A Few DIY Christmas Projects

As usual, I've been a very BIZZY bee. I've only created a few things this Christmas ... the rest are ... as we said when we were little country kids .... store boughten.

I've made several of these scarves. Earlier in the year I bought a Knitty Gritty (with a coupon at JoAnn's) and I've been knittying my buxx off!

I used this tutorial to make the matching organza flower brooch. http://www.reesedixon.com/2009/03/organza-flowers.html I used 3 freshwater pearls for the center. Sorry about the fuzzy picture.

And I used this tutorial to make the felted wool brooch. http://ohsocrafty.blogspot.com/2009/09/felted-wool-flowers.html These flowers are so much fun to make. I'm using felted sweaters and some of the wonderful felted wool TexNan sent me.

I attempted to make a wine bag using burlap with a silk lining for DH's boss, but my dimensions were wrong and I messed up on some decorative stitching -- it's a lot harder to sew on burlap than I had envisioned. For the embroidered part of it, I used tear-away interfacing underneath the burlap and water-soluble stabilizer on top .... sort of a burlap sandwich ... so the burlap didn't ever touch the sewing machine -- easy breezy. Then I tried to do some fancy stitching without stabilizer of any sort -- didn't work. Sigh.

But isn't the design purdy? I love this font.

Soooo, I made this one instead. It's a silk-look poly.

And I made two of these for the ladies that work for DH.

Notice the little jewels? There are 7 on this design. Do you want to know how hard it is to peel the paper backing off teensy little jewels with big fat adult fingers? First, just separating the paper from the jewel and then the darn thing gets stuck to your fingernail. ARGHH! I don't use jewels often enough to warrant getting one of those tools for bedazzling, so I use the low-tech peel and stick method. That said, I really do like this design and will do it again.




I still have a few more projects to finish before Christmas, but that's all for now. Have a merry!

Once Upon a Christmas

I'm attempting to attach music to my blog.

Guess I put it in the wrong place!! Oh, well.

Since it wound up here in my post I'll just leave it while I'm figuring this thing out.

You can click the start button above and listen to a lovely song (Selah with Dolly Parton) while you enjoy a few family Christmas pictures from this weekend.

After looking the pictures over again, I realized they're almost all of sweet Maxton! Oh, well, he was probably the cutest one there -- enjoy!

Maxton and the train. Hmmm .... interesting!

Hey! Where did it go?

It went down that way!

Wait, there it is again!

Oh the wonder of a little boy and a model train.

And the discovery of a piano. I think a little boy should help the song a little bit down there on that end of the piano. Makes the song better!

A little solo performance by Max. First the "warm-up"

The triumph of success! Give yourself a good hand, sweet boy.

All in all it was a wonderful day for the whole family.

Goodwill ROCKS!

Yesterday DH and I did some serious shopping and got some really great deals. We're trying to get all our Christmas shopping done in November .... like that's ever happened before, but we keep trying!

We went to Steinmart early in the morning for their big sale and really scored some great gifts ... none of which I can mention here because I don't want spoil the surprise. Also we've been looking for some wool slacks to replace a pair in DH's wardrobe, but it's difficult to find quality slacks for under $50.00 a pair and we won't pay that much unless we MUST. As we were standing in line to check out our Christmas goodies, we noticed a closeout rack that had clothing including slacks. DH checked it out and .... there they were! The perfect wool slacks -- in his size! -- and marked down to $20.00. WOOHOO!

Then we went to Big Lots and loaded up on several smaller items for stocking stuffers ... like really pretty insulated travel mugs in the perfect colors (to match the cars) at 2 for $5.00 and wool socks at 3 pair for $5.00. Since my Andy is still in Colorado, I figure he'll appreciate the socks.

Then we went to Goodwill.

Since Lewisville is an affluent community, I was hoping for some really good finds and I was not disappointed. We got several smallish items (a Mikasa crystal candleholder, a Mikasa crystal clock and a beautiful hurricane candleholder) at really good prices. All will make great additions to gift baskets. Also, we found a pair of Dockers jeans for $6.00 in perfect condition in exactly the right size. DH really needs to replace his work jeans ... those that I've patched several times ... so the Dockers will be a perfect replacement.

NOTE: Lest you think we're poor ... or cheap ... we're not. We're unabashedly frugal. DH and I choose to live WELL on as small a budget as possible. We may drink champagne frequently, but it's not Dom Perignon. As a result, we can afford to drink champagne frequently. Nuff said.

Back to our Goodwill adventure, the really big score came (again) as we were about to leave the store. I noticed several large boxes (containing entertainment centers, etc) and one of them had a steel shelving unit in it. I immediately thought of my pantry. Now my pantry is large and already contains shelving, but I really needed additional storage. The pantry upgrade is pretty low on the master TO DO list but, when I saw this shelving I knew this would be a great stop-gap. Heavy duty metal shelving like this is around $100.00 and we paid $20.00!!!!! STEAL!!

We put it together this afternoon and got it into the pantry. Okay, the fit is not perfect (it sticks out into the doorway a couple of inches) but I don't mind. When we finally get around to doing the pantry upgrade, we'll just move this out to the garage and it will work perfectly there. In the meantime, this is grrrrrreat!

So here are my pictures ... one showing the pantry through the door and the other just showing the shelving.

Is it pitiful to be so happy about getting an organized pantry????

Maybe so, but I am sooooooo excited about being able to get some of my occasional-use-appliances-and-paraphernalia out of the way.

I am one happy .... FRUGAL ... chick.

Coffee House Chair Makeover

Some of you already know about Denton Freedom House, but for those who don't, it's a non-profit residence program for men who choose to walk away from their addictions (drug, alcohol, whatever) and who want to become more Christ-like. I believe with my whole heart that it saved my son's life. As a result, I am, of course, very, very grateful to the Freedom House and am always willing to volunteer my time and talents (such as they are) whenever there's a need.

To accomplish some of their future plans (a Freedom House for women and the expansion of the existing packed-to-the-rafters men's program), they'll be opening a (for-profit) coffee house in Denton at the beginning of November. They've been preparing the location for awhile ... which includes receiving donations of chairs, tables, etc, some of which are in less than perfect condition. That's how I came to participate in today's project -- reupholstering two matching chairs. Super SASSY to the rescue!!

This is what the chairs looked like BEFORE. Really not too bad when you look at them straight on.

But this is what they both looked like from the side -- clear evidence of a CAT DESTRUCTOR at work , I think!

One of the volunteers had donated 5 yards of putty colored chenille upholstery fabric (she bought it at a thrift store in Roanoke for $1.00 per yard ... and YES she gave me the name & location) which would be perfect for this project. Since it was a pretty simple color and pattern and I didn't want to make my own cord, I picked up some corresponding braid (is it braid or gimp? TexNan will know) at Hobby Lobby and used it to spruce up the newly reupholstered chairs. If you add the cost of the braid and the cost of the fabric, that's $10.00 per chair. Not bad I say. They're going to use these next to the "fireplace" at the coffee shop. I used quotes around the word fireplace because it's a fireplace surround. I haven't seen the finished mantel yet, but they tell me this fabric will look great next to it.

Here's the AFTER shots. The braid is blue in the center and dark putty on the outer edges. The picture ---of course! -- doesn't do it justice, but it's really pretty in person.

If you make it to Denton, Texas, the coffee house is catty-cornered across from the civic center and it's called Zera's. Check it out!

Closet Rug

Today I bought an oriental runner for $15 at the thrift store (see the post below for another great buy). Did I score today or what? And these are not the only goodies I got, but this is all I have time to show you right now.

Okay, I know everyone doesn't need a rug in their closet -- they have carpeted closets. But I have a tile floor and I NEEDED a rug in my closet. The floor was cold and I don't want to step on a bare floor - I hate cold feet (I know .... what a Princess!!). When I spotted this one at the thrift store, I checked for stains and for quality --- it feels great! I'm okay with a synthetic rug for my closet, but I don't want it to FEEL like it's made of plastic ... know what I mean? It needs to feel like it's made of wool. This one doesn't have a tag stating content and I know I can test it to see if it's wool, but I don't WANT to. I mean .... after all, it's a CLOSET rug. It's just there to keep my feet warm and my eyes happy.

And my eyes ARE happy!

Thrift Store Candleholder

Just had to quickly share this thrift store find. When describing it over the phone to Nancy, I called it a Forrest Gump candleholder because it reminds me of Forrest's leg braces. Is that rude? Couldn't think of any other way to describe it.

Now the decisions -- polish or not -- paint it pewter or leave it brass. Whatcha think?

Another Creepy Critter!

Just had to share the pictures I saw at Let-It-Shine (http://let--it--shine.blogspot.com/2009/09/metamorphosis.html) -- they made me laugh. Now I would love to have one of THESE creepy critters in my garden!

Gives new meaning to the phrase "Cute as a bug"! Love it!