Back Home for ACF Challenge 70

Such a beautiful image of this lovely young lady we were given for this challenge from Art Creations Friday. I have called this piece "Innocence".

I'm now back home in Canada after almost 3 months in beautiful Arizona! What a surprise to come home to an early spring, NO SNOW left at all, dry, yards being cleaned up, grass raked, golf courses open!
That hasn't happened for at least 10 years!

Catching up at home and hope to catch up on my blogging real soon!

Art Creations Friday #67

 

My entry for Art Creations Friday. A beautiful background was given for inspiration.I just added the fairy and brushes. I was going to go further but decided I liked it just like this!

Hope you like it!
I barely have time to do a challenge! Panic has set in! We have been in Arizona since mid-January and now I only have about 10 days left and I have alot to get done before then.

The time has flown by!  The desert wild flowers are starting to bloom, I must get out there and take pictures before we leave! Only 2 Saturdays left to garage sale! Want to try the rapid transit and go to downtown Phoenix.......haven't been to one of my favorite shoe stores.....I could go on and on....

AAAACK..........I need at least another month!

Weekend Finds Vintage Baby Gowns!

A thrilling  find at the estate sale that I went to on Friday and back again on Saturday for the half price day!I got the long gown and little dress on Friday, then found the matching slip for the gown on Saturday!....

They were wrinkly and yellowed, but as you can see I have lovingly restored them and they look so sweet! Teensy embroidered flowers, a butterfly, and FEATHER STITCHING! ....which I just love, and you don't see it too often!

The bottom of the dress, the feather stitching goes right down and the embroidery pattern is repeated.

Pintucks and more teensy embroidery!

The scallops have almost got me drooling.....! only a vintage linens lover would understand!

I had my days of keeping these special items that I love and would display them with all of my other vintage things.

Now, I own them only temporarily, ......touch and admire them while they are in my possession, then pass them on by selling them.  Sometimes I just break even on them, but I really enjoy making them pretty and being able to have something nice to put on Ebay or into a sale.

Now that I'm blogging, I get to share with my blogging friends too!

Anyway, they will be listed on Ebay this week in case you are interested. There's a link on the right hand side for my auctions.

I'd wait a little longer but we'll be leaving for home (Canada) in 2 weeks....!! I can't believe it! The time has flown by! I miss home, but also will miss Arizona as well when we leave.

A BIG collar, these look neat displayed on a hanger on  a hook in a bedroom.

This dragon embroidered teacloth was a real find! There is such delicate threadwork as well as that fabulous embroidery.

How about these big glass storage jars! they are the same jar but love the one with the green lid! I'll take them back with me and they will go in our Red Barn Sale displayed in a shabby cupboard very nicely.

 

PURSES!! How can you go wrong for $1.00 each and they are like new?!?!

I got all of these Saturday at 2 separate garage sales for a buck each!!

The black and white one I didn't even like that much but it's a Liz Claiborne and has a matching wallet. I've got 3 daughters at home so wasn't about to leave it for that price!!

Well? did I do good? 

Out to tea and estate sale too!

Diane, Lucy, Millie (that is a life size figure of a butler, he sure looks real!)

What a fun day! Millie and I were meeting up with a good friend of mine from home in Canada, Diane.  She and her hubby are also snowbirds and we always meet up a couple of times to go and have lunch and maybe browse an antique mall.

Today we just had lunch at our favorite tearoom in Mesa. .....Yummy, yummy lunch and we must have drank 6 pots of tea! We caught up with each other and had a great time.

On the way, Millie and I went to an estate sale.....one of those "professional" ones. The prices were sky high as per usual the first day, but I'm going back for some linens tomorrow as they usually put everything on at half price the second or last day. A few things caught my eye and  I was happy to see any vintage linens at all! I did pay the price for 3 sweet items today and will post pictures when they are washed and ironed.

Garage sales tomorrow.........hoping for some goodies, if not we'll have a fun time anyways!

Flea Market Finds Vintage Linens

Wanted to share a few of my finds from the last couple of weeks.....a couple of flea markets I went to I was lucky to find some yummy vintage linens! I sell them on Ebay, have been since 1998, and hard to break the habit! LOL! I can't resist them when I see them!

I LOVE this big round pink lace tablecloth! For a bedroom I guess, it came with a matching dresser scarf! Found scrunched up in a plastic bag in a basket under a table........you gotta always check under the tables! Especially if it's a MAN at the table......(when you want linens!) 3 bucks!!

I got the cute chair doily set and a sweet embroidered spoon holder on a clearance $1.00 each

Got this for a mere $10.00!! Couldn't believe it was perfect when I opened it up! Then a few days later I found another one almost the same! Sold them both on Ebay.......This one I made a huge profit on, the other, just got my money back.......oh well!

Souvenir little tablecloth......too cute!

My Ebay link is on the sidebar in case you want to look at my linens!

A beautiful Arizona Day Pictures

I was home most of the day and what a beautiful day! Warm, sunny, blue sky! I kept going outside on the patio and it seems every bird around was singing! This one, a quail, has a really weird little song! I took this picture of him/her up on a tree branch........they aren't usually sitting up on a branch, I see them mostly on the ground, sometimes with a brood of babies following behind....they're beautiful!

My first shot of the quail, I didn't want to get too close and scare it off!

Doves.......I hear them all the time, cooing just outside sitting on the block wall.......

A huge raven/crow?......My friend Millie and I often go and pick up a coffee around 4 in the afternoon at the Circle K at the corner and go for a little scenic ride, or just park up the road to look at the mountain while we yak!

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Today we went up toward the Superstition Mountains, rode around in the foothills, stopping to take pictures.

This picture was taken just up the hill on my street where we parked for the lovely view.

The desert floor is filling in with GREEN......soon the wildflowers will bloom....thanks to all the rain we've had during this Arizona winter, more than usual!

Cholla cactus........Beautiful to look at, but don't get to close.......very painful !!

We pulled off the road at one of the higher points on one of the roads we were on...what a view...!

Looking down from where we were parked ....just another angle of the view.....So GREEN....the mountains around the valley are all turning green as well........some will turn yellow with blooming wild flowers, I can't wait! There should be a really spectacular blooming of wild flowers on the desert and roadsides this year!

I should have taken pictures of some of the beautiful homes that we saw .....will do that next time

More desert and cactus.

More to come, I just can't get enough of the desert and the Superstition Mountains.

Soartful Challenge.........OOPS!!

Here's my entry for this weeks' challenge over at Soartful Challenges.

Thanks for stopping by!

Art Creations Friday Challenge

Is she primping for the frog prince? Do you like her water lily hat? LOL!

I had fun with this beautiful image that was provided for the challenge. The is the first time I have entered the ART CREATIONS FRIDAY challenge.

The added elements are from Itkupilli, Frame is from Lisa's Altered Art

Have a great weekend!

Soartful Challenge and a catch up

I can't believe my last post was 2 weeks ago! I've been busy, also down with flu/cold, but I'm feeling better now and hopefully won't neglect my blogging!

The theme at Soartful Challenges  this week is International Women's Week and like Jeanette I'm honoring motherhood.

We get some really interesting swirly clouds in our sunsets! I was just able to catch the end of what had been some really great formations..........

I MADE THIS!!!!!!!!

One of the fun things I did over this last couple of weeks was to take a class in making soldered glass pendants!! It was so much fun and I can't wait to make more! I have my supplies, but then got sick and so no energy! Maybe this week, if it doesn't shrink in front of me!

 The pendant above was my second attempt. The choice of images was very limited so I picked the only one that looked "vintage"......I have TONS of images back home in Canada.....who knew I'd be doing this! Don't you love the use of scalloped foil (you solder over it) rather than the straight edge type?

This was my first attempt and rather rough and gobby!

Soartful Challenge Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries

 

A fun theme this week at Soartful Challenges! I used the vintage cherries background (googled), the lady and grunge from Lisa's Altered Art, and some added effects. I always want to keep going but "less is more" usually is the case. It was fun and didn't take me forever like some that I get into, LOL!!

I've not been a very faithful blogger lately, too wrapped up in my snowbird life here in Arizona! Garage saled yesterday until it started raining! We retreated to a mall, found some bargains, so happily headed for home after a nice lunch!

I got into a book I couldn't put down and just had to finish it so actually didn't even turn on the computer til near noon today! It usually gets checked for email, etc first thing in the morning with my first cup of coffee!

Have a great week everyone, hope I'll get back here soon!

oops.......almost forgot to post this picture....I got these great Mardi Gras masks last week at a garage sale....I will take them home to Canada with me and my grandaughter will be delighted with them. I know she'll make her mom and dad each wear one too next Halloween at one of their costume events! $1.00 each, one still had the attached tag and it was 12.00....

Soartful Challenge and Arizona sunshine

 

I feel like I haven't blogged or done a challenge FOREVER!....so I played with this one and it really doesn't make too much sense, but then why should it if it is "out of this world!"

The image below is what we started with to do this

SOARTFUL CHALLENGE with.

On to other things....the weather has turned absolutely gorgeous! We are supposed to be in the 70's all week! Garage saleing this last Saturday was so much more fun with the beautiful day we had!

And I spend a couple of hours by the pool in the afternoon too!

 

This afternoon, my BFF Millie and I grabbed a coffee to go and went a quarter mile up the road and parked at Prospector Park where we have a bit of a different view to soak up while we enjoy our coffee.

I didn't even realize there was a little birdie perched up on this big saguaro cactus until I uploaded the pictures to my computer! CLICK ON THE PICS TO ENLARGE

I'm sure I have a zillion pictures of the mountain. I just never tire of looking at it and taking pictures of it from different spots and angles.

Theres Millie, watching me taking pictures and soaking up the sun. She's sitting on her "baby". Her 1990 Nissan Maxima lives here year round in Arizona (Millie and husband Tate return to Oklahoma City in May). We put alot of miles on "baby" between garage sales, shopping, riding around taking pictures. She runs like a clock! ......even at 20 years old!

A beautiful Ocotillo cactus infringing on a saguaro. Did you know that it takes approximately 75 years for a saguaro cactus to sprout 1 arm?....so we know that although the cactus in the picture doesn't look too large, it is around 75 years old.......it does have the beginnings of an "arm".

They get really quite huge and live to be around 200 years old.

....did you know that?

Three Muses Birds of a Feather

For THE THREE MUSES Challenge this week......Quite simple.....that gorgeous background is part of a digital collage set I won over at DEZINAWORLD  (thankyou so much June!)...I just had to add a few things. The lovely white doves were just googled.