A Greeting...and a wall word do-it-yourself.

I promised to share how I made my wall word out of vinyl without a stencil cutting machine...

but...

first and foremost...the JunkFest Girls would like to extend a heartfelt Easter greeting to all of you! Whether this is a special Christian holiday for you, or not, we want to remind you to take some time today to REFLECT.

Reflect on the goodness in your life and the family and friends that surround you.

On to the "home made" wall words. I don't have a die cutter and have an ongoing offer from a Junk Sista to cut anything I need. But of course I was a bit impatient and decided to give a few small projects a try.

I started by printing my intended fonts, then taped them to adhesive back vinyl.

With an exacto knife I cut through the paper into the vinyl. Make sure you use a cutting board for this!! (for some reason I missed a picture of this step) After you've cut along every line, remove your paper and look over the word or number to make sure you've cut through the vinyl as well.

Now peel away everything BUT what you want to use.

You'll notice here that I'm not so steady with the exacto knife. This is where the die cutter's have the advantage, but for a quickie job I decided this will do for now.

Here's the trick to this project. Press'n Seal. (no endorsement intended) If you've ever used vinyl wall words you know that there's a top and bottom layer over your vinyl. The press'n seal acts as your top layer. Rub it over the vinyl, then you can peel off the adhesive backing.

This way you can carry your stencil and work it onto it's new placement. Rub it in place very well, then carefully peel the press'n seal off.

Taa. Daa.

This would be better if I had more patience and a steadier hand for the exacto knife! But it's good for a quickie job to spruce up for company.

Happy Easter!

My mind wanders...

I needed light. I needed vintage.

And this is how the post started.

So...I hung a display of vintage mirrors on my living room wall. And they do help a bit reflecting some light around the room.

And then the post took a turn... because I have some exciting news I just have to share. While I was goofing off at an auction last weekend, my hubby was checking out the latest and greatest (but not the most expensive!!) in digital cameras.

My trusty SLR was doomed to spend the rest of it's days in the camera bag since we got a digital several years ago. I missed the versatility of changing lenses but soon became fond of being able to delete the "bad" pics with the touch of a button.

Who wants to get film developed just to even see if the pictures turned out!?

But Sweet Man-O-Mine found out that those old SLR lenses of ours would work on a new fandangled Sony digital camera!



Well holy bean soup, who'd a thunk it.





Of course me being me....I protested.

"I don't want to carry around a HUGE camera anymore!" I said.



But when I got that new camera in my hands...it was like apple pie fresh from the oven. Yummy.



I can CHOSE when I want to focus myself. I can CHOSE when I want the flash to go off! And those poor lonely lenses got dusted off and put back to use.

(sorry old Minolta...you have to stay in the bag.)









Meanwhile, I'm playing with hubby's new camera (yes, he's a keeper!) and this is what it's STILL looking like in good ole North Dakota. Good grief.

Even this poor little bird is wondering where spring is but was ever so photogenic.

(this pic taken with the new camera through a thick glass paned door)

Oh yeah, and that auction I was at...here's my prize purchase. Say what?!

Me thinks this one went to the birds!

(And of course I had to color out my messy garage so I could show you!)

And so the post ends. Now, what was I posting about? Oh yeah, mirrors. Will post next on a trick for doing the vinyl wall words if you don't have a fancy dancy cricut machine.

Linked to: SNS #89

Cha cha cha...chalkboards!

I totally DROOL over chalkboards...

There are so many ways to enjoy them, and so many options to even make your own! I've done a bit of both. I love me a sweet vintage chalkboard like this one.

But. If there's a flat surface in my way...WATCH OUT! It just might get smathered with chalkboard paint!

And now...there's a linky party over at Whisperwood Cottage that is sure to make my heart go "pitter-patter"! Shall we go check it out????

(I threw this little vignette together in my kitchen and tweaked it by "stealing" from other displays in my house just for this post....but hey...that's how we do it right? Staging at it's best for a blog photo, heehee.)

My pantry door chalkboard is one of my faves! It has shown everything from:

Mom's Chocolate Cake Recipe...

To simply doodle...

To young people art...

To classic Christmas stories!!

With Rudolph!

And then there's my GIRL. She's a hot babe, dontcha think???!!!!

I really wish I could show you the rest of my old kitchen(not a kitchen anymore)/laundry room/sewing room/ craft and painting room/and unfortunately "catch all" room, but I haven't worked up the courage to share this mess with the world yet. When my sister said it scared her...I knew it was bad!

Vintage crumbs of course!

Even dated old wall art can become fun and functional with chalkboard paint!

Oh yes, and then there's my other GIRL. I don't think I've done a post on her yet.

I've tried several brands of chalkboard paint, brush on and spray, some better than others. But in the end...it's just a great fun way to jazz up a surface!! I can't wait until I WIN some Americana Chalkboard Paint from DecoArt...cause Amy's gonna pick me!!!! ;)

My One Day Texas Dream

Yep! I did it! I finally got to Texas for the infamous "Antiques Week" and made my way down to Zapp Hall! Just like my post title says...I had ONE day to spend at the show, so I had to make it good! Now that I've been there, I know better! Next time I'll spend a week....and take a trailer!

The reason I came to Texas is this beautiful, silly, crazy girl below! She's my niece and lives in Austin. I talked my sister, mother & daughter into taking a little trip to see her and managed to convince them that we should take in the antiques show. I didn't have to try to hard to convince them....they're just fun like that! The weather was a bit overcast and drizzly on our way to the show, but that never stopped any die-hard junker I know! Driving through Texas hill country was beautiful! There were vendors spread out for miles. Seeing this Round Top population sign made me laugh...I was pretty sure I had already passed at least 77 people in the last 1/8th of a mile!

By now I was getting a little excited! Ok, that's not true....I woke up excited! Following this truck was just enough to really get my adrenalin going.

Here's a question: Where's this dude gonna put his purchases? Who goes to an incredible show like this on a bike? Seriously.

Still driving. By now I'm about to grab the wheel and just pull over somewhere. Anywhere. Everywhere.

But I knew my time here was limited so I tried to be patient until we got to Zapp Hall. Where the stars are...

We finally get to our destination, park the vehicle and start wandering. I may have had a little more spring in my step than the others...it's hard to say....they were so far behind me! I knew I was in for an interesting day when I spotted this sign:

With the words from the above sign still fresh in my mind, I run into this fellow. You may be familiar with his face....or his pose.

That's right...it's Cat Daddy. And his better half, Debbie from Talking Trash. O. M. G.

But wait...there's more! It's Mindy! From the Primitique! With her boyfriend David, who put on his last clean shirt just for this occasion! Get out!

Wait again! It's her....the one-and-only Red Neck Chic Robelyn! By now I'm a tongue-tied idiot, unable to do more than stare at these blog celebs! All right here in the same venue....and right in front of me! I came to this show hoping to meet a handful of people from blogland that I love following. Now here I was in front of them and didn't quite know what to do with myself! So, I chatted a bit with each of them, asked some questions and basically tried to absorb it all....while wondering where my family went and if I'd ever find them again!

Below is a shot from Mindy's space. Don't know what it is, but I know I've never seen one before!

The makings of a creative mastermind...

I was noticing that there were a lot of naked body parts around. I guess in Texas they call them gypsies. Who knew?

There's no shortage of cowboy boots in Texas!

Down south they like to tell it like it is...as evidenced in the next photo...

This next booth caught my eye. Rust and bling all wrapped up into one beautiful fixture!

So, I'm casually strolling along when I spot Theresa, from Garden Antqs Vintage! Yahoo! I wanted to see her booth meet her too!! I got a 2-for-1 'cause along came Sue from Vintage Rescue Squad. This was turning out to be the BEST. DAY. EVER.

Sue, Theresa

Here's a little eye candy from Theresa's space:

After drooling all over Theresa, I thought I better get moving along. Still not sure where my family is, but pretty confident they're ok wherever they are....

Something pink catches my eye....but then, it'd be hard to miss the Junk Gypsy wagon! This must be what they brought all the naked body parts in!?

I've never seen pink awnings, but I think I need to get me some.

By now I'm getting kind of hungry....and a bit confused as to where I am....I've always wanted to see Paris....just didn't know I was this close!

I stopped to ask these ladies to point me in the direction of Royer's Cafe....but they weren't talkin.

Whadda-ya-know....there's my sign. I just got in line behind the lady in shorts. Sometimes it's good to be a follower.

I finally found Royer's Cafe AND my family! We grabbed some lunch and settled in to listen to the most incredible group of men singing....the Harbor Light Choir. These guys were incredible! And who should be rockin' the house, but Mindy herself!!

Mindy wasn't the only one stirrin' up the crowd! The trio-of-trouble below belted out some tunes while bustin' a move as well! You'll just have to wait for the movie to see that!

daughter Sydney, niece Kelsey, chauffeur extraordinaire Allison

My mom was quite a trooper! She had pneumonia, but you'd never know it! She's not one to miss a good time!

Me, Mom, sister Joni

My only purchase so far....body parts! I was just tryin' to get ahold of myself. And yes, I did have a beer. Maybe 2.

Our time here was drawing to a close, but Debbie pointed me in the direction of Gloria's spot, from Sweet Pea Collection. Here's the view on the way:

And here's Sweet Pea Collection. NOT a disappointment!!

This was truly one of the most memorable junkin' days I've ever had! I am so thrilled to have meet these incredible people and see how they do junk "Texas-style!" Be sure to click on each of their links to check out their blogs...and maybe catch some more shots of the show! See ya all next year!