Mission Apron....DONE

Yep.....got the Apron finished over the weekend. I didn't bother with the sewing machine....just hand stitched it up. Here's what I did. Decide how long you need the chest part by holding the first towel up to your neck about where you'd like it to sit. This towel was wide so I folded the corners in and stitched them down. Add a ribbon loop. I opted for a closed loop but you could make two tails to leave it adjustable. Once you know how long....just stitch your bottom towel to the top half...add ties....and voila....DONE! It really only took about a half hour.

HeeHaw!! We will deliver it on Friday! Heehee....what FUN! I have tons of ribbon left so I think I'm gonna make myself one soon...my Dollar Tree has some super CUTE black checked towels for $1 each....so since I have the ribbon now ....it'll only take 2 bucks for a new apron for me! Woohoo...have you seen the cost of aprons lately? I can not find them for less than $15.00.

HAPPY MONDAY!!

Strange Sense of Humor

This will be funny. Around Christmas I posted a link on Facebook for the directions to a cute dish towel Apron. I have an old school chum who thought it was the weirdest thing ever....and has razzed me ever since..... it's become quite the joke! Well this friend sadly has been in and out of the hospital for weeks now and my Best friend and I have decided that the PERFECT cheer me up gift would be his very own handmade dishtowel Apron.....LOL! So yesterday my gal pal and I had lunch....picked out the perfect....as manly as we could make it.....dishtowels. I will be making it over the weekend and we plan to visit him to deliver his prize next week....as long as he feels up to the visit.....LOL!!! I'll snap a few pictures and let you know how it goes. There are no real directions that I have....although you can google it and find plenty of versions and styles. Just take two towels...use one length wise for the chest covering part....hold it up to you to see how long to make it then turn your second towel width wise. Center the top to the bottom and sew together. Add matching ribbon for the ties and away you go! My BFF found the chicken themed top (because our mutual friend has been so "cocky" about the whole thing....strutting about like he's just too darn good to receive a dishtowel apron....LOL) and we found a matching color bottom.....it'll be funny to see his face. Of course, we hope that it really brings him some CHEER ....with laughter and smiles! Wish us luck!!

Here's a link to a cute tutorial - I plan to make mine even more simple with no casing at the top...

Dish Towel Apron

I'll insert a photo later today of my supplies so you can get a rough idea what it'll look like.

Supplies:

Here's it all pinned together....I'll sew it up later.

Ball Jar Soap Dispenser

To make a ball jar soap dispenser you will need the following:

One small ball jar with lid and band
one old pump soap bottle


To make. Take the pump off your old soap bottle. Now cut out the part you screw the pump into with a little extra around the rim so you can hold it. This becomes how you attach it to your ball jar lid. Next punch a hole into the ball jar lid just slightly smaller than the pump screw hold piece. This part was kinda hard so hubby helped me with a hole punch and some metal snips. Attach pump to lid....secure underneath with plastic piece. You can glue it if you need to, or use a rubber o ring to snug it all up. Fill with liquid soap and enjoy! You can paint the whole lid any color you like with spray paint to match your decor. I left mine natural because the rusty color went well with my kitchen. These things are pricey in the Gooseberry Patch catalog...around $24.00!!! :O



If you want even more ball jar cuteness for your kitchen check out how to make ball jar salt and pepper shakers here:

Ball jar salt and pepper shakers

Rose's Beads

If you haven't met my new bloggie friend Rose over at I'm a Frugal Gal you simple have to stop on by during your daily cruise on the net! She is a wonderfully inspired frugalista! You will learn fun recipes and new ways to save $$$ and much more! Rose is super generous and is offering a free....yes FREE PDF right now to help you with your Christmas gift making and giving called Gifts in a Jar Recipes and Ideas check out her blog post for the download, you don't want to miss it!!

I think this is the perfect year to bless those on your gift list with something lovingly made with your own two hands! I just love homemade handmade Christmas's!! Rose is also very talented in Lampworking. Lampworking is making beautiful handmade glass beads. Check out her post here to learn more about this interesting art!! I happen to make and sell handmade earring through eBay here and there. There are plans for a website in the near future...so stay tuned dearest readers! Rose was so very generous to send me a sample of her work-OMGosh-they are simply beautiful! You MUST see them!!

Here's an up close of a few that weren't mounted yet....look at those colors!!

Here's the rest of the beautiful beads made into earrings!!

What FUN...thank you so much Rose for the beautiful beads!!

The pictures honestly don't do justice for the beautiful rich colors in her beads!! I so need a better camera~

Handmade Happiness !

Over the next few weeks I'm gonna be listing some handmade earrings on eBay! You'll be able to see them through the eBay link in the top right sidebar. I have thought about an etsy shop but simply haven't had time to check them out! If anyone is interested there will be some really cute items at really good prices. These would make lovely Christmas gifts for teachers, office party exchanges, family, friends and even super cute low cost stocking stuffers! I know, I know....Christmas already?? Well it's never too early to start...in fact it's even better to get it all done early! Good luck if you bid and thanks for looking!!

Glass Jar Picture Frames

Really EASY craft + great recycle use= one cute frugal display.

You will need:

Cleaned jars of various sizes and shapes
pictures
scissors
Cut pictures to fit the height of your jar and insert. How cute is that? See I told ya it was easy. You can flip the jars either way...if you have the top open where the rim is....I would tie some cute ribbon around and let some dangle down or raffia for a natural look. I'm thinking about saving a bunch more and filling one whole shelf on my bookcase....if I do I'll snap a photo later!!


Have a GREAT weekend!

A Little Patriotic Somethin' Somethin'

Just a few shots from the gussied up kitchen and dining room area. Even though we aren't hosting anything like I thought we were for the 4th of July...I felt the house needed just a bit. My kids enjoy when we put little things up..I enjoy it...and heck who doesn't need a little more JOY in their day? I don't really have many decorations for the 4th of July except 3 small flags on a stick...two my twin boys brought home from school and one from the desk of a girl my MIL home schooled last year and one tinsel type thingy off a cake. I didn't want to spend any money. All the supplies I already had at home. So I got out a sharpie pen in black, some red white and blue construction paper and printed just a few freebies off the web. Scissors, some glue and about 20 mins produced enough decorations to catch the patriotic spirit! We have a party on the 3rd with my side and have just decided to go see a special movie out with the kids. Do you decorate for the 4th of July?


























On the fridge is a printable on Pray For America by Nancy Leigh DeMoss at Revive Our Hearts Ministries Here's the link for the colorful and fitting Red White and Blue Printable. Pray for America Pritable


Hope you are having a wonderful day!!

Moxie

Junk Mail Book Marks #2

This version is only slightly different than the first. You need basically the same items with a few extras:
Junk Mail envelopes
a straight edge
Scissors
Glue
Pretty paper or used cards

The process is the same. Cut your triangle off the corners. Only this time we are going to cut out a cute picture or piece or pretty wrapping/craft paper to glue to the front. Colored funnies from the newspaper are cute too...I have also used images from all the beautiful seed catalogs I get each spring....it seems such a shame to throw out all those glossy pictures!
Supplies: I decided to use up some cute cat birthday cards that the kid's Ganny had sent to them.

After you cut your corner, lay it over the image where you'd like it. Trace around the corner marker with pencil. Then cut this out and simply glue it to your corner marker. Use and ENJOY!! I gave these two to the children who originally got the cards....this makes a fun, useful memento and a dear reminder of Granny!



Christmas cards make some cute book marks too! Before you pitch them...if any of the images really catch your eye, why not save them to make some of these. You can also just make a more traditional bookmark by cutting your card into a rectangle and then punching a single hole on the top...then just string some matching yarn through for a tassel....very cute too. Christmas cards make a fun little Christmas ornament too!

~Moxie

Junk Mail Book Marks #1

This is a fun way to make something useful out of all the junk mail you get. I'll show one way today and do a second post later with an alternative creation. It's really simple and I think fun. I am a self confessed bookie and I love books! I don't like to "dog ear" pages on most books....although on some really used cookbooks, I do. This quick book mark is one that you can not only use while reading but you can keep them in the book to hold pages. Here's what you'll need:

Junk Mail envelopes
a straight edge
Scissors
Colored pencils

Cut both corners off your envelope to form a triangle. Make a pretty color or design on the front. To use- open the pocket up and put on the corner of the page you want to mark....I usually put a few extra pages in there too it seems to hold better. I like to zip the envelope corners off and just throw the undecorated markers into a big basket I have to be decorated later, but you can also just leave them plain too. If you're a Granny or Mom you could let the kids color them with their own creations that you will get to see each time you open your book....what FUN!

Supplies:

Cut corners off:

Decorate:

Use:


Enjoy!!
~Moxie

Frugal FUN: Personalized Nail Polish

I've been wanting to try gray nail polish...and keep seeing it around.....but not in the cheapo brands of polish I buy....only in the higher end stuff. I just cannot bring myself to pay more than a buck or two for nail polish. So I got out my little box of nail polishes and decided to have some fun!! I had a near empty bottle of my most favorite color...it's called Champagne Frost by Sally Hansen. Then I have this white frost by LA Colors that I wore once or twice and just thought it was too white. I also saw that I had the LA colors art deco polish in black....you use this thing to draw little designs on already painted nails. I didn't see me using this polish all up before it went bad....so I decided to throw myself a little mixology party! I took the white and poured about half into the near empty bottle of my favorite color....shook that up well and got a half bottle of a slightly lighter shade of the favorite. I then mixed 5 drops of the black polish into the white pearl and shook it up....hmmm too light....so I added 10 more drops and shook away. PERFECT!! Looks just like the colors I was seeing at the mall for $$6.99 and UP!! I am just tickled pink (or gray) about this!!! It was all FREE and used things I already had! So if you have nail polish colors that just don't suit you or half bottles left....try mixing them together for something new! The LA colors brand is cheap and can be found in most Dollar General stores...you cold invest in black and white to lighten or darken shades you already have. You can also add dry pigment makeup colors to light or clear polishes for a color change up....say you have an eyeshadow color that you hate or is just too old for your eyes...smoosh it up into a powder and add some to your polish for a free change up here's a nice video showing the process!




~Moxie

Ball Jar Salt and Pepper Shakers

When we redid the Kitchen I made some quick little salt and pepper shakers to match with the rest of the colors in the room. It's something quick and easy! Just take two ball jar jelly jars and poke some holes in the top with a nail. I then spray painted the tops a hunter green to match my kitchen- you could do whatever colors you like. That's it-pretty quick and simple!! These are actually pretty nice and hold a lot of product so you don't have to fill them as often. Enjoy!

~Moxie

Blog Shout Out!!

I bought myself a beautiful beaded necklace from Happy Hermit for Christmas from her Fruit Of Her Hands Website. It is really beautiful and good quality work .....her prices are great! I have done bead work in the past and it is very labor intensive. If you are a fan of beautiful beaded jewelry why don't you stop on by and give her items a look see! They were nicely packaged and shipping was fast. Here's what I got ...it's called Lazy Daisy! So pretty!! I love it Happy Hermit

~Moxie

Brownie Cookies

We are going to take my children's' Great Granny out on a car tour this weekend to see the beautiful lights in her area. I wanted to take a quick gift of brownie cookies along with us. These are really quick and simple because they start with a boxed mix, use your favorite brand...you can add mini chocolate chips and walnuts too. You can also opt to leave the powdered sugar off....but I think for Christmas they look pretty this way.

Quick Brownie Cookies

1 Box Brownie Mix

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup oil

3 Tablespoons water

2 eggs

powdered sugar

Mix all till combined then chill dough till firm....about 1 hour. Put enough powdered sugar into bowl to roll dough in. Drop by rounded teaspoonful into powdered sugar....roll gently with fingers to coat then place on pan. I use non stick. You may need to grease yours if not. Bake about 10 mins till set....they will look not wet when just done....don't over do it!

For a quick presentation I punched some holes in a paper plate...ran some burgundy yarn through and tied a nice ribbon. Then placed it in a gallon sized zipper bag. The tag is a simple star cut from a brown paper grocery sack then I used my sharpie marker to make fake stitching and a quick note! Kinda country cute and Easy :) Share some home baked LOVE with someone dear today!!

~Moxie

My First Crochet Project!!

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks!! Crochet is something I've always wanted to try. My Mom is a master crocheter .....but never really taught me the skill. I tried once or twice on my own when younger...but never followed through. So enter the internet, a great blog...the library and some DVD's! The Blog Learn to Crochet has really good information...plus she's got some great starter video's on youtube. I'm doing pretty good with it but it will need MUCH practice. I wear these little hair scrunchies so that was my first project. Plus I just knew I needed something fast to get done with quickly....a big blanket takes a long time and I wanted something done quickly to keep me motivated...LOL! Here it is:

Frosty Punkins

Pumpkins

Punkins in honor of Mr. James Whitcomb Riley (1853–1916) It is tradition on my DH's side to read this poem during the fall. Thank you to Mom and Dad M. for opening up their home and letting us all gather for wonderful family fellowship and to C. and A. for providing the pumpkins for all the kids!!! Enjoy!!

When the Frost is on the Punkin

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best,
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here—
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees,
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock—
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin' of the tangled leaves as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries—kindo' lonesome-like, but still
A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;
The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;
The hosses in theyr stalls below—the clover overhead!—
O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps
Is poured around the cellar-floor in red and yaller heaps;
And your cider-makin's over, and your wimmern-folks is through
With theyr mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and sausage too!...
I don't know how to tell it—but ef such a thing could be
As the angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me—
I'd want to 'commodate 'em—all the whole-indurin' flock—
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

We carved our pumpkins and had such a wonderful fun filled fall evening with the family. Who doesn't love fall...well I'm sure there's a few out there who don't....but I'm not one of them!

We roasted the pumpkin seeds this year too. If you have never tried this you really should! They are SO good (and not to mention so good for you) and cost way too much at the store! Plus you were going to throw them away anyway, right? So why not :)

Recipe:
Wash your pumpkin seeds in a colander...get as much pulp off as possible...then rinse. They will still feel slimy but that's OK and normal. Dry them some in a towel then dump into a large bowel. Coat with olive oil -how much depends on how many seeds you do. Just coat them well....this helps the salt stick and keeps them from sticking to the pan. Sprinkle with sea salt. Cook in a single layer in a 325 oven for 30 to 50 mins....turning every 10 mins. You want them to dry out and be a light golden brown color....SO GOOD! You can add things like garlic and herbs when you add the salt...or go sweet and add sugar and cinnamon...we like them savory here more!

Happy Fall Y"All