A Surprise!

Pin It

What a surprise....Sarah and Lucas showed up for a visit!  So I will be away for a few days to enjoy the time with them. 

Remember to give your loved ones a hug and have a great weekend!

I Won!

Pin It What fun.  A while back, I entered a contest over at the The Frugal Girl and was notified that I had won!  Me?!  Winning something?!  That never happens!  Kristen let me know via email and I just couldn't believe it!

Unfortunately since I am not at home, I cannot take pictures of them as they came in the mail but my dear hubby did say that they were very well made bags and extremely cute!  Yes, that word did come from him!

Aren't they just adorable?!  I was able to chose two of the four....I chose the birdy and the gecko.  I loved them all but those two stood out and I had originally planned on giving them to the children of some friends of mine but I changed my mind.

I am going to be selfish and decided to keep them for myself.  I really need some new shopping bags and these are just too cute not to use.

Thanks Kristen and thanks to Little Bird Vintage Designs for the lovely bags!  They will be well loved and used.

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Thrifty Thursday!

Pin It

It's Thrifty Thursday!  This week is once again roosters......

I found this little cutie for 25 cents.....I will hang him by the kitchen door to hold our keys.

I love this guy!!!  He is made from solid metal/iron.  I don't know what he was originally used for ...especially with the big round ring at the top of his back but I will use him as a door stop.  With him being a very pale green, he works perfectly with my decor....I love the rusty patina that has formed throughout the piece.  He rang in at a little more..... $3.00.

Remember to give your loved ones a hug and happy thrifting!

Revamped Storage

Pin It Since you all know that my Mom and I LOVE cruising yard sales and garage sales, you can just imagine the items we grab but also pass up due to space limitations!

If only I had a place to store and put everything that I see at sales that I would love to bring home....but I don't have that amount of space.....AND trying to live more simply should mean living with less stuff!

I try to be extremely selective in my yard sale buys these days.  I scour them looking for only those items that are on my list.....my Mom does the same thing....so....

not needing a little shelving unit (because she had one in her kitchen close to the side door) I spotted a cute little table that I thought would be perfect in that spot.  Now the shelving unit she was using had seen better days so we grabbed it up for $3.00.

The previous owners were quite creative in their paint selection!

My Mom's kitchen is a soft yellow on the top half and wainscoting on the bottom half.  Having some of the soft yellow paint left, we decided to give the little shelving unit a quick sanding and apply a couple of layers of yellow.

We both think it turned out quite cute and the side 'pockets' (which I think were originally used for magazines) nicely holds her wooden cutting board on one side and her umbrella (since it is close to the door) on the other side.

Now as mentioned earlier, she didn't need this little unit but it nicely replaced the one she had, it is solid wood whereas the other one was pressboard/chipboard so I think it was a smart buy.

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Tuesday's Tip

Pin It A baking tip today......

If you do not have any baking powder in your pantry....

Baking powder is consisted of baking soda, cornstarch and cream of tartar to a 1:1:2 ratio

Therefore to make 1 teaspoon of baking powder, you will need to mix....

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar

That's it!  Instant baking powder.  I think it is so amazing to have the information to make something I need and can pick the ingredients from items in my pantry...and now you do too!

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Did You Guess Right?

Pin It

Well, it is Monday...did you guess right on Friday?  One person did!  I showed you this picture....

Okay, so yes, I am still plucking away at my Mom's back patio.  It keeps me busy and I am enjoying fiddling around with such a small property.  

Last week we decided to add ambiance.  Lit ambiance that is.  

She has no outdoor lighting at the back so when enjoying the cool breeze after the sun sets and the humidity has been at 100 all day, it is the perfect spot to sit except we have no light.  

Do you know how difficult it is to sit in the pitch black and try and carry on a conversation with someone who is sitting right across the table from you but you can't see them?

So wanting to keep costs down, as I always like to do, I came across this idea from Diane at In My Own Style.  I thought a few of these lanterns would be perfect.  I have had my eye out for broom handles/shovel handles and glass hurricanes or vases that would work for this project when we have been out to yard sales and rummage sales.  

There never has been a shortage of old wooden broom handles that I know of except when you need them!  I do remember where I have some stashed at home and will definitely be making these once I am back on the old homestead.

First you need to gather the supplies.  An old broom handle, a cleaned out tuna can (I used a cleaned out cat food tin can...there is no shortage of those around here with my Mom's two cats!), a hurricane style glass vase/bowl, spray paint in a color of your choice ( I used the cheapest I could find), a screw and a connector.  Diane used a copper connector but I found a cheaper alternative...a plastic one!  I hope it works just as well.

I needed to pre-drill a hole at the top of the broom handle but unfortunately my Mom's battery powered drill was not charged so I did it the old fashioned way....just screwed the screw in once I had punched a hole through the bottom of the tin can with a nail...Diane used an awl but I wasn't that fancy.  

Screwing the adapter onto the male part of the broom handle, I then screwed the tin can to the top of the broom handle.  The plastic adapter worked well!  Woo hoo ... that is a difference of about $3.50 for a copper adapter compared to $1.50 for a plastic one.

Do you see how it is coming together now?

Next came the spray paint......I stuck with trusty old black....it matches my Mom's bistro set anyway.  You could use any color you wished or you could even make the broom handle a different color from the vase/bowl holder....that would be a neat idea too.

Once dried, carefully place the hurricane vase/bowl in the cat food tin can, add a lit candle and we have instant light!

Now off to make 5 more.  

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Sunday's Blessings

Pin It

this week I loved the 

smell of : spaghetti and garlic bread!

sound of : silence...I keep saying that but staying in town compared to the country..well it is noisy!

taste of : fresh laid eggs 

sight of : clear skies

feel of : sunshine

things I am thankful for this week...

- helpful people

- no damage at home due to the flooding

- friends emails

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Saturday's Snaps

Pin It

Remember to give your loved ones a hug and enjoy your weekend!

Just a Peek

Pin It I have been so busy lately that my creating/crafting/sewing has gone by the wayside a little but here is a sneak peek of something I want to work on this Saturday when I finally have a day off!

What do you think it could be?  I don't think you will be able to figure it out but one never knows!  Take a guess and see if you are right when I post the final product on Monday.  

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Thrifty Thursday

Pin It It's time once again for Thrifty Thursday!

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had found the perfect anniversary present for my dear hubby...well here it is!  A pull behind plow for the lawn tractor!  I was so excited when I spotted it off to the side of a HUGE yard sale.  These people had the STUFF!  It was one of those yard sales where you had to look quickly as everything was priced really cheaply, it is 'stuff' you love and there are a ton of people grabbing the stuff you want!  LOL ... BUT I was able to snag quite a few items and this was the best buy ..... $20.00.

One of the other items was a pair of shears that to cut the wool off of sheep.  Not that we have sheep or anything but I loved the look of them and couldn't pass them up for 50 cents.  :o)

Happy thrifting and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Taking a Day

Pin It Good morning my friends.  I have decided today to take a day off from blogging.  I have been extremely busy lately and just need a day.

I will spend the day with a good book, a pot of tea, maybe some needlework and the couch.  I will watch the world pass by the sitting room window and maybe even take a nap in the sunshine if it makes me drowsy enough.

Just a day and then I will return.

Remember to give your loved ones a hug and have a great Wednesday!

Tuesday's Tip

Pin It One more tip from my friend Bev.....thanks Bev!

You know those cheap flip flops we all buy for summer.....the ones that cost about a buck a pair?  They are perfect for slipping on when in a hurry, when you just need to run out to hang the laundry, grab something from the garden or stop at the neighbors for a second.

Well, they always tend to crack...right where the part that holds the shoe together...you know the part between the toes....next time that happens ....try this!

credit to whoever thought of this neat trick!

Ha!!!  Love this idea!  Bread tabs are great for a lot of things!

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Time to Mod Podge

Pin It I found these at a yard sale last week and snatched them up for 10 cents a piece not knowing what I was going to do with them.  They were such a great price that I just couldn't resist.

Then Saturday, I found these at another yard sale.  Since the set was only $1.50, they would be perfect for our main washroom.  A candle will be lovely sitting on the little tray attached tray.  Planning on making some changes to our decor once I am back home, I knew that I could change the little wooden trays up a bit to match.

I am not sure how Bob is going to feel about having such a girly girl washroom...especially the main washroom but he usually doesn't complain too much as long as he doesn't have to do any of the work.

Stripping off the plastic and paper liner that was on the tray proved to be very difficult as you can see in the top right hand corner.  I had to use a scraper and some warm water to get the sticky goo under the paper off the tray but they finally came clean.

I then cut my pink rose fabric the correct size to fit nicely into the trays.  Giving the bottom of the tray a coat of mod podge, then laying the piece of fabric down and applying more mod podge to the top of the fabric, I assumed I was done and just had to wait for it to dry.  Well that it wasn't going to be that easy.

Unfortunately once the mod podge dried, you could see through the flowery fabric and the dark green paint with white paint splattered underneath....NOT what I wanted but I wanted to use this fabric!

So I once again cut three pieces of the same fabric and applied those on top of the already applied fabric in the trays.  Once dried, the fabric underneath was faintly visible through the top fabric but I didn't mind the look.

These trays will be perfect to hold my nail polish, makeup and brushes once the washroom is finished.

Well now I am hoping to find a few more items for the washroom at yard sales before I head back home.  Hee, hee.

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!