Cottage What-Nots

I'm joining the Surprise Esty Cottage Style What-Not party!

Pop over and see everyone's what-nots, doo dads, collections and tzotchkes! 

A friend recently presented me with a few old soda crates.

I knew I wanted to use them for some types of shelves

but wasn't quite sure how or where.

I ended up mounting a couple above an open doorway

that leads to my vanity area.

The Seven-Up crate holds my collection of old postcards/cards from my Grandparents, Parents and other relatives.

This Pepsi crate holds odd and ends.

As you can see I'm not finished with it yet.

Someone painted this sweet blue floral (that I just love!)

on the inside of this Coca Cola crate.

I placed minimal nostalgic pieces in it as not to deter from the painting.

This one is from my parents and is marked Produce of Portugal.

It carries a special place in my heart.

A piece of my ancestry....

did it come from relatives,

did someone bring it back from a visit to Portugal with them,

where did it come from?

I found it as we were cleaning out Dad's shop.

I wish I knew it's story.

 It isn't completed yet either.

I'd like to hang a small photo/picture of Portugal in the center.

I need to go through my postcards and see if I have a picture postcard from Portugal....

that would be perfect.

On the left side of the photo you can see part of my collection of decorative birdhouses made from empty seed packets.

None of these are fancy what-nots, just a few that hold a special place in my heart.

A Must See!

Voted the BEST ever! Totally made my day.

be sure to watch the end!!!!!

Stethoscope

Freebie Friday

 Just in time for the end of school we have

FREE Teacher Appreciation cards from MyMemories 

You can download them free here

Should you find other needfuls,

remember to copy and paste STMMMS25918

at checkout for a great discount!

Time is running out to enter MyMemories Suite Giveaway

so run over and post!

 

If I Wanted America to Fail

Tom Hanks Dad

Love this one! Takes us way back to the "good old days!" Tom

Hank's father is better looking than Tom and even better looking with
age. He was the lead singer on the left. He still has it! Hope you enjoy.

2 Performances 47 years apart

If you were alive in 1957, and old enough to enjoy Rock and Roll, you
will probably remember the group, "The Diamonds" who had just
launched their super hit "Little Darlin' ". For you that are too
young to remember - it was a time when the performers were happy,
enjoying themselves, respecting their fans, dressed appropriately and
their lyrics could be understood. They did not feel obligated to
scream, eat the microphone, mumble inaudible lyrics or trash the set.

In 1957, The Diamonds had a hit with "Little Darlin". 47 years later,
they were requested to perform at Atlantic City ... This link leads to
both performances.

Watch the first one then scroll down for the new one 47 years later.

http://www.flixxy.com/the-diamonds-little-darlin-1957-2004..htm

The Hawk Babies are Hatching! and a Sad Update On Phoebe

The sight of a new life...amazing

Live cam link here

But the poor things are in the snow,

thank goodness Mama can keep them nice and warm.

On a much sadder note Phoebe's (hummer) nest was attacked

by a larger bird and was completely engulfed including the babies, Joplin and Heather.

It is believed that the larger bird was a Hawk. From the cam you are only able to see a shadow circling in the leaves surrounding the babies and then the camera was knocked out of place and the nest was gone.. They would have been ready to fledge in another week or two.

But that doesn't stop Phoebe.

She has already made another nest and has laid an egg. 

Wishing Phoebe a safe clutch.

Frugal Decorating Ideas

Joining Kimberly and Courtney for

their Monday Pinning Party

This week I was looking for some frugal decorating ideas.

Seems most of us are on a budget these days, and even if we aren't why spend when you can recycle and you what you have!

Love these creative ideas ♥

Collect glass jars and mod podge doilies or lace on the then embellish.

Perfect for candles but also great for storage.

And how about wooden hangers turned towel holders!

Love using old crates for displaying collections or even just for storage

The best is that you can stack in any combination

How clever to use old garden fence as window treatment

How much easier can it get?

Using removed pages from a book to make a nostalgic looking banner

This is the easiest, yet it is so cottagey romantic and nostalgic

Cottage Craft Room Party

Party time in the ECS Craft Room once again!

My craft room has been rather quiet.

Life has been throwing it's trials and tribulations at me.

 I'm handling them as best I can...

which can take a lot of energy.

I was able to muster up enough umph to do a much needed makeover

on an old wire bird cage I rescued many Moons ago.

I apologize for the photos, they should have been taken in a better location.

 But, hey, at least I took them ;) 

Before

Simple white wire decorative birdcage with some flowers tied on top 

After

 I added some old doilies on the bottom of the cage. I felt anything too thin would just fall right through. These doilies had stains, holes, etc. and were just waiting for a project.

I placed a bird nest I formed from prunings from the garden inside

and added a few faux eggs

I removed all the flowers and revamped them making them look much fuller and fresher. Searching through my Treasure Drawer I came across a Dollar Tree bird from long ago. I pulled off her legs (she didn't feel a thing) and sat her near her nest.

Just a little freshening up for Spring.

I like the way it turned out

Childrens Images

Children

A pictorial archive of permission free illustrations

Enjoy!

Spring? Summer?

Even though Spring started on March 20th and Summer still has about 2 months before she officially shows up, I'm really not sure what season it is!

When heading out last week I was greeted with a bit of overcast skies.

Not bad, not bad at all.

Nice fluffy clouds with that beautiful blue sky poking through

and temps were mild.

Then while passing through Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge

things started to change

It got a little dark

and even darker

The sky filled with thick heavy dark clouds.

OOH look at all the Mustard in bloom! 

And then it hit!

And hit hard and cold.

Not complaining cuz Lord knows we need the water.

Just surprised since the past week had been in the high 70's

I made it through the storm (in more ways than one).

I think I need to be more like this Longhorn....

ignore the storms and go on about my daily business

It's to make it into the 90's this weekend.

We're dragging out the fans and getting ready.

It makes me feel better that Mother Nature can get just as confused as I can ;)

Have a L♥vely Saturday!

Freebie Friday

MyMemories was FEATURED on the Mother's Day Special for Lifetime Television's Morning show, *The Balancing Act*!!
 We are excited to be able to extend to you  a *FREE Photobook in conjunction with our appearance on *The Balancing Act*

You can see the clip here.

 The process is so easy and quick.  We even have 3 tutorials to help walk you through the process of how to create a photobook in My Memories Software. Then, place your *FREE photobook order.
TIP: Photobooks are great to use as theme books. You can create one recapping the pictures from a specific year or time period, a special family vacation, a family recipe book, or even about a special person.

You have 20 pages to tell a story through pictures, what can you dream up?

We are offering a free trial version of the software to use to create photobooks, but you can get $10 off the full version by using this code at checkout:STMMMS25918

Creating photobooks is fast and easy with MyMemories Suite Software.

There is still time to enter MyMemories Suite giveaway!!

Garden

The weather is warming fast...goes had in hand with the week I've had.

Looking forward to the weekend and may even disconnect the phones.

I need as couple days of peace.....

I found my Orange full of buds!

 my Cecil Brunner is finally opening up.

The fragrance is delightful

Cecil Brunner on my arch

Little Bo Peep is still looking for her Sheep!

I don't know the name of this Lilac but it's flowers are so delicate looking

they are so small compared my others

I'm joining:

Tootsie Time

Wishing all a great weekend!

Creating A Hybrid Scrapbook Album

Hi, I'm Barbara Eastwick. I will be guest blogging for Deb today.

Tip:  Do you like to use tangible scrapbook supplies?  Here's a fun way to create a great album using digi and paper!!  Why not try this fabulous idea out today using MyMemories Digital Scrapbooking Software ??!!


Level: Beginner to intermediate

Creating a hybrid scrapbook sounds much more 'technical' than it really is. "Hybrid" just mean that your project will incorporate some element of digital graphics and some element of tangible material. For this project we are using 5.5" x 5.5" Quick Pages that have been completed and printed out, scrapbooking paper, a 6" x 6" Accordion Style Create and Treasure blank book, gold paint and glue. The Quick Pages used in this project were created from the November RAKScraps Mega Kit. The completed quick pages were printed by my local store printer. The blank board book can be purchased at most craft stores, and they have so many sizes and shapes to choose from. And, of course, the digital layouts can be easily made using MyMemories Suite Software!!

Here are the supplies I used:

These Blank Board Books are beautifully done and do not require any preparation before use. My layouts however, have a definite Fall theme, and as such I wanted to paint my blank board edges a deep antique gold. Note that I did not need to paint the entire board book, just the edges and a little bit of the pages, but most specifically, the inside and outside creases.

This album has 10 pages. I chose three scrapbook papers and I cut them down to 6" x 6" squares. I most certainly could have left my papers with a squared edge and just layered my printed Layouts on top of them, but I like the look that corner slot punches, and corner rounders give. I use the corner slot punch first on all four corners, and then used the corner rounder on each one.

From here I simply inserted my finished printed layouts into the corner slots. And this is the time where you would wish to take to a moment and see if you wish to add any other tangible embellishments. I'm adding paper flower embellishments with brad middles, tabs, card stock stickers, labels, and more. Once you have your finished pages how you'd like them to be, simply adhere them to each page of the album. You want to use a very strong adhesive, preferably acid-free, to ensure the longevity of your project. If you use a liquid glue please be sure to watch for overruns and spills as you brayer the layer on to get the air bubbles out. If you use a two sided tape adhesive, you'll want to be sure to run your adhesive to the edges, so they don't peel off or fray over time. You certainly may sand and ink your edges, too, if you desire.

Here's my finished album. It can be folded and tied with a ribbon to present as a gift, or it can be opened and left on a mantle or shelf to be displayed!

Of course, using these few techniques - the options are limitless! You can create any size album, or any shape album!

Here's my next one! It's an 8" x 8" Board Book with my family's Christmas Layouts. These pages were created using the December RAKScraps Mega Kit. I'll be making two of these and sending them off to the Grandmas!

Well I have had fun today guest blogging.

I hope I've helped to stimulate you to be creative and have fun with MyMemories Scrapbooking Software!

If you use this code upon checkout you will receive a discount:

STMMMS25918

Now go make some Memories!

And remember to enter Deb's giveaway !!