Vintage Babies

Happy Sunday!! 

If you know me or have been reading here, then you know that I have a love for all things vintage. But here lately I've really found myself being drawn to vintage babies...Illustrations, books, art, sewing items, etc. I'm thinking the reason for this is that I'm ready and perhaps getting ready for the day when I hopefully will be a grandma. Although I do not see that happening anytime soon. Neither of my sons are in a serious relationship, nor are they at that stage of life where they are ready for fatherhood. So in the meantime I will just continue my latest love of all things vintage baby things.

Just love these baby pictures of my Mom!

The above photo is of my Mom. It is from her that I learned the art of what we called "junk'n". When I was growing up, it was for the most part just me and her against the world. She had me at 17 and at 18 she left my father. She never graduated High School and so it was tough for her, very tough to raise a child. But not only did she do it but later in life, while I was in High School, she got her GED, went to college and earned a Masters in Library Sciences. But when she was struggling she learned the art of "junk'n" out of necessity and taught it to me. Everything we owned was second hand; either given to us, from yard sales and thrift stores. It wasn't until years later that she discovered she had bought many things that are now valuable; McCoy bowls, dinnerware of all types, cookie jars, Planters peanut jars, linens, art, and just too many things to mention. And so it became a game and "junk'n" took on a whole new meaning...finding treasures!! Oh, I so miss you Mom!!!

A little "mini" book from my childhood.

I ran across this little book (pictured above) when searching for something else in one of my trunks. Isn't it soooo cute? Now I have started looking for more vintage baby books on my many "junk'n" trips...as if I need another collection of anything!

Such sweet little babies!

I found these vintage baby Lithographs at a thrift store recently.  Actually these are what started my new found love and hunt for vintage baby items.  They are just adorable!!

Vintage Baby Lamb.

 This cutie came from my Mom's collection. I'm really not much into stuffed animals but this is an exception to the rule. I love to think how long ago, some little boy or girl, played and possibly sleep with this sweet toy. 

And now I must close and get busy on yet another project I'm doing. I volunteered to take a very sweet older woman's journal and transform it into a "real" book. It's not easy reading her writing but for the most part it has been a lot of fun doing this. There are lots of pictures to scan and I'm also looking for graphics to add from the net. I will share more on this when the time is right!!

Have a great day! Please let me know you were here...I'd also love to  see your blogs. Please leave a link!!

Dog Talk and Treats

We are dog LOVERS!! If you knew us then I wouldn't even have to write that, lol!!  My husband and I got our first dog together a year or so after we were married. My Mom had recently passed away and I just suddenly felt that getting a puppy would help me heal. I looked at lots and lots of puppies at the SPCA as well as had people offering puppies to us. But my husband threw down the law; if we were to get a puppy, it would have to be a Labrador. So I started looking in the paper and found that Lab's didn't come cheap. But then I found one for 200.00 and called. The lady told me that "yes, he was full blooded" and "yes, he has papers, yes he had his first shots." Turns out he was also the last puppy to go and someone else had already inquired about him. And it also turned out that we would have to drive 50 miles to get him. (That is why her puppies were so "cheap"...they lived way out in the boonies) I had my husband in the truck and on the way in less then 5 minutes. 

On the way we of course discussed puppy names. And being that just that very day, the plane crash of John Kennedy, Jr and his wife and wife's sister was discovered. So the name we came up with was "JohnJohn". (Which later the Vet remarked that JohnJohn was a huge name to live up to and I have to say that the poor puppy failed...he was a monster pup!!) 

Puppy JohnJohn

An Older JohnJohn

 The story of JohnJohn's life, all 12 years of it, is a long one. But he was the most spoiled and loved dog in the world. Our friends said that if something should happen to either him or my husband that you might as well just bury the another right along. Well that didn't happen but we did lose our JJ. And when he left his world he took our hearts with him.


But now we have a Chocolate Lab puppy, 10 months old named Dane.  Greg's cousins breed Labs and when they heard about JJ they sent us an email with a picture of (believe this) their last puppy. We were not looking for another puppy but we fell in love at first site. And 2 days later we were off to get him, not just 50 miles this time but approx. 500 miles!! But it was the best trip we ever took...Dane gave us back our hearts. 

The email picture of Dane that made us fall in love.

One of JohnJohn' favorite things in the world, and that is now Dane's favorite thing is Dogster, ice cream for dogs. I mean JJ would go crazy for one and so does Dane! JJ knew he got his after his dinner and so every night he would gobble down his food and would still be chewing (and dropping)  it through the kitchen on the way to the freezer. With Dane we just ask "is it time for a dogster" and his eyes get wild and his body quivers as he makes his way to the freezer. Then he'll jump up, touch the counter with his front paws, and quiver some more. It is the highlight of his day!! If you haven't tried this for your dog, then go get some! Your dog will love you for it!


You can also make your own at home, which I've done but it's just easier to buy them and they aren't that expensive. But here is a recipe I found if you'd like to try the homemade version.

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/91852_how-to-make-natural-dog-ice-cream

And here's another treat recipe that both my dogs loved/love:

Beef Twists
3 1/2 cups flour, all-purpose
1 cup cornmeal
1 package unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 cup corn oil
1 jar Baby food, meat, beef, strained
1 beef bouillon cube
3/4 cup boiling water -- or beef stock
Dissolve bouillon cube in water. Sift dry ingredients in large bowl. Add milk,
egg, oil, beef and beef bouillon. Stir until well mixed. Roll out on a floured
surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut in 1/4 inch by 3 inch strips, twisting each
stick 3 turns before placing on cookie sheet. Bake 35-40 minutes at 400
degrees. Store in refrigerator.

Do you love dogs? Have a special story or picture to share? If so, please do!! Also, if you are reading and have your own blog, I'd love to see it! Please comment and leave a link! And I would really love it if you would join my blog!! 


Until next time!!

In the Mood for a Quickie

I was in the mood to create tonite yet I didn't feel like doing any needlework or mosaics. Actually I just finished a small mosaic table and now just waiting for it to fully set so I can grout it. But the point is, I felt like "doing" something yet I didn't want to invest a lot of time or start on anything to big. So I started just messing around in my crafting room and ran across a small, very cute, vintage candle holder. My mind started ticking as I looked around the room, trying to think of what to do with it besides the obvious use of a candle holder. And this is what I came up with.

In the middle is the candle holder. I broke off some roses and leaves from the shown rose basket. Found the pretty vintage rose cup in my stash and got out a cup full of  Mastic.

I wanted/needed to fill the cup with Mastic to secure the roses and leaves. But doing that was gonna use a lot of Mastic so I first filled it 3/4 with flat marble gems. I'm sure that I could have used a number of things besides the marbles; paper towels even. The idea was just to not have to use so much Mastic.

So here's the cup filled with the Mastic. I used one stick to scoop it out and the other to scrape it off. I got it all nice and even and cleaned off any access. Now time to add the roses!

Here we go...I simply stuck the roses and leaves into the Mastic, arranging them close together.

Next I filled in the hole of the candle holder with Mastic. It wasn't to large of an opening so I simply put in nothing but the Mastic. I built it up a tad high so there would be plenty to grab onto the cup,.

And here it is!! Now just to let it dry Hopefully it will be a success! If not, I will DEF let you know, lol!! (I've done many things similar to this so I'm pretty sure all will be good.)

Would love to hear any comments and of course I welcome questions! I would be beyond honored if you would join my site...getting your blog out there in the huge blogging world isn't easy and I would so appreciate any help! TY for being here!!

Today is an early "Father's Day" for my husband. Why? Well because he's waiting for the arrival of his new  Cast Aluminum Grill and Smoker we ordered from Amazon. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005KAXY

He is beyond excited. He has been through so many grills over the years that have (in short time) become rusted out and just end up in the landfill. So he finally broke down and bought the best of the best. Check out the reviews on this thing!! Looks like this will be the last grill we will ever buy. And I can't complain cause after all he will be doing the cooking! Win win!! 

Of course Mother's Day is soon a coming and I'm NOT calling this grill my present, lol!! But seriously, there really isn't anything I really want...except to see both my son's and at the same time. My oldest lives in Orlando, which isn't that far away, but the drive over there is terrible! And he's always busy, busy so it's hard for him to make it here. Now my youngest son still lives at home so I see him daily. But many times when the oldest makes a trip home, the youngest is at work or school. So hopefully on Mom's Day I can get them both in the same room at the same time. That would be the best gift I could possibly get. 

And now some more Dane pictures on one of our walks:

Getting ready!!

Greg Truck'n along.

Found a turtle!!

Pretty cactus flowers.

Pretty pink flowers.

What has he got in there now??

Until next time!!!

I've been featured at Caps Creations today!! Great blog...go take a peek!!!

Thrift Finds, Flamingo Re-make, Me and My Puppy, and a Vent

I went thrifting the other day and can't believe I found some bakelite!!! (considering I had just recently posted about it!) They are not anything that "special" but are pretty...butterscotch napkin rings. I hung them with ribbon to this lace curtain.

I also found these pretty pink vintage custard bowls. Marked the good ole "USA" on the bottom. 

And my husband is on a "real" butter kick so we needed a butter dish. Found this one and just glued on the little mermaid. I'm hoping she will stick good and strong, and then will clean off the excess glue.

Also found this "thingy"...anyone have a clue what it is? All I know is that it's glass, pink and pretty! Wonder what it's use is and what I will do with it???

This very old concrete flamingo was not a thrift store find but bought many years ago on ebay. I had put it in the brick planter outside. Not too long after at all, my husband came along to do some weeding, pulled the flamingo out of the ground and flung him down on the sidewalk...he had thought it was just plastic. Of course it broke. I patched it up and put it back anyway. Just a week ago or so he planted my little alvacodo tree I grew from a seed and I put the flamingo there. In the process some of it again broke off. His advice was to just "pitch it and buy another". So I looked up some on Ebay and showed him how much they are going for...as much as 100.00 and above for some! Sooooo that fixed that and he went on a mission to fix my broken one up. Here is a pic of it all patched together again and it's new paint job. It came out way tooooo bright pink for a vintage piece, but I know the sun will fade it out in no time. We also need to get it some longer legs.

And finally I want to share a picture of me and my sweet sweet baby Dane. We were on our walk on the nature trail near our house and remembered to bring the camera. However we forgot Dane's water so the walk was quick. Next time we go I'll bring the camera again and get lots more pics; it's a beautiful trail! But anyway, before I post the picture I need to do a little venting...I also posted this picture on Facebook and was surprised to see some comments (which I have removed) regarding my weight; or "lack of weight". Yes, I have lost quite a bit of weight since a surgery I had over a year ago, There were complications which required medications, along with discovering I have Degenerative Disc Disease. On top of that I'm having some major tooth problems and have no Dental Insurance now that my husband has retired. So okay, I've lost some weight. But comments, such as "omg, why are you so skinny, are you okay?" and "are you ill?" from my "online friends" who have never met me in real life are just uncalled for. After all, if someone is over weight do you ask them "why are you so fat?" No, I don't think so. Anyway, here is the picture and I'm only sharing it because I want to share me being with Dane, the love puppy of my life. I may be skinny but I deserve to capture with photos the good times in my life without judgement. End of vent and thanks for (hopefully) understanding.

All for today! If you are reading I'd love to hear from you! And if you like what you read, please follow me! Until next time!!

From a Friend

My friends know me well!!!! Thanks K!!!! I LOVE it!!!! :)

More Puppy Destruction

I woke up this morning to see this:

Feathers!! Lots and lots of feathers, as well as cotton and fabric. Dane, the puppy, had himself a fine feather party at the expense of a sweet vintage embroidery pillow that I found at a thrift store. I really loved that little pillow!

I don't know how he got to it. It was sitting with other pillows in the corner of our kitchen bench table so he had to work to get to it. There were 4 pillows; he destroyed 2 of them. I'm guessing it was the feathers that got his attention. He has always been such a good puppy until about a month ago. The older he gets, the more he gets into. And he always does it while we are sleeping, in the wee hours of the morning. I could kill him but no, I do love him too much. Guess it's just time to totally puppy proof the house!

My Shabby Home

I was home alone the other day for the first time in ages! Every since my husband retired and my 22 yr old son moved back home, being alone just doesn't seem to happen often. So I turned up the radio loud and just did my own thing, and alone! Well the dog and cat were here but they don't count. I actually enjoy them being around, lol! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my husband and son too; but hey we all need some alone time!


Anyway, I took advantage of the situation and took some pictures of my home and some of my most loved treasures. My style is Shabby, although not what I would call "Chic." It's just my style and is ME. Most everything has come from estate/yard sales, hand make gifts from my kids, thrift stores and sometimes Amazon or Ebay. Take a look!

My Kitchen Window. Notice the vintage Colanders. I have a thing for old Colanders and can't leave one behind if found. The blue pottery was made by my son and is a cherished FAV! I'm also have an avocado rooting in a sugar cup. And of course Flamingos!!

Top of the fridge. Vintage jar, old baby weight basket which came from my Mom's collection of vintage, and a vintage mixing bowl. I also have a thing for those too and will bring them home even if they have damage...it's a sickness.

Kitchen wall with various treasures. Mosaic spoon holder by ME as well as the top of the blue cabinet.

I love this old doll head!! She had a huge hole on her head so I glued on the rose. This also came from my Mom.

Kitchen wall on way out. The surfer art by my son when he was 10 or ll.

This vintage hutch sits in the room off the kitchen...it's our "catch all" room, my mosaic room, and the pet eating place. It's the one room in this house we never got around to tearing down the wallpaper,. (this house was wall to wall wallpaper when we bought it) The painting on the top is my Mom, painted when she was maybe in her 20's, if that. Here sits some of my mixing bowls, a palm tree pencil painting by my son, various other things and the cats food and water.

The wall in our "office". This room was really to be used as the dining room but this is where we have the computer, printer and fax. We eat in the kitchen and/or in the living room. We are classy like that. The dog bowl with the greenery belonged to our now deceased Black Lab, John John.

Mosaic table, again made by me, next to the computer desk.

Now we are in the living room. I've had this old trunk forever!  My aunt restored it for me when I was just a teen and I have hauled it around all these years. (I'm now 51)  The green pitcher is a vintage "Hall" and the two babies pottery piece is from an Art's Fair. It reminds me of my two boys at that age.

Our coffee table...it's an old 2 sitter school desk. My Mom gave this to my boys when they were little for a play table. My husband wants to refinish it but I'm not sure? It just has so much history in it! This also doubles as my husband's "office".

I also have a thing for these vintage lamps as you will see as we move on. The swan painting was found at a yard sale for 1 buck. The peace sign is another of my mosaics.

My FAV thrift store find! I just love, love this painting!

Highwaymen artist AL Black's version of  "Eddie's Place". Read more about Eddie's Place here.

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Another vintage lamp! This one with mosaic. The drawing is of JohnJohn and I bought it for husband on Ebay's Charity Drive for Hurricane Katrina. The little frog is vintage McCoy.

Love this watercolor of dogs! The black one reminds me of JohnJohn. Another thrift store find.

Another mosaic table I made. The little vintage flapper girl sits in a teacup on a old lamp base. The pillow, a thrift find, looks like the flapper so I paired them together.

Mermaid window decal on sliding door to the pool area.

This is the hallway between the bedrooms. The vintage medical cabinet was from my Mom. The 2 paintings on the wall were done by my kids. (sorry they didn't photo well). 

Hallway bath...and yes, that is the trash can hanging on the wall. I try to pick my battles with the puppy.

Another Highwaymen painting; this one is Johnny Daniels. The painted signs were both yard sale and thrift finds.

Still in the bathroom...this awesome Mermaid painting was an estate find. It wasn't framed and I paid a whole buck for it!! It's a real conversation piece!

Our bedroom. Okay, this may look very un-classy but for me it's VERY special! This is my memorial to our JohnJohn. He was 12 when he passed, and alone in the backyard. NOT because he lived outside but because he had doggy doors to come and go. He went out to "go" and never made it back in. It BROKE my heart into a trillion pieces!! We knew he was ill but he was being treated and doing soooo much better. It was just so sudden. I tied together all his bandannas together (and yes, he wore every one of these at one time or another. They usually hang all the way to the floor but Dane, the new puppy, has gotten interested and so I pulled them higher to keep him from them.)  And his collar is hanging on the Door Crown above the bed. I slept with that collar for months! And yes, the bed is on the floor with no bed frame. Also because of JJ. He had two knee surgeries back to back when he was 6 yrs old and we took the frame off so he could get up and down on the bed. Yeah we are crazy in love with our dogs like that. :)

An old drop leaf table with mosaics. The cross stitch pillow on top was an unfinished piece I found at a thrift. I finished it up and made into a pillow.

Also in our bedroom. Notice yet another vintage lamp. The house drawing is of my Mom's house, a Victorian in Mobile, AL.. The other two drawings are of my Mom and me, back when I was maybe 3 and living in NY. Of course I have lots of puppy Dane pictures also.

So wow, guess that is it!!! Hope you've enjoyed looking around! If you are here, and have a blog, please post a link so I can visit. Better yet, join my blog!!! I'll be back later with a before and after post of my vintage concrete flamingo that my dear husband did for me. He was after all the one who broke it! Come back to hear that story!