A Great Deal

I am not too much of a sucker for a great deal. . . I mean, I love a good deal, but I don't want to buy junk just for the sake of a good price tag.  But oh boy, I couldn't let this one slide.  Sometimes a good deal is just so good, you figure it is worth the lesson learned if it turns out to be cheaper than a Kmart ironing board ;).   So, i suppose my lesson will be learned, or rewarded, when my knew 7 pc. stainless steel Farberware Knife set shows up next week from pfaltzgraph.com.  I got an email from a friend who gets deal updates from pinchingyourpennies.com and as I was glancing through I couldn't help but stop on what I thought was the best deal on there. . . a $3, yes that's right $3 Farberware knife set (Actually the best deal I thought was a 15 pc. Kitchenaid set, that was marked from $120 down to $12 with the coupon code, but apparently everyone else did, since it was sold out, so i settled for the second option).  I will admit it is no professional set, but if you saw what we are currently working with, it is a definite upgrade.  The original price was $45, which if you look for knives, you will note it is not high on the price spectrum, but heck, $3. . . I'm giving it a try.  So if anyone else is interested.  Go to Pfaltzgraff.com  Search for the Farberware 7 pc. Knife Set, and use the coupon code: MAR2010 to get an extra 40% off, and there you have your $3 knife set. Or use the code for something else!  I will let you know if I love it or hate it when it arrives, so this is a bit of a to be continued, but how could i not share a 40% off coupon code to Pfaltzgraff that may expire before I get it (the code expires March 31st)?

Happy Shopping! 

Bold Colors, Awesome Furniture

I was purusing my local craigslist to find some cheap furniture gems when i stumbled onto a link for an etsy site that had the cutest shabby chic, and french country furniture in the bold whimsical colors. The site is Serendipity Chic Decor.  I was loving it. Teal salt and pepper shakers?  I mean,  it doesn't get much better than that, I just had to share! 

After looking at these cute things, I am am certain that one of the dressers in my house will soon be a bright bold purple :)

Easy Peasy Bloomers

I'm BACK!  Sorry for the long break.  It was a busy one, filled with visitors, trips out of town, and exceptional weather.  And, due the the warm front that headed our direction, it was time to break out the shorts and skirts for a few days.  My daughter loves to wear skirts in the spring and summer, and once upon a time I was near obsessive about finding my daughter some bloomers.  As any of you with girl will know, after 24 mos. they rarely sell dresses with bloomers attached.  But seeing as most kids in 2T and up still want to wear dresses to romp around in and need some diaper or undie coverage.  I couldn't find any, so i started making them.  Lots of them.  I thought, I should sell them, because I know other people have this problem.  That idea lasted for about a month, and i realized that they aren't cost effectvie item to sell.  Anyhoo. . . long story short.  Now that my daugther is getting older, I still want her to have bloomers on, but she is too old for the frilly ones i used to make.  I found a great way to reuse her old tattered end of the winter leggings to make great big girl bloomers.  I love how comfy they are, how they are snug against her leg, and how they make great summer pajama shorts too!

 

WHAT YOU NEED:

A pair of old knit leggings

(ours are usually, like these, really stained and beyond salvage for any younger kids use)

Scissors

Sewing Machine

HOW YOU DO IT:

First measure how long you want the bloomers to be, i just eyeball it, and cut the legs off of your leggings.

Set aside the top of the leggings, that now look like shorts.  With the bottom leg pieces, cut the hem off the bottom, and then cut the legs open, so they lay flat.  Cut each leg into 4 1-1/2 inch strips.

Sew 4 of the strips together, end to end.  And repeat with the other 4, so you have two long, uneven looking strips.  (when you are doing this part, if your leggings are particularly ratty (like mine were), you could use the wrong side, if they are solid color, or cut your strips around the dirty knees or any holes. 

Now your ready to make some ruffles for the bottom of the bloomers.  Take one strip and fold it in half, so the seams are inside the ruffle.  Line the raw edge of the ruffle up with the raw end of the shorts (you don't need to turn the shorts inside out, sew the ruffle to the top and then it will fold down when you are done so the raw edge is on the inside).  Start one inch from the end of the strip and start bunching and sewing.  Just make sure you are only bunching the ruffle, and not the shorts underneath.

When you are about on inch from where you started sewing, stop.  Pull the shorts away from the machine and cut off any extra fabric, leaving one inch loose on this end as well, so like the picture you now have unsewn fabric on both the start and end of the ruffle and a small space left to sew it to the shorts.  unfold those two loose ends and place the wrong sides together.  This will feel a little akward, but it's pretty quick when you get the hang of it. 

 

Sew the wrongs sides of the ruffle ends together and fold them back in line with the rest of the ruffle.

Once you have folded it back line the raw edge of the ruffle up with the raw edge of the shorts and bunch it together to fit in the space you have left, to finish it off.  Repeat all these steps on the other leg openining. 

Voila!  Easy Peasy (as my kindergartener would say) bloomers.  Here are the ones I have made this way.  It takes no time at all and you can make them in all different lengths to fit what you need!

So go out and enjoy the spring air and the playgrounds, because now you're covered ;).

An End of Winter Break

Okay, so i haven't forgotten to blog, i have just been swamped with things.  We are getting some new countertops and so the prep and planning for that has taken a lot of time, but when they get installed i will be excited to show off the finished result.  We are also taking a little time off for some quality family time, so i will be back to blog next week with some great projects and hopefully soon, better kitchen countertops :)  Hope everyone is blessed with a little sunshine this week, we have gotten some, and it was just the taste i needed to get out of my winter funk!

Back to the Machine

It has been a while since i have sewn anything for my girls.  They really haven't needed anything.  But i always love a good dress designing challenge.  A good friend brought me some old skirts she didn't want to see if i could make anything for the girls out of them.  I was loving this dark blue violet fabric with lavender flowers.  I sat right down and started cutting away at it.  I used an A-line dress of my daughters for the basic pattern, and then i asked my daughter what she was hoping the dress would look like.  She wanted some ruffles and longer sleeves.  And I had in my head that I wanted an oversized flower on the front like some awesome dresses I saw on Shabby Apple (a great dress website). 

 So, with that in mind, i made this:

Into This: 

Of, course not without having to redo the neckline so her head could fit through.  But now in the back it has this sweet over-sized keyhole, with ruffle detail that I just love and may not have been there if it had fit the first time ;).

She's wearing it around with her fancy dress up Cinderella shoes. I think that means she likes it :)

Why I love Craigslist

Because only through craigslist can  you get a whole dining room set--table, 6 chairs, hutch and buffet for $75:

And then turn it into this: 

I just got a dresser that I am dying to get my hands on. . . i just need the temperature to get above 40 degrees again :).