A New Stool For Me

Hello!  Thanks for dropping by.  Today I have a stool to share with you.  I found it at the dump and I decided to bring it home and fix it up.  The top was just beyond help so I took it off and took it back to the dump. :)  I found a piece of scrap plywood in the shed and cut it down to the size I wanted.  I hammered some nail into it and it holds nicely.

The paint on it was terrible and flaking all over the place.  SO, I sanded it down and thought to myself  why paint it when it's so pretty just like this.  Well, I varnished it instead to show the lovely distressed look.

What do you think?  Would you have painted it?

The next part was the cushion.  I wanted it to be able to be sat on, and also to sit things on.  SO multi-purpose.  I chose a very thin memory foam pad and then went looking for some fabric.  I found an old dress that I liked the fabric on and cut it up some.  The one side wasn't big enough to make it all the way across so I sewed two pieces together (one had a seam in it) so it has a panelled look.  Before I sewed those panels together, I sewed on a piece of crochet lace to fancy up the seam.  Then I used a zig zag stitch since there was already three lines of stitching.  What do you think?  You might have to click on the picture to enlarge it to see better.

Now it's in full use.  My kids sit on it, I stack things on it and I love it! :)  I took a picture of one of the crocheted baby blankets I just finished on it.

                                   

Praying you have a splendid day!

Sharing with The Art of Homemaking Mondays.

Crochet Binder

Hello! :)  This kinda goes along with the past post on crocheting.  I have this binder (an idea given me by a friend) that I store all my patterns that I use in.  It has sections for each of the kinds of things I make: wash clothes, doilies, blankets, booties, hats, and shawls.

So It looked kinda plain and has this plastic slip cover thing on it.  I thought it would be easy to make something and slip it in. Yup, I was right.  Very easy.  I cut some paper to fit and added another patterned paper overtop.  I added some lace, a doily ( I know a crochet one would have been better...hindsight.)  and some chipboard pieces that I had in my collection.

For the back I used some canvas paper as the base and then some matching paper overtop.  It looked too plain so I put some more lace in there.

For the sidebar I put a double layer of paper and when I find just the right letterings, I'll put CROCHET over the smaller tab.

Do you have a crochet binder? I love that I can go there and pull out those patterns that I have tried and work for me.  I use it like a recipe book. I write little notes on some of the patterns to say how they worked for me...or not.

Thank you for stopping in!  I hope and pray you have a wonderful day! Perhaps playing with some yarn.

Sharing with The Art of Homemaking Mondays. 

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Shoregirl's Tag Cards

HI!  Today I have some special cards to share with you.  I follow Shoregirl's Creations and she makes some amazing things.  One of them are printables.  The three tags I've used are from her and I started by making just one card to enter a contest on her blog for some free tags from her Etsy shop.  :)  You can find the giveaway post HERE!  Then, well...I got carried away. hehehe

For each of the tags, I made two cards.  Using bits of ribbon I had in my stash and some papers that I had that I'm not sure who they are by.  Have fun scrolling down to see them all.

Thanks for scrolling down to see all the cards.  It's a great giveaway so I encourage you to pop over to see her blog and check it out.

Sharing with Word Art Wednesday.

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Crochet Lessons

Hello!  Do you love crocheting things?  It is something that I truly enjoy and have been making baby blankets to give away (I have no more babies) for just something to keep my hands busy.  I find yarn at the free store, second hand stores and then buy some.  For the above blanket I had a bunch of blues that I thought I'd just string together to make an ombre style blanket.  I used the solid granny square pattern.  Now it'll go in the bag with the others.

Crocheting is a wonderful skill and as one practices new stitches and patterns I think it's great to be able to make baby blankets, or hats, or booties, or what not to share with others.  My girls are doing the same thing along with me.  This is one area that I wholeheartedly support them in.

Below is a pictures of a washcloth that my son who is 7 made.  He is starting to learn to crochet as well, and so is his brother.  It's not a girly thing, but a lifeskill, just like sewing with a needle and tread.  They are learning that as well.  Once they learn, they can make their own washcloths, hats, mitts, scarves and such.  Until they find a wonderful wife that can perhaps do those things for them.

Thank you for dropping by!

Sharing with The Art of Homemaking Mondays.

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Snow Family

Hello! :)  Today I have a fun snow family to share with you.  My children and I went out and made a few snowmen, one for each member of the family and our dog. The Lord is so good, and the snow was just perfect for this activity.

We decided to put them in a row along the circular drive area to welcome anyone who comes to our place.  Everyone helped roll the snowballs, then one of my sons helped find all the sticks for arms.  The girls put the faces on with pieces of gravel and spruce cones for noses, and spruce needles for eyelashes for the girls. Then we all put the hats and scarves on our snow people.  Oh, and the leash for the dog. :)

We haven't gotten that much snow yet, and it's been so warm that it settles and melts.  This morning after the warmth of yesterday everything has frozen to a nice slipperiness.

Praying you all have a beautiful day!  Leaving you with a picture of the sun setting across the river.

Sharing with The Art of Homemaking Monday.

Science Beans and Pumpkin Seeds

Hello!  Today I'd like to share with you a couple things from our  homeschool.  My youngest son is doing growing things and plant parts in science.  We do a lot of this with our gardening in the summer but he insisted he do it again for fun.  So, he started some bean seeds.  He didn't want to dig them up and dissect them but wanted to grow beans.  He started them in little pots and today planted the little plants into a planter to grow in.  They are young and with the decreasing sunlight and cold, we shall see what comes of them.  :)  Fun experiments!  Love his interest in plants.

Took a picture of the river from my window and the ice is closing in the river more.  It's super warm for us,  just above freezing.  The snow is all soft and we'll be going out to make snowmen soon.

This is one of our families favourite snack foods.  Roasted pumpkin seeds with a touch of soy sauce.  I made up this batch on the wood stove, as it was hot and I didn't have to turn the regular kitchen stove on.  It doesn't take long, and they're delicious!

I made this batch up for my son who was doing math drills.  We often will do Smartie points where the kids get smarties for answering a certain number of questions right.  (I do two questions to 1 Smartie)  These pumpkin seeds are a much healthier choice for that and it was a request.  How could I not make them?  Plus the left overs are yummy for everyone!

So just a bit of our homeschool life. Hope you are enjoying your day!

Sharing with The Art of Homemaking Mondays.

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Butterfly Cards

Hello!  Today I have some more cards to share with you.  I love having simple cards tucked away for when I need them so that I am not scrambling.  Better creativity that way I find...if I'm not rushed.

I have used some prepackaged material by Forever in Time, and then added some simple lace/ribbon and flowers from my stash.  The sentiments are each from odd sets that I have lost the creators name from.  But I love them!

So you have a stash of ready made cards? or are do you work better under pressure. :)

Praying you have a beautiful day and are able to create some cards for fun.  A little bit of a treasure to give to someone when the opportunity arises.

Sharing with Word Art Wednesday.