A Change of Pace

Friends,
Life is good. As I’ve mentioned, the premiere issue of VintageKC was a huge success and as I build the next issue I can’t think of a more blessed place to be. I am truly living my dream.

But it comes at a small price. I will be closing Grandma Great’s Treasures’ Etsy shop for the time being and selling off the inventory locally sometime in the next couple of months.

When I started hunting and reselling, the purpose was to fund buying things for our own home – and support my habit. 😉 But I’ve decided I just can’t keep up with it and I need to focus the money more on items and projects for our home.

Never fear, my blog is not going away, just reformatting. I’ll talk more about our lives, get personal, showcase projects around the house and so much more. The title of my new blog will be AmidShipps. I’m not sure if following will transfer, so if you need to find me again, try amidshipps.wordpress.com.

I look forward to continuing our journey together!

Dreams and Courage

It’s been more than a month since my last post and just more than one week since the first printed issue of VintageKC hit the Kansas City scene.

Last week was the longest week of my life.

I’ve had such an overwhelming response to the premiere issue of VintageKC Magazine that I can hardly keep up with the loving readers, stores wanting copies and businesses wanting to advertise.

I did not expect this.

I knew this was a good idea. The vintage scene in Kansas City is growing, vibrant and so creative. But the extent of love and support from the community has been beyond my wildest dreams. They embraced VintageKC with open arms.

In one week I’ve lined up the next home tour and fashion photo shoot for the fall issue. That took me months to do before. And I’ve made so many wonderful connections with such inspirational, amazing people.

And I couldn’t be more grateful, humbled.

I’ve discovered a lot about myself in the last few months. And I’ve found that Matt Damon was right: All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage.

It’s taken a lot of courage, a lot of picking myself up and pushing forward.

And it was worth every second.

I’m fulfilling my dreams and I never thought that would happen. I’ve been in the magazine industry for 6.5 years and I know that each step I took was a step to get me to this very moment.

In GGTs news I have yet to unpack boxes of treasures and I’m honestly not sure how much I can keep up with at this time. But I’ll do my best! I do so love treasure hunting.

For those who live outside the KC area who would like a subscription, you can purchase one here. Copies are available around town for free.

Follow your dreams friends.

Until next time…

A small hiatus

Fear not friends, I’m still alive. I have so many wonderful treasures to share with you from the past couple of weeks, and alas, no time. The first issue of VintageKC is in full swing and I’m swimming up to my eyeballs in working three jobs.

I miss this space and I miss your faces.

Tomorrow I’ll be in sunny AZ visiting my mom for a much needed vacation from all this stress. I’m. so. excited!

I’ll be back soon with more treasure hunting and projects to blow your mind. Until then…stay safe and happy hunting!

Weekend Treasures

This afternoon I have my very first real-life, no really this magazine is a real thing, no more taking days off because you have about a month to finish this thing before the printer needs it, vintage home tour photo shoot. My local vintage magazine is starting to take shape and as always, it’s scary, exciting, surreal, weird, you name it.

I took a jaunt down to the West Bottoms last Saturday to check out the new Hickory Dickory, Bella Deux (upstairs at Bella Patina) and Good JuJu’s new location. You’ll see photos in the upcoming mag. But I met a few new people and they were all very excited, which is always encouraging and a welcome lift to my spirit! So as scared as I am to pretend I know what I’m doing in coordinating photo shoots and working with highly creative people, this week I’m determined to be the person I see in my future.

Oh and I saw Hunger Games. Loved it! Reading book 2 now.

On to the treasure hunting. This is from the last couple of weeks. Just odds and ends.

First is this little ditty I found at a backyard sale on Easter Sunday. Sacrilegious? Idk, but I also picked up some drawer organizers and two toys for Liam. This suitcase cost me $5. I tried to talk her down, but it didn’t belong to her, so oh well…

And then there’s this loot. Ya’ll know I love my yarn art, so this lovely number in the back with the probably too many roosters around the outside had to come home with me. $2.5o at half price. The teapot on the left compelled me to take it home because you know what? The 60s are coming back and mushrooms are all the rage. Ok, in my mind, but I swear they’re coming back. $1 at half price. The yellow planter has orange specks and is from a place in Missouri. I may have to keep it. $1 at half price. The vintage cards in the box were from an estate sale and something like $.10. The rooster coasters were $.92 for the four from the Salvation Army. Lastly, the how-can-you-have-a-bad-day-when-you-cook-with-happiness pot I found at an estate sale. $5 at half price. To be fair, the Rock Star spotted that one before I did and knew I’d have to have it. He knows me…

Some of these items will be up for sale soon on my Etsy. You can find the link on the upper right corner.

Happy Hunting! And may the odds be ever in your favor. 😉

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

There are few better combos in the world than peanut butter and chocolate. (Please don’t lick your screen, that’s gross.) And since my love of baking compels me to make cupcakes for peoples’ birthdays, I decided to try these out for our friend Ross a couple weeks ago. He’s the lead singer/guitar player of my husband’s band Fullbloods, and he’s a wonderful person to know. We also call him Uncle Ross as we adopted him as Liam’s uncle whether he likes it or not. But we think he likes it.

I love making cupcakes because A. They’re really easy; and 2. They’re unbelievably impressive. Ever since I started making them for people they’ve gone nuts. These look so professional; they’re so delicious; I can’t believe you made these. Yadda…yadda…yadda. Which makes me giggle because out of all the things I love to bake, they’re surely the easiest. But I’ll take the compliments. 😉

For these cupcakes you can use any old chocolate cake recipe (or brownie cupcakes!) and top them with this super awesome fluffy peanut butter frosting recipe. Then add some contrast for decoration. I used chocolate covered peanuts and Hershey’s bars broken in half.

Then place the cupcakes in a box (I get mine at Hobby Lobby for less than $2) and tie a bow around it and everyone will think you’re the coolest person ever.

I made three kinds of cupcakes for my son’s birthday last year: Red velvet with vanilla cream cheese icing, topped with raspberries; a delicious lemon cream; and these fat free angel food. You can see my frosting skills have improved the fourth time around. 😉

I can’t believe his second birthday is coming up so quickly. I definitely need some new cupcake recipes to try out. Leave me a comment if you’ve got one you love!

One of my Favorite Thrift Stores

Shortly after we moved into our home I discovered a nearby thrift store called Through Our Children’s Lives. It’s a small shop tucked in among other stores, but you can’t miss the big moving truck they have out front with their name on it. As thrift stores go, it’s good. If you dig, you’re bound to find some treasures.

But that’s not what I love about this store.

I’ve been going to this store since Liam was a baby and the sweet woman who runs it has always been so loving to him. I don’t know why this surprises me though, considering the name of her business.

The store’s proceeds go toward helping victims of domestic abuse. It’s a wonderful cause.

But it gets better.

Whenever you bring your child in with you, they let you pick out a free book. I love this. I strongly believe in the importance of reading to a child.

They also have donated bread you can choose from every time you make a donation or purchase.

Last week I strolled in to browse as I sometimes do and I walked out with this loot for $2.72.

And here’s the breakdown:
The shorts were originally $2.99, but because they also have awesome sales, that day clothing under a certain price was automatically $2.
The dinosaur must have been about $.50.
The car was free because the sweet owner rummaged through a bin and picked it out for my very grateful son. Who does that? Loving people do that.
The books were free. Technically you’re supposed to get one, but I think she likes us. It is one book and one coloring book.
The bread was free! Although I recommend using or freezing this bread right away because it is donated, I usually never have a problem eating bread. I used the asiago cheese round to make grilled cheese sandwiches to go with tomato soup and the Italian bread I cut to make meatball subs.

If you’re in the OP area, I definitely recommend stopping in to Through Our Children’s Lives. I have friends who have found great deals and you can’t beat the love you’ll receive. 😉

Liam’s MRI Results

First I had to show this picture of my son in the shorts I found at the Just Between Friends sale. They crack me up!

When we left the house at 7:30 in the morning, my dad in-tow, I had found peace with my son getting an MRI. By the end of the morning I was wondering why I had been so scared. But only because he handled it like a champ. He didn’t shed a single tear when they inserted his IV. Granted we did a lot to distract him, but add toughness to the list of things my son exudes.

After less time than they quoted us, we were back in the recovery room and Liam was pretty wide awake, though woosey! Let me tell you it was funny to take him home all drugged up and saying funny things. He was mentally so awake but his body couldn’t keep up. High-fives were more misses than hits. 🙂

We had to keep a close eye on Mr. Stumbly for the rest of the day. We snuggled on the couch, watched movies, and ate goldfish in three flavors (since he hadn’t had food since the night before). Then we all took a much-deserved nap. Mommy and daddy didn’t sleep too well the night before.

In the afternoon his pediatrician called with the scan results. What they found was a small area in the left center part of his brain that contained an old injury. It was caused by some stroke-type event that caused his brain to bleed. It’s only about 2x2x3cm (or maybe it was mm?) and is surrounded by healing tissue.

This is what we expected.

I’m happy they found what we were looking for. Sometimes injuries are so old they can’t see them anymore. And since we suspect Liam’s is about 18 months old, I’m glad it was still visible.

We’re still waiting to hear from his doctor at the hospital, but knowing this was probably a one-time thing and there’s no tumor or anything involved is relieving.

Last night my sweet step-sister dropped by and gave me the perfect gift. Evidently Pura Vida Bracelets are a big deal — guess I missed the boat. The bracelets are all hand-made in Costa Rica and 1% of the profits are given back to the Surfrider Foundation to clean up beaches worldwide.

What made this gift even more special to my heart is that they also have bracelets for awareness. Everything from autism, suicide prevention, Alzheimer’s, MS, CP, etc. Yep, she got me a bracelet that represents Cerebral Palsy awareness. I cried. The best part is they donate $1 out of the $5 to that specific organization.

The company believes in living life simply, enjoying life slowly, celebrating good fortune and not taking anything for granted. That’s something I can get behind.

So do it friends. Live simply and slowly and appreciate much. I have a lot to be thankful for in this new day.

And stay hydrated. 😉

My Son

I told you all a while back that I’d someday tell you why my son is so amazing. That day has come.

While I’d love to rave about the cute couple of finds I had over the weekend, or how well magazine creation is going, all I can think about this week is Thursday.

Thursday is going to be difficult.

Thursday my 21-month-old son is getting an MRI.

And I’m frightened.

It all started when my son was 3 months old. One day we noticed that his right arm was suddenly turned in, his hand in a fist and his arm laying lifeless by his side.

Strange, we thought.

His pediatrician diagnosed it as a birth injury — a brachial plexus injury to be exact. There was just one problem. He didn’t have a difficult birth. I never bought it.

Around 9 months old we started taking him to physical therapy to improve the use of his arm. I’ll take this opportunity to thank God for physical therapists and their patience, wisdom and dedication. Without therapy I don’t know where my son would be today.

He’s been in therapy for a year now. He’s been in therapy over half his life, every week, once a week. Over the past year we’ve added occupational therapy to help his fine motor skills and swimming therapy to help his overall movements and strength. He loves swimming, fyi. 🙂

My son was a scooter for a long time. He got around on his bum for months before he was finally able to pull himself up and try walking. He didn’t walk until he was 17 months old.

That was scary.

And when he finally started walking his PT noticed some weakness in his right leg, too. So we decided to see a specialist at the children’s hospital here in town. We met with Dr. Rinaldi in the rehab department and the man is an amazing person. He got on the floor with my son and played with him while observing his physical abilities. I am thankful for that man and his kind staff.

His diagnosis was Cerebral Palsy, specifically Hemiplegia, which is a weakness focused on one side of the body. It wasn’t unexpected as his PT had suspected this and prepared us, which I am thankful for, as I may have broken down in hysterics right then and there in the doctor’s office.

But as far as brain problems go, this is the one they say they’d choose if they had to. It was probably caused by a brain bleed, but we’ll see what’s going on on Thursday. Sometimes injuries are so old they can’t see them, but hopefully we’ll get some answers.

I’m secretly hoping the MRI will show how big and amazing this kid’s brain is. At 20 months he was counting into the 20s, singing his ABCs, identifying letters, letter sounds, upside down letters, shapes, colors, numbers, reading us his books from memory, and so much more. I can’t keep up with the kid.

The most difficult parts of all of this have been the random stages of grief. Like seeing him run around at the play area at the mall and noticing the obvious difference between him and the other kids — although to the untrained eye, he probably looks fairly normal. Watching him fall over and over again (which has been helped by the foot brace he got a few weeks ago). Seeing the frustration in his eyes when he doesn’t understand why things are so difficult to do with his right hand.

But the thing about kids with special needs is that they’re constantly amazing you. I forget how desperately I prayed for him to be able to walk … for months. And then one day he did. And now he squats, holds big toys with two hands (and says “bof hands” while he does … that’s therapy for you!), tries to jump, runs pretty fast and sits up and lays down really well. These are all things that have amazed me and made me so thankful for his determination.

This little kid, this baby whom I carried around with me for the better part of a year, this naive little boy has shown me more in nearly two years about perseverance, love, joy, patience, acceptance and hope than I ever thought possible.

No matter how many times he falls, he gets back up. And that’s a lesson we all need to learn.

So that’s why I talk about how amazing my son is. Not just for his unbelievable smarts, but for his will.

Pray for us this week friends. This MRI means sedation at his age, and though I know it will be harder on us than it is on him, the thought of not being able to comfort him when he is scared breaks my big old heart.

Feel free to ask me anything about Liam. We’re pretty open books.

I’ll update you all on Thursday.

Weekend Treasures

Man there were a ton of sales last weekend in my area, but sometimes quantity is not quality and I only came away with a handful of items. But, ever the optimist (OK sometimes the glass is half-empty), I’m excited about the things I uncovered, at half-price!

These two dinosaur banks are all part of my evil plan to impose a love of dinosaurs on my nearly 2-year-old son. I wanted to be a paleontologist as a kid — seriously, hardcore wanted to be one — so I hope he catches on. They were hand carved and I think they’re pretty cool.

Triceratops ($1.50) says, “How you doin’?” and brontosaurus ($2.50) responds, “Oh I’m so bashful, don’t talk to me.”

Next I snagged this beautiful square table cloth. It’s turquoise in the middle with gold butterflies. GOLD BUTTERFLIES! It’s super sweet. $12.50

I found this adorable little apple kitchen timer in a garage for $1.

These locally made in Tennessee ceramic bowls were a total of $3 and I found them in a basement. I love their little yellow insides.

I couldn’t pass up these canisters at a garage sale. There’s something about them that tickles me. Plus the whole set was a whopping $3.

See the detail? Pretty sure they’re not very old, but we’ll see.

This cute little planter was hanging out with the apple timer in the garage. $1

And finally I grabbed these two sets of napkins ($1/set) in hopes my husband’s band Fullbloods might use them. See…the colors match!

Ah well…excited for another weekend of sales. What did you find last week? I’d love to see it! And as always you can find my items for sale on my Etsy. I swear I’ll have these items up soon…as well as the last batch. Oops!

Happy hunting people!

Spring Wreath

The natural progression of starting a creative blog has to be making door wreaths. Or maybe it’s just me. I started seeing so many seasonal wreaths and they were so inspiring, I decided I had to start livening up our front door. So far I’ve made a fall wreath and a winter wreath.

For my first spring wreath I wanted to use felt flowers. I’ve seen tons of tutorials and I’ve always wanted to try some. They’re so pretty! So I chose this tutorial and off I went.

I’m really, really not a girly girl, in fact I hope I only have boys! But sometimes I like to play dress up and sometimes I like pink. Almost nine years ago my bridal bouquet was pink, orange and yellow calla lillies. Still a favorite color combo.

So without further ado…

And since every project is a learning experience, I may try and stuff more petals in next time. The tutorial suggested seven and I only used six on each. And it hurt my hand. For real. I also decided to do two-toned flowers after making two solid ones. The wreath was free from my aunt when my son was born. It nested an owl for a while. And since our door is brown I decided to add more color and spray paint the wreath green. What’s spring without the return of green?

Happy spring everyone! I’d love to see your latest spring project. Let me know about it below. 🙂

P.S. For more flower tutorials visit How Joyful.

Linking to

Spring Door Decor