It's A blog party!!
"Share your creative space" hosted by Karen Valentine from "My Desert Cottage"
Let's get this party started ...

Welcome to my favorite corner of the studio.
I have this area set up on our sun porch ... it over looks the garden, play yard, and pool area ... perfect for watching the Gypsy Prince playing outside in the yard and me creating all at the same time.

Oh yeah right ... that's in my "make-believe-dream" world!!
The little guy is usually playing trucks or coloring right under my feet or at my elbows, begging for a snack!


The porch is surrounded by windows ... tons of natural light ... but, no heat or air conditioning.
{when it gets too cold I'll move to another room in the house,
basement, attic,dining room ... I've used them all}

I usually open both doors on either end of the porch to let the breeze blow through ...

Every now and then the chipmunks will get lost in a game of chase and come flying through one end to the other ... scared the "*#!%" out of me the first time it happened!!
I thought they were squirrel babies ... I have a strange squirrel phobia
{I'll save that for another post!}

I have a bird feeder hanging from a cherry tree nearby ... lots of activity and bird song.
It really is a peaceful spot {at nap time} to work in,
you get to enjoy all the seasons ...
I especially like when it is a rainy day ...
on those days I like to stretch out on one of the vintage sofas and read a favorite craft or design or home magazine.

This area I work mostly on jewelry ... lots of this and that to choose from ...
everything from rusty and tarnished to rhinestone and sparkle.

I've had these antique bottles for some time .. I've been wanted to make "something" with them ... I see all sorts of ideas on blogs and in magazines ... there just never seems to be enough time to do it all!

Drawers and drawers full of "treasures" to create with.
The greatest fun for me is hunting for unique objects to work with,
sometimes I have a hard time letting go of all the goodies!

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek into my corner of creative space ...
I'm posting a day early so that I can spend tomorrow poking my nose around all of your FABULOUS work areas!!

This past Saturday was a lot of fun at the Handmade Faire at
Freedom Park in Medford, NJ ...
I finally had the chance to meet up with fellow EtsyNJ members, I'm a newbie so it was nice to put names and faces together. Abbie from "Original Abbie" did a great job organizing and running this event!!

The day turned out to be sunny and not too hot {if you could stay in the shade}
Here I am...setting up the booth...just about done...
I had the best "neighbors" Kristin and Scott from "Custom Textile Art by K"
they were very helpful supplying me with ties, a chair, and potty breaks...THX!

Ta-da!! ... done! ... lots of gypsy loot to choose from ...

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported the local artist. It truly was a day FULL of inspiration for vendors and customers alike. I had the pleasure of meeting Liz, an Independent demonstrator for the company Stampin' Up ... she went home with quite a few Gypsy Bundles to play with ... would LOVE to see what she creates!

I also learned a lot and was quite inspired {overwhelmed?} by Holly from Blue Fish Moon Studios ... I spied more than a few of her pieces I would like to own!

No pics of Liz and Holly ... too busy gabbing!

My favorite part of the whole event was having the opportunity to hook up with my newest Jersey Jypsy friend {and blog bff}, Kecia {yep, that's us posing above} from Lemoncholy's Studio this is one busy gal! ... Not only is she an AMAZING artist and teacher, she has THREE blogs up and running!!
You absolutely have to take a look at all of them!

1. Lemoncholy's flight of fancy
dedicated to every day ramblings

2.Flea market juncture
what's happening across the country w/shows

3.Jersey Jypsies
The newest blog ... a place for us artistic Jersey girls to come together

I enjoyed every moment of our conversation that day, doesn't seem like we could talk fast enough or stop! ... a few plans are being incubated, when they are ready to hatch you'll be the first to know.

I hope to see everyone again in the fall at the next event!

This past Saturday The Man and I took a day trip out to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to do a little antiquing .... and car shopping {did you really think I could get him to go solely for antiquing?}

Actually it's not that bad, we are in the market for a new Gypsy Wagon ... I'm searching for a bigger truck to add to the caravan, more space to haul more gypsy loot!

The 2 1/2 hour trip went fast ... SO much scenery to take in ... you couldn't see it all ... I figured if I kept my head pointed out my window each way I wouldn't miss anything, I would see everything on both sides of the road.

So, the truck we saw was just okay, did not end up buying it ... I was a little disappointed ... I quickly got over my disappointment as soon as the shopping started!!

Here is the first stop we made in the small town of Shrewsbury, PA
This Antique co-op had over a hundred dealers ... a lot of interesting finds under one roof...that back in the day used to be a chicken coop, you'd never know today ... very nice inside, neat and orderly.

I FOUND HEAVEN!!
This was the second stop.
This is only ONE of the FOUR barns on this property that was full of everything you could imagine, floor to ceiling ... AMAZING finds everywhere you turned ... rows and rows of shutters with chippy paint,

rusty iron gates galore, the list goes on and on...
junk scattered everywhere, this is my favorite way to shop!

...and the prices were just as good, probably the best I've seen in awhile.

I could only buy what would fit in the back of a VERY SMALL two door convertible ... not much ... now I'm wishing the truck deal had worked out!

A little further down the road in Strasburg,PA we came across this old fashioned candy shop and ice-cream parlor. I LOVE candy stores, I have to say the pictures inside the shop are a little blurry because my hands were shaking from excitement!

I wish you could smell the inside of this quaint store...homemade waffle cones mixing with fudge cooking topped off with sweet smell of fresh dairy ice-cream ...yeah, it was that good!

Wouldn't it be cool to have a kitchen like this?
Warm and homey?
Shelves stocked with everything you needed or imagined you needed.
Kinda reminds of one of my favorite bloggers
"Aunt Ruthie" at Sugar Pie Farmhouse,
she has a kitchen that is modeled after a general store!

Here is where they make the fresh waffle cones ....

Check out the teenagers who work here ... can you believe their uniforms? ... beats the golden arches any day!

Typical scene in Amish country ...
this was the back of the candy store ..
{the crowd was sitting outside in front of the shop on Main Street}

This was also in the "rear" of the candy shop ... maybe this had something to do with everyone sitting out front? You think? .... I'm just sayin' ...

Everything is "Fresher" in the country!
gotta love it!

I went to the the flea market last week and it was AMAZING!
It was one of those trips that I was working with limited time and funds, but the vendors had EVERYTHING I was looking for ... I was only able to accomplish a few rows and spend only a few extra minutes with my favorite sellers.

I did find what I was in search for that day ... vintage rosaries and such for jewelry making ... and basically blew all my spending money in one spot. Probably a good thing ... if I had seen the things I liked, but wasn't shopping for I would have bought those instead and then really been in trouble

This gentleman always plays Irish ballads on his stereo and he speaks with such a heavy Irish accent, I swear you feel like you are in another land when doing business with him.
This week he had tables and tables full of vintage fabrics {this is only a small portion}
I was so close to tears and it must have shown ... he looked at me and said "what's the matter darlin'?" in his thick brogue ... my reply was "I'm out of money, really, and I want to buy some fabric" as I stared longingly at the tables piled high to the sky ... to my shock, he offered to let me pick out whatever I wanted and put it back in the truck so that he could bring it back for me next week and I could pay then! I swear it! These guys don't do that, they want the money from the first person who will give it to them!! You know where I'll be next week ...

Cute poodle purse ...

Lot's of junk ... but do you see those two tall creamy chippy paint wrought iron lamps on the left ... yeah, those would have went home with me ... if I had money ...

This lamp, too ... this was just the base, the top was pretty as well .... I would have snagged this for $10, if I had had ten dollars ....

Well, it was a good trip ... you never know what you will find,
hopefully next week will be as good as this one ... I will bring extra cash!!

Next topic: I've been tagged by my newest blog buddy Nerina at NicNacManiac!
Nerina gave me a nice blog award {see my last post} a little while back ... I didn't know it came with strings attached!!
Then again doesn't everything!?
Hmmmm ....thank you, Nerina ....
Now I'm suppose to divulge ten things about myself that you may not know about me.

Let's go ...
{these are in random order as they come to mind,
not on level of importance, in case you were wondering}

1.)I can't stand lint, I carry a lint brush everywhere I go and do not carry a hairbrush.

2.)I'm TERRIBLE at keeping in touch with people, horrible, the worst.

3.)I don't like chatting on the phone

4.)I met my husband thru an on-line dating service, the service didn't cost anything back then ... so I guess you could say I got him for free?

5.)I am an only child, may explain my inability to share.

6.)I don't let my children help decorate the Christmas tree or hang their handmade ornaments on it, I know it sounds mean and my mother-in-law thinks it's a disgrace...but, I'm way too much of a perfectionist...when I have a vision I don't want it messed with. I'm getting better ... I have set up a tree in the foyer and they can do whatever they want to that one...it's all theirs!!

7.)I will never get out of bed at 7:13am or on the wrong side of the bed {the side I'm not sleeping on} I'm sure I'll have a bad day if I do either of these two things...I have no clue how this all began, none.

8.)I love to read and read every night in bed.

9.)I have lived in 4 different states, 2 different countries, and way too many different homes to count.

10.)My favorite flowers are peonies

Here are the next four people I'm tagging ... have fun and don't think too hard about your answers!!

Eve

Kecia

Jenn

Diane

Have a HAPPY weekend!

Holy Cow!!
A pretty pink blog award given to me by Nernina a sweet gal from beautiful Canada,
thank you, Nernina!! EVERYONE should take a peek at her blog NicNacManiac ... she does a great job incorporating everyday life, collecting, decorating into one fun blogspot!

Now I have the pleasure of passing this blog award onto a few of my favorites!
There are so many to choose from ... I'm going to pick from a group of my favorite fellow Etsy artist and bloggers ... here we go ...


Beth:
www.thegypsyfish.blogspot.com
www.leshab.etsy.com


Sarah:
www.mysocalledjunkylife.blogspot.com
www.mysocalledjunkylife.etsy.com


Jenn:
www.noodleandlou.blogsot.com
www.noodleandlou.etsy.com



Heather:
www.crankytwinmom.blogspot.com
www.prettyparis.etsy.com


Check these girls out ... both their blogs and shops are TERRIFIC!!

xo
Jill

The latest Gypsy road trip was a lot of fun and full of much needed laughs with good friends!

Staged in the storybook setting of quaint historic log cabins of Rancocas Woods,
the Gypsy Trunk Show started early, 6:30 am and lasted all day.

Took us ONLY two and a half hours to get ready for the party!
Here's what we looked like!!
Gypsies in the Jersey woods...

Speaking of Gypsies in the woods ... at one point {and I won't name names} I turned and found some customers stripping off clothing behind trees and trying on slip dresses ... guess I better work on that "changing booth" for next time ... funny thing was, they didn't bother putting their street clothes back on, just wore their Gypsy Slip Dresses home!!
Love those girls, you know who you are!

Treasures galore ...

Tired and exhausted upon returning home, this is what I found ....
looks like the Gypsy Prince was busy creating his own artwork on Mama's latest project ... was anyone watching this child!?!

His taste leans towards the abstract ... oh well, no use crying over spilled milk or discouraging his "creativeness" ... back to the drawing board for me though.

All in all a GREAT day ... thanks for all the laughs, Beth ... isn't it funny where conversation turns to when two women get together and sit in the woods all day?