Another Get Your Behind Moving Day

Good Morning everyone!!! OK I know some of you will be reading this in the afternoon or evening so I apologize. And so you don't feel left out Good Afternoon or Good Evening everyone!!! LOL. Alright I stuck to my guns on Tuesday after I talked to you last. I had a lot of energy and was ready to work until about 3pm and then I crashed. Right now I just don't have as much energy. I just got off of another 24 hour shift and we had a 1 hour nap last night and that was it. I know I need a nap, but I have so much I want to do. I am so excited to share some what I consider awesome news. My Facebook friends already know. Facebook friends raise your hand and repeat after me.... I will not reveal Mary's secret until the end of this post. I did not hear you! A little louder please. LOL. For those who don't know keep reading. I am purposely putting it at the end so you have to read my entire post until you find out. So there!!!

Alright so I promised pictures of some of my UFO (unfinished objects) that I finished up. I was even climbing over my mountainous pile of junk in my garage to get to one of my projects. I was only thinking of you and how much you all would be heartbroke and have sad faces if I didn't do something and have something to show you. LOL.

So what should I show you first...

OK I'll show you my newest items that will be for sale.

I finally decided how I wanted to do my cutting boards. The whaletail one is a wax finish only. The others well they are pretty much self explanatory. LOL



Next, I decided to try my hand at a couple pin keeps. I have 3 more lids to make more. These were so fun and simple. But yep these babies will be for sale too. Horrible inside pictures the one on the left is red, white, and blue. The one on the right is a coffee stained brown.



This is what I climbed the mountain in my garage for. I will also have you know I came home from work and went without sleep to be able to show you this. I had it painted but it needed stained so I did that this morning. It is out drying in the sun. This was a muddy brownish green paint I got off the mistint rack at Lowes. It was awesome then of course I smeared my stain all over it.



But wait... I had yet another one to paint and stain. So this one got a redo too. I don't have any black ones so I decided it was time. I really like how skinny these two cheese boxes are. If I ever get my buttr'y made these will be made part of the display.



And now drum roll please..................................

I have decided to start making cross stitch patterns to sell. Right now they are hand charted, but I am hoping to find a good program to be able to use to computer chart them and start selling them. I have one completely done and a second one almost done. I did them yesterday while I was at work. I have a really awesome thing planned for all of you when they come out and are ready to sell. So stay tuned... you will have a chance to get a free chart and a chance for your family to be famous OK famous in my eyes. That's all I'm saying. I'm not going to spill the beans yet.

So... do you want a sneak peek? Sure you do... LOL





Obviously these will still need to be stitched for accuracy and so that I can include a color picture of the finished product. Hmmm... I may not have time to do this so... someone may get to be a test subject for me. :)

So now a question for you...

If you were to buy a cross stitch pattern would you be more likely to

A. buy just the chart
B. buy a kit (including floss, fabric, and directions)

Alright so now I can't sleep because I really would like to finish the second chart today and hopefully find a program to start computer charting. I'm also going to come up with a FREE chart so that those of you who don't know how to cross stitch can learn because I feel a tutorial coming on. LOL. For those who already stitch, well, it'll just be a free chart. LOL.

Rearranging

I am so excited with the newest display in the booth. Steve made it from two old huge doors and weathered lumber we found at The Habitat for Humanity Restore. We figure the doors are somewhere near 8 feet tall. The bench he made was after he saw one almost just like it for sale at the fabulous garage sale we went to a few weeks back.



Bet you thought I had a shopper... No that's me!!! LOL. I got my moon tan going on and everything. :)











Now looking around we moved some things and redecorated.

I may steal that blue spoon rack with the shelf in the middle of the picture eventually. It has a small flag on it's shelf. Unless one of you buys it before then. LOL.







One of Steve's gorgeous stove cover boards.



Steve and my son spent the morning at my parents yesterday mowing, trimming, and stuff. Then in the afternoon they went to one of Steve's rentals that the separator of the patio had blown down. I spotted these weathered wood goodies when we first met. They are probably 6 feet tall and splintered, weathered, old beauties. I told him if he ever decided to tear them down I wanted the wood. So, he and my son tore all of them down and the first installment of wonderful delivered to me. Steve says he will either make me a new pie safe or start my buttr'y with this wood. I will have a pie safe for sale if I get that. Anyway, this wood is so old and crusty looking I LOVE it. Oh and if I have to claim bankruptcy and they ask me if I have furniture I can sell to give them the money, I'll say not really who would want to buy this old thing it's so old and crusty. ;) shhhhhh no one say a word that you would. LOL



Well, my friends I need to get busy and make this day productive. My nephew is here for the day and waiting impatiently for my son to come home from spending the night at his friends. I tell you that even though they aren't blood related my nephew acts just like my son did when he was 5. LOL. I will have an update of any progress Thursday hopefully. I work another 24 hour shift Wednesday then off Thurs-Sun. A mini vacation of sorts. LOL.

Question: If any of you who read my blog own a quilt shop please let me know. I have bought several CHEAP quilt patterns that use Thangles. I would rather purchase it from you my friends than to go to another shop. Please email me so I can tell you what sizes I need.

Have a wonderful day!!!

Where Did I Put My New Chairs?

Long time no talk everyone. I have been working my last really long weekend. Let me tell you I am beat. I just finished up my 24 hour shift this morning and I haven't taken a nap yet. Oh no I have lots to do! We had our meeting with the board of DD this morning, which basically is coming down to budget cuts. My daughter is too high functioning for any assistance basically. We don't know for sure for 2-4 weeks, but it sounds as if she will fall through the cracks. But right now I am too uptight to go into depth about it. Many of you know how it feels to be helpless when it comes to someone you love. That is where I am right now. One glimmer of hope is my daughter said she'd like to volunteer at a nursing home. We happen to have one a few blocks away. We decided that we will go either Thursday or Friday to see if this is possible. It is a start right?

(sigh) alright... so I have decided where I want to put my chairs until I can put them into use with a table years down the line. Two chairs don't fit under my kitchen table side by side without hanging out in the walkway. I was hoping it would work but.... as we say in EMS adapt and overcome. I found different homes for all 4.

First, hanging two from my dining room peg rack. Someone also thought I should hang them upside down... I'm not so sure about that I kinda like to have the seat to decorate. For those who don't know years ago they would hang chairs from peg racks to get them up off the floor to avoid a cluttered look on the floor and for ease of cleaning when they were not in use.




Did you notice I used my baskets I just redid? I know it's too early for corn BUT I like them :)





Moving on I put one in my living room...



Lastly, this one isn't as exciting. My kitchen for now. As it stands we can only seat three people at my kitchen table because I have a bench on one side and a chair on the other. So, this one can get pulled up when necessary.



So now I just need to make some cushions for them. I'm thinking coffee stained osnaburg fabric... with some calico patches sewn on here and there.

I also wanted to show you I got one of the quilts finished. I am almost done with the other, but it'll take a few more days. Hind sight I should've used invisible thread to quilt it BUT dummy me had some and had never used it so I threw it away. See this is why it's good to be a hoarder!!! LOL. So I guess I will need to get more for future projects.



I also stained yet another basket I found at the Goodwill last week. I'm not sure I like it quite yet. I think it might need another coat of stain, but again $.79 can't beat that.



I have a few other things I want to get started on today or tomorrow. I'd really like to get my cheese boxes sanded and painted. But I also got some great new quilting patterns I want to get started on. Hmmmmm wonder which one will win out. lol

I'll be back tomorrow with pictures of the booth from when we redid it. I have a few more things I'd like to take out tomorrow if I have time. But first and foremost I have a much needed massage appointment. I am having a sudden increase in stress again that I'm not sure how I'm going to handle yet. The bank is coming after me for the difference in amount our foreclosed home sold for compared to what my ex owed. I got a phone call on Saturday for me to call the bank. I really don't want to declare bankruptcy. As I am slowly climbing out of debt and trying to repair my bad credit from my ex. But I sure can't afford that kind of money either. Besides I didn't live in the home he did when it went into foreclosure. We all know that if our name is on it we owe it. Grrrrrr...

Anyway, I will see you tomorrow as you all are my sanity.

This is a Get Your Behind Moving Day

I declared today was a get your behind moving day. I have so many UFO's (unfinished objects) around I decided I needed to get them underway. I didn't technically finish anything today, but I got them to a point that it won't take long to finish them. These are projects I can take to work to work on. I get bored at work if I have nothing to keep my hands busy. So now I have two projects to finish up. I don't have another cross stitch planned...yet. I'd like to make another pattern of my own but it will involve buying a computer program to chart it. So... that may take awhile. lol

First, is this cute flag I bought that was already sewn together if you'll remember. All I had to do is add the backing and batting and then quilt it. I've decided I'm going to hand quilt this one.



Next was my other quilt top I started awhile back. Not really my favorite colors or theme, but I had the fabrics on hand so I used them. LOL. This is an attempt at machine quilting and it isn't the way I'd really like it to look, but I'm learning. Better to mess up on one that probably won't see the light of day. I have the binding all ready to turn to the back and stitch. Again won't take too much time to finish.

Do NOT look closely at this pic... LOL... you will see that some of my seams to line up exactly. LOL. Just enjoy the overall look...



I decided to do a black binding to make it look like it was a picture in a frame. I know deep isn't it. LOL.



I had to clean up my dining/sewing room a little because I uh went to the uh thrift store. I know I know... lol I need to get rid of not buy more. I have actually sold a lot of my old stuff through the booth and on my selling blog. yiippee!!!! I bought some great stuff but best of all I got these gorgeous chairs!!! I resisted the first time I went to the thrift store. I bought a bunch of other stuff that time and kept looking at the chairs. I came home jumped on Facebook and asked what I good price would be for ladder back chairs. Well, one of my friends Renee talked me into going back after them. LOL. So, I made a second trip to the thrift store to buy them. She reminded me if I didn't I would always regret not buying them. Luckily, when I went back they were still there. They were meant to be mine!

Could you resist these??? The color is perfect and the seats are still perfect. (sigh) I LOVE these chairs. BUT I didn't know where I'd be putting them so Renee was kind enough to go through my home pics and tell me several different places I could put them. I'll wait for another day to show you where they actually ended up. It involved cleaning up my dining room though and a few other places... :)



I am still having a hard time commenting on blogs and some of you are having the same issues on mine. I've been told to sign completely out of blooger and not have it remember your name and password. Just sign in everytime you get on. I think my problem is Steve's computer. It is on it's way to crashing too. (sigh) Hopefully I get mine back before then. But until then I will read and not be able to comment. But I love visiting all of you so I will do what I have to to catch up with everyone. :)

A New/Old Shelf

I forgot to show you the new shelf for my bathroom that Steve made for me awhile back. It is a little more shabby chic than normal for me. He even made the signs and decorated it up for me. :) I think it is just so cool! Now, my bathroom is long and skinny so taking pictures is near impossible without standing on your head or playing twister in the process. Oh forget good lighting either. I like it because my dark circles under my eyes don't seem so bad in the darkness. LOL. So stick with me as I try to show you my shelf...

An OLD wood shutter (trash find) with some other recycled wood ends... and voila` NEW shelf.



My authentic Amish kids clothes and the ivory gown to the back is a family heirloom. It's not a great picture I know. LOL.





I'm working on deciding what I want to put in my jars. Which brings me to an interesting fact. Did you know the latest craze for teenagers is getting high on bath salts? Seriously, if whomever decided to figure this out would put their brain to work for the good we'd probably have a cure for cancer.





I thought before I forgot again I would show you. My brain has been on overload recently. I could blame it on my kids, but I blame them for my grey hair. So, I guess I'll chalk it up to old timers. LOL. I hope you have a great day! I am actually off today because I forgot I traded with someone at work. Yiippeee!!!! I have plenty of things to keep me busy today and tomorrow.

A 16th Birthday and a Hooker

My daughter hit a milestone this past Tuesday. She turned 16. I ask myself where time has gone. My little one who had to come a month early because she was in distress. I swore after being induced with her I would never have another one. The little girl who said "puppy" instead of Mama first. LOL. I remember a little girl with long curly blond hair dressed up like a cowgirl for Halloween. As time went on she grew like a weed and ended up with the determination of a warrior and a heart as good as gold. Proving to people, that even though she has disabilities, she is going to make a mark in this world. Reaching her goal may take a little longer than some, but she'll get there. I am so proud of all she has accomplished already and I can't wait to see how far she'll go.

So Happy Birthday Courtney!!! That's her best friend standing next to her Tatiana.



I was excited that 3 of her other friends came to the party/picnic too. In years past her "friends" told her they would come but never did. It was so hard to watch as a Mother. But here they all are... Courtney's friends...



Well, since I finished my latest cross stitch project I needed to start something new. A year ago my Mom bought me a rug hooking kit from a fiber arts show we attended. I put it off and put it off thinking it would be too hard to do. That and I forgot how the lady told me to do it. LOL. So, as I was looking through my new project ideas I pulled it out. I got everything ready and started it on Tuesday. I was hoping to show you my progress, but I just couldn't put it down. I finished it up Friday. I am now officially a "hooker" LOL. I just wish it wasn't so expensive of a hobby to do. Anyway, not to bad for my first attempt...



Steve and I also went to the booth today and totally rearranged everything. I will show you later this week the new display unit. It is HUGE!!!! This is another very long week for me at work. The only day I have to myself is Wednesday. I am hoping to find another project to start to take with me to work. Although I need to make some more handmade items for the booth. I was looking around today and realized a lot of my smalls have sold. So I need to get busy!!!! hmmmmm what to make ? what to make? pincushions? quilted pillows? sheep? small quilts? the possibilities are endless....

I will be putting some Americana things for sale on my selling blog. They are also in my booth, so if the pillows sell there I may have to make another one for you, which could take a few days. If they haven't sold I will try to get to the booth to get them ASAP to send out for you.

So click on HERE to go to my selling blog.

Thanks for stopping by. OH and I still don't have my computer back yet. Wouldn't you know my hard drive would crash. Grrrrr.... So I am trying to visit all of you on Steve's laptop and at work when I get a chance. Talk to you all soon.

The Booth

I went to the booth yesterday to see what was going on and what had sold. My short term memory is awful because to me it didn't look like much had sold. Boy was I pleasantly surprised when I got my money. We sold quite a bit of our handmades. Luckily she lists everything we sell on a receipt so I could jog my memory. LOL.

While I was there I did take some pics of what's left. I am so excited to take the new display to the booth next week. I will tell you that it involves two HUGE old doors and some really old aged wood. I told Steve that I would not be selling any of it. LOL. One day I will put it on my front porch when I have one.

So... WELCOME...





The Nascar things at the bottom are my sons. lol.





I found out this cabinet fell over sometime last week and luckily it didn't break. I know it is not decorated the best, but the lady from the flea market just pushed it back up and threw stuff on the shelves. I need to go back and redo. Just didn't have time.











Well, it looks like my friends and I need to get busy to refill some of the empty spaces and rearrange.

Its A Beautiful Morning

It is a nice cool morning as I sit here sharing with you. The coffee tastes extra good and my fluffy robe feels nice and warm. Both kids are still sleeping and all I hear are the birds singing away. I LOVE this part of the day.

I told you yesterday I'd be rearranging the booth, well Steve got called to work. Since his jobs are sometimes few and far between he is going to work instead. I will still be going because I haven't stopped in for awhile and need to pick any money we made. I will hopefully be taking some pictures since I haven't for awhile.

Yesterday I worked on finishing up a few projects I started awhile back. First, off I bought two baskets from Goodwill for $0.79 a piece. They both were unfinished like this one. I forgot to take a pic of the other.



Well, I debated and debated whether to paint or stain them. I even went as far as to buy spray paint. But the little voice in my head said reach out for help on this one. So I posted on Facebook and one of my good friends PAM, who makes baskets and samplers that are so beautiful, answered back and told me staining would work better. She advised me to use either mineral spirits or paint thinner to "water" down my stain and then put it on. Let me tell you the stain flows better and gets in all the cracks and crevices my brush couldn't. I think they turned out awesome!



Next thing I finished was this chair I found in the trash last summer. It was in front of my neighbors in laws house shortly after she passed away. He told me she died in one her chairs. I am hoping it's not this one! I don't think he saw the chair in my garage yet. LOL This pic was from my phone so it's not great. It is a dark brown with a striped cushion.



HA I found another picture on my camera...




I had Steve take the seat off because I would be recovering that and painting the chair. This is the first chair redo and seat covering I've done. I painted the chair back a week or two age when I had time. Yesterday I grabbed the seat and got started.

I took off the first layer to find this. They must really like stripes. lol



So then I took off the next layer to find this. WHAT??? another layer seriously people.



My hands were hurting from taking out all the upholstery tacks by this point. But since the batting was still in excellent condition I left it on the seat. You know it's weird. It looks just like raw cotton. It still has all the plant parts in it.



I'm pretty sure most of you have probably recovered a seat so I won't go through the steps. HOWEVER... if you haven't I learned a little something I'll pass along. To cut the new fabric for my seat I used the last covering as my pattern. I traced around it and added a little extra just in case. I then put the fabric in my coffee stain and soaked it. I laid it out in the sun until it was dry. OK so far so good. When it was dry I brought it in to begin. I laid it down on the floor and put the wood seat on top. WHAT ?!?!?! it shrank!!!!! It was not as big as it was. SO if you are going to recover a seat either wash the fabric or soak it first before cutting. I pulled and tugged and made it work though. I even used upholstery tacks instead of staples. I even hit my thumb a few times in the process. LOL.

These pics were in my garage I know the color is hard to see but it is a neutral colored ticking fabric I had on hand.



So after a coat of black paint here she is. I have a few touch ups to do. But this will be my new kitchen chair since my other one broke one night when Steve leaned back in it. LOL.





Steve cleaned up the garage a bit so I can get to some of my other redos in progress, so we'll see what I get into today. Have a primtastic day!!!

OH there was a question on my yard sale goods I posted a few days back and forgot to answer yesterday. I couldn't reply by email since I couldn't get the addy. Anyway , the grouping in my bedroom was $22 for the chair, table, and candle holder. Totally terrific price right!!!!