A true road trip with Ruby...and Scarlett & Henry

This was our home sweet home for two weeks.  We drove the MH as I like to call her back to Iowa and Minnesota.  I say "we", but I don't drive...way too big for me for me to even imagine parking.  I'm the part-time navigator, sandwich maker, and snack go-getter.  I'm also companion

        to the dogs and official driver, husband Paul.  It's a great way to travel.  It has all the comforts of  home for the most part.  We did the camping in the Wal-Mart parking lot thing four different nights.  I think it's great that they allow RV's to park there.  You can go in, buy a few things, and head out to the parking lot and go to sleep.

 

Here we are heading across Colorado.  What a beautiful state.  The mountains make me queasy sometimes, but the view is hard to beat.

 

I think I slept through Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri.  I definitely perked up when we crossed into southern Iowa and saw this Maid-Rite.  Those loose meat sandwiches are one of the things I miss most.  There's items made by the Amish for sale inside, so I shopped and walked off some of the calories.

 

 

Even though I'm a Midwest girl, I had never been to a state fair.  It was full of all the expected things, and everything you can imagine deep fried and served on a stick.  I wanted to try the deep fried butter, but fortunately for my thighs I never saw it offered.

 

 

I did find the sheep though.  I LOVED them!

 

 

And here is the famous butter cow.  Paula Deen would have loved it!  We were there the day that some animal rights activists broke in and spray painted it red after the fair closed.  I don't remember their exact cause, but it's made of butter, people!

 

 

I enjoyed the textile displays, of course.  Not being a quilter, I can certainly appreciate the fine work.

 

 

After Iowa, we drove up to the Rochester, MN area to go to an antique show.  I didn't do too much damage to the bank account. 

 

 

Back in AZ, almost anyway.  This is the Four Corners Monument where the states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona connect.  Even though we had awesome weather, enjoyed the visits with family, ate too much, and saw some different sights, there really is no place like home.

 

 

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A sweet sign of spring...

It's hard to believe that nestled behind these petunias...

are these two baby doves.  I was quite surprised to see that the eggs had hatched this morning.  It seems like just a few days ago that mama made her nest.  I think she picked a perfect spot.

London Calling

It's windy and my allergies have been making me a mess.  I woke up with another smashing headache, and my first instinct was to crawl back under the covers and forget about the day.  I'm happy to say that I didn't give into that idea.  Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I turned on my favorite 80's channel from Boston and got to work on this printer's tray from 7 Gypsies.  It seems that my favorite inspirations revolve around my passion for the UK.  The background paper is also from 7 Gypsies. Some of the ephemera like the London Buses ticket are leftover from a trip across the pond.  The spoon on the right came from Wales, and the coin in the little glass pendant is a Twenty Pence.  I actually came home with a little spare change in my pocket.  The sheep in front of the red phone booth is off a Christmas card that I received from a British friend.  I tried to make a throne by adding some bling to a tiny chair.  I tore my craft room apart looking for my sequins and never found them, so I used red Stickles instead.  The large crown was a great find at Hobby Lobby.  It was actually a knob, and I just took the hardware off.  Each picture can be enlarged by clicking on them. 

Ruby's Turn

I have sadly neglected my Ruby blog for a long, long time. It seems a bit easier to keep my Scarlett blog updated since it is primarily about stitching, which I do a lot of. But, that being said, I so love collage art, and I need to spend more time with Modge Podge making my fingers stick together. This storage cabinet for odds and ends was once an old spice cabinet. It was in really rough shape, with something that resembled tar spilled all over it. It was headed for the dumpster from my brother's house. I think he thought I was crazy when I wanted it. At the time, I had no specific idea in mind, but I knew it would come to me eventually...

After a primitive coat of black paint...

some favorite scrapbook paper...

vintage photos and ephemera, lots of Distress Ink, a few old buttons, some sequins for the bling factor, and two new knobs...


I have something fun to sit on my work table. I forgot to mention that all but the two bottom drawers were salvageable. I used paper mache boxes that I covered in the same paper as the cabinet. Each side is something different.
I have two more projects in the works, so I'll be back soon.

I've learned a new craft

A few months back, we made some minor cosmetic changes to our guest bathroom. We replaced the old shiny gold/silver faucets with rubbed black/bronze ones. A new light fixture took the place of the one that looked like it belonged in a carnival, and the wall mirror was reduced in size and framed. The frame was one that was in my collection for the samplers I stitch. Everything turned out great, but there was one thing left to tackle...the medicine cabinet. It was the typical sunk in the wall type with a mirrored door trimmed in gold. Not my taste at all. I love the look of punched tin, and I saw a cabinet that I liked from Irvin's Country Tinware. The problem is that it would have been a huge hassle to remove the old, add sheet rock to cover the hole, and so on. I came up with the idea to make my own version. I ordered an plain blackened tin panel from Irvin's the same size as the door. Copying a pattern that I like, I then drew the design on the panel with a white marking pencil. Using a board, a nail, and a hammer, I punched the design. My husband made the simple frame for it, and after painting it black, I sanded and antiqued it. Paul then attached the whole thing to the existing door. I love it. It is exactly the look I was going for. My poor hubby hates it when I come up with these projects for him. I can do the visualizing...but he has to make my ideas work. Occasionally, we can get a little put out with each other while in the process, but in the end it always turns out great. We make a good team!

One bathroom down, one to go, dear!

The maiden voyage

Do they look excited? We recently bought this to take the "kids" along on our bike rides. The girls were all for it and behaved perfectly. Henry was, well...Henry. He has to stand up and bark the entire time. It's like he's the town crier, and he thinks he needs to announce to everyone that we're coming. We rode about nine miles round trip to the bark park and back. I thought they'd be pooped from running at the park. They were, but Henry's still found the energy to announce our return. Mr. B is going to get a good workout pulling these three.

Paul has since modified the carrier. He put a solid platform on the bottom instead of the canvas floor. We added a comfy cushion, and now they can ride like the pampered, spoiled rotten pets they are.

Happy anniversary to us

Six years ago today...I'd do it all over again.