There's A New Store in Town ~ O'Fallon IL ~ Goodies Galore

New Store?  Goodies Galore?  How Can I NOT Go?

OK, so it's the online newspapers that are causing me to go ~ they found it and had to put it in a spot where I could find it!  Said there are all kinds of things to see .. nothing consignment .. easy to find .. and actually I'm really glad to see another store in O'Fallon ~ beats the heck out of empty storefronts!  BUT REALLY .. does it have to have Goodies .. and not just goodies .. but Goodies Galore?  LOL .. ok .. it's my fault .. I saw the write up yesterday and went there right after work .. did I bother to read that they are closed on Monday .. NOPE .. did I peek in the windows .. YEP!

Soooooooooo, today after work I headed straight there - and wandered around looking at all the neat 'stuff' .. lots of things really thought they needed to come home with me - but I had to behave .. a strange concept I know ..

Hmmm .. what did I see .. furniture, jewelry, toys, children's things, clothing, tools, knick knacks, shoes, purses, luggage, books, dvd's, vhs movies etc. etc.,  (not doing justice here) and .. I had to laugh .. BEANIES!!!  Attic Treasures!!  Back in the day this store would be flooded with people snatching the beanies!  Gotta admit I didn't really check prices except on things that I thought for sure would follow me home - and everything seemed reasonably priced! 

Best of all was meeting Annette - very nice and fun to chat with.  (Not that I'd babble .. nope, not me)  I hope this store starts blogging so I can see what they get in as things start to go out!  And ............ tada ............. needed to get myself motivated to blog more ... such a slacker .. but the weather is really nice, this was a great adventure .. and really hope the success fairy helps this store along the way ...

Should have gotten more pics .. argh!  Ok .. so now to practice my mystery braiding ... or should I go get ice cream ..

Card Making At Beautiful Impressions/Magenta Stamps

A whirlwind trip, I almost missed the plane out of St Louis - seems the elderly shuttle bus driver was running slow .. and after scrambling and checking in, the airline crew said .. well, your baggage might not make the same plane .. my response: I don't care!

LOL ~ get me on that plane! I had signed up for a card making/technique class at Beautiful Impressions in Westbrook CT and was determined to get there! Quick trip directly to the airport, snatch Laurie from her doorstep, and off we went for a class with Nathalie from Magenta (Canada) ..

The first card ~ initially I was so mixed up ~ not used to doublesided paper! After realizing the double sides are to coordinate .. I was still confused but then had to try to put things together straight .. lol .. not happenin' .. along with this card, we made a small insert type mini note too ~ and even with limited village idiot know-how had a ball!

As we assembled this card, we had some of the 'pieces' pre-cut and prestamped (thank goodness) and then came the 'coloring' part. Uh oh .. we didn't have a clue how to use the 'paints' .. kind of like a shimmering watercolor looking palette .. with magical potential! We had a paint brush each .. and our imagination .. now what? Dip the paint brush in clear water .. smoosh around a little bit in the color of choise .. and voila .. when applied to the stamped image it shimmered! Awesome! The 'paint' dried very quickly .. we added in a little bling and on to the next card.
I really liked doing this card .. simple to put together (pre-cut/prestamped) and learned how to color using Prismacolor pencils. I'm still amazed at the results we were able to achieve having never played with these pencils before! Another 'tool' we used were "cat's eye" pigment inks .. the actual stamped image was on a light brown background piece of cardstock .. and we were able to take the "cat's eye" dauber type containers and lightly adjust the background to personal taste .. not damaging the stamped image at all .. ;o)

Once the background was done, the coloring began .. each person had a totally different card in the end and I'm sure none of us could duplicate it if we had to .. unique and very fun to do!

On to the third card .. detailed, layered, and gorgeous when finished .. of course in my humble opinion (LOL)If only I was expert at picture taking - obviously I'm not .. this card is so pretty! Multi-layered using different doublesided coordinating paper, we also used white cardstock stamping an image with kind of a dark red ink for background on one layer, elegant snowflake stickers, and I finished mine off with Stickles on the little angel. None of the cards have any type sentiment on the outside / inside so can be used for any occasion.

All in all I had a great time! Learned how to do different things, enjoyed spending the afternoon 'playing' and would love to take more classes at Beautiful Impressions! The store was so busy that day I didn't even get to shop around much, but did go back a couple days later and get into trouble adventuring! I'm sure Terri (terri@beautiful-impressions.com)has MUCH more detailed information on the products we used and direct access to them as well. Hope to visit again soon ~ and probably spend more money ~sigh ~ such is life ~ LOL

If you're ever in Connecticut .. stop by and browse this store .. plan to spend a good part of the day .. it's jam packed with neat ideas and the best part is having somebody there that actually knows how to do things with all the different gadgets, gizmos, paper, punches, stamps, glitter, nestabilities .. etc. etc. etc .. yeehah!

Chester CT ~ Visit with Nana ~ Great Trip!

June 16th .. at the crack of dawn .. leaving for St Louis airport and heading home to Essex CT! This trip is always my favorite .. going home .. and especially when it's for a fun reason! I was supposed to leave late on the 16th .. but switched the flight to an earlier time .. too antsy! Then the challenge upon arrival .. how will I get in the house ~ all the locks were changed .. hmmm .. get there early and catch up with somebody who has a key!

Arrived early afternoon, and decided to visit "Nana" in the nursing home on the way to Essex. For the past several years Nana has maintained her age at a consistent 90 .. almost to where I don't know her real age! Her birthday had just taken place on the 14th (Flag Day) and she was walking with her walker down the hall toward me .. and got a huge smile as she greeted me! She gets me mixed up with my Mom so I never correct her .. I just go with the flow .. and this time the flow was following her to the community room where they were having a game time. Shortly after we got there .. Nana just kind of flopped over on my shoulder .. and napped for 30 min or so .. so sweet .. how many of us can say our grandparent has napped on our shoulder!

When she woke up, she was again surprised to see me .. and several of the other elderly people were begging her to play the piano .. and she did! I haven't heard her play or seen her play in probably 40 years! It was awesome! She played several hymns, patriotic songs, and then I asked her to play Yankee Doodle!

The whole room was tapping along to the music .. some were singing .. and I was so proud to be a part of that activity! Nana told me stories I had heard many times before but really enjoyed hearing again ~ recalling times from many years ago when she went out on the Connecticut River duck hunting .. how to get to the blinds .. Grandpa steering the boat .. shooting the ducks right alongside of him .. her roast beef with Yorkshire pudding holiday meal .. and several people that she remembered from Essex .. Mrs. Cook, Mrs. Adams, Mr. Tedesco and some I didn't even remember.


Great quality time with our oldest family member ~ hope she has many more healthy years and I'll do it again next time! ;o) I just love old folks and kids .. plus a lot in between ;o)