Thrifty Finds - Week 1

I woke up Saturday morning in need of some serious retail therapy...

but unfortunately the budget wasn't going to allow for it.

So I decided to hit the thrift stores and see what I could find.

I couldn't be happier with everything I found!

To make it even better spent a whole whopping $6.21 !!!

Here's what I found:

I found this small glass cake dome with a wooden base. Very nice and heavy...
The base needs some help though..It's solid wood and in good condition, it just has quite a few scratches.
The plan for now is to sand down the base and refinish it.

 I couldn't resist this little pumpkin..I need more fall decor,
just not sure yet if it's going to stay orange or get a coat of spray paint

 LOVE all of these pans...
and as you can see I couldn't pass any of them up.
The really funny thing was I picked them up at 3 different Goodwills in town.
I'm guessing they were all donated at once then split between the stores
for $25-50 cents a piece I couldn't resist!

Love this basket...I'm thinking it's going to get a coat of spray paint, and maybe a cute ribbon around the middle...then I'll probably use it for craft storage...maybe for my patterns?

I think these were my favorite find of the day! Vintage patterns! I usually don't use patterns, and some of these will need to be modified but at 10 cents a piece there was no way they weren't coming home with me!

I think it's amazing how the styles eventually seem to come back around...My favorite is the Butterick woman's pattern ...I LOVE longer sweaters with front pockets for winter!

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!  :0)

Yarn Wreath Tutorial

I love seeing all the Fall wreaths floating around in blogland...
I've honestly never been much of a wreath person, but I have loved the yarn and felt ones I've seen this year...so I decided to dig into my stash and see if I could find the stuff to make one without me having to buy anything...and I succeeded!

I started out by hunting around for something to make my wreath form out of...I ended up using this old basket weaving kit...

Looking back now, I probably should have just went and bought an actual wreath form, but It was late and I didn't feel like going into town...lol...so this did work ok in a pinch.

I cut and wrapped pieces until I had the shape like i wanted it...

Then I wrapped the entire thing with duct tape..I did this so I wouldn't have pieces of wood sticking out in odd places, and it just made it easier to wrap with the yarn since the surface is now smooth...

In this step you can see the problem I ran into by not using a wreath form...There's a big bump where I had to join the two ends to create my circle...I almost stopped working on it, then I decided that's just where I'll put my flowers..lol  :0)...Problem solved!

I used this Vanna's Choice yarn in Color 13 Dusty Green

To wrap it start by tying a knot around your wreath form.

Then just continue to wrap, and wrap, and wrap...be very careful to line each row up to the next so it stays nice and neat. This step will take a while...It took me a little over an hour, and I wrapped it while I was watching tv...The bigger your form though the longer it will take and the more yarn it will use.

Here's what mine looked like when I was done wrapping it. Make sure and knot off your yarn on the back of your wreath and tuck in your yarn ends.

The next step I did was to hot glue on my felt flowers.
I haven't made a tutorial yet on how I made the felt flowers, but I will link it to this post once I have.

Here's my finished wreath...I have to say for the first wreath I've ever made I'm pretty happy overall how it turned out.  :0)

My new FREE piano

I'm so excited!...and a little sore...lol
I've been watching our local Craigslist and the yahoo group freecycle for a piano, and I finally found one! I wanted a decent piano that I could teach my boys to play on that wouldn't require a lot of work to get it working...
I know, asking a lot right?
Well I finally found one...and my brother(the best brother in the world) went with me yesterday to go pick it up.
It ended up being a four and a half hour ordeal but the two of us finally got it loaded and unloaded at my house...That suckers a LOT heavier than it looks...

He even dusted it

 and vacuumed it out for me!!!

 Love my piano, and my brother!

Where were you?

September 11, 2001...

There are very few days in a persons life that they can recall exactly what they were doing on a particular date and time...September 11, 2001, is one of those days.

For me, like most people, it started out a normal day. I dropped my kids off at daycare then went to work. I remember my boss got a phone call from someone telling him to turn on the news. He called all of us into his office to see the TV and we all watched in a shocked silence at the horrific scene that was unfolding before us.

We didn't get much work done that day. Everyone spent more time watching the news than anything. Watching the planes hit the towers, and then watching the towers collapse was gut wrenching...I'm pretty sure it was that way to most people. When I got back to the home daycare I remember sitting down watching the coverage with  my friend, the woman who ran the daycare, and she had tears streaming down her face.
It was just that kind of day.

My biggest memory from that day wasn't so much the day itself as it was the days following...I remember hearing President Bush on the radio. Regardless of your political views, he was one person, to me, who when he gave a speech could actually make my eyes well up with tears, and make me so proud to be an American and to belong to this great nation. It was the only time that I can remember (in my 31 yrs) that our nation seemed to come together to help and support each other regardless of race, political views, or even religion. We were just Americans feeling sorrow, hurt, anger, and we were scared to death it could happen again...
But as a nation, we were united and determined to rebuild, and never forget the lives lost and the many heroes of that day.

To me and my family September 11, 2011, will be a very hard day. Not because it's the 10 year anniversary, or even because we lost someone to the towers...we didn't...what we did loose though was one of my heroes, my grandfather, on that very same day 1 year ago.

It is so hard to believe that it has been a year already since he's been gone. I still can't think or talk about him (or apparently type..lol) without starting to cry...
He left a large, unfillable, hole in our family when he passed on. They just don't make men like him anymore...I know he's pain-free, and in a much better place now, but it doesn't make loosing him any easier. I still miss him everyday.

September 11, no matter the year, will be difficult to a lot of people for a lot of different reasons, and a day that will not be forgotten.
Take the day to spend time with your family, hug your kids a little tighter, and be thankful that God has blessed you with another day on this earth with your loved ones.

Also take the time to do something nice for someone today..If everyone did this then our nation could come together and it not take a tragedy to make it happen. I made my pledge..have you? K-Love make a Difference in a Million Lives

If you haven't heard this song yet check it out....




And these next two are for Grandpa...It was two of his favorite songs. I love you.






and because I couldn't resist...lol..this is one of my favorites...at 7, this girl has the voice of an angel! :0)

Holy Crap...Christmas is coming up fast!

Holy Crap!!! I've just realized there is only 106 days left until Christmas Eve!

To some of you that probably seems like a lot of time, and to me it usually would too....
But this year, like I say every year(and never do) I'm going to have it all done BEFORE  Christmas Eve...
To those of you who know me...stop laughing....lol...I really am this year!  :0)
But ..that leads to the next problem...what the heck am I going to make?

I always try to make the majority of my gifts every year, and I try to make a little something for everyone. I will buy the majority of my boys gifts, but I love giving something handmade to all our relatives.
I like to think its a way to save money, and some years it is...some years it would have been way cheaper to just buy everyone something...but honestly I enjoy making the gifts, and I think theres just something really special about recieving a gift that you know someone made just especially for you, because they care...and I like to spread that feeling around on Christmas  :0)

So back to the problem at hand...What the heck am I making this year? Honestly I haven't a clue, but thanks to my new found, time-wasting  love... Pinterest...I do have some ideas...Here's a link to my Christmas ideas board
But here's my top favorites I've found so far...

For the kids in the family:

Name appliqued pillowcase

P.J. Eaters...hold PJ's so the kids can find them at night...super cute!

Iphone/ Ipod case

 For the ladies...maybe homemade bath baskets?

Square bath fizzies

Round bath fizzies

Japanese motive soaps

Pantry soaps

or maybe baskets of Vanilla products?

Homemade Vanilla extract - would have to be made now though..takes 2-3 months!

Vanilla brown sugar body scrub

and for the guys I really have no idea, except maybe one of these for my dad...who loves coffee cups, or maybe even  add one of his many funny quotes to it

So those are my ideas so far...Anyone else planning on making Christmas gifts? and if so have you figured out what you're making yet?

P.S...all these pictures I found on Pinterest...I'm not linking each picture back to its original site, but if you follow the link I placed above to my Pinterest Christmas ideas page then you can click on the pictures and go to the links that way. (I don't want anyone to get upset for posting their stuff without them getting credit!)

Decorated Chip Clips( clothespin) Tutorial

Today's project is really simple and I think they turned out really cute.
I desperately needed clips for my chip bags, but it never fails...When I need one, I can't find one.
I've seen lots of stuff on the web about different ways to decorate clothes pins, so I picked up a pack of 50 for $1 at the dollar store and decided to decorate them to make myself cute chip clips.
So here's how I did it...

I started out with some coordinating pieces of scrapbook paper that I've had in my sewing closet forever.

 

Then I gathered my clothes pins on a cutting board , my homemade Mod Podge (click here for recipe)and paint brush, and an X-Acto knife

The next step is really simple, unfortunately I didn't get a picture of it...
Brush on a thin layer of your Mod Podge onto one side of your clothespin.
Place that glue side down onto the back side of the scrapbooking paper you are using.
Then use your X-Acto knife to cut around the clothespin.
Use your finger to make sure that the paper is on there smoothly.
Do that to the other side of the clothes pin also.
Brush Mod Podge over the top of the scrapbook paper to seal. Make sure to pay close attention to the sides to make sure they get covered.
Let them dry

 Once they were dry I put them in a glass jar I also got from the dollar store for $4.

I'm not sure that I really need 50 chip clips, lol, but this way at least hopefully when I need one there will be plenty in the kitchen. Even better is that I spent $5 total for 50 clips! That's 10 cents a clip! Definitely couldn't have bought that many for that cheap in the store!

Homemade Mod Podge

I had a huge bottle of Mod Podge somewhere...Where that place is though, I have no idea...
Do you ever have that problem???
It can't be just me...lol
It drives me crazy!  I swear I've seen the bottle somewhere, but when I needed it last night of course its no where to be found...So I made my own so I wouldn't have to make a trip into town.
It's super easy, cheap, and the best part was I already had everything I needed at home to make it!

To make your own you will need:

Elmers permanent white glue or any cheap brand will work too (Just make sure it's permanent,not washable!)
mason jar with lid
water
varnish (optional)


In your mason jar mix 3 parts white glue with 1 part water.
You can add more water if needed ..you want it to have a runny paint like consistency.
It will look a little filmy when you put it on, but it will dry clear.
Make sure and let it dry in between coats.

I have also read that you can use the following to make glossy Mod Podge, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. If you do let me know how it works!
1 cup White permanent glue
1/3 cup of water
2 tbsp of varnish
Mix and store in a mason jar