Shine "Em Up

For as long as remembered, costume jewelry has been a huge draw.

There is no way I'd count the number of earrings stored in cleaned up egg cartons that have been placed in large, dresser drawers.

However, when inexpensive "silver" toned earrings turn dark, it's not appealing. 

My tried and true way to get rid of the darkness and restore the jewelry to beauty, is simple and cheap.

Baking soda is sprinkled into a bowl.  Then earrings, or whatever piece of jewelry that is tarnished,  are placed on top of the powder.  Last, but not least, white vinegar gets poured onto the whole shabang.

I grab an old, clean toothbrush and scrub away. 

Rinse well, and the earrings or whatever will look SO MUCH BETTER. 

Be sure to pour out  the soda and vinegar and rinse the bowl well.  

Let dry on a paper towel.  

Voila! "newly looking"  jewelry!

IF YOU HAVE ANY, HOW DO YOU CLEAN AND POLISH YOUR COSTUME JEWELRY?

Chocolate Chip Cookies for Lunch Box Treats

It'd be interesting to know how many chocolate chip cookies I have made over the course of a lifetime.

One thing is for sure, it's a LOT.

These days, there would be no reason to make those treats. 

They don't even have much attention-grabbing powers for me anymore.

The grandchildren, however, are another story.  

They still love chocolate chip cookies.

I like to give them plastic baggies of cookies so they can be placed in lunch boxes.

That way, the kids have a special treat at school. 

Maybe they'll even think of Grammie for making the sweet treats.

WHAT IS YOUR VERY FAVORITE KIND OF COOKIE?

Continuing to Downsize...

One of the hardest things in the world to do (for me, anyway) is to downsize.

Many of us spend years of our lives accumumlating "stuff", things we perhaps once loved or even still do.

However, our housing situation may have changed and we now are in a much smaller space.

It's virtunally impossible to hang on to all the household decor that we love.

There simply isn't room anymore.

For instance, once upon a time, my cobalt blue collection was very extensive, since I'd taken possession of all the pieces a sister gave away.

Throughout the past five years, little by little, (because it's so difficult), the downsizing bug has bitten hard.

The cobalt blue collection is now down to a very few, random pieces, kept on the sills of the bedroom window.

The last, lingering pieces are shown in today's post. 

 My fave is the little sapphire-colored angel with the golden wings. She is so sweet.

Gone is the lovely, large, Colonial, front entry home I loved for years. 

Now, home is a small, lovely but cramped two and one quarter room apartment. 

How long the cobalt pieces will remain is unknown. 

Since deep pink cranberry glass is my favorite colored glass, it might not be too long to let go of the blue pieces.

But not the angel!  

She's a keeper.

She's the color of my September birth month, blue.

So scrap downsizing when it comes to angel girl 'cuz she's staying!

HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO DOWNSIZE?

A Make Your Own Sunshine Day

On sunny days, the glass cross shown in this post makes hundreds of rainbows all over the ceiling and walls of my bedroom.

That's a heck of a great way to start a new day of life.

There is something magical about being surrounded by mini-rainbows and lots of them. 

On dark, overcast days, however, of which Massachusetts has many, there is no sun and, therefore, no colored prisms. 

Those are the days people must make their own sunshine.

Today is one of those.

There is still a plan for the day and that makes the gloom easier to swallow.

The sunshine must be in our hearts and minds.

When it is, the day will still be beautiful and filled with promise.

May you, on this day, wherever you are, carry sunshine in your heart. 

WHAT WILL MAKE YOUR HEART CARRY SUNSHINE TODAY?

Caribbean Island Art

 

Ethnic art has always fascinated me.

It's a delight to see the designs and styles of artists from all corners of the earth.

The clay dish seen in this post came from a Caribbean Island off the coast of Cancun, Mexico.

A first glance of the dish in a thrift store showed that it was definitely Latino styled art. 

Then, I saw the words "Isla de Mujeres" lightly painted on the bottom of the piece.

That's how it was found where it was from.

The colors,  details, and story it could tell about the people on the painted dish, all fascinate.

The painter's name is on the back.

It's a nice little dish that makes a bold statement, now adorning  the wall of a small apartment in western Massachusetts!

    DO YOU LIKE ETHNIC ART?