Christmas Trees at Tom's Farm

Having a lovely vacation week and decided to take a jaunt to Tom's Farms in Corona, CA.

We usually go on the weekend, when the place is hoppin' with families, artisans and entertainment, so going during the week was peaceful but unusually quiet. But nice just the same. We had our fave menu item, Irish Nacho's~french fries covered in cheese, bacon bits and green onion~surrounded by what seemed to be a convention of CHIPS motorcycle officers! We felt very safe...

Today's post centers around the Christmas trees recently set up in Tom's Home store. They were all gorgeous and some are upside down. Throughout the years I've lived in California, I've known a few people who set up their trees upside down. Googling today, I found that a monk a long time ago in Europe started the tradition, using the Holy Trinity as inspiration... I also found out that it's becoming a trend in retailing because more bulbs and trim can be shown at eye level plus there's more retail space underneath with this configuration. Trust Big Business to turn Christmas upside down!

Here are some of my favorites:

I had to have my picture taken with the purple pink one!

This one caught my eye as we walked past the store because it's all autumn colors.

Christmas Candy Canes

Fabulous feathery pink!

Knock Your Eye Out Red! Even the merchandising surrounding it looks wicked cool.

The Husband gets into the act. Too bad I couldn't get him to stand on his head...

And the Ultimate Tree for those of us who love bling!! This is absolutely gorgeous!

Here's a close up. *Le sigh*

Next post: Signs at Tom's Farms. They're kinda fun!

Do What You Love!

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A Froggy Day in the Neighborhood

We took a trip to Muzeo today in Anaheim, to see A Chorus of Color, the frog exhibit that ends tomorrow. You may remember my trips to see the Napoleon exhibit earlier this year NAP1 and NAP2~same wonderful museum space. Next month begins a great looking exhibit on Russian Icons.

Anyway, A Chorus of Color was a blast. And today and tomorrow, it's underwritten by Bank of America, so it's free and free is good! I read a lot of froggy facts but I'm not an authority so I'm just going to show, not tell :-) Enjoy!

At the Beginning

Frog imitation... Very flattering...

Little green frogs. They don't even look real...

This one looked like origami...

Tomato frogs.

Peekaboo!

A friendly lookin' fella.

DANGER! DANGER!!

They may be pretty but there's enough venom in these gorgeous guys to kill 10 humans!

These look like cricket legs to me...

The second building at Muzeo is now hosting Mirada's, Mexican Art from the Bank of America Collection. This whimsical piece is by Alejandro Colunga.

Trust me to find the bling! I think this is a Miss Anaheim crown.

Oooo, he just couldn't resist...

So, if you're ever in the Anaheim area (think Disneyland), spend a few hours at this awesome little museum. I'm sure there'll be something that will spark your interest!

Do What You Love!

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Productive Morning Saling

The Husband had the luxury this AM of going into work late (of course, that means he has to work late…), so we had the chance to do some yard saling. See why I love to sale on my other blog, maresjourney.blogspot.com.

Anyway, here’s the haul (ok, it‘s a rather small haul since we got up late and our time was limited. Let‘s call it a haulette, then). The shirt I bought as inspiration for The Battle of the Bulge I’m currently waging. And who could resist such blingy shoes for a buck!

Here are some excellent charms I can use on my Charm N Bead pieces.

I got these earrings not only because they’re hearts, but because there are spaces I can use to attach chain or jump rings to make them very big charms.

The heart and fleur de lies can be used as charms and the black and silver earrings will make some very classy ATC very happy.

Here’s a close up of the detail on the little shoes. I have a pink and sparkly shirt these will go excellently with. A girl’s gotta have some fun and bling!

So, all this cool stuff added up to less than $5. Awesome, huh!?

Here’s my #1 Yard Saling Tip:

Every night, throw your change in a special purse or tin. Then when you go yard saling, you’ve got plenty of change to whip out and spend easily and the people doing the yard sales love you for not expecting change for a $20!

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Molding Paste ATC’s

At last, I finished some more ATC’s.

This first one is a bit dark but there’s a reason for that. I wanted to show both dark and bright because, as the quote says, we ARE all fighting some kind of battle and wouldn’t it be nice if through some small simple act, we could brighten someone’s day. The background of molding paste was swirled around and painted with black and gold paint. The glittery piece at the top is a bit of old jewelry I stumbled upon, probably at a garage sale. I added the saying printed from my computer over, can you guess, a piece of foil from The Husbands’ Rollo.

I love this second one. I mixed the molding paste with blue acrylic paint and “painted” it onto an ATC mat board, within the lines I’d drawn in pencil. While the top was still wet, I poured on some tiny beads for bling. When the paste dried, I outlined the dress with a silver puff pen and added the frame and confetti with a silver ink pen. This may become a series, since for some reason I enjoy creating clothes. I did a series of paper clothes ATC’s and artwork earlier this summer.

Hope you like them.

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