A Ball of Fun with Jars and String

*String, Jars, and a Tangled Ball of Fun*

Hello my dear friends!

I have been out of town with my barber husband for a week and just got back today. We went to a little fishing cabin and enjoyed the beginnings of autumn in nature - a lake - some fishing - campfires - zero cell coverage, and just sitting on the porch discovering more stars than we have seen in ages! On the way home, we stopped and antiqued a bit and as I unpacked my goodies on our back table, the light was hitting my treasures "just so" and so I grabbed my camera and took a few shots.

I am on a mission to rid of all things plastic. Well, almost all things plastic. And my first project is to rid of all my tons of spice "jars" that I get when I pick up a little spice here and there from the markets. I hate those little plastic containers they come in when I am buying just a tad. Some spices do come in glass, but many (actually most) come in plastic. 

Why the sudden disdain for plastic? Well, it really isn't sudden, but I am finally getting around to do some changes in my lifestyle that has been on my  mind for some time now. Plastic just isn't healthy (for our body and our planet), plain and simple. We have collected some vintage refrigerator jars to hold our water (and we love them!) as well as vintage glass refrigerator food storage containers to replace tupperware. So, I am determined to rid of plastic wherever possible, and replace it with only vintage jars to hold all of my spices and ingredients. I found these little jars and I love the "shot glass" bottom that a few of them have! 

I found the cutest little "baby" mason jars (1 pint) that are perfect to hold larger quantities of some ingredients such as my variety of sea salts, pepper corns, whole basil leaves, cocoa powder, baking soda, vanilla sugar, corn starch, and so on.

And then I found this fab vintage counter jar that is perfect to hold some course cornmeal I bought at a little Amish grocer while on vacation. But even better? For only $18, I get the fab jar filled with spectacular string! Can never have enough string, twine, rope, thread, yarn, or whatever else type there is out there. I just love it all, actually. 

So, I had to play a bit...

I think even though I am 50, I am still like the kid at Christmas who spends the morning gleefully playing with the boxes and wrapping paper...give me a jar of string and you find me in my own box of joy.

It's "late" and we are still technically on vacation, so we are settling in to watch a movie, eat Amish snacks, and have the kitties on our lap tonight. I hope your Sunday is spent in your own "box of joy"!

from my house to your house,

Lavender, Linen, and a Little Bit of Love

Ribbon, lavender, and a little bit of linen

Hello my friends,

I hope all is well with you on this b..e..a..u..t..i..f..u..l fall day today! I thought I would share a little project that I did a while back, but decided to make a few more today - lavender sachets.

I have tons of linen scraps here and there and they (along with vintage ticking, old table cloths, or any natural fiber fabric) and they make the perfect little sachets. I cut the scraps into 3.5" x 3.5" and just fill and sew!

I like the rustic look, so I simply place one piece of fabric onto the other (wrongs sides together). I sew about 1/4" allowance and then fill with buds and carefully sew it shut. Seriously, the entire process takes less than five minutes from cut to shut.

The rough, unfinished edges give a feel of homespun elegance.

A little velvet ribbon tied around a bundle of three...

Makes an elegant and simple gift to thee...

Just "squish" them periodically to release the wonderful lavender scent. Perfect for under your sleeping pillow during the day and at night, remove, flip pillow over, and rest your head on a lovely, soothing scent.

Wishing "thee" a happy and creative weekend!

from my house to your house

My Favorite Things Part 2 - And free gifts for everyone!

Updated 26 June

please note that I just discovered many comments that never made it to my email! Please see comments section for my response, and I apologize to all who took time to comment, but never made it to me. Cyber "connections" can be so frustrating! 

Hello!

Welcome to part two of My Favorite Things posts. You might be wondering why cows are my favorite things...well, I will explain the cows in a moment.

In my last post, I reveal a way for one lucky winner to win a $75 gift certificate from NOVICA - to read about it all, click here:

To learn about how you, and any reader that reads this, can receive a little something from me as a thank you, just scroll down to the end of the post, if you don't have time for a visit. But as always, I hope you can stay and visit with me.

My first post in this series, I showed a few vintage items that I use routinely. And one of those items I featured (above) was an old mason jar that I use to hold my dried herbs. Well, I thought you might enjoy seeing my favorite way I dry my home-grown herbs...

Above is my vintage haberdashery factory cart that came from a closed-up hat factory, here in the Midwest. Below is a vintage image of similar type of cart that was used to move hats into the factory. Image source: click here. (If the owner of this image would like it removed, or have a better credit source, please let me know - thank you!)

I love the industrial feel of the slanted wheels, and the warmth of the wood. I love my little cart, and when I saw it, I knew exactly what I would use it for.

The racks are just perfect to space out my herbs and I am so happy that I am already cutting and drying my fresh harvest. Soon, the entire cart will be filled. Fresh herbs, even dried, makes every dish come alive. Can't get enough of basil!

Above is cinnamon basil, and below is purple basil - both have such a wonderful, wonderful scent as well as flavor. I use this type of basil in my tomato basil soup recipe as well as my quiche.

I am happy to be able to harvest a little lavender, as most of my lavender plants didn't make it through our very hard winter. But, I am getting budding stems, and they smell wonderful. 

Another basil, below, that is perfect for sauces (especially anything Italian). It is super strong when fresh, but when dried, it is perfect for dishes that need only a taste of this herb.

And one last thing I love about my little cart...when not drying herbs, it is perfect to hang my ribbon, lace, and scraps of material  when working on a project. I just roll it wherever I am working.

So what is the deal with the cows? Well, what goes best with herbs and vegetables? Meat! Being from Texas, a good steak is the best meal. I know, seems kinda mean, when looking at such cute cows...

But cows aren't really on my list of My Favorite Things...

But good leather is! Now before you feel sorry for these pretty cows...take a gander at your leather boots, leather chair, leather jacket, or your leather purse. Which leads me to a NEW favorite thing that I just received.

My new leather purse that I ordered from NOVICA!

The gift certificate they offered me (and to on of my lucky readers), I chose to order a leather messenger bag - and I want to share my review of the product, the service and shipping. But before I get to the bag, of course, I have to show the packaging and marketing...which we all know is almost as important as the item itself.  

It came wrapped up securely with a touch brown package, and inside, I pulled out a lovely wrapped package (above) and underneath that lovely paper, I find a wonderful muslin, drawstring bag, and find my purchase wrapped neatly with tissue paper and a little logo sticker.

I finally tear off the tissue (but had carefully taken off the wrapping paper) and below is my lovely purchase - fresh from the cow  hide, to the artisan's skillful hand and now to me. It is MOOeautiful! haha! It is advertised that is it made for men, and yes, my barber husband snatched it up, once he read that. But, no man comes between a woman and her new leather purse. It really is unisex, but it is MINE. Barber husband can go get his own "bag" as he won't touch my "purse." haha.

I really love the buckle clasps that may be adjusted for those days when I am carrying a lot and need more room. Easy opening and closing with the closure behind the strap. And on the back of the purse is the perfect pocket for my cell phone, or car keys, or sunglasses. It isn't a huge pocket, but all the better for me, as it will help me stay organized by not allowing me to cram everything I own into one darn pocket. There is also an additional zipper pocket inside as well. If you happen to have fallen in love with this bag, here is a direct link to learn the specs from the NOVICA site: Click HERE.  Please note that I am not receiving any commission, credits, or funds for providing this link. I am doing this just to help you out, should you be interested in learning more about the bag. 

Of course, I love the little letter pressed card and must show it.

And I didn't notice until later, a beautiful postcard was enclosed with a very nice NOVICA statement that explains how easy it is to return my purchase should I not be satisfied - which is NOT an issue with this purchase!  

I love the postcard, which is the cherry on top of a wonderful buying experience. (Plus, I love that I am supporting an artist.)

This has ended, as well as free gifts. However, please feel free to leave a comment.

Thank you! (June 26, 2014)

Here is how YOU may enter to win the $75 gift certificate from NOVICA. I want to be clear that NOVICA emailed me, and asked if they could give me a gift certificate to be used to purchase from their site and then share what I purchased with my readers. I wouldn't be doing this second post had I not been very pleased.

Just leave a comment and your name will be entered (along with those names from my prior post). NOVICA supports artisans around the world with fair trade. They are associated with National Geographic, an organization with reputation like non other. 

If you would like to receive a FREE little gift from me personally (something I made, or maybe a little something I am ready to part with), all you need to do is link this article to your social media of choice and leave a comment letting me know the link. Be sure to leave your mailing address so I may mail out your little thank you gift for supporting artisans worldwide. You may email me on the address at the sidebar if you want to keep your address private. Feel free to share this - new readers will receive a gift, if they link as well. 

I will be doing a final post on My Favorite Things and giving readers a chance to sign up, if they missed this post and the prior.  But THIS post is the post in which linking readers will receive a thank you gift from me. I would love to hear if you visited the NOVICA site, and if any particular item caught your eye.

For now, love what you own and own only what you love. 

from my house to your house,