Thrift Magic 101

I've become a bit of a thrift store junkie. Like the kind that would need rehab.

Remember how excited I was about this at our local Salvation Army Thrift Store? See the frames 50% off?

What, you gasp? Thrift stores have SALES!!!

 I came home with this load of loot. Check out that 1970's red covered bridge. Not a real painting....just the cardboard printed junk. 

 But the frame had potential. $4 bucks means LOADS of potential.. 

  

Sooo, I decided that after an almost year and a half sabbatical from painting, it was time to break out the brushes.

I'll fly away is one of my favorites. Reminds me of the washboard band I was in during college. But most importantly, it reminds me of my Pop. While he was in the shutting down process in hospice at the hospital, I filmed a moment that I want to be my last memory of him. He was out of it, and not very coherent. And not really himself. I had a moment alone with him, and we were singing I'll Fly Away. If you've ever been around a dying Christian, it was very much what he was wanting to do. Hard to explain, but the words are perfect. 

. 

So I did a little painting. The frame first, then a little art. A little white wash over the cardboard. Then to the fun stuff. Free hand painting. It was so nice to have paint all over my nails instead of garden dirt.

And now it has a new home on our portrait wall. 

$4 Art. Thanks to the hubs for letting Mama have a play date. ;-)

Artsy Kid Friendly Corner of the Living Room

There is a valid reason why your Mama wouldn't let you play ball in the house. John and I both tend to like to to make messes. And we tend to be a little free spirited. When free spirits play ball in the house...You get holes in the wall. Which lead to this....  A Sunday wall patch job -

Turns into a Pinterest inspired art corner using the wasted space behind the front door. This door opens into our living room, and the threshold has tile. Which makes chalk clean up easy breezy. 

Main reasons? 

1. The holes HAD to be fixed. 
2. I already had the chalkboard paint
3. AO needed an Art Corner. (Mama wanted one.) 

  I'm wanting to trim out the top with a bit of molding. But I'm waiting on the Habitat for Humanity Restore to finish their remodel before I buy any. (Do you have one of those in your area?) It's MY FAVORITE place to shop. We make donations there, too. You are putting money back into a great cause, and their price are usually very reasonable. Plus the look of salvaged goods is so much cooler than buying new.

Thanks Pinterest for the Masterpieces idea. And yes, the front door is getting a face lift. And the hubs doesn't like the color AT ALL. Stay tuned. :-)

Let's jump right to my newest hobby

Ok, so let's jump right to my newest hobby/addiction. Wonder under and my sewing machine. It's my new diet coke addiction! I stink at updating this blog anyway, so I'll cut right to the point. 

Arleigh is a fabulous baby. The first month has FLOWN by at an incredible rate. She's a really easy going sweet baby, but can have a bit of her daddy and Uncle Josh's temper on occasion. (Although it's rare, and she never seems to do it for anyone but us...The grandparents don't believe us!) She's definitely a keeper!  I figure anyone who follows this would see all the facebook love anyway, or at least see my 10,000 pictures I've posted. Can you tell we REALLY think she's the coolest kid EVER?

First project was the carrot. A little existing ribbon, orange carrot shape with wonder under, zig zag around, 

a new button...voilà.

 

Second project - Same day. I found a pattern for a skirt online. It tempted me because it said it was a easy project... Well, she was right!   (Go to the EASY rectangle skirt pattern HERE.)

 

 

The fabric was left over Amy Butler from a nursery project. I had a few onesies left from my month by month project (I'll post that later).  I added the mini-pompom fringe by hand, but it wasn't difficult.

 The cross was wonder undered on first, then I zigzagged around the edges. While I'm definitely still learning, and this would NOT win any awards for technical abilities, the trick to applique freehand on a regular machine is keeping the fabric border in between the foot pedal piece. You just have to focus on using the foot pedal as your guide.  Really not that complicated, but I'm just learning so it's not a beauty yet. Don't judge on my sewing ability!

Familiar with Matilda Jane? I LOVE the style...but I can't afford the price. The main aspect of every collection I ADORE are the mismatched yet coordinating fabrics. They are wild, yet they have a mid-western vintage modern flair.  So I went for it....I just had to add more layers to the skirt! 

Then...I decided Arleigh just had to have a matching head accessory. The band (on the brain-squeezer, as we say) is little girl panty hose. I disected another hand-me down band for this one. The backing is a piece of felt. I made my favorite easy breezy flowers. Super easy. Thin strips for fabric, rolled onto a pipe cleaner. Roll the pipe cleaner into the shape of the flower, a little hot glue...and again, voila! 

 

I'm SO ready to try it on her!  Uncle Brock is stopping by before heading to the airport in Bham, and then JuJu and Papa J are babysitting while I take Clarence for his shots. As long as they don't look too close at the outfit, maybe they can't tell I don't have a clue what I'm doing! But it's SO MUCH FUN!

PS...Can you tell I'm excited? Maybe it's because I've never sewn more than a straight line for curtains! And I've certainly never made a complete outfit! (Ok, I'll chill out a little now. Time for more coffee, because it's not even 6 am, and I'm going on about 2 hours of sleep!)