Luggage Rack (If only I had...............

......a guest room) Haha!!!

I currently have a guest futon in the den, and there are no doors or curtains in the den for privacy. You're just there, sleeping in the middle of my house. Sub-par guest conditions for sure. Alas, I think I will end up selling this adorable luggage rack at the flea market in July.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Some white spray paint and some upholstery webbing and BAM! It's fabulous!

Some day when I have proper guest accommodations (ok, let's face it, this may never happen), I will definitely need to have one of these guys tucked in the closet so my guests can feel like they're at a fancy bed and breakfast. For now, I'll just try to keep my kids from dog-piling my guests early in the morning, and that's about as good as it gets around here :)

Adventures in Sewing: Part 1

Ok. About five and a half years ago, my mom bought my sister a sewing machine (because she is a linen-a-holic. About every 2 weeks or so, she wanted a new duvet cover).

 My sweet mom thought this would help her addiction and make it easier on her wallet - the ability to make her own. Well, since we already had the machine, my mom and I decided to use it to make Noah's crib bedding before he was born. It was definitely an adventure but the end result was great.

 Then, we packed up the little machine and it was never to be heard of again. About 6 months ago, my cousin asked if she could borrow it for a while. No problem! I handed over the box from the garage and she was on her sewing way. BUT, BIG PROBLEM. When she opened the box to get started, the instruction manual, pedal, and power cord were missing. WHAT?? We must not have packed it back in the box those looooong 5 years ago. Boooooo. Now what? Well, my cousin ordered the manual on-line, and I went to a local sewing shop and bought a replacement pedal and cord. Grrrrrr. Definitely cheaper than buying a whole new machine, but still. Grrrr. Ok, now let's get sewing.      Wait.      I.don't.know. how.to.sew!! See, when we made Noah's crib bedding, my mom did most of the actual sewing and I "helped."  Grrrrrrr.
So, with my manual on hand, it was time to experiment. I had picked up some "Cars" fabric for Noah at Joann's in the remnant bin to make him a pillow case. Easy enough, right??

Noah got to help me push the pedal and was in heaven (....and as you can see from this picture, I neglected to remember that I needed to turn it inside out so the seams wouldn't show. Ooops.). Regardless of it not being perfect, my boy LOVES it and that's all that matters.

My next project was inspired by my friend Cassie. She has recently been making buntings out of vintage fabric (and since I'm a total copy cat, I had to give it a try). I found a vintage sheet at the thrift store for $.75. After washing it in scalding hot water, ha ha, I cut it in to triangles and gave it a whirl. Here is the debut of my first ever sewn bunting!!!

Isn't it pretty!!?? I took Cassie's suggestion and bought some packs of Bias Tape...it worked like a charm (well it would have if I could sew a straight line to save my life, ha ha).

There are a few areas that look like this, ha ha

and this.....

But, I plan to keep practicing until these little guys will be good enough to sell in my Etsy shop and at the flea market. We'll see how it goes :)

Happy Saturday!!!!

A Chair & Some Thrifty Finds ;)

Before:

After:

I'm jumping the gun a bit because I haven't completely "finished" this project. My sewing machine is on the fritz so I couldn't officially re-cover the seat cushion. I just tucked the pretty fabric around the edge of the cushion for the picture. This is a chair that I might (I said might people) re-sell, so I didn't want to get all "Ali" on it and glue gun the cushion cover. Ha ha. I definitely think it looks much more elegant in black. Definitely a re-birth for this little guy :)

(doesn't it just  look like it belongs here??)

In other news, I had a GREAT day at goodwill earlier in the week. Our goodwill isn't the best usually, but this time I scored! First up, an awesome white "artichoke" vase. Gorgeous!

Next, 3 sizes of embroidery hoops :)

A cheese dome (cloche) that will get painted and look fabulous!

A photo holder thingy...

Awww, young love. This is one of our engagement photos :)

Sweet itty bitty baby Noah. Sigh.

A swan peg thingy...for Hayden's room of course :)

And last but certainly not least, this awesome "McCoy-esque" vase, and an acorn finial thingy (do you like all my technical names for things, ha ha). My sis and a friend of ours are trying to get a booth at a local flea market in either June or July, so most of these pieces will be sold there. Yay! Fun! Can't wait!

So, that's all for now. A cool chair & some thrifty finds :)
Bye for now!

Rainy blah day.

(apologies in advance for this random post)
It was kind of a strange day today. Rainy for part of it, sunny & windy for the other part. All in all, I just felt blah. You know what I mean?? Anyway, I managed to drag my lazy butt to the gym (yay me) and I was able to get a few pacifier clips done for my Etsy shop. Josh took the kids out to visit his Grandpa for a bit so I was able to hammer my snaps in peace :)

I need a little help. I'm struggling with the decision to sell the awesome bird flash cards or keep them all for myself. Hmmmm.

I don't have a particular need for them at the moment, but they're just so darn cute. Don't you think they would make cute book marks if they were laminated? I don't know. Keep or Sell?? Help!

I'm almost finished making over my caned chair and luggage rack from the estate sale last weekend, and I also got a ton of awesome thrifty finds from goodwill that I will share soon.

Stay tuned people :)

NEW Blog Alert!!

My wonderfully amazing twin sister Fiiinaalllly started a blog. Yipppeeeeeeee!! Now, as long as you all promise not to end up liking her more than you like me ( ha ha), you should head on over and become her follower. Her blog journey is just beginning, but it's gonna be a good one people!!! Cheers sister! Welcome to Blogland :)

More Newbies :)

I added a few new necklaces to the ol' Etsy shop yesterday! Hope you like them :)

Happy Weekend!!

Thrifty Finds and a Spa day

I went to a local estate sale today and got some awesome treasures for GREAT prices! I haven't been to one in a while, so I am very excited that it turned out to be a good one.

I got this awesome caned chair for $10! I'm kind of diggin' the wood color, but it may get a paint job. We'll see. I'll definitely recover the cushion in a fun fabric though. It's super comfortable too!

This French nightstand/end table thingy was a super score for only $5!

There is a bit of an icky sticky situation happening on the top which I think is why it was such a bargain. Easy fix with a little TLC :)

I have always wanted one of these folding luggage racks, and for $5, I'll take it! I see a white paint job with new straps made out of upholstery webbing {LOVE}!

I fell in love with these vintage bird flash cards and for $.75 I could NOT pass them up!

And last but not least, a simple vintage mason jar for $1. Yay!

It was cute, this little old lady kept following me around the sale because she said I had "a good eye" and I totally agree, ha ha!

After the sale, I met up with Noah at his preschool for his belated Mother's Day Tea & Spa Day. First up, a foot massage :)

Next, a mani/pedi :)

(like my flip flop tan lines, ha ha..oh yeah, and over here in beachy land, toe rings are a normal thing. I've had toe rings on since I was 13 years old...not these same ones of course..... so I don't even notice them anymore, but you may think they're strange).

Some face powder and perfume on my wrists....mmmmmm.

A yummy lunch made by little hands with a fancy souvenir plate :)

Some info about mommy...

And a precious paper flower made by my boy :)

Other than Hayden waking up with a 103 degree temperature, it has been a marvelous day!!
Happy Friday people!