Bel Air Festival of the Arts

Last Sunday we participated in Bel Air Festival of the Arts held the 3rd Sunday in September in beautiful downtown Bel Air, Maryland. There is all day entertainment, including numerous events staged on the bandstand, arts and crafts and children activities.

Here are a few pictures that I took of my girlfriends from New Jersey...



Donna paints french country or shabby chic on tin, mirrors, glass, wood. She was busy working changing the colors on a design as a customer waits. Donna was unaware that I was taking her picture! Love candid photos!










In this picture she was telling me not to take her picture! LOL! Too late!








This is Janice...she was just sitting back and relaxing. These gals deserved it as this was their 3rd show in as many days. I did this weekend a few years ago and I can tell you by Sunday, you are wiped out!





Of course my craft shows are a family affair. Ian is in charge of running the cash register and generally helping customers. He's been going to craft shows since he was 6 days old. Of course we were just visiting at that one, but he was at his first official craft show when he was a month old. He's a big help with set up and break down too.




As you can see I still need to do some work with learning how to take pictures with my new camera...maybe someday soon I'll get it! Sigh!

Anyway, if you are in Maryland on the 3rd Sunday of September, Bel Air Festival of the Arts, is certainly worth the trip.

OFG Fall Celebration Kick Off

Make sure to drop by and check out all that the OFG group on etsy has to offer. The celebration started yesterday and runs to October 31. Just click on the link.

Check Out This Giveaway...Firecracker Kid

Be sure to stop by The Firecracker Kid's blog and enter for a chance to win Carol's giveaway. She is giving everyone 4 chances...yep that's 4 to win a great Rolling Pin Dough Bowl Keep.



Carol hasn't had her blog up and running that long but it looks like she's off to a wonderful start here in blogland. So be sure to stop by her blog to enter(secretly I'm wishing you won't since I'd have a better chance at winning) and while you are out surfing the net, why not stop and check out her etsy shoppe too?

What a Great Giveaway At Painting Thyme Needfuls Blog

Be sure to check out Painting Thyme Needfuls giveaway...It's so cool. You get a primitive witch hat, magic potion bottle and a witch sign. Drawing for the winner is September 28 so get on your brooms and fly over to enter. Just click on the link.

Fall Celebration OFG on etsy

The Old Farmhouse Gathering is having a Fall Celebration on Etsy. The member have brewed up some cool Halloween and Fall decorations just in time for your autumn decorating. Members are allowed to enter up to 4 items which will be showcased in treasuries and on blogs.

They are also having a basket giveaway, chock full of items handmade and donated by various members. So be sure to wander over to etsy to check out all that the members have to offer and be sure to be on the look out for the basket giveaway announcement. Here's a sneak peak at my enteries....






Isn't this just the cutest little sign? My hubby doesn't pay attention too well and he cut the wrong size sign blank. Off I went searching for the perfect stencil to use on his oops. Sure wish all his screw ups turned out so well...






A Halloween celebration wouldn't be complete without a coven of witches practicing their craft...or in this case...conspiring.



A warm witchy welcome sign for your pleasure...


As always you can find my signs on etsy....enjoy!

Duct Tape 101 Uses

I was talking with my friend Pat about the duct tape sign I made last week and of course there my mind went...off to research about duct tape for some new sayings for a series of duct tape signs. Anyway, after spending Friday night googling duct tape, I found the history fascinating. The things people use duct tape for are also very creative. So I decided to share with you some of the history and uses of duct tape since it's creation...



According to Wikipedia, duct tape is a vinyl, fabric reinforced tape, that was first developed during WW II as a water resistant, sealing tape for ammunition cases. It has many other names including "Riggers Tape", "100 MPH tape" and "Hurricane Tape".

Post WW II, people starting using this wonder tape on heating and cooling applications, that's where it's current name has derived from. But alas, it fails miserably after time with sealing duct work for which it has been named. Many local building code prohibit the use of duct tape on duct work due to it becoming brittle.









But given that it failed miserably in the heating and cooling world, apparently it is a mainstay staple in many homes and even on the Apollo missions to the moon. Even in outer space, you never know when you would need some duct tape.

In fact, during the 1970, Apollo 13 mission, duct tape played a critical role in getting our astronauts home safely. It helped when the CO2 modules had to be retrofitted while the astronauts were orbiting the Earth after an explosion aboard the spacecraft. It also was used on the Apollo 17 mission to extend the fender on the moon rover. Boy those boys at NASA think of everything...Wonder what their emergency tool kit looks like for when they go traveling in space!






In the medical world, duct tape was thought to be able to remove warts, but conflicting studies have revealed that duct tape isn't any more effective than conventional treatment for warts. But hey, if you have a piece of duct tape and a wart...it can't hurt to try.








As has been depicted in many television and action movies, duct tape is an a must have. It is commonly thought of as a quick and cheap fix and is usually associated with men. I guess no self-respecting man would be caught without a roll or two of duct tape. Just ask MacGyver!







Duck Products, annually sponsors a yearly competition for the most stylish prom outfit created from duct tape. The winner receives a college scholarship....not bad for being a little creative! Other fashion items that have been created out of duct tape are wallets, handbags, belts and Halloween costumes. There have also been a few street rods that have been tricked out using duct tape! Who knew? LOL!






Duct tape comes in many colors. I guess to color coordinate with our home decor? And like any women with her favorite shoes in every color, I guess you just have to have a roll of each. So next time your in Walmart, pick up a few rolls.

As always these as well as many other signs can be found on my etsy. Til next time.

The Morning Quips

I have a new line of small saying signs that I'm going to try out on etsy. Nothing too fancy...just some quotes and quips....hence my name for them "Morning Quips". Just a little saying to maybe bring a smile to your face when you read it.



Of course we all know how true this one is...









Another favorite! I can't help myself! Quips are like potato chips...you can't have just one!







Of course these are words every mother is waiting to hear! I may never hear them! LOL!








And this one is perfect for me! LOL! Pass the chip bag! LOL!








Blaming goes on a lot in my house...It's not me! I didn't do it...I could go on and on! LOL!







And this one has to be my all time favorite....what man doesn't have at least 3 rolls of duct tape?

As always you can find these and many more signs in my etsy shoppe. Be sure to drop in often to get your Morning Quip.

My Eco Wall

This is my "eco wall" as my neighbor from Ecuador calls it. We planted pole beans along the edge and provided them with a string trellis to climb on and boy did they ever climb. We've gotten quite a bunch of beans so far. I love to throw a pot full of green bean, potatoes and a smoked ham slice on the stove and let it simmer...one of my favorite dinners! No muss...no fuss!

We also have tomatoes and carrots in that bed now. We did have radishes and lettuce but it's too hot here for them now. We will replant that for the fall.




This is the two cucumber plants that are at the end of the bean bed. We also trellised those and boy have they produced cukes for us. My hubby had me get "diva" variety cucumber plants from one of the local garden centers to plant. They are one of the best tasting seedless ones out there.



As you can see the cucumbers have taken over. Josh decided to add more to the trellis so now the plants are growing up the garage roof. I don;t know how much bigger they can get, but I guess we will find out.



This bed had 2 squash plants in it. They have both perished from powdery mildew so no more squash. We do have 3 pepper plants, a row of beets, 2 rows of carrots and some newly sowed radishes in there. Also 2 cherry tomato plants are on the end. We will soon get put in a few broccoli plants and start spinach again.


The crepe myrtle has sprouted and is filling in nicely since we cut it back. My impatiens in the hanging baskets are doing nicely too. We were over watering them for awhile there as there was a lack of communication as to what was watered and when.

My boys and I enjoy taking care of our gardens. Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Wrong Answer! Witches Always Get The Last Word

Don't you just love this sign? I sure do! Poof and he's gone! LOL! A few new signs for the upcoming fall season.




I love this one too! It can be displayed all year long over a bar area or in that special man cave!



As you can see I still have much to learn with my new camera...I haven't got the lighting quite right but I have learned how to crop a picture, so we are making progress!

Oh We Oh, Yo Ho!

I visited the Land of Oz again...can't help myself. I got my new camera on Friday and boy is there a HUGE learning curve as you can see in the first picture. I need to learn "how" to crop using the new cameras program. It's much different than my previous one. I took this picture using my new camera...see told you! Need to learn to crop.

I take no responsibility for this song being stuck in your head now. Do you know who the Winkies are? Besides being the inhabitants of Winkie County they were the Wicked Witch of the West Soldiers. I've included a map of Oz.






Each section of Oz was ruled by a witch. The worst were the Wicked Witch of the East, which Dorothy dispatched to the great beyond in the first scenes of the movie and her sister ,The Wicked Witch of the West,which Dorothy melted in the final part mistakenly splashing water on her, while trying to extinguish the scarecrow who the W.W. of the West set on fire.

Glinda, the Good Witch of the South is thought to be the most powerful of the four witches. She and her nice counterpart to the North wear white flowing dresses much like a fairy godmother or sorceress. While the W.W. of the East and West both were black..sort of sinister if you ask me.




Glinda the Good Witch told Dorothy that she did have the power within herself to return to Kansas...in fact she had it all along. All she had to do was click her heels 3 times and say "There's No Place Like Home". Of course Dorothy was the one who disappeared from Oz. This picture was taken with my old camera...



And the final sign I absolutely love...it's what someone would of or could have asked the scarecrow. Heck I might even hang one in my house...




I hope to get better at adjusting to my new camera and look forward to seeing the quality of the pictures it can take. Anyway, for now...Oh We Oh, Yo Ho! LOL! Couldn't resist! And as always you can find my new signs in my etsy shoppe.