What's gotten into me?

I am literally making something every single day - supplies and projects are stacked on the workbench ready for me to get started.

Yesterday's project was to make a bag for a friend who liked this bag 

I showed on my last post.

The lining for her bag is a remnant from our window seat cushion

and it is personalized it with letters and numbers meaningful to her family.

I don't know what triggered the thought to add a tag, but I like it.

In fact, I like the idea so much that I made a few more tags.

I attached one to a gift and think it looks cute - 

anyone getting a Christmas gift from me this year just might find a drop cloth tag attached.

When I cut the drop cloth for the bag, there was a long narrow strip left and that strip became today's project.

I can't believe I made a Christmas project in August, but I had the time and the materials so I went with it.

No sewing, 

just some stickers and red paint and voila -

a Christmas runner for the table.

We will  Eat . Drink . Be Merry - as long as I can remember where I put the runner until Christmas. time!

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Join me for

Simple & Sweet Fridays at Rooted in Thyme

Share Your Cup at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Tea Party

I have mentioned in previous posts that we live on a wonderful lane with great neighbors who like to socialize frequently.

I am going to a Tea Party today, in Freddie's garden.

Freddie, who has exquisite taste, gave me a lovely LOVE heart at my retirement party.

I want to take a little something to Freddie.

I bought a little ocean colored vase at TJ Maxx

and tied on a bit of Tim Holtz metal, but I wasn't sure I liked how it looked.

I swapped out the Live in the Moment piece for a simple LIVE tag attached with chain.

I like how it looks on my shelf - might have to go back to TJ Maxx and pick up a vase for myself.

For a tag, I used one of the sweet gifts I received from Patty in the Chaotic Goddess Color Swap.

It's not much - a single tea rose (there isn't much in bloom right now) from my garden.

And now, it is time to put on a sundress and head to Freddie's garden to look at this view from her deck.

Tonight, we will ride our bikes to an ocean front restaurant for dinner.  

I love . . .  September days . . . wonderful neighbors . . . riding my bicycle along the beach . . . being retired . . . 

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I will be joining these great parties

My Romantic Home - Show and Tell Friday

Passing It On

Life has been a little crazy here with Little Lulu controlling my time.

Thankfully, her new routine is to sit on the window seat with me in the early morning which gives me time to look at blogs and catch up on magazines before her wild antics begin.

I finally had a chance to read the magazines I received in a package from Kris of Junk Chic Cottage

Artful Blogging ran a feature on Kris's wonderful home and decorating style.

I was one of several winners on Kris's  Giveaway - a copy of Artful Blogging

with a copy of Somerset Home thrown in.

Receiving such a sweet gift from Kris made me want to pass on the gesture.

I decided to combine my crochet skills with the time on my hands (housebound with a 10 week old puppy) to create my own Giveaway.

I sewed 4  napkins out of 100% organic cotton and crocheted the edges - each piece has a different edging.

With the left over fabric, I made a little table runner.

The beautiful decor of Junk Chic Cottage and White Lace Cottage were at the back of my mind while I was making the napkins and imagining the napery in a crisp white vignette.

To embellish the table setting, I made simple tags and attached tarnished "Love" hearts.

I also like the look of crisp white napkins in a colorful table setting.

If you would like to win the set of napkins, table runner and 4 simple tags, please leave a comment.

I will throw some other little trinkets into the box -  it will be fun to match the trinkets to the personality and style of the winner.

The Giveaway will end on September 1 - can you believe it is nearly September?

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I am joining these lovely ladies

The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday

Twigg Studio - Sunday Showoff Party

The Tablescaper - Seasonal Sundays

Creative Home Expressions - The Creative Home and Garden Hop

Shabby Art Boutique - Shabbilicious Friday

My Romantic Home - Show and Tell Friday

Silver Pennies - Sunday Link Party

Boogieboard Cottage - Masterpiece Monday

French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday

Dwellings - The Heart of Your Home - Amaze Me Monday

Alderberry Hill - Make the Scene Monday

Rain on a Tin Roof - Give Me The Goods

Etsy Cottage Style - An Entertaining Party

Jennifer Rizzo - Fabulously Creative Friday

From the Farm Blog Hop

More than halfway there . . .

This week has been one of play and creativity.

Each day I am doing a little bit on my 30 Days of Pinterest list and I am more than halfway to  completion.

I saw this grouping of galvanized tin at Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures and liked the simple vignette.  

Tracy commented "sometimes a really cool grouping is right under your nose" and like her, I gathered the pieces from around the house, garage and attic.

I wouldn't mind finding a watering can like Tracy's, but I am content with my vignette.

 Queen B Creative Me posted about this darling little banner made from a Charlotte Lyons kit found on Etsy.

My little banner dresses up the garden bench for the summer.

Brownyn put a lot more detail into her embroidery, but I am happy with the way mine turned out and just might start doing more embroidery.

I love letters and especially these distressed letters from Grandin Road.

A wooden rectangle, the letter J and some beads painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint gave me a cheap imitation of the Grandin Road letters.

I have some little wooden squares and small wooden letters on hand to create tiny versions with a variety of letters.

These little heart tags I pinned from Sugar Sugar are simple and sweet.

The hearts were super quick and easy to make and I was able to use scraps of fabrics that otherwise would have been tossed out.

I am totally hyperactive and never sit still and these hearts are an easy project to keep me awake on road trips.

I might finish . . .

One project just needs to be photographed and two more will be finished tomorrow and I have the supplies for three more.

But, that still leaves me a little behind.

I might not finish . . .

Either way, I am having fun.

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You can find me at

Rooted in Thyme - Simple and Sweet Fridays

The Charm of Home - Home Sweet Home

My Romantic Home - Show and Tell Friday

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson - Share Your Cup Thursday

No Minimalist Here - Open House Party

Common Ground - Be Inspired

4 Down, 26 To Go

Day 2 of retirement - weekends don't count - and I think I am getting the hang of it.

The laundry is all caught up, the house is clean and the garden is looking good.

My plan of attack - clean out 1 cupboard each day.

I don't grocery shop or cook and I'm not going to start now even if I am retired - one of the many advantages of marriage to a gourmet cook.

We went for an 4 mile beach walk and were on the water for our first paddle in the kayaks since Steve's surgery - major sunburn.

The rest of the day was spent on my 30 Days of Pinterest project.

The bicycle rim from Save-On Crafts provides a backdrop for my hearts and hands - the simple quote unites the two collections.

The bicycle rim is undecorated on the website so mine is definitely an improvement.

Sunday's project was easy - how hard is it to slap some paint on a bucket?

I have so many "retirement" bouquets to put in my bucket (more were delivered today) and seeing the buckets side by side showed me that I should have put more flowers in my arrangement.

This little project was free and easy because I already had the Ballard Designs tags and Ikea baskets.

The only difference is the color of my baskets.

The BEACH sign is another freebie.

The wood for the sign came from the blue box.  

When I painted it blue, I removed the rectangular lid and asked the shop teacher at school to make it more interesting by adding the curved top.

The Jane Coslick 99 Steps to the Beach sign is larger than mine and I am thinking I might need to find some fencing to add to this area in the front yard.

I wanted to paint 186 steps to the beach (I counted them yesterday), but my piece of wood is just too small.

I had to settle for BEACH.

One of my gifts at the party Saturday night was a $50 Michael's gift card.

I went out today to buy supplies for making felt hearts, crocheting bags and stenciling a tablecloth.

$50 sure doesn't go far these days!

I can't decide which of the projects to start next, but I have to get going if I want to keep making progress on the list.

4 down, 26 to go.

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Join me at these fun parties

Lavender Garden Cottage - Cottage Style Party

Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays

Green Willow Pond - What We Accomplished Wednesday