Planting - Where is my green thumb?

 Last year at the state fair they had this amazing display of succulents and I feel in love with this old soda box filled with succulents.  They weren't for sale so I figured I would just have to make my own.  I have no idea how to do this but I'll figure it out. My body did not include the green thumb model ( I break out in hives when I try to garden) but succulents are the perfect plant.  Hard to kill and i've been collecting the materials for this project for about a month. I found all the plants in once place but I work with a budget so I split up the buying of the plants into two trips. Finding the box was the hardest part but I finally saw one a few weeks ago in this little antique shop that doesn't charge an arm and a leg for things.  I saw a Pepsi-co box the week before but truth be told I'm a Coca-cola girl through and through, so I'm glad I didn't compromise.  I sprayed the outside with a clear finish so that it will have a little protection from the elements. 

I have to figure out how to prop the plants up and moss just crept into my brain but that would mean another trip to home depot so I'm making my brain pick something else out that I already have.   

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Red and White

 I spent $15 yesterday with the splurge on the place mats but they were $1 a piece and I'm looking for red and white fabric to finish off my homemade teepee / tent.  It's a coincidence that everything ended up being red and white but they make a nice collection even though they are going to be split up.  I also bought 3 pairs of scissors and some Superman bed sheets.  I'm going to look at the way people display their collections because I think the scissors are my first official collection.  I'm sure I top 20 pairs by now and I can't wait to sort them.



I love this series of books from the 70's because it's chock full of pictures and the styles you don't see any more.  I'm working on my embroidery stitches this week and I can see that the basic stitches haven't changed.



ABC's of lettering by Carl Holmes...perfect for writing inspiration.

Sorting

          So I saw this one photo of a rail porter (circa 1912) that I wanted and then I thought hey why don't I ask this guy what he wants for the whole box.  I won't tell you what I paid cause it will make you cry but cheers for being in the right place at the right time.  I also bought a few old books and this coin purse in horrible shape was at the bottom of the box.  I have been looking for these little coin purses and I took it as a sign that I should have the whole giant box of pictures and it was right.  

          It's strange but I rely on my instincts when buying from yard sales.  I found several pictures last week at another sale but they gave me the creeps and I couldn't buy them.  I later found out that the people who they belonged to were recently put in a nursing home and 95% of the items in were being sold  because they weren't coming back to the house. Who knew shopping yard sales could be so emotional.  We hit another sale where bought a few handkerchiefs.  It was a yearly sale that the German league has to support their parade and it was a lot of fun digging through boxes as they were dropped off.  I can't wait to sort everything in the coming week.  I picked out a few pictures that will be perfect for the travel journal I am working on in my brain. 

Sunday breathing spaces

An enjoyable 3 mile walk in the mountains on a trail that lent itself to picture taking and fresh air.  Several trees in the area were burned years ago but still stand tall with their burned bark and stark white/gray tree trunks.    We ran into a few hikers and a small group walking their bikes up the hill.  Not only was the main access road filled with rocks but it also went uphill and was not conducive to casual biking.  Now at this particular stretch I was so focused on why the trail was wet when the river didn't run through this part that I totally missed this snake. Yikes.

lucky for you I'm running out of pages to work on

Last week I found a red and white embroider duvet cover for $5 at a yard sale and it looked brand new. I'm building a tent for fun and these were the exact colors I wanted. The green in the corner reminded me of that. 1/3 of my friends are belly dancers so I had to cut this out in honor of them. I have no interest in belly dancing personally but it is fun to go to their shows and cheer them on.  They have no interest in actually having flat bellies but I do have to say they have the most toned arms I've ever seen on a group.

I had a long debate about getting this dress in the fitting room at the gap and I went home and slept on it.   I'm glad I waited because they had a super sale a week later and I got the last one for 40% off at another store. The store I normally shop at only got one in each size and that sucker sold fast and wasn't online. I wonder if it's a test piece?  I'll be testing it out very soon.

I made a few copies of the collages at the exact size but on 11x14  paper for letter writing. I went back with my glitter and glitter pens and brightened them before sending. You can fold the paper into unequal thirds and then I'll put a round sticker on it to seal it and put it in an envelope. I was thinking about buying some vellum envelopes but I have big sheets of vellum that I got for free so hopefully I can make envelopes myself. The pencil was a gift at the baby shower last weekend and I felt like such a dope trading my friend for it but I really wanted the one with hot pink on the top and it turned out to be sheep instead of cows. I always have a pen and a pencil with me...and glue and scissors. 

one track mind...in the middle of spring cleaning

Someone plastered one of the local neighborhoods with posters for the movie Begining which I saw a preview of when we went to see the Beaver (an amazing and disturbing movie) but I think we have a few weeks before it hits San Diego.  We are lucky enough to have two small art house film movie theaters close by and it seems that one of the big box office theaters has added art films to the roster to help attract new customers.

Yard Sale

       The price of cherries is finally down and I can afford them again hooray.  These were amazing and I had them over two days.  My friends vintage colander was the perfect shade of light Tiffany blue. My mom had the same color Tupperware and you don't see if very often in contemporary design..

       I have a mental list that I buy from when I go to yard sales and I hit the jackpot again this weekend.  I tend to read more fiction in the summer so I figured I would stock up on some best sellers that are also movies.  I can't read a book too close to seeing the movie because I tend to get mad at the changes but if a few months have passed my memory gets a bit fuzzy and it usually doesn't matter as much. The watch needs a new battery but that's worth it to feel like Indiana Jones minus the hat.. Total haul $14 only because the quilt was $10 and it is so soft and falling apart every which way. that I had to have it  We drove for well over 30 minutes to an estate sale at a church and one table was piled high with quilts and of course I had to have the saddest one.  I have already washed it but I'm not quite sure how I will repair it or simply preserve it to use. The back is off white with wonderful off white hand stitching.  The woman who sold it to me asked if I was going to make it into a stuffed animal, I saw all the cuts I wold have to make in my head and almost gasped out loud. I have a problem cutting things up and I have a few pieces of clothes that I bought to alter but sit perfectly unaltered in my closet. 

I think this type of quilt is called spider quilt and only one line of it is intact.

        
       What a fantastic weekend and the weather wasn't as grim as first reported so I was able to take a lot of walks in between pet sitting my favorite dog.  It threatened to rain most of the morning but ended up being  a bit of misty dribble while the sun was shining.  I am exhausted and plan to fall asleep as soon as the Tony awards are over.