Heirloom Party

Today I am participating in Marie's Heirloom Party. I dont really have any family heirlooms. None that were actually passed down to me, knowing they were an heirloom. But when my mom passed away, I took a few things that I know were in the family, but unfortunatly, I know nothing about them. I dont know how old they are, or where they came from, or who might have used them. But they are special to me, and I hope to pass them on to my kids, making them heirlooms for sure.

This is a 2 quart churn. The raised letters on the front say Dazey Churn & Mfg. Co. at the top of the circle, and below they say No. 20 Made in St. Louis - USA.

I do remember seeing this in my grandmothers house, but never bothered trying to find out more, or really asking anything about her past. I was 16 when she passed away, and I regret not learning more about her. She would be 95 this year.

Oh to have her here now. The stories I could learn about and the treasure she had. I didnt realize it then, but looking back now, she had some amazing things. I miss her. I wish she could have known my children.

This little Singer sewing machine also comes from her side of the family. From looking it up a little online, I think I remember seeing this one came out in 1914. That's the year she was born. She had siblings, but I cant remember if she had an older sister or not. Maybe their mother got it for them? Maybe it was an older sisters? I will never know. My mother passed away when I was 21, and I still hadnt come around to asking about the past at that point. Yet another thing I regret. There really isnt anyone else in the family to learn much from. I do have an aunt that came to live with my mother when she was in her teens. Her mother died, leaving 13 or so children to be split up among family members.

I've wondered what these might be worth, but could never part with them!

It still has the needle in it.

So there you have it, my two most valued family heirlooms. Be sure to check out Marie's blog for more great Heirlooms!

An Owl Re-Do

Awhile back, actually, probably a year or more ago, I picked up a couple of owl things here and there. I got these two little guys at the thrift store. The owls themselves are the same, just with different finishes. I had them at work on my shelf. I was looking at them the other day and decided to bring them home and spruce them up a bit.

I got the owl painting from Shop Goodwill for $1. Yea, it's pretty 70's and very bright, but I thought the owl himself was kind of cute. Maybe a little angry looking... But I am going to attempt to give him a makeover as well. See if I cant make him a little less 70s and a little more cute.

Check out the frame!

I'll post the "afters" as soon as I get them done!

Another Saturday Finds

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A quick trip to the bank & stop at the thrift to donate a few things resulted in my favorite find of the day! A new coffee table! I was tired of the one we had, not to mention, I think it was too big for the space we have now. So I had been watching Craigslist but hadnt really found anything. And then I saw this. Marked $30. And it was mine! They gave it to me for $25, didnt have to barter, they just rang it up at that price. I love this thrift!

Check out the legs :)

I also found another candlestick. I'm hoping to pry that brass part off so I just have the wood.

I also found this great glass canister. You can never have too many of these.

And this little box that will obviously need repainting.

Here is our old table. Not bad, just needed a change. We've had this for about 8 years. Nice solid wood, and has withstood two toddlers that have now grown into school agers who constantly use it as a chair. And my numerous craft projects.

Real life here, taken before I finished cleaning. You can see how big it is compared to our love seats. When Mike got a deal on two brand new loveseats ($100 a piece, made by the company that makes La-Z-Boy) we knew it was time to replace the old couch & loveseat. Since this room is smaller than what we had when we purchased them, two loveseats seem to fit better than the old couch/loveseat combo. Just need some slipcovers ;).

Check out Southern Hospitality for more great finds!

Cutest Baby Project Ever!

When I saw these on Make It & Love It, I knew I had to make them. And yes, I love them! I think Morgan does, too.

They were pretty easy, even for a beginner, like me. The hardest part for me was joining the two rings together. Even pinning it, I kep having issues with them coming apart once I got it under the presser foot. But I'm sure thats all me, not the project! If you havent seen her blog, check it out. It's full of tons of great projects!

For the Star Wars Fan

Blake *LOVES* Star Wars. I dont know where it came from, I've only seen one of the new ones, and Mike isnt really a fan. But he loves it nonetheless. When we repainted his room, he wanted to do Star Wars, but we didnt want to go over the top, so it would be easy to change. So he chose blue & grey for the walls, and he has since gotten new bedding. We are slowly working on updating it. He even picked out a poster and a frame and we hung it up. So when I saw this from the guy who created Wordle, I knew it would be perfect for his room! I just printed it on some watercolor paper I had and painted a thrifted frame, and there you have it!

Have a good one!

Added to Categorically Crafting at Someday Crafts!

Saturday Finds

We had a few errands to run this morning... Post offfice, Publix, 7-11 for our free Slurpees... and at the last minute, I decided to stop at the thrift. I have really been jonesin' to go yardsaling, but that really doesnt sound reasonable in the near 100° Florida days, alone with three kids. No thanks! But I did find a couple things.

This pretty pillowcase.

I hardly ever find books I want to read, but I had wanted to read this, so when I saw it for a quarter, I thought, why not?

I have trouble passing up decent frames, since they can be used for so many things, so I picked these two up (will be painted before use!).

And this one (will NOT be painted!).



Pyrex! It seems like it's been awhile since I found any, so here ya go. I know not everyone likes this pattern, but it's what my mother had and it reminds me of her.



I actually picked up this awhile back, but had forgotten about it. It was only a dollar and the original price tag on the bottom says $19.99! It needs some paint, but not sure what color. The good old standby, white? Or something more fun? The pretty blue from out metal table? I'm not even sure where I'm going to put this yet, I only have one. Our living room is pretty much beige and sage green. I would like to give it a change, too. But it will have to wait. It would involve slipcovers & all that, and we just dont have the funds for a major redo yet. But I am keeping an eye out for coffee tables, etc. We have had the same furniture for the entire 9 years we have been together, I'm growing kind of tired of them! So anyway, what do you think about the colors?

And probably the best find of the week, courtesy of Mike. A dishwasher!! I imagine our kitchen is pretty much the way it was when the house was built in 1962, with the exception of a different layer of linoleum flooring and a different cooktop. But it's definetly outdated, and there is no dishwasher. We knew that, but wanted the place anyway. But two years of handwashing ALL the dishes, and I'm tired of it! He found this on Craigslist for $100. I cant wait till it's installed, even though I'm losing precious cabinet space. It doesnt match our other appliances, but heck they dont match each other. We have a white fridge from the early 2000's, a black glass cooktop & a beige oven from the 1960's. So maybe someday down the road, when we get to redo the kitchen, we'll get matching appliances. But for now, they work! Besides, with our UGLY cabinets, even fancy, top of the line stainless couldnt help!

What did you find today?

Kitty Cat (or puppy dog!) Placemat Tutorial

We have wood floors, and even though the floor is already damaged from the past 47 years, I worry about it being damaged further. I started out using one of the kids placemats to set the cat food & water on, but it was too big and honestly, not very nice looking. I decided I would keep an eye out for cute placemats at the thrift store or on clearance. I hadnt found anything yet, so I started thinking maybe I could make something. I thought laminated fabric or oilcloth would work. I couldnt find laminated fabric locally and havent really seen oilcloth I like. Then I found this iron on vinyl from Therm-O-Web. Pretty neat!

I went through my small stash of fabric and decided to use this Alexander Henry fabric I've been holding onto for awhile.

You lay the vinyl, sticky side down, onto the right side of the fabric. Smooth with your hand.

Using an extra piece of fabric, iron the two pieces together. Medium heat, 8 seconds per section. (Directions are included with the vinyl).



Once you've finished, turn it over and iron the other side, 4 seconds per section.



Voila! You have laminated fabric!

I backed it with a piece of felt to keep the good fabric from getting dirty, but you can also laminate both sides.

Next step is to hem it up! I'm sure you could also have sewn it and turned it right side out, and then hand stitched shut, but I'm a complete novice and not good at hand sewing.

And there you have it! I'm sure another color thread would have probably been better than black, but I didnt feel like changing the bobbin/thread and was trying to get this done while Morgan napped.

I set it up where the cats eat...

And they were all over it!

Like I said, Im pretty much a beginning sewer. I would love to learn more, especially quilting. I see so many amazing and cute projects I would love to try! I could have learned, my mom was an amazing seamstress, but I never bothered learning before she passed away. Maybe one day I'll get around to taking some classes. It also doesnt help that I apparently have a junky sewing machine. I bought a Singer Inspiration and used it ok, but had issues from time to time with the underside bunching up. Now I cant get it to work at all, the thread will not pick up the bobbin thread, it just jams up. And from what I've read online, it happens alot to this one. So I'm borrowing my MIL's Viking. Any suggestions on a decent, not super expensive machine?

Anyway, if you decide to make one of these, I'd love to see it!