rain rain go away...

All of the dreariness of the day has me wishing for more motivation than just trying out different settings on my camera... but there you have it.

along with the rain, John has just left to go back to school and I'm not going to mince words here people, as I watched him and Cam pull away the tears flowed like the rain outside.

I think the idea that he graduates on Sat. and then will be moving across the country has hit home and hit home hard.  :(

that is life and I want nothing more than to see my birds spread their wings but it doesn't make it any less painful when they do.

(sorry just keeping it real.)

back to the collage...

All four of these shots were done with the manual setting.

I am ashamed to say it (but I will anyway) but I didn't even know my camera could take a sepia or B&W shot without editing on the computer!

I bought some dill from Aldis and thought I would use it for Easter dinner. I was unsure what I was going to make with it at the time but it just smelled so good!  Then wouldn't you know it,  I made my "moms famous dilled carrots" but used the dried dill I always use in the recipe because I FORGOT that I had bought fresh dill.   ugh.

I should be ashamed to say that too, but there you are... apparently I have no shame! LOL
so now I have a little pitcher of it to use as a photo prop!

(the carrots were delicious by the way)

you are welcome Boo! xoxo

While I was playing on Picnik I made a couple of thank you cards to go in my packages from

the old white house

I actually turned them into collages so that I could print off more than one at a time.

For some reason (the reason being that I need MY computer fixed because I had that one figured out when dealing with the printer and I don't have Cam's figured out at all!) I can only get Cam's computer to print one at a time so the collage worked great for the cards.  I will just cut them apart to add to the package.

There are a few things I would change about them and I could dr. them up a bit but I can only justify so much play time on the computer.  And I NEEDED to talk to all of you today, it has been a week since I posted last!  Where oh where does the time go?

So do you all PICNIK? 

I still haven't upgraded to premium but have been tempted on more than one occasion. For now the free version works just fine.   (I like anything that is labeled FREE)... just saying.

 and just in case you thought that maybe I haven't had my hand in any creating... I did manage to make a couple of market totes.   I had an order to take care of and while I was printing on that miracle transfer paper I thought I would make something new.  Love the bees, of course not really fond of them when I'm relaxing outside, but they are cute with crowns, are they not?

Then I went crazy big with one of my flowers.  

That's how I roll, once I make enough of something I have to play around with all of the sizes it could be!

So this one is enormous!

Guess what?  While we were visiting. the rain stopped!

thank you. I needed that!

Come by and work your magic anytime!   ;)

love, Theresa xoxo

I am linking up to , White Wednesday,  Wow us Wednesday, Link Love, Running With Glitter,

Transformation Thursday

xoxo

Wishing all of you a very blessed and meaningful Easter

love,

Theresa xoxo

Inspired and challenged...

Have you taken Z's 15 minute timer challenge this week?  I have and can I say, it is liberating... I mean she said it would be, and while I do trust her explicitly, what can I get done in 15 minutes?

See this fabulous pink bread box full of dead flowers?

It used to be full of junk in my kitchen.

what a waste.

So I did it, I set my timer and cleaned it out!  I was in a purging mood and so those two phone adapters that nobody could remember exactly what phones they ever went to...

GONE!

Along with the umpteen papers, and scraps, and really just plain junk, that at one time or another I had convinced myself that if I threw the junk away then what would happen to the axis of the universe?

Would everything come tumbling down?

guess what...

NO!

 

Now look at it on my cleaned up front porch!

remember that house-tending I had to get to?

This porch was desperate for it.

Seriously, I picked up no less than 4 nerf weapons from this thing.

Max and his army have been banned from the front porch,

I'm sure the mail lady will thank me ;)

 Blogland is so inspiring and I just love that. I mean I think I am more inspired everyday!

Yesterday Alicia put a challenge out there for us to turn our cameras off of auto.

I don't have a big fancy schmancy camera, I have a canon powershot.  I love it and not that I think I am much of a photographer but I am really in love with my powershot now that it is set on Manual!

I was doing the happy dance as I started taking pictures, I would take one on manual and then one on auto, and I couldn't believe the difference.

maybe it's just me but the pictures look so much more crisp and clean!

I am a happy girl!

Blogland is a wonderland, a wealth of inspiration.

 

Did you know about dropcloth rosettes before the country of blogland existed?

I didn't.

Did you care about taking pictures of your clean porch and new spring wreath before you blogged?

I didn't.

When these buckets get filled with beautiful plants I will show you them again, promise!

I can't wait to put a beautiful little garden in the pink box.

Thanks Z!

And I can't wait to take more pictures.

Thanks Alicia!

This porch is next.  

Rehang the sheets uhum curtains,

New cushion covers out of dropcloth or something equally fabulous is in the works.

Thanks to all of you who stop by and inspire me.

love,

Theresa xoxo

I thought I would share a picture of this sweet little nerf mess maker and budding artist with his newest creation and his new glasses.

 Notice the details, the berry in the birds mouth and the barbed wire fence! love that!

See how cute this face is?  This is why, even though he is banned from the front porch, I will still share the side porch with him!

:O

I'm linking up to Sherry's party Open House Party Thursdays  and Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday
and Cindy's Show and Tell Friday

can't. stop. soldering....

really. truly.

I have more ideas in my head than I can keep up with.

really. truly.

I think this time I will just fill you up with pictures and save you from the rattle that is going on inside my noggin...

old blue bottle, hello dolly china doll head, rhinestones... uh yeah.

 you know this girls deserves that and more!  Look at how sweet she is with her demure little smile. I think she looks remarkably like the doll head. 

The french postmark tag is where she always wanted to go.

I hope she got there.

oh yeah, it's my story... she got there and filled herself on croissants, wine and cheese!

and wore rhinestones ofcourse!

 

 on to my gypsy girl...

 swimming in pearls...

 

 bringing her bling...

cuz you know she's got some bling!

 

The back of the photo says '28

love that! 

I know you do too, we are made of the same cloth.

it's one of my favorite things about you.

 

 Her photo is actually inside of the bottle so the pearls can shake around her like a gypsy snow globe!

 you know I love my birds...

 unless they're pooping on my windshield.

 this one would never do that, certainly not after I gave him some rhinestones and a soldered charm.

a charm with his daily duties... his ta~da list so to speak!

 He is a plastic light from a vintage strand I think, I have a red one too, but they didn't come with a set or anything, so they. must. be. soldered.

 : O

 here you can see the jewels inside his bottle.

this is why the soldered bird sings!

 I love them all but I have saved my favorite for last...

I love this lady, I don't know who she is but I just love her gentle nature that shows up in this photo.

 Oh my gosh, I want to be her when I am old.

I might even wear that fabulous dress with the ruffle going down to the bottom.

did you hear me?

a ruffle all the way to the floor!!!

She has our style girls!

She had to have the crown. and this fabulous finial.

 

 She is standing in front of what I am assuming is her prize plant in her garden.

So I put dried rose petals in her bottle and hung a monopoly wheelbarrow game piece from a jump ring that I soldered to it, and a religious medal and her soldered charm that says garden queen.

 I left plenty of room so that you could see the writing on the back of the photo.

WHEW!!!!

o.k. so much for saving you from the rattle...

I JUST CAN'T HELP MYSELF!!!!!!!

So with all of this soldering you can probably imagine that I have a bit of house~tending to do!

I better get to folding some laundry because this morning Max went to school with mismatched socks.

just keeping it real people.

Thanks for the visit!

love, 

Theresa xoxo

I'm linking up to a few parties right now because I'm not sure how long this house~tending is going to take! Because these are all listed in my etsy... The Old White House
I'm linking up first to the Bloggers Bodega

White Wednesday, Wow Us Wednesday, Link Love, Running With Glitter Tuesday Party,

Transformation Thursday, Vintage Inspiration Friday
oh la la link party

WHEW!!!

that's a whole lotta partying going on at 612!

playing with my silver stash...

     The story goes something like this...

I cleaned the workroom...

 and as I was looking for something to play with,

(I can't remember right now what it was, and probably forgot while I was looking!)

;O

I spotted some silver trays that I have been saving for a collage or two.

It has been a wonderful couple of creating days for me.

I had so much fun making these!
In fact, Duane came home from a meeting and asked what we had to eat and I looked up from the piece I was soldering and actually uttered the words...
"I can't think about it right now, I'm in the zone"
Never fear people, I did manage to help him make a nice salmon dinner!
It being warm enough outside and him being the chief griller here @ 612 will make my job list a but shorter! yay spring!

No innocent children went hungry
 but I was in the ZONE  ~ ya know?

Every Good Will has these siver trays, and for a song too!

They really make wonderful backgrounds. 

They can go from whimisical ~

peep! peep!

to a bit more serious ~

I think these men look like they are beginning a new business venture together and that their photo was taken after the ribbon cutting.

~ just a little story I'm giving them!

I even had the soldering iron on today and added soldered rings on the back for hanging crystals and the number 3.  There is also a twisted key ring soldered to the back for hanging.

Back to the Easter theme I put this rabbit on top of some ledger paper and used a rub on R at the top.  I aged some seam binding by soaking it in tea and scrunching it up and baking it in a ball.  When you take it out of the oven it has the coolest aged appearance.

Try it... you'll like it!

(oh man, how old am I?)

I just put a seam of glue along the edge and ruffle the ribbon into the glue as you go... easy peasy.

Then I made a rosette with some of it and glued it in the center.

 I glittered the flowers with clear glass glitter and his hat has black glass glitter on it, I'm disappointed that it doesn't show up very well in the photos but I promise it's all sparkly!

So then Max had a good idea for this umbrella, so I stoled borrowed his idea and put it in this birds nest.

He is resting under his umbrella in his cushy nest in the 'penthouse' of the croquet ball :)

I always bring a craft or two when we go away, and this past week I brought some clay with us to play with.  The kids each picked out a couple of colors and I brought white.

go figure. :)

I wrapped a rhinestone strand around the bottom of the nest and strung a bell, a jewel and the tag on it.

Thanks Max! xoxo

Wow, I didn't realize how tired I was until I sat down to write this...

Now that I am proofing it I realize how tired it even sounds!

sorry :(

Tomorrow I will show you some of the soldering I finished and maybe interject a bit of the fun I had into the post!

Happy Sunday!

love,

Theresa xoxo



I'm linking up to Beth's Silver Sunday over at Gypsy Fish.
and Brag Monday at The Graphics Fairy