Tara's Bit of Whimsy

2011-10-16T09:55:00.001-07:00

Hello

Pipe Dreams

2011-08-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

The other day, I walked out side to discover that my Beautygirl had been constructing......something.... Out of old pvc pipes. It was quite tall and very interesting.

Leave it to a young mind to find a way to enjoy a pile of unused pipes.
Ahh to be young, when everything has a new purpose.

Silver Lining

2011-08-12T00:09:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, there truly is a silver lining to the dark clouds.

We were having a monsoon storm roll into Arizona, and I saw a the phrase "silver lining" right there in front of me in living color.

It was beautiful. I thought I'd share.

Organize a little girls room.....

2011-08-11T17:10:00.001-07:00

This is the never ending project...."Lets organize your room"

My Beautygirl wants to keep absolutely everything that has ever passed through her hands. So we are working on a system to make her room more organized. (I can always dream)

This is the dresser. It is two small file cabinets that are metal.

We have attached tags made out of those lanolin samples. (No I did not steal them. I got them when I was working on a project for school.) A little magnet is glued to the back.

Hopefully, the tags will help the clothes go into the right home.

Also, we took down the huge rod in the closet.
It was warped in the middle. Instead we hung two towel rods from Ikea. We just placed them upside-down and screwed them into the wood shelf.

This way we could divide and conquer her stuff. School outfits on one side. Dresses, coats, etc... on the other.

On the top shelf, there are a few plastic file cubes. Of course we are not hanging files in them. One houses extra blankets and bedding. The other is home to dress-up clothes.

We did install a belt thingy...to hang the belts from.

We have a long way to go. We already did under-the-bed storage, which went really well. (If you want to see the under-the-bed storage, look for the label "luggage".)

So... What do you think?

Doll Clothes

2011-08-09T09:23:00.000-07:00

My Beautygirl decided that we needed to make doll clothes for some of her dolls.

I did not have any patterns, so I sugested that we call grandma and see if she did.

I was thinking "quick trip".

--Go to grandmas
--get doll clothes pattern
--go home and begin project...

When I got to grandmas, she was already in the midst of one doll dress for another granddaughter. Grandma accused me of getting her involved in a NEW project. I told grandma what my plan was and then.... I discovered that my Beautygirl had set up a very different event. Little did I know that Beautygirl did not just call grandma, but she arranged that grandma would be making the doll clothes for other cousins at the same time. And Beautygirl had talked to the other cousins and told them the plan as well. It was to be a day! Not only that, but Beautygirl had brought some of her fabric scraps to make the doll dress.

She set up a project day at Grandmas--without my knowledge.

Hmmmm.....

So, this time, I figured "What the heck! I am already here."

This could be an opportunity to teach a little sewing.
I let Beautygirl design the dress.

I then made up a pattern (because after all that, the patterns at grandmas were WAY to complex for a doll dress)
I showed my Beautygirl how to pin the pattern to the fabric and how to cut it out.

Well, that was about all she could handle. (After all, she does have a hyper-focus issue that we deal with often)

So guess who made the rest of the dress? You got it...ME!

However, I did require Beautygirl to sew on the buttons.

In the end, The dress turned out pretty darn cute.

Soda Pop Tops

2011-08-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

Storage...

I recently needed to be able to hang more things in my Beautygirls closet. I create outfits for school, so the torment of the morning routine is lessened. But! Problem....

How do I get the outfits to hang together. If I hang the skirts on the bar of the hanger, the shirt wrinkles and hides what is under it.

Here comes the awsome part! take a pop top and use it as a hanger connector. Cheep!!!! and the clothes hang like a dream.

Viola...

--Tara

When all the world is...HOT!

2011-07-19T23:47:00.000-07:00

Oh... what do you do in the summer time, when all the world is hot!

We make ice cream.

--Take a little milk, half and half, cream and sugar...

--Put them in the blue smurf (tiny ice cream maker)

--Mix until it is mostly solid

--Pour into bowls

--Eat with feet in a play pool.

Aah... the world has been cooled for a little while.

The case of Mistaken Identity

2011-07-19T23:02:00.001-07:00

All of these items have been mistaken for something they are not.

See how you do:

What is this?

If you guessed the first photo is mozzarella cheese: you would have guessed the same as my daughter.

The next photo looked like little balls of cookie dough (notice there is one missing in the bottom corner, you can see the remnant of a white ball stuck to the tin foil). My husband tasted one of these.

And the last photo? Did you guess milk?

All of these identities are mistaken! These are none other than a humble

bar of soap.

Did you guess Soap?

Magical Fire Starter

2010-11-14T15:44:00.000-08:00

The perfect fire starter. Pine Cones!

I was looking for things to do with my nephews and niece when I went back east this last summer. I came across an "activity" of make your own fire starters.

Basically it is dry pine cones, covered in wax--(and a little salt while still sticky).

They work fantastic!

I took old candles that have a tunnel burned out of the center and melted them in a pot of hot water.

Then I poured the melted wax over the pine cones... and hurried... and sprinkled salt.

Don't they look like they have been frosted!

I just put one or two under the logs I am going to light (in the fire place). Strike a match and the magic begins.
I am not sure (exactly) why this works. It has something to do with the wax though. I think it gives the fire some staying power so it will actually burn the pine cones. What ever it is... It works!

Try it!

P.S. I did not actually get to make these with the little guys back east.

New? storage....Luggage

2010-11-11T07:43:00.000-08:00

I am sick and tired of the storage "solutions" being damaged or just is not the right size....

Well. I have found a solution. I am taking luggage (solid) and painting them to fit my beauty girl's color scheme. Now we have Polly pocket storage, barbie storage, stuffed animal storage and art supply storage. And all of it fits under her bed. By having all of this luggage taking up all of the room, it helps keep other things from being shoved under the bed.
(After all, that is the meaning of cleaning your room. Push it under the bed and no body will be the wiser. Right?!)

Anyway. On to the process.

Find old luggage.

(I happened across this really nice set of Samsonite. The insides were in prime condition. a little wash and good as new.)

Lightly sand the out side shell.

(tape off anything you want to keep paint off of. I taped the handles and latches.)

use "good" spray paint. I used Krylon.

(several coats will be necessary. I should have primed the luggage first. Then I would have only used One can of the ballet slipper pink. But none the less, I did need two cans of paint for three pieces of luggage.)

Now for the cream. I could not find a crown to save my life and I did not want to have PLAIN luggage storage. It needs a little whimsy. I made a stencil out of laminating film. After I used a good sharp exacto knife and cut away the pieces that would show on the luggage, I taped the stencil into place. This is where I used a different color of paint. Bronze? I think was the color. But It goes great in her room. And Yes! I did have to cut out a second crown stencil because my first one was too big to fit on the train case (which houses the small Polly pocket dolls).

We have filled the suitcase storage and now have some great places to keep her stuff. UNDER the BED! Hooray!!!

Fall Clove Pumpkin

2010-10-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

I saw this idea in a magazine a few years ago. But when I went to look for the actual instructions.... they were no where to be found. So I had to do the best I could with my memory.

Start with a pumpkin and some whole cloves. You will need a tool to poke holes in the outside of the pumpkin. I used a nut picker (you know the one that is used when you crack a nut and have to fish the flesh out.)

I just poked some holes in the shape of a leaf ( a little sad, I will admit, but it was my attempt at a leaf). Then I inserted the cloves into the holes.

That is it!

I set my pumpkin out on my front porch with my flowers. It creates a lovely spot of color.

Party- butterfly Pinata

2010-10-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

A few year ago, my Beauty Girl wanted a pinata at her Birhtday Party. Well I just could not spend the money on the one she wanted ($18 plus). I thought, I can make that!

Well I did make it and it was perfect!

The girls loved swinging at the thing and had a grand time diving after the candy as it fell!

There is a word of caution to this tale. Unless the Pinata needs to match your birthday theme exactly, it would have been better to just buy the thing! The supplies were cheep, but the labor was intensive! The moral of this tale is Lots of time, no money...This is the answer! No time, some money... Just buy it!

Lets Play House

2010-10-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

OK... It is a little uncanny that one of my sisters and I are so similar. Well, here is yet another example of this! I had drawn up plans for a PVC play house for my Beauty Girl a few years ago. And what to my wondering eyes should appear but a completed project of a pvc house on HER blog! Anyway, it got me all inspired to actually put my plans into action. I did look at the plans she used, which were almost the same as mine, but I added a door to the front. (My Beauty Girl is a tad accident prone and would have tripped over the pvc pipe in the entrance.) And for the sides, I put in holes for windows. This is two fold, One there is better ventilation and the breezes do not tear apart the whole thing. Two, I can check up on play more easily. That is my job as the MOM.

I also recycled! I used left over pvc from my Dad and used old sheets that were going to be donated. But viola, I found a use for them. I attached hook and loop (Velcro) to the walls and sides for easy removal of the walls. This is an outside thing you know (but it is under the back porch). For the top, I used a queen sized fitted sheet. I just popped it on and there it is! I did have to buy the connection pieces and one more piece of pipe. I think I spent around $15-$20.

We did put a few other things in there. An old spool for wire was painted pink and is now a table. There is a tin mail box (painted pink) outside the door. Also, an indoor-outdoor rug is under the house. That is just to make it a little nicer for my Beauty Girl!
Take a look. Tell me what you think!

Purse from scratch

2010-09-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

Here is my newest purse- from scratch.

I used some leather like material I got several years ago (and never used) for the outside. The inside is made from the pants pocked of an old pair of jeans. For the flower, I cut circular shapes with indentations. Then I burned the edges to give it a darker brown trim. The hardware are clasps from a pair of overalls and the hooks of a worn out purse.

The Peacock on the front was a broken broach that I sewed on.

This has turned out to be a great little purse.

Pottery- Date night

2010-09-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

I decided that for date night we needed to do something DIFFERENT! I found this pottery class on a Saturday night and you were to bring a DATE. So I signed up me and my man! We had so much fun. My man was really frustrated at first because the wheel flung mud all over his nice black pants. But, since he was already dirty, he really got into it! He made 3 items that were keepers (and two more that broke apart on the wheel). I only made two items (plus one that did not survive the wheel) So we got a total of 5 pottery items.
Here they are. I put decorations on my two projects,
a dragonfly and flowers. The others were painted solid colors.
I highly recommend this to anyone. We really had a good time. And it was outside of the norm!

Tiffy's Living Room -REDO-

2010-07-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

Before - Tiffy's living room.AFTER---TA DA!!!

I painted the walls a lovely chocolate brown with a green stripe.

We found a bunch of picture frames Tiff already had and painted all of them silver to create a collection. We then put baby pictures of each family member in the frames and mounted them along with the silver mirror (which she previously had hanging over the fire place.

Tiff added brown ribbon to the green pillows which helps tie things together. Tiffy had purchased the new sectional before we started to tackle the room, so since we were changing things up anyway, why not go all out.

We decided to use the old entertainment center (which was still quite nice) as a sofa back table.

We also hung a curtain that really accentuated the colors in the room.
We relocated the TV to over the fire place. But before we could put it on top of the mantel, I had to extend the mantel to make it big enough to mount the TV. (Yes I did mount the TV! It is bolted to the mantel)

There are still a few things we are working on. The new entertainment center needs legs and grout on the new tile top. Were are still getting a cord organizer for all of the unsightly electrical. But overall, the room has a new appeal. It is quite inviting and very functional.

Butterfly, butterfly

2010-07-27T06:07:00.000-07:00

Butterfly, butterfly, flit and fly!

I am visiting my sister in North Carolina. I was looking out her window at the pretty flower bushes. What to my wondering eyes should appear but huge butterflies and in yellows and blues! These creatures of color were as large as my palm, at least. I was loving it!

Butterflies are so good for the garden and they bring a touch of whimsy with their effortless flitting. I snapped a few shots. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
--Tara

Man thing

2010-06-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

A few years back I was coming into town to visit my family. I was to stay at my Dad's house, in his office/spare room. He was cleaning out his office with the help of one of my sisters (Summer). I have a reputation for being a little ruthless when it comes to cleaning out stuff. So, Summer was helping with the preparations and had utilized a couple of boxes that were full of items for my dad to sort through. When she told him that he needed to sort this stuff before I got there, he grabbed the two boxes, one under each arm, and went over to the door leading to the garage. He paused in front of the door just long enough to declare "Sanctuary" in a very clear strong voice that carried through the vaulted ceiling. He then headed into the land of the untouchable. (garage)

So, when I saw this sign, I simply had to have it! I mounted it on a nice piece of wood and put mounting brackets on the back so it can be hung--immediately.
This is my Father's Day gift to my dad. I love you Dad!

castle

2010-06-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

this is a picture of a mural I worked on with two of my sisters. Tiff and Sundee helped work on the little village. I painted the castle.
This was done in Sundee's little girl's room.

cutsie composition notebook

2010-06-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

for a gift for the teacher at the end of the school year, I recovered this composition notebook. It went over really well.

New York Girls Trip Memory book- Part 1

2010-06-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

This was a trip I took with my sisters and Mom. We are just now getting around to filling it with the pictures from our adventure. Here are a few shots, the cover mostly. Keep looking, others are being posted too!

New Your girls trip - Part 2

2010-06-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

We went to Washington DC and to Baltimore, Maryland.

New York girls trip - Part 3- ish

2010-06-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

New Your Girls trip - Part 3

2010-06-08T16:17:00.000-07:00

Yep! We made it to New York City!

New York Girls Trip - part 4

2010-06-08T16:15:00.000-07:00

Serendipity!!!!

New York Girls trip - Part 5

2010-06-08T16:14:00.000-07:00

Mary Poppins Musical.
Central Park.
Little Italy.

Girls Trip New York - Part 6

2010-06-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

Off to Gettysburg and Fly away Home!

leaf card

2010-06-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

In the fall, I created these invitations to a church function for the women. They turned out really great! I used a doily, a leaf punched out of yellow and a rubber stamped image of a leaf. They are tied on with raffia.

Doll House

2010-06-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

This last year for Christmas, my beauty girl asked for a doll house for her Barbies. Well, they were ridiculously expensive. So I called in some help and we remade this book shelf into a doll house.

The response was perfect.

Some of the props were re-purposed. The bathtub was a bread pan, the sink was a candle stick holder (upside down). The dresser up stairs was a jewelry box, kitchen table was a tile glued to a candle holder, rocking chair was a pin cushion. The wall paper was scrapbook papers

Race cards

2010-05-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

Here are two versions of the same card. When ever I have a little boy to give a gift to, these designs are a hit....and really fast to create. The cars are embossed with red glitter embossing powder and the tag keys are attached with a brad. Pretty easy.

t-shirt transfer

2010-05-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

I tried a t-shirt transfer for the first time. It went pretty smooth. We were making family Home evening shirts. The idea was to put on a symbol of truth. Anyway, I was feeling creative and each shirt was different. The blue was mine (mom), pink-white one was for beauty girl, the orange-white shirt was for my big 'ol boy and the plain white tee was for my main man (dad).

We finished our section about wearing the symbols and so now the kids are "allowed" to wear the shirts whenever, not just on Monday nights. It does my heart good because both kids want to wear their shirts and they do--often! Ha! By the way, the shirts were all purchased for either a dollar or less than $3.50 (good deal)

camo pants NO MORE

2010-05-10T21:38:00.000-07:00

These were a pair of camo pants from my son. I do not know why I still had them hanging around, since he is so much bigger now. But lucky for me, my little beauty girl really wanted a camo skirt. So, I cut off the pants, and pieced together a ruffle skirt, attached it and......Tada!

Little girl camo skirt.

Dollar Dress

2010-05-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

Now here is something that finally worked!
I bought this sheet at a thrift store on a sale day. I payed one dollar. I then preceded to make a dress out of it. It is a pullover with elastic at the waste. It is all cotton, perfect for Arizona! No zippers or buttons! The only thing that I had to spend extra on was the rick rack on the edge. Other than that, I did not spend anything. I used up supplies I had (thread, elastic)

The sleeves were gathered up (because they were too long) which ended up looking pretty cool. I made a few changes. I moved the rick rack from the neck to the hem line. Here is a close up of the sleeves and hem.

Lil Purse Cards

2010-03-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

I came across these wonderful papers that had these little shapes already to be punched out. The paper was double sided, punch-out on one side, pok-a-dots on the other! I could hardly wait to use them. I originally got them for My little beauty's birthday party cards, but I could not stand it. I had to use them as happy birthday cards. When she saw what I was doing, she said, "Mom, maybe we could use these for my birthday party invitations." I said, "What a great Idea!" I got enough sheets to make her invites as well as other cards.

Check out what I made from two of these sheets.
The best part was that these designs were pre cut out! That is the hardest part of card making. Now it is an easy craft idea.

Lil' grey sweater-makeover

2010-02-27T15:07:00.001-08:00

This little girls sweater was $3.74. My little girl needed a longer sweater than what she had, but finding one was a trick. I saw that there were many people "fixing" sweaters to meet their needs. So I thought it was a great idea and did it too. It is an easy craft idea too. I took the sweater and sewed two zig-zag stitches down the middle, next to each other. I then cut between the stitches. I added a button and small string to hold it closed. Also, I rolled the sleeve cuff up about three inches.

....... New knee length sweater for my little beauty girl! As she was getting out of the car to go to school, I heard one of the teachers comment to her, "Cute sweater". That did my heart good!

-Tara

Here are some shots of my beauty girl in her sweater.

Zibra purse-change up

2010-02-26T22:52:00.000-08:00

Before

I was at the dollar store and saw this little purse. It is not of the highest quality, yet for a buck, who could resist. I did not want short handles, so I cut them. I was just going to re-do the strap, but, decided that I needed an outside pocket and some loops for keys and anything else I NEEDED to hang from the bag. It is a great size, light weight and I am not worried about ruining it! If you have a sewing machine and a scrap or two of fabric, you can turn a non-individual into a one of a kind! I was able to make the change in about 45 to 50 mins.

After

-Tara

Lil' Red Chair

2010-01-15T12:10:00.000-08:00

This is a super sturdy, comfortable, darling red chair that I found at a thrift store yesterday! I did not have to do a thing to it! It is perfect. 6 bucks!

Living room

2010-01-15T11:58:00.000-08:00

Before and After

Chair - refreshed

2010-01-15T11:31:00.000-08:00

I found this chair at a thrift shore. It was really sturdy and comfortable. My Big-ol-boy needed a chair for his desk in his room. So I unscrewed the seat from the bottom, tossed the rancid fabric and replaced. I used leftover batting for the "cushy" part and denim from an old pair of jeans. I turned out great. 6 bucks for the whole project, baby! The wood color and denim go with the color scheme of his room and best of all, my big-ol-boy loves it!

Birds in Paris

2010-01-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

I found this paper at a paper store in DownTown Mesa. Sadly, the store went out of business in the fall.
This paper was the inspiration for my Beauty girl's room. A warm pink and milk chocolate brown. Vintage feel with birds and flowers.

The frame was a thrift store find ($3.99).
The paper ($1.50)
The glass birds were after Christmas ornaments 90% off ($0.39 each)
Flowers (about $0.20)

The other embellishments were things I already had.

Re-wire (steps, not instructions)

2010-01-15T10:33:00.001-08:00

First things first. You have to have an ulgy old lamp to fix.

I removed the outer glass and the chain attachment. I then opened the compartment where the wiring was. (take pictures as you go, so you can reassemble the parts)

Save the wire nuts when you remove them. It is a pain to find out you lost that little yellow screw on thing (nut). I untwisted the wires that were connected. I actually drew a picture of what wires went to which part, a little diagram, so I would get it right. A picture is worth a thousand words, but a diagram has a few very helpful words just where you need them.

I had to pull the old wire out of the lamp. I mean PULL!

Then I had to thread the new wire through the opposite way I took the old wire out and reassemble and connect the wires again.

After reattaching the outer casing I add a two pronged plug. Make sure to follow instructions. I bought the wrong plug for the wire I had. I had silver wire and got plugs for brass wire only. Not good, so I went and got the right kind of plug..for silver (aluminum, I think) wire.

These are not really instructions. In fact they are more of a proof that I did rewire the lamp. I googled "How to rewire a lamp" and got all the info I needed.

I am doing as my mother admonished. Finish!

Lamp- reborn

2010-01-15T10:22:00.000-08:00

This old lamp 80's style has been reborn. It came back to life as a chandelier and a cloche (French for mini green house). I rewired the thing and added flame light-bulbs. I also added a handle to the cloche for ease of checking the delicate plants below. The glass makes a great insulator. The original lamp was a $10 find.

Shed some light

2010-01-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

I rewired this light fixture I picked up from an thrift store. I payed $5 (i think) for it. I make the cord really long so I could hang it from the ceiling in my craft room. Well, when we moved, the bedrooms did not have lights in the ceiling. We had to plug something in. Tada! I had a light for my son's room. It did not have globes that I liked. I refused to put the old wierd ones back on it. I found these glass jars with a flur de leis on it (which is the symbol for Scouts)and used them as the globes. I really like how it turned out.

a little tree

2010-01-15T09:57:00.000-08:00

I got this wonderful idea from a trip I took with my sisters in August of 2008. Anthropology had a beautiful old wardrobe with glass doors. But the glass doors had a drawing of a tree on it in marker. I could not get the idea out of my head. So I took this frame, took out the yucky cat poster and drew on the glass. I used dry erase markers instead of permanent and I drew on the back so it would not get smudged. Then I put two little birds that I had cut out of an old wrapping bag. I glittered and shined up the birds, of course, before I stuck them to the front side of the glass. It gives the tree a little life. The pictures do not show it super well, but you get the idea.

reindeer jack

2010-01-03T07:16:00.000-08:00

Jack got to play a reindeer this year for Christmas. He enjoyed eating the gold antlers.

peg board

2009-12-30T23:15:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, I made my mom this peg board for her jewelry. She has wanted one for a few years now. She was going to make it herself, but she is not too fond of the table saw. It was not too tough, just time consuming. I found a frame at the second hand store and painted it white. I cut the peg board so it would fit inside the frame and painted diamonds on it. I outlined the diamonds with silver paint. It worked out pretty good.

Christmas Doll house

2009-12-30T22:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas was quite fun this year. My beauty girl asked for a barbie sized doll house for Christmas. Have you ever priced a plastic barbie house? $150 is a "Good deal". So I found a bookshelf ($60)that was in the shape of a doll house and converted it! My mom helped with the wall papering of the whole thing (which was lots of work) and I did the decorating and furniture placement(and making in some cases).

The bathtub was a bread pan with glass rocks glued to the top for faucet knobs and to the bottom for feet. The pedestal sink was a candle holder. Both were spray-painted white. The dresser in the upper room was a jewelry box, painted white. The nursery was for twins and the curtains are tassels. The kitchen table was a 19 cent tile glued to a candle holder. The couch was a trinket box, that was stuffed with a cushion (that I made) and the rocking chair was a pincushion, reupholstered and painted white. The fire place was a print out from a website of an actual Victorian replication gas fire place.

The fridge is an actually Barbie refrigerator. But that is the only thing that was truly "Barbie" The rest was a knock off or started out as something quite different.

It was an absolute hit! We finished opening gifts at 7:45am and she played with it until we left at 12:30pm to visit family. When we got home, she was back into her doll house until bed time.

Saddness...bye bye chicks

2009-12-30T22:13:00.000-08:00

With heavy hearts, we said goodbye to our beloved chickens. We had a move, and try as we might, we just could not bring them with us. NO! we did not eat them. We found them a happy home with more yard space and lots and lots more bugs. About three weeks after we got the birds settled into their new home, my beauty girl and I went over to visit the chicks. Those dang birds did not even remember us at all. It made my beauty girl so sad. We cried together about the loss, but we were also grateful for the safe home for the birds. We felt like that visit would bring closure to her about the birds adoption by another family. That was at the first of November 09. Today(December 30, 2009), in the car, there were big tears rolling down my beauty's face. She was silent otherwise, not a whimper of sniff, and if I had not looked back, I would not have known. I asked what was wrong. She said that she knew that the chickens had a good home, but she really missed them. I tried to comfort her the best that I could, and still watch the road. Sweet girl. She raised the chicks from day old bird to about one year (almost exactly). Those silly chicks were so good for her. She needed the responsibility and carefree nature of the chickens. But most importantly, those silly chicks brought a sense of purpose for my beauty girl. She needed to have someone depend on her. Some day! I really mean it, I will have more chickens. They are MOST definitely not as high maintenance as a dog, (which we did get to bring with us to our new place.) They are as relaxing to watch as fish in a bowl. Plus, they give back with little white and yellow ovals of protein. Chickens are easy maintenance and quite fun. Good bye big chicks. We will miss you.

The swing--swinging

2009-07-25T07:50:00.001-07:00

Lets all take a turn.. . The day the swing was finished, in fact, about five minutes after it was finished, there was already heated discussion on who was getting a turn.

It turned out perfect. And it is fun! Even my 13 year old, big-ol-boy goes out to swing.

The swing

2009-07-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

I really wanted a swing in the backyard. REALLY bad! I had priced out the ones that stand alone with a little umbrella. Spendy. I looked at building my own, but the price was prohibitive, like $75 just for supplies. Then I talked to my brother about my issue . He suggested a simple pattern. And wouldn't you know it. I actually had everything I needed right in my garage! It didn't cost me a Dime! Here is what I did.

step 1. find some wood that is the right size. These are drawer pieces of real wood. Also, get some sturdy roap. I have some 1/2 inch roap that my husband does not remember having. His loss...My gain.

2. Glue the pieces together and clamp them with ....clamps
3. drill 1/2 inch holes for rope to go through
4. paint - I primed it with white first, then went back over it with Lime green.
5. cut two lenghts of roap. Length from the ground to the branch and back.
6. loop the roap over the branch so it hangs evenly to the ground.
7. tie a knot in each rope about elbow high (your elbow)
8. thread the roap through the holes and tie a knot on the bottom.
9. tie the roap off on the bottom of the swing, cut any remaining roap, knot the end and burn it with a match (this keeps it from fraying. I could not bear to cut the beautiful rope, so i have TONS of knots under my swing.
10. Take it for a test swing.

Rose - chick to Chicken

2009-07-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

Rose as a day old chick. She looks like the standard yellow chick with a hint of red. She was so fluffy.

Rose as a teenager. She was kind of mangy and scraggly looking. She was also more aggressive than the other birds. We were afraid that she was not a Rose, but that she was a Randy (Rooster). Thank goodness, she started laying a few weeks after the Older chicks.

Rose as a full grown chick. She has a beautiful red color with white lacy collar of feathers. Her comb is huge and brilliant red. She is not the biggest bird, but she ended up being pretty.

Rose lays a nice medium sized brown egg. And she is consistent. Thank you Rose.

Ginger's growing up

2009-07-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

Ginger - baby chick, beautiful, stripes, the prettiest one of all of the baby chicks

Ginger - young bird, good coloring

Ginger - full grown chicken.
She is now bearded and has a squashy comb - ugly bird

But, she lays a light green-blue egg which is pretty.

Sometimes the most beautiful things turn out to be something other than you imagined.

Wire Connectors....or something else?

2009-07-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

I know you did not know, but these
wire connectors have found a new use.

EAR PLUGS!

I feel like Shrek, or Frankenstein.
OK, here is the story. I was running the table saw, all by my self. You know the really loud one on it's own free standing table with the large whirling blade in the center. I was looking all over the garage for the earplugs, which obviously my husband put in a very safe place, when I came across an item that resembled ear plugs. So I thought, why not....I need to cut the noise, these may help.

Low and behold, they actually worked really well. Not soft, but also not going all the way into my ear canal. It worked in a pinch.

Pretty neat.

Not my shoe!

2009-06-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

We played a game at a family function a month or so ago. My 6 foot tall sister let my older brother borrow her shoes. They fit him. Then my big-ol boy put them on. Then everyone needed a turn. There are four different people in the same shoes. Can you guess who is Who?
The Options are

- Oldest Brother

- Big-ol boy

- 6 foot blond bombshell

- Me!

Not my shoe - Answers

2009-06-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

Do not read this if you are still playing the game!

Picture 1 - Big-ol boy

Picture 2 - ME

Picture 3 - 6 ft blond bombshell

picture 4 - Oldest brother

Did you get it right?

Eggs - Backyard or store

2009-06-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

I have a comparison . There are two eggs from different sources. the brown shell is from our big black chick, Sparkle. The white shell is from the store. See how the egg whites from the brown egg keeps its shape, while the one from the store spreads out. The brown egg also tastes richer.

Here we see two eggs. The one on the left is from our big yellow chick, Dandaleen. The one on the right is from our big black chick, Sparkle.

Fence Pots Garden

2009-06-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, I found this really cool idea in a BHG do it YOURSELF magazine. Their project cost $70. not bad...not good either. So I took their idea and looked around my house to see what I had that I could use. (the pic with the words "on he fence" is from the magazine)
I had the pots from last season $0, they spent $20.
I had the paint from some leftovers $0, they spent $12 on spray paint
I did not use painters tape because I used a brush and not spray paint $0, they spent $3
And the fence hangers, I used a screw on the back of the fence post and an old chain hooked around it. $0, they spent $32 (plus when I went to the hardware store, those fancy fence hangers were no where to be found!)
Oh yeah they spent $3 on screws, Me $0... I already had them.
Their total for a really cool project $70, me $0. Yeah ME!
(The bottom pic is of my little picket fence on my porch.)

Fence Pot Garden - a "how to"

2009-06-22T17:21:00.000-07:00

pots, scrubbed of excess dirt from outside

Chain from old bunk bed screwed to fence post

Pot, unpainted, fits nicely and hangs in chain

End result -- Pot painted with freshly planted flowers.

TaDah!!!

Hatcing chicks?

2009-06-21T17:06:00.000-07:00

Dandaleen, our big yellow chick has been displaying some really strange behavior lately. She lays an egg and stay on it in the egg box all day. Every time we go to get the egg, she puffs her self up until she is twice the size of her normal chicken self. We think she is brooding--trying to hatch some eggs. Sorry sweetie, you don't get to be a mommy. We need a rooster for that. The behavior lasted about a week, and then she stopped the antics.

(you can see her normal size compared to her puffy size.)

Marigold- King-Daddy...Fist size

2009-06-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

I got these seeds several years ago, and to my surprise, the seeds produced lots of marigolds, but not the typical quarter sized buds, but fist sized blossoms. I dubbed these King-Daddy marigolds...because they are the most majestic in size and color of any other marigolds I have seen. Here you can see the two kinds of flowers, side by side.

Dragonfly Wall Hook

2009-06-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

Before...
I found this cool wall hook at Goodwill, but someone had written on it and it was baby blue. Not my color.

So I improved it!. I painted the outer edge white, glued some cool dot paper over the top and added glitter swirls (to the dragon fly too).

I just love sparkles.

Fake fruit...the conclusion

2009-06-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

Well, the peaches have bloomed and become fruit... The fake fruit, which you can now see on the ground did actually help, but it did not solve the birds eating the fruit problem completely. However, I still think I will opt for a bird net next season.

You can see that I did get some peaches off of this tree. I was shocked because it was only planted last October.

Here is the first peach, cut open and ready to eat. It was good!

DIY Endocrine System - Oral Report

2009-06-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

I took a class that was for Nursing Assistants. It was an intense, four week class. We were in class from 7am till 3:30, Monday through Friday. We had a test every day, had to learn clinical skills (like changing a bed with a person in it). We actually went to a long-term care facility, for four days, 6 am to 3:30pm. And we had an oral Report on different systems in the body. We were randomly teamed up with fellow class mates. I got the Endocrine system. We had to teach the other students all about our system. We came up with a way to show our body system with "Bud". Bud started out being a simple life size Dale Earnhart Jr, Budweiser poster. But he turned into our model. You can see stuff over his face, that is a vellum brain, complete with the pituitary, hypothalamus and pineal glands. Then the rest of the glands are placed over the remaining parts of his body. Bud turned into a he/she at the end, getting both male and female reproductive glands. We got a good grade, and It turned out well. "Right Bud?"

Savior picture - remake

2009-06-02T13:55:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to change the picture of the Savior in my big-ol-boy's room for a long time. I had this old calendar from the year 2000, that I have been saving. You know how you love something, but it is outdated. Yet you must save it anyway! I let both of my kids choose which print they liked best. For this one, I took the existing frame which was early 90's floral and spray painted it metallic silver. It goes with the color scheme of my big-ol-boy's room. I then took the backing from the picture and mounted flocked navy paper over the top. There is no glass for this frame, it broke long ago, but I like the dimensional feel of the different textures. It almost begs you to touch the fuzzy-ness. I then ran two strips of navy ribbon about an inch or two from the top. I mounted the picture with double sided tape and silver brads. I then took this little silver phrase and glued in in the middle of the ribbon. It says "happiness is..." I hope this will inspire my big-ol-boy to fill in the blank with good things.

Composition Notebook- cutified

2009-06-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

We cutified a composition notebook. On the last day of school, My little beauty gave this to her teacher. On the inside, we put a "thank you" with her picture. It was a kind of going away gift. I like the way it turned out.

Picture labels

2009-06-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

For my little beauty, I have come up with a system that works GREAT! She was having trouble putting her clothing away in the correct place. she would take the entire stack and shove it into a hole, drawer, under the bed, etc... It was "put away" just in the wrong place. I wanted to label her drawers, but she has a reading disorder called dyslexia. There are varying degrees of this disorder, but hers was diagnosed as severe. It is almost like she is blind to reading. That being the case, word labels were not going to help. So I tool a Polaroid camera and took pictures of a few items that belonged in each drawer. I then taped them the front of the drawers. This has been fantastic! It works so well now because she does not have to guess at the words, she can just use the pictures to find the correct home for her clothing.

Chore Chart - Boy

2009-06-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

My son is out of school for the summer. We have devised a "New and Improved" chore chart. I used an old clipboard and covered it with boy friendly scrapbook papers. I then created a small box that I glued to the bottom to hold "chore chart cards" These cards have specific requirements for completing a chore. For example the "bedroom" card has daily duties, like making bed and picking up clothing. But it has Weekly duties also, that include, but are not limited to changing sheets, empty trash... and so on. He can take the card out of the holder and clip it to the front for a quick reference until he is done. By having everything spelled out, he can not say that he forgot or more commonly "did not know". I have added tabs to the top of the chore chart cards to make finding the correct duty a snap. We have tried this for one whole day. So far so good. As he goes through the chores, he circles the $ amount next to that chore on that day. I figured I might as well have someone else help with the house work and we can offset some of his expenses with him working it off. At the end of the day, I review it and thus we see the checks and balances process in action.

Trike

2009-04-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

This little trike was given to us and it was green and black. It was in the john deer tractor style. My daughter wanted to have it, so we painted it pink and silver.

The frame that could.

2009-04-17T13:57:00.000-07:00

I have had this print for almost 9 years. I have been waiting to frame it, because I wanted to get it done by a professional. Well, last night, I couldn't stand it any more. I decided I couldn't wait. So I went to the local thrift store and started to look at old frames. I had the dimensions of the print and found a frame the right size. As luck would have it, it also had a matt that came with it. I decided to double frame it, instead of double matt it. So I found a frame that would fit over the first frame. When I got them home, I sanded the inner frame and painted it the same color as my accent wall. For the outer frame, I just put a small amount of black paint over the existing finish (and only on the outer edge.) Then I put them on the wall. I am so proud of myself for doing a project the same day I started it!
Cost:
Inner frame with glass and matt --$3.99
Outer frame, no glass, no matt -- $2.99
The print cost me 10 times the amount for the framing.

From Humble beginnings, much can be accomplished.

Terra cotta pot makeover

2009-04-17T13:35:00.001-07:00

This little pot was useful as a plant holder, but now it is lovely as a .....plant holder. All right, the use is the same, it now just looks cool. I took the leftover wall paint from the house and used it on the pot.

Homeless Magazines - no more!

2009-04-15T18:06:00.000-07:00

I was out at my mother's home the other day and we were "organizing" a shelf. We were tossing some things and keeping others. But the dilemma of what to do with the magazines came up. We wanted to organize and spend No money. She had some ratty old magazine file boxes (you know the ones that hold the magazines in the standing position). So, we got out her scrapbook papers and got busy. We covered only the front of the magazine file for two reasons. First, that was the only part that was going to show. Second, if we covered the sides, they would get torn when pulling the folders on and off the shelf. And third - wait didn't I only say two - oh well, third, we saved a large part of the scrapbook papers for another project. Frugality at work! You can see the embellishments we put on the front. They are envelopes that were cut down and glued to the facade. We printed out labels with the names of the magazines from a label maker and put it on the outside of the envelope. (A label maker, super cool invention. Words that print out on stickers, brilliant. Well, that is a topic for another day! Back to the magazines.) Then we cut strips of paper to put in the little pockets where we can document what years are in the magazine file. We also organized the shelf, de-cluttering it and such. And in this last photo, you can see the finished project on display.

If you want to see some other magazine files that we decorated, go to my mother's blog at:
http://jomymother.blogspot.com

Wooden Blocks

2009-04-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

Another Cheap project for Enrichment night. These are 2X4's cut into 4 inch sections and sanded (except the first letter, it is 6 inches). Then they were painted with one coat of black craft paint. I sanded the edges and had some letters die-cut out of scrapbook papers and glued them to the front with Aleen's tacky glue. Then I added some ribbon with staples and more glue. The finishing touches are some sparkly gem's next to the "f" and dotting the "i". Viola! The wood was about 75 cents, the ribbon was less than a dollar, and the scrapbook paper was about 75 cents. The whole project cost between $2.50 and $3.00. Not too bad, aye!

Simply Grateful- Wooden Frame

2009-04-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

I was in charge of getting some CHEEP projects for Enrichment Night. I must admit, I got the idea from my sister, then I improved on it. This is a 2X4 frame. It is a finished size of 12x12.

I took four 8 inch sections of 2x4 wood.
I glued the ends to the sides to create a small window .
I then took flocked 12X12 scrapbook paper and cut a hole in the middle using the actual wood as my guide ( I traced the middle hole onto the paper)
and glued it on.
I then edged it with satin ribbon and .... here it is finished and hanging on my wall.

The wood cost about 75 cents.
The ribbon cost about $1.25.
The 12X12 paper was the expensive part at $3.

Project total $5

Easter Dresses

2009-04-13T16:38:00.000-07:00

This year we were on a budget....so....
I took stuff I already had and made it work for Easter dresses. I had a dress that I'd gotten in New York on a Girls Trip last August. It had spaghetti straps and the bodice would not stay zipped up when I took a breath. I did not realize this when I originally got it. AND Breathing is important to me. It was cute as it was, but I had to wear a shirt under it....I hate to layer. We live in the land of the sun (hot). So I added a top from some left over white fabric from a vintage style vogue pattern and added the red and white checkers , which I already had. I did have to buy red trim. I also removed the straps all together which was much better than trying to keep them on the shoulders. (you can see the two dresses in process here)

On Jadie Babies dress, it really was not a dress at all. About a year ago, I got a cute skirt that was knit and had three tiers. It was 49 cents. Last July, I had gotten a white shirt on clearance for 98 cents. I decided that If I sewed them together I would have a similar dress to mine. So I added a solid red ruffle out of some red ribbing I already had and added the red checker ruffle that matched my dress. I also added the red trim. After putting some pin tucks in the shirt, I sewed the skirt to the shirt, topped it with trim and viola.... matching Easter dresses. I did have to buy the yellow flower on the front of the dress. It was a dollar. I also bought the red daisy flower that I used in Jadie Babies hair (also a dollar) For Jadie Babies dress, including the red trim and the daisy flower, I spent a few pennies under $4. For Mine, I spent about a $2.50 for the trim and the pattern for the top. I think the Dress from New York was $10 (but I am not counting that because I did not buy it for Easter). We already had the red shoes. Tadahh!!!
My big Ol' Boy (13 years old) wanted to know where his new clothes were. I asked him if he waned me to make him a tie out of the red checkers and add a daisy. He turned me down.

Beads, Beads, Pretty Beads

2009-04-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

I went and made some clay beads to match my Easter dress. But, I never got them strung, and Easter has come and gone. So, I will wear them After Easter Sunday, instead of on Easter Sunday.

Jadie Baby helped make beads. This was one of her creations.

EASTER EGG! SUPRISE

2009-04-13T14:21:00.001-07:00

WE GOT ONE! Our first egg from our five chicks. Sparkle, the big black chick gave us a lovely medium sized brown egg at around 2pm today!!!

(Aren't you shocked! I am documenting it almost as it happened) I am so excited. I thought it would be so cool to have eggs from our chickens for Easter, and wouldn't you know it, We got an Easter egg -- technically a day late, but I am going to count it anyway!

How does your Garden Grow--update

2009-04-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? With lavender, and carrot tops and tomato plants all in a row.....

Just an update. This is what my garden currently looks like. Jadey Baby is picking some tomatoes for me...and being shocked that they are actually growing AND ripe.

You can see in the last picture how much growth has happened in the last month. YIPPEE!

The only thing that still struggles to grow is the Poppies and the Black-eyed Susans. Everything else is getting along quite nicely

PopCorn Popping Peeping Toms- I mean chicks

2009-04-09T20:56:00.001-07:00

Sing it with me now.....the tune is Popcorn Popping.

I Looked out the window and what did I see.
Three little chicken heads looking at me.
Spring has brought me such a big surprise, Chickens who look in at me all day and night.
Ginger on the bicycle, Twinkle on the ground.
Rose with her staring eyes, making peeping sounds.
It actually was so, and it seemed to me.
Chickens at the window just a peeking at me.

OK...Singing time is over.

Seriously, the chicks come over to the window and watch what is going on at the dinner table. Once in a while it is startling, but we get a good giggle out of it.

(The mesh you see is the screens on our windows...keeping the birds out)

Office Organization Center - PART two

2009-04-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

I found my original inspiration picture. This was from a Pottery Barn Catalog, several years ago. As I mentioned in the previous post, I did a few things different, but this was where my inspiration came from.

This is a picture of MY organization center. I have added a spot inside where I can place the items to be filed (which I did not have before) and I am adding some cork to the inside panel. At first I did not want to do that, but I found I was taping items up and that was not working as well as I wanted it to.

As for the magnetic panel, that is working really well.

All in all, I am pleased. I can still have my bills and other items accessible, but then I can close the doors and everything looks organized and cleaned up.

Eating out of my hand!

2009-03-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

I was in the back yard pulling weeds out of the grass. After a few minutes, I realized that
Sparkle, our big black chick was nibbling on the pile of clover that I had just pulled. Pretty soon, Sparkle was not content with the weeds I had just tossed, she wanted the weeds that were in my hand. So I pulled a weed and held it out to her. She pecked at a leaf or two and a piece of dirt, but that was not good enough. I realized as my hand grazed her feathery head that she wanted the weeds AS they were coming out to the ground! She literally had her head and beak right where my fingers were. She began EATING the leaves and roots AS I pulled it up! I was really shocked and amused at the same time. These birds are so silly.
( In the photo you see me with my fingers around the base of the clover and Sparkle has her beak against my fingers ready to pounce on the roots and dirt.)

Cranberries and Greedy chicks

2009-03-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

Our little flock of chicks just go gah gah over dried cranberries. This is their favorite treat. In fact, when we go out side to divvy up treats, we often have a sneaky chick or two who steal one. Here is my own beauty with Dandaleen (yellow), Twinkle (small black chick), and Ginger (speckled hen). Ginger gets right up in your face for treats. Literally. I was passing them out yesterday. I crouched down and had some in the palm of my hand, which was outstretched. The chicks made quick work of the berries, but Ginger was not done. She came up to me and looked at my nose from about two inches away! It startled me a little. But the next day, she did the same thing to my beauty girl.

Here you can see all five or our Chicks enjoying some wheat snacks. Ginger is inside the Easter Egg house. The three eating out of the bowl are Rose (our little red hen), Twinkle and Sparkle (the two black chicks) and Dandaleen (yellow)who is a little more shy. She holds back sometimes, being content with the wheat berries that have fallen to the ground from the other greedy chicks. Unless she sees cranberries. Then she is one of the quickest to attach the offering.

Sparkle, the sunbathing chick

2009-03-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

Sparkle the sunbathing beauty. She is the black chick pictured here. She will just plop down on her side, anywhere in the yard and fan out her wing that is up. She then raises the feathers on the back of her neck so they are standing straight out. All of the birds do this, but Sparkle does it most. I always have to do a double take when I see it to make sure the chicks have not fallen down dead!

Mini Green House Comparison

2009-03-16T19:26:00.001-07:00

I thought it would be cool to do a comparison of plants inside the cloche (mini greenhouse) verses plants outside.These are my black-eyed Susans. They have struggled to come up. They were planted in a row just like all of the other things I tired to grow. In the bottom of this picture you can see the row of poppies being bushy and happy. So I thought I would put a cloche over just a small section of the row of Black-Eyed Susans.

As you can see, One lonely sprout has emerges in the row where there was no cloche verses a bunch inside the tiny greenhouse.

Chamamile

2009-03-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

I have been attempting to grow chamomile. I had the dickens of a time getting them to grow. My brother told me to use a cloche - ( I know it is spelled wrong and I am probably pronouncing it wrong too, but they are mini greenhouses) and sure enough. Under the mini greenhouse the sprouts are getting quite big, where as before, they would only break the surface and wither away. It isn't even that hot here right now. It's somewhere in the mid 70's.
This is a peek straight inside the cloche.

Garden View

2009-03-16T16:41:00.001-07:00

This was my garden on Feb 15, 2009. Some tiny green sprouts were present.
This is my garden March 16, 2009. I'm getting quite a few plants growing. My tomato plant has some fruit growing. And my peas have some blossoms. I had to fence in the garden and put some chicken wire around it so my chicks could not help themselves. Which I caught them doing! I also put some sparkly things and a pinwheel to keep out the other birds...I hope.

"Not so good" garden plant

2009-03-16T16:34:00.000-07:00

I couldn't get over the beauty of this "not so good" plant in my garden. It is a mushroom, but it is just beautiful. Every little line is delicate.

Fake Friut...and tiny real ones

2009-03-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, we wired fake pumpkins to our new little peach tree in hopes that the birds will leave it alone. I couldn't find season appropriate fake fruit, but the color was GOOD!

Well, we are getting some little peaches! You can see it here next to the fake fruit.

Paint It!

2009-03-14T23:27:00.000-07:00

Here we have a plain old suit case....Old being the key word.

This is a shot of "in progress". I took all of the old lining out of this small case and relined it with printed, sturdy fabric.

TaDah!!!

Beautiful, matching luggage that any little girl would be proud to take on her world travels.

Comming Attraction - Easter Egg House

2009-03-14T23:12:00.001-07:00

When friends come over, they always want to see our attraction.... the Easter egg house, complete with chicks. This is cousin Mallorie holding Rose. Ginger (pecking the ground) and Twinkle are on our little red brick path.

Three little Chicks...holding three little chicks

2009-03-14T22:54:00.000-07:00

Mallorie, Jessica and SidneyJade were having a good time holding three of the little Chicks. Mallorie has Rose, Jessica has Ginger, and SidneyJade has Twinkle.

Fake Fruit

2009-03-14T22:43:00.000-07:00

I heard from my brother, that he heard from an expert that if you hang FAKE fruit from your fruit trees while they are blossoming, the birds will be faked out. Apparently they try the "fruit" and realize that it isn't a source of something yummy. Then when the real fruit ripens, the birds think, "been there, done that" and they leave it alone.
So I am trying it. I went to the dollar store in search of something fruit-ish. I found mini pumpkins, which are not grown in spring. But, I thought they had the right color. I have a peach tree. So I used twisty ties and attached them to a few branches. I don't know if it will work yet, the fruit is just starting to come on. I'll let you know!

Ribbon Storage

2009-03-14T22:16:00.000-07:00

How many times have we been through this! Where is that ribbon? I have tried bags of ribbons, putting the ribbon on dowels and hanging them up, putting them in drawers, stuffing them into pencil boxes, putting them in large plastic bins. But every time I tried to use one, I couldn't get to it without unloading ALL (OK that may be an exaggeration) of the other ribbons. It was so frustrating.
Then I got smart! I looked up ribbon storage on line. I found a really nice storage system, but did not have the $115 to get it. So, I had to find a way to get the same result, easy access. I had a cord organizer from Ikea. You know the one that looks like a shoe rack. I turned it on an angle and mounted it on the wall. I then added some clips that are used to hang curtains. That is where I put all of the ribbon that does not have a spool. It works like a charm. Any time I need a certain ribbon, I just take it off the rack. I can then put it right back when I am done. And, it is visible so the search is off!

Who ever heard of Hayseeds...

2009-03-14T21:58:00.001-07:00

I was out with my chicks cleaning out their chicken coop. I have a bail of hay at the end of the coop that I use to make a layer at the bottom of the hen house. That makes for easy clean up too because all you do is sweep out the hay and presto... the poop goes with it! I realized what a huge mess the chicks were making out of the hay. They had spread it all over the rocks I have around the coop. As I was raking it into a pile, I took a good look at the bail of hay. There were green spouts sticking up out of the top of the bail! Who ever heard of hayseeds. Well! They are real and they sprout!

peach blossoms

2009-03-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

I was enjoying the blossoms on our little tiny peach tree. I just had to take a few pictures. Enjoy the blossoms with me!

Feeding Frenzy

2009-03-14T21:47:00.001-07:00

Have you ever seen a feeding frenzy? I just got back from a Cruz to Catalina Island, in California. We went on one of those glass bottom boat tours. We got super close to some fish and the KELP was huge.
Basically what we did was we pushed a button from the inside of the boat that sent out fish food. That caused the fish to rush up next to the boat and push up next to the windows...of course. I am not sure I am much of a cruzer, but I would not mind going to Catalina Island again. We did not get enough time there. The kids had so much fun.

Corner shelfs

2009-02-17T22:10:00.000-08:00

This is a corner cabinet made out of OLD bi fold doors. I cut triangle pieces of plywood and mounted them in the cabinet using a 1X1 as the bracket to hold them in place. I then painted the whole thing white and added some "cute"ness. Viola - a corner shelf unit. Not too bad. And, it uses space that was otherwise wasted!

Pink Magnetic Board

2009-02-17T21:53:00.000-08:00

This is the pink magnet board I made. I took a 2o"X20" piece of ply wood. I added 4 coats of magnetic paint. Then I hand painted the design. I added the 2 1/2" ribbon with a knot in the middle by stapling it to the back of the board (with several staples).

I must say, this did not turn out fantastic. The magnetic paint is not very strong. I had to use ALL of the can and it was expensive. The hand painting took a while, but was fun. and the ribbon is not strong enough to hold the board. I had to add brackets mounted to the wall for support. All in all, it probably cost me about $25. I saw one I liked a lot at a local boutique that was $25. I could have bought it and it probably would have worked better. At least my daughter likes the board. I had to remove a ton of items to get a photo.

Passport cover

2009-02-17T21:17:00.000-08:00

I made a little cover for my passport. I used scrapbook papers and cut a hole for the word "PASSPORT". Then I covered it in very thin clear vinyl and sewed down the edges. On the back flap, I cut out a hole so the bar code can easily be read (without actually removing the passport from the case).

Chicks - Who gets to be on the top perch?

2009-02-17T20:47:00.000-08:00

I had peeked into the Easter egg house to see who had gotten onto a perch and was settled in for the night. We have an upper and lower perch. Sparkle (big black chick) was on the top one with Twinkle (little black chick) and Rose Red (little red chick). I was a little surprised at this line up. Dandaleen (big yellow chick) and Sparkle are inseparable sisters and usually the ones on the top. One of the smaller girls usually have to hurry to get a top spot.
Well, it was about sunset and I heard lots of squawking. Then I heard two thumps. So I looked back into the coop! Sparkle had shoved Twinkle and Rose Red off the top perch and onto the floor! Now, sitting beside her was her beloved Dandaleen and a very cautious Ginger (looks like a hawk) giving a look of "Just try to knock me off, Sister and I will show you a pecking order!" Twinkle and Rose Red had to settle for the bottom row.

Pink Ribbon board

2009-02-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a ribbon board I did for my daughters room.
I took a piece of 20X20 inch plywood and primed it to seal it.
I then cut a piece of pink and white striped fabric and attached it to the plywood. I folded over 4 inch sections to create pockets. I then glued on different decorative ribbons to identify each pocket. I stapled the fabric on the back and pulled it tight to make the front nice and smooth. At the top, I stapled a 2 inch ribbon with a knot tied in the middle to the back for hanging purposes...and to look cute.
It is a great place for my daughter to put her cards, projects, etc... with out putting tape all over my walls.

Something I would do differently is to put better hanging hardware on it, not just a ribbon. As it is, I had to add brackets to the wall to support the weight of the board.