Hello my lovelies!
Remember when I made a t-shirt quilt for my son?
It was this one right here:
Click Read More to find out how (and why, dear god, why) I did it again...
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Hulking Plastic Bag Caddy
Hello shoppers! :)
Do you have a pile of unsightly plastic grocery sacks currently hiding in your cabinets, at the bottom of your pantry, or under your sink?
I SURE DID.
That's after I threw about 150 of them away...ugh.
I have been looking at grocery sack dispensers on Pinterest and elsewhere for a long time, but I never quite could figure out how they're supposed to work. It wouldn't exactly be like Kleenex - how could you guarantee that pulling one bag out didn't result in three or four more spilling out as well? It just DIDN'T MAKE SENSE.
But I figured they looked pretty easy to make, and frankly anything is better than having a big pile of sacks spilling out from my pantry every time I open the door. So I decided to give it a shot.
Click "Read More" for the step-by-step tutorial, including lots of Hulk goodness and my continued doubts...
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Easy T-Shirt Shopping Bags
In a world...
Where careful budgeting is key...
Where combining errands saves precious gas...
And where grocery stores give you a minuscule discount for bringing your own bags...
An exhausted mom embarks upon an epic task: visit 5 different grocery stores in one day (including a brand new Trader Joe's opening TODAY, because apparently she's a masochist), incorporating a complex buying plan involving manufacturer and store coupons, sales, and specials.
Her budget? Minimal. Her shopping bag arsenal? Zero. Her willpower? As bottomless as her enormous travel mug of coffee.
With only a stack of old, unworn T-shirts and a sewing machine as her companions, Beth learns a valuable lesson about perseverance, resourcefulness, and the American Way.
Click "Read More" to learn if she will achieve victory...or return home crushed by defeat.
Where careful budgeting is key...
Where combining errands saves precious gas...
And where grocery stores give you a minuscule discount for bringing your own bags...
An exhausted mom embarks upon an epic task: visit 5 different grocery stores in one day (including a brand new Trader Joe's opening TODAY, because apparently she's a masochist), incorporating a complex buying plan involving manufacturer and store coupons, sales, and specials.
Her budget? Minimal. Her shopping bag arsenal? Zero. Her willpower? As bottomless as her enormous travel mug of coffee.
With only a stack of old, unworn T-shirts and a sewing machine as her companions, Beth learns a valuable lesson about perseverance, resourcefulness, and the American Way.
Click "Read More" to learn if she will achieve victory...or return home crushed by defeat.
Monday, October 13, 2014
I Made A Thing Monday: Completion of the T-Shirt Blanket
Happy Land-Stealing Murderous-Bastard Day!
I mean, Happy Columbus Day.
Did you know that Seattle officially turned Columbus Day into "Indigenous Peoples Day"? I think that's brilliant. Last year around this time, my daughter's social studies class was doing the whole Columbus spiel. You know the one: he told the King and Queen of Spain that he thought the earth was round even though everyone else thought it was flat. He said that if he sailed west, he could reach the East Indies and come up with a better trade route. The King didn't want to do it, but the Queen funded it herself. Lo and behold, Columbus came across a bountiful land full of fertile fields, mountains majesty, and all the natives he could befriend! What a hero!
We told her the truth: that Columbus was indeed trying to find a way to the East Indies, but it had long been common knowledge that the world was a sphere. And he wasn't exactly trying to "discover" anything except a faster and more efficient way to bring trade goods from India to Spain. At the time, all of Europe was engaged in a sort of maritime cold war. Portugal, Spain, and England had all been developing trade routes and trying to outdo each other left and right. Columbus was hoping that he could gain worldwide notoriety by finding the best way to get to India without having to go all the way around Africa.
But he didn't land on what we consider the North American mainland - he landed in the Bahamas (technically more South America than North America). He immediately claimed it for Spain (haha). Then he went to a bunch of other islands, including some from the Caribbean. He insisted upon calling the befuddled inhabitants "Indios" because he refused to believe he hadn't reached the East Indies. As soon as word got back to European powers that he had found some new place, so launched the beginning of one of the longest and deadliest periods of conquest and slavery the world has ever seen.
HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY EVERYONE THANKS SO MUCH CHRIS FOR TAKING A CHANCE!
Okay, history lesson is over. On to the fun stuff!
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
10 Ways to Make October Special
HAPPY OCTOBER EVERYBODY!!!
It's October! It was the first thought when I opened my eyes this morning. I am so excited for fall! The weather is going to get cooler (or so the meteorologist tells me), and I am SO READY for this awesome season! My mind has been buzzing all morning with things I want to do to make it even more special than it already is, so I thought I'd share some of my ideas with you, complete with links to projects that are better than my ideas could ever be! Click "Read More" for the full list.
It's October! It was the first thought when I opened my eyes this morning. I am so excited for fall! The weather is going to get cooler (or so the meteorologist tells me), and I am SO READY for this awesome season! My mind has been buzzing all morning with things I want to do to make it even more special than it already is, so I thought I'd share some of my ideas with you, complete with links to projects that are better than my ideas could ever be! Click "Read More" for the full list.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
WIP Wednesday: T-Shirt Quilt with Bonus Tiered Jewelry Stand!
I made so many things last weekend. I couldn't stop! I've got the bug, for sure. I made another thing I didn't tell you about. When I was at Goodwill on Saturday, buying shirts for yesterday's skirts, I picked up a few other items as well and made this thing!
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Dream Cocktail Party
Some of you may have seen this article floating around recently. You don't HAVE to click that link, but if you do, you will not be disappointed.
Huffington Post publishes 9 reasons to bring back the old-fashioned cocktail party. By reason #3 on this list, I was sold.
I AM IN.
LET'S DO THIS.
Of course, you can't just have any old cocktail party. You have to have THE cocktail party. The one you never realized you'd always been dreaming of. I couldn't help but daydream a little myself, and as my mind wandered, the whole thing came together...
I have always been madly in love with the "atomic age": that bright-eyed, optimistic view of the future that those who lived in already-optimistic times (the 1950s) believed in so heartily. I wasn't there, so I can't actually speak to how much people believed that the future would be all glitter fabric and pointy shoulders. But I adore the imagery.
So I bring to you today, straight from my very own head, the SPACE AGE COCKTAIL PARTY!
Huffington Post publishes 9 reasons to bring back the old-fashioned cocktail party. By reason #3 on this list, I was sold.
I AM IN.
LET'S DO THIS.
Of course, you can't just have any old cocktail party. You have to have THE cocktail party. The one you never realized you'd always been dreaming of. I couldn't help but daydream a little myself, and as my mind wandered, the whole thing came together...
I have always been madly in love with the "atomic age": that bright-eyed, optimistic view of the future that those who lived in already-optimistic times (the 1950s) believed in so heartily. I wasn't there, so I can't actually speak to how much people believed that the future would be all glitter fabric and pointy shoulders. But I adore the imagery.
So I bring to you today, straight from my very own head, the SPACE AGE COCKTAIL PARTY!
Attire:
As hostess, I would of course need to absolutely stun in a smashing vintage cocktail dress. It didn't take long before Etsy showed me exactly what I need:
Hummunah-hummunah! Those shoulders! That green! Those skirt flap things! The length is modest but the neckline is surprisingly sexy. Yes, this is absolutely what I would wear.
And since I need to be able to retain both comfort AND style all through the long night, I would pair it with these simple-yet-sparkly low heels:
And because I always need a little whimsy in my special outfits, this headpiece (also from Etsy) should fit the bill nicely, and hammer home the theme of the evening's soiree:
Decor
So important to get the right feel going in one's home when one is hosting a cocktail party (I don't know how I should feel about sounding like Brini Maxwell here). Therefore, the following items would be absolutely necessary:
A large piece of sci-fi artwork as a backdrop to the bar.
Atomic wall decals:
Some fabulous mod vases and bowls for snacks and flowers:
And of course an assortment of retro ashtrays placed strategically throughout the house:
Glassware:
What cocktail party would be complete without some kick-ass glassware for guests to sip from?
Like these retro highball glasses:
Or perhaps these:
Oooh, or these!
These atomic-inspired lowball glasses:
And of course, a set of simple but direct martini glasses:
The Most Important Part: The Drinks!
What would a themed cocktail party be without some themed cocktails? A quick Google search gave me the following delightful contenders (many of which were taken from The Drunken Moogle, a FABULOUS video-game themed cocktail recipe site!). Click the links below the pics for the recipes:
Serrice Ice Brandy (A Mass Effect Drink):
Possession (A Bioshock Infinite Drink):
Metroid:
And basically everything from this graphic below (from the ever-informative drunkard.com):
Daydreaming about my perfect cocktail party occupied the better part of an afternoon which would otherwise have been spent lounging on the couch in misery (thanks, seasonal allergies...thanks so much).
In any case, I am definitely in agreement with HuffPo on this one: there are a lot of perfectly good reasons to bring back the cocktail party. I reiterate: LET'S. DO. THIS.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Getting organized. Well, getting my kids organized.
As a mom I find it's important to teach your kids certain lessons, like how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, how to vacuum, how to manage money, and how to listen to the little voice in your head that says "don't say what you're thinking out loud."
(Image from roundstable.com)
(Image from www.bobthelurker.deviantart.com)
We can't teach our kids everything, of course. Some things they need to work out for themselves. Take my son for instance. No matter how many times I tell him, he probably isn't going to learn not to stand on his chair for laughs at school until he falls off of it one day. Just the facts.
One of the things I really want to teach my kids is how to take care of daily responsibilities. Chores suck. They suck even worse when I'm the only one doing them. No amount of training or fun music or games will make chores less not-fun. So we just buck up and do them right? Plus, if we all work together for a shorter amount of time, we can all have more time for My Little Pony marathons and cake.
(Image by lazcreations.deviantart.com)
I swear I never watch it by myself. Never.
Another thing I want to teach my kids is how to handle their money. It's not that my kids spend all their money right away...it's that they never spend it at all. And that's great! Except I'm worried that when it comes time to start spending money they won't know how to do it. It's a huge fear. I didn't know how to spend money myself until I was at least 30.
Finally these kids need to learn some time management. I swear it's like they think they have hours to complete every task, whether it be watering their gardens in Harvest Moon or eating breakfast before the bus arrives. Come on guys! Contrary to popular belief, you don't actually get clones later in life to help you be on two places at once!
I definitely don't have a particular love for Pinkie Pie either. Not like I identify with her in any way. Nope. Nuh-uh.
So I think I've found a way to solve all three of these problems in one slightly complicated but nonetheless fell swoop.
This is our weekly chore chart. TAH-DAAHHHH!!!!
On the left you'll see our daily chores; stuff that has to get done on the regular no matter what, without pay, because I am cheap. I mean poor. I mean frugal!
Middle column is the juicy stuff: paid chores! Each is assigned a dollar amount (typically $1) to be paid at the end of the week. Once a task is finished, whoever did it puts their initials in the last column to claim it. On Friday, everyone gets paid.
But there's a twist!!
(Image courtesy of www.iambrony.com)
Okay I'll stop now.
The twist is, anybody in the house can claim a chore. The kids can of course. But so can I. So can my parents. So can my friends. So can the kids' friends. Anybody who wants a buck can pick a chore. Hopefully this will motivate my kids to do it, since they don't put much importance on money to begin with. Which, in truth, I really like about them. It speaks to a sort of anarchistic innocence, a statement against the greedy and oppressive nature of a near-tyrannical capitalist economy. But that's beside the point.
Another thing I think might motivate them is the fact that I'm also putting harsh limits on their time with video games and non-school-related computer time. Like, way harsh. They will now have the ability, however, to purchase more time. 30 minutes of extra time playing video games or computer games, or staying up later to read, will now cost them...$1!
Now every time they want more time, they can look at their dollar bill and think about the blood, sweat, and tears that went into earning it (no there hasn't been any blood yet), before they decide whether it's REALLY worth it to play just one more day of Animal Crossing.
The kids are mighty suspicious of this new set of rules. They're not really used to mom having rules. I'm not a big fan of them myself. But dammit, I will raise RESPECTABLE, contributing anarchist members of society! Er. I mean. Well you know what I mean.
Go away Pinkie. Geez. Somepony doesn't like to listen.
Friday, April 12, 2013
A cabinet for filing things!
So this isn't a wearable, which is kinda sorta against the rules, but I have been wanting to fix up an old filing cabinet for so long that when I finally got a chance this week, I realized I had to share it with the world! (I don't actually think anybody reads this blog but me.)
I found this beauty at a garage sale for the absurdly and hilariously low price of $3:
Here it is in my trunk, all happy because someone bought it (and on the last day of the sale too!) While it was the striking color that first caught my eye, after close inspection I learned that the drawers sat properly in their rails, the handles were solid, there didn't appear to be any rust (I found some on there later, but only a tiny bit), and it had the little metal dividers in both drawers. A great find for only $3!!
I took it home and started to work on getting that awful contact paper off. I used a combination of Vinegar Multisurface Windex, a plastic scraper, and patience to get every scrap of it off:
Worse than the contact paper though was the duct tape. EEEEWWWWW. (I have a weird phobic issue with sticky stuff.) I wasn't able to get all the adhesive off, but you can hardly tell now.
When I finally got all the contact paper off, I realized why they had put it there to begin with. The paint on top was in lousy shape:
And I began to notice other places on the sides and front of the cabinet that had chips and scratches in the paint as well:
I was sad because I'd hoped that I could salvage the paint job. But I couldn't, so I bucked up, put on my big girl panties, and sanded the crap out of every surface to get off the dirt, rust, and to rough up the texture a little so it would take new paint better. Then I ran to Home Depot and came home with this:
Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch in Paprika and Sage Green. They were literally the first two colors I saw that I fell in love with, so I grabbed them for less than $4 apiece (I had no idea spraypaint was so inexpensive!! I am in trouble.) and ran back home with some sort of plan in my head.
After consulting with my 9-year-old, who is the real artist in the family, I decided to paint the main body of the cabinet green and use the paprika as the "accent" on the drawer facings.
First coat:
I touched up the drawer pulls with some black paint I had laying around, reassembled the whole thing (after letting it dry of course) and here is the result:
Yes, I loved the orange, but frankly, these colors work better with my decor, with my life, with my taste, and with my happiness factor. I couldn't be more pleased with how this turned out, and even though it isn't wearable, it is yet another item that goes on my list of things I will be leaving hell with.
I found this beauty at a garage sale for the absurdly and hilariously low price of $3:
Here it is in my trunk, all happy because someone bought it (and on the last day of the sale too!) While it was the striking color that first caught my eye, after close inspection I learned that the drawers sat properly in their rails, the handles were solid, there didn't appear to be any rust (I found some on there later, but only a tiny bit), and it had the little metal dividers in both drawers. A great find for only $3!!
I took it home and started to work on getting that awful contact paper off. I used a combination of Vinegar Multisurface Windex, a plastic scraper, and patience to get every scrap of it off:
Worse than the contact paper though was the duct tape. EEEEWWWWW. (I have a weird phobic issue with sticky stuff.) I wasn't able to get all the adhesive off, but you can hardly tell now.
When I finally got all the contact paper off, I realized why they had put it there to begin with. The paint on top was in lousy shape:
And I began to notice other places on the sides and front of the cabinet that had chips and scratches in the paint as well:
I was sad because I'd hoped that I could salvage the paint job. But I couldn't, so I bucked up, put on my big girl panties, and sanded the crap out of every surface to get off the dirt, rust, and to rough up the texture a little so it would take new paint better. Then I ran to Home Depot and came home with this:
Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch in Paprika and Sage Green. They were literally the first two colors I saw that I fell in love with, so I grabbed them for less than $4 apiece (I had no idea spraypaint was so inexpensive!! I am in trouble.) and ran back home with some sort of plan in my head.
After consulting with my 9-year-old, who is the real artist in the family, I decided to paint the main body of the cabinet green and use the paprika as the "accent" on the drawer facings.
First coat:
I touched up the drawer pulls with some black paint I had laying around, reassembled the whole thing (after letting it dry of course) and here is the result:
Yes, I loved the orange, but frankly, these colors work better with my decor, with my life, with my taste, and with my happiness factor. I couldn't be more pleased with how this turned out, and even though it isn't wearable, it is yet another item that goes on my list of things I will be leaving hell with.
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