BENCH REDO

A sweet little friend and her funny little dog, 

gave me this bench, she didn't want anymore.

It had cane on the seats, and overtime wore away.

It even folds up. 

Neat!

I have had it in my yard, as is for a couple of years.

My husband said, "Debbie it's time"

 Not gonna happen Ray!

A little glue and a few nails and I got it back together.

The ants that had taken up residency in all the crevasses ,

were NOT happy.  

 Left over paint. 

This project only cost me 5.00 for material.

I purchased 1/2 yard of outdoor fabric and made strips,

 then stapled them on.

THANK YOU 

THANK YOU 

THANK YOU PAM. 

I LOVE IT!!!
THERE IS GOING TO BE A SURPRISE FOR YOU AT YOUR BACK DOOR!

EAR BUD/CHANGE HOLDERS

 My first attempt at a zipper. The zipper wasn't the one they suggested to use, but I had it on hand and was excited to get after it. It worked!  

Never knew you could sew right over them.

It's a little over 3" cute as it could be!

Here is the correct size zipper, and these were for my other daughter and her husband.  I got better as I did more.  

Only took about an hour. 

I put a little ring on the pull tab and they can attached it to their keys.

I've made several they are fun quick gifts!

Here's the how to link:

http://erinerickson.com/2011/11/circle-zip-earbud-pouch-tutorial/

PALLET TABLE

My long legged granddaughter could no longer fit into her Little Tikes picnic table. 

They love to play with their farm outside in the summer, so Mimi saw this on Pinterest, and went to work.   

I  ripped apart the third pallet, and used the slats to fit in between the gaps on the top. 

Had to cut down to 3/4 to 1 1/8" wide.  

Love my table saw!

Didn't want any cows to fall in the cracks.

I had left over stain from my front door, and my Sissy came over and started applying it for me, 

while I put on the casters. 

See how the ripped down slats fit, juuust right!

And Papa and Hunter didn't waste any time putting it to use.

Even though Papa laughed at me when he saw me come home with the pallets.

  

Drilled a hole for the umbrella, and can you believe the plastic bin that houses the farm, 

fits perfect in between the pallets. 

 You'd think I planned it that way.

Everything always works out!

Can't wait for Raegan to see it!

And her long legs will fit now!

PINK VINTAGE SEWING MACHINE

Check out this little vintage beauty.

Clean as a whistle!

(What does that mean anyhow?)

Went to an auction, of course, picked her up for 5.00

I swear it must weigh 50lbs.

All metal parts, 

they sure don't make them like that anymore.

Yes it works.

It will probably last forever, like that first microwave I purchased back in 1980. 

It's as big as a 19"TV.

That sucker won't stop working.

I think I will name her Penny.

HUNTER AT THE ART MUSEUM

My grandson and I had some time to kill 

in Cleveland, and we went to the Art Museum. 

He loved it. 

I was really surprised at how he studied the art work.

 Hunter just may become an artist some day.

This one really took his interest, 

it was a painting of the Noah's Ark story. 

He said, "Mimi I learned that at Bible study."

This is my favorite, then again I love Monet. 

JEWELRY BOX

I had a nice jewelry box, with all the drawers for earrings, bracelets, and rings.  It stored everything, but I couldn't see everything at once because it was hidden away in the drawers. So I would wear the same thing all the time.

I wanted something I could open and see it all. I know they make the ones that have the mirror on the front. 

I got one for my daughter and loved it. 

But I would never spend

 the 200.00 I spent on that for myself.

I knew I could make my own with a little wood and hooks.

Here is what I came up with.

I had this hall tree with the built in mirror and shelves.

See the white heart behind the light on the left.

That was my Valentines card from Ray one year.

He forgot to get me one and took the cover from the chocolates he got for his mother

 and wrote 

"Happy Valentines Day, I love you" on it.

It's a keeper!

 I figured I'd use it for my jewelry box stand.

Perfect fit in my dressing room in between the lights.

 Next I made a box with some salvage wood 

I purchased for 1.60 at Menards.

I didn't put a back on so that the mirror would be exposed.

That was the only cost for this project.

I had everything else!

Yeah!!!

 I had these shutters and painted them a green.  

I don't like the color,  I'll change that later.  

I was anxious to complete so just left it.

I sprayed the frame and screwed the shutter to it.

I know they should have been turned around to hide the hinges, but I didn't want the bars that open and close the shutters to be seen.  I just left them.

Added a couple shelves for support. 

And screwed in a bunch of hooks for my chains.

Rushed home to put on the hall tree.

And if you look you can see there is about 4 inches 

of the shelf exposed.

Using only 3 inch depth for the sides kept the door from opening all the way.

It hit the bar on the side.  

I was not happy.

I walked away for my project for about 2 hours.

I realized I needed to make it deeper.

Went back to my shop and found some wood I had already had, and made a new box.

That gave me room to put hooks on the side.

I would not have been able to sleep if 

I hadn't completed it that night.

It was fun arranging all my jewelry.

Here's a view closed. 

I have been wanting to paint my dressing room for some time. This has motivated me.  

I had a couple of chains I hung on the hooks 

and put all my dangle earrings on.

Behind the chains, is a T bar to hold some of my bracelets.

Below the chains, I had an old display 

that was used for the post earrings.

The black background is metal, so magnets will go there.

I have some precious things my children made me when they were younger.

Here's another T bar that's shorter on the top shelf.

Check out the surprised look on the Santa pin my youngest made me for Christmas one year.

 She threatened me if I threw it away. 

You should see some of the jewelry I found.

I was embarrassed!

I'll post it later.

My Troll beads on little dowel rods, with rubber stoppers I got from the plumbing section.

I need to finish off the edge of the wood.

The shelf on the bottom has a clear sewing case Ethel gave me for all my pendants. And the round glass votive,

 houses all the extra backs to my earrings.

And that my friends is my homemade jewelry box.

All I have left to do is the raw edges of the box, 

and a pretty knob.

T- SHIRT RUG

Saw this method on... 

where else,

Pinterest!

  

But they used denim.  

Thought that might be a little rough on the piggys. 

And I have made a few t-shirt quilts, and can't bare to throw any of the scraps away.  I have drawers full, bags full, and hidden under the bed scraps,

 knowing full well I would use them some day. 

Well today's the day!

I took an old towel. Perfect size for on the side of bed. 

Or bath mat!

I want to do an all white one.

Drew a 1" grid all the way around with a sharpie.

I'm sure you could go in any direction.

But your spacing needs to stay consistent for full coverage.

Dug out the stash. Decided to use OSU colors. 

Or PHS colors.

Stacked and cut 1"x 2" rectangles.

Grabbed what ever color was on top. 

I layered black, grey, red, white, before I cut them.

Then I just piled the little stacks on top of one another..

Center a piece on the line.

 

Gather it up and just sew!

I followed the measurement on the directions. I think you may be able to cut the pieces a little longer than 2" but you have to keep in mind, you need to see the line to follow. 

The denim may have been a little hard to gather, so it was best at that size. After I completed one time around, I sewed it again, just to secure it.

On my next one I will try to cut the pieces a little longer.

Start in the center seemed to work best.  

There wasn't any bulk in the throat of the machine. 

I just kept sewing in a circular direction.

Instant Gratification!

It feels fantastic on the pigs.

When I get to the end, I will put a backing piece of what every I have on and bind like a quilt.

I'm sure it would be fine without the backing, but I think it will give it a more finished look.