Creative Juice Studios

The Livin' is Easy!

2011-07-11T11:33:00.001-04:00

Just some glimpses of the summer fun we have enjoyed so far...

Upcycled Transformation

2010-09-10T12:54:00.000-04:00

Every fall our chuch has it annual parish festival. It is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and it is next Saturday.

Many years ago I started a "silent auction" as part of this event. Calling local businesses and other parishioners asking for donations and organizing the entire event. I am no longer in charge of it (by choice!) but I always dontate something to it,

Here is my donation for this year...

It started out as these bits and pieces...

... an old school desk that was originally in our parish school. The school sold these for $5 each a few years back. My neighbor was done with hers, she put it in her trash - and I took it!

I am not too proud to take something out of the trash for a good cause!

... this stool, that I picked up at a local thrift store for $1 yesterday. It was covered in rust and quite dirty, but I saw it had potential as a chair for my little desk.

... metal desk accessories, I found at Dollar Tree for... you guessed it... $1 each.

... some regular yellow pencils I covered with oragami paper (had both of those things too!) based on this tutorial I found Omiyage's blog (you can check it out here) ...

... some cute school supplies,
... a couple cans of spray paint (half of which I already had in my stash!)...

... some buttons and magnets (once again, I already had these too!) to use to hang paper and what-not from the metal sides of the desk...

... some ric rac around the bottom of the legs (had it)...

... and some fabric and batting (guess what... I had those already too!)...

Total out of pocket cost for this project: $19!

I think it turned out quite cute!

I hope that it will find a home and bring in some much needed cash to our church and school!

What little girl wouldn't love doing her homework at this?

What to do, What to do?

2010-09-08T16:24:00.000-04:00

I currently have an etsy shop where I sell some of my handmade items, and more recently some vintage items I have picked up here and there while "junking", "thrifting", "garage-saling"... This portion of my shop has done much better than my handmade creations, and I think I have finally found my niche.

I have recently been thinking about opening a physical resale shop. However, that takes more time and money then I have to invest right now. So I am not thinking about renting some booth space at an antique mall to sell some of my treasures.

I would love input anyone has done this - pros, cons, costs, what would you do differently, what worked, etc...

Thank you for sharing your secrets with me!

Where Does the Time Go?

2010-08-30T14:38:00.000-04:00

Summer is always a hard time for me to keep up with my creative projects and therefore to have something interesting to blog about.

This summer it was harder than ever. My 15 year old daughter got her first part-time job. She was a lifeguard at a local country club. I know it is a right of passage, good experience, etc... but it was a lot of work for me, and I didn't get paid for it. Add to this 2 sports, 2 other children to shuttle about, and two 50th Anniversary parties for both Dave's and my parents, left no time for crafty endeavors.

Everyone is back in school, and things are still busy with with school and sports, and life in general, but I am excited to get back at it.

Here is a brief look at the fun times of the summer...

Before and After... Well, Really During!

2010-06-09T13:40:00.004-04:00

This is the front of my house. It really needs a new look. It has 30+ year old aluminum siding that has chalked and faded in stripes (look at the second story - that is not shadows, that is siding that has changed color, but only in some places!). The whole thing really needs resided or painted. Neither of which is in the budget for this summer.

It also has a reddish roof (which I have always hated) and a hard to color coordinate - almost white washed - brick on the front lower center section. It had, I say, "Terracotta", most say "peach" color shutters - which I never really liked, but they were suggested by the landscape architect we hired to design our front gardens and porch addition, and they matched the brick and roof. So they have stayed for the past 13+ years! I guess I needed to get my money's worth out of that suggestion we paid good money for!

So, in light of all of its challenges, I have and decided to make the best of it...

The easiest, quickest and cheapest way to change the look of a house... shutters! I got on Benjamin Moore's website and uploaded a picture of my house and played around with different shutter colors. (warning - this can be addictive!). I have kind of gone out on a limb with the color, but I was so tired of the "matchy/matchy" color we had, and it really did look the best with what I had to work with.

Can you say... "purple shutters"! I know it is quite a statement!

But they really do look good against the brick, and they make the roof look redder than it actually is and I don't hate it so much!

I still have the problem with the vertical siding fading/chalking on the second story, which my hubby says he is going to paint this summer - just that section - we'll see how that turns out! I guess it really can't look worse than it looks now, so "what the heck" - a couple gallons of paint - just don't fall!

But all things considered, I really do like the change! I can't wait to have it all finished. I have shutters on every window of my house, and the front door. 26 shutters to be exact, and right now I only have 12 finished! And to make matters worse, most are really tall - like 6' tall shutters! I still have a ways to go, but will be happy when it is done!

Now I need some suggestions for a new door color and maybe even something for the garage door. If you have suggestions, please leave them in a comment! I really am stumped on these 2 items and need some help!

The shutters repainted, a new front light fixture and some new house numbers to be installed, hubby painting the upper portion of the house and I will call this "make-over" done for this summer!

I'll post more pictures when it is done!

I was Featured in an Etsy Treasury

2010-05-16T14:00:00.004-04:00

In the Dark

Someone used one of my listings in an Etsy Treasury today. It was fun to see my photograph being promoted.

So, I decided to try my hand at making an Etsy Treasury. It was lots of fun searching for things I liked. It was so much fun that when I finished one, I went on to make two more. Here are the three Treasuries I came up with. The title of each is a link that will take you to the actual treasury and from there you can check out the individual products if you are interested.

In the Kitchen

(this was my first one, and my favorite!)

All in the Family

Livin' the Lake Life

I made a fourth one late last night...

Seeing Spots in the Kitchen

I have to say this is rather addicting. Go to Etsy and make your own treasury of things you love. I'd love to see what you come up with.

So which one is your favorite?

I am Very Proud of My Daughter!

2010-05-14T09:44:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to share a news story about my teenage daughter.

Wayne Student Has A Message For Peers At Elmhurst | Indiana's NewsCenter: News, Sports, Weather, Fort Wayne WPTA-TV, WISE-TV, CW, and My Network | Local & Regional

Imagine the Possibilities...

2010-05-12T21:35:00.000-04:00

I shared with you all the Christmas presents I made for friends and family this past year using photographs I took of old building and other city scenes in our downtown.

Now I have made some individual wooden block letters...

These can be stood on a shelf, put above a door frame, used as a paperweight on your desk, hung on a wall, used as place cards at a special dinner, use them as kids blocks (teaching the various letters of the alphabet) - imagine the possibilities - they're endless.

I have them available in my Etsy Shop.

They are all special orders, and you can customizine them however you like. Thick or thin wood block - no problem. Want a special color - no problem. Want one for each letter of the alphabet - no problem. Want a smooth finish as opposed to a distressed finish - no problem. Just tell me what you want, and I will make them for you!

With the upcoming "wedding season" keep these individual blocks or custom name plaques in mind for gifts for the special couple!

Purging...

2010-05-07T15:01:00.003-04:00

I am the thrift store queen. I love scouring all my favorite stores and garage sales and finding a diamond in the rough or forgotten treasure that others have cast away.

That being said, I have accumulated a lot of "stuff" - all of which were great bargains but a lot of them are now just taking up space.

But I am trying to reduce the clutter in my house and part with things that I don't want, or need any longer.

So I have been listing some of my vintage treasures in my Etsy Store. Truth be told, I have also purchased a few solely for listing on my site!

If you are looking for something in particular, send me an email with a description of it (pictures are helpful too) and I will see if I can find it for you!

These and many more treasures can all be found on my Etsy Store - please stop by and take a look!

Blue Canning Jars

2010-04-27T09:11:00.000-04:00

I love old blue canning jars. Ball, Atlas, Ideal, Mason, doesn't really matter the brand or the age. Most of mine are Ball jars - probably because they are the most common, and I live in Indiana (the Ball factory was in Muncie, IN). I just love the color and the functionality of them. I started collecting them a few years back, all bought from garage sales and thrift stores. I think the most I have paid for any one is about $2; most were bought for less than $0.50 each.

I don't collect them because of any real value they may have or with the plans of selling them and making big money in the future. I collect them because I like them and I use them.

I use them as display pieces...

I use them to store things...

I have one I use as a table lamp...

... and even used 3 of them to make a chandelier for our home office...

I probably have about 30 of them and have often wondered about the different marking on them.

So just for fun, I bought this book recently...

1000 Fruit Jars

It has drawings of all the different canning jar markings, descriptions, and estimated values (as of 2007 I believe).

It has been fun looking at all my jars and figuring out which ones are worth what. I won't get rich on my collection should I tire of it and decide to sell (most are worth about $3, a few are worth $10, and I have 2 worth about $35 each), but the book is fun and interesting.

If you have a canning jar collection or are thinking of starting one, it is definitely worth the $6 as a handy reference guide. I even picked up an extra copy for my "junking buddy" Lori at Fresh Picked Whimsy. I think I probably scored 1/3 of them with her one day when she and her family were visiting at the lake and we went to a barn sale. They had boxes of them and were selling them for $0.50 each! But SHHHH don't tell her I got her a copy - its a surprise!

New Listings in my Etsy Store

2010-04-22T12:57:00.002-04:00

In the last few days I have listed some wonderful vintage items in my Etsy Store!

Please stop by and take a closer look...

This is a beautiful piece of mid-century California pottery. Can be used as a relish tray or chip and dip platter. Beautiful aqua/turquoise blue on one piece and a speckled off-white and tan on the other!

Small, hand painted Fire King serving bowl.

Cute depression glass bowl, great for storing odds and ends on your desk, keys or to actually use in the kitchen.

This is a gorgeous hand crocheted bedspread made of very heavy cotton thread. I love the 3 dimensional ball on it! I was going to keep it, but didn't really have the right place for it so decided to give it up.

SORRY - THIS IS SOLD!

The sun is setting on our Florida vacation...

2010-04-09T09:34:00.002-04:00

All good things must come to an end. We leave tonight to start that long trip back home from southern Florida. Why does the dive home always take so much longer than the drive down?

Chair Before and After

2010-03-30T19:34:00.002-04:00

I got this pair of chairs a while back. I decided today that they would be perfect for our office update. A couple cans of black and white spray paint, a little red craft paint, some sandpaper and a fabric remnant.

Easy as pie! Quite a difference, don't you think?!

Some Snippets from our Office Re-Do...

2010-03-26T11:08:00.006-04:00

We (hubby and I) have been working on re-doing our dining room/home office for the past month or so. As with every home improvement project we undertake - it is taking longer than we had hoped for or anticipated.

But wanted to show you some of the things we have accomplished in this time... (but please ignore all the mess in the background of these pictures... most if not all of what you can see will be gone when the room is done. Also ignore the poor quality of the pictures - I had to use my cell to take the pictures - couldn't find my real camera right now!!!)...

This is the worktable for the center of the room. It will double as a dining table when needed for that purpose (about 3 times a year if we're lucky!). The size is a generous 3' wide by 7 ' long! The bases are 4 file cabinets we bought and assembled that I blogged about here. The design for this worktable has changed slightly, but the concept is still the same. The table top is so solid - it has (5) 2" x 4"'s running the length of the table as support, and the apron/trim piece we added to hide all that allows the top to sit over the file cabinet bases so it doesn't slide off and keeps the 2 "back to back" file cabinets together.

We modified the file cabinets a little...

We changed the boring silver knobs they came with to these fun polka dot ones - if you know me, you know I am a sucker for polka dots! We also added a drawer/box to the open slot above the file drawer also with some fun hardware...

We made these drawers ourselves with our new nail guns and compressor we bought to make our next project, that you can read about here. The drawers/boxes come all the way out - our thought was that they would be like project boxes, to store stuff you are working on, and could take the whole box, to another location if need be to work on, and we purposely made the box a little shorter then the space so that you could just slide stuff in and out without having to "open" the drawer. The drawers are stained this beautiful pale aqua blue.

The secretaries we are building next from plans we got from Ana at Knock off Wood will be stained the same aqua . If you have never checked out Ana's blog, do yourself a favor and stop by! She has FREE plans for all types of wood furniture that you can build yourself. And she is so inspiring and empowering. Even if you have no desire to build your own furniture, check out her blog and see all the awesome things she and her readers have built. But be careful you may get bitten by the bug and decide to go out and buy yourself one of these...

Our latest addition... I have to say it really is fun!

I got this cabinet at a local thrift store for $5 about a year ago. It has been in our family room storing dog stuff, and was painted a cream color with big burn marks on the top. I forgot to take a before picture the other day, but believe me when I say, it needed some TLC.

A nice coat of satin black paint to match the table, and the same cute polka dot knobs and we're done! This will actually be the printer stand, but the lamp I blogged about here looked so cute there, that I put it there for the picture!!

The red pencil/office supply organizer was on old kitchen utensil organizer I bought for $0.25. It looked like this before a couple coats of red spray paint for plastic. It has a lazy susan bottom too!

The last thing I have to show you today, is the chandelier that will hang above the big worktable. Pay no attention to the fact that it is hanging crooked, the ground wire is not connected, and the plate that is suppose to be on the ceiling covering all the wires is hanging there, I was in a hurry to see how it would look...

The other thing you should know about me is that I love old blue Ball canning jars! I pick them up at every thrift store and garage sale I find them in. Most I have picked up for less than $1! After I bought this thrifted chandelier that I picked up for $8, none of the standard glass "shades" would fit on it so I thought... Blue Ball Jars!! I think it was suppose to have some big glass round globe type bulb covers.

I was afraid that the Ball Jars would overheat and the glass would shatter, but it has been up for several weeks and no problems so far. I think the fact that they have some venting in the top helps! The fixture itself was ugly 70's shiny brass, but a coat of primer and two of "oil rubbed bronze" spray paint was all it took to take care of that problem.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this one at Panache Lighting a couple weeks after I made mine...

It is a little too much for me, along with the price tag of $1300!! Mine cost me a total of about $20 including the fixture, primer, paint, new screws, new swag chain, ball jars, and light bulbs!

Well, it is time to put another coat of poly on the other 3 drawer/boxes, so I must run. We will post some progress of the secretary desks when we start those!

This post is being shared on DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land, Toot Your Horn Tuesday @ A Silly Little Sparrow, Talented Tuesday @ My Frugal Family, Trash to Treasure Tuesday @ Reinvented, Get your Craft on @ Today's Creative Blog, Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Costal Charm

The Bathroom Reveal...

2010-02-26T10:49:00.012-05:00

This was one of those projects that just seems to take forever. It was suppose to be a QUICK weekend project. Well, about a month later, it is for all intents and purposes complete. There are some areas I need to touch up the paint, and the towel bar needs re-installed (I think one of my kids tried to do pull-ups on it and ripped it out of the wall!) But done enough that I can post some pictures of it...

Just to remind you what the bathroom looked like before starting this project...

(Before)

Before I give you the big picture, I want to show you a few of the small items that have made this room.

The soap and lotion dispensers were cheap $2 dispensers from Wally-World. I had these vinyl decals made for them by Leen the Graphic Queen. I did a rough sketch, and she made them look awesome. You will see lots more of her work coming up. The toothbrush holder was a gift from a friend. She too is doing lots of work in her house this winter. She spotted this when she was at the store looking for stuff for her bathroom, and picked it up for me - Thanks Jenny! The bathroom cup is an old enamelware mug I picked up years ago and it just looks so cute in there.

All the doorknobs in your house are the cheap, ugly, 60's bright polished brass variety. It is one of those things I look at all the time, and think I need to do something about, but the thought of spending $20 per knob set (when I would need 14 sets for the entire house ~ $300!) just didn't seem like a good spend.

(Before - ugly brass)

So I turned to my old trusty friend - "Mr. Spray Paint", in an oil rubbed bronze variety, and here is what the bathroom one looks like now...

(after - Oil Rubbed Bronze)

Not bad, huh? I am very happy with how it turned out. If the paint holds up on it, I will be painting all the knob sets in our house!

My $20 Craigslist faucet, that took a whole day to install...

Another small detail that has really made a big difference in the room is the trim...

(before - ugly trim)

(after - metallic silver!)

The flooring also made changed the whole look of the room. When you have, what I am 99% sure is old vinyl asbestos tile in your house, you have some challenges when it comes to changing the flooring. If asbestos tile in in good shape (as ours is) you are best to leave it alone, and not take it out. However, when it looks like this...

you may not want to keep it visible. This same ugly tile is not only in our bathroom, but a hallway and the laundry room. We were not ready to change the entire area for a variety of reasons, so we had to do something of a more temporary nature with it just in the bathroom.

So a $17 piece of black of indoor/outdoor carpet, and some double stick carpet tape and a cute silvery grey bathmat, and you get this...

(please ignore the white flecks on the carpet - I forgot to vacuum before taking the picture!)

Lighting also helps to completely change a room... We went from a fixture centered over the toilet with 3 - 40 watt bulbs to one centered over the mirror with 2- 100 watt bulbs (we put a dimmer on it so that you didn't burn your retinas when you got up in the middle of the night to use the facilities!)

Well, I've kept you waiting long enough, here are the rest of the pictures, of this tiny bathroom in its full glory...

Aren't these vinyl wall decals the best! Leen made these custom paisleys and polka dots for me. She did an awesome job - they really complete the room.

And this is the mirror that I designed, had the glass custom cut, had hubby cut the plywood backing, and then I assembled! I LOOOOOOOVE how it turned out!

Hope you have enjoyed the trip around our 6' x 8' bathroom...

One last before and after comparison...

Before After

Shared on Funky Junk's Saturday Night Special

Shared on Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up Party

I am participating in the Thrifty Decor Chick Before and After Party.

Linked on Make it Monday at Cottage Instincts

A Sneak Peak at My New Bathroom Mirror!

2010-02-19T06:00:00.001-05:00

I have completed the mirror for our bathroom re-do. The mastic needs to cure for 48 hours before it can be hung.

I can't wait another 24 hours!!!.

This project is extra special because it went from purely a vision in my head to a reality.

You will have to wait until it is hung to see the full piece in all its glory!!

Sorry!

Come back on Monday - it should be hung by then...

This post is being shared on Miss Mustard Seeds Furniture Friday Linky Party

Office Space Redesign - Again...

2010-02-18T13:55:00.004-05:00

Every time I think I have my office plan finished, Ana at KnockoffWood posts some new furniture plans, and things I thought that were beyond my budget suddenly become do-able, and I keep changing what I want!!!

If you have never been to Ana's blog, then you must check it out! She designs plans for "knock off" furniture from places such as Pottery Barn, Ballard Designs, West Elm, etc... and posts the plans, material lists, sometimes even exact cutting plans on her blog FREE!!!

And now is an even better time to check her out as she is having a giveaway!!! If you go to her site, and enter her giveaway, please note in your comment that you hear about her from me - then maybe we can both win!!! She is having a giveaway to celebrate 1,000,000 blog hits since the start of her blog 3 months ago - as a fellow blogger I can only image that many hits - way to go Ana!!!

So, my center worktable that I blogged about here will be redesigned (slightly smaller) to accomodate two of these...

(image from potterybarn.com)

...that hubby and I will be making - only without the drawers - I just want shelves where the drawers are - at least for now - maybe later I will decide I want or need the drawers and we can make them then.

(image from knockoffwood.blogspot.com)

She has the plans for the basic bookshelf (the secretary pictured above is just 2 stacked on top of each other, with drawers inserted, and a drop down desk) on her site now. They will fit perfectly on either side of a floor to almost-ceiling window on one wall of our dining room/office.

Now, before she posts another "must have piece" I'd better get to Lowe's and get the supplies I need for these.

Assuming I don't change my mind another dozen times, I will post pictures of my progress in making these for you when I get them started.

PB Inspired Lamp Tweeked...

2010-02-18T09:22:00.001-05:00

I finished my lamp I blogged about the other day. I repainted the base and the metal part that comes up from the lamp "body" to hold the bulb. I sprayed them with an oil rubbed bronze finish spray paint and I lpve how it turned out. Now off to finish another project I hope to show you tomorrow!

PB Inspired Table Lamp

2010-02-16T13:13:00.001-05:00

(image courtesy of potterybarn.com)

I saw this lamp in the Pottery Barn Catalog, and loved it, but not the price tag - $105 + $39 for the lampshade.

Then on one of my "junking trips" I found this lamp...

Can you see the price tag?

Yes, a whopping $2!

Well, removal of the brass feet (free), 1 can of white gloss spray paint ($2), and one Wal-Mart lampshade ($15) later here is how it looks.

I think I am going to repaint the base in a satin or flat black, but other than that, I really like how it turned out!

Total Cost of PB Lamp and Shade - $144 + shipping

Total Cost of My Lamp and Shade - $19!

This is going to go in my office that I blogged about here where I am also "borrowing" some of PB's ideas!

I am also working on a great chandelier that I will show you when it is done.

I'm participating in DIY Day at ASPTL,
And in the PB Knock-Off Party at Homebody!

Center Room Worktable/Partners Desk Plans - Pottery Barn Knockoff!!!

2010-02-12T10:05:00.001-05:00

I have been working on several projects around the house since the beginning of the year. The first is my main floor bathroom that I blogged about here, is almost complete, and I will update you on it when it is done.

My second project is our home office. About 3 years ago, we gave up or designated den/office so that our two girls could each have their own rooms. We moved the office to the least used room in the house, our dining room. We never had nice matched organized furniture in our office, which didn't really matter, because no one was ever really in there except my hubby and myself. But now that it has been moved to one of the most visible rooms in our home, it is driving me crazy.

We want a large worktable in the middle of the room where we each have our own space, but can take over the others when needed for big projects for ourselves or when the kids have school projects that need a lot of space. Also something that could double as a dining table (add a table cloth) when needed. I found this at Pottery Barn Teens and love it, with the exception of four things.

Picture from Pottery Barn Teens

We only needed space for 2,
We want it in black,
The square size would not fit right in our rectangular dining room space,
and THE PRICE!!! - $1,599!!!

So being crafty, creative, and cheap I decided to take their idea and make it work for us. Here is my drawing...

I know it is kind of hard to see, but I will post more pictures as it comes to life...

Here is a picture of the file cabinets we are using for the bases...

I found them, of all places, at K-mart! For $29 each! They are MDF, but pretty solid for "assemble it yourself furniture" and even have thick MDF backs (not the carboard tack on back that most have). I never go to Kmart, but was at Menards the other day getting some stuff for my bathroom project and just had a whim to go across the street and see what they had, and I found these. They were even black like we wanted! SCORE!!!

The top will be 4'x 6' 3/4" MDF also painted black, but it will also have 2 drop leaves of each of the long sides that are 1' wide each (thus using the entire 4'x8' sheet, but not taking up too much space in the room when the extra length is not needed!!! I get the best ideas at 11:30 pm while laying in bed trying to sleep!

I got the idea for the movable table/desk divider last night while laying in bed, and will post more on that as it comes together - it is really one of those things that is easier to describe when you see it! But just suffice it to say it is Genius, and I already have the main piece I need to make it!

Well, I have 2 more of those file cabinets to put together, so I'd better get to it! I hope you enjoyed this peak into my creative mind!

This post is being shared on Miss Mustard Seeds - Furniture Feature Friday! DIY Day at ASPTL, and PB Knock-Off Party

Free Gift for All My Followers...

2010-02-11T16:01:00.003-05:00

I have written my first pattern! It is for paisleys I blogged about here and here.

This pattern can be used for a pillow or wall hanging as seen in my pictures, but also for so much more. How about on a tote bag, or placed randomly on a simple patchwork quilt. Maybe as appliqued quilt squares. The possibilities are endless. As are the color combinations that would totally change the look.

So, for all my current faithful followers (all 10 of you!) and for anyone else who becomes a follower by February 20, you can have a free PDF copy of my pattern emailed to you - just leave me a comment or send me an email message requesting it and I will email you a copy.

This pattern will be for sale in my Etsy shop also, if you have a quilting group who want to use it, or you happen to have someone ask you where you got it, please let them know where they can get it. The cost will be minimal, but I would appreciate you not distributing it free to everyone you know. I just wanted to offer it to you FREE OF CHARGE as a thank you for being one of my followers.

It will not be for sale in my shop until after February 20, so if you get a copy and try it out and notice any errors or items that could be explained more clearly, all I ask is that you send me a note so that I can fix it before I list it for sale. Also, I would love to have some pictures of your original creations so that I can include them too!

VEGAS!!!

2010-02-02T08:55:00.000-05:00

Had a little get-away last week to Las Vegas. Dave was out there for work for the week, and I flew in and joined him for the weekend. One of my oldest and dearest friends also lives in Vegas and we got to hook up with her over my stay.

The stars did not align themselves to allow us to bring home more money then we left with, but it was a good time non-the-less!

How can you really go wrong when you have...

Your husband
A good friend
Warmer weather than you left at home
Lots of lights and glitz and bling all around
Good food (that I didn't have to cook - or clean up after)
Getting your picture taken with an Elvis Impersonator, an Elvis Big Head, and a walking Fabulous Las Vegas Sign
A great hotel room
A little gambling (a few wins, but unfortunately we ended up donating it back to the local economy!)
The kids home safe and sound with Grandma and Grandpa C
Lots and lots of People Watching (one of my favorite sports)

And the highlight of the trip was the Cirque Du Soleil - Mystère show we saw. If you have never seen it and get the chance I highly recommend it. We even had front row seats... AWESOME!!! You can check out a You Tube trailer for the show here.

Sale at My Etsy Store

2010-01-26T10:32:00.000-05:00

I am having a sale at my Etsy Store! All of my "sweetheart saying" ACEO cards are buy one get one free!

Get your Valentine's Day Shopping done now! Hurry - sale ends January 31!

And the Winner is...

2010-01-24T19:50:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway. And a special welcome to my 3 new followers!

True Random Number Generator Min: 1 Max: 13 Result: 3 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Evelyn of one of my favorite reads... Use the Loot. I will get your shipping info and send your package out asap! I hope you enjoy.

Last Day to Enter Giveaway!

2010-01-22T11:17:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day to enter my giveaway! For detail check out this post. Post a comment, become a follower and let your friends know!!!

Bathroom Re Do

2010-01-19T09:20:00.001-05:00

I wanted to share the progress on my main floor bath re-do. This was suppose to be one of those quick and easy projects that I would have done in less than a week. Well a week later, it is not done but I will show you the progress anyway...

This is what the bathroom looked like last week. I re-did it shortly after we moved in 13+ years ago.

Well, here is what I have complete so far...

I finished painting and distressing the vanity and the medicine cabinet, and got all the wall paper stripped. We were using DIF to strip the paper, which works great! However we were afraid that the DIF might mess up my newly painted cabinets so DH put some painters tape around the edges where the cabinets butted up to the wall paper.

All was good until I took the tape off yesterday afternoon (he only put the tape up yesterday morning, so its not like it was there for days and got "too stuck"), and no only did the black paint I just did come off, but so did the primer below that, and the white paint below that, and the original primer I put on before painting the cabinets white (13+ years ago), leaving the original 40+ year old yellow/gold paint along the edges of the medicine cabinet...

There was only one small spot where the tape took paint off the sink cabinet, but pretty much took all the paint off where it was put on the medicine cabinet!

So now I can't decide whether I can just reprime and paint the areas where the paint has come off, or if I need to do the whole thing all over again... I am thinking I am going to try to just do the 2 areas... what do you think?

I've decided to take a break from this project today - a little too frustrated right now. Plus, DH has to move the light location and patch the hole where the existing light will be so I will wait till he finishes that before I go back in and work on the medicine cabinet!

To see, more creative DIY projects, visit A Soft Place to Land's DIY Day...

In honor of taking a break from this project, I decided to have a giveaway... You can win this...

The post about the giveaway is here... please take a minute to enter! You can get up to 3 entries - good luck!

Giveaway at Creative Juice Studios

2010-01-19T08:23:00.000-05:00

January seems to be the time that everyone decides to change their lives. Clean up, declutter, redecorate, take a class, finish the unfinished, etc. But, we all need to take a minute from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and

And sometimes we need a reminder to do that! So that is what I am giving away... a tangible reminder to take time to relax and recharge our minds and bodies!

So if you need a reminder to RELAX, this is all you have to do to enter...

Leave me a comment stating what do you to to RELAX and where would you hang this plaque to remind you to take the time?

Want a second entry?
Become a follower of my blog and leave me a second comment stating you have done so, or that you already were a follower.

Want a third entry?
Post a blog post about my giveaway and leave me another message with the link to your post.

Entries to the giveaway will be taken until midnight on Friday, January 22. On Saturday, January 23, a winner will be selected via random number generator, and posted on my blog.

Now, I've got to get back to those 100 projects I've started since the first of the year so that I can mark one off my list then take some time to RELAX and enjoy the fruits of my labors!

Transformation Thursday

2010-01-14T09:57:00.001-05:00

I decided to join in on Transformation Thursday @ "The Shabby Chic Cottage". I didn't have any recent transformations,so I decided to show you some of the past things we have done at our Cottage.

For those of you who don't know, we have a small lake cottage about an hour from our home that we totally enjoy in the summer. I have decorated it on the utmost cheap budget. Most of what is there was either left by the previous owners, found a thrift stores, resale shops, garage sales, clearance sales or given to us by family and friends. All of this scouring, finding, gathering and repurposing, has left us with a cozy little place to enjoy in the warm months (and sometimes even in the cold ones), where we can spend time with friends and family. Some of these things you may have seen on my blog before, but just wanted to share a few of my favorite things that have transformed our cottage into what it is today.

when we first bought the cottage

New outdoor colors...

Sorry for all the construction debris in the front yard of this one, but it was the only one I could find of the front right now...

We have 2 small attic type rooms upstairs that we use as the kids rooms. We transformed on of them from this...

... to this. Here is the girls room. Couldn't find the pics of my sons room right now, will show you those another time, but love how the girls room turned out. The bottom is a wide 3'+ border that I had the paint for the walls and ceiling color matched to. Added the clouds, and even some glow in the dark stars that show up at night.

An old windowpane and vintage post cards from the lake - most 1920-1930 that I aput on the back of the glass with clear scrapbook photo corners - this is one of my favorites because it has so much history!

My vintage enamelware pots - most I can and do use - others are too damaged, and just hand there as decoration.

This is one piece of a 3 piece set of vintage aluminum patio furniture I got at a flea market for $80 and included new cushions that I just recovered - they were butt ugly. The other 2 pieces include a rocker and a couch that folds down into a daybed. When the girls have friends at the lake they love to sleep on it in the screen porch!

The only before pics I had of this table were on my cellphone that died before I could download them. It was an ugly very dark 70's walnut type finish. I first painted the table all red (same color as the chair on the left) and the top white. It looked great in my mind, but the reality was completely different, so I had to go back to the home improvement store and rethink my strategy.

I sanded the top to remove some of the white paint, then added a royal blue stain to it and several coats of polyurethane.

I painted over the red legs and base with white, and then sanded it to distress it and reveal the red underneath. Then added several coats of polyurethane to it to keep it from distressing too much more with use and to keep the white paint white - it is a lake and lots of bare feet resting on the base if you know what I mean...

One of our biggest projects was the construction of the tree house.

There is a big long story about the tree house if you are interested you can read my blog post about it here...

I also couldn't find the pics of it finished - we painted all the railings and support pieces to match the house, and painted the whole inside white.

My cousin Lori painted the name of our lake on this old oar we found at a thrift store during one of our annual "junking" adventures!

There is so much more I could and will show on upcoming posts...

Original Paisleys!

2010-01-13T09:36:00.004-05:00

I blogged about this pillow I made here and mentioned that I had another project I made with the same 3 paisley patters I designed to show you today, well here it is...

I used the same 3 paisley patterns but with different color pallet and arrangement, they look totally different!

I stapled this one to an 12" x 12" artist canvas I had to make it a picture.

All of these materials also came from my overflowing stash!

I'm thinking of some other color combos that would look great in these paisleys.

I had so much fun with these I may even make a whole quilt with them... what do you think?

This post has been shared on A Soft Place to Land's DIY Day

New Original Creation

2010-01-11T18:38:00.002-05:00

I love paisley! I always have!

My daughter M and I were talking about re-doing her bathroom this winter, and she suggested black and white paisley. I was searching for some black and white paisley wall paper - when I thought about designing my own applique pattern to make paisleys with some of my old scraps of fabric from my overflowing stash.

I also used some left over ric rac pieces and some mismatched buttons...

And I finished it off with some left over ball fringe...

And the back is a cute pink and white cotton gingham (you can't find cotton gingham anymore)!

I even had a pillow form the right size to fit (it is a little big, but just don't look too close at the gap in the buttons on the back)!

I am pretty happy with how it turned out, and it cost me nothing but some time designing and redesigning the paisleys!

I have another creation that looks completely different using the same paisley patterns that I will show you tomorrow!

Great Giveaway

2010-01-11T12:33:00.001-05:00

V and Co. is have a great giveaway on her blog. She is giving away this great necklace...

by The Rusted Chain. She has 3 ways to enter so hurry over to her blog and enter. You have till 8am on Thursday to enter!

I really hope I win, however the next best thing would be for one of my readers (however few you are) to win. Best of luck!

If you do enter, make sure you mention in your comment that you got there by way of my blog!!!

Sneak Peak...

2010-01-10T11:10:00.001-05:00

Just a quick peak at something I am working on. It is too cold to go outside (at least in my opinion) so I decided to try something I have been thinking about for a while.

These are 2 separate things, but using the same pattern I designed. I will post more pictures when they are complete.

All of this was taken from my massive scrap stash! I love being able to make a project without having to go to the store!

LOVE YOU... getting a jump start on Valentines Day!

2010-01-07T08:49:00.000-05:00

This is the first in a series of collages I am making and photographing combining 2 of my favorite things... Scrabble Letters and the sayings on the Valentine Conversation Hearts. Small 2.5" x 3.5" ACEO trading cards and larger prints of each are available in my Etsy Shop.

These would make great gifts for Valentine's Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries, or anytime you just want to let someone know or remind them how much they mean to you.

Some others that will be forth coming in the series include: "Lover Boy", "Love Her", "Yes Dear", "True Love", "Lets Kiss", "Cutie Pie", "Sweet Talk".

If you have a favorite Conversation Heart saying, I would love to know!

Last Completed Project of 2009

2010-01-06T11:44:00.003-05:00

I managed to complete the quilt I was making for my in-laws 2 days before we were getting together to celebrate Christmas. Which means I finished it on December 31! So that also makes it the last project I completed in 2009!It is only a lap sized quilt, but it took me forever. I started it in October - thinking I had plenty of time. Well, then my sewing machine decided to act up and needed to go in for repairs. Got it back right before Thanksgiving - but since I was hosting Thanksgiving, I couldn't do anything with it until after.

Then, I made about 50 of these letter plaques, that I gave away as gifts and listed in my Etsy store...But I persisted, and finally finished it with 2 days to spare!
Each of the 4 corners are quilted with this snowflake pattern I made. I had originally planned to do all the blocks this way, but time was not on my side!
I am happy with how it turned out, and I think they liked it!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T22:23:00.001-05:00

Wishing everyone a wonderful 2010. May it hold all that you hope for, as much as you can handle, and more than you could ever wish for!

Trying to Be More Faithful

2009-12-08T19:33:00.003-05:00

I have been a rather absent blogger of late, you all know how it goes... life happens. Kids, work, commitments, computer crash, sickness, sewing machine broken, holidays, you name it, it seems I could use the excuse!

But I posted an entry yesterday - when my new computer arrived, to share the new creations I listed on my Etsy store, and got bitten by the blogging bug all over again.

I will try harder to be a more faithful blogger - it just seems that when my creative juices aren't flowing there is not much to post about!

I hope if I have any followers left you will forgive my ups and downs in this crafting and blogging adventure.

Now back to work I should have done earlier today - but was having too much fun setting up my new computer!

New Items for Sale in My Etsy Shop

2009-12-07T13:29:00.006-05:00

I made these as Christmas gifts for my friends and neighbors with their "family" name. I got such a positive response to them that I decided to make a few inspirational word on them and list them in my Etsy store...I took all the pictures myself. They are black and white on a black satin painted board.
The edges are sanded to reveal the wood beneath and to act as a "frame".All the "letters" were found in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana.
I have more I will be posting later this week.
Custom names or other words are available. Please message me and I would be happy to put together a reserved listing for you! I am offering free gift wrapping, gift tag and drop shipping if needed for all stock and custom orders through December 17.

Custom orders are priced as follows...

$15 base price + $2.50 per letter + shipping.

Would someone on your Christmas list enjoy these? Custom names available too!

2009-12-07T08:53:00.001-05:00

A sneak peak at what will be available in my Etsy store later today...

Point of View Lens

2009-09-17T07:46:00.002-04:00

My good friend Jenni took some family pictures for us a few weeks ago. She is has an amazing eye, and does some very cool effects using Photoshop or some other such software.

If you would like to see some more good pictures of my family - not the crappy snapshots I usually post, check out Jenni's blog...

Point of View Lens: cerajewski family

Upcycled T-shirts

2009-09-16T12:58:00.005-04:00

I wanted to do some sewing/creating but did not want to start a new big project, so I got a few old t-shirts at a thrift store and decided to embellish them. I think they turned out pretty cute. I have them for sale in my ETSY store.

They were quick and easy, and I have some ideas for some more - just have to go out and get some more nice t-shirts to recycle.

Inspired to Create...

2009-09-14T08:50:00.007-04:00

Saturday was my birthday - I won't say what number birthday - but my birthday none-the-less... I share my birthday with one of my best friends and "cousin-in-law" Lori. Lori was celebrating a "milestone" birthday this year (the big 40), so her family threw her a party. So we went to the party to help her celebrate.

Lori is an amazing artist and illustrator. Although it was her party, she painted me this canvas for my birthday.I just love my new picture!!!

She even put red polka dot ribbon along the edge of the canvas to finish it off...

She is such a talented artist!!!

Doesn't it look great in my sewing area - it matches perfect with the sewing table I made earlier this year.I am now inspired to start sewing some new creations...

Max is Back!

2009-07-23T12:39:00.001-04:00

Max is back home and he seems as good as ever. My daughter M sent me this video yesterday when I was in Toledo for work when he came home from the pet hospital. It was so good to see him all healthy and full of energy last night when I got home. Thanks for all your well wishes.

Too Pooped to Pop!

2009-07-21T15:57:00.003-04:00

Max, our new puppy got very sick this past week and is now in the animal hospital. We are hoping he will be released tomorrow evening, but no guarantees.

Our New Baby!

2009-07-15T09:37:00.006-04:00

I've been very busy the last week with our latest addition to our family. He is 7 week old black lab/shephard/who-knows-what-else puppy. I swore I would never get a dog, but was beaten down by the kids and hubby after my sister and brother both brought their dogs to the lake 2 weekends ago. He is a pound puppy, and is very sweet and cute! The kids are doing a great job with him so far, I hope it keeps up so that I can get back to some craftiness.

You will have to excuse the quality of these pics, they were taken with my phone - still having some issues with my camera.

Lake day!

2009-07-05T13:42:00.002-04:00

C doing some wake boarding.

M & P hanging out on the boat!

a pic from my phone

2009-06-26T12:14:00.001-04:00

trying out mobile blogging to see if it will work while we are at the lake. took this pic from my phone when i was up painting earlier this week.

Busy as a Bee

2009-06-26T10:49:00.002-04:00

My summer has been crazy busy as I'm sure everyone else has.

Had my garage sale - which was pretty much a bust - hard to get traffic back in our little cul-de-sac, and when we did, no one was buying. The economy must be worse than I thought if people are not even buying at garage sales!

The spring broke on our garage door with all my garage sale stuff sitting on my driveway - cost me over half of what I made in the entire sale to fix that.

I've "misplaced" the charger to my camera battery, so no pictures of any of my recent creations... I finished my vintage sheet zig zag quilt. Stared on a hammock cover for the new hammock we got Dave for fathers day - it is basically a big quilt that will have gromets in the corners and sides to tie to the new 3 person rope hammock that is to be delivered next week.

Have spent quite a bit of time at the lake - entertaining friends - check out Jenni's blog post about her visit to the lake a few weekends ago. She is an amazing photographer and took some great pictures... Thanks Jenni for all the nice compliments too!!

Have also spent a lot of time up there trying to get the treehouse finished (inside painted, screens installed, etc) so the kids can sleep in it this coming week while we are up there for vacation. I will be glad when it is finished - what was suppose to be a "summer project for Dave", has turned into a 3 year ordeal for the entire family. You can read some of that saga here.

Kids have been doing various camps and sport which means I have spent most of my summer driving here and there.

Well, sorry about the lack of pictures, hopefully I will find my camera charger soon! We will be at the lake from this afternoon though the 4th of July weekend! Hope to post more after that.

Guess What I'm Doing...

2009-06-10T13:59:00.003-04:00

Yes, I am having a garage sale this weekend. As much as I love to got to other people's garage sales, I rarely have one of my own. Why you ask? Well for two reasons really.

I think if you don't have alot of stuff and at least a few "higher $" items (> $5) it is not worth the time it takes to get it all together and organized and spend 2 or 3 days sitting there waiting on people.
I am a packrat, and when I clean out an area, room , closet, etc... and decide to get rid of something - it needs to go right away - because either it is taking up too much room or because I might change my mind and decide to keep it if it hangs around!!

So if I have to get rid of stuff as I sort through it, rarely do I have enough to make it worth my while. It is amazing how much "Uncle Sam" will let you deduct on your taxes if you donate stuff to a charitable organization (Goodwill, Salvation Army, St. Vincent dePaul, etc...), so more often than not that is where my junk goes.

The last garage sale I had was about 6 years ago when I got rid of all my baby toys, furniture, clothes, etc, since my last had outgrown them. It was worth it then - I think I made over $500!!

Now in the past month or so, I have been working hard to weed stuff out, and the kids were required to clean their rooms and weed them out the first week of summer break (I know I'm mean - I've already heard it from 3 kids!). So between their junk (which they will get the money for) and mine, I think we have enough to make it worth my while.

Our neighborhood association sale this weekend, and I decided to go for it. It is rainy and cool today so stuck in the house anyway - may as well, work on this and try to make a little money!!!

Please come and buy my junk!!!

Family Circle - October 1960

2009-06-09T16:23:00.009-04:00

I love finding a periodical older than me! A newspaper, magazine, anything that speaks to what was going on "in the day". It is amazing how quickly some things change and how some stay the same. I found this on a recent trip to one of my favorite thrift stores.

Here are a few of the "regular features"..
.

Do you think they could get away with a column entitled that now?

The original owner of the magazine must have really liked this recipie - it is the only "damage" to this magazine - other than that it looks like it has never been read or opened. How did she cut that out so cleanly? Must have been a previous tip in the "Better Housekeeping" section...

Here are some of the "feature articles"...

Not just fashion, but fashion you can sew. There were also knitting and crochet patterns!

I'm sure I can pick up a few pointers here.

Have no fear... PMS was alive and well - they just didn't have a name for it!

What cracks me up about this is that if you change the word encyclopedia to internet or wikipedia the very same scenario probably happens at most homes today - It is almost exactly how it goes at our house, only I have to admit - I would be the "father" in this story. If you click on the picture below and see the full size picture, I think you can read the first page of this article - it is quite funny.

And here is the "monthly short story", by the up and coming author - Mary Higgins Clark...

FIVE DAYS in the hospital after a baby!!!

And to boot, the story talks about her waking up to find out what she had!! Those were the days! And can someone explain why we don't still do it this way?

When I had my first in 1995, she had broken my rib which sent me to the hospital 3 weeks early due to the excruciating pain. (which they did not figure out until 6 weeks post pardum and it was still hurting and they took x-rays) So because I was in so much pain they couldn't send me home so they decided to induced me 3 weeks early, they had to do an emergency c-secction becasue her heart kept skipping beats with every contraction, my staples got infected and I was spiking a 103 fever, because she was small, they brought her to me every 2 hours to nurse, so between the pain and the nursing, sleep was non-existant. But even through all of that I was forced to leave 48 hours after delivery. So at 8:45 pm I was wheeled out of the hospital and sent on my merry sleep deprived way with my 5 lb 12 oz. - 3 week early newborn, a broken rib, c-section with infected staples.

If I had delivered after 9 pm I would have been able to stay until the morning - sometimes I think they did the c-section to ensure I delivered before 9pm!!

Oh well, it all worked out OK!! Here she is 14 years later right before her 8th grade graduation... Oh, they do grow so fast!!!

There are many more things in the magazine that you would enjoy, but I would be here all day taking pictures and uploading them. I will show you some of the ads in another post - they too are quite funny!

Peacock Bedspread - Sold!

2009-06-08T09:48:00.005-04:00

I am so excited that I sold the peacock chenille bedspread I had mentioned in my earlier post yesterday. I decided to list it for $125. I am sure, based upon my research, that it was worth at least twice that, but I got a really good deal on it (I didn't want to be greedy) and wanted it to go to a good home where it could be loved and used (not stored away as a collectable)! It sold on ETSY within about 5 hours of listing it, and the buyer was someone who saw it here first and wanted it for their little girls bedroom - PERFECT - just they type of person I wanted to have it. I think that was my quickest sale ever!

Peacock Chenille Bedspread

2009-06-03T12:12:00.004-04:00

I picked up this bedspread this weekend. I think it is a full size. I wasn't even sure what the design was on it when I picked it up from a school rummage sale table.

I just knew it was chenille (which I love)and very colorful (always a plus and unsusal for chenille).

My original thought when I grabbed it was to cut it up and use it in quilts. I have gotten several "cutter" chenille bedspreads at garage sales before.

But it is vintage cotton chenille and is in absolutely fantastic condition. The colors are so bright, and the fabric and chenille itself are so SOFT!!!

I can't bring myself to cut it - it would be a shame and a waste of a beautiful piece of the past.

But I have no place to use it...

So I think I am going to try to sell it in my Etsy Shop. The only question is how much should I charge. I can not find anything remotely like it anywhere to get a reference price. The closest thing I could find was this one (which I don't think is nearly as beautiful). Did you look at what they are asking for it?!? In this economy, who in their right mind pays $285 for an old bedspread? Obviously no one, because it is still for sale! Oh, well, if you have any ideas about what I should charge for it or if you are interested in buying it please let me know... I have an idea in my head of a fair price, but just curious what you other bloggers think.

And the Winner is...

2009-06-01T07:26:00.005-04:00

Thanks to all of you who checked out my blog over the past few days and entered my little giveaway. I truely appreciate all the nice comments (both of the sheets in the giveaway and some of the other posts in my blog), the new followers, and all the new blogs I have found through all of you!

So, without further adieu, the winners of my giveaway...

The first winner - generated via the random number generator at Random.org is...
119 - better known as Sue of Suebee's World Blog

Sue said...All it takes for the creative juices to flowing is seeing a pattern or a little dress that I want to make for my granddaughter! Then watch out!!!!

When I went to check out Sue's blog, I was surprised to see that she had just started it this past Friday!! Her first post reads as follows..."Decided I had better start a blog so that I can be found if I win one of the Giveaway's from Sew Mama Sew! Not sure what I will be putting here but heck, at least it is a start! "

Well Sue, you have won, and I was able to find you. Good luck on your up and coming blog.

Here are the final 10 fat quarters of vintage sheets that Sue will receive...

Along with these large and small scraps from my vintage sheet zig zag quilt I am finishing up.

I can't wait to see what you whip up with these for your granddaughter!!!

My second winner was chosen from all the entries received as the one that most inspired me. This was a very difficult decision. Although many said they got their inspiration to create from other blogs and flickr (which I know I do too), I was drawn to the the more original entries. A few of my favorites are below...

Jennadesigns said...My favorite way to get inspired it to clean my studio. The act of organizing and folding fabric and notions just gives me more and more ideas. By the time it's clean, I'm itching to make something!

(That would probably inspire me too, if I could ever get it clean!!)

Charissa said...A deadline. :-) I'm usually pushing my creative juices to the max about 10 minutes before I have to walk out the door with the gift I'm making.

(oh, that is so me... I finished sewing the binding on my checkerboard quilt in the car on the way to my nephews birthday party - my husband was driving!!!)

foofanagle said...Oh. Lovely prints! Right now, getting inspired is about having time. As a new mama that works full time outside of the home, crafting time is precious to me. It's the one thing I do for myself (and really for others since I make stuff to give to friends and family). So I get inspired when I realize the baby is napping, the husband is playing on his computer, and the fabric is calling. So I guess inspiration is really about opportunity right now!

(Having time to create something always gets me going - I never understand how most of the people out in blogland have the time to get as many projects done as they do - I just never have that much time to devote to my creative endeavors!)

Eema-le said...I LOVE vintage sheets. Going to the thrift store really gets me thinking about new projects. I love the challenge of working with something old, to make it new.

(maybe I will see you there someday - I come up with so many projects that way - too many actually!)

ktquilts said...Colors and patterns that I see around me, and my family, are my inspirations. Good chocolate and a fountain diet coke don't hurt either!!!!

(are you kidding? good chocolate and a fountain diet coke are the nectar of the gods, or the breakfast of champions depending upon what time of day it is!!)

undeadgoat said...I'm inspired to create by blogs (of course), but that's totally not going to win second prize, so let me think harder . . . I'm inspired to create by the world around me, by pop culture and vintage embroidery how-tos and by my mom's old cross-stitch magazines. As a knitter I get a little frustrated with the "Not your grandma's" sentiment--a lot of designers who don't look at the past properly end up designing something that's utterly crap. I think the past is vitally important to nay creative endeavor. Now excuse me while I figure out what filler stitch will be most appropriate for embroidering the New Orleans Water Meter, and whether that stitch would also be appropriate for Buffy & Angel 2gether 4ever . . . I really want to do something crazy obscure, like Cretan stitch, but I'm thinking maybe satin would be a little more sane.

(I love that she was thinking about how to get secondplace by her answer!!!)

But the most inspiring to me, and the winner of the second part of my giveaway, was this entry...

Emily said...Awesome giveaway! Watching my mommy sew inspires me to create. I am 8. I am learning how to sew. I have been doing some embroidery stitches. My 6 year old brother is learning some too. I hope to be on the machine before the end of summer. There are pictures of both of us sewing together and of our projects on my blog. Further down in previous posts, I also have pictures of my family, mom, dad, 15 month brother and other brother and sister. We homeschool.

To be 8, have your own blog, be inspired by your mom, have a 6 year old brother that is also learning to sew has to be the hands down winner!!!

Congratulations Emily!!! I purposely did not announce what this winner of this portion of my giveaway would receive, because I wanted to be inspired by the winning post in coming up with the prize. So for young Emily, I will be sending her this flat rate priority mail box, chocked full of a variety of sewing and crafting supplies, notions, odd and ends, etc... to keep her Creative Juices flowing!

I will go through my studio later this week and fill the box to the brim with whatever I can find that I think an 8 year old girl might like to have for her "studio". Emily, just promise to send me some pictures of something fun you make from the "goodie box", and I will post it on my blog!!!

Thanks again to all those who entered. To my new friends I have made through out this giveaway adventure, I hope you continue to stop by!

Thanks again!

Trash to Treasure

2009-05-28T18:47:00.004-04:00

This little foot stool was a garage sale item I got a couple years ago that has been sitting in my garage waiting for me to do something with. I got it for $1.

I finally decided it was time to do something with it or throw it out - and it is oh, so hard for me to throw anything away...

so I painted it and made a new cushion and cover...

I think it turned out pretty cute. The fabric is from one of the Cath Kidston duvet covers I bought earlier in the year. I am going to use some more of it to cover this chair...

(also in my garage for about 2 years, costing me only $2, but still waiting to be rescued) and use them both in my bedroom. As much as I loved my red rose velvet chair I had up there, it really belonged and was need at the lake.

A fresh coat of paint, and some strawberry and white polka dot fabric and it will look fabulous!!! Are you seeing it?

Old Bottles

2009-05-28T09:43:00.000-04:00

I love finding old medicine bottles at garage sales or thrift stores. They make great windowsill vases for some cut flowers out of my garden.

They are nice and skinny so they easily fit in shallow places. I like the colored ones the best, but the clear will do too!

On a separate note, I am blown away by the number of comments/entries I have received from the May Giveaway Day. I think I received more comments yesterday then I have the entire year and a half I have been blogging combined! I guess I will have to give things away more often.

If you are looking for how to enter that giveaway, please scroll down the page 2 posts.

Thanks for stopping by and good luck.

Polka Dot Love

2009-05-27T21:37:00.005-04:00

If you are looking for my May Giveaway from the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, scroll down to the next post. Otherwise just enjoy these polka dot plates with me!In the spirit of May Giveaway day, I wanted to pass along another giveaway going on at Feather Your Nest. They are giving away a set of these polka dot plates!!! If you have ever looked at my blog before you know that I love RED and I love POLKA DOTs. So what could be better than RED POLKA DOT PLATES? Especially with my white with red polka dot fire king bowls at our lake cottage. You can enter if you like, but I'm sure I'm going to win (that and the $250 million power ball drawing that my husband bought tickets for)

Giveaway Day!!!

2009-05-27T01:50:00.003-04:00

(This text is being added on 5/28... "I am blown away by the number of entries I have already received to this giveaway. If you are here to enter, this is the post you need to enter in. See below for entry rules. I hope if you come here to enter, that you will come back regularily, add me to your favorites list or sign up to follow this blog. You can do that by clicking the button on the sidebar. I have already added some of the commenters to my favorite blog list, and am sure I will be adding more when I get through all the comments and check out everyone's blogs.)

Giveaway day has finally arrived. If you don't know what I'm talking about, click on the Giveaway Day button on my side bar. But in a nutshell, Sew Mama Sew is organizing a day where anyone in blogland can offer to give something away. You can get the list of those participating at her blog.

I am so excited, I can't wait to see what wonderful treasures people are giving away, and hopefully win something myself.

I too am participating in the Giveaway Day. I am giving away fat quarters of my vintage sheet stock. There will be at least 10 in the package along with some smaller pieces of some of my favorites that I no longer have fat quarters left of. The picture below is just of the 6 I had cut already to put into this post - there was a deadline for getting your post in and as usual I am running behind.

In order to enter, just leave me a comment on this post with your favorite way to get your "Creative Juices" flowing. What gets you inspired to create?

I can't wait to see what inspires you to create all the wonderful things I have seen you make.

The winner of the fat quarters will be chosen via a random drawing on June 1.

There will be a second place winner, that will receive a surprise gift. The criteria for winning the second prize is the posting that most inspires me! Yes, I know it is subjection-able critera for a contest, but hay, it is my give away!

When you leave your comment, make sure that you provide a way for me to get back in touch with you if you win, email address, blogaddress, etc...

I unfortunately can not ship internationally. You can enter up through midnight on May 31.

GOOD LUCK!

Be sure to check out Sew Mama Sew for the list of other great giveaways going on in the next couple of days...

Checkers anyone?

2009-05-26T10:59:00.007-04:00

I took a break from my sheet zig zag quilt to whip up a birthday present for my nephew who is turning 6 this weekend.

I still have to hand sew the binding to the back - that is the red polka dot fabric on the edge. But I was so excited about it I just had to show you.

I made him this game quilt. One side has a big checker board...

And the reverse has a backgammon board!

I made game pieces out of large washers from the home improvement store. A quick coat of spray paint, and custom game pieces! I was orginally making the pieces out of felt pieces hand sewn together. They were cute, but very time consuming, and I was afraid they would blow away if you used it outside. This way the washers help hold the quilt down.

My kids are begging me not to give it away, but keep it up at our lake cottage. Believe me, I am tempted. But I will make another one for us. There are some things I would change on the next one, but if it turns out good, I may list it on my Etsy store to as a sample of a custom game quilts that can be ordered... or maybe I'll write a pattern for it. I've never tried that. Any thoughts?

The quilt is about 40" x 50". Great for a lap quilt, or to throw on the floor or on a picnic or at the beach, to play a few games.

I love how the outline quilting and the diagonal X's through the squares on the front stand out on back. The white fabric in this quilt is an old ultra soft cotton sheet!

Recent Treasures...

2009-05-22T08:23:00.006-04:00

This old yard chair is so cool, and comfortable! And only $5 at a garage sale!

What is the biggest problem with yard furniture?
Storage of it when not in use right?
Well, this chair takes care of it...

It comes apart into two pieces...

And they fit inside each other for storage!!!

I have a friend who is a woodworker, I am going to see if he can make me a few more and paint them all fun "beachy" colors for our lake house!!!

This cute magazine magazine rack was only $1...

Before and After...

Well I'm back off to the lake for the weekend. I hope you all have a great holiday weekend, and enjoy some R & R. I know I will...

Sheet Quilt Update

2009-05-19T15:24:00.008-04:00

I have made some modifications to my sheet quilt. I took the "orangie-red" out. Although it added the punch it needed, it just did not go in my room. Too orange.

(I took this picture outside and it looks very washed out - sorry!)

So, I then was back to square one of needing something to give it some punch. While cleaning out my linen closet I found the green gingham pillowcases I got on a clearance rack years ago. I bought them for my daughters room, not realizing they were king size cases, and never got around to shortening them. I decided they needed to be sacrificed for my sheet quilt.

I think it adds just enough color and something to contrast all the roses.

Working with all different thread counts and fabric contents on this quilt has been a nightmare. I had to go back and trim every block to square them all up. That then resulted in the quilt being smaller than I had originally planned (but I did not even think about that fact until I had sewn all the blocks together, and trimmed the points off to straighten the sides - too late to just make the rows a little longer and add an extra row - mind fart!!)

So now I have to add a border to make it big enough to fit my bed. I found this perfect aqua sheet yesterday to use as the border.

So excited to have found just what I was looking for (at a good price too - $3.50 for a king size flat sheet - 100% cotton too ) I quickly sewed the 2 long sides on only to find out that I had once again pulled too tight when aligning the border and quilt and ended up with a "ruffely" border.

I HATE THAT!!!

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to prevent this?

I guess I could pin, but that never seems to work so well for me either. So I took both sides off and will have to try again. The problem is that the way the edges of the quilt are trimmed I have all bias squares on the edges and they tend to stretch, and I am afraid that now that I have sewn them on and taken them off I may have pulled them causing another problem.

I am thinking about quilting the entire zig zag section - leaving the backing and batting larger on all sides to accomodate the borders and then sewing them on after the center is quilted to eliminate the pulling effect of the border and the bias sides.

I would really appreciate any suggestion that may be out there in blogland.

Well, I am off this evening to the lake to do some cleaning, planting and general getting the place ready for the season tomorrow. The weather is suppose to be gorgeous, and I will have uninterrupted time all to myself. I am in serious need of that right now!!!

I plan to also bring this book I just started...

And a few of these...

to enjoy the sunset by tonight! On second thought maybe I will pass on the cleaning tomorrow!!!

I will be back tomorrow evening and will worry then about how to finish my quilt.

May Giveaway Day!

2009-05-13T05:10:00.001-04:00

I am going to participate in the May Giveaway Day being organinzed by Sew Mama Sew! Not sure yet what I will be giving away, but I'm sure I will come up with something interesting.

The details on the Giveaway Day are posted on Sew Mama Sew's blog you can go there by clicking on the button above. You too can join in by giving something away yourself or by just checking out all the great stuff others are giving away on that day! Best of luck!

Make sure you come back on May 27, to see what you could win!!

The Pony Party

2009-05-12T20:32:00.006-04:00

My neighbor and good friend Jenny W. always has the best kids birthday parties, but she even outdid herself this year. Her youngest turned 5 and she had a Pony Party. But not just 1 pony but three ponies, and kittens, and bunnies, a pot bellie pig, lambs and a chicken!!!Here is the birthday girl with a soft fluffy bunny.

All the kids got to hold the animals and ride the ponies around the cul-de-sac. What a hoot!!!My friend Jenny V. from Point of View Lens is trying to get a good shot of her little M. riding the pony!

My girls loved the bunnies!Even the adults got into it...

A good time was had by all...

Happy Birthday A!

I Love Spring

2009-05-12T11:14:00.012-04:00

The weather has been so nice the past few days, I have taken a break from my quilt to work out in the garden. DH and I spent all day Saturday, spreading mulch over all my beds. Boy was I sore on Sunday!!!
On Mother's Day I was able to get my pots planted with the help of my beautiful daughter C.
I made these pot holders out of old porch posts I found in someones trash last summer. They are actually quite ingenious, if I don't say so myself.

It is amazing what you can construct from the plumming isle of the home improvement store...The posts are hollow, so I bought some PVC pipe to fit inside the posts, cut it about 3 inches longer than the posts and pounded it into the ground. I also bought a cap for the pipe with a threaded hole on the end and a 4" threaded metal pipe that screws into the cap at the top. I assembled these pieces then slid the porch post over the PVC pipe.The threaded metal pipe sticks out the top of the post, and the drainage hole in bottom of the pot fits perfectly over the pipe. The PVC pipe keeps the post standing straight, and the small metal pipe at the top holds the pot on the post.

I white washed the terra cotta pots to make them look old, add some impatients (my favorite annual, and great in the shade under my crab apple tree) and DONE!!! It looks like the pot would blow off in a strong wind, but they have actually stayed there through straight line winds that pulled some siding off our house!!!

I love the hot pink and green together.
My perennial garden has seen better days, a lot of my stuff has died in the past year and I'm not sure why. But my sweet woodriff has spread like crazy and is more beautiful than ever. I love the tiny white flowers atop the interestingly shaped leaves. It is one of my favorites - beautiful in the spring but also a great ground cover the rest of the summer.
Now I am going out to spray paint so garage sale treasures I got this weekend (since we finally have a day where it is dry and not too windy). I will show you some "before" and "afters" later.

Making Progress, I think...

2009-05-08T10:04:00.007-04:00

The light of day, and a thought at 4 am of where you put the red with blue roses sheet you wanted to use in the quit, can sometimes make all the difference in the world.

I found the sheet I'd been looking for this morning, and whipped up a couple row to see what it would do for the quilt. I think it adds the punch it needed. However, the red may be a little too "orangie". What do you think? If you click on the pictures you can see a larger image that will give you a clearer picutre of what I mean.

I think if I do 3 rows of the red with blue, and 2 rows of the tan with pink (the next most prominent zig zag), and fill in with the more muted white with blue and white with pink, it just may take shape. I also thought if I outline quilt the zig zags, the other more muted ones will become a little more obvious.

Well, I have about 20 more minutes to work, then off the clean out my overflowing linen closet.

I have a feeling I may find some more treasures for this quilt there. My DH tends to shove every sheet, pillowcase, towel, washcloth, etc... into the linen closet in no order what-so-ever. I have found fabric yardage that I washed, dried, and folded, shoved in there in the past. Great way to make a girl think she is loosing her mind... Buy 3 yards of material, wash it, dry it, fold it, go to bed, and then next afternoon when you want to use it, not be able to find it ANYWHERE!!! Only to find it behind a stack of towels a month later!!!

New Quilt for My Bedroom

2009-05-07T22:28:00.001-04:00

I am in the process of redoing our bedroom. You can see the start of it here. I have decided to make a quilt out of various vintage sheets and pillowcases I have collected. I want it to be made from just sheets/pillowcases with red/pink and blue roses. I also have some sheets/pillowcases with yellow, green, and purple, but not sure if I should include them. Too many colors? Too busy? Not enough color/contrast with just the red and blue? Thoughts... suggestions...

I also can't decide what type of pattern/quilt block to use. I want it to feel vintage to go with the vintage linens, so something "scrappy" comes to mind but what? I thought about doing it as a nine patch and joining in Amanda Jeans "quilt-along", but am afraid that since most of the sheets have a white or whiteish background that it would be incredibly boring.

Since starting this post I have begun making it a zig zag quilt, but now that I have half the pieces cut, blocks pieced and laid out on my living room floor, I'm not sure I like it. Any suggestions on how I can fix this or do something else with the blocks I have already cut?

Please excuse the incredibly poor lighting...

And my left foot in the bottom of the picture!!! It's late and I need to get to bed!!!

Get Out the Vote!!!

2009-05-07T17:06:00.005-04:00

My cousin Lori at Fresh Picked Whimsy made one of 16 finalists in an art contest sponsored by Fresh Produce Clothing. Check out her blog - link above and get the details. I would love to see her win, so please go and vote - Peace, Love and Sunshine - is her submission!!! Thanks!

Actually started working on a new quilt Monday...

Will show you pictures tomorrow... on my way to a Track Meet!!!

A Great Weekend!

2009-05-05T13:14:00.005-04:00

This weekend our son P received his First Communion. I took him and his best friend B (along with B's mom) to the park to shoot some pictures in their finnery...

We had so much fun taking pictures of these 2 best friends.

There where the silly ones...

And the serious ones...

The tree in the background was planted in memory of B's Dad who passed away 2 and a half years ago.

Between individual shots of each boy and together shots, I took almost 200 pictures that day alone!!! So I obviously won't bore you with all of them.

The Communion day itself was awesome...

More on that another time though...

Crazy couple of weeks...

2009-04-29T09:58:00.003-04:00

I've been crazy busy the last 2 weeks.

I went from Easter and P's birthday on Sunday to M's Confirmation on Wednesday, to her play on Friday and Saturday (which precipitated out of town guests over the weekend to see her performances). In the midst of all that I had to make costumes and sets for the play, we had 8 soccer games (between the 2 girls), soccer practices, track practices, tumbling classes, faith formation classes for P who is receiving his first communion on sunday, powerwashing and painting our front porch, weeding 4 hugh flower beds, finishing my chair and loveseat that I was recovering, going out of town for a family birthday party, a broken retainer (with a piece of it being swallowed!), getting braces put on, haircuts, and getting my house in some sembelance of order for the first communion party on Sunday.

Needless to say, I have not had much time for blogging or making anything fun to share. I have not even downloaded pictures from any of these things.

But I am still alive and will be back to share some of my accomplishments next week...

A most blessed Easter and Birthday!

2009-04-12T19:16:00.014-04:00

In addition to being Easter, today is our son P's 8th birthday!

His "Big" gift was this "grown up" radio control car that his dad picked out.

Dave and P have been playing with it most of the day (during chargings we have been able to spend some time with them).

If you can see who is holding the remote, you can see who I think the "gift" is actually for!!!

In addition to racing cars, we also spent some quality time together as a family - big Easter breakfast, Church, a glorious Easter Dinner of home made pizza (P's birthday dinner request - I think we now have a new Easter tradition on our hands) and watching a movie together... Cheaper by the Dozen 2. It is a good family movie that always makes me look forward to the lake season that I hope is just around the corner.

We also "tackled" a long overdue project. My cousin Lori has a section of her living room wall - oops now her studio - lucky girl - lined with self portraits (view her post here) of their immediate family and various extended family members and friends. She had asked us about 3 years ago to do ours and send them to her. She even gave us the canvases, and they have sat in my linen closet since then (don't even ask why they have been in the linen closet for 3 years). But with no big plans this Easter Sunday, I decided that since we were all together (and I had just spied the canvases when I was getting clean sheets the other day),that today was the day...

So here in all their glory are our self portraits... Well, just a sneak peak, since I am sending them to her in the mail this week and want there to be some surprise...

I don't think we will win any art awards or any of us be considered the next great "master", but we had fun laughing at ourselves and spending time together... "making memories" as Dave always says. I think Dave is the only one who has an actual nose. That part really stumped us!

Hope you and yours had as great a day as we had!

The Sun has Set on Another Great Vacation

2009-04-06T08:34:00.012-04:00

We arrived home from Florida yesterday morning. We made our best driving time ever (about 18.5 hours) from south of Fort Myers. This same trip normally takes about 20 and has taken upwards of 24 hours depending upon traffic, construction, accidents, rest room stops, etc. So to make it in under 19 was amazing.

We had a wonderful vacation. We started out with 3 days at Disney, which is always fun.

It was the first visit to Disney for our youngest P. Our daughters (M & C) had been there before, but were only 5 and 2 at the time and didn't remember much. The parks were not particularly crowded - especially for spring break time. We made great use of the Fast Pass system, and never waited more than 30 minutes for any ride (our longest wait was for Dumbo - which no one really wanted to go on, but no trip to Disney is complete without!).

Day one was at Epcot - which was our least favorite park. But we managed to find plenty to keep us busy and had lots of fun.

We stayed at All-Star Music in one of their family suites which was just perfect. The kids enjoyed the pool, and the activities in the evening (dance party, Mario WII and movies on the big screen all around the pool.

Day 2 was at Magic Kingdom, complete with fireworks and the lighted parade. This was by far our favorite park.

Day 3 was at Disney Hollywood Studios which we also loved. The conclusion to the Disney portion of our trip was Dave being picked to be an extra in the Indiana Jones Stunt show! You can watch the videos of it here on YouTube. They are quite funny, especially if you know Dave. His nieces will get a big kick out of the "audition" where he put into good use his famous "butt dance" he is asked to do each time his family gets together!

The rest of our wonderful 10 day Florida vacation was spent with my parents at a condo they rent in Estero. We had lots of fun at the pool and the beach. Wave jumping, fishing, para sailing, etc... The weather was perfect! We could not have asked for a better time! Thanks mom and dad for the accommodations and all the great food and company!

Bedroom Redo

2009-03-24T10:25:00.006-04:00

As if I didn't have enough going on trying to get my family room "redone", and leaving for Florida tomorrow, we started a new project this weekend... our bedroom.

To make a long story shorter, we finally moved the treadmill out of our bedroom last week. That required the carpet to be re-stretched. Re-stretching required all the furniture to be moved out. Since all the furniture was out of the room we decided to repaint. Repainting means that my existing bedding no longer matches and needs replaced.

I had learned about the Cath Kidston Home site and the sale they were having from the Anyone Can Quilt Blog a while back. I had checked out the site at the time, and found a few things I liked, but nothing that went with the existing yellow paint color in the room. I went back to the site to see what I could find to match with my new Aqua Blue walls. I liked the idea of adding my favorite color red, especially after I moved this fun chair (that I had bought a few weeks ago that was suppose to be for our lake house) into the room.

So when I went to the site, this was the duvet cover I wanted...

The red roses with the white background, but they did not have it left in queen. So I settled for this one in the red and blue stripe (very light and summery)...

I added some pillow cases in the same stripe and a second duvet cover and pillow cases in this fun red and white polka dot (I LOVE polka dots) for more of a wintery look...

The total for 2 duvet cover and 4 pillowcases came to $126 with shipping. I didn't think that was too bad for nice Cath Kidston bedding.

But then I thought..."they have the one I really want in a king, I could just get that and trim down the sides". So I went back to that page and added the king duvet cover to my order before removing the red and striped one I was going to replace it with, and guess what happened? Some sort of extra discount was applied because I had bought so much and now with 3 duvet covers and 4 pillow cases the total came to $90.50!!

Sooooo... I went shopping some more. Here is what I ended up buying...

(3) Duvet covers (2 queen and 1 king)
(1) Queen bedskirt
(6) Pillowcases

For a Grand Total of $105 with shipping!!!

I know, you are probably thinking who really needs 3 duvet covers, but for the fabric in them alone they are so worth it. I can cut one up and make throw pillows, or maybe curtains, combine 2 of them and make one reversible duvet and use the extra sides to make a quilt... Who knows, the possibilities are endless...

Transformations...

2009-03-21T10:25:00.012-04:00

I am in the middle of transorming some second hand (some possibly even third or forth hand) furniture into some new treasures for me and my family.

It started with this chair I bought several years ago for $10.

I removed the ruffely skirt, and it immediately transformed the look of the chair...

I whip stitched some cute coordinating striped fabric (very nice Robert Allen home dec cotton for only $4/yard) to one side of the cushions and then sewed it on with the machine.

I found this gorgeous pre-washed velvet fabric on line (regularly $36/yard - I got it for only $9/yard!) and ordered a swatch to see how it matched with my chair.

The match could not be more perfect. Here is the swatch pinned to the back of the cushion. I ordered a few yards and am going to put it on the back of each cushion the way I put the strip on the front. Now I will have 2 different looks (summer -stripe, winter - velvet) with the same chair.

The velvet fabric also goes great with the love seat I am also working on, and ties the whole room together.

Here is a sneak peak...

Original $29 love seat.

Removed the skirt.

Covered with a chocolate brown slipcover.

Will cover the gold back cushions withe the same velvet I showed you earlier.

Well, what do you think?

I have new cushion material ordered for both pieces and the velvet. Hope to finish these after spring break. Will post pictures of both when finished.

CHAMPIONS!!

2009-03-20T13:33:00.005-04:00

M's team won their cheerleading competition last night. They did an awesome job!!

Needless to say, I think she had a great birthday yesterday!

the video of their routine is posted on YouTube.

Happy Birthday!

2009-03-19T10:12:00.008-04:00

This beautiful girl turns 14 today.

She is as sweet, kind and considerate (most times anyway) as she is beautiful. We celebrated her birthday on Tuesday, because we would not have time today as she is competing in her city wide cheerleading contest this evening. GO EAGLES!!!

Isn't she cute...

Her present was this phone...
She has been asking for her own cell phone for over a year, but has also been very understanding when each holiday has passed with no cell phone in the pile of presents. Needless to say she was extatic when she heard the box with the phone "ringing" (the ringtone was her brother, sister and myself singing happy birthday) while she was opening it!

Happy Birthday M!

Here's to another year of fun, happiness, good health and many many good memories!!

Over the Rainbow

2009-03-15T11:39:00.008-04:00

Yesterday we went to the annual "River Greening". The fire department turns the St. Mary's river green in honor of St. Patrick's Day and has an all day family fun fest.

The river was quite swollen and muddy due to the recent flooding in the area, so the green dye disipated quite quickly, but I loved how the sun hitting the green stream formed a rainbow!

The girls did not want to go this year. C our middle child's response was... "I don't want to go watch all those Amish people with their ukuleles". I think she meant Irish people with their bagpipes, but I could be wrong. Maybe there were some rogue Amish people playing ukuleles last year that really frightened her. I must say, I would be frightened if I saw that too!!!

We just took P and a friend of his and we had a great time...The boys participated in the Lucky Charms eating contest
We ate Irish Stew
The boys attempted to pull a firetruck
And we even got to see and hear the "Amish Ukulele" players...

Quite Taxing

2009-03-05T11:30:00.008-05:00

It has been a "taxing" few days. Literally... trying to get our taxes done - I am the "accountant" in the family - that is scary!!!

And when the numbers get to be too much, I have been taking a break by sorting, folding (using this method - thanks Amanda Jean for inspiring me to get this started), and trying to organize my fabric stash.

Although both are "taxing" projects, and I have miles to go on both, I have at least taken the first step by starting them!!

I did steal a little time between these two projects to start a new quilt project. I will only give you a peak of it. I am still playing with the pattern (I am developing), colors, layout, etc. but a put a few sample blocks together into a small wall hanging or pillow (haven't decided which yet). I am hoping to develop my "vision" into a my first full blown quilt pattern. Keep your fingers crossed!

A Weekend Away

2009-03-04T08:40:00.009-05:00

My DH and I spent the weekend with his high school (yes, I said high school) buddies. This small group of guys has remained friends for all these years.

We got together at the "farm". One of his friends married into this "farm" that consists of 23 acres, skeet shooting range, a pond, trails, pens for live birds (for hunting), woods, etc... There are actually crops (soy beans and feed corn) that are grown on the property, but that part is leased out to a real farmer.

It was a couples only weekend, and we had lots of fun reminiscing,

playing games,

laughing,

eating,

shooting,

and drinking.

A good time was had by all. We already have the date for next year's get-together planned...

A Silk Purse Out of a Sow's Ear...

2009-02-25T16:07:00.012-05:00

I found this old work table on one of my thrift store runs about a year ago. I paid a whole whopping dollar (yes $1) for it and they guy at the thrift store even delivered it for me at no extra charge! Please ignore the mess around the table!

It has been sitting in my garage waiting for me to prime and paint it. I am in the process of converting part of our living room into my studio and wanted to see how it would fit, so we moved it into the house last weekend. But the thought of keeping it in its current condition - "woodgrain" laminated top, and ugly 70's gold pealing paint (until the weather warms up enough to spray paint it) was depressing.

So, armed with aluminum foil, batting, fabric, ric rac, ball fringe, Velcro and a staple gun, I went to work transforming my "new" work table...

I designed the whole table to be an ironing surface to tackle those large projects or quick seam pressing while sewing, and a cutting and sewing table. The first thing I did was cover the laminate with aluminum foil . This prevents the laminate from melting and helps to reflect the heat back to the underside of the item being pressed/ironed...

Next, I covered the foil with 2 layers of cotton batting...

Some cute white and red polka dot fabric was put on top. I tried out the ironing function of the table to get all the wrinkles out - by the way it works great! It was the easiest ironing I have ever done!

I stapled the fabric and batting to the underside of the top.

Then trimmed the extra fabric and batting and tucked it between the edge of the top and the table.

It gave a nice finished edge...

I sewed up a cute skirt with some coordinating red and white and aqua and white polka dot fabrics, and the black ball fringe and ric rac I was gifted with the other day...

I Velcroed the skirt to the table.

And here you go, the finished table...

I have a custom Lucite quilting table on order, along with a transparent custom cutting mat to fit the entire left side of the table (so I don't accidentally cut my ironing pad but can still see my pretty polka dots).

I am thrilled with how it turned out!

For Me?! You Shouldn't Have!!!

2009-02-23T15:48:00.008-05:00

I received a present yesterday from my friend Jenni V. She is "destashing" her studio, and asked if I could help her list some stuff on Etsy and Ebay. For my "help" she gifted me with some of her stash!

I love ball fringe and rick rack, so I couldn't ask for a nicer gift!

I will have to now come up with something fun to do with them! My daughter M. whoes room is done in black and pink, has been eyeing them. I'm sure I will come up with something fun for her room!

(this is the quilt I made her for her new room last year)

Jenni recentlty started her own blog. You can check it out at Point of View Lens. Go check it out!

Complete!

2009-02-22T10:53:00.003-05:00

I finished the quilt for my niece last weekend. I am very happy with the way it turned out...

I did both striped and free motion quilting on it.

I did a pieced binding that I have been dying to try after seeing it on another quilt.

And I think the back is almost as cute as the front. I hope she will enjoy it!

Major Vintage Score!

2009-02-12T13:49:00.010-05:00

On my way to watch my son at his swimming lessons...

(sorry about the blurriness of the photo - It was very humid in the natatorium, and my lens kept fogging up and I was in the bleachers and had to zoom and then crop photo not a really good mix, but he is so cute I had to post it anyway)

I stopped at one of my local thrift stores. I saw this cute blue double breasted all weather retro coat - with zip out red "fur" lining.

There was no tag ob it so I asked how much it was. The sales clerk said that most of the coats were $1 today!!! So of course I had to have it... and I had to see what else I could find.

So I found this spring coat... also for $1...

And this heavy winter wool coat... again for $1...

And last by not least, this spring coat... you guessed it, $1...

The last one is too small for me but one of my (skinny) friends said she would love it! She said she would pay me double as a finders fee!!! I'm making money now!!! So I will really have gotten 3 new/old coats for only $2!!! I just need to find a coupon for the dry cleaners and I am good to go in my retro outerwear!!!!

Fun "Neighborhood" Quilt!

2009-02-11T07:00:00.002-05:00

Here is what I've been working on...

This is the quilt front...Front close up...

Quilt back....
I loved the fabric with the little houses and worked the quilt around it! I hope to start on the quilting today, but since my poor house has been neglected the past few days, it may have to wait until I clean the bathrooms, put away 3 baskets of clean laundry, and vacuum some floors.

I really should go to the grocery store too! I went to Joann's to get batting yesterday instead of going to the grocery store!! I'm sure I am the only mom in the world that choose shopping for quilting supplies over food for her children! Please don't call child protectice services on me - we have plenty of bread, milk, soup and peanut butter to last a few days!

Sneak Peak...

2009-02-10T09:02:00.003-05:00

Just a peak at something I am working on...

It is going to be for my nieces birthday!!

Off to get batting - I think I'll just get a whole roll and not have to keep running to get batting for every project!!!

Great Weekend!

2009-02-09T12:40:00.009-05:00

What a great weekend!

Friday, my husband and I had a special "date" night with our youngest (son - 7) and took him to the movies to see Pink Panther 2. Movie was ok, but just spending the evening with my 2 favorite guys made it great. Watching my son laugh at all the corny jokes and stunts made me laugh just as hard!

Saturday, we went to Indianapolis to the book launch of my cousins new children's book.

(Lori is front right, the author Anne is back right, our middle daughter C is front left, followed by me, oldest daughter M and hubby Dave)

As I mentioned in Friday's post, she illustrated her first kids book and we are so excited for her! We spent the night at their house and laughed and talked till late! She gave us a special signed and numbered copy and I bought several to give as gifts and donate to the kids libraries at school!

(here is the "house" of the author where the launch party was held!!)

Sunday before heading back home, Lori and I went to a few resale and antique stores in her hometown of Carmel. We always have so much fun when we do this...

This was my favorite booth - I love how all the kitchen stuff is grouped together by color!

You Go Girl!!!

2009-02-06T15:51:00.005-05:00

I would like to give a big "shout out" to my incredibly talented cousin Lori! I know I have blogged about her before, she is the one who got me to start blogging in the first place. Lori recently finished illustrating her first book! It is being released in the Indianapolis area tomorrow and nationally on Valentines Day! I am going to the launch party tomorrow and will get my own personal autographed copy of the book.

If you have a second, pop on over to her blog and congratulate her on her success. If you want to pre-order your own copy of the book, you can click on the picture below...

Success couldn't happen to a more deserving person!!

Finished!

2009-01-21T14:01:00.007-05:00

I finally finished the "tree house" quilt I was making for my husband for Christmas. Better late than never I always say!

I finished it last week before I left for Florida to visit my parents.

I made the entire thing from my "stash"...

It gave me an opportunity to practice my "free motion quilting". I am loving free motion quilting! It is like drawing with a sewing machine!!! I'm not great at it yet, but can see a great improvement from the start of this quilt to the end. I can't wait to do another one!

Time to Reflect...

2008-12-28T08:41:00.003-05:00

The end of the year always seems to be a time to reflect on what we have accomplished, and all that we would like to accomplish. In honor of that, I am sharing this that I saw this over on Lori's blog. I had fun going through the list and thought I would share it. You are suppose to cut and paste this to your blog and bold all the things you have done. It was interesting to see how many of the things I have done (64 out of 100 is not so bad!), and how many I would still like to do.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Feel free to do it yourself and share with your friends. I hope the upcoming new year brings you all the joys you are hoping for.

I'm BACK...

2008-12-18T08:09:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I've actually been back from Malaysia for over a month now, but just now getting around to blogging. Things have been a little crazy, with trying to recover from some serious jet lag, getting thrown right into Thanksgiving, and now Christmas!

For anyone who entered the giveaway I had posted about before leaving for Malaysia - I've not forgotten about it. I will still pick a winner sometime soon and let you know who it is and get their gift on the way.

I was prompted to blog today when I got an email from tipjunkie that my vintage fabric covered Christmas ornaments were going to be featured!

I have had lots of visits in the past few days from people who have seen them on Tip Junkie! Thanks for all who have stopped by to visit. Sorry I haven't had much new creative stuff right now to blog about, but please stop back by after the first of the year when I hope to get back into the swing of things.

If I don't manage to post before the "big day", wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas!

Malaysia

2008-11-01T08:12:00.008-04:00

Yes, I arrived safely in Malaysia.

After a very long flight. Actually 4 flights - FW to Detroit, Detroit to Tokyo, Tokyo to Singapore, Singapore to Penang. Total travel time was about 34 hours!!

Penang is an island off the western coast of Malaysia.

There is a 12 hour time difference from here to home, so contacting family has been quite a challenge.

I have been very tied up with the work I was sent here to do and had not had a chance to see much of my surroundings until today. Here are some pictures I took today...

I could have just stayed at the beach all day!

Only for my 7 year old son would I hold a large python and malaysian pit vipers!!!

The butterfly garden was amazing!

Some interesting creatures we saw throughout the day!

Being in a "jungle" the flowers were beautiful!

I will be here another 2 weeks, so if I get a chance to see some other sites, I will share them with you.

Bon Voyage

2008-10-23T16:38:00.004-04:00

Things have been very crazy in the last 24 hours. I got a call yesterday afternoon from my boss asking if I could go to Malysia (yes, as in the country Malysia in southeast Asia) to do some work for a client!

To make a long story short... I am going to Malysia, and will be leaving this coming Sunday. I will be gone for 3 weeks! It is a worldwind of activity here trying to get everything in place to leave that quickly for that long a period of time. I have never been away from home for this long before, and am a little nervous. But I am also excited! I love a new adventure.

Travel time takes about 36 hours! So when I leave on Sunday I will not arrive at my destination until Tuesday morning (there is also a 12 hour time change to deal with)!!!

So I will be away for a while. I will try to blog some while I am gone, and show you pics of where I am, but I doubt there will be any "craftyness" going on for the next few weeks.

All that being said, my giveaway/contest is on hold. I will repost it again when I return. Please keep leaving me your suggestions - I will eventually clean up my workspace, it just won't be in the timeframe I had originally hoped! If you have already left messages, you are already entered, but there will be no drawing until I get back.

Spare a Square Scrap Challenge Complete

2008-10-20T10:00:00.005-04:00

I finally finished my "Spare a Square Scrap Challenge" that I signed up for over at JC Handmade. I had to make "something" using these scraps of fabric.

I have to tell you I was really stumped, and had a hard time with this. Being that the pieces were all differnt sizes and patterns and colors, my mind was swirling. I had houses on the brain, due to my participation in another quilt along, so here is what I came up with...
To me Home is where you feel comfortable. You are filled with things you love and everything doesn't have to match. Your neighborhood is flled with a variety of different people, whoes personalities meld together to make a place feel like home. That is what inspired me to make this pillow out of the fabrics that seemingly didn't go together. They were all fabrics that somoeone loved and were a part of that person.
I think they made a perfect neighborhood and Home!
I raw edge appliqued the houses on the pillow to add to the imperfect design. Because real HOMES are like that. Only brand new, unlived in show houses are perfect and don't have any cosmetic blemishes, places where the paint needs touched up, a lawn that needs mowed, a bike left outside, a roof needing attention, etc... and I wanted my homes and neighborhood to reflect that. This project also gave me an opportunity to try free motion quilting on my new sewing machine. The front quilting is a little too "busy", but for a first shot, I think it is ok. The back was actually just a piece I was practicing on, and I kind of liked all the different designs that I was trying, and ended up cutting it up and using it as the back for the pillow.
I think the pillow turned out quite cute. I you want to see more pictures, or pictures of what others came up with (some are really amazing!), go to this Flickr Group.

First Ever Giveaway and Contest

2008-10-19T18:37:00.017-04:00

Well, I'm having my first ever giveaway, and contest rolled into one!

I am once again trying to make some sense out of my sewing/craft room. Actually, I never really finished it last year when my hubby and I cleaned out a whole big room in the basement to consolidate all my crafting/sewing into one workspace. We had it about 80% done, and had some good things going on, like my peg wall next to my sewing area...

But before finishing, I started working on projects, and one thing led to another and entropy took over, and a small hurricane, one tornado, etc... and now I have a huge mess on my hands again.
So my goal is to get it totally cleaned up and organized - and the real goal is to have some soft of system to keep it that way! (ha, ha, ha!) I think if I can show hubby that I can keep it clean, I may be able to grab some space upstairs in the daylight instead of being banished to the basement! Don't get me wrong, I like my cave. While I was in Florida visiting my parents last winter, Dave had some people come and install an extra heat vent, and an electric baseboard heater by my sewing machine to keep my tootsies warm. He also had some additional lighting installed. As I said, I like my cave, but having some natural sunlight and not doing the steps all the time sure would be nice.

So here is where my giveaway comes in...

Do you have a suggestion for keeping my space neat and clean?

Do you have a craft or sewing room that you are proud of?

Do you have a system for organizing your fabric stash, craft supplies, etc... that works?
If so, then enter the giveaway in one of 4 ways...

Leave me a comment with your suggestion for controlling the chaos - you will receive one entry into the giveaway.
Leave me a comment with a link to the page where you have blogged about your space or system (or your fliker, photobucket, picasa, etc. photo site) in a comment so that we can all see it and be inspired by it! - you will receive 2 entries into the giveaway for a link to pictures of your space or system.
You can also enter your link, by clicking on the Mister Linky icon at the bottom of this post. These will also generate 2 entries into the giveaway.
If you put a link on your site back to my blog about the giveaway, then you will receive 2 additional entries.

All entries must be received by October 31.

The winners will be randomly selected from all entries received.

The first place winner will receive 6 fat quarters in a variety of these vintage sheets I recently picked up, and the second place winner will receive 4.
Now for the contest part...

A contest means that there is a competition, and someone wins. In order to win the contest, you have to have what is, in my humble opinion, the best workspace for me! I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and in this case, I am the beholder, so I get to be both judge and jury!

Keep in mind, that all work is being done on a strict - "don't spend any money" budget, so big expensive professional studios are not what I am looking for. I like to see those, but I am looking for cheap and easy ways to make my space functional, fun, organized and easy to keep it that way.

The winner of the contest will also win 6 fat quarters of vintage sheet material, and be featured on my blog page!

In addition, if I incorporate your system, or use your pictures as inspiration for my space, I will send you 2 fat quarters.

I hope I have provided you with some motivation to share with me your spaces. You know I must be desperate to share with you the before pictures of my current space.

Now get out there and take some pictures and let us see them. If you have a previous post about your space or your methods of organization in your sewing room, you can link to those too - they do not have to be new posts.