"Fancy Skirt"

I found this mini skirt at the thrift store. The material was in great shape, and the colors were still bright, so I made it into a new skirt for Kadie.
Before: After:

She calls it her "fancy skirt".

Skirt Refashion

Jess at Craftiness is Not Optional always does the cutest refashions from skirts she's thrifted, so I've been hunting for skirts lately when I do my own thrift shopping. And here's the first one I've done!
This skirt was $5.00 I used this tutorial, only my sleeves being slightly different.

It was so easy, it took about a half hour to do! Oh, I'll be doing a lot more of these!!

Cooking up a storm

I've been cooking like crazy lately. Well, actually, I always cook like crazy. I love cooking. I do it for work, for family, and for fun. But lately I've been cooking up all the family favorites, even the ones I only usually do on special occasions, and of coarse the traditional family recipes. I'm putting them all together into a cookbook. I have cookbooks and cooking magazines all stuffed into one cupboard, and a good portion of them only have a few "must have" recipes. So I'd really like to get rid of those particular ones. And I like cookbooks a whole lot more when they have pretty pictures. So I'll continue to try making my pictures pretty. And hopefully I'm succeeding! I mean, a good percentage of my job as a chef is making the food look pretty!!

I'll be using the same program I used to make this one for my sister. And maybe some of my family will want a copy. Well, I'm going to go cook some more. I've got a lot more recipes to go!!

Upholstered headboard

When Mr. J and I got married, we inherited a king sized bed frame and boxspring. No headboard. So we had made a headboard out of a flat door. My husband got some small molding and made raised panels, got some corner molding and 1x4 and made a decorative "shelf" on the top. We painted it black, and loved the end result.
Then after a couple years of that, we decided to change it up, and go with an upholstered headboard A little more comfortable to lean against when sitting in bed at night. Again, with a door. After having that for a couple years (I change my mind often), I wanted to just change it up slightly, especially with a new house.
So here's what I did: used the same headboard from our last house, and tufted it. Simple, yet a fun difference.

This is the headboard from before. We made this with a flat door. We bought some foam about 3 inches thick from the craft store, some badding, and some cream home decor fabric. We cute the foam so it was a few inches longer and wider then the door (we had to put two pieces together, so underneath there is a seam.) We sprayed the front of the door with spray adhesive and stuck the foam right on. To make it a bit smoother after the fabric was on, we sprayed the foam with adhesive and wrapped the front with badding. Then we laid the fabric out, placed the door front-side-down on top of it, pulled it all to the back, and stapled it with a heavy duty staple gun. Then we just mounted it to the wall! Easy!

Now, years later, I decided to tuft it. I bought some buttons from the fabric store, and just trimmed some of the excess fabric off of the back of the headboard to use.
Then I measured on the back where I wanted to buttons to go and marked it. Next, we just drilled the holes, and then put some screws right next to each hole. I got a nice, big quilting needle and heavy duty thread and sewed the buttons on (a very difficult task when you're trying to find the hole on the other side of a 3 inch wide door! But I got the hang of it after a while. Discovered the "tricks") After pulling the thread all the way through, I wrapped it around the screw and tied it off.
After doing it 15 times, I had my tufted headboard!!And we mounted it to the wall again. We had two holes in the back on each side, screwed in some extra long screws in the wall, and just hung it. Then, my husband got another extra long screw and at the bottom (where it's below the bed level so you can't see it) in the center, screwed right through the entire headboard and into the wall. That sucker's not going anywhere!

And that's just one more addition to my bedroom! It looks nice and is a lot cheaper then buying a headboard, that's for sure!! Especially when you can buy an old door at the thrift store for only a few bucks!

Bedroom updates:

I finally finished the stenciling on the wall in my bedroom so I can share it now!! I, of coarse, got the idea from All Things Thrifty, and made my own stencil. I used a sponge instead of a brush and did the paint a little lighter in some spots. I wanted it to look slightly more rustic, like it was fading with age. I don't like to make things look perfect. I'm too much of a perfectionist, and would just go crazy over it. But if it's "supposed" to look imperfect, then I'm happy. I'm weird.
I was going to do the whole wall, but it's a big wall, and I when I got above the bed finished (I started in the middle instead of at one end like Brooke did), I kind of just liked it just above the bed, and decided to stop there!! Do you think I should have finished the wall?? I always second guess EVERYTHING I do. It's a disease. I got the three mirrors above the bed at the thrift store. They are originally from Ikea, and were still in the packages. $3 a piece.

My husband and I also made the headboard ourselves. I'll have more on that tomorrow!

It's so much more closer!! Now I desperately need to figure out a bed skirt!! To make? To buy? To buy and refashion?? So many ideas, now enough execution.

So, how are you liking the room??

Amazing deliciousness...

Forget boxed brownies. These are just as easy to make, and even more delicious. I've been making these a lot lately. My husband is a brownie lover, and these are his new favorites. Get the recipe HERE.

Finds for Gavin's room

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend!! (If you live in the States, that it.) I spent most of my day shopping. Ah, the life.

I FINALLY found the Pottery Barn bedspread I was looking for to go in Gavin's room at an outlet mall. Problem is, it's a king size when I only need a twin! But I got it anyway for $99. So, I'm going to cut it down and finish off the edges with coordinating binding. I figured I could use the extras for a sham and some pillows. I also found a Pottery Barn sham on sale for $6 the matches and HAPPENED to have Gavin's name embroidered on it!! Woo hoo!! Although, it also has a big appliqued ship on it, which just isn't the route I want to go for the room, so I'll be picking that off, and adding a little something of my own. The results for both of those will (hopefully) be coming soon! I also had to share this awesome metal basket I found at a Home Goods store! $10. And it will go perfect in his room as well!

I bought some metal/rustic airplanes, tractors, car, etc. at Hobby Lobby to put in as well!! It's coming along nicely!! Hopefully I'll have some pictures to share soon!

Thrifty Jackpot!!

Yesterday I won the thrifty lottery! Check out what I found. Three vintage sheets (queen size) and two vintage pillowcases. The pillow cases are my favorite!! Now, what to do with all of them!?

I love on these two sheets, the lace trim! Ca-ute! I'll definately have to make a pillowcase dress out of each of these!!
I am in love with this small crocheted doily. It's going to have to be used for something REALLY good!

I found some fabric, some doilies, and a couple vintage lace table doilies (for some reason, my mind is spacing what they're really called).
The package of fabric that held these had quite a few not so great fabrics. But for a few yards of each of these for $3.00 was worth inheriting some extra hideous fabric. I'll find some pointless use for it!

I found these cool canister/jars, now the question is, "craft room or kitchen?"
The plates will have their own special project they're being used for! Shh...can't tell...

The candle sticks will be getting a makeover. And the milk glass...well, I'm a sucker for milk glass. They'll be used for decor accents.

I've been collecting frames for ANOTHER hush-hush project. And the two little mirrors...well, I'm not sure yet. Added to the wall of mirrors?? For another wall of mirrors?? Or for something different entirely?? I dunno yet...

Pretty successful thrift store trip, if I do say so myself.

What thrifty things have you found??

Little peek...

With this link, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to figure out what I'm doing! The end result will be coming soon! Hopefully it turns out like I want!