Remember a few days ago I posted that I had been at the ReStore and thrifted a lamp for $2.00? 

Today the SeaGlass lamp is finished and you can visit the full blog over at my craft blog called scrapandwrap.

Visit  scrapandwrap and see the sea glass lamp light up.

~cindy

I just can’t see myself throwing away something useful especially if I can recycle, reuse or redo it.

I took the milk cartons we used over Christmas and washed them and turned them on their sides and opened them up to make boxes.  I then took my product bags that were scrambled, unorganized and unsized and labelled them all and put them into the milk cartons.  It isn’t pretty but it is useful and I found a use for reuse.

You can see the milk cartons turned on their side and cut the opening in them.

I put finished product into milk carton bottoms dividers just to sort things better.  Someone special built me a drawer and an insert so I had loads of milk “makes sense” bottom cartons to do with I please.  Note to self you should have tossed them.

So without ado this is my product divider.

Then I took the individual cartons and made a sock and britches divider.

My britches don’t fit into the carton very well, I have big britches.

Now my britches and nylons are organized in my drawer.

Back to scrapbooking, I’m working on an paper ANNE dolls.

xo,

cindy

Good Morning!

I’m still here mussing and fussing about.

I have been busy over the last few days, moving rooms around.

I’m on a deadline, guests will be by the shop today.

Organizing is the better part of the mussing, do you think?

The fussing is when you re-organize it after it is done already.

I promise I’ll not do this today.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention my new plate I thrifted from USED.PEI.

It is a keeper, I love the pink roses, you know how much I love Pink.

I think it will look nice on a table setting with a yellow tea pot, don’t you?

I should get at these dishes, I have a lot to get done in the shop today.

I love to think while I do dishes, maybe too much.

I have a  layout all organized while I’m in the sink.

Thank you for stopping by while I did a little mussing and fussing. I hope you can make it by the shop and have a sneak peek at the mussings and fussings over there.

See you soon,

xo,

cindy

Has this ever happened to you?

You’re walking down the street and the toe thong lets loose on your flip flop!

You almost trip and manage to compose yourself before anyone sees you, but you are left with a useless pair of flip flops.

I have a frugal solution to your problem and mine.

Poke the toe thong back through the flip flop and turn over, see above.

Now, you will need you one of these here bread ties.

Your local store will carry these for free on a loaf of bread.

No tools required, just get yourself one and put it around the thong toe of your flip flop.

Look’e here it’s as good as a new’ons.

I believe these here flip flops were $6.99.  I checked at Wal-mart the other day and they are $7.99 a pair, where is this world coming from. Thay’s just flip flops, I remember paying $.99 cents a pair at wal-mart not long ago.

Times have changed, kids today would run to Wal-mart and pick out a new pair.  No not us, dad taught my brother and I to be frugal, he said if you can’t be frugal, be inventative  this is a new word for find a way to make it work.

I dedicate these flip flops to my brother who has saved himself so much money on insurance over the  past three years by using the same pink slip over and over again.

xo,

cindy

As much work as it is these weeds have to be hand picked, I know, I’ve been there, done that and got the T-shirt

Hand Picked

Saturday Yard Sale-ing in Winsloe PEI my neighbour had a couple of these bushel baskets, these are great to put on the wagon and pull around the yard when your plucking dandelions

Wagon Of PEI Weeds

Lets get Anna out of the way and have a good look at the bucket

Basket of weeds

Oh, the weeds we grow in PEI are getting larger each year

Grandma's Garden Helper

Tourism PEI called yesterday and asked us if a group can tour the gardens and tea room on June 24th. Well yes, and there is going to be a lot more hand picked weeds between now and then. I hope you rather enjoyed picking weeds with me today.

xo,
cindy

I sure was glad I made a trip to my local thrift shop a couple of days ago. Here is what I found, these small but “oh so cute” salt and pepper shakers just right for our wee little tables at Grandma’s Tea Room. They all fit in a dishwasher basket I had and then it was just a waiting game to make sure they were dry and I got to fill them this morning. “Aren’t they cute?”

ity bity salt and pepper

A perfect find.
xo,
cindy

There is more to my thrifting story then I told. When I made my way past all the treasures in Grannies Panties I got to the cash to find a fellow in front of me putting his finds on the cash counter.

He pulls out two mugs that he had tucked up under his arm and set them atop of the counter. They caught my eye, these mugs take me back a number of years to a time I can’t get back ever.

mom and her coffee mug

My mom left us in January 2006 after an eight year battle with Cancer. She drank coffee from one of these mugs, it had to be her favourite as there were plenty of other mugs in the cupboards but she always used this green Fire King mug. When I went to Ottawa for her funeral I asked my brother for this mug, I needed something of moms and this would be perfect. Sadden I was told there wasn’t anything like that at her house. I often questioned myself…did it get just get tossed because it was an old mug, or was it a sale item on ebay?

Here I was standing behind a man at Grannies Panties and he had two mugs just like moms. I told him how I had been looking for years for just this same mug, how much I would appreciate such a mug and then slipped in, “can I buy those off you?” The gentlemen smiled and told me he had two others like it at home and they were all going to be part of a 4 mug collection. My face welled up and tears formed in my eyes, I looked across to my daughter Jennifer who, whispered “its ok mom, it will be ok.”

I got help to load my tea cart and noticed Jennifer over talking to the man with the green mugs outside. When I approached she was finishing up the conversation with “well, thanks anyway you know I just had to try.” He said he understood.
On our ride home I told Jennifer that Granny (mom) always said if it was meant to be it would happen. I told Jennifer that I would have loved the mugs, but I rectified not getting them by saying, “no doubt I would put them on the shelf and every time I would pass by them I would think of Granny and not get any work done, it is meant to be.” Jennifer sadly agreed.

When we got home I was excited about my tea cart and had it out of the car sitting in the driveway by the time my French Gardener came out. He was impressed, I got a good find and he walked with me to the back of the Honda to see what else I picked up. Jennifer minded the tea cart like it would go somewhere, admiring it I returned to where she was, only to find the two cups sitting on top of the tea cart. We both turned on the tap and stood there like fools in the driveway crying while she was trying to explain, she wanted to keep them for me for my Birthday but couldn’t hold out any longer. She continued with “mom, I asked the man with the green cups if he would sell me one, and after I told him how much they meant, he gave them both to me, said we should both keep grannies memory.”

We continued to cry all the way into the house and made ourselves each a cup of coffee in those old green mugs, and it tasted just like grannies coffee did as we remembered when.
xoxo,
cindy

We arrived too early and so we had to wait 30 minutes before we could get in, oh the anticipation.
This is “Grannies Panties”

This ole house is Grannies

We had time for a couple of pictures in those 30 long waiting minutes…

Sign for "GP's"

I’ll never forget such a day, such a find, such a wonderful thoughtful daughter I have…(another post)

Then!! oh could it be, yes, it was mine, all mine, all mine, all mine, yippy. I found a tea cart for grandma’s afternoon tea room and it is perfect, oh how do I get it all the way back to Prince Edward Island?

My tea cart for Grandma's Afternoon Tea Room

It is just perfect and I hope you come to Grandma’s and see my little tea cart. I’m so excited!
xoxo
cindy

A visit to North Carolina was in order. I had a few shops I needed to frequent and so I asked Google for advice on where to find them. Well!!! to my surprise I found just what I was looking for. Google returned my search with this shop inside a big old house called “Everything But Grannies Panties”. That was an odd name for a shop, I wonder whats in store? do they have antiques? linen, oh maybe I’ll find some vintage tea sets for the tea room. I wasn’t sure about the Grannies Panties part but knew I wouldn’t reach into a box and pull out a pair and that was fine.
I have visited GP’s twice a year and never do we ever come out without a bag in our hand. Great prices and great finds that is all I have to say and I’m making one last stop before we head back to Prince Edward Island today.

This is without a doubt my favourite thrift shop. Do you have a thrift shop that always sends you out with a bag in hand? If it is between Prince Edward Island and North Carolina on the East Coast let me know I’ll go check it out.
xoxo,
Cindy