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It's been a few years since my last post here.  My new blog has been very active with at least 3 posts a week.  But I'm still getting lots of traffic here.  So, if you don't want to miss anything, either come visit our new blog or sign up for our newsletter below and you'll get the latest news right in your in box!  Thanks for reading our blogs!!!

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I've Moved!

So, it's been a while since I blogged here.  I've been working on a secret project... a new blog!  I decided to switch over to Wordpress.  It provides a few more options that I've been wanting plus for just a little $ I can removed the "wordpress.com" from my url.  My blog will now be more related to just my business.  But from time to time I'll still share a little from my family & friends.  Including the "31 Days of Thanksgiving".  Be getting ready for that.  It'll start soon!

Anyway, come over to my new blog and join me there.  Leave comments & let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions.

Thanks!

Fall Fairy Earrings

Sorry I haven't blogged in a week!  But if you follow Duct Tape and Denim on Facebook you'll see what I've been up to lately.  I've actually been spending more time on Facebook than my blog.  One of the things I've been doing is making jewelry for the September opening of Room With a Past.  And the Fall Fairy made her appearance this week, in spite of the 98 degree weather!  If you're new to the blog you may wonder who the Fall Fairy is...  It's just a fun tradition that I started with my daughter a few years ago.  Since I have Tuesdays off (I know, a strange day to have off...), when I was ready to decorate for fall I  would send her off to school and then spend the day home by myself and change all my summer decor for fall all in one day.  I never tell anyone before or after I do it.  I just sit back and wait for their response.  I love decorating for fall but I think the family only cares about the candy corn!  lol...

I didn't add any new decor this year (at least yet) so I didn't take any photos.  But you can see last year's photos here, photos from 2009 are here, and 2008 are here.  If you have any new decorating ideas for fall please let me know.  Send me links!

In honor of the Fall Fairy's appearance I created the pumpkin earrings you see above.  I will be giving them away to one of my Facebook followers (Duct Tape And Denim, not my personal FB acct).  If you don't already "like" me you can visit my page here.

My Dirty Little Secret...

"fOuNd nO. oNe"

 Hoarders is one of my favorite TV shows.  Jordy & I love watching it together.  We have to watch it when Glenn's not home.  He can't even stand to be within hearing range while we're watching it!  It is disgusting at times but somehow we got hooked on watching it.  

I think I must have a little "hoarder" in me, too.  I love collecting things and am always thinking about how I can reuse them.

"fOuNd nO. tHrEe"

I have challenged myself with this latest collection of jewelry.  I call it "fOuNd".  I am trying to use up all the little things I've collected or had leftover from other projects.

"fOuNd nO. tWo"

 I have trouble deciding which is my favorite.  Usually I pick this one.  I love this old clock face and I love the  style of this key.

I was going to save this one for Halloween but thought someone might want it now so I listed it, too.

There are a couple of other things that I enjoy about watching Hoarders.  1) Spending time with my daughter and 2) it makes us both want to clean house!

You are Invited to my Virtual Party!

 My sister is a stay-at-home mom that recently started selling Lilla Rose hair accessories.  I loved the way they looked but I have been even more impressed with them after I got one.  So I'm hosting a virtual party!

They are extremely well made and comfortable.  I like putting my hair up in the summer and have been using those cheap plastic claw clips.  But if you wear those you know that they're not always comfortable... especially when you're in the car or sit in certain chairs and the claws dig into the back of your head.

There is a size for every type of hair.  Here's my cutie little niece wearing a fairy clip -- not sure if that's a small or extra small.  I wear an extra small because my hair is very fine.

 We had a little hair party while we were visiting back in Texas.  Got to try the different styles & sizes.

Here's my daughter.  Her hair is NOT fine.  She has LOTS and LOTS of CURLY hair.  This is a medium size clip just for her half-up but it is a little loose.  She chose this clip with wooden beads on it.  She can also twist her hair and hold it up with this one.

Here's my beautiful sister's dark, thick hair (notice I didn't say anything about the silver hair... lol).  These are "You pins".  This is such a beautiful & simple do.

BTW, did I tell you about the "silver hair" I found last week?  I was so upset every time I got into the car I had to double check if I was seeing gray hairs or if it was just the sun reflecting.

 My niece again... it's hard to get her still long enough to get a photo that's not blurry.  This is a large clip for her ballerina bun.  Keeps it all in place while she's dancing.

And my sister's best friend... more thick, beautiful hair!!!  These are the hair sticks.  Another simple do that looks amazing!

They also have hairbands and bobby pins.  If you see me this week I'll have some print catalogs for you to look at and I'll try to have my flexi-clip with me so you can see the quality of it, too.  I think I'll wear it to work tomorrow!

My virtual party is going on until September 4.  Please go by and take a look.  Thanks for supporting a stay-at-home mom & a home business!!!

 Tomorrow is opening night at Room With a Past!  It doesn't seem like a month since this last sale.  They go by so fast!  I made some changes this month.  Actually, I make changes every month but this time the changes are a little bigger.  Tell me what you think...

First of all, I removed one of the shelves, giving me a taller space in the middle.  I've had trouble displaying some of my longer necklaces so hopefully this will help.  And no jewelry on the sides this month.  Remember my UFO?  There's the finished object on the side of my shelf.

I also have a new neighbor behind me.  She sells jewelry, too.  Her's is a little more steampunk than mine.  Other than that, there wasn't much else set up to photograph when I was there.

 Middle shelf:  My longer necklaces fit better here.  And I'm something else new -- instead of putting all the earrings together I'm displaying them near a matching necklace or bracelet so you can see how they might go together.

 Right side of middle shelf:  There are the only (tiny) globes that Glenn didn't get for his office.  I kind of combined the travel & back to school themes.  

 Top shelf:  I haven't had many skeleton key necklaces the past few months.  They usually sell pretty quick for me.  But I found more this month and tried out some new styles.  This was one of my favorites.  I love this color of freshwater pearls!

 Bottom shelf:  Those vintage books for teachers that I love!  Lovely sketch of the Eiffel Tower drawn by the world famous Jordy!  Number playing cards, measuring tape, and something new this month -- map shapes - hearts, circles, birds, and butterflies!

 Bottom shelf:  There's jewelry for every price range this month!  And more of the floral headbands.

 Middle shelf:  One of my girls' favorites -- cameos!  Plus Boy & Girl Scout books.

More of the top shelf:  Still some turquoise left.

Hope you can make it out to the "Room" this month.  I'll be working Saturday 10-2 so come see me!  If you can't make it I'll be bringing some of the jewelry to work next week and listing a few pieces on Etsy as I have time.

But I don't have too much time to do that.  I've already had several requests for the ruler & faucet jewelry that was featured in GreenCraft Magazine so I'll be working on that soon, too!

What Didn't Make the Cut for RWAP

 Had to work yesterday so my schedule for the week is a little off.  I'm probably gonna think this is Thursday all day today.  But it's still only Wednesday!

I sat up my shelves at the "Room" this weekend and took lots of pictures.  I was going to post them but I'll wait 'til tomorrow -- opening day!

This month was supposed to be a travel theme and one of the things I've been shopping for is globes.  I found a few & brought them home.  But they're not going to make it into the shop.  Glenn has commandeered them!  He loves them.  Now they are decorating his study area at home.  So, here are some photos of items that WON'T be at Room With a Past this weekend!

Globe bookends - now holding up Glenn's books.  In front of the maps that I framed for his wall and right beside the Eiffel Tower.  (The dog is Glenn's addition to the decor.)

 More globes...

This is upstairs on the landing.  I'm almost glad these things didn't fit in the shelves.  The lovely fire hose nozzle that my bil IDed for me.  It is very heavy, brass I think.  The black part it's sitting on isn't part of it, it's a very interesting frog.

And my favorite find from Texas, the lunchbox.  My sis & sil talked me into buying that in Waxahachie.  Would have been great for my spot... combining travel AND back-to-school.

And a collection of smalls that didn't make it into the shop will be decorating the bottom shelf in my hall this month.  BTW, I picked and dried that lavender myself!

Oh, I do have lots of those little definition cards.  Let me know if you want some.  I probably would have room to add a few packs of those to my shelf.  Some of the words are so funny to me!

Come back tomorrow and you can see what DID make it into the Room.

Books Should Be Made of Paper

Photo courtesy of Carmen Moreno.

 For as long as I can remember I have loved reading books.  I still have books that my parents read to me when I was little, many of my childrens' picture books, the Little House on the Prairie series that we each read 4-5 times, my own favorites that I love enough to read again, and LOTS of books that I'm saving for my nieces, nephews, and future grandchildren.  We are still a book-loving familly (Glenn read 6 books just last week!)... but now there is a conflict.  My husband has an ipad and has discovered ibooks!  He loves them but there's something disturbing about that trend to me.

Photo courtesy of http://selinalake.blogspot.com/.

I think it reminds me of Star Trek.   Much of our technology seems to be beyond what they had now!  But remember how Captain Kirk had an antique book and pair of reading glasses?  

I heard recently that Amazon.com now sells more ebooks that physical books.    And our Borders recently closed.  I'm guessing because people aren't buying books anymore.  Where am I going to sit and read and drink coffee now?  

Well, I'm still buying books!  And reading them.  And decorating with them.  I'm sharing some of my favorite book photos from Pinterest.  Don't just leave your books on the shelf.  Stack them on tables or the floor, lay them on the coffee table,  open them to your favorite part...

As you saw in a recent post, I'll have some books available for sale on my shelves at Room With a Past next week.  There are some great titles for teachers!  This photo below was one of my favorites.  Reminds me of when I used to read paperbacks in the tub and they'd get all soggy.  You can't do that with an ipad!  :-)

I'll leave you with a quote from Ray Bradbury and let you make up your own mind about ebooks/ibooks, ‎"(in response to Kindle) Those aren’t books. You can’t hold a computer in your hand like you can a book. A computer does not smell. There are two perfumes to a book. If a book is new, it smells great. If a book is old, it smells even better. It smells like ancient Egypt. A book has got to smell. You have to hold it in your hands and pray to it. You put it in your pocket and you walk with it. And it stays with you forever. But the computer doesn’t do that for you. I’m sorry."  

Photo from kohler.com

Vintage Key Necklaces & an Update on Margie

I just listed these in my Etsy shop... except for the one I decided to keep for myself.  Then I couldn't figure out why I just listed them since I'm going to take them out this weekend to set up my space in the Room.  So they'll be in my Etsy shop for just a few days, then they'll go to Room with a Past for the next sale.

I haven't written an update on Margie lately.  Physically she seems to be doing very well.  And as I've told some of you before, her illness (vascular dementia) isn't a steady downward trip.  It's more like stairsteps.  I think she went down another step while we were in Texas.  She was doing well before we left.  Usually she could remember that we were going, just not when.  She would ask us up to 5 times in one visit when we were leaving.  We were gone on a Sunday and Glenn called her that Sunday morning.  She thought I was going to come pick her up for church.  Glenn told her we were still in Texas and she was surprised to hear that we were there.

Since then she has been very confused.  Every time I've seen her she tells me that she's very tired because they had to go somewhere to take showers the night before.  One day when Glenn & Jordy were with her she insisted that she takes showers in the building next door.  Glenn took her down to the bathroom and asked her if that was the place.  "No."  She took him by the hand and told him that she would show him.  She went outside, around the wall, and into the parking lot next door.  Nothing there.  She was confused but still refused to believe that she showers in the same building.

When I was visiting with her she asked me how far away from this place she lives.  I had to tell her that she lives in that room down the hall.  She's worried that Glenn and I won't be able to find her one day.  So every time we talk to her we remind her that we always know where she is and that we talk to Hazel  and know what's going on with her all the time.

She still remembers her son's names (although sometimes Glenn is George) and her brother's name.  But sometimes she doesn't call their wives or children by their names, just "his wife" or "their daughter."  She also asked Glenn how long it has been since George died and how he and her mother died.

Thank you to everyone who asks about how she's doing.  There are some things you can pray for too:

• that the VA will approve her for funds that will help pay her living expenses there
• that she won't be worried about us not being able to find her
• her health (which seems to be very good at this time)
• her other sons who aren't able to visit with her now because of their own health problems
• for Hazel and her other caregivers (we are VERY thankful for them!)

A UFO

No, not a flying saucer... an UnFinished Object!  A project I need to work on this weekend.   Have a great weekend!!!

Back-to-School Books

Getting ready for the next sale at Room With a Past already!  I love decorating with books and I'm always looking for books with interesting titles.  My favorite is, Mental Hygiene in Teaching!

Run, Don't Walk, to the Nearest Bookstore!

 Friday I came home from working late, opened my mailbox, & found my advance copy of GreenCraft Magazine!!!  I wrote TWO articles for this one.  And I got a surprise -- they included two more of my projects that I didn't even know where going to be in it.  I don't want to spoil everything by showing you all the photos & articles but this is what the cover looks like  and the photo below is one of the surprises.

The official date for the mag is August 1 but sometimes it takes stores a few days to get them in.  I have found them before at JoAnn's, Michaels, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.

What You Might Find on a Sidewalk in Berkeley

Remember our trip to Berkeley several weeks ago?  We were walking down the sidewalk between antique stores and saw a sign that said, "FREE".  Behind it was a stack of furniture and 4 black shutters.  I couldn't believe that someone was giving all that away.  It's a good thing I didn't have a truck or a garage or lots more would have come home with me, too.

Today I cleaned them up a bit, took off the hinges, & added hangers to the back.  Jordy helped me hang them.

BTW, what do you think of our bench?  lol...  The table is new.  We had to take the back seat of the van out to get it in.  Then when we moved the table in we sat down & decided to leave the van seat there so everyone would have a place to sit until we found more seating.

So let me know if you have a bench for sale.  Maybe I should go back to Berkeley and see if I can find a free bench on the sidewalk!

A New Bracelet

We did ALL our back-to-school shopping in one day today.  I'm ready for bed now.  But I did want to share one photo of a bracelet that I listed in  my Etsy shop.  I have more to list but it will probably take me a while to get to them all.  Maybe I can do one a day?

July at Room With a Past - part 2



Aileen's spot is as beautiful as ever!

I'm out of town but my space at Room With a Past is set up for the sale.  It starts tonight and goes through Sunday.  Don't miss it!!!  While everyone is putting last minute touches on the Room today I'll be junquing with my sister, sil, & dd.  Picture from our shopping day probably won't get posted 'til I get back next week.

A close up of Lisa's space.



Lisa's corner.



I was tempted to buy this before the sale even started!

And here's another sneak peek of my shelf.