She Shoots...She Scores...And the Crowd Goes Wild!!!!!

Well, maybe not wild. Underwhelmed would be a better description of the family's reaction to my treasures found yesterday at the craziest jumble sale I have ever been to.

I have been to jumble sales before, but this on in Kirton has a certain ambiance...one of sheer unadulterated lunacy. All the people in there are on their own personal mission to get as much stuff as they can, and for some, nothing will get in their way. I mean, I almost came to blows with this really old lady who just would not stop pushing me so she could dig thru a bag of tatty stuffed animals.

Kevin just picks a neutral corner and hides until I am ready to get the heck out of there. Oh, he also hold all my treasures for me, and if needed, will help me see over the crowds to what is on the tables. Justin is in there in the middle of it all, just having a blast. That's my boy!

I found some fun stuff, beginning with this really cute old baby toy. It wobbles when it rolls, and I think it is sweet. My apologies in advance for the poor picture quality. The lighting is so bad today.
I ventured back tot he clothing table (never been brave enough to jump into the crowd back there) and found lots of vintage clothing, most of which I will salvage for the fabric. At 20pence an item, the deals were great. I found this gorgeous silk scarf for Oz. I think it will end up on Ebay.

This chenille bedspread is without one single flaw. and for £1, a true steal. Too small for our bed, it will be re-purposed into something else.

This little lady was a last minute grab. Who knew she would clean up so well? She was a really nasty shade of brown when I bought her. I have quite a few of these little figures now...so maybe it is a collection?

This tree made Kevin almost leave me. Seriously. He actually said 'NO!' I, of course, ignored him and saw this little tree as a diamond in the rough. It is sweet and tatty and makes me think of my little Charlie Brown tree I had for years.

This squirrel. I lost my mind of him. I saw him, couldn't reach him, and actually shouted 'I gotta have that squirrel!', and the lady in front of me handed him to me. He is on my mantle now, along with the other squirrels (another budding collection) and is loving the company of new friends.

Ok, this Santa. His head bobbles. I love him. I adore him. He has it all. Except, he has a flaw. I didn't discover until we got home, that his feet are on backwards! Oh well, someone's got to love the misfits too!

And, the REAL bargain of the day was this huge selection of wedding/anniversary wrapping paper from the 1950's or 60's. I am guessing coz of the colours. There are probably 30 sheets all together of the different patterns, and I think they came from a market stall or shop as they were all folded together in their original packaging. I paid less than 10pence for them ALL.

Here are the patterns:

Sweet country church scenes in pinks and blues.

This may be my fave. Pink roses on blue background. Yowza!

Another sweet church scene.

This one is very nice as well. Love the doves!

This one is unusual as it has real photos of churches. England has the most gorgeous churches.

And this one almost gives me palpitations when I look at it. It just rings all my bells. Pink, roses, stripes, carriage, church, bells. Wowzers!

As always, thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your week and blessing to you all!

Don't forget about my giveway below!

Thanksgiving Giveaway!

Well, it is the week before Thanksgiving, and I have been using my down-time to think about the things that I am thankful for.

Here in the UK, there is no formal celebration of American Thanksgiving, but the locals do know about it, even if they don't understand it really. There was a bit of an explanation on a news/chat show last night that I really enjoyed. It is interesting to me to see how our American traditions are seen by folks from other lands.

Here at Wayside Cottage, we will be having Thanksgiving dinner on the Saturday after Thanksgiving with my American friend Charline and her hubby Dave. I am looking forward to sharing my home and my dinner table with them!

I suppose that I am most thankful for family and friends...those close and those far, far away. My stateside family continues to grow as my daughter has married and her first child is on the way. Her in-laws have become my extended family now and they have really been a blessing to all of us, even if they don't realize it.

I have reconnected with dear, old friends back home (thanks Face Book!) and feel my connection to them makes the distance seem a little more bearable. I look forward to seeing them all in the flesh very soon!

I have also made new friends here in my new home. Volunteering opportunities have allowed me to connect with some really beautiful folks and I know that my work is appreciated and my skills are put to good use.

I am also very thankful for a year of adjusting to a new culture that has helped me feel far more settled. I look forward to a joyful holiday season this year!

As always, I adore my hubby and my kids. Justin is such a joy to me. Watching him grow into a young man makes me happy...and that boy just makes me smile! He is silly and serious all at the same time and he is a constant source of inspiration to me. Mr G has been his usual calm, quiet influence and has really helped me settle in and has supported me thru all my 'mini breakdowns' this past year. I couldn't do all this without him.

And lastly, I have to thank YOU...all of you. Those who stop by for a quick read before you head out the door in the morning. To those who follow and subscribe to my ramblings and silliness...words do not express how much your presence and influence mean to me. Without all of you, I would have no one to relate to creatively, and that is priceless in my world!

As a way to say thanks to you all...I am having a giveaway. I will giveaway one of these two paperclay sculptures. They were made by me in the last year and I love them both, but I would love to offer one 9or maybe two) to a blog friend.

Now, just to make it fun, if I get more than 100 followers out of this, or more than 100 comments, I will throw in the other sculpture for another lucky player. The first winner will get first choice then, and the second will get the other one. Make sense?

Please leave a comment for one chance to win. Follow me for another chance to win. Blog about my giveaway for yet another chance to win. Leave a comment for each thing you do (makes the keeping up so much easier) and I will draw a winner next Friday, aka Black Friday or the day after Thanksgiving, at appx midnight (6am my time, if I am out of bed by then. If not, about 8am, when I know I will be up). I will contact the winner(s) and then give them until Tuesday to contact me (I give a bit longer coz of the holiday).

I MUST have a way to contact you. If you do not have a blog, you may email me your contact info at scwk0511@yahoo.com. If your blog is a private one, or your profile is private, I will need another way to conatct you as well so feel free to email me at the addy above. Nothing makes me sadder than to not have a way to contact someone who wins one of my drawings.

Ok, so get going. Sign up. Talk about me on your blog ( but be kind, please ;) ). Have fun. Spread the word.

Extreme Makeover-Studio Edition

This guy is jumping for joy.....

Because, my studio space that once looked like this.... And this.....

Now looks like this.....

And this....

And I am now ready to get serious about this artsy-craftsy stuff!