Sweet Mason

I'm off to the vet to find out what's been troubling my big sweet boy, Mason:



The vet thinks he may have swallowed something that is blocking his intestines. :(

Mason will be three next week. He was the cutest puppy with great big paws:



He weighed more at 3 months old than our little dog weighs full grown.

So please cross your fingers that it's just a little tummy trouble and nothing too serious and that he'll be back on the sofa with his best fuzzy friend soon.



RR

Too much thrifting??

Is there such a thing? After last weekend I could possibly be THRIFTED OUT. Well at least for a week or two. ;) I think part of it is that my dining room table is piled with the spoils of three thrift stores and numerous yard sales and I can't make heads or tails of what I have. I'm starting to a mass a collection of items for an EBay store and an actual brick and mortar store that I hope to realize in the next year. It's a long shot and I won't go on about it until I have more news to share but we are hoping to make The Goodness Shop a reality.

Now about that pile . . .




Vera Scarves - (on the bottom) - my Mom scored these so I'm unsure of the price but she only pays a certain amount for things so I know it was a good one. The pink one with flowers (on the right) is my favorite and has a sticky spot from an old tag which I hope to be able to remove. Does Oxi Clean take out sticky stuff? I use Goo Gone to remove sticky tags from household items but I'm not sure about using it on fabric. (And if you don't have some and frequent a thrift store where they stick big white tags on EVERYTHING you must get yourself some Goo Gone, it's the best!)

mini pot holders - 45 cents - these are tiny, maybe 3 1/2 inches across and are that lovely light terry cloth of many 70s kitchen accessories.

mousie - 50 cents - isn't he the CUTEST? I just love him. I'm not much for porcelain animal figures but I couldn't resist his big ears. I think I'll give him a little bow around his neck.

wooden house chest of drawers - $2 - I've always wanted something like this for "doo dads" and this one is well made. The drawers are lined in velvet and the roof lifts up for an extra hidey-hole space. Oh the stuff I can put in here!

wooden house box - 50 cents - this is just a tiny box and I think it's hand painted. Not sure what I'll do with it, it was sort a of "wooden house" kind of day.



rose shaped "bundt" cake pan - $3 - this is a nice heavy enamel on cast iron version and I think I'll put it to some use this weekend. Any suggestions for cake recipes??

milk bottles - $3 each - this was a bit much for these but it was the first yard sale I hit that day and I do really like them . . . I think I will fill them with sea glass I find at the Rockaways.

tea cups - $4.50 each - yes, a lot for the thrift but do I need to go into my love for these AGAIN? :)

Believe me, there's a ton more but I have decided not to bore you with the menial thrifts. I found a few sheets to add to my rag rugs (which I hope to have up in my shop next week), a chenille bed spread I cut up for a custom tea cup pin cushion order



(expect to see all kinds of crap made out of that bed spread - I'm open to your ideas!! Drop me a line!) and a load of paper items that I hinted to yesterday. Next week is going to be big for The Goodness Shop!

*****************************
SPRING FLING SWAP

I have only heard from one person who has not heard from their Spring Fling Swap partner. Anyone else out there? Check out a few swaps already received HERE, HERE and HERE. Everything I have seen so far is lovely! Are you ready for the next swap? Hmmm?

Cheers!
RR

Spring Swap Goodness!

Someone call Dionne Warwick, Jenn needs to be her Psychic Friend! I received my Spring Fling Swap package today and all I can say is WOW! Jenn did an awesome job and even though we just "met" it's like she KNOWS ME.



First, how totally cute are the little cards she made for each letter? They are destined for my inspiration board for sure. So what's in the cute little packages?



S - sewing book - YES! One of Jenn's wonderful sewing books. I love it and it was made just for me. You can get one for yourself here. I love it!



So cute!

P - post card - this is thrifted and has the most wonderful little poem on it. How did Jenn know that this past week I went to an antique mall to specifically buy old postcards?? More about that later this week.

R - rick rack! You can never have too much and I use it often. :)

I - inchworm illustration - Jenn drew this! Isn't it wonderful?



It's water color I believe (correct me if I'm wrong, Jenn!) and I love LOVE it. I totally think Jenn should put these in her shop. I might need a collection. :) By the way, Jenn's husband Josh is also an amazing artist! See his pictures of "Big Ed" here.

N - napkins & New Jersey - the napkins are too cute and embroidered which is right up my alley. The New Jersey charm is enamel and pink:



How perfect? In the letter she included Jenn said her husband picked it out and thought it would be funny to include it. Well, I'll have you know that I have THREE charm bracelets and often haunt EBay in search of enamel charms! Oh, and I was on vacation last week IN NEW JERSEY. Spooky, huh?

G - gingham and guest towel which can both be seen in the picture at the beginning. Such darling lace on the towel. :)

Thank you again Jenn, I have truly been spoiled! Today is the last day to get your swaps in your mail. If you feel you are going to miss the deadline please email your partner and copy sgswaps@hotmail .com.

So my vacation was nice, too short of course, but nice still. We were crazy yard "sailing" women on Saturday and I even visited an antique mall in Jersey on Thursday. I'll share my finds and my plans for some yummy paper packs to be offered in The Goodness Shop next week. Here's a sneak peek of some of the paper to be included:



I'm off to hunt down some more of the Spring Fling Swappers! Next swap to be announced at the end of May!

Cheers!
RR

Comfort Food

This rain makes me want to eat. (Most weather makes me want to eat except maybe extreme heat . . . hmm . . .)



It was a weekend of soups in my house. This is the curried leek soup I mentioned on Thursday. It might be my new favorite food. Seriously, it's YUM. I added extra curry powder and was glad I did.

I also made Italian Meatball Soup in the crock pot:



I've been eating a whole lot of spinach on my new diet. I didn't even lose an ounce in the first week but I guess I did cheat a bit. I need to have more willpower! This soup is my own recipe. I'll post the recipe soon as I can't really remember exact measurements as I sort of went by taste. :) It was very yummy to come home to after my long morning of thrifting with Katie on Saturday.

I had quite a few fav finds this weekend, and these are yet another:



I'm a sucker for vintage linen napkins and these are in perfect shape! It seemed as if they were never even used. And I just can't get enough of the veggie motif that was so popular back in the day. I would probably put these in the store. If I had a store that is. Still on the fence about that one. It would be hard for me to actually use them I think. :)

More finds:



pink shelf box - $2 - now that I am over my fear of hanging things on the wall, this will go nicely in the craft room and could possibly be a home for my new fairy.

crochet thread - $2 - I have plans for some tiny doll house crocheted goods! Can't you see a pretty blue throw for the back of a tiny sofa? Maybe I'll have the next doll house linen shop like the doll house bakery over at Turkey Feathers.

doll clothes closet - $3 - isn't this just the neatest thing? It's not in the best shape and is made from some strange particle/paper board but the inside has shelves and a clothes bar and everything. I think I will paint the outside and wall paper the inside. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to have a little girl someday to enjoy using this.

ball jar - $1 - Katie collects these and was gracious enough to let me take one home. :)

pink glass goblet - $1 - it's not depression glass but will go nicely with the pieces I do have. I use them for storage/display in the craft room. Notice the trend that all things girly and pink are in my craft room??

tomato files - $2 - I'm not really sure what these are for. Both are expanding files. I thought to use the small one for coupons and the large one for recipes.

Tonight, Katie and I are going back to Savers. I am leaving tomorrow for a mini 5 day vacation to Atlantic City and Baltimore and we didn't want our 30% off coupons to go to waste! Wish me luck to find the other tea cup with the strainer that I passed up. :)

SPRING FLING SWAP NEWS!

The swaps are arriving! You can see Kate's goodies here that she received from Bee! Any more goodies arrived yet?

I'll be back next week, be GOOD.

Rebecca

Rain, Rain GO AWAY

Mother Nature is in an uproar. So I think I'll have a cuppa in my new mug:



It's quite silly to get so excited over a mug but I love this one. I found it at Savers on my Saturday thrift outing with Katie. It was a bit more than I would usually spend on a thrifted mug at $4.50 but now I wish I had grabbed it's mate as well. (The other mug was not nearly as sweet as this one with the geisha.) I love that it has both a tea strainer and a lid and is now on my desk at work full of a piping hot cup of Lady Grey.

Katie and I had great intentions of hitting a few yard sales on Saturday but thanks to MapQuest we never found them. We did happen to find a small church thrift store where Katie found 3 cute dresses! We then hit the Savers and both did well. I'll share some today and tomorrow so as not to overwhelm you with our thriftyness. :)

Another favorite find from Savers:



Bookends - $3.99 - these are from Carter's "Yoko Ono Lennon" collection. I didn't even know they had one. Hmm. I looked on Ebay and there is a little lamp to match. So cute! Maybe I need that now, too.



hankies - 3 for 99 cents - these seem to "new" to be vintage

pins - $2 each - lovely enamel flower and pearled horseshoe, found at the church thrift

beer glass - $1 - it has a picture of three men in a bar with a big bubble over their heads showing a woman in bead looking over to find an empty pillow where her husband should be. Says something above it in German, probably witty.

vintage bridge set - $1 - I thought this was stationary until I opened it and it's a score pad and two unopened decks of cards.

flowered tin - 69 cents - I love these and always pick them up to hold odds and ends in the craft room. I envision a whole shelf of these one day.

curtain - $1 - this would make a cute apron but I may try it out in my kitchen window first

More to come tomorrow including my second rag rug. :)

So pink and green Spring Fling Swaps are winging through the air as we speak! Once you receive your goodies please remember to take pictures and post them not only on your blog but on the Spring Fling Flicker Site!

Stay dry!
Rebecca

TGIF

I'm so ready for the weekend, how about you? We've had come crap cold weather this week with more on the way for Sunday. :( Oh well, maybe that will make me stick to my Spring Cleaning to do list.

Visit my sister, she's planning her wedding and has just picked out her flowers!


photo by Mandi Kurek

Aren't they lovely? That big rose in the middle is called "Fashion" and I just love it! I need a whole vase full. Mandi is looking for opinions on her choices and I know you guys are full of them. ;) Thank you for your advice on my store idea. It's appreciated!

Not much to report today but I wanted to show you my most recent hand made purchase. The Imagine Fairy by The Polka Dot Pixie:


photo by Jenny Hernandez

Don't you just LOVE her?? I mean seriously, she is just wonderful. Her darling hat and wings come off (because she is playing pretend!):


photo by Jenny Hernandez

I can't wait to have her in my hot little hands. She's a wee thing at only 4 1/2 inches tall but she's big on moxy, don't you think? When I was a girl I loved all things fantasy. Ever seen Labyrinth? (okay I loved all things David Bowie, too.) Well Jennifer Connolly's room in that movie was the room I wanted. Everywhere you looked there were princess crown, fairies, crystal balls . . . I was fascinated by it! Wouldn't this fairy be perfect in my childhood dream room? :)

Anyway, that's my babble for the day. I hope to have some new projects to share with you on Monday. Perhaps a finished rag rug . . . have a wonderful weekend!

Rebecca

Partner in Crime

Katie is my new go-to girl. She likes to thrift, craft, eat chocolate, read Martha Stewart magazines and sit on the couch. All of my favorite things! I picked her up last Saturday and headed to Savers. She's a good partner as she pointed out the Pyrex I showed you yesterday and says she likes to hear me babble. :) We are off on another adventure this weekend. Wish us luck!

So in addition to the napkins & napkin rings and the sheeting/fabric I have already showed you, this was my haul from last weekend:



tin - $1 - it's not vintage but it looks it, plus it's red. My favorite accent color!

whisk broom - $1 - it says Hungary on the handle.

wire basket - $2 - Oh so many uses

blue atlas jar - $49 cents - this is a new jar and was too cute to leave. I think I'll save it for swap goodies.



tinsel & 2 wooden Christmas ornaments - $1.99 - these were in a bag of goodies. I have to say, the first thing I head for lately are the bags of misc. crap. I've found some real treasures in there including those enamal Italian napkin rings I showed you

rick rack - $1.99 - this is a HUGE amount of blue rick rack. So if you get any mail from me, swap or otherwise, expect some blue rick rack.

Giants glass - 49 cents - Luis seems to use the thrifted Giants glasses I have found for him more than the our nice glasses.

wire basket - 99 cents - again, think of how many ways to use this! I can't resist a wire basket.

meat tenderizer - $1 - I needed one. Plain and simple.

So, I need your thoughts . . .

I'm still considering a "vintage" online store. I'd really like to offer a place where you can get quality items for a good price. I won't be one of those seller's who makes money on shipping, I plan to know pretty much what the shipping will cost and use flat rate boxes when I can. I also would like to have an area of "in search of" items. Like trying to find that creamer to go with my French Saxon China Thistle pattern sugar bowl! I'd like to have bartering as an option as well. So what do you think? And don't blow sunshine up my skirt, I want your real opinions. :)

What's doin' tonight? Curried Leek Soup, some crocheted baby booties and Ugly Betty.

xoxox
R

From Rags to Rugs!

Late yesterday afternoon Sarah sent me an email with a link to this tutorial on making rag rugs. You can see more pictures here. I think she wanted me to trial run it for her. ;) Well I was of course happy to oblige since it just so happened that on my thrifting trip with Katie on Saturday I picked up a vintage sheet and a good sized piece of vintage material. So I had at it!



So far so good! Honestly the most annoying part is cutting up the sheets which is why I only did halves to start in case I wasn't happy with the finished product. I am using a smaller crochet hook than the one in the tutorial because it gave it a more sturdy feel. I'm loving the color combination as well. I think this could become a bit of a habit for me! I'm thinking an oval next time. Thanks, Sarah! I needed that bit of motivation to get started on something new.

Now I know you're all sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for that Pyrex I teased about, right? LOL! Well I looked it up on EBay and it doesn't sell for that much but who cares! I like it and plan to share it with my mother who seems to be on an eternal hunt for a butter dish:



Creamer, sugar, gravy boat and saucer and butter dish all about $11 minus a 30% discount. Katie's sharp eye found the matching pieces when I snatched up the gravy boat! I don't see much like this in the thrift stores often so it was a nice surprise. Mom you can have the butter dish, we'll have to see about the other pieces. ;)

I thrifted a few more things that day that I plan to share once I get some pictures. My idea of cleaning for Easter included dumping everything unceremoniously into my craft room which included my bag of thrifted goodies.

So tonight I think I'll cut up more "yarn" for the rag rug. I have a light green sheet in my cabinet that hasn't been used since we upgraded to a queen, do you think a green stripe should be next?

updated: please check out the comments from Carrie B. in the comments section! She has some great tips on making fabric strips. She also included a link to a different way to make rag rugs called Toothbrush Rugs! Thanks Carrie, I don't have an email or a blog for so if you want to chat, drop me a line, email is in my profile.

xoxoxo
Rebecca

And now what will I do?

Easter has come and gone. Now what shall I craft for? I am almost done with the Spring Fling Swap (hope to mail that out NO LATER than next Monday, Jenn!) We've had a few emails that some swap packages are already on their way! You still have two weeks to get them out.

So how was your Easter? My friend Stacy and I cooked our little hearts out! It really all came together well despite the fact we overcooked the ziti and decided on mashed potatos instead of a gallette.



Luis' cousins brought two cakes from Veniero's and I made the peach bundt cake. It's from an actual Bundt cake mix I got at the Williams-Sonoma outlet for $4. They are regularly $14 and even though they include the sugar and are really really tasty I doubt I would pay that much for one. I would buy it for $4 again though.

Check out those napkins:



I found the napkins and the enamel napkin rings at the Savers this past Saturday! How lucky on the day before Easter. You know I wouldn't have found a darn thing if I went there looking for them. The napkins were 95 cents each (there are 5) and the 5 rings were in a bag with a few other things for $1.99. Oh and 30% off with another coupon. :) I also found a small table cloth I used on Sunday (but forgot to photograph) and a Pyrex goldmine! I'll post about that later once I get some decent pix.



My feather tree from Sarah was a huge hit! I moved it into the living room where everyone could see it. See my little menageri?



There's my brown courderouy bunny pin cushion from Ms. A and my little crocheted pals. I've decided to keep the pink bunny for next year and will put the duck and the cupcake up in the shop today. The egg is from Joann's and I added a little glitter to spruce it up. I actually got it for a friend but figured I'd put it out for decoration before sending it. Is that wrong? ;)



The kids had a wonderful time and my niece Christina especially loved the kid friendly bar. I had champagne, raspberry champage, sparkling tangerine strawberry punch, seltzer, pom juice, orange juice, raspberries, strawberries and limes. Needless to say, they didn't get any of the champagne. ;)

Wait until you see the wonderful Pyrex set I thrifted. I'm totally tickled by it. More tomorrow!

ciao
Rebecca

Are you ready for Easter?

I made up the baskets last weekend and put the tags on this week. I cut the tags from craft foam with my Sizzix and stuck some sparkly foam bunny stickers on them. They are probably my favorite Easter craft so far. Simple, easy and oh so cute. I see in the picture that Luis' basket (bottom left corner) does not have a tag! Better hop to it I guess. The Easter bunnies work is never done I suppose. And don't you love how the kids baskets are so much bigger than the adults? ;)

What are your Easter plans? We have brunch for Luis' family and a few friends. I'm still not sure what I'm making beyond the traditional ham and some mac and cheese for the kiddos. I'd like to try something new so if you have any ideas, toss them my way! I know I'm making a peach bundt cake and displaying it in my fabulous new cake keeper.

Tomorrow I'm up bright and early to hit the thrift store and the grocery with my dear friend over at An Odd Duck. She has been crazy busy lately and hasn't blogged much but stop by and give her a hollar. She is a wonderful writer! You must read this.

This came in the mail:



Man that's a lot of yarn. I got it from Mary Maxim. I ordered it on Saturday and it was here Wednesday morning. They are super dooper fast! It's for finishing my afghan and I hope it's enough. 15 balls does seem like a lot but it looks a bit smaller now that it's out of the box. :) I think it's time to go through my yarn stash and have a yarn blow out sale right here on Thrifty Goodness. I have a serious fiber addiction.

I hope your weekend is full of fun and family and that however you chose to celebrate Easter that you are safe, happy and content.

All my best,
Rebecca

And then there was Goodness

Well, I managed to take those pictures and my sister posted them all for me. :) So please click on the picture and go visit the Goodness Shop!



Along with Mandi's adorable barrettes you'll see my tea cup pincushions:



shabby chic crocheted pot holders:



and cotton crocheted baby bonnets:



Thank you for looking and for your support in ALL of my crafty adventures. Mandi said she had more comments on her blog than on her My Space page where she knows everyone. I told her that is how craft bloggers are! :)

So how is the swap going? I got an email from Peta today saying she is almost done! She was my Pink and Brown partner and she's pretty quick. :) I'm getting there, I was stuck for something for "I" but my sister gave me a great idea! I should be sending out next week for sure. Don't forget to include an outline of what letter each of your items represents! I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.

Ciao!
R

Keeping Up with The Goodness Girls

Okay, remember how I said I was putting things up in the Goodness Shop YESTERDAY? Yeah well, I haven't taken any pictures so in reality there will be things in there tomorrow. I am still having motivation issues I guess. I did make probably the cutest shabby chic crocheted pot holder EVER last night. It'll be in the shop tomorrow MAYBE even with a mate.



My sister, however, has already loaded things to the site. Please visit The Goodness Shop and see her wonderful barrettes for, as she says, girls of all ages. :) Speaking of Mandi, she has decided to become a blogger! PLEASE go and visit her. She needs friends. ;) (did I mention she is my little sister??) Anyway, visit Handi Dandi! Mandi and I are quite different, like she doesn't even go to the thrift store! I know. Craziness. She does, however, seem to like the things I have gotten for her there so I guess that makes it a little better. One similarity is that she is getting married this year as well. :)

****************

I went to the Savers on Saturday. I've been having some good thrifting there lately and I think it might be because I've been going Saturday mornings instead of my usual Sunday. I also had one of those 30% off coupons burning a whole in my wallet. So all the prices below are pre-coupon. :)



napkins - 95 cents each - lovely delicate embroidery.

duck plate - $1.95 - too. cute. for. words.



pillow - $1.95 - this may be my most recent favorite find!



juicer - $1.95 - love these things!

leaf dish - 95 cents - I know have four leaf shaped dishes, that is definately a collection!

spade shaped dish - 45 cents - just plain cute I think

daisy place mats - $1.95 - perfect for the Easter buffet!

And yesterday I mentioned how I found yet another china pattern I adore:



French Saxon China: Pattern: Thistle - 2 plates, 2 small bowls and a sugar bowl - around $5 for the set - you know I NEED the creamer now right? I looked on Ebay and replacements.com and no such luck. I'm hoping one of you comes upon it in your treasure hunting and I get a little thrifting karma for reuniting Heidi's Hazel Atlas sugar bowl with it's long lost mate. :) If you do, let me know! I have much to barter.

Please friends, send me some motivation jou-jou so that I can get pictures taken and things sorted out for the Etsy shop. We are also working on our very own website store as well where we will sell vintage and other used items at a good price. We'll need extra jou-jou to get that done!

xoxoxo
R

The Giving Tree

I have gone on and on about the giving nature of craft bloggers. I have been fortunate to meet so many wonderful people who will send you something just because they knew it would make you smile. :) And smile I did!

Behold my Sarah Tree:



Sarah shipped this all the way from Missouri in the biggest Fed Ex box you ever saw! Don't you just LOVE IT! My measly decorations don't do it justice but I promise you, it will be more appropriately decked in the months to come. THANK YOU SARAH! I can't say that enough.

I will point out one lovely decoration:



This is what I traded my Peep rosette for with Miz Smoochie Lips herself! Isn't it darling??

And on Friday I posted my lovely pin cushion swap items from Ms. A. Well, one of the pincushions was a small bag shaped one and silly me, I thought that WAS the pin cushion and then I noticed that it was kind of lumpy and I wondered what in the world she stuffed it with and low and behold:



There were babies in there! How cute! They sort of remind me of the original Wee. I couldn't bring myself to put pins in them (well not yet at least) so I added them to my inspiration board:



Perhaps you see something up there from you! (sorry for the awful glare.)

Sooooo what did I do this weekend? I felt productive. I got my sewing machine back, made up the Easter baskets for the niece and nephew, thrifted, whipped up a few things for the soon-to-come Etsy shop and made a crappily sewn curtain. It's a start. The "what I didn't get done" list is much much longer since I decided to spend 4 hours working mindlessly on my afghan and getting caught up on my Tivoed programs. The afghan is growing and I had to go online and order 15 more skeins of yarn (how daunting is that!) but I'm loving it. :) I love how I ordered more yarn yet have tons coming out the wazoo. Maybe I'll have a yarn blow out sale once I fire up that Etsy store. I certainly can't seem to knit anything these days. GRR.

cheers!

Rebecca

Oh how I love FRIDAY

This has been one heck of a long work week. It seemed like Friday would never get here. Yippee! Last night Luis decided he wanted to make cookies which basically translated to "you get all the stuff together and I'll watch you bake them." Um no. I did assemble all the ingredients and then steered him toward the KitchenAid:



Not the best picture but I wanted proof that he actually did it. :) I already love this mixer! I have always only had a hand mixer and wow, what a difference just to be able to turn it on and add stuff! I know, I'm way behind in the times I guess. I do see some fancier cakes in my future . . .

Yesterday was a good mail day! I received my swap package from Ms. A! She's fast because I haven't even put mine in the mail to her yet! Yikes!



It's my very own Easter basket of pin cushiony Goodness!



I think the "chocolate" bunny is my favorite. I think I will put him with my crocheted bunny and ducks before I stick pins in him. :) The little sack is made from the sleeve of a felted sweater as is the wrist pin cushion!



How handy! (ha ha pun intended!) Ms. A told me that the edging on this one was made by her Grandmother and is from an old pillowcase beyond repair. Thank you for giving me such a precious piece of your crafty family history!

If I am not mistaken this is Ms. A's first swap! Good job and THANK YOU! Pin cushions will be in the mail by Monday PROMISE. (Oh and thanks for the real chocolate bunnies, they are um . . . indisposed at the moment . . ;) )

A few of you commented that Kaiser, the puppy, looks like a fox. :) That picture is a year and a half old, he's not little kit-like baby any more!



In case you are interested, Kaiser is a Powderpuff Chinese Crested. :)

I just remembered! In her note, Ms. A. wrote "You can't spell Spring without PIN!" There's a good suggestion for what to make for you "P" item in the Spring Fling Swap! (Link corrections to come today I hope!)

Cheers!
Rebecca