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Saturday, November 27, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Oh Sure! Let Me Just Rearrange My Life, Because THAT Sounds Fun!
Last Saturday, an online friend commented on something I said, and she included the words: Kids Clothes Week Challenge.
Wait. That's in the spring, right? Although she did say that she was hoping to organize a fall challenge week, too. But I haven't looked at her blog lately. I should look.
And there, on Sunday evening, after very little thought and a great deal of excitement, I decided to join.
Sew one hour a day for one week. Okay, sure, I'm all over that! But one hour seems puny, I'll make it 2 a day. Or 10. That's right, I said 10. It was very, very hard to do my household duties every morning before I could turn my sewing machine & iron back on. And I neglected things like keeping the floor swept and deep cleaning. And folding laundry. Really, who needs to fold clothes when you can just make new ones?!
Monday evening, I sat down and finalized my pattern choices and picked out fabrics from my stash. My goal was to not need to buy any new fabric. This would make my sewing more bearable for J. Because you know I neglected him, too. Then, I started tracing patterns, pinning, and cutting.
Tuesday, J, Saxton, & I went south to get remodel supplies. Since we ate lunch at the pizza joint in the mall, I decided to run down to JoAnn's and see if they had anything I could use to recover the Mustang's back seat. They did not. However, I did spend $1.20 on some knit ribbing for some shirts I wanted to make Saxton. That night, I finished traing, cutting, & pinning, and then, I began some very minor sewing.
Wednesday, I down to business. I sewed everything enmass. Iron & sew. Iron & sew. Clip curved seams. I finished both of Saxton's 90 minute shirts.
Thursday, I continued in my mad woman manner. That evening, I completed a pair of pants for Saxton & the Oliver + s Pop Over Sun Dress for Korra. I Finished all but the button holes & buttons on 2 Oliver + s Sailboat Shirts for Korra. I decided to do all the button holes on everything at once, when everything else is done.
Friday, I was L-A-Z-Y. Well, actually, I had to run some errands and be a good wife and mother. But then I sat down in the afternoon with a romance novel, and, well, it was good to be unproductive for a change. I had to stay up to do some diaper laundry, so I sewed away, and I finish Saxton's red wool pants.
Then, on Saturday morning, the kids & I left town, met J at work, and went south for half a day. When we got home, we did the Saturday things that make being a family fun and chilled. Once the kids were in bed, I thought about turning the sewing machine & iron back on, and getting back to work, but I got sucked into Facebook and sleeping instead.
This left Sunday. Day 7 of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge. I knew I HAD to finish what I started. If I didn't, they would get set to the side, while I moved on to other projects. I know me. First, I finished putting the Oliver + s Playdate Dress together. I had plans to applique this fun pumpkin made out of 5 different patterns on it, but when I got it all cut out and ironed onto the interfacing, I decided it was too overbearing for the dress. So, I hung the dress up as done, but knew I wasn't really.
The last item waiting to be finished was the the Oliver + s Puppet Show Dress. and actually, it's still not done. I have to finish the hem (by hand) and sewing on the rest of the buttons. But it's *almost* done.
A little bit of inspiration later, I decided to add a little weenie dog applique to the Play Date dress, and I LOVE IT!
Oliver + s Play Date Dress
Oliver + s Puppet Show Dress
Call me crazy (because I am, I know) and join myself & 400+ other sewists this spring, to do it all again!
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Sunday, September 19, 2010
Six Months of Silence, Part 1
Almost to the day! EEP!
My husband will tell you that I've not been so silent in real life. In fact, I keep waiting to wake with masking tape over my mouth, just so he can get a word in edge-wise. *blush*
I've been really, REALLY busy. I created a new blog (more on that later), knit a LOT, got my sewing machine fully repaired (& sewed a LOT), chased Saxton, saw a dance recital, took kids to cheer camp & scout camp, cooked out, grew a couple gardens, worked on the front porch, created a nest for me, got a puppy(!!!), canned like a mad woman, turned 30, discovered my dresser on fire, dealt with the stress of a short notice remodel, made Korra's back to school wardrobe, hosted Canning Camp, and much, much more.
Well, enough excuses. Because I left you all alone, I decided make a special post. You see, because I like to sew, and my husband likes when I sew cheap, I've rounded up quite the collection of free children's clothing tutorials and patterns. But what fun is having a collection if you can't share it??? Not much. so I'm sharing.
Enjoy!
BOYS:
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Monday, March 22, 2010
:::Falls on Floor, Exhausted:::
I'm about as done as I can be, all things considering (like needing to replace the dripping faucet, but it has to wait for DH to be off to do that). Done that is, with the main batheroom!!!!
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I'm very happy at the moment.
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Before (sorta. I painted the cabinets white shortly after moving it, because the oak was fugly):
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And remember when I painted the walls back in November because I bought new rugs?
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Well, the time had arrived for the new flooring!
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We bought a single tile down south of us, put it in the batheroom, and liked it. So we called the Lowes north of us (much closer), and asked about the tile. They don't stock it there. But HUGE customer service rave!!!! They sold me the more expensive tiles at the same price I would have paid for the tiles I wanted!
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I took my original tile in, found it's long lost identical cousins, and brought all 70 home for $.88 cents each. We also bought the glue/primer that helps the self-stick tiles stick better on the wood subfloor, silicone caulking (that I ended up not using much of), and a new heat vent for the floor.
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The tile was bought on a Sunday, and on Monday, I did this:
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Like my painted square? We had to replace the wax seal on the toilet in December, and discovered serious floor damage. J replaced the many, many subfloors, and I painted it white to protect it from moisture, since we had cut away the linolium.
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On Tuesday, I bought a trowel, and spread the primer/bonding adhesive. After it sat for 5 hours and was just tacky to the touch, I started laying tile!
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On Wednesday, I finished laying the tile, and started sealing the joints with white caulking.
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On Thursday, DH helped me put the toilet back in with (yet another) new wax seal. Much to my horror, I hooked everything up, and discovered lots of water leaking out of the tank.
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J went to Home Depot and bought a $7 part to fix it, while I researched repairs on the internet.
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The new floater isn't a ball. It's... different. But it works!
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My decor cost me $15. Most of the stuff you see, I had on hand, or I had the supplies on hand to make them. Tree branch is from my own backyard.
.
I'm very happy at the moment.
.
Before (sorta. I painted the cabinets white shortly after moving it, because the oak was fugly):
.
.
.
.
.
And remember when I painted the walls back in November because I bought new rugs?
.
.
.
.
.
Well, the time had arrived for the new flooring!
.
We bought a single tile down south of us, put it in the batheroom, and liked it. So we called the Lowes north of us (much closer), and asked about the tile. They don't stock it there. But HUGE customer service rave!!!! They sold me the more expensive tiles at the same price I would have paid for the tiles I wanted!
.
I took my original tile in, found it's long lost identical cousins, and brought all 70 home for $.88 cents each. We also bought the glue/primer that helps the self-stick tiles stick better on the wood subfloor, silicone caulking (that I ended up not using much of), and a new heat vent for the floor.
.
.
The tile was bought on a Sunday, and on Monday, I did this:
.
.
Like my painted square? We had to replace the wax seal on the toilet in December, and discovered serious floor damage. J replaced the many, many subfloors, and I painted it white to protect it from moisture, since we had cut away the linolium.
.
.
On Tuesday, I bought a trowel, and spread the primer/bonding adhesive. After it sat for 5 hours and was just tacky to the touch, I started laying tile!
.
.
On Wednesday, I finished laying the tile, and started sealing the joints with white caulking.
.
.
On Thursday, DH helped me put the toilet back in with (yet another) new wax seal. Much to my horror, I hooked everything up, and discovered lots of water leaking out of the tank.
.
J went to Home Depot and bought a $7 part to fix it, while I researched repairs on the internet.
.
That night, I played plumber, and as they say, out with the old, and in with the new!
That night, I played plumber, and as they say, out with the old, and in with the new!
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The new floater isn't a ball. It's... different. But it works!
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The floor (and toilet) were done!
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The floor (and toilet) were done!
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On Sunday, I bought towels. At the advice of several opinionated friends, I went with the eggplant, chocolate, and gold. And, for the record, K-Mart carries a new line from Country Living. VERY nice stuff, at great prices.
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This past Saturday, I purchased 12 more vinyl self stick tiles, this time from Home Depot, and in granite. I cut the to 4x4 squares, sanded down the laminate counter top (followed by a good wiping), and laid tile on top of it. I "grouted" it with white caulking (like the floor), and my previously pale blue piece of plastic, is a stone look alike!
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I painted all the switch plates tan, so that they flowed better as well.
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Like my antiqued brass accessories? Cannon from K-Mart. Yeah, baby!
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and finally, the finished space:
and finally, the finished space:
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Love my vintage cameras! Gotta have 'em EVERYWHERE, lol!
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My decor cost me $15. Most of the stuff you see, I had on hand, or I had the supplies on hand to make them. Tree branch is from my own backyard.
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My goal was elegant and classy. I think I reached it.
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My goal was elegant and classy. I think I reached it.
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