My Love Of Lamp Parts

One of my favorite things to find 2nd hand are vintage lamps. I get a kick out of lamps with the big glass balls usually olive green or gold (I'm sure you can picture what I'm talking about) that light up too. Oh those 6o's colors!

When I get the lamps home, I take 'em apart and add the pieces to my parts box in the garage.

A couple weeks ago, I got into my parts box and decided I had enough to create a large candle holder.

After playing awhile with the parts, this is what I came up with. I secured all the pieces together with nuts and washers on the rod.
I then painted it white and added crystal prisms.

All completed.

I use these candle holders throughout our home.

Here are the first ones I made over 5 years ago.

Another I made, which is in the main bath.

On another note, I created a gift tag last night.

Just so ya know, I don't spend much time doing paper art - I'm quite the amateur, really!

My mom gave me an old Hallmark book from the 40's that has the cutest card images. I reduced and copied the card in black and white then colored it with pencils. I was trying to make the image look like an old tinted photo - well sort of.

Mom's Pizza Apple Pie

I made my hubby a treat for his lunch last night.

This apple pie is super fast to make and it's always a hit at church potlucks too!

Who doesn't like apple pie??? :o)

Sprinkle 4 to 6 peeled and sliced apples with:

1/2 C sugar, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and 3/4 tsp cinnamon

Prepare regular 2-crust pie dough for bottom of pizza pan.

Crumb topping:

1/3 C sugar, 3/4 C flour, cut in 6 TBSP butter

Bake at 350 - 375 degrees for approximately 35 minutes

It is so yummy with the crunchy crumb topping.

We love it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or even with a big slice of Tillamook cheddar cheese!

The girls especially like it for breakfast. hehe

Enjoy!

Shades Of Gold...

I've always been more of a silver girl than a gold girl.

However today, I did find a few gold touches around here that have inspired me...

The warm glow of the sun always seems to make anything more beautiful, don't ya think?

Be sure to check out all the other beautiful gold inspiration here on the Shades Of Inspiration Flickr page.

The Winner!!

It's funny how morning quickly turned into afternoon around here today...

I enlisted the help of my sweet babe to do the honor of drawing a name.

and the winner is Connie - Living Beautifully!
Congratulations!!!

Show & Tell Sunday - Ephemera

Today's Show & Tell hosted by Cerri is all about ephemera.

I don't have a huge collection, but I do have a few pieces I think are really beautiful.

First is this marriage certificate from 1921. I love the florals!

I love to find old postcards with roses. When the cards have a written message on them, I love 'em even more. I have these postcards displayed on top of mirror harp that I turned upside down and hung on the wall.

Old sheet music is another type of ephemera I like to find.

The cover on this piece is so beautiful I just had to frame it.I couldn't pass up this vintage candy box when I found it. Oh the roses!!! Victorian calling cards are another favorite. The die cuts are amazing...Can't forget vintage valentines!

Another favorite are these little trading cards from the 20's that came in packs of cigarettes.

Be sure to stop over at Cerri's Little Pink Studio for a list of the other Show & Tell participants. There is always so many beautiful things shown and shared about.

***Reminder***

Don't miss the chance to win the giveaway I'm having!

All you gotta do is leave a comment on my previous giveaway post, and you'll be entered. I'll be drawing the winning name Monday morning.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Giveaway Time!!!

I just recently passed my 100th post so in keeping with blogland tradition, I'm having a celebration sweepstakes!!!

Here's what the one winner will receive.

I put together this charming pedestal dish today, created with a vintage Homer Laughlin bowl and a coordinating teacup. I even embellished the glass dome with vintage millinery flowers.

Don't you think these pedestal pieces make such a cute display!?
Earlier this week while out shopping, I found this totally cute pink porcelain rose. I actually bought two, so I could share one with the lucky winner too. I love how it looks under the glass!

Ok, so all you gotta do for a chance to win, is leave me one comment on this post. I'll draw the winning name on Monday morning the 21st.

Please be sure to leave me a way to contact you.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I do hope you enjoy your visit!

Some Barn Sale, Flea Market, Thrift Store & G-Sale Finds

Not only did I have fun doing beachy things last week, I had great shopping times as well. I hit a barn sale, a flea market, a few thrift stores and some garage sales.

I went to a flea market on the 3rd in the middle of a major rain storm! While some of the vendors were packing up, I managed to buy a few fun things there - 3 vintage tablecloth cutters, a neat pair of old spectacles, a pretty pink perfume bottle, and a couple neat old portraits.

On the 5th, some friends of ours that used to attend our church in town and have since moved to the island, had a barn sale. This was so fun! They had the sale set up on their property with at least 8 different vendors it was so charming. I took out my camera to take a few pictures but alas no battery! That was a bummer, I would have loved for you all to see how cute everything looked. I did manage to find things I couldn't live without - like an old copper boiler, an old tin comb-brush holder, a couple ceramic bird figurines, a tape measure, an old wood folding ruler and a rhinestone pin.

While thrift store shopping, I picked up some seam binding and other trims, old bottles, a crocheted pot holder, doll clothes, enamel flower pin, vintage buttons, vintage chick figurines, old wallpaper, and this cute German elfinware pram.

Only a few garage sales were happening both weekends but they did not disappoint. I found a fabulous school desk from the 1880's, an oil painting of roses, a cute pink jewelry box, ticking shams, and a few depression glass pieces. Overall I made quite the haul.

Oh, and just to let you know, I don't always by stuff for myself.... :o) I neglected to take a picture of the two bikes I found for the girls, the large bag of play food & kitchen stuff (why? I'm reminded every time I clean up), and a few noisy toys that my Mom kept reminding me weren't going to stay at the beach. hehe

It was lots of fun!

Shades Of Pink & Green

This weeks Shades of Inspiration challenge is pink and green.

My favorite colors!

I had no problem finding this color combination in my world.....

Hopefully, you've been inspired to go check out the Shades of Inspiration Flickr group.

You may even want to join in the fun!

July Beach Fun

Here are some highlights from our week up at the cabin.

Each year for the 4th, my cousin Jennifer makes a trip up to Boom City and goes crazy buying fireworks. She puts on a fantastic show. It was especially great to have her home this 4th since she was on R&R from Iraq. It's fun hanging out with cousins!

Jennifer always buys fireworks for the kids too - here they are all lined up waiting to light something off.
The "bigger kids" get to light off the big stuff. About 8 people were lighting at the same time. It makes a terrific show!
Thanks Jen for a great 4th! It was a blast!!!

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Here's what else we do at the beach...
tubin' with cousinssplashin'

jet skiin' with daddy

chillin' on the beach with friends and family

beachcombin' with Grandma

relaxin' with Grandpa

Fun times, great memories, we love July at our beach!

Beach Glass

I've been on a quest this week in search of beach glass. Last summer I started filling a vase with the sea glass we found. I've got the girls trained now too - and they're always on the prowl for more! They get so excited when they find that perfect piece to add to our collection.

I took this picture last night as the sun was setting behind us. I love the pink coloring in the sky reflecting off the horizon.

This morning, I wanted to capture the gorgeous blue sky with the glass. I found a small piece of blue beach glass this week. It's pretty rare to find blue around here, so I was thrilled!

We're all kind of sad that we have to go home tomorrow. We've had the best week ever! I'm going to miss my morning stroll on the beach......

Crabbin'

We're having lots of fun hanging out at the beach this week!

Today, we caught crab since we can only set pots Wednesdays through Saturdays. Our Dungeness crab season started last Wednesday and will end Labor Day weekend, so when we have a chance, we go crabbin'.

After we catch the crab, we have to sort the males from the females. You can see the difference, the girl on the left has a wide abdomen, and the boy on the right has a narrow abdomen.

We also have to measure the male crabs to make sure they are legal keepers.
Here they are lined up waiting for the water to boil....

Into the pot they go. When the water returns to a boil, we cook them for 12-15 minutes.

Once they're done cookin' we take the backs off and clean out the guts.

Now, we're ready to crack and eat!

I made myself a Crab Louie for lunch.

Oh, how I love fresh crab!