Tuesday Treasure with maybe a hint of Made of Monday

Just over a week until Thanksgiving. Just a two days until my folks get here, and then the next day we are off!

The sound track of Thanksgiving travel is running through my head:

Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go…

On the road again….

Oh there’s no place like home for the holidays….Pennsylvania and some homemade pumpkin pie…

But then home is here – not there. Oh, there are things about there that are home – the people, the food, the time together, and the sense of heritage. I find myself walking a fine line between here and there.  The older I get the less connection I have to the place, though the connections to the people don’t dwindle, or at least the desire for the connection.

I love my family, but for nearly 25 years we have lived some place far away. Not some insurmountable distance, but far enough that daily life goes on. Other family moves. Kids grow up. Life happens. I am so thankful for all the technology that has continued to keep us connected so much better than long distance telephone calls and handwritten letters!

This week’s Tuesday Treasure is called On going Home. It is all about the things that come to mind as we prepare to journey to the “homeland”. 

• ·         The pumpkin pie and sled from the songs we would sing on the way.
• ·         The Steeler’s paraphernalia that gets packed and worn with pride while we are there among fellow fans.
• ·         Tokens of the travel- Construction barrels that litter the turnpike!
• ·         Images of the places we will see along the way and visit while we are there.

If you are traveling this Thanksgiving, I pray for safe travels for you. If you will spend your time with family, I pray for peace and joy for you. If you find yourself far from home and without family, count yourself blessed! No, I pray for you, too!

Enjoy this weeks treasure!

Tuesday Treasures...Turkey!

Thanksgiving is two weeks away...I can not wrap my head around that - that and everything that has to happen before and then in the wake of our thanksgiving pilgrimage to visit family...Regardless if I am prepared mentally or otherwise Thanksgiving will arrive...and with it BIG FAT TURKEYS!

Grace has been signing all about those BIG FAT TURKEYS, as she learns songs for the school program. It makes me chuckle. I love it!

I love Thanksgiving. For years it was the big holiday for me - the time when we traveled to be with family, and family gathered together. Sometime, Christmas gifts were exchanged early. There were always crafts and shopping and TURKEY!

Okay so really my favorite part of Thanksgiving is the stuffing...but there is no stuffing without... Turkey...

So here it is...this weeks treasure is turkey in all its Thanksgiving grandness...

Enjoy!

Tuesday Treasures...32

So now that I am 32, I thought that 32 would make a great treasury...WRONG!

I really had to work hard to find things that had 32 in the description and appealed to me.

Oh it could have all been paintings or photographs or baby blankets...but i am made of so much more than that!

A few of this weeks listing were sort of pushing the 32...I included things that were 32 count or .32 or 3.2...or that were in a shop that had a listing that had 32 in the description...but 32 is what it is...

and so are Tuesday Treasures! Enjoy!

Tuesday Treasures – Autumn Harvest

I sat down last night to put together the list of items for today’s treasury, and I was still excited about apple picking. We had such a good time on top of the mountain in Charlottesville, surrounded by friends and the juiciest, crispest, yummy apples. Now our countertop is piled high with apples in various shades or red, gold and green just waiting to be baked into even yummier treats. All of these apple picking memories, paired with the need to get a few Thanksgiving items listed in the etsy shop got me thinking about the autumn harvest.

Fall is such a bountiful time of year. Even though the leaves are changing and falling away, and summer’s gardens are soon to be turned under there is so much to be thankful for. Apple and pumpkins, pears, corn, squash, and nuts all are gathered this time of year. Soon the thanksgiving table will over flow with all the blessings of the harvest.

Which got me to thinking about what we give thanks for at Thanksgiving…is it just the harvest? Shouldn’t we also give thanks for the bodies that work the land for the harvest? Shouldn’t we also give thanks for those who gather at the table with us? Shouldn’t we give thanks to God for the seasons and His wisdom in creating them in cycle?

I know that I love breaking into the sweaters and gathering around a fire. I am thankful for these, too, the times to be close and cozy, to gather close and talk softly. There is nothing quite like the soft glow from homes in the twilight of the day. I am thankful for these, too, the call home to family that comes in autumn, when summer travels and play are over and we come inside and gather around a hearty table.

Autumn is such an amazing time of year. As much as spring blooms with new life and promise, autumn is a show of God’s splendor and a reminder to me of His generosity towards us. Today’s treasury highlights these ideas for me…enjoy!

Tuesday Treasure - My Dad!

Today is my dad’s birthday. He is a pretty amazing guy.

He is patient. He is kind. He can make anything. He is always busy, but not like in a million different directions, just never still. He thinks with his hands the way people talk with their hands. He loves me. He loves my mom. He loves my kids. I think he might even love my husband.

My dad is today’s Tuesday Treasure.

The Etsy treasury is made up of things that my dad loves like burgers and pizza and cookies and Pittsburgh Steelers football.

There are also jigsaw puzzles and kites flying on the beach, model trains, and lots of other good things that make me think of my dad.

And electricity because he loves his job, too.

Happy Birthday Pops!

Tuesday Treasures – Trains

This weekend The Things I am Made of and a few friends will be at the Historical Appomattox Railroad Festival in Appomattox, Virginia. If you are in the area please stop by and check us out.  TIAMO will be joined by The Whimsical Peanut and Aubrianah Shannen Photography.

So today’s treasure is trains and not just because of the railroad festival…I can recall throughout my life a nearness to trains. I can remember walking across the train tracks to get to the river, nearly every time I was at my grandma’s house. The train tracks ran right behind one of my high school friend’s home. In college, I loved to take the train home from school, along the Potomac and through DC. My husband and I’s first house was not far from the Amtrak station and a busy train thoroughfare.

My dad is an avid model railroader, train collector. Only recently was I subjected to a train collectors’ convention – it was like my dad times a thousand only mostly older and mostly grumpier…mostly. Many of the guys there were like my dad – still a kid at heart. It is as much fun to find something new as it is to tear something old apart and see how it works.

My kids have taken to trains quickly, as well. There are train tracks right at the edge of campus, so we frequently see trains in our travels through town. Grace loves to count the cars and watch for cabooses.

Without further ado, today’s treasury….Trains!

In other TIAMO news…The blog has a new sponsor!  DMC – Dance and Music Creations, located in Wyndhurst, this fabulous studio is one of Grace’s favorite places! She is in her second year of dance and loving every minute.  They offer all sorts of dance classes – some even just for boys- zumba and music and voice lessons, as well. Be sure to check their link out!

Saturday ….Success!

Success this week was getting the baby boy healthy! It took a lot of prayer, a lot of lost sleep and enough steroids to make him the size of Hulk Hogan!

Other successes this week?

Let’s see…

Having a blast at Touch a Truck!

Another wonderful, uplifting Girl’s Night at my mom’s!

A slew of birthday gifts and a baby shower gift….but only one that I can post pictures of – the rest will come next week.

Several (yes more than 1…more than 2) ETSY sales! And I am excited to say had more site views this month than last! YAAAHH!

Oh, and a HEALTHY baby boy got a hair cut today!

What were your successes this week?

Tuesday Treasures...Trucks!

Today’s treasure is sort of two-fold.

The treasure is officially TRUCKS – in honor of Touch aTruck this Saturday, which the kids and I will be attending. Let me just say that if you are in the Richmond area you should be sure to attend this gem of an event!

Which brings me to the second, unofficial treasure – those surprise moments that turn into lasting memories. The day that you thought was just going to be day and turned into magic! That is what Touch a Truck was for Grace and my folks last year.

We had seen an ad for it and it wasn’t very much to go. It was something for Grace and her Popsie and a chance for me and then teeny Jackson to get some rest and quite. I think the pictures speak for themselves, but they had a wonderful time and are so excited to go back this year and take Jackson!

I mean who doesn’t love trucks, right?

Enjoy the treasury!
And I hope to see you at Touch a Truck!

Thursday Round Up

Item of the week this week….check it out! Thanks…

And an extra special post over at Just The Girls: RealBeauty Blog. I wouldn’t be so eager to share, but the guy who wrote it is kind of special.

And ETC! 

My mom seems to have taken to heart my ETC post from last week, as she was very willingly in pictures this weekend. (Thanks Mom!)

These pictures are from a family trip to the park. We packed a picnic lunch (and stopped to by MCD tea…)and went to enjoy a beautiful fall afternoon. This park is probably my favorite of the local parks. It has beautiful old trees, which means shade. The play equipment is big enough to accommodate traffic of various ages, but not so big that I can’t easily keep tabs on the kids.

As I was getting these pictures ready to post and thinking of what made all the pictures I had to choose from either good or bad, I realized a few things. First as the photographer, it is important to be generous to those you are photographing. Even when just snapping family shots, take the time to say “your bra strap is showing”, or “here, let me fix your hair.” Not that ever picture has to be perfect, but if you can why not fix it now instead of hate the picture later.

Secondly, editing, specifically cropping is a beautiful thing.

 And finally, just get in the picture! The more pictures you are in the more chances you have to like one, right?

Don't forget to stop over at The Anderson Crew and check out all the other ETC fun!

Tuesday Treasure – Books – and their characters

I recently read Little House on the Prairie to Grace. It was sad and scary and wonderful all at once. And I can’t help but smile when I hear her playing out scenes from the book. She wants a bonnet to let hang down her back like Laura, but she says she wants to be Mary because she is older.

We read a lot at our house. Nearly, constantly if Grace had her way.  At times it is hard to find things to read. We could read every picture book in the house ten times a day, so a while back we started reading chapter books.

We have read Little House on the Prairie, Charlotte’s Web, Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins, Magician’s Nephew, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We have read most of the Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson Peter Pan series, as well.

Each new book brings a new set of playmates – imaginary ones for Grace to play with and make stories around. Each book adds new words (mostly good ones) to her vocabulary. Each book brings hours of questions.

So this week the Tuesday Treasury is things that call to mind some of our favorite literary characters. You will notice I included Anne of Green Gables – Grace has no interest in this book and it makes me sad, as it is my absolute favorite!

Enjoy!

Vintage Button Bracelet - Item of the Week plus a great find to share!

I have been totally slacking this morning. Well, aside from sending my daughter to school dressed for Yellow Day a day early…but who’s counting, right?

Today’s post is the item of the week. I have decided to create a separate blog page for this. So here is the link. Or you can check it out at the TIAMO shop, here.

And in all my slacking I found something to share with you on another great blog. So check it out here.

And have a Happy Thursday!

Happy Thursday!

Thank you for all your encouraging words yesterday as I worked my way out of that funk! I am in a better mood today and working hard to keep the very edges of that bad mood from creeping back!

Several times now I have mentioned that I have a plan for Thursdays, and I do, sort of.  While I continue to work on that plan, I have decided to share a listing of the week with you. Each week I will pick one listing to highlight here and on the Facebook page. 

I am also going to use Thursday as a day to update things, like the shop page here on the blog, listing pictures and information and maybe a few blog items, as well. There should be lots of pretty or at least interesting things to look at on Thursdays.

For starters, I have updated the picture on my Made of Monday post from the first day of school. If you enjoyed that post, you will enjoy the picture….I promise.

And with that here is this week’s listing of the week!

Vintage Button Bracelet in Black and Orange

I love the shape of these buttons and the way that shape makes the colors play, with spots of light and dark on the curves. I hope you will stop by the shop to check it out or maybe share it with a friend...Thanks so much!

I have been in a really lousy mood this week, like really lousy.

Like bring other folks down with me, lousy!

I know it is not the weather, but the weather certainly has helped anchor this mood in my heart.

Truly, what happened is that frustration turned to anger and self-pity…turned to procrastination and defiance, which made me emotionally vulnerable and tired…Way to mess myself up!

So here I sit writing to you about it – two days behind on chores, two days behind on homework, months behind on projects and days behind on ETSY and other related chores! I feel this huge pressure to get it all done, to get caught up THIS INSTANT! 

THIS INSTANT! ALL OF IT NEEDS TO BE DONE, NOW!

Does it really? No…but it feels like it. I feel like I am losing every bit of the success I have had in the past month in just 3 or 4 days.

How can I be in a bad mood with this cutey around?

And that feels bad, real bad.

I am not sure which feels worse – not having the things done or feeling badly about it. As I sat upstairs rocking Jackson for the two seconds he will snuggle before nap, the song that came to mind was Alabama’s  I’m in a Hurry and Don’t know Why.

I'm in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I'm in a hurry and don't know why

Don't know why I have to drive so fast
My car has nothing to prove
It's not new
But it'll do zero to sixty in five point two

I'm in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I'm in a hurry and don't know why

Can't be late, I leave in plenty of time
Shakin' hands with the clock
I can't stop
I'm on a roll and I'm ready to rock

I'm in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I'm in a hurry and don't know why

Oh, I hear a voice
That says I'm running behind
Better pick up my pace
It's a race and there ain't no room for someone in second place

I'm in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I'm in a hurry and don't know why

All he wants to do is ride the horse all day!
Maybe this is God's way of telling me to "hold my horses"?

That voice is my voice. No one else is saying I am behind. I am in a hurry, and I don’t know why. I mean, I know, but it is silly, and it is making me miserable. And it is no one but me doing this to myself!

Honestly, Thursday’s chores are quick and Friday is usually chore free, so there is time to make things up there.  The rain will pass and I will get pictures taken for all my new etsy listings.

But Grace won’t be 4 years 5 months 16 days old ever again and Jackson won’t be 1 year 1 month and 28 days old ever, ever again…And my husband won’t ever been in week 3 of his third year of law school ever again, and this time next year we may not live in this house or this town..There are so many things I should be savoring.

So this Wednesday, I am going to slow down, both literally and figuratively. I am going to get some things done, but I am going to do the best I can to let all the rest roll off my back…

Are you going to slow down? What hurries you? Who is that voice for you – yourself or someone or something else?

Tuesday Treasures…

All of these things and then some will be in the shop soon!

Today’s treasure is Halloween…and since Halloween is my birthday all the great things in my Etsy Treasury have to do with both Halloween and  Birthday’s…even if it is just something I would like to get for my birthday!

I have started to put some Halloween things in my own Etsy shop, The Things I am Made of, but alas the weather has thwarted my attempts to finish up (start) photographing a few of the things. Please check back once the rain has past for newer photos. I will also try to get additional photos posted to Facebook, too!

As we head into this rainy Tuesday, enjoy a little spooky celebration and some Halloween Treasures!

Saturday....Success!

How is this for success?
A beautiful picture of my beautiful school girl!
Thank You, Aubrianah Shannen Photography!

Week 2 of the 16 week semester done!

A 75/75 on my first Accounting Assignment!

A full 4 weeks of blogging under my belt!

All of my house cleaning chores accomplished!

Etsy sales on Etsy!

Student Loans disbursed!

Coffee out with a friend!

Could it get any better? Well, sure, but for now it is good. It is doable and livable…

I do have other things to share, but you will have to wait for next week when I can post pictures. I hate to post pictures of things that are intended as gifts or surprises. But I can say that I knocked two projects off the long term to do list, AND I am pleased as punch with how they turned out.

A special Thank You to everyone who has been reading and sharing the blog. I appreciate it.  I also appreciate all the comments on the blog and Facebook page posts! I really do enjoy getting feedback…and I would love to hear about your successes.

For me there aren’t huge successes or successes that are out where others can see them, but it feels good to say I did something. It fuels me to do more.  So please share your successes…either in the comments or send me a picture and a description of what you have accomplished during the week and I will do my best to include it in next Saturday’s successes!

Tuesday Treasures...Buttons

A few years ago my mom found some buttons that had belonged to her grandmother. They were fancy buttons and simple buttons, buttons her grandmother had cut off of shirts and coats, buttons still on the cards from the Five and Dime.

Mom used these buttons to make the sweetest little button bouquets. She made one for her, and then one for her sister and then several of her nieces. Next, she started buying buttons to make button bouquets for gifts. Soon other people started bringing her buttons to make them bouquets.

Each flower a little stack of buttons wired together and planted in the holes of a salt shaker was a treasure. 

While the button flowers bloomed, so did my mother's button collection. She hunted and shopped. She read and  researched. She cleaned and sorted. Buttons! Buttons! Buttons!

It seemed nearly daily the packages of buttons arrived or she was coming home from some little out of the way shop with buttons.

This might sound like a bad thing, but it wasn't. If anyone can find a gem it is my mom! A gem and a deal!

Then surrounded by all these beautiful buttons, she started creating things other than button bouquets, but alas there are still to many buttons to use - realistically, anyway. She has been generous and offered to make some of her wonderful buttons available through my etsy shop, The Things I am Made of.

I hope you will enjoy today's treasury, as well. The uses for buttons is never ending and certainly inspiring. And nothing says you have to make a coat to chose the buttons. Why not switch out the buttons on an old coat or sweater or dress and breath a little new life into them.

Tuesday Treasures - Numbers Found

I had this big plan about this Tuesday's Treasures and then....(isn't that how the best stories start?)

We went for a walk in the neighborhood Sunday morning. Neither of the kids have been feeling very well and the weather was nice. So instead of infecting every kid at church with whatever it was they were fighting, we got some fresh air and family time.

We were headed back towards the house when I noticed these cool numbers in the road. At first, I thought someone might have dropped a set of magnetic numbers for a sign,  but the kids were fussy at this point and we were moving quickly. I wasn't going to take the time to explore.

I said sort of off-handedly to my husband," Those numbers were really cool!" He wanted to know what numbers, where, all the good details...and then he insisted I go back and look at them closer...(Isn't he a good husband?) And what I thought was maybe a handful of numbers was hundreds - and not just numbers, either!

There were two sets of words - "To Riser" and "Pedestal". "To Riser" isn't the coolest...but I can think of at least a dozen different ways to use "Pedestal" on a card!

I am pretty sure these number tags are remnants of the construction going on in the neighborhood, maybe from the pre-fab trusses and rafters they are using. No matter where they are from they are interesting and inspiring.

When my husband insisted that I pick them up and bring them home (not all of the hundreds, but some!) I knew it was a Tuesday Treasures find, and that an Etsy Treasury was a must, too!

Let me tell you, there are A LOT of numbers on Etsy. I tried to find ones that would stretch my creativity. Sometimes the best finds aren't the ones that meet an existing need, but that inspire and send your creative process down an unexpected path.

So today's treasure is numbers, specifically numbers found.

Think of those posters where they show the numbers and letters in butterfly wings.
Or the collages that "find" letters and numbers in every day objects.

My find wasn't quite like that, but it goes to show you just never know what you are going to come across on a walk....even in your own neighborhood!

Tuesday Treasures!

Last week’s beautiful junk post and plastic bags yielded some Gymboree bags – Perfect! Each has lots of colorful polka dots!

 

This week – Ribbon.

Ribbon is one of my favorite treasures and often remnants can be found in our beautiful junk box.  I love to buy ribbon because often for less than a dollar you can get a yard or two of something beautifuI that has so much potential. You can put fancy ribbon on something plain and it is suddenly fancy. You can put simple ribbon on something over the top and it is suddenly just right. It can blend two seemingly unrelated things together. Ribbon can be functional – tying things together, holding something closed, or it can just be pretty.

 I was inspired this week to clean out my stash of ribbon – and my husband was kind enough to help. (I love shared projects!) I really should post a before picture, but that would be embarrassing, so I will post the after picture. In the process I picked two (more) projects.  I also put together two listings of ribbon for Etsy. If you have a need for some great ribbon check them out.

Oh and as a special treat, I put together an Etsy treasury of items featuring ribbon. Hope you find something there that inspires you.

See you tomorrow.

P.S.  Thank you so much to the incredible response to yesterday’s post about need. I am truly blessed to  be surrounded by such caring and supportive women !