Monday, August 31, 2009

Fun, Fun, Fun!

So.. I did some errand running this afternoon..not too much fun, but needful things that had to be attended to. The fun came along after all of the errand running this afternoon, when dear daughter requested a trip to Joann's Fabric Store...so there I was in Joann's when....what should I spy but a shelf full of sewing machines and all on sale at that!!

Now, I had been wanting a sewing machine for a little while, and had told my husband a few days ago that for my upcoming birthday (which is on the 17th of Sept.) that I would like to have a sewing machine...so...what was a gal to do...but hastily get on the cell phone and in a sweet voice say..."umm honey..hey there..umm I'm here at Joann's and they have their sewing machines on sale today...can I go ahead and get one for my birthday while I'm here?"...and that sweet man of mine..well...he said Yes!...so...wooohooo! I am now the proud owner of a little Singer sewing machine..now nothing super fancy smancy about it....but I'm a gal here that has not used a sewing machine in 10 years...and this is going to be totally new territory to me again. I am both nervous and excited.:0)
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I had no idea last night when I found some darling notions to sew with, that I would soon have a sewing machine to create with too...but..I went ahead and bought myself some awesomely sweet trims. Look at this CUUUUTE eye candy..aren't these trims just luscious??!

And yep..they are now mine..couldn't resist..and they are vintage trims too. Whoot! Whooot!

Now the aqua tassle and aqua square trimmings I intend to use to edge valances at my new home, and you can bet that if I tire of what the trim is attached to..ha..I am going to use a seam ripper to save the trim to use over again..yep..I like it "That much"..hee hee. But..anyhow let's take a look at the fun eye candy now shall we? I still have no idea what I will be creating with all of these gorgeous trims... but I'm sure the inspiration will hit me soon.:0)
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And..since I'm on the topic of "Vintage" I thought I'd share a few more of my Vintage treasures with you all..Items that are tucked away awaiting the new home.
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but first..take a look at this sweet, sweet, sweet "Bicycle Built For Two" that I will be using as a photo prop to create little images with?

It is a small bike only about 4 inches tall, but I intend to create images that can be converted to darling note cards...using flowers and such to create vintage looking scenes..fun!-fun!
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O.k.....now on to the Vintage Treasures.....
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I fell in love with this lamp shade..isn't it just awesome? I think it has the coolest design on it..and I'm going to use it on a lamp that my daughter and her grandfather made using a large gourd..I intend to paint the gourd base in a complementary color that will go with the lamp shade.But isn't this the neatest lamp shade? The lamp will most likely be included in my master bedroom decor.As the master bedroom will be a yellow color.---------
I have a few of these little enamelware European tea pots that will grace my 1950's themed kitchen..I have a collection of 1950's era chickens and roosters in bright reds and whites and yellows and blacks..and the little teapots complement the theme perfectly.
The kitchen will also have a red and white vintage potholder collection ..but anyhow..isn't the little teapot adorable? Such a cheery color!
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And..one cannot forget about decorating a laundry room now, can one? I found these darling chalkware placques a while back and they are perfect for decorating a laundry room ...I think. Aren't they just so sweet?

Now..only to sell the current house..so that I can bring out all of my fun treasures and get to decorating.:0)

--------We did have a house showing this past Saturday..but have not heard word back yet on how that went....sometimes the realtors are a bit slow to let us know the feedback whether good or bad on things..wish that wasn't the case..but such as it is in this process.

I hope that you have enjoyed your visit to my blog..and come back again real soon.

~The Garden Goose!~

Saturday, August 22, 2009

My first art doll attempt..and more..

Well, things on the house selling front are going rather slow..drat it...sigh..we had a showing this past Thursday, but apparently the realtor that showed the house was NOT in touch with her clients needs/wants or either said client did not reveal his needs/wants adequately enough..needless to say it was another case of a waste of time on every one's part..the yard according to this person was "too big"..like umm... duhh..if you or your agent had actually taken the time to have read the listing you would have known that the yard was a little more than .33 of an acre..duhhh.

Anyhow..yeah..a bit of sarcasm and frustration in my writing there folks.O.k. rant over...but sigh...
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Well..I decided to give a bit of crafting a try..albeit all of about an hour and a half of crafting,but crafting none the less.

I wanted to see if I could create a small art doll of sorts. Of course I do not have much in the way of any craft supplies on hand, so I created with what I could. A leftover scrap of canvas, a tiny bit of stuffing, and some Prismacolor markers and...wallah!..this is what I came up with. My 5 year old really likes it, so that is what matters. A professional doll making career I'm afraid is NOT in my future..but it was fun none the less.:0) and funner still to see my little 5 year old happy to carry around this wee little "pocket pal",and to take it to bed with her at bed time.:0).
I must admit it turned out better than I expected.
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On the gardening front..I haven't done much at all in the way of gardening this year...most of everything that I am growing is in pots awaiting transfer to a new home. And I gave away a fair amount of plants recently to our lawn service folks.
I did receive 39 variety of bearded iris the other day, which I potted up in batches of 5 into 8 large pots..they were small rhizomes so they worked out well being planted into large pots . I expect that they won't produce anything until next year in the way of flowers.
I do have 2 totally cleared out 4 ft by 8 ft raised beds in my backyard, which I was not planning on putting anything in them , but have decided that since things are going a bit slowly on the house...that I might as well try to grow some beans that are the fast growing bush bean type...and if the house doesn't sell within the next 60 days...at least I will have some beans to freeze...if it does sell during that time then someone else can enjoy some fresh beans...either way...I'll be planting some beans in those raised beds...and getting a chance at least once more this year to do a little "playing in the dirt"
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Have you started your Fall garden?..or planned a Fall garden this year?There is still time to get some items in the ground. Things like greens (turnips, mustards, collards). And lettuces, radishes, endive,chard.This is also the time to plant garlic.
I have some of the items mentioned above available in my little garden shop online. Feel free to check it out. http://www.myvictorygarden.etsy.com/
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Wishing you all a lovely week, and thanks for stopping by. :0)
~The Garden Goose!~

Friday, August 14, 2009

In love With Irises

So there I was last night sitting on the floor of my kitchen area with 11 big plastic pots surrounding me that had been filled with potting soil. Nearby was a large box I had received a few days earlier from Stoney Creek Iris (http://www.stoneycreekiris.com/) 39 varieties of beautiful iris rhizomes to get potted up.

What fun!
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I found the plastic pots at my local Kmart yesterday at 70 % off! Pots that were normally $9.99 were marked down to $3..I saved myself a whopping $77 on plant pots. Yay! I think every gal likes a nice bargain every now and again.
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But..back to the Irises. I am smitten..and my Irises haven't even bloomed yet..but..I know what they will look like when they do, and that is what excites me!
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Look at some of the varieties that I will be growing.What an amazing array of colors!
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If you love Irises I highly recommend dealing with "Stoney Creek Iris" next year . Get your order in early next year though(around the end of March/First of April, as lovely Irises like these ones sell out quickly.
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~The Garden Goose~

Sunday, August 9, 2009

August/September 2009 Issue of "Small Town Living"

The August/September 2009 Issue of "Small Town Living" has now been posted to the website at:


Highlights:
*Fox Hill Farm Celebrates 90 Years
of Farm and Family
* Attracting Humming Birds
*Easy as Pie:
In the Kitchen with "Not Quite June Cleaver"
*The Stuff of Dreams: By Dean Abbott
*Growing Plums
*The American Artisans Guide

......and more
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Please also join us at our forums at www.smalltownliving.ning.com
Where we share with each other our knowledge about gardening,crafting,back yard chickens and a whole lot more. A community of sharing and caring. We also have a "live chatroom" over at the forum every Friday evening at 8 p.m. CST...Come join the fun!