How We Love

Although I'm not there this summer, my Harmony Project family has just finished putting on an amazing concert celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of our town, Columbus, Ohio. One of the highlights of that concert was the choir's performance of Beth Nielsen Chapman's amazing song called "How We Love" which she herself had debuted on the stage with the Harmony Project the year prior.

Beth Nielsen Chapman, singer and extraordinary songwriter responsible for hits like "This Kiss" and many others, is a friend of the director of the The Harmony Project.

In the wake of the tragedy in Aurora, The Harmony Project, along with the consent of Ms. Chapman, decided that the choir's mission to sing, serve, and share, could be demonstrated by making a recording of Beth's song and offering it for download on the internet for $1, with all proceeds going to the victims in Aurora.

Please help us show Aurora how we love them by clicking on the link below to view the YouTube video, then following the link to the Harmony Project website and downloading this beautiful song. For a mere $1, you can help us show Aurora that the world cares about them and wants to help them begin the healing process.

Don't forget, view the YouTube video AND download the song for $1 to help the victims in Aurora.

Thank you. And thank you, Harmony Project. I could not be prouder to be a part of such a wonderful organization.

I was featured!

Thank you, Lovely Mrs. P, for featuring my bleach pen craft tutorial this week on your linky party.
I am very humbled and grateful.

Was that a bird?

Additional musings about my particular crazy crafting style . . . while I show off my bleach pen project.

I like to have many different projects going on because lots of different kinds of things interest me and I don't like to be bored. As such, it doesn't bother me to go from one thing to the next fairly quickly. Like, how I am in the middle of cleaning my house and I get a hair up my butt about trying these Clorox bleach pen t-shirt graphics.

However, because I have so many projects going on all the time, I often think I need more focus in order to follow through on any given task. Such thoughts lead to spurts of motivation in which I make lists (as you've seen from a previous post), prioritize my projects, and clean and organize work areas.

These efforts lead to very clear-headed and decisive thinking in which I plan, for instance, exactly how many necklaces I'm going to make and exactly what they will look like, which beads to use, what findings, what the color schemes will be, etc.

Then the day comes to make the necklaces and something happens.

No, on second thought, not just something, but lots of things happen.

For instance, I put the beads together that I had planned on using and decide suddenly that the whole idea sucks and I need to re-work it. So I go in a totally different direction after spending all that time planning.

Or, halfway through the necklace I get an idea about some earrings to make and I stop to make them instead of finishing the necklace.

Or, before I even start the necklace I had planned on making, another completely different idea pops into my head because I'm thinking of someone in particular and designing with that person in mind.

These shirts were made while I was supposed to be cleaning my house, packing, and preparing to leave for my 2-month stay on Block Island. I had seen this idea on Pinterest from The Next Bird and I'd been wanting to try it for some time. She revitalized stained clothing by creating a graphic to cover the stain using a Clorox bleach gel pen.

The shirts I used had stains on them also. One was a bleach stain, the other were various stains because I'm a sloppy eater with big boobs and food just tends to land there. But these were favored shirts and I didn't want to get rid of them.

So I created several designs that would cover or mask the existing stains.

These are cotton shirts, which will bleach out easily, unlike a 50/50 shirt. A couple of them have 5% spandex, but that doesn't seem to matter. The long sleeveless one has a cotton knit top and cotton linen bottom. The loose weave of the bottom part created a lot of bleed on the bleach design, but I still love the end result.

This was taken a couple minutes after applying the bleach.
You can see my pen drawing of the design in the upper right-hand corner of this pic..

I highly recommend practicing your design on paper before taking bleach pen to cloth.

I used a double layer of terrycloth between the front and back of the shirt to prevent the bleach from bleeding through to the back of the shirt. I let the bleach pen graphic sit for 30 minutes before throwing the whole thing, terrycloth and all, into the wash. By the time I washed them, the bleach had done its magic and was practically dried up, so there was no transfer of bleach pen gel to the back or to the other shirts while in the wash (I washed all the shirts together, believe it or not).

Staying focused is good for some things, like making lists, planning, and organizing. And sticking to one's plan is good in some instances. But when it comes to creating, sometimes being easily distracted brings about wonderful twists and turns in the creative process. If I am too tied to the outcome I had planned on, I could miss an opportunity to let something spontaneous creep into the creative process, to look at a bold color choice, to create a piece that is a-symmetrical, to come up with a new earring design on the spur of the moment, or to create some fun new shirts when I should be cleaning and packing.

In other words, when I am creating, I have to remember to . . . . look, there's a bird!





I am on the coast and partying at:
Kathe with an E Anything Goes
Our Delightful Home Show Me What You Got
Kammy's Korner Trash to Treasure Tuesday
Skip to My Lou Made By You Monday
C.R.A.F.T. Making Monday Marvelous
Singing Three Little Birds Inspire Me Monday
The Ironstone Nest Transformation Tuesday
Debbiedoo's Newbie Party
Beez Rental Designs Frugal Treasures Tuesday
Centsational Girl Pinterest Challenge
Full Circle Creations All Star Block Party
Saavy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday
Made in a Day Made You Look Linky
Boogieboard Cottage Masterpiece Monday
Primp Primp Your Stuff Wednesday
The Shabby Creek Cottage Transformation Thursday
Days of Chalk and Chocolate Link Party
The Shabby Next Frugal Friday
504 Main Tickled Pink
My Repurposed Life Catch as Catch Can

Worship in the house of grace

I spent two days on the mainland in Rhode Island before heading over to Block Island and I had to make the most of every minute. Once I'm on the island, the shopping is very limited. Plus, I'm gonna be busy making breakfast at my friends' bed and breakfast and trying to sell some of my jewelry.

Make no mistake, for the serious pickers, getting up early Sunday morning to attend a flea market is nothing short of worship in that house of grace and beauty called the great outdoors. So I got up bright and early in Jamestown on Sunday morning to head down to Charlestown, Rhode Island to one of the largest and longest running flea markets in the state, the General Stanton Flea Market. It's open every Saturday and Sunday once the good weather hits.

Just past the washtub stand there is a vintage folding card table and chairs made of real wood.
I've been wanting one of these for sooooo long. But my Jeep was already full, so
I'll wait til the end of the summer and see if it's still there.

General Stanton's Flea Market in Charlestown, Rhode Island is the kind of flea market you go out of your way to check out.

No, don't ask questions, just go.

Here's some pics to show you a small smattering of what I saw Sunday morning.

If I was at home I would have bought that little buffet.

Oh my little sheet music cabinet, you are like the scarecrow--I will miss you most of all.
If I had room in my Jeep, if I was heading back to Ohio . . .

I'm not including pics of the boxes and boxes of cheap brand new baseball caps, knock-off faux leather purses, tube socks, paper towels, kitchen utensil trays, dish drainers, the countless cheap plastic what-nots that you only buy when you are setting up house, the cheap hippie dresses, the scads and scads of cheap NEW costume jewelry, the CDs, the DVDs (pirated? Who knows!), the scads and scads of cheap plastic toys, knock-off athletic shoes, you name it! It's at this flea market.

But in addition to all that crap, I suddenly walk by a stand and see this . . .

And I stop . . . momentarily . . . not sure if what I'm seeing is real, antique, cheap chinese imports, or what . . .

And then I realize . . . what I'm looking at . . . is real crafting . . . someone who really knows what they're doing.

You don't have to be a fan of doilies and crochet to appreciate the workmanship here.

I stop to inquire, and I see a woman sitting behind the display table crocheting, almost non-stop, almost as if it's an automatic response to her surroundings, like she simply was born to crochet lace.

Her name is Anna Moreau and her grandmother taught her to crochet many years ago. The patterns she uses were passed down to her by her grandmother also. Anna does some incredible work.

I particularly like the bold color choices of red, purple and lavender.

To be honest, I am not even a huge fan of lace doilies, but Anna's work was so impeccable I couldn't help but appreciate and admire it. As I continued to look and take pictures, Anna told me that one of her young family members has taken up the craft and she hopes that the tradition will continue and she'll be able to pass down the patterns given to her by her grandmother to the next generation. What a wonderful legacy of crafting.

Anyway, here are the small coaster doilies I purchased as a gift to my hosts and dear friends Toni and Marsha in Jamestown. Green is Marsha's favorite color and Toni is an Irish fiddle player. Fittingly, these green doilies are a shamrock pattern. Thanks, Toni and Marsha for welcoming me once again into your home for my two day respite before heading to the island.

I'm heading out to the following party pads:

Ivy and Elephants What's It Wednesday

Our Delightful Home Show Me What You Got

Beez Rental Designs Frugal Treasures Tuesday

 

Come see me at The Thrifty Groove!

I'm honored to be guest posting over at The Thrifty Groove today.

I was in Newport, Rhode Island at the end of May and found this fabulous consignment shop called Closet Revival. Go over and check out my post at The Thrifty Groove and leave Diann a nice comment so she can feel your love and support.

Diann is busy with her business in the summer and that's why she's asked some of us to guest post for her. I am more than happy to be a part of that since I'm all about thrifting and second-hand shopping, and since Diann's blog is full of thrifty inspiration.

Thanks again, Diann, for the opportunity!

Failure to launch

I want you to know that this is probably one of the most embarrassing things I've ever made public. I have no doubt that by the time you are done reading this--that is, if you get through it--you will think I am either completely insane, or suffering from full blown late-life onset of attention deficit disorder. It is . . . a list of unfinished projects at my house.

This is what I've got going on right now:

more china and glass waiting to be upcycled

1. 7 pieces of furniture in my basement waiting to be painted, distressed, refurbished, etc.
2. 45 new ceramic pendants at the ceramic workshop in various stages of completion
3. 30 completed ceramic pendants waiting to be strung
4. 50--give or take--pieces of vintage and antique china and glass waiting to be made into something else
5. 1 very large full sun perennial bed overrun with weeds that needs to be completely pulled up, re-edged, and re-designed
6. 4 pieces of tin ceiling panels to be painted, distressed, and installed as the back splash in my kitchen . . .

Whew. Okay. That's just the beginning . . .

This is what else really needs to get done but for some reason doesn't even make it into the list of things that are on the front burners (that's plural "burners", as in a giant commercial stove with lots of burners):

small table waiting patiently to be refurbished

1. Finish organizing craft room (I painted it and arranged it last year, but never really completed the organizational phase).
2. Finish trim work in remodeled kitchen.
3. Create new facade and mantel for chimney in living room.
4. Clean out garage (a task that gets done a little at a time when I get completely frustrated with it or when I have a garage sale like I did last week).
5. Run electricity to the garage (the garage was built several years ago and, for one reason or another, I never got around to running electricity out to it).
6. Unpack the rest of my dishes (which hasn't been done since remodeling the kitchen last fall).
7. Unpack my teapot collection (also has been in boxes since last fall).
8. Completely remove and replace decking and railing on front porch.
9. Remodel bathroom (there's only 1 bathroom so remodeling it will be very tricky and have to happen very quickly once underway).
10. Clean out my clothes closet and take lots of clothes to Goodwill.
11. Clean out attic for garage sale and Goodwill trip.
12. Plan and prepare for fall garage sale, including going through Christmas decorations to purge some things (if you're like me, you have way too many Christmas decorations for your own good).
13. Lay 200 brick pavers as a new path leading from backyard path to driveway.

Okay, I think I'll stop now. There are more, but my head hurts. If your head isn't spinning around like a satan-possessed 12-year-old yet, then it's probably because you have started formulating your own list in your own head and it's starting to dawn on you that we all have huge lists like this. Maybe huger! Maybe you have the hugest list of all!!

So in the next week and a half, I am preparing to go east to sell some jewelry, visit some friends and look for additional work out on the east coast. And guess what I'm going to get done from my lists between now and the time I leave for Rhode Island?

handmade necklace made with vintage crystal from a chandelier

Items 2, 3, and maybe a little bit of 4 on the first list. Three things. That's it. Three things. Can I be happy with that? With only getting three things done on this seemingly endless list of really big projects?

Absolutely! Because it's great to have goals and aspirations, but it's even better if you can live with the fact that we're human beings and we do what we can. As long as I am working hard, feeling some joy in what I'm doing and feeling tired at the end of the day, I can be grateful for what I have and proud of what I've accomplished. Even if it looks like my work will never be done.

So we can go ahead and make our big, I-can-do-it-all-if-I-just-work-harder list of things we want to accomplish. But we must also be good enough to ourselves to know when to walk away from the list and live life!

I'm livin' large at the following fabulous parties:

Boogieboard Cottage Masterpiece Monday

C.R.A.F.T. Making Monday Marvelous

Singing Three Little Birds Inspire Me Monday

Creating My Way to Success A Round Tuit

Our Delightful Home Show Me What You Got
Beez Rental Designs Frugal Treasures Tuesday
Saavy Southern Style Wow us Wednesday
From My Front Porch to Yours Treasure Hunt Thursday
The Shabby Creek Cottage Transformation Thursday
Made in a Day Made You Look Linky
The Shabby Nest Frugal Friday
The Thrifty Groove Thrifty Things Friday

What will you give me for it?

If you are like me and you go to a lot of garage sales, eventually you end up with a lot of stuff in your basement, garage and attic that you no longer use because you've replaced it with cool stuff you got at a garage sale.

Rented child loading wagon

Soooooo . . . . . . .

Time to have a garage sale and clean out my basement and garage so I can make room for more stuff.

Here's my short list of how to best go about preparing for your next garage sale.

1.  If you don't have one or more of your own, rent or borrow a small child who can do labor for you. Mine is 11 years old. She's my niece. She can't carry a lot, but she is really good at painting signs, cleaning, pricing, making displays, and counting money. Less work for me. Plus, she gets to sell stuff and make some money.

Rented child merchandising her own products

2.  Put out a good Craigslist ad. Garage sale junkies like me depend on Craigslist to find the best sales. A good Craigslist ad should list a lot of the items you are selling so people (like me) can decide if it is worth it to make the trip to your house. Ideally, you should be posting your Craigslist ad sometime in the week before your sale.

3. Pre-pricing. To price or not to price your items. My niece and I, we like to put price tags on things. What's a garage sale if you can't go to the drug store, buy some little stickers and adhere them to anything that's not tied down? Even so, when things are priced, people will still ask what you want for it. The lesson here: people want to haggle at garage sales. So even if you are pre-pricing, take that into consideration and give yourself some room to negotiate. People are always happier if they feel like they're gettin' a deal. I know I am.

4.  Pickers like to pick. Since I am totally drawn in by visual gorgeousness, I have to at least put some pretty displays out near the street because I believe it draws people in. But remember that "pickers" are often people drawn to chaos and the idea that they might dig through some things to find a treasure. So while you might do a little merchandising, leave a few things in boxes for the pickers to pick through.

5. Don't forget to have some change on hand. You want to be able to take people's cash immediately and give them change back if necessary.

6. Relax. Having a garage sale--much like going to them--is an opportunity to connect with fellow pickers. Maybe stock a cooler with bottled water to offer people if it's a hot day. Plan to hang out, sit and chat with your neighbors, who will undoubtedly stop by and maybe even buy something.

bootie one of my neighbors bought

7. Prepare yourself for failure. Nobody sells everything at a garage sale, not even you with your circa 1989 wok and your 1980s fishnet scarf with the knots on the ends (oops, that was me, not you). I plan a 1-DAY SALE ONLY, and then just put the leftover stuff in the back of the Jeep and head to Goodwill. But even before I get that far. I'll pile up the stuff that's going to Goodwill right near the curb, stick a FREE sign on it and see what happens. I live in the city, so there's free-style curbside pickin' goin' on all the time.



It's a hot one today, so we didn't get a lot of traffic, but so far I've taken in over $100, so that doesn't suck!

Happy pickin' y'all!

It's my birthday and I'm partying at:

Ladybird Lane Weekend Show Off Party
My RePurposed Life Catch As Catch Can 77
Boogieboard Cottage Masterpiece Monday
All Things Fee Calling All Crafters
C.R.A.F.T. Making Monday Marvelous
Our Delightful Home Show Me What You Got
Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Debbiedoo's Newbie Party
Today's Creative Blog Get Your Craft On
Beez Rental Designs Frugal Treasure Tuesday
Singing Three Little Birds Inspire Me Monday
Saavy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday
From My Front Porch to Yours Treasure Hunt Thursday
Shabby Creek Cottage Transformation Thursday
Made in a Day Made You Look Linky
No Minimalist Here Open House Linky Party
The Shabby Nest Frugal Friday
The Thrifty Groove Thrifty Things Friday