Lucky AND Thrifty!

Last weekend I was heading back from the Saturday donut run and ran across a sign that said "Storage Sale".  I figured, "Why not?"

Can I tell you this lady had some amazing stuff stashed away in the storage garage?  It was a good thing I didn't have much cash on me!

This little treasure caught my eye right away.  While I was looking at it, the seller walked over and told me it was $1.  A buck?  SOLD!

It started out a bit rough with a lot of grime and tape that looked like it had been on there for a decade.  I think the idea was to hold the glass still while it was being stored.

I didn't even know it had a hinged top until I got home and was showing my great deal off to my husband.  Double score!  I have been loving terrariums FOR.EV.ER and just couldn't ever hack up the money. 

I peeled off as much of the tape as I could but it just shredded everywhere.  That's when I broke out the razor blade.

My other weapons of choice were my trustee Shaklee Basic H Degreaser and Window cleaners.  I love this stuff!  It works as well as other cleaners that I've used but is cheap, cheap, cheap!  Plus,  they are totally safe to use around a house full of crazy, mouth and hands on everything kids.

Look at the grime that started coming off once I sprayed the whole thing down with the Degreaser.  Ewe!

And tada!  Look at how clean and pretty she looks.  For now, I just stuck my little African Violet in it but I think I can do so  much with it!

When I actually get around to pulling out my fall decor, this might just need to be part of it.

 

 For now, it gets a starring spot in my living room since I'm just a wee bit proud of my new find. :)

I'm off to do more crafting this weekend, I hope.  That is if my kids, husband, and job allow.

It just might be a bit of a challenge.

Linking to:

Fingerprints on the Fridge
Remodelaholic 
Cookie Nut Creations 
Tatertots and Jello 
Just a Girl 
The Shabby Nest 
Be Different Act Normal 
Nifty Thrifty Things 
The DIY Showoff 
Between Naps on the Porch 
Dittle Dattle 
The DIY Home Sweet Home Project 
Home Savvy A to Z 
Boogieboard Cottage 
Sassy Sites 
Today's Creative Blog 
Coastal Charm

What a Mess!

For the last two days SOLID I have been working on filing. I'm sure you're asking, "Heather, why would a little filing take you two days?" 

The answer would be....I haven't done any filing in over two years.  This is embarassing to admit, but some of the papers were from 2008.  They were older than my youngest child!  Also, I still haven't actually filed anything.  All I've managed to get done is separating the paperwork into trash, shred, and file piles.

Today, I've been working on getting the massive shred pile actually shredded.  See that full bag there?  Well I actually ended up with THREE of those.  Pathetic, right?  I filled a tall kitchen trash can with the trash pile.  Good news is, the filing pile should only take me an hour, ok maybe two, to complete.

 

What, you may ask, prompted this clean out and organization?  Well, remember the boys closet we needed to create.  That was where I stored my stash of papers I just couldn't be bothered to file.

This picture is from a year ago.  Imagine the now banished pile spreading across the entire shelf and 3/4 of the way to the top of the next one.  I also had another pile in an upstairs hideaway. 

People like me should really never have closets, the temptation to stockpile crap there is just way.too.tempting! 

Well, everything is now shredded and cleaned up so I'm not crazy ornery anymore. I really, really, really, hate anything associated with paperwork. My family has been tiptoeing around me for 2 days. 

Tomorrow I get to concentrate on some more fun things that are actually getting done around here.  Plus, I'm publicly committing that I'll get the filing completed within the next week.  I also never want it to get that out of control again...wonder how long my new commitment will last?  Honestly!

Rollin'

I'm on a roll! 

I have caught the sewing bug and just can't stop. Actually, I want to get all of my projects requiring a sewing machine done so I don't have to keep putting the machine away and then getting it out again.

I really wish I had a permanent sewing station.:(

These projects have seriously piled up!

The one I'm sharing today is for Max...my 2 year old.  He has seriously outgrown the infant hooded towels we are still using for him.  Ya know those really thin, crummy ones?  What's a mom to do?  Make a bigger, better one, of course.

I got some of these great, sturdy towels as a gift when my oldest son was born almost 8 yrs. ago and my oldest two still use them!  It was Max's turn for one.

I looked through a few tutorials and also looked closely at the ones I had to figure out how to put these together.  There are A LOT of different ways to make these.  One of the cutest I found was from Notes from the Patch.  

I put this together in a way that made the most sense to me as a beginner at sewing.  It's pretty basic at this point, but as my experience increases I hope to cutify (I know it's not a word) future attempts.

WARNING:  This post is heavy on pictures.

What you need:

1/2 of a hand towel (1 makes two hooded towels).

1 bath towel.

Cute ribbon or strip of material.

A sewing machine and some thread. ;)

Begin by cutting your hand towel in half lengthwise.

The next step is to sew your ribbon or strip of material (on both sides)  along the short side of your hand towel.

Next, you are going to make your hood.  Fold you hand towel in half again with your ribbon on the inside.  I cut a curve along the top and then zig zag stitched along the curve to make my hood.  Make sure you back track at each end so this little hood will hold up to crazy kids and washings.

You see that edge running along the left side of the hood in the above picture?  Well, I cut that off so that it would be easier to sew the hood to the bath towel.  You won't even see this edge when I'm done.  Now there aren't as many layers for my needle to go through.

Here it is again sitting next to the other half of the hand towel without the edge removed

 

Here's my hood all ready to attach.  Remember, the left side will be the one attached to the bath towel.  The edge with the ribbon will be the front of the hood.

I know like is  should be the opposite.  Just trying to save you the hassle of unpicking things!

 I then pinned the center of the hood and the bath towel and lined the pins up to make sure that the hood is where it should be.  Put your right sides facing each other.

You can see that there is a curve to the hood.  I ended up pinning down one half of the hood and sewing it to the bath towel with a straight stitch.  I then continued slowly attaching the other half of the hood by lining it up and continuing my straight stitch.  

I then went back over it again with a zig zag stitch, backtracking on the ends, to make sure this sucker wasn't coming off any time soon.

Here's a picture of what the hood looks like on the inside.

 

You can see how this all worked out.  Pretty awesome...I honestly can't believe I'm making some of the things I currently am!  I've only been sewing for 2 weeks so it still shocks me what can be done with my own two hands.

Alright, I'm done giving  myself a big ol' pat on the back.

Here's my crazy Max with his new towel.

He held still for about 15 seconds while I snapped a pic and then he was outa there!

Did I mention that sitting still for him is pretty much im.poss.ible?

I hoped this little tutorial helped some of you out.  I think I may be making some more of these. 

Of course, the new kiddo will need one and they would be great for baby gifts!

Heck, I want one!

Linking to:

Remodelaholic
Fingerprints on the Fridge 
Jane Deere Blog 
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating 
Just a Girl 
Tatertots and Jello 
Gallery of Favorites 
The DIY Showoff 
Between Naps on the Porch 
The Tattered Tag 
Dittle Dattle 
The DIY Home Sweet Home Project
Home Savvy A to Z 
Sisters of the Wild West 
Home Stories A 2 Z 
Not Just a Housewife 
Tip Junkie 
Blue Cricket Design 
Savvy Southern Style 
Someday Crafts 
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Delightful Order 
Somewhat Simple 
House of Hepworths 
Tidy Mom 
Addicted 2 Decorating 
Cookie Nut Creations

Graduation and the Hose

Wanna know why I have a high chair in front of my house? 

Well, of course, it's my new yard decor....I'm trying to start a trend.

Just kidding!  Max has now graduated from the high chair to a booster at the table and this great piece is heading into storage. 

First though, a good scrubbing was in order.

This sucker was soooo gross that it needed to be hosed off.  I sprayed it on high for a good 10 min., and yes, I do clean it regularly.  Ya just wouldn't know it because he's such a gross little bugger!

Does anyone else ever need to haul things out of the house because they are so disgusting you have to use a hose? 

Please say yes so I'm not totally embarassed!

Pillows Galore!

I sewed for the very first time on Saturday! 

Plus, I don't think it looks like a 1st grader's work which is what I was worried about. 

I made two matching pillow covers based off of the tutorial by Marissa over at Rae Gun Ramblings.  I found the tutorial by scoping out Pinterest.  Not only is this my first sewing project, but it's my first copied Pinterest pin.

This is an envelope cover which was really needed to cover up the satiny (sp?) pillows that had drool marks from my precious 2 yr. old boy that would.not.wash.out.  Why does he feel like he needs to lick pillows?

 I love that I can pull these covers off and wash them to get rid of the inevitable stains that will happen.

I honestly didn't trust the claim that these were super easy to make.  However, this was pretty true considering this first timer had limited trouble whipping these up!

I had so much fun doing it, I might have to make more that I can change out with the seasons!

I then figured I could use the accent fabric that I had chosen for guest room accessories and turn it into pillow covers.

These were a bit more challenging because the fat quarters I had weren't quite big enough for the pillows I needed to cover.  I did some mental gymnastics and figured out how to sew a border and rework the original tutorial so I could get the following...

The pink flowery one is a bit big and I may fix that someday.  MIGHT!

All in all, I'm loving my first sewing projects and am excited to do even more!

On a side note, I had a 31 week ultrasound on boy #4 today and we discovered that he IS-NOT head down.  This little bugger needs to turn before he's due.  It would be just my luck to have a cesarean section on my fourth and final pregnancy.  Huh!

Linking to:

Home Savvy A to Z
Between Naps on the Porch 
Not Just a Housewife 
Today's Creative Blog 
Pinkapotamus 
A Diamond in the Stuff 
Savvy Southern Style 
Blue Cricket Design 
Handy Man, Crafty Woman 
House of Hepworths 
Delightful Order 
Remodelaholic 
Fingerprints on the Fridge 
Jane Deere Blog 
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating 
Addicted 2 Decorating 
Just a Girl 
Tatertots and Jello 
The Shabby Nest 
The DIY Showoff 
Dittle Dattle 
The DIY Home Sweet Home Project 
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Tidy Mom 
Beneath My Heart

The Pregnant Pig and Her Lemon Craving

I saw these over at Less Cake More Frosting and just couldn't let go. My pregnant self has been craving lemon bars for about a month now...just one of those things, ya know.  

The first recipe I found was from Ina Garten (of Barefoot Contessa fame).  It definitely looked great, but a bit complicated.

That's when Ellie G saved me!  She had an easy recipe with fail safe tips and her picture made these look sooo good.....so I made em!

These are my attempt, and an awfully good one, if I do say so myself. ;)

 I think I ate about half of the pan.  Ok, I KNOW I ate half the pan.  I did say I've been craving lemon bars for about a month now, right?  Ellie G is definitely not helping me keep my weight gain under control!!!

Even my husband, who is not a huge fan of citrus flavored desserts had to admit they were pretty stinkin good.

If you want these as bad as I did, and believe me, you should, go grab the recipe from Less Cake More Frosting.  Then we can all make pigs of ourselves together, please?!

Linking to:

All the Small Stuff
At the Well
The Thrifty Home 
Blue Cricket Design
Someday Crafts
House of Hepworths 
Tatertots and Jello 
Jane Deere Blog

Closet Creation

We are making a little progress toward getting my two oldest boys organized in their own room. Honestly, it is still a pig sty most of the time! At least their closet is organized and they have been severely threatened that it.must.stay.clean. We'll see how long my threats last. I'm guessing about two weeks. :)

This is how the cabinet looked before we decided to tackle it.

This is what we did.

My husband ended up adding a rod in the top space for hanging a few clothes.  They are still 6 and 7 so really don't need a full length hanging space.

We decided not to move their old dresser to the new room for several reasons.

Instead, I looked all over for bins to house all of their clothes and couldn't find any that were reasonably priced.  I really wanted some wire baskets.  After researching the cost, I decided it was a little out of our price range.

 I ended up with these shallow plastic baskets that I found at the dollar store.  They were, of course, $1.00 each and I bought 7 of them.  Each boy has a color assigned to them so they know where their clothes are supposed to go.

The plastic drawers are being used for underwear, socks, and the miscellaneous items needed for whatever sport they are involved with.  The basket holds shoes.

This should work while the boys are young and their clothing sizes are still relatively small.  I know that when they get older and end up with more stuff we'll have to build an actual closet but for now..... we're set.  Plus, we did it for about $25.00.  Not too shabby, at least in my book.

Linking to:

Home Savvy A to Z
Between Naps on the Porch
Pinkapotamus 
Home Stories A2Z 
Sassy Sites 
Today's Creative Blog 
The DIY Showoff 
Savvy Southern Style 
Not Just a Housewife 
House of Hepworths 
Tatertots and Jello

I Copied

Ok, ok, so yeah, I copied! I have been dying over all of the cornice tutorials out there. Especially all of the ones done with foam board and I just had to try it out for myself.

This is my little tutorial on what I did that seems to have worked.  Fingers crossed!

I took a little trip down to my local HD for some standard foam insulaton that cost me about 3 bucks a piece.

 

I used what was close at hand, which happened to be the miter saw that my husband had been using on another project, to cut it to size.

These were my other construction materials T-pins, standard nails, and hot glue.

I used the nails basically because I knew I would run out of T-pins with this project and didn't want to run back to the craft store.

My cornice was going to be pretty wide so I actually had to join two pieces together to make the front piece.  I did this 1st, by hot gluing the joint and 2nd, pushing the nails into the foam to "stitch" it together.

Here you can see me pushing the nails in at an angle.  I'd push one in from the left and then rotate and put one in on the right.

It seems to have done the trick.

I basically did the same thing for the sides.  I wasn't worried too much about the whole thing pulling apart because the material is so lightweight.

I also figured that the batting and material I planned on using would reinforce everything.

I did put a very thin layer of batting between the fabric and foam.

The upholstery I used for the cornice is the green swirly piece in this pic.  The other two fabrics, I plan to use as accents.

I also ended up  having to piece together the material.  I did this at my corner joints with some nice sticky iron on tape.  No sewing here!  At least not yet.

Here is how the cornice looks done and put up. 

I'm impressed with how well it worked.  I secured it to the walls with corner brackets.  One side of the bracket was screwed into the dry wall and the side for the cornice was, again, secured with T-pins.  I'm learning to love those little buggers.

I think I'm going to make some panels for the window too, but I couldn't wait to show you the progress so far.

I don't think I mentioned why this room is getting some updates.

It's all in preparation for the newbie coming in about 3 months.  His big brothers (who used to have this room) got moved down to the basement, and for now this is going to be my guest bedroom. 

However, soon it will be my 2 year old's room/guest room.  This will all happen when the new one moves into the crib (I usually keep my newborn in a cradle in my room for awhile).

I'll then be redecorating just a bit.  CrAZy eh?  What I love about the cornice is that I can swap out the fabric VERY easily to make it more little boy appropriate!

Want to see something hil.ar.i.ous?  Here's the rest of the room.

I have to get the rest of the boy stuff out, make the bed, of course and swap out accessories.  I can't believe I'm showing you this picture.;) 

This all needs to be done in the next 4 days in time for company coming.

Does anyone else leave these kind of projects 'til the last minute?

Something's got to happen with these shelves!  I hear spray paint calling my  name!

Right now it seems like we have about 4 projects going on at once.  Eeek!

Busy is good...I guess.

Linking to: 

Be Different Act Normal 
Sisters of the Wild West 
Between Naps on the Porch 
Home Savvy A to Z 
Home Stories of A2Z
Today's Creative Blog
A Diamond in the Stuff 
Savvy  Southern Style 
Blue Cricket Design 
Someday Crafts
House of Hepworths
Delightful Order
Just a Girl