THANKSGIVING PUMPKIN

Wow, the older I get the faster time flies!  Thanksgiving is next week and I wanted to make something for the table.  I used a cupcake box template to make a pumpkin.  I have a tutorial on how it was made at THE HYBRID CHICK.

SLINKY SEWING

This is from a pattern that I drafted a looooong time ago.  Like two kids, 25 years and 30 pounds ago.  I was cleaning out my closet a while ago and found my "mini me" size  and decided to make a new one for my current, mature,  fluffy body (its so fluffffffeeeee).  What prompted this is a contest that is going on at PatternReview.com.  It is a sewing site that I have been following for a while and it is about reviewing one's experiences with sewing patterns. It is a nice source of sewing info.

It turned out pretty well. The elastic is comfortable and the leg ruffles do a nice job of camouflaging certain hind areas if you know what I mean.

It never really occurred to me to post some of the stuff I did when I was designing but my renewed interest in sewing may just prompt me to find some old pics to post.  

Hope you have a great week!

Kim

HALLOWEEN TREATS

I know, long time no post... What can I say life happens.  New job, kids busy in school and activities and I want to start sewing again.  I have taken a new position where I am interacting with people a lot more so I need new clothes but that is a story for another day.  In the mean time, I made this cute little pop up match box for use as a Halloween treat container. I have a tutorial on how it was made at THE HYBRID CHICK

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Have a super week!
Kim

MR AND MRS

I made this wedding card for a friend/employee of my husband.  They are without a doubt the cutest couple ever.  They are both in their seventies and have been together for 15 years.  A. dor. a. ble.

I am in a circle rut... I can't seem to find my way out;)

Kim

SOME THANKS

A couple of thank you cards which are long overdo.  I keep wanting to just sit down and make a whole bunch of thank you and birthday cards but I never seem to have the time to do it.  Both of these cards are Pinterest inspired so I can't take credit for the designs.

Thank you for stopping by!
Kim

MUSTACHE GIFT BAG

If you are into the mustache craze I have a really cute gift bag and straw tutorial up at THE HYBRID CHICK.

MUSICAL WALL HANGING

I made this for my son who is obsessed with anything musical.  I have a tutorial on how it was made over at THE HYBRID CHICK.

A PAINTED BUFFET

I found this sweet little wooden buffet at an estate sale.  It was priced $45.00 but we got there late and it was marked half off.  I thought it might make a nice TV stand for the bedroom so my husband and I brought it home.  It sat a while till I decided what I wanted to do with it.

The top wasn't in very good condition and there were some chips but I added a bit of wood filler.

And sanded the top. I decided I would paint the entire piece.

I first gave the entire piece a good cleaning with my trusty Krud Kutter.  The door on the left is the cleaned piece and on the right was how it looked when I got it. The Krud Kutter takes the dirt and grime off but also removes some of the stain so if you don't want that you might want to choose another cleaner.

I used Behr Pecan Sandie and Stealth.  I purchased a small sample size and added some Webster's Chalk Paint Powder. For the white trim I used some Annie Sloan chalk paint in old white. On the left is before using some antiquing wax and on the left is with two coats of Maison Blanche light antique wax.

I found that the latex paint with the Webster's paint powder doesn't really behave the same as the chalk paints.  The wax doesn't absorb as well as with the Annie Sloan or Maison Blanche paint. 

 I am hoping to do a comparison of all the types I have used in a future post.  

Not sure what I was drinking when I took this picture but it is a bit fuzzy.  The area that I used wood filler on came out a little bumpy so I decided to camouflage it with a decorative wood piece I found at Lowes.  

I liked how it pulled the darker color in to the bottom half of the piece.

  I distressed the edges of the top and a little around the doors.

I thought about leaving the doors off and I tried a few different types of baskets but decided I liked the doors on better.

I bought the knobs at Lowes.  They were a dark oil rubbed bronze look.

I am not sure I want to keep it in the bedroom but I really like how it turned out so if it doesn't stay there I will find somewhere else for it.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Kim

LINKY PARTIES

A SHABBY CARD OR TWO

 Just popping in to share a couple of shabby cards I made.  

Hope your having a good week so far!

QUILTING FOR CHARITY

Hey there! Just wanted to show you what I have been working on and maybe entice you to get involved.  If you can use a machine to sew a straight line you can probably complete this little quilt.  

I found out about this charity from  the blog MAKE IT AND LOVE IT.  The charity is called QUILTS FOR KIDS  and they donate quilts made by volunteers to children in hospitals with life threatening illnesses.  I have been wanting to do something like this for a long time and never got around to actually participating.  This organization made it really easy to jump in.

They provide the fabric already cut out and an instruction sheet.  For someone like me (and maybe you) who has the desire but limited time it was a perfect opportunity.  You do have to pay for the shipping (about $6) but the fabric is free.  You also have to provide the batting and pay to return the quilt to the organization.  All in all I spent about $25 for everything and finished the quilt in about 5 weeks-they request it be returned in 4-6 weeks.  I used a 40% off coupon from Joanns  and got a baby quilt size of warm and natural all cotton batting.  It was just the right size.  It was such a good feeling to send the quilt back and know that it may comfort a child who really needs it.

If you can sew even a little and you have been looking for a way to contribute, please check them out. Although I am a fairly experienced seamstress I have almost no quilting experience and I managed to do a decent (definitely not above average) job on the quilting. I don't really think the kids will care when they are snuggling it.   I also don't have a fancy quilting machine. I have a regular, old, basic kenmore sewing machine and it worked perfectly well making this small quilt.


 LINKY PARTIES
 

TINY WRITING TABLE REDO

Still melting here.... just a couple more days.


I found this sweet little writing/telephone table at my favorite junk store.
 I saw it and didn't buy it at first. But, I kept thinking how cute it would be
 with a paint job and new fabric.  I was sure when I went back it
 would be gone but there it was calling my name.

 Do you ever watch Mike and Frank on American Pickers?  They always say bundle things to get a good price. Well, this little table cost a bit more than I wanted to spend so I found a couple other things, made an offer and got a great price on everything. This is what she looked like before.  Dig that groovey green , wool fabric.

I gave it a good cleaning with my trusty krud Kutter (love that stuff) it removes all kinds of gunk and acts a little bit like a de-glosser.

I knew I wanted to paint it with the same chalk paint I used on my bathroom stand so I got out my Maison Blanche Sugar Cane and got to work.

First up was to strip and sand the top as I wanted to keep it a dark wood tone.  It had some nicks but I left them.  Adds character right?

Once stripped and cleaned, I first used Minwax Dark Walnut for the first coat.  It wasn't quite as dark as I wanted so the next coat was Rsutoleum Kona.  A couple coats of Dark wax and it was just right.

I removed the seat and painted the entire base with two coats of Sugar Cane.  I distressed it a little and added a couple coats of light brown wax.  

Here is a better pic of the top with the wax added.

I  took off  all that lovely fabric from the seat. All I can say is ick.  The board was in pretty bad shape so I used it as a template to cut a new one out of plywood.

I had some Warm and Natural batting left over from a quilt project so I used that for the cushion of the seat.  I cut 3 layers the exact shape of the seat and one layer to wrap around.  I used a staple gun to attach everything to the wood.

I then covered it in this cotton fabric.  I found it at Joanns and it was perfect with just a touch of the soft aqua color that was used to paint the base of the table.

I stapled the wrap around piece to the back, then added a piece on top to hide all the mess.

Lastly, I added some decorative scrapbook paper with a writing theme to the inside of the desk.  It looked too bare to me with just the paint.

This is residing in my bedroom for now but I am moving things around to find a better place for it.  

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Linky Parties

KITCHEN STOOL MAKEOVER

Hey there, howz it goin' I have been both busy and hot beyond belief.
 We are adding a garage on to our house and we had to remove the ac.
 Of course it is the hottest week of the year and we are melting. This is a pic of the house mid-construction.  Can't wait to get it done.  I will never again have to chant-while scraping a foot of snow off my car- I hate snow, I hate snow, I hate snow.

The good news is that I have spent a lot of time in the basement working on a bunch of projects.  This is a stool and corner shelf makeover quickie.  I tried out a new paint from the Plaster Paint Company. I will have a review of it along with some other chalk type paints in a future post.  The color is called Ivory Lace and it is a very slight off white color.

This is how the two pieces started out. One light and one dark wood.  Both are thrift store purchases.









They both got three coats of paint and a couple coats of light brown antiquing wax.

I also distressed the edges a bit and tried a new technique I found in blogland.  I wanted the distressed edges to be dark so I used a Minwax Wood Finish stain marker in dark walnut.  It is a flat tipped pen that is used to touch up stained wood but it makes a great antiquing tool.

We have had a boat load of hydrangea flowers in our garden and thankfully they are just about the only flower that doesn't make my husband sneeze.

I need to find a cool old-timey clock to put on the top shelf.

I have lots more to post, I just have to get around to organizing my photos and actually getting them on here.
Stay cool!