Thrifty Thursday #55-"Flea Market Style"

Hi! It's Thrifty Thursday! I am your host, Leigh. Thank you so much for stopping by and additional thanks to those who also participate in Thrifty Thursday! I am most delighted to have you join in..for it's YOU who makes it a "show and tell party". I also participate in Tablescape Thursday the host of that fun carnival is the Hostess with the Mostess...Susan of Between Naps on the Backporch. That's no lie or exaggeration, each week I visit Susan's porch and just long to be a guest at any of her tablescapes...especially those held on the porch.

(You can click on any pictures for a closer view)

*Thrifty Thursday takes place each Thursday and is hosted here at Tales from Bloggeritaville, but the party is a progressive one, visit the links to see all the Thrifty Thursday links to see the thrifty treasures participating bloggers have to share.

*Don't forget to copy and paste the Thrifty Thursday logo button to your computer so you can add it to your side bar and your Thrifty Thursday post. That way visitors will know that your are participating in Thrifty Thursday.

Someone once asked me, "Leigh, name your favorite "flea market" find."
(Flea market was used loosely, as in a thrifty find, something found at a Thrift store, yard sale, even a curbside find)
I thought and thought....and realized what a hard question that was.

I have so many favorite flea finds....I am always finding wonderful items at the "flea".
I love the possibilty of what things might be, not necessarilywhat they were intended to be. Objects that were created as one thing, but can be rethought...through a dream/idea and then become something magical. I LOVE that!

I got to thinking about how sad I felt for folks who do not know the treasures and possibilites that are out there at thrift stores, yard sales, etc. And then I am glad that there might be some people who do not know the treasures and possibilites that are out there because it might mean I might have a better chance to happen upon it.
Terrible?
Think of all those shopping mall shoppers who do not know the money to be saved.
Its like going to a furniture store and picking out a "group" of furniture. Do you really want "cookie cutter"  that youcould find in numerous other people's homes. You have to add your own style to it to give it your own personality and character that makes the room yours. Thrift pieces are perfect in creating those individual looks. Just as you would find in an electic mix one that would create and define that unique and individual style. One that, in my opinion, comes from pieces that have a history to them. Pieces that are gathered over time. Whether it be your history or not, but just pieces that come with a story. They have that automatic style and character that enriches your home to make it indeed "yours".

That is what my flea finds are to me, from the sheet music (PB knock off) wreath I just made and recently shared on my blog:

 to the bench made from an old bed

 a chalkboard created from a platter

a photo frame from an old window

 and old door used as an screen divider

 my old shutters used as a place to put old memoriable photos and letters that I like to see each day, while another taller one I use as a headboard for my son's bed.

So, you see, it's hard to pick one thing, it's all these things that to me make my house a home.
And all puchased with pennies but have become "priceless" in their appeal.

Now, onto to Tablescape Thursday, which is hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch.













My tablescape this week is At Home wares. White plates, grass cloth placemats, and a vinatge inspired yellow floral fabric. Napkin rings are little iron birds.

What is a tablescape without the food? I invite you to stop by my food blog, PLATES & PLACES, tomorrow for Foodie Friday!

Before you go onto visit other Thrifty Thursday Participants below, I wanted to invite you to follow the Tales from Bloggeritaville fan page on facebook.

You can do that by clicking (here or)  the Tales from Bloggeritaville FB button on my sidebar towards the top.
It's time for the first of several giveaways here on the Tales from Bloggeritaville. This one is for the Tales from Bloggeritaville Facebook Fan Page.
Click here for more details to enter the giveaway.

Thank you for your friendship and support!

Thanks to all of you for stopping by and participating in today's Thrifty Thursday. Please use Mr. Linky below to link up your blog.
I encourage you all to spread the love and visit the other thrifty Thursday participants, for that's what half the fun is. Aside from seeing a cool treasure it's making friends!

Thank you, all, FRIENDS! I appreciate YOU!
Thrifty Participants:

Outdoor Wednesday-Plus a Reminder!

Outdoor Wednesday is hosted by my friend, Susan of A Southern Daydreamer.

I shared on last week that here in Alabama we've had some great weekend  temperatures reaching almost 70 degrees. It looks like another one is in the future for us this weekend as well. I am taking full advantage of our weather by hitting the trails. This week I am sharing my walk at Aldridge Gardens. These are the scenes from the walking trail:

Scene: Ducks, Camillas in bloom, the trail, mockingbird on fencepost, tree hanging over water gives it's reflection, statue.

Thankyou for taking the time to stop by Takes from Bloggeritaville!

If you haven't already, be sure to enter the giveaway on Facebook. Details are in yesterdays post. You can find the Tales from Bloggeritaville fan page by clicking the FB tag on my sidebar. You have to be a Fb follower to enter. If you aren't, no worries!  I will soon be hosting a giveaway here too so stay tuned in!

I hope you will join us tomorrow for Thrifty Thursday, whether you link up or party hop, you're invited!

Love:Love:Laugh
Leigh

The Gina Hurry Giveaway

One of my biggest forms of advice has always been, find what you love to do and make it your career.
Life is to short to be in a job that you are unhappy in. I am also a big fan, being one myself, of mothers. Most mothers are incredible jugglers, keeping a constant flow of motion in the cycle of commitments, obligations and responsibilites.  It can, at times be a thankless job, the on the job hours are a killer, but the rewards and benefits outweigh any amount of money that should come along with the job title.

I would like to introduce you to Gina Hurry. Gina Hurry is just one of those Mom's who juggle who has listened to the passion God put into her heart, the gift he gave her and she has made it her career. I don't know Gina personally, but I picked up one of her pieces of artwork recently and then read more about her, which inspired this giveaway.

Gina Hurry has loved and created art all of her life. She studied at Birmingham Southern College where she received a BA in painting. She has enjoyed many rich relationships with other artists who have influenced her life and work. She works from home -juggling a young family, and her painting .She resides in Birmingham with husband Tim, and their three children.

I wanted to let you all in on a giveaway. Today Tales from Bloggeritaville is hosting it's first Facebook giveaway. Future facebook giveaways may and may not be announced in future giveaways. Which is a benefit of being a FB follower.

The prize is a set of 6 notecards with envelopes designed by artist Gina Hurry.
The artwork is titled "White doves".

TO WIN:
1.Just leave a comment on the FACEBOOK Tales from Bloggeritaville giveaway post. (leaving a comment on this post will not grant you an entry, though I will appreciate it. I always enjoy your kind comments.)

2. You must be a TfB facebook fan to enter. (the facebook badge on my sidebar will direct you to the TfB page)

Giveaway entry ends on March 5th at 10PM CST. Winner will be randomly drawn and announced on Facebook Tales from Bloggeritaville page shortly thereafter.

I will be hosting a giveaway for Tales from Bloggeritaville website followers very very soon!

You can learn more about Gina's artwork by going to her website: http://ginahurry.com/

Playin' in da Mud

Think back to your childhood.....the thought of warm mud in your hands as you created mud pie masterpieces.
It was something you were so proud of. Well, you can recreate those memories  and come home with an actual masterpiece! That's what I did this weekend. I played in the mud! I was one of 12 bloggers who were invited to "play in the mud" at Cahaba Clayworks-Earthborn Pottery studio in Leeds, Alabama.

The mud pie makers and blogger shakers in attendance were:

Rachel from Grasping for Objectivity and Alabama Bloggers,
Tammy from Greek GRITS,
Nanci from Birmingham Mom Online
Trina from XOXO, Trina 
Wenday (Mama Hen) from Long Days, Short Years,
Jamie from Jamie's Rabbits,
Rhoda from Southern Hospitality
Jill from Jill's Real Life ,
Cheri from Chez Cheri,
Jessica from Thoughts of a Bama Belle
Beth from Unskinny Boppy

I have to tell you, I was beside myself with excitment at the thought of :
#1. Spending a day with these ultracool  and creative blogger chics
#2 Having a "coming together" blogger event that included mud. I am not a girl who is afraid to get dirty.

And no, it didn't include wrestling of any kind.

Cahaba Clayworks is Alabama’s most exciting interactive clay facility, designed to bring out the artist in all of us! And our class was all about the creation of art. Yes. I said art. And no matter how "misformed" any one's pieces might have been, it was art. As Rachel of Alabama Blogger and GFO said at the event, "Clay is like a child, you have to allow it to become what it wants t be not what you want it to be."  I thought it very profound statement. And it sounded really good, when my "art" began to go astray on occassion, and sometimes leaned towards becoming an ashtray.  Fortunate for me, there were professionals in the building that kept that from happening.

Our class was lead by master potter, Tena Payne. Her creations can be found can be found in restaurants and places such as Hot and Hot Fish Club,  The Bellagio, The Beau Rivage, among others.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We also had a mini lesson on the wheel, taught by her business partner, and also a master potter, Larry Allen. Together they create an inspiring, creative and instructive environment for anyone interested in working with clay.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
From the veteran potter to a novice/wanna be like me looking for an experince likened to Ghost you can find it here.

Ok. That was an exageration...... I have nothing on Demi Moore. And no, Patrick Swayze didn't contact me from beyond, as much as I tried to channel. But it was an awesome experience!

Tena shared with us the story of the Potter and the Clay while we were there. She spun and shaped the clay, molding it into beautiful forms and making certain it stayed centered. It was a very humbling experience to think of that story as we ourselves began to form the clay.

For our class, we used a wheel - the wheel has a bigger learning curve, so to ensure that we would actually be able to create something, Tena taught each of us how to hand-form as well.

We were asked to be thinking ahead about what we might like to make (cup, plate, mug, bowl, etc.), and also bring anything that we would like to use to create a texture on our piece. Examples are fabric, leaves, doilies, fossils - really anything with a texture is fair game for your design.

I ended up creating several pieces: 3 bowls (1 handthrown and 2 at the wheel) as well as a handthrown vase.

If you know me, and have visited Tales from Bloggeritaville for any length of time you might guess what I might use.
Guesses?
Well, you might be close. I used a hair pick to create a burlap effect on my vase.
Have I told you how I love burlap?
I have seen it done on paint treatments, using the pic and paint in a cross hatching process and it actually worked out well on the clay. When that was complete, I used a seashell to make an imprint of the place where I can always find peace....the beach.
There IS salt water in me veins, ya know?
"It's sooo you!" Trina said. Speaking of Trina, she chose a peacock feather for her vase, which was so her!

Our creations needed to be glazed and fired (which Tena will do for us), so we didn't take them home with us the sameday, but they will be available for us to pick up in a couple of weeks. I will be certain to share my completed pieces with you, no matter the final result. However, Tena did send each one of us home with a gift item of her pottery....

Booking info:
Parties: 2 hours long; $35 per person with a minimum of 6 people in the party.
What a great girl's night out!!! No matter what your potting skills, you will come home with some gorgeous treasures. The glazing process is a very forgiving process. Everything becomes a piece of art after it is fired.
or
Six Week Classes: Once a week,2 hour long classes for six weeks- $150. This includes unlimited studio practice time.

I cannot imagne that anyone would not want to create their own pottery and have that experience, but should you not...or perhaps your piece ends up "just an ashtray", then you can browse the gallery and purchase some gorgeous pottery from Tena, Larry and other featured professional artist.
We were given a tour of the facility and I was in awe of the talent under that roof.

I want to thank Cahaba Clayworks, in particular Tena and Larry, as well as Rachel of Alabama Blogger for putting this event together.
Thanks to Food Studio B, a fresh and organic local catering company. who provided catered lunch to all of the bloggers artisit. Our lunches consisted of a grilled chicken sandwich, chips, a pickle and 2 chocolate chip cookies. It was delicious!
And finally, my appreciation to all of the blogger ladies there. Some of I had met before, others for the first time, it was a delightful experience to share among friends. And that is what I consider this blog group. I am thrilled to be a part....and this includes you reading to! I am so appreciative. Bloggers are just the kindest and helpful group of people.

COMING UP!.....

I do want to make mention that Tena, the Potter, just joined Twitter as @EarthbornStudio - I encourage you to follow her if you use Twitter! She will be featuring some of the studio's limited edition pieces at "thrifty" prices to her twitter followers each month. There will be limited pieces so to get in on that, you have to follow her at Twitter.
 
I "teased" that I would be hosting some giveaways and I will! They will begin this week, with a giveaway each week of the month. I will continue this on into the summer. If there are any businesses out there, or anyone wanting to advertise their business and be featured in the giveaways, be sure to email me for more information.
I will share later this week what I will be giving away for our first giveaway, so be sure to tune in so that you can enter. You will get an extra chance if you follow  Tales from Bloggeritaville or if you follow on TfB on facebook, for a total of 3 chances. Again, I will have more about that later this week.
 
Also later this week, I will be sharing a slideshow of all of the photos from our Clayworks experience.
Thankyou for stopping by Bloggeritaville. Have a wonderful week!
HUGS!

Live+Laugh+Love
Leigh

PS...My friend Alaina is hosting a PB giveaway over at her blog, Live Creating Yourself.