pay it forward

While looking at A Little Knick Knack the other day, I spotted a really neat post.  Meg was "paying it forward".  I thought it was a great idea and wanted in on it!

Here's how it works  

The first 5 followers to leave me a comment will win this...

There is one rule, you have to pinky swear you will do the same and post something you have made to your blog and pass it on to 5 of your commentors.  That's how the Pay It Forward love is spread :D

So, are you going to be one of the first 5?

slipcovered wingback

Remember my teaser from the other day?

Well, I finally lugged her down the stairs so I could get some pictures :)

Here she is! 

 My slipcovered wingback!

Some close ups of the piping and arms.

My favorite part is still the skirt.

I used Miss Mustard Seed's tutorial.  It was such a great tutorial, I highly recommend looking at it even if you're doing something other than a wingback.  It really wasn't difficult to do, and only took a few days of working during Izzy's nap times to complete.

Breakdown of the project:

• 9x12 painters drop cloth (8oz) - $20.00
• cording to make piping - $8.00
• chair - FREE!

$28.00!!!

Added bonus is that I have enough leftover materials to make a slipcover for an ottoman!

Now I just need to find her a home in my house.  Preferably without having to take 'ol girl back up the stairs :D

Linking up to these fabulous parties!

i feel a giveaway coming on!!!

This was pretty much my expression all day after finding out I had hit 100 followers

I had told myself a long time ago that if I ever hit 100 I would have a giveaway as a way to say thank you.

That time has come!

I'm going to be thinking up something fabulous over the next few days so be sure to check back.

Squeal!!!



a little teaser

Here's a little sneak peek at what I've been working on this week

It's a sneak peek because the lighting in this room stinks and I can't get a good picture.  Basically, I'm feeling lazy and didn't want to lug it down the stairs :)

But, I'm done and thrilled with the results!

Even more thrilling... it only cost me $28, for the entire project.

Winning!!!

the diaper incident

Let me paint the scene for you.

I walked into my living room where my dog was sitting by the back windows looking all pathetic and lonely.  "Ruff... did you not get enough attention today?"  I walk over, scratch behind his ears, give him a big hug, and a couple smooches on the cheek.  Then, I look out the back window and see this.



Yep.  Those are my daughter's poopy diapers shredded all over my backyard.  Shredded by my dog who I am picturing shaking the poopy diapers back and forth in his mouth, slapping the sides of his face.  The same face that I just kissed.  Yep.  There are no words to describe how I felt at that moment.

After cleaning up my daughter's poo with my dog's Pooper Scooper I promptly took a shower and had some Thin Mints.  Because after the horror that just took place, I deserved it.

So, how was your day? 

Jesus loves me this i know

While I was putting on my make-up this morning I heard Izzy singing "Jesus Loves Me".  You should have seen me bolt down the stairs to grab the camcorder, I almost broke my neck sliding down the last few steps!  Thankfully, she wasn't alarmed by the sound of Mommy falling down the stairs and continued to sing her song while completely trashing our bedroom (I do take full responsibility for the bed not being made though).  Isn't it amazing how much damage they can do when you turn your back for a couple of minutes?!  Anyways, I can't get over how sweet it is to hear her little voice sing this song :) 

 

Oh, and did you notice the 50 hair clips she was wearing?  That's how she rolls.

H,I,J, and K are highly overrated

I was going through some videos I had taken of Izzy and came across a couple that made me laugh.

Here's one of her ABC's (minus the HIJK) 

ruffled chandy shades - tutorial

I don't think I love you anymore. 

And, to be honest, I never loved you.



That's the chandelier that came with the house.

It has never been replaced because I go back and forth about what I want to replace it with.  It's been almost 2 years, and I'm still not sure.  So, a temporary fix was in order.

The hanging beads were what drove me the most insane so I knew those HAD to go.  I didn't want to buy new shades because those darn things aren't as cheap as I'd like them to be for something that's just a temporary fix.

Here's what I came up with.

Ruffled Chandy Shades

I was a little worried it would look too frou frou, but figured it had to be better than those beads!  Over the past few months (I did this a while ago) it has really grown on me and I'm no longer madly hunting down new lighting :D

Here's what you'll need:

• chandelier shades

• fabric for the ruffles (the amount of fabric you need depends on the number of shades you have.  I had 8 shades and used about 1.5 yards of fabric)

• sewing machine and thread

• scissors

• glue gun and glue

STEP ONE: If your shades have any embellishment hanging off the bottom like mine did, RIP IT OFF! 

STEP TWO: Determine how many rows of ruffles you want on your shade.  I wanted three rows.  My shades are 4.5 inches from top to bottom, so the width of my strips were 1.5 inches (1.5" wide fabric strips x 3 rows = 4.5" of ruffled fabulousness).   



STEP THREE: Snip and rip (yes, I said rip) your fabric!  This way you will have nicely frayed edges and it will eliminate the need for finishing the sides.  Added bonus - it's way fun.  To do this so that the strips rip evenly you'll want to rip along the grain of your fabric.  The fabric I used was cotton and the grain ran along the length of the selvedge.  I snipped every 1.5 inches (the width I wanted my ruffles to be) along the cut portion of my fabric, and then ripped the snips open and down the length of the selvedge.  Here's a picture that might help explain.

STEP FOUR: Using a basting stitch on your sewing machine or the longest stitch length available (see your sewing machine's manual if unsure) sew straight down the middle of your strip of fabric.  Make sure NOT to back stitch at the beginning or end, and leave your threads long at the beginning and end.  I used white thread just so you would be able to see the stitch in the picture.  Use a thread color that matches your fabric.

STEP FIVE:  Pull on one of the threads (whichever one is easiest to pull) and create the ruffles.  You can pull them as tight or loose as you like.  Keep in mind, the tighter the ruffles, the more fabric you will need.



STEP SIX: Using your glue gun, glue on your first strip of ruffles to the top of your chandelier shade.  Run your bead of glue onto the shade where the center seam of your ruffle will lay.  This way the top and bottom edges of the ruffle will lay away from the shade.  Cut any remaining length of fabric just past where you began gluing, fold the edge under, and glue down.  Do this for the remaining rows and remaining shades.  This picture shows the center seam of the ruffle glued to the shade.

STEP SEVEN: Enjoy your new chandelier shades!



And just because I can't resist and good before and after

Ahhh... better!



Linking to:



 



    

this makes me smile

Izzy loves Gramma.

Gramma loves Izzy.

They both light up when they're together.

Gramma also likes teaching Izzy new things, like how to smell her own shoes and feet.

This makes me smile

Although weird :D