Vintage Christmas Monday !

This is so fun! Joan over at Anything Goes Here is hosting "Vintage Christmas Monday", (her button is on my sidebar) ....pop over and see all the wonderful things people are posting about.

I don't have my Christmas decorations out yet, but I did go to a community garage sale shortly before Thanksgiving and found this little guy! He is possibly off a wreath or something (?), but he is in perfect shape! His colors are wonderful and he just speaks "vintage"....some would say tacky....I say vintage charm! I just love the bright yellow pompom on the end of his Santa hat! I am going to find a really good spot for him this Christmas.

Goodies from Elizabeth at Creative Breathing

I was going to post about this before Thanksgiving and then I got sick...the cold is still hanging in there, but I feel a lot better. I participated in Elizabeth's Christmas Tag Swap at her wonderful Blog "Creative Breathing" ( http://creativebreathing.blogspot.com/). This is what she sent me and I just love it all!

I received two wonderful tags, one for Fall and one for Christmas. The work on these is so good.....I so enjoy the colors and the textures! Sorry my photos aren't better....camera is not the best for this....



Here is another shot..... the little girls are so darn cute! And all cut out by hand.....my fingers hurt just looking at them! LOL

And then she sent me this wonderful little packet of the sweetest photos of vintage Christmas decorations, and a tiny vintage Christmas card with a very cute message just for me! I see a project coming on..... :)



I am going to try to do something with these before Christmas, but my craft supplies are all in bins in the storage room right now, the craft room isn't even close to being done....looks like I will be heading over to my friends house to work over there! LOL

Thank you so much Elizabeth! I really appreciate the work you put into these ! :)

OK...Let's do Christmas!!!!!

Surprise! I just wasn't sure I was going to have a Christmas Banner and such until I saw the Christmas Banner and backround of Carol 's at http://oldglorycottage.blogspot.com/ and then I just felt I had to do something for Christmas. I just love hers! So I got out my vintage children's Christmas Cd's and found a couple cute photos....and once again asked Michelle at Shabby Creations ( see link below) to do her magic! I just love it! It really brings out the kid in me! I am anxious to see every one's blog now that we are past Thanksgiving and the Christmas fun can start in earnest! Enjoy!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!!!!

I hope this day finds you all with the people you love and the meal that is perfect !!!!!!

Oh no! A Cold !!!!!

Hello Friends....I was planning on posting today, but have come down with a whopper of a cold! So, please everyone have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving! I will be back after Thursday.....I am having the meal at my house and I have to get better! Take care everyone!!!!!

Also, I want to take a moment to remember my brother-in -law Steve. He just celebrated his first anniversary with his Lord! Steve left us and went to Jesus on November 21, 2008. We miss you Steve, but I am sure you are alive and well in his glory! The song "I can Only Imagine" is a tribute to you!

Vintage Thingie Thursday Surprise

This post for Vintage Thingie Thursday with Suzanne at http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/ was a real surprise for me yesterday! I have a first cousin that dropped off his photo album for a book I am doing on my Mother's side of the family. As I was looking thru the photos I saw a familiar table in a couple of the photos ....I was shocked! The table is now right next to my chair in my living room. My folks had had it for awhile, but I just assumed it was always theirs....surprise!

This little table has some really pretty carvings and although it has seen better days, I just love it. The glass on top is scarred and hazy in spots from so much wear, and the finish is leaving on the top, but I just love this piece and have started to think about painting it..... so here is my vintage thingie Thursday surprise! I love it even more now that I know it has been in the family for much longer than I thought! I have to ask Steve, my cousin, whose living room this is!

Have a great weekend!

9 Days....What????????

I just got home from spending the day with my Sis in law and I looked at my blog and saw that Thanksgiving is only 9 days away?????

I always think that this year I am going to have time to do all of the things I want to do. I am going to plan better and not be so stressed....I am already stressed.!

Is it just me or does it look like there is all kinds of time before Halloween and then BOOM! The holidays are upon us.....I am just amazed that I have to start thinking of this meal already.....luckily my family lets me buy the "complete meal" at a grocery store chain. Too bad it is far from complete! But I am very thankful that about 60% is done....I don't have large crowds for Thanksgiving ( something I am thankful for, by the way) but I still want it to be a wonderful day, and so this year I am really going to try to just breathe...... :) 9 days.....Jeesh!

Isn't this a pretty picture? Too bad mine never looks like this! LOL

Two Kreativ Blogger Awards! I am so flattered!

I am feeling very special right at this moment! I have been given 2 Creative Blogger Awards from to of my favorite people! First is Carol at http://oldglorycottage.blogspot.com/and the second is Lori at http://www.familytreesmaycontainnuts.com/. Both Carol and Lori were two of my very first followers and I appreciate them very much! So now, I am suppose to tell you 7 things about me that you don't know and are not easy to admit to , so I am going to give you some insight into Sandy McClay, then I am to pass this award onto 7 more people. That will be easy!

1. People call me and ask me where can I buy ????? And most of the time I can tell them! I have a brain that sucks up useless info like a sponge. LOL

2. I am virtually tactless....my mouth opens way too quick! But I am not cruel, just want to help maybe a little too much. Along with that I can be too negative, so I am trying to learn ways to stay positive in all aspects of my life.

3. I have an addition to shopping and it is rearing it's ugly head right now....this is a tough one to beat....but I have before and I will again.

4. I am way overweight and I hate it, but I love food too much. Real problem....I need to be lighter for so many health reasons.

5. I have a chronic illness that messes with me at least a couple of days a week and it pisses me off....I use to be a total ball of energy, now that energy lives inside of me. Which can get a little uncomfortable.

6. I am not the best housekeeper, and I don't like to cook. But I am a really good cook when I do. After 35 years, cleaning and cooking have lost their glamour!

7. I hope someday to have a little cottage, I save photos from all of the blogs of the rooms I love. Actually I secretly hope one day to own 521 Lake Street..... and live with all of my lovely things I have gotten along the way. Oh, and my husband too! LOL

My 7 people I want to give this award to are:

Kris @ http://krislhurst.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth @ http://creativebreathing.blogspot.com/ ( So glad you are back among us! )

Meri @ http://imagimeris.blogspot.com/

Kim and Jennifer @ http://mysticpaper.blogspot.com/ ( I am going to miss you very much Kim! )

MaryJane @ http://sweetsassysadielee.blogspot.com/

Sherry @ http://countrywingsinphoenix.blogspot.com/

Becky @ http://sweetcottagedreams.blogspot.com/ (thanks for all of your patience!)

Thanks again!

Cherries and a Bow and Flowers too!

Usually I try to do "Vintage Thingie Thursday", but I got this from my good friend Meri Wiley at http://imagimeris.blogspot.com/ and I had to share it! She is so creative! Her husband brought home a little wood box that a pecan pie had come in. She painted it red and cream and put a crackle medium over it, decoupaged wonderful papers, and flowers and ribbon and this is what it ended up being! :




Is this too cute or what? I love how she can see something and make it this special! I am trying to spend as much time as I can without becoming a pest, hoping that her creativity will rub off on me!

Meri always has bits and pieces of all kinds of wonderful things hanging around, this time she took an old vintage spool and cut in into legs and then did a red wash on them....they are just perfect! (Don't ask me how she got tham all even....amazing, huh? )

Then she covered the inside with this really cute plaid matching paper. She asked me what was I going to use it for? And I said...."I don't care....I just have to have it!" Actually I am going to put my bills in it, so paying them isn't such a chore! :)

Mary is a good friend who is willing to let me learn by doing.....she is planning on having some classes after the first of the year. So if you live in the Phoenix area, Meri is a great creative teacher! Please check her blog often, there will be updates.....have a good weekend!!!!!

BLISSFEST in Mesa Arizona

Yesterday I went to my first Blissfest in Mesa, it is sponsored by a store named Domestic Bliss which is an incredible place to visit on it's own. They had shut down the side street and the people were all there. It was a beautiful morning and the vendors were great!!!! I got to meet some of my favorite people from Blogs I visit and finally buy some of their goodies!

I have taken some photos of the goodies I bought....I could have bought a lot more.....a lot of talented artists and beautiful furniture was there.

These first photographs are just a few we took to remember the event The first one is with my sister in law Jo Burgess

This is by bestest friend Linnie, we have know each other since we were 17.

For a donation you could kiss these sweet pups....I gave him the money anyhow! :)

Here are a few of my goodies I bought!

This is one of my favorite people! I love her blog and her art! http://mosaicqueen.typepad.com/my_weblog/ It was nice finally meeting you Michelle!

This is one of the pieces I bought! I just love it!!!!!! "Eat Cake", what else is there to say? LOL

These sweet packages of wonderful soap just made me happy! The one in the little cloth bag, comes with instruction on how to use the bag for a sweet little craft. This one make a strawberry! This is Elea's blog address: http://www.nostalgia.typepad.com/

This fun little box of Christmas goodies was just $10.00! And worth every penny, I really love these kinds of things! I wonder what I will make ? Check out Mary's blog: http://sweetpeasandsnapshots.typepad.com/

A fun little felt FALL banner:

And of course I had to buy something from a great antique dealer down in Mesa:

And what else but a MINT colorful vintage dishtowel! Oh Boy!!!!! And a sweet Durkee's spice tin, that is still full, I might add....

This was so much fun! I hope they all come back next year, and maybe even more great artists will join the fun! Thanks for stoppin' by !

Oops...lost my signature again!

The Ugly Old Black Piano

For Vintage Thingie Thursday I am going to share the story of my Piano.


The year was 1964. I was just little, about 10 when my brother was dating a young lady who played the piano. She gave lessons and when I found out I wanted to take them too! My Dad was really good at finding bargains and making them look great, so when he told me and my Mom that he had found an old piano in some one's basement I was excited! He said something about it being in poor condition, but that he had all winter to refinish it. So a few days later a moving company brought me my piano, and put it in the basement. I wish you could have seen it! It was painted black and dusty and dirty and UGLY! I wasn't happy..... but Dad being Dad, started taking it apart to refinish it and lo and behold it was a diamond in the rough. He took all the broken pieces of the front and painstakingly glued it all back together, then he took it down to the original mahogany wood and re stained it.



It had a part of a Steinway sticker on the keyboard cover and as he took it apart, he found a serial number burned in the wood. He wrote Steinway and sure enough it was one of theirs. It was built in 1875 for a man named F. Wamelink of Cleveland Ohio and was shipped to him on December 28, 1875. Back in 1875 they didn't even make an 88 key piano, it only has 85 keys. And it was very hard to keep in tune, so finally we just kept it as an antique.


This piano weighs a ton, and having been in Arizona for almost 40 years is starting to dry and crack in a few places, no matter what I do to moisturize it, but this is my pride and joy, a part of my Dad's legacy.....enjoy!