...the canning rack is where?!

Here is my current mantel vignette. Much like the rest of you, this is an ever changing display.  The mantel is such an easy place to rearrange, shift the mood of a room, and try new things without too much time or effort.  (Much easier than painting or moving large furniture around!)

I am currently continuing my love of neutrals and naturals.   I expect that will change at some point.  It was fun to work in some different colors on some recent projects.  But using unexpected objects likely won't change.

Dried or fresh, hydrangeas or wonderful.  I really like them plopped in this sea grass basked.  Scrabble tiles and typewriter keys contained in jars sit and wait until I I need them for a project.  At a recent garage sale, I scored a large box of assorted lace pieces for a wonderful price.

And the canning rack sits right smack in the middle of the mantel for now.   I needed something that added a bit of interest without being too visually heavy and as I wondered around looking for an idea, I spotted the rack.  For now, it works just fine and the pendent banner adds a little bit of color.  Yea, the red ball is a dog toy... not a decoration.  The dogs' toys end up thrown on the hearth to keep them out of the middle of the floor.

More odd assortments on the other side of the mantel.   Barbwire, lace and babies go together just fine.

For the moment, I like this mix of some of my favorite collected items.  (I can't believe my granddaughter is a year old already!  Seems like she was just born.  This is one of her newborn pictures.)

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There you have it.  A canning rack takes center stage!  Who knew?

What to do with all this collected bits and pieces...

If you are like me, you are always finding things, saving things, and collecting things that catch your attention. You know that someday, the perfect project will require just that very thing.

...scraps of fabric, ephemera, ribbon, beads, buttons, and all kinds of other little bits.  On of my favorite ways to use up some of these 'treasures' is to make a collage quilt.



I used drop cloth for the base, batting saved from packaging of some item that arrived at our house, and cut small squares of fabric as the background for the collected bits.   And sticks, and wire, and mini clothespins to hold the mini quilt.

This one uses blue and purple as the primary colors.  You can see it is an assortment of things that come together.

Buttons, paper, lace, cheese cloth, and creativity come together.

Pretty much anything can get incorporated into these quilts.

It takes a bit of time to come up with the right combinations, but it is great fun to sort through my things to see what I can discover.

And here is another one, done in a different color.  This one hangs in my bedroom.

Again, a broad assortment of things...  tissue paper, lace, printed card stock, and scrapbook embellishments were some of the items used here.

What things would you use on yours?

This is a fun project that can be quiet personal, or simply made to use up odds and ends collected over time,
I would love to see yours, if you decide to make on of these!

Fairy Garden

Don't you just love some of the fairy gardens people have created? They really appeal to my imagination. I thought I would share my version of a fairy garden....

I  used a metal bracket from an old computer for the corner walls of my 'ruin' and a travertine tile for the floor.  I covered the metal bracket with grout to give it texture and create the look of an old wall.

It still needs some more bits and pieces to finish it.

I am  so glad I collect things I like....   I found the fence stored in with my crafting supplies.

I am seriously thinking about creating a little pendant garland to hang from the corners of the walls of my 'ruin'.

Simple deck table

We have been having the most wonderful summer here in North Dakota.  It has been in the 80's for weeks.  There have been some summers in the recent past when we were lucky if we got on or two days that reached 80.  Not everybody living up here appreciates the heat like I do.....    This nice summer means enjoying more time in the backyard and on the deck so thought I would share an easy project with you.

I needed a side table for the settee on my deck and the plastic one I had was no longer cutting it!  So I rummaged in the leftover wood pile and found what I needed to make a small table.  This is made from a square of plywood for the top, 2 x 2's for the legs, and 1 x 4 for the sides.   I got to play with the table saw to make this!  Don't you just feel like you are super cool when you use the power tools?  or is that just me?

I had some leftover green paint from another project and mixed some water and tile grout in with it to make my own version of chalk paint.  The grout was pre-mixed rather than powder and that worked out just fine.
Here are some pictures of the texture it provided:

Yep, I have a thing for texture--- so you get lots of pictures of it.  As the table is going to sit on my deck, I wasn't too worried about it being all nicely finished.  The weather would shortly change that anyway.

Perfect little table to sit on my deck and hold a planter and a drink...

A new job for an old horse

This is Freida...  she is a 31 year old Quarter Horse mare with a new mission.    She is making lives better and living the good life in her (semi-) retirement home.

I bought Freida 11 years ago when I started riding horse.  She was my mid-life crisis.  (that exploded, but that is another story...)  She was a safe, older horse that was perfect as I learned to ride and gained confidence around horses.  Prior to being my horse, she had belonged to a teenage girl and I was never able to track down her earlier history.  As I got comfortable, I added to my herd of horses and soon Freida was being leased to young riders that didn't have a horse of their own for the summers.

This past year I changed barns and Freida was boarded at a farm that sounded like a promising place for her to spend her retirement years.  Unfortunately, it wasn't all it seemed and I needed to find a new home for her.  After all her years of service, I will make sure she is safe and comfortable for the rest of her days.   

At the same time I was looking for a new home for Freida to be boarded, I learned of a new organization in town that was being developed to provide nontraditional therapy services to children with disabilities and struggles in life.   And Freida was a stimulus for the development of Stable Days Youth Ranch!   One of the families that had leased Frieda did so for a child with difficulties and that was the start of big improvements.   The picture on their website is Freida.   It is a good story and worth going to the site if you like feel good stories.   Freida just recently moved to Stable Days and quickly settled in.

I think she especially appreciates that she is able to be on pasture with trees, a river, and even some hills.  She has a new pal who looks a lot like her and he is 35 years old!

Chilling on a warm summer afternoon, and napping in the sun.   Not sure what her pal was doing with his tongue out...  lol

So rather than retiring completely, Freida is moving into the next chapter of her life and continuing to enrich lives.  Love my horses, and love the gifts that horses bring into lives.

Happy Independence Day!

I am sitting watching the storms clouds roll over, listening to thunder, and praying for rain....

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!  Here are some pictures of fireworks from a family gathering this past weekend.