Time to Get Creative

I found so many wonderful things this past week. I can't wait to get started. I've got a million ideas floating through my head. It's already past time to start creating for Halloween and Christmas sales but it's never too late. Take a look at this hugh incredible vintage photo button I found in an antique store. It measures 6" across! I love it! Neil thought I was crazy but it reminds me of the Wicked Witch of West in The Wizard of Oz when Dorthy saw her in the fortune telling ball. The round button and the way it's faded out really makes me think of that scene. I just love the way the hat looks just like a witches hat and I adore the aging on it. I think this is going to make a wonderful Halloween Banner or hanging with some orange and black crepe paper and some fixing up.

I made some new Christmas ornaments from a beautiful vintage sequin and beaded top I found awhile back at a boutique. I've just been waiting for it to tell me what to make. Hee-hee! These remind me of snowflakes. I absolutely love these aqua blue/green color and the glitz of the sequins. They smell so good I scented them with Japanese Cherry Blossoms fragrance. They would make great closet or draw sachets. I plan on opening my etsy store this week and these will be my first listing.

A few weeks ago I was apart of my very first swap when Sarah over at (click the link) http://gypsymermaidlife.blogspot.com/ Majestic Sea Swap, she just so happened to be my swap partner and I sent her a pillow that I made from the same top. OMG Sarah sent me some sweet items, a fabulous glitter sea banner, and this great "T" covered in seashells. She also sent a lovely aqua & seashell frame as well as a cute mermaid figurine. And can you belive it we both sent pillows. She even included a beachy metal tray for a sidetable with shells on it and a hugh sand dollar. You can see the beautiful things she sent me & I sent her here at her blog (click the link) http://gypsymermaidlife.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html.

Sarah's also hosting a VINTAGE SPOOKY TAG SWAP, see her blog http://gypsymermaidlife.blogspot.com/ for more details. I'll soon be posting more photos of some of the super finds from the past few weeks.

Well it's been a really busy week here. Neil and I were lucky enough to have my only sister (only sibling for that matter) Joni and her family come in from Atlanta for a few days. It was so great to see everyone. We haven't seen them since last July 4th. They missed the 4th this year but still made it.

Unfortunately we got a lot of rain while they were visiting. We did head to the beach one day but it was cloudy and overcast. The kids all went swimming but not Joni and me. By the time we left at 7pm it was really cold. I had to actually dig through the trunk and find a sweater. Can you image that - in July!!!! Just last week we had a heat index of 105 degrees. The cool air was wonderful. The rest of the time was spent enjoying the cool weather on our porch. We have a wonderful wrap around porch that Neil built that looks out over the river. I'm so lucky that he is willing to take on so many projects. The inspector said it was so well built that we couldn't have found anyone else that would have done such a good job.

Our property is lined with age old oak trees draped in Spanish moss. I don't know what we'd do without these lovely old trees to take the edge off our sweltering hot summers with the gosh awful humidity. They truly are a God send.

I don't have any pictures of anything I've made recently but hope to post some soon. Instead I'm leaving you with a few pictures of Jacksonville, Florida, the city of seven bridges (I know there's more). I've also thrown in a photo of the fireworks over downtown Jacksonville.

This picture is a beautiful purple sunrise over Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island where we grew up spending all of our summers.

The downtown fireworks celebrating the 4th of July. You can see the Main Street bridge to the right.

The beautiful Hart bridge over the St. Johns river with downtown Jacksonville in the background. This was taken not far from our home.

This is a photo of the Dames Point Bridge. When first completed in 1989 it became the longest cable-stayed span in the United States, the longest concrete span of its type in the Western Hemisphere, and the third longest cable-stayed bridge in the world. It crosses the Intercoastal Waterway, you can see the marsh in the background.



This is a view of the Downtown skyline from the old Ortega Bridge. It's gorgeous at night. I always thought it was one of the most romantic spot in Jax. Very romantic.

New & Confused

Hi ya'll.

Drum roll please......This is my very first blog. I do however have a problem. I get so excited seeing what everyone else is up to, that I can't stop looking at all the other blogs out there to start blogging myself. Ya'll know how it goes one blog leads to another then another. My heads swimming by the time I look at the clock which is usually around 12:30 am. Of course I go to bed swearing this won't happen again tomorrow but who am I kidding, I feel like someone with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).


I have so much to learn and am completely new to this whole blog world and all I can say is "What the _". To be honest until recently I had no idea what blogs were all about. For the longest time I kept thinking, I just don't get blogging. I don't know what the big deal is. Shoot, this is another reminder that I'm getting older and more out of the loop. Then all of a sudden like a bolt of lighting it hit me! I don't even know where it started but I found blogs on crafting. I first found these blogs: http://anniescupboard.blogspot.com and Eye Candy Creations, Two totally different craft styles and I love both. I've always loved prim (primative) crafts and ornament. Sherry has a great way of repurposing items and her rag dolls or infamous. Eye Candy Creations are sugary sweet and if you love retro pink & blue this is the spot for you. I was immediately hooked when I found these sites. It still took a few days for the lighting bolt shock to wear off and to realize the wonder of blog world. There are millions of people out there that like the things I like and think the way I think. Amazing just because they haven't been it my neighborhood or city for that matter doesn't mean I'm the only one like this on the Planet. What an awaking! This is great - the flow of creativity I'm feeling - WOW (even if it is in my head more than anywhere else at this point)!!!


Imagine finding all these subjects that have real people attached. Other's who have a love of vintage and art and a belief in a higher more important entity than one's self. For myself there is Christ, The Lord, God, Our Savior. I just have a little bit of Polly Anne syndrome. Can't help it - it must have been from those five few months of the 50's that I was still in my Mothers womb. I've always thought I belonged more to the Leave It To Beaver generation, me being June Cleaver. But Cary Grant always got me too. Ever notice that most of the films from those days were all very fairy tale, clean cut and idealistic. I don't care - love 'em, love 'em, love 'em!!!


So who am I, you ask. Good way to start off this relationship with this new world. Very good question, I ask myself that same question, actually I have been asking it for quite some time. Apparently it took awhile for me to buck up and face the prospect of finding out. I think this is going to be an ongoing project/learning lesson. I know who I was and who I always wanted to be but really who am I now?

Well I probably need to stop here because this blog is supposed to be more about my love of vintage, altered art, mixed media and plain old craftiness. I have a feeling you're going to have to wade thorough more of these little digressions in the future, as I seem to get off track.

Just remember this is my first post and it will continue to improve. I have so much to learn, linking, posting, layouts and so much more... Please be patient and come back again. I'm going to try to get some photos up and post a little more about me and my life this week. Just for a peek look at some of the varied items I have in my store called north-florida on ebay.

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