Proud Day

i made it to the front page of ESTY!

it wont be there for much longer, so here is a screne shot:
mine is the top row, center - the Necktie Belt. something about that, eh?

<3E

My "New" $15 Chair

The other day i was at the fabric store (aka: Goodwill) and i saw this chair there for 3 dollars. So i bought it.When i got it home, Jamie took one look at it and before i let him have his "you buy way too much ugly furniture" rant, i preempted with "i'm going to reupholster it!" This seemed to ease him, especially since the chair wasn't very plush.

So we went to Joann today and after striking out in the remnants, decided that we would just have to have some home decor fabric cut for this project. The chair has a real retro feel, so we decided on a bold graphic print in a vibrant green, to pick up the dark green on the walls. We also picked up a chair pad to make it more plush :) We assembled these along with some basic tools (staple gun, scissors, screw-driver) and got started:

1) unscrew the seat from the legs

2) cut the foam to size of the seat

3) lay the seat foam side down on the fabric, and fold the fabric over the side of the seat. staple in place. pull taught to the opposite side, but not so tight that the foam indents. pull fabric over and staple on the opposite side, then do the other two sides.


4) do the corners last. work inwards towards the corner, pulling taught as you go. staple in place and trim.
5) here's how it should look when all the sides and corners are done:

6) screw the seat back onto the legs


7) Enjoy! (that's Jamie enjoying the chair :)


chair: $3
pad: $7
fabric: $5
total: $15 - sweet!

<3e

Patty and Bob's Baby Shower

Today was a fun day! Patty and Bob's baby shower was today, and I made them a baby bag and travel changing pad, and Diana made them a gorgeous crocheted blanket. oh it was fantastically fun!I think i'll make bibs next :)

ALSO...I was listed on the Etsy Trashion Blog today for my Necktie Belts, made with funky thrifted neckties and vintage buckles. Check it out!

<3E

Not EVERY Friday is a Good Day....

Those of you who know me would probably call me a generally upbeat person, right? Thanks! So Fridays (especially paydays!!) are pretty fun for me. Today was much like that - until i got home and found this:Ok, not exactly this, it was all strewn about, and there were more (smaller) pieces, but you get what i'm going for here. The plate was hanging on a wall plate rack, which apparently gave out today for some reason. (i dont think the cats had anything to do with this...) This is the beautiful plate that i picked out at a local craft fair in my hometown last fall. My mom bought it for Jamie and myself for a housewarming gift - i can't even begin to tell you the hoops we jumped through to get that thing into a carry-on (it's a large platter) to get it home.

So i walk in the house, in shock, feed the cats to get them out of my hair, and slowly begin to process the symbolism of this occurrence, like any good woman would do. "Moving so far from home was a bad choice", "My impending marriage is going to fail", "My life is a big fat joke", etc.
Then i think, "it has some big pieces, maybe i can glue it!"

Not with those tiny pieces, my friend. Plus there are just too many cracks, i think i may still do it, but just keep it as a memento that no one else understands, haha.

sigh, what a Friday.

**UPDATE: Diana came over and looked at the plate. she had a great idea! i'm going to make a mosaic table out of it by cracking the inner pieces up more and making it look like an explosion of the plate. to answer you impending question: of course i will blog about it! so this is really just "broken plate: part I".

<3E

GREEN Spring Cleaning: Part II

After throwing away a whole bunch of bananas that had turned black (and by "whole bunch" i mean "a bunch", like 7), I decided that Jamie and i spend way too much money on food that we end up not eating and subsequently throwing in the trash. Shame on us! Shame!

Solution? OAMC!

OAMC stands for once a month cooking. The way it works is once a month you go to the store and buy all the things you need to cook a month's worth of meals, then cook ALL the meals (usually the next day, unless you are super-human) and package them in individual servings or family servings then stick them in the freezer. Then all month long you have dinners to eat on - all you do is pull out a meal (note why you would package them for a family serving) and reheat it, and add some fresh elements, if you want.

Benifits to OAMC:
healthier meals - Jamie and i are really trying to watch what we eat, you only eat what you put into these frozen meals!
cost savings - from bulk buying and less food trashed, i also think that running the oven/stove once for a longer time is more cost efficient that running it every day for a shorter time, and less trips to the store means less gas used
time savings - a big investment in the short run saves tons of time in the long run; plus i'm focused when i get home from work: all i want to do is sew, so sticking a meal in the microwave is perfect for those nights!

There are lots of great recipes and resources online in you Google "OAMC" or "freezer meals".

(btw, i put this under "Green Spring Cleaning" since it saves lots of money - ergo putting "green" in your pocket :)

<3E

Dear Gwen,

Since Gwen's shower is tomorrow, i decided that i should make her a fancy card - instead of spending money on one...especially since she will appreciate it :)

First i cut, glued and sewed some fabric to some cardstock:

Next, i got out the good ol'stamp pad and alphabet stamps:

And a-stampin' we shall go:

Here's how the front turned out:

and time to sign :)

Congrats Gwen (oh, and Chris :P)

<3e