Crafty Geordi

Crafty Geordi Has Moved!

2011-08-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

I've changed my name and my address. I can be found at Sugarandtrash.com. Hope to see you there!!!!!

Fall Colors Reversible Tote

2011-08-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! I have been thrift shopping looking for my new bathroom vanities. I've also been playing around with the sewing machine and I completed my first reversible bag. To this bag I added some D rings to the straps and some iron-on interfacing between the layers. I'm not entirely sure that the interfacing is worth all of the trouble! I will say though, the bag is not quite as floppy as my others.

With an old housecoat and a very full denim dress I got this:

I often wonder what the Salvation Army people think of me with my housecoats and mumus.....

But I do like the fall colors on this. And I am so looking forward to fall! (Really, I am over summer and these high temps)

The inside of the bag.

Or the outside. Its reversible!

I love the denim with the pattern contrast.

And I'm loving the D-rings! I don't know why this didn't occur to me a long time ago.....Sometimes I'm slow like that.

Show and Share Sunday

2011-08-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, let's be honest. Do you all really read the stuff leading up to the linky party or do you just scroll past to get to the links? You know, making a beeline for the hors d'oeuvres table before taking time to chat with the host?

Or is that just me? Comment me if you've actually read this, k? Now for the crackers and cheese ball:

I <3 followers and referrals but I won't make you. Please post your links only, not your whole blog. I usually don't look at these immediately and if I have to look at your whole blog to find the link I might forget what I am looking for (I have a very short attention span).....Have fun and remember, anything goes!

Planning My New Bathroom

2011-08-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

I have a borrrring builder basic bathroom. When I moved into this house the bathroom still had carpet. Yuck! I pulled out the carpet last year and have been looking at the cement slab all year. Better than the carpet but, still, Yuck! I know now that I want to go with the Traffic Master floating floor. I don't want to go with laminate like the rest of the house because I am worried about water issues. I used those really cool peel-and-stick tiles for my kitchen but they don't stick well to the concrete. Even with preparation. Believe me, I tried.
Anyway, as I was about to go to the big orange box for my flooring I got to thinking.....I know that I want to pull out the boring double sink vanity. And I don't want to ruin my new floor. So it will be concrete for a little while longer while I plan my new bathroom.

Here is a photo of the floor. You can see my yawn of a vanity there on the right.

When I first purchased this house I thought it had a Tuscan flavor to it. The roof is red tiles and 13 mature Italian Cypress trees. The inside of the house actually said "cheap", aka, "builder basic". So I set about making the inside of the house match the outside. I've been having a lot of fun searching for Tuscan style decor.
Here is what I have dreaming up. If you follow on Pinterest, you might have already seen these (and more, expensive dreams).

I did a search on Tuscan vanities and found this cutie.

I plan on doing some thrift shopping today to see if I can find some old end tables. I will refinish them, give them feet to raise them from the floor and give a good coat of poly on the top. Then I will install one of these beauties:

When I was looking for copper vessels I found this copper colored glass sink.

I looked for copper vessels but these glass ones are far more reasonably priced and every bit as pretty. Since the vanities will be separate units I would love to have storage in between them.

I would love to have a hutch like this between the two vanities. I love this beautiful storage and let's face it. I don't need to watch my man brush his teeth while I am getting ready.

I looked at maybe doing a freestanding tub with a shower curtain to replace my shower stall. I am disappointed to say that I don't think the logistics will work. Instead I may pull out the insert and tile my own shower. Later.

And now I am just dreaming.....

I totally look forward to sharing how all of this works out!

Layout Problems in Blogger

2011-08-19T00:52:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I did something funky last night and I still haven't figured out what. My layout is all wrong and I cannot get it back. I was attempting to test Lauryn's Help button (I hope the button works?) and it all went wrong. So until I get this figured out I hope that you will ignore the problems and just focus on my hopefully awesome content ;-)

I will just keep playing with my page.

Baby Lauryn Needs Help!

2011-08-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

I have seen quite a few calls to help in blogland lately. But this one is a little different. This one is not asking for donations of anything except a little of your time and commitment. And, possibly, your bone marrow. Lauryn Cox is a little blue eyed beauty with a rare form of leukemia that affects children under 12 months.


Lauryn Cox

Her first diagnosis was at the age of three months and after treatment Lauren went into remission. But a few weeks ago she relapsed and her chances for recovery are half of what they were at the first diagnosis. When family members are not a match for a patient they then must turn to the national donor registration, Be the Match. The family is holding a donor drive on August 29 in Visalia California and you can view the Facebook page here.
I know that most of you don't live anywhere near here but you can still participate. Please go to Be the Match at marrow.org and find out where you can go to donate. The donation itself is simple, you just swab the inside of your cheek. That's it!! On marrow.org you can learn about the process of donating your marrow if you are a match. The way I see it, I have a choice about donating. Lauryn has no choice about being sick. Her mommy has no choice about possibly losing her beautiful baby. Why wouldn't I choose to help them?

I've been a registered donor for over 20 years now. I have only been called once for further testing because I was a match. I wasn't asked to donate my marrow, likely because there was another match who was better suited to donate. Chances are that you will never be called back to donate. But, what if?

What if you are the one?

The Cox family are not the only ones desperate to save their loved one. It could be someone's mommy or daddy who is sick. Or their grandpa. Not everyone makes the news like Lauryn has.

Please go swab your cheek. Do it for Lauryn.

There is one more little thing that you can do to help. Please, please help spread the word and grab a button. Thank you!!

Blogger to Wordpress - Word to the Wise

2011-08-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

When I began this process of changing over to Wordpress, I didn't understand the self hosting concept. I had no idea that there is a difference between Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org. I have found some great tutorials on switching over yourself but those tutes were useless to me without understanding the self hosting part of it. Like a kindergartner trying to do sixth grade math. I was missing a few things. I signed up with Wordpress.com and got my own .com domain there.

BIG MISTAKE!

I now have a domain registered with Wordpress and a self hosting account with GoDaddy. This doesn't work well. I have had to transfer my domain to GoDaddy and there is a bit of a learning curve with this too. I think that both of these sites expect me to use my ESP to know exactly where to navigate. Again, kindergartner here. I have spent all of yesterday afternoon and night and this morning trying to figure this crap out. Lots of time on Google.com and the support pages of both sites to get this worked out. Now I need to wait. For, like, 5 days, until the transfer is complete. While still paying for hosting services that I cannot use yet.

I sure wish that I could help with an actual tutorial but I am still in the middle of it. I kind of wish that I hadn't started this project but there are good reasons for going through with it and I am committed to it now.

If you are considering self hosting and haven't yet made the mistakes that I have, do yourself a favor and just go to your chosen hosting site (mine is GoDaddy) and register your domain there. When done correctly it is actually super easy.

Embroidery and Self Hosted Wordpress

2011-08-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone

I am back to playing around with making the jump to Wordpress. If anyone has already navigated these waters maybe you have some advise..... Even though I have it at GoDaddy now I think I am still getting the dashboard from the free site. Is there indeed a different dashboard? I am just not able to do the things that I want to. I have been working on this for about 9 hours today and I can no longer see straight!
So here is a little something that I made last week. I have been having some fun with embroidery. It is such a great multitask project. You know, watch TV while doing a craft.....

I am working on a tute for how to sew these totes. Its my own pattern. Well, not really a pattern. Although I did cut some freezer paper for it.

Show and Share Sunday

2011-08-14T01:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday everyone! I have spent most of the evening (and night!) making some changes to my blog. One thing that I have really, really been wanting to do was to add those cute little widgets for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and RSS Feed. I have had more problems finding those widgets in internetland. Then I had a real DUH moment! I know how to make these myself! I really cannot tell you why I didn't think of this sooner. ( I guess that's why the smart ones hire out for this stuff) I posted a tute, check it out if you are having the same issues.
And now its time for the real show. I don't have any rules. Post your Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest page. Or your Etsy page. Hell, post your Ebay store link! Oh, yeah, post your latest and greatest craft creations here too! I'm not the link police but I do hope that you will grab a button or otherwise link my party for others to find.

How to Get Those Little Link Buttons For Your Blogger Blog - Facebook, Twitter, etc

2011-08-14T01:27:00.000-07:00

I cannot possibly tell you how many hours I have spent trying to find those great little buttons that I have on the left side of my blog. The ones for Facebook, Twitter, etc. I don't know why it didn't occur to me that I could just make these myself. If you have even the most basic understanding of html code (or if you don't) then you can easily make these yourself too.

I went to Google.com and did a search on the logo that I wanted and asked for it in images. Choose your image and save it to your pictures folder.

Once you choose your image and save it to your pictures folder, go to Photobucket.com and sign in or create an account. Upload your image and save it to your photobucket. Next you will click on the image and then click on edit. You will resize your photo. I made mine 50x50. Save the photo ( a copy or change the original depending on your preference ). Click on your photo again. Find the below image and click on HTML code.

Clicking on HTML code will copy the code. Go to your Blogger dashboard and click on design. Click on add a gadget. When the new window opens up, paste your copied code in here. Now, without saving, reduce this window.

Do you see the highlighted part here? We are going to do something here.

Open up the page you would like to link in a new tab. In my example I did Facebook. Once you are on your page then copy what is in the address bar. Go back to your blogger gadget page and go to the address in the first set of parentheses. I have the area highlighted. Highlight the same area in yours (it will show the page destination as going back to photobucket). Paste what you copied from your address bar. Now save the gadget. View your blog and test the link by clicking on it. It should go to the page that you pasted into your gadget. Easy right? Now repeat for Twitter, RSS Feed, Pinterest and whatever else you can think up!

Shoe Tote!

2011-08-12T23:53:00.000-07:00

I found the cutest skirt at the Salvation Army a few days ago!!!

This shoe motif skirt is the cutest, right?

Its not exactly my size or style for dressing my bottom half. But very good for dressing a shoulder.

The shoe motif tote.

I used my soft nylon rope handles.

There are a total of four interior pockets.

I added a magnetic snap.

Do ya love all of the shoes on this? I totally do!

'70s Caned Lamp

2011-08-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

I don't have a spare room for a craft area. I carved out an area of the living room, which is nice because I can do my work while in the same room as the family. But this area is so dark! I have actually used a flashlight to see what I am doing. I made a recent trip to the H4H Re-Store to check out the chandeliers and came home with a couple. One of them is an awesome caned dome lamp straight from the '70s. While I love me some retro I don't want to live in a museum.

This cane lamp is cool but rather dark.

I wanted to lighten the lamp up a bit and I have some Rustoleum Strawflower yellow left over from my desk. I sprayed a few light coats inside and out. In this California summer heat it dried really quickly. I love how the frame parts didn't take the paint. It makes it look like it was made this way, not obviously spray painted.

Ahhh. Lightened up with Strawflower yellow by Rustoleum.

This lamp was a chandelier but I have no intentions of making a hole in my ceiling and rewiring my living room. I rewired the lamp with a swag kit. I have never rewired anything before and the boyfriend hasn't been home. I figured that I had a 50/50 chance of getting this right. Right? Haha, just kidding! I have a healthy respect for electricity. So I found a YouTube video which showed me how to wire the light socket.
I didn't want to hang my lamp from the ceiling. I think it will make my living room look too cluttered, I already have a chandelier and a swagged drum lamp out here. I also wanted it right above my craft area which would have been awkward. I got a plant hanger from the big orange box and mounted it to the wall studs.

Oh No! Fail!

The hanger I picked was much too short at 9 inches. I returned to the orange box and got the longest arm at 15 inches. Much better!!

The plant hanger was much less decorative than I wanted but, hey, it works.

I looped a link of the chain and pulled it back, to keep the chain and cord out of the way. I then hung the lamp from another link of the chain.

Love my "crystal" chain pull. This wasn't original to the lamp, the Re-Store people added the bling for me.

I am loving my new lamp! I think that it gives some confirmation to my little craft space. Rather than just looking like a messy wall, it now looks like the mess belongs there ;-)

Ahh, now I can see what I am doing.

Embroidered Tote - Russian Girl Postcard Photo

2011-08-08T06:37:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! Do you remember my DIY printable fabric from a few days ago?

My DIY Printable fabric. I can't wait to print more!!

I have been taking my embroidery floss to them. So much fun! And a good way to be productive while I am otherwise just sitting and watching tv. And I have found myself addicted to Investigation Discovery channel lately. Chris is a bit creeped out by my new favorite shows. He said that he will really be worried if I begin taking notes ;-)
Anyway...here is my first project. I printed out my girl from the vintage Russian postcard. I used denim fabric for the backing and embroidered the cloth straight to the denim.

Here is my Russian Girl Tote.

I embroidered with the intention of showcasing the different colors and the highlights in her hair. I bordered the fabric with blue bias tape.

I embroidered her pink hair ribbon, blue dress and her brown hair with the golden highlights.

I also bordered the photo with the blue chain stitch.

I lined the tote with this sweet blue floral sheet. The sheet is not-quite-vintage, I think its from the '90s. But so fun and sweet! And 100% cotton, my favorite material.

I created the tote straps with with the same blue bias tape that I framed the fabric with and the lining sheet fabric.

I left the back plain.

I'm loving this bag! I can't wait to make more.....

Show and Share Sunday

2011-08-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday Everyone! Here is a small thrift store score, its small but fun! Its an itty-bitty little thrift store in my town, maybe a tenth of the size of my favorite Salvation Army, but they have good sales (even if their stuff is a little overpriced to begin with).

I'm not sure what I will use this for. My first thought was to use it to make my own piping but then the pattern won't show.

I love this! Its a Sean John shirt. Even the buttons say Sean John. I considered selling it on Ebay but I've already cut it up.

I love this print! There was even a dress to match. I will probably go back to see if the dress is still there. Both from Hawaii. They are the stiffest cotton material that I have ever felt.

Now its your turn!
Show me your successes, your failures, cool projects and finds, this is the place! Please link only your specific post and anything goes. And, please grab a button and display it somewhere. I still get a giggle when I go to your blog and see my button there :-

Upcycled - From an Ugly Skirt to...........

2011-08-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

If you have spent any time lately on my blog, you already know that this skirt is now

a Tote!!

Oh, this is a fun one! I began with a very loud skirt.

This is a thrift store score from about six months ago.

I paired the skirt with a funky striped sheet (another thrift store score) and some red bias tape (would you believe it? Another thrift store score).

I think that this fabric makes a much cuter tote than a skirt. Are those green dinosaurs on there?

I seriously love the stripey fabric lining this bag! I added pockets to both sides inside the bag.

Again, I love the two fabrics together! I used the red bias tape on the straps.

This was the unintended side effect of using one long piece for the bag. The back side is upside down!

I enjoy making my bags with one long piece, folded in half with only the sides and top sewn. But if you are using printed fabric, one side will end up being upside down. Oops!

Implications of a Ten Year Old Vogue Model

2011-08-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

Have you all read about the ten year old French Vogue model? A little girl in full make-up and hooker heels posing for sultry photos. Sure, Thylane Lena-Rose Blondeau is a pretty little girl and probably has "perfect bone structure" but to put her into such attire is ridiculous.
This article rightly questions what harm this is doing to young girls in the modeling industry. There are also young girls, aged 13 and 14 featured in this article who are beautiful as well. I do worry about what is going to happen to these girls who are growing up way too fast, apparently with the encouragement of their mothers and families. I can imagine that they very well may grow up addicted to drugs, sex, fame or all of the above.

Thylane Lena-Rose Blondeau. A Good Morning America and ABC News image.

      While I worry about these little girls, I worry even more about the normal women and teens reading this drivel in the fashion magazines. Of course I will never again be as skinny as I was at 10 or even 14 years old. According to the current standards given by these magazines, I was rocking a hot body! In reality I was a normal sized child, not fully grown. What these magazines are doing is sending a message that we normal sized women are not good enough if we can not retain our pre-teen figures. I stand 5'7" and at 175 lbs wear a size 14 to 16 clothing. I wear a C cup bra and sport a big badonkadonk that I have a terrible time trying to stuff into pants. Do I feel bad about it? Yes! Do I feel that I am not attractive if I am not rail thin like the models I see in the magazines? Yes! Am I aware that this is an unreachable standard for most of us? Absolutely. Do all normal sized and beautiful women (and girls) recognize the same? No, unfortunately not. And this is what worries me. Our society is so driven by consumption - we consume celebrity culture, we covet the style, the clothing and the body types. We purchase fashion magazines with the hopes of learning how to have the perfect hair, perfect clothes, the perkiest boobs and the skinniest bodies. Teen girls are the most vulnerable of all. This is already such a difficult time in our lives and these girls believe all of this crap. My daughter and her friend are so beautiful. Stunning, really. Multi-ethnic, exotic looking with gorgeous figures. I joke that they will be leaving broken hearts all over the place. I was left speechless as I recently heard these girls voice their self-hatred, picking out the parts of themselves that they don't think measure up. This tears me up and I haven't yet found anything that I can do or say to help them feel differently. They are influenced by the other kids at school, television and these fashion magazines.
     There has been a lot of resistance lately to the unrealistic images continuously fed to us. Women Enough and Dove are two examples that come to mind. But it seems that the more we resist, the more that the fashion industry has to push the envelope. It worries and saddens me that so many beautiful women are cheated of their self confidence and happiness by an industry hell bent on making a fortune from gullible young women.
     As I proof read and edit my post I keep seeing my header. Seeking beauty without boundaries. When I wrote this months ago I wasn't referring to my (or anyone else's) physicality. But it is so fitting. We really need to eliminate the physical boundaries of beauty set for us by people only interested in our money, not our well being.

Stashbusters Crocheted Bag

2011-08-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like you have an inability to sit still? Or is that just me? Long car rides and watching movies are perfect times for me to pull some yarn from the stash and keep my hands busy. Whenever I go craft shopping I always end up in the yarn aisle. I have even been purchasing cute clearance yarns. The problem is that I have a giant box in the garage filled with yarns that I have had for years. I need to bust that stash to ease my guilt over buying more! So I began here:

This was a single skein, single stitch, continuously stitched bag.

I simply began with a chain of 40 stitches using a size I crochet hook. I kept up with the single stitch until I had it long enough to fold in half to create both sides of the bag. I then connected one side of the bag and once I was at the top of the bag I began on the strap, crocheting rows of 7 stitches. I connected the strap at the opposite side and that was it. I lined the bag using an adorable brown sunflower skirt that I had picked up at the Salvation Army recently.

Aren't the sunflowers adorable on this skirt?

I added two pockets to the lining.

The humble single stitch is my favorite crochet stitch. There is something so pleasing about the uniformity of the rows.

I sized this bag to carry books and magazines. If you don't mind the pockets on the outside, this bag is fully reversible.

Next time I do this I will use a lining with no stretch. This bag really doesn't have enough structure. But it was a fun guinea pig crochet project!! I have learned a few things from it.....

DIY Printable Cloth

2011-08-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year I bought some printable fabric to use in my ink jet printer. I had lofty aspirations of making custom appliques and quilt blocks using my printer and some awesome graphics. But these lofty aspirations = lofty expensive paper. I did a google search and found this tutorial from Dolls and Daydreams. I left out the step of the vinegar soak and simply pressed my printed fabric to set the ink. I haven't tried washing them yet but if I do have problems with disappearing ink then I will try the vinegar. *Update - I did have problems with the ink so I tried the vinegar soak. The ink came out with that too. I did some research and what I was finding is that if an inkjet printer is used, the ink is water soluble. It was recommended to leave the print alone for a week to let the ink fully dry and don't heat set it. We'll see, right? I omitted the step simply because the instructions on the purchased printable fabric include the heat set. I used a couple of images I found on the internet, the rest of them are of my own vintage postcards that I found a few months ago.

It really was super easy to make these fabric sheets. I rough cut some freezer paper to slightly larger than 8x11. I pressed part of my white cotton sheet and placed the freezer paper on top and pressed the freezer paper, wax side down, over several sections to cover all of it. When it was cool I cut the paper to 8x11 using a regular piece of printer paper as the template.

This beautiful little girl is from a Russian postcard.

After printing my image to the fabric I peeled the paper from the back and heat set the fabric. Just press for several seconds, changing the position of the iron as needed to cover the entire image. Do not move the iron!! You don't want to accidentally smudge the image.

I am such a sucker for these vintage images.

This cute little war era baby is happy because he has plenty of food.

I love this black and white soap ad from a turn of the century Cosmopolitan magazine.

This old Italian couple is so sweet! I hope to be this in love when I am old and gray too. <3

My whole lot of them.

Be aware! When you start you won't be able to stop. The possibilities are unlimited. And, well, I'm sure you know how quickly the ink runs out of the printer when you get crazy like this.

Upcycle - Floral Bookbag

2011-08-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

I went thrifting at my favorite Salvation Army a few days ago and scored the cutest vintage sheet. It looks like its from the 60s or 70s, yellow with orange flowers. It was a cute sheet and it makes an even cuter tote! I specifically sized it to hold magazines so it will make a great book bag for the library or for taking books and magazines (and craft projects) on the road. I created a large pocket on the inside and added a snap to the pocket and another snap to close the purse. I hand sewed this large flower using the floral sheet and the white sheet lining.

This vintage sheet is full of colorful bouquets.

Doesn't it kind of look like its raining flowers?

I used a white sheet to line the bag and the golden yellow bias tape to stabilize the straps.

This adorable flower is my favorite feature!

Seeking Guest Bloggers

2011-08-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! I don't know about you but these dog days of summer really drain the energy from me. I've had a bit of a problem with creator's block this week and I need to hunker down and get serious in these days coming up. While I am hunched over my sewing machine and neck deep in fabric would you like to guest post for me? Please shoot me an email to geordilynn@gmail.com. I am definitely looking forward to future collaborations.

Gilroy Garlic Festival and Show and Share Sunday

2011-07-31T05:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Weekend Everyone! In my area it is

Gilroy Garlic Festival Weekend

There was good food and excellent entertainment. Check it out:

We ate some kangaroo and boar sticks. With red wine. Yum!!

This is Gourmet Alley. Always a good show to watch these guys cook.

Ty Stone

Kip Moore

Kip Moore and ME!

Line dancing to The Dirt Drifters.

These guys are so fun!

Me and Chris with The Dirt Drifters.

So fun!! Now its your turn. No rules except please link only your specific post, not your whole blog. And I would love a link or a button added to your post. Now, I'm not the button police. But, pretty please?

Coffee Tables to Dining Table Benches

2011-07-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

Ever since I put in my kitchen island my kitchen is, like, micro small! And it includes the dining area. We never used the dining table (for eating, anyway. Great craft area, though). It is just too hard getting to the chairs in the corner.

I liked how this set up looked but it was too much of a pain to sit here.

I've seen other dining areas with corner benches. I looked all over the internet looking for plans to build a corner bench. But lets face it. I am just too cheap to purchase wood and supplies to build something, no matter how cool it turns out to be. As I was seeing coffee table re-dos on linky parties I remembered that I have a coffee table and a matching side table that are the perfect size for the corner. I didn't have to do a thing with the 5 foot long table but the side table needed to lose the top level.

Here it is with the top. Nice but useless to me in its current state.

Without the top. My grandfather sold me these tables. I'm sure that he wouldn't be pleased if he were here to see what I have done. Hehe, oh well.

Since these benches are too low and too hard to sit on by themselves I made cushions! The foam came from a sofa I dismantled. I was actually going to do a tute on my "new sofa" but it turned out awful. The "sofa" has been replaced by a futon. Much better. Anyway I cut the foam to size and sewed up some covers using leftover material from my pantry curtains and dining chair seat covers. So its all matchy-matchy. Nice.

Here is the left over material.

The short side. The pillows are feather (<3) and covered in the same material.

The dog's eye view.

And the long bench. Those pillows have the green fabric on the backs of the covers.

We all love the bench set up now! We even sat there for a while the other night. We might even use this table now if I can keep it cleared of my craft materials.

Now for a cute dog photo. Rusty is the most ill behaved little mutt I have ever encountered. He barks, pees in the house, digs under the fence, escapes the yard and brings the others with him and is also the most irresistibly cute little dog I have ever laid eyes on. And, so charming when he is not misbehaving.

Russ stole my new thrift store quilt. I had thought that this quilt was handmade (it looks it!) but then when I unrolled it (the thrift store had it all rolled and taped up) I found the tag. Bummer. At least I won't feel bad about cutting it apart :-)

Antique Tractors

2011-07-25T00:11:00.000-07:00

Today, coming home from the other side of the hill, we stopped at a tourist-y road stop that has been right outside Gilroy for years, Casa De Fruita. We stop there every so often, to see the pea birds and see the old tractors and sometimes even have dinner in the cafe. This time I had my new best friend, my Canon Rebel DSLR camera. Here is a sampling of what I got.

The old equipment is so fun to wander through and there is so much of it that I have never been the whole length of this display road. Funny thing is that they are always looking to purchase more.

Show and Share Sunday

2011-07-24T00:37:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't believe the fun that my daughter has had this week. I wish I had photos but she has them all on her phone. She got to see parts of California through a tourist's eyes, going ziplining, seeing waterfalls at Yosemite, going to Six Flags Marine World and finally, hitting the beach today. She had been invited along as a guest for my neighbor's niece, so the girl wouldn't have to do the fun stuff alone. Lucky kid!
Something else that I don't have photos for you yet is my dining area transformation. The table and chairs are shoved into a corner. I decided to put in a corner bench and was looking though building plans online. I then remembered that I have a couple of coffee tables that will fit perfectly. They just need padding. I love how its all turning out. I will write about this later this week. I am excited about the project!
Since I have no photos of anything I am counting on you all to provide some for this post. Please link up your greatest, anything goes. If you are new I would be tickled if you'd follow me and post a link back to this page. I won't require it though. If you want a button it is on the sidebar, please grab one! Oh, and please, link only to your specific post, not the whole blog.

Purse From American Eagles Outfitter Skirt

2011-07-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have had this skirt sitting on my nightstand with intentions of doing something fabulous with it. I finally found out last night what this purse was destined to become.

This purse is made from an American Eagles Outfitter skirt.

You wouldn't believe how soft and silky this fabric is. When I began working with the fabric I thought it was rayon until I looked at the tag. This skirt had some triangular shaped panels and some rectangular panels. I cut two of each of the panels from the skirt, the rectangular panels becoming the purse straps.

I love the Asian inspired feel of the print.

I used the skirt lining to make the lining for this bag. I trimmed the two triangular panels to the size that I imagined this purse should be then cut the lining to the same size and shape, leaving one side of the panel twice as long. All I did was to create a large fold and stitch down the middle of the fold. This became the two pockets.

These pockets are so easy to do.

If it weren't for the snap closure, this purse could be reversible! Hmmm, an idea for the next bag.....

I closed all of my seams, put the two layers together with wrong sides together, pinned in the straps and piping and stitched together. I added a snap to close and a flower to hide the back of the snap and I was done. This project only took 2 hours.

This is my favorite purse yet.

This snap with the button front became the back of the purse.

I added the flower to hide the back of the snap, making this the front of the purse.

Luckily I have enough fabric to make another of these handbags. Maybe one for my shop and one for my arm?

Oh, and lest you think that I am only good for making purses, I am also working on dog leashes. Why not share all of this fabulousness with our best friends?

This cute ladybug fabric is becoming a dog leash. I just need to find the right width leash snap.