Saturday Sneak Peek - The Guestbook!

I thought I had a plan.  I had found a plastic canvas book cover with a spot to insert a picture and some potential.  Admittedly, not a lot, but I figured I could work with it.  But I have to say, I wasn't much inspired.  Plastic canvas is so.....80's, and even then, never really found its way out of "old lady crafts".  And this was peach yarn in plastic canvas.  But I figured - what the heck - it's a guestbook.

Then one day, on the phone, MMM said to me, "I've been meaning to talk to you about that.  I mean, is that really 'you'?"  As in, is that reflective of your style?  Really?  And, of course the answer was no.  I found the thing at thrift - remember that's my watchword - everything about this wedding has to be thrifted or homemade, within reason.  Thrift?  Check!  Will it suffice?  Check!  Wait, wait!  SUFFICE?  This is our wedding.  Do I want stuff to just suffice, or do I want it to be special and memorable?  Duh.

Then MMM said something inspirational (and you might think this is no big inspiration, but sometimes I just need a little push to get my brain cells to line up in a row).  He said, "Why don't you just carve up some old book?"  By that, he meant - tear the pages out and replace them with blanks.  But then my brain cells lined up, and I could hardly wait to go to the Good Samaritan.

I dug through their shelves of antique books until I found just the right one.  It's an old school book about the journeys of Lewis and Clark.  It was the right color and size, and it was just $0.75!  Actually, I felt a little sad about what I was about to do, but now that it's done?  No regrets!  And look at the title.

If that's not apropos for a couple about to take the leap, I don't know what is!  LOL!

I traced a rectangle on the opening page of the book, and then used an exacto knife to just slice that rectangle down through all the pages.  I probably should have glued all the outside edges first, so that they wouldn't slip and slide as I was cutting.  Oh, well, you live and you learn.  I used Mod Podge to glue all those outside edges after I finished the interior box, clamping the pages so that they dried tightly together.  

I bought scrapbook paper to match the turquoise of the wedding doilies, and cut pieces to fit the inside.  Before I glued in the one in the bottom of the box, I added a script-y 'P', for my soon-to-be surname.

 The front of the book has this cool stylized bison, which has no particular significance, but I do really like it.  It adds a certain charm.

Below that, there was a perfect space for our names, so I added them with a Sharpie.  Here's your chance to note that My Montana Man has an actual first name.  A nice, manly one. 

I drilled through the cover, attached a faucet handle, and added a braided length of the same turquoise crochet thread I used for all those doilies.  I simply used hot glue to attach it to the back of the book, then added a flat orange button to disguise it a bit.

Lastly, at thrift, I bought a never-opened package of scrapbook pages.  These were the old kind - before everyone and their dog took up scrapbooking.  This is heavy old paper, and I liked the way my cutter cut through it - kind of leaving a sort of deckled edge on each of the 3 x 4 1/2" cards.  I added an embellishment to each card.  Folks can leave us a wish or a blessing for our marriage and sign the card.  I made enough so that each individual wedding guest can do that.  

After we're married, I can open this guestbook and see all the lovely things folks wrote and remember the day as we live out our own highest wishes.

Do you like my guestbook?  I think it's special.  And like MMM said, it really is 'me'.

Love,

Sass

A Trio of Growler Totes

MMM's favorite beer, by far, is the Blackfoot Brewing Company's India Pale Ale.  In truth, we infrequently stop by for a couple (with free popcorn for me, because I don't like beer - I think we've established, however, that I do like margaritas), but he likes to pick up a growler on the occasional Friday evening.

One day, as I sat in the recliner, crocheting away, as is my wont, he asked, "Do you think you could crochet a growler tote out of parachute cord?"  Parachute cord, as it turns out, is second only to the dog as man's best friend.  If ever you find yourself in a real fix, your situation could not help but be better if you had a growler tote constructed of parachute cord.  And thus, this project was born.  

I like the challenge of taking on new materials.  The parachute cord was not easy to crochet - it doesn't want to twist along easily, like yarn, so I had to man-handle it a bit, but I have to say, if the cord could talk, it probably would prefer that.

Then, when we were at Home Depot, I noticed mason's string, which is used to string a level line for a mason while building a brick wall, and thought, "Hey, I'll give that a try - orange is MMM's favorite color, after all."

Lastly, I crocheted one from the sturdy cotton twist I usually use to make my many crocheted dishcloths from.  I am very used to working with this stuff, and that tote just flew along!  So here's a nice collection, in manly shades of orange, blue, and green.

MMM likes them very much, and Mr. Waddles is apparently taken with them, as well.  As soon as I set these out on the steps to photograph them, he plunged into their midst and made himself comfortable.  He's quite the little photographer's model, and he's got the pretty-boy looks to hit it big-time!  He hung in there pretty well, while I snapped away.  He actually loved every minute; he loves being the center of attention -- the prince of the household.

One more, to make even the coldest heart melt.  Look at those big brown eyes! He's a charmer!

 

Love,

Sass

Sass's Sunday Salvation Show

Hello there!  I have been having a really busy day -- but the sort where, at day's end, I've impressed myself with all I got done.  here's what I did today:

I woke up at 4:00 a.m., finished one book and downloaded another: 7- An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker.  She writes compellingly of a life-changing series of events that led her to sacrifice many of the things that we, as Americans, take for granted as our entitled birthright, in order to clear her mind, her body, and her spirit - to literally make room for God to move.  And she's funny.  I'm only four chapters in, but I can already recommend it, and I know that the next book I download will be her Interrupted. [Hold the phones.  I just found out it's $1.99 for Kindle at Amazon.  Now, it's downloaded!] 

I climbed out of bed at six, checked both my email accounts and Facebook, then checked a website or two.  I have recently started playing The Grocery Game on a four-week free trial.  So far, it's been pretty remarkable.  I'll let you know how it goes by the end of my four weeks.

At seven, I was out the door to buy two copies of the Sunday newspaper. Back home, I made a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal (Special K High Protein with vanilla soymilk - yum!), then spent a few minutes looking through the paper and organizing my coupons for shopping later in the day.  By 8:15 I was in the shower.  Got to church by nine - fellowship hour with the women's Sunday School class.  Church is at 10:30 - a very good sermon on Psalm 23.  

At 11:30, I was off to the Helena Clay Arts Guild, where MMM was opening two kilns.  He was up all night the other night, babysitting the firing, making sure the process was just right. It's much more complicated than I ever imagined.  He and a crew of potter friends unloaded beautiful piece after beautiful piece (I should have taken my camera with me - I know!).  I ran and grabbed a little lunch, then MMMom and I hit the thrift stores, where I scored on a drum shade, an old yardstick,  and some other cool stuff. I am developing a plan for one more wedding project (which, of course, I need like I need a hole in the head, but I can't seem to help myself!)

I dropped MMMom back off at the Guild, then went grocery shopping.  I am really pretty amazed at how well this Grocery Game system works, so far.  It's not really like "regular" grocery shopping; it's more like finding amazing deals so you can stock up and create a hedge against inflation.  For instance, today I pretty much just bought hamburger buns, canteloupe, and lots of  individual Yoplait yogurts.  I had a whole cartful of stuff, but it only cost me $21.  When I got home about 4:00, I processed the canteloupe for the freezer, and froze about half the yogurts, too. I put all the rinds and seeds into the compost bin.

Then I fixed and ate supper (homemade sloppy joes, southwestern quinoa and black beans, and canteloupe).  I worked a little on my wedding guest book.  Now, I'm here, talking to you.  

See it really was a lot!  But enough about my day - I want to see what's going on in your world.  But, before we do that, let's take a look at my favorite link from last week:

Katie, at The Crafty Blog Stalker, specifically points out that she cases others' projects.  Never fear - Katie also gives credit where credit is due.  Last week, she pointed the way to a recipe she spotted on another blog.  She'd given it a try, and made the most amazingly yummy-looking pepperoni roll-ups.  These look like they could be a great appetizer, or even a simple meal for those nights when a full-blown menu plan is out of the question.  Katie has some great content - you've got to go check her out.  While you're there, say hello from Sass, willya?

Katie, you Crafty Blogstalker, you, here's my featured button:

<center><a href="http://sassafrassalvation.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m616/kathylovesred/sassfeat-BUTTON-animated.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a>"/></center>  
Time for this week's Salvation Show.  First, a few rules:
 

Share something you've done recently.  Take a moment to look at and comment on someone else's link - we're all in this together!  Please consider becoming a follower of Sassafras Salvation and take a Sunday Salvation Show button to remind yourself and others to come back again and again!

Saturday Sneak Peek - The Invite!

Many of you who've been readers of Sassafras Salvation for any length of time know that my fiance, otherwise known as MMM, has some mad skillz.  By that, I mean that he is pretty slick with photoshop - actually pretty much anything on the computer.  He designed my site, pretty much to my specifications, despite never having actually done one before.  And I think he did a really nice job.  I think my site stands out in the crowd.  (I like how dark it is.  I don't think I know of anyone else's that's got such a deep background.  And still it's very cute!)

Well, MMM outdid himself with our invites.  I pretty much put it all in his hands, trusting that he'd do a good job and take me into consideration.  You have to understand that, left to his own devices, he treads some pretty strange ground, creatively speaking, and that's cool and funky.  But I'm not really after that "Creatively Strange" vibe for our wedding.  He told me he had an idea, and he was looking for components.  And I pestered to see what he'd come up with.  One day, he called me at work and said, "Now you'll keep an open mind?"  I promised to, and he emailed his draft.  After all the final touches, here it is:

Needless to say, I LOVED it.  MMM told me that when he found that picture of the blonde with the books in her hand, he just knew it was right!  (I do have some details blurred out - the press corps with their hordes of helicopters would just be too much!  LOL!)

He and I worked together to get all of the details right, like the top-of-the-page placement of our names, the right fonts for a film noir style, the movie studio logo, the quote across the bottom, etc. We printed them on a color printer on white cardstock, and carefully cut the edges with a nice, sharp paper cutter.  It all came together so well.

Of course, our RSVP card had to be a ticket.  MMM managed to get it sized perfectly so that it printed on a laser cut business card sheet, making it extremely easy to separate them prior to mailing.  I just bought large gold paperclips, attached them to the invitation, then slid them, unfolded, into 9x12" white envelopes.  I hand addressed them - a simple task, since this is going to be a very small wedding.  Many of them were hand-delivered.  I probably only mailed a half-dozen.  The postage was just $1.10 apiece.  

I think our invitations are among the coolest I've ever seen!  I'd like him to print it out - full movie poster size, as an art piece for our home.  What do you think?

Love,

Sass

P.S.  I've been busy today working on our guest book - I think you'll love it!  Next Saturday!  Be there or be square!

Mama Kat's Perfect Barbecue Writing Prompt

It's kind of amazing.  I guess I have a really dark side, when it comes to recalling things from my childhood.  I read through Mama Kat's prompts and decided to veer away from all that - all I could think of were deep, and rather dark, insights.  You all don't need that on this fine summer day, so I chose a different prompt:  

Share a list of seven things you need for a perfect barbecue! 

 

1.  It's always better with a classic margarita in hand, blended, with chunky salt all around the rim.  The glass is so cold, it's sweating, leaving a ring wherever you set it.  The lime is perfectly tart, perfect sweet.  The tequila is the good stuff....positively golden goodness - all chill and warm at the same time.

2.  Lots of family all around.  I would say lots of friends, because I love my friends, but I have to say that the best times I've had at barbecues have been with family.  There's a comfort level that you don't have any other way.  They all know that you are divorced and what a dork your first husband was and what a silly young fool you were for marrying him and that's all over now and they love your new guy because you love him and he loves you.  And that's all that matters.  There's plenty of love in any case.  These folks have travelled the long road with you, helped you carry your baggage, moved your heavy dresser six times, and watched your kids grow up into fine people.  Yup, it'll make for a better barbecue if we have lots of family.  With margaritas in hand, so they're all mellow now, too.

I just wanna say - these people are not my family, but they look like they love each other, all right!  Do you think they'd like a margarita?

3.  Great steaks.  For everyone.  None of this hamburgers and hot dogs for the kids.  Unless they really want them.  I don't know about your kids, but my kids have always known that hamburgers aren't steak, and never will be.  Steak.  Very rare for me, if you please.  Yum.  So yes, steaks even for the kids, if they want them.  And can I have a side of baked beans with that?  Yes, please, with pineapple.

4.  A big green, grassy yard with shady trees.  Plenty of room for the kids to run and the guys to throw frisbees or horseshoes or yard darts or whatever, and for the rest of us to wander around in the grass barefooted.  Except for you, April, because I know you'll break out.  Have another margarita, and don't worry about it.

5.  Sunshine.  Need I say more?  Ahh! 

6.  Saturday in the middle of a long weekend.  So you didn't have to work yesterday and you don't have to work tomorrow.  You spent part of Friday doing Saturday chores, so Saturday's just for the barbecue and not much else.  Sunday, you get to kick back a little more or finish up whatever didn't get done on Friday.  And you can have an extra margarita, if you want one.

7.  Could we have a pool, even if none of us actually has a pool?  And none of this kiddie pool stuff, OK?  If this is my perfectly imagined barbecue, we'll have us a big in-ground pool, like practically no one in Montana has, with a deep end and a slide for the kids, and a hot tub off to the side and an area with a quartet of lounge chairs and a poolside bar with plenty of little umbrellas, so we can pretend that we live someplace warm and haven't just lucked into the only day in Montana in June that the temperature bothered to climb above eighty degrees!

That's it.  A perfect barbecue.  Now, where'd I put my tongs?

Love,

Sass

 

Green Needlegrass

The other night, MMM and I went to have dinner at a local place called the Staggering Ox.  They're pretty well-known for their unusual sandwiches.  But the real draw was the band.  My sister plays guitar and sings with a little group called Green Needlegrass.  Their style is harmonic, easy, and folksy.  It was their debut.  Up until this particular evening, they'd been jamming at Deb's house, just enjoying each other's company.  Actually, I have two family members in this band.  The fellow on the drum is Charles, my brother-in-law.  They write much of their own music, as well.  I honestly haven't met any of the other members in the group, but there was a nice little gathering of locals who stopped by, like us, to enjoy the food and the music.

And, I'm sharing.  Deb knows that this is, in part, just for our mom to see.  But hit play, and you can see what wonderful talent they all have!  Deb is the woman just to the right of center and her voice is the highest one.  Enjoy!  

(By the way, do you think that annoying busboy could have walked through the frame just five more times? Grr.)




Love,

Sass

Sass's Sunday Salvation Show

Have you heard of the "Toilet Paper Philosophy of Life"?  Here it is:

The closer you get to the end, the faster it spins!

And if that ain't the truth, I don't know what is!  The days are spinning by faster and faster each week.  I realized the other day that we have less than three months to go to the wedding.  Monday at work, I look up and it's lunchtime.  I look up again and it's Wednesday afternoon.  Once more, and it's Sunday night, and a whole week has flown by, the weekend's gone, and I'm ready to go back to work again!  That's how my life feels these days.... It's just cr-az-y!

This last week, the Salvation Show was lightly attended, but Sarah, at Alderberry Hill knows how to greet the summer.  She's linked my favorite little project -  a stunning little printable for us all to celebrate the arrival (keeping in mind that it's 40 degrees with a 30 mile an hour wind here today, and feels nothing like summer!)  But Sarah's reminding me to stay hopeful, and I'll get some summer yet!  And don't you love those colors - so bright and happy!

Sarah, here's one for you:  my 'Featured' Button:

<center><a href="http://sassafrassalvation.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m616/kathylovesred/sassfeat-BUTTON-animated.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a>"/></center>  
Time for this week's Salvation Show.  First, a few rules:
 

Share something you've done recently.  Take a moment to look at and comment on someone else's link - we're all in this together!  Please consider becoming a follower of Sassafras Salvation and take a Sunday Salvation Show button to remind yourself and others to come back again and again!

Saturday Sneak Peek - Six Table Doilies

Look across at my new tab and you can see all my wedding sneak peeks in one place!

I realize that I have been a good deal less than faithful about getting a Saturday Sneak Peek up every Saturday.  It's not an easy task - primarily because I have been making multiples of items to decorate the wedding.  I showed you my bottle corsages, and it's lovely to see them, but I can only show them to you once.  Meanwhile, I'm have to make forty of them.  So, while it seems that I've not been busy, the truth is, I've been extremely busy.  Remember, that I've committed to doing everything for this wedding from thrift or homemade, within reason.  As of today, I still have the following list to complete:

1.  Finish the rest of the bottle corsages;
2.  Finish the chandeliers to hang from tree branches;
3.  Sew my skirt;
4.  Finish crocheting my sweater  (I'm nearly done);
5.  Find an acceptable wedding cake recipe (one I've tried was fine, the other, totally not);
6.  Continue to hunt down thrifted luncheon plates;
7.  Get all those flowers I made up onto stems and wrap them (arranging will have to happen later, when the vases are ready - that story later);
8.  Construct a platform out of pallets with columns to support a chuppah;
9.  Mail invitations (that's happening this week.  I can't wait to share with you next week!);
10.  Make caketop decor out of fondant and freeze for later; and
11.  Work out the vows.

There are probably one or two other tasks I haven't listed, and there are definitely some last minute ones, like shopping for food for the actual event.  But I am pleased that at least one item can be completely crossed off my list.  

I wanted to have a pretty doily in the center of each of the tables - there will only be six, so this was supposed to be a pretty quick and easy project.  Ha ha.  I didn't realize how much time it would take, never having worked in crochet this tiny before.  You could pretty much have counted on my sitting every evening in front of the TV, my fingers flying, (and I'm pretty darned fast, if I do say so myself), but along with all the other projects - scarves, jewelry, furniture, paintings, crafts, arrangements, etc. - it has taken me about four months to confidently say this project is done.  But here it is:

 I found this fabric at a local thrift store.  It's 100% cotton muslin, natural and unbleached.  It think the fabric was actually a set of old curtains.  I used the lid from my kitchen garbage for a pattern - it's one of those 'bullet' cans, sort of retro styled, and the lid is a big dome, which was the perfect size to get a perfect circle.  

Then I used my sewing machine to zig-zag the edges to prevent fraying.  If you've read many of my posts about crocheting, you know I'm a total idiot when it comes to reading patterns, so you know I just made each of these up as I went along.  

None of them match any of the others, except in color.  I really astonished myself.  I went through three rolls of the crochet thread.  There was a time when I could not imagine that much would be necessary or that I could stick with anything that long!

I really got into it, though, and enjoyed the process.  I imagine these will not be the last ones I make.

I like the way they stand out against the dark chocolate of the tablecloths.

I hope you enjoyed them.  Next week, the invites!!  Squeal!

Love,

Sass

A Fresh Read: Easily Amused

Hi!  I just finished reading a new lighthearted everyday-girl kind of romance.  It's Easily Amused by Karen McQuestion.

It's the story of Lola Watson, a 29-year-old magazine editor, whose aunt has left her a house in a neighborhood full of interesting characters.  Her annoying younger sister is on the verge of getting married and Lola's dreading all that comes with it - considering that Lola herself doesn't seem to have any prospects.  It's a fun, quick read, and Ms. McQuestion's writing style swings along in an easy, breezy, conversational manner.  

Her bio includes the information that she has written many things for many years, but never hit until she self-published  for Kindle.  That inspires me.  My not-so-secret dream is to write novels here and there.


I recommend!  It's definitely a beach-y read!


Love, 


Sass

Sass Writes - Worst Winter Weather

 

When I was sixteen, in the spring of 1978, we had a terrible blizzard sweep across north central Montana.  Spring blizzards are usually the worst because they bring with them the most moisture - and usually, the temperatures don't dip so low, but this storm was an exception.  It brought incredible moisture, hard frost, deep snow - all of it, in spades.

My family lived twenty-five miles in the country.  We rode the school bus every day, getting on at 6:45 to arrive at school at 8:15, and then home again from 3:30 to 5:00.  We were far away from everything, with plenty of gravel road between.  [As a side note, the other day, I noticed that the federal government was considering essentially labeling any population center under 500,000 'rural'.  I had to laugh.  Montana is enormous, and the entire state may have one million people.  Our definition is 'frontier'.]

As I remember it, it was a Thursday evening.  We knew there was a storm coming, and Montana in the 70's was pre-drought, not like the decades to follow.  We expected a good deal of moisture and we got it.  Fortunately, we were home from school when it started.  It snowed, and snowed, and snowed.  We woke up in the morning, with no electricity and no phone.  It continued to snow.  We were in the middle of calving, so the timing could not have been worse.  All those mamas out there in the blizzard with babies.  We had no water because our pump was electrical, so my stepdad, Glen, went to the barn and primed the old pump to water the livestock.  Fortunately, the house was heated by fuel oil.  We had one large central heater in the living room.  Only the upstairs was heated.  My sister and I slept in the unheated basement, so, as soon as we peeled back those warm heavy quilts, we were up, dashing upstairs to get warm.

The snow fell until it was about five feet deep, on the level.  In places where it had drifted, it was often twice that deep.  Although many places now have buried lines, back then, they were all strung on poles.  The frost on them was incredibly heavy, making the lines about 4-5 inches in diameter!  The frost so weighed them down, they hung like big frost garlands between each pole.  I also remember that Glen had to get to the chickens by climbing on top of the chicken coop - a full size building, maybe 12'x20' (we raised a lot of chickens) - and dig straight down off the edge of the roof to open the door.  We had baby chicks on the bathroom shelf and a calf or two that warmed up in the living room, as I recall.

The roads were all blocked.  A regular snowplow could not do the job of clearing that many miles of country roads.  Later, I found out that the state had borrowed rotary snowplows from some other states to clear the roads.

Our family was pretty dysfunctional in many ways.  While we were all home together during the summers, we always had the option to get out of doors and away from other people.  But during this storm, we had way too many hours of enforced togetherness.  Needless to say, it did not bring out the best in any of us.  

One day, the phone rang.  We'd had no idea they were back in service.  It was the school, advising us that if we kids were out of school much longer, we would have to be dropped from the enrollment and lose credit for the work we'd done for that semester.  Our folks called RussAero, a local private aviation company that generally did crop dusting.  Russ Cebulski fixed up his plane with pontoons and flew out to get us.  I remember that he landed on the snow in a field near the house and we walked out of the house, and right across the top of a completely snow-buried barbed wire fence to climb into his plane.

My mom had made arrangements for us to stay in town with Cloie Bronson, a widow with a boarding house.  We stayed for quite a while, until the aforementioned rotary snowplows did their job.  I remember, when the buses were running again, riding home and feeling like we were in a big white tunnel the whole way because the snow piled at each side of the road was so high, no one could see out.  It was weird, especially when you consider how high up you sit in a school bus.

I didn't last much longer at home after that.  That was my junior year, and when Spring came, I moved out for a short temporary stay in the home of my boyfriend's parents.  My relationship - whatever it had been - with Glen, who was the source of most of our family dysfunction, was pretty much gone.  I got a job in larger town nearby, changed schools my senior year, and was married during Christmas break, four months pregnant.  Not exactly a crowning achievement for a seventeen-year-old.  It's weird.  I see it all as a part of a chain of events, all playing their little part to create a different sort of storm - a sort of tipping point.

That snowstorm was something, though.....

Love,

Sass

A Birthday Present for My Sister

Well, I finally finished them.  It's pretty hard to do a project like this when spray paint weather is so elusive.  I actually found these chairs at a local thrift store last fall, intending to get this done for Deb's birthday.  But her birthday is long gone.  Nevertheless, I persevered and got them done.

They're pretty much the ubiquitous Eames-style chair from the 1960's.  It's kind of funny - these were all over my childhood - at school and church - everywhere you went.  We never thought they were anything special., but I can tell you, when I spotted them at the thrift shop, I just knew they'd fit in with Deb's slightly quirky mid-century modern decor.

She loves deep, beautiful color, so I had a feeling these would strike a chord.

I'm a bad blogger - never took a "before" shot, but I can tell you that they were originally white.  A dirty, dingy, beat-up, rough shape, sorta white, that is.  I sanded the scratchy bits, including the edges.  I gave them several coats of this Claret Wine from Rustoleum.  It's their paint specially formulated to bond with plastic.  It really did a nice job.

I took them to Deb last night, and she loved them.  They'll do great for extra seating here and there, but I think they'll mostly live in her office.

I sprayed the legs with Rustoleum's Dark Bronze - actually very close to what they were originally.  But now they are scratch-free.  I also had a weld repaired. (Full disclosure - I actually snapped the weld when I pulled the legs free.  Fortunately, one of MMM's oldest buddies welds and welds well.  It turned out great!)  And I replaced the rubber tips.  

These chairs are a sweet little set now.  I'm glad they're finally moved into their new home, and off my to-do list!  Is your weather cooperating with your projects?  Do you need it to?

Love,

Sass

Pinterest Inspiration: Garden Sheds

I love the idea of having an adorable little garden shed in the backyard - and we have one, too, in MMM's backyard...........BUT I wouldn't exactly call it adorable.  More like utilitarian.  But it has possibilities!  With a little spit and polish, it could be in the range of adorable.  Maybe.  Well, I hope so, anyway.  With that in mind, I put together this lovely Pinterest collection of garden sheds to inspire me - and perhaps you, too!

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This one makes me want to sing:  There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile.......!

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Isn't this one so buttoned up and prim, with its tidy little petticoat of cedar shingles?

This is more along the lines of a greenhouse, but with the help of the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, I think it's a possibility - maybe a lean-to, next to my garden shed?

Source

A gypsy wagon!  (Although, frankly, I've seen the previews of TLC's new gypsy show, and that just makes me shudder.)

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A happy little corner of all pink and green?  And that potting bench, all ready for some new pots of flowers?  I think this one really does meet the adorable descriptor!

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I'm not so sure this one is even a garden shed - it may be a tiny house, but I love all that creeping ivy.  But that's just for my imagination.  I doubt sincerely that we could grow such a luscious mass of green vinery in this dry and windy climate.  But it's purty, ain't it?

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Look how beautifully organized this one is.  I'm afraid mine may look cutsie-pie on the outside (someday), but the inside will still have to be utilitarian.  This much sweetness and light is beyond me.  But a girl can dream, can't she? 

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While I won't be cutting windows in (or will I??), this one is sure cute!  And that cupola?  Lo-o-o-ve.

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I'm singing again:  In a cottage, in the woods, little old man by the window stood. 

Maybe this got your creative juices flowing the way mine are?  

Love,

Sass