At the beach.....
won't be on here at all!

blessings from a certified beach bum,
deedee

Getting ready for the "Junque Sale"

Here is a sampling of what

I've  been working on...

I'm having fun finding uses for these

springs.

The vases look so fresh and pretty!

Collage Jewelry

Trying some new ideas out. 

This turned out super cute.

I have over 200 springs

to turn into cute!

Trying resin, a tad, okay a lot

intimidating.

But so far so good, the

drying stage.

And pillows, simple

and rustic,

with good messages.

Coffee and Hope!

And of course,

Signs!

If you're in the area,

Come to the show in Loveland, CO.

I'm doing the show with my good friend. 

We'll be bringing lots 

of salvaged goodies

and great furniture too.

Blessings,

Deedee

Playing

"Play every day," she said, "it's so good for the soul."

I have been working like crazy this month.

But since it's so much

like playing,

It's just so satisfying.

This idea has been rolling around

in my head for awhile.

I just love the message.
"You are fearfully and wonderfully made,
never forget that!"
One of the last things my dad
told me before he died was that.
It's scriptural,
but somehow, coming
from my daddy,
it packed a punch.

It's easy to get beaten down

Not as skinny as I'd like,

or at least less round.  But you are

just exactly who God

intended you to be!

So celebrate that.

Maybe eat healthier and get out and 

walk, but who

you are,

is really what matters!

So start loving yourself!

My daughter and I went driving

a couple weeks ago

she needs to practice,

so we went to Cheyenne.  Her

friend wanted us to 

bring her a souvenir.

After leaving the gas station

on the way back

to Colorado, we thought

we'd grab her a rock.  We were

at a stoplight and

this is the rock that

we found!

Perfect!

So now, we have a 

fabulous

idea

for our road trip coming up.

Love messages on rocks

left in random places.

What a fun encouraging

thing we can do to 

make the world

a brighter place!

Approximately 200 signs this month so far!

My legs are a little sore 

from standing on cement though!

Remember those 'Unexpected Blessings'

they do come from God.

I think in quotes now.

Random things people

say spark sign ideas.  

Always on the hunt

for fun and encouraging

messages.

I'm just realizing that

Dr. Seuss was

pretty encouraging.

My helper, Muffin

likes the ribbon basket.

This week is tear out carpet to

use the groovy cement floor

in a game room.

With breaks for playing

and sign making of course.

Live like crazy,

deedee

life lessons

Lesson 1

If you garden

in flip-flops, be prepared

for some mud between your toes.

And really filthy feet generally speaking!

Gardening is so satisfying,

unless of course something

starts to eat the

'babies' just as they

peek out of the dirt ~ aaah!

But still,

I have been working so hard to make

the outside of my home pretty.

I mostly do seeds and starts from friends.

I've also put a mix of random

things for plants to grow on.

An old door that needs weathering,

a yummy old trellis out of peely white wood.

A bunch of signs.

So, grow babies, grow, since you are what the garden

is about!

But I really do like the mud in my toes part too.

This is a sign a friend made for me 17 years ago.  

Love the flowers and the message.

Life lesson 2

If you use a heat gun on the floor of your garage

because the work table is too full

and doesn't have a clamp anyway,

just possibly you might burn

the carpet!  

Yea I've got some pretty rugs

in  my garage because

I found them by the side of the road

a nice way to warm up my work space

and make it pretty.  Well, now

it does have that burnt spot!

Also, holding down the

wood with your foot

as you snuggle close in so it

will make the paint bubble faster, perhaps

isn't the brightest thing I've ever done.

As I was working

though, and jerking my hand away

because it kept getting too hot,

I began to ponder about

blogging!

I've been cranking out signs this week.

Last week was wood cutting

and wood cleaning

and organizing the garage work space

by taking much to the Goodwill.

So this week gets

to be the fun part!  About

70 signs so far,

with a goal of 150,

I've got a few orders

and stores to fill up.

This is a good quote for my house!

 A Joyful Cottage in Estes Park 
gets these.  Today's step
wiring, finishing the backs

and 'be-ribboning.'

Take time to play it's Summer!

For me, sign making is play.
I've been thinking about life goals and where
I'm headed and such.
I think I love creating and 'arting.'  
Maybe you could tell that?
So I am praying about the future
and what it looks like for me.  I would love
it if my work could be this.
Play, it's just so satisfying.
My paying job is working in the local school district.
I do love that too.
Will you pray with me?
I haven't a clue how to do anything
with my art except crank it out
and sell in local stores and markets.
Which I enjoy,
but just maybe these inspirational
words can reach a broader world somehow.


Hoping and Praying,

deedee

Mama Love

I have the best mother in the universe.

No kidding.

She prays for me daily.

She is encouraging and supportive.

She is my favorite person

in the world to get the giggles with.

She has a beautiful heart.

There was that one year I gave

her a Mother's Day gift

early.

Mother's Day came and she

thought I'd forgotten her.

So now in keeping with my tradition,

My gift is fashionably late!

I had fun playing with image transfers.

I tried the technique of printing

with an inkjet printer onto transparencies,

but it didn't work right.

I ended up using photocopies, mat gel medium

and wax.  When you transfer photocopies,

it's hard to get all the white to disappear,

so rub it with a little wax and it will

stay clear.  I used leftover wax

from my soy lavender Magic Fairy Candle.

Just don't hair dry it to make

it go faster!  I did

and then the page before 

started to melt!  

Packed full of love notes and fond memories.

My kids wrote love notes too.  They are teenagers now.

I love their words.  

They love her smell (cucumber lotion).

Her soft arms.

So sweet!

Mama Love,

That's the best.

Blessings,

deedee

You are Precious in His sight.

Went out to play today.  Look what I saw...

By far, the longest table ever!  Love the metal top.

I am really drawn to old cement.

Beautiful designs.

Lots of crusty rusty.

The top of an old door with fabulous detailing.

 .

And who can resist old pillars?

Some beauty from nature among the tired and worn. 

A nice contrast.

Here is a verse I learned as a young woman in Sunday School.

"Be beautiful inside, in your heart,

with the lasting charm of 

a gentle, quiet spirit.

Which is so precious to God."

Some days I feel tired and worn out.  Maybe I'll go

sit in a junk yard next to some

peely pillars.  Just lean there.

Can you picture it?  Someone comes along and takes my photo and says,

Look, she's so beautiful.  Look at the gentle spirit.

Precious in His sight.

I'll try and remember that,

it puts things back into perspective.

Now I think it's time to go rest this tired gal.

"You are precious in His sight,"

deedee

They really are Possible!

With a little time

and lots of help from

my daughter,

look at 

the fun we had

redoing our living room!

The mantle got an updo,

with the gold frames tying it

together.

This broken chandelier

has some character,

only 2 arms are in tact.  Maybe it

will someday be a jewelry display piece.

And my favorite garden

statue of all times,

too crumbly to go outside,

but bringing me joy when I see it indoors.

The wildish rosebush in the backyard

surprised me the other day.

It's tucked away close to the house

and I just happened upon it

not knowing it had

blossomed.

That's a lot like watching

our children grow.

It's the daily mess and diapers

and feeding (I had 4 children in 6 years)

 and wondering if you'll ever talk

to adults in complete sentences again, and

then realizing

in a moment, that your

cute little preschool singing, "Old McDonald had a farm,

e-i-e-i-e,"

has grown into a brave, talented and confident young lady.

Blossomed, beautifully.

Of course,

throughout the day dedicated

to housecleaning, I had to 

go rust some things

and play a bit too!

Yes, dear, all things are possible

with God."  Raising children

most importantly

and even

those least 

things,

like housecleaning.

with joy,

deedee

With God all things are Possible!

Really?

All things?

That is truly an amazing concept.

Here are some 

new signs.

I really like the way they

turned out, but

stenciling is a booger!

I much prefer playing

and creating 

than bill

paying

and house cleaning.

hmmm.

But if all things

are possible

does that include

keeping up on

the daily stuff too?

I'll keep that in mind!

For Mother's Day

my kids helped

plant and

redo

some garden spaces.

It's a little hard to tell,

but this is

an old mop bucket with 

wheels.

And I do love geraniums.

Just rambling today, I hope your

day is full of amazing surprises.

I went to a hoarder's estate

sale yesterday.

And while it is very sad

to see and I seriously

hope my things

are organized enough

no one is terribly

shocked when

they have to go through

my home,

digging is so much fun!

Got 5 medicine cabinets!

It was an old house with spiral wooden

stairs.  I hauled these cupboards out

of the basement.

I'm not sure why digging 

(in other people's stuff

as well as the garden!)

is restorative

but it does have

something inspiring about it and

restful.

A step away from the everyday and

the stresses that crowd in.

All things are possible

even soul restoration.

Gotta love that.

Blessings,

deedee