UGH!

My mud/laundry/school book storage room is ALWAYS a mess! Kids come in from outside and leave shoes, books, balls and toys where ever they land. I decided that this would be the weekend that I would get everything in order - to stay!
I'm posting about it here to make myself accountable.
Look if you dare (and imagine piles of laundry on the floor!):






I'm still working on it (and that gigantic load of laundry!) hope to post pics of a new and improved laundry room later tonight!

My dress form

Another thrifting adventure turned up this great dress form for 10 bucks! Not only was it a steal, but it was my size! Up til now, I've not been able to find a dress form that wasn't a size 2!
As soon as I got home, I stripped off the old cover

and recovered it with some fabric from the dollar bin at Walmart. I have to admit, that was the HARDEST project I've done in a long time! I thought I'd just spray it down with adhesive and smooth on the fabric....NOT!
I soon realized that you cannot just put a flat piece of fabric onto a form with curves and bumps! Took me all day and most of the evening to get in on...but it was worth it!
I think it rocks!

Monster dolls

We saw some monster dolls at Walmart the other day and I thought, hey, I can make that! So here they are, my little monster family:

It seems the baby is everyone's favorite (check out mama's pouch above!):

Even the bigger boys liked them! Kyle dove into my fabric stash and made one of his own:

I've been singing "One eyed, one horn, flyin' purple people eater" ever since I saw it!

A treasure inside a treasure!

I went thrifting the other day and found some vintage children's books to add to our library. This little book was among them:

When I got home, I curled up on the couch to look through them. That was when I found this jewel written inside the cover:

It says:
"For my bride, my wife,
My soul, my life.
For the rain giving birth
to the one from two.
For the love we share,
For the souls we bear~
I love you,
(forever and ever, Amen)
Jowell
12 March '76

I've never read 'The Little Prince' but I cannot wait to sit down and read this book to try to discover what secret message Jowell was sending his wife. I cannot imagine how this little gem got lost inside a stack of books destined for the thrift store, but I'm glad it did because I'll definately treasure it. Saying a prayer for Jowell and his bride...wherever they are!

Quick craft project

I got this old bulletin board for a buck at a thrift store, but it had a lot of discoloration on the cork, so I decided to give it a makeover! I used pieces of scrapbooking papers and spray adhesive to give it this funky patchwork quilted look. I think it looks more like framed art than a bulletin board!

Some more great finds!

Ryan and I spent the wee hours of today going from yard sale to yard sale and it was totally worth the lost hours of sleep! Here's what we found:
Some great vintage pillowcases. Two of these I will turn into aprons (see my tutorial on how to do this in my October posts!) The other two I will save as scrap fabric for yet undetermined projects:

Speaking of linens, I got these great little table cloths! They are vintage cotton with embroidery, two of them are from Hawaii:

Two Longaberger baskets FOR ONE DOLLAR! Apparantly, the seller did not know their worth! Some very cool vintage plates, and a ceramic watering can that will look pretty on my kitchen windowsill.

Three colorful glass candle holders:

And some AWESOME costume jewelry! I'm going to collect this stuff, and when I get a box full, I'm going to hot glue it around a mirror frame. I saw this in a boutique and it was stunning! They wanted $75 bucks for a little 5x7 mirror and frame done this way...figure I can get the mirror at walmart for a buck, and the jewelry only cost me .25 cents a pair!

The thing I'm most proud of is this patio set! I'm going to wash it down with bleach today and paint it glossy black! It will look great with one of the Hawaiian table cloths I got! Just right for a romantic luau for two!

Grand total for all of this: $32.00

My little monsters!

Chair makeover

Went thrifting today and got this chair for three dollars. It definately needed a little TLC! I am making a little sewing/craft nook in my bedroom and thought I could re-do this chair to match the sewing cabinet I got at a garage sale.


With five dollars worth of fabric, pipping, and paint, I think it turned out pretty swell!

First Fall Harvest

I harvested our first fall veggies this evening! I have several mustard green plants that have really taken off with all the cool nights we've been having. They were crisp and flavorful and delicious!

This overflowing bowl cooked down to about six small servings. We had them with pan fried pork chops:

Hippie Chick

I found a few yards of vintage fabric and made this GROOVY wrap dress!

Simple book bag

You can make this very simple and versatile bag in about 25-30 minutes! I've made each of the boys one - heck, they could have even made their own! They are great for going to the library, park, beach or just running errands! Best part is that they are totally one of a kind! You're the designer!
Start with a template. Here is mine, it makes the perfect size bag for me and the kids:

Use your template to cut out two pieces each from two contrasting fabrics. With my template, I only need a yard for the outside and a yard for the lining. I get my fabric from the Walmart dollar bin so each bag only costs me two bucks to make!
Take your two pieces from the outer part of the bag and put the right sides of the fabric together. Sew the outer edges of the bag together:

Open up your bag and line up the two seams you just sewed together so that they are in the middle of the bag. Sew a straight line along the bottom of the bag:

Open up your bag again and lay the corners flat. Sew a line about 1 inch from the point and then clip away the extra fabric to about 1/4 inch away from your seam:

Do the same steps above to your lining fabric EXCEPT leave a 2-3 inch hole along the bottom of the bag so that you can turn the whole thing right side out a little later!
Now take your lining fabric and sew a pocket on! Cut out a square piece of fabric and press under your two sides and bottom sections about 1/4 inch. Turn under the top section about 1/4 inch and then fold under again about 3/4 inch and press. Sew a line across the top of your pocket to give the top a clean edge and then place the whole thing onto your lining. Sew down the two sides and bottom of your pocket. This pocket is optional for kids, but a MUST for moms! It's the perfect place to hold your cell phone and car keys!

Next, place your lining inside your bag with the right sides of the fabrics together. Pin carefully in place and sew around all the edges, leaving the handles of the bags open at the ends. Then, make little clips with your scissors around all the curved edges:

Turn your bag right side out using the little hole in your liner. Sew up that hole either by hand or on machine and then press the bag. Take one of your straps and fold the ends under about 1/2 an inch and press. Insert the other handle and sew to connect the two for a finished edge:

Go around the edges of the bag with a top stitch to give a finished look!
My bag is the perfect size for my DayRunner, a diaper and wipes, cell phone, keys and a pack of gum!

Tagged for a meme

I was tagged by Dana on the DCF Ladies Blogring (Under "Reasons why my laundry isn't getting done" on the right------>)

1. Do you attend the Traditional Latin Mass or the Novus Ordo?
We attend the N.O. but have occassionally attended TLM.

2. If you attend the TLM, how far do you drive to get there?
The closest one to us is a little over an hour away.

3. If you had to apply a Catholic label to yourself, what would it be?
"The Cafeteria is CLOSED!"

4. Are you a comment junkie?
Nope.

5. Do you go back to read the comments on the blogs you’ve commented on?
Nope.

6. Have you ever left an anonymous comment on another blog?
Yup.

7. Which blogroll would you most like to be on?
The Winners of the Texas Lottery (is there such a blogroll?)

8. Which blog is the first one you check?
I start with Aussie Coffee Shop and work my way down the roll.

9. Have you met any other bloggers in person?
Yes. April, Dana, Karen, and Chris

10. What are you reading?
Does my daily crossword puzzle count?

Bonus Question! Has your site been banned by Spirit of Vatican II?
I'm hoping that site is a parody, because if it's real.....

Tagging Karen (SA-Mom) if she feels up to it!

Oh yeah, it's Fall!

You know it's Fall when you get that first bite of a warm, gooey caramel apple on a brisk day...

14 years ago today...

A very crafty weekend!

Not much in the way of garage sales this weekend, but I did happen to score a sewing cabinet and two lamps at an estate sale. I decided to refurbish them and here's what I did.
Lamps before:

Lamp after:

I used an awesome faux suede that I just put over the old shade with a little spray adhesive. The trims are attached with hot glue. The lamp itself just needed a good cleaning and a spray of clear coat!
I also went down to the local paint store and got some crackle medium and a couple of buckets of paint. I have to give a product rave to Sherwin Williams Illusions crackle medium. Very easy to work with and it allows you to pick you own colors to match your decor! Here's a close-up, I used "Toasty" as my base coat and "Antique White" as the top coat:

Here is the refurbished sewing cabinet along with my "new" lamp!

I had plenty of paint and medium left over, so I painted my dresser and an old bookcase:

I literally spent ALL afternoon sanding and painting (thank goodness it was such a nice day outside!) When I was done I called Doug out to see my handiwork. He looked at the finish and said, "You painted? Looks like you NEED to paint this stuff!"
UGH! Men!!!