Leftovers (plastic bag holder)

I saw something like this in the Ballard's catalog....it was $200....might as well been huh!!!! Here is mine made with LEFTOVERS....
One LEFTOVER piece of fabric cut 16" by whatever length you want your bag holder to be plus 4" extra for hems.

I used my cricut to make my stencil. I used LEFTOVER acrylic paint with fabric medium added (so it could be washed) to paint my stencil.  Next I sewed the 16" sides  right sides together to form a tube.  Turn the tube right side out. Fold the top of the tube over and press. Fold over again to make the hem. I top stitched all round the top where the fold is. Then I stitched all around where the hem is and left a gap. Do the same on the bottom of the tube.

Next I cut off the waistband of my LEFTOVER panty  hoes (with runs...yeah I know...I still wear them to church) and used this for the elastic. I got 2 pieces....chunky size hoes pays off!!!! Thread the elastic through the the gap in the hems using a safety pin. Stitch the ends of the elastic together and sew the gap in the hems closed.

I braided LEFTOVER jute to make a hanger and sewed it on the top at the back.

Now I have a dispenser for my LEFTOVER plastic bags !!!!!!!!!

This project is featured at:

Miss Mustard Seed

Decor Mamma

Shabby Nest

Remodelaholic

The One with the Doorbell

So I have been pretty much M.I.A. on this blog.

[This is Cierra by the way]

I would apologize, except I have a few really good reasons.

;)

Check them out over in the

meet & greet or on my project 365 blog.

[shameless plug, I know. You can't blame me though,
I learned it from my mom. . .aka Debbie]

I'm expecting my first baby in a few weeks,

[a boy. if you know what his name is please let me know.]

& I have been nesting like crazy!

Over the weekend I found a box in the basement that had picture frames

& other junk inside & I knew that I had to do something with it.

So without further ado:

gray spray paint + one nail + one old ugly frame + a doorbell =

It would also work to frame just about anything else that struck your fancy.

For example, before we moved to this house, this frame framed the peephole.

A la Friends.

I don't have a peephole here, so, well. . .you get the idea.



"I hate Pottery Barn, too. They kicked me out of there just because I sat on a bed."
"You took off your pants and climbed under the sheets!"
"I was tired!"
- Joey and Chandler in The One With The Apothecary Table

This post is featured at Beyond the Picket Fence's 100 ideas under $100
Miss Mustard Seed
Decor Mamma
Shabby Nest
Remodelaholic

Lobster Love (sign)

I saw a lobster in the Ballard catalog a couple of summers ago. I liked it but not for $70. Found this baby at Ross for $10. Shoulda seen Hubby's face when I brought him home. I didn't like the color...it was red...yuck. Who ever heard of a Red Lobster (coconut shrimp...yum) Up on my shelf it went.

From the time I bought this until now this project has taken 8 months. Am I the only one that does this????.... please,please say no....

First I painted him with this. (Many days pass.)

                                      

 
  Next hubby (loves those tin snips), cut left over metal from this headboard      

       into a rectangle.  (Many, many more days pass.)                                      

                     I made a stencil with the cricut (love it) and painted it with black paint diluted with white.  Sanded the words with my sandpaper green scotch pad (that's what it's for right?).  Only one day passes this time...I'm recovering!!!.   Then I Kory drilled holes in the sheet metal and  I wired the lobster with copper wire to the metal. I hung it with command strips on my backsplash. (all on the same day.)

Silver Stand Beach is in where my Uncle lived when I was a teenager. My sister, brother and I would spend time there in the summer. (California Dreamin') The beach is in Oxnard, California but who wants a sign that says OXNARD!!!!   We would always eat at a resturant called the "Lobster Trap" so this sign makes me think of him everytime I look at it!!!!   Gotta go....craving some seafood!!!! 

P.S. WOW is that crooked or what....my grandsons are here so the lobster will just have to deal....he waited 8 months to get here... whats a few more days.....

Let there be light

There was something I saw in this moviethat I was more excited about copying

than feasting my eyes on Robert Downy Jr.......he's beautiful.....what's wrong with me people???? Do I want a cure for this DECO Disease.....no way.  

Over Sherlock's entry to Baker Street was an arch with a hanging lantern. The address was etched in the glass.

                                               My version:
                                               One clearance lantern-Ross $10
                                               Etching cream & cricut stencils
                                               Candle & rocks

This sits on the rusted bookshelf my hubby rescued for me (True love....take that Robert!!!)

The shelf is on my front porch with (a) potted plants and rusted license plates.....you like????

The candle will not be practical because of the 100+  degree weather in Southern Utah... but for now..... it is BEAUTIFUL( almost like Robert)......I'm sick I tell ya!!!

Hide and Seek

Hey Joe, meet the folks!

I know he is kinda scary to some folks. In fact I have seen my grandsons stare at him in morbid fascination...thank goodness no nightmares. We avoid those with the sugar induced comas that grandma ALWAYS provides. Any who...Joe and I used to have a thing....we met in a wonderful shop on the "River Walk" in San Antiono about 17 years ago when I was in my southwest phase( almost as bad as my spiral perm and shoulder pads....I looked hot) and he came home with me.

Sigh....people change......so what can you do? You move on. I tried to move him on at a garage sale I held last spring and no takers. Can YOU believe that?????? Back home he came and back on the wall because he serves an important purpose....see he's a hider.

Until I find a new guy for the job, he stays!!!

The doorbell thingy.

 This basket covers the smoke alarm in by bedroom (design above safety...  okay there's holes in the basket for smoke.) I have a lot of doors in my bedroom so I put the metal 13 over this door (married Friday 13th 35 years ago) and also 11 and 12 over two other doors in my bedroom.

 Makes me feel like I'm in a boutique hotel in Europe somewhere. Yeah like I've been to one.

 This hides the fuse box in the laundry room.

 So what ARE you hidin'?

Roman Numeral PB Knock Off

Earlier this week this post was featured at Someday Crafts!! For those of you who haven't seen this yet, (and because we want this on our site as well) we thought we'd post this here today! We've been waiting all week to share it with you so without further ado....
ROMAN NUMERALS TUTORIAL:

Okay, I pour over the Pottery Barn catalog like I should do the classics and found  this:

See the numbers? 

See the drool! 

Not for sale even. Not that I could ...ya know..... buy them. So I thunk and thunk til my head hurt (about 2 minutes max is all the thinkin I could take) and this is what I made:

with a lot of help from hubby.......

We bought a $2 piece of metal from a scrap yard. Made templates from contact paper. Traced them on the metal and hubby cut them out with tin snips.

I  had to grind the edges with a dremel tool. They aren't perfect but they are CHEAP!!!!

And then I spray painted with this:

We spent about $15 because it took 2 cans of paint. I think it was worth the "thinkin" headache!!!

Quick Curtain

I made this curtain a couple of years ago.  It's easy and straight hem sewing or you could use fusible hem tape.

  I measured the width ( if you fringe the edges make it a little wider)   and measured the length about 6" longer than the window and cut out my fabric.

 I fringed the side edges first and and top stitched them  down to stop them from further unravelling. Then I hemmed the top and bottom of the curtain.

I made two leather straps (3 pieces braided together)  that are 2x 's the length of where I wanted the curtain to hang plus a little extra to tie.

  I tied each strap into a loop and threaded both on to the curatin rod at each end. I accordian folded the curtain and laid into the loops. Next I draped the top of the curtain over the curatin rod and adjusted the folds and leather straps. You could use burlap and jute for the ties or pretty fabric and ribbon.

If you have any questions e-mail me!!!

Post featured at Decormamma- frugalicious friday
Poppies at Play- I'm a creative cat Fridays
Remodelaholic

Top o' the cabinet to ya!

I live in a teeny tiny apt

and have a teen tiny kitchen to boot.

No fun with a family of 5!

And I have yet to talk my hubby into renting in the suburbs so we can have a bigger house... but that's a whole 'nother post in and of itself!

Because of my galley kitchen and lack of cupboard space I have had to get creative with the placement of things. Which is where this idea was born:

goodbye messy cupboard... hellooo organized bliss!

Not only is this aesthetically pleasing, I can now always see exactly how much I have of what!

it kinda reminds me of those old fashioned general stores you sometimes see in movies like "Dr. Quinn medicine woman", where all the store goods were on display

Granted my flour, oatmeal, and sugar bags still have a place in the pantry due to their size, but I still have a jar for them up top that I just refill from those bags.

p.s.

I got each jar for around a buck and just snatch em' up whenever I see them at goodwill. I store everything that comes in a bag or box in the jars...

[raisins, corn starch, flax seed, flour, sugar, nuts, cocao, coconut etc etc]

and I never buy a jar if it doesn't have an airtight lid. Glass jars with loose lids just won't do! :)

post featured at:

The Shabby Chic Cottage-Transformation Thursday

Beyond the Picket Fence- 100 ideas under $100 Thursday