SPRING ...AND NEW BEGINNINGS

I almost hate to post a blog that will take the place of the mosaic below because I love looking at it so much! So I've decided  to have a new mosaic posted once a month...on a Monday...starting...well, I guess it  started THIS month! Let's call it Mosaic Monday! Look for it on some Monday in May!

We're home from Florida now and trying to get back in the swing of things. I came home to daffodils in bloom, robins hopping around, green grass in the yard, and new spring buds everywhere!

SPRING....AND NEW BEGINNINGS....

 I LOVE new beginnings! I love New Years with new clean calendars, and setting new goals; I always loved the beginning of the school year with more organized schedules and new supplies for the kids ( and me ); but I also love the beginning of summer with a more laid back schedule and lots of fun planned!

  I love new beginnings so much that I'm going to start one here! Well, sort of... Next Month get ready for a NEW LOOK, but more importantly NEW FUN HAPPENINGS!

 I don't want to give them away just yet. They're going to be a surprise! But keep checking back, there could be HINTS!
So come celebrate with me....its  the beginning of a NEW SPRING!

OMGoodness! I just found another blogger with a "Mosaic Monday" and I had never seen it before! REALLY! Guess I'll have to change the name and day. Any suggestions?

How To Be More Creative

If you are looking for inspiration in decorating with your vintage finds, check out Sandy's Book Shoppe here on my blog. I've picked out some books that inspire, give tons of ideas, and are just fun to look at.

Did you know that just perusing these books and magazines on a regular basis will imprint the ideas in your mind and you'll begin decorating in similar ways as the ideas in your mind come out in your life? Also going to antique and vintage sales and checking out on-line vintage shops will inspire your mind in a creative way. Be sure to check out my "Fun Blogs" list on the right of this column. They are all blogs that creative women write and they all have beautiful shops with fun things to buy. They're a great source of inspiration! But be careful! You just might get addicted to the vintage blogging world!

 I've always noticed that  often very creative women have grown up in a home where they were surrounded by mothers or grandmothers who were creative. As they were surrounded by creativity, they had "imprinted" on their minds the things they saw and experienced.

The good news is  that you don't HAVE to have grown up in a creative environment to be creative. And believe it or not EVERYONE  is creative. Your creativity just has to be developed. You can begin by creating your own inspirational environment! It just takes time being surrounded with things that inspire, getting new ideas, and then trying out new ways of doing and seeing  things. I know I get inspiration from magazines, books, and going to flea markets, and vintage and antique sales. I keep trying to put the images and ideas into my mind to spur my creativity and engage my creative spirit. And it works!

One of the things I'm working on now is taking better photo images and setting up vignettes that inspire. I'm doing that by studying the pictures that inspire ME and attempting to replicate vignettes that I like. It has helped my creative "eye" to let these images soak into my mind. I feel like a magazine-aholic, however, as I buy so many magazines and books but I do learn a lot from them and the photos themselves bring  inspiration and relaxation as I sit with a cup of tea and take in the beauty.

At my last vintage sale I had a basketful of these magazines with a sign that read, "Get inspired!" and they were snapped up quickly at 50 cents each. Everyone loved it! I could have asked for more but I was just wanting to share them ( OK get rid of them ) as it was kind of getting out of hand with all the magazines I had stored up.

So check out the books and magazines here and even check out some on-line vintage stores. ( No, I don't have one yet but keep watching! ) You'll still have to come to one of our three occasional sales which are really PARTIES in disguise.

And don't forget.... Today is the LAST DAY to sign up for our Spring Fling Give-Away! Details are under the Big Chick but you DO NEED to "follow" me to be in the drawing. Check out the Feb 16th post to see what the gifts are. Tell your friends!

Our Homes Tell A Story

I went to an estate sale this weekend. It was really sad as it was the beautiful home of a young single divorced mom of two little twin boys. She died unexpectedly. Her home was filled with beautiful furniture,  lots of candles, many handmade items (some completed and some not quite finished), crafting supplies, and books..... from  how to overcome a divorce, getting over depression and moving on, and raising happy children. There was a needlepoint of a victorian couple skating on a pond that was not finished. I was tempted to buy it and complete it in memory of her and I don't even KNOW the woman. Everyone was rummaging through the things looking for bargains seemingly oblivious of  the life that left them behind. For some reason  at an estate sale I always think of the person whose belongings I am purchasing. Their belongings tell a story of the kind of person they were. I don't know this mother or her story but her home tells me she was a loving mother who was trying to do her best in raising two young twin boys without their father. She loved to decorate with things that made a warm, welcoming, and fun home. They had a dog who was treated rather well with a box full of dog  clothes including Halloween costumes. She collected Dickens village houses and decorated with many holiday trimmings for each holiday. She enjoyed crafts such as needlepoint, painting, scrapbooking, card-making, and mixed textiles. She apparently encouraged her children to be creative also as there were many kids crafts items also. She loved candles and books.

I ended up purchasing a few things...... a small old chest  that had been antiqued and painted with flowers ( did she paint this? ), a children's activity book for a car trip that was still in its plastic wrap ( for our grandkids trip to Florida this Spring ),  two Joyce Meyers books, and a couple of wooden church bird houses ( just because they were so cute ).

Estate Sales always remind me that our homes tell a story about us. I started to wonder again just what kind of story MY home tells. I had to laugh at myself as I imagined setting up my house just so that if there was an estate sale someday that my belongings would tell a wonderful story about me. I know,  my mind thinks in crazy ways sometimes. Not that I would DO that, of course.  :)  But as I looked around my home I was rather pleased with the story it tells.

So what story is your home telling about YOU? Look around and see what story your home tells. If you don't like the story, it's not to late to change. Let your home tell a happy story.

Vintage Aprons

When I think of vintage aprons I think of my Grandma and her brown checked apron.  My Mom also had a brown checked one so they must have been all the rage. Remember June Cleaver? She ALWAYS wore an apron , though I don't recall her wearing a brown checked one. Back in the 50's it seems everyone was wearing aprons.

Well, I ended up with SOMEONE'S ( Mom's or Grandma's ) brown checked apron but it was kept folded in a drawer for quite a while. Then a few years ago I began collecting everything vintage and antique and I was shopping at a flea market when I ran across..... you guessed it...a brown checked apron! Of course my mind, being old and forgetful, had forgotten that I already had one that was handed down to me. So I bought it thinking," THIS looks familiar..." When I got it home, washed up and ready to put in a drawer I found one just like it! Now I have TWO brown checked aprons.

I decided they should not sit in drawers any longer, however, so I started wearing them when baking. My husband, children, and grandchildren and I have had a yearly tradition of making Christmas cookies and we've always had everyone  wear aprons but we only wore  new ones. Well now with the discovery of aprons that Grandma and Mom wore I started the search for vintage aprons so we could all wear them...even the guys. They went along with it, but reluctantly and in good humor, of course. Check back a few blogs to see us in our aprons. Also check out my profile photo of my husband and I in aprons. He hasn't found out he's on there yet, though. It may come off when he sees it.

Check out the many aprons we have at our next sale. They are fun to have and a great gift idea for someone who loves vintage and baking or cooking!

Another cute idea for vintage aprons is to make kitchen curtains out of them.

If you have other ideas for vintage aprons, let us know. We'd love to hear them!