Book Haul

 

Yesterday was day one of the quarterly used book sale held at our county fairgrounds. This sale is so much fun, for so many reasons.

1.) Day One starts at $4 per book, and every day after the price is reduced to $2.

2.) So many tables of books, all sorted by genres!

3.) Puzzles, games and DVDs, too!

4.) They play a funky soundtrack of alternative music from the 80s, which reminds my husband and I of the days of our youth!

5.) I find treasures every time!

I try to be a little more conservative with my first day choices, as they cost more. I focus on the hard-to-find, rare books. And I really scored yesterday!

In the hardcovers, I found two Gladys Taber books (probably worth over $50, going by Thriftbooks), two Christopher Morley books ($25-50), and a book of poetry that was being sold on Thriftbooks for $149!

A stack of Barbara Pym paperbacks, vintage!

And a few other paperbacks that looked interesting. My husband grabbed a few, too.

I paid just over $80. A steal! We only stayed for about an hour, hitting my favorite sections. It can be overwhelming. That's why I like to go over the course of several days.

I'll be going back for day two today, taking my time and checking out all the tables.

We did see what appeared to be several Amazon booksellers. They're usually scanning all the titles with their smartphones. One gentleman at the checkout before my had a total of over $600. I thanked him for his big purchase, as it made me feel a lot better about mine! ha ha I was even happier that my husband was there to witness it!

Studies are showing a real decline in people who read for pleasure. I'm hoping this changes one day soon. I think a lot of us are tired of the digital age and are longing for a return to an analog age. Real things we hold in our hands. Things we can create. Things we can use. Things that connect us to others.

I'm meeting my brother and sister-in-law at the sale today. Two more booklovers looking for deals.

Happy reading!

Make Your Own Card Kit

 

Sometimes, I need to do some simple marathon crafting to replenish my card stash. Kits are great for simplifying this process. It was easy to make my own "kit" with just a few items and some shopping in my own stash.

I started with this Simple Stories paper pad. Tea Garden has lots of cute spring images and colors.

I grabbed these coordinating "bits". I dumped each one into a tray so that I could see what I was looking for. I also grabbed some sweet paper doilies, made some card fronts, and die cut some frames with patterned paper. Then I got to work.

The first batch uses Concord and 9th card front dies, doilies, and enamel dots.

This batch uses patterned papers and die cuts. I also added some fun sentiments from Concord and 9th.

Some of the images from Simple Stories were larger, so I decided to make some 5 by 7 cards with them.

Happy cards. And I really needed some happy this week.

It also makes me happy to use the pretty things in my stash.

I think I'll be repeating this process very soon with some more of my favorite Simple Stories products. Maybe a set of nature-inspired cards suitable for men?

St. Patrick's Day

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I needed a card for my monthly coffee swap, and wanted to give it an Irish theme. I thought it'd be fun to make green hills, so I used this stamp and die set from Concord and 9th and added some CP coffee cups and this hysterical sentiment.

I went to visit Mom yesterday, and brought her a little present to celebrate the day. I found some yummy Irish soda bread and a potted shamrock at my local grocery store.

I also made her a new stitched pillow cover and this card:

I love that this mug die from Papertrey Ink looks exactly like the kind of mug you'd serve an Irish coffee in. 

And here's the stitched pillow.

I'm lucky to be loved by such a sweet Mom.

Don't forget to wear green today!

Pickles and Appliances

 

Why is it that things just do not last like they used to?

I have a GE alarm clock that is over 45 years old, maybe 50. And it's still going strong.

And I had a refrigerator that died after five years.

Five years?! That's as long as we can expect from a $ appliance?

We purchased new kitchen appliances during the great shortage of the pandemic. We went nearly a year without a working oven. We had hoped to get a matching set from Kitchenaid, but it looked like that would be impossible. So we eventually got a matching stove and microwave, a close-enough dishwasher, and a white Samsung refrigerator.

Well, this January, our fridge started making weird noises, and before we knew it, the freezer wasn't freezing and the fridge wasn't cold. The repairman gave us the diagnosis...bad compressor. So expensive to replace, you'd be better off getting a new fridge.

The good news? The matching Kitchenaid was available now! Yay!

The bad news? It wouldn't get delivered for three weeks.

Lucky for us, we have a small fridge and freezer in the basement. And with the help of two coolers outside on the deck during a Polar vortex January/February freeze, we managed to save most of our foods.

We really like this new refrigerator! It's a bit smaller than our last fridge, which is fine for two people. That's because it is counter depth, and doesn't stick out too much. There is a water dispenser inside the fridge, the ice maker is in the drawer. I love the clean look of the front, and the vintage-inspired style.

We were briefly in a real pickle, but now all is well.

And speaking of pickles...

I had to have this Dill-lightful stamp and die set from Concord and 9th. We are a pickle-loving family, and I could think of a lot of uses for these fun images.

I made my eldest pickle-loving son this card for his birthday.

And here is the inside sentiment! I love a good pun.

It's a chilly, winter's last gasp kind of day. I think I will make some creamy cauliflower soup and bring it to my Mom for lunch today.

Happy Friday the 13th, friends!

Spring Flowers

 

We've had some early spring days this week. Birds were singing, sun was shining, and bulbs are starting to pop up out of the hard winter ground.

Will it last? No, of course not. This is Michigan. We will likely have snow again next week.

But one day, spring will come to stay.

These stamps and dies from Concord and 9th speak to those spring days ahead. So fun! And that ladybug is precious.

Aldi had some pretty spring flowers last week. I really needed some wreaths, and these were a great deal.

I've been covering some fun local stories this week. The local spring craft show was well attended, with lots of pretty items from talented crafters. Then we went to a cool local brewery that was hosting a Scholastic-inspired pop up book fair for adults. How fun is that? This Saturday, I'm covering a vintage hanky sale at our local quilt shop that will be showcasing over one thousand hankies.

What fun things are filling your calendar this month?

Spring Lambs and Spring Hills

 

The Happy Herd stamps, stencils and dies from Concord and 9th called my name. I just love sheep.

I made these sheep using Distress Ink Picket Fence. This one is a one layer card.

I gave this to my brother-in-law this weekend, after having visited all of the boys and having them add their birthday greetings inside. Perfect! The whole herd!

And then, I needed a baby shower card, and thought this one would do the trick! I combined the sheep dies with the new Hillside dies, and added a card front stitched die panel at the bottom.

The Hillside dies also come with stamps and stencils. They look like a fresh breath of spring air. And who isn't craving that right about now?

I paired this with a sunburst panel.

Full of happy!

And speaking of happy, I managed a trip to see all of my sons over the weekend. We even had a chance to celebrate my birthday together, and that's the best gift of all.

Silly Goose

 

The goose is back!

You know how certain animals will suddenly become trendy and you start seeing them everywhere? Sloths. Hedgehogs. Llamas.

Well, I'm officially declaring this the Year of the Goose.

Target had a bunch of fun goose things in their Dollar Spot. Meijer also had goose things in their Dollar Spot.

And the porch goose? Yes, that's a thing once again!

Concord and 9th had a fabulous February release. I ordered...a lot. And one of the bundles is a set called Silly Goose.

It features die cuts of geese in various poses, with hats and boots and ribbons to accessorize.

So fun!

Tell me. Are you seeing gaggles of geese everywhere?