"Thank you for your service"

Shelby and I spent most of last Saturday at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds where they were holding the annual spring Antique and Flea Market Spectacular. We literally ran out of money so we drove home to get my bank card, ran to the bank to get more cash then headed back to the fairgrounds to snatch up more treasures. We got a ton of loot but my favorite find of the day was bought at the very first booth we visited...it's this great hand-painted little shell coin purse, it was obviously well loved but it's in really good condition aside from the worn paint. I think I have the perfect idea for it but I'll have to see how it turns out!

A wonderful customer and really sweet lady custom ordered two vintage military themed journals from my Etsy store...one is for her husband who is serving his second tour of duty in Iraq and should be back home in October...the second is for a co-worker who will also be heading to Iraq very soon. I found the tasseled flag cards at the flea market and immediately thought they'd be perfect on the journals...hope you like them Melanie!

I've been wanting to do some art swaps but didn't quite know how to go about doing it. I found a great website dedicated strictly to art swaps so I joined a few (maybe more than I should have but I always work best under pressure!) I'll post pictures as soon as I get my goodies made...the best part of it all is looking forward to receiving my packages filled with secret treasures in the mail. Can't wait!

Time flies...

Seems so long ago that we were in hot, sunny Florida for spring break. The weather was perfect the entire eight days we were there, and, needless to say, we had SO. MUCH. FUN! This was the first vacation in a long time in which none of us wanted to come home.

Here are some of my favorite picturesShelby gave Mickey a little smooch on the cheek...

Matt was thrilled about this one since Goofy has always been his favorite Disney Character (with Pluto a close second)

I was thrilled Pinnochio was there! Isn't he adorable?

Love this picture of me and Tom...kind of romantic huh? This was at Clearwater Beach (Gulf of Mexico)

I just couldn't resist snapping their picture under the "We have crabs" sign...notice Matt didn't want anything to do with it. Tarpon Springs, Sponge Docks.

{BIG SIGH} I really haven't come out of vacation mode yet even though it's been a week since we got back...I'm having a really tough time getting back in the swing of things. I quit my shameful photography "picture a day" blog...I fell behind while on vacation and there's simply no way I'll be able to catch it up now (or maybe I'll feel really ambitious this weekend and just do it??) I did manage to make a few new goodies for my shop...

That's all for now!

A Hint of Spring

First of all, I have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my big sister... Happy Birthday Lisa! Sorry I didn't get to actually talk to you today. Hope you had a fun birthday.

Spring is finally here, the backyard is almost dry so the dogs can run free without getting absolutely covered in mud...yippee! We're getting ready to leave for 8 days for spring break but instead of getting ready for the trip all I seem to want to do is create. Here are some of the things I've been working on...

A little inspiration...

This heart was inspired by Julie Collings...I got the little velvety flowers from her esty shop.

I found some great vintage candles in an antique shop and a few more boxes were purchased from a shop on Etsy (http://www.gatinhasp.etsy.com/). I'm working on making some birthday cards to put in my Etsy shop.

I love to sew on little projects while watching a little TV in the evenings but I have to drag all my sewing stuff from my "studio" to the living room...back and forth...back and forth...so I purchased this adorable vintage sewing basket from VintageGoodness (http://www.vintagegoodness.etsy.com/). It smells very badly of cigarette smoke so I'm trying to air it out before stocking it full of my favorite sewing items. I decorated it with some of my wool strawberries from my shop.
I've been thinking about dragging all the Easter decorations out of storage but haven't taken the plunge. This little primitive bunny is the closest thing to decorating...he's holding one of my favorite vintage millinery flowers. I made him last year but can't bear to put him away with the rest of the decorations so he has a permanent spot on one of my lamp tables.
I almost didn't buy this little metal box when I spotted it at Goodwill a few weeks back. After I did buy it I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. I embellished it very simply because I just love the patina and the antique look of the metal so wanted to leave it as bear as possible but still make it pretty. I put a bunch of my vintage birthday candles and vintage millinery in it for safe keeping.

I hope everyone has a terrific week. My step-father is coming in from Texas on Thursday to stay with Bantha and Trixie and we're heading to Orlando on Friday...can't wait! I think the dogs know we're leaving them though because they're following us around and constantly under foot, I'm a little worried about them and a little sad to leave them. I wonder if rescue dogs are more fearful of being left because they were previously abandoned?