A few weeks ago, I had the rare opportunity to stop in at our local Savers store. I don't go there often because, for the most part, they just have clothes and shoes.

But every once in a while I find a treasure there.

This was one of those occasions!  

In a bag, hanging on the wall, I found 12 sock forms.

 Now, they aren't anything vintage, and they were painted in some funky colors,

 but I could see these would be pretty easy to make over. :)

Here is the before picture.

I'm not sure why there are so many holes in the smaller ones.

 My guess would have to be for some decorative purpose....?

**Thanks to my blog friends, I have been enlightened about the holes in the sock forms...They are ventilation holes for the drying of socks. I let out a great big DUH! when I read their comments.

Leave it to me to completely miss the obvious! ;) 

 So, I got out some of my trusty spray paint colors and started spraying.

I found a place for one in our guest bathroom.......

A couple more in our family room.........

I got this wall hanging from Kimberly at My Brown Bag Studio.

We did a swap a while back. I loooove it!

And don't mind the dust....I live in the desert, and dust is just a given.

And more in the upstairs hallway.

Boy!  I sure do appreciate an easy make over project!

**************************************************************************
Onto some other stuff......

I have a dear friend, whom I have known for years, that is organizing a service project for some of the children of Africa. Her son is serving a mission on the Ivory Coast. Given the fact that our son, Mark recently returned from serving a mission in Uganda, it was easy for me to want to contribute.

  It goes without saying that there is such need in Africa....it's hard to even put a finger on one thing that is needed. But, Sindy heard about the teachers who were trying to teach the little children some church songs, but didn't know the tunes. They hadn't heard the songs before, and without a piano, they had no way of knowing the tunes. Sindy immediately went to work organizing a project, collecting children's hymn books and CD's containing the primary songs (in French) to send to Africa.

Then, as most projects go, it got bigger. More people wanted to participate so Sindy decided that she wanted to put together 100 tote bags that included a picture of Jesus, a CTR ring (a popular piece of jewelery in our church that has the CTR emblem on it, reminding the wearer to "Choose The Right") and a Book of Mormon in the French language.

Since I have a hoard of an over abundance of fabric,

 I decided to sew up some tote bags to contribute to the cause.

  I know I'm not alone in saying that there isn't a better feeling

 than knowing you have done something to help someone else.

It sorta just makes you look for the next time you can serve, right?!

:)  :)  :)  :)

One of my favorite sayings......

Give without Remembering,

Receive without Forgetting. 

Have a blessed day!



A first try

After making the wool eggs that I showed you in my last post, I decided that I would make a penny mat.

I have worked with wool in the past and have found it very fun and easy,

but never have made a penny mat.

 I have only admired everyone else's!

I actually bought a little kit for this one so I would have a pattern and the instructions for future reference.

And here it is.....

(I put in on this big wooden charger so it could be seen on my black table)

To be honest, I struggled just a little bit.

It's not that it was difficult.

I think it's because I tried too hard.

Or maybe it's because I don't follow instructions well, or possibly,

 because I feel compelled to do my own thing.....

I don't know, but there is probably some medication that helps people with problems such as this.

The instructions had me trace the pattern onto freezer paper (brilliant!). The circle pattern had a large circle with a smaller circle inside it.

The smaller circle was to be cut out from the larger circle......so I had 16 "donuts" and 16 "donut holes".

Make sense??

Then, they were arranged as seen above.  The problem I found was that the little circles weren't necessarily the same size as the holes. The wool did stretch as I blanket stitched it into place but they smaller circles appear to be "sunk into" the larger ones.

Is this the way it's supposed to be?

I always assumed that the smaller circles were on top of the large circles.

Mine seems to lack the dimensional look that I have seen before.

Anyway, it is what it is.

I still like it.

And, I will more than likely try making another one.

That is, after all of you professional penny mat makers, impart your wisdom and knowledge unto me.

 And since that little black children's chair is showing in the background, I will include a larger picture. This is a re-do of a children's chair I picked up at a consignment shop many years ago. It was spray painted with a very light coat of white. The color was fine when I got it, but I recently decided to wood glue it in a few loose places and give it a new coat of paint.

Ahhhh. Much better. 

Happy Saturday. :)

I am a yard sale junkie......

There is just something about a yard sale sign that makes me so excited. And if I see an Estate sale sign, I get positively giddy. I was driving into town Friday afternoon and saw the sign. Estates sales intrigue me to the point of morbid fascination. I pulled up along the curb of a cute little old house. Tables of things were lined up with everything from yard tools to picture frames. Inside the house was a maze of more tables with the entire contents of a home. All the furniture was for sale. I felt a pang of sadness thinking of the family who had lived in this house. I thought of how they had worked their whole lives to fill this house with things. It reiterated my feelings about how "things" don't make a life. It is who and what we choose to fill our lives with that matters. The thought crossed my mind again of how we cannot take any of this with us when we leave this life. I found a couple of neat things there. I love to collect old medicine jars and containers. These were a few that I found interesting. There were so many that I really had my pick of many, but I only chose three..... I have been on the look-out for a crock to put my rolling pin collection in. I have been looking for a long time and could never find one. I was so pleased to find this there. It was covered in yuck, but it cleaned up nice.

I am so happy I stopped at this sale. Not just for the treasures that I found, but for the reminder about what's most important in our lives. As I walked away with my treasures, I reflected on what I wanted to leave my children when it's my time to go. I certainly will be leaving them with a lot of "stuff" to sort through, but I hope that I will be leaving them so much more than that. Have a happy Sunday!!!

What to do, What to do.....

Today has been a lazy day for me so far. I hate it when I get like this. I can think of so many things to do but I just mill around the house not really getting anything accomplished. I suppose I don't NEED to do anything at the moment, but I just get to feeling like I need a nap and I dislike that feeling immensely. So, I thought I would fulfill my ABC game challenge. The other day Julie gave me the letter M. I am to come up with 10 things that I love using the letter M. So here goes.............. 1. Marriage. I am so thankful for my marriage to a wonderful man. I consider myself very blessed to be in a relationship with someone who loves me despite my faults. He is the best! 2. Mark and Makenzie. Because they are twins I will use them as one "M". They are used to being lumped together anyway! :) I remember the day we found out I was pregnant with twins....we were both going to school, already had a 2 yr. old and only 21 years old. Craig and I felt overwhelmed, but at the same time so lucky. They have always been such easy to children to raise and such a joy in our home. 3. Music. Music has always been an important part of my life. I remember as a child listen to the people in my life sing....It has always been able to evoke such emotion with me. It truly speaks to my soul. That's why I like to surround myself with good music. (that scream-o stuff that my kids listen to sometimes makes me want to pull my hair out!) With that being said, I think Journey is the greatest rock band that ever existed. 4. Modesty. There is nothing more beautiful to me than a young woman dressed modestly. 5. Manners. I love to hear people use their manners. A simple "please" and "thank you" are such wonderful words. 6. Maggie and Macy. We are animal lovers here at the Carter house. We are blessed to have two of the smartest and best behaved Labradors in the world. Not to mention they are the prettiest! :) 7. Miracles. Need I say more? 8. Missionaries. How can I not include this?!? Our Mark is currently serving a church mission in Uganda. We miss him, but his selfless work is blessing our lives and the lives of many others. We are so proud of him! 9. Mangoes. I loved to eat them before, but I am addicted to them now. We WILL be planting a mango tree in our back yard. 10. The Messiah. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Christ is the center of our religion. (also known as Mormonism) I am so grateful for His atoning sacrifice, not only for me but for everyone. That was fun....THANKS JULIE! I have also included some recent projects and finds. Once a lady gave me a big garbage bag full of fabric. Inside I found a quilt top of sorts made out of wool. It was all crooked and uneven so I cut it apart. / I thought I would make some penny rugs or something with it. There was so much, I decided to use a bit of it to make some little prim bunnies. Meet, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail. They are looking a little unsure of themselves being out and about this early in the year, but they will get used to the early spring weather soon enough! I popped into a thrift store the other day that I rarely go into. It's not that great and the prices are pretty high. However, I had some time to kill before picking up Ragan at school and it was the only one close. Imagine my surprise when I found this beauty! It's a very large wooden bowl. It was only $5. I was thrilled and snatched it right up!This is the marking on the bottom....is anyone familiar with it? These are my two wooden bowls side by side. The big one is the newest....it's really big. Like 20" across the top. I think I know what Craig will be building me next! :) Have a great day!

Once upon a time....

About 10 or so years ago, my sweet Grandma Jessie handed me a little plastic bag with what looked like rolled up papers in it. She told me that they were the days receipts of a little general store that was in the town she grew up in (Lewiston, Utah). She went on to tell me that the owner had given them to her father many, many years ago. For what reason, she never knew. She had kept them in her cedar chest for as long as she could remember. When I opened the bag, I couldn't believe what I saw. There were about 25 or so receipts from May 9th, 1891. They were so curled from having spent the last 100 years rolled up that I had to be very careful with them. They were so fragile, the paper was crumbling on the edges. I took them home and layed them one by one in the pages of a book in an effort to flatten them out. Finally, after many months and still no flattening (they would curl right back up when I opened the book..), I put one of my favorites in a frame. Don't you just love the way they used to write??? The store clerk was named Lewis. There are others with the clerks name of Ella. Were Lewis and Ella married?? Did they own the store??? So many questions... The purchaser was S.J. Allen from Lewiston. He bought a dollars worth of sugar (how much do you think that was?), a hat for $2.50 (was it for him or his wife??), suit clothes for $8 (wow, those must have been some fancy duds for that much...) and then as an after thought, a garden fork for $1. A day at the Mercantile for $12.50. Mr. Allen appears to be a big spender! Although, he DID charge this purchase....I wonder how long it took him to pay it off. Did he pay with eggs like Caroline Ingalls did on Little House on the Prairie or was he was the town doctor and payed with services rendered?? There were all kinds of things purchased that day....shoes, tobacco, pans, pills, castor oil, tacks, and another favorite receipt....purchased by M.A. Hendricks, butter(.20), calico(.23), ribbon(.10), and thread(.10). I just love thinking about how life was like way back then. Don't you??? Someday I will take all of the receipts to be framed. They are such an interesting part of history to me.