Birds on a String

Surprises from the I.D.E.A. Store

2011-07-09T21:00:00.001-05:00

When we were at the I.D.E.A. Store the other day, I picked up some tin film containers thinking I would get out my label maker and make some labels for button storage or something like that. I wasn't positive what I would do with them but thought they were pretty fun! I was also looking for a piece of wood to make a hook rack for Brenna. I found a nice piece of walnut and had good intentions of putting about three hooks on it. Sorry Brenna!

I decided to put these little tins ON the wood and turn the piece into an earring and necklace holder. Then I thought that I wouldn't like my earrings on the cold, hard tin so I lined them with felt!

I love all of the bright colors of felt, so festive!

Sorry, the picture is kind of busy. I just had to show how you can hang lots of long necklaces and have plenty of space to hide your earrings!

I was thinking about putting it in our new shop, but am seriously considering keeping it! Maybe a trip back to the I.D.E.A. Store is in the very near future!

If you have never been there, you have to go. You never know what you will find, and what you do find may be totally unexpected! It's always an adventure, and the people who work there love interacting with their customers, always willing to help.

New Stuff!

2011-06-29T20:03:00.000-05:00

School's out and Michala is pushing me to work on new stuff! We did go to the I.D.E.A. Store last night. And yes, it was our 25th Anniversary. Kevin was pretty good, he even picked out some stuff for us! Then he got hungry...I don't know why Michala feels weird about hanging out with us on our anniversary, she's been around for all of them before!
It always amazes me when we go scavenging for new and incredibly useful things! I found these old metal film cases thinking I could use them for spices or something. BORING! You will just have to wait to see what they will become. I also found some carpet squares, round boxes, a cool compass that I have absolutely NO idea what I will use it for, but it is cool, really cool!
We have lots of new pouchies. And each one as it is turned right side out becomes a new favorite. New bags are in the works, and possibly some aprons! I have a couple of things for Kevin to magically transform with some paint. We will be busy for a while!
Pictures soon, I hope I remember to take the befores...

Long time no blog!

2011-06-28T23:46:00.000-05:00

So, my parents invited me along for their anniversary celebration...weird. I know. But I went anyway, my mother insisted! We decided to meet up at the I.D.E.A. Store in Champaign. I won't explain too much, you will just have to go check out their site and their store, but basically, this store is sort of like a thrift store, it collects one man's junk and then puts it for sale for another man to find treasure. They have EVERYTHING! From laundry detergent lids to fabric to test tubes! If you can't find it here...you won't find it....Well, maybe not but, whatever! So...I was on a hunt to find something! See below

I saw this REALLY cute tutorial on Design Sponge to make your own Moroccan Lanterns. The only problem was, you need glass paint. You can't find this stuff at Wal-Mart...and when you live in the middle of nowhere, that is about your only option, and even that is a drive! So I went to my trusty friend-- AMAZON! Man I love you Amazon! :) But alas, you let me down! All I could seem to find as far as glass paint was this little guy. Now, on the blog, she recommends two types of paints. This being one of them....But I was NOT about to spend $70 on one project! This brings me back to the I.D.E.A. Store! I started looking in their paints and low and behold....My hand lands on some Delta Glass Paint and where there is one, there is more! I was SO excited! But before I started digging further, I figured I would check the price. My jaw hit the floor. A whopping 2/25cents! WHAT??!?!?!?!? I REALLY started digging! I bought every one they had! I ended up with 16 paints, pretty much brand new! SWEET! After this I had to go to Michael's for a few things and I decided to look at their prices on this stuff there....again, my jaw hit the floor. $3.50 a jar. I just saved $52! Thank you I.D.E.A. Store! I seriously love this place and I am SO pumped about their new, longer hours! Oh yea, and while we were checking out, we got to talking about our blog and the shop we are hoping to get opened here in the next few months! Thanks for the great conversation ladies! Please be sure to follow us on Blogger! :)

So, because I haven't blogged in soooooo long, I feel the need to update you on some of my more recent projects. For the first few weeks of my summer vacation I was staining my deck...what a chore! I will post a whole blog on that later....LOL.

I have been stopping by some garage sales randomly. A few of the things I have found:

I found this really gross mirror at a yard sale for 50cents. I saw it's true potential! Don't mind Riley in the mirror, she likes to help me with my projects!!!

She's guarding the garage door for me! She took off running after another dog shortly after this. I'm sure I looked like a huge lunatic running down the street bare foot with a can of spray paint in my hand! haha. It's whatever. I contemplated leaving this mirror as it was, so I cleaned it up...it was filthy...and decided it still needed some magic spray (spray paint...it can make ANYTHING look good!) Mainly because it smelled and that needed to be taken care of before it was allowed to come in my house! So I chose a pretty gold! Please see below!

The "After". Total cost for this.....about $4. SCORE!

Another angle, without the blaring lights. See those cute little lanterns in the corner? Those were a Habitat for Humanity ReStore find, here in Sullivan. $5 each! And see the cute vase on the shelf?! Yea...that's a wine bottle I spray painted and then put some sparkly things in....total cost for that.... MAYBE $5.

So....these two shelves! I found one at the thrift store and one at the ReStore. Each were like $1. They were originally wood....an UGLY wood that I despised...so I got out the magic spray and made them pretty! :) I'm not sure that I love the frames on them...I will have to play around with that stuff. (The frames were 25cents each...also coated in magic spray.)

Man! Cute! :) And I LOVE the Scentsy!

Another thrift store find for a quarter....it's a picnic silverware set basket! But I HATE that wicker! Lol....sorry to those of you that like it, it's just not my thing, or my style.

But I sure made it mine! :) it's now a nice shiny silver!

This is another garage sale find, I bought the little cart for 75 cents and already had the cute little buckets from when I grew my garden seeds. I replanted them with wildflowers! they are already starting to grow!!!!

Ok, so I ordered this collage a few months back. The pictures are all from our trip to Mexico on our first Christmas together. It says "Real love stories never have endings." I originally bought a frame for it at IKEA but dropped it while loading it in my car and didn't realize it had broken until I got home...2.5 hours away. So I sent it home with my sister who lives right by there and I have yet to see another one! So I saw this frame on clearance at Michael's for $17.99. It's a $70 frame! I bought it thinking it was the right size....turns out it was a little too big. But I REALLY wanted to frame it! So I remembered I had some matting from another IKEA frame. Well, that was too big! So, I cut it down to fit in the mirror and voila! Total cost for NICE frame and Matting....$20?

My room and projects are starting to come together! If only I could just chill on picking up new ones...I really must stop reading other peoples' blogs! That is my down fall. Well, I'm pooped. Time to hit the hay. I just thought I would update my posts in case some of our new friends dropped by to check us out!

New Link

2011-05-28T22:58:00.002-05:00

Senior girls! If you received a gift certificate for our store, check out our new link, Senior Gift Fabrics, to choose your gift!!! :)

Super Easy Cinnamon Rolls

2011-04-02T17:05:00.001-05:00

My Grandma used to make the BEST cinnamon rolls in the world. They were actually called Refrigerator Rolls and I have her recipe. TOO MUCH WORK! And I'm just not that great of a baker. (That's what Dad and brothers are for, right?)
I was sort of watching the Food Channel the other day and think I saw someone making these "Sticky Buns" and thought I could just make them into cinnamon rolls. Since I wasn't paying that close of attention, I had to search for recipes and this is what happened...
A little plug here...photos are by Ervin Photography, check her out on Facebook - Ervin Photography and her new webpage http://www.lervinphotography.com/! Links to the left if they aren't clickable here.
You will need some Frozen Puff Pastry sheets, put them in the fridge over night so they thaw enough to work with them.
First of all, you'd better preheat your oven to 400 deg F.
Mix up some brown sugar (1/3 cup) and unsalted, sweet cream butter. A lot of butter, 1 1/2 sticks that is already at room temperature. I threw it into my Sunbeam mixer and let it do it's job!

Put about a tablespoon of this mixture into some muffin tins, 12 total. No need to be a perfectionist here.

Mix up about 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 2/3 cups of light brown sugar, and 3 teaspoons of cinnamon. Lightly flour a cutting board and lay one puff pastry sheet out with the folds going horizontally. (This will help make rolling easier!) Now put about 1/2 of the last mixture on top leaving 1/2" to 1" all around the sides.

Roll it up like a jelly roll! Cut the ends off then cut it in half. Cut each half into thirds.

Now press each piece into a muffin tin.

Repeat for the second piece of puff pasty! Line a big cookie sheet with parchment paper and put the muffin tin(s) on top. Toss them into the preheated oven for about 30 minutes. You MUST use the cookie sheet or will be sorry! We almost didn't do that but really happy we did!

That is butter that oozed out of the pans onto the paper. LOTS more underneath! After you take them out, let them cool for five minutes then turn them over onto the parchment paper. The bottom actually becomes the top.
These are good just like they are or if you want to add even more sweetness and lots of calories, mix up a little icing glaze with powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk or water.

These will be revised a little probably each time I make them but for the first try, SUPER YUMMY!

Kevin's Totally Cool Boot Box

2011-04-02T16:04:00.000-05:00

Really Kevin? Do you NEED nine coats hanging here?

I have helped people all over Central Illinois get organized so you would think my problem would be one I could solve pretty easily. Here's the problem, the front door to our house is the main door and really the only door easy to use. Now, I do have a coat closet at the front entry so you would think it would be easy to use. And it is, for me! But for Kevin, well, that's a different story. For a while, he would lay his coat on the steps across from the closet. That's right, four feet away! And his work boots would be placed right in front of the vent by the front door so they can dry. I finally found a pub mirror with six hooks so he could hang a coat as he is in and out of the house. The other day I counted nine, yes, nine of his coats hanging on it. They hang there because he is going to wear them again soon. Okay, but seriously, NINE coats? They are all varying weights, but we do have a closet four feet away!

Before, an ugly green toy chest.

One day, I was at this really great store, Classic Home Consignment (look to your left for a link!) and saw a really ugly toy chest that was actually kind of cool! But it was green. I like green, just not really this green! Anyway, I think it would work for boots next to the door and with some feet, could sit above the vent. Score! I take it home and strongly suggest he could paint and distress it somewhat and it would make a great place for all those boots! Anything to keep the vent air from blowing straight across them and sending who knows what germs and all right into my living space. Now, I'm not a germophobe but considering he works at the Sanitary District, well, would you want those germs in YOUR house? At one point, there were seven pairs of his boots and shoes in front of that vent. Oh the microscopic gunk! Don't you love this? Check out the paperback books acting as legs. One day, we loaded this toy chest into the truck and took it to The Briarwood in Sullivan. Another link you will find on the left. We had it painted at The Briarwood and the result is just fabulous! We told them we wanted some legs and whatever would do but what they came up with, well it looks like the toy chest/boot box was already made with them!

After, a beautiful boot storage unit.
LOVE the legs and new color!

Several people have suggested putting a lid on it but there is no way Kevin would lift that lid and put his boots in if he won't open a closet door to hang a coat or put his boots away. Plus, that would just be one more surface that junk can find it's way onto.
Over the many years of designing organization systems for people, I have found that we are all pretty much alike. Men won't do two actions to put something away. For example, they won't open a closet door and hang a coat on a hanger then close the door. They won't lift a lid to put something inside and then close the lid. They would rather toss a coat on a hook or throw something into a bin. I will discuss women another day!
Anyway, I look forward to taking the bathroom vanity to The Briarwood, and I have a dresser, and well, I am sure I can find many other things to take, and when I run out of paint projects, I guess I will have to hit the consignment stores and re-sale shops, maybe I will have them make me stuff...the possibilities are endless!

See that? Recipes!!! We Have RECIPES!

2011-03-29T19:25:00.000-05:00

I was pretty excited to see that Michala posted the new RECIPES tab. That is until I clicked on it and didn't find a single one! Oh well, she's busy I guess. Still, I wanted her Chicken and Noodles recipe. All I can say is JUST WAIT! Seriously, I hope we don't have to wait too long. One of these days I'll post Kevin's Enchilada recipe, that is if I can get him to give it to me without the commentary that must go along with it. Maybe I'll post the commentary too. Somebody might find it interesting!
I wonder if Brenna and Elizabeth will post their Microwave Mac and Cheese? Probably not. That was most likely NOT for human (or any) consumption. Pretty creative though!

Box mix, canned icing, should be easy, right?

Here's another creative one...Kevin says the cake mix was old, and the icing was store brand and cheap. Well he bought both! After checking the label, I found that he didn't really follow the directions. He didn't prepare the pans like the box said, didn't let the layers cool enough before taking them out of the pan, and tried to ice the cake while it was still hot! Oh, and the icing directions said to stir well before icing...That glob of chocolate on the top is the ENTIRE can of icing! Oh, he's icing it with a butter knife. Now I have never pretended to know how to bake or even cook something tasty but I CAN read the directions on the box and am pretty good at following them so USUALLY my creations turn out pretty good. It'll be a long time before the teasing stops for this one!

Goldie's Front Porch

2011-03-24T08:03:00.000-05:00

For those of you that have been following our blog, you will have noticed that we put an online store up! Well, I'm sad, yet happy to announce that our online store will be out of service for a while. Just last night, I went up to Goldie's Front Porch, a really awesome restaurant/bakery in town, and put all of our inventory up for sale on consignment. So, if you happen to live in the Sullivan area, stop by Goldie's to check out our inventory...and if you don't live in Sullivan but happen to be on your way to Lake Shelbyville, Goldie's is on your way! It's right across the street from the IGA. Goldie's is such a cute little place with AWESOME food. I have eaten there on several occasions and have not ONCE had something I didn't like! Pretty great. They also cater, and do a fabulous job, it I might add! So, moral of the story, until we get our inventory back up, we won't have anything listed online. Don't worry though folks, we will be back to work this weekend, I am sure!

Thanks for following! And remember if you are a new follower, you will get 10% off your first online purchase, just click the follow button over on the left!

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Saturday Sewing Whirlwind

2011-03-19T07:34:00.000-05:00

Today will be another flurry of wild activity! We will try to finish several bags already on order and get a few new ones in there for those that have not yet found the one they love. The matching Pouchies have been a big hit and most of the new bags will have at least one.
We have to get busy! Pictures a little later...

BUY NOW!!! :)

2011-03-17T17:41:00.001-05:00

You can now buy the bags you love on our website by using Google Checkout!!!

Artistic People are Not the Neatest People

2011-03-13T16:29:00.004-05:00

So cute with a sparkly button!

Why is it that creating happens best in chaos? Last weekend, Elizabeth came home and brought some extras with her. All three are students at the Art Institute, and art students live on a different time schedule than most of the rest of us. Lizzie is a fabulously talented photographer. I hope to feature some of her work as soon as I figure out how to put a slideshow up! Julie is a graphic designer and has her first webpage that you can find in our Favorite Links section to the left. And Sam is doing some other cool stuff that I don't understand totally yet! So there was chaos in the house last weekend. But in a good way! Julie will be designing our logo sometime soon so watch for a little change. Or a wonderful big change!
Michala came for another "Sewing Saturday" and things got crazy! We sort of kicked Kevin out of the house, cranked the Latin tunes and got busy. Well, let me back up a little. We went to the Gordyville Flea Market on Friday night just to check out spaces and really find out what we could about setting up a booth. In our wanderings, we met Cassie who makes some beautiful embroidered hooded towels and jewelry. Needless to say, we spent almost our entire time at her booth! She gave us some great tips on booth location and busy months. We really need to build our inventory now. Cassie's embroidery is really beautiful and we want to use her to offer some personalization on our bags and other things. Our first order is for some personalized Zippy Pouches for a bride's gifts to her attendants. I know Michala is excited to shop for some beautiful fabrics.
So once again, my house became a flurry of flying threads, scraps of fabric, scissors everywhere, needles, buttons, ribbons and trims, stuff everywhere! Whatever we were doing as we started sewing seemed to be working and we cranked out two bags in near record time. Then the phone rang... Thank you Cindy! I just knew you would like our stuff! Way better than those knock offs, huh? Back to work and we finished one more bag. Why is it each new one is my favorite? Michala's too!

Almost opposites! Classy!!!

A sparkly button on a gorgeous bow.

LOVE these big buttons!

Beautiful!

I woke up early this morning and thought I would get a Little Zippy finished to take with me to church today. As I'm cutting the interfacing, Michala calls and asks why I didn't tell her about the time change. I had forgotten! Actually,just yesterday I asked Kevin when the time changes and he told me it was today. So when he gets up today and turned the TV on, he asked ME if I knew the time changed! Oh my goodness! We just talked about it YESTERDAY. Can't he remember ANYTHING? I had to skip the Little Zippy making and get ready for church. Believe it or not, I was actually early today! I have lots of Little Zippys to make this week, watch for new pics...
At least one or two days this week, I hope to help Cecil and others work on Irene's home. She's a quilter too! I hope to get her permission to talk about her on an upcoming blog. What an amazing story!

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle - Repurpose

2011-03-12T11:27:00.001-06:00

These used to be pine log pieces that Kevin made into these beautiful fish!

Don't you just love those words? I think we have always been a family that is conscious of what we are using and throwing away. My youngest brother would line the cans up like dominoes on the basement floor. He would then use a concrete block to crush them one by one. So, thirty years ago, he was reducing the amount of aluminum going to the landfill, recycling them by turning them in for cash, and repurposed a concrete block into a can crusher. He was incredibly efficient, much more than the can crusher we have on the garage wall. First, he had to space all of the cans so he didn't knock one over while crushing, and there were lots of them! Winding all over the basement he would then start crushing, lifting that concrete block over and over again and he could get pretty fast so not only was he building muscle, he was getting a good aerobic workout. Then he had to pick them all up and carry the bags upstairs and off to the can man! I really can't remember a time when we didn't recycle something. Newspapers, cans, bottles and jars, plastics...just about anything! We did throw stuff away, but we also reused stuff too! I don't remember our clothes being handed down, I was the only girl with four brothers so maybe the boys had some. Reruns maybe? I have three daughters so there were some hand me downs there. Not so many though because they always seemed to be different sizes when the clothes would be in season. We still recycle cans, plastic bags, and newspapers, have a compost pile, grow a vegetable garden and try to buy items that have minimal packaging. Do I sound like a tree hugger or what?! Not really, I just like to think I'm aware of what we really use and try to keep stuff out of our landfills!
The repurpose part is pretty new! With all of the girls moving out over the last couple of years and needing to furnish houses and apartments, we have been frequenting Habitat ReStore and the second had shops. Who knew there was so much great stuff out there!

Check out some of the stuff we repurposed into really great "new" stuff!

Chairs from Habitat ReStore that we recovered, I think they should be painted glossy black!

An old parking meter that is now a garage ornament.

An umbrella base that now supports a parking meter.

An old ceiling tin is now wall art! Click the link below to add to your cart. Each piece is custom order, after you purchase, you will be contacted for more information. These take 2-3 weeks to deliver from the time of order. Shipping is additional and depends on your location. Contact us for more information.

Another ceiling tin, Kevin is holding it up to another frame so I can send a photo to someone!

An old toy chest propped up with stacks of paperbacks.

A beautiful boot storage box. Wait, why aren't all the boots in it? Look at those great new legs!!!

Now the boots are safely tucked away.

A sad old steamer trunk...

With a new look and new life as a coffee table!

Beautiful!

An express mail box cut in half, sort of...

That now holds my Too Cool T-Shirt Quilt templates. Soon to be covered with something...

An old closet shelf

Now shows off an old pair of HD handlebars.

The rest of the shelf became speaker shelves in the garage.

Beautiful young ladies turned into cooks for a Summer mission trip to Dulac, Lousiana!

So you see, just about anything you find can be repurposed and used for something entirely different!

Simply Fabulous Totes

2011-03-08T15:27:00.000-06:00

Several of our bags

Once again,more absolutely fabulous totes have emerged from the makeshift sewing room studio set up on my dining room table. Michala came over Friday after school and we started by looking through fabrics and tearing a sample book apart. Well, Kevin took the books apart and Michala removed all the paper on the backs of the fabrics. I did laundry because Elizabeth and her friends came home for the weekend. Elizabeth still brings her entire wardrobe home because she doesn't like to pay for laundry. Or do it. Not much else was accomplished Friday night, Michala was really tired and fell asleep, Kevin went to bed early and I watched a movie. Absolutely no creative forces were to be found! Saturday morning though, look out! Kevin made a good, filling breakfast while Michala and I started thinking. First of all, we needed to add a pocket and key fob to an existing bag. The result would have made a good You Tube video. After arguing about the pocket, I realized we were thinking of two totally different options. Finally I gave up and Michala did her thing. she was having trouble turning it, she really doesn't like the turning part so that's usually my job, which I did. Since we only had a few pieces of the fabric left, this pocket needed to be right the first time. Well...this was Michala's first attempt. After a few more discussions, and cuts, and stitches, and turning, and cutting, we finally got it! How can something so simple be so difficult? Michala keeps saying I over think things, but she doesn't think things through. Somehow we work it out!

This ended up in the garbage.

With that one finally worked out and lunch, thanks Kevin, creating the next bag begins. That yellow seems to go with everything! I already have a lining ready so we pick the outer fabric and get started. Somehow in the middle of all of this, we go out to the garage to dig through a bag that I acquired at The Needle & I, thanks Kathy! We found a few good things and set them aside. Well, as we are cutting the bag out, Michala remembers some trim we found! She grabs it and decides how great it will make this bag. Another favorite! I think you all will agree...

I love this one!

A pocket and key thingie!

Now to make a zippy pouch or two in the same fabrics.

In the middle of all the madness, we design another bag! Focus girls, focus! This one is pink, green, and black. Too cute for words. A little different design but I think you will love it as well. The lining is green and there is a fun line of sequins on the front and back. I made a little Zippy Pouch in the pink and green and the whole thing is just too fun for words.

Pink and green bag with matching Zippy Pouch

I don't think I posted the red, white, and blue bags. These would make fun totes to carry books, or just take along shopping!

Love these big buttons!

Fun buttons!!!

Michala found some beautiful big buttons that actually smell like crayons. Don't worry, that smell will probably go away. Don't you remember getting your school supplies and the smell of a new box of crayons? And a grey and yellow bag with a cool button...

Watch for the Nook Book Covers. For all of you eReader fans out there, here's a sneak preview. There will be several of these, all one of a kind, in fun, bright colors and patterns.

Photos from Last Night

2011-03-03T08:00:00.000-06:00

It just occurred to me that all I had to do was take the memory thingie out of the camera and plug it into the computer, like I always do! Don't need a battery for that. All I can say is it took a while to make those five bags and I was tired!!!

Zippy Pouches

I know there are six pouches in this photo, but I couldn't resist including the one I made the day before! These are just adorable and big enough for make up, school supplies, sewing supplies, just about anything!

Today I will be finishing some projects already in the works and getting ready for Elizabeth and her gang this weekend. Possibly Michala and another sewing day on Saturday. Kevin has already mentioned making his world famous enchiladas as well. (That should bring everyone home!)

Fabulous Fun New Totes and More!

2011-03-01T09:49:00.000-06:00

Brenna with some of the totes and messenger bags.

Another weekend packed full of crazy sewing and discovering a totally awesome new store! Brenna wanted to come home to do a few things, renew her driver's license (she's 21!), do her taxes, work on her Spanish homework with Michala, and maybe to see Mom. Well, she did get to see me!
Michala also got here Friday after stopping at Sam's and a couple of other places and we got right to work finishing two bags. We made plans to go to Champaign early Saturday morning to check out The I.D.E.A. Store. Wow! If you are into re-using materials for art, you MUST check this place out! We spent close to an hour in the first half of the first isle. There is everything from laundry detergent lids and candy wrappers to maps and mat board. We found frames that Kevin repainted already, ribbon, books, thread, storage boxes, and much, much more! This place takes donations and puts a price on just about anything you can think of bringing in. We walked out with some really great ideas and four bags of stuff. All for about $30!!! Now, this little excursion did cut into our sewing time. We had about four hours left. Aghhhh!

We have an order for a pink and zebra print bag and make-up zipper pouch. Michala and I seem to work really well together but for some reason, we each started doing the other's "job". Talk about being out of whack. (What exactly is "whack"?) Anyway, we get through it, excited about the trims we choose and once again, fall totally in love with each new bag! We finish two pink and zebra bags for our customer to choose from. Michala and Brenna are off to shower and get ready to meet their friends for the evening and I am left to put together the little zipper pouch.

Beautiful button and trim

These buttons look like large gems! The pink trim is really pretty.

Check out a close up of buttons and trims!

LOVE the pink!

And the little zippy pouch is the cutest thing ever!

I had so much fun with this little pouch I had to make another. And several more are on the way! All of the seams are totally hidden so the inside looks as fabulous as the outside!

Adorable!

I would love to chat some more but I am so excited about the fabrics that are just waiting to be cut and sewn into some other fab bags and zippy pouches!

Sewing Marathon

2011-02-22T14:50:00.000-06:00

Michala and I made plans for an entire day of President's Day stitching. By coming up the day before, we thought we could get an early start with a few hours of bag making. There are just too many stops between Sullivan and Rantoul though, a President's Day Sale in Tuscola at the outlet mall, Hancock Fabrics, which is open on Sunday, and whatever else! After dragging out all the great fabrics and talking about what to make first, we decided on a few coasters since they were already cut out.

Before we really get into the big stuff, the bags, Michala and I make a few more coasters as Kevin cooks breakfast. Next is a run to the store for coffee creamer and a toothbrush because Michala brought make-up and not much else! We are off and sewing, mind you there simply was no time to shower or even run a brush though the hair. The decision was made to NOT take pictures of each other during this awesomely fun, creative day. Easiest decision of the day!

Starting Sunday evening, we got a few sets of coasters finished. These are great projects to work on as we caught up on family, friends and church. So one thing led to another, and another, and another until we had a pile of coaster made! With bags of ribbon, button jars and tins from grandmothers past, and new buttons because they are so great, we had tons of fun making the wraps for each set of coasters! The fun part of these is that there will never be two of the same. We make them out of scraps or new fabrics and back them with something matching or not. The result is so cute we can hardly part with any of them! All are available for purchase. I am still working out the PayPal, Etsy, online store thing but until then, send me a message and we will work it out. These are some of the coasters we made during this President's Day holiday.

Black with red, pink, and white crooked stitching wrapped with ribbon and topped with some hearts.

Quilted with shiny turquoise thread and wrapped with ribbon.

Such a cute ribbon around brown and green reversible coasters.

Cute pattern on the opposite side!

Black and white plaid quilted with red. Really nice!

These are so fun with a red back!

Black back with a gem of a button! Classy.

Love the pink!

Memories of teaching someone to sew! Love the black and yellow!

All are for sale at $12.00 plus shipping. If you want something in other colors, please contact me and we will see what we can do! Remember to give us some room for creative expression, it's way more fun that way!

Do you know how great it is to have a husband that cooks? So much more time for sewing and other projects. All I did was prepare a couple of bologna sandwiches for lunch and Kevin took care of breakfast and dinner. A little bit, or a lot really, of cleanup after each meal and back to the machines! Thinking we could make three tote bags, we had a lot of work ahead. Thankfully Michala was up for thinking and measuring and some cutting. We each have things we like to do and things we don't. Lucky for us we don't like or dislike the same things! Rotary cutter, scissors, seam rippers, needles, bobbins, iron, interfacing, wow! Hard to keep track of it all! And that ridiculous little piece of paper with the measurements on it, where does it keep going? In the end, we finished three totes, each one too cute to sell! Oh, how does this happen? Check them out...

Beautiful blue paisley with brown accent.

This beautiful button is awesome and the trim is fabulous!

Close up of the fabric and trim.

A matching tote for your little girl!

Love it! soft greys with yellowish gold.

A little decorative stitching at the top.

Same fabric, a little different!

Love, Love, LOVE it!

If only we could keep them!

These tote bags are great for many different things. They will carry your books, files, clothes for an overnight, baby stuff, groceries, whatever you can think of! Most will cost you only $45.00. The blue and brown tote shown today has a magnetic closure and runs $55.00 and a little bit for shipping. Remember, these totes are truly one of a kind bags!

This week, I will be cutting out several more and starting on some pool or beach bags. You will want to snatch these up as soon as you see them because as you now know, they are ALL originals!

My First Unknown Follower and a Flat Top Trunk

2011-02-13T13:11:00.000-06:00

I am super excited! I have my first follower that is not related in some way! This means someone actually is interested in what I have to say!!! Wow. That means more responsibility too. Thank you Reddy, you made my week!

After cleaning the trunk of layers of dirt and grime.

Sometimes its the little things that get people so excited. Michala, who lives in Sullivan, Illinois with her wonderful husband Evan took us to an almost impossible to find art studio owned and operated by John McDevitt. The Yellow Dog Studio is located in an old shoe factory. Honestly, the building looks deserted but it is worth the effort to go there. John uses reclaimed wood and other materials to create incredible pieces of art. While we were there, John showed us the area his supplies are stored. Michala immediately spied an old trunk and just had to ask about it. That trunk was pretty rough! After making arrangements to pick up a shelf and the trunk later that day we were on our way.

Just a little sweet talking and convincing it would be a great project, Kevin and I brought the trunk home and he went right to work. Cleaning, scrubbing, wiping, sanding, cleaning some more and it's ready for paint.

I researched these trunks a little. This one had a tray inside and was secured with a lock and leather straps and handles. All of these things are missing now but I think that just adds to the mystery of who used it. Where did they travel to? ?id they use it to move across the country? Was it used as their wardrobe? And many more questions.

The Flat Top Trunk was manufactured from 1870 - 1920. There were some rare examples of this style starting in the 1850s and 1860s. They were mass marketed starting around 1880. This one is canvas covered which was very common. The hardware seems to be common as well. I can just imagine my ancestors traveling to Illinois with a trunk like this! Probably held all their clothes and linens, maybe even their entire household belongings! Today, most of us couldn't put a quarter of our wardrobes in this.

Finished!

I'm not sure where Michala and Evan will put this but I do know it's up to her to finish the inside! If they wanted to, I think they could find someone in the Arthur area to make and install some leather for them.

Side view

I don't know though, it looks pretty good like this and I don't see them getting on a train or even a stagecoach any time soon!

International Harvester Scout Pedal Car

2011-02-12T16:00:00.003-06:00

I have this pedal car, made by International Harvester, and would like some information about it. It was purchased new in 1962 or 1963 from an International Harvester dealer in Danville, Illinois. A toy pedal tractor was purchased at the same time but that is long gone. I have searched the internet for something similar but cannot find a thing. Any information would be helpful!

Coach's T-Shirt Quilt

2011-02-12T11:12:00.002-06:00

picking colors

What do you do for a Coach at the end of the season? Many times, a team will do something for a coach so that the team and season is remembered. I'm sure coaches have many stuffed animals, plaques, photos and nick nacks galore.
Brenna thought a t-shirt quilt would be fun for her Millikin Volleyball coach. The girls had a great season, winning their conference with a 7-0 record. The team also broke some school records, beat a team that had not lost a conference game in many years, and just had fun! With not much time, Brenna asked the girls to donate a t-shirt from the past four years. She also raided the team closet for a few more and the clock started ticking! Without knowing when the End of Season event would be, and hoping it would be after the first of the year, I started shopping,cutting, planning, and sewing. I found some blue and white fabrics and got busy. I used one of the templates I cut for the Too Cool T-Shirt Quilt, so happy I didn't have to do THAT again! The end result was a quilt Coach Kiick could take on a cold bus or cuddle up with at home.

Finished! Waiting for the girls to sign it.

Brenna finished it with all of the girls signing the quilt and presenting it to Coach Kiick at the end of the party.

I'm sure Coach will remember this team for a long time!

Some More T-Shirt Quilts

2011-02-12T10:48:00.002-06:00

T-Shirt quilts are fun to make. Not really because of the hours of solitary sewing, but because of the people they are made for. I like laying them out, looking at colors, the obvious importance of the event on the shirt, and yes, even the hours of solitary sewing! you see, I love to read and watch movies and sew but you just cannot do all of those at once! Can't even do two of them at once. Sewing is a lot like swimming in that you need to focus. With swimming, you really need to focus on the breathing part. When sewing though, breathing is easy, there is some concentration on keeping your seams straight, but there is a little room to let your mind wander! I have found I pray a lot while sewing. Not just that the item will turn out okay, but I pray for the recipient of the quilt. I love how the project becomes that much more special with prayer!

After Rachel's quilt, and all that experience behind me :), its time to tackle the Too Cool T-Shirt Quilt! I read the book How to Make a Too Cool T-shirt Quilt
re-read the getting started parts and know I need some templates. I am all about doing stuff myself, but let me tell you, BUY the templates! The part about making your own sounded simple enough, I can handle a craft knife just fine! I head over to Rural King to buy my big sheet of plexiglass. They had a huge sheet for about $75 (I think thats what the templates cost) and some small sheets but not the size I needed. Okay, Rural King is not too far from my house so I go back home, get out my book and some graph paper to figure out how many of the smaller sheets I would need and how much waste I would have. I don't like waste and there would be just too much. So I run back to Rural King (some Saturdays we hit the place two or three times so no big deal for the second trip, plus they have the best free popcorn and coffee) and ask if they have any in the back. They don't but think it will be in later in the week. So I run over to get some new craft knife blades and find some other really cool stuff that I just had to have but didn't know it until I saw it! I love Rural King! If you have one near you, stop in, get a bag of popcorn and just wander around. You'll be so happy!

I now have a few days to study this book again and feel like I know what I am doing. Finally the plexiglass comes in, I pick my piece up and put it in the garage. Saturday, after a good breakfast and great Costa Rican coffee, I head out to the garage. After wasting as much time as I can, wondering if Kevin will come out and ask what I am up to, I have to get started. I think I am hoping Kevin will see what I am doing and think he can do it better and then take over. No such luck. Ugh! The first cut is sloppy and I break the plexiglass! So much for the book. Well, there has to be an easier way. Where is Kevin?! Back to the graph paper to make sure I didn't mess something up. I think I can do it still. Finally! I did one! Much easier, so on to the next, there are at least ten or twelve to be cut. After I get a couple of the templates cut, here comes Kevin. I don't think he thinks it looks like fun. Probably because it isn't. So he watches, and tells me how to do it. Arrrghh! At least he sands the edges while he is watching. After two days of cutting, and sanding, the templates are ready! FYI, buy the templates, it is so worth it!

Now I'm ready to start cutting t-shirts. This is fun! I am sure there are at least 50 t-shirts. Now to sort them into sizes, and then the math. Amazing! The math is right on! For those of you struggling in math classes right now, you WILL use it in life. Michala comes over and we lay out the quilt on graph paper. If you design it on your computer, changes are MUCH easier! Once we like the pattern, we lay the pieces out on the living room floor. Side note: The cutest dog in the world will want to help so I advise you to not tell the dog what you are doing.

Michala stitched the whole top together and it is awesome! Just imagine 50 of your favorite t-shirts all in one place, what a conversation piece! Even though there is a lot of time and planning in a quilt like this, it is totally worth it. I can't wait to do the next one! Brenna and Elizabeth each have enough for two or three quilts apiece! We just need to figure out what ones to use.

Brrrrrr!!!

2011-02-10T10:29:00.000-06:00

The temperature until 8:30 this morning was -8 degrees. YES!!! That would be NEGATIVE EIGHT! Real temperature, not windchill. I don't even want to know what that was! It is warming up quickly though, currently it is zero degrees. Still really cold but the trend is UP!!! Woo hoo!

Rachel, hand sewing the binding

The girls have so many t-shirts that we have talked about making quilts out of them. There are lots of books and much advice on the internet. The local quilt shops have classes as well. Of course, we thought why pay $20 - $50 to learn to do something so simple. One thing we didn't love was how stiff the t shirts are when using even the lightest weight fusable interfacing. Plus, over time, that interfacing will separate from the shirt, and who wants that? We all like our t shirts well worn and super comfy, right? So why make them stiff? I know, to make it easier to sew. After a really long time discussing this, we found a great book, Too Cool T-Shirt Quilts by Andrea T Funk and Sarah Bendure. Michala and her friend Rachel, without telling me of course, stopped at a local fabric shop and figured out how much material they would need to make a quilt. You see, Rachel was leaving for Dallas soon to work for the 2011 Super Bowl and would need something to remind her of home. (Not to mention keep her warm, tee hee!) As they come in with bags of material and several t-shirts, I quickly learn that I am the one to teach Rachel to sew so she could make this quilt herself! Now I have to tell you that Rachel is the most positive, fun, loving, energetic young women I know. However, she has no patience and thought it would be a short afternoon thing. Remember, this was my first too! We started by discussing the shirts and what they meant to her. Even though Rachel is a recent college grad, she is still wearing a lot of those shirts so there will be another quilt in her future! The theme that popped out was high school and volleyball. The sewing part went smoothly and Rachel and I got to spend some awesome time together. I realized we were really short on time, she was moving in about a week so I backed it with fleece and knowing she was planning to come one more time decided to stitch the binding on. She was relieved when she saw how far the quilt had come. Then, I told her about the binding, giving her an option of just sewing it down or hand stitching, really pushing the hand sewing. I just think it looks much better! She chose hand stitching and you can imagine her face when she realized it doesn't just happen! After a couple of hours, we finished and Rachel has a beautiful quilt that she can be proud of.

Pillow from scraps

Never ever throw a scrap away, it could be useful someday. Ok, not entirely true, keep it if you will use it but if you get to the point you can't find anything, you might be a hoarder and need help!

Back of the pillow, with part of a shirt we couldn't work into the quilt.

Too many things to blog about!

2011-02-08T20:26:00.000-06:00

So many things to talk about, I need to sort them all out! Stop back tomorrow for some T-Shirt Quilts! And then the next day for some more quilts, and the day after for some of Kevin's stuff, and the day after that for...

The Rest of the Artists

2011-02-05T12:41:00.000-06:00

Old Parking Meter

First there is Kevin. He has always been an artist! Kevin can make anything look great. Sometimes I just don't get his vision, but the end result is something I can be proud of. Well, maybe he did the work, but I'm married to the guy, doesn't that count for something? He has the gift of seeing the end result while looking at the rough stuff. I think his favorite words are "I could make that for a buck." I can't even count how many times he has slammed on the brakes to scavenge something on the side of the road. The girls used to be terrified he would find a dead body on the side of the road and we would have to deal with that before we ever got to our destination. The man is patient though! He has been collecting parts for a big cooker for about twenty five years now. So far, it hasn't cost a dime. I wonder what he will spend his "buck" on though!

Michala's Queen Sized Quilt

Michala, firstborn, had a dream to be a princess when she grew up. Evan came along and swept her off her feet. Sorry Will, you just took too long. Kate, Katherine, will have to do now! She seems pretty nice, best wishes on your upcoming wedding! Michala teaches High School Business courses now. And she is an awesome teacher! If you're lucky enough to have Mrs. McWhirter as a teacher, you know what I'm talking about! I tried to teach her to sew years ago, it was ugly. So when she came home with a pattern and some fabric, you can imagine my anxiety! She wanted to learn to sew and make a skirt! Three broken machines later, she had a beautiful skirt! Ok, to be fair, the machines were old and probably stressed by the years of inactivity. Next she wants to make handbags. Any pattern with sixteen pieces is probably not the one a beginning seamstress wants to tackle. And then she talks me into a quilt class. Like me, she jumps in with both feet and eyes tightly closed! Her first quilt is a queen sized masterpiece! More on this later.

Brenna's Mask

Brenna, middle daughter, the one we thought would go to art school! She does go to an art school, but is studying Fitness and Sport. She started playing Volleyball in Junior High School, Mrs. Carter was her coach. Brenna dreamed of playing college Volleyball someday and currently plays for Millikin University. Brenna is super focused, super organized, super busy, always on time, and relaxes by being creative. You could almost always see some of her artwork in a local school district art show. This is the mask she created in fourth grade. It appeared in a regional show. Brenna recreates pictures with just pencil and paper. Amazing! I hope to post some photos of her drawings soon. As I was decorating the Christmas tree this year, I realized that Brenna is responsible for most of my handmade ornaments. I also love Brenna's fashion sense. She can find the ugliest thing on the sale rack and totally rock it! I love that about her! She is totally comfortable being who she is.

Elizabeth, Lizzie, Liz, the singer. Now the singing photographer. Another artist at a young age. Elizabeth was born singing. She sings ALL OF THE TIME! Thankfully she has a beautiful voice! Put any music on and Elizabeth knows all the words. Growing up, she was a movie lover. We watched The Wizard of Oz over, and over, and over. Disney movies, old movies like Breakfast at Tiffanys, any movie, she was up for! The best times were when the movie theaters had freebies! You can't imagine how many movies we saw. another thing, she had great hand eye coordination at an early age. She would play Crash Bandicoot upside down! Elizabeth has had a love for photography since she was very young. Now she studies Digital Photography at the Art Institute at Schaumburg. Cool stuff! I may have to get written permission to show some of her work. I will sneak something in here and now though. Elizabeth also has fun with fashion, must be the sign of really creative people!

Riley's only job is to chase birds, bunnies, squirrels, and opossums. Oh, and be the cutest beagle ever!

Ok, here goes nothing!

2011-02-04T13:13:00.000-06:00

Hello friends and family!
I'm out to prove that you CAN teach an old dog, or lady, new tricks! Please don't give up on me as I figure this thing out!
I've had plenty of time to try to figure things out over the past year or so, and what I have discovered is how incredibly talented my family is! I hope to share some of this talent through out this blog! I may share some other stuff as well so you will just have to check back often.
A little about me, I started sewing when I was eleven years old. My teacher, Mrs. Bowman, taught at North Ridge Junior High. That was back in the day when Home Economics was required for girls. I remember my first project was a dress, with pockets, and buttons, and a collar, and set in sleeves, I even remember the fabric! This is important to know because you will see that I almost never start with the easy stuff, like a skirt with an elastic waistband. Thank you Mrs. Bowman for putting up with me and pushing me back then! As a result, I feel like I was a leader in fashion in that school. Others might have just thought I was weird. I need that fashion sense back...

Church directory picture, a few years ago!

We added Evan!

These photos are pretty old, looks like we need a new one taken! Elizabeth!!!

Riley. Cutest, Beagle, Ever!

Enough of the basics! Stop in later as the story continues...

HI!

2011-01-15T19:33:00.001-06:00

My daughter, Michala, is testing this blog for me! Hope it works!