 participating items you automatically got $5 off. I did this four different times (three in one shopping trip). The fourth was my most successful. Here is what I purchased:

3 packages of Keebler cookies

3 bottles of French's mustard

2 packages of crescent rolls

1 box of Eggo waffles

1 box of Toaster Treats

After coupons and the $5 off my total was 71 cents! Woohoo! That is my kind of shopping!

Also, I had an update on my previous post about calling companies. I eat Luna bars almost every morning, (I've gotten away from the SlimFast diet) but I never see coupons for them. Yesterday I called the 800 number on the package. I had to leave a voicemail and they actually called me back a few hours later. I explained that I loved Luna bars and asked if they had any coupons. They nice lady said she would be happy to send me some. Yeah! Calling works. Don't be afraid to try it.

{Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. John 16:24}

Tuesday Tip #6

I've had a case of blogger's block lately. It has been a week since I posted. Just couldn't come up with anything interesting enough to share. I decided to do a Tuesday Tip because I haven't done that in a really long time.

Today's Tuesday Tip is Call the Company. Do you have a product you really love and purchase often? Call the company and ask if they have coupons. They are usually more than happy to send them to you. You can also contact the company via email or their website. Have you purchased a product and been unhappy with it or have a suggestion to make it better? Go ahead and call. Example - recently I purchased a large box of Huggies baby wipes. You know - the box with two big "zipper" bags full of wipes. Well, both of the "zippers" broke. I had to put the wipes in large Ziploc bags to keep them from drying out. Not a huge deal, but an inconvenience. I called Huggies to let them know. They actually appreciate this because it helps them know where they need to improve.

A week later this is what arrived in the mail. Definitely worth the inconvience and the few minutes spent on the phone. So, don't be afraid to Call the Company!

Here is a card I made for my niece this week. I actually haven't sent it to her yet (although her birthday was last week). I'm a bit behind on my cards. I decided I could go ahead and show you. I don't think my niece will be reading my blog - she's only one!

I just embellished one of my vintage flashcards. Kept it pretty simple this time but I like the way it turned out.
Here is a closeup of the sweet cupcake. Yummy!

Guess that is all for now. I hope you have a fabulous week.

If you're gonna have one...

...it should at least be cute! Well, maybe cute isn't the right word. Stylish? Vintage? It is definitely vintage! I hate bathroom scales. Who doesn't? But I have been thinking about buying one of those fancy digital ones. You know, the ones that tell you weight, body fat, quit eating, run a marathon, etc....I decided that was way more information than I needed!

Then yesterday in Goodwill I came across this one. I loved the look of it and it was only $3. I actually got on it in the store to see if it worked. It seems to be fairly accurate. I was secretly hoping it would take about 20 lbs off. Speaking of 20 lbs - this thing is heavy! They don't make 'em out of cast iron these days.
Isn't this a great dial? See that empty little square? That is where it changes to 100 (or 200 or 300). I know the 100 works anyway! I don't think I will hide this scale in the closet or underneath the sink. Since I like the way it looks I am going to leave it sitting out. Hopefully it will become my friend instead of my enemy.
At another thrift store I found this pewter tea set. I don't think it is real old, but I thought it was unique enough to buy it. I put it in my antique booth.
I also found these sweet little silver and porcelain demitasse cups. I was excited to find them because they were in a ziploc bag and tossed in a bin with napkin rings. I usually don't even look in there, but the silver caught my eye. I suppose the silver part could be used for a napkin holder. Why not? They were $1 for all five of them. They are also in my booth.

I am going to miss our thrift stores when we move. I tried to look around last week down there, but didn't see much for thrifty shopping.

I also didn't see many houses for sale. Hopefully the right place will become available soon. We want to find something out in the country or at least with a very large yard. Our boys spend lots of time outside - riding bikes, exploring, chasing lizards, building forts.... We don't own video games. Old fashioned, I know, but we love it.

Guess I better get off the computer. It is just about time to pick up the kiddos from school and then head to hippotherapy. Soccer practice was canceled (again) because of the rain last night. As far as I know hippotherapy is still on. It will just be a little muddy.

{The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight. Proverbs 11:1}