Jen + Jenni = one sweet layout!

Here's another way to use the products over at ScrapHD.com!  I used Jenni Bowlin patterned paper downloaded from ScrapHD.com with a new Jen Martakis template.  I LOVE that you can download all the digi papers you want from ScrapHD to use anyway you want. Such a great way to use the site.

I used  Jenni's Drawing Paper for the background, and her Cabbage Flower and Red Bookprint for the accents in Jen's template to make this:

Two of my nieces. Can't believe the older one is graduating HS this year. Love them.

Also used digi paint splats and stitching from Katie Pertiet.  The 3-D stuff are Jenni Bowlin scalloped notecards, chipboard buttons, memo books, embellished butterflies, and Heidi Swapp chipboard letters.

I think Jenni's bookprint pattern is one of my favorite patterns ever. I just LOVE text.  And she has 6 colors of that pattern over at ScrapHD right now.  And now I have them all to use any way I want.  Cool stuff! So.much.fun!  And Jenni said she's uploading 25 more designs this month.  Can't wait!

And leaving you with a couple more photos from my Thelma and Louise field trip last week.  I totally ignored my motherly duties and drove right by my house, over hill and dale, crossed state lines, to get to another antique store.  This one's called "Antiques & Tools of Business & Kitchen" in Pound Ridge NY. It's the coolest place. And the owner will talk about politics and life with you. I love places like that.  And the "junk" is everywhere - you really got to search. I love that, too.

It looks like this outside. Can you believe neighbors complained about this? This is BEAUTIFUL!

Cool storage stuff

I was very tempted to get a muffin tin . . . 

You can find anything:

Love birdcages:

I really think I became a pharmacist because you get to play with things like this:

And there are a bunch of these outside:

And the owner threw daffodils here and there . . .

 

I ended up buying these 2 things:

I'll use the tin for storage and the key itself totally inspired a mini book I'll be making for ds!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day! - betsy

Jenni Bowlin gorgeousness + Flea Market stuff = Easter Ornaments

So if you read my last post, you saw that I scored big and spent $10 at the flea market warehouse.  Scored on the lovely chandelier crystals and some buttons. I did go back and bought the wooden cabinet.  DH wasn't too happy - it wasn't too expensive, but he said he could have made it himself. He's right.  He's quite handy that way.  But then again, he hired someone to create a facebook page for his business. Hello.  I think we're even.

I sat at my desk with my lovely crystals, some flea market jewelry, Jenni Bowlin chipboard buttons, Jenni Bowlin pins, wire, flea market ribbon, wire cutters, and Windex.  I was in heaven. I could honestly think of nothing more fun than chopping apart the flea market stuff and finding ways to put it together with my Jenni Bowlin stash.

I have a wire tree that I put out at Christmas, and then change up the ornaments in January to my beaded snowflakes, and then change it up again at Easter to an Easter tree.  And here are my new Easter ornaments:

Some shots taken outside:

They were actually blowing in the wind - and I caught it:

And I was back at the warehouse again Saturday with my friend Amy and her sweet daughter Elizabeth. That's three times in a week. The owner  thinks I'm weird. 

We were on the prowl and were searching for seam binding.  If you ever want to look for fabric type stuff with anyone, take Amy.  She knows everything.  She has a family history with this stuff:

me:  I think this is seam binding!

Amy: No, that's double faced satin ribbon.

me: I think this is seam binding!

Amy: No, that's old wrapping ribbon.

me: I think this is seam binding!

Amy: No, that's blanket binding.

me: I think this is seam binding!

well . . . you get the picture.

Amy found a hidden spot of potential treasures:

Could there be  seam binding in there?

Nope, no seam binding.

And then we got in trouble for looking in places we weren't supposed to be. That's always fun.

I spent another $10 on buttons and crystals.  They definitely think I'm weird. 

There was a tag sale in the next building and guess what we found?

yep - seam binding.  Just a little.  But we found it.  And I was going to take a picture of the precious seam binding, but broke a glass jar in the process.  Yep.  That's me.

Next project - I've got tons of hybrid stuff in the works - can't wait to share.  Hybrid is SO.MUCH.FUN.

leaving you with this.  i love moss:

Thanks so much for visiting!  - betsy

TrEaSuRe Hunting Field Trip

Sunday was so beautiful here and I was itching to go TrEaSuRe hunting. So I took my mil to Braswell Galleries, an antique flea market.  I wanted to get some pics to show my friend Amy who will hopefully take a trip down here soon.

The warehouse is in an old lace factory in Norwalk, CT and these faces look at you as you park your car:

And when you walk in, this black beauty greets you:

I was drawn, of course to anything I could possibly incorporate into a creation or repurpose for my home.  Need trim?

I LOVE buttons:

Remember when zippers were so popular in scrapping?  I never really understood that one:

And there's BLING!

and lace:

They have tons of fabric:

I really wanted these for my stash storage, but didn't want to spend the $:

This is the hardware section and is my absolute favorite place to browse:

I know I can turn this into something:

And I'm in the middle of turning these into something BeAuTiFuL:

As a pharmacist, I just had to take a picture of this:

And I really think I'm going back for this.  It's going to replace my ugly plastic Iris cart:

This stuff is just totally cool

How cute are these?

and this is just gorgeous:

I want THIS in my house! But my husband might kill me:

I thought this was very cool storage.  

and these are just the coolest things.  You could do tons of things with these, right?  And it's my favorite photo of the day:

So, I ended up with a handful of little treasures for $10.00 and a LOT of ideas.  We'll see if I break down and replace my ugly Iris cart with that wooden cabinet . . . 

Are you still with me?! If so, I dropped my mil home, and headed to my house.  I had to start dinner, but a Thelma and Louise feeling came over me and I passed right by my cross street. Continued down the long and winding country road, drove by the reservoir, and crossed state lines to get to another very cool antique store. OK, I'm trying to make it sound wild and crazy, but the New York line is just minutes from my house.

And the photos and ideas from that  field trip will be for another day!  Cool stuff!  Can't wait to show you what I'm making from my finds . . . 

And check out what Pamela is doing this week!  A whole week of RAKs??!!! Is she nuts?!!!

Thanks for visiting! - betsy

When Life Gives You a Nor'Easter . . .

We got walloped down here in southwestern CT - but ya' it could be so much worse.  I love extreme weather. I love power outages. My boys think I'm nuts. I love the whole "survivor" thing about it.  But of course it's sad when things turn really bad for some people.  We'll  be out of power and cable (gasp - no internet) for a while, but that's no big deal.  Prayers out for those that are dealing with much worse.

So here's one picture of a leaning tree.  I didn't have my camera around for some of the amazing shots of nature at its best (or worse) that I could have gotten.  So this one is no big deal.  In our smallish town, there are 140 roads closed due to fallen trees and wires.

And yes, when life gives you a nor'easter . . . make something with the branches:

 

 

The little flowers are punched from a Marvy punch from an old dictionary. The butterflies are punched from Martha's classic butterfly punch and are suspended from 26 gauge wire. I punched them from Jenni Bowlin's mini papers - the small scale of the patterns are perfect for this.  So delicate.


thanks for stopping by!  I'll catch you all as i can - maybe from the bookstore tonight!
(Pam - your seam binding is coming!)

betsy