Wednesday, September 30, 2009

More pumpkins...Thrifty Thursday #5


Can you tell what this pumpkin is made from?It's made from a paint stirring stick - they are free at the paint stores! I turned it into a magnet for the fridge. And can you guess what this pin is made from?
It's made from a wooden ice cream spoon...also free with cups of frozen ice cream! I glued a pin on the back to wear to work on Halloween. And these pumpkins were made from scrap of bass wood and cut with the scroll saw- they were also free - and I turned them into magnets, too.

Leigh is hosting Thrifty Thursday again - go see what great finds her friends have found!

BOO pillow

This little pillow took only minutes to make. I downloaded the letters from the Graphic Fairy and printed them onto fabric...

I cut them out and sprayed the backs with spray adhesive...
I adhered them to black felt....
Stitched the edges and stuffed it...
And, ta-da, a cute little pillow for the couch...
And it was as quick as that, too!

I am joining Celebrate the Holidays with Cheri - visit to see how other's celebrate!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Six Degrees of "Blogger" Separation

I'm fairly new to the Blogging World, but I have certainly noticed something in the past few months or so - we are all so closely connected! When I think I have come across a fabulous site, I see that one of their favorite sites is also one who enjoys another site that I have noticed on my favorite site's list of favorites!
This has made me come to a few conclusions:

1. We all like to share our talents, whether they be crafting, cooking, decorating, writing or photography and this is a fabulous way to share and find some new ideas.
2. We have wonderful inspiring tales to share about our daily life, travels or family.
3. We spend an awful lot of time on the computer!


I have always enjoyed magazines and I have saved quite a bit of money lately because I am finding the same enjoyment traveling around blogs. I am amazed at the creative talent and the lovely home decorating ideas I have seen. The tablescapes amaze me - to the point that I want to be invited for dinner. The imagination some people have is intriguing - their foresight to envision how a piece of junk can be transformed into beauty is amazing to me. This is so much more rewarding than a magazine because I can connect with the writers and get my questions answered!

So, this is my THANKS to all the wonderful blogs I have visited, the inspiration I have received, and the enjoyment I get daily!

Swing on over to Plant Some Roots @ Lakewood for a FABULOUS give away!


Monday, September 28, 2009

The Adirondacks

This past weekend, My hubby and I drove up to the Adirondacks. Old Forge is a quaint village with little gift shops and a variety of restaurants. We had lunch at Slickers overlooking the beach. The 'souvenir shops' are loaded with bears, loons and deer items, handmade log furniture and bags of balsam pine needles - EVERY shop carried these items! And one even had a real bear, stuffed, and on display at the entry of the store:
People were lined up to have their photo taken with him...
Deer were everywhere, even on the walls!
We took the chairlift up McCauley Mountain to view the foliage.
Peak foliage will probably be in about 7-10 days but it was still beautiful...

The chairlift back down the mountain was a bit scary at first, but the beautiful view took my mind of the height!
On the way home we had dinner at the east end of Oneida Lake, at Sylvan Beach, at Sea Shells restaurant. The view is usually of a bright sunset, however the clouds rolled in quickly late afternoon and the sun set behind thick gray clouds...

On the way up to Old Forge I saw a beautiful field of sunflowers. Impatient hubby said "we'll stop on our way back"....and remember those thick gray clouds...well, no reason to stop for that photo! He must have felt guilty because today he came home with a bright cheery bouquet of:
SUNFLOWERS! Nothing like a bouquet of flowers to hide the thick gray clouds!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Pumpkins...It's time

I don't care if it is still September, I'm putting out the pumpkins!I made these pumpkins from old farm fence posts. They were cut and the tops were angled by the farmer. I simply painted them orange, gave them each their own unique personalities with black, red and white paint and added a stem (cut out of pine). A little raffia, some leaves and of course a "scary spider" to finish them off.
These are my favorite Halloween decorations! And I bought pumpkin placemats at Pier 1 Imports and tied them onto the back of my wicker chairs.

I just love the warm colors of autumn!
Happy decorating...I'm on my way up to the Adirondacks to "watch the leaves turn" :-)

The NAUGHTY Chair

I was strolling though Blogland yesterday and came across a posting where someone had an old telephone stand and was planning on refinishing it...I might have left a message - I can't remember - I am slowly losing my mind! But, anyway, I wanted her to see the potential. Here is a telephone stand I painted a few years ago for my classroom ;
It has become the "naughty" chair for my middle school students. If I need to separate a student from the rest of the class, this is where they sit to complete their classwork. I have been lucky so far - no one has written on it (A few times I have expected to read things like "the teacher is a b****, or I hate "Mrs P") and it seems to solve the problem - however, there are a few who ask to sit in it because they like the colors so much!

So., if you come across the gal who bought the old beat up telephone stand, send her over to Pandora's Box for a look-see

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Tablescapes


I am joining Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch

I am quite surprised with all the blogs that display tablescapes. I truly thought it was a
lost art. I love to set a pretty table, however it often seems to go unnoticed. But I still do it during the holidays - maybe not to the extreme of some I have seen. So when I went to NYC and saw these tablescapes in Macy's windows, I had to take a few photos and post them: This is a job I would love to have, dressing windows. Fashion display must be so exciting...
...especially during the holidays! Macy's display department begins working on their Christmas windows in January and if you have never seen them, you must go to NYC in December

So, not your typical tablescapes, but some worth admiring!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Halloween Copy Cat

I have a new 'blogger friend". Jane at Mamie Jane's is very clever and I am copying one of her creative ideas. I needed at hostess gift for an upcoming party and didn't want to show up with just an ol' bottle of wine, so as I was "bloggin' around" I saw this clever idea on Jane's blog. You must go see what she created!

Jane gave credit to Karen at the Graphics Fairy for the graphic. So I ventured to Karen's blog and downloaded the skull graphic and printed it on fabric:I trimmed it and frayed the edges:
And wrapped it around a wine bottle with a string of jute:
I stamped BOO on a scrap of paper. layered it and tied it to the top:
DONE! and it was that quick, too!

I was going to label it BLOOD WINE, but maybe next time.

Thanks to both gals for making this gift an easy one to make!

Cheri is hosting Do it Yourself Day...there are some great ideas posted!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

NYC Continued...Buildings and People

NYC Part 3 ....The Empire State Building is the tallest building in NY and the second tallest in the country. The building has 102 floors and the observatory is on the 86th. The view from this observatory is stunning, especially looking down onto Central Park, a sea of calm green in the midst of skyscrapers and traffic!
Times Square also has some tall buildings. The old Paramount Building is the dark brown on the right, Hard Rock Cafe lives there now!
The Plaza, uptown, has some beautiful character and borders Central Park. I'd love to stay in the penthouse...
I read somewhere that the Plaza was turning its rooms and suites into condos. I couldn't afford to stay one night when it was a hotel, so I imagine I can't afford the penthouse! The lobby has the most spectacular chandeliers, and the largest apothecary jars I have ever seen!
And everywhere were these garish tables with fresh flowers:
I haven't a clue what this building is, but it was a tall one!
And I was fortunate to see some interesting people. Spiderman must live in midtown....
maybe in the same neighborhood as Elmo?
And here was my favorite guy....
It is tricky taking photographs of people without permission. But my thought is this....why would you dress so uniquely if you didn't want to be noticed? So, I snapped a few shots. I hope you can see the hair-do...I think it resembles the Empire State Building!!
And finally, not a great photograph, but again, I didn't want to OBVIOUS...Here is the Statue of Liberty, sitting by Central Park, on her cell phone!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Shopping in Manhattan

Canal Street in NYC is probably intimidating for the average shopper, especially the first time. Vendors rent the smallest spaces and cram it full of merchandise and they are also on the street selling out of brief cases, suit case and under their jackets. It is like walking through Heckler's Paradise, they are screaming out brand names, jumping in front of you with products and changing their prices on the spot. People are pushing, police are chasing unlicensed vendors down the street, and "spotters" are on walkie-talkies.
What are people shopping for? Knock Offs....the best knock offs around. There are a variety of levels of quality of knock offs: the lousy imitations (Gucci "G"s are backwards or are shaped poorly, Coach "C"s are not facing each other, pleather vs leather, Made in China labels are inside, Rolexes must be wound up, Tiffany Jewelry is cheap silver, the DVDs are of poor quality and often someone has sat in the last row of the theater videotaping and you see other's heads, Channel sunglasses are cheap plastic, etc) and then there are the good imitations (parts are stolen from businesses and are probably assembled in sweat shops) and then there are the good 'ol stolen goods ("that fell off the back of the truck") that are priced quite higher, but much lower than at the brand name stores.

I am guilty....I purchase the good stuff...and I enjoy the haggling. I have followed Asians down into the bowels of Chinatown for a good Coach totebag and I have climbed four flights of stairs for a "to-die-for Prada", and this time I sat in the back of a running VAN for 4 purses. I know, I could have been kidnapped, but my reasoning is this: the people are trying to make a living and they certainly do not want to murder or kidnap anyone and tarnish the community. I know, I am crazy!

So, then I went uptown to FAO Schwartz to buy Carter a present
And inside I spied a large soldier made of jelly beans:
Out on the street you can smell chestnuts roasting and pretzels - and the pretzels are delicious!
And then I strolled through the garment district. M and J Trims is the best place to buy any type of button, fringe, ribbon, and trim.....
and back up to the theater district....

which brought me to Times Square. There is so much energy there that you can't help to just sit and people watch.

The Naked Cowboy is often singing in this area, however I didn't see him this time. He is always entertaining!
And then downtown to Macy's, another great place to shop and "people watch"
And of course, the Yankee Store to buy my husband a few Christmas presents (yes, I am planning ahead this year)


I shopped and I walked til I dropped......Tomorrow I will post about the buildings and a few interesting people I saw....