Batting Zero at the Thrift Stores

This weekend I went to several thrift stores and Goodwill stores. I was so excited to be out on the hunt for new places to shop. But all I found was junky and surprisingly expensive items! I'm so disappointed to have come home empty handed. Since I don't have any new finds to share with you, I thought I'd go through some linens and post pictures of some lovely vintage pillowcases!

Aren't these absolutely gorgeous!? I had planned on selling these, but the pink is just so perfectly cottage chic and the workmanship is amazing so they're staying with me. These are keepers for sure.
This pair of pink rose pillowcases are done with bright pinks and hunter greens. I love the pink hand crocheted trim that goes all around the openings. I can't even imagine how much time these must have taken to make. They're just beautiful!
My favorite color combination is pink and blue. This sweet pair of pillowcases are done with happy little tulips and tiny daisies. They're so perfect for the guest room. These are the kind of linens that definitely get noticed and always get happy comments from guests.

This is a simple but lovely design, and the workmanship is very well done, too. The stitches are so tiny! I just love vintage linens and never get tired of looking at them. Hope you enjoyed looking at these pretties!

Easy Pillowcase Project

Have you ever come across a wonderful vintage pillowcase that was too damaged to be used, but too beautiful to pass up? The great thing is that you can usually get them at the lowest prices ever because nobody wants them. And when you find that special pillowcase, you can make this!

To make this sweet little pillow, all you need is about 9" to 10" of the open edge. Take off the back side of the pillowcase and reserve it for later. The front side of the pillowcase is usually where all the hand work is done and should measure around 20" x 9" or so, depending on the design and pillowcase size. Fold it in half, short sides together, with the wrong side facing in, and sew along the short end. Press seam so that it's centered on the back, and sew along the top. (I should have taken pictures at each step, but didn't think about it until it was too late).

For this pillow, I used the crocheted edge of the back of the pillowcase to use at the top. I just slipped it in before sewing up the top. Use the left over fabric of the pillowcase to make the little pillow for the inside. I used a scrap piece of fabric with tiny checks of pink and white so that the crocheted skirt would show off better.

I like the back to be pretty, too, so I added a pink bow and a vintage-looking pink rose in the center.

Now you know how to rescue a beautiful pillowcase that may have seen better days. You only have to sew a few straight lines, and that's it! Super easy!

Tropical Storm Eduardo

On Tuesday, 8-05-08, the remnants of Tropical Storm Eduardo reached our neighborhood on the outskirts of San Antonio. Weather has always fascinated me so I get happily excited when something is going on out side. Giant quarter sized rain drops began to fall, then a torrential down pour and then some hail. I watched as the trees went crazy in the wind. I'd never seen anything like that except on the news. I know I should have been scared but I wasn't.

Next thing I know, all I could see was white. I literally couldn't see across the street or even across the yard. I later found out that what I was watching was probably what is called a wet tornado. I'm told their not as dangerous as a regular tornado because they touch down and then lift. But you can't see or hear them coming because it's raining so hard. Anyway, it was all over in a very short time. I took a drive around my neighborhood and found that a lot of people either had damage to their trees, or lost them altogether.

Most of the damage was along the South end of my street. I drove around the rest of the neighborhood, but there was hardly any damage on other streets. I was so sad to see these big oak trees downed. They were beautiful and I'm sure the owners are heart broken over it.

I only have five smallish oak trees in my front yard, and feel very blessed that they withstood the rain and wind. But more importantly, my whole neighborhood was blessed that only trees were damaged. There was no damage to homes and thankfully no one was injured.

Blue Bird of Happiness from Kathy

I just received the sweetest little blue bird that I got from Kathy's Cottage. I saw it on her blog, pictured with her kitty, and I just had to have it. I was so surprised when I opened the box and there were two wonderful hand made tags (one has the cutest puppy dog on it!) and she even wrote me a sweet little note, too.

My darling little bird was carefully wrapped and placed inside the cutest little box with bluebirds and birdhouses on it. I know this may be strange, but I love boxes, so this was an extra special treat for me.

For now, I have Bella (that's the birdie's name) inside a pretty white cage in my guest room. She'll stay there until she gets accustomed to her new home, then I'll show her off around the house where ever she wants to sit.

Thank you so much, Kathy! Bella certainly did bring a smile to my lips. And knowing she was hand made by you, makes here even more special. I love her!

Treasure Hunting

Last weekend Hubby and I went to a couple little antique stores in the near-by town of Castroville. It's a tiny, sweet little town that isn't really known as a destination town, but I think that's sometimes what attracts me to visit. We picked up some treasures and I thought it would be fun to share with you.

This doll is really a bed light that hangs over a headboard. I'm not sure what she's made of and she's a little worse for ware. But I'm going to try to restore her as much as possible. This is definitely NOT my kind of thing to do, but I'm going to give it a whirl...someday...soon...I hope! (This poor lady was bald and some body tried gluing stringy doll hair to her with the toughest glue I've ever encountered).
What a find this was! This little table cloth is round and has three lovely Southern Belles embroidered on it. I didn't find much wrong with it except for a little mark that one can totally forgive and overlook. Isn't the embroidery wonderful?

I started a new collection which is all about rhinestoned perfume bottles. The teal one above doesn't have rhinestones but I'm going to glue one of the buttons I found on it's top. I know it's not ideal, but it was only $5.00 so I couldn't pass it up. And who knows, it might turn out great.

I love the sweet blue birds hand painted on this little ceramic oval. I don't think it's old, but that doesn't take away from the cuteness factor. And anyway, it'll be old some day, right? These are the buttons I found. All of them for $6.00!! I love it when that happens!

Three more great finds. I love this very old heart pillow with a 20's lady on it. She's all hand embroidered and has a fancy, lacy fan. I got this one for a song, and will probably keep her. I first thought to sell her, but she's just too nice to let go for now. And the tapestry is great, too. It's a little dirty, but I can fix that up lickity split. I might turn it into a pillow, but will probably sell it.
Great colors on the tapestry! How cute will this be as a pillow or on a little foot rest? Oh, if I only had the time and space for all the projects I have going!

This antique looking iron is really a piggy-bank. I know I paid too much for it, but I just loved it for my laundry room. You know how you always end up with small change while doing the wash? Well, I'm putting it all in here. And how cute will this look in my laundry room when I get it all decorated with vintage treasures.

Sometimes I find awesome bargains, and sometimes I pay too much, but I guess it all evens out in the end. I treasure the time I spend with my wonderful husband who patiently follows me around and carries my purse when needed. Talk about treasures!

Angels, Angels, Everywhere

I just received two dozen beautiful angels hand made from Cora. They're made of vintage hankies and have quilted, white wings. Half of them are made with wonderful printed hankies and the other half are made with hand embroidered and crocheted hankies. I can't tell you how lovely they are! I originally bought them to give away as gifts, but I think they're so pretty that I don't know if I can part with them. So I think they may end up on my Christmas tree.

If you want to add some hankie angles to your life, please visit Cora's eBay site. Or just drop by her blog, Hidden Riches From Secret Places. I'm sure she'd love to meet you!

Creatures big and small

Since I've moved to Texas, I've been lucky enough to have much more wildlife visit my back yard. I didn't get pictures of the raccoon and the little grey fox that visit me at night, but here are some other guests that come by.This pretty butterfly actually fought with a hummingbird to get the privilege of a yummy sip of nectar. I've never seen a hummingbird and butterfly "duke" it out before.

I don't mind sharing the bird food with this little guy. He's such a hoot to watch. The only problem is when one of my dogs notice him, there's no peace from either of them. She doesn't stop barking at him, and he sits high up in the treat chattering back at her.

This beautiful creature is an orb spider. This one isn't so big, but the very first one of her species that I saw was as long as my hand! It gave me the heebee jeebies at first because not only is it a big spider, but the web is really sticky. It's not "dangerous" to humans but it can leave a painful, baseball sized welt if it gets you. Thankfully I'm not speaking from experience; just what I've read.

My son left his shoes out on the back porch and found a little visitor inspecting a possible new home. Glad we informed him in time that shoes probably wouldn't work for him.

We have these cute little anole lizards all over the place. Sometimes they're bright green and display a pinkish/red throat pouch. I love having them around.

This is a Greater Roadrunner and runs through our yard on an almost daily basis. I didn't think he'd come back after we put up our perimeter fence, but he just jump/flies over it with no problem. The dogs don't bother him at all and he'll come to the bird bath in the afternoons for a nice cool drink.

I almost forgot to show you our very first INSIDE visitor. This guy was about 1 1/2" long and I found him on my office wall! It was about a week after we moved in to our brand new house. They told us we might find an occasional scorpion in the house, but I sure wasn't expecting it that soon! I know we should have just let him outside, but my hubby got him with tongs and flushed him! Since then, we've found a teeny one on the master bedroom floor (I never ever step on anything that looks like lint on the floor because it might be a scorpion or spider) and a bigger one in the garage crawling above the door the leads to the house. Who wants to move to Texas with me?