Second Chances by Susan

How to Make a Duct Tape Purse and Flower

2013-04-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

One of the more popular posts on my blog has been duct tape purses. Many of you have contacted me asking for directions, especially for the flower. I'm happy to announce that I have completed two videos that take you step-by-step through the process. I hope you enjoy them!

This purse is made from denim blue and white duct tape with a yellow gingham fabric lining.

It features a bright, bold yellow flower!

The corners are boxed.

The handles are secured with silver brads.

To view the video tutorials, just click on the photos below, or the links, where you will be redirected to my youtube channel. If you like the videos, please like, share, or subscribe to my channel so you can be informed when new videos are available. Thanks!!

http://youtu.be/J_uKzZVlCIk

http://youtu.be/epEoyueh8Ls

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Ginger Snap Crafts!

Having Fun in Morocco...Wish You Were Here!

2013-04-26T12:11:00.001-07:00

Although we had fun, we weren't really in Morocco! It was that time of year again when our church congregation "cruises" to some exotic place. We have been to the Caribbean, south of the border, Italy, the Orient, and even got shipwrecked on Gilligan's Island. Last year, we took a Mississippi riverboat cruise to New Orleans. This year we were fortunate to visit the beautiful country of Morocco. The food was wonderful...Moroccan chicken pie, couscous, green salad with feta and other wonderful flavors, figs, fruit, bread, and orange cake for dessert. The entertainment was first class! We enjoyed a snake charmer, belly dancer, and fortune teller. Of course, the snake was stuffed and came to life thanks to fishing line. He even carried on a funny conversation with his charmer. The fortune teller handed out fortunes that were actually scripture verses. And the brave (and modest) belly dancers were three of the leaders of our congregation...good sports! It was a fun evening filled with good food, good friends, and fun!

Now, on to the decorations which were fashioned from many secondhand treasures! If you are familiar with my past activities, then you will know how much I LOVE cast off sheets from hotels. For this party I was able to use "stone wall" stenciled sheets and plain-dyed sheets from previous activities. I did, however, do an ombre dye on nine sheets to create curtains for this party. I used yellow, orange, and wine to create a striped effect. You can visit this tutorial to see how I did the ombre effect.

I cut decorative tops from black foam core board purchased at the dollar store. Using my Cricut, I cut a stencil and used it to dress up the pieces with metallic paint. I used a strip of the foam core to thread it through the wide hem of the sheet. This allowed the curtain to be gathered at the top and then pinned to the walls (our textile covered walls act like big bulletin boards!) The foam core strip (which I used because it was leftover from cutting the tops, and cheap!) did have a tendency to break, so be careful, or use a dowel or wooden slat. I purchased gold curtain tie-backs at a thrift store for 50¢ a piece.

The food table was first covered in plain-dyed sheets, then layered with two burgandy table clothes purchased at a thrift store for $2 a piece. The turquoise fabric on the wall is a very long window scarf picked up for $4. A votive candle holder creates a focal point for the scarf to hang from. A roll of gold metallic mesh adds some sparkle under the wicker trays and place mats.

Lamps were added to provide some much needed light.

I usually like to hang icycle lights from the edge of the table (under the table skirting), but I didn't think they would show up much since the burgandy table clothes were so thick. So I just placed them on the floor under the table and they created a nice glow through the dyed sheets.

Originally, my mind envisioned the fortune teller corner as a tented area. But, time restraints dictated an alternate plan. I was happy with the end result, nonetheless. Thrifted curtain valances, fabric, velvet throws, and dyed sheets were used to create this scene. Throw rugs helped to cover the gym floor and the cord to the table lamp!

The table was covered in a beautiful vintage, hand painted velvet cloth. The light was thrifted for a couple of dollars.

A few years back, I helped to decorate for a homecoming dance at the local high school. They wanted an Arabian nights theme. I cut these columns from masonite, painted, and stenciled them with gold metallic spray paint. The bottom stencil was actually a "wrought iron" looking door mat. I just laid it over the column and sprayed it. Of course, not wanting to waste anything, when I was done stenciling, I sprayed the mat black again and still use it at my back door! This was our photo-op corner.

A while ago, our black stage curtains unfortunately "disappeared," so a backdrop was needed to dress up the stage. The columns and stenciled sheets came in handy to complete the job. Of course, there is only so much you can do when you're working around basketball hoops and accordion curtains!

My trusty gazebo made an appearance again. (You can see at my son's wedding here, and my daughter's wedding here.) I found some cute colored lights at a grocery outlet store that fit in with the moroccan theme. The light in the middle was re-wired by my husband to plug into an outlet. I painted the glass panels with transparent paint in moroccan colors, although it doesn't show up in the photos.

I picked up three long window scarves for $3 each and created a billowed ceiling in the gazebo. The rug is actually a vintage bedspread in a bright orange and yellow design with tassels.

One of my favorite projects for this party was the Moroccan lanterns I put together from various thrift store finds. Each lantern sat on top of a battery-operated LED light. I made seventeen lanterns for this party, all unique and different from each other. For a break down of the various parts I used for some of the lanterns, you can visit this tutorial.

I even thrifted some great costumes. My tunic and matching pants were only $2 for the set!! And, my husband's brightly colored tunic was just $3.

I'm not sure, this may have been more oriental than moroccan, but I couldn't pass it up for the price!

I like to link to these great parties!

All Zipped Up!

2013-03-31T15:32:00.000-07:00

A while back I picked up this maternity jumper at a thrift shop for a couple of bucks. Now, let me just say that this grandma is no way in need of maternity clothes! The only babies I am waiting for now are more grandbabies (hint, hint to my married kids!) But, I did like the black and white fabric and knew I could take in the sides.

The first thing I did was to cut off the ties. At first I thought I would add an invisible zipper to the side seam so I could still get the dress on and off. But, it was late at night and no invisible zipper on hand. I did, however have a long, black separating zipper in my stash. So, plan B...an exposed zipper down the back. To allow for this, I made one cut all the way up the center of the back. I then serged the edges.

Next, I just laid the zipper on top of the serged edges and topstitched in place, folding and stitching the top of the zipper to the inside. The zipper wasn't long enough to reach the bottom of the hem, but this just allowed for a vent in the back...nice how things have a way of working out! I just turned under the edges of the vent and topstitched in place.

The jumper next went onto my dress form to pin to size. Then it was just a matter of stitching up the new side seams, making sure to match up the lines of the fabric.

I didn't care much for the look at the bottom of the zipper so I added a small placket with two decorative buttons. All in all, pretty simple!

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The "Tattooed" Denim Jacket

2013-03-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

I may not have the urge to tattoo my body, but I did get the urge to tattoo a jacket! I love the intricate design of some of the henna tattoos and thought they would would look great as embellishments on a denim jacket. I started with this white denim jacket that I picked up at a thrift store for a few dollars. Originally, it had eyelet lace trim around the collar, pockets, and cuffs. I didn't care much for it, so I cut it away!

I then spent some time...quite a bit of time...drawing designs on the jacket with an ultra fine point sharpie marker.

After I was satisfied with the designs, I used Elmer's washable clear glue and filled in some of the design elements. I filled an empty paint tube with glue so that I could have a smaller opening and more control over the gluing process. I let the glue dry thoroughly. The dried glue works almost like magic in the next step, which is dyeing the jacket.

I used Rit Denim Blue liquid dye. I was going for an ombre look, so I started at the bottom of the jacket and worked my way up to get the desired ombre effect. As you can see in the picture below, I made a makeshift rack to hang my jacket from. Every 5 minutes I lowered the jacket to the next level, into the dye. When I got to the level of the inked design, I placed the whole jacket in the dye for a couple of minutes, then placed it in the sink to rinse.

The dried glue resists most of the dye, leaving the treated areas lighter. The glue is washable and disappears in the wash.

Whenever you dye something, you never know exactly how it will turn out. With this project, the thread remained white. I really like the effect, though, since it ties in so nicely with the white in the inked designs!

This technique was a bit time consuming, but I'm really happy with the results.

A few tips:

•Make sure you use Elmer's washable clear glue and let it dry completely.

•I didn't get my jacket wet before dyeing (which is usually recommended for a more consistent result), I didn't want to risk washing away the dried glue and, therefore, ruining the effect.

•Be sure you use a permanent ink marker.

Update: Louise in SW Saskatchewan had this useful information to add to the process:

"The thread stayed white because it was probably polyester or a polycotton blend instead of 100% cotton. I am a professional hand dyer and have found out about this. If you use Elmer's blue School Gel you can get finer lines as it holds it's shape better than the Clear Gel which tends to spread more. I use the Blue Gel for a particular technique and we tried the clear gel to compare and discovered its spreading tendencies."

I was aware of the reason why the thread didn't take the dye, but the advantage of the blue glue was news to me!!

Good luck!

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Sugar Bee Crafts
The Busy Bee's
Threading My Way
Crafted
A Girl and A Glue Gun

Polo, anyone?

2013-03-10T14:59:00.003-07:00

This latest refashion began life as an 4XL tall men's polo shirt. I was drawn to the color, stripes, $2 price tag, and most importantly...amount of fabric to work with! I cut off the collar and sleeves, then placed it on my dress form backwards. I didn't want it to necessarily look like a reformed polo shirt, so I placed the button placket in the back. I switched out the buttons for two black ones found in my stash.

I pinned the sides to the right width and trimmed away the excess. There was so much fabric left from the sides that, after cutting apart the original side seam stitching, I was able to make four strips with vertical stripes (two for the front and two for the back.) Before sewing up the side seams, I made two horizontal cuts along the bottom of the shirt front and back (one at about 5" from the bottom hem, and another at about 8"). I retained the original hem of the shirt for my new dress. I then inset my vertical-striped strips, along with some black knit piping in the front and back of the dress. Next, I cut a long strip of black knit and inset it into the side seams. This served two purposes, one to give the dress more interest, and two, I didn't have to be so precise when matching the front and back stripes and piping! I finished it off with some black ribbing around the neck and arms.

After it was finished, I felt the armholes were bigger than I wanted, so a made a little pleat at the top of each sleeve and hand stitched it into place.

It was a windy day for taking pictures, but check out the great leather coat I snagged for $2.00 at a local thrift shop!

Because of the stretch knit, this dress is super comfortable! At $2.00, it was also very affordable! I think my favorite part, though, is that the two vertical striped insets disguises the fact that I was trying to lengthen a t-shirt into a dress. It feels like it was designed that way!

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Keeping It Simple

Corduroy Shirt Dress and Sweater Bag

2013-02-21T11:35:00.000-08:00

After spending weeks hanging on my dress form, half done, I finally finished my latest refashion. This dress was created from an XXL men's shirt and L men's sweater. I spotted the shirt at the thrift shop and pictured it right away as a dress with a rolled sweater collar. I patiently waited for it to go on sale. In fact, in my waiting, I thought I had missed the opportunity when I went back and couldn't find it, but no worries, it was just hanging in a different spot. So I snatched it up!

This is what I started with...

I used the lower half of the sleeves for my new 3/4 sleeves, retaining the cuff detail. With the excess fabric from the upper part of the sleeves, I was able to lengthen the shirt to a more suitable dress length.

I left the shirt's collar band in place, but cut off the actual collar. I used a portion of the removed collar to create a triangular extension so that one end of my new rolled collar could tuck neatly under the other end. In fact, since the original collar was a button-down collar, I was able to utilize the existing buttonhole at the point of the collar to keep my new collar in place.

I added elastic to the waist so that it would cinch up evenly.

I had plenty of the sweater leftover and thought it would be fun to make a purse. So back to the thrift shop for the lining and details. I found an extra long belt with studs that I thought would be fun. And, a pair of brown corduroy pants would be perfect for the lining and trim.

I love the corduroy plaid fabric! The dress is comfortable and the purse is roomy. Besides from a broken needle while sewing the purse, I think it was a success!

Shirt.....$3.00

Sweater.....$2.00

Belt.....$2.00

Pants.....$2.50

Total cost for dress and purse.....$9.50!

For a tutorial on the dress, click here!

For a tutorial on the purse, click here!

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Threading My Way

Dollar Store Crafting-Baking Cup Bunting

2013-02-09T16:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a simple, but cute bunting you can make with items purchased at the Dollar Store. All you need are the following:

1 pkg. regular-sized baking cups

1 pkg. mini baking cups

glue stick

scissors

iron

sewing machine

Total cost: $2.00

(with cupcake picks and 82 mini baking cups leftover for another project!)

Step #1 - Iron the baking cups flat.

Step #2 - Cut the baking cups in half.

Step #3 - Glue the mini baking cups to the center of the regular baking cups.

Step #4 - Stagger the baking cups as you stitch them down the center with the sewing machine.

Step #5 - Display!

Just a note...this bunting doesn't hang like your traditional bunting (with a gentle curve) so it's best laying on top of the mantle, or table, or attached across the front edge. A couple of rows of these would look rather cute as a table runner for your Valentine's dinner! Of course, with each holiday the Dollar Store has baking cups to match. So these could be made for other holidays as well!

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Goodbye Lower Back Pain!

2013-01-21T14:51:00.000-08:00

I know my blog is all about posting ways to give secondhand treasures a second chance at life, but I figure this post is about how I was able to eliminate lower back pain and give my body a second chance! First of all, I must say that I am not a health professional and this is only a story of what worked for me. It may or may not help you, but it might give you more ideas to share with your healthcare professional when discussing your own lower back pain. Warning: This is a long post. If your back can't handle sitting for long periods of time, or you don't want to read my story (no hard feelings!) I'll sum it up in one word...Iliopsoas...google it! But, if you're game, here's my story...

For years I had suffered with lower back pain. It was always there, some days worse than others, but nonetheless, always there. It was a constant deep nagging that never went away. I tried to figure out what was causing it. This past summer, after going on a 20 mile, four day hike and sleeping on the hard ground with, surprisingly, no back pain, I thought the culprit might be my bed.

Being a naturally thrifty person, I wasn't sure if I want to put a large chunk of money into a Sleep Number bed. So I tried to stiffen my side of the bed by placing a thin sheet of masonite between some of the upper layers of my pillow top mattress. It firmed up the bed, but I didn't see any real results.

I thought another cause might have been carrying and giving birth to eight children over a span of twenty five years. Maybe my back was just tired, and if that was the case, what was I to do?

And then there was the recent work that we've been doing on a piece of property that we purchased. There are no shortage of rocks on the property and we have used them for many projects. Of course, these rocks don't pick themselves up, and rock gathering is mainly my job. And, just to clarify, its my job because I'm fond of the rocks and like to use them in landscaping. My husband has plenty of other heavy lifting jobs to do on the property!

So maybe I've spent too much time in this position...

...and placing too many rocks along seasonal creek beds, yes, they continue all the way to that blue barrel in the distance...

...to finally enjoy this...

(Disclaimer: The whole family built the bridge, not just me! You can see the full post here.)

And, there are many other rock projects on the property...trust me!

It was out on the property one day that caused the high point of my back pain. I was at one end of a heavy roll of road felt trying to lift it into place when it really tweaked my back. I instantly had to drop my end (sorry to my husband.) I tried to shrug off the spike in pain and went back to work on the tractor. By the end of the day, I could barely move. It was all I could do to climb off the tractor and up into the dump truck. I could no longer sit up and had to lay across the seat on the way home...with tears streaming down my face. It hurt so bad. Once home, I needed help getting out of my work clothes and into bed. I placed a heating pad on my back which I thought would help...wrong choice BTW, and just laid there trying not to move.

The next day my husband suggested that I go see the chiropractor. The last time I went to see him, he was having me come in 3x a week, 2 for adjustments and one for massage therapy. Now, I loved the massage therapy, but all the appointments added up to about $700 a month. I didn't see any real improvement and, with no insurance, couldn't afford to keep going. I was a little lacking in faith that he could do anything, but I was also in a lot of pain and felt it couldn't hurt. So, I limped my way to the car and braved the 15 minute drive across town. When I reached his office, the waiting room was eerily quiet. The receptionist greeted us with, "Oh, I've trying to get a hold of you all day and none of your numbers are working. The doctor was sick and went home early. I'm sorry." Sorry, was not want I wanted to hear. I was so disappointed! Come to find out, she was looking at someone else's chart when calling, hence the wrong numbers! She did offer a glimmer of hope, though. There was another chiropractor close by that would sometimes take my doctor's patients. She gave him a call and he said to come right over. I was relieved that he could see me, and that he was only a block away!

Once there, he did some resistance testing on me and diagnosed right away that the Iliopsoas muscle group was inflamed. This muscle group runs from the lower vertebrae to the top of the femur (see the picture below). Now I had taken Anatomy and Physiology in college, but I don't recall ever hearing of this muscle group. And, BTW, the "p" is silent.

He iced it, did an ultrasound treatment on it and then sent me away with instructions to ice it for 20 minutes each hour, rest it, and take Ibuprofen. My husband bought me an ice pack that looks similar to this...

I followed the doctor's instructions and by the fourth day I was feeling much better. Since then I have researched the Iliopsoas and found various stretches to keep the muscles from shortening again. Apparently, the muscles shorten when we sit for extended periods of time, or when we stoop over a lot, lifting heavy things....hmmm, maybe rocks! When the muscle group becomes inflamed, the surrounding muscles overcompensate. Eventually, this causes things to get tweaked out alignment, thus causing back pain. I have also set a goal to strengthen my core muscles. My new favorite is the plank. And, I don't mean the kind of planking that my crazy boys do! I do my planks in the privacy of my home...and without laying on top of a group of people!

To sum it all up, I am a very spiritual person and believe that things happen for a reason. I have been searching for a way to eliminate my back pain for years. It was only when the pain became so severe (and I had lifted those rolls of road felt many times before without injury) that I was prompted to seek medical attention. I don't think it was chance that led my doctor to go home early (seriously, he's the model of good health so it must have been bad), or the receptionist to call the wrong numbers, or that I was directed to a doctor that could diagnose the problem in one short visit, considering I still have no health insurance! I truly believe in miracles and that's what this was to me. I'm not saying that it's the answer for everyone, but if this information could help even one person, I would be thrilled! Good luck and be strong!

I like to link to these great parties!

Collapsible Dollhouse

2013-01-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

Where does the time go? I can't believe it's been two months since my last post. It's not like I've been sitting around doing nothing. Actually, just the opposite which makes it hard to fit in time for blogging. I thought I would share something that took a good chunk of my time prior to Christmas. My granddaughter wanted a dollhouse for Christmas. They live about 900 miles away and don't have enough room in the car to bring home a full-sized doll house, so after spotting this great idea I decided to make something similar. Instead of using three-ringed binders for the structure, I went with thrifted double album covers. I got them for 10¢ each.

I needed four double album covers for the project, and a couple of single covers as well. The first thing I did was to place white duct tape down the outside and inside spine of each double cover, making sure to fold the tape over the top edges. I then placed two covers together and taped along the top and right edges. I left the bottom edge untaped for the time being. I did this with all four covers so that, when finished, they were all connected together and would create four rooms when standing up and open (see one of the following pictures.)

The next step (which is an addition to the original idea) was to add a floor to each room. I did this by taking apart the single covers, cutting them down slightly, and taping them to the bottom of each double cover. I taped them along the top edge (of the floor) to the front and the back. After taping, I folded the floor up and closed the cover to make sure it was going to fit okay. If the fit was okay, I finished taping around the rest of the floor edges. I did the same to each "room" of the doll house.

When I was all finished taping, it looked like this with all the edges covered with duct tape.

The next step was to decide on what scrapbooking paper I was going to use for the walls and floors of each room. I adhered them all with mod podge, letting each room dry before moving onto the next.

The finished doll house folds like this when its not being played with.

Before I go further, I thought I would mention that I entertained the idea of cutting 12 x 12 squares of masonite for the doll house, which would make it pretty sturdy. I opted for the album covers because they were recycled and lightweight. But, they do warp a little when applying mod podge to them. So do what you want with that little bit of information!

Anyway, now for an overall tour of the house before I get into more of the furniture details.

The bathroom and bedroom.

The bedroom and living room.

The living room and kitchen.

The kitchen and bathroom.

The bathroom started with these thrifted pieces...a tub-shaped soap dish, a small ceramic dish, and a candle holder. I didn't have to do anything to the tub. I spray painted the candle holder white and glued the dish on top to create the sink. I used E-6000 for all of the furniture gluing.

I used a vintage crocheted pot holder for a rug. All of the images were found on the internet, resized, printed, cut, and mod podged into place.

The family room was created from an old wooden box, two candle holders, and an acrylic dessert cup. (I didn't end up using the wooden piece...probably because I couldn't find it at the time!) The lamp was easy. All I had to do was turn the dessert cup upside down and glue it to the top of the candle stick. The ottoman was just a matter of gathering a circle of scrap leather around some batting and gluing in place. The couches were a bit trickier. I removed the hinges, ran the front edge of the lid through the table saw to barely cut of the front edge. I had to run the base of the box through the table saw to make it the same height as the lid, then cut off the front edge and put a new bottom on it. Once they were the same size, I glued some decorative wood pieces to the bottom for feet. I completed them by making little cushions and pillows.

The drapes, plasma tv, fireplace, basket, and plants are all images from internet.

The bedroom began with a wire napkin holder, picture frame, and air freshener. I sprayed the bed pieces white. I then drilled holes through the wooden frame and wired it to the head of the bed. (I actually turned the napkin holder upside down.) I removed the board of the picture frame, drilled small holes spaced alternately, then covered it with batting and green fabric. I then pushed white brads through the fabric and holes and secured them to the back. This created a tufted look for the headboard.

I removed the air freshener liquid from the lamp, made a mattress, pillows, and cover for the bed, and mod podged some coordinating paper to a cute little trunk. I pulled a thrifted doily from my stash to use as a rug. Once again, the images were from the internet.

The kitchen was a lot of fun. The furniture was pretty easy. It consisted of four wooden salt and pepper shakers (two not shown), a pedestal candle base, and a ceramic trivet. I glued the trivet to the candle base to create the table. If you're worried about it breaking, you could use a cute lid from a metal canister instead. I cut the tops off of the shakers. Originally, I was going to make a padded cover for them, but went super simple by gluing a canning lid to the top of each and adding a scalloped paper medallion to the top with mod podge.

The fun part was finding all the cute images to glue to the walls. Another thrifted doily makes a cute rug.

An aerial view of the kitchen gives you an idea of how the house stands when its open.

This project did take quite a bit of time (especially waiting for the mod podge to dry) but it was fun. Everything but the canning lids, scrapbook paper, duct tape, and air freshener lamp was thrifted.

And, the best part is that my granddaughter loved it!

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Altered Couture—Winter 2013

2012-11-02T17:52:00.002-07:00

I'm excited to announce that my pajama jumpsuit turned dress is featured in the winter 2013 issue of Altered Couture! It was chosen as part of their "Slip Into Sleepwear" challenge. It hit the newsstands on November 1. As an added bonus, my sister-in-law, Kathy, has also been featured in the same issue! How cool is that!? She created a beautiful necklace by repurposing a pair of leather sandals. You can check it out on her blog, katalinajewelry.blogspot.com.

Layered T-Shirt Dress

2012-09-28T11:31:00.001-07:00

The other day while shopping at the thrift store, I came across some men's t-shirts that coordinated well together. I thought they would be perfect for a layered dress that I had been envisioning in my mind. I also found a navy blue half slip that would be perfect as the base of the dress.

I brought them home and got to work.

I first put the slip onto my dress form and pinned the sides.

I then trimmed away the excess.

The next step was to cut my strips with a rotary cutter.

I cut several strips 3" wide.

I could have left the edges raw since t-shirt fabric doesn't fray, but I opted to go with a small serged edge. It finished it off and gave a slight ripple to the edge. Now it was just of matter of stitching the strips to the front and back of the slip. I followed the curved hem of the slip and and placed each layer about 1/2" over the previous layer.

Once they were all attached, I set the front and back skirt aside and worked on the top. I used a commercial pattern that I already had to make the bodice. I trimmed the neck and sleeves with the black t-shirt material.

I attached the front and back skirt to the bodice before stitching the side seams. The t-shirt fabric had some stretch, but not enough to go with out a zipper, so I placed an invisible zipper in one of the side seams. Once the zipper installation was complete, I pinned each layer to make sure they would match perfectly and then stitched the sides.

Here's a close-up of the layering.

I'm really happy with the results. Its super comfy and cost about $10 to make. The necklace was a last minute addition to the outfit. I'll post about that in the near future.

I like to link to these great parties.

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It's a Hodgepodge Life

Keeping It Simple

Creating My Way To Success

Girl's Camp Crafts 2012

2012-08-21T21:00:00.001-07:00

I recently returned from Girl's Camp and thought you might like to see what we did this year for crafts. At the end of each project I will give you some tips and my honest opinion of the success of the craft. We tried to be frugal and use some of the existing supplies from previous years. This is what we came up with...

"Let Your Light Shine" Lanterns

The girls brought a recycled jar to camp to use for this project.

Some girls added colorful stickers to their lanterns.

Some added ribbons and fabric bows.

Glass beads were a big hit for the wire handles.

Tips and Review

This was a popular craft for the girls.

Give clear instructions on the proper way to use spray paint.

A couple of light coats of spray paint are better than one heavy coat.

Sometimes the paint would peel off when the stickers were removed...be careful.

Be sure the wire handle is fastened securely to the rim of the jar, if not,

the jar can slip out and come crashing down!

We used battery operated tea lights from the dollar store.

For a full tutorial, click on the poster below.

T-Shirt Totes

We used an idea found on Skip to my Lou and tweaked it a little. The girls brought their own t-shirt to use, plus we had some donated t-shirts on hand. These are a no-sew project if you choose to tie the straps together instead of sewing them.

Tips and Review

The girls really liked this project.

If you tie the straps together, it is a no-sew project. But, it also makes the straps shorter.

For longer straps, sew them together and cover the seams with a t-shirt tie.

This is a great, lightweight, tote for bulky things. Small items, though,

could fall through the bottom holes where the fringe is tied.

The more even the fringe is cut (width and depth) the better the final project.

For a full tutorial, click on the poster below.

"Get Your Shine On" Lip Gloss

We started with this recipe and tweaked it a little. Our flavors were orange, strawberry, and peppermint. We printed several labels onto 8 1/2" x 11" adhesive paper and punched them with a scallop-edged punch.

Tips and Review

The girls really liked this project.

It tastes yummy on your lips.

It can be a messy project when measuring the vaseline and coconut oil.

The girls were not very precise when measuring the ingredients...keep an eye on them.

The containers could leak when the lip gloss gets too warm...best to keep the filled containers in a zip lock baggie.

For a full tutorial, click on the poster below.

Spoon People

What do you do with 900 leftover wooden spoons? Well, you paint spoon people! The girls were encouraged to paint them, embellish them, sign them, trade them, then glue them all together to display them.

After the faces and bodies were painted, yarn, felt, and beads were used to embellish them.

Tips and Review

This wasn't the most popular craft offered...probably too time consuming!

The girls really enjoyed talking and painting, though.

Leave the lower 3/4" of the spoon unpainted so that it will adhere better to the wooden circle.

For a full tutorial, click on the poster below.

Melted Pony Beads

We had LOTS of plastic pony beads left from previous years. This project was a fun (but stinky) way to use many of them.

Tips and Review

This was a popular and very easy craft.

You can either dump a bunch of beads into the mold and see what happens,

Or, you can carefully place the beads in an organized manner...tweezers help!

It smells when you bake the beads so do it outside.

I picked up inexpensive thrift store toaster ovens for this project.

Glass beads don't melt and provide a nice hole for a future chain or ribbon.

Clear beads make a nice sun catcher effect.

For a full tutorial, click on the picture below.

Well, that wraps it up for this year. All in all, I think it was a success!

I like to link to these great parties!

Wedding #2...A Beach Theme

2012-07-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't read about wedding #1, this is wedding #2...just a week apart! This one had a completely different feel, being held outside in my Mom and Dad's backyard, and having a whole different theme. It was a whirlwind of excitement and lots of work at our house. Plus, add in visiting family (including five grandkids at the house) and things were really hopping! Once again, thanks to everyone who helped make both weddings successful. I will be forever grateful for wonderful friends and family!

The Dress and Bouquet

My daughter wanted a simple, lightweight dress since this was to be a summertime wedding. We really couldn't find an exact pattern so we had to wing it a bit. She chose white chiffon over satin. The top is ruched with the chiffon. The waist is embroidered lace over satin ribbon. Small ribbon flowers with pearl and rhinestone centers were used as embellishments at the front of the waistband. A satin ribbon bow adorns the back.

The bodice gives the illusion of being wrapped in the front. Narrow crocheted lace trims the edge of the sleeves. The beautiful bouquet was made by my talented sister-in-law. She even put wire stems on some shells and added them into the mix. You can check out her creative jewelry at katalinajewelry.blogspot.com.

The back of the dress also had ruched chiffon over satin. A simple satin ribbon bow completes the dress.

The Guest Table

In keeping with the beach theme, the guests could sign-in by putting a message in the bottle for the bride and groom. The tabletop shutters, used in the first wedding, take on a nautical feel when draped with fish netting. A sandcastle, shells, beach umbrella, and starfish-encrusted planter complete the look.

The Buffet Tables

We got double duty from the table skirting and vinyl lace tablecloths used in the first wedding. We kept the hot food hot with chaffing dishes, and the cold food cold by building a shallow frame with 2x4's, covering it with inexpensive plastic table covering, filling it with ice, and setting the bowls of food in place. It was simple and effective.

This time around the tables were decorated with a seashell and raffia garland.

The aqua blue starfish were made using Sculpey clay and a candy mold. I pierced a hole through the top before baking so they could be strung onto the garland. I used the regular colored sculpey clay (the bulk packaging was cheaper than buying colored clay), then brushed some watered down paint over the starfish after first baking them in the oven. Raffia bows were tied onto the garland.

The dessert table was filled with varying heights of dishes filled with cookies, brownies, and cream puffs.

Salt water taffy was also a big hit at the dessert table.

This multi-level stand is actually used to hold pillar candles. We used glue dots to secure the plates.

The Centerpieces

The centerpieces were very economical, considering most of the parts were purchased from the dollar store, including the fluted glass vases, candles, shells, and two candlesticks—one tall, and one short. The candlesticks were secured to the vases with glue dots. The dark brown, round place mats were purchased on clearance for 75¢ each.

The Gazebo

The gazebo has made the rounds for several receptions and even my Mom and Dad's fiftieth wedding anniversary. Once it even traveled from Oregon to Utah to be used at a reception. This time I added some sheer lace-trimmed curtains to the front to give it a more elegant feel. I picked these up for cheap at Value Village.

I found these nautical tie-backs on clearance at Michael's for $6 a piece. (I don't have a full picture of the tie-backs, but the following two pictures shows the upper half of the tie-back, and the lower half of the tie-back.)

The Cake

Having never done fondant before, I was fortunate to have a neighbor who had...and was willing to help! We decided to cheat and make only the top layer edible. The bottom two layers are actually fondant covered styrofoam. We just figured that Costco sheet cakes would be easier and more economical. I purchased a 2'x4' sheet of 2" thick styrofoam from Home Depot and cut the circles on the band saw. I then stacked and glued them together. My neighbor baked the top layer and then covered everything with fondant. I placed the whole cake on a clear crystal serving platter.

I had previously made shells using candy molds and almond bark. For the starfish, I sprinkled a little brown sugar in the mold first to give it some color. The coral was made by placing some melted almond bark in a bag and squeezing it onto wax paper. It was then placed in the refrigerator to set. I attached all the shells with frosting and then sprinkled the whole thing with some organic sugar (only because in was coarser than regular sugar and not as white in color.)

The cake sat atop a clear, upside-down glass bowl with straight sides. Before doing so, though, I placed some sea glass under the bowl which almost gave it the look of water. (Actually, I had previously bought some green, aqua, and blue vases from the thrift store, broke them into pieces, and threw them into a rock tumbler. The effect was homemade sea glass. I have future plans for it, but for now it made the perfect addition to the cake stand.) A fishing net was placed around the bowl and various seashells and starfish were added.

The Hair?

Okay, this has nothing to to with the reception decorations, but unbeknownst to me, the photographer took a picture of my hair, so I'm including it, along with the story behind it. Having been at my Mom and Dad's all day finishing up the final preparations, and as the groom's side of the family were showing up for pictures, I figured it was time to clean up and get myself ready. To my dismay, the bag that I had packed for myself was nowhere to be found. Well, actually, it was to be found...back at home! My sweet brother and his wife offered to travel all the way to the neighboring town and back to retrieve the forgotten bag, but I felt that surely someone from my house could bring it sooner. Needless to say, by the time my bag arrived I had about 15 minutes to the start of the ceremony. I was a mess, and my hair was definitely a mess! So, my girls came to the rescue. I felt like Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality when she was left on her own to finish the competition...remember how all the girls came to her aid? Well, I knelt on the bathroom floor and my girls were in a frenzy curling and pinning. They finished in record time and I attended the reception feeling much more presentable as the mother of the bride! Thanks girls!

I have to say that doing two weddings a week apart was ALOT of work, but it was good to have family and friends around and we have come away with great memories!

I like to link to these great parties!

Shabby Chic Cupcake Stand

2012-07-20T08:20:00.002-07:00

My son just got married and they opted for a shabby chic wedding reception. You can read the full post here. I thought you might enjoy a tutorial on how I made the cupcake stand. Everything was thrifted objects except for the threaded rod, nuts, and washer that hold it all together. Total cost, including paint, came in under $30! Not bad since I saw a pretty nondescript one on Etsy going for $140 plus $35 shipping!

I started with a shallow wooden bowl turned upside down for a base. Next was a round table top with a carved edge detail that actually measures about 24" in diameter. A wooden lazy susan was taken apart and used for the next level, followed by two metal trays—one with handles and one with sides. A metal tart tin with a fluted edge is next. The whole thing is topped off with a small wooden bowl with straight, deep sides. A decorative wire basket sits upside down on top of the bowl. Each level is divided by a variety of turned wood objects—a candle pedestal, salt and pepper shakers, and a lamp base. (Not seen in the "before" picture is the small wooden bowl with straight sides and the decorative wire basket...they were an afterthought!)

The first step was to decide how tall each wooden divider needed to be and cut them to size. I opted for about 5" between cake stand layers. That didn't mean that I could cut all the wooden dividers evenly, though. Some of my trays (the small wooden bowl, the tart tin, and one of the metal trays) had sides to them that I had to allow for. You can see what I mean in the finished picture. I opted to put the sides facing down on these levels so that a person wouldn't have to lift the cupcake up and over the edge. After measuring and cutting the dividers, they all needed holes through them to allow for the threaded rod. I was lucky with the lamp base, it already had a hole drilled done the center to house the electrical wires. The salt and pepper shakers were also equipped with a hole through most of it. The candle pedestal needed some help, so I put in on the drill press and drilled right down the center.

I also drilled a hole in each of the levels.

Next was to paint everything white.

This metal tray with the swirly handles is my favorite! Since the sides of this tray were very shallow, I left it upright. The other metal trays I placed upside down to make it easier to get to the cupcakes.

The top of the cake stand is a wooden bowl with straight sides. I drilled a hole part way into the underside so that I could countersink a nut into it. I then used epoxy to adhere the nut.

The threaded rod screws right into the underside of the wooden bowl.

Now its just a matter of putting it all together starting with the top layer and working your way to the bottom. The final layer is the upside down shallow bowl to be used as a base. I cut the threaded rod to size and my hubby touched up the threads with a grinder so that the newly cut threads would work properly. A washer and nut holds the whole stand together.

Once everything is tightened down, turn it over and enjoy! You now have a custom cupcake stand that will be the showpiece of any party! And, one of the best parts...it all comes apart for easy storage!

I like to link to these great parties!

Shabby Chic Wedding Reception

2012-07-19T18:35:00.000-07:00

My blog as been shy of posts lately, and for good reason. We just finished back-to-back weddings for my son and my daughter. They were held a week apart! Needless to say, I'm exhausted! But I would be more exhausted if it weren't for the help of wonderful family and friends. It would be hard to name everyone that had a part in these events, but I hope they each know how truly grateful I am to them for their willingness to help make both of these weddings a huge success. Thanks!! Now, onto the pictures. My son and his bride chose a reception that would have a shabby chic, eclectic, vintage feel. Okay, maybe my son didn't actually choose that (what guy would?), but he went along with it anyway! It's always a challenge to make a church cultural hall (basically, a gym) look good with basketball hoops and all, but since the price is right...free...you do what you can! We created a false ceiling with alternating strands of white lights and paper buntings. My husband wired me up a great custom extension cord that stretched from one basketball hoop to the other. He spliced in an outlet every five feet so it was easy to power all the light strands. We were fortunate to be able to borrow chair covers to hide the metal chairs. The blue satin tablecloths I picked up years ago at Goodwill for $2 a piece. They have come in VERY handy over the years. The paper lanterns were battery operated, although, they could have easily plugged into the custom extension cord if necessary. The garden gazebo in the middle of the room was decorated with white globe lights and large paper butterflies purchased at a local home and garden center.

The guest table gave the guests an opportunity to "send" the bride and groom a postcard of advice. A friend, who is an avid quilter, graciously loaned us some quilt tops to use for decorating.

Their postcards were printed on cream colored parchment card stock. We printed four to a page and cut them accordingly.

After the guests wrote down their words of wisdom, they placed the postcards in the white mailbox. Real letters written over the years to each other by the bride and groom were tucked into the small vintage mailbox.

The gift table was set up in the overflow area of the gym. We used two roll around chalkboards, about 7 1/2' apart and connected them with an 8' long 2x2 board. Then we gathered white sheets onto pvc pipes (using the original sheet hem as a casing) to create a white curtain backdrop. We attached these to the tops of the chalkboards. The beautiful quilt was handmade by the bride's grandmother. White picket fencing flanked the gift table and was adorned with paper butterflies and paper accordion medallions. White table skirting for the whole event was made from sheets collected from local hotels. Can I just say that a ruffler foot for the sewing machine was one of my best investments ever?! (And, I didn't pay an arm and a leg for it...just about $16 from Amazon.) A vintage suitcase holds the cards.

A corner of the gym was dedicated to photos of the bride and groom. The backdrop was an old door with louvered bi-fold doors attached to each side. The cute bench was made by the bride's late father. Old vintage suitcases were collected from thrift stores to display photos of the happy couple. A digital photo frame played a slideshow of their bridal shoot a few days earlier and their day at the temple.

The centerpieces were an eclectic grouping of planted tin cans covered with patterned paper and embellishments, made by the bride and her mom. They also painted mason jars to hold a bouquet of flowers. Blue Milk of Magnesia bottles that I picked up at a garage sale held a single sunflower. Little LED lights that are made to put in jack-o-lanterns lit up an upside-down pint-sized mason jar covered with swirls of hot glue and brushed with the same blue transparent paint as the other jars. All of this sat atop a white-on-white polka dot center cloth hemmed with a scalloped edge.

The food tables all had white icicle lights attached to them before the table skirting was put on. They were covered with vinyl lace fabric purchased from JoAnn's and cut to size. Paper buntings and medallions were used to adorn them. Various plates and bowls were collected and stacked to use for serving. We used heavy duty glue dots to keep the stacked plates secure.

The drink table was decorated the same as the other food tables. Beverage containers were purchased from Costco. Green ferns were used for added color. You can see that the paper medallions had a paper doily as one of the layers.

The dessert table had several eclectic dishes stacked to serve mini cookies, brownies, cream puffs, etc.

All of the food tables had these decorative card holders made from wooden salt and pepper shakers, candlesticks, wooden balls, and curly paperclips. I cut a couple of the salt and pepper shakers in half and glued a wooden ball atop the cutoff part of the shaker and also to the candlesticks. I then cut a groove along the top of each with the band saw. The curly paper clips fit snugly into the groove.

The cake table actually displayed a cupcake stand. The table was also lit with icicle lights. The backdrop was made using very thin painter's plastic and decorated with more paper buntings. Paper lanterns were hung from the basketball hoop. We also added a clip-on spotlight to the basketball hoop to give some light on the cupcake display. It gave an added bonus of lighting up the paper lanterns as well.

The cupcake stand was made from thrifted objects...various round trays, wooden bowl, salt and pepper shakers, wooden lamp, candlesticks, etc. You can view a tutorial of how it was done here.

We opted for four different flavors of cupcakes: Chocolate with peanut butter centers, white with raspberry filling, lemon with blueberries, and chocolate chip cookie dough. The later ones actually had a scoop of cookie dough in the middle that stays doughy. You can find the recipe here. (Note: I used a packaged yellow cake mix for the cupcakes, and reduced the amount of butter used in the frosting to two sticks instead of three.) They were a big hit! The cupcake wrappers were purchased through Sears, of all places, but were packaged by Oriental Trading Company. They seemed to be the best price that I found. We also adorned the cupcake stand with fern leaves for added color.

Ammon and Becca requested that Ammon's little brother, who is eight years-old, make their cake topper from clay. He made Ammon as a knight who is holding a sword, and Becca as a princess. They were a hit!

A close-up of the cake topper.

When I told my youngest son that his big brother really liked the cake topper he made, he wanted to know if Ammon thought Becca looked beautiful. It was pretty sweet.

All in all the wedding reception was a great success! Stay tuned for a post of the second wedding in the near future. It was decorated with a beach theme.

I like to link to these great parties.

House Coat Dress

2012-06-09T16:14:00.000-07:00

House coats aren't just for lounging at home anymore...a few tweaks and they're ready to wear in public! Take for instance this house coat...

When I spotted it at the thrift store, I loved the soft color and especially the pocket detail. Moo-moo style house coats aren't really my style, but I knew I wanted to do something with it, even if it was turning it into an apron. Then I spotted these pajama pants on the same rack...

They matched perfectly!

One more score from the thrift shop...a pattern that had the exact waist detail that

I had envisioned for the dress.

So I put it all together and came up with a feminine frock that's soft and sweet.

I removed the front zipper and replaced it with an invisible zipper on the side.

The bottom skirt front has a pleat made from the pajama pants.

The back softly gathers into the waist detail.

The sleeves were shortened with an added elastic casing.

I guess the only down side with this refashion is that I have no excuse for lounging around anymore!

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Sew Can Do!

Pretty in Pink...Jumpsuit to Dress

2012-05-14T11:30:00.001-07:00

Okay, I'm not suggesting that I'm pretty in pink (or anything else for that matter), but the dress is pink, and in the movie, Molly Ringwald's character actually does some refashioning herself. So, the title seems appropriate! So what do you think this latest refashion began it's life as?

Would you believe a pajama jumpsuit...do they really make such things? When I first spotted this in the thrift store, I thought it was a jumpsuit from the eighties. It wasn't until I got home that I realized it was actually pajamas, hence the word "intimate" on the label. Seriously, who would ever want that many buttons on something you sleep in? It also sported lots of gathering onto a dropped waist. I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of adding extra bulk around the hips and belly area!

So with some creative sewing, I turned some unused pajamas into a cute and comfy dress. In keeping with the pajama theme, I even used a strip of bed sheet for the sash! (Actually, I needed a strip of white fabric and sheet seemed to do the trick!)

The sleeves were cut from the bottom of the pant legs with elastic threaded through the original hem.

My youngest jumped in on the photo shoot!

Click here for a full tutorial of how it was done.

I like to link to these great parties.

Young Women Skirt Refashions

2012-05-02T21:26:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to teach the young women at our church various ways to be frugal and self reliant, we did a little refashioning. I picked up a couple of elastic waist skirts from Goodwill for a couple of bucks each. The jungle skirt was tiered and full, the pink skirt was nice and long. A few strategic cuts and simple seams and we came up with these...

The girls came straight from various activities, including tennis practice, and didn't know they would be modeling that night...but I think they look gorgeous anyway!

With the elastic at the neckline, the top slips on easily overhead. The extra fabric cut from the bottom was used as a sash, although it would be cute with a black belt, too.

The jumper was really easy and just slips on overhead. We didn't have the right t-shirt and belt handy, but you can still get the idea.

This is an idea of how we made the armhole cut. My suggestion is that you start with a smaller cut to begin with, try it on, then cut a bigger opening if needed.

We placed the skirt on overhead before we made any cuts. We marked how long we wanted the sleeves to be, and where our side seams should go. We also determined the length. Then we removed the skirt and cut as shown below. The excess fabric was sewn into a sash.

These were pretty basic refashions, but it helped spark the girls' imaginations and see other possibilities.

I like to link to these great parties!

Corralling those chapter books!

2012-04-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

So, this project doesn't feature any earth shattering new techniques, in fact, its really pretty simple. But, none the less, I'm happy with the results. Our youngest really enjoys reading at bedtime. We've have been devouring many books lately. Sometimes I read to him, sometimes its his dad, other times its an older sibling. He can read on his own, of course, but really enjoys laying in bed and listening. Wait, let me rephrase that...he really enjoys playing with all his little Fimo clay creations while someone else does the work of reading! Well, all those chapter books need to be corralled and I have been on the hunt for something to do just that. I finally found the solution.

I picked this up for $5.99 at Goodwill. I would have preferred a half off sale, but since I have been hunting for awhile, I was ready to fork out the big bucks! I brought it home and was tempted to paint it a bright color, fill it with pots of herbs and label them accordingly, but I stuck to my original plan. (It would have made a cute herb garden, though!)

The bedroom furniture is painted black, so the black spray paint came out. I just painted, distressed a little, and labeled. That was it. I guess I could have made specific labels for each genre of book...mystery, adventure, etc. I added a clip-on lamp for illumination because my eyes just aren't what they used to be!

The books are organized...now if we could just get the rest of the room in order!

And, here's a picture of just a few (believe me, there are MANY more!) of his Fimo creations. He LOVES making things with clay and baking them in the toaster oven! In case you can't tell, he kind of likes Link from the video game, Legend of Zelda.

(He made all of the above except for the orange one with the blue shield...an older brother made that one.)

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Just A Little Creativity

Second Chance Shirt Dresses in Altered Couture

2012-04-20T14:26:00.001-07:00

I'm thrilled to announce that three of my dress refashions are being featured in the upcoming Summer issue of Altered Couture! The magazine is filled with wonderful and creative clothing transformations. It hits the newsstand on May 1.

"Anchors Aweigh" is made from two men's shirts and has a nautical feel.

"Sweet Dreams" is named such because it was made from two pillowcases (plus a blouse.)

"Going Green" is not only named for its color, but the fact that refashioning secondhand clothing is a very green thing to do!

If you want to learn more details about each dress, just click on its photo!

T-Shirt to Skirt Refashion

2012-04-15T23:37:00.004-07:00

I found a t-shirt the other day with a great black and white print. I liked the fact that it was made from a cotton/lycra blend so it had lots of comfy stretch to it. The white banded neckline seemed like it would be a perfect detail for a new skirt. So I went to work and in a few easy steps this is what I came up with...

The white banded neckline makes a perfect slit for the back of the skirt!

This is where it began...

One cut across the top and one cut on each side was all it took. I might add, though, that in order to get the width for the bottom of the skirt (unless I really wanted it to be a pencil skirt), I had to cut into the sleeves a bit. This created a slightly flared detail on each side of the skirt, but with the print you can't even tell its there.

I used the original hem to encase the elastic. I simply cut my waist elastic in half, then threaded it through the front and back skirt pieces separately.

Then it was just a matter of stitching up the side seams and doing a small rolled hem. Super simple!

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Scout's Stiches

Singing Three Little Birds

Divine Duct Tape in Haute Handbags!

2012-03-26T01:29:00.002-07:00

I'm excited to announce that my first magazine article hits the stands on April 1st! My duct tape purses were chosen to be featured in the Spring edition of Haute Handbags by Stampington. Three of my designs are pictured in the magazine, along with step-by-step instructions on basic handbag construction.

Stars and Stripes

This patriotic handbag features a shoulder strap, front flap, and red, white, and blue plaid lining.

The Sunflower

This tote has black and white striped lining and a shoulder strap that features eyelets and a buckle. The bright yellow sunflower is adorned with a vintage earring center.

You Are My Sunshine

This bright handbag sports an outer pocket and sunny plaid lining. The pocket is adorned with a vintage button earring.

More of my duct tape purses can be viewed here.

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Sugar Bee Crafts

Mississippi Riverboat Cruise

2012-03-20T01:08:00.007-07:00

All aboard the Robert E. Lee with a stop in New Orleans for dinner and a show! I haven't done a lot of the usual crafting lately, but I have been busy in my quest for giving secondhand things new life by decorating for a church activity. This one just happened to be a Mississippi Riverboat Cruise. Over the years we have cruised to the Caribbean, the Orient, Italy, South of the Border, and even Gilligan's Island! All in the comfort and convenience of our church's cultural hall. The budget is usually on the frugal side so I love the challenge of decorating on a shoestring! So come aboard the Robert E. Lee and I'll give you some tips that might come in handy the next time you need to decorate for an event. All in all I was able to decorate for the entire event for under $100.

In all the excitement of the activity, I forgot to get pictures of the entrance, so you'll just have to imagine it. I used a large piece of cardboard on the floor leading up to the doors and painted it to look like wood planks for a dock. I taped the edges down so no one would trip. On our previous Gilligan's Island cruise I had cut some sturdy cardboard tubes (from carpet rolls) to about 15" in length and painted them to look like chunks of bamboo (these were then used for coconut bowling) but, for this activity they worked well for piers along the dock. I placed them into groups of threes and tied rope around them, draping the rope from group to group. This made a nice border for the dock. Since the "piers" were hollow I added some silk fern fronds coming out of the tops. I also had an old wooden barrel and some wooden crates and stuffed burlap bags sitting around the dock. I had a CD player tucked into one of the crates continuously playing "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" as the passengers arrived. There was a sign above the doors that read "Robert E. Lee."

Once inside the cultural hall, they could hear dixieland jazz playing and see the silhouettes of jazz players. These were cut from black paper and pinned to the walls. The white posts were also cut from paper and taped to the wooden trim boards. To make the gingerbread corner pieces, I cut a stencil using my Cricut and spray painted them with black spray paint onto white poster board. Then I just cut around the edges...a lot easier than actually cutting out the intricate details!

6 pieces of poster board = $3.00

spray paint = $0.96

roll of black paper = $5.00

roll of white paper = free

Cafe Orleans was 24' long and topped off by an awning made from two secondhand sheets. I cut the sheets into 6" strips and stitched them together. I made a frame from PVC pipe and my dear husband was kind enough to help me figure out how to attach it to the wall with minimal impact to the wall and trim. I know the background is kind of dark (I ended up stringing some lights on the underside of the awning just before the activity) but, the walls were covered with sheets spray painted to look like stone walls. We actually use these sheets often for other activities...like the city walls of Bethlehem at Christmas time! The table clothes are actually white sheets with a long piece of secondhand fabric for some added color. I painted the "stonework" in front of the cafe on heavy paper years ago for my daughter's wedding reception. Thank goodness my parents have a barn that stores these kind of things! I like to hang white icicle lights from the tables and cover them with plastic skirting. It gives a nice glow and adds extra ambient lighting to the room.

PVC framework = $24.00

green secondhand sheet = $3.00

white secondhand sheets = free (check you local hotel chain for discarded sheets)

reused paper stonework = free

reused stone wall sheets = free

tablecloth borrowed from a friend = free

reused plastic table skirting (used more times than I can remember!) = free

my Christmas lights = free

French Quarter was set up for picture-taking. The brick walls in the back were more of the free hotel sheets. I dyed them gray, then cut a stencil and sprayed them to look like bricks. I stitched the two sheets together making a casing in the middle. I also stitched a casing on each edge. I then slipped a PVC pipe into all three casings. TIP: Stitch across the top edge of each casing so that your PVC pipe doesn't poke out the top. The window was a leftover plastic mirror frame that came with an old dresser that we used as a vanity in one of our bathrooms. The shutters were bifold doors purchased from a local reuse-it center. The wrought iron fence piece I brought from home. The lamp post I made years ago from an old outdoor light fixture, PVC pipe, and plastic planter. The street sign was made using my Cricut. The paper stonework was also from my daughter's wedding.

PVC pipes = $4.50

shutters = $8.00

poster board stencil = $0.50

spray paint = $10.00

dye for sheets = $2.50

second hand silk fern = $6.00

sheets for brick wall = free

window frame = free

fence from home = free

bench from home = free

reused paper stonework = free

reused lamp post = free

The bayou was probably my favorite scene. This was where the kids could toss stuffed frogs onto lilly pads, or stand around the dock and try to get their plastic frogs to jump into the bucket. I used the roll around chalkboard as the support for my shack with one the church's choir risers for the porch. Side note...My husband designs homes for a living and I must admit that this shack was not built to code! I was able to get nice big sheets of cardboard from a door and window business. I am always on the look out for "oops" paint at the local paint store, so I just used paint from my stash to paint the shack and the shingled roof. I cut out the window and hung a piece of fabric from my stash on the backside. A light perched on the rail of the chalkboard gave it a nice glow. All of the barrels, crates, etc. are props that we have used for other activities. The plants are gathered from the "four quarters" of the church. Burlap ground cloth was tucked around the base of the plants to cover the planters (also reused from other activities.) The dock was just a small table covered in burlap and paper...drawn with a felt pen to look like wood planks. The lilly pads were cut from my Cricut with a silk flower glued to each. Sheets were dyed and hung in the background to cover the accordion curtains. I scored three matching secondhand stuffed frogs for the lilly pad game for only 25¢ each. I also downloaded a soundtrack of crickets and frogs from itunes and had it playing in the background.

roll of kraft paper = $3.00

three secondhand frogs = $0.75

dye for sheets = $2.50

lilly pads = $2.00

cardboard for the shack = free

paint for the shack = free

reused burlap = free

reused misc. props = free

A view of the lilly pads and dock.

One of my favorite things in this scene was the firefly in a jar. It was the greatest thing! Now, I live in Oregon and we don't have fireflies, and I racked my brain trying to come up with an idea to make one. Then I stumbled upon "My Pet Firefly." In my searching, I found the best buy at Toys-R-Us ($10.) But, Lowe's ($15) and Amazon ($20) also carry them. The kids loved it...and the adults, too. All you do is tap the lid and the firefly starts glowing and fluttering around in the jar. Then it stops for a little while and gently flaps its wings, then it flies around again. I was very pleased with this addition. In fact, I purchased this with my own money so I could keep it. So, I didn't include it in the cost of decorating. BTW, the jar is actually plastic so you don't have to worry about it breaking.

I borrowed these battery operated candle fountains from my Mom, along with the greenery. I found a wrought iron image on the internet and printed them out 12x12 on our oversized printer. The black squares are dollar store rectangular table clothes cut to 36x36 (three from each package.)

table clothes = $4.00

batteries = $5.00

borrowed centerpieces = free

wrought iron paper centers = free

The stage was decorated with white lights across the front and patriotic buntings. The backdrop was painted on heavy paper by my parents years ago. Thanks Mom and Dad! They also loaned me all of the colored lights that I used in decorating.

borrowed backdrop = free

lights from home = free

buntings from home = free

Okay, I know that I'm biased with this one, but my favorite entertainment were these cute guys. My son is in the middle with four of his friends. The hats were borrowed from my Mom. I made the vests from a secondhand pottery barn curtain and a plaid sheet. If you want to see why they were my favorite, you can view the video here.

vests, hat bands, ties = $7.00

So there you go...a very successful and fun activity. Of course, no activity would be successful without the helping hands of many people, and I was blessed to have many willing volunteers! The food was great! The ladies at our church served gumbo, dirty rice, rice and beans, cornbread, king cake, and pralines. We had games, dixieland-style entertainment, and a also a themed movie showing in one of the side rooms. It was a great evening filled with many happy memories!

I link to these great parties!

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Crayon Decorated Pillowcases

2012-01-29T19:13:00.000-08:00

I work with the young women of our church and we meet each week and do various activities. Sometimes we meet for instruction and learning, sometimes we do service, sometimes we do crafts, but always we have fun. Since it is the new year, the girls wanted to do something to reflect this year's theme "Arise and Shine Forth." They decided on decorating pillowcases so that when they wake each day, they would be reminded to be examples of all that is good.

Trying to be a good steward of the yearly budget for these activities, I was able to put together this activity for almost nothing. Here's how to do it on the cheap:

•Make the pillowcases from sheets and trim them with fabric from your stash. Did you know that hotels get rid of their sheets (usually for FREE!) on a regular basis? Over the years I have used many of these sheets for other church activities. I have turned several into table clothes. I have dyed some and stenciled others to replicate stone walls (which were used to turn the gym into Bethlehem.) Some have even been sewn together and had bricks and windows stenciled on them to create the building facades of Nauvoo, Illinois in the 1800's. Yes, much to the dismay of my husband, I have a few boxes of sheets around the house!

•Instead of buying expensive fabric paints and markers, use regular crayons. The girls colored their designs with crayons, then we heat set them. Just put a layer of brown kraft paper under and over the design and use a hot iron.

•Once complete, give the design detail with a black permanent marker. Try not to let the marker stay too long in one place, as it will bleed, but make your marks light and quick.

Keeping Warm With Angry Birds!

2012-01-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

A few days before Christmas, my 10 year-old grandson requested an angry birds scarf. So, a quick trip to the fabric store for a 1/3 of a yard of fleece, and a rummage through my scraps produced this scarf for under $2.00! I used images from the internet for my pattern and attached all the pieces with heat 'n bond before appliqueing the edges. It was a hit! I also made him some stuffed angry birds and a pig using this blog as inspiration, but forgot to get a picture of them. Those were a hit also!