Conceding Defeat!

Do you remember when I posted about my furniture refinishing challenge?  I posted it here. I bought this buffet at a thrift store for $40 with the intention of refinishing it myself.

My husband didn't think I could do it and I was sure I could. My husband challenged me to refinish this piece all by myself. I accepted the challenge and got right to work sanding it all down. Then I got nervous about trying to stain it myself. I was afraid I'd ruin it, so I didn't touch it for a year and a half. My husband and daughter complained that it was taking up room in the garage. This month my husband stained it and applied polyurethane for me.

The buffet fits perfectly in our dining room. Here's the finished project and my concession of defeat. "You were right honey, and I was wrong. I didn't finish it all by my self." And just for good measure "Honey, you are way better at refinishing furniture than I am. Thank you for finishing this piece, it looks great!"
I'd like to say this defeat will mean I won't drag home any additional pieces of furniture, but I know that's not true. Instead I'll say, next time I drag home an awesome piece of furniture let's work on it together.

A Challenge

I love thrift stores!  The other day I stopped by Salvation Army on a whim. Anything with a white tag was half off. I was thrilled when I found this buffet and it had a white tag.  I knew it would fit in the back of the car so I practically skipped up to the counter to pay the $40. I brought it home thinking that once I refinished it I had three places in my house I could put a piece like this.  My husband gave me the "Are you serious?" look.  I explained how much I loved this piece, my plans to refinish it and the options for where we could put it. He still seemed skeptical about whether I could do it. I like a challenge so now I have to prove that I can do this. I don't like to lose and I plan on meeting this challenge. I know it won't be perfect because I have no real experience with refinishing furniture but I still think I can do it.

Armed with an orbital sander, I sanded down the outside and the drawers.  I still need to sand the inside and the trim at the bottom but I'm making progress. I made a huge dusty mess in the garage but it's way too cold to do this project outside.

Today I headed to my local Home Depot to get more sandpaper and to choose my stain.  I explained to the guy at the paint counter what I was trying to do.  When I showed him the picture of the buffet and explained my husband's challenge he laughed then walked me around the store gathering supplies.

I still have a lot of sanding to do but I've started this project and intend to finish it. I don't like to lose, plus I really love this piece of furniture. Hopefully I can refinish it on my own. Wish me luck!

Vintage

I made this market bag for myself using some vintage fabric I bought at a yard sale this summer. The fabric had once been a set of curtains. It took me a couple of months to decide whether to make an apron or a bag with this fabric.

Just look at this fabric. It features the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker, as well as a few other little shops. I have some fabric scraps left but I wish I had more of this fabric. I just love it!

I've also developed a new love for yellow glass. I found this set of six glasses at a yard sale for a $1. I just love them!

Warm Woolen Mittens

From itchy ugly wool sweaters to warm woolen mittens is a snap. I've been collecting wool sweaters from thrift stores and family members this past year. I've washed and felted them and finally started turning them into warm woolen mittens over vacation. My photos are a little dark but I think you can still see what I've been up to.


I've made a couple of pairs so far. I used this tutorial and pattern here and my husband sent me a link for another video and pattern here. This video is kind of long but she shows you how to ensure that you end up with a right and a left mitten. Seems obvious but it's easy to end up with two left handed mittens so the videos are helpful. Before I watched the second video I ended up with two left handed mittens. Not to worry I used the same sweater to make the right handed mittens for my two lefties but I'm sad to say I now have four left handed mittens instead of two. Ha, ha! Thankfully it was an ugly sweater that my brother in law gave me. He's living in Hawaii and doesn't need the sweater or the mittens so nothing lost.


I made this pair of mittens for myself. I'd like to try making a matching hat for my mittens. Or maybe I could create some slippers or something else with my left over felted sweaters. I've spent some time looking around Etsy for some inspiration. Looking for some cute felt slippers? Check out these rabbit slippers on Etsy, aren't they amazing?!!

Lastly I wrapped a pair of my homemade warm woolen mittens for my mom. I thought the packaging was ingenious but when I asked my husband if he got it he said "What, is it packaging for poor people?" I explained that it was warm woolen mittens in brown paper packages tied up with string . . . these are a few of my favorite things. I told him my mom would get it as we watched the Sound of Music together lots of times when I was a child. He laughed when she opened it and I asked if she got the packaging. It turns out it wasn't as ingenious as I thought, I had to explain it to her too. She did love the mittens though!

Yard Sale fun

I always say that thrifting and yard sales are more fun when you have a buddy with you. You need someone to laugh with you about the gaudy and awful items for sale and to rejoice with you when you make a great find. Nature Girl is often my thrifting buddy and we have a good time together. Last weekend we headed out to some thrift stores and found a few yard sales along the way. Our usual rule is no stuffed animals from thrift stores and yard sales. Lord knows where they've been or what they bring with them! Last weekend I allowed her to break this rule when she found this sweet little batty beanie baby. It looked like Stellaluna to me and I love that story. I justified purchasing it because it still had the tag on it so it hadn't been used much. I'm glad I did because she's had lots of fun with Batty. It has velcro on it's wings so it's been wrapped around everything in the house that it's little wings can fit around. She's also created countless contraptions to help Batty hang upside down during car rides and at home.
It inspired her to hang up side down on the couch wrapped up and sleeping like a bat.

Then to wake up and unwrap her blanket wings, screeching like a bat. I love that she can entertain herself for hours with just a blanket and a toy. It's funny that a little toy can spark so much creativity, experiments with physics, recall of scientific facts and hours of fun!

What Nature Girl says:
Nature Girl wanted to add "I have a bat and it is going to like the vampire a lady is sending us. The one that my mom won." She was hoping Apryl would read this post and see her message.

We Be Pirates!

Nature Girl's first job aspiration was to be a pirate. She's also added being a cook and a baseball player to her list of job aspirations but we thought it would be fun to be a pirate for a day. Pirate Adventures in Hyannis, MA. was on our summer fun list. We've already checked off a bunch of items on our list so Saturday we drove to The Cape and boarded the Sea Gypsy.The kids got to be part of the Sea Gypsy Crew. They wore pirate vests and got pirate tattoos. Nature Girl asked for a flower tattoo, she's a real tough pirate- lol! After heading out to sea the crew had to put together a puzzle to get the treasure map. Here's Nature Girl checking out the map.
Then they had to look out for sea monsters, a message in a bottle, a bad pirate named Slash who wanted to steal their treasure and of course the treasure. When they found Slash they had to do battle and try to sink his ship with water cannons. Nature Girl had fun but was a timid pirate! She wouldn't squirt Slash with the cannons and some of the pirate talk was too much for her. But all in all it was a fun adventure! All of the kids went home with a handful of treasure.
We had to rescue the bad pirate Slash from his sinking ship and he shared his grog(orange soda) with the crew. Nature Girl says the whole thing was her favorite part. My favorite part of the adventure was when the crew had to put their right hand over their left eye and swear to keep both feet on deck at all times, to take turns with the water cannons and to share the treasure with their crew!
I had the great idea to make us pirate shirts for the pirate adventure. I had planned to paint the skull design I had drawn but I discovered that I'd have to paint a lot of layers to get it dark enough to show on the black tee shirts. Of course I started this project the night before the trip so time was limited. In my defense we moved the trip up a day in anticipation of bad weather. In the end I decided to cut the skulls and crossbones from felt. I stayed up way too late working on these shirts and in the end the only Nature Girl wore her tee shirt. It was 90 degrees so we opted not to bake in the black tee shirts! Nature Girl was happy with hers and my husband and I can always wear them for Halloween.
Saturday morning I went thrifting with MB and found a bag of Potato Heads and accessories. When we cleaned them up we found this Potato Head Pirate. I also found a few other toys I plan to take to school with me this fall. I accepted a teaching position in a local school district. I'll be teaching special ed at the preschool and early elementary level. This job is similar to what I did in my before child life. I start teaching at the end of August so if I seem to disappear for a bit this fall that's why.

Goodies

I missed my quilt guild meeting last week while we were on vacation. I had a friend bring the raffle gift, the gift for my secret pal and my block for the swap. This is what I received from my secret pal. The fabric is Michael Miller and the appliqué book and kit are perfect since I need to learn to appliqué in August. It's the theme for the August mini quilt swap and I already have my idea. I just need to to learn how to do it, so the book will come in handy! I sent the cherry note book and a cherry needlebook for my secret pal. I hope she didn't feel totally jipped! I'll have to come up with something better for my secret pal in August.

The block on the left is the block I received in the swap and the one on the right is one I made. I've been making two blocks, one for the swap and one for myself so I can see how much I've learned. I kept the wonkiest 9 patch block for myself and sent the better one for the swap.

Saturday morning we headed to our favorite thrift store. We haven't been in 5 or 6 weeks, so we were excited to go. It was a good trip! We found more kids books because you can never have enough, especially when you're a teacher. Nature Girl found a Dr. Suess flash light shaped like the fish from the Cat in the Hat. She was pretty cute wearing her felt Cat in the Hat hat and playing with her flashlight. I didn't take a picture of that but I did get a picture of my goodies.
I found a prim crow shutter, an appliqué quilt kit, some green corduroy and this frog fabric. It's on a roll and looks like it's a wallpaper border but it's actually a roll of fabric. I'd guess there is about 4 yards of the frog fabric. I thought it was cute. I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate it into a mini quilt. Any ideas? I was thinking it might look good with a strip of frogs across the top and bottom with some blue that looks like water for a pond in the center. I guess it could always be used for borders around a quilt.

Yard Sale Goodies

Saturday was our town wide yard sale. My friend MB and I headed out together to see what treasures we could find. Going to yard sales is a lot more fun when you have a friend to share your treasures with! Besides our husbands don't understand the appeal of yard sales or thrifting. At our first stop I found this great sled for $5. I'm planning to put it outside as a winter decoration.

I hit the kid craft jackpot at one sale. I found a flower press, 2 kid sewing kit/books, a pipe cleaner creation how to book, a string game book and a kids weaving loom. I even found a kid craft cube to store it all in. Nature Girl was happy with these finds. I knew she would be! I paid a total of $8 for all the craft goodies.

We spent 30 minutes last night weaving together. The loom had a weaving started so we added on from the black line. Nature Girl attended for about 30 minutes before deciding I could finish the rest. I've been wanting to try weaving. I enjoyed it and found it relaxing but of course I didn't finish it. We can work on it together another day. I think it will be fun to gather some natural items to weave in. Feathers, grass sticks, ect. I bet that would hold Nature Girl's interest!
Here are some of the goodies I brought home. The green glass platter is for me. MB and I are splitting the two gallon size ziplocks of old buttons. Can you believe it was only $3 for all of those buttons? We decided this was our favorite find of the day. I also found a new iron, two wooden chairs that match Nature Girl's play table, a few books for me and some wire baskets for a peg board. I thought they would be perfect for either my craft area or Nature Girls play area. Don't you just love yard sales and thrift stores?!!!

More From a Curtain

So what can you make from a curtain? A bag for me, one for a friend, a tea towel and an apron. All that using just one panel, who knows what else can be created with the other panel. I love the cherry print it's perfect for spring and summer. Best of all it's thrifted! You know reduce, reuse, recycle.

I've been using my cherry bag for the last few days and I'm loving it. The second bag I made for a friend. It's meant to be worn across the body but the handle may be a bit long since I sized it on me. I didn't think about sizing for my friend until after it was sewn. Now that's it's done I think it might be cuter with two shorter handles. Too late now, maybe on the next one.

I finished my apron and tea towel for the Sassy Summer Apron Swap. I hope my partner likes red. My baby sister, Beckie was kind enough for model it for me. Aren't you happy to see someone new pictured on my blog! I am!
I knew I wanted to create a half apron using the cherry curtain fabric and red fabrics. I bought a pattern for a half apron but in the end I didn't use it. Instead my apron was inspired by this Modern June Apron. Check out her Etsy shop. I really like how the apron turned out so I'm temped to keep it. Of course I made it for the swap so I'll mail it out this week and patiently wait for mine to arrive. In the meantime I could always make another for me using the other panel. But I think I'll finish some other swap stuff then move on to making matching gathering aprons for Nature Girl and I using another thrifted fabric.

Our Girl's Day

Nature Girl is accustomed to having the attention of her mother and father to herself. Last week we had two extra kids for the week so she was in need of a special day by the end of the week. Friday she and I headed out for a girls day. We packed a picnic lunch and went to her favorite petting farm & ice cream stand. We've been visiting this farm every summer since she was a year old and she has become attached to several animals at the farm. Her favorite is Sunny the horse. Quickly followed by a pair of peacocks named Prince & Poppy.

Here's Prince in all his glory. Isn't he beautiful! Nature Girl was thrilled to be able to purchase one of his feathers for 50 cents. She also picked one out as a birthday gift for her grandmother. Every year Prince and Poppy have little peacock babies that we watch grow through the summer and fall. Nature girl loves them, although she does wonder why Prince calls so loudly.

Nature Girl took this photo of the two piglets. Aren't they sweet! We both agree that the black & white is the cutest. Usually the farm hangs signs with all of the animal's names. The signs weren't up on Friday so I don't think these little piggies have their names yet.

This is Nature Girl sitting on the fence rail with Sunny in the background. Sunny is a 41 year old pony that Nature Girl has adopted as her special friend. He has been a favorite of hers since she met him three years ago. We have the cutest photo of one of those first meetings. Sunny is sticking his head out of the barn window and a little Nature Girl right up close to his face talking to him. I'll have to find it again because it's so sweet.

The farm also has a huge sand pile with toys & shovels for the kids. The two big wood chairs for the grownups are very inviting. I relaxed while she played in the sand. Nature Girl had the farm and the sand pile to herself for most of our visit. She was very happy!
After visiting all of the animals and playing in the sand pile we were off to the hand washing station so we could get cleaned up and get our ice cream. Nature Girl enjoyed a chocolate ice cream cone while I savored a dish of pineapple orange ice cream. Yummy!
We packed up and headed off to our favorite thrift store to end our girl's day. Nature Girl loves thrifting but she has a lot of toys already so we're instituting a new rule for thrifting. One in and two out. I had Nature Girl choose two toys she no longer plays with and we donated them to the thrift store. In return she got to choose one toy to bring home. If we can keep this up we might clean out the extra toys in the playroom over time. Of course I felt a bit of guilt instituting this rule for her when I haven't followed it myself. I guess I should work on following this new rule too. Instead I purchased more fabric that I hope to turn into an apron. I'm thinking I'd like to try making the Gathering Apron from the Sew Mama Sew tutorial contest. Of course I think I'll finish my aprons for the apron swaps first, then I can try the gathering apron for Nature Girl.

Cracking the Eggs

Here are the thrifted drapes I talked about yesterday. I don't know why but I love them and can't wait to cut them up. I purchased two panels and a valance type piece. They'll have to wait a few days before being re-purposed.
Nature Girl and I are heading off to visit my mom for a few days. We're planning to attend an auction and hope to bring back some treasures. We also hope to visit Dog Mountain and get Stephen Huneck's latest book.

I spent the night cooking and prepping for our trip. We'll be celebrating my mom's 58th birthday so we baked a cake. Nature girl cracked the eggs herself. It seemed a bit risky handing half a dozen eggs over to a 4 year old, saying "Sure you can crack them yourself." She did an amazing job, not a single shell in them! I decorated the cake myself then made ham ranch BLT wraps and fresh salsa for the birthday luncheon. We're looking forward to the party and the visit with my mother and grandmother. We'll be back in a few days with pictures and hopefully some treasures. Wish us luck at the auction!

Busy Girls

We've been busy girls sewing, planting and baking. The owl stitchery is now a sling bag for Nature Girl. She loves it and proudly announced today that she will never leave home without it. We'll see how long that lasts but for today she brought it with her. She's pictured here on a bench outside our local library modeling her sling bag and her owl sticker. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. It's just what I pictured for the owl stitchery.

Planting:
We planted seeds yesterday using the newspaper pots from Dave's Garden. I say "we" but really Nature Girl helped plant the first eight pots then went off to ride her bike, which she informed me is good for the earth. I finished planting while she rode her bike around the driveway pretending she was visiting her friends and cousins. It was very entertaining! She looked at my bike that has been hanging in the garage since before she was born and told me I should start riding my bike too. Nice thought but not likely no matter how good it is for the planet.

Sewing:
I haven't posted any pictures on the Sparkle Power Sew Along Flickr Group, but I have been sewing. I made these green capri pajama pants using thrifted knit fabric and a pair of my favorite pajamas as a pattern. They're super comfy. Not bad for 50 cents worth of thrifted fabric! Sorry the picture is pretty poor but I hope you get the idea.

I whipped up this simple skirt yesterday from another thrifted fabric I bought a few weeks ago. It's not fancy but I like it. We went to see Horton Hears a Who today and I wore my new skirt. I even have a piece of the fabric left to make something for Nature Girl. I have a few other projects I've been working on that aren't finished and many more that are on my to do list. That list never gets shorter because I'm always finding something new I want to make. Check out Kerri Made for her chicken scratch gingham and her crafty tool belt tutorial.


Baking:
I'll leave you with one more picture for tonight. The batter doesn't look appetizing, but this Pecan Toffee Biscotti is delicious. I'll take a few more pictures of the finished product and post the recipe tomorrow or the next day. Trust me this biscotti is so yummy it's worth checking back for the recipe. I'm enjoying a piece right now!

Thrifted Fabric

I love thrifting! Nature Girl is also a lover of things thrifted. Saturday mornings we like to head off to our favorite little thrift store with our next door neighbor MB. The three of us spend an hour or so looking around then head home with our purchases. We look forward to this weekly trip. Yesterday I found these fabrics. I'm not sure what the plaid wool piece will be yet but the blue swirly fabric will probably end up as a skirt for me. The red check is destined to become an accent on an apron and the yellow will be used for a stitchery project. The red fabric piece is actually a scarf I laid all the fabric on for the photo. I turned that scarf into a bag but couldn't get a decent photos of it.
Barb at So How Was Your Day had a cool post on Japanese Cloth Bags. It's a YouTube video that demonstrates how to tie a scarf into a shopping bag. After watching it I had to try it out. I dug out a red scarf from Nature Girl's dress up bin and whipped up the cloth bag. It was so easy. I think I might carry one in the car for when you need a bag. Of course if I ever get around to using my thrifted clothes to make shopping bags I plan to keep those in the car too. I have a Rubbermaid bin full of thrifted treasures just waiting to be transformed into reusable shopping bags. That's a project for another day. In the meantime the scarf bag will do.