Back again!

Sorry for being such a bad blogger! We decided to take a little trip to San Diego- kinda spur of the moment. Unfortunately my camera died while we were there and I didn't get a bunch of photos for you! These are the camels at the Zoo... We took the bus around the park first and then went to see the animals...The pandas and koalas were awesome and there was a 5 day old giraffe! Mama mia he was a big one! But very darling! Just glad I didn't need to give birth to that baby! And mine were 10lbs each!

We have also been getting the kids ready for school, they are both starting new schools and we have had to jump thru hoops with my son's school.
I also have been having some halloween fun, making these to get in the mood. The sweet and sinister swap is black and white with a touch of orange so these aren't part of that...just having fun getting back into creating! Here is one of the tags I made :
And then I put together 3 of these kits for my etsy :

And here is a pic of a cute wall hanging we made at stamp club:

And in case you needed a little beagle love:
This little girl was a little bit of a pill while we were gone...She sometimes is a rascal with Grandma, digging in her trash, refusing to eat, when we go away...but she is back to her normal (still rascally) self now that we are home!

Hope this photo infused post makes up a little for the lack-of in the last week or so! Have a great weekend! xoxo karen....

Friday Flea Market

Today I am offering 2 darling purses. The first is made with a vintage barkcloth in "shabby colors on the front and has pockets and the back are made from a vintage ticking. This purse is new, made by a friend of mine who had to move quickly. It is finished off with a large pretty pink button. Here are some other views of it:

I am offering this for $14 + shipping

The second purse is one that she also made but has been used by me. It hung on my wall in my room with silk hydrangeas for about 2 months. I have washed and ironed it and it is good as new. This beauty is also made from vintage barkcloth and lined in a cream linen:

This little cutie is $6 + shipping

I also have posted some wonderful goodies in my etsy....9 new arting sets, some vintage books... lots of fun things that I have been collecting to bring you all summer! You can go visit these by clicking on my etsy logo on my sidebar.

THanks to Polly for bringing Friday Flea Market to us each week, she is such a sweetie! Please click on the polka dotted icon on my sidebar to go visit the other sellers! Happy Friday! xoxo karen....

Happy Birthday Mom and an Etsy Update

My cute Mommy turned 78 on Saturday. She is the most wonderful mom a girl could ask for. We had fun celebrating...she went to Red Lobster, her favorite restaraunt and got lots of goodies for her day as well as a dozen red roses!

I am sorry that I have been so delayed in posting. I have been busy running my teens around and getting burnt at the beach last week and also putting these yummy Inspiration packs together for my etsy.
I have treasure hunted all summer for these babies. I like to put together kits that I would love, in tins or boxes that are wonderful and still keep the cost down so you don't feel guilty but still feel pampered.
All in all there are seven Inspiration packs but here are pics of 4 of them:
There are some just full of beautiful, sewing inspired goodies:

And some which are filled with happy, child inspired goodies:

Our garden is still going pretty well, the cukes and squash are slowing down but the beans and tomatoes are really coming in! Tomorrow I have to take my sweet girl for her starting-high school physical (Uggh, she already is coping a 'tude about this!) and mom for a blood test and then I will make some yummy zucchini chocolate chip bread when I get home!

I hope you are all enjoying your summer! I'll write again soon! xoxo karen.....

I Need A Vacation!!!!!

After reading this post, you will not argue with me.... You may be even sending over the gooney squad to get me after reading this but sometimes we just gotta do what we gotta do!
Hubby and I have been out farming the back 40...In California that is 40" not acres. Well, there has been a tomato that is quite curious and I just couldn't leave it alone! Meet Henry:

Now when you have a schnoz like this, you gotta have rhinestone eyes!

And of course, when you have a schnoz like this, the rhinestone eyes can't be the same size! Now that I have that out of my system...., I need to share another thing with you:

Meet Edna:

This pretty little lady watches over our kitchen. She sits on our cooking island and for some dumb reason I feel like a better cook with her around.

Now, when we have family get-togethers I find poor Edna like this:

Last Easter I caught my brother-in-law putting her like this... I asked him why. His answer..."She needs to be in time out!" Hmmmm.....who needs the gooney squad??? me??? him??? both of us??? Hard to tell...

Now a little redemption.

I am really excited about the Sweet and Sinister Swap and have cleared my end of Southern Calif. of all cool black and cream scrapbook paper, flocked, striped,swirled and polka-dotted...and some spotted black and cream flowers to go with...YUM!

Well, I feel better now! We are going to take a couple of days of vacation at the end of August...Hopefully I will do better then! Until then...Probably more weird posts for you! Have a cooookie week! karen....

Friday Flea Market

It's that time again! I have made something special this week. A set of 4 Shabby Tile Coasters. They are made on tumbled marble tiles, a vintage postcard image is transferred on and then 3 coats of sealer added. I then add cork backs. They are wonderful coasters and also pretty to display in your home!
You will find them in my etsy shoppe. They are $20 for a set of 4 coasters.

Thanks for stopping by. Please go visit the other sellers by clicking the red polka-dotted icon on my right sidebar and Thanks to Polly for hosting this each week!

Sweet and Sinister!

I am so excited to be a part of the Sweet and Sinister swap this year. I loooove halloween. Probably because I was born 9 days after halloween and it was the fun pre-cursor to my birthday and I loved to be scared...still do!

Anyway, my partner for this swap is sweet Jenny- Everyday is a Holiday and so how could I go wrong!

The theme is a black and white theme (I'm going black and cream) and we are to give our partner: Something a little sweet

Something a little Sinister

A Handcrafted item

A home decor item

and a thrifted item! I have already gotten one little thrifted item that I think she will love and I have gone to 2 Scrapbook stores and JoAnns and taken a sample of all the awesome black and cream papers that they have....I still have one more scrapbook store to clean out!!! This is soooo fun!

We made it to the sinister book party with our 3 sweet teens! Here they are on the red carpet:
I couldn't get them to stop for a pic, they were so excited to go in!

There were vampires and coffins and chess sets all around! Here is my girl and her friend in line at the end! Look at those smiles!

The 3 of them stayed up until 6am reading! Here they are in the tree, being a totem pole:

Oh, I love my kids!!! They are a hoot!

On a different note! I have listed some new shabby coaster sets in my etsy shoppe. These come out so pretty and are lovely to put in a plate holder for display.

Have a great day! Hugs! karen.....

Busy, Busy!

This has been another busy week for me...Dr. appointments for my mom, picking up paperwork for my now high-schooler, and squeezing in a trip to the beach between tending to these:

And to these beauties:We have had enough squash and cukes to feed our neighbors, the gardener, any friends that stop by (and their relatives) and my husband's workmates and we still have more than we should! I think people are afraid to come by because they can't leave without taking a grocery bag full of squash and cucumbers! By the way...I am looking for a good moist zucchini bread recipe. The one we had last year was kinda dry and boring!

Well, I am off to get wristbands to go to Stephanie Meyers Breaking Dawn party at Borders! Hubby and I will be there with 3 teen girls from 9:30 until after midnight when the book is released.....I am so glad we both love books! I will leave you with my friday flea market find. And a big thank you to Polly who hosts this every week! Please click on the polka dotted icon on my sidebar to visit the other wonderful sellers.

This is a pair of electrical wall sconces. They have the original paint. I bought them because we lived in a house with no overhead lighting and thought they would make a pretty addition. Soon after, we found out we were moving and wouldn't need them so they have been in storage and need a good home!

$12 for the pair. If you are interested, just leave me a message and we will go from there! Talk to you soon! karen.....