all decked out for Christmas, i’m loving the “blue” hutch!  i ran out of time so i even have an empty shelf!  can you imagine?

a SweetTalk tag hiding in the forest of bottlebrush trees…

cookie-cat wanted in on the action…

see the Christmas bell?  love.

there it is.  i’ve got lots of JUNK waiting its turn!

it happened!  you know.  you get that call and that interview but you never really know!  now i do.  know!

little ol’ me!  the thought of high-speed machines churning out an article about SweetTalk over and over again!  it blows me away! 

most of the time i think the creative-me is simply the sum total of too much crazy!  i always appreciate recognition and it gives me validation that maybe, just maybe i’m actually on to something!

page 36 in…

i bought a few…i’m gonna walk around with them in my arms and hope that people ask me about it!  if they don’t…i’m totally prepared to (proudly) volunteer the story!

next up on the calendar, after san francisco, was Dallas Market!  reps came through Marburger in the Spring recruiting for a new area of vintage/vintage inspired/handmade…it was the perfect fit for SweetTalk!  i’ve dreamed of going to Market and this seemed like a great opportunity!

i’m not good at visualizing space.  so many people i know actually
set-up their space prior to a show.  for me…that’s not in the cards!  sooooo, that means when i saw my space i just about fell over.   it was substantially smaller than my mental picture!  ack!

i froze.

thankfully, my sis volunteered to come help and i knew she would know exactly what to do!  and she did!  phew!

when all was said and done i had brought exactly what i needed…
no more…no less!

i also took my hand-cut vintage paper letters!  i have a
great story about these i’ll share in a few days…

as people stopped by i asked them to write their favorite WORD on a tag and i added it to the board!  i always enjoy learning the WORDS that are dear to other people…

it was superthrilling to walk in the front doors of Dallas Market Center and see a display that included SweetTalk tags!  it was front and center…hard to miss!

i picked up exciting new accounts!

~ Pattywhacks & Co. – Houston
~ The Birdhouse – Waco
~ The Room No. 9 – Oklahoma City

i saw some precious friends and…as i tend to do…made some great new friends!

in case you think i’ve been sitting on my hands, i haven’t!  promise.

i thought i’d give you the “reader’s digest” version of the last 7 months of my life!  much has been going on and it’s ALL been amazing!  i knew this year would be action packed and as hard as i tried to prepare, well, basically i buckled up for the ride!

it started in January when i set-up at the Red Barn in Round Top!  it was a fun weekend mostly cuz i got to spend it with my friend Tricia!

in February i hit the road twice hunting down the best JUNK!

March came and first up i moved into the Antique Marketplace!  loving every second of covering the walls in PINK burlap!  i mean, PINK goes with everything!

next up was Marburger!  it was an action packed week selling JUNK, seeing friends and celebrating my 50th with a birthday bash!

in April i headed to Tyler to help the HEAP girls!  always tons of fun hangin’ with those supercute girls!

the very next weekend i was off to watch my niece, Meg, walk across the stage for her high school graduation!  one proud aunt!

a few weeks after that Meg and i headed to San Franciso!  her graduation gift from me and UB (Uncle Bruce)!  omg!  it was so fun!  two silly girls on the town!

golden gate bridge

the first part of June SweetTalk was published in the Fall/Winter 2011 issue of Houston Brides (page 44)!  so honored!  and a custom invitation “happy-mail” page was added to the SweetTalk website!  have you checked it out?

when i returned it was time to get serious and get ready for my first ever Market in Dallas!  my super sis came and helped!  it was an *experience*!  neither good nor bad!  lots of learning, new and old friends and sellin’ some SweetTalk!

four days after that i left the country!  a “Jones” girl trip to London and then Vienna and Prague with the husband, sister and brother-in-law!  it was truly a dream come true!

high tea at Browns Hotel in London

dinner our first night in Vienna

spectacular Prague Castle, oh, and us!

i’d like to think i can glide through the rest of the summer, but
no can do…Marburger is right around the corner and i’ve got to
get-my-JUNK-together!

there’s much to tell you and i plan to start…in a few days…with
one of my very favorite stories!  although, it’s not easy to pick a fav because there are TONS!

Marburger Farm Antique Show…you do not want to miss it!

you’ll find me….and all my JUNK…plus a little SweetTalk in the Farm House…

and don’t forget to be seen at Theresa’s blog party!  jump over to her blog for the skinny!

be there ~ be square

when i was a kid my grandfather called me *littlestuff*!  no doubt, it’s a “word” that’s close to my heart!

when i was plotting and planning my space in the Antique Marketplace i knew i wanted to display my business cards. 

ding!

so i framed a SweetTalk “me” tag and hung my cards
underneath it.  i know.  go ahead.  call me crazy.  cuz i truly get my happy-on over the silliest littlestuff!

nothing better than picking winners!  if you read this post, then you know i participated in the One World One Heart (OWOH) blog give-away! 

90+ comments and, trust me, it was a thrill to read each and every one of them!  and that doesn’t even count the hundreds who stopped by my little blog and didn’t comment!  oh blog stalkers, how i love you too!

and boy am i working my tail off to stop by all the blogs of those kind enough to leave comments…i am slowly working my way down the list!  patience, i promise to visit each and every one of them!

but now…the lucky ducks….

the winner of the SweetTalk Variety Gift Tag Package is….drum roll, please…JULIE!

and the winner of the SweetTalk Variety Postcard Package and also a lover of words…TESS!

okey-doke girlies, thanks a bunch for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment!  that was fun!

hi!  my name is Janet and i’m addicted to WORDS!  i love the way they look ~ i love the way they feel when they roll off my tongue ~ i love the way they sound ~ and most of all…i love what they mean! 

to read more about me, please check out my story!  and to see how i use WORDS in my world, enjoy these photos!

and if you’d like to get the latest SweetTalk news, sign up for the monthly email newsletter!

i received an email from a friend telling me about this really cool blogging event!  and it includes the whole~wide~world!  awesome, huh?  i’m thrilled to be participating in the fifth and final…OWOH ~ One World One Heart worldwide giveaway!

i love meeting other bloggers and i love them to meet me too!  not much makes my heart happier than giving something away!  so…i’ve decided one person will win a SweetTalk Variety Gift Tag Package!

and another person…uh-huh, two winners…will win a SweetTalk Variety Postcard Package!

i know you’re probably wondering what you have to do, right?  well, leave a comment on this post!  the deadline is midnight February 17 ~ the winners will be announced February 18!  that’s it!

you can go here…

to learn more and see all the 800+ participating blogs!  yup, we’ve got some serious exploring to do! 

a gigantic THANKS to Lisa for hosting this superb event and an extra big THANK YOU to you for stopping by

i swore off THESE.  until yesterday.  and i lost the battle.  i’ll admit to having three of THEM.  possibly i have more.

i was skipping through my day when i pulled into the parking lot of an antique store.  and there IT was.  staring at me.  taunting me.  i was almost scared to get out of the car.  but i did.  approaching it…talking myself off the ledge.

and IT was a good one.  just the right size.  and rusty.  oh how i love rusty.  and THEY fold flat.  sorta.

saying to myself “don’t do it, don’t pick up the price tag.”  but i did.  you knew i would.  followed by the big *sigh* of relief when it was far more than even i would pay for ONE.

phew. 

i narrowly escaped.  or did i?

i walked the store.  i couldn’t get IT out of my mind.  i picked up ironstone.  i unfolded and folded quilts.  i dug through boxes.  but it lurked.  nagging.  nagging.  nagging.

so i left.  but i had to take one last look.  a glance. 

and i marched back in.  i know.  i couldn’t leave well enough alone.  and then i heard *music* as i was told it was 30% off!

so i bought IT.

the THING i most love to hate.  why?  because every shelf, every panel, every everything is a moving part!  it takes skills i simply don’t have.  it’s like playing Twister with an object.

i tie it, piece by piece, for transport.  as i cut each tie…this piece falls…that piece falls.  it takes my elbows, my knees, my feet, my hands and occasionally my head to hold each piece in just the right place. 

like magic…the stars (finally) line up and it falls into this perfect, rusty…THING…i love to hate…

and those hooks.  they hook nicely on the side panel.  and they hook in my hair and on my shirt and they grab my glasses…they hook on everything within a 30 mile radius!

but they’re so handy!  this one i use in my workroom for lots of SweetTalk supplies.  every Spring and Fall i clear it to display flashcards at Marburger…until now…i will be clearing it no more!

then there’s this ONE that i’ve never dared fold.  way too many moving parts, i fear i’d never get it back together!

i will carry on.  resolved.  that THIS is the one THING i love to hate!

My space in Antique Queens continued…my favorite part about these pictures is that my sis used a doll bed to surround this sweet feather tree!  Then she added REDs and whites and blacks and creams…a little twist on tradition…

for the base of the tree, she used a round battery jar filled with fringe…i can hardly stand how cute it is!

nothing in my world is complete without WORDS…SweetTalk tags peeking in from the side…

~ have an outstanding RED friday! ~