Shadow Boxes and Yard Sales

Good Tuesday Morning!  45 degrees this morning, I wanted to stay snuggled in my warm bed this morning.  But alas, my feet hit the floor at 5:30 ready to start the day!

Last night I went with one of my girlfriends to her church's ladies night and we made shadow boxes!  So much fun!  we each took a shadow box of some kind and the items that we wanted to go in it.  I decided to make mine with a Christmas theme.  I had bought two little pixies at a yard sale this weekend and wanted to do something fun with them and this was just the opportunity!

Although this is blurry, I love how mine turned out!  I used scrapbook paper to line the back and then used a vintage Christmas card over that.

I hung the satin balls with red ribbon and added my pixies, a mini Christmas tree and some tinsel and it was done!

I glued this adorable spun head angel on the front.

From a couple of the the mini Whitman's sampler boxes I made a couple more using Elizabeth at Creative Breathings technique.

These are so much fun to make!

Oh and let me tell you about the best finds in the world at that yard sale where I got the pixies!

I also got this Hummel figurine

I have no idea what the significance of a white carrot and a beer are!  LOL!!  Seems like an odd combination!  But this is a music box and plays a lovely German melody. 

I loved this tea pitcher!  The little farmer and his wife and the gold toned horse and buggies that go all the way around the pitcher.

But this was my best find!

Early American....

A 1970 Singer Touch and Sew!  It works like a charm!  I was wanting a sewing machine to have downstairs and this fit the bill!  And you aren't even going to believe what I paid for it!!!

Yep!!!!! $15.00!!!!!  Came with all it's different discs to make different stitches.  The original manual, needles, all the feet, everything it originally came with.  The lady having the sale said she got it in high school when she took home economics and then never really used it.  I was more than happy to bring it home!

And just because I think he's cute... here's a picture of Yngwie with his latest catch!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Linda



Vivian's Witch Hat Swap Reveal

T.G.I.F.!!  This has been such a long work week!

Yesterday when I got home from work there was a gigantic box sitting at my door, decorated with Halloween graphics!  I knew what it was!  My Witch Hat Swap from Chris at Perfectly Printed!

The box was ginormus and when I opened it up I was dancing around like a kid at Christmas!  This box was stuffed plumb full of Halloween goodies!

Check this out!  A PINK witches hat depicting Samantha from Bewitched.  I loved that show.  I always wished I could wiggle my nose like her.

A spooky hat!  Yep!  Two hats! 

An adorable pillow

This does not do this justice.  This is folded paper to from this shape.  So creative.

How cute is this witch doll.  She will join my newest doll Sadie on my buffet.

A tin pumpkin, cute as can be and an Halloween decorated wooden block!

Let's have a party!  These will come in handy for my book club sweets next week!  Sprinkles, napkins, ribbon and check out the kisses in the vintage jar!

Such a cute tag!

Halloween bark-delicious! And some pumpkin jewels.

Cupcake liners, Spongebob bubbles (that I have already had fun with blowing them at my cat!) and cute little pencils!  Can you believe all of this?????

Thank You Chris you were a phenomenal swap partner!

If the witch hat fits, wear it!

Have a great weekend!

Linda

Who's That Lady?

The picture in the top left of my Blog is my wonderful, kind, sweet Grandmother.  This was harvest time on my grandparents farm in White Gate, Virginia.  A teeny, tiny rural area in Giles County.   I have always loved this picture of Grandma!  She was the sweetest lady ever.  I never heard her say an unkind thing about anyone. 

She's been gone for 3 years now and I miss her every day.....

I want to thank so many of you for emailing me and inquiring about my migraines.  It is so nice to hear from so many who care!

My migraines are doing SO much better!  I think my Dr. has finally found  the perfect "cocktail" of medications and vitamins that have decreased the migraines from every day or every other day to just once per week.  Even then, it is very mild and I can take just one of my rescue medications and it's gone within the hour!  Last week all I had to take was an Advil!

Just in case anyone is having trouble with them, this is what I take.  Inderol, which is to decrease my heart rate.  Apparently my heart was working overtime.  The rest is just vitamins and supplements.  Magnesium, Vitamin B-12 complex, and an herb called Butter Bur.  I also drink at least 60 ozs of water per day.  Of course everyone is different but the Dr. says magnesium and butterbur are key elements in the control of migraines.  That's it!  I can not tell you how much better I feel physically and mentally.  The difference is like day and night. 

Hope everyone is having a great week.

Blessings

Linda

Candy Corn!

Good Monday Morning!  It is a cool, rainy day here in SW Virginia and the leaves are turning gold, scarlet, and rust... perfectly fall weather.

I spent most of the weekend sorting clothes.  UGH!  That's a job I hate.  I wish I had room in my closets to just hang all my clothes and not have to rotate the winter and summer, but I have small closets so I have to store one season in totes in the garage.  Anyway, that job is done and I am taking a ton of stuff to the Goodwill.  If I didn't wear it last season, I pitched it!

I am made some absolutely delicious cookies!  Pumpkin Snicker doodle and Candy Corn cookies!

The recipe for the Pumpkin Snicker doodles can be found here Pumpkin Snicker doodles

And the recipe for the Candy Corn Cookies is here:Candy Corn Cookies

If you would like a bunch more cookies idea check out my pinterest board for cookies.  You will be starving to death my the time you read all those delicious recipes.LBP's Cookie Board

Cookies aren't the only thing I turned "candy corn" this weekend.  Check out this blurry photo of my fingernails!  LOL!!!  Candy Corn nails.. another Pinterest idea!

I also wanted to give a big shoutout and hug to Tammy for these darling ghost shapes and felt "Love" heart that she sent to me!  She is the sweetest, little thing!!!

October is here!  My favorite month! 

Blessings

Linda

Meet Sadie

Remember last month when I made Hildegard?  If you don't here is the post: Hildegard

Last weekend I made her sister Sadie. 

Boy she looks like she has some gigantic feet is this picture!

Sadie didn't want to be a Halloween doll.  Once I painted in her mouth she asked me in a very Cockney accent if she could just be an "every day doll".  I said no problem.   Then she asked if she could have a mushroom on the pocket of her apron.  I said sure and found this cute transfer. 

As I was stitching this up I heard a very french voice say "Mademoislle, if you wouldn't mind, could I have a red and pink hat?"   So I made the hat pink and red to please the mushroom.  After all, he's the one who has to wear it everyday. 

This weekend I am going to work on some kind of shoes for Sadie.  I'm thinking some brown felt. 

She already looks right at home!

Have a great Hump Day!

xoxox

Linda

The Tale of Lori Walker- Part 2

Several years ago I did a blog post about my favorite doll I had when I was growing up.  Her name was Lori Walker and she was a 36" walker doll.  Santa brought her for Christmas one year.

This is a photo of her the year that I got her!  This very blurry photo of my family was taken in 1969 when I was 8 years old.  We had decided at the last minute to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house on Christmas Day and spend the night.  Grandpa went out and cut a small pine and Grandma cut out Christmas cards to decorate it with!  Just so we would have a tree when we got there. 

Lorrie had the most beautiful blonde hair and I took very good care of her.  I would save my allowance and my Great Aunt would take me to rummage sales and I would buy her clothes and shoes.  She wore a toddler size 2 or 3.  One day I decided that her hair needed to be washed.  I took her to the bathtub and washed her hair, rolled it up in curlers and set her under the hair dryer.   The kind like this:

Little did I know about nylon hair!  When I took her out of the hair dryer and unrolled her hair.  She was a mess!  Her hair had burned to a matty mess!  Her long blonde hair had gone from midway down her back to up to her ears.  I was so upset and cried and cried, but I kept working with it and thought I had gotten it looking pretty good.

So I set her on the kitchen table that night with a note for my Dad asking him how he liked her new hair style.  My Dad worked 3-11 and got home around midnight, so we would leave notes for each other since we didn't see each other during the week.

The next morning when I got up for school,  Lori was still on the table but with a brown bag over her head!  I was so upset.  I cried and cried.  But there was nothing that could be done. 

She was still my favorite doll, but I was sad every time I looked at her hair.

After I grew up, Lori Walker was delegated to the attic where she has been for over 30 years. 

Until a couple of weeks ago.  I pulled Lori Walker out of the attic when I got my Halloween/Fall decorations out.  She was naked so I found this little dress that I made for my neice, but it was too small.  It fit Lori perfectly.  Then I started thinking about her hair. 

That afternoon I happened to go to the drug store and passed the Halloween wigs and spotted a long blonde one... I wonder if that will fit Lori Walker?  I checked the price.  $5.99.  I'll take it. 

Oh my!  She's good as new! 

Really long hair!  My son thinks it's creepy!  But I love it. 

I love her new hair!

Now I need to get her some shoes and she is good to go!

Do you still have your favorite doll? 

Blessings

Linda

My Witches Hat..AKA.. Chris NO PEEKING!

Good Monday Morning! 

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  I did!  Number one reason...No migraines! They seem to be getting better. 

Saturday morning, bright and early, DH and I headed over to an auction that was being held about 2 miles away from home.  This was the estate of a farming family that has been friends of ours for over 40 years.  We went to school with their children, and they plowed my garden when needed.  The last remaining one passed away this winter and the kids took what items they wanted and decided to hold an auction to sell the rest.  There was a lot of farm equipment! Tractors, plows, discs, etc...

An old time country auction with the auctioneer whom we went to school with too, standing on a wagon calling out bids.  That cute redhead is my cousin.

Lots of old furniture that needed some TLC..  I love that the back of that chair was held together with a woman's dress belt!  I wish I had taken a photo of the seat.  It was a Parcheesi board! 

I really wanted the Brownie drink bottles but who knew they were so collectible?  There was 5 of them and I bid up to $15.00 but they sold for $30!  The most amazing items of the day were a pint milk bottle with the cardboard lid.. it sold for $380!  Then there were the yearbooks of the local school from 1950, 1957, and 1958, they sold for $80 each! 

Anyway, all I ended up buying was this green depression glass dish

There were a few other non descript dishes in the box with it.  DH bought a brass fire extinguisher for his shop and a box of old bottles.  But all in all it was a fun day with our neighbors and friends.

Now, if you are Chris from Perfectly Printed you need to click off my blog right now because I am posting photos of my Witches Hat from Viv's Witch Hat Swap!

I used the paper mache hat form from Michaels and Modge Podged black and purple scrapbook paper that I had cut into irregular shapes. 

Scrapbook paper medallion, silver tinsel, glittered letters and metallic pipe cleaners, all incorporated into this hat. A small Christmas ball of Halloween green, sits right on top.   Of course my witch would be very feminine too so....

The back of the hat has orange and purple flowers over a wired orange ribbon with a rhinestone spider hitching a ride.

This has all been packed up and is being mailed today!  Thank you Vivian for hosting such a fun swap! 

Have a great day!

Linda

Rockin' Around the Halloween Tree

Good Friday Morning!  T.G.I.F!!!

What a long week!  I think after you have had a holiday week with only working 4 days, the next week with 5 days, seems like forever...

Last weekend I put up our Halloween tree!.  This is a new tree that I just got that is black and silver with orange lights and I just love it.

Don't you just love all the orange and black and purple colors of Halloween? 

This little ornament is several years old.  I made this from the top of a cardboard box that a necklace came in.

This happy witch was a paper doll that I downloaded and then I just made her dress with different colored scrapbook paper.

This funny fellow is new this year.  I love making those medallion ornaments.

Then there is some of my friends left over from my girlhood who still visit each Halloween and sit under the tree.  Don't you just love that little owl?

Do you have a Dollar Tree in your area?  Our Dollar Tree has these adorable little houses that I have filled with pumpkin shaped Peppermint Patties.

What a cute Frankie!

This is my latest craft.  I've seen several "decorated" crows around pinterest and when I unpacked my Halloween things I found this crow and decided to give him a fancy collar and a party hat. 

He feels so dressed up now! 

Tomorrow, Good Lord willing and the creeks don't rise, I am heading just up the road to an old time auction.  It's been a while since there has been an auction held on site in our area.  Dear Husband and I used to go to auctions almost every weekend when we were first married.  This one is extra special because we knew the people who owned the items being auctioned off.  I have my eye on a Brownie drink bottle!  Remember those??

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Linda



Pumpkin Gooey Butter Bars

Good Wednesday Morning! 

A couple people asked me for the recipe for my pumpkin bars.  I use Paula Deenes recipe for these.  Top them off with some freshly whipped cream and you will be in heaven!

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes

Cake:

1 pkg yellow cake mix

1 egg

8 tbls butter, melted (That's one stick)

Filling:

1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin

3 eggs

1 teas. vanilla

8 tbls melted butter (Yep, another stick.  It is Paula's recipe!)

1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar

1 tea. cinnamon

1 tea. nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine the cake mix, egg and butter and mix well with an electric mixer.  Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 x 9 baking pan.

To make the filling:  In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together.  Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and mix well.  Spread the pumpkin mixture over the cake batter and bake for 40-50 minutes.  (I baked mine 45 min).  Make sure you do not over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

While you will want to eat one of these while they are still warm, (and you should), they are best when they have been chilled for a few hours.

You can find the orignal recipe here Paula's Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes

Super easy and delicious!

Linda