Bought it, Making it, Broke it, Repainting it...

     I posted another give away.  This is an anniversary giveaway from our friend at The Primitive Skate.  What wonderful items! Happy Birthday, Sandi! I am just blown away by the generosity of everyone's giveaways!  Thank you! Good luck to all! And, most of all, best wishes to these wonderful blogs in being able to celebrate these mile-markers!  Congrats!

Bought It... (AND, sooooo want to buy it...)  

     Some of my Benadryl Spree items have arrived!  This angel bust is from The Olde Salt Box!  I love it!  So prim and grungy!  Love it, love it!  

     Here are some other items that have arrived.  These are from eBay sellers.  The apples are from Olsoncityblues who has an eBay store called "Annie's Fabric Arts and Primitives".  She sells some burlap apples that are so perfect for the season.  Burlap is in!
     The Pumpkins made of old coverlets came from eBay seller "auntiemeowsattic".  It was a grouping of three! I am giving the beige one to my mom, and the other two I have tucked in different spots.  I love coverlets and wovens, don't you?  The little mouse in a tin comes from another eBay seller "dorothy3217".  She has some cute and affordable mouse items.  They are simple- but cute and prim!  Buttermilk Creek Farm also has some really beautiful mice!  Each mouse tells a story and are so detailed!  I love the mouse sticking out of the pumpkin!  I just think mice are such a perfect addition to a prim decor. With the Autumn decor rolling out, what better items to tuck among Indian Corn and other fall wares?

Making it...

My mom gave me these pewter owls that are from a broken wind chime.  I thought about trying to redo the wind chime, but I think I am going to put hangers on them and put them on one of my country trees.  What do you think?

Crafting, crafting...  

     Here are my cheater pictures again.  The top left- my little pincushion cups in-line to get made into, well, pincushions!  No shoving, guys!  The next picture on the right is the beginnings of my stitching to be the cushiony part of the pin keeps.  Any ideas of what I should stitch?  I have quite a few different little cups! 

     The bottom right are some pen and water color pictures that I did.  I am trying to prepare for the Coffee Shop art display.  I am thinking about doing different pumpkin pictures and make them look like old-time food labels.  Maybe even do some coffee ones or other items.  I have some paintings, but, well, I just don't know what to put there.  My items are diverse, so I don't want a hodge-podge.  I want it to have some cohesiveness. I also want to sell them, so I am not sure what would attract buyers. I will keep you posted on that one.

     The final picture on the bottom left is a craft project I am starting.  I am not telling exactly what I am doing yet, but you can probably guess... 

Broke it... (Ooops!)

(Disclaimer... If you don't have time to sit with a cup of coffee and read this story, skip to the "Repainting it..." section.  I will not be offended.  If you need a laugh at another person's expense-mine- then read on...)

     Okay, so my mom and I went shopping yesterday.  Hit some more thrift shops- woohooo!  Well, we used the bathroom before we left.  We are usually careful to make sure the water stops running in the tank.  I guess we were too exciting to go out and get coffee, that neither of us checked.
     Well, when I came home, it was still running because the chain thing and the little apparatus below didn't seem to work properly to let the little flappy thing close and allow the tank to fill up. I really shouldn't have touched it. REALLY.  I tried to fiddle with the chain- that wasn't it. The little lever thing didn't seem to be moving right. So, I twisted it a bit and- snap!  I stood there, staring at the broken pieces, all the while hearing in my head, "Awwwww, you're going to be in trouble..."
     So, I tried gluing it.  Fine.  I lost circulation in my hand trying to hold the pieces together while I waited FOREVER for the glue to set.  Whatever.  I put it in, but the lever seemed to be at an odd angle so that I couldn't put the lid on.  Well, that's not good.  So, I fiddled some more.  SNAP!  Back to gluing and no hand circulation.  I am now waiting for the glue to set again.  Ugh.

     Well, have you ever read "Anne of Green Gables" or seen the movie?  They are my favorite books (after Austen and Gaskell).  So, let me introduce myself to you... Hello, my name is Anne Shirley.  Anne spelled with an "e".  Seriously, I may not live in Canada, have red hair, or tell people to call me Cordelia, but I am a teacher, and I am a mess. This next story is brought to you by If You Give a Moose a Muffin, aka- my brain (Meaning breaking the toilet made me think of this...)

     If you have ever read my bio, I said that one thing I can't stand is when students use the bathrooms and don't leave you a "square to spare".  Ladies and gentlemen, here is that story...

     The setting- the 2nd - 5th Grade wing (it's a modular unit), in the girl's bathroom.  Since we are a distance from the main building, we share the bathroom facilities with the students.  I try to use it when the students are not, and since the other teachers are teaching, I was alone in there. (This truly is important to the story.)  Another detail is that the bathroom fan sounds like a Black Hawk helicopter is hovering above your head (No yelling for help...). One final detail is that one of my fellow teachers takes care of some of the maintenance in the building, including replacing the rolls of toilet paper.  He is kind enough to leave partial rolls on the back of the toilet, just in case. MOST OF THE TIME...

     SO, THE STORY...  I went in to use the facilities and the reached for the toilet paper.  Gone. I reached for the spare behind the toilet. IT WAS WET.  A child dropped it into the toilet and then, just put it back. Seriously.  So, I started to panic. The teacher next to my room was keeping an eye on my students. The fan was loud, so no yelling (And truly, who wants to yell for help for this.)  No one thought it was odd that I hadn't returned yet.  No one came into the bathroom.  That room is usually a hub-bub of activity of children who want to escape the classroom.  No one. (You can hear the crickets at this point.  Well, over the helicopter.) 

     MINUTES went by.  No one. Well, I had my cell phone in my pocket from recess duty.  You can't directly call another teacher's room from an outside line, but we do have phones in our classrooms.  So, I tried to text my coworker down the hall about the predicament and to bring some help!  Everyone's phones are either off or on vibrate.  Since everyone is teaching, you would never know it was buzzing.  I took the chance.  I felt like Anne Shirley floating down the river, pretending to be the "Lady of Shallot"

     Ok.  I had to do it.  I called the office from the stall.  I asked our administrative assistant if she could call the second grade teacher in her room and ask her to bring some toilet paper to the girl's bathroom. "Where are you?" she asked.  "In the stall."  Laughter erupted from her like a long dormant volcano. THEN, she repeated the story to the principal nearby.  Apparently, there were others in the office who heard the story as well.  

     She said (FINALLY, but in a choked-up voice) that she would call Mrs. R..  Mrs. R. comes in laughing so hard she is in tears. That is Anne Shirley's moment when she is saved by Gilbert, "Anne Shirley, what in the world are you doing here?" as she holds on for dear life to the bridge, seeing her boat slip beneath the water.  I felt Anne's pain!.  

     She hands me the goods, and I make a hasty exit.  Sheesh.  Well, that story got around.  Every teacher in the school heard the story. Parents even laughed at me as they passed me in the hall.  I would enter a room, and they would laugh at me. Whenever we hire a new teacher, the story is shared at our In-service Meeting. I am the poster child for keeping tissues in your pocket at all times. JUST IN CASE!  And the teacher who neglected the maintenance of the stalls?  Well, I didn't bust a slate over his head... But, there were repercussions...

Repainting it...

     I see these really cool lanterns that are popular now.  But, they are expensive!  My mother-in-law got me this Pier 1 lantern years ago.  It is huge.  But, the whitewash is more of a beachy look rather than prim.  I want to repaint it and put it in the middle of my table with a flicker light in it.  What do you think about possible colors- a dark-brown wash to give it a barn wood look or, well, black? 

 Coffee Talk for Today...

You have a choice of flavors:

• Talk about "Anne of Green Gables" moments in your life or just laugh at me.
• Give me some ideas for my crafting dillemas.
• Share any good giveaways or purchases that you made recently.