Quick stop on the way home yeilds great fabric finds.

The funky flowers and yellow leaves are sheets and the African print is yard good. So excited about the bright colors.

Juvenile prints for future scrap quilts to donate. I'm always looking for boy prints.

Race car panels and several yards to make donated quilts. I feel I scored big with these two pieces.

Animal cracker train wall hanging panels and rainbow zebra doll panels. So cute for the little one's. Wish I had time to make them myself, but they are listed on the store.

I also found a vintage Star Wars twin sheet which is the first and so far the only item listed on my second on line shop. (butterflyplace.storenvy.com) I will be adding to that site this week, but I had to shop for inventory. To me that's the fun part. The vintage animal print is so cute. It is actually a crib quilt. I just loved the prints and listed it on butterflyplace.etsy.com to be used as is or as a cutter quilt. I've had a wonderful week thrifting for my stores and more than anything I'm enjoying sharing it with you. See you again soon and be grateful for all of your blessings.

Going for the fabric.

Thrift shopping this week brought these two aqua and green pillow cases and a bright pink and green sheet to the inventory. The sheet is listed on my store butterflyplace.etsy.com and the pillow cases have been set aside until I decide what my imagination can do with them. Actually I'm not ready to part with them.

I'm beginning to enjoy green. The olive green sheet which is 100% cotton I'm going to use as backing for quilts I will be donating to local hospitals. The paisley fabric is home decor fabric with a few bad spots that I'll clean up and list on my store. The beautiful green, maroon and blue print fabric was a wonderful find. It is "Guaranteed Dutch Java Print" fabric. This was made in Holland and to my surprise is quite expensive. May list it, May not. Still undecided. It's about 2.5 yards long and I could make something. Okay one more thing to do.

Then there was the great fire department fabric. Once this is trimmed it will be listed. I don't find a lot of fabric for boys so this was considered a score. The orange and yellow pillow cases just happened to find their way to my cart and are already listed. The universe is telling me to keep on going and that the day is not too far off when I can do this full time. I am building a second store and I'm so excited and to think that this is so much fun. My addiction to fabric is earning a few dollars. Not rich and never want to be. Just having fun. See everyone next week.

Linking to: http://www.thethriftyhome.com/

Second on line store coming soon.

Just opened my second on line store and as soon as I can design it and get it out of maintenance mode I will update the information. I am so excited. Not bad for the Mature Entrepreneur.

Bringing brightness to my day.

I was feeling rather gloomy and needed a trip to the thrift store. I didn't expect to find much and wasn't really caring whether or not I did. Just need to stop and it was less than two tenths of a mile from the grocery store. Why not look. I had an exciting time just by myself walking up and down the aisles. I found the blue elephant Napco planter, two made in Sweden brightly colored wooden hot plates that have handles so they can be hung, four tall wheat print glasses, a vintage porcelain owl and the cutes Japanese squirrel. The squirrel was claimed by my daughter for her vintage nick nack shelf and for some reason I can't stop enjoying his eyes.

Continuing down the linen aisle I couldn't believe the bright colors. Vintage and new sheets, reproduction vintage circus fabric and rainbow stripe fabric. How could you not feel better with all these mood lifting colors. Some of this will be used in sewing projects and some added as inventory to my on line store butterflyplace.etsy.com. It was a spur of the moment decision to go and well worth the trip. I can't wait to just do it again because only I can change my mood. Have a wonderful week everyone.

Roasted Red Peppers

Included in all the weekends activities was cooking and canning. Roasted red peppers were next on the agenda. I cannot believe the bounty that this season has provided. I will have peppers to enjoy until next canning season. I also baked more banana bread in canning jars and made a wonderful pot of split pea soup. It's been cooler here and the soup was just wonderful. I think I'm going to make some buttermilk biscuits to have with the leftover soup later this week.

I was slow in September.

 

I only went out thrifting twice in September. Not because I didn't want to, but because of time. I did okay when I went. I found vintage 70's curtains, some bright wavy stripe sheets, a crochet doily that is now in the thrifted bathroom, and believe it or not four 100% cotton baby blue NIP vintage twin size sheets. That was the best score.

 

I also came by a bag of coat zippers, another bag with rick rack for sewing projects, and some vintage 1962 school reading picture cards. I believe they were used to assist in story telling. They are so cute and would look good framed in a nursery.

I found a Cape Cod souvenir tray. All of the Cape Cod trays I've found I have sold. There was a Napcoware pink house with bunny planter made in Japan, another Japanese flower and bunny planter and a set of six Pyrex small bowls. These are larger and thinner than the smaller one's I've always seen. These are going in my kitchen. I need small bowls to use in cooking projects. It may seem like the pickings were slim, but I left things behind. Most of these items are going to be resold on my Etsy store. butterflyplace.etsy.com  I am a bit behind in listing items and need to get busy. Many items are prepped, but pictures need to be taken, edited and organized so that the listing can begin. With canning season coming to a slow down I think that will be happening soon. Have a wonderful week everyone and I'll be seeing you on your blogs.

Scrap Quilt

This is just a quick blog update. I feel some times like I am losing ground with the things I love doing. I'm trying hard to stay on my goal of one quilt a month for charity. I have piles of scrap fabrics to work with. This is the latest addition and is made of ten inch by twelve inch squares with a four inch border. Needed to do something quick so that I felt like I could keep up with my goal. I just love bright colors. I already have the next quilt planned. Hope I can keep up. The year is coming to an end so quickly. Where has this year gone?

Slow and steady.

I can hardly believe that it's been almost two weeks since I've updated my blog. I have every good reason to have been away so long. First there's the dealings of selling a house, working for some one else, building my on line reselling business, which by the way is picking up again, and harvesting and putting up this years bounty. I wonder when I found time to sleep. This is the latest canning project. I put up 16 pints of salsa for those vegetarian days. My favorite quickie dinner for when I'm alone is a good sized baked potato with sour cream and covered in salsa. I still have more to do, but it's Sunday and I must turn in early for that 3:15 am wake up call for my early morning shift. Slowly and steadily I will get it done and keep up. After all I wouldn't be the first person to be tired trying to build a business and survive what life throws at you.
Hopefully I'll be back mid week to update the blog, so when you stop by to check make sure you stop by my Etsy store (butterflyplace.etsy.com) to see what's new and how things are going. I hope everyone has a wonderful, but not as busy as my, week.

Bartered Goodies

With canning season well underway and so many people canning and making different items I have opened up to some bartering. It's said that the tax man doesn't like this kind of doings, but most of us are just trying to survive and enjoy the home made goodies.
In exchange for two cases of home made sweet relish I received two packages of home crafted venison sausages, we've eaten almost all of the other package, and two packages of ground venison. Along with the venison came a quart, yes a quart, of home made local maple syrup. I can't wait to make breakfast sausage out of the ground venison and enjoy a breakfast of waffles and home made syrup with home made sausage patties.
Then there's Paul's grape jelly. Paul a co-worker grows his own grapes. A small back yard garden keeps him busy. He made raisins and has a years supply, but wanted to try his hand at jelly. I kept encouraging him to try. I traded him some goodies for fresh grapes and grape jelly. I feel like it's Christmas. Items I enjoy and don't get myself are in my kitchen for future use.
I am going to make salsa and can it this weekend. With tomatoes at their peek I can't wait to fill the pantry for a long winter of great treats.

Blueberry cinnamon roll cake.

Trying to make something special last week and I came across this recipe on http://eatcakefordinner.blogspot.com/. It was something new for me and I had blueberries to use. At first we thought it was too much cake, but as you can see everyone seemed to enjoy it. It's almost gone now and I am looking for something new and different for this week to use the abundance of fruit and vegetable available. I highly recommend this recipe. It was yummy.

Great haul of thrifted linens.

Great variety of items.

 

 

Both new and vintage.

 

Even orange and yellow for the thrifted bathroom.

 

Thrifted bathroom. This dark room needed to be brightened up and I found the shower curtain and focused the decorating around it. Even the switch plate covers were painted yellow. We'll put the old one's up when we move out. Sure beats dark and brown.

Went to a local Savers thrift store last week because they were advertising a sale where if you spend $50 you would get 50% off selected items. Linens and home decor was one department. Well of course I didn't expect to find anything, but to my surprise I found a great bundle of new and vintage items. There was a NIP (new in package) red sheet set. I am always looking for red to do quilting projects. There were vintage sheets, Tommy Hilfiger 100% cotton sheets, four king size rainbow and white stripe fitted sheets and the orange and yellow velour hand towels and vintage wash cloth that are already in the thrifted bathroom. I see my store (butterflyplace.etsy.com) inventory  growing in the next few weeks and I have enough now to finish a couple more quilts for charity. I'm trying to have twelve quilts done for he hospital pediatric unit by the end of the year.

 

Last but not least and not included in the 50% off sale was the vintage mushroom and gold index file box which I'm sure was a great file box for recipes. This is already listed on my store. I don't know if I'll get out thrifting this week. Maybe I'll find a yard sale or two on the way home for work. I have lots of listing to do and with all the linens I have some cutting and sewing to do. Whatever the universe brings I'll enjoy. Have a great week everyone. 





It was a Pyrex week

Went to a couple of out of town flea markets with friends and found some fun items. The Tupperware Popsicle makers I had when my kids were growing up and had been looking to replace them for a while. I just wanted something small and refreshing in the freezer for these hot summer days.

This orange Pyrex casserole or baking dish was the first find. It is tangerine orange and in good condition and had the lid. I'm beginning to like the bright yellow and orange Pyrex. It is small. Only six inches in diameter but still a good find.

This three piece set of  Pyrex Butterfly pattern refrigerator dishes was another great deal. There is some wear on the edges of the tops which says to me that they were well loved and used. It's been fun learning the patterns and different types of Pyrex dishes.

Then there was this neat set of Pyrex Bowls in the Shenandoah pattern. These also have been used and loved, but are in very good condition. The large bowl is nine inches and the small bowl is seven inches. This was the first time I had seen this pattern.

This darling fruit print metal six inch plate by Georges Briard caught my eye. even with the small damage spot it is beautiful and would look nice mounted on the wall.

This Mr and Mrs Santa was made in Japan and is actually made to sit on a shelf. It was so adorable that I couldn't leave it behind. I also found some pillow cases for pillow case dresses to donate to charity and a spool of three different vintage crochet and tatted trims. These need to be soaked, but I am hopeful that I will be able to use them in my future sewing projects or add as inventory to my on line Etsy store. butterflyplace.etsy.com. The puppy salt and pepper shakers are just finding themselves in whatever picture they can. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I'll see you through the upcoming week.


Linking to:
http://www.thethriftyhome.com/2012/08/151st-penny-pinching-party.html

What to do on a rainy day.

No I didn't bake. I ate. I sat back in my big chair and had a cup of coffee with a piece of my zucchini walnut chocolate chip bread. I actually baked Saturday to take some goodies to a friends graduation, but not wanting to waste a beautiful zucchini I decided I needed something sweet. I mixed what the recipe said was equal to two large loafs. When I filled my canning jars I ended up with eight pints and an extra small loaf. Just enough for a single woman to enjoy. It was so good. I think it was the chocolate. Baking in the jars is working out well. I get about six slices per jar and when I need to take something to work for my break one jar works out well for the week. It keeps better in the refrigerator this way also because it is kept away from other aromas in the fridge. It isn't any extra work to bake this way. I'm glad I do this. I will enjoy summers' bounty all winter. Can't wait for pumpkins to make spicy pumpkin cake. Yum!

Thrift store finds this week.

Group Photo

Had a good time thrifting this week. Really needed to get out and do something. I found some interesting aminal items, a vintage popcorn bowl with individual bowls for serving, a black and gold mid century fruit bowl, some curtains and linens to reclaim the fabric from. My favorite is the Hippo bank. I'm becoming quite fond of the neon colors.



Cute bunnies.

Salt and pepper puppies.

Mid Century black and gold bowl.

Just a small sampling of items found to use as inventory on my etsy store. butterflyplace.etsy.com. I'm slowly getting things listed so that I can work on fabric. That's where my love is and I have a large stack to work on. Maybe someday I can do this full time, but for right now I'll settle for the time I have and consider myself blessed. Have a wonderful day.

Banana Walnut Bread

Having had my share of unemployment and underemployment for the past three years I have not thrown too much food away. Call it frugal or panic it never makes sense to me to waste what I can use. Ever since I started baking in canning jars I can tell you that I've had good luck and bad luck with it. I decided not to throw away aging bananas this week and bake them into banana walnut bread. Reason one being that if I just baked it in pans it would take up room in our apartment size freezer that I couldn't spare and the other reason was the length of time I could store it in the jars. I also wanted to add walnuts and they are so expensive now that they would not be as fresh if frozen. I got good seals on the lids and I added bright labels. I can now put these in our storage closet that we put shelves in for our canning and have the goodness of home baked on the shelf.

Attaching to: http://www.thethriftyhome.com/2012/08/149th-penny-pinching-party.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thethriftyhome%2FazGy+%28*The+Thrifty+Home%29

One estate sale this week.

I was not going to go to this estate sale, but it was on my way home from work and the very end of the sale. As I thought, most of the items I had seen in the preview were gone, but to my surprise most of the closets and bedrooms still had plenty to rummage through. Reclaimed linens and fabric are my favorite items and are always fun to me. This picture shows some vintage curtains. Some of a wood panel and kitchen pattern and others with a vintage Dutch ribbon that I will up cycle into something new. There was a linen towel with a country store theme and square linen napkins that I will also up cycle. I moved on to another room and to my amazement had a closet that seemed untouched but once past the old terry towels I found more linens to reclaim.

I found three sheets in excellent condition and to my surprise two vintage pink and white Swiss dot bed spreads with those lovely large ruffles. One is more loved than the other but if not usable as is will be great to reclaim the fabric. The best part of the short visit was that they were so happy not to have to pack all the leftover stuff up that I got great prices. It encouraged me to keep up the hunt and go on your instinct. You just never know. I hope soon to be able to go through these items more thoroughly and list them on my etsy store. butterflyplace.etsy.com. Have a wonderful weekend everyone and keep on going.

Canning season is well underway.

In the beginning there were two large bowls of chopped vegetables soaking in salt brine. Then...

The chopped vegetables were well rinsed and drained then put in a large pot with spices, cider vinegar and sugar and brought to a boil. While that was coming to a boil the jars were sterilized and  prepared for filling.

The relish begins to boil and the jars are ready to fill.

In the end I have 44 jars of sweet relish to trade with others for their home made products and it's a win win situation for all. The kitchen may be small but it works and the foot steps were kept at a minimum. Mmmmm...smells good in here. Hot dogs any one?

Next is home made salsa, chili relish and roasted red peppers. This winter when it's so cold I can enjoy my vegetables and forget about all the hard work with every bite.

Last weeks thrift and yard sale finds.

It was an awesome week for thrift and yard sale finds. To start there were the three Pyrex Cinderella nesting bowls, a Pyrex tea pot, a Pyrex double boiler and a two quart cast iron sauce pot.

I found vintage linens at such wonderful prices, doilies, curtain valences to reclaim the fabric, Vera napkins and new in the package vintage sheets.

Then there were some of the cutest vintage pillow fabrics and a fabric Bambi story book fabric. It was such a good week and I can't wait to get the pictures taken and edited to list some of these items on my etsy store. Please check in at butterflyplace.etsy.com to see how this mature entrepreneur is doing with the next chapter in her life.