$13 Goes A Long Way

The other day while I was at Salvation Army I found a sewing machine. It had an as-is sticker on it but it was under 13 dollars. my mom and I tried it out in the outlets provided and it looks like it would work. So we gave it a shot and brought it home. Once I got home with a new foot and some to read it worked perfectly! I have a lot to learn but I'm looking forward to trying it out with a book that my mom got me on simple quilting projects. Wish me luck!

That's One HUGE Egg

Last week our black chicken was a little slow to lay her egg. When she did lay her eggs we knew exactly why it had taking her so long.

 It was huge!

Hmm.. The End Of Blogging?

Last month we were up for upgrades on our phones and I took the plunge and got an Android phone. You probably noticed the awful resolution on the last two posts and also that they only contained one photo. That would be me trying to blog via my phone. 

I would love to continue blogging. It is like a journal to me, an outlet. 

BUT

It costs more to have internet at home and my phone than I can afford. Since my internet is slower, my printer is always on the fritz, and my phone does almost everything my computer does (and some of it better/faster) the internet is the one that has to go. 

I do want to keep blogging and I will keep looking for and app that does a better job so hopefully this is not goodbye but give me some time to figure things out and hopefully I'll be back soon! 

My NEW Ironing Board

A few days ago I went to Joanns and picked up some of the ironing board material. I brought it home, cut it to size, and glued it on to the counter on the right hand side. Now, for a few dollars, my craft cabinet has its own ironing board so I can cut fabric an iron it right on the spot !

What's hiding in YOUR closet?

So does ANYONE remember this post from *cough* February *cough* when I picked up this craft closet?

I told you I go it for FREE but what I didn't tell you in that post was that I drove through one of our worst snow storms and almost got involved in a multi-car pile-up that I couldn't see in time because the snow was SO THICK. Then when we got there the elderly lady told me to get out of my truck and she whipped in into her driveway herself because they thought I was taking too long. I was mortified of sliding in the snow and hitting their car. Slow and steady plus a big pickup doesn't really jive well with a foot of fresh now. Then, when we got out she whipped out the power tools and took this bad boy apart pretty much by herself! What an inspiring lady! 

Obviously I'm not so on top of it as she is because it's taken me 7 months to write up this post. In my defense the room we put it in has undergone 3 MAJOR changes in those 7 months and, in fact, it's not even in that room anymore! But those are posts for another day. 

It's in my living room! Kind of a strange place for it, I know, but sometimes you just have to work with what you've got. and all closed up it looks pretty unassuming. 

And what I've got is a LOT of craft storage! I'll admit that this is not everything. I have a closet in my daughters room that is full of Scentsy/Crafting/Velata supplies but this holds the stuff I use most often. You'll see most of my sewing stuff on the left and mostly scrapbooking stuff on the right.  The sewing machine only comes down when I'm using it, being on the shelf keeps it up and out of the way for when I am scrapbooking.

The top shelf holds all my papers and a few extra scrapbooks. 

Each side has 3 shelves. Some of them are empty to accommodate the things on the other side when they are closed. I have thought about using some command hooks to squeeze in a few more inches of storage.

The drawer holds fabric and shelf holds sewing notions. The lazy susan holds scrapbooking and sewing supplies it goes back in the center when it's closed up. The holes were cut by a previous owner. I am waiting to find the perfect thing to cover them up. Maybe even a curtain? Since it is in a corner for now a curtain would allow the cords to go through and I could use the empty space behind it for storage! Hmmm... wheels are turning! 

So, spill it. What's hiding in your closet?

Blog Makeover

If you read my blog in a way that you can see the background you'll notice I've gone festive with the orange polka dots and spiders. 

Thanks to a website called My Style backgrounds it is super easy to get in the season. Almost every background I have used has come from them and I couldn't be happier at the simplicity of it all.  

They even have a how-to page here. It has step-by-step instructions in case you are like me and have no idea what you're doing!

Take a look around and I know you'll love them as much as I do! 

Break Out the Fall Colors!

Around here there's been more rain and wind than I would like, enough that I'm sticking to the inside these days. So, while moping about inside I decided to cheer myself up with a little fall decor! 

I read a blog the other day that was talking about the "new" trendy fall colors and aqua and orange were high on her list. Good to know I'm in good taste I guess. Oh, and keep an eye out for a project involving those insulators in the corner ;)

My 3 little birds given to me by my husbands grandma last year are still some of my favorites. They look so cute scattered among some little fall leaves.

I decided that I would hang my burlap wreath on top of my sheet music wreath and I LOVE the look! 

Click here for tutorials on the Toilet Paper Roll Garland, How to make the Fall Wreath, and the Sheet Music Chalkboard Wreath. 

My cute little owl from Hobby Lobby stuck around too. I think he looks ultra nerdy/sweet next to my ABC balls. Tutorial on how to make those here. 

This little guy fills the gap between the mirrors. I love the natural wrapped wreath and the little pumpkins. 

And just let me add in one more close up of the layered wreaths because I am head over heals for all that texture! 

As always the BEST part is I didn't buy ANYTHING this year so this little up date costs $0!

Click on the links above to see how I made a lot of it last year and saved myself some $. 

If you are in the Anchorage/Valley area make sure you don't miss out on the Fall Festival at Pyrah's Pioneer Peek U-Pick Farm this weekend and next! We go every year and it's a BLAST! There is a small entrance fee but once you get in they have all sorts of FREE stuff to do for little kids! 

How about you guys? Have you been decorating for Fall? 

Linking up with:

DIY Home Sweet Home

Craft-OManiac

I Should Be Mopping the Floor

Positively Splendid

I Heart Naptime

It's SEPTEMBER!!! + TP Pumpkin Garland Tutorial

Get out those Fall decorations 'cause it's September!!! 

As if any of you needed the reminder! This year I don't have any munchkins headed off to school but Anberlynn sure wants to go! She has a friend down the street that started Kindergarten this year and she would be more than happy if she could go with him. Instead we are trying to have some school liek fun here at home. 

First we made Oobleck.

I didn't take any pictures because it can get pretty messy with both girls but it's just 2 parts corn starch to 1 part water (add a little more at a time if it's too dry). The result is fun and entertaining. 

Then I pulled out the toilet paper rolls! And the paint! Around these parts that makes me "Mom of the Year." 

I didn't have any orange paint so we went ahead with yellow and red, purposely making the color as uneven as possible- I even left some blank! 

Add caption

We painted several, some were striped, some were spotted, and some were plain. 

 Next I sliced them into skinny little loops. I purposely cut them different widths, no measuring here! Just make sure they are wide enough for your hole punch! 

I used my Crop-A-Dial as my hole punch. I layered 3 loops inside of each other (they were already flat from when I cut them) and punched them all at once. Anberlynn tried to help with this but it too too much hand strength for a 4 year old. 

Cutting them all together made the next step easy - threading yarn through. 

Take a LONG piece of green yarn and tie a bow at one end and tape the other end for easy threading. 

Pull the taped end through your 3 hole punched loops and you'll end up with this. 

Slide your loops all the way to the bottom of your yarn, fluff it up and tie another bow between each set. 

When you are done you'll have a fun little pumpkin garland.  

 I hung mine on my mirror with two manipulated paper clips for hooks. 

And that's it.  I made a few extras and cu them apart for my cloche but of course it wasn't gonna cooperate for a photo.  

The girls love that they got to help out and point it out to all the guests that come over. What do you think I should write on the chalk board? 

Total Cost $0 I had everything on hand. 

Gardening = Food!

This is just the tip of the ice burg when it comes to the things we've harvested and made from our garden and I am loving it!  

I used the recipe for Raspberry syrup from here plus a little extra water since mine were fresh, not frozen. 

It turned out amazing! Raspberry syrup + raspberry pancakes = LOVE

I whipped up a batch of Utah Scones (aka Indian Fry Bread) to top with butter and syrup and the girls loved it too! 

The same day I made the same Royal Rhubarb Coffee Cake that I make every year. It's in my Taste of Home Cookbook and it never fails me.

I also made a Rhubarb syrup based on the directions for the raspberry syrup above but added a little of the juices from some maraschino cherries I had in the fridge. It turned out to be pretty scrumptious too. 

I love recipes that call for things I have in my garden and regular, normal things that I have in my pantry all the time. Delicious food without an extra trip to the grocery store? I'm all over that!

Upcycled Crib Mattress to Reading Nook

Here's Evelyn's new favorite place to read before bed. 

If you have been following along for a bit you may remember I got this bed for her off Craigslist a few months ago.

We have been so busy with chickens and summer that I haven't done much indoors but this is one thing I really wanted to get done. I though't I'd just pop the crib mattress in there and call it good. 

Wrong. 

It was a few inches too long. So they had to go.

Yep. I had my hubby cut it off using scissors and wire cutters. I used the batting from the part I cut off to recover the top. 

I cut the corners so there wouldn't be a bunch of extra bulk for the next step.

I tucked it all in all the way around. 

I used the last little bit of the only duct tape we had to tape it down. 

It was probably unnecessary but I taped it down both ways just to make sure nothing was going to shift around and to make sure all the wire ends were covered by duct tape too. 

I slipped the part we cut off earlier right back over the top. I would have taped this down some too but  I ran out of tape! 

I put on the same crib sheet we used before and it fit just fine, not super snug like before but good enough that I don't feel a need to sew it smaller. 

Now it fits PERFECTLY in it's space. 

Evelyn has all of her reading needs ready to go in her little nook. 

Total cost for a perfect little nook? 

$0

That's my kind of project! 

Eggciting Things Are Happening Here!

Recently we have had to lock our two big ladies in their chicken coop. 

They have decided they like roosting on the porch which means they have also been pooping on the porch. 

Sorry chickens, but NO. 

This morning when we went to let them out we found this! It's our very first egg and we are super excited! 

We aren't sure who laid the egg but she did miss the egg box by a few inches. 

She did manage to land it RIGHT on top of a pile of poop though and our first egg has a poop stain to show for it. 

For reference here's how it looks next to our store bought eggs. Smaller and brown. 

While I am super excited to have eggs I thought I'd have another month or so before we got any. I haven't quite warmed up to the idea of eating it yet, something about knowing where it came from and what it would be destined for if we had a rooster gives my stomach a little flutter. 

SURPRISE!

Surprise! 

I came home one night from work to this!

OK, so some of you may not be to excited about this but I am. It mean's that my $20 vanity that I found at a yard sale and my "new" sink will be up and running in no time! 

It also means that Plan "A" is coming along nicely.