So...I was not looking forward to going appliance shopping yesterday. We had gone to Home Depot and I found a stove I liked, and a fridge to match, but we thought we'd check Lowe's to see the prices and whether there was anything I liked better. It's about a half hour drive, then of course trying to find a sales person to help usually takes another half hour, by the time you actually buy anything the day is shot.

But at the last minute I remembered a place that is closer in Gardner, MA, only about 10 minutes away. So we went for breakfast at the Blue Moon Diner and then around the corner to Stasukelis Appliance. It's a family owned business and I'd rather give my money to them than the big guys anyway! And it's where we ended buying everything! The salesperson was very knowledgeable, and he gave us a fabulous deal on the stove and fridge cause they were clearance items. +A HUGE plus+ - we were able to have it all delivered the same day!

AT Home Depot we would have had to order the items and have them delivered later in the week, meaning I'd have to take time off from work to hang out and wait for the delivery. We had everything up and running by yesterday afternoon, and the old yucky appliances are gone forever - YAYYY!

Here's our new kitchen look!
You can click the picture to see it a bit larger.

Page is made with a fabulous scrap kit - Kitschy Kitchen by SherrieJD

Quick Page #3

I have one more Quickpage to give away! There are 3 total - all are part of my new Seabreeze Collab Kit, made with Athena - Paste Optional Designs.

This is the last one - The links for other two are still active in the posts below. I'll leave them up for another day or two, after that, they will only be available as part of the kit.

These free samples are so you can see up close how pretty the kit is!

Here's a preview of the kit - It's on sale for $5.99 $3.60! The preview and download for the free quickpage is at the very bottom of the post.

Seabreeze - All images are linked to the store!!

Details

18 Backgrounds

10+ WordArt/Titles

Free Quickpage #3 - The image below is linked!





Enjoy and have a wonderful Thursday!!
Donna

Quick Page #2

Here's Free Quickpage #2 - The image below is linked!

TGIF!
Donna

Quick Page #1

Here is Free Quickpage #1 - Still available for a few more days!

The image below is linked!





Enjoy and have a wonderful Thursday!!
Donna

New Items this week at Plain Digital Wrapper!!!

This set of Pretty Pondlilies is available in both a Commercial Use (CU) for designers and a Personal Use (PU) version for scrappers. My personal use version is also OK for S4H/S4O, which means if you create scrapbook pages for others in a small home business, you do not need to purchase the commercial use version. The CU version is for those who will use it to create elements to be resold as part of a collection of items in their digital scrapbook kits.

Both versions are **on sale** for a limited time! :)

The CU list price is $4.99 on sale for $2.99 and the PU version listing at $2.99 is on sale for $2.00.

Here are the (linked) previews:

Commercial Use - Sale $2.99


Personal Use- Sale $2.00



Here are a couple scrap pages I made with Pretty Pondlilies:


Other elements I used are from Garden Party and Glitter Swirls and Twirls


Also being released tomorrow is my new Beachy Collaborative Kit with Athena!! We have had so many awesome suggestions for our Name That Kit contest!

Check back tomorrow to find out the winning name, and a link to the kit at Plain Digital Wrapper.

Elements

Details

18 Backgrounds

10+ WordArt/Titles

Have a great night!
Donna

Garden Goodness

Yesterday'sYard Sale Bargains

Here are the bargains that Hank and I snagged at a yard sale yesterday.

First up - this pair of full face helmets for just 5 bucks! For both of them! Hank and I have a couple of 4wheelers, and while we do have (and wear) helmets, they aren't the full face ones, and for $2.50 each, well....how can you beat that?



Next up is this light table - for $2.00. One of the arms that holds the light needs to be fixed, but Hank said he can fix it easily. The black light fixture was a yard sale find from last year ($1.00) I am excited, because this will make it easier to photograph my jewelry and other small items. I had been thinking about buying a light box, but they are SO expensive!



And finally I got this whole box of tools for $1.00! There is a soldering iron with tons of different tips and a controller, and lots of miscellaneous electronics stuff. There's an exacto knife and blades, a tiny file that I will use for smoothing wire, some small drill bits, tiny nails - junk for some people, but a treasure trove to a crafter like myself! I would have paid a dollar for just the two small pairs of pliers, which is what caught my eye, but this woman was moving to Florida and just wanted all this stuff GONE!



So there you have it - total = $8.00, and well spent!

And if you'd like to know how YOU could win a copy of my new Beachy Collab Kit featured in the post below, Check out these threads in the forums at Plain Digital Wrapper or Digishoptalk.

Have a great Summer Sunday!

Coming SOON!

This kit is JAM-PACKED with summertime goodness! It's an exclusive PDW collaboration between Athena ~ Paste Optional Designs, and myself!

And if you'd like to know how YOU could win a copy, We are having a Name that Kit Contest! Check out these threads in the forums at Plain Digital Wrapper or Digishoptalk.

Check it OUT!

Details

18 Backgrounds

10+ WordArt/Titles

I'll be back later to post about my awesome YARD SALE find!! For just $1.00!

Another new set...

I made this one last night - I'm calling it MOONglow. I used shell circles, pearls, moon colored glass beads and clear glass beads. They are wrapped with silver plated wire and then oxidized using liver of sulphur

So much fun to play.
Happy Thursday!

I found the perfect charms for my magic from the sea necklace. And I made earrings to match!





Also here's a preview of cominng attractions at Plain Digital Wrapper



This will be up for sale next week - with a commercial use version available too.

This week all my designs are on sale for $2.00 - a little summertime YARD SALE!

Photos from last weekend

We went kayaking at Moosehorn Pond, where I took these:



I was checking out this nest when I looked up and saw this bird right above me. I think it's an Eastern Kingbird.



And some swallows...



These beautiful waterlilies were everywhere!


I brought a few home to put on my kitchen counter - Aren't they lovely?


Stayed tuned for a preview of something else done with the lilies and an updated picture of my magic from the sea necklace.

Sunny Sunday

At last! Summer's here!

I spent most of today sitting outside soaking up the sun and crafting.

So what do you get when you take this pile of stuff:

1. Plastic Coated Copper Wire
2. Glass beads in shades of Sea Blue and Ocean Green
3. Copper Tubing

+

And add some crafty tools?

You get a magic from the sea necklace!

First I cut 1-2" pieces from the copper tubing (snagged at a yard sale yesterday for $1.00) and hammered it flat, then filed the edges smooth and drilled the holes.

I punched the words with a set of steel letter punches. I bought these a long time ago and I have been just waiting to get some metal to try them out!

Then I sanded all the hammered pieces 'til they were smooth. After stripping the plastic coating from the wire, I started adding the beads using wrapped loops. (<--click for instructions) The plastic coated wire had been hanging around my craft stash for a while and it was the perfect gauge for wrapping. I love working with copper - it's soft and pliable and yet it holds it's shape well too. Once I had added enough beads for the length I wanted, I made a hook from the same wire and hammered the curved part flat. And here's how the finished piece looks!


Here's a closer look - see that patina? After stripping the plastic and sanding the hammered/punched pieces, the copper was all new and shiny looking. I really didn't like that look. But now - The copper has turned a darker chocolate brown with a lovely shade of blue in the nooks! It usually takes years for that finish to form on the copper but I found a way to do it almost instantly, using common household ingredients.

If you'd like to know how I did it, leave your e-mail in the comments, or e-mail me directly: d_rafferty@yahoo.com and I'll tell you how, but only if you promise to do it very carefully!

I may look for some copper seashell charms to add - wouldn't that be perfect!



So that was today's project.

Yesterday was a day of just relaxing and puttering around the yard. I went to yard sales in the morning - scored a Stone Temple Pilots music CD for 50 cents, a ceramic fish mug for Hank for $3.00, this very heavy metal chinese lantern for $2.00 ( the metal table it's sitting on was from another days yard sale hunting - another $3.00 bargain) and the copper tubing I used for the necklace.

I love yard sales.





And for lunch out on the patio yesterday I made some swordfish and shrimp kabobs...so delish! I wish I had taken a picture. Maybe next time.

We did have an afternoon visitor in the garden - He had absolutely no manners though - he kept sticking his tongue out at me! He's harmless...a Garter Snake. Does he scare you?





So that's the scoop for today. BUT - Check back in the next couple of days - I will have some new scrappy stuff and previews of a *Super New Collab* kit that will be coming to Plain Digital Wrapper soon!

Find out here how you could win it!

A Bit of Scrap-shopping

There were some great sales over the weekend. Here are a few I really liked!

They are all linked for easier enabling!

These frames by Miss Tina





Some great stitches by Traci Reed





And I love the fresh summer colors in this cute kit by Happy Scrap Girl




Love these. But Oh no! I have to back to work today. I can't wait to have some time to play with my new goodies.

It was a grand party!

We went to my nephew's house for a 4th of July BBQ yesterday. My son took this pic of me, soon after we arrived at the party.



We started the afternoon with a magic show put on by Sophie. She's the one in the sparkly hat. (which I had borrowed for my picture)



This prompted Brian to see if he could pull a rabbit out of a hat!

Henry and Sophie having a few giggles on the couch.

Lots of music...everyone was taking turns playing Sophie's guitar.

Silly Sophie!
John.
Family and friends...

Mmmmm...yummy food!
Here's Scott - mixing us all up some drinks...

And no - the ketchup was NOT put in the drinks! MMmm-Margaritas!

I think drinking may have prompted this picture of Seth, Darcy and Scott!

Here's the gang out in the back field, setting up the fireworks for later on.


little Seth demonstrates what will happen once they are lit!

Isn't he the cutest!
And who could resist Adam's new puppy, Chewy? AWWwwwww look at that face!

And what an ending to the night - the fireworks were spectacular! Thanks Seth and Darcy for hosting a wonderful 4th of July party!







Totally exhausted tonight - I had a bit of a headache this morning from all the festivities, so I was pretty slow to get going today. Hank and I did manage to get out for couple hours in the kayaks. It was a gorgeous day, and I got some nice photos out on the pond. Check back soon!

Cheers,
Donna