Merry Christmas

From our family to yours

Merry Christmas!

Hope your day is happy, festive

and full of love :)

Make your own fabric napkins

Why waste money on paper napkins when you 

can set a pretty color coordinated table using

fabric napkins that you have made yourself?  

This is another project you can use your 

fabric scraps on . . . even old clothing.  

Use your imagination!  Patchwork fabric

napkins are awesome :)

Click here for the tutorial from

 Robie Kaye Dodson at So Sew Something!

With the money you have saved . . . 

buy some pretty tableware :)

Junk Christmas Tree

What an awesome idea!

Everything on this tree came from Lindsay's junk drawer.  

Check out her tutorial . . . you will be amazed at 

what it looked like before she spray painted it.  

I'd love to make one with just mismatched and broken jewelry.

Ruffled Christmas Tree

One of the most treasured items in my Christmas

collection is a festively colored fabric Christmas

tree with matching place mats and napkins that

my mom made many years ago.

The featured fabric Christmas tree is very much

different than the one in my collection, but could

also serve as a table centerpiece . . . make

some coordinating place mats and napkins to

complete the tablescape.  It looks like a

quick and easy project too!

I found this tutorial at an awesome website that

is new to me . . . love web discoveries!  It will

be listed on my favorite blogs page . . . 

Click here for the tutorial

Dramatic eye makeup

Wow I love the dramatic eye look!

My favorite is the high contrast of silver and black.

One of the things I love to do is experiment with makeup when I'm home alone and have nowhere to go.  Great makeup application takes practice practice practice.  Don't be afraid of bold colors, black eyeliner or false lashes . . . go for it, but by all means, practice.

Here are some past blog posts that include tutorials on makeup techniques:

How To Make Your Eyes Beautiful

Put Your Best Face Forward

List organizer

What an awesome little 

organizer to keep your lists in!

Would make a great little gift :)

Click here for the tutorial

Sugar Scrub Recipes

Rebecca at Soap Deli News Blog has the most

delicious looking soaps and sugar scrubs!  

You can either buy the items from her or 

if you want to make them yourself, she has

 provided recipes and even ideas for glass jars.

They would make awesome holiday gifts!

Click here to go to the blog post

Sewing Machine Thread Holder

What an awesome idea!

This is a cool way to keep all of your sewing

machine thread neat and orderly.

Click here for the tutorial

One Hour Bag

Here's a quick and easy bag that

can be made in just an hour!

I'd love to make one out of

patchwork denim.

Click here for the tutorial

Homemade Kitchen Mat

Here's another idea for color

coordinating your kitchen :)

Recycle your fabric stash or buy coordinating fabrics!

I would love to make one out of jeans and red bandanas!

Click here for the tutorial!

Gorgeous table settings

Love this table setting in my

 favorite color combination!

One of the things that I love to do is have a nice table setting that doesn't include anything disposable.  For me, one of life's frugal indulgences is eating with non-plastic utensils, cloth napkins, glass dinnerware and lit candles.  Really, it is cheaper to eat this way when you think about it.  The only thing is that you actually have to wash dishes . . . unless you have a dishwasher.  That would be me in this house!

Click here for some gorgeous inspiration for table settings!

Grocery Tote

Although we recycle plastic grocery bags to the max, it would be

nice to have a couple of these totes to try out.

This tote is much prettier than the ones they sell at the store and

look much sturdier.  

There is also a tutorial for a thermal version for your hot and cold

items . . . I would have never thought of that!  Great idea!

Click here for the tutorial!

Bold and Colorful Silk Jacket

I love making "fabric" from recycled clothing!  

Although this jacket is made from purchased silk fabric, 

you could easily use the tutorial as inspiration and use

 what you already have in your stash.

Click here for the tutorial!

Homemade Mod Podge!

Mod Podge is one of my favorite craft mediums ever!

Check it out . . . 

you can now make your own :)

Bridget at Babblings and More has found the recipe for

saving some crafting money . . . click here!

Leaves Table Runner

Decorating for Fall?

Here is a quick and easy table runner to dress up your

holiday table!  I'm thinking these leaves can be made smaller

bigger for coordinating projects like cloth napkins, dish

towels . . . you get the idea.

Click here for the tutorial!

Jewelry Bowls

The ideas for these sparkly bowls are swirling in my head!  

Not just the bowls, but the technique and all the possibilities

in all shapes and sizes.

I've experimented with similar paper mache type bowls before using a type of plaster to use as gardening containers . . . not so great an experiment for outdoor use . . . I moved on to working with concrete for those type of projects.  

I had forgotten about using the technique for indoor/home decor use until I ran across this tutorial.

I'm still gathering ideas for organizing my massive jewelry collection and this is one that I am putting on the keeper list to experiment with.  

They can be made in any size, any shape . . . let your creativity be your guide!  Start looking at different objects that can be used as a mold . . . like I love the designs on some plastic juice containers.  In fact, I have some put aside for concrete projects that would work perfectly with this technique.

I love paper mache projects . . . 

they remind me of my first crafting projects as a little girl!

Click here for the tutorial!

Kitchen Inspiration

Love the storage elements that have 

been worked into this kitchen design!  

Gorgeous . . . I love it :)

Need some kitchen

 design inspiration?

This kitchen is one of many featured at

DIY Showcase . . . check it out!

Click here

Red in the kitchen

Red is my favorite color!

This photo is more inspiration for our kitchen

redesign.  We have already decided that red will

definitely be our accent color.

Our walls are a shade of glazed mustard gold

 with black trim.  I love the contrast!

The cabinets are still white since a decision hasn't

been made on the color.

What is your kitchen color scheme?

Satin Flower Comb

I'm loving these fabric flowers 

. . . so here is another one!

This one features many layers, giving it

that fluffy look.  It is also large enough

to feature a big button or brooch in

the center and of course beads as

 shown in the photo.  

Love it!

********************************************

PLEASE NOTE:

The following links for the tutorial no

longer work, the blog has been deleted :(

I will leave the links up just in case

the blog returns.

********************************************

Many thanks to Janny!

Check out her awesome crafty blog :)

Click here for the tutorial

Open Shelves in the Kitchen

The main reason I'm posting this photo . . .

For inspiration!

I love the open shelving and stuff on the walls.

I have used the little wire thingies inside the cabinet

doors, but never thought of using them on the walls.

Love the idea!

The Captain and I are still organizing the kitchen

and coming up with unique ways to store "stuff."

Since the kitchen is so small, we have to make

use of space inventively.

Can't wait to finish our kitchen project!

Photos coming soon :)

Gathered Fabric Flower

This gathered fabric flower is one of my favorites.

Love the embellished center!

I'm thinking of the boxes of vintage jewelry I have and

the mismatched earrings that I could use as an embellishment.

One of the things I love about this tutorial is that you don't

need a sewing machine to make this flower, it can be hand

stitched.  I still can't get to my sewing machine :)

This flower is awesome as a hair barrette, but the possibilities

are endless!  How about using it on pillows, purses, clothing

and on and on and on!

Click here for the tutorial

Ingenious Six Pack Carrier

Don't throw away those

 six pack drink carriers!

Check out this cool idea for a tool caddy.  

I can think of many other uses for organizing

a number of items and a great way to recycle!

I love trash to treasure projects :)

Click here for the tutorial

This blog rocks . . . check it out!!