Inspired

Have you ever played blocks with your children, or even by yourself?
You probably recall the wooden block set, that was filled with squares,
rectangles, arches and pillars. I loved playing with blocks, building
all sorts of cool places, but I have to say I had always wished there
was a bit more to them.
My friend Jackie is an amazing and inspiring artist. I love all that she
creates. It's unique and whimsical and a lot of times, three-dimensional.
She has created a fantastic set of blocks that has a picture on every side.
Sometimes it's a staircase or a detailed window or a plant. No matter
which way you turn the blocks, there is something there. They are
magnificent.It makes me want to sit on the floor and create wonderful
houses. The possibilities are endless.
If you would like to check out her site and see all of her wonderful
creations, this is her web address:
http://www.jacquelinehaltom.com/Site/index.html
Enjoy perusing her site and get inspired from the imaginative,
creative way she works with paper, ink, and any sort of three-dimensional
item she can find.

Have a wonderful weekend,
Carrots

Powerless

I have to apologize for the fact that Friday is almost over and I'm just now putting my TGIF post. We had quite a storm last night (actually very early this morning) and we were without power, pretty much all day. But I suppose, better late than never.
With Mother's Day right around the corner, I decided to make something for my mom. This is a fairly quick project and I thought I would share it with you. I used only what I had, which usually requires me to be more creative. I find with so many fabrics on hand, it's silly for me to go out and purchase more. The only thing I had to purchase for this project was the stuffing, which I was fresh out of. I haven't finished the project, due to the lack of electricity, but I will get it done quickly in the morning. I'm almost there. Oh, I suppose I should get back to what I'm doing.
This will be a decorative pillow. My mom has a wonderful antique wooden church pew in her sitting room and when I last visited her, I noticed it was in need of something. When thinking about what I could do for her, this project came to mind. I used fabrics that match the colors in her room and I chose the word Gratitude, because I am very grateful for my mother. I took a piece of muslin fabric, wrote the word gratitude with a fabric marker (the kind that erases after a bit) then cut off the edges, 2 inches out from the first and last letters. (Take a moment to decide about how big you want your pillow to be) I then picked out two complimentary fabrics I thought would go well with her room, and cut them into strips and sewed them around the edges of the muslin. (be creative in this area, when I have made one of these before I did a few fabrics and cut them in various sizes and pieced them together for a more scrappy look) I then cut out some batting (you could also use felt or flannel) and a piece of scrap fabric for the back. I pinned them together and did a basic straight stitch for the letters, in a dark, doubled thread. I used a button for the i, but you could also do applique' or something else creative. I then quilted a 1/4 inch straight line around the seams, for added cuteness, and if I hadn't procrastinated, I would have done something a bit more whimsical for the quilting...such as stars or swirlies. My next step (now that I have the power) will be to cut off the rough edges, and sew on the back piece of the pillow. Cut out your back fabric the same size as the front piece (you can also piece together some bits of fabric) and put your right sides together then sew up three sides, leaving one of the short ends open. Turn it right side out, pulling out the corners, then stuff with fluff. I am using poly-fil (I bought two bags, I'm not sure how much it will take) then blind stitch up the open edge. Voila, you're done. A quick little gift that has your own unique, fun flair to it.
Other words you can use: Simplify, Joy, Love, Peace, Grace. A great way to get your word onto your fabric is to find a font you like on your computer, make it the size you want, then print it out in black. Tape the paper to a window (during the day) then put your muslin (or other light fabric) over it and trace the word with a washable fabric pen. This is a great way to get the lettering you like. Or if you're like me, you can just wing it and make it up as you go. :D
If you have any questions, let me know.
Again, I hate to be so late getting this to you. I did time myself though, and altogether it's only taken me 2 hours. I have probably an hour more of work to do, and I'll be done. My total cost: Approx. $5.00 for the fluff. Not bad!
Have a Wonderful Mother's Day!

Power Carrots

Flapping Undies

A Tip of Frugalness.
In these times of tightening our budgets and pinching our pennies, here's a simple way to keep some of those pennies in your pocket.
With Summer coming our way quickly, the warmer weather and sunshine is something you can take advantage of. If you have the space, hanging your clothes out to dry can save you approximately .75 cents per load. I typically do 2 to 3 loads per day, 5 days per week. That's a savings of $7.50 - $11.25 per week. Over the course of the Summer that can add up to $90.00 - $135.00, that's just for 3 months. How awesome is that?
Not to mention, if you do it right, you will be getting added exercise. Carrying a load of wet laundry all the way out to your yard. Squatting down to pick up each item, don't forget to tighten those buns when you stand up, twisting to put the item on the line and stretching your arms to pin the items. If you wear your bathing suit, you can get some good sun, as well as the fresh air.
I typically set my timer for about a half an hour, so I can check and see if it's ready. I like to get mine off the line before it's entirely dry, then I pop it in the dryer with a dryer sheet for about 10 minutes, so it'll be a bit more fluffy.
If you live in an apartment and can't hang your clothes out, you can use drying racks instead. It takes a bit more time to dry though.
Save money, save energy, get some fresh air and exercise. Yippee!
And I must say, there is something completely satisfying about this old fashioned way of drying your clothes. On a hot summer day, the cool, damp clothes feel good against your skin and it helps you to take a minute, slow down and enjoy the moment.

Have a Fabulous Friday,
oh and Happy May Day!

Carrots on the Clothesline

No Bikini's Allowed

Today is the T.G.I.F. and it's Marie's turn, but sadly she was called away on an emergency trip. I don't think she'll have time to post, so I thought I'd fill in. Because I am not totally prepared for this....should have thought ahead, I am going to tell you a story, that will hopefully be a good TIP for you or at least make you smile!!

A couple of years ago, I decided to take a very part-time job at the library, as a Page. I was the one who put away all of the returned books...I loved this job, mostly because I love books and I got to see everything available. Anyway! When putting away books, it's a lot of squatting up and down, bottom shelf, top shelf and so on. I had very recently (before starting this job) purchased a few sassy pairs of bikini underwear. Cute underwear makes me happy, I don't know why! So, I'm putting away books, la-ti-da and going along, no big deal right? I get to the front of the library and I have a large stack of paperbacks to put away, up and down, up and down. Finally, I reach the end of my stack, stand up straight, and holy moly...my fabulous bikini underwear is in a nice roll, no longer on my hiney, but now directly under it, resting at the bottom of my cheeks. Recall, if you will, I was at the very front of the library, the bathrooms were all the way in the back....people in between. There is nothing sexy about a wad of bikini underwear resting snugly under your bum. I decided then and there, that this would be a good time to sidle. Feeling like a Secret Agent on a mission, I kept the wall at my back and looked cautiously around, til I finally made it to the bathroom. No one was the wiser. (I think, I hope!)

Tip for the day:

Squatting and bikini underwear, don't mix. Maybe when I'm thinner this won't be the case, I may give it a whirl, but for now I am back to Industrial Sized Underwear.

Have a truly pleasant weekend. Enjoy a lovely stroll, if weather permits!

That's where I'm headed!

Carrots in Big Underwear :D

T.G.I.F.

It's Friday, whoa, what the heck, how did it get here this quick? In my first post, I wrote that on Friday's Marie and I would be trading off with our Tips, Goodies, Inspirations and Frugalness ideas. T.G.I.F. Today is my day.

A few weeks ago I was rearranging my living room and noticed that after moving furniture around, the wainscoating was in huge need of a new paint job. A friend of mine had given me a can of paint about a year ago, that she'd picked up on the sales rack for $5.00. On the lid, the color looked to be a sweet Sage Green. Thinking this would be fantastic with my wallpaper, I grabbed it and started stirring and stirring. Hmmm....not green. More like a washed out yellow.

Being on a budget and knowing I could make this happen, I was not about to make a 40 minute trip to the store and spend money, when I had a perfectly good can of paint in front of me. I dug through my trunk of acrylic paints and found a few that I thought would help me achieve the color I wanted. Black, Royal Blue, Bright Yellow. I squirted a little in and kept stirring. It resulted in a fantastic Sage-ish Green color, that matches perfectly to my wallpaper. I love it so much, I am planning to use the rest of it to paint my dining room.

So, my Tip of Frugalness for this week is, before you run to the Hardware store and spend $20.00 or so dollars on a gallon of paint, look around see what you have and improvise. It's like being a kid again, fingerpainting and swirling all your colors together. It's fun to see what you can come up with, then give it a "flashy" name and when people ask what color your wall is, you can say, oh it's Sage and Celery. Pretty flashy, huh? :)

P.S. An extra tip, if you want the color to be a bit muted, add black. Do it slowly, while you stir, this will help to tone it down a notch.