Shouldering the Debt

Well, I received some good news yesterday afternoon about the car accident we were in.  The other guy's insurance company is going to reimburse me for the copays I paid out to my doctor for my shoulder injury but - here's the good part - they also insist on paying me something for my "pain and suffering"!  From what I understand, the whole idea is to pay me something so that I won't come back and sue them for major damages later.  I'm not really the type to sue (I've been sued before - and cleared - however, it was no fun to go through.) so I wasn't even thinking about the possibility.  They are offering me $2,500 plus my $60 copays and a $500 'bonus' in case I need any other treatments for a total of $3,060.

If the Federal tax return pays off our target debt (currently Bank of America Visa), the next one on the chopping block is $3,600 to Lowes Home Improvement which is Aaron's barn materials.  That card is on an 18 month special 0% financing plan, however it is our next smallest debt and must die. 

I think it's kind of ironic that my shoulder pain will almost completely pay off Aaron's barn, which is coming along nicely I might add.  :) 

Once the barn is finished, I get the shed (which is attached to The Chick Inn) all to myself, so I am profiting from the barn as well.  I can't wait to clean the shed out and set up a cute space for me and the chickens!  My favorite part of the shed is that there is a window to the coop from inside the shed so I can just open the window and have feathered friends join me inside.  :)  I'm going to paint it up cute and add a fabric skirt to the workbench so I can hide uglies behind it.  I've got big plans for that little shed!  (I've even dreamed of making it a sewing studio.  LOL!  It's 8 feet by 8 feet! That would be one tiny sewing space.....but I'd take it!)  :)

Here's a picture of the barn in progress. Kip has been a great helper with the construction process. He is about fearless on the roof which makes this mama hen a nervous Nelly!  :)

Kip's Homemade Christmas Present

Here is an original design Aaron and I came up with for Kip. It's a quilted Tic-Tac-Toe board with wooden X's and O's, a 'can't say no' card and a Velcro pocket to keep them in. 

Cosmetic Bags and Tissue Pouches

Here's a look at the gifts I made for the ladies in my family. I followed Noodlehead's Open Wide Zippered Pouch tutorial for these.  My mom' sis in a Mickey Mouse fabric because, well, she loves Mickey. (Don't we all?) :)

I bought a keychain in Disney that had several fobs on it and repurposed it for the zipper pulls on these cosmetic bags. Here's a look at a couple others:

They were pretty simple to make and I really enjoyed the process. I'd definitely recommend the tutorial from Noodlehead.  The tissue pouch was from a different blog. I'll list the links below. :)

http://www.noodle-head.com/2012/06/open-wide-zippered-pouch-diy-tutorial.html

http://patches.typepad.com/notes_from_the_patch/2012/08/ihave-absolutely-no-idea-what-got-into-me-i-guess-its-that-potato-chip-thing-again-but-i-couldnt-stop-in-just-an-hour.html

Super Silly Present: A Bed Pocket :)

So, you know we're not spending any money on gifts this year. I am making each of my family members a home made gift and today I made Aaron's. Almost every night he gets heartburn during the night. He doesn't have a bed stand on his side so he has to get up and walk to the dresser to get Tums. I had the idea to make him a bed pocket to hold his Tums so he wouldn't have to get up. I think this is so silly, but I think he'll love it. :)

It will stay in place as the long fabric top will be between the mattress and the box spring, like this:

Minnie Mouse Inspired Zip Wristlet

We just got home from Disney and I'm missing all of the ears, bows and magical outfits!  I haven't been feeling well so I decided to cheer myself up with a sewing project. (That's what everyone does, right?) So I made this on the fly without a pattern. Let me know what you think. :)

Fabric Basket

Recently, I found a new You Tube favorite:  The Crafty Gemini.  She uploads weekly sewing and cooking videos each week to YT, and she has a fun blog and Facebook page too.  In one of her tutorial videos, she shows how to make a fabric basket by repurposing a cotton clothesline and strips of fabric.  It looked easy enough so I thought I'd give it a try.

For my fabric basket, I used strips of my white VBS t-shirt (please don't tell Ms. Jesma!) and an old, dirty clothesline that we used to take camping with us.  I finished it off with a few scraps of quilting fabric that I made yo-yos out of and added covered buttons from my stash.  There was an uneven spot where I stopped my cording so I wanted to cover that up, hence the yo-yo flowers.

The next one I make, I think I will try to add handles and maybe make it a bit wider at the top. 

If you try out this project, be sure to test your machine to make sure it can handle the cotton cording.  Sewfia had a bit of trouble starting so I had to really coax her into cooperating.  Definitely use a new sharp needle (a ball point needle won't work) or you'll have lots of thread breaking.

Here's a link to the tutorial.  If you try it out, let me know how it goes!  :)

Quilted Christmas Table Runner

Last month for my birthday my family all pitched in and gave me money to buy a new sewing machine.  I like to give away my "first fruits" in most all I do, so I decided to make my first project on my machine a gift for my mom.  Her favorite colors are red and green, so Christmas themed ideas are always good for her and her decor.

I found a YouTube tutorial from Jenny Doan at the Missouri Star Quilt Company for this pattern and decided to give it a whirl.  It went together nicely and I got to try out the free motion quilting on my new machine, Sewfia.  (For those of you who know me, I name everything.  My new machine's name is Sewfia, which my husband suggested.) :)

I am in love with free motion quilting!  I haven't moved past the "stipple" style but am starting to think about other designs to try.  Here's the table runner with a matching gift tag.

(My mom's nickname is "Hey"....long story.) :)

Hold the pot...

After many interruptions in my life (some good, some not so good *sigh*), I was finally able to set aside a bit of time to sew.  My fabric finally came in at JoAnn's last week so I've been working on my roman shades, but the other day was able to make a couple of pot holders.  It was great to complete a project in an afternoon, as the roman shades are quite labor intensive.  :0)

I used the same two fabrics that are in my window valance.  (The shades are made from the white & green swirly fabric.)  I appliqued a heart - cut with my Cricut - on each front.  There are two layers of terry cloth inside so they're flexible, yet quite heat resistant.  They were fun to make - so much so that I am thinking they might make nice Christmas gifts!  If you'd like directions on how to make your own, please email me or post a comment.  Have a great day!   

The "Shabby Chic Cottage" Kitchen Curtain

You'd never know I live 5 miles from the beach; better yet, just 3 blocks from the intercoastal waterway.  You'd never know, because there is not one single sign of "beachyness" anywhere!  Our back yard looks like a farm now with the large garden & chicken coop, and inside is just pink, pink, and more PINK!  No blues, no seafoam green, no seashells -- nothing.  I'm just not into that look, I guess.  What I am into is "shabby chic" style.  I love repurposing old, vintage things that I find at the Goodwill or a yard sale.  So, I've dubbed my new kitchen style as "shabby cottage".  What do you think?  Here's the start...my homemade kitchen curtain.  Hope you like it!  :0) 

 (I know the red hot coffee pot doesn't match.  I am either going to have to replace it, or spray paint it.  Have I mentioned that I love spray paint?)  :0)

The Mother's Day Apron

For Mother's Day last week, my awesome husband and wonderful children went to my favorite "real" store.  (I say "real" because I love second hand stores, but those are more "fake" than "real".)  :0)  Anyway, the favorite "real" store is Hallmark.  Why do I love Hallmark?  Well, because that is where all of Vera's treasures reside.  That's right - Vera Bradley.  She is my fabric hero!  I love her tote bags, clutch wallets, rolling duffel bags, stationery and more!

While my favorite people were at my favorite store, they bought me my new favorite thing:  a beautiful apron and recipe card box in the new pattern called "make me blush".  It is probably my favorite Vera Bradley pattern of all time with its pretty pinks, mossy greens and hints of yellow and gray.  It's just beautiful!  In fact, I like it so much that I have decided to redecorate my whole kitchen and dining room to match the apron!

So, I will be working on my new kitchen curtains and wall colors this next week or so.  Here are a few pictures of what I'm working on:

The far fabric on the left is my new apron.  The other two fabrics are what I bought at JoAnn Fabrics the other day to coordinate with the apron fabric.  The next picture show you the wall colors I am leaning towards.  They are from the new Martha Stewart paint color collection available only at The Home Depot.  (Another of my favorite "real" stores.  Oh, and Martha Stewart is another one of my heroes.  Like her or not, she knows her crafts!)

I am certain of the bottom color and a bit unsure of the top color.  I have decided to make my curtains first and then decide on the paint colors for sure.  I may mix my own upper color with white paint tinted with some of the green from the lower half of the wall.  Like I said, I'm still undecided, so we'll see after the curtains are made.

I'll post pictures as I finish up my projects.  Keep in mind, we are also building a chicken pen in the back yard as well, so this should be a very busy week!  :0)

Organza Flower Bracelet

Okay, new craft idea!  I found these adorable organza flowers on Mrs. Priss' blog and I just had to try to make one.  It was so easy and so cute!  Here's the link case you want to try to make one too. She has a great step-by-step tutorial on them! Have fun! :0)  Please leave a comment if you'd like!

Fab Feb Facebook Craftalong Challenge

Hey friends!  Here is yet another crafty challenge ~ this time it's from my awesome sister!  The challenge is for the whole month of February.  She is challenging my mom and I (and anyone else who wants to join in) to make a new project for each week of February.  I know it's technically January, but I'm going to post my first week's project because I got them done today.  :0)  I made several fabric flowers pins / hair pretties.  My inspiration came from Niecy Nash of the awesome show Clean House on the Style Network.  :0)  I hope you like them!  If you want to participate in the Facebook Challenge, go to http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=277278654138&ref=mf and sign up.  It's open to the public!  Enjoy!

This is my favorite flower so far.  I love the lady bug on this button!  Would you believe these are actually large fabric brads from K&Company?  I found them the other day at our local Michaels store.  They had JUST gotten them in.  They are $4.99 for a pack of 12 and were in the stamping isle with all the other brads, jewels & flowers.  The fabric petals are from a "Charms" pack from JoAnn Fabrics.  (30 squares of fabric for $6.99.  Of course, I used my 40% off coupons to buy everything.)  :0)