Mini vanity mirror

Just a quick post for today, but I had promised to share a pic of the mini vanity mirror that I bought the other weekend at the flea market.

It was super hard to get a pic where the flash didn't just white everything out.  I love how the edges have that sort of chipped metal look like old antique mirrors.  I want to use this upstairs in the saloon on a bedside table or maybe beside of a washstand with a bowl and pitcher.  I thought it was a great deal for $2 :)

The main reason that I wanted the mirror is because it reminded me of my great-grandmother's tabletop vanity mirror.  I have no idea how old the real mirror is.  I do know that the dresser the mirror is sitting on is part of the bedroom suite that my Granny got for her wedding.  I don't know what type of glass older mirrors were made of, but I love the cloudy sort of fogged look that they get around the edges.  I'll work on getting some pics of the entire bedroom to share with everyone so you guys can see how beautiful it really is.

I hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

Locks of Love

                              Before                                                 and after.....

It's all gone!  My hair that is.  I've been wanting to get my hair cut for a really long time now, but with money being tight it was just one of those things that I kept putting off.  It got to the point where I always pulled it back in a messy half pony tail because I just couldn't stand it any longer.  I feel so much better now - and I'm going to save a ton on shampoo - lol!

They cut off 12 inches!  The stylist at Regis told me that I could make really good money selling my hair for extensions.

But I'd been thinking about it for a long time now and I have always wanted to donate to Locks of Love.  Just in case you've never heard of LOL before I copied some info from their website -

Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.

I'm donating my hair in memory of my cousin Heather.  It's been almost 2 years now since we lost her and its probably been at least that long since I've had a haircut.  Heather was diagnosed with leukemia at a very young age.  She was just 21 years old when she passed away.  It makes me sad to think of her, but happy to think that in some small way maybe my hair will benefit another little girl who's out there fighting her own battle.

Heather Nicole Blevins

August 29, 1986 - July 23, 2008

The House of Miniatures

Last Saturday my Mom and I journeyed out to the local flea market.  It's a big place with like 10 buildings and a huge outdoor space where people set up in sort of a yard sale layout.  The temperature was well into the 90's so thankfully all of the buildings are air-conditioned.

My favorite place is building #2.  A wonderful lady named Billy has her own miniature shop set up there.  Needless to say it is where I spent most of my time.  My Mother eventually gave up on me and went on to explore other parts of the market.  I won't get into how long it took me to find her again...

Below are my newest mini treasures:

There was an entire shelf of House of Miniatures kits and I was so excited!  I got the Chippendale 3 Drawer Chest kit for $4, the Hepplewhite Round Table kit for $3, and the Side Chair kit for $2.  Can you believe it?!  I wanted to buy every kit that she had, but I had to restrain myself.  I will definitely be going back soon though.

I also got a mini antique looking vanity mirror for $2.  I got it because it reminded me of the one that belonged to my great-grandmother.  I'll wait to share a picture of it later as I'd like to show you the real one as well.

What I want to start doing is a "project of the week" like my friend Kim does over at Flowers & Art.  It's been so long since I've had any money to spend on minis or even gotten to work on my saloon and that was the biggest reason that I started this blog to begin with.  I am determined to get back on track!

So my first project of the week is going to be the 3 drawer chest.

I've never put together any of these kits, but I've seen a few on other blogs and really liked them.  Wish me luck!

MIA...

Who's MIA you ask?  Well, that would be me.  Missing in action from my blog that is.  I apologize for just disappearing, but once again life just seemed to get in the way.  My goal is to get back to posting (and commenting) regularly.  I am also behind on all of the blogs that I follow so I have a lot of reading to do.

As you can see I've been changing my blog design around a bit as well.  Still trying to find something that is more "me."  Have any of you out there in blogland played around with the new Blogger Template Designer?  I like it so far I think.  I was able to get the layout I wanted and change the width of the columns.  Why is it that blogs always seems to be so crammed in the middle of the screen?!  The only feature that I didn't see that I would love to have is the ability to upload my own background.  If anyone knows how to do it, please share.

I have a ton of new stuff that I want to share with everyone so you may see a bunch of posts all at once from me.  I guess I better get to it!

Cheers to my scotch drinking buddy

Jim Moore

02/08/52 - 06/20/10

When time shall come for my leaving

When I bid you adieu

Don’t spend your money for flowers

Just a rose will do.

I’ll go to a beautiful garden

At last when life’s work is through.

Don’t spend your money for flowers

Just a rose will do.

I’ll need no organization

To make a bid to-do,

I’ll need no fine decorations,

Just a rose will do.

I’ll go to a beautiful garden

At last when life’s work is through.

Don’t spend your money for flowers

Just a rose will do.

Just have an old-fashioned preacher

To preach a sermon or two

Don’t spend your money for flowers

Just a rose will do.

I’ll go to a beautiful garden

At last when life’s work is through.

Don’t spend your money for flowers

Just a rose will do.

An old friend...

A while back my parents went out of town for the weekend for a mini vacation.  My Mom is one of those people who always has to buy a little something to bring home to everyone.  She also likes to be sneaky about it and drop little hints as to what the gift may be...

My hints were:

"It's an old friend..."

and

"It's someone that you haven't seen in a really long time..."

*Drum roll please*

Here's what she got for me...it's a giant piggy bank!  Lol!

As you can see my new piggy friend a little bit cross-eyed ;)

Her paint job isn't the best and I almost wonder if I could just repaint her completely.  I wonder what kind of paint I would use?

Late last year my Mom and I were going through some old pictures and we came across these of my first piggy bank.  I told her that I was so sad when it got broke years ago.  Little to my knowledge my Mom had been searching for a new pig for me since Christmas!

I used to love that pig!  I saved all of my pennies (and the occasional quarter, nickel, or dime) for years.  I remember when my parents had company over that I would hit people up for the change they had in their pockets.  I even got the occasional dollar bill folded up and stuffed inside! 

So anyway, my Mom is just the best Mom ever and I love my new piggy bank! :)  And just to let you know all of those years ago I saved up my pennies and bought a brand new hot pink banana seat bicycle - complete with pink and white streamers!

Who knows what I'll save my pennies up for this time?

Time for another Turtle Tuesday!

I know it's been a while since I've posted about my turtles, but I thought I'd do a follow-up to show how big Herman and Cecil really are now.  They are currently in a 75 gallon tank that they have all but outgrown.

Here's a great pic of Herman that I like to call "Turtle Neck" - lol!

The second one is of Cecil.  I think he looks like he's smiling at the camera in this one :)

Here's a shot looking down into the tank.  You can see the filter with clean water flowing back into the tank in the upper right hand corner.  The thing that the turtles are sitting on is a type of ramp/platform where they can get out of the water and sunbathe under a special lamp.  Just to give you a reference for their size the platform is 11 inches wide.

This shot is from a few minutes later when Cecil had climbed completely on top of Herman.  If you ever see a tank full of baby RES at a pet store they all like to sit directly on top of one another.  I think it's some sort of comfort thing.

I think this last one is cute, but David actually thought I was being mean when I took the picture.  Herman was crawling off of the platform when he slipped and flipped upsidedown.  David panicked and kept saying, "flip him over, help him over!"  I tried to explain that I couldn't help because if it ever happens when I am not at home then Herman will have to be able to flip over on his own.  A turtle in the wild has to be able to do the same thing or they could possibly drown.  But not to worry, I think Cecil may have sensed Herman's distress because he swam over and actually put leverage on Herman's shell so that he could get his head out of the water.  Then after Herman calmed down for a second he used his neck to flip himself back over.

I hope everyone enjoyed the pics and I hope you have a happy Tuesday!

Healthy Thinking Thursday!

My Thursday posts always seem to be late in the day, for one it's my day off, for two I like to sleep late, and well... mostly because I get easily distracted - lol. 

I've decided that when it comes to Healthy Thinking Thursday posts I'm probably going to start posting these every 2 weeks or maybe even monthly.  My goal to be more healthy isn't going to happen overnight and sometimes I don't even feel like I've accomplished enough in a week.

For this week I wanted to share a quote that I came across.  A girl I know posted it on Facebook and I just kept reading it over and over.  Each time I was like wow, this is totally me.

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow.  It empties today of its strength.

- Corrie ten Boom

I am one of the worst when it comes to worrying.  I worry about things that haven't even happened yet and some that may not ever happen.  I'm a big "what if?" kind of person - to the point that it becomes overwhelming.  I won't go into specific details because you'd probably just think I was crazy.

So more to the point, my new Healthy Thinking goal is to worry less - or at least attempt to.  It's not something that I'm going to be able to fix overnight - and probably something that I need to discuss with my counselor more in depth as well.  My worrying about things that haven't even happened yet won't stop them from happening, but it sure as hell takes away my power to be a happy person today.  How's that song go? -  "Don't worry, be happy"

See ya later blogland!

Welcome Wednesday!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday!

I wanted to say hello and welcome to a few new followers.  I can't believe I'm up to 79 now!

First is Glenda who is from Christchurch New Zealand.  She loves miniatures and her blog can be found at http://peppercornminis.blogspot.com/

Second is Alafosca who is from Barcelona Catalunya Spain.  This person has 3 blogs that can found at

http://nocturnacottage.blogspot.com/

http://altafullaminiatures.blogspot.com/

http://enllunada.blogspot.com/

Third is Mirel Korhonen whose blog can be found at http://minimami.blogspot.com/

Fourth is Imola whose profile says they are from New York, United States.  Their blog can be found at http://nevermore-offshore.blogspot.com/

And fifth is Ascension.  I can't find a profile or a blog for this person, but it you have one please share so that I can put a link up for everyone else.

For all of the Etsy lovers out there...

My friend Cyndi just opened an Etsy shop and I wanted to share some of her work with you.  Most of the blogs that I follow, and most of the people who follow my blog make their own beautiful handmade items -  from 1:12 miniatures to original artwork, handmade jewelry, and many other types of mixed media.  With that in mind I think that everyone here will definitely appreciate Cyndi's craft.

Cyndi's Etsy shop is called Spiritbooks and can be found here http://www.etsy.com/shop/spiritbooks.  Her Etsy profile says she started pressing flowers (which is what I remember her doing) and that led to making her own books.  Below are a few of the items that I linked from her shop - the titles and descriptions are copied straight from her site, but please click the above link for more detail and many more pictures as well.

- Big Red Journal -

Binding technique is "Langstitch und Kettenstitch" - "Long Stitch and Link Stitch".

- Woodland Trio -

Natural deckle edges. Made with Red Flex board, which is a soft flexible material. Front covers close with magnetic closures.

- Dream Journal -

Journal has natural deckle edges and is edge bound with natural stones, a tiny dreamcatcher, and a real feather.  The binding used with this journal is a unique Japanese binding using 2 needles, and it opens completely flat for ease in writing.

- Floral Heirloom Set -

This set includes a lovely handmade box with a starter of floral potpourri and a unique handmade book that fits inside the box in its own compartment. Whenever anyone in your family has a special occasion involving flowers, add a few petals to the potpourri in the box. Write down a brief description of the event and include pictures! Over the years you will accumulate a wonderful potpourri, a floral heirloom of all the special occasions in your lives.

I think Cyndi's work is beautiful!  Feel free to pass the link to her shop along to anyone you think may enjoy it as well :)