Vintage Glass Jewels at my Etsy shop :-)

I just thought I’d give an update, a peek at some of the goodies I have in my Etsy Shop. I love these little sparklies – and I hope you will too 🙂




And – just a little hint and self-promotion combined – you know Prom Season and Mother’s Day is coming.

Do it yourself and save money!

PS If you’re getting married? You can easily make your own bridal earrings, just as an example. They’ll be sparkly, they’ll be beautiful, and you can save your money for your wedding or your party or your honeymoon!

Color in Springtime – and Vintage Glass Jewels, too

Because I’m in the mood for color this spring – I’ve said that before. Somehow after the blue jeans and scrungy tee shirts (which are a lot of my year-round wardrobe), I want something fresh and new and pretty.

And I’ve got just the thing. You know accessories are the most useful fashion there ever. You can change your basic black with a pop of color – and zing up your white!


Art deco pattern lacquered paper necklace - with vintage glass jewel
Art Deco patterned, lacquered paper necklace with vintage glass jewel

Of course I can make the necklace in any color combo – with a coordinating vintage glass jewel. I do love these soft blues and green, though. They remind me of a summer garden, only without the work 🙂

And it’s a lovely gift for someone you love – hey, I had to say that. But it really is – she’ll love it!

Spring Flowers Brooch – recycled, of course!

It’s springtime. I’m in the mood for color and look what I found 🙂

Orange Recycled flower Brooch from Bahee on Etsy

It’s from Bahee, on Etsy and she has a shop full of goodness for you to explore. Happy and colorful goodies. And recycled!

Here’s a pic of the brooch modeled on a garment, so you can see how it would really look:

Orange Recycled flower Brooch from Bahee on Etsy

Also did I mention recycled? I did? It’s worth repeating. Recycled – and adorable 🙂 Go peek!

Pets :-)

Just thought I’d share a recent pic of Lois and Peter – and Fluffy, the cat:

Lois and Peter and Fluffy

You can’t really tell how big they are, from the pics – and it’s a little deceptive because they’re the same size as Fluffy the Cat, and that isn’t that big, right?

But Fluffy is 22 or 23 pounds. He’s getting old, and, well, I don’t want to use the word “fat” (he doesn’t eat a lot, truly, and he never takes goodies!) but it’s close to the truth. He is a BIG cat.

They’re not done growing, either – but they’re turning from puppies into dogs. As anybody with kids or pet knows, it’s just amazing to watch!

PS They’re border collie and miniature collie mixes – we don’t know yet how big they’re going to be. Bigger, anyway 🙂

Thrifty and Green! Alternative Uses for Kitty Litter

Yes, clean kitty litter, all right? The guys in the back can stop snickering.

Fluffy the Cat

(I thought a pic of one of our cats would be a little more interesting than a picture of kitty litter.
You know what kitty litter looks like.)

This may sound silly, but I ran across a couple articles about “alternative uses for kitty litter” and I thought, you know, there’s probably a lot of people like me who wouldn’t have thought of these – and they’re pretty smart. So here’s some I thought were the most useful:

1. If you get motor oil on your driveway or the floor of your garage, sprinkle on some litter. It’ll absorb the oil.

2. This is one of the first ones I ever used: Keep a big bag (this can be the cheapest non-clumping stuff) in your car all winter (or all year, depending on where you drive). It’s great for adding weight when you need it on icy roads – and sprinkled in front of your tires can help you get traction if you get stuck!

3. Treat it almost like vermiculite when you’re planting your garden. Sprinkle in amongst your compost before you plant your veggies or flowers. It’ll help the soil retain water and it’s safe for the plants.

4. Not surprisingly, it’s a pretty effective “odor eater”. Slip it into a small muslin bag (or old socks!) and insert into your smelly sneakers. It’ll act like charcoal and draw out the odor.

5. Same kind of a deal – odor eater – fill a small bowl or other container with litter and place it in the back of your fridge. It’ll help absorb odors.

6. And one more on that line – sprinkle an inch of kitty litter in the bottom of a diaper pail. You get the idea 🙂

7. This one I haven’t tried but it makes sense to me: sprinkle it in the bottom of your grill (outside grill that is!) It’ll help prevent grease fires.

See? Even non-cat people find it handy to have some kitty litter. It’s cheap, it’s useful, and hey, you might get a cat!

Easter Wishes

Spring is finally here – yes it’s rainy today and chilly, but there’s fresh green out there too – it’s springtime in Missouri 🙂

And this is Easter week – for everyone who celebrates it, have a wonderful, happy, and loving Easter!

And – you probably know what I’m going to say. It’s a lovely tradition to give gifts at Easter.

These are often considered gifts:

Bunny Rabbit
Bunny Rabbit

Baby Chicks
Baby Chicks

These are living creatures. Please, please, don’t give them as gifts. They’re not toys.

Have a wonderful and loving Easter.

Decorating with White

I’ve said this before – more and more I’m leaning toward decorating with white. I love the simplicity of it, the clean look – okay, part of that is “uncluttered”, too – but when your base is (mostly) white it’s like you’re making a canvas for the people in your house – the life that goes on – rather than “uber decorating”.

White looks GOOD. And, of course, I’m always interested in vintage – in reusing and rethinking and taking things that might have been discarded and making them a loved part of your life.

Case in point – take a look at these terrific vintage items I found on Etsy today:

White Vintage Lamps from Kowgirlkitsch on Etsy
White Vintage Lamps from Kowgirlkitsch on Etsy

and
Set of Six White Vintage Cups from Kowgirlkitsch on Etsy
Set of Six Vintage White Cups from Kowgirlkitsch on Etsy

These would look great in your house. They’re functional, they’re a little funky, and they’re vintage (and affordable, which is not always the case!)

I found them at Kowgirl Kitsch on Etsy, and she’s got LOTS of great looking, fun items at good prices. You should go look 🙂

I know I’m going to revisit this idea – decorating with white. It’s looking so good to me lately. Stay tuned for Part Two (or Six, or whatever!)

Vintage Dress for Spring :-)

I was just looking around Etsy – which is one of my favorite ways to play on the net for a little while – and I saw this terrific and gorgeous vintage dress:

Light Blue Vintage Dress from RaleighVintage on Etsy.

Isn’t that a yummy color? And the way it skims the waist, it would be easy to wear and flattering. And it’s only $30.00. I mean, you’ve got to love it!

The Etsy shop, Raleigh Vintage has LOTS of other goodies 🙂

Just as an aside – okay, a little self-promotion here – these earrings from Paper Jewels would look adorable with that dress:

China Blues - Wedgwood inspired lacquered paper earrings

Or maybe these:

Stars and Pearls lacquered paper earrings

I think the soft grey would be great with the light blue in the dress – or (of course) I could make them to match the blue. Hint: these would be great for Mom, too – Mother’s Day is coming soon! (End of commercial!)

But truly, go check out that dress!

So did I mention the puppies?

The new babies in our house. Lois and Peter, not quite three months old in these pics (will get new ones up soon!)

They are smart, they are healthy, they are energetic (of course), they have already graduated beyond the “exercise pen” for sleeping – now they have the run of the living room at night. Our house will survive.


Lois
Lois

and of course, the important stuff:
Lois

Will update soon!