I Should Have Known

Well I should have known that hot gluing the wheels on the bottom of my magazine box wouldn't work.  The minute I put some magazines in it, one of the wheels popped off.  Then it started tearing up the wood on the bottom, so after repeatedly gluing it on thinking it might work if I try again, I had to come up with another plan.

So I mod podged some fabric on the bottom to cover up the broken wood. 

Purchased some brass screws like I should have in the beginning when I bought the wheels.  You would have thought the wheels would have come with screws!  I had to put a little piece of cardboard under them to make the screws not pop thru to the inside of the box.

And now finally my box is sturdy enough to hold my quilting magazines and books.  And as you can see it now holds Otis the Cat too!  He just loves getting into where he doesn't belong!

All I can say is at least the wheels didn't pop off!

It passed the Otis test!

Living Off The Land

Ethel called me one morning on her way to work told me there was a set of bunk beds along side the street. So before I went to work I ran over and picked them up.

They didn't have the side rails,

tried to sell them in a garage sale, didn't go!

Here's what I did with them.

A garden trellis

A good start for my little zuchinni and pumpkin plants.

And look at them now!

I love my cabbage in the old broken wheel barrel.

If it can hold dirt, it's getting a plant in it.

Ethels Auction Purchases

Ethels last two purchases,

The towel bar she is going to use on her kitchen island.

And the Crow is going to find a new home on top of her outhouse.

Oh yeah, the spoon too!

Ethel we would like to see some pictures!!!

Blessed

Another great card to live by.

A New Quilted Lined Magazine/Book Holder

At one of our auctions last month I got this odd little wooden box full of junk.  I didn't really want the junk that was inside of it, just the wooden box.  The more I looked at it I think it used to be a drawer because there are holes where handles must have been.

I couldn't understand why the inside of the box was so sticky, but then I saw that the bottom was covered in contact paper.  

So at one time the inside must have been too.

Easiest solution for that....mod podge.  I dug out some old fabric scraps I had and started gluing them on.

I learned the hard way that I made my fabric squares too small so that I would require lots and lots of them.  Two inch squares that I used pinking shears to cut.  Even though it took a little longer than I had hoped,

 I do like the finished look.

I applied two nice top layers of mod podge and then sanded it smooth after it was completely dry.  I then sprayed it with a Krylon Clear Coat.  I wanted it to easily move so I put wheels on the bottom of it.  There must have been something on the bottom before because you can see where the holes were.

The wood bottom was kinda thin, so I just hot glued the wheels on.  I'm hoping that they will hold.  I guess I'll let you know if they don't.  Finally I added a little trim to the upper ridge with glue.

Now I have a cute box to hold my quilting books and magazines.  Obviously when I get it completely filled up you won't get to see how the cute the mod podge fabric inside is, but I'll know it's there.  That's all that matters.  

A beautiful quilted lining to house my precious books and magazines.....Perfect!

Mabel Needs a Pintervention!

Did you ever wonder when you saw a greeting card or an e-card that described you perfectly if it wasn't written just for you?  Well Mabel did, and boy does this one describe her perfectly.

It is funny, every time we are together that is exactly how she starts her sentences!!  But as Pinterest gets more and more popular I know that she's not alone, and I'm not too far behind her!  If you haven't checked out Pinterest yet, what are you waiting for?

  (Ethel)

   (Mabel)

I Need Help!

It's time for an iron intervention.

The clock in my "studio" got unplugged,

 so I went under the bed to plug it back in. 

 I found two irons.  

I did a double take, looking back at my cutting table, thinking how did the two I just got get down here.

NO NO, that wasn't the case. 

And I have one I'm currently using.

No one in their right mind needs 5 irons.

Now I feel bad, because I did a small fist pump when I beat out the Amish lady bidding against me. 

Now her family will have wrinkly shirts.

How The Auction World Works

We have recruited a new player to our auction world.

I would tell this friend of ours, about our great finds. She would laugh at me and say you guys are crazy!

Well she decided to tag along last week.  

That's all it took!

She not only went to the one on Saturday morning, 

she also went to the Saturday evening one.

Yea, I'd say she's hooked!

She bid on some dishes in the morning and was a little upset  because she missed out.

I told her not to worry there will be more, and sure enough she found exactly what she wanted at the 4th of July auction.  That was her third auction, in one week!!!

  Ethel and I opted out of that one.  She was flying solo....  no I take that back her honey do went with her. 

 He's also hooked.  

He wanted to buy just because the items went so cheap.

  We are going to a great one this Saturday.

What am I saying........ they are all great!!!

Our recruit said to make sure we call her before we leave.

Here's how we go about picking which auction we want to go to:

Click on

www.auctionzip.com

Type in your zip code

A calendar will pop up, that will tell you how many auctions are on that day. 

Click on the day your interested in, 

NOT the live auctions.

All the auctions will be listed and on the right you should see 

"VIEW PHOTO GALLERY"

Click on that, and you will see what will be at that particular auction. Click on the item to enlarge.  As many photos as there are, remember there is always so much more there. 

Nine times out of ten the auctioneer will start high and drop down until someone places a bid. So don't get anxious and start bidding right away.  We like to sit back and see how low it goes. And then see how many are after it.  But ALWAYS,, ALWAYS have a price limit in mind. Unless you get like Ethel and they make her mad, then she will always spend more than she should have.  
If you miss out, you WILL see it again.  
I promise!

Give it a try and come and join us.

I guarantee you'll get hooked!

If you go post a comment and let us know how you liked it.

Another Great Auction Find

You may remember when I got my Kitchen Aid, which I considered to be the deal of a life time.

Thanksgiving night I stood in line at Kohls,

 with my coupons, the store discount, and my Kohls cash, and the 30.00 rebate per unit. 

I purchased two for Christmas gifts.  

At the cost of 70.00 each.

  Unheard of!

Now I think I paid to much! 

Because......

This weekend, I was at an auction.

DUH!

And this mixer was on the lot with a microwave.

Now the mixer was dirty, but not food dirty.

Like something sprayed it. 

When it came up for auction, I bid, and as I looked around everyone was

 walking away.

They both went for 10.00.

So I paid 5.00 for a Kitchen Aid Mixer. 

And 5.00 for the microwave. 

 Not a mark was on the mixer. 

You can see her proudly in front of her cousin Pearl.

She didn't have any bowls with her.

Don't worry I'll run across them.

This one is for my oldest.

Happy baking little girl!

Dressing Table Redo

This is my dressing room table.
Make-up central.
What a mess!
But this is where the metamorphosis begins each morning.

What a ugly way to start your morning!
But I had a vision!!!


We got these dishes at where else, Auction!
We didn't even want them, they came with a box of other things we were after.

We tried to sell them at our garage sale.

No go!

Had them stacked to take to Good Will, 

and then started playing around with them.

There were plates, candle sticks and tooth pick holders.

All crystal. 

I put them in the dishwasher, and they were beautiful.

A little Gorilla Glue, arranging and rearranging. 

And I think I got it. 

Who says you have to use these for dinner parties.

Isn't this a neat idea!

But after I stood back and admired my new creation, everything else made them look cheap.

I think you'll agree!

So I took everything off, right then and there. Hauled it down to the garage. Now referred to as the East Wing. 

With my garage door screen, we practically live out there.  And remember the bed is still out there.

Went to the "STUDIO"  

found the perfect fabric for the top.

And since I'm a Mod Podge expert now.

Slapped on the goop.

I ran back to my "studio" to see if I had anything for the skirt

Low and behold. 

Found a piece of fabric that was given to me. 

And of course I have the luck of all luck, as some would say. 

But I refer to it as being Blessed

Doesn't it look elegant?

It was a perfect match,
the dark blue lines in the skirt were the same color
as the background with the birds.
It was originally a fabric shower curtain.

Now the crystal dishes have 
a well deserving spot, to shine!!!

I think crystal is even prettier when the lights are dimmed.

The true color does not show here. 

 But the picture taken above in the garage is true.  

AFTER

I couldn't wait to do my make up the next morning at my pretty new dressing table.
I think I even looked prettier that morning.











The Winding Road

This was an auction purchase a while ago and it hangs in my sewing room (excuse me we are calling them studios now).  I love the sweet sentiment of the poem.  I have the best friends!

Old Sunday Favorite - Cinnamon Flops

This recipe was handed down from my grandmother Lucille, and my mother used to make it on Sunday mornings for us when I was growing up.  

Now my kids love it when I make it for them too.  

So simple and delicious, but you have to eat it when it has been freshly made, that's when it tastes best.

1 Cup Sugar

Butter the size of a Walnut

2 Cups Flour

2 Rounding Teaspoons of Baking Powder

Add 1 Cup Milk and Beat Well

Spread into two greased round cake pans.  Sprinkle the tops with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Dot the top with butter.  Here they are ready to go into the oven.

Bake at 400 degrees until done.

  Usually about 10-12 minutes.  

Check with a toothpick.   

And here they are warm from the oven and ready to be enjoyed by another generation of cinnamon flop lovers.

I sometimes add pecans on the top of one of them. 

 The rest of my family usually don't like the pecans, which then means there are more cinnamon flops for me!!

Enjoy them some Sunday morning with your family.