BRICKS - Part 1

I collect old bricks. When I tell people that, I really get some strange looks. I always search for them around old houses at estate sales and often times people will just give them to me. I guess they think of them as worthless. 

One of the first projects I tackled after getting into our house was to build a brick path from the back door to the driveway. Most of the bricks used here were found on our property.

Now I know that it's not perfectly straight or level, but it does keep my feet dry and it makes me happy!

Ferris bricks seem to be common here in East Texas. The chimney on my 1932 home is made from them, but I don't know where they were produced. If you do, send me a message. I would love to know. The star is one of my favorites.

I also really like the TEXAS bricks. (My violets are blooming!)

This picture contains a diamond brick. You'll see more of these in Bricks - Part 2. There's more to come!

Here's a Heart Rock for your Pocket:
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6

Wishing you God's best,
Elaine 

Join me over at:
Work it Wednesday No. 41 
The Scoop #112
Be Inspired #183
Inspire Me Please
Shabbilicious Friday
Feathered Nest Friday
Funky Junk - Upcycled Link Party
Wonderland and Company - Craft Frenzy Friday

An Old Ladder Makes a Great Hanging Shelf

Sometimes creativity comes quickly and sometimes it's a slow process. For this ladder, it was a slow process. 

 I bought it several years ago thinking it would make an interesting pot rack, but I couldn't convince myself that hanging my pots and pans from the ceiling was a good idea. So, I moved my thoughts to our sun room and it eventually ended up as a shelf hanging above the windows.

 It created a great space to display some of my old bottles and crates, a milk bucket and a minnow bucket with a star on top!

This 1942 Texas Farm License plate has a great story! When we tore out the kitchen cabinets during the remodel of our old farm house this plate was nailed inside one of the bottom cabinets. I carefully pulled the nails out so that I wouldn't tear it up and behind the plate was a huge rat hole. Yikes!

My ladder shelf also holds a white wooden church, which we picked up on one of our trips to Colorado, a bed spring wreath and a beautiful mocking bird nest...

 ... and my "Jesus Is Lord" sign.

Here's a Heart Rock for your Pocket:

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.   Romans 10:9

Wishing you God's best,
Elaine

Join me over at:
Thoughts from Alice: Sundays at Home
Funky Junk Ladders Link Party
 

Vintage Glass & Spring Flowers

I believe we are all thankful to see Spring arriving. I've been using small vintage glass containers to hold flowers and thought I would share a few ideas with you.

Here I have a small jelly jar (I think - if you know differently please leave me a message). It still has its lid which I love.

Aren't these just the sweetest little flowers you've ever seen? I nabbed them from the side of the road.

This is an old old Soda Water bottle that my dad passed on to me! The neck is broken but it still holds water. Lucky me!

I've placed them on a vintage glass tray. I know it's old because my wedding cake sat on this tray and I know how long ago that was! It belonged to my mom and there is no telling where it came from.

This is an old spice jar. I have a set of 6 with glass stoppers and I use them everywhere.

I hope you have a chance to get out today and pick some flowers. Then look through your junk (I know you have some) and find some new/old flower vases.

Here's a Heart Rock for your Pocket:

See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. Song of Songs 2:11-12

Wishing you God's best,
Elaine

Sunsets! One of my favorite things!

As a young married couple, we moved from our small northeast Texas hometown and settled in a large city. We raised our son, had a home, great friends and a wonderful church family. We had fun everywhere we went, but I always longed for the peacefulness and calmness of life in the country even after 19 years. 

One of the things I missed the most was watching the sunset. As a child, our dining room table sat in front of a big double window that faced west. My family of six always sat down together to eat supper in the evenings. I watched more sunsets than I can count sitting at that table. My view was across 100 acres of pastureland surrounded by a tree line with only one small farmhouse in sight across the field and I loved it. It was one of my most treasured memories from childhood. 

The view from my home on March 17, 2014. Gorgeous!

Years later, standing at my kitchen window that faced west, looking out over my backyard and the ball fields and library that sat on the street behind us and the homes and homes that surrounded everything, I remember praying and asking God to please, someday, let me live where I could watch the sunset again. God not only answered my prayer but he answered MY PRAYER. He not only gave me a home with a beautiful sunset, He gave me back MY SUNSET. The very one that I watched as a child. He gave me the small farmhouse that was within my view from my parents table where I now live. 

What a loving and gracious God we serve. He really does want to give us the desires of our heart! 

Here's a Heart Rock for your Pocket:

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Wishing you God's best,

Elaine

Spring Tablescape with Estate Sale Finds

I found some beautiful items last weekend at estate sales that are now part of my new Spring tablescape for Easter. This is a work in progress but here are a few snapshots of how things are evolving.

 

I found these sweet little bunnies, an old tattered roll of writing paper and a two book set of beautiful old dictionaries with a 1948 copyright and illustrations! I'm so excited!

I put them together as a centerpiece and added a vintage Easter postcard which has a handwritten note and is dated April 19, 1908 and was mailed to Deerfield, NY.

 I used scrapes of the paper in my dinner plates as place cards for my loved ones along with old tin candy molds that were a gift from a special friend (thanks, Cris). This one is a chick!

After a long cold winter, it's finally starting to feel a little like spring. Spring always brings with it a hope of renewal and new life.

Here's a Heart Rock for your Pocket:

...just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Romans 6:4

Wishing you God's Best,

Elaine 

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity, Jig! No.1 Colorado

My Dad always ended every trip with, "Home again, home again, jiggity jig." Regardless if it was home from church or school or a visit to grandma's. Mark and I recently made a 1900 mile trip to Colorado from our East Texas home. It was an adventure to say the least. Here are a few of the highlights.

Crossing Monarch Pass in Colorado

We drove through freezing rain in New Mexico and two blinding snow storms on the way there, the second of which was crossing Monarch Pass. Just let me say that Monarch Pass is scary on a beautiful sunny day.

Here is a shot taken at Blue Mesa Reservoir. Needless to say the lake was frozen. 

Aspen trees are one of my favorite things, ever! They are always my favorite part of Colorado.

I went snowmobiling for the first time. Getting up to Willow Park (aka, top of the mountain) was an exciting ride. We were laughing hysterically here, because Mark just got slammed by a snowball! Way to go Dayrel!

I made a snowman! I couldn't resist!

A collection of snapshots. The ranger was our mode of transportation on the mountain. The roads were not open for street vehicles.

I love this old Mission that sits on a hill at Raton Pass. 

On the trip home, we stayed at a 100 year old cowboy hotel in Clayton, NM. We ate supper in the Saloon and had breakfast in the dining hall. I was waiting for Gus from Lonesome Dove to come walking in. I love Gus.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig!

Here's a Rock for your Pocket:

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1

Wishing you God's best,
Elaine





 

Guest Towel Tags

If you are someone who often has a house full of guests that share a bathroom, I recently found a terrific idea that you are going to love for keeping your guests bath towels organized. It allows your guests to identify and reuse their towel, which is Earth friendly and frees you up to enjoy your guests rather than spending all your time doing laundry.

The fun part of this project is that you can customize it to your style or home or even the guests themselves. They are hanging ID tags with guest names (or initials) to be placed over the towels to identify whose towel is whose. Just make hooks available.

By using lettered beads, create a string with each guests name on it. The possibilities are endless!

Once your guests leave, hang on to the tags for their return visit. You can even display the tags on small hooks. It's fun for your guests to see who else has been to visit and reminds you of all the great times that you've had together.

 

This hostess (my mother-in-law, Kathie) used wooden beads on jute strings.

This would be great to use with your grandchildren. They could even help create their own tags. Using charms that represent your guests would be a fun addition.

Here are just a few of the ideas that pop into my mind to help you get started:

• Assorted pearls
• Sparkly bling
• Sea shells and beach glass
• Glass beads
• Seed beads

The jewelry isle at any craft store is full of beautiful beads and baubles. I feel a trip to the craft store coming! 

Here's a Heart Rock for your Pocket:
I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. Revelation 2:17

Wishing you God's best,
Elaine 

A little something just for me!

When I was little girl, my great grandmother used to have a box of magazine clippings. She would cut out and save pictures of things she liked and place them in a special box. Hey, I just realized my grandma invented Pinterest. How cool is that?! Anyway, when we would go to visit her she would allow my sisters and I to pick one thing from the box to bring home. It would take me forever to decide on just one item.

I think that is why I'm always intrigued by boxes of pictures and prints when I find them at flea markets. I can spend more time than I should digging through them and never buy a thing. Once I found three fruit prints, I had no idea if I would ever use them but they were practically free so I thought, "Why not!" I had them for a couple of years before I ever pulled them out and used them, but I ended up placing them in the back of one of my kitchen cabinets. I just slid them in behind the shelf. I wouldn't even call this a project. There is no work involved.

No one really sees the prints but me. It's a little something just for me! 

You could create your own little space with just about anything... pages out of magazines, photos, prints, inspirational quotes...

Give it a try and be sure to share with me.

Here's a Heart Rock for your pocket:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4-6

Wishing you God's best,
Elaine

Finders Keepers

For me, where I find an object is almost as important as the object itself. I love things with a story! I bought this adorable little table at an estate sale in my hometown. It was in a beautiful old historic home located on a farm far from town. My parents both grew up in the same area and shared with me all they knew about the family who lived there.

It was actually priced in a group of items, but I asked the lady in charge if she would be willing to sell this piece alone and she agreed. I might have paid $15. Some time later, (probably a year) I encountered a lady who told me, "I remember you. You're the lady that bought that little table. I wanted that table, but it was part of a set, then they sold it to you. I was mad!" I'm happy to report that she is now my friend. Every now and then we have a laugh over the table and she'll ask if I'm tired of it yet.

The Shreveport brick was a gift from The Boy. I have a "thing" for old bricks.

It appears the table may have been painted and stripped at some point.

I like the patina it has, but I've debated on whether to paint it or leave it as is. What do you think?

Post a message and let me know what you would do. I would like your opinion!

Thanks for your input...

and here's a Heart Rock for your Pocket:

 

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

 

Wishing you God's best,

Elaine