Lookie What I Made...

well yes it is true I did make the girl "in" the dress so let me rephrase that, look what I made "today!"  This is the first garment I have EVER made, and I am so proud, exhausted, but thrilled with myself.  Far cry from my simple pillows and window valances.  Not sure I am 100% crazy about the flower on the bodice, I made it and then gave her the choice whether to attach or to not attach and she loved it so...it's her dress, she won! If you read this post a few hours ago and are reading this again, yes I did change the pocket, you are not seeing things LOL. One of my goals this year was to improve on my sewing skills, I just have to mention that the top and back bodice part of this dress are even lined and yes its straight, haha, she took it off and we realized after the picture part of it was tucked in her bottoms.  My back hurts from sitting in my dining room chair all day, my floor is a mess with bits of thread, pins and small pieces of fabric, the laundry it still in the hamper, and I have a full sink of dirty dishes but...such is life!

My darling daughter Ella has her promotion ceremony next week from kindergarten to first grade.  Why they feel the need to promote kindergarten in a ceremony has always been a mystery to me, but she now has a pretty new dress to wear, and it was made with love.

So as for my checklist ...

• Cake made.
• Garden planted (yesterday).
• Dress made.
• Coffee table painted.

and I still have one day to go...

here is the coffee table pics before and after, this you may have read earlier this month was purchased at a barn sale and I was having a hard time deciding to paint or not to paint...well, I did.

Before:

After: which goes much better with the decor

P.S. just wanted to add that I bought the pattern and instructional PDF download from Etsy seller googooagogo  yes I did change mine up a bit.  I only added one side pocket and added the trim to that, and I added the rosette flower on the bodice.  The pattern comes with several options to add, the apron on skirt,  ruffle below bodice, and different pocket placements...

Cottage Charm Giveaway Winner is.........

using the random.org tru random generator the winner is.......Patricia from Vintage Linen Treasures with the winning entry


I'm also, very happily, a new follower.


Patricia :o)

Congrats to Patricia and thank you to all who entered...this has truly been a fun few weeks reading all your blogs, and comments made to mine.

Amazing Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I am heading off to bed but wanted to share with you a recipe I got off of  AllRecipes.com for Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.  These are the BEST!  Serious YUM-OOO.  I made them last night, it made 17 muffins and they are GONE!  Tonight I was baking a cake for my husbands work this weekend and my 7 year old son came into the kitchen and was so excited because he thought I was making more muffins...to which I had to crush his little heart and tell him I was not, but I will tomorrow just for him.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
 3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
 1 teaspoon baking soda
 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I only had a tub of Vanilla yogurt so that is what I used, YUM!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (I had 3 old banana's so I used all 3)
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used an entire cup of course!)

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.  Yields 16 servings.

Seriously the best recipe for this type of muffins I have ever made.  I do tend to adjust cooking time by cooking a minute or two less than it says, who wants a dry muffin?  Just a warning...you cannot eat just one, and with those chips in there, why would you want too?

What are you weekend plans?

with 3 whole days of the kids being home and no where I have to be I have lots of things I want to do at home...just curious how much of that will actually get done?  what are your plans?  BBQ's, gatherings, parties, working in the yard, crafting, would love for you to share what you plan to put on your "plate" this weekend.

My to do list is as follows:

• Make a cake tonight for my hubby to take to work tomorrow, they asked for my "baked Potato Salad" but I just got the request an hour ago so that is not going to happen.
• Provided it actually DOES NOT rain, I will be planting my garden.  This has got to be done!
• I was a bad girl and bought yet more fabric today...I have a pattern for a dress for Ella I want to try and I also want to get started on 2 more tote/handbags, cause I just LOVE the fabric!!
• The local scrapbook store that I used to teach at and design for and was currently selling pre-made kits and layouts out of has announced it is closing...next week!  The entire store went 50% on wed so...I guess you can guess ...I have new scrapping stuff to play with.  Paper, ribbon, mini albums...I really need to break into that and get CREATIVE!
• Paint rocking chair and coffee table

and oh you know..do laundry, clean the house, I really have no plans of leaving to go anywhere which I really am looking forward too as I can wear jammies each day, all day.  No makeup, no shoes, heck no bra!

So what are your plans?  and if your "creating" please do share when you are done, I will be sharing...

Have a safe and fabulous weekend!

Don't miss out...Giveaway Day is on the 29th

My giveaway is just a couple of days away on the 29th, so if you have not entered for your chance to win you might as well do it now while you are here so you don't miss out on a chance to win.  Here is the link for my Cottage Charm Giveaway leave a comment to enter and for another chance to win become a follower and then submit another comment telling me you are now following.  While your at it, run on over to Twice Remembered the host of the annual Cottage Charm Giveaway and enter one or all of the listed blog giveaways.  At this moment there are 66 of us participating in the giveaway and there are some amazing , I mean "AMAZING" items being offered.  Good luck!

I am on a roll...I won a Scentsy Plug in Warmer

I really need to go buy a lottery ticket for tonight...not kidding!  Yesterday as you read I won a blog giveaway for a darling little tutu for my daughter. Well today my friend Stacey who is also a Scentsy Director posted a link on Facebook and I was her first "fan" so I won a plug in warmer from Scentsy, I am on a roll!

I have always wanted a Scentsy warmer, my other friend Stacey has one and everytime I go to her house it just smells so good.  If your not familiar with the Scentsy brand they are decorative warmers with wax melted by the heat of a light bulb instead of a traditional wick and flame, amazing!  Each consultant is independent as Scentsy is a home based business opportunity providing in home parties, catalog orders etc..

So I won a plug in warmer, which plugs directly into the wall. I browsed her online site and choose this one, as I thought it would great in my cottage beach decor bathroom.

While on her website I fell in love with this months full size warmer so I figured since she was going to ship the plug in to my home I might as well order this one right, and they could ship together, there are a ton of warmers to choose from but look at how darling this one is

Love it!  and then of course I had to decide which scents to order, now there was a decision to make, holy smokes they have so many to choose from!  I did however narrow it down and ordered me a bar of Sugar, Ocean Breeze and Perfectly Pomegranate , I cannot wait to try them all.

Just in case your wondering where you can find info on these products or where you yourself can order some I have offered to post her info on my blog

Scentsy Stacey Guthier Independent Director Website

Click her to join her fan page on Facebook

Tell her I sent ya!

I am a blog giveaway winner today!

I got a little note in my blog comments today from Melanie at Tutu Bug blog that I was her winner in her recent giveaway for a handmade tutu from her website.  How exciting to win something, anything, I feel so special.  So, when my little princess Ella got home from school today we got onto the website as we were allowed to pick any tutu she wanted.  Carson, my near 8 year old son was a bit unhappy when he asked if he could get one too and I had to tell him no, that boy likes his girly stuff!

It was a hard decision for a 5 year old to make, they are all so pretty.  If I were choosing I would have gone with the Purple Swirl or the Bubblegum one but I think the rainbow of colors caught her eye as she choose the Gumdrop after changing her mind several times.

An hour later she is bugging me..."mommy, can we check the mail to see if my tutu is here?" to which I had to explain that it is not and it won't be for a week or so, it will be a surprise when it does arrive.  I think she gets her impatience from her mommy...when I am expecting a package of scrap goodies or something I am at the mailbox everyday right after delivery...it is exciting to get packages in the mail!

Tutu bug has a large variety of tutu's, even sport team colors, darling!  If you get the chance do swing by and check out the site, I am sure you know of some little girl who would love to run around in a fluffy, fancy little tutu such as these.

Tutu Bug Handcrafted tutus for your little princess

Thanks Melanie for the opportunity to win, my daughter is going to love it!

Darling Vintage Garden Markers

Not exactly sure how I landed on this etsy site Monkeys Always Look but I happened upon it yesterday and just had to share.  These are just darling, I love these little garden markers and can see many of them in my plant boxes and or windowsill, such a great idea! 

Tote bag Sew Along

My sewing skills are very limited...I can make pillows, valances, table runners, basically anything that is easy enough and requires very little skill .  However, one of my goals for 2010 was to expand on this so this is my big start.  I have never used a pattern before, as I have never made anything that really required one so I am doing a sew-a-long over at I Got The Notion, she has emailed us the pattern and supply list and we are in stage one of the process.  Where we live we don't have a great fabric store and the nearest Joann's is 45 min away so today while out of town at my sis-in laws birthday party I snuck out and ran to Joann's which was nearby and got my supplies.  I am very excited to get started and see how it goes, I thought a tote bag was an easy enough project to get started on so wish me luck!

This is the bag we will be making, this is the one she made at Notion.  (It does have several pockets inside too).

And this is the fabric I will be using to make mine! If it turns out decent enough I know just what to do with it as I have a friend turning 40 soon and I had her in mind when picking out the fabrics.

Will keep you updated on the process...

P.S. I also have some new scrapbook paper to play with too...and lots of idea's in my head in that arena too so check back in a couple of days for a  new layout of the day/week.

Chippy Vintage Bench Pillows

I just finished sewing the pillows for the bench on my front porch.  They need to be sat on and smashed a bit to fill them out a bit, the seat cushion mainly, needs to be "flatter" I think.  I choose to make the seat cushion a pillow rather than a cushion with foam because...I had the fill on hand and the foam seating is really expensive at our only fabric store in town, so I decided to go with the cheaper option which was also the easier option, see how that worked! 

The flowers on each back pillow are really rough, frayed edges and such and meant to look that way.  I used what I had left over of the fabric and a few of the vintage hankie pieces I had left from making the pennant banner (see below).  I still need to spray with some UV protectant and heat dry (with blow-dryer via the directions) the porch is covered so not going to get a whole lot of sun or a lot of use, as we never sit out there, it is for looks of course!   So that is about as crafty as I am going to get today...still feeling a bit under the weather.

On another note the kids had there school carnival last night, so glad that is over.  However, having that out of the way means...the end of the school year is within arms reach.  I cannot believe how fast it went!!  The end of the year brings so many activities.  Next week we have a field trip to some marine marsh (they are learning about the plants and living things in these) and then off to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom the following week for a behind the scenes look at the marine life, that should be an interesting field trip however with 82 kids is the interesting part going to be what we are showed or...keeping them all in line!

Well off to check my oven which is "self cleaning" oh...the simple things in life that make it so much easier!!

 Happy Spring Day!

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Nature Album Kit

It is already Thursday and I have accomplished not a darn thing this week it seems.  I spend the last 2 days and nights in bed asleep, I am not kidding, I slept more in two days than I do in a normal week.  I have been up today and got a few things done, nothing exciting, cleaned my kids rooms.  I still have a horrible cough that hurts and I feel a little spacey still and I could probably sleep still, but thought I would catch up on a few things and before you know it the kids will be home from school and I will be up anyways!

Not having done anything "crafty" this week I pulled this album out of my craft closet to share with you.  This album kit is made by Tattered Angels.  I love how this turned out and think that it would not only make a great little album for some great outdoor photos but I think it would make a lovely journal as well. The kit comes with a blank album, butterfly stencil, 3 shades of glimmer mist, the nature chipboard pieces, some cutouts, words and some ribbons and such.  It is up to you the creator to use the items as you wish.  If you have never used Glimmer mist, it is amazing!  It is, well here is some info from the website at Tattered Angels.
Glimmer Mist, a Tattered Angels original product, is a quick and easy spray that delivers just a touch of glimmer in a fine mist to make all of your projects shine. Glimmer Mist puts an end to messy, clumpy, and time consuming conventional glitters with over 80 colors to choose from so finding the right one for your project is easy. Glimmer Mist was made by a scrapbooker with the scrapbooker in mind and is water-based, archival safe, acid-free, and non-toxic. Glimmer Mist is safe for and adheres to all types of materials including paper, acrylic, metal, and fabric.

So here is the cover of my album,  and a few of the pages I made with this particular kit, caution Glimmer Mist once you try can be quite addicting, I cannot even begin to guess how many bottles I personally own now!

Thanks for looking!

I am, for the first time participating in the 4th Annual Cottage Charm Giveaway.  There will be many, and I mean  "a lot" of  blogs offering fabulous giveaways for the month of May, this event will last from now until May 29th, 2010 at midnight . Please check out the Cottage Charm Giveaway post for all of the great details on how to participate in these giveaways by either offering one yourself or entering one or all!  My giveaway will include the following:  (warning there are lots of pictures! )

A handcrafted by me wall hanging, I have one similar hanging on the knob of a cabinet. The vintage inspired Bingo Card measures 5"x7" to give you an idea of how big this is.

Next I am including a vintage inspired mini scrapbook album in the theme of friends, made my me.

Sample of inside:

Next item up for grabs is a acrylic scrapbook album in a heart shape, again made by moi.

Inside first page, this album is chocked FULL of flowers, and is so bright and fun!

and lastly I am including a grab bag full of Vintage ephemera, vintage music paper, pages from vintage books, vintage ledger paper, vintage flash cards and lace, old used stamps and vintage inspired (not old) pearl hat pins, and an assortment of vintage buttons I acquired at an estate sale.

Now how can you win all of this? 

Leave me a comment for one entry.

For another entry...become a follower and then leave me another comment telling me you have become a follower.

I will use a random picking site to pick my winner on the 29th.

(due to shipping fees please only USA and Canada shipping)

Also...if your not a blogger  please leave me an email in your comment section so I know where to reach you should you win!

Now  once again be sure to go on over to the

Cottage Charm Giveaway

and check out and enter all the giveaways,  There is "amazing" little lovelies being offered.

Vintage Hankie Pennant Banner

So, no scrapbooking this weekend but I have been busy.  Yesterday I painted some patio chairs and today...this.  At our old house we could not have any "color" as in plants because we had deer everywhere and they love to eat pretty flowers!  So, at our new to us house I am trying to get some color out there, lots of potted pretty flowers (we have tons of gophers) and pretty floral fabrics.  I am currently in the process of making outdoor cushions and pillows but that will take time.  Today I made these breezy little pennant type banners to hang from our patio umbrella, these are made from vintage hankies (hankerchiefs) I found at a garage sale yesterday for 10 cents a piece.  I cut each one in half on the diagonal and then gathered each one and then sewed them all on bias tape.  My first one did not come out that great, I had to restitch several times as my tension on my sewing machine was not right.  The second one I made went much much better!  I love the color it brings, the way it flows in the wind....

(oops...I see a loose thread, that is definatly the first one I made)

Second project today was recovering the lid on the kids toy box.  The fabric was old and filthy so my friend Jennifer was ever so kind as to pull some upholstery fabric out of her stash and sell to me dirt cheap ($5 a yard), it took me maybe 10 minutes from start to finish and the seat has a fresh new look.  I love the fabric so much I may call her up and see if I can buy some more for some outdoor pillows.

And lastly today I wanted to just share a lovely photo of the roses I picked in my yard this morning....I love roses and roses to a deer is like desert so no deer here means lots and lots of roses!

Have a lovely Mother's Day tomorrow...I myself will be home with the kiddo's piddling around here, husband works, just another day...

Layout of the Day-Celebrate

Single page layout made for the local scrapbook store.  I applied powder to the backs of all the coordinating card stock stickers so I could pop them up without them sticking to the page.  The celebrate banner is also a border card stock sticker which I applied the letters too.  Stapling them to the page rather than sticking them down made them appear more like a banner as they turn and lift a bit.  Machine stitching, ribbons, buttons, date sticker and some bling are embellishments used.  This could be a birthday layout, anniversary etc...various numbers on printed papers, circular number stickers down right hand side of page could all signify a important date or celebration in years.  I purposely left the lined printed paper with an area on the lower right hand corner blank (without pictures or embellishments) so that journaling can be done right on the page.

Layout of the Day-Bloomin Cute

Today's layout is a another pre-made single layout I made for resell.  Using leftovers from a kit club monthly kit I had in my stash I was able to use several prints and leftover embellishments as well.  Machine stitching can add so many details, a zig zag stitch border in aqua and a straight stitch in yellow accentuate the sun, sewing on paper is very easy and it only takes a minute to swap out the different color threads.  Handmade crepe paper flowers with the coordinating manufacturer flower in the centers.  Hand cut the stems and leaves from scraps I had left over and doodled them with pen.  The "cute" is a Heidi Swapp sticker I also had in my supplies backed with red cardstock and I always make sure to allow some place for journaling if needed so there is a block for that as you can see that slips right behind that and could also be used for a smaller photo.  Stickles glitter glue and various buttons add dimension and highlight the "sun".

 

Estate Sale Vintage Finds

This weekend I was able to stop by some Estate Sales and I managed to find a few great things!  First we have this darling coffee table. 

 This was at a barn sale and the prices were rather high, but I managed to get out of there with a few dollars knocked off the price.  I cannot decide if I want to paint this table white, as I love being able to really see the vintage doily through the glass.  It does match our piano right now as is but thinking maybe..I can paint the entire thing white except the inside. At his particular barn sale I also got this small darling pillow cover and a few vintage kitchen towels.  I fell in love with a cream handmade crocheted tablecloth but they were asking to much and not willing to budge on the price.

At another estate sale I managed to find a couple lovely teacups and the jewelry bits cost me $2 total  The cameo is a broken pendant with also a pin backing and I am thinking I may make it into a ring, as with the center broken earring.  The butterfly pin is lovely the way it is but would also be cute as a hair accessory I am thinking.

The vase I picked up at a antique consignment store, I thought it perfect to display my Cecile Bruner pink roses I posted about earlier in the week.

At last but not least is a bench. 

I got this a month or so ago and have yet to post it but I LOVE IT!  It was up until yesterday inside the entry of my home but....it was becoming the place where everyone would walk into the door and just drop there items off on it and walk away so...it now resides on the porch and they now have to put there items away, what a concept!  It is so chippy and well worth the $20 I paid for it, now to find the perfect fabric to make a cushion, I am thinking a floral oilcloth.

Not bad for a Redneck!

So Thursday my status on Facebook read "you know your married to a Redneck when he uses a road flare to get the fire going in the living room fireplace!".  Sometimes that man never ceases to amaze me...so skip to Friday late afternoon.  Hubby comes home with kids after running some errands, I am on the couch and completely exhausted.  I had worked 4 hectic hours in the kindergarten class earlier in the day, gone to the bank, paid some bills, ran to the grocery store, the consignment store etc...I was tired!  So he walks in the front door and says to me "find something nice to wear we are going out tonight".  My first reaction was "what!, I am tired, I don't want to go anywhere (we never go anywhere!!), who is going to watch the kids?".  Hubby then tells me he has taken care of that too....hmnnn..."what has gotten into my man" I think.

So we arrive a the restaurant , Restorante Allegria and he tells them we are here and they escort us to our table where waiting for me was a a bouquet of a dozen roses on the table.  Apparently my "Redneck" and the kids had gone there earlier in the day and left them....amazing, even more amazing is that my 5 year old chatterbox daughter never said a word!  The roses were "beautiful", really nothing I had seen before, he proceeds to tell me that the reason he got these is because the florist stated women like this particular type because they are "vintage" looking....boy, he really does know me!! 

The meal was fabulous!!!  I drank blood orange martini's and the Napa Cabbage dinner salad was....amazing!  I would go back just for that.  Shredded Napa cabbage, bacon, sourdough croutons, bleu cheese, tomatoes and a warm red wine vinaigrette, to die for!  My entree was mushroom ravioli's with scallops and shrimp with a cream sauce and cheesecake for desert. 

Saturday morning he woke before the rest of us and ran out and brought back donuts and a latte for him and I and hot chocolates for the kids.

That man... the only man I know dressed in full on camouflage while skiing down the slopes and I do mean full on camo....from jacket to pants to hat and gloves, you never know the gentleman behind a redneck!