Holiday Wishes and Many Blessings

Myrtle Beach South Carolina - Christmas at the beach is my idea of heaven.

 

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a

Happy Amazing New Year!

 

 

 

I look forward to posting many more blogs in the upcoming year. Thank you to everyone that has ever stopped by and read my little blog.

 

 

Take Care and Have a safe happy holiday!

 

 

Love you!

 

Thomasina 

Statement Necklace of the Day - Burnished Silver and Crystals

 

If you have been reading my blog for a well, you know I love statement necklaces. This Charlotte Russe  piece was one of their buy two necklaces for $10 deals.

 

This necklace has a lot going on: mesh metal, rhinestones, and fringe. Even with all of those elements, this accessory is still "simple" in design because of it's neutral burnished silver color.

 

When I wear it, it hangs down to about the middle of my chest but it thankfully is not very heavy. My favorite way to wear this is with a casual white T-shirt.

 

  

 

When I first saw this on the display rack, I honestly did not know if I would like it. After I tried it on (well held it up to me in front of a mirror) I decided I could give it a try especially because of the excellent $5 price.

 

 

Here is another post  I wrote about a statement necklace.

 

Thank you for reading my post!

 

More blogs with pictures from my new cameras to come.

 

Take Care!

 

Thomasina

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Happy Sunday Everyone!

I hope you all are having a wonderful peaceful lovely day today. I took this picture at Myrtle Beach this past Sunday. Looking at this picture brings back relaxing memories of a fun day in the sunshine.

My trip down to the beach was a last minute decision. I wasn't sure if there was going to be any problems because of the recent flooding in South Carolina. I did not see any damage in the areas I visited. My prayers and positive energy to everyone affected by the flood.

Life for my has been going very well lately.  I have been busy with work and getting my house ready for the coming cold months. Organizing and decluttering are huge projects I have going on now.

Never give up on your dreams and your goals. Last year was a very difficult time but things slowly got better.

Do the things that need to be done. First things first. Work hard everyday to move forward.

Today's post is meant to motivate and encourage you to keep on keeping on even when things are not going very well. Keep moving forward

Thank you for reading!

Thomasina

Fighting The Fall and Winter Blues

Some people love this time of the year when the temperatures are cooling down and the leaves are changing color.

I am definitely NOT a Fall or Winter person. in fact,  I wish there could be blue skies and bright sunshine every single day during the year but this is not reality where I live. 

The beautiful sun shining has always made happy and energized therefore I really struggle with cold overcast cloudy weather. This year I made a very important decision that I will make an strong effort to bring "sunshine weather" into every single cold weather day.

At the very end of Summer, I brought a lot of beach and tropical themed home décor items to decorate every room in my home. Transforming the interior of my house into a beach house with bright happy colors, sea shells and pictures of the ocean has been my first line of defense again the sad feeling I get from the changing weather.

I will be positive  and productive about Fall and Winter instead of giving into my usual habit feeling down and unhappy. The cool and cold months take up half the year and I do not want to waste a precious moment being sad.

Choose happiness. Choose life. Everyday is a gift and should be lived to the fullest.

Tell me how you deal with the "cold weather blues."

Thanks for reading!

Thomasina

Necklace of the Day -Express Choker Necklace - White Black Gold with Sparkle

Lately Express has been marking down their jewelry more frequently. This is incredibly good news since Express rarely marks down their (in my opinion) very expensive costume jewelry.

The choker in today's blog is a wonderful signature necklace that I will carry into the Fall season to brighten up the darker colors of the season. I am really not a fan of the cooler seasons of the year so little touches like this to my wardrobe to take my mind off this time of the year is greatly appreciated.

 

 

Mixed media best describes the style of this necklace: gold toned chain, black and white fabric thick threads (or cord?) clear rhinestones in gold settings, another row of goldtone chain, faux pearls and finally a row of faceted white plastic diamond shaped beads.

 

I have always loved the quality of Express jewelry. As you can see from the picture, there is a lot of attention to detail and the materials are really good quality. It is not heavy on the neck like some signature necklaces can be. Since it is a neutral toned piece, I will be able to wear this with most of my wardrobe.

 

I got such a GREAT deal when I bought this necklace. The regular price was $39.90. It was marked down to $9.99 and I got it for 30% off for $6.99 plus tax. Awesome!

Check out a Rue21 choker necklace with a row of cranberry colored beads along the bottom.

Thank you for reading!

Thomasina

Life is Mermazing!

I LOVE  this mermazing mermaid cosmetic or travel bag. I was walking around H&M and spotted this zippered pouch was just thrown across a rack.

The beautiful sparkly glitter turquoise color and fish scale pattern caught my eye and you know I LOVE that it has a mermaid themed design.

This is a picture of the back view of the pouch. It is tall about the length of my hand and could probably hold about four midsized product containers. The price was $4.99. It is made from vinyl. Not too thin material so it should hold up to a bit of wear and tear.

As I was standing in line at H&M, I saw a small black  purse sized umbrella for $7.99. The hunt for a new full sized umbrella was a lot more difficult than it should have been. I finally found one at Kmart. I will keep the bigger umbrella in my car and take the small black one in my purse or work tote bag ( I got from H&M a while back and it has been an amazing purchase for $10.00).

In October, a H&M will be opening in my local mall, I am so excited. One thing I love about H&M is I can find clothes I can wear to work not just trendy things for going out to a club. I cannot wait!

Here is a previous post about H&M.

Thank you for reading!

Thomasina





 

Earrings Of The Day: Express Silver Chandelier

I was walking in the mall yesterday and saw a 20% off sign in front of the Express store. These earrings were regularly priced at $19.90 and I was lucky to get them for 20% off $7.99. Love Express' jewelry but it is sooooo over priced and is rarely marked down.

 

 

Here is a close up pic of the earrings. Beautiful cut out detail that reminds me of snowflakes. The earrings are a very shiny silvertone. Very light weight and comfortable to wear.

 

Here is a previous jewelry blog. 

 

More jewelry posts coming soon.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Thomasina

 

Thankful Lessons And Hard Work

Hello Everyone!

I have missed you all so much! This blog is a little different than my usual blogs. I am updating you all on what has been going on. Life is amazing and very busy.

Computer problems. Car problems. Finding a full time job problems.  ALL of this things has been taken care of. I am truly blessed. God provided.

So much as happened to make my life a LOT better than it was a year ago and definitely better than it was two years ago. For a long time I was struggling with a long term job search, I finally got a full time job in an office.

It was a long difficult stressful process but I learned a lot about being persistent and believing in myself. In order to get back into an office environment, I had to work in retail for a while which was something I thought I would never have to do again after having so many years of office experience.

Today I am in a place in my life where I have never been so thankful and blessed. Never giving up and a lot of hard work was the key to bring me through the tough dark times. I was also forced to learn to be patient. You have to sometimes go through the process to discover new things about your life.

The best thing about my long  job search is that I started my blog Thomasina's Words. Lately my work schedule is really busy and long hours, I realized just how much I missed blogging regularly. Learning how to use my time wisely and being productive as possible was a huge lesson I learned when I was searching for employment. I am determined to fit in blogging more often into my schedule.

I will be doing another blog post on the hard learned lessons of being in a long term job search.

Being an artist and a writer helped me cope with the stress being out of work. I had an outlet to vent my feelings in my journal, write a blog post or create an art piece. I would not be the artist and writer I am today if I had not had the time during my unemployment to focus on this important part of my life.

More blogs to come :)

Thank you for reading!

Thomasina

H &M Rhinestone Ring and Tips For Bargin Shopping

Rhinestone ring from H&M. A bargain for just $3.00! This picture does not do this ring justice - the rhinestones have a LOT of sparkle. The ring is actually well made too.

 

 

Hello! Long time no see. I have missed talking to everyone so much. A lot has happened in the last couple of months. New job (Praise God!) busy schedule, and computer problems. But I got through it all (wiser and stronger) and now I'm back on schedule.

 

 

 

Three dollars is so much better than the $7.95 regular price. LOL!

 

I ALWAYS go straight to the back of the store to the sales and clearance racks or shelves when I go into any store every time I go shopping. You never know what wonderful things you will find. Early in the day is best most of the time before things are picked over but I have found things late at night that were a new mark down or a return.

 

Take the time to go through everything on the display. Sometimes stuff is buried because the rack is messy or buried on purpose because someone is coming back for it later.

 

I don't like paying regular price for anything so I don't mind making the effort to watch something go down in price before I buy it. Especially since so much of the clothing and accessories are made of cheap materials anyway.

 

What are some of your bargain tips? Comment below.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Thomasina

 

Mermaid Standing In The Bright Sunlight

 

These pictures are a much better view of the Mermaid statue I got a little while back from The Christmas Tree Shops in this post.

 

 

 

 

She is a beauty. I think she has a very serene peaceful smile.

 

 

 

Nice details with the shells entwined in her long hair.



 

This is a back view of the pieces. Honestly I am really not a fan of the "distressed" chipped away look. I wish it was a solid white finish.

 

 

 

 

Side view. She is about a bit over a foot tall.

 

 

 

Closeup of her tail scales. In my previous post, you can see the iridescent effect on the inside of the clam shell better in those pictures.

 

 

Back view of the clam shell on a coral reef. Tiny clam shells and even a pretty pearl in front of the base.

 

 

Close up of the base.

 

 

 

I got really lucky to walk into The Christmas Tree Shops store and find this gorgeous mermaid. None of the mermaid pieces they had displayed since have been remotely as nice as this one.

 

It was so exciting to add this to my tiny mermaid collection. Usually I never see mermaid things when I am shopping so this was a great find.

 

Thank you for reading!

 

Thomasina

 

 

Sketchpad and Sketchbook for Only $1.99 Review

Every once in a while you are in the right place at the right time for an unbelievable

amazing deal at Michaels Arts and Crafts store.

This sketchpad and hard back bound sketchbook was only $1.99! Woo Hoo!

The regular price was $7.99 and even that is not bad for good quality paper art supples. Every artist knows how expensive good quality art supplies can be.

No joke this was a great value. LOL! I was browsing the clearance section (every store I visit, I always walk to the back to look at the markdowns first) and I saw stacks of these sketchpads on the shelf. They did not have a price tag. I walked over to the price scanner and the price on the screen said $1.99.

You know what happen next. I load up a hand basket and headed to the checkout  lane. 

I was content with being lucky enough to stock up on inexpensive art supplies but I was even more thrilled that the sketchpads are a good weight paper (65lb) and a very pale beige.

This is the embossed logo on the back of the sketch book. 

The front of the sketchpad. The paper is very smooth. I drew on it with pencil and was happy with the results.

Hopefully you will be able to find this item on clearance at your local store. I have walked around in Michaels several times many days and come up empty handed finding a good sale on something I needed.

Always look at the clearance shelf, you never know what you will find.

Tell me about a bargin you found at Michaels.

Thank you for reading!

Thomasina

A Necklace Becomes A Bracelet - Quick DIY

A $2.00 Rue21 necklace becomes...

a brand new bracelet!

I redesigned this necklace into a bracelet by simply shortening the chains on both sides.  

Lay the necklace across your wrist and gauge how loose or tight you want the bracelet to be.

Using my jewelry pliers to open the links to remove the excess chain then reattach the lobster clasp and the jump ring to the chain ends.

You now have a new bracelet!

It only took about 5 minutes to complete this super quick DIY. 

The necklace was so inexpensive, I had to buy more than one (LOL!). Layering the two necklaces was an idea at first but I thought of the matching jewelry suites from the 1950s and 1960s and got inspired to make a bracelet.

Do you ever give your jewelry a makeover? Tell me all about it in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

Thomasina

Dollar Tree Beach Items From Myrtle Beach

The Dollar Tree Stores are awesome for finding all kinds of inexpensive items. From home decor to frozen food this store will help you survive on a very tight budget .

This past Saturday, I went down to Myrtle Beach for a fast fun day trip getaway.

I was so happy to see find more beachy items to decorate my home. A Surf's Up sign and a gorgeous hulu dancer.

The sign is lightweight material with glitter  letters but it is not flimsy. I love the graphic design. For only a dollar, this sign is a steal compared to the crazy high prices of beach items in the beach shops down at the beach.

The hulu dancer is a hanging party decoration. Her facial features are really well done. I can be very picky about faces in art I buy. 

As I am not a fan of the cold months, I decided to be proactive and make the inside of my house as much like a relaxing warm beach retreat as I can.

When I came home, I went to my local Dollar Tree store, only hulu girl plates were available and no beach signs.

Things do tend to sell out quickly. 

Of course always check the quality of the items - some things are so cheaply made they are not worth paying a dollar for. 

When I look at the two signs paired together on my door, they make me smile, relax and think of the beach.

What is your favorite thing to buy at the Dollar Tree?

Thanks for reading!

Thomasina

Tattoo necklace With A Heart - Rue 21

I love fashion and accessories from the 1990s so I got so excited that I was able to finally buy a tattoo necklace at Rue21. For some reason way back when, I never had a necklace like this.

If you have been reading my blog, you know I love a bargain when shopping for costume jewelry. This cute little necklace was on markdown for only $2.00.

At first when I saw it I was thinking I did not really like it but it really grew on me. The iridescent heart is a sweet accent to the stretchy black plastic woven cording.

This piece would look really cool with a T-shirt or a button down shirt. You just stretch it over your head to put it on since there is not a clasp closure.

The ceramic clam shell dish was on clearance at Target for about $2.00.

Thank you for reading!

Thomasina

Necklace Of The Day Rue21 Charm Necklace

I love a bargain especially when I shop for costume  jewelry. Rue 21 has weekly markdowns on their clothes and accessories.  

Today's necklace is a double chain multimedia  charm necklace. I got this fun piece for only $2.00. 

A close up picture of the heart and turquiose bead. 

This necklace reminds me of  the charm bracelets that I make from odds and ends of  I take apart or broken pieces of    

jewelry. 

I can imagine each individual charm as having a story or meaning.

Have fun with your accessories. Take them apart and create your own unique piece.

Another post about a necklace is here.

Thank you for reading my post!

Thomasina

Necklace Of The Day - Pale Turquoise Flowers

Pale turquoise plastic bead three pendant necklace with rhinestone accents and on a goldtone chain. Lobster claw closure.

I often find the best marked down prices on costume jewelry at Rue 21. This statement piece was only $2.00. Love this!  I could not make this necklace myself for $2.00. The materials alone would be a lot more than $2.00.

Nicely designed piece with a good weigh to it. The color reminds of the color palettes from the 1960s.

Thank you for reading!

Thomasina

Bringing The Beach Home - Beach Sign

Here is another wonderful find at my new favorite store The Christmas Tree Shops. 

This is a  lightweight printed wooden sign with happy fun words that remind me of my times at the beach.

I could not believe it said mermaids because it is so rare to find anything with that word on it. 

Not being a fan of the cold weather months, I decided to make the inside of my house a bright happy fun beach house away from the beach. 

I got a couple more signs that I will talk about on the blog. 

This sign was only $3.99. Christmas Tree Shops has really low prices on seasonal home decor. It is not just a Christmas Tree store which is what I first thought.

I will be doing a haul very soon of other items I purchased. Stay Tuned.

Thanks for reading!

Thomasina

Happy Sunday! Blue Skies White Clouds

Peaceful perfect blue skies after a night of thunderstorms. Everything feels like it has been washed clean and revitalized.

Love this old worn amphitheater located in front of the Cape Fear River. I wanted to sit on the weathered wooden benches but the ants were using it for their busy highway. 

The dry brown leaf in the center of this lush green field made me realize that nothing is perfect but flourish anyway.

Don 't let the negative energy of others define your emotions or outlook on life. Thrive anyway! Focus on your positive goals. Be determined to be the best you possible.

Thanks for reading!

Thomasina

Mermaid Standing Statue

A new mermaid statue added to my mermaid collection from the Christmas Tree Shop.  I was completely surprised to see a mermaid anything in a local store.  Usually, I only see mermaid figurines when I go to the beach.

She is a little over a foot high tall. I am so excited to find a mermaid I really like. This mermaid has a beautiful face and the statue has a lot of detail. i think it is made from a kind o resin not a ceramic material. 

The only thing i really did not like is the "distressing" of the surface of the piece. if the paint was smooth, it would be perfect. But thankfully, there is only a few places where the paint is chipped off.

The tail is so beautiful.    I am really picky about the design of my mermaid's facial features and the tails. i do prefer the  mermaid tails to have a fuller wider tail fins.

The only color on the figure is this green and pink on  the clam shell.

A view of the back of the mermaid.

Love the intricate detail of the base: tiny sea shells and pearls






I got another wonderful surprise when I got to the register and it was half off. My price was $8.99! Awesome! The prices for this type of statue in Myrtle Beach is 2 or 3 times more than the regular price of this item.


Thank you for reading!

Thomasina