My last purse post. I promise!

I picked up this little brass purse at the thrift store. It's nicely lined with maroon material. Isn't it a cutie?

Just say yes. It will speed this last post along nicely. If you say no, I'd have to waste time convincing you how cute it is.

So, I put it on a shelf, propped it open with a toothpick, and put my pearls in it.

OK, I'm done with purses.

I'm a sucker for benches!

I love to make benches. If I'm not making them, I'm painting them. I'd make or paint more, but there's no room for another one around my place. Plus IT Guy has put his foot down.

"Stop making benches," he said. Or maybe he yelled it when he stubbed his toe on one he had to move so he could mow the lawn. With Texas summers you have to mow every five days or so, which makes for a lot of bench moving!


I found this old bedstead in the garbage at the local thrift store. It was even too trashy for them to resell, which made it just right for me! The trim around the edge of the seat was one of those pieces I picked up out of the trash a couple of years ago, knowing that someday it would come in handy. The green shabby piece next to the bench is out of IT Guy's grandparent's house. Renee yells at me to put it in the house, but I HAVE NO ROOM IN THERE!





I didn't make this bench. My step-mother gave it to me, and I painted it with critters.

The ancient farm equipment in the background belonged to IT Guy's grandfather.

You can see our leaves are starting to fall here. They don't bother to turn colors before they go down. If they aren't blown off green by a hurricane, they just turn brown and float to the lawn.
To be honest, I stole the critters out of children's books. If you're not going to sell the item you're painting (in other words, if it's for your house only), I don't think it's a copyright violation. If it is, sue me for the money I made from it, which is ZERO.I needed something on the seat so I made it into what we call a "Texas two-holer."

Come back tomorrow afternoon for a tall glass of iced tea, and I'll show you a couple of more benches.

This post doesn't need a title.

I found this black three foot by seven inch sign at the local thrift store. I wish it could talk. I want to know which store sold it the first time, who purchased it, why they gave it up, and - most important of all - why the heck I bought it!

It does look good on my mantel, though.

Alpaca silver. What's that?

Garage sales last weekend were poor, and with hurricane Ike moving into Texas later this week (stay safe, everybody!), they’ll be non-existent this Saturday too. So on my way home from the dentist today (yeah, the one with the great faux rug), I rewarded myself with a trip to the thrift store where I found this great belt for only FOUR DOLLARS.

I love the look of these conchos. Things like this are appreciated here in Texas, but I realize they’re not for everybody. Nice ones are hard to fine and usually expensive. This one was made in Mexico and marked Alpaca Silver.

I need a little symbol here to let you know this is a learning moment. How about this? p OK, that’s settled.

p Alpaca silver is not silver at all. It’s really an alloy of metals such as nickel, tin, zinc, or copper. Sometimes it’s called nickel silver, but it has other names too, like German silver, new silver, and paktong. It’s frequently found in jewelry and musical instruments because it’s easy to clean. Just use lemon juice or a mild soap. Don’t use a liquid silver tarnish cleaner. It might turn the piece a little yellow. Experience talking here, don’t ya know.

But just because something isn’t real silver, doesn’t mean Alpaca silver pieces aren’t beautiful in their own right. That’s how I feel about my new belt...it's beautiful to me.

UPDATE: I wore my belt to Warrenton/RoundTop Sept. 30 and two separate dealers offered to buy it from me. I thought the first one was just kidding, but then later in the day the second one offered me $75. I told him I wasn't through loving it yet, and he offered me $100. I still have the belt!