Saturday Finds

We had a few errands to run this morning... Post offfice, Publix, 7-11 for our free Slurpees... and at the last minute, I decided to stop at the thrift. I have really been jonesin' to go yardsaling, but that really doesnt sound reasonable in the near 100° Florida days, alone with three kids. No thanks! But I did find a couple things.

This pretty pillowcase.

I hardly ever find books I want to read, but I had wanted to read this, so when I saw it for a quarter, I thought, why not?

I have trouble passing up decent frames, since they can be used for so many things, so I picked these two up (will be painted before use!).

And this one (will NOT be painted!).



Pyrex! It seems like it's been awhile since I found any, so here ya go. I know not everyone likes this pattern, but it's what my mother had and it reminds me of her.



I actually picked up this awhile back, but had forgotten about it. It was only a dollar and the original price tag on the bottom says $19.99! It needs some paint, but not sure what color. The good old standby, white? Or something more fun? The pretty blue from out metal table? I'm not even sure where I'm going to put this yet, I only have one. Our living room is pretty much beige and sage green. I would like to give it a change, too. But it will have to wait. It would involve slipcovers & all that, and we just dont have the funds for a major redo yet. But I am keeping an eye out for coffee tables, etc. We have had the same furniture for the entire 9 years we have been together, I'm growing kind of tired of them! So anyway, what do you think about the colors?

And probably the best find of the week, courtesy of Mike. A dishwasher!! I imagine our kitchen is pretty much the way it was when the house was built in 1962, with the exception of a different layer of linoleum flooring and a different cooktop. But it's definetly outdated, and there is no dishwasher. We knew that, but wanted the place anyway. But two years of handwashing ALL the dishes, and I'm tired of it! He found this on Craigslist for $100. I cant wait till it's installed, even though I'm losing precious cabinet space. It doesnt match our other appliances, but heck they dont match each other. We have a white fridge from the early 2000's, a black glass cooktop & a beige oven from the 1960's. So maybe someday down the road, when we get to redo the kitchen, we'll get matching appliances. But for now, they work! Besides, with our UGLY cabinets, even fancy, top of the line stainless couldnt help!

What did you find today?

Kitty Cat (or puppy dog!) Placemat Tutorial

We have wood floors, and even though the floor is already damaged from the past 47 years, I worry about it being damaged further. I started out using one of the kids placemats to set the cat food & water on, but it was too big and honestly, not very nice looking. I decided I would keep an eye out for cute placemats at the thrift store or on clearance. I hadnt found anything yet, so I started thinking maybe I could make something. I thought laminated fabric or oilcloth would work. I couldnt find laminated fabric locally and havent really seen oilcloth I like. Then I found this iron on vinyl from Therm-O-Web. Pretty neat!

I went through my small stash of fabric and decided to use this Alexander Henry fabric I've been holding onto for awhile.

You lay the vinyl, sticky side down, onto the right side of the fabric. Smooth with your hand.

Using an extra piece of fabric, iron the two pieces together. Medium heat, 8 seconds per section. (Directions are included with the vinyl).



Once you've finished, turn it over and iron the other side, 4 seconds per section.



Voila! You have laminated fabric!

I backed it with a piece of felt to keep the good fabric from getting dirty, but you can also laminate both sides.

Next step is to hem it up! I'm sure you could also have sewn it and turned it right side out, and then hand stitched shut, but I'm a complete novice and not good at hand sewing.

And there you have it! I'm sure another color thread would have probably been better than black, but I didnt feel like changing the bobbin/thread and was trying to get this done while Morgan napped.

I set it up where the cats eat...

And they were all over it!

Like I said, Im pretty much a beginning sewer. I would love to learn more, especially quilting. I see so many amazing and cute projects I would love to try! I could have learned, my mom was an amazing seamstress, but I never bothered learning before she passed away. Maybe one day I'll get around to taking some classes. It also doesnt help that I apparently have a junky sewing machine. I bought a Singer Inspiration and used it ok, but had issues from time to time with the underside bunching up. Now I cant get it to work at all, the thread will not pick up the bobbin thread, it just jams up. And from what I've read online, it happens alot to this one. So I'm borrowing my MIL's Viking. Any suggestions on a decent, not super expensive machine?

Anyway, if you decide to make one of these, I'd love to see it!

4th of July

I thought I'd share some photos from the 4th. I hadnt gotten a chance to take Morgan's 4 month photos yet, so I went ahead and did it Saturday.

How is she 4 months old already?!

We didnt rent a slide like we did last year. We went the cheaper route and used slip & slides and water guns.

I really didnt get many pictures from the day time for some reason. And somehow I managed to only get two photos of Blake, and neither were very good! The kids also rode 4 wheelers (no photos) and several of us took turns shooting a machine gun that belongs to a friend of ours. (We did it down inside the pond into the dirt... the pond is pretty deep, and DRY!)

Once it got dark, we started with the fireworks. We ended up doing them for about 3 hours! Check out the firebugs.

Playing with the camera...



The kids watching the show...

And my lame attempt at fireworks photos. I was also recording it with the camcorder in my right hand, and trying to take the stills in my left.

And the aftermath of the firebugs the next day. The driveway was covered in pieces of paper, but they were hard to photograph.

I hope everyone had a great holiday!

Super Yummy 4th of July Dessert

I wish I could show this in steps, but I can't make this that far ahead of time due to the fresh fruit. But I wanted to share incase anyone wanted to try it! I make this every year for the 4th of July. I found the recipe here. It's very easy to make & very good!

You need:

vanilla pudding mix

2 frozen pound cakes

Snickers candy bars

Cool Whip

strawberries

blueberries

The recipe says 2 Cups whipped topping, but I have always needed two of the regular size packages. I'm putting in a Pampered Chef rectangular baker. It's always a hit and there is never any left!

What are your plans for the 4th? We always get together as a family. This year it's being held at our house for the first time. Last year we rented a big inflatable slide. We arent doing it this year, but I think the kids will still have a good time. I hope you have a great holiday!

A pumpkin update & another outdoor project

A small update on the pumpkins... They are no more. I went out to check on them and a few snapped right off the vine, and a couple were already halfway destroyed. One was still on the vine because the stem was still green & strong. The ones that were already loose had damage on one side. So they're all gone. But it's okay... I knew they would be ripe way before Halloween. We ripped up most of the garden and are going to replant greenbeans, so I think we might try some pumpkins, too. They ripened pretty fast so I'm not sure when to plant them. This is what we ended up with:

For the outdoor project... We got this rundown, raggedy bench from his dad. He got it free from somewhere, work I think. I really should have taken a picture of this before Mike didnt anything to it. But I didnt. Lets just say, this thing looked like hell. The wood was really weathered and warped, and I think broken in places. It was falling out of the end pieces. Some old cedar wood he had laying around, some bolts & a couple cans of spray paint later, we have this!

I kind of thought to myself it might look better white, but this green matches our chairs he just redid, and I think I'm pretty happy with it. Its a major improvement over what it was, and Mike did a great job!

Working on anything exciting this weekend?

Last Weekend Finds

Last weekend I decided to work on Saturday to get caught up. I havent been to the thrift store over there in forever, so I decided the kids & I (I took Blake and Layla to work with me!) could stop real quick. And I'm glad we did! I didnt get a ton of things, but I am happy with what I did get. These frames will obviously get a coat of paint!

Check out these pillow cases, I love the colors!

And my favorite find, another piece of Taylor, Smith & Taylor Boutonniere! I always seem to find a piece, but only at this store.

I love love the blue inside.

Mike already got his Father's Day gifts. He always seems to get stuff early ;). We have ribs cooking in the smoker and are going to have smoked corn & cornbread along with it tonight. And tomorrow is lasagna. Lots of yummy food this weekend!

Cuties

Dont you want one?