Fat Quarters and Smelly Candles

I have been a little 'under-the-weather' lately and unfortunately, posting to my blog has been a low priority.  Today I share with you a little this and that.  Don't worry, we are still making progress on my laundry room renovation and I will show update pictures soon.

Last night I went to a 'New Things' presentation at one of my favourite quilting stores, A Great Sewing Notion.  Two hours of showing and telling of the latest and greatest notions, patterns and must-haves.  With an incentive of 15% off last night, I purchased my first ever Fat Quarter Pack.

For those not in the know, a Fat Quarter is an 18" by 22" piece of fabric.  Four Fat Quarters make up roughly one yard (or meter ... depending where you live).  My new pack is from a fabric line by Jenny Haskins and includes 18 Fat Quarters that although vary in pattern and colour, blend beautifully together.  I hope to share with you a quilt made from the pack soon.

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As a side note, if you look carefully in the pictures, you will see two recent thrift store finds.  The Christmas basket full of many different Christmas floral picks and ribbon was only $2.50.  SCORE!  The gold candle holder base was only $1.50.  I added to that a red candle and hurricane lamp to make a Christmas centerpiece.

And speaking of candles ... when I came home last night, I found this shocking display.

Hubby decided that the new 'Cedar Vanilla Spice' candles I purchased were a bit too aromatic for his liking.  Apparently the 'delicate' scent carried an overwhelming punch all the way up the stairs and into his office thus making desk work virtually impossible.

Go figure!

Showing and Telling # 5

A week or so ago, Hubby and I went garage sale-ing.

We came upon this one sale manned

by two pimply faced teenage boys.

It was about 6 o'clock in the evening

and the sun was setting ...

But they were jumping with enthusiasm

and waved directions pertaining to their wares.

"This pile contains items that are $50 each ...

That pile is $10 each ... The small one over there was $5 each"

My eye caught something I liked in that pile

... but he persisted ...

"And the free stuff pile is around back."

He had me at free ...
Never one to pass up a deal, we venture out back to find the
MOTHER LOAD

Now I didn't take pictures of ALLLLLL the free stuff we grabbed

... sorry ...

but today through Kelli's Show and Tell,

I can introduce you to the ...

Soggy Bottom Bathroom Chair

I knew the potential was there

Under the icky soggy bottom bathroom chair seat

Remove that disgusting blue entity ...

And yes, pop in a pretty basket of pink geraniums ...

And there you have it ...

Someday remove the hanging thingies, and spray paint the chair,

but all in all, a star is born!

What sayeth thou?

Fall Flower Blossoms

Another enjoyable day! I had a bit of time to put together a few Fall flower arrangements for display at our church. I went hunting through my home for containers and came up with two large baskets, a recently acquired vase that reminds me of a large acorn, and a tall metal vase with handles. I am not an expert as you can very well see, but they will do. Much better than the 'nothing' that was there.

~ * ~ All to the glory of God ~ * ~

I spoke with my daughter, the 'Dreamer', this morning. Many happy words pass between us on Skype knowing that they are all for free! We spoke about how we should use our individual talents for God in home, church and career. Don't be shy ... All of us have them. And they were given to us by Him to use.

Bring them to the fore front, dust them off, polish them up, and

USE THEM.

Fall Arrangement

I'm so excited. I have been asked to be in charge of Seasonal Decorations at our church. What a fun job! I have to put together a proposed budget ... and then, of course, try to stay within it.

I was off to Michael's and couldn't believe my eyes as I walked in the door. ALL Fall artificial flowers were 90% off. Ninety percent? That's almost like free! I joyfully danced around picking flowers and loading up my shopping cart. When the cashier announced $38.56, I about dropped my teeth.

Although strictly on a 'church business trip', I happened to pick up a few 'posies' for myself. Let me explain further ...

With about $5.00 worth of flowers, I decided that I needed a fall vase or container to put them in. Although Michael's was the place for cheap floral, vase and basket prices were a bit steep. Off I flew to some of my favourite thrift stores in town.

I happened upon this top off of a hurricane lamp. The bottom was no where to be found, so it was marked down to a dollar. I snatched it up. So you can understand the hurricane lamp conception I placed it on a canning jar. Get the picture?

Next, I flipped it over to reveal the venting holes.

Can you guess where I went from here? I thought to myself, hey, these make perfect holes to stick sprigs of flowers. Wow, sometimes I amaze myself. With wire cutters I proceeded to snip the branches into shorter sprigs. Then I stuffed. Longer ones in the center hole, shorter ones in the side holes. And within a short time ... here it sits on my kitchen table. You just never know how you can re-purpose an item. Thanks for following along.