Flower Power

This summery spectacle is for my friend Sara. I really like how this one turned out, hope she does as well!

Thanks for all your well wishes for Sydney. She is doing much better. She has been such a little trooper. Yesterday she could finally see out of both eyes, so we celebrated with a little painting.

Last night I decided I just didn't have the right bag to use for my meeting this morning, so of course I stayed up way past my bedtime to get this done. It worked like a charm!

So, my big news - I am planning to volunteer at our local YWCA Emergency Shelter and teach some classes on making stuff. My first class will be in August and will be on making cards (not exactly my specialty, but luckily I know where to look for inspiration!!). I hope to also do classes on altering and embelishing clothes, making gifts, and decorating on a limited budget. I am really excited about teaching (which really surprises me!). I've been thinking about volunteering for a while and decided to just jump in and do something. I e-mailed the YWCA and told them what I like to do and this is what we came up with. I can't imagine being in the position these ladies are in, but hopefully I can help them learn something new, have a little fun and just try to think about something else for a couple hours. I know having a creative outlet has been a life and sanity saver for me many times, hopefully it will be for these women too. I'm sure I'll be talking more about all this as I plan the classes and will probably have a complete meltdown when the time comes - but for now I am just excited.

Whale of a thrift

I can't seem to concentrate on much today, so I thought I would share some thrifted fabric with you. This was one of those gasp/clutch/make sure no one else saw it kind of moments. Do you see those adorable whales!! 3 yards of it for $3. The plaid begged to come with. Coordinated fabric at the thrift store - how could I resist! Someday these need to decorate a nautical themed bedroom for a little boy, don't you think? Not that we have one of those, and not that we are even planning for one right now, I'm just saying someday.

And so, that's all I got today. My mind is all over the place today, for lots of reasons. 1. My house is a disaster and I just don't really care. 2. My daughter seems to be extremely allergic to mosquito bites. What we thought was a small bite above her eye last night turned into an eye swollen shut over night. And one hand that is almost twice the size of the other. I feel so bad for her, and nothing seems to be working to take the swelling down. Ever try to put ice on a (almost) 2 year old's eye. Not happening. The dr.'s office says to come in if it doesn't improve in 3 days. 3 days!! I'm afraid to take her anywhere for free someone will call the cops - she looks horribly beat up. I hate it when my kid is sick!!! And 3. I have a meeting tomorrow morning regarding a volunteer opportunity to teach crafty stuff. I am so excited and so nervous!!! I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. Take care!!

Watercolor Exhibit

I finished my watercolor class last night. Here is what I painted. Please be kind, I am no pro!



Not so good, but I only had two nights to work on it. It was fun to devote some time just to painting, obviously I need to do that some more! I need LOTS more practice. All in all, a very good time. The class was through the school district's community education class. Find one in your town and try it!!

Zippered Pouch

Trying my hand at some zippered pouches...

Plenty more to come!

Got zippers? These are from my box of zippers for 50 cents score.

Kid Stuff

I was cleaning out a pile in my craft room and came across a pattern for an infant hooded sweatshirt. I had cut it out last year sometime. It was pretty small - 12 months - but looked pretty big. I figured it wouldn't hurt to sew it together, if it didn't fit Sydney I would give it away. I got everything done but the hood and decided I liked it just the way it was! I added some bright floral fabric around the edge (bias tape rules!). I was really going to try adding buttons, but I couldn't find any that looked right. I went with velcro instead (behind the little tabs). I think it turned out pretty cute.

The bottom rippled edge bothers me though. I even took the time to go to my sister's house to serge the edge, but it didn't help the ripple problem much. Next time maybe I will continue the bais tape along the bottom too. Are there any other fixes out there for this problem? Anyway, its done! One more thing off my pile and a new little jacket to add to Sydney's fall wardrobe. (I decided she has plenty of summer clothes and I should get started sewing some stuff for fall/winter instead.) Better keep going while I'm on a roll!

I am very excited - tonight I am going to a watercolor class with a new friend of mine! I haven't done anything like this in a long time. Hope I have something decent to show you!! Happy Tuesday!

Before & After: Part 4

Before:
You've seen this one before...



After:
Updated with some brighter pillows.





I was hoping to have a new painting up in time for this one, but its not finished yet. The pillows are done though, and I am loving them. I don't plan to get rid of the old ones or anything. (Envelope style cases again so I can change them easily.) I think they will be the winter version and these are for summer! Sometimes I need to update the look just so I feel like cleaning the room. Sad, I know. Anyway, thank you all for your kind comments on my before and afters! This is really the kind of thing I love doing - taking something old and giving it a whole new life!

Hope you have a great weekend!

P.S. Isn't it funny how different the wall looks depending on the light!

Before & After: Part 3

Before:
Ugly brass plant stand that I bought for $1 at a garage sale.




After:
White wire rack to hold Sydney's favorite stuff!




All this needed was a little steel wool rub-down and some white spray paint! A pretty easy remodel, but I think it was a great improvement. Spray paint is a wonderful thing!
Sydney has "redecorated" this many times already. Currently it holds her favorite bunny, lavendar filled bean bag hearts, library books, slippers and a metal box for her shoes. I think its the perfect touch for this little girl's room!

Before & After: Part 2

Before:

Old metal tray just taking up space

After:

Chalkboard calendar for my fridge

Okay, so I had a good plan, it just didn't turn out as great as I had hoped. Does that ever happen to any of you? I wanted to share the project with you anyway, because I think there are a lot of possibilities with it. I sprayed the tray with primer and put on a couple coats of chalkboard paint. This all worked great and I would highly reccomend it. The problem is that a big black tray stuck to my fridge doesn't look as cool as I hoped it would. I had planned to make a bunch of magnets to go with it (with words like birthday, appointment, playdate, etc.) but I think I might scrap the idea and try to think of some other calendar solution. Sydney on the other hand absolutely loves it, so if nothing else this is a great idea for a really transportable chalkboard for kids. Or it would be cute used as a tray for drinks - you could write the name of your beverage on the tray. Or as a menu board for parties, or a million other things I'm sure! Leave a comment and let's hear your ideas!!

Before & After - Part 1

Before:

Doll Crib purchased at a garage sale for $2.

After:

Spray painted white with all new bedding!

Yes - I actually made a doll quilt. And, I have to say, it was kinda fun. It went together so fast I hardly had time to realize what I was doing!! I love how it turned out, and so does Sydney I think. (She tries to get in it every time I look away!)

As promised...

Pictures of the quilt I snatched up at a yard sale on Friday. For $2! It's not in the best shape, but I love it anyway. Check it out!

This is one of my favorite blocks - love that owl fabric!!

The back is as beautiful as the front I think!

Hope you all had a marvelous weekend! I got a lot done that I am looking forward to showing you this week. I'm planning four installments of "Before and After" posts! See you back here tomorrow for the first one okay!

Friday Goodies

I really don't plan Friday Goodies posts, they just sort of happen. Probably because I am spoiled rotten by my blogger friends. This week - a package from the Queen, Ms. Vallen Queen that is. All things I've been drooling over on her blog. Could a girl be more lucky? I think not.

My luck didn't stop here. I just got back from a garage sale where I scored an old quilt for $2. I'll show pictures next week. I love it!! I also bought a doll crib for Sydney. Guess I will be forced to jump on the doll quilt bandwagon after all.

Have a great weekend all!

Pillowcase Love

Smocket Pattern
My plan was for this to be a painting smock for Sydney. I figured what better fabric than an old pillowcase. It was just barely big enough! I will definitely be making more of these - so simple!!

Pillowcase Bag Pattern (from Martha)

Vallen had some good ideas on this pattern. She used a king size case which would extend the handle length and used bias tape on the edges. I'll be trying both of these things on the next one. This bag holds a ton of stuff - perfect for a beach bag, especially because you can just throw it in the wash when you get home!

Update: Still no winner in my 100th post giveaway! Yesterday he even set something on top of the cabinet and still didn't say anything. I really didn't think it would take this long!

Birthday/Get Well Gift

I made this bag for my MIL Gail's birthday which is on Sunday. Unfortunately she is having surgery tomorrow, so it is both for her birthday and to send get well wishes to her. I plan to fill it up with some good time killers - maybe a book, a magazine, or some crosswords and of course some pictures of her favorite (and only) granddaughter!

We are back...

from a very relaxing weekend of "camping". We met both sets of parents at a state park near my in-law's home. They all camped, we slept at my in-law's house! It was really nice to just sit for a while and do nothing! I didn't even knit - I just sat there!! Sydney on the other hand played in every mud puddle and picked up every rock in the whole park. It was good to see my girly girl having fun and getting dirty! Here are a couple shots of our beautiful surroundings!

It was really fun last night to read the comments from the last post all at once, instead of one by one as they come in. By the way, my husband spent most of the evening with me in the craft room and didn't notice my secret purchase yet! I'll let you know if anything changes!! Anyway, thanks so much for all your comments!

I enjoyed an amazing cup of coffee this morning that I have to tell you about. It all started with this tutorial from Blair at Wise Craft. I was curious after that, so last week when I spotted a stovetop espresso maker at Saver's that looked brand new (the directions were inside the pot even) I snatched it up. Plus it was only $1!! I tried it out for the first time this morning using Blair's instructions and it was hands down one of the best cups of coffee I've ever had. I even used decaf coffee beans and it was still good!! (I know, decaf is like a swear word to some of you coffee lovers. But ever since I went cold turkey on caffeine when I was pregnant it seems to do strange things to me if I get too much. One diet coke a day is my limit or I start to get shaky and stay up all night! So, please forgive me. I do try to find the best quality decaf beans I can to make up for it.) It was a very simple process (its basically a percolator from the old days) and was well worth the small amount of extra effort.

Well, I guess I can't ignore the giant pile of laundry looming behind me. As much fun as it was to go away for the weekend, do you ever wonder if its really worth it? I start dreading the clean-up before we even leave!

100th Post!!

Today marks my 100th post! Can you believe it? I certainly can't. I have so many things to say, but first I want to have a little fun! Of course I will be doing the traditional 100th post giveaway, but with a twist! Check out this awesome filing cabinet that I just brought home from a garage sale!

It's new home is just to the right of my computer desk in my craft room. It is taking the place of an old typewriter stand - you know those little metal stands with the fold down sides? This is the same width as the stand, so the desk didn't have to move at all. I am so excited to get the room (or at least my desk) a little more organized, but first I need to get rid of the old lady smell that came with it - any ideas?

Okay, so here's my idea for a contest! I would like you all to leave a comment and guess when my husband will notice it! Here are some things you should know:

• My husband is not very observant.
• I paid in cash, so no paper trail!
• I plan to hide the other stand away in the laundry room so he doesn't see it.
• We are leaving for the weekend as soon as he gets home from work, so his first opportunity to notice will probably be Sunday evening when we get home.
• Normally he is in this room everyday, if only for a few minutes.

Please leave a day and time for your guess (ex: Sunday at 8 pm) and I will announce who the winner is as soon as it happens! I've changed my settings for this contest so my blog accepts anonymous comments to accommodate the many friends and family that read this and never comment. Please just leave your name and e-mail if you plan to comment anonymously.

And the prize? Well, I hit the mother load of vintage fabric and more zippers than anyway should ever own. You can expect an assortment of that, along with some sort of handmade treasure from me.

In closing I just want to say thanks. Thanks to everyone that reads this blog and especially those that comment. It means the world to me that you all are interested in what I have to say. Blogging has had a huge impact on my life. I know that might sound silly to those of you who don't have a blog, but it's true. It is the motivation I need to finish things, its the co-workers and friends that I left behind when I left my job, and it's inspiration like you can't believe. So, thank you all. I appreciate each and every one of you immensely.

Love,

Roxanne