what i made with that $2 skirt

a dress for her.

i love to repurpose sheets and table cloths, you know that. so when i found that $2 skirt i had sort of an idea that i could do something with it.

a.) i could take it in and make it fit me.
b.) i could make something else out of it.

okay so i already have a black and white skirt so the first option wouldn't be the best choice.
but then i remembered that i had just stumbled across this awesome blog

that repurposed a man's shirt into a little girl's dress.


so i contacted dana asked her if i could use a picture and to link back to her. we got to emailing back and forth and swapping pictures of projects to come, we chatted quite a bit and what i came back from our emails is this:

not only is she INSANELY TALENTED.
her photography is AWESOME.
her tutorials are AWESOME.
her shop is AWESOME.
her kids are SUPER CUTE...
AND...not only is she amazing...she's super nice!
:)
so Dana, thanks for being such an inspiration to me (and to so many others!!) thank you for helping me think outside the box so that i could make this dress out of a $2 skirt.

i'm finishing the final instructions on how to make this dress. i should have it up in the next couple of days.

very good thrifting day and keeping it real

this summer i wasn't able to go on my weekly thrift store run.

a) i don't have the greatest track record when i take all 4 kids someplace on my own

b) i'd end up having to fight against a lot of questionable toys making their way home with us

so when i got to go for the first time in a LONG time with just one kid...

i found some super sweet finds!

love this fabric! don't you think a lovely fall skirt is in order? oh yes i think so.

this skirt i found is too big for me...
but with this price i couldn't let it go and i loved the black and whit polka dots!

so i've got an idea.

i think i'll start on it today and cross my fingers that it works.

i also found this vinyl table cloth LOVE THE COLOR! the red pillow i have on my porch are made from a clearance table cloth...they are pretty beat up but am planning to make more for next summer...this table cloth will be made into patio pillows for my back yard. yummy!


now this next picture was a result to someones email or comment. it went along the lines of "how do you keep your house so clean all the time. i feel so inadequate compared to you, seriously you must be on crack."

just kidding she didn't say crack. she said speed.

so here's the truth:

we make messes all day long.

yes i like to organize, and i don't mind cleaning.

but we're a family who live in a house where i take pictures in. we're not a stage house.

we live in our house, which means, we make dirty dishes, we make dirty laundry, and gosh darn it we make skid marks in the toilets sometimes. i have three boys who claim to be potty trained yet they still manage to not aim well and miss the toilet. as a matter of fact two days ago, my five year old came out of the bathroom all proud announcing to my friend and i "MOM! i did it with no hands!" (meaning he peed with no hands...oh heaven help us) no my house isn't always CLEAN by any means.

so yes i have a schedule of cleaning the house, i like to try stick to it. i also like to have places for things. i like to clean up after every meal, and yes i make the boys help clean up their rooms every night (and not to mention the bathrooms on a regular basis!). my house is probably the nicest to look at when the boys are at school and at 9:30 pm after the dish washer has been turned on and the floors have been mopped (after they've been licked by the dog), toys have been put in the right places and laundry has been put away (with a load dauntingly waiting in the dryer and another one already going in the washer...i hate laundry). one thing is for sure, i like to start the next morning in a nicely put away house, just so i can have boys pee without using hands and be able to clean up the messes as we go.

and there you have it: we're a messy normal family, i'm a mom of 4 who sometimes gets frazzled that i AM a mom of four, so i make fun of it and laugh about it cause that's funner than crying about it (but cry sometimes about it too), and we have skid marks in our toilets more often than not.

have a great weekend, i'm off to sew something in between cleaning up messes.

a giveaway of my "stuff"

do you like my patterns? well i'm sponsoring a giveaway at this great blog. go check it out, and enter to win all three of my patterns plus a yard of fabric! yeah, cause i like you so much!

well what are you waiting for? GO!

;)

first day of school butterflies

a few days ago, my middle boy noise maker yells out to me from his room "MOM! kyle called me an idiot!" which then the third noise maker (in his 5 year old voice) yells "NO I DIDN'T!!! I CALLED YOU A STUPID IDIOT!"

these three little piggies go to school today.

surprisingly, i have mixed feelings about this.

super excited that i get 6 hours of time for me and katie, and excited that i am newly elected to community council rep for the school. but no one told me that when you are a parent you would still get the butterflies the night before the first day of school, and that you would worry about all the same things you worried about when you, yourself were going to school. only difference this time it's all about your kids:

*will the teacher like my kid?

*will the kids be nice the him? will he make friends?

*is my kid going to understand directions the first time? AND follow them?

*what about homework? they will expect more of them this year, will it be a struggle?

*will my kid be successful this year?

one thing is for sure, their dad is here this time around. and we have had wonderful blessings because of it. first off he was able to give them a father's blessing, second off he has been able to give them pep talks and help me control the banshees raise them.
he's been home from afghanistan for 6 months now(last week). and in the last 6 months our children have thrived, and we have been happy.

so yes, i'm nervous of what my kids will do while they are not under my roof for 8 hours out of the day, and yes i'm nervous for them as well. but i am also at ease that we will not have to do it alone this year.

and not to mention that my house will stay clean for 6 solid hours in a row (that's if it gets clean in the first place), and katie and i can do girly things like sew and sing strawberry shortcake songs.

and dude you guys! thanks for all the loving on my before and afters. loved reading all your comments! laughed out loud quite a few times! ;)

a few before and afters

i'm ready to unveil a little more of our house to you.

while the husband had some time off last week. we had the idea to finish up a few more things on our list of things we needed to get done in and out of the house.

granted our list is monstrous but we are doing one thing at a time as time and funds permit.

for example this is the master bedroom closets (and all the other closets as well) when we were looking at the house. notice the pinkish glow...well that's because the opposite wall is sponged tomato orange-red...i'm saving to show you that for another day...you can only handle so much of this house at one time. (trust me)

husband changed out all our closet doors in the house to these nice bi-fold doors. it really helps with the house not looking so 1970's.

oh sorry... yes, did you scream out loud?

i did when i saw it.

i was like "holy moses! who in their right mind does this kind of stuff?"

and then i cried.
i like color but come on.

all i've got to say is that those must of been some good drugs.

so before we moved in we painted it...white.

and while my in laws were in town, my father in law helped my husband put up all new doors in our house.

the last and final thing we worked on this last week was finishing up the covering up of the smurf blue we had going on the outside of our house. before the husband went over seas we did some of it but didn't get to finish it all. the goal this summer was that we weren't going to have any more blue...

and well here's a picture as of yesterday, with ALL the blue covered up FINALLY.

edited: i should note that when we were looking at the house this was one of our only options, there were no other houses for sale and well that's why i kept crying everytime i would turn a corner. i don't think we would of bought this house if there were other options...but we're glad we did. the view is amazing and it's a really nice house. not my dream house, but a really nice house and it serves it purpose...keeps us warm at night and gives us a place to call home.

***************

last week we also enjoyed:

*BBQ-ing with great friends and neighbors

*playing board games and making a puzzle (star wars of course) by the end of it, it was just the husband and i up till midnight with bloodshot eyes putting the blasted thing together.

it was a nice way to end the summer.

what to do with glass hurricanes

i became obsessed with hurricanes when i saw them in the pottery barn catalog last year. loved them!
so when i found these lovelies at my second hand store, i pushed over a nice lady that i thought was going to take them i quickly put them in my basket before anyone else could claim them.
the big one was $2 and the medium was $1.
i instantly started to look for candles that would fit my hurricanes. and i like how the candle fit in the medium one...but something was off about the big one.

what i came up with was this.
decorative balls... oh yes i did, because i'm obsessed enamored with them right now. (can't you tell?)
before you know it i'll be making earrings, or putting some in katie's hairbows.

okay maybe not.

other things that i might put in there with change of seasons would be oranges, lemons, limes, mini pumpkins, christmas balls... and so forth.

i like how it gives my eyes texture to look at.
oh and do i dare say it?
i think these are starting to get me in the mood for fall!
just a little bit.

shh don't tell summer.

tutorial: pottery barn looking decorative balls

how's that for a title? ;)
so i'm really into making my house a little more pottery barn looking at the moment. i wanted decorative balls, and when i started this tutorial i really liked the idea of "different colors" to add a little bit of punch as well.
so i'm going to show you how to attain the green color as well in this tutorial.

supplies you will need:

*spray paint (krylon ivy leaf is the color i used, which to me turned out EXACTLY like the color i was envisioning)

*twine

*Styrofoam balls i used small (2 in) and medium sizes(4 in), the medium were left in natural twine color, and the small ones were the green color ones. first get some twine (depending on your size of the ball will determine how much twine you need)

spray paint your twine.

let it dry, flip it over and spray paint anywhere you missed the first time.

repeat if you need to.

these styrofoam balls were in the craft area at walmart.

once your spray painted twine is dry, roll up one end just like so.

hot glue gun a dab on your styrofoam ball and place you started coil on it.
let it dry.

start adding a little bit of hot glue as you go and start coiling around and around your start

continue the whole way to the other side.

continue your coil and hot glue and fill in to the end. cut off your end. make sure your end is hot glued down.

and now you have some super duper cute pottery barn looking decorative balls.

currently i'm trying other colors as well.

will post them when i'm done!

if you make some of these show them off at the flicker group so i can see your creations!
comments closed

winner winner chicken dinner

for the csn mattress embroidery pillow giveaway:
random.org number generator picked # 88
turns out that noodle is the winner.
whoot for you little lady!
could you please email me your address so we can get you your winnings?
thank you very much mam!

************
and ladies no worries...
i have giveaways booked on through the end of the year.
highlighting esty, and fabric shops.
hopefully your time will come next time.

thank you all for playing ;)
till next time!

small town fair

this last week(end) was the middle of nowhere's fair.

i have to admit one thing this small town knows how to do, is it's fair.

if you are looking for big rides and lights, huge floats and concerts...well keep on moving along cause that's not what we do here.

nope, we have our local shops and business drive up and down the main street throwing candy at you.

that's our parade.

if you're lucky you get a ping pong ball with a # thrown your way...this means extra special goodies at the store where you can redeem your free drink, doughnut, or candy.

my quilt i entered in the fair

it got me 1st place whoot

and my moda bake shop strawberries got me 1st place as well as a purple ribbon for special recognition :)

back side of the quilt
we have a few bounce houses and local vendors selling their home made stuff.

we judge who has the largest zucchini.

and who has the prettiest tomatoes...

ladies put in quilts and kids put in their lego creations.

some of the leather work and wood work that is brought in...WOW.

pictures are taken and judged on the beautiful scenery we have all around us.

we have the rodeo and mutton bustin', but my favorite of them all has to be the DEMOLITION DERBY.

no not my kids but i know the kids and the mom...so if you read this uh thanks for having cute kids in cowboy hats

EDITED PICTURE JUST FOR MAUREEN:

not the best picture but we had to keep our distance just in case.

this is what a demolition derby is:

boys (men) in super beat up cars with spray paint from a can jobs, really loud mufflers, and radiators that can be fixed up lickity split for the next round of crashing into eachother till the last car running and able to move.

oh man the derby.
where men's true colors shine. give a man a car that he can tweek and tell them to crash the competition to be the last one standing and you are going to have some good times.

after the hamburgers and hot dogs and cotton candy is all gone, and the car's have been destroyed and rebuilt with duct tape just to be destroyed one more time...the dust settles and the whole week ends with fireworks.
and you haven't really seen a firework "grand finale" till you've gone to a small town firework grand finale in the middle of nowhere.
let me tell you.

(the giveaway's still going go here for details)

GIVEAWAY TIME: you're going to love this one

if you want to check out the fantabulous giveaway sponsored by CSN MATTRESSES please check out my past sponsored giveaways and sponsors blog
this giveaway is now closed!
thank you ALL for playing!

my morning walks

i go walking in the mornings, bright and early.
well it used to be bright and early.
these past few days i've been noticing that 6am is getting darker and darker.
every day it's like it's taunting me just a smidge bit more "summer's almost behind you."
seriously where did summer go? we're now talking about back to school shopping, fall crafts, and getting back on schedules from lazy relaxed summers...
really?
already?
before you know it we'll be harvesting apples and then pumpkins!
mmmmm pumpkins.
i love anything pumpkin...
well everything but what pumpkins represent...
winter is only one season away.
i'm so not ready for that.

thankfully we still have fall in between us.

super moist banana bread

seriously i don't know what's going on with me.

i normally don't enjoy cooking.

heck i pat myself on the back when i order and get pizza on the table just in time for the husband to walk in.

i actually enjoyed and was so giddy when i made this.

signs of the apocalypse?

no, it's just that i had super ripe bananas and yogurt (husband came with me grocery shopping last week and wanted bananas and yogurt...and... well now we have a ton of browning bananas and a ton of yogurt...and a husband who is so over banana's and vanilla yogurt.)

so wa-la!

super moist banana bread:

INGREDIENTS
* 2 cups plain flour (i used wheat, i KNOW... double apocalypse right around the corner!)

* 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

* pinch of salt

* 2 eggs (beaten)

* 1/2 cup butter

* 1/2 cup sugar

* 2 cups of mashed overripe bananas

*1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

* 1 teaspoon vanilla

* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional for topping)

* 1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional for topping)

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour a loaf pan.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, yogurt and the mashed bananas and mix well.
3. Slowly stir in the flour, adding a little at a time. Then mix in the baking soda and salt, mixing thoroughly.
4. Pour the mixture into your prepared loaf pan. If the mixture is too stiff to pour you may want to add a little more yogurt and mix well until you reach the desired consistency. Only mix in a little yogurt at a time to avoid making the mixture too runny.
5. (Optional) sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar on top of loaf.
6. Bake in the centre of the oven at 350F for around 60 minutes. Oven times may vary, so check to see if the loaf is ready by inserting a knife or toothpick into the center of the loaf. It should come out completely clean when ready.
7. Allow to cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool fully.
enjoy.
ours was gone in 2 hours
thank heavens i still have more banana's and yogurt!
comments closed

awesome aquaware giveaway

um i contemplated NOT telling all of you about this because i want them so bad. but then i thought...that would be mean.

so even though my "monthly crankies" are in full swing over here and i'm typing this in between handfuls of chocolate chips (that were intended to go in some banana bread)... i decided to play nice.

for a chance to win these lovelies go here.

(tell them i sent you maybe they will give me something nice like a pat on the back... since i know one of you will probably win.)

spray painting plates

one thing is for sure.
my house is ever changing.
and i also don't sit for very long...BUT when i do sit...i stare around and the 'ol brain starts a going...
sometimes this drives my husband nuts.
the question has been risen a few times: "why can't you just let things be and be happy how they are?"
i don't know...i guess it's a problem if i let it be a problem, or i could just run with it and oh i don't know keep a blog going with all my crazy-ness...

i had this little plate hanging around and i had this spray paint hanging around.
the plate cost me a whopping 25 cents at the second hand store so i figured "why the heck not?...lets try something new."
i think i like it

and i think i may just have started something new in my house...husband's going to love that.

i'll make sure to remind him that he's the one that pursued me in the early stages in our courtship...that'll teach him.