Flea Market Finds.

Yes we have a "bonanza" today!!! Scored these lovely vintage flowers. Bought the whole lot. She had saved these from hats. She wanted to find someone who will put them to good use, enter me....

Lovely old velvets and organza flowers......

Love the soft colors and the fine stamens on these flowers.

Sweet fabric lily-of-the-valley...

More sweet flowers...

A big bag of bits.........

Found two cute suitcases.....

Steve found this cute bank for me. He liked that it had the lock. It was sweet that he saw this and bought it for me.....

Found the plastic Infant of Prague. The vendor and I had a laugh over the fact that the bottom said $2.00 but she told me $1.00.

Aren't these sweet? The fellow selling them did not want to take them back home, so he made an offer I could not refuse......

Found three cute tiny "yorkie" china figures to add to my shelf...

I found this second pair of tiny "yorkie" china figures also!

Those who know me, well they know I collect birds. Not just any, I prefer the shiny Japanese ones. However today I found this cool Chicken pitcher for next to nothing so he had to come home with me.

This is why my chicken pitcher is on the table...no room! I need a new cabinet?

Found these chenille spreads for $2.00. They are for crafting (have a couple small rips). I want to make a couple of cute pillows, or some baby things?

This adorable chair for just a couple dollars will look cute at my desk...

Of Course I found this "fabulous" Bling Ring and well, who could resist this......

(It was in the bags of Jewelry) All in all a fun morning, and I wasn't really looking. It was fun seeing all the people selling stuff, and then we stopped for some fresh produce. The air was crisp but refreshing and what fun we had looking over all these fun finds.

Tako-Tsubo

Tako-Tsubo Syndrome

About 70-80% of cases of Tako-tsubo Syndrome (TTS) occur in post-menopausal women under some form of extreme, exceptional and prolonged mental stress,... with no good way out, no relief and often feeling deep resentment (such as the loss of a dear one...)

(Note: a word of caution... , in a minority of patients, less than 20% the stress is physical such as massive trauma, surgery or severe pain, or other type of stress. In very rare cases, no "cause" can be found.

a diagnosis of tako-tsubo syndrome can only be made after excluding:

• coronary artery disease (especially proximal left main or left anterior coronary artery stenosis),
• acute coronary syndrome,
• acute myocardial infarction,
• myocarditis, pericarditis, aortic dissections and so forth...

And that leads to the good news, Folks! If this syndrome is recognized, over 95% of patients pull through that fairly easily (with most of the time complete recovery of the electrocardiographic changes and recovery of the cardiac shape and function. This may take a few weeks)

On Sunday I experienced this syndrome first hand. I can honestly say I did not feel stressed at the time. In fact I was quite happy having sold a few of my stamps I no longer used or wanted (there are still a few available in my blog shop). At first I thought I was having on of my stomach flare ups, but it got a bit worse so we were off to urgent care. They gave me something for the stomach pain and I actually felt better. The doctor seemed a bit concerned and ran some blood-work for my heart, but sent me home saying he would call if it was anything serious.

Well next morning I still had not heard anything so off to work I went. When I got home I was greeted by phone calls telling me to go to emergency. Thats when they told me that my heart enzymes were elevated. Well several tests, and a heart cath later they pronounce I had "tako-tsubo" or as they called it "broken heart syndrome".

Since this condition is totally recoverable they are treating me with drug therapy and monitoring my heart. I was relieved to know I do not have coronary artery disease or any blockages. It was fascinating to see the heart. During the cath you are totally awake and you get to see exactly what they are doing (it was completely pain-FREE, trust me I would tell you if it hurt). It actually made me feel good to know I would recover and that for the most part I was heart healthy.

So what triggered it? They feel stress was the trigger, I don't know because I truly did not feel I was stressed at the time, until my stomach acted up. The more I rad up on this condition they do mention something about possible pathogens that can trigger an episode. Who knows. I am just happy to be home and recovering.

These flowers arrived Thursday from Vicky and Mike, I feel very blessed to have such good friends.....

Here are the lovely roses that my good friend Terri and her husband Chip brought by when I came home from the hospital. I am very lucky to have such dear friends.

I am feeling much better, and recovering nicely. My puppies missed me. They even managed to share Bailey's bed.

Fun Friday......

Spent the day with Terri Friday. Played with my "new" stamps, copic markers, colored pencils, glitter, ribbon, punches, and paper. These cards were simple and sweet. It was a nice day out, and Terri and I even managed to go out for "ice cream"!

Fun Fabric Binder for Kim

I have been neglectful of my blog, again. It's summer and I have been busy about the house. We painted the porch steps, had garage sales, cleaned off porches, and various yard work projects.

I have also been busy trying some new things. I was looking for a project to work on while sitting on the front porch, or watching the new series Pillars of the Earth. I had seen the video by Teesha Moore where she had made these wonderful fabric journals, and fell in love with the idea.

Gathering up some fabric, I started making the little "pillows" as Teesha calls them. They were each stuffed and sewn, then carefully edged with cotton thread. Making the stitches small, varying thread colors and patterns to make each one different. Like Teesha said, I was not all "matchy poo". It did not matter that some were a bit smaller, not quite straight, or that the tread colors changed randomly. The result is a fun and funky folder.

I made this for our youngest daughter Kim. She is a bit of a free spirit and I know she will love the bright colors. She loves Teeshas' work and I thought it would be a nice surprise for her as she starts college in Kalamazoo next week.

It's finished and ready for her, decorated with some vintage buttons and colorful fibers.

Here is the inside. I found these bright colored rings for the binder. You can see all the "quilting". I tried to vary and make patterns for each piece. It was all bound with a pretty blue thread.

She can use it for a journal by adding sketch paper to it, or some watercolor paper. She can use it for school, either way she will have something from me with her and remind her that we are thinking of her while she is away at school.

Tempting Tags

I am a member of a small group of ladies who gather every now and then to exchange our Artwork, share information, and enjoy a meal together. We will discuss what's new in our lives and some new project we would like to try.

Last month we did pages for a Glamorous "Star" book. We each picked a Movie Star form the vintage movies who for us portrayed true Glamour and Style. We had a lot of fun and the pages were outstanding. Then we decided this month to do a tag exchange. We did not designate a subject, just one challenge. We had to use the newspaper put out by Donna Salazar somewhere on the tag. Donna Salazar is known for making flowers with this particular paper. So she put out a "Artist's newsletter" on the paper she uses to make her paper flowers. We each bought one and had two months to figure out where or how to use it on our tags.

Kim used it on the lovely flowers she made for her Ginger Rogers tag, as did Vicki on her vintage lady tag. Nancy used it on the background of her masculine tag, and Terri her butterfly wings. I used it for the leaves on my tag (The bottom tag, but you cannot see them in the picture)which was the simplest one of the group this time. It was a lot of fun, and these ladies are just so creative and talented.

Having been in a few exchange groups and clubs in the past, I had been left a bit discouraged. People did not follow thru, or applied very little time or effort to their projects. I almost gave up, but then decided to find "like minded" people to start our own group. It has been fun and never a disappointment. I feel so lucky to be a part of this and know these talented ladies.

We are going to take a small break for summer, as vacations, graduations, and the nice weather make us all long to be outside. Our next meeting we will be exchanging cards, for now though I have these lovely tags to admire and inspire me. Thanks ladies!

Where Bloggers Create

Here is my post showing my "new" and improved Craft Studio. I now have much more room, and my dear Husband made me a table where I and my friends can gather and create! I hope you enjoy the little video. Hope you enjoyed seeing my creative space, please leave a comment and be sure to visit all the other (I think there are over 500!) creative people listed at "My Desert Cottage". Thank You Karen for hostess-ing this event again, and for letting me participate!

Scraps of My Life Mini Swap

Finished this mini for Scraps of My Life swap. The theme was "Butterflies, Buttons, and Bows". Joyce, the lady I was chosen to make it for likes "purple, or red and black" and gave me shabby chic, or grunge as the style she liked. I had a lot of fun. finding that I had a beautiful black velvet butterfly I went with the grunge, black and red. She also shared that she really (like myself) does not scrapbook but prefers to journal in them.

It's on it's way to her, and I hope she likes it. Now off to finish another for my Friend overseas (it's almost ready to send Sarah!)