Monday, March 29, 2010

Meet a Bear Monday and a Surprise Give Away!

Well, it is late Monday night and time
for "Meet a Bear Monday".......
...Tonight I would like you to meet 
"Theodore" he is quite a cutie, and one
of my nekked, Boyds bears!  He's a big
boy at 16" tall....He is named after
Theodore Roosevelt and was put out
for the 100th anniversary of the teddy
bear.  His tag is signed by the someone
big at Boyds, might even be the designer,
and is a limited edition.  He even has his
own little book...."My Diary The First
100 Years".....I have a lot of bears, most
of them are dressed up, but I think he has
to be high on my list of favorites. I had lots
of dolls when I was little, but I don't think
I had a teddy bear...Well, I have some now!


On with the surprise give away!  Not only
is Theodore for the 100th anniversary,
this is my 100th post!  So, in celebration
of it, I am going to give something away,
I can't say what it will be, it might be
made of wood, metal, fabric, or something
I have found in an antique mall.....Maybe
a combination of any of the above, or
something I have painted....
It will be revealed on the day of the
drawing!   You might have seen a clue
on one of my previous posts....Or maybe
not!  

The rules are simple:

You must be a follower of my blog....
(New ones are welcome)

You must have a blog and post about
this give away on the side bar of yours.

You must post a comment on this post
and only this post to be entered....(that
way I don't have to go hunting through
all the posts to find ya!)

You must live in the USA....

Well, I hope I have you all curious!

I know a lot of people dread April 15th,
so,  let's make that day something to look
forward to....So, I will show you all what it
is, and have the drawing on April 15th...

Until next time~

Bear Hugs~Karen


Sunday, March 28, 2010

Signs of Spring!

Well, I have been out and about walking
this week, so I took some pictures....Then
we went to an antique mall Saturday and
I took the camera with me, so I got a few
more pictures of what makes this time of
year so beautiful!



 


I hope you are seeing signs of Spring
and warmer temperatures, where you
are...
I bought some black and tan checked
material to make a shower curtain....I
am going to do some painting in the bath
room this week, the frame around the
mirror is the same as the walls.....blah,
blah, blah....The bathroom is all tongue
and groove, so it needs some color.....I
thought I would paint the frame around
the mirror, black....I have a shelf, with a
drawer in it, and some pegs at the bottom
that needs painting.....Plus, I have a little
cabinet full of old tins,  a shaving mug and
such, that needs some paint, it is the same
color as the wall.....I am even going to try
making a rug, too.....I crocheted one several
years ago, so I thought I would do a black
and tan one.....Or Maybe Not!  I have seen
some cute braided ones with black stars on
them, online.....I might go that route....

Until next time...

Bear Hugs~Karen

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Tipsy Thursday

Hello Friends....
I guess I forgot this is Thursday!
My tip for tonight is....Do you have
t-shirts that you hang on hangers
to finish drying?  I put mine in the
dryer for about 10 minutes, then I
hang them on hangers to finish
drying...It gets the wrinkles out and
they won't shrink, that way.....I like
the smell of laundry, that has been
hung on the line....So, the problem
is keeping the hangers on the line when
the wind blows...What do is, I wrap a new
dog chain around the line several times
and secure every so often with clothes pins
and at each end.....Then I take the hook
of each hanger and I put it through the loops
in the chain....This will keep your shirts
spaced a bit apart and if the wind comes
up, the shirts will not fall on the ground.
When they are dry, all you have to do is
take them off the chain and hang them
in your closet....I have a line strung over
my covered patio that I use when the
weather is nice, then when I want to
hang shirts, I get the dog chain out...
You can even use this idea when you
have a garage sale, it will keep your
clothes from all going to the middle...

Happy laundry day...

Until next time...

Bear Hugs~Karen

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Ironing Board

Hello Blogging Buddies, I wanted
to show you all this cute ironing
board that I got at the antique mall
I go to....It is a child's size which has
been painted on....I was lucky to get
it, some lady said she hadn't seen it
and asked when it had come in the
store...She was one of the dealers, so
she is probably there quite often...
Good thing she didn't want to fight
for it!
Who ever painted it did a great job;
I didn't look to see if it was signed, or
not. I put it on the shelf over the washer
and dryer and propped it against the
wall...I have quite a bit of laundry items
in there now, and the only thing I am
looking for is an old brown bleach bottle,
I found a big one, but I don't want one
that big, so thehunt is still on....Oh, and a
sock dryer...I guess I could make one
 of them....

Have a great day!

Bear Hugs~Karen

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Meet a Bear Monday


Good Day!  It is a beautiful day here
in Oklahoma, it is supposed to be
in the 70's, much better than the cold
weekend we had, with snow!

Yesterday, I asked if anyone wanted
me to keep posting bears and I got
some response from bloggers that
they liked seeing my bears, so I will
keep  posting "Meet a Bear  Monday"
Today, I thought I would show you  the
pair, Edmund and Bailey, dressed
in a Princess and dragon costume.  I
had to buy these, because I love to go to
the renaissance festival in Waxahachie,
Texas....We even dress up in renaissance
outfits!  It is a lot of fun.....Anyway, back
to the bears.....On their books, it says
"Once Upon a Hiccup"....Bailey gets up
one morning and is looking in the mirror
and she sees herself in this beautiful dress....
She spins around and hiccups and then
she is wearing the dress....She turns into
a "Princess" and her home turns into
a castle!  She goes to see her friend
"Emily Babbit" the rabbit, who has
 turned into "Lady Emily"...Handmaiden
to the Princess....So, they sat down and
planned an adventure, using their
imaginations!  Of course,  they wanted
Bailey's boyfriend, Edmund to dress as
something, so in their imaginations, he
became their pet dragon for the day!
They are such cute outfits....


 


I don't know why the pictures are a little
dark, I had the light on and I used the flash.
I think you can see them well enough,
though....

Well, I better get some housework done,
so I can do some sewing, I want to make some
thing with that material I got....Then back to
painting....I also want to do some painting in
the house, since it has warmed up and I can
have the windows open to let out the fumes....
I hate to have it trapped in the house, it is
very unhealthy.

I hope you all have a great day!

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate
it so much!

Bear Hugs~Karen

Monday, March 22, 2010

Garage Sale Finds




Hello, I hope you all had a great
weekend....It was nice here all week
and when Saturday got here, it was
cold and rainy, then it started snowing
and we had about an inch on Sunday
morning, it melted and then snowed
again in the afternoon....It is 65 degrees
right now......Crazy weather!  Well, I
was out walking on Friday and one of my
neighbors was having a garage sale, so I
stopped.  I got a box full of material for $5
....The red material with the gingerbreads
has about 4 yds, she threw that in for $1 and
the bedspread for another $1...There are
a bunch of tapestry or upholstery samples
that will make cute pin cushions or birds...
I picked out one to recover one of my foot
stools with.




I got a great deal on this stuff!  Now,
I need to get to making something with
it all, or it will just be a waste of money
to have it sit here in the way.  I finally
got the project painted that I was working
on, it took me forever!  If I didn't like part
of it, I painted it again, until I was happy
with it.  I can't show it to you, I sent it to a
blogging buddy, she will probably post it.
She doesn't know what it is, it is a surprise
for her.....Hey Gina, your package is on
the way!

I don't know if I am going to keep doing
"Meet a Bear Monday"....I don't think there
are many bear lovers in the prim world, if
any of you want me to keep posting bears,
just leave me a comment....

Well, I need to go to the store, then finish
cleaning.....I hope you all have a great
week!

Until next time...

Bear Hugs~Karen

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Tipsy Thursday

Hi everyone, I hope you are all
doing fine.....Spring is in the air,
here in Oklahoma, the tulip trees
are in bloom! 

I don't know what the deal is with
this blogger, none of the tool bar
was showing so I couldn't give you
the tip for today, earlier when I
tried....

Todays tip:
How to make your own self-rising
flour if your recipe calls for it, and
you don't have any in the house.

Self-rising Flour
Mix together:
4 cups flour
       2 teaspoons salt
               2 tablespoons baking
powder
Store in a tightly
covered container.

Happy Baking!

Until next time~

Bear Hugs~Karen


Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Fleamarket Finds

Good Afternoon, Blogging Buddies....
I think I like these bigger letters,
don't you?  I have noticed that a lot
of blogs have bigger print....They said
that followers couldn't read the print
that well, so they went bigger.  I like it
on blogs, except for some of them, the
letters run together with the ones on the
lines above and below.  This makes it a
little harder to read, I think....I will post
this one with this size letters to see how
it turns out...Anyway, I tried to post this
picture to share with you all on Sunday
night, but I encountered some error and
off the post went!  It was about 1:00 am
and I didn't want to redo it....So, here are
all the goodies that I got at the fleamarket
 over the weekend.  I got it all for $16.....
The bowls are both Munising and I got
a great deal on them, $7 for the pair!  The
finish on the one with the pinecones is not
very good, but I will put them in a bowl
rack, when I can get hubby to build me
one....The real problem is, where I can
hang it....I have several of these kind
of graters, but most of mine have been
painted, so I wanted these plain ones...
They look cute with lit votive candles
under them, out on a patio table. I have
a sewing machine drawer, but it is plain,
so I got this one to put up on the shelf
above the computer with my bears and
the sewing signs, etc.  See that sifter?
I might come up with something to put
in that.....hmmmm....I just thought of
something, but you will have to just wait
and see what I come up with! 


I got a kraut cutter for making
sauerkraut, it didn't have the box on
it that you put the cabbage in, but it
was only $2, so I got it with intentions
of putting it on the wall to put all my
spice tins on, but it was too long to be
able to put it where I wanted it, so I
propped it behind the kitchen sink to
cover the ugly formica back splash....
Works for me until I can get my new
counter tops on, which be awhile, yet...
It will involve a lot more than new
counter tops, we have to move cabinets,
build a wall along the back of the
peninsula, take down some cabinets,
etc.....so it goes down the list...We have
things to do on our house in Texas, that
has to come first.  I am saying that I just
might paint those ugly counter tops that
look like white marble, one of these days!
I want the cabinets red, but then taupe
would look good, or off white with black
trim and knobs...I can't make up my mind!
Well, I need to get out and walk, it is a
beautiful day and I want to get out there
and enjoy some of it!

By for now....

Bear Hugs~Karen

Monday, March 15, 2010

Meet a Bear Monday

Hi Ya'll.....I hope this finds you all in a good mood!
I don't know about you all, but I've had trouble
posting.....Last night I was posting about all the neat
things I got at the fleamarket and Microsoft had an
error and had to close on me and I lost the post....
Then this morning, I clicked on a blog in the window
of my dashboard and it came up and froze.....Then I
opened another for the dashboard and it did it again!
I had to restart the computer to get rid of it all!  It is
working fine, now....Geeeezzzeee, what a pain!

Well, it is Monday, again....Seems like they are
coming around faster and faster!  So, I want to show
you another bear in my collection.  I have a lot of
"patriotic" bears and this one is one of my favorites!
Her name is ....Ann I. Bearsary....She was made to
celebrate Boyd's 1st Anniversary of the Big Ole Barn
in Gettysburg, PA....It's on the label on her foot. She
is 12" tall and is wearing a red top with stars and navy
blue bloomers.  The embroidered stars on the collar
just makes it stand out.  Her hat has the same star print
on the top, with a big blue bow, although you cannot see
it in the picture....




A close up of her cute little face....

I thought about showing her in July, but I have plenty of
patriotic ones to show you for the whole month of July!
I don't know who I will show you next, but next month,
being April, (the Civil War started in the month of April)
I will show you my bears dressed in Civil War outfits....

I have several pictures of things that I have found at GW
and other places that I haven't posted, so I show you all
that, soon and a picture of an Easter Bonnet, on Easter,
that I made for my Mom to wear in the "Easter Bonnet"
contest.....She won 1st prize!

Well, I need to get to painting, I want to get a project done
for a blogging buddy.....

Also, I won at BINGO on Willow Bend Prims.....I can't
wait to see what she is sending me!!!  I will be posting
that as soon as I get it!

As T. J. does....WOOT....WOOT...WOOT!!!!

Hope ya'll  have a great week!

Until next time....

Bear Hugs~Karen




Wednesday, March 10, 2010

My Sewing/Craft/Computer Room & Tipsy Thursday~

Good Evening Friends....
I thought I would show you all what took me 5 days to
do!  I had so much stuff in this room that I could hardly get
around the computer chair to the table I painted at, under
the Marilyn Monroe plates.....So, I bought the sewing table,
moved things around, took things out of the room and I
took over the book case in the corner, for material.
We stacked the file cabinets to make more floor space....
The white table you can see a little of, is made from an old
treadle sewing machine stand....The table with the paints
and brushes was free, hubby brought that home....I had to
organize stuff on it to have room to paint.  I bought 3 little
 pink crates to put paint in and they work better than
the shoe boxes.



I didn't know that I had this much material,
it was in tubs, like the gray ones you see under
the window.  As I was sorting, I decided on what
to keep here and what to take back to Texas....


The boxes are full of stuff to decorate with, or to
paint on....Don't laugh, the closet is full, too!
I said on my last post, I think it was, I have that
disease called "Packratitis".......Come on now, I
bet some of you out there also have this disease, but
you just don't want to admit it!


This is the shelf over the computer....One of my bears
has her own sewing machine!  Well, I hope you enjoyed the
tour of my room, it is very small, but I think now I can make
it work....

Since I am posting tonight, I am going to post you a tip for
tomorrow. 

Todays tip:

To ripen tomatoes, put them in a brown paper bag in a
dark pantry, and they will ripen.  You can also ripen
bananas this way.

Thanks for making my blog part of your day!

Until next time~

Bear Hugs~Karen