GARDEN GLASS TOTEM

I have always been curious about gardeners who place totems in their gardens.  I suppose it was a project that was on my to-do list.

 I took a trip down to my favorite antique mall, and spied this candle stick which was 13 inches tall. It was $12.00.  Maybe I could begin collecting glass pieces for my own totem.



The next item I found was this beautiful turquoise crystal vase.  I was ready to make the leap.  I scoured the store for additional glass items, but wasn't willing to pay the costs.  I had to search elsewhere.  So, I purchased these two items.



That Friday, a friend asked me if I would like to attend 3 estate sales.  I thought about the totem and quickly said yes!  I mentioned to her that I was looking for glass items to add to my project and she was very good at helping me search.


This compilation of the below items pictured cost me $6.12.  This is an advantage when you go to an estate sale on the last day.  The sellers want to clean the house up so they won't have to pack it up themselves. I will use some of these items in my next project and keep the remainder for future totems.

This plate was half off, so it was only $2.00

I had a lot of clear glassware, but I needed one more turquoise piece.  I looked online and found this Pioneer Woman goblet.  I ordered one, which was $3.99 from Walmart.  Two days later, they informed me that they did not have it in stock.  On a fluke, I went to my Walmart and found it.

I researched how to assemble the totem and bought E6000 adhesive.  Then I played with the pieces, using blue tacky to make my tower.

I was happy with the tower, so I waited for Mr. Thrifty to come home from work and give me advice on how to go about the process of gluing.

The Mr. suggested that we glue two items in groups and then let them sit overnight before we attached them together.

The photo shows the 3 pairings of glued objects on the first night.

The next night, we glued two pairings together.

And on the third night, we added the last pairing.

I am very pleased with the result, but I will leave it inside the house until spring rolls around.

REFRESHENED ARTICHOKE

First of all, with the coronavirus update, my youngest, is home from school and it's her birthday.  It is hard to entertain here since we haven't gone anywhere.  We will be celebrating by picking up her favorite Chinese food later this afternoon.
Back to the posting.


During my February thrift shopping, I picked up this artichoke decoration for $1.00.

Updating this piece of décor took about a total of 15 minutes. I love those easy ones!

The first step was applying a coat of acrylic crackle medium. 

I used my hairdryer to speed up the drying process.

The next step was to paint the chalk paint over the dried artichoke.  I gave it two coats so the crackled surfaces would show more dimension.

Once I complete one more garden element, I will show you the Spring Mantle.



ST. PATRICK'S DAY CARD 2020

This year I used a vintage image of St. Patrick printed on vellum paper. Shamrock stickers and decorative ribbon were also used on the card.

The green and cream background paper had a Celtic design.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

SECRET INGREDIENT TO AWESOME OMELETTE

I have wanted to let you in a an amazing ingredient that my brother Joe introduced me to years ago.  When making omelets, he uses bits of cream cheese added at the end of the process.  Mr. Thrifty loves this ingredient in his omelets.

So lets get started.

The ingredients I will be using are wheat bread, an avocado, cream cheese, grated cheddar cheese, Cavender's spice,  green onions and eggs.

Lizzie bought me this avocado tool for my birthday.  They really make it so much easier to remove the avocado and slicing it at the same time.

I make sure to have all my ingredients cut up prior to starting the omelet.

Then, I toast the bread and put a layer of grated cheddar cheese on top.

I make my scrambled eggs, add a few dashes of Cavendar's and decide against the omelet.

When the eggs are pretty much set, I add the bits of cream cheese.

The last step is to add the sliced avocado and green onion slices.

This turns out to be an excellent breakfast.



CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS 2019

Greetings this 2nd day of March.  Just getting around to sharing 2019 Christmas.

Christmas around the house was on a much smaller scale this year.  The mantle was white which complimented the newly  tiled mantle.

A vintage iridescent Holy Family statue from my parents home was placed on the mantle. 

The Pottery Barn mercury candlesticks were placed on the floor adorned with glittered candle holders and battery powered candles.

The mantle was beautiful during the day

and glistened at night.

The centerpiece on the dining room table was a collection of all things Christmas red. 

The dining room armoire was draped with a glittered garland.

The birdcage was filled with multiple Christmas picks and glittered stars from the floral department.

The kitchen stollen made by my friend Mary was ready for Christmas breakfast.

Breakfast table set.

The large mercury ornaments were placed on top of my blue and white Oriental pottery on the hutch.

And of course, the Advent wreath was displaced on the library table.

The stained glass ornament tree was perched on the bench that Mr. Thrifty made for me.  The tree skirt was actually a gold drape.

Christmas morning was upon us.