TRIPLE TROUBLE

Pretty Paper Tags

2012-02-08T12:50:00.000-08:00

I am having fun making tags with samplets of ribbons and trims and antique papers.

and wrapping ATC Packs for my etsy shop.
and I upcycled this stationary box to hold girlie things...

clever of me huh!

Triplets have a birthday soon! That means a big

S A L E

is coming!

Paper Medallions and Rosettes Tutorial

2012-02-02T12:37:00.000-08:00

Vintage paper medallions with waxed paper rosettes

There's so much fun in repurposing pages from a worn out book! You can make these fancy vintage inspired medallions with paper rosettes with little effort. Just follow this picture tutorial and see how easy these really are to make. I made these a little different, no hot glue, no fumbling to bring paper to the center. I had so much trouble getting the paper to fall nicely using that other method.

For materials you will need these items:

2 5 3/4" x 7" sheets of book paper (preferably something with natural aged color)

6 3" waxed kraft paper scalloped edge circles

6 3" sepia tones aged paper circles with text

1 white paper doily approx 6"

1 small grommet

twine or crochet thread

fancy shank button

3" x 3" chipboard circle or square

Tools for this project:

4 paper clips or clothespins

paper hole punch

grommet setter

crochet hook

scissors

paper glue

Score your 2 sheets of paper landscape style at 1/2" marks.
I ran the rounded end of my crochet hook along the score lines of my paper cutter.
Super easy!
Fold along the score lines. Notice the ends are both facing UP?
There's good reason for that! You'll see.

Wrap the center of each accordion together with crochet thread and tie in a not.
You should have two accordions tied together.
Leave at least 4" tails. You'll need those for gathering everything together soon!

This image is kinda weird, right? Glue along one end of one accordion and attach it to the end of the other accordion. The two ends should be facing in the same direction, remember... the image above...
and when you have them lined up just perfectly, clip them along just the ends.
Flip the accordion over to be certain you have your folds nice and even.

Keep going all around the accordion pulling two ends together with glue and clipping.

The front should look like this. See the two openings! You need those for later.
While the glue sets up, punch some circles and then punch a hole in the center of those circles.

The holes will make it easy to pull everything together, no hot glue! No hot glue strings!

Next crinkle your circles by randomly folding them and squishing them in your fingers.

Unfold and stack your circles one text on top of one waxed paper ending with the text on top.

Line up the circles using your crochet hook.

This will help set the grommet a lot easier.

You might be able to skip this step but the grommet adds a little stability to these antique papers and makes threading the project a lot easier later on. You'll see...

You should have this.

Using the crochet hook, thread a 12" long twine or crochet thread through the shank button back.

And pull the thread through the grommet on your stack of circles

You should have this

Remember the two openings on the accordion center?

Pull one thread through each side of those openings. Use the crochet hook. It is so easy!

Pull the threads tight and tie in a double knot in the back.

The front should look like this

Start scrunching up the layers of circles one at a time around the shank button.

It should look like this when you finish

Push the crochet hook through the center hole of a doily and your chipboard backing

Like this, tie it in a knot and tape the ends down, pulling the strings together at one end.

You can hide all the backing mess with another scalloped edge circle. Punch a hole in the card to make the medallion a tag!

All finished! So easy! No hot glue required! No fumbling with a fold down center! You have a nice text pattern all around the medallion! Isn't this lovely!

Valentines Tags Tutorial

2012-01-23T20:07:00.000-08:00

From Plain white cardstock to finished valentine

I cut white cardstock into 2" strips and paper punched the bottom edge using a Martha Stewart lace punch. These are approx 3 1/2" long. I also punched a small hole in the top for the string.

The paper was hand dyed using craft acrylic paint diluted in water. I didn't measure anything. Drop the tags into the diluted paint and let them soak a little while. Remove them and lay the flat on paper towels. You can cut your string while you wait for these to air dry a bit.

Wrap crochet string around a 5" x 3" chipboard card as many times as you have tags plus a few.

Cut the string loose from the chipboard. Set aside while you speckle paint your tags.

Dab a stiff old tooth brush in the paint straight from the bottle. You only need a little bit on the brush. Spatter test it on a scrap of paper. If the spatter is too big, you have too much paint. Spatter lightly all over the tags front only.

Dry your tags in a 350 oven, watching them carefully not to burn. This takes only a few minutes. The tags will warp and crinkle maybe. That's OK. Remove tags from oven when completely dry.

Attach strings to tag tops. A crochet hook works great for this step.

Stamp fabric heart using sepia ink and a love letter stamp.

Hand stamp LOVE below the heart

String a needle with crochet thread and sew the heart to the front of the tag and tie in a pretty bow.

The back is plain and has plenty of room to write something sweet. You could write a little love note on the front if you like.

These are super easy to make! I hope you'll make some too!

You can use any color or style fabric hearts!

New Floral Ribbons and Pretty Packaging

2011-11-12T17:55:00.000-08:00

The holidays are upon us and I am amazed at the popularity of vintage packaging and ribbons in the market lately. I love all the use of vintage sheet music as wrapping paper or tags, and vintage fabrics for ribbon, bakers twine for tag ties, and using old materials in new ways.

Petite Print Ribbon for pretty packages

I am adding some new vintage items to my etsy shop, Tripletrouble, this weekend which will help you in wrapping up all those lovely gifts. I found some wonderful large sheets of music, petite floral printed fabrics, and cotton string guaranteed to make you smile!

This package contains 3 pieces of ribbon each 3 yards long and approx 2 3/4" wide with a frayed edge and crinkly texture. The ribbon is sheer and has beautiful flow for bow making.

This cotton string is perfect for tag ties or for wrapping gifts and supplies. I love using it on all my packages. It ties nice and tight and the bow wont undo itself.

Another new item in my etsy shop! I hand punched these flowers from vintage sheet music. The paper is heavy enough to use for gift tags. Just punch holes and string them or add double stick tape to the back. You could make posies with these pretty paper punches!

Pretty wrapped clothespins

$30.00 Prize to the 3000 Transaction Buyer!

2011-09-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

It's been three years of fun sales at triple trouble and I am so excited to have my 3000th sale right around the corner!
I am only eight transactions away from this grand number!
You know how much I love the number 3! I decided to make a special gift for my 3000th traansaction sold and the lucky buyer will receive a special gift of $30.00 value! It will be a treasure box full of my favorite vintage items, paper laces, punches and hand dyed ribbons, vintage buttons, glitter, and more!

Who will the lucky buyer be?

Here's a a few images of what you can expect to find, but I wont give it all away! I want the box to be a surprise!

Silver Flower Embellishments

Silver Foil Ribbon

A nice assortment of paper laces

Burlap ribbons in fall colors

Ok, thats all I want to share. Who will be the lucky buyer! I hope it's you!

Out With The Old Make Room For The New

2011-07-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

Find me on Ebay

My studio table is full of fantastic paper supplies. Under the table is full of storage boxes all full of paper and other awesome scrapbooking supplies. You can say I am a scrapbooking and artful supply hoarder!

That is about to change in the next two weeks as I destash and sellout my scrapbooking supplies to make room for my painting studio. I am longing for the place this used to be where I could paint everyday and teach painting classes.

The table is perfect for teaching with plenty of room for six students or just one, me!

Selling off my supplies will not be easy. The etsy shops have been quite full for some time now and have kept me busy with sales and restocking of unique vintage supplies for my customers. Many of my customers have become strong virtual friends. I sincerely hope they wont panic. I wont leave them empty handed. I will continue to stock and sell my most popular items and limit the new stuff to the most unique supplies.

The new and fun part will be making awesome art with my real friends and offering some great tutorials for my virtual friends.

I hope you will take advantage of the sales and the supplies still available, if only for a short while.

More than that I hope you will enjoy the new Dabblinginthedew, tripletrouble, belledentelle, and photographicmemories as each of these shops go out with the old and in with the new!

Find of the Day Vintage Rug Hooking Panels

2011-06-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Five Vintage Rug Hooking Burlap Panels

Imported Hessian Cancas Patt. No. 5026/4

Measurement Mat 20 x 20

Virginia Snow Studio

Elgin, ILL. Made in USA

Frederick Patt 1075

Spinning Wheel

28 x 48

Original Instructions included

Border of the spinning wheel

Frederick No 4964

28 x 40

Rose Of Sharon Pattern

Rose of Sharon

Cabbage Rose Rug

Fredricks Rug Patt G-NC-H 4236

Size 24 x 36

Started as shown

Cabbage Rose Pattern

Frederick no 1051

28 x 48

Colonial Girl with Roses

All five canvas rugs are sold in one lot. Each is unique, made from linen weave burlap, and with a pattern printed on back side.
You can find these for sale in my ebay shop Dabbling in the Dew.

BUY 3 GET 1 FREE SALE! APRIL 1-3

2011-04-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

It's April already! I love spring time and return of butterflies and blossoms! It's also time for a sale!

You can buy three items of equal value and get another item of same value free now in my shop, Triple Trouble!

What can you find in my etsy shop today?

Pretty vintage paper butterflies

Super fun Paris Mini Supply Kits

three sweet hand made gift tags

and for your free item you can pick any item you want! How about some free spring blossoms for your Easter projects?

Vintage Velvet Forget Me Not Millinery Blossoms

There's no limit to your shopping with this sale. Buy as much as you want , as many as you want and remember your free items will be refunded in Paypal.

Thanks so much for shopping at Triple Trouble!

Vintage Lace Finds From Pittsburgh Estate Sale

2011-02-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

Flat ecru vintage cotton lace with a shabby scallop edge

It's February already and I am thinking how time flies! I'm in Pittsburgh again celebrating my birthday with my triplet sisters. The first thing we did after flying into the city was go to an estate sale! It was the best sale as I found a ton of vintage laces. It will be fun sharing these with all of you.
I'm listing the laces in my Belledentelle shop. Hopefully I will have them all listed this week.

Tatted style ecru lace

Today was fun, photographing my newly found treasures and uploading the images to flickr. I used the photo editing program to manipulate color and light. This image turned out surprisingly sweet.

Vintage white eyelet lace

The box of lace contained mostly eyelet lace and the majority of it was ecru or cream color. I am considering staining some to make it a bit more prim.

There's a ton of this style lace. I measured more than 100 yards in various lengths from 6 yards to over 26 yards each. An awesome find! This lace will dye nicely.

There was also some very nice long lengths of insertion lace which I absolutely love! This lace is perfect for trimming vintage gift tags and altered art.
I hope you'll stop by my etsy store, Belle Dentelle, and check out all the new vintage lace listings. Maybe you'll find the perfect lace for your vintage art projects!

Antique Tools, Tool Boxes and Griswold

2010-12-02T07:24:00.000-08:00

Antique Wooden Carpenters Tool Box handmade by his father,

a furniture maker and true craftsman

A good friend of mine moved yesterday. He is 86 years old, married to Emma, and just suffered his second heart attack. We met years ago by chance at a little shop I owned Called Hope's Heart. I made and sold country crafts and neat little handmades. He was retired and using his woodworking skills doing the same, making and selling country crafts. He was peddling his handmades and happened to stop my little shop. We became great friends, sharing our talents and friendship. Emma is a sweetheart, quiet and loving. They will be greatly missed by us and many around our neighborhood. Bob shared some of his wonderful tools with me to sell on Ebay. Each tool box had a story. Every tool a purpose and a past. I am fortunate to learn so much from Bob, even as he packed his belongings to move, he continued to share his knowledge and love for the tools he parts with.

Antique Wood Scribe

Bob demonstrated the proper use of this neat little tool. He took a scrap of wood from the bin and lined the scribe against the front edge and dragged the scribe across the wood. The pin dug into the wood leaving a fine marking behind. I'd never seen a scribe like this used before. It was fun watching him delight in teaching me. It made me wish I had spent more time learning. It was touching to see him let go of these things which meant so much to him for so many years. He trusted me with his treasures and I am even more grateful for the friendship.

Antique Typewriters Cleaning Tools

This belonged to his mother. He smiled.

Antique Jewelers Saw

His father also used this tool, a fine instrument!

An awesome Griswold Cast Iron Skillet

Too heavy for their liking but many a slab of bacon was cooked up in this skillet! Griswold is a highly collectible item. Cast iron is a wonderful material to cook with. We have our own favorite skillets which we collected from other friends over the years. In some ways I wished I hadn't listed this one on EBay. This skillet has bids already and I am hoping the bidding goes high. The skillet has a light season and is in very good condition. Wherever it goes it will provide a warm meal!

Yesterday was a somber day. It was bittersweet. I said goodbye to my friend who I may never see again. The sweet part is he and Emma will be with their daughter where they will be well cared for and loved. They are moving to an area where one of my own daughters now lives and hopefully when I go to visit her, I will also see my dear friends Bob and Emma.

If you love antiques, and you must if you found my blog, you will love this collection and more which I will be listing in my EBay shop and possibly Etsy shop in the future. Bid and buy with confidence! Bob will benefit from every sale. He has trusted me to share his treasures with the world, and I know each item will find a new loving home.

Vintage MERCURY GLASS Christmas Beads and More!

2010-11-22T21:32:00.000-08:00

Multicolor Mercury Glass Beads

There are so so many beads in my treasure box I decided to get some listed in Triple Trouble this week. There are strung mercury glass beads and loose beads, some doubles, some singles, some big, and many small! So many you will just have to look for yourself here!

Red Mercury Glass Bead Garland

The beads on this red mercury g;ass bead garland are doubles. Doubles are actually a bit larger than some of the single beads I have destrung. The garlands in better shape like this above are better kept strung. You could easily destring them if you wanted to make some fun vintage decorations.

And this is Thanksgiving week! There's so much to be thankful for! Especially for friends and family who we miss so much. Hoping you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving break and a belly full of good food!

SHINY BRITE HEAVEN

2010-11-21T04:03:00.000-08:00

Turquoise Shiny Brite Mercury Glass Ornament Gift Set

Mercury Glass Ornaments are my favorite vintage Christmas decorations. This collection comes from an estate sale I helped with in Pittsburgh last month. The Ornaments were well cared for and a real treasure to find! These turquoise ornaments work very well together even though they are not an actual set.

There are four Shiny Brite Mercury Glass Ornaments in very good condition with original caps. These ornaments have a unique shape.

Two of the ornaments are antiques, very thin mercury glass heart shaped ornaments. The turquoise is wearing to a perfect patine. These have a very slender neck and one is missing the original cap. The sides have different textures as you can see in the photo above.

There are several vintage indented mercury glass ornaments in the set which have an original Shiny Brite cap. The smaller indented ornament is silver with white and turquoise striping. The large ornament has yellow and turquoise and measures approx. 3".
This set of ten ornaments are now listed in my etsy shop Dabbling In The Dew. I hope the ornaments find a good home! They are truly a treasure and quite beautiful!

Making Tapioca With My Sister

2010-11-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

My sister, Faith, is visiting from Pittsburgh. She came to NC to visit my mother who was in the hospital this past week. It's been fun having Faith here and share good food and have her helping in the kitchen. Eating whole foods and nothing processed is newer to Faith and she is adapting well to eating uunprocessed foods. She helps me chop vegetables for salads and she cleans up my mess, which I love.

We were talking about comfort foods and the topic of tapioca came up. Dan and Roy, Faith's husband, both love tapioca. My mother also loves it. Faith doesn't like tapioca or oatmeal because they have a funny feeling in her mouth. I supposed they are too starchy or gummy. Whatever the reason, she wont eat either. She loves to make tapioca though. And so I asked her if she wanted to make some from scratch using fresh eggs from the farm and whole milk, and whole tapioca, not quick cooking kind.

She started out soaking the tapioca the night before in filtered water. The tapioca is then drained and added to warmed milk in a double broiler. The tapioca milk mix has to cook for one hour on low heat, stirring occasionally. Once it cooks you can add two beaten egg yolks and salt. The eggs needed tempered, adding a small amount of the warmed milk mixture to the egg yolks and then adding the egg yolks into the milk mix to prevent the eggs from scrambling in the pot. Sugar was added, 1/2 the recommended amount, and vanilla and beaten egg whites. Stir this well on low heat to completely cook the egg. The mix thickens up beautifully.

I tasted the tapioca hot and it was perfect and creamy. I loved it! Chill the tapioca well and enjoy with a glass of cold milk.

ESTATE JEWELRY UP FOR AUCTION!

2010-10-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

Mixed lot of art glass beads

Mixed lot of junk costume jewelry

close up of a glass beaded necklace

I've been visiting family in Pittsburgh for the past 4 weeks and love going to estate sales and thrift stores here. There's so many sales to go to and so many treasures to find. I was fortunate enough to find some very nice jewelry collections and decided these need to go in eBay for auction! This week I will be listing most of the estate jewelry on my sister's eBay sites.
If you love vintage costume jewelry and art glass beads you will love these collections. I am grouping some of the collections into junk and costume jewelry, art glass beaded jewelry, and individual lases as well. The rosaries are already listed. You can find beautiful vintage rosary beads here.
If you decide to bid and are lucky enough to win a jewelry auction from Faith, please drop her a note and mention finding her through this blog.
The last set of beads are listed on Charity's EBay site. They are the most beautiful beads with a sterling silver wrapping around a clear glass bead. I wish i had time to use these in some altered art jewelry. They are simply gorgeous!

Special Sale This Week!

2010-09-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

Triple Trouble opened Sept 12, 2008! I get so excited every year on the anniversary. This year was extra exciting because I just passed the 2000th sale as well! Wow!
To celebrate the anniversary and 2000th sale, let's have a special! You can buy 4 items for the price of three all this week! Pick your three items and write me a note with the 4th choice (note to seller in etsy) and I will add the free item to your package. If the free item you chose is not in stock, I will let you know so you can pick something else.Hopefully your choice will be available. You could message me with the four choices before purchasing and I will write a special listing with those items at the sale price. Cool, huh!

Start shopping and buy as much as you want! The more you buy the more you save!

Vintage Sunday School Flash Cards

2010-09-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

I found these super sweet and fun vintage flash cards at my local thrift shop. I loved sifting through the box and finding the best phrases. There were so many to chose from! The favorites are on top as you see here.

I love "I will bake"

These are super huge, 11 3/4" x 3 1/4" and each has a file number in the upper left hand corner.

You could stabilize these with chipboard and make a fun banner by stringing several phrases together. I've seen this done in some Etsy shops and I have even purchased one for a newborn baby girl in the family. The banner was constructed with rayon ribbon and mercury glass beads and the backs of the cards were printed or stamped as well. It was really sweet for a newborn baby gift. There's more than 200 flashcards to have tons of fun with!

They came packed in this nifty storage box!

Bidding has started on these in my ebay shop. You can watch or bid here.

Vintage Clothespins and New Ribbons

2010-08-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

Vintage solid wood clothespins

It's been a long time since I posted anything on my blog, and a long time since I added anything new to my Etsy shops. I'm adding a few new items now and I hope with all the new items, you might find something fun to work with.

The vintage clothespins are from one of my weekend trips to Pittsburgh where my triplet sisters live. They are so good to me, saving me the wooden clothespins they find at estate sales. Have you tried to find solid wood clothespins in the stores lately? They are impossible to find in my town. But I found the best clothespins and they have such a nice patina too!

1/4" Black Ribbon

I also restocked some new and hand dyed ribbons. This 1/4" rayon black ribbon is really nice for tag art, wrapping small packages, or even jewelry making. It has a nice soft glow to it also.

Hand dyed Blue Ribbon

and I was sifting through a box of trims and found one nice piece of hand dyed ribbon from the last batch I made. It seems like ages ago. This is the only one available but I will be dying some more in the future.

There will be lots of new old stuff added in the coming days. Please take a moment to checkout the vintage and antique sheet music. Some of my packages will include very large papers from old atlas, sheet music, and other artsy books. The pages will bundled up in super awesome value packs.

Oklahoma City, Here I Come!

2010-07-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

Hadley age 7

Brianna age 5

Bethany age 4 and Chelsea age 2

Bethany

Chelsea

It's July and time for more travel, believe it or not! I've been running all over the north and south, back and forth for several months now and really ready to just settle in on the home front. This last trip will be great for me. I need to be with my girls and grandkids right now. It will be nice to destress, relax, laugh, and play!

My daughter, Holly, blogs about family and food and she posted some fun pics of the grandkids recently. I had to steal her images and share them with my dear friends and family. Her most recent post was simply images whcih made me smile. I hope they make you smile too!

APRIL 15, 2010

2010-04-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the last day to file taxes for most people but for me and those in my family, yesterday was a very special day.
Yesterday, a C-130 from USCG Airstation, Elizabeth City, took a small urn with some of my brothers ashes to Halifax, Nova Scotia. On April 15 at 6:00PM the Titanic Foundation dedicated three wreaths to be dropped on the site of the sinking of the Titanic 98 years ago. While the wreath dropping is a significant event marking the sinking, many people do not know the rest of the story.
The International Ice Patrol was established many years ago to map and mark icebergs. The United States Coast Guard plays a very important role in keeping the north Atlantic safe for travel around these icebergs. My brother Jim flew for years on C-130 ice patrols. It was one of the highlights of his military career. Having this small urn dropped by fellow Coasties over waters he loved to fly and on the day so important in history is such an honor. Jim Comito is the first Coast Guardsman in history to have his ashes officially dropped at this site. Coasties are often referred to as Guardians of the Sea. The title fits.

I couldn't be there to witness Jim's ashes being dropped at the Titanic site. Instead I took a drive down to the hospital where Jim and my father planted oaks over 30 years ago. The oaks are budding out and look so beautiful and feel so comforting. Driving under their natural umbrella feels like a big hug from heaven.

More New Papers and Such

2010-04-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

3" Paper Ovals

Fluttery Butterflies

Antique Encyclopedia Paper pack

New items are being added to my Etsy shops in the next several days. You'll find lots of new paper products hand cut from antique books and maps. If you love the vintage writing paper, watch for some new shapes coming soon!

I think it's past due time for a Give-away! I'm way past my 100th post but it's never too late to catch up. Check back this weekend for a very special announcement on the Give-away!

I also wanted to give a big thank you to all my loyal customers who continue to shop at my etsy stores. In the next few weeks I will be destashing large quantities of supplies on EBay and will post sneak peaks here on the blog. Remember to check back often! You could be the lucky winner of an awesome box full of vintage goodies, anything from spice bottles to lace and ribbons... it will all be there!

Etsy Supplies Sale

2010-04-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

BUY 3 GET 1 FREE SALE! APRIL 1-3

Here's what you do:

Buy three items for $3.00 each and checkout through paypal.

Go back and pick a FREE item ($3.00 value) and checkout using "OTHER" as the form of payment. I will mark the item paid once your three items are paid for.

All four items will be shipped together, saving even more with combined shipping!

What can you get for $3.00? Check out these three neat items:

12 vintage clothespins!

6 dozen blank pink tickets

three fun birthday card tags!

36 paper squares with scalloped edges!

All four items for less than 10 bucks! Now that's a great deal!

Happy Easter All

2010-03-31T10:12:00.000-07:00

Easter countdown is on! By this time tomorrow we will be holding hands with Brianna and Chelsea, listening to little girls laughter, and resisting Girl Scout Cookies for which we ordered 10 boxes! We are visiting the grandkids in Dallas! I should also say we are visiting the twins and husbands, and we love them so, but honestly, this trip is gonna be all about grandkids. It's been too long since we hugged them and I need some giggles and grins from toddler nation.

Also, I wanted to share the most awesome swap celebrating spring and the Easter holiday with this supply swap I participated in over at Christine's blog, A Work in Progress.

My partner's box arrived today and I haven't snapped photos yet but it was fun opening the eggs and eating the chocolate inside! She packed fun trims and pompoms, stamps, and other neat little crafty supplies into plastic eggs with a decorated basket to hold it all. So sweet and fun!

Here's a few pics from the swap I sent her. This is my first attempt at decorating anything this year! Don't laugh! Try decorating an egg carton and let me know how that goes... LOL!

I stuffed it with all things prim, and spring, and old. I added a few extras like a bar of my favorite handmade soap from etsy shop dirty sanchez. Also I stuffed a fun prim rabbit in the shipping box. It was swapped to me last year during an Old Farmhouse Supplies Spring Swap. I had to share! It wasn't required but I wanted to share a handmade item also so i tucked a necklace and pr of earings in an egg for Tammy. I need a test dummy for my newest hobby jewelry making. Hopefully it wont break the first time she wears it!

Decorated egg carton filled with vintage sewing supplies, pompoms,rusty and prim bells and keys, lock, and some fun old blue glitter. Enjoy your stash Tammy! May your Easter be filled with fun and surprises!

Easter Tidings To All

2010-03-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

This is Easter Week and my favorite time of year. The spring flowers are blooming and the showers have come and gone. The sun is out and everything is turning so green. The Carolina Wrens have come back to nest in my front window. They've been very quiet the past few days. I hope nothing scared them away.

We will be traveling this week to Dallas, Texas to visit the girls and families. It will be fun to hang out with the grandkids and listen to all their interesting stories of school and new things in their lives. Dallas is a neat place to visit. I've been searching for organic farms and farmer's markets in the area of Irving. It turns out there are lots of opportunities to find good healthy meats, eggs, fruits and vegetables.
My Etsy shops have had slow and steady sales. It's nice to have new paper products to offer and see the old stuff still sell just as well. Still i need to continue stocking the shops. new stuff will be added after Easter. For now I'd love to share some handmade goodies from a constant buyer of mine. Patti has a shop on Etsy called Rock Paper and Scissors. She makes sweet paper tags and I just have to share them with you too!

the fronts are adorned with vintage scraps of lace, fabric and assorted embellishments.

the backs have laser cut paper doilies and small easter images.

And this lovely Easter decoration was made by Vintage Scraps, another one of my favorite sellers on Etsy. She makes the most wonderful journals ever.

Fruit ~ Not Just For Decoration

2010-03-27T11:26:00.001-07:00

Our fruit bowl was overflowing with green apples and a very ripe pineapple. Theres nothing like fresh squeezed green apple juice and fresh pineapples mixed with blueberries!

I made one quart for me and one for Dan plus an extra big jar for sharing with friends.

This Hamilton Beach juicer is nice if you are looking for an economical juicer. It gets a lot of use here. It needs cleaned after pressing about a quart of juice. Clean up is easy but a bit messy and there's lots of pulp which needs to be discarded. I press my pulp a second time to get as much juice out of the apple as I can but my juice ends up a bit pulpy. We like it like that. It's fresh and tart and healthy! No added sugars or high fructose corn syrup in this yummy goodness! If only I had grown the apples myself!

The pineapples and blueberries taste great mixed with a little Chobani Greek Yogurt! Yum!

BLANK ATC ACEO CARDS AND MORE

2010-03-22T09:24:00.001-07:00

CHIPBOARD ATC BLANKS

Spring has sprung in our area and it's a welcome change! The forsythia bushes are blooming so pretty with their bright yellow blossoms. One bush is blooming just outside my studio window. The bush is huge and so pretty with it's natural flowing branches. I'm debating again as i do every year on cutting it back. It hasn't been trimmed in 15 years. My brother Jim told me not to cut it back. So I probably wont.

We had a great weekend celebrating spring by watching a fun fast pitch tournament in Williamston. My SIL's niece was pitching and we got to show our support by cheering her on. This was Kelsie's first tournament game and she shined.

and check out the sheet music mini packs!

3" vintage map circles

Spring's arrival also means I must change and add new items to my shops. Triple Trouble got a lot of new listings. I stocked up on some 3" scalloped edge circles in vintage map, sheet music, and lined papers. There are also some new ATC blanks for all you atc.aceo artist to grab up. My new 3" circle cutter has had a lot of use this weekend.

3" vintage notebook cover scallops

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2010-03-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited for Barn Owl Primitives whos fun treasury made the etsy front page! She included my antique wooden block letter S in her fun St. Patty's Day Greeting.
You can check out more from Barn Owl Primitives in her etsy shop by clicking here.

Spring Blossom

2010-03-17T06:50:00.000-07:00

Pyrex Spring Blossom Gravy Boat

Super sweet blossoms

I'm Italian and Hungarian and from Pittsburgh, PA. Drinking green beer doesn't make any sense to me. Wearing green is fun but I'm not wearing green simply because I don't have much green in my wardrobe. I look terrible in green. My favorite shades of green are muted sage, avocado, or seafoam green.

Green happens to be a very popular color in decorating. Vaseline green glassware is highly collectible. Green Pyrex is hot! Green is actually a delightful color.

Green foods, like brocolli, spinach, green beans are yummy! My favorite casserole is made with fresh green beans. Green foods are healthy and healing, especially parsley.

Back to the green Pyrex... I found this gem at my local Salvation Army. It's so charming. I wish i had the dinnerware or something to match it. I'm thinking someone out there needs this to complete their own collection. Maybe that someone is you!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you!

Hand Dyed Ribbons and Random Sweetness

2010-03-11T08:58:00.000-08:00

Hand Dyed Dove Grey Ribbons

It's been a quiet day. The birds are building their spring nests. The wrens have returned to the window sill where they nested last spring. Their song is a welcome change to the cold winter wind.

French Blue

My studio needs much attention but rather than clean and sort through more boxed treasures, I decided to dye some seam binding. the rayon ribbon takes color so nicely. I dyed a new batch of dove gray, which turns out a little different each time I make a new batch. I also primmed up some bright orange seam binding, and tried a new mix which turned out very "French" looking. i love them all! I may spend the rest of the day dyeing ribbons!

Prim Orange

Ruby Flanders

There's a small antique Whitman's chocolate tin sitting on my desk. it's full of antique photographs and snippets of ephemera. One of the photograph shows Ruby Flanders as a young girl dresses in fancy lace with her hair down. She's so beautiful. I thought I'd share her portrait with you today. Ruby is my husband's grandmother.

What's New

2010-03-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

New French Paper Collage Packs

What's new Wednesday is not really new at all in most ways. I am doing what I love and enjoying being home alone in my studio. The new part is my super fun find from the local thrift shop. I found these two awesome French school books with the binding all broken and taped over, the pages inside all written in French!

The books were similar except one has a lot of French handwriting on the inside. Because the books are so well used and loved and falling apart, I did the obvious, I separated the pages and packed them for resale in my etsy shop, triple trouble.

French Paper pack no 2

The packs are full of fun graphics and images. Some have sheet music, others have religious photographic images. The pages are naturally stained from age, too! The patina is wonderful. It's hard not to hang on to these great finds. My heart kept saying keep these and my head kept saying pass them on. So it is, I am passing them on to you all, hoping someone will make something pretty with these sweet and wonderful papers.

SHOW AND TELL

2010-03-05T16:52:00.000-08:00

Me with my first catch!

Melissa and Jim fished for many years off the coast of North Carolina. Jim took me on my first fishing trip about a year ago. I caught my first striper on that trip and I was the only person on the boat who had a bite the whole day. The striper was 18" long and just big enough to keep. My brother taught me how to fillet it and we sauteed that baby in butter. It was really tasty.

This past Tuesday, March 2, the one month marker, Melissa and I went fishing on the Gal-O-Mine with a bunch of friends from DC. The Gal-O-Mine is the same fishing boat Melissa and Jim chartered for many years. We decided to take some of Jim's ashes with us to spread out over the Atlantic ocean. The captain took off about 7:30am, snacks, drinks, fried chicken, five men and two women, plus the capt. and his mate, all hoping to catch a big rock fish. Little did we know what kind of crazy fishing trip it would turn out to be.

Capt. Benji stopped the boat near the VA/NC state line. We could see the water towers as we headed north. It was a sweet ride but we knew the weather would turn on us by afternoon as we anticipated a big nor'easter to bring high winds and snow to the area by evening. We fished for about 15 minutes without a bite. I told Melissa it was time for some super natural divine intervention. She went to get Jim's ashes and we took the to the edge of the deck. Melissa said a prayer and we shared some fun fishing words and sent Jim off into the Atlantic with a happy good bye. We both went back into the salon area of the boat and smiled.

ched, dave, short guy, shawn, me, charles, and melissa with just a few of our catch

Within 10 minutes the boat had moved south where Capt. Benji thought the chances of catching any fish may be improved. The Mate set the fishing rods one at a time but as he got one in the water, another one had a bite. He was pulling in fish faster than he could get the next one back in. The guys were catching two fish at a time and each fish was bigger than the last. Seriously, we were catching fish one after the other to the point we tuckered our selves out. It was the most divine thing I had ever seen!

We couldn't keep all the fish we caught. We caught and released 27. We kept 18 big ones. Of those 18, 5 were citations, possibly 45-50 pounders! We know know one will believe us but we did get pics from the Oregon Fishing Center. They cut off the catch on the ground. That's me holding the five fingers out.

Shawn, not wanting to be disrespectful, quietly asked Melissa if she would mind sparing a few of Jim's ashes, as he wanted some for his next fishing trip! He'll just have to invite us next time he charters the Gal-O-Mine again!

Etsy Supply Street Team February Sales Extravaganza!

2010-02-26T03:32:00.000-08:00

YAY! TIME FOR ANOTHER SALE AT TRIPLE TROUBLE!

To celebrate our February birthday Triple Trouble will have a BUY 3 GET ANOTHER FREE SALE during the Etsy Supply Street Team February Sales Extravaganza this weekend! The sale starts today and will run throught the weekend ending on Feb 28 at midnight EST.

Great deals on vintage ribbons!

Bingo cards, lace, tickets, cut papers and more!

Etsy Supply Street Team members will also be offering sales throughout the weekend. You can checkout all the sales by checking out their blog and also checkout the promo thread on Etsy.com

It always protects

2010-02-24T04:37:00.000-08:00

Dad holding me ~ February 1958

Love always protects, like a parent protects her children from harm.

Love always trusts, because without trust we lose everything.

Love always hopes. Without hope we would not have a promise for a better tomorrow.

Love always perseveres, never ends, never gives up. Love is everlasting.

Love never fails. God is Love.

Love does not delight in evil

2010-02-18T05:18:00.000-08:00

Love does not delight in evil, which explains why I totally dislike Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Conan O'Brian.
Yet I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jimmy Fallon! How's that work?

Honestly, as humans we will delight in evil. It's so sad really and yet I can't help but laugh at Jimmy Fallon when he said Oww!
I suppose I need to work on Love.

it keeps no record of wrongs

2010-02-17T03:39:00.000-08:00

Irving, baby Jay, and one of the employees at Albemarle Landscaping

The past few weeks have been surreal. It felt like the days would never end. It felt like love left my world. It seemed I may never finish this personal study, not after loosing my brother who I love so much. Where was I? Where did I leave off? Why finish?
Do you know someone close who keeps no records of wrongs? My brother Jim loved people this way. He never had a cross word to say about anyone. I doubt he kept any record of wrong. He was fun loving and rarely complained. If someone did wrong to him, he'd find a way to make the situation better.
Jim opened a business in the late 70's in rural NC. He named it Albemarle Landscaping. The business was flourishing and he wanted to expand with a nursery and tree farm. Another local businessman opened a nursery shortly after Jim's and named it Albemarle Nursery. My brother wasn't able to keep his original business name because it was in conflict with this other business name. Instead of fighting for Albemarle landscaping and Nursery he changed the name to Comito Landscaping and Nursery. He painted all his equipment John Deere green and had all his trucks painted the same green. His business grew leaps and bounds.
I could thumb through the Bible looking for scripture to back up love and keeping no record of wrongs but I wont. I could pray about the verse before writing this post but I didn't. I just need to think about the people God has put in my life who have forgiving hearts, who keep not record of the wrongs I've done them and still they love me.

Happy Jim with (L) Janie, Linda, Nurse Kris, (R) Melissa, Cindy, Movie Star, Aunt Zelta

The Plan

2010-02-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

Today is my brother Jim's memorial service. He didn't want us to be sad but I don't know how to be happy. He was always happy. maybe he will touch us today in some way to ease our sorrow.

My Big Brother

2010-02-03T09:15:00.000-08:00

Jim's cancer finally took over his body. He began to fail and he continued to fight a hard fight as we called the family together to be with him one last time. Faith and Charity were flying in from Pittsburgh. Other family members were hurrying to be by his side. He was surrounded by friends and family as he struggled to stay alive. He was bathed in prayer and circled in loving hands. We couldn't understand why he kept fighting right down to his last breath. We feared it was us, that he couldn't leave us. We promised him we'd be ok. He finally found rest on Tuesday night.

Jim is our angel....he left all his loved ones in weeksville nc to be with Faith and Charity when they were landing in charlotte nc. The hydrolic landing gear failed and they had emergency vehicles on the runway awaiting their arrival....Jim passed away and 6:40 and I believe he was the angel that helped land their plane safely at 6:40 in charlotte nc.

Jim was always the protector, the big brother, the helper, the strong one. Rest in peace dear brother. God has healed your cancer and you can rest now.

Love is not easily angered

2010-01-30T10:58:00.000-08:00

My father passed away in 1986. He was alone when he died. Most of my family was angry with him. We abandoned him. He passed away in his bed, hopefully in peace. I believe my father was greeted in Heaven by his son, his mother and father, and all those loved ones who had passed before him. He found peace in his passing.

My brother is dying. He is surrounded by family and friends. The home is love filled. I believe my father is waiting for Jim. But maybe Jim isn't ready to go. Maybe he needs his son. Maybe he needs his family to stop being angry with themselves and each other and start loving each other.

May I suggest you pause the player link on the right side bar and listen to the song below. Just click on the image after you pause the player so the two songs wont overlap. Lyrics are below the video if you want to sing along. It's a tear jerker.

The Living Years lyrics

Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door
I know that I'm a prisoner
To all my Father held so dear
I know that I'm a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him
in the living years
Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I'm afraid that's all we've got
You say you just don't see it
He says it's perfect sense
You just can't get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defence
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late
when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye
So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
It's the bitterness that lasts
So Don't yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you don't give up, and don't give in
You may just be O.K.
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye
I wasn't there that morning
When my Father passed away
I didn't get to tell him
All the things I had to say
I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I'm sure I heard his echo
In my baby's new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye

Love is Not Self-Seeking

2010-01-29T04:22:00.000-08:00

Love is not self-seeking. Love is serving others. When we offer help to others for self benefit, it is not love.

When we help another in need by giving of our selves for not benefit of our own, we are loving. When we help another in need with conditions, we are self-seeing.

A few weeks ago we had planned a trip to visit my brother in the VA Hospital. We offered to drive, giving a little relief to my brother's wife who had been driving everyday. The drive is long and stressful at times because of traffic and other circumstances. We were driving because we wanted to help, to serve, to assist someone other than our self.

(Enter self-seeking behavior) Another family member happened to be in need. He needed a place for his girlfriend and dog to stay overnight, en route to their holiday vacation on the beach. Rather than just ask if they could all camp out, he comes up with a plan to offer his "help" driving to the hospital and then he would have his need met.

Serving others, helping ones in need, giving our time to benefit another does not come with entitlement. Entitlement is not love. I remember a past experience when my sister's house suffered extensive water damage after the pipes froze. The house was empty and water was running for days. The plaster fell from the ceiling. The house was a mess. It went without repair for many months. A relative comes out of the woodwork offering to repair the home but he needs everyone who is living in the house to move out and he needs to stay there while the repairs are completed. He makes my sister feel like he is helping them the best way possible and tries to convince them he is their best option. Is he fixing the home because he cares or does he need a place to live? Is he selflessly helping or is he seeing benefit for himself? They didn't take his offer.

When we help others selflessly, we ask for nothing in return. We don't seek reward, we don't need a plaque made for the wall, we wont ask for some kind of return or feel entitlement. If we serve others in love, we will not keep score of what we have done. We will not brag about that help, or compare our help to others.

Helping others selflessly feels good. It is contagious. It shows unconditional love.

Love Does Not Dishonor Others

2010-01-28T03:34:00.000-08:00

Gossip. Guilty.

Gossip was once my best friend. Gossip is the tool for dishonoring others. It's been a long time since I used gossip as a form of communication. Maybe it's because I have reduced the circle of friends, mainly my Christian friends who fed off each others unhappiness. The problem with this group in particular is the way they used prayer as a way to air dirty laundry, especially others. One of my daughters coined this behavior as prayer gossip. I became a victim of prayer gossip and it hurt my and my family to the degree we left church. This prayer gossip among the church body not only hurt our family but it dishonored God.

Prayer gossip works like this. You meet with a friend from church for lunch at their house. They "confide" in you a very private situation and then wait for you to return your own sin. You get this warm and fuzzy feeling of love and spill your guts to the person asking them to pray for you or your family. You trust your confession is presented to God in prayer and not spread any further. The church friend then tells her husband your confession and adds a little drama to the story. She is sure to emphasize your need for prayer. The husband happens to be a deacon who then shares the prayer concern with the other deacons who then pass on the information to their wives who then call each other saying you need prayer, you sinned. Next thing ya know you are being shunned at church.

Prayer is a good thing. God wants us to come to him with our troubles. People who use prayer as a form of gossip hurt not only their Christian friend but also dishonor God. Prayer gossip hurts. It is not love. For all those have hurt or dishonored in gossip, I beg forgiveness.

If a friend comes to you with a burden, do not use prayer as a form of spreading that burden to others. Pray and let God handle it from there.

Another thing which bothers me greatly is the way some people dishonor others for sympathy or acceptance.
(I better stop before I break out in hives.)

Love Is Not Proud

2010-01-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

pride n.
1. A sense of one's own proper dignity or value; self-respect.
This describes the feeling I have about my body and brain and why I wont abuse it with drugs or alcohol, although I am known to enjoy a cosmo or glass of wine.

2. Pleasure or satisfaction taken in an achievement, possession, or association: parental pride.
This describes the feeling my brother had when he showed me the trees he planted so many years ago. The trees were magnificent!

3. Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness.
One can not love with these things present in their life.

4.
a. A cause or source of pleasure or satisfaction; the best of a group or class: These soldiers were their country's pride.
This kind of pride is common and shows love.

b. The most successful or thriving condition; prime: the pride of youth.
not relevant

5. An excessively high opinion of oneself; conceit.
(Reminds me of the person who boasts)

These are just a few of the many definitions of pride. A friend told me Pride comes before the fall. So true!
Some people are so proud they burn bridges with those who love them the most. It is especially difficult to love a person who is full of bad pride. Maybe it is because pride is in some ways like insecurity. enough said.

My urologist thinks I have two more kidney stones. the good news is the stones are probably smaller than the one I passed naturally. Oh joy!
My chiropractor suggests I cut out all sugars from my diet, and grains. Good bye sugar! Good bye Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme! Good bye rye bread! How I do love thee and will greatly miss thee!
Just thinking about no sugar diets make me loathe for a fat slice of key lime pie or chocolate torte. Oh me!

Love Does Not Boast

2010-01-24T09:05:00.000-08:00

Have you ever sat with a group of family or friends and found yourself sinking in the seat wishing you weren't there while one person in the group boasts the entire time about how big their truck is, how their dog is the smartest, or they have the best (insert anything here) in the whole world? I have a brother like that. He may even read this blog which would be fine with me. He is the first person I thought of when I decided to break down 1 Corinthians 13:4.

I know a person who loves to boast. In his own opinion he is the best on earth. He is smarter, better, bigger, grander, healthier, etc, than anyone in his family. If you ever have the pleasure to know him you will agree he is indeed better than anyone on earth. He helped a person in his family during a time of need and then threw it in his face months later. He ruined everything nice he had ever done in a rant which lasted less than 100 word email. Then he boasted about what all he had done and how he was taken advantage of. He wants to help others but his help comes with conditions. Just know that when he helps you with whatever your need may be, you will most certainly become the stupidest person on earth before he has finished with you. Then he ignores you until a situation arises where he needs to express how awesome he is or how awful someone has treated him. Yet he is loved because love is patient...

I know another person who is very smart. It's fun to listen to him tell stories. His stories aren't boastful. Most of his stories are about history or facts. He likes to tease and test our knowledge of facts. He sees things so differently than the majority of those around him. He wont brag on being right all the time, even though he is. He says what he means and mean what he says. He has a loving heart and helps when someone is in need. He doesn't wait for you to say what you need. he sees what is needed and jumps in quietly to help. I've never heard him boast or brag about what he did for others but I know he has helped a lot of people without ever complaining. He loves others with all his heart.
I know another person who is very humble. He never boasts. He never brags. He is actually a very quiet man who loves his privacy and respects others. We were riding to his chemo treatment in November and as we drove past Albemarle Hospital and College of the Albemarle, he pointed out some of the trees on the property. He wasn't boasting. He simply stated, "dad and I planted all these trees". If he were boasting he would have said they were the best landscapers in town and their trees were better than anyone elses. What he was saying to me is my father and him started their business with a shovel and these trees were planted together by them, and look how strong and beautiful they are now. I could see the pride he had in his heart for the job well done. The love he had for my father who is now gone was pouring out in the words he spoke. I've lived in Elizabeth City for over 25 years and never knew the trees were planted by my father and brother. Neither of them ever bragged or boasted.

Love is not puffed up, bigger, better, smarter, richer, taller, fitter, or greater than. Love is humbling ourselves before God and showing humility to our brethren. When we sit together for a meal, we need only love those around us. We listen and and center our attention on the loved ones and their circumstances. We don't throw ourselves on them in times of need. We quietly help. We let them come to us. We help without conditions. We love without conditions.

Changing the subject...

Progress on the guest bedroom:

Before photo of guest bedroom with faux finish walls

A work in progress shows newly painted walls and a glimpse of the inspiration for the room, a Pottery Barn quilt. The ceiling and walls need a second coat, trim needs painted, and the bed needs refinished/repaired. It's gonna be a the best darn guest bedroom in the whole world when I get finished with it. (giggle)

It's about love ~ Not Envy

2010-01-23T11:50:00.000-08:00

The statements like kitchen envy, pocket book envy. hair envy, and many others are often used in playful conversation between friends in my life. We really love each other and aren't trying to have more of what the other has. We say we have "kitchen envy" as a way of saying we love that newly remodeled kitchen. We say we have hair envy when one of us has a full head of beautiful locks or the perfect curl or color. We actually love the hair and the kitchen. This is what I call playful envy. It's good envy, although some might think any envy is bad.

Bad envy is when we aren't happy with what we have and want for more, never being satisfied. It's like having a half empty cup and wanting to take from someone other's overflowing glass.

During a long vacation in Anguilla, BWI, I found myself overflowing with love during what could have been a very empty Christmas holiday. My son and I decided to make a Christmas tree from a scrubby piece of driftwood. We strung it white lights and decorated it with shells and other handmade ornaments. the shells were painted with gold and glitter. The tree was perfect. We decided not to spend any money on gifts. Instead we decided to do something heartfelt and personal for each of our friends on the island. We gave them a servants dinner, where we cooked, and served, and cleaned up after each of them. It was so much fun for Danny and I.
On Christmas Day we woke up to the sound of a children's chorus singing hymns at the church on the corner. It was the most beautiful way to wake up on Christmas Day. It was full of love. It was satisfying and we were thankful for what we had.

When we have love we have no desire to have more. We are thankful for all God has blessed us with. We have love.

Jim update ~ Thank you to all who are praying for my brother Jim, who has NHL. He is improving everyday. His decision to wait on chemo treatments was a good decision. He is too weak to go through more poison. The good news is he is eating better. He is very ill but he is improving a little bit each time I see him. Yesterday I gave him a crocheted afghan which I made during the trips to the Hampton VA Hospital. It's the perfect size for wrapping around his frail shoulders while he sits in his wheel chair. I prayed as I crocheted each row, praying for healing, for God's will, for Jim and Melissa to have more time together as husband and wife. Jim said to me, "you made this in the back of the car on all those drives to the hospital". and we cried a little tear together.

Love is Patient ~ Love is Kind

2010-01-21T03:52:00.000-08:00

Remember LOVE STORY? It was a tear jerker love story about a woman who is stricken with cancer and rather than have her leg removed or suffer the awful side effects chemo or radiation, she decides to die of her disease. In the movie, Ali MacGraw says, "Love is never having to say you're sorry". The quote is repeated in the very end by Ryan O'neal. The quote always seemed a bit wrong to me. To never say you are sorry either implies you'll never hurt anyone or you never did anything wrong, you are virtually perfect in your relationships with others. Impossible. We are human and will eventually do something to hurt some one's feelings or disappoint a loved one. Love is saying you are sorry to those we have hurt. Sometimes we find ourselves saying it over and over again however long it takes because we are not perfect and we naturally do not want to hurt those we love.

Love is patient. In the KJV, love is long-suffering. Love is enduring the ill-will of others without retaliating, complaining, or ignoring the one who causes pain. Love is showing kindness even when others have delighted in causing harm. This is what love is.

It would be wonderful if we could love one another unconditionally, never hurting the others around us, showing kindness when we are mistreated or disagree with others. It would be wonderful to never have to say we are sorry, but when we do mess up, we can say we are sorry or if we are the one who has been hurt, we can refrain from "throwing rocks" and instead pray for those who have no heart.

On another note, I ate fresh fruit salad for breakfast and it was delish! Lunch was a hour long grazing of Italian dry meats, green apples, and bread pudding. No walks yet but I have had my heart rate up a few times, hence todays post! :-P

Love is...

2010-01-20T05:38:00.000-08:00

Love is patient
Love is kind
It does not envy
it does not boast
it is not proud
It does not dishonor others
it is not self-seeking
it is not easily angered
it keeps no record of wrongs
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth
It always protects
always trusts
always hopes
always perseveres
Love never fails

Written (by the apostle Paul) not just for weddings but for the way we should live and love each other.

Etsy Shop Vacation and other Random Stuff

2010-01-19T18:57:00.000-08:00

Today was a good day to put the Etsy Shops on VACATION MODE. Running four shops, keeping house for needy Dan, being with my brother, Jim, and his family, helping John with our daily secret missions, and keeping up with the sales, shipping, restocking, and customer service of four etsy shops is a little too much for me. The shops will wait.

Missions continued today and went almost perfectly all for a few unforeseen events. My mission was nearly completed. I'm not bragging but I worked my tail off scrubbing some nasty ****. Bleach and 409 were my best friends today. Jergens will be my best friend tonight!

Monday was a really fun day! We were having so much fun I forgot to post. I have photos of mostly food, what else. My life story is cooking and eating and Etsy it seems. The reality check diet is still a strong idea although it is very difficult to eat 2/3 of my food raw! I try. I feel so much better eating healthy. Honestly I see no change, which is better than seeing pounds packed on.

Charity made a beautiful and tasty fruit salad

Melissa, John, and Dylan making their personal pan pizzas

We had a pizza party at the Comito house. We do pizza parties very different from most people. We make our own, literally, as in, you take a lump of dough, spread it in a pan, season it, grill it, put your favorite toppings on it, put it back on the grill, eat! If it turns out bad, it's your own fault. We like to share because every one's pizza can be so very different. Mine always has anchovies which means almost no one will touch it. LOL! YUM!

Ingredients were massive this time around. Meats were sausage, pepperoni, cappocola, salami, calapresa, scallops. Veggies were green peppers, caramelized sweet onions, red onions, olives, mushrooms, red peppers, garlic, green scallions. Toppings were tomato basil sauce, basil pesto, pizza seasoning, Parmesan, Romano, mozzarella, asiago, olive oil, and my favorite anchovies!

Olive and asiago cheese foccocia

Cinnoman sugar dough balls

and did you see what a mess we made in the kitchen? Melissa was such a doll, so patient, and happy to let us triplets take over it. John and Dan also helped out a great deal with the dinner. Cooking with family is my favorite thing to do!

nevermind all my misspelled italian words.

More Family Fun

2010-01-17T21:51:00.000-08:00

The past few days have been full of fun, hard work, secret missions, and time with my brothers. Triplets joined the family fun at Jim and Melissa's house. It was really fun to have five Comitos together in one place.
My camera would tell a better story of the past few days but I keep forgetting to use it. If I had used my camera today I could have showed you the baby back ribs, spare ribs, and pork loin my brother grilled, or the cabbage salad I made, or the cosmos we were enjoying throughout the evening.
Tomorrow will continue the top secret missions with me, my brother and triplet sisters.
more tomorrow...

Day 2 Reality Check

2010-01-15T21:50:00.000-08:00

Today was an awesome day. I cheated on my veggie / fruit promise. No biggy. It's nearly impossible to change bad habits overnight. Breakfast was super fast stale donut with coffee as i ran out the door to meet my brother who is visiting from Pittsburgh. We had a mission and it was accomplished with little effort. Honestly the mission and all it entailed was enjoyable in spite of the circumstances which brought on the mission in the first place. That's all I can share involving the mission. You see, it was a top secret mission which only a few closest relatives have knowledge.

Lunch was a handful of salty roasted (deep fried) peanuts made by the Camden County Lions Club. Yum! They make the finest deep fried peanuts on earth.
Dinner was healthy and satisfying. Melissa's mom made a big ol pot of country beef soup. It had cooked all day while John and I carried out our mission. John and I also made a big fat salad with all the colors of the rainbow. It was delish! So, my diet check list was near perfect, if not for the donut this morning.

I did get plenty of walking in today. Going to bed early last night was a complete failure. Slept in until 9:45 again... a very late start for me. Tonight I am up late again. This late night schedule is hard to break but I had so much to do tonight. I'm still not finished doing things but I would like to stop for the night and start over tomorrow.

Before I close today's post i would like to share a bit of change in the homestead. We are empty nesters finally and I am redecorating the guest bedroom. The new quilt arrived today and it looks so nice on my antique bed. I'd share a photo but the walls aren't painted and all the bedding hasn't arrived. I'd like to post a before and after pic. For now you can see a little of what I have in mind. I'm not copy catting the entire ensemble but it is close to the pottery barn collection shown here:

My triplet sisters are coming to visit this weekend and it will be the first time they have been here together. I am so excited! Faith usually gets the guest bedroom. It will be interesting to see if she lets Charity have it this time around.

My Last Nerves

2010-01-14T20:18:00.000-08:00

It's been less than 24 hours into my reality check post and I have already faile. Ha

I stayed up past 1:00am last night
I woke up at 9:45am

Breakfast was a small bowl of fresh pineapple and a big glass of green tea

Lunch was airport food (1/2 an UNO italian sub and some baked lays) , PLUS I walked a good loong distance today. Yay me!

Dinner was a Club sandwhich with veggie sticks on the side and a cosmopolitan (best part of the day)

I had a nice visit with my brother who has NHL and is very ill.

I came home and ate 3 donuts and drank a ginger beer

My etsy brain kicked in and I found myself reading convos and checking orders. There was one great big order placed and one yucky message from a customer who thinks an item is missing from her order. My system of packing orders is so precise, if I did leave an item out, it would be sitting on the table right now. So NO, the item was not left out and I am quite certain. Certainty comes with precision record keeping. When an order is received, the invoice is printed, the items are pulled from inventory, wrapped or bagged, and bubble wrapped if necessary. The items is placed in the package and then check marked with a highliter marker. The package is sealed and stamped using the paypal shipping label maker. So... dear customer who insists on claiming missing items, I am certain your item was wrapped in bubble wrap and stuffed in the freaking box, checked, and sealed, and shipped.

People really annoy me sometimes. (Maybe I should have laid off the donuts.)

Reality Check

2010-01-13T12:26:00.000-08:00

It's mid-January and I am sitting here thinking about so many different things I should have done and have procrastinated over the past two weeks (and many years). Should I make a list of those things (again - smirk) or just give up? I'm not a quitter... I must make a new list! Most of the things I should have done are waiting because I need to change the way I do things. I miss the way I used to get things done. I miss a lot of things.

I really miss multi-tasking. I miss getting up at 6 A.M. and going to bed before the nightly news. I miss having a waistline and taking long walks. I miss writing letters. Do people still write letters? I saved every letter anyone has ever written to me. Isn't that funny! I have some of the sweetest letters in the whole world written by my father-in-law and my husband's grandfather, my Aunt Marg, my mother, and my triplet sisters. They could write a letter full of encouragement and love.

Not everyone writes nice letters. Some people write nasty grams especially in emails where there's a quick response to pound the keys with rebuttals and debate on who is right or wrong. Have you ever written or received one? I have both ways but honestly I felt worse sending the nasty gram than receiving one. I have saved a few hand written letters from "you know who" and those dear Janes are full of self-righteous, whiny, me words meant to make someone feel bad (but it didn't work). I saved them just to compare with my triplet sisters, had they the pleasure of receiving a nasty gram from "you know who".

Most of the things I miss today can be found again with a simple list.

My reality check list:

1. In an effort to multitask, I will call on a loved one while washing the dishes and running the dryer and washing machine at the same time at least once a day. "Call" can be on the phone or yelling to the other living beings in my surroundings. the point is to get the dishes and the laundry complete.

2. Go to bed every night as early as possible or before 12:00P.M. Wake up naturally early!

3. Take a 30 minute walk on the treadmill or the pavement or WalMart... no excuses...eventually finding my waistline.

4. Write a letter a day to a loved one, friend or family, everyday for a year. Letter is defined (by me) as any words penned on a sheet of paper or greeting card. Eventually someone will write me back, hopefully my father-in-law and not "you know who".

5. Incorporate 2/3 fresh fruits and vegetables into my daily diet. This with the 30 minute walk should increase my chances of finding my waistline before next January. The way I love to cook and eat, this one is gonna be very difficult! Dinner will be served hot!

I'm gonna try and stick to this plan everyday for one year. Some of the changes will be very difficult. It could require me to carry tangerines and Greek yogurt in my coat pocket or even more shocking... force me to carry a pocket book! This will require discipline and time management, two things lacking from my personality! The reward will be mine when I work to accomplish these few changes every day. At the end of the year I should be happier, healthier, and more organized than I have ever been before. Yay!

Hubby borrowed my most awesome Canon EOS 30 today so there's no photos to show you my breakfast which consisted of 1/2 avocado with tomatoes, onions, peppers, and Greek plain yogurt.

Lunch was a citrus salad which honestly was more convenient than desired.

Dinner will be some leftover Chicken and dumplings, which Dan happened to photograph while the yumminess was fresh. This was his bowl, not the scraps to be enjoyed tonight.

A New Year with New Hopes

2010-01-03T05:17:00.000-08:00

How long do people actually keep the resolutions they make on January 1st? I've never been able to keep a resolution and actually stopped making them a long time ago. This year I didn't make any new resolutions but I have some issues I'd really like to consider changing. Change is good.

The number one change I'd like to make this year is to keep a more creative and positive outlook on my surroundings. This could accomplish several long waiting goals which seem to take back burners. One of those goal was to remodel the master bathroom. A bathroom like this would be so awesome! This would require major reconstruction.

This bathroom would fit into my space much better and be a DIY with the help of my sweet handsome loving husband. The color is perfect! The ceramic tile wainscoting would look better as beadboard, and a solid oak floor would work really nicely with the floors throughout the space.

I need that tub from the photo above and this could be a perfect remodel job!

The glass jug beside the toilet needs to go back in the gameroom.

30 Years Together

2009-12-09T15:17:00.000-08:00

Wow! My life is so blessed. It's is sometimes hard to believe this but I have spent more years with my husband than any other person on earth. Thirty years ago we married in Kodiak, Alaska, on a very cold morning, on a quiet beach at sunrise. We had a small pot luck party with friends.

The Revere Ware pots and pans we received for a gift are still in my cupboards.

After 30 years we decided to start a new collection, this time in Le Cruesette. We love our cast iron skillets and found ourselves wanting this enamel version for slow cooking, baking, and braising. We went on a hunt for the best price, the best pot to start with and we found it! It's wonderful!

Dan also gave me this super sweet Shun knife. I think I have died and gone to Heaven!

Trick or Treat! Another Swap!

2009-11-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

So many awesome spooky and sweet treats in the trick Or treat Swap!

Halloween ribbons, paper punch, handmade tags, glittery decorations, and a fun Halloween toy!

Thanks to all who participated! I love my Halloween goodies so much!

Forgive me for making this post short and sweet. Life has been rough the past few weeks. Just when I think things couldn't get worse, they do. :-(

Sweet and Sinister Swap From Leslie

2009-10-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

A spooky crow, a sweet scented candle, and a spooky pumpkin decoration from Leslie

And a handmade BOO Banner in festive Halloween colors

Collage pack full of vintage and antique papers

Game cards, trims, buttons, dresdens, etc

Embossed wallpaper, collage pack, an antique tape rule, hand made tag

A tag with yummy velvet ribbons, tons of vintage buttons, and BOO

Halloween Cookie cutters

and this super sweet adorable slightly sinister handmade charm

which I absolutely LOVE!

Leslie sent the most wonderful handmade items and vintage inspired supplies ever. The packages were such a sweet surprise. Each one thrilled me more.

Only thing missing is the handmade chocolates which I devoured while opening the box.

Thanks so much to Leslie for all the wonderful swap items. You certainly went above and beyond and spoiled me rotten with sweet and sinister goodness!

For my Sweet and Sinister Swappartner

2009-10-22T06:11:00.000-07:00

A few things I made and gathered for Leslie, my Sweet and Sinister Swap partner.

Packages were wrapped in vintage sheet music and tied with antique lace and netting

Halloween banner is made from antique book pages sewn to orange and black card stock.

The letters were printed on mylar.

Gathered orange and black ruffles for holiday decorating

A gathering of collage supplies

Hand Punched Bats and Martha Stewart Posies

Sinister Brads

Antique Paper Scallops

Antique Wood frame

Images of Spooky Places

Antique Portrait

Vintage Measuring Tape
Vintage Black and Purple Satin Millinery Leaves

Wraphia

#31 Playing Cards

Vintage Silver Twine

Silver Glitter BOO Letters
Antique Bingo Card

Treasure Hunting Tuesday Spring Jumping Shoes

2009-10-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been full of ups and downs. It's been a little difficult at time getting out to treasure hunt. Today was so beautiful I decided to get out and run around. It was so nice to feel the warm sun again. This must be the last of the Indian Summer and it really feels good.

After running to the post office with deliveries I took my usually trip around to the thrift stores in the Elizabeth City area.

I found some Shiny Brite ornaments in the original box! Wow! Haven't taken pics of them yet. My car is full of antique and vintage goodies! The hunt is so much fun. Putting the treasures up or away or prepping them for resell is not so much fun sometimes. The things become attached to me. It's really hard to let them go.

I must share the best find of the day...

Antique Spring Jumping Shoes!

I could just picture some little kid jumping all over the drive way or sidewalks with these on their feet. maybe they sprained their ankle too! I shouldn't laugh but we all know the feeling of turning an ankle. We recover and find some other thing to jump off, climb up, or hide under.
It's a wonder we are alive! LOL!

If you love these and think you must have them, please checkout my etsy sales as they are now officially up for auction!

Learning to Crochet Again

2009-10-07T03:58:00.000-07:00

It's like riding a bike. Once you learn to crochet you never forget. It just takes a little practice to get the hang of holding the hook and yarn just right and next thing ya know, you have a set of wash cloths!

My mom taught me how to crochet when I was a kid. It's been years since I learned to hold the yarn just right. With the nights getting longer and a box full of yarn balls, I decided to learn again. The hardest part was deciding what to crochet first and what yarn should I use.

During my Texas trip, Holly and I crocheted a little bit. I bought some Peaches and Cream yarn in three of my favorite football team colors, black and gold, and white.

Watching the last few games I have been teaching myself many different stitches, and trying out different size needles. The first few projects I made were pulled apart before they were finished. Once I felt comfortable with the hook, I went for completing a set of wash clothes. I can't decide if I want these for kitchen or bath. Aren't they the cutest ruffly wash clothes ever?

Can you guess who my favorite pro football team is?

My latest project is in the works. it's a winter scarf. Once this is finished I hope to take the plunge into crocheting afghans.

You know I can't blog without promoting something I've found on etsy or ebay... so here's my promo for the day. I found this seller on the front page of Etsy this morning. The shop is called Two Knit. Her crocheted pieces are delicate and yummy! My favorite is this romantic vintage inspired cuff with it's sweet beaded center. She has some adorable crocheted flowers also.

Vintage Velvet Millinery Pink Forget Me Nots

2009-10-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

These are so sweet! Don't you love them!

12 Bundles starting bid $9.99 Auction ends in 5 days!

Oh how sweet are forget me nots! The vintage velvet ones are even sweeter! These are just a few of the amazing items my sister Faith has in her Ebay Shop Tripletno1 this week. The petals are soft velvety flocked pink with a bit of buttery yellow centers.

I want these! I wish they were mine! There so many things I can do with them... resell them for sure, or maybe use them in my packaging. I could craft with them! I want these so badly.... what do I do? I call faith and tell her I'm gonna bid on these! And Faith, with her heart of gold tells me not to bid, because she has a few more she didn't list and she will gladly send me some. Thanks Faith!
I'm still thinking... I should bid on these... I NEED these! Ha! Then I had a change of heart and decided to share the auction with you all. Selfishness is not my style. So if you love velvet millinery flowers, especially these sweet forget-me-nots, maybe you should talk amongst yourselves and decide who the winning bidder will be!

What you get: 12 bundles of velvet flocked pink millinery forget me nots flowers. Each bundle has a bunch of flocked flowers! This is not one bundle... it's twelve! Wow!
The auction ends Oct 08, 200919:37:32 PDT May the highest sweet bidder win!

Charity is also very busy with her Ebay Shop Blackandgoldgifts . She has some awesome sheet music and silver and old books waiting for a new home.

One of the old books available at Blackandgoldgifts Buy it Now $3.49

Silver plated serving spoons Buy it Now $4.99

and my favorite antique supply... sheet music.

Buy it Now $1.49 (I want this but I'll pass and let you have it!)

13 Days of Halloween Swap Box Arrived!

2009-09-30T04:35:00.000-07:00

This is what I saw when I opened the box!

Nancy from http://www.herartnest.blogspot.com/ packed a super terrific box full of Halloween tricks and treats! This is just a sneak peak of some of it... The rules say I get to open one package each day, 13 days before Halloween. The start date is Oct 19. Can I wait three weeks? I doubt it but I am gonna try!

This was underneath it all! The BIG box dated Oct 31!
Bwah ha ha! Can I wait that long to open it????

This on sounds like it has chocolate covered peanut m & m's in it. I swear I didn't open it... I know the sound of candy.. seriously! The date to open ~ Oct 21! Oh GOSH!

This one smells yummy like lavender. How do I know? I smelled it silly. I did not open any packages! seriously!

Thanks Nancy, for packing each with such care and creativity! Your attention to detail makes this even more special. The tags are delightful and the bags so charming. I may save it all for next year's swap! Well not literally all, just the packaging.

Halloween Swaps

2009-09-29T05:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Fall friends in blog land! Fall is full of fun! There's so much to do, decorating the front porch, packing up goodie boxes for the grandkids (and kids too), and then there's something new to me... Halloween Swaps! Wow! These are so much fun to make and send. Swapping has become my next favorite hobby, next to junk hunting! Swapping has given me an opportunity to make new friends and share some neat finds with others. It's fun to gift a complete stranger and to receive gifts from them. Sharing our likes and learning we have much in common, or maybe not much other than swapping and the love to share. It's become a thing I hope to enjoy much more of.
Here are just a few peaks at two of the three swaps I have sent out this grand fall season...
The YOCII Sweet and Sinister Swap went to my new friend Leslie. I can't show you everything. Just a peak...
It's wrapped up with some antique sheet music and really old black netting. My dear friend Sonya sent me the black satin leaves... perfect for Halloween decor!
I wish i had taken picks of the items inside the paper... Hopefully Leslie will share her pics with me and I can snag them for you to see.

Another swap is the 13 Days of Halloween sponsored by Koala Fuzz. This was a fun swap because it challenged me to pick 13 items to share with my partner Nancy. Nancy loves a lot of the same things I love about Halloween and crafting. This was an easy and fun swap to pack.

The plastic cauldron is filled with 13 sweet and spooky wrapped gifts. One is opened each day counting done the last 13 days to Halloween. The cauldron was a Dollar Tree find! Gotta love the Dollar tree for some ell cheapo fun decorating needs!

The third swap was Trick or treat swap sponsored by Christine at A Work In Progress and silly me packed it up and sent it off without taking photos. You'll just have to wait for the lucky recipient to post some pics for me to share later.

ANNOUNCING THE GIVEAWAY WINNERS

2009-09-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to all who entered the Triple Trouble Etsy Store First Anniversary Giveaway! Your comments were so sweet and helpful also! So many of you love vintage as I do. I wish I could give each of you a prize!

Four lucky winners were drawn from the comments left last week on my Giveaway Blog. My four grandkids drew names according to birth orde

Hadley drew first since he is the oldest. The lucky winner of prize number one is Francine!
Congratsulations Francine!

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Email me your shipping information at hcmalott@gmail.com

Brianna is second oldest grandchild and she drew prize number two.

The lucky winner of prize number two is Jennifer Pearson Vanier!

Congrats to Jennifer and thanks for visiting my blog!

Please email me hcmalott@gmail.com

with your shipping information so I can send you some awesome German Ephemera!

Bethany is grandkid number three!

She drew Musings of a Sea Witch!

Congrats Musings! You win some super awesome vintage Mica Flakes!

Please email me hcmalott@gmail.com with your shipping info!

Chelsea is the youngest of the grandkids. She fell asleep before the winner could be drawn.

Plan B, have hubby draw a name. and so he did....

The lucky winner of Prize number 4 is Linda K (the one who said "I'm not the same Linda K...")

Congrats to Linda K with the icon in this pic!

Please email your address to me at hcmalott@gmail.com for your paper lace prize!

Are you Ready For Some Steeler Football!

2009-09-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

Steelers play the Titans tonight in Pittsburgh!

My new jersey arrived just in time!

And if you are a Steeler Fan... you know what this is!
Go Steelers!

Triple Trouble One Year Anniversary Give-Away!

2009-09-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe my etsy shop, Triple Trouble, will be celebrating a one year anniversary soon! The shop was opened Sept. 12, 2008. It is my second of four shops on Etsy.

The first shop, Dabblin In The Dew opened earlier in the year with a mix of hand painted items, vintage wares, and supplies. It wasn't long before I realized my supplies were abundant and needed a shop of their own. Not long after opening Triple trouble, I realized my antique lace supply needed a specialized shop, Belle Dentelle, and Photographic Memories opened fourth, as a place for antique and vintage photography as well as some altered art I've made using these images.

The shop name, Triple Trouble is a sort of play on threes. Most items are sold at $3.00 each, or in threes, or have some sort of three value. My shop favorites are a collection of anything using the number three, as well as the use of our names, Faith, Hope, and Love (Charity). You might also see hearts, crosses, and anchors in my favorites. These are symbols of our names. The anchor stands for hope.
Triple trouble also comes from my childhood memories of family teasing me and my sisters. We weren't really "trouble" until we became teens, but still people like to tease and call us TT.
My sisters and I are very close, do much the same thing, buy and sell anything old, and have fun hunting and sharing our wonderful finds. Faith and Charity find many treasures for me in the Pittsburgh area. They save up boxes of goodies and when we visit, it's like Christmas for me. When they visit me, they just help themselves to the goodies I find for them in NC.
Now for the good part... the GIVE-AWAY!
To celebrate my 1st Anniversary I will give out four prizes from names drawn Sept. 12, 2009.
To win, simply post a comment sharing what your favorite vintage supply is. If you have a favorite supply you like in my shops, please share, or one in another etsy shop, promote it in a comment!
On Sept 12, I will have each of my grandkids draw a name. Four grandkids makes four prizes! They are as follows:

1st Prize:

A complete set of Mercury Glass Beads

24 Silver, 24 Blue, 24 Red, 24 Green, 24 Gold, and 24 Chartrues

2nd Prize: 24pc Packet of Vintage German Ephemera

3rd Prize: 2 ounce Packet Luco German Diamond Dust

4th Prize: A sweet set of Aged Paper Lace

Good Luck Friends!

Texas Treasures

2009-09-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Besides my grandkids, there are are a ton of treasures to be found in Texas!

Over the next few days I will be playing show and tell, sharing what tresures I found, where I found them, and where you can have a lil' bit of these treasures for your own collection.

Starting with my all time favorite Christmas item, mercury glass, I found these...

Super sweet silver mercury glass beads, taken from a triple strand of Christmas garland.

After sorting them in color groups, I packed them into cello bags filled with aqua and vintage French paper shreds, 24 beads in a pack, perfect for embellishing garlands, collages, and other artful projects!

You can find these brand new items and more bead packs in other colors (coming soon) at Triple Trouble .

Texas Rattlesnake Lovers

2009-09-03T05:03:00.000-07:00

Brianna ~ Age 5

Brianna with her doctor bag helping Hadley feel better

Birthday girl with icing on her lip

Brianna opens a gift from Grandma

Chelsea and the kitten watch birds in the front yard

Brianna's first day of kindergarten

Chelsea learns "fast patti cake"

My Texas vacation is over. It was so much fun to be with the twins and grandkids! We celebrated Brianna's 5th birthday and her first day of kindergarten. Seeing Hadley and bethany on the weekends was a wonderful treat too!

Went thrift store shopping and we found a few flea markets where Heather and I lucked out big time! We found a booth with gemstones and a knowledgable shop owner who explained everything she could in English about the spiritual properties of the stones.

The days went by so fast. It was a short nine day trip full of cooking, reading, playing pretend, patticake, and enjoying each other.

Coming home was fun too. Dan took me to a Tides game in Norfolk. We ate jumbo beef hotdogs with the works, soft serve ice cream, salted pretzels, and drank pink lemonade. The Tides were getting smashed in the first 7 innings. They came alive in the end and nearly won the game. It was a great way to welcome me home. Thanks Dan!

Vacation Mode!

2009-08-20T16:39:00.000-07:00

Dear freinds,
I am on my way to visit the grandkids in Texas.
Shops are closed until I return unless I find a reliable internet connection.
Here's a peak at three of the four lil' sweetie pie gkids together. They were here visiting in July and it's my turn to go see them in big Texas country.

I hope to squeeze in a flea market or some yard sales on Saturday. Hopefully I will come home with more great stuff to share with you all in etsy land.

Sewing Lil' Dresses and Such

2009-08-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

School is about to start for Brianna. She is starting kindergarten and turning five years old next week. Her school requires uniforms in red, green, blue, or tan. Tan (as in khaki) clothes are everywhere but try finding school clothes in plain solid colors... not gonna happen. Target has a nice line of uniforms in dark blue, plaid, and khaki. Next best thing is to start sewing...

This is a dress I finished today. it is super sweet with a tie around the back. I dressed it up by adding a gathered bodice and rosette. The rosette can be worn along the waist or neckline, or pinned to her book bag if she likes.

Hopefully it wont be too long. She's gonna grow... so maybe long is a good thing.

The back

This is a little faux wrap around top. So sweet!

a super full ruffly skirt

You can't go to school without a pair of capris pants. Not sure if she will be allowed to wear the floral belt but it has the school colors and is just too darn cute not to wear.

The legs have pockets for stashing girlfriend goodies.

This is a skirt very similar to one I found on crewkids (Jcrew) website but it didn't cost a fortune...

I lined the waistband with some cute fabric.

and a couple of pairs of knit shorts to wear under skirts or dresses, so no one gets a peak at her undies.

So, this is what I've been busy with the past few days. I started sewing last week. I have a lot more to finish before my trip on Friday.

Yes I am going on vacation again. I'm going to Texas to visit Brianna and celebrate her 5th birthday and watch her go to school for the first time. It will be fin to see her, Chelsea, Hadley, and Bethany. The shops will be closed during this time. Internet may not be available and even if it were, I couldn't ship anything until Sept 1 or 2nd. I hope no one has a crafts supply emergency.

Happy end of summer friends. I hope everyone has had a chance to enjoy themselves and family as much as I have.

Super Sales on Etsy

2009-07-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

AUGUST FIRST WEEKEND SHOPPING EXTRAVAGANZA

Beginning on Saturday August 1st at 12:00 AM EST, the Etsy Supply Street Team is hosting another "First Weekend Shopping Extravaganza." This months event will run from Saturday, August 1st - Sunday, August 2nd, 2009. ALL ETSY SHOPS - HANDMADE, SUPPLIES AND VINTAGE - are invited to participate by placing an announcement in your shop and joining in with promoting on the "Official" Promotional thread in the Etsy Forums.This will be a “Shopping Event” similar to a Public Marketplace.

For all those interested in vintage supplies, please checkout my shop www.tripletrouble.etsy.com for the best deals on etsy. I'm bringing back the buy 3 get 1 free sale!

There will be tons of ribbons, paper goods, trims, and embellishments, plus some new stuff you haven't seen!

Be sure to search all ESST Team shops for great deals this first weekend of August!

Antique Encyclopedia Saved From A Landfill

2009-07-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

These wonderful 1943 New Standard Encyclopedias were found at a local yard sale a few months ago. They were thrown in a box about to be taken to the dump when I rescued them for 25 cents each! Yay me!

The books are full of awesome graphics and information. They'd look great in our old barrister cabinets. They'd also be awesome to rip apart and use in crafty projects. The covers can be redone with new paper and made into journals. What else... what else can one do with an outdated encyclopedia?

Checkout my etsy shop, tripletrouble for new listings made with some of the old encyclopedias.

Colorful map pages of the World

Hand cut paper leaves

Hand cut squares

Antique Black and White Photos

2009-07-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

Old photographs always seem to speak to me. They tell a story of a day in the life of a little girl or boy, a newlywed, a grandmother...

I could look at old photos all day long. and then I sell them for you to enjoy as well.

Antique Watches Always tell the Correct Time

2009-07-17T07:28:00.001-07:00

My friends give me stuff all the time. They call for pick ups or drop stuff off. Sometimes I shrug my shoulders and try to pass on wares such as these old watches. My friend insisted I take them. I'm thinking why do I want a bunch of old watches. they need wound... who does that anymore? Not complainin, just explainin...

Ha. So my friend stuck these watches in the bags full of junk she gave me. And when I got home I just laughed at this one thought from the past. What time is it anywhere in the world? Well, some of us know it is always 4:20, no matter where you are. nuf said.

I changed the time on the watches just for fun. They are up for sale now in triple trouble if you need em'.

(gigglin)

New Collage Kits For my Etsy Shop

2009-07-16T17:24:00.001-07:00

These kits are so much fun to make!

This new set of collage kits have a bit of Christmas Spirit in them. Christmas in July? Yes! It's never to early to start thinking about our Christmas crafting.

This kit contains a batch of new papers made today. The papers are actually from an antique journal. They are hand dyed Carloina Blue to match some of my hand dyed ribbons in Triple Trouble. You'll find lots of other goodies like pale blue seed beads, pearly white stamens, vintage silver balls, and sheets of vintage Christmas paper. The Christmas wrapping paper has silver holly leaves design all over it... so sweet and shabby!

You'll find a pouch full of vintage mica powders as well. Oh this stuff is so much fun to sprinkle over the edges of a card. use it to bring a nice sparkle to your Christmas posies!

You'll also get a sheet of genuine Christmas sheet music taken from an antique Hymnal. Please don't fret over me tearing up something from God's house. I think old hymnals need new life. hopefully you do too!
Checkout my etsy shop for this and many other new listing being added all week.

Awesome YOC II ATC Swaps

2009-07-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

My YOC II ATC Swap package arrived today. It was jammed packed full of cool cards including one of my very own . I'm so glad since I may want to send this to a dear friend.

The color theme for June was yellow which explains the common thread here. Anything else goes as you can see. There's a little of everything which I find exciting. It was so fun to open and sift through. I couldn't wait to get to Suz's card after sharing my thoughts about joining the swap. Suz made the bottom middle card, "feeling hat, hot, hot. Love it! Each has a story, even mine which I blogged about earlier.

Thanks Holly for helping with the ATC cards! Your photo choice and sentiment was perfect and probably made a few people smile when they opened their packages. (You should join the YOC family.)

Looking forward to making July cards ~ Stripes are the theme! I keep thinking about jail birds... crazy me.

Tatted and Crocheted Laces from Long Ago

2009-07-14T06:34:00.000-07:00

Back before Days of Our Lives, long before television was invented, way way long ago, women tatted in their spare time. They took a simple cotton thread wrapped on a solid wooden spool like this....

and with a needle, or crochet hook, a candle to light their way, maybe an aunt to guide their stitches... they made this...

Just imagine how much has changed since the early 1900's. A time when women made beautiful laces, embroidery work, and clothing. The laces adorned handkerchiefs, bedding, dresses, collars, and such.

Just imagine, if you've ever learned to crochet a potholder in girl scouts or home economics, how long and how tedious this handiwork compares to it. I tried making a winter scarf last year and undid it a million times because it was crooked or sloppy. I can't imagine the skill, the commitment, the time...

The laces are extraordinary. Each piece has it's own story. Each made with skill, care, love. Each is difficult to let go but I must share. You can find these and many others for sale in my etsy shop. When time allows, I may get creative and make something new with these beautiful old tatted and crocheted laces.

Some have color

Some are delicate

All started from a spool of cotton thread... amazing!

Summertime Fun ATC Tutorial

2009-06-29T06:49:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at making an ATC. I made it for the Year in Color II monthly ATC swap. At Year in Color II we are challenged to use a new monthly color in our crafts. The color for June is Yellow. Since summer has just begun I decided to use a fun summertime photograph in my ATC project.

I've been collaging for many years but never made a small card like this. I've seen them traded and the ACEO cards sold on ebay and etsy but never felt desire to make one until now.

The challenge at Year in Color II gives me a chance to make something new at least once a month and swap it with others. This is so cool. I can't wait to get my cards in the mail and to receive 10 totally different ones from others.

This project was pretty simple. My daughter, Holly, helped make these with me. The quote and photo choice were her ideas and we had a good time making them together.

I decided to photograph the steps and share the tutorial with you. Problem is I became so involved in the making of the card i forgot to photograph each step. LOL! Sorry about that. The steps are easy. I think you can make these with the photos here and with the few steps written below. Have fun and be sure to checkout the new supplies coming in my shop, tripletrouble, July 1st! I will have the Get A Grip ACEO Kits or supplies available as well as finished cards!

The cards in these photos show a folded card because I had a bright idea to have the ACEO card open to include a little story about my first experience making these cards. That changed by the time I finished them. I cut the card at the fold and will make more cards from the blank back.

Get A Grip Summertime Fun ATC

2 1/2" x 3 1/2" cards yellow or any color

inchies photos of happy couples grabbing you know where

contrasting cardstock scraps for backing the photo

ruffled seam binding

double stick tape

quick dry glue

vintage lined paper

flocking powder

paint to match the card

buttons

Get a Grip quote in font size 11

string to match the scrap card stock

Cut base of card 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" from Yellow card stock

Cut vintage lined paper slightly smaller and dot with yellow paint or whatever color your atc card is.
Shake dotted paper in a tub of white flocking powder. Set aside to dry.

Cut contrasting cardstock slightly larger than the inchie photo and glue to back.

Ruffle seam binding (pick a color close to the scrap card stock used on the photo backing

Tie string to vintage buttons

Dotted paper should be dry by now. Sew it to the front of the ATC card using yellow thread.

Glue the inchie to your card.

Glue the "Get a Grip" quote to top corner of inchie.

Using double stick tape, attach the ruffled seam binding below the inchie.

Shake card in white flocking powder to mask the shine and stickiness of any exposed double stick tape.

Glue button onto ruffled seam binding.

Finish back with vintage lined paper. I collaged the paper on the back or you can use sticky back paper, whatever is easiest for you.

Date and sign the back. Number them if you make more than one.

Use your imagination and change up the colors and the embellishments to coordinate with your photo. Your quote should fit the image in the inchie. This is the fun part of making the ACEO!

Be sure to make enough to swap with your friends!

Little Surprises from a Sweet Three Year Old

2009-06-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

Bethany age 3

Bethany is visiting for summer vacation. She is three years old. Bethany loves to do things herself. She doesn't need help.

This is a wet roll of Scott tissue paper. No one claimed responsibility but if you look close or zoom in, you can actually see the finger grip where some little one tried to ring out the wet roll. They carefully hung it back on the holder and never said a word until mommy started asking questions.

I had to laugh at this and I had to share it, just in case you forgot what it's like to have a three year old around the house. Just 30 minutes later I found this...

My Dad and My Dan

2009-06-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

My Dad and Mom and all us kids 1958

I love this picture maybe because of his smile looking down on me. I never thought to ask him while he was alive, What was he thinking? Was his smile genuine or did the photographer set this up? I have a good feeling his smile was genuine.

This is him in the hospital waiting room. A professional photographer from the Pittsburgh Press was there to take photos. I'm glad for it because they probably wouldn't have these photos which I love so much.

Back then father's were kept out of the delivery room. They had a special waiting area where smoking and pacing the floor was common for the new dads to be.

He smoked Pall Malls unfiltered, three packs a day in his later years. His fingers had nicotine stains on his smoking fingers and dirt always under his nails from landscaping.

The Doctor giving Dad the good news... three healthy baby girls.

I wish I knew who he called first. He probably called home, where all my brothers and sister were waiting to know the news. maybe he called his brother who lived next door or his mother.

Don't ya love the phone booth! Just 51 years ago we sat in a booth with coins to call home. Telephone books were usually hanging from underneath. And an operator would assist you if you needed it. I'm so so old!

Proud daddy holding me just after my birth.

My dad died when I was a young woman. I was just 27 years old when he passed away. He was in his late 60's when he died. My father worked very hard all his life to provide for his family. He worked seven days a week, sometimes 12 hours a day. It's sometimes difficult to reflect on his presence in my life now that I am mature. As a child I loved to tell him stories. He always listened and laughed while I talked to him. I remember his laughter with fondness. As a teenager I really disliked him. He chased my friends away, drank to much, drove me crazy with his paranoid accusations, and he actually caused a lot of angst in my life at that time. I would wish he'd give me up to foster care. I even behaved badly hoping to help him throw me out, knowing I'd be happier somewhere else. He threw my other brothers and sisters out, why not me? He never threw me out no matter how bad I was.

Our own family snapshots and professional photos would include a real dad more like my own who before the twins were born decided to be the one to work hard, to worry for their well being, and be there when they needed loved, listened to, laughed with, spanked, fed, nutured, and cared for by a father who unconditionally loved them. I wish so much I could have realized this before my own father passed away. I wish I could thank him for being there and loving us and laughing with me and at me as a child.

Me and Dan and all our kids and grandkids 2007

Thanks for being there when they were born, for calling home when you were late, for running to the store when we ran out of diapers, for paying for their every need, and for your continued love and respect you give each of them.

Thank you, Dan for being a real Dad to all our kids.

A real Dad takes time to listen, laugh, and curl his tongue for a family photo.

Thanks for loving our kids unconditionally.

They Said I Do!

2009-06-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

The Bride's Bouquet

Beautiful petite white roses with tinted daisies and baby's breath

The porch decorated with pom poms and ribbons

The guest book

The ceremony begins with a flower girl

Ned gives away the bride

The I Do's exchanged

The rings

The lil' princesses and The chocolate

The Happy Couple

Happy Doobey

What To Wear To The Beach

2009-06-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

This lovely one piece with a open front is nice

Actually this is a photo of my mother when she was in her early 20's. She looks so happy here. Just thought I would share a little family history with a splash of fashion. I love the two piece look in the front of her bathing suit. If I had a figure like hers, I'd totally love wearing this suit today!

Here Comes The Bride

2009-06-16T07:18:00.001-07:00

We made some flower pom poms for Melissa and Jim's wedding

and some white bows

Not sure if we made them correctly

How can you mess up a pom pom?

They are supposed to be round though... and these are flat...

Jim shares some dinner mint favors...

Melissa and Cindy mastering the tissue paper flower from Martha Stewart's website!

The dinner mints ~ The girls worked hard on these!

Proud Mother of the Bride

The Bride ~ Happy Melissa

The Groom ~ Happier Jim

Jim and Melissa are tying the knot this Saturday. They wanted a nice small simple family wedding, with hot dogs and hamburgers, nothing fancy, casual dress, etc.

(Enter mother of the bride, sister of the bride, best freinds of the bride, sister of the groom)

Within the first week we have managed to transform a simple wedding into a festive celebration... the dinner changed three times, and now will be catered, which is much better than the groom roasting dogs on the grill out back (save that for the 4th of july).

Other changes, porch decorations to match the brides maids dresses, special seting for the first families, party favors, dressed tables with festive bows and candles and such, music, and flower girls...

So much for a simple wedding!

More pics to come!

My family on TalkShoe radio

2009-06-15T07:34:00.001-07:00

Listen to this broadcast... my brother-in-law talks about selling on ebay and gives a shout out to me and my etsy shops! The show is titled E-Bay, Is it a shore thing.

Best Thing I Ever Ate

2009-06-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

Wild Caught Salmon!

It's better if you catch it yourself in the beautiful streams of Kodiak Island but I'll settle for the freezer section of my local supermarket...

We've been busy all week, haven't bought groceries except for fresh apples and a few other things from the produce dept. What was I gonna fix for lunch? Starvation was hitting hard... and then I stared at the refrigerator, the freezer, and the pantry a dozen times until it hit me... salmon patties!

Most of the time I make these with canned salmon and saltine crackers. This is a new twist on my old favorite... and I must say it was yummy!

This recipe is a keeper. it's not really a recipe, since I basically through ingredients together which I had on hand and nade it up as I went. If you want to make these, the recipe follows at the end of today's blog but keep in mind I didn't measure anything and the version I wrote is a good guesstimate of what I think I threw together.

It starts out like this, vacuum sealed in individual packets.

It ends up like this in just a few minutes

and with six ingredients and a few spices.

And this is the best thing I ever drank!

Well, it's whats left of the best thing I ever drank! The new juicer is so awesome. I made some fresh fruit juice with fresh pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and apple. it was scrumptous!

And this is what the doctor ordered...

a fresh glass of homemade apple juice 4 times a day!

Looks like blended garbage but tastes like green apple hard candy!

My doctor is awesome!

Salmon Patties with Spicy Mustard sauce

4 salmon patties (servings)

2 or 3 cups of Pepperidge farm Stuffing with herbs

1 beaten egg

1 cup fat free milk

1/2 cup sour cream

handful of shredded carrots

salt,pepper, onion powder, thyme, and galric powder to taste

Poach the salmon patties til cooked, just a few minutes is all it takes

Flake the cooked salmon, set aside to cool. Beat egg, milk, and sour cream together. Add to stuffing and season with salt pepper and other spices... whatever you like. Add flaked salmon and a handful or so shredded carrots and mix well. if it feels dry, add a little more milk.. it should clump and hold it's shape when formed into a patty.

Add oil to a hot cast iron skillet, medium high heat. Form patties and drop in one at a time, leaving the center open in the skillet. Turn once, afterthe browned skin has formed, and drop heat to medium. Try to let them cook without moving them too much. they will stick less and the crust will be extra tasty. Both sides should have a nice carmelized crust and hold together well.

While the patties are cooking mix up some spicy sauce for dipping. Mix 1/2 cup sour cream with two teaspoons dijon mustard, 1/8 tsp cayene pepper, 1/8 tsp tumeric, and a pinch of salt.

Serve the patty with a spoon of dipping sauce on the side, and a cup of five bean salad.

Total time to cook was 20 minutes!

Art + Yard Sale = Yart!

2009-06-07T06:06:00.000-07:00

It's time again for a Yart Sale! Remember last year's first ever Yart Sale? Did you participate or find any great deals? This will be my first year participating! You too can participate by offering somekind of special sale in your etsy shop.

The Second Annual Yart Sale will be from Wednesday, June 10 through Sunday, June 14, 2009. Participate in one, two, or all five days of the sale. You can read more about the Yart Sale here.

Are you curious what my special participation will be for the yart sale this year? Here's a clue... it has to do with my favorite number three!

If you have an Etsy shop, please consider participating in the Second Annual Yart Sale and remember to buy your handmade and awesome supplies from NCTriangle Team and Etsy Supply Street Team!

New awesome Bird Collage kits

2009-06-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

These were so much fun to put together!

First I ripped pages from an old encyclopedia. the pages are brittle and stained a perfectly wonderful sienna color.

Next I ripped pages from an old bird book which is full of awesome graphics.

Lovin the sparrows!

I tucked the papers into a cello envelope and filled it with handpunched crowns, prim measuring tape, antique lace, and some champagne dyed ribbon.

Crowns hand punched from vintage flocked ribbon!

The ribbon is hand dyed with non toxic acrylic paints!

Lastly I wrapped it with this super cool vintage jute braided ribbon.

Selling the jute in 4 yard lengths!

Doesn't this make you want to craft something right now!

All this just went up on my etsy store, as well as other neat stuff.

The Most Amazing Giveaway EVER!

2009-05-26T03:47:00.000-07:00

Giveaways are so much fun! Most have something sweet for a prize but this one beats anything I've seen recently! It truly is amazing!

It's from Lesley at Flatwoods Folk Art . It's called the "Unleash Your Creativity Blog Giveaway" and it has tons of inspirational goodies for ten lucky winners! Most Amazing for sure!

Just click to visit her giveaway post HERE

My Lucky Day

2009-05-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

Tommorrow is my lucky day... Well, that's what the urologist calls it. It's his lucky day, not mine. He's lucky because he has stock in the company which provides the machine to blast kidnet stones. He's lucky because he has a way of convincing gals and guys they need this in order to pass the gigantic kidney stones stuck inside. He's lucky because he can do this every two weeks and lucky for him most of stones the size of mine (over 8mm) need more than one treatment.

I'm not really lucky. I'm more desperate. I was thinking I will put a red X on my right side and a smiley face with the words, "it's your lucky day" on the left... just to be sure Dr. Stooge hits the correct kidney with his magic lazer machine.

However this turns out, I have decided to not do any more lithroscopy after tomorrow. Instead I will give this a chance to work one time. If it doesn't work then I will make an appointment with a local holistic medicine man. Ohhhh fun!

I thought these ramblings need a little photographic inspiration so I am sharing this with you all... It's my younngest grandaughter sporting a handmade tutu and texting me from her chill spot in the grassy field somewhere in texas...

and if you want to see more of Chelsea in a tutu or purchase one like this... go here.. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23379639

Trying Something New

2009-05-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite shops to browse in is the Dollar Store. Most of the stuff in the Dollar Store is made in China or somewhere outside the US and I don't like that part of the DS very much. The good thing about the DS is finding those unexpected supplies and such for only a buck! Things I avoid are toys, most foods, toiletries, and such. Things I seek out, paper, frames, flowers, decorations, olives, storage containers, and such. It's typical of me to spend on avaerage ten bucks each time I enter a DS.
I was thinking about my own Triple Trouble Etsy store where almost everything is three bucks each. Great deals on supplies which are sometimes in bulk as well. Thinking more i decided to try something new. How about offering a few of my bulk items in smaller quanties for one buck each! If it were the dollar store, people could possibly spend an average of ten bucks each time they visit... ha.
Well, each listing costs 20 cents, plus the cost of the supplies, the selling fees, the paypal fess, packaging fees, the costs of ink, paper for invoices and statements, electricity for my snazzy ceiling light, office equiptment, heat/airconditioning, and so on.
Will I make any money? probably not. But it's fun to try new things and this is a good way to offer a sampling to future buyers of my most popular items. Hopefully the bargain hunters will come back for more three dollar items alter. And maybe some folks want just a few rusty bells rather than 18...

Thankful

2009-05-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

My day went great!
Checkin at the hospital was easy and it was nice seeing sme familiar old friends working as volunteers. Especially nice was nurse emily who was able to sympathize with me over the bruised arms and hand. She was calm and assured about drawing blood. She did so well I would have clapped but one hand of mine was in hers. Dan cheered and nurse emily is now goddess of phlebotomy #2. She liked that.
Hving the IV was not so easy. A second nurse attempted but before blowing any veins she called in a special nurse who could set an IV in anyone... yep... ha.. we'll she did great and the doctor acknowledged her success.
I was in line and ready for surgery but the surgeon wasnot ready for me so I watched days and checked email and waited.
2:30pm the surgical team shows up to wheel me out. I was given "something to relax" in the IV line. All I remember after that was moving out of the room, down the hall, kiss from Dan and next thing ya know it's 4:30pm and I am somewhere else with other nurses and thinking W O W!
The surgery went well. One stone was removed, a stint was put in, and I was starving, thirsty, and wondering why my throat hurts.
There's so much to be thankful for. My husband took great care of me today, all the staff at the hospital were so attentive and compassionate, the campbell's soup for dinner made me long for a bowl of homemade beef veggie soup, and my flowers are still perky and beautiful.
Thanks to all who prayed for me. It's really comforting to know so many dear ones in my life take time to remember me. I am so very thankful for you all.

Patient Number N00017528530

2009-05-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

Get Well wishes from my triplet sisters.

They always have just the right words to cheer me up!

Flowers from Dan

The bouquet is beautiful!

a balloon from Faith and Charity

My vacation last weekend never happened. Instead it turned into a trip to the emergency room followed a few days later with a two day hospitalization.
I am patient number N00017528530. A hospital volunteer wheeled me to room 527 where beginner nurses attempted to start an IV, and take blood samples from my dehydrated veins. After blowing four veins, the beginner nurses called in the goddess of phlebotomy, Lenora, who with her grace and skill set the IV in my wrist! Yeah! Drugs were just an injection away, possibly within seconds I will have relief from the excruisiating pain of kidney stones.

Room 527 has an electric bed, a phone, a food tray, a sink, water closet (toilet with three walls), tv, wifi, two chairs, and a window with not much of a view. The room is quiet and once the morphine pump was finally working, it was as if nothing mattered. I went to sleep.

Tomorrow I will return to the hospital for outpatient surgery, hopefully having one of the two gigantic kidney stones removed. The urologist feels confident about the procedure, barring any extreme rare problems which he explained fully, while at times seeming to hate going through all the risks, he occassionally knocked himself in the head, bobbing it side to side, as he calmly explained the most awful problems which could occur but he's never seen in his 27 years experience. I waited for him to pull his hair a few times at the end but sadly he refrained. My urologists has the bed side manner of a highly educated Mo Stooge (yes of the three stooges).

Back to the hospital stay... I feel it fun to share what nutrition was provided during my two day one night hospital visit.

dinner day one ~ spaghetti with meat sauce, iceberg lettuce salad with a tomamto wedge, white roll w promise spread, something unrecognisable, and a chocolate cake desert cookie thing w chocolate icing. I didn't eat it... having instead the preferred dream dinner of bag-o-saline with a side of morhine and phenergan. tastless yes, but nice. Someone took a bite of my chocolate cookie treat on the tray. The dinner tray was still in my room at 5:00am when the cleaning crew showed up to empty trash cans and mop the floor.

Breakfast day two ~ Two 4" pancakes with a 5" sausage patty, two servings of syrup, promise spread, tea, milk, and ... that's it... what??? I was really glad Dan was in the room when I took the cover off my breakfast plate. Seriously, if I hadn't had a witness, I know not one person would believe this was my morning meal. I wasn't that hungry but sheesh, I hadn't eatin anything in 24 hours... so maybe a sliver of apple or something would have been nice... hmmm. Anyways, me and dan laughed at the site of breakfast, then I ate it slowly (morphine and toradol) and yes I ate it all.

Lunch day two ~ I was able to choose!Roast Beef or turkey sandwhich. I chose turkey. It came wonder white bread turkey lunch meat sanndwhich with real lettuce and tomato. a pickle on the side. vegetable soup, lemon cream pie, sweet tea... I was thankful for the tea. It helped loosen the white bread stuck to my palate. The pie was delightful with a shot of morphine.

Shortly after my last hit on the pump, the mean nurse came in and disconnected it from my arm, asking why I was all bruised up. I told her the bruises weren't there when I was admitted, maybe someone should come and check my arms. They were actually quiet bruised. No one ever came to ask about the bruises. Knowing these were blown veins from beginner nurses practicing their unlearned skills on a dehydrated vomiting, crying, me, it was no wonder.

During my checkout I was informed of my responsibilities, and follow up care needed, prescriptions to take at home, and how to care for my bruised arms. The nurse described it as "my veins blew", not the way i saw it. i saw it more like they blew my veins, four before they called for help. One arm is still half purple half green and hot.

so yeah, I'm a little scared about tomorrow. Being knocked out scares me, having more veins blown scares me, or God forbid, any of the never ever seen risks happens. I don't want to be that one person who went to outpatient surgery for a simple procedure and never returned home. I could just see my doctor punching himself out if anything went wrong.

My Swap May Basket Arrived!

2009-04-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

First, Meet Birdie, who built a nest in my stuudio window. His life partner is also outside the nest and the baby birdies have hatched. They are singing a sweet sweet song while Sally Solinski goes bananas wishing she could get a little nip.
Look close and you can see a worm in the birdy's beak!

And now for the May Swap Basket...

There are tons of goodies in the basket!

Everything is so charming and old and luscious!

A sweet birdie, so cute!

and this wonderful altered bottle... love it!

Tickets to the show and a paper posie

Tons of vintage millinery and laces!

Swapping is such fun! It's like Christmas only better because you get to meet some special new person and share ideas and gifts with each other.
My swap partner for the May Basket Swap was so patient with me and my little swap game I played with her.

Jerri packed a really special HUGE box of goodies for me. The box was full of delightful surprises. There were little packages of ephemers and photos, vintage post cards and hand written notes, tickets, scraps of neat little papers, and tons of game pieces. The button jar is wonderful. The altered glass jar so lovely. Everything was such fun to open.

Thank you Jerri! Thanks you so much! It will be tons of fun to make something special with some of these inspiring supplies.

What Happened To The Spring Cleaning Idea?

2009-04-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

Antique Lace Happened...

These are just a few of the laces I have listed recently in my Belle Dentelle Etsy Shop.

There are so many more I need to photograph and list. If you are interested in any of these laces, please visit my etsy store from the link on the right side bar. More items will be listed daily as i have time.

These laces are 50 - 100 years old. Many are hand made irish crochet, bobbin, and filet crochet edgings and insertion pices. These laces are exquisite, stunning, inspiring. The quality on many is perfect. Some have been salvaged or stained but the character and integrity of the pieces make them quite beautiful as is.