Ghost Town

Now this is scary . . .

I took this picture through the window of the school house in Bodie, a ghost town in California about 80 miles south east of Tahoe in Mono County. Bodie was established as a mining town in the mid-1800's. Population grew to 10,000 at one point, then dwindled to around 700 by 1910. In 1932, when a fire destroyed all but 200 buildings, most of the town's remaining 100 residents left (leaving behind much of their belongings). Bodie became a state park in 1962 and is now in a state of "arrested decay" for your viewing pleasure.

They must have left in October as there were several jack-o-lanterns in the school house.

One home is open with the rooms roped off, but as for the rest, you must be satisfied to look through the windows. It truly is a fascinating place to visit.

Here are glimpses into the past: (Click on pictures for a larger view.)

Inside the school house.

Outside of the school house

One of the "nicer" homes

Can you imagine having to leave your sewing machine behind? How sad.

Most of these pictures were taken through the window with my camera lense up against the glass resulting in poor quality in some photos (like the one below).

Another sad sewing machine. I liked the bird cage.

Almost all of the homes had wall paper. In some, you could see several layers where the top layer was peeling off.

A child's booster chair in the kitchen. (This is the house you could walk into.)

Crib, bathtub and radio in this room

Close-up of the wall paper in the front room.


I think they used flattened out tin cans for siding.

Our friend, Richard, is holding up this building.

Hotel room. Most of the commercial buildings had this pressed tin wall covering. I would love to have a sampling of it.

Hotel kitchen with more pressed tin.

If you're in California, Bodie is definately worth a visit. If you would like to see more pictures, visit my Bodie flickr album

How Much Fabric? Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

How Much Fabric? Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Owl and Pussycat Masks GIVEAWAY!!!!

Owl and Pussycat Masks GIVEAWAY!!!!

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

A Little Tour of my Studio

The previous owners of our home had two small children. The boy's room was painted with bright primary colored planes, trains and automobiles on all four walls. Because of the room's location, I decided this would be my studio.

First step was to paint a creamy pink color. My storage boxes wouldn't fit in the closet , so I took the doors off. (My husband, clever boy that he is, used the closet doors to make a new cupboard door in the garage.) I made a curtain out of a sheet, added some lace, and hung it with a tension rod.
You can click on the pictures for a larger view. *

Here's the "behind the curtain" shot:

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I purchased two of these desks, a cradenza, hutch and filing drawer years ago from Scandanavian Designs. I previously painted this shelf black to match the desks but I'm thinking I'm going to paint everything that's black to off-white. Just tired of the black. Oh yes, and that chair has been re-upholstered three times. This last time, I made a quicky slipcover in off-white fleece and it looks terrrrrrible. I've even slipped a pillow case over the back. I'm thinking about a new chair anyway.
I bought this old 1950's Singer portable (that weighs about 30 pounds) at a yard sale a few years ago for $10. I love the apple green color. I use it to sew my bears. It's a workhorse that will last another 60 years, I expect.
I made the magnet board out of a piece of welder's sheet metal from Lowes and a frame from Michael's that I got half off and spray painted. Made the memo board on the shelf out of leftover valance fabric. I also do all my painting and paper craft work on this table.

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I can't miss any of my HGTV shows or Project Runway just because I'm working on a project, you know.

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I do all my sewing (other than the bears) on this Janome, which I also love. The window looks out onto my beautiful Japanese Maple and the front yard and with northern exposure, the lighting is just right for me. I'd love to paint the chair but it is occasionally used at the kitchen table and matches those chairs.

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This is one of those chrome racks; practical but oh so ugly and industrial looking. So, I made it a pretty dress with tulle and ribbons and pretty buttons. I attached large paint stirring sticks all around the top with plastic ties (you know, like the ones they use for hand cuffs). Then I glued and stapled Velcro to them. I made two curtains and sewed Velcro around the top and attached them so that the opening is down the front with a 6 inch overlap.

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And behind curtain number two. I have no patience when it comes to looking for things, so I've labled all my storage boxes too.

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I got the boxes in the hutch at Target on sale and spray painted them. They were bright red before. I hung name badge holders on them which hold a bland business card. I write the contents of the box on the card. Otherwise, I'd be looking for things forever. The little cabinet next to the cradenza has now been painted three times. It's pale pink and green now. In fact everything in this room that is pink, green or off-white has been painted to be that color.

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This is my fur rack. I designed it and my dad built it for me. It's really just two hinged "A" frames with dowels in between (ladder style). Fur is hanging on both sides, mostly fat quarters and one yard size pieces. My patterns are hanging from a belt holder ring thingy.

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My larger pieces of fur (1.5 to 2 yard cuts) have overflown into the guest room next door. My cutting table is in here and the fur gets thrown from table to bed and back whenever I need to cut out fabric.

A Pleasant Surprise

When we moved into our home last July, the spring blooms were long gone. The yard was beautiful but mostly green. What a pleasant surprise I've had this spring to see all the beautiful blooms I had missed last year. God is so good !!!

A dwarf dogwood with beautiful pinkish/salmon colored blooms

I'm not sure what this beautiful orange flower is. If anyone knows, please educate me. The round red things are from last year's blooms. Am I supposed to cut those off?????

This azalea surprised me. I didn't even know it was there until it bloomed.

Who knew Japanese Maple trees bloomed? Not me. The bees were buzzing away in the little blooms of this tree yesterday.

Celeste, her swap bear

This is Celeste. She is the swap bear who finally finished her journey to Edinburgh and is in the hands of Janice Mc Leod of Jigpaws. This was my first swap and was such fun!

Pete, my swap bear

I recently participated in a bear swap on Teddy Talk, a forum for teddy bear artists and collectors. My swap partner is the talented Janice Mc Leod of Jigpaws in Edinburgh, Scotland.

This is Pete, the adorable bear I received last week from Janice:

Isn't he just fantastic? Thank you so much, Janice!!!

The bear I made for Janice is on her way so I'll wait until Janice has recieved her then post a picture.

...and finally, Rainbow Sunday of Color Week

A colorful vintage bird vase

More vintage hankies which belonged to my grandmother
My colorful floaty pen collection
This colorful clown costume I made for Tracy, and Paige (below) wore it 5 years later

This is one wall of the colorful alphabet mural in my guest room

The mural was painted for the young daughter of the prior occupant of my home

This concludes color week. I've had fun exploring my home for colors and I hope you've enjoyed my photos. Thanks to Lynn of The Little Red Hen for this colorful week!!!

Violet Saturday of Color Week

Hello again . . . this Saturday is brought to you by the color violet . . .

This is Hyacinth, a bear I've made. She wears a violet ribbon and purple iris button.

More vintage hankies that belonged to my grandmother.

Vintage Christmas bell ornaments

Violet ribbons

I never noticed this pretty color on my sewing machine before
Violet pin grabber
"T" is for violet teddy in the alphabet mural in my guest room . . .
. . . and "F" is for violet feather

Stay tuned for another Rainbow Sunday tomorrow . . .

Blue Friday of Color Week

Hello and welcome to Blue Friday of Color Week. I realized today, as I was looking for blue pictures, that I haven't used any blue in my decorating. I did finally find a few blue things . . .

Some vintage hankies that belonged to my grandmother

A sweet vintage doll pinafore
I might have read this book in the first grade

There is nothing bluer than my grandson, Sullivan's eyes

I snapped this pic of the Blue Angles at an air show in Sacramento a couple years ago

A tiny cloth baby doll with blue elephant print rompers

Stay tuned for Violet Saturday . . .