Notes from A Cottage Industry

All about that junk.

Eeeeeeeeee! I'm excited to share that my love for junking and all that goes with it have brought me to another new adventure. I have a new website, devoted entirely to all of the kindred spirits who love junk. Check it out here.

Let's remember Dr. Phil, (from back in the Oprah days, before his own show, even...) who would proclaim, "You've got to name it, to claim it!" Let's all openly declare our undying love of all things thrifted, recycled, upcycled, and repurposed, and parade it shamelessly for all to see. 

I can personally say that I have more than a little junk in my trunk, and I'm danged proud of it.

But first, kisses.

For all of the chalkboard art lovers out there....I came up with a new Valentine's treat box design last week, and I finally have it ready to go. Order them in my etsy shop, (here.) or find them in my booth at Camas Antiques tomorrow.

Weekly words to live by.

Pajamas and donuts. (A shameless Gramma brag post.)

Pajamas and pancakes was the original birthday party theme, and pancakes evolved into donuts at some point. (Yay!)

(Notice Natalie's donut pajamas...)

Little number nine, Miss Natalie Rose (the youngest and second of only two grand daughters in the lineup) celebrated her first birthday last weekend.

(You already saw the cake, and the topper...)

(And I made the chalkboard art as well...available in my etsy shop later this week!)

The party was held in the morning, (Hence the pajama part of the theme.) and besides the smash cake for little Natalie, we had miles and piles of the prettiest sprinkle adorned cupcakes I have ever seen.

(I made a sign to go along with the donut tray, thankyouverymuch.)

Such a sweet baby-girl! I only wish time didn't go by quite so fast.

The sweetest little Valentine treat boxes evah.

Seriously.

I had so much fun making these sweet little goodie boxes for Valentines Day, and then it occurred to me that they are really good for any time you want to surprise someone you love with a little treat. (Tucked in a suitcase, on the seat of their car, or under their bed pillow?)

I made them in three themes. A fun Blue and Red... (Find them here.)

Or a vintage themed look. (Find them here.)

And, finally, in a shimmery, glittery Heart Bingo version. (Find them here.)

I have them down at Camas antiques in my booth, or available in my etsy shop as well! Order yours now, to have in plenty of time for Valentine's Day!

Micro flannel; a life changing experience.

Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration.

You may recall that I am bit obsessed infatuated with bed pillows, sheets, duvets, and bed making, and that carries over to any bed in my home, whether it is mine, or the guest room...or a cot in the tent for Camp Cupcake. I want my bedroom to give me a feeling of calm and serenity whenever I look in as I come down the hallway, and I want my sleeping experience to be a little slice of heaven.

This being said, I am not one to have a linen closet busting at the hinges with a gajillion sets of sheets inside. Quite the contrary. I adore white bedding, and while I do add a splash of color on my guest room bed, for each of the beds I keep only a single set of cotton percale sheets for the warmer seasons, and a set of flannel sheets for the cold weather months.

(It seems like a space and money waster to me, somehow.)

I wash my sheets no less than once a week, (many times more often) because I love the feeling of sliding into fresh sheets, and after two years or so (give or take) flannel sheets in particular get worn pretty thin.

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that it was looking like it might be time to replace my current set of flannel sheets, and since my Mom had given me a giftcard for JC Penneys, I thought I would start my online search for while flannel sheets there.

(Just so you know, bright white flannel sheet sets are not as easy to find as other colors, or plaids, or snowman prints)

Well, I was thrilled to find that not only did they have white flannel sheet sets, but they were on sale 50% off. Even at half off, these sheets, which are called "Micro Flannel" sheets were on the spendy side, and I had to think about it for a bit.

(Okay, I didn't have to think too hard, because I had a gift card, which made the sheet set a screaming deal for me.)

I ordered these "Micro flannel" sheets, and waited anxiously for them to arrive, which happened to be last Friday. I opened the package, and pulled the sheets and pillow cases out.

Oh my gah.

So soft. So smooth.

Like buttah. (For reals.)

So not cold to the touch like most sheets feel in the winter time. I could hardly wait for bedtime once I finished making the bed at 9:30 a.m.

How aaah-mazing are these sheets? Let me say that I am very nearly positive that on the sixth day, as God was wrapping up all of hes creations, he came up with micro flannel, and this is what we will sleep on in heaven.

If your a flannel sheet person, you need to get yourself some of these.

Fast.

(While they are still on sale half off!)

 

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Weekly words to live by.

Hold me closer, tiny donuts.

I tried my hand, for the first time ever, at donut making.

(Teeny-tiny-itsy-bitsy-pink-and-sprinkled donuts, no less.) Teeny-tiny because...they are on top of little Natalie's birthday smash cake. In the end, her Mama decided on the hippo, (I know, I know. I was kind of surprised myself. Some of you are probably disappointed, because you liked the giraffe better, or you thought, like Natalie's Auntie, that the hippo looked too scary to you with it's mouth open and showing her teeth.....)

(The giraffe I created will go to my booth at Camas Antiques...)

I was a little concerned that the hippo was rather large for the six inch cake, but once I added the teeny-tiny donuts (cheerios frosted with melted candy melts and sprinkles) it grew on me and I decided I liked it.

We will see what Natalie rose thinks of it this morning!

Thursday night booth fluffing.

Last night I added pretty much the last of the Valentine's Day paper craft items to my booth at Camas Antiques.

After all of the down time from the heavy winter weather, sweet little downtown Camas has planned an extended shopping day this Saturday, with shops open until 8:00 pm. I wanted to be sure my booth was stocked up for this event, and I hope the warmer, dryer weather cooperates!

Because...junkin'.

...also because, well, I do heart old crap.

Now that football season is over, (for Seahawks fans, at least...) I am ready for yard sale season to begin.

And, I for one, am gonna be appropriately dressed for it.

I got the shirt here, but they seem to not be there now, so I am not sure what that means. (Sorry 'bout that.)

A second (potentially less scary) animal cake topper.

First off, thank you so very much for the lovely comments, and for your honest opinions!

As I said in my last post, I am going to be adding a birthday section to one spot in my booth space at Camas Antiques, as well as in my etsy shop, and therefore, I happen to have accumulated several little animals that I plan to foofy up. Last night I took a peek into my collection, and chose this little giraffe.

A tutu didn't seem to hang well on her, and so she ended up with a foofy collar of sorts. Truth be told, I like her just as well, if not a teensy bit better than the little hippo, and she most certainly is not scary by any definition of the term.

I sent my both of my daughters some pictures of the newest party animal. The auntie, who was not so much a fan of Miss Hippo, liked the giraffe, and Natalie's Mommy still like the hippo.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say, and that's what makes the world go round. I'll be showing Natalie's Mommy the animals in person before the party, and she can decide for sure which cake topper is going to grace the top of the cake. The remaining one will arrive in my booth, ready to party somewhere else.

Because a hippo in a tutu seemed like the way to go for a cake-topper.

That's my answer, if you're looking at the picture up there wondering what possessed me to spend part of my weekend hand stitching a bunch of coral colored tulle.

I made her to go on top of sweet little Natalie's birthday cake at her first birthday party this coming Saturday.

I think she's pretty adorable, but the jury's still out, as one of her aunties said she can't quite decide if it's cute or scary because it's mouth is open, and it's teeth are showing.

The big O-N-E party is set for next Saturday morning and it is to be a donuts and pajama party. I'm making little Miss Natalie Rose's smash cake, and the idea I can see in my head is for it to be a white cake with pale pink buttercream frosting. The little hippo will be front and center, with teeny-tiny-itsy-bitsy frosted donuts (with sprinkles!) scattered around her. (Can you see it too?)

What is your take on her? Cute? scary? Ridiculous? Fabulous? I would truly love to know your thoughts, as I am planning to add a small Birthday section to my etsy shop and my booth space at Camas Antiques. It will include cake toppers, banners, and other little details. What do you think? A good idea, or a little too out there?

Thanks in advance if you take the time to share here!

Weekly words to live by.

Curbside score.

A few weeks before Christmas, my Rock n' Roll Buddy and I were coming back from errands, a half a block from home, when I spied with my little eye, a girl bringing a wooden chair out to the curb. Already on the curb I spotted an up-cycled looking bookcase sort of thing.

Now, I only saw all of this out of the corner of my eye for half a second, but I was quite sure that if she was discarding this bookcase thing, I needed it.(I have a highly trained Junker's eye.)

We pulled in the driveway at my cottage and I jumped from Ralph's car to mine and headed right back around the block to find the girl just getting ready to head inside. Sure enough, she put these items on the curb for whoever wanted them. The chair wasn't my style, so I just loaded the wobbly little bookcase, thanked her, and headed back home.

I unloaded my new treasure and put it in the corner of the garage with all of my other needs-a-little-tlc items, and there it sat. Christmas came and went, and then New Years. This past Wednesday night I decided to dust it off and bring it inside to see what I could do to make it stable and sturdy.

With an added small board for support, and my trusty nail gun, I had the sweet little shelf ready to go into my booth. (I love the yardstick detail!)

Are you compelled to stop and investigate potential treasures sitting on a curb, or peeking out of someone's garbage day pick up pile? Do you salivate at the sign of a yard sale? For me, it's the thrill of the hunt, and finding a diamond in the rough for free is about as good as it gets.

Be still my ever lovin' Junker's heart.

Snowmageddon 2017 continues here in Portland, Wisconsin.

 

Well, it looks to me like a case of ask and you shall receive.

(Yesterday I said I could handle another "snow day" from my grown up job, remember?)

Eeeeeee!

Snow plows were sent down to Portland from Seattle late last night to help out, and we are expecting a low of 12' tonight. (That's ca-raaazy cold for us here, in the land of hardly-any-four-wheel-drive-rigs.)

As for me, I'm enjoying every. single. minute. of this.

Yet another snow day here.

...and I'm as giddy as a school kid.

(And, even better, unlike school children, we don't actually have to "make up" snow days!)

We got another crazy winter snow storm here in the Portland Oregon area last night, and it is still snowing as I write this post. So spectacular to look at. A peaceful, white blanket of undisturbed snow surrounds my little cottage, and I am having a hard time tearing myself away from the windows to focus on anything else.

The entire Portland metro area is pretty much shut down, and that gives us all a free pass to stop, enjoy the beauty, and the quiet, and just pause the incredibly fast pace we all seem to live at for a few moments. A chance to appreciate the life we have.

...

I think I could handle an additional snow day tomorrow.

For the birthday girl.

My last little grand is turning O-N-E this month, and I got her some cutie patootie lil' outfits for her birthday. I wanted them to be extra special, so I ordered some handmade felted headbands from a darling etsy shop to coordinate.

Be still my heart.

Could they be any cuter?!

(No.)

I got her one to go with each outfit, and then one more for good measure.

They're too sweet, am I right?

Eeeeeek. I can hardly wait to see them on her!

 

Perfect winter weekend.

It seems the entire nation got clobbered with extreme weather this past weekend, and the Pacific Northwest was gifted with a snow and ice storm that hit Saturday, and lingered through Sunday.

This meant that we were forced-to-stay-home all weekend due to the weather, which was beyond awesome for so many reasons.

First off, and this really goes without saying...football playoffs. (Helllooo-ooo! How 'bout those Seahawks?!) Second, there was hot chocolate. In my mind, during the winter, there is pretty much nothing better than watching it snow, sitting by the fire, and sipping a cuppa cocoa.

Next, there was a morning-to-night paper and glitter crafting-palooza happening for both my booth and my etsy shop. With the big storm, there was no chance of me leaving the house for a quick-trip-to-the-grocery-store turned three and a half hour hit-every-thrift-store-in-the-Couve extravaganza. (It happens.)

I experienced the trifecta this weekend, sipping my cocoa while creating all sorts of glittery-goodness, and watching football, all at the same time. Honestly, I could have been good with the storm lasting one more day, but it seems to have warmed up and the roads look fine, so it's back to business as usual...other than the fact that I am quite sure I will have glitter somewhere or other on my work clothes.

Weekly words to live by.

Before.

...er....maybe I mean after. (As in, after the holidays...)

Yikes. My booth at Camas Antiques looks downright scary right now. I spent last evening taking down the last of my holiday items (a few straggling banners and two small posters) and getting things sorta-kinda ready for the new old items to be moved in, along with a sea of Valentine-y paper goods.

Seriously, it looks like I'm moving out.

Or in.

Embarrassingly pathetic.

Oy.

Thankfully, it won't look this way too long, as my living room and dining table look like we just wrapped up a Martha Stewart craft-a-thon there.

Just keepin' it real here, peeps. Happy Friday!!

Up to my eyeballs in glittered hearts and paper flags.

...and loving ever minute of it.

It was a busy night of Valentine flag assembly for my booth.....something for everyone's taste. Colorful, vintage, and my signature book pages.

Do you decorate or entertain for Valentines Day?

Because...Valentine's Day.

My heart is thinking about the upcoming football playoff games, but my head is thinking it's time to be planning for Valentine's Day.

I've been working on lots of new little items for the sweetest day of the year (Next to Superbowl Sunday) and these little gift bags with cupid arrows will be in my booth at Camas Antiques later this week, and are in my etsy shoppe now.(See them here!)

Go Hawks!

Easy overnight egg casserole from New Year's brunch...

We had the yummiest egg casserole for brunch on New Year's morning, and while I am thinking many folks have this recipe, or something similar, it was new to me, so I'm going to share it here today.

My visiting friend whipped up the ingredients on New Year's Eve and popped it in the fridge for the next morning. Here is the Download Anne's Overnight Egg Casserole Recipe here, or read it below:

 

Anne's Overnight Egg Casserole

Line a buttered 9 x 13 glass pan with pieces of bread (buttered on the side facing the pan) with crusts cut off.

Layer any meats you desire over the bread. (We did cooked bacon, but Canadian Bacon, shrimp, or sausage work great too.)

Layer in shredded cheddar cheese (We used an entire 8 oz package of cheddar)

Other layer ideas- chives or onions, or green chilies....

 

In a bowl mix together 12 eggs, (beat well with a mixer or blender) aprox. 3.5 cups milk, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over items in dish and cover with foil. Refrigerate overnight.
Heat oven to 350 and bake about 30 minutes, and then check the casserole. Additional bake time will be between 10-15 more minutes. (Cook until puffy and slightly firm.)

Have you made this breakfast casserole, or one like it? If so, what all do you add to yours to make it unique?

 

 

We rounded out our brunch with a mixed fruit bowl, and orange cinnamon rolls (Thank you Pillsbury!) along with assorted beverages; sparkling apple-peach cider, orange juice and Peach Bellinies.

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New Year's Brunch tablescape.

As I think I already shared, one of my bestest friends from the biggest little city is up for the New Year's holiday. We enjoyed a pretty amazing brunch yesterday, and typical Tracey-form, I was all about giving the table a more-is-more touch.

My Mom was joining us, so I needed hats and horns for four of us....

Coordinating party horns completed my glittery papercrafting...

I used my chalkboard painted chargers, with my white dishes, and thrifted champagne glasses. A wine box filled with gold and silver ornaments, vintage clocks, (I collect them, so this was an easy find around my cottage.) and a couple of homemade Happy New Year paper flags, and it was starting to look like a party.

I set a stack of cards I made with reflective questions near my place setting so we could look back on our year together. (It was fun. Remembering highs and lows from the past twelve months in all sorts of categories is harder than you think...)

I finished things off with gold curling ribbon streamers dangling from the chandelier above, and stood back to admire my handiwork.

It makes me happy to foofy up little things around the house, and I often wonder if people think I'm a bit of a loon for this. They quite possibly do, but with so much ugly, scary, senseless, awful things happening in our world these days, a little glitter and tulle and old bookpage art can be a welcome escape. I for one, am so grateful for the life I have and the people in it, and I plan on sparkling up every single day of 2017.

Weekly words to live by.