Goodies I bought

Hi.  Couldn't write after we got home because we deviated from the original course and went to other places.  By the time we got home, it was way too late for me to write.  Anyway, the dollhouse show (and dolls. too, of course).

It is muggy and warmish here today.  I didn't work but we did go to the gym.  I hate to exercise.  LOL

Anyway, I bought lots of good things.  You won't believe the $$ I paid for them.  I got some great bargains.

 This chest is made real well, I do need house numbers and the clock is so cute.  Total:  75 cents.

Rowena will be getting a dresser set including a comb and what will be a mirror and a brush. 25 cents for all three.

I bought 4 sets of candlesticks.  Each pair was 50 cents.  Aren't they wonderful?  And so well made.  They are from about 15 years ago and still in their original package.

This hanger with the 5 utensils was 50 cents.  I think they look like copper. 

I bought the 4 milk bottles and metal basket because of nostalgia.  This is how our milk was delivered.  And the little shelf is adorable.  I don't know where I am going to put it.  I couldn't resist it.  Each was 25 cents.

This is a stone pitcher and it's heavy.  50 cents.  I just loved it. 

I found these quarter-scale pieces of brown plastic furniture!  Another lady was looking at them and pushed them aside because they were "too small."  She obviously didn't know about quarter-scale items.  I paid 50 cents for all of them.

The dresser here is shown above, but part of the items in the plastic bag were these 2 lamps. 

These were also in the QS bag. 

This is a major find.  A silver coffee service.  It is heavy and it's metal.  I paid 50 cents.

And last, but not least, these two metal chairs.  25 cents each.  Can you believe it?  Love them.

 

So these are my wonderful gifts.  I didn't spend a lot.  Almost all were in their original packages.  And they were made when things were made very well.  I plan to go online and see what the price of these items would be today.  

 

Dragon shower is almost finished, I think.  Maybe tomorrow night....

 

Until then...

 

Pat

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Dragon shower progress

When we got home yesterday afternoon, I wasn't feeling too well.  I don't know what it was, but I couldn't even get enough energy to check Pinterest.  Now that is sad.

This was the scene from Cape May when we left.  They were combing the beach in the morning.  This machine has a rake on the back and it smooths the sand. 

Today, however, I decided to put the bottom part of the shower together.  It fit together almost perfectly but even better when I put cotton around the pole before setting it in. 

Hubby found a piece of screening for the shower head and I glued that in.  I put aluminum foil inside to help the plastic look silvery since it's still quite opaque.  Worked pretty well.

I used a straw at first for the top "pipe."  It is too flimsy to hold the shower head.  So I put a dowel in the center of the straw.  That will probably work better but hubby has to drill a whole through it so the two pieces can fit together.  You cannot actually see it well, but the bottom part is dragon green.  I love that paint.

Tomorrow is a doll house and doll show so I hope to find some wonderful things to show you tomorrow night.

Until then...

Pat

Second day in Cape May, NJ

This was our second day here in Cape May.  Temp in the 80's but with a nice breeze.  Just beautiful.

See us in that boat?  No????

Well, then, what about on the jet skis?  Still no?  You might have to squint.

 

Well, would you believe that's us on surfboards??  This is a tough crowd. 



 

Oops, I forgot.  This is me.  Yep.  Sippin' a cup of joe, feet on the railing, sitting in a rocker on the lovely balcony.  I just got carried away a bit.  LOL



 

The real trip was great but not as adventurous as the top three pictures. The hotel in which we stayed has a buffet breakfast so we ate well.  Nice to eat just what you want. 

After breakfast, we walked around town and drove to the Wicker Shop and bought a few things.  They have marvelous little things that are 50% off what regular stores charge.  Alas, nothing today was found for Rowena or the faerie village.  :(

We ate lunch at a great place called The Ugly Mug and ate in their outdoor restaurant.  Lovely.  Pizza and a cold brew.  Life is good. 

Then we walked off lunch by walking around town, going in and out of the little shops.  There was also a sidewalk sale and although I didn't find anything in my size, there were lots of things for those who are a size 6!  LOL

Back to the room for a nap.  Certainly didn't have to go the gym this week!  Ate dinner at a place called The Pilot House, also a short walk from our hotel.  Then we walked a bit on the boardwalk. 

We go home tomorrow but it was a restful and well-needed getaway for both of us.  And my hubby loves Cape May. 

Of course, while here my mind is going in a hundred different directions about finishing the shower and my next project.  Joanne's Minis has an inexpensive and relatively easy push broom made from a toothbrush.  You only need a cutter, a small drill like a Dremel and glue like E6000.  It's cute, easy and cheap, especially if you can find one at one of the dollar stores!

So, we leave at 10 tomorrow, home by noon and maybe I can be productive in the afternoon.  Not promising anything. 

Until then...

Pat

Coming to you from Cape May, NJ

I am at the Jersey Shore, my friends, in beautiful Cape May.  Altho' our anniversary is in March, we opted for a May visit because (1) March is cold and there are few things open at the beach, and (2) I wouldn't have been strong enough after my stroke to do all this walking.  So here we are.  Staying at the Marquis de Lafayette.  This is the view from our room, which has a balcony off the little sitting room.  Between the sitting room and the bedroom is a section that involves the bathroom to the right and a tiny kitchenette to the left.  But my fav is the ocean view and here it is:

Before we left home today, I worked on the outdoor dinosaur shower.  This will be the base and the bottom support. 

 

 

This will be the top of the shower and will hold the shower head.  

 

This will go on top of the green base.  It helps to hold the pole straight.

This is the pole which will be the shower water line pole, which is a chopstick.  Excuse me, was a chopstick.  :)

This is the shower head on its side.  You can see that the silver paint isn't covering the plastic.  I am going to find some silver model paint.

So those are the components of the dragon shower.  Hubby asked where the water will come from.  Huh?  Magic, of course.

Tomorrow we go to the wicker shop and an antique store and the Christmas store.  I will be looking for minis, of course.  This town also boasts many quaint Victorian shops and houses.  I'll show you tomorrow night.

Until then...

Pat

Outdoor shower plans

Today was still cool and it continues to be windy.  The coolness is okay but the wind makes it difficult to do anything.  Like planting.  Although our front and side of our home is done.  Have to concentrate on the patio now.

I want to make an outdoor shower for the dragons.  So I am planning it myself.  I rummaged around my stash and found some things that I can use.  I put them here.  The pole is a chopstick.  The flat piece of wood is the base.  The spool will hold the "pole" and the bead will be at the top of the spool for looks and to hold the pole in place, too.

The white thing is plastic.  Those are the knobs for the different water flows.  And the top, which is from my body wash, is the faucet.  There are also 4 tiny blocks that will be part of the faucet.

 

I had to cut out a piece of cardboard to cover the spool which, when the paper is removed, has no solid top.  (Years ago they did.)  I used a coffee cup cover.

 

 

 

So between silver paint and dragon green, I'm painting the sections.  It isn't easy painting the plastic.  I might have to cover it with tissue paper first. 

 

If anyone has a hint on painting slippery plastic things, let me know.  I washed it and scrubbed it very well.

 

I'll finish it a few more parts tomorrow. 

 

Until then...

 

Pat

Miniature Swaps

Still have Internet but hubby's doesn't work now.  (sigh)  Very windy today.  Kind of cold.  Supposed to be warmer as the week goes on.

I was recently in a miniature swap representing things that are used in spring and some plants.  I showed you some of the things I made for this swap.  Here are pix of what I received.

Isn't the little frog just adorable?  And two sizes of watering cans.  I love that shovel.

I don't have a birdhouse for Rowena yet but I do now.  Complete with bird seed!  And a wonderful wooden basket, a trowel and a garden flag.  I like it so much I plan to make more of them.

And then there are the flowers, two pots and a cactus.  The one flower is in a bead, just like I do to my flowers.  Love it.

Two more shovels, a hoe, a little garden fork -- great for the gardeners at Rowena's house.  A book about trees, a sun hat and a sign that reads, Welcome to My Garden.   There is also a brown stepping stone.

The signs are great, a wreath for the door and another floral book.

Here are 3 plants.  I love the purple one.  And isn't the tree cute?

So I have to thank the following:  Lisa Topping, Lou Ann Catlin, Daina Harrison, Maria Green, Kathleen in Colorado, Alicia Pozzo and Dee Gadway for these wonderful things.

Time for bed.  I worked 6th grade today.  Exhausting!  LOL  Talk to you tomorrow night.

Until then...

Pat

Technology is not always nice

So I promised good stuff for you.  But the Internet went down right after I posted.  After much aggravation and annoyance, I figured out the router was no longer connected to the computer, much less the Internet.

I went to the CD and it said that when all else fails, remove cords from the router and uninstall the program for the router.  Take steps like it was new.  This morning I finally had the time to do it.  It works.

Of course, now the added computer that is hubby's doesn't react to the router.  So I have to go work on that.

And since it's Mother's Day, I spent most of the day with the four grandchildren. Here's a photo:

There's Hunter, 17, Dylan 15 who are the sons of my stepdaughter.  And the girls are Sydney, 10, and Kate, 9, who are the daughters of my stepson.  And of course, me.  

To all Moms out there:  Hope your day was great.  Talk to you tomorrow.

Until then,

Pat

More done

Worked today in 7th grade.  Love those kids.  Going to 8th grade next year.  It would be nice to just keep them all together as the group they are right now.  Tomorrow is 6th grade math/science.  It was nice to be working.

So this is the patio set I wanted to have cushions.  They are expensive to buy so I decided to make them.  Searched and searched for suitable fabric.  Size is always a problem  (Hint: I take a piece of 1 inch by 1 inch piece of cardboard with center cut out to view the pattern.)  I came across this piece with blue slashes.  I loved it immediately.  I decided I needed 4 back cushions and 4 seat cushions.  Of course, the 2 separate chairs are of a different size!

 

 

I made the seat base from cardboard.  I tried to use batting and even when pulled apart until it showed up webby, it was still too thick.  So I used a section from one of the workbench towels or whatever they are called.  Cut it long and folded it 3 times.  Perfect.

 

 

Then came the not-so-fun part.  You already know how I feel about glue.  Yuck.  But I did wrap the bottom of the pieces like a package and glued them up.  I think next time I will do it different and maybe even sew a pocket for them.

Here are three of the pieces, starting to look real.

Voila!  Here are the pillows on their respective chairs.  Rowena is quite pleased.  In fact, I am, too.  LOL

 

Hopefully I can get the curtains done for the bedroom and set everything in the bedroom.  I almost forgot that there are several spots on the bedframe that need restaining.  That will be done first.  Hope to show you the almost-finished bedroom tomorrow night.  One more thing remains to be done: the fireplace.

 

Until then....

 

Pat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



I'll try to be better

The operative word here is try.  I have been busy sewing and therefore, minis get pushed to the side.  I want to do a sewing project blog within this blog but don't know how to do it.  If anyone knows how, let me know.

I work the next 2 days so I wanted to get some mini things done.  One of the things I have been playing around with is a pack of paper umbrellas.  You know they are the type they put in tropical drinks.  They are inexpensive so I've been doing some experimenting.  I took the paper off one and tried to cover it with painted coffee filter, the same stuff I made the flowers from.  It was too heavy.  So I'll try again.

However, I tried painting one of them.  At first I tried yellow but it was much too opaque.  The flowers showed through.  I  then did it in red, both sides.  Isn't it amazing how you can still see the pattern?  I don't know if I'll do something else to it.  It closes, though, and I like that.  Maybe another coat?  Different color?  Hmm...

Rowena is getting quite snotty about having no linens on her bed.  I made this coverlet.  I love the print.  It was a bummer to sew because it ravels terribly.  But I love it.  I still have to tame the footboard corners.  They stick out too far. 

And then pillows were needed.  So I made a couple of them but didn't want them attached to the pillows permanently.  I made pockets and put the pillows in them.  They are so easy to do.  If anyone wants to know the trick, I can show you in a tut.

 I wanted a neck pillow for the bed.  This is a roller from something I saved. I took the same fabric but in a deep wine.  I will glue both sides down and add something on the ends.  I don't know what.

 

This is the first of the two main flower beds we put around our place.  I do the pointing and hubby does the planting.  Although I did dig 6 holes for 6 of the little plants.  We had rain so today they look so good.  I'll take a picture when they bloom.  We bought some plants for the front bed.  They will be planted tomorrow.

 

 

Other than that, not much is new.  I have a few projects I'm planning.  I want to finish the patio furniture pillows tomorrow.

 

Until then....

 

Pat