Rednesday - The Whole Kit and Caboodle

I had the foresight to take a picture before I started decorating this year.  A picture of everything Christmas that I acquired since last year.  Now, compared to many of the bloggers I know, this pile is small.  What can I say?  I live in Iowa...there are more pigs than people in this state!  This pile is the result of me hitting the garage sales every week from last frost to first frost!  Auctions?  Didn't go to many this year.  Estate sales?  Too pricey around here.  So, practically everything here came from a garage sale.

A couple of exceptions:

The Santa with the pencil in the very center.  I bought this from Laurie just a few weeks ago.  Love him!

A few items that belonged to my great aunt and uncle.  She passed away just a year ago.  I was fortunate enough to get a few of her things.

So, I thought this would serve as a fine Rednesday post!  I guess Rednesday has changed hands a few times since Sue hosted.  So, this will be a first for me.  Please check out the Rednesday posts on Melody's blog!

Oh...I just I just realized...this isn't my entire haul.  I have a pile of things to list for sale....oh boy!

Oh...and come back!  I will have posts of all the decor around the house.  I acquired a really special item this year and I am excited to share!

Yep, It's Rednesday and Life Has Been Good.

Hello everyone!  Can you believe this is my second post of the new year?  Not that 2010 was bad, but something unexpected came over me at the beginning of 2011.  A sense of contentment and calm.  I didn't make a resolution.  It wasn't a conscience decision.  It just happened.  So, instead of trying to figure it out.  Maybe over-think it, like I tend to do, I am going with it. 

Thrifting has been good.  Gas prices have kept me from venturing out too much, but those few times really paid off.  This is only about half of my haul.  The other half, when I post it, will be less colorful.  I had to group all these together for Rednesday!  Yeah!   Sue @ Sue Loves Cherries is our wonderful hostess!

Of course I was hoping to find Valentine's to add to my collection.  I collect mostly birds, baseball and anthropomorphic foods.  I only found two, but two is better than none, right?

I love, love, love the Constitution book.  It's from 1936. I totally forgot it would be missing a few amendments...six to be exact!  It will be a great addition to my patriotic items.  As will the cupcake picks.  I found the ones on the right first.  They are 48 star flags.  They were sold be the piece and I resisted buying them all and went with 6.  Then I ran across the bag of 50 star picks for less than the price of my original 6!  Now to use them!

The fabric, I hope to use recovering my kitchen chairs as soon as I can find a suitable tablecloth to cut up.  I thought this fabric might make a good skirt on those chairs.  I guess we'll see.

The price was right on the glasses, so hopefully I will find a few more somewhere in my travels.

The felt covered heart beads are new.  I actually have a few projects in mind, but in typical fashion, I'm a little behind.  Of course I will share anything I complete!

Now I need to run.  I heading to Mom and Dad's today.  They bought a new computer and yours truly setting it up for them.  I am hoping to hit a few thrift store along the way.....

What Cheer Goodies on Rednesday!

Yeah!  I have a Rednesday post!

Please spread the love, especially to out gracious host Sue @ Sue Loves Cherries!

Well, it's procrastination that has lead me to sharing my What Cheer finds on Rednesday!  Last Friday Mr. Made and I went to the somewhat well known What Cheer flea market.  Flea markets and auctions are not Mr. Made's favorite things, but he indulges me from time to time.  It seems every time I go I take someone different, this time it happened to be his turn.

So, I figure that 4 of the 7 items I bought have red in them...it qualifies for a Rednesday post!

I LOVE the canister set ( I know a certain hostess will like them, too!)  It wasn't priced so I asked the vendor about the price...it seemed fair to me, so I took it.  Funny thing is, as we were nesting it together she told me she had bought it that morning from another vendor.  I wonder what she paid, cuz seriously, I didn't pay that much!

If you are only interested in reds...you might want to end here.........not likely, right?

My other What Cheer find.  I nice chippy cabinet....maybe a little too chippy???  We are down to bare wood in spots.

I'm a bad blogger when it comes to taking pictures, but I managed to get Mr. to take a few...

Here's me at the dollar boxes.  This is the first place to hit!  It is busy at the boxes in the morning.  I went back towards the end of the day and nobody was there.  Of course neither were the things I had passed up....why I struggle with myself over a buck I'll never know!  Note to self: hand wipes are NOT enough. Next time I'm taking gloves.  That stuff is DUSTY!

Anyway, I'm holding my morel mushroom.  Anybody else hunt for morels in the spring?  I also bought the plate and Rudolph book at the dollar boxes.

Some things are just too fun to pass up!  I felt more than a little goofy but I had to have a picture with Spiderman!

Nice picture honey!  Was it really necesary to show me from this angle?

Here we are at the end of the day....tired but still smiling.  It was a good day!

BTW-I will mention our daughter also had a VERY good day.  Even though she wasn't with us she managed to get 34 Pokemon figures and 2 Pokemon jelly glasses!  I'd post a picture, just for fun...but they've already melded into her collection!  She has a lot and we have fun finding them for her!

Rednesday Quilt and Menu Board

Wow!  I didn't realize my last post was Saturday!  Here it is Rednesday!  Are you going to visit all the Rednesday posts?  I always try to, spread the love!  Make sure to give lots of it to our wonderful host, Sue @ Sue Loves Cherries!

It's been pretty warm here in Iowa, muggy as all get out!  So my outside time has been limited.  Even in the house you'll find me in the basement, in my crafting room.  It's also where the kids spend more than their fair share of time.  In their playroom.  Seems a little odd calling it their playroom these days, they are 15 and 12.  The only playing going on is Nintendo!

It's a bit more grown-up looking now...just another room for me to hang quilts!  (Notice quilts in corner!) When we have a house full of guests it doubles as an extra bedroom.  The sofa is a sleeper.  Not really my style anymore, but the condition is nice so it will do fine in their room!

I just finished this quilt a few months ago.  The first quilt I've finished in a long time.  I'm much more interested in card making now.  I mean I have quilts EVERYWHERE and you can only give so many away!  They are expensive to make and you really need to be sure the recipient wants a quilt! 

Anyway, one of my favorite things in this room is my menu board.  I got this at an auction about 8 years ago.  I was the sole bidder for $1.  Now it was not in this condition.  I had to spruce it up.  I had to cut off the bad portion {SIGH.}  Then, with help from my great uncle, I framed it.  I only wish it fit in my kitchen!  The obvious place for it to hang!  I have NO wall space in my kitchen...darn open floor plan!

Have you notice my obnoxiously large photos?  What do you think?  I changed to the new Blogger updater and Extra-Large is an option.  If only I took better pictures....

Rednesday Yummies

Hello Rednesday friends!  I'm a little late today...golf again.  It was excruciating.  Our heat index today is 110°.  It's VERY humid to boot!  Like walking into a sauna.  We're expecting some severe storms to night.  Hopefully not too severe and hopefully it cools it down a bit.

Today I'm sharing pictures of my garden girl and out first decent tomato haul.  Our first tomato came really early this year (June 24th) but it's been sparse pickin's until now.  The plants are just filled, though.  It won't be long and we'll be overloaded with tomatoes and start giving them away.

These are the best looking tomato plants I've ever had.  I really don't like using chemicals in the garden and will only do so as a last resort.  In years past this has meant that my tomatoes, although producing, looked awful!  Well, this year we had a wet spring and the tomatoes were showing signs of blight right away.  I found this product called Soap Shield from Garden's Alive.  They sell lots of environmentally responsible products.  I would HIGHLY recommend this product.  The directions said to apply every week to 10 days, but let me tell you, I only applied it twice.  It's been 6 weeks since my last application with no signs of disease.  I am VERY happy with the results.

I love this picture...even though it's a little out of focus.  This is two tomatoes grown together.  Doesn't it look like a heart?  Coincidentally, the tomato is called "Juliette."  One of our favorites.

Yum!  Yum!  I think Italian sausages with peppers and onions will be on the menu this week!

Please make sure to check out the other Rednesday posts over at Sue Loves Cherries!!!

Rednesday Buttons

Happy Happy Rednesday!  

I didn't think I would be joining you today.  I'm up to my eyeballs in garage sale pricing and it's crunch time!  I plan to set-up tomorrow, working around my son's two baseball games.  Lucky for me (not so lucky for him) this morning dear son had to get up at 5:00AM to go to school and lift weights.  Once he was up, so was I.  Which leaves me with extra time to post today!

I LOVE BUTTONS!!!!  So, here's my jar of REDS + a few yellows and oranges.

Now compare with this little jar (a pint) of purples, blues and greens.  It's obvious I love my REDS!

I display my buttons all around the house.  Here are my blacks and browns. 

They are displayed in a handmade tray along with some rose hips and my RED scoop!

And finally my whites.  These are really large jars.  The one on the left is all shell buttons.  I was very lucky at an auction and got the entire jar for a couple of dollars!  The middle jar is basic white shirt buttons.  The last jar is a mish mash.  Notice my RED bench!

Make sure to head over to Sue Loves Cherries.  Sue is our wonderful Rednesday host where you'll find many more RED goodies!

Rednesday with Christmas Goodies

Please don't look at my last post date...it was over a month ago!  I had to take some time off.  I don't do well when I have a lot of my plate.  I'm not a good multi-tasker.  This last month of school has just been crazy!  It all comes to an end this Friday...summer vacation.  I am one happy mama!

One more thing that makes me happy?  REDNESDAY!

A big thank you to our hostess Sue at Sue Loves Cherries.  It's a great way to get to know other bloggers!

I have lots of Christmas to share today.  I always gravitate towards holiday decor.  I struggle collecting everyday items, but the holidays?  I'm always in the mood to buy!  I bought all these items at an auction last month.

My favorite?  Well, I LOVE these Josef Originals elves.  I should have taken a photo of the labels.  They all have their original labels.  I have only the basic knowledge of Christmas collectibles.  I've never heard of Josef Originals.  They are made in Japan...that's always a good sign.

In the same box as the elves came this squeeky toy, marked Ninchira?  Japan.  He looks good.  I thought about selling him...now I'm not so sure.

Again, in the same box, Noel Angel candleholders.  Only marked Japan.  OK, I'm fairly certain I won't keep these...I have to recoup my costs and part with something!

Not bad for one box, huh?  I bought two other box lots with some Christmas.

Some plain Shiney Brites.  I only paid a buck, so why wouldn't I buy them?  The basket was an unintentional score.  I didn't even notice it until I got home.  I decided it will be awesome for gathering veggies from the garden!

OK, I know this last item isn't red, but I bought it on the same day and it fits my Christmas theme.  It's my wild card item.  When I won the bid for $1 and took the Shiney Brites, I decided to take a chance on this for $1.  A revolving Christmas tree stand.  It was so dusty.  I thought I was throwing my buck out the window...no way it was going to work.  Well, you guessed it...it DOES work!  It has three settings: revolving, playing music and revolving and playing music!  Super Duper Score!  This might be better than the elves!  I can't decide...they both make me smile a lot!

Rednesday....Gnome Siting????

It's been a while since my last Rednesday post. I certainly not for the lack of red. More the lack of ambition and time! I am postponing my window washing today to put up this post! I have a timely picture to share today.You see, two days ago I picked my first crop of lettuce! Some red varieties....of course! I had a great idea some months ago that I would start my lettuce inside (as I often do) but instead of putting them in the garden, where I have to share with the furry critters, I would plant them in this large, $1 washtub I bought last fall at the Mega-auction! Another advantage? I can bring in the tub when the weather gets a little chilly. Iowa Springs are notoriously volatile! It has worked like a charm!

I will tell you, I did not punch drainage holes in the bottom (heavens, no!) I filled the bottom with five 1-gallon milk jugs, to fill the space, allow for drainage, reduce the amount of soil needed, thus making it lighter to lift! In all my vegetable gardening I use the Square Foot method developed by Mel Batholomew. He has a great book on the subject! I highly recommend it.

So what else is on my patio right now? A footed washtub planted with daffodils. Not at peak, yet.My chives, in a minnow bucket bought at neighbors garage sale a few years ago!Then, there's my rosemary.....what's that next to it??? Some kind of strange gnome???
No, it's Santa! I guess rosemary does look a bit like a Christmas tree! He found his way to me two weekends ago at another awesome auction. He was stuffed in a box lot of hideous (my opinion) yarn and macrame Christmas items. Mom spotted him! I completely overlooked him! Thanks Mom! He is BIG, 8 1/2" tall and in wonderful condition!

Here's the label. I am tickled to have him! Since he was so well hidden, I picked him up for a song!

So, I will be heading over to Sue's this evening AFTER the window washing, to check out the other Rednesday finds! Hope you do, too!

Rednesday....The Family Room with Lots of RED!

Since I have missed Rednesday over at Sue's "It's A Very Cherry World." for the past TWO weeks, I though I'd make up for it with a BIG post. I may regret it later when I can't find any RED....but I don't think so!I'm featuring all my RED goodies in our basement family room. It's a HUGE room, like 17' x 36' and it serves as the "rough housing" room in the winter. The kids and hubby would play football, wrestle....whatever. So, I always had to keep in mind, it was all fair game to be broken. Luckily, nothing ever happened and now the kids are 15 and 12. Their "rough housing" days seem to be behind them....for the most part!There is no question this is a RED room with my RED walls!This TV cabinet hubby and I built when we couldn't find one I liked, at a price I wanted to pay. We are NOT carpenters, but the only real drawback, it's HEAVY!I love this corner. The ladder that came from my great uncle was taller, I cut three rungs off and used that smaller section in another room. The quilts from top to bottom are "Braided" Quilt As You Go, "Yellow Brick Road" by Terry Atkinson and Spiderwebs by Fons & Porter. The window was painted by a local artist and bought at craft show. The chair was a garage sale find.This rocker came from the Goodwill before my Goodwill began pricing me out of the market! I painted it RED, of course! The quilt behind I call Amish Basket Weave, I'm not sure if it has another name, but the black says "Amish" to me, even though there are prints in it.
The cornices are another one of my projects. I used insulation Styrofoam sheets and hot glue to make my box and covered it with the pieced "quilt" I designed. It's all Civil War Reproduction fabric. I love the Prairie Points detail. It was my first time trying them.
So, keep in mind, this is HALF the room but the other half is pretty bare....for the "rough housing." I do have a few more REDS over there, but I'll save those for another day!

Happy Rednesday!

More Rednesday Valentine's

Welcome to another Rednesday! Did you come on over from Sue's blog? It's a Very Cherry World! I bet, so! Love Rednesday!Do you remember last week when I said I didn't have that many vintage Valentine's? Well, two days later I went to the antique shops with my friend, Cathy. We both collect vintage Valentine's but our tastes are totally different. She collects Whitney Mades. Well, we both did well that day! I came home with about a dozen and I think she did about the same! Maybe now would be a good time to mention I've never won a darn thing in the lottery!
I love the anthropomorphic veggies! I added a couple more baseball cuties! Plus, a few birds. My favorite among the birds is this flicker. Kind of unusual I think. My daughter loved it, too. So, I feel I am cultivating that love of vintage things with her.
While we are on the subject of my daughter. This Valentine reminds me of her. She loves her noodles....and plain just like the girl here! Of course she pointed out to me, she's not blonde! She is very much a stickler for details! Wonder where she gets that from?
So, I have this quilt..... you had to know I had another to share! This is my Raggy Heart quilt. It's one of those easy ones, just a matter of sewing the hearts on top, cutting them into quarters, then sewing them back together. The quilting is always the challenge! My machine quilting is fair....at best!So, what will become of me next Rednesday when Valentine's Day is over and the reds aren't as obvious? I actually have a REALLY good red to share if I can ever finish the little details it needs! One of these days.....