Heavy Metal

Vintage Pot

Antique Spoon

Vintage Pot Again

More Antique Spoons

Keeping it simple.

karen

Granola From My Kitchen

Simple and yummy.

 Roasted nuts and oats.

Dried fruit, seeds and honey.

Great with yogurt.

karen

Organize

I've noticed fellow bloggers sharing their words for the new year.

Although I'm not very good at keeping up with what's going on in blog land or why people post what they post, I like the idea of having a word for the new year.

Last year, for me, it was all about keeping things SIMPLE.

 This simple white chippy window frame is one of my latest found treasures.

I picked it up for $20 at "The Antique Emporium" in Ebensburg, PA.

They had 2 left if you're in the area and you're interested. The glass has been replaced with screen, but I'm thinking of removing the screen and inserting chicken wire.

 To me, keeping it simple means repurposing whatever I can whenever I can.

This stuffed leather heart was made from a repurposed coat that I found at the local thrift shop.

I will continue to seek simplicity forever I think.

I've found that keeping it simple is difficult when there is a lot of clutter surrounding me.

That being said...this years word for me is ORGANIZE.

I do love my "STUFF" and can never imagine being a minimalist, but in order to "keep things simple", I need the "stuff" to be organized.

In the months ahead, I will be doing just that...

getting organized.

I plan to share photos of my ideas for keeping organized and will be selling the overflow.

I'm not sure if I will be selling on Etsy or Ebay, but either way, there will be a lot of vintage and antique items for sale.

Today I plan to start with this ...

It's just a small mess, but I need to start somewhere, so here goes...

Stay warm everybody.

It's cold out there.

karen

Keeping It Simple

I'm not sure if this is Prairie Style...

or Shabby Chic...

I'm just...

keeping it simple.

I think simple is best.

What's your style?

Karen Ann

Two New Kokeshi Dolls

Ever since I received my "Dottie Angel" book for my birthday, I'm loving these Kokeshi dolls.

They are so very simple and I think that's partly why I like them so much.

I purchased these ones from Etsy.

Life is so complicated most of the time.

I think simple things are best.

Have a simply wonderful day!

Karen



What To Do

...when you're not feeling all that great.

Like when you have a cold and you just can't really concentrate, but you feel like you need to do something.

I don't know about everybody else, but I have to keep busy, so yesterday I made these.

The bright colors of the fabric cheered me up a little and making these made me feel better.

To make these I ripped the fabric into strips about 2 inches wide.

Then I twisted and rolled the strips while hand stitching them on the back.

This recycled sari silk worked well too.

I twisted and wrapped this one a bit looser than the others and really like the way it turned out.

If I use them as brooches, I will first glue felt to the backs to give them a neater appearance, but if I just stitch them to a garment or use them for a craft project where the back won't be seen, there's no need to glue felt to the backs.

This was such a simple project and kept me busy while I sat around feeling useless yesterday.

I hope everyone is feeling good and getting ready for the change of seasons.

I'll be putting away my winter porch decor later today and heading out to run some errands this evening.

See you soon.

Karen