DIY - Grateful Picture

 I have this thing about pictures in my house having meaning for our family.  There are no random prints on our walls.  Everything has a connection in some way.  So when I saw this great DIY project on Catherine's Creative Corner, I knew it was going to make an appearance on my fall mantle.

She does a great tutorial on this here.  I am not going to repeat it.  Check her post out and then stay awhile.  She has a lot of eye candy you will enjoy.

This is my version.  I am so very pleased with how it came out.  Here is what I did differently.  My frame came from my stash of thrift store frames,  After measuring, I went to my computer and created a document that was 11 by 17 (knowing that I would be cutting the end off to fit the frame.)  Then I selected my font and started typing away all the things I was thankful for.  I cut down a piece of tan construction paper to 11 by 17 and put it in the printer.  I printed it off and then stuck it in the frame.  I used by Silhouette digital cutter to cutout the word grateful.  I used white contact paper.  It is much cheaper than the vinyl sold to go with digital cutters.  I stuck the word to the glass on the front of the picture and there you have it.  

If you don't have a digital cutter, you could easily print out the word and place it under the glass.  Then you could trace over it with glass chalk paint.  Same effect, different method.

 I must say that I am totally in love with my mantle this year.  From the pumpkins we got on our family trip to the pumpkin farm to the masterpiece that reminds me of all that I have, this mantle screams family.

I hope you have blessing in abundance this season.

Patty


I am linking up to

A Tradition Revived

Every fall when our kids were little, we would head out to a farm to get pumpkins.  These expeditions included hay mazes, pumpkin painting, caramel apples and other great fun.   However, as they grew older, Saturdays become about sporting events and singing performances.  With the grandbabies now mobile, I decided to revive the tradition.  Alas, the pumpkin patch we used to go to is no longer in existence.  My assistant at work suggested a place just across the state line.  So this past Saturday, we all headed out.

 Ady was not thrilled with how dirty and heavy the pumpkins were.  We had to convince that she would not find a clean one.

 Abe , on the other hand, went for the smallest and easiest.  He could not be convinced to find one that was orange.  When we went to weigh them, the clerk just laughed and said, "That one is free!"

 Climbing on pumpkins is such hard work!  

 The adults got a little competitive at the duck derby!

 This was so much better than the patch.  Everything was clean and colorful.

 My DIL loves orange and when we spied the orange lacy pumpkins we said it was if they had been grown specifically for her.

 Grandpa was just a little too big for the barrel ride, but the grandkids loved having him on the train.

 Daddy's jumping sent Ady flying.

That will scare those silly crows away!

We all agreed it was well worth the 45 minute drive.  If you are near Convoy, Ohio, stop in at Lincoln Ridge Farms.

Patty

For Vintage's Sake

   Sometimes you come across vintage pieces that are so full of history that you could sit on gaze on their patina for hours.  Such was the case for these little pieces from my mother's life. 
   My mom was born in 1933.  By the time she she finished high school in the early 50's, girls pursued one of three professions....secretary, teacher or nurse.  My mom came from a family of four girls.  Three became nurses and one a secretary.  That is just how it was.
   These are a few relics from my mom's early nursing career.

 The watch is a basic no nonsense nurse's watch.  Thrift Chick loves its simple retro feel.  She often wears it.

 

   The name tag is gorgeous.  It is a mother of pearl base with her name engraved in black.  No lanyard, no plastic sleeve.  This is a piece of jewelry, not a name tag.

 

   Check out her nursing board scores.  She was one smart cookie.  If she had been born thirty years later, she would have been the CEO of a Fortune 500 company..  Her organization skills are scary.  This is a woman who when she threw a party,  set up days ahead and labeled where everything would go.  My college roommate got married three years after I did.  She called my mom to ask about the florist I used.  My mom still had her notebook that listed every wedding detail.   After my father finished dental school, she only worked occasionally.  However, she always got requests from non profit organizations to serve as treasurer.  She would have raked Uncle Billy over the coals and whipped George Bailey's Building and Loan into a multinational corporation.

   Here's to the women you came before us.  We should revere the things of their past.

Mama Thrift

Santa Baby

       We had the best present of the year this past June....my niece Ady arrived.  Now I am not much of a baby person.  I have always said unless I can pop out a toddler without getting fat, I may just forgo the whole baby thing.  I must admit Ady has worked her way around my anti baby sentiments.
        Now I must explain my brother is my exact opposite.  He is sports loving without a lick of fashion sense.  My sister-in-law is wonderful, but she too prefers sweat pants and tennis shoes (she is after all a physical education major.)  So there I have this adorable niece and two parents who prefer her to be.....uhm....less ruffles and bows.  That just doesn't do it for me.  So when I was babysitting, I just had to break out a little tulle and flowers.   Now this is a Christmas imp!

     Now my sister-in-law when she saw the tutu just laughed and said, "Well you know what she will do with that, she will just eat it,"

     She may have been right, but just give me a few years.  I'll get her fashion sense humming!

Happy Thrifting!

Thrift Chick