Full Swing Summer!

Hey Divas and Dukes!

Now that mid-July is here (and leaving FAST), I find myself in a place of wanting to purge a lot of my household items and make things neater, easier, etc. For the last few years I have gently swayed my friends to avoid giving me lovely 'coffee table' items, etc., as much as, let's go out for a special cupcake and enjoy each other's company. This is always a bigger gift for me.

So with the items that I finally start looking at seriously to decide if I still want, I am in a great place to look at them in a new light and see if they can indeed be made into something else! Thus, the creative, 'crafty' mind comes into play.

Having spoken with Jenny Doh, the editor-in-chief of Somerset Magazines on our radio show today, we tapped into the fact that our upbringings lead us to learn to be creative without a lot of supplies. In other words, make do with what you have. And from that basic thought, I love turning things into new and wonderful objects either for myself or as gifts for loved ones.

I just received some very cool vintage restaurant china dishes from a great aunt who recently passed away. I am so thrilled to have them, but alas, with the move, one of the dinner plates cracked all the way through. Not enough to get actually broken, but the crack lines are there. I gave it to Danielle who is starting to collect such items for a project she's working on and with the full permission for her to 'bust it up' if she wanted. Instead, she liked the pattern on the china so much, (lovely little cherry blossoms in pink with black stems) that she has decided to turn it into a cake plate on a stand! Finding the right piece of pink depression glass vase or candle holder will make that plate so beautiful and give it a brand new life.

So look around your own surroundings dear ones and re-invent those "I should get rid of that" items! The possibilities are ENDLESS!!

Keep it Joy-FULL!!!

RAYME