Hello! As promised, a few more graduation decorations:
I love using vintage bingo cards in craft projects. For this project, I painted a bingo card, then constructed the graduate figure using art paper scraps. The Klutz Press books Paper Fashions and Paper Fashions Fancy (both dirt-cheap thrift store finds) were the sources for the stencils I used. There wasn't actually a graduation gown stencil, of course, so I just adapted a dress stencil and cut paper bits to make the cap (green crochet cotton for the tassel).
The numbers "20" and "13" were cut from the board that came with the same set of bingo cards (the board was used to keep track of which numbers had been drawn). These numbers were already green, so they are perfect for our green/black color scheme.
An addition to the tabletop feather tree:
This vintage Hallmark decoration is about 5 1/2" high. I'm not sure where it came from, but I'm thinking it had something to do with a graduation of my husband's - either 8th grade (early 1970's) or high school (1976). Yeah, I know it's a male figure and we have a daughter, but I couldn't resist using it. If our daughter protests I'll remove it or else add some paper "hair" to make it look like a girl.
Got this last night and put it on the feather tree:
We attended a picnic hosted by the local alumni club for Michigan State, the school our daughter will soon be attending. The above buttons were passed out there. As alumni ourselves, we were happy to take them!
Besides fellowship and good food, the picnic was an opportunity to ask questions of various school representatives. The beloved school mascot, Sparty, was on hand as well to ramp up some school spirit.
And just for fun, there were door prizes to be won by answering various questions about Michigan State. Some questions were student-only while others were for the parents to answer.
My husband, our daughter and myself each won door prizes; aren't we smart? We answered the following questions:
1. A student question: before the MSU teams became the Spartans, what were they called?
2. Alumni question: what is the name of the campus building where students go to look for jobs?
3. Alumni question: what is the name of the alma mater song?
Give up? The answers are:
1. The Aggies
2. Student Services Building
3. MSU Shadows (in case you were wondering, this is the question I answered, though I'm sure I wasn't the only one who knew the answer).
For our efforts, we came home with two MSU t-shirts and one MSU umbrella.
It was a nice time and we appreciated the effort made by the local alumni club. As I told one of the picnic organizers, there were no such picnics to welcome us to MSU when my husband and I were incoming freshmen. I'm glad that more is being done on the behalf of freshmen today!
Hello! Our daughter's high school graduation is next Friday and her open house is two weeks after that. So of course it's time to get some decorations going! I'll show off what I've done so far, but more will be made as time and inclination permits.
The school colors are green and black, and the mascot name is the rat, so of course the decorations I've made follow these themes.
The dining room's table top feather tree was my starting point:
Some time ago, I found a nice graduation-themed rubber stamp set at Tuesday Morning, so I stamped some of the images on card stock pieces and hung them up with green crochet cotton.
Some little critters have taken up dwelling in the feather tree:
These were quick to make, being only 2" high (first photo) and 1 1/2" high (second photo). I think I'll make a few more.
They were made from this pattern set:
You can see the 1980's country-style mice in the photo, done up in a rather blah brown calico. I did a post back in early March about sewing up a couple of cat patterns (also in a fabric I found more appealing than what's shown in the pattern's photo). The pattern, and the fabric I used for the mice (pretend they're rats!), both came from thrift stores.
Also from a thrift store was a pattern booklet for making this:
Our scholarly rat, 6 1/2" high, has a felt body and cap, a tassel made from embroidery floss and a fabric gown. She is holding a parchment paper diploma and scaled-down copies of the two certificates our daughter was awarded on Honors Night: AP Scholar With Distinction and Salutatorian. (yes, we are very proud of her!)
One look at the photo of this rat in the pattern booklet and I knew I had to make it for our daughter's graduation. Alas, what I didn't realize was that although the pattern pieces were intact, the directions for making the outfit were missing. The body directions were present, so that wasn't a problem, but I had to figure out how to make the cap and gown with just the pattern pieces and the photo to go on. I came pretty close, and our daughter, who saw it earlier today for the first time, was pleased.
I've made a few decorations to hang from doors and windows:
Rubber-stamped numbers from a vintage printing set one of my husband's older relatives had had. I've made several of these on various green art paper pieces.
Last but not least, a thrift store find from last week:
At 16 1/2" tall, he was apparently noticeable enough in my shopping cart that another shopper looked askance at it. I explained I was buying it as a decoration for my daughter's open house, since her high school's mascot name is the rat. "Oh, you're very creative", the woman then commented. Not really - just looking for some interesting decor!
The rat was undoubtedly handcrafted, and is weighted at the bottom, so the clerk speculated that it had been made as a doorstop. There was no price tag, but at this particular store the clerks can set a price on the spot. I held my breath, wondering how much I would be willing to pay for a stuffed, 16 1/2" high rat. When she told me I could have it for a dollar, I was more than willing to part with that sum!
Once paid for, my next concern was what our daughter would think of this creature. I was worried she'd think it was hideous and that her mother had really lost it this time. But she loved it! I guess that proves she's used to my wacky thrift store finds by now. And as I pointed out to her, what graduation party decoration could you buy at Party City for a mere dollar?
Of course, the rat didn't come with the graduation cap, but I fashioned one using the same method I had come up with to make the cap for the felt mouse seen a couple of photos previously.
That's it thus far - there's still the open house menu to plan, more decorations to make, and, of course, the dreaded house cleaning. But, after all, you only graduate from high school once!
Hello! The job jar project kept me busy with various cleaning tasks this month. One of these was some heavy-duty cleaning in the basement; a large section was cleaned and decluttered. I'm not fond of old-house basements, which is what we happen to have: dark, dusty and musty. I have to be careful that I don't get affected by potential allergens, so this time I got smart and wore a dust/pollen mask. That mask helped some, and now at least one section of the basement isn't as dirty anymore!
I also did decluttering in the rest of the house, some extra cleaning and caught up on the filing of some paperwork.
I was pleased to help others in several ways as well: gave something to a friend, offered assistance to neighbors, donated to a thrift store and looked for new volunteer opportunities.
But as always, the job jar system provides a balance between doing for others and doing chores and doing some things just for fun. I tried out a new cookie recipe, did some sewing, made several holiday crafts (some of which were new projects), practiced drawing, painted, worked on a short story and read a craft book (it had only been sitting on a bookshelf, unread, for several months).
I also treated myself to the reading of an uplifting book, some aromatherapy, and soaked in a bath with some mineral salts. I know that soaking in baths is almost a cliche for relaxation, but I had not done so in a long time. This was mostly due to the fact that for years, I suspected that our hot water heater wasn't functioning correctly. It seemed that the hot water supply was weak when we showered, so I knew that'd be true for a bath as well. Finally got the water heater repaired, and lo and behold - now there's plenty of hot water for showers and baths.
And yes, I did enjoy my soak in the tub! Had some sore muscles from yardwork that day, so the bath really helped.
I'm looking forward to what the June job jar will bring - and of course, will report at the end of the month as to how the project went.
Hello! Made a brief stop in Ann Arbor today after a visit in the region to visit relatives. Ann Arbor is a really cool town and though there's lots to see and do there, we always seem to end up visiting its Kerrytown area.
The Sunday artisans market (held in the farmers market space) was in full swing, with people offering baked goods, jewelry, soaps, hand-knit items and more. What caught my eye was the vendor selling wooden fairy doors:
Fairy doors have become popular in Ann Arbor; in fact, I saw a poster with photos of fairy doors in the area for sale in a nearby shop, Found.
I'm not a woodworker, but I appreciated the colorful whimsy of these creations! Was sorely tempted to buy one, and seeing these doors also gave me the itch to go home and make some miniature dolls that would go along with the scale of the doors. That is a true compliment to an artisan, when their work inspires creativity in others!
I also liked that the doors' crafter, Robert W. Simmons, calls himself a "master tinker" on his business card!
If you'd like to learn more about Mr. Simmons and his works, go HERE.
One of my favorite stores in Kerrytown is Found - lots of vintage items for crafting - photos, flashcards, children's games, that sort of thing (the shop carries new decorative items as well, plus repurposed wares such as rings shaped from old spoons). Found was having a Memorial Day weekend sale, so I took advantage of the savings to buy a small bagful of vintage buttons. The buttons were in a bucket, sold by the scoopful, so I could pick out just the buttons I wanted.
Never can have too many red buttons, I've learned (Christmas and Valentine's Day), so that's what I mostly picked out.
Found's website is HERE.
Kerrytown is also home to Zingerman's Deli, which is nationally-known. Their sandwiches are excellent, but today my husband suggested going to their nearby restaurant, Zingerman's Roadhouse. Like the deli, the roadhouse is not exactly inexpensive, but it's fun to go there once in awhile.
Seen while waiting for a table at Zingerman's Roadhouse:
The Camp Bacon event is fast approaching - May 30th-June 2nd. Zingerman's May/June newsletter devoted six full pages to this extravaganza - including 27 ways that the Zingerman's folks like to use bacon. I learned quite a bit from that particular write-up, like the existence of British Bacon Buttys (a sandwich) and Hungarian bacon roasts (instead of roasting hot dogs, thick pieces of bacon are roasted over a fire).
And Zingerman's, being the purveyors of meticulously-sourced foodstuffs, sells the particular bacons suited for those British or Hungarian bacon treats - along with several other bacons! They really take this stuff seriously!
I've greatly enjoyed one of the bacon varieties, the Arkansas Peppered, in a Zingerman's Deli sandwich, but since we were at the roadhouse today, I had a nice whitefish Po'Boy with Cajun-flavored fries instead.
Didn't think to take a pic of my sandwich, but instead took some photos of the salt and pepper shaker collection displayed in some glass cases near the roadhouse's restrooms:
Not sure what sort of vegetable this is supposed to be. Any guesses?
Also am not sure why someone would have wanted a memento of the notorious Alcatraz prison, but there you go!
There were dozens and dozens of salt and pepper shaker sets on display - a fun look.
Zingerman's Roadhouse info can be found HERE.
Zingerman's also runs several other businesses besides the deli and the roadhouse - they also make their own cheeses, bread, candy bars, gelatos, roast their own coffee, do catering, business training sessions, have a space for special events, and who knows what else.
My husband and I have joked that maybe one day Ann Arbor will be renamed Zingerman's - or maybe the local university will be called the University of Zingerman's!
Hello! One local thrift store has several large shelves devoted to fabrics, but lately this section has been disappointingly void of anything I've wanted to purchase.
But today I was plenty interested in some older fabric prints that had landed on these shelves. There were several large pieces of fabrics along with bundles of smaller fabric pieces.
I'm not a fan of the bundle approach. It seems that there's always some clunker fabric stuck in the set along with a cute print I really want. But today I found a bundle that I could live with.
Here's my purchase - some of the large pieces along with the smaller pieces from the bundle:
Now for some close-ups:
A sunny yellow.
Good for a fall project.
Spring or summer look.
Same print, different colors.
Mushrooms galore. Perhaps these prints are from the 70's?
Of these two, I like the print on the right the best.
The fabric on the left doesn't seem as old as the other fabrics in the set, but I still like the print.
Love the sailboat print!
Think pink.
Each fabric piece was priced at a little more than a dollar a yard, which is a bargain compared to fabric store prices. And these secondhand fabrics are better quality than the flimsy stuff often found in fabric stores today too! So needless to say, I was pleased with my purchase.
Hello! As I've mentioned before, vintage postcards can be quite affordable at thrift stores. This was proven true again last week, when I paid 50c for a bundle of 44.
Because of the way the postcards were packaged, I couldn't tell what scenes were included, other than the top postcard. I always secretly hope that scenes from old restaurants and motels are included, for I love to see how these establishments were decorated back in the day.
Thus, I was happy to find this in my set:
The Village Motel of Sturbridge, MA.
A close-up:
Love all the pink going on here with the lawn chairs and doors. And although the motel looks coral in the photo, it looks more pink in the area where sunlight is on the building.
The first photo doesn't show all the other pink-painted decor clearly, but there are also pale pink planters with darker pink flowers in them. The walkway in front of the motel rooms has some pink in it. There's even some pink-painted wooden crates lining the driveway.
Like I said, in the pink! My postcard had never been mailed, and an identical unmailed one is currently listed on eBay for $7.99. So considering I paid a little over a penny for mine, I'd say I got a good deal!
All of the postcards in my set were from New England and upstate New York. These are regions I haven't explored at length, so I learned a few things from looking up where some of the postcards had come from.
For instance, I'd never heard of the Ausable Chasm, which is in upstate New York, but from its website, I learned that it's "... a uniquely-carved, vertical-walled canyon made of 500 million year old rock!" And it's been open for tourism since 1870.
Judging from what I saw on the website, it looks like a place I'd like to visit - lots of cool scenery along some trails. But unfortunately, the website didn't mention much about the official gift shop, but here's what it looked like a few decades ago:
Doesn't look like much from the outside, I know, but on the back of the postcard, we are told: "Spacious and exciting Gift Shop." So I wanted to see if the gift shop was still spacious and exciting to this day. I have been to a wide variety of gift shops connected to local attractions. Some have been very nice, others have been tacky - but I can't say that any of them were exactly exciting!
Another place I learned about via my postcard set was Lake Sunapee, NH. Sounds summer-like, but apparently winter visitors were welcomed as well:
The chapel room looks very cozy, and I bet the rest of the lodge was as well. I say "was" because, alas, I learned via the Internet that the lodge has been torn down to make room for somebody's summer home. Of course.
(note: although it says "Mount Sunapee" on the front of the card, on the back it's labeled "Lake Sunapee".)
Also in Hew Hampshire is this shop:
The Dorr Mill Store of Guild, NH. I certainly would have swooped in for a visit, especially to check out what appears to be remnants or bargain bins in the foreground to the left. Happily, I learned that the Dorr Mill Store operates to this day, and is run by the son of the founders. The mill itself has shut down, but the store still sells wool made to the store's specifications. The hand-dyed wool shown on the store website looked very appealing!
The remaining two postcards I'm showing off are from Maine:
Classic vacation postcard scene.
I don't know anything about Belfast, Maine, but I liked the fact that its post office, shown above, looks almost exactly like the old post office in my hometown - only smaller. When a new post office was constructed in my hometown, the old post office was converted to office space. I don't know if the same fate has befallen the one in Belfast, Maine.
I love the row of older cars lining up around the post office. My husband said that the newest of the cars were from the 1950s.
Although not really evident in my photo, it appeared to have been a pleasant fall day when the postcard photo was taken. The trees behind the post office are just beginning to turn, and a man in a plaid jacket is near one of the cars.
That day has come and gone, of course - but I can relive it and the scenes from my other postcards. And I learned a few things about a part of our country as well.
Not bad for 50 cents!
Hello! Yesterday our neighborhood association held its annual perennial sale - perennial plants, that is!
In advance of the sale, residents were reminded to dig up and pot perennials to donate. A few hours before the sale began, the plants were dropped off and then sorted by size at the host house. So by the time the sale began, there were a variety of perennials for sale - all priced by size, but all at a reasonable cost.
We donated four plants to the sale, and in return purchased several:
The main drawback to a donated plant sale is that information on the plants is dependent on how much the donators know about them. The aster in the above photo has its variety name listed, and the larger sign to the left warns that the plant may be invasive. But I also saw plants labeled with just a name: "raspberry", for instance.
But no matter; it's still a win-win situation for everyone who participates in such a sale! Garderners divide up perennials that need to be thinned, and in return there's the opportunity to purchase perennials at substantial savings over buying them at local nurseries. We ended up paying ten dollars for six plants.
If your neighborhood doesn't have its own perennial sale, why consider having one? You can even turn the event into a potluck party, as our association did yesterday. It was a good opportunity to talk to neighbors both old and new.
Now, to find new homes for our new plants!
