Envelope Pillows

Last night I whipped up some envelope pillowcases for Sydney's bed. She has a small travel size pillow in the crib and has never had cases that really fit it. I've been realizing that I can't really buy more stuff unless I start using up what I've got! Duh, right! Not that I want to buy new, but even my old sheet pile is starting to take over the room! So I made 4 of these during CSI: New York. I was done before they figured out the case!

You've all made envelope style pillows before, right? Here is a link to some decent instructions, although I would say they sound harder than it really is. Let me know if you have questions, I would be happy to help!

How to kill a rainy day

Create new wall art out of old stuff.

The frame I saved from my mother in law's donate pile, the flower pictures are old bridge tally cards from Mary Ann.

Total cost: $0

Felt sweaters instead of doing actual laundry.

Check out this amazing tip for removing pills on wool sweaters. It works wonders!

Total cost: I'm afraid I lost track. All good deals though, I swear!!

Serving up dried beans for everyone!

I got this melamine cream and sugar set during the Savers 50% off sale, along with the tray and 4 wooden pineapple dishes. Hours of fun guaranteed for little ones.

Total cost: $4 (including a bag of beans!)

A fun day stuck indoors: Priceless!

A good long weekend

Hope you all had a great long weekend! Mine was just about perfect! Did some garage sale shopping and sewing with my sister. Spent some quality time with my husband (it was our anniversary on Saturday). Worked in the yard and spent way too much on plants. Hit a great 50% off sale at Savers. What more could a girl ask for!! Now, I have collected a ton of supplies and just need to get crafting on something. Here are a few of the highlights from my garage sale trip...

This huge bowl which I love was only 50 cents!

Another 50 cent bargain! There are almost 3 yards of this stuff which is some sort of terrycloth fabric. I have no idea what to do with it, but I've never seen anything like it before so I had to get it. But, now what? Any ideas? Anybody want some?

And of course, more sheets!

There were many other things, some are off to Mary Ann's house and the rest I will show you as I use them. Now, where to put it all.... :)

Friday Goodies - - Yard Sale Jackpot!

Mary Ann and I are in the midst of a yard sale swap! I'm still working on her box, but mine arrived yesterday. It was filled with so many wonderful things, I can't even begin to explain. You've got to zoom in on this pic and snoop around for yourself!

Do you see the wokcraft cookbook - amazing illustrations in there, not to mention interesting recipes! Do you see the old bridge tally cards? I'm thinking of framing some of the floral designs in a little series. And the awesome plaid tablecloth? Its exactly like something my Grandma V would have - which makes it perfect! So much other good stuff, I just love it all! And she only spend a little over $13!! Nothing was over 1.50! Give it up for Mary Ann, Yard Sale Extraordinaire! Thanks again Mary Ann!! I'm off to fill up your box!

Gifting - - Part Three

Without realizing it, I have done a three part post on gifting this week. Tomorrow will be another edition of Friday Goodies (also by chance!). But today, I present you with this project. Picnic Placemats I believe they are called. I was half way done making them before I realized the idea came from Lotta Jansdotter's book Simple Sewing which I browsed through at Barnes and Noble one day. A special thanks to Amanda for helping me with some fabric inspiration.

My sister and her family love to entertain outside in the summer months so I thought these would be perfect for her. I made 8 of them so she should be able to actually have people over and still have enough. They are pretty simple to construct, the most time consuming part was actually cutting the denim. That stuff is hard on rotarty blades! The green fabric is from the stash. I did have to actually purchase the denim, which I was hoping I wouldn't have to do. But denim was the perfect choice and I only bought enough for this project (seriously, only tiny scraps are left) and I got it on clearance. I think I spent $12 on 8 placemats. Not too bad for a birthday gift.

To celebrate my sis' birthday we are having a fun filled "girl's day" tomorrow filled with lots of food, some garage sale shopping and an afternoon of sewing. Sounds like a perfect birthday don't you think?

Gifting

A friend of mine had a baby girl last week, so I made a very girly tote bag for her. I had plans for a diaper bag that failed, so I decided to just make a large tote with lots of pockets. You may recognize the fabric from Stacy's purse a month or so ago. I have had this fabric for a long time, and have actually used it instead of my usual hording. Not sure where I got it from, but I must have bought a ton of it! Its really fun and just plain girly.

I hadn't really planned on posting all week about gifts, but that's what it's turning in to! Tomorrow I have another great gift idea to show you that is for my sister's birthday on Friday. Hope to see you then!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!

Today is my beautiful Mother's birthday. I figured she would be a little upset if I posted pictures of her, so I'm posting old ones that are so cute she can't be mad!

I have so many things to be thankful for about my mom. I'm thankful that God chose her for me. I'm thankful that I was raised in such a loving family where God was always present. I'm thankful that she instilled a work ethic in me that makes me never want to sit still (I really am thankful for that!!). I'm thankful that she is Sydney's grandma. I'm thankful for the desire she gave me to create things. And most of all I'm thankful that I can now call her my friend.

This picture looks exactly like Sydney.

Here is what I made her for her birthday. I actually posted about this at Christmas in Progress a while back, but I just couldn't wait that long to give it to her!! Guess I'm even more behind on my CIP projects now! Anyway, it is a soldered charm on an adjustable necklace. One side has a paper collage in the log cabin quilt design. The other side says "nana quilted with love". These words were pulled from an old dictionary. My mom is an amazing quilter (among other things). She really should have her own blog - I'll start working on that! Hope you like it Mom! And I hope you have a wonderful birthday. I love you!

Short Pants

I whipped up some capri pants for Sydney over the past couple of days. What should have taken an hour (maybe) has taken a couple of days. I'll blame it on the pattern, but I'm pretty sure we are talking about reader error. I managed to sew the pants upside down. I considered scrapping the whole thing, but I love this fabric too much to waste it. So I cozied up with the seam ripper (which I hate) and got busy.

(Bad picture, I know. Try to focus on the pants!!)

Now that I have this pattern all figured out, I definitely plan to make more. Sydney has pretty short legs, so finding pants to fit her can be difficult...all her shorts are capris and capris are long pants! To make the full length pattern into capris for her (size 1/2) I had to cut 6 inches off! I also made her a Vallen inspired little flower to coordinate the outfit. She loves trying to smell it while its hooked to her shirt!

Nothing New...

Since the weather started to turn nice around here I've been searching through closets for a blanket to use outside. Nothing too nice. Just something to take to the park and sit on or snuggle up with by a campfire. I wanted a designated outside blanket. I couldn't find one, so I made one. I used absolutely nothing new in this blanket except the thread for my machine (which I did already have, but it was technically new.) Its not the most beautiful thing in the world. Its made mostly of old sheets and some fabric I got at a yard sale (the garbage bag for 50 cents). The lining is an old comforter I also garage saled for 50 cents.

It turned out to be pretty heavy, which I hadn't planned on. But it's actually perfect that way because it won't fly away when a big gust of wind comes up. I hesitate to use the "Q" word for this thing. It was never meant to be pretty or match and to put it in the same category as some of the amazing work I have seen out here would not be fair. But it's functional. It soaks up lemonade and protects our butts from grass stains. And that's all it was meant to do.

P.S. I forgot to take a picture of the back...I pieced some larger sheets together to make it fit.

Friday Goodies

I have been spoiled lately by some new found blogging friends. A couple days ago I received a package from Sarah. I won a drawing on her blog in celebration of her first Etsy sale. Congrats again Sarah and thank you!! Pictured above are the fabulous goodies she sent. Love those vintage sheets!!

Yesterday I received my swap package from Rebecca for Vallen's mounted ATC swap. She did not disappoint! I love her ATC and I love the way it was mounted!! I also received a preview of her latest invention - the adorable whimsy clips...zoom in so you can check them out. She is planning to list them in her Etsy shop soon!! So cute! I am just giddy with all the vintage buttons I've been getting! (My mom is soo jealous, I just know it!) The adorable feather pen has been mysteriously abducted by Sydney. The giggle when the feather tickles her is just too much. I can't bear to take it away from her! There was some amazing chocolate too...hmm where did that go? :)

Thanks again ladies. I am feeling very happy and spoiled today! Have a great weekend! I'm off to go hunt for bargains!

Picture Heavy Bargain Bost

A whole post of great deals and freebies...are you up for it? I've been having a ton of fun hitting the spring garage sales. This week was holy week for all the cheapos in Fargo! Its clean up week, which means you can throw away anything you want without getting charged extra. Fridges, lawn mowers, highchairs, you name it! Scavengers come from miles around to drive up and down the street and dig through other people's trash. As embarrassing as this obviously sounds, I had to join in! My friend Stacy and I packed up the little ones into my husband's truck yesterday and hit the streets. Here are my scores!!

(Don't you love that turquoise chair!! And the wooden one on the right folds up!)

(I plan to slipcover the stool and paint the ladder to hang blankets on.)

Also did pretty good at last week's sales. The highlights were these men's XXL Lands End cashmere sweaters for $3 each. (You may notice the bedspread underneath...$2!!). I also got this pile of fabric in a garbage bag for 50 cents!! I have most of it used up already - that project coming soon!

Charitable Bagging

I finished up these two purses which were part of my mass production last week. I had initially thought that I could get them done a lot faster by doing them all at once, but I'm not sure that was the case. I'm afraid they take just as long regardless. Plus, I get really bored doing the same step over and over again. These two will be donated to my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group at church. We are having a Spring Tea next week and they needed gifts for door prizes. I hope they head off to a happy home!

My First ATC

I finished my first ATC for Vallen's Mountable ATC Swap. For once in my life I was ahead of the game and sent my package off early. My swap partner is Rebecca over at Thrifty Goodness, you should definitely check her blog out! Very cool stuff going on over there!

It took me a while to find some sort of inspiration for the ATC. The fabric from this bag was eventually what helped me. The mounting part was really fun! You may remember this frame in its former life fencing in a nasty old goose. It received the same treatment as this. The fabric covered tacks you may remember from here. The rest is just framed cork and shiny black paper I got from Mary Ann. Hope you enjoy it Rebecca!

Warning: Cute Kid Post!

Okay, you've been warned! If you continue this post you cannot be annoyed by me going on and on about my child!!

Sydney tried painting last week. I took her out to the backyard with some acrylics and old mat board and let her go wild! She had a great time and was really focused, as you can see!

Unfortunately it was extremely windy so we didn't get to stay out for very long. But she did complete 4 paintings, of which she is very proud. She tells everyone who sees them "me paint" pointing to herself and then the pictures. Pretty cute stuff.

In other cute news, I received this awesome box of goodies from my friend Ann-Margret. It came all the way from Canada and I love it all! Thanks again Ann!!

Spring has Arrived!

I spent the day outside yesterday working in the yard. I pulled all the dead stuff out of my garden and raked a ton of leaves. (I know, most people do those things in the fall. Oh well!) After all that work, I enjoyed my favorite (or at least one of my favorite) parts of spring - spray paint! Spray painting is just one of those things that you can not do around here in the winter. Trust me I've tried, it doesn't work. Its just too stinking cold. And sometimes, you just can't beat spray paint in a project! This was definitely one of those cases. We got a hand-me down set of little kid table and chairs from my sister. It was adorable, but filthy!

She had tried everything she could to clean it as had I. Everything. Bleach, Magic Eraser, everything. It has a wood grain texture in the plastic and it was just not coming clean. So it was begging for a coat of paint! I used Krylon spray paint that is specific for plastic. Its a little spendy (almost $4 a can) but well worth it. It worked like a dream. Here is our after shot!

Bright fire engine red! I love it! I think we will be taking our lunch outside from now on!

Busy, busy, busy

Trying my hand at a little mass production.