Category: boun-sing ideas

January 31, 2013

What’s Going on Here?

Things have been pretty peachy around here. A lot of fun, everyday things, caught on my camera phone, have been turning into remarkable memories. You know, things along of the line of your job getting an upgrade to manager and spending your evenings skiing instead of loitering in the living room.

Best things about this past week:

1. Got promoted to manager at my job. My title is now Web Copy Manager, and I am in charge of two highly talented interns. Thus, Hubster and I had reason to get dressed up and celebrate. Sangrias are one of my favorite ways to imbibe, on those rare occasions that I actually do.

2. Some days, you just feel like finding a hole-in-the-wall diner and eating there. There’s something so luring about outings with no expectations of you or your destination. You get that down-home feel and backwoods prices. And it’s been at least a decade since I’ve seen one of these rad dinosaur crayon holders:

And diners are the only place where it’s acceptable for your kids to stack all the jelly packets, right? Oh, is that just us?

3. This idea fascinates me. The library in a nearby city creates these little reading spots where you can grab a free book. Isn’t this the most charming little nook ever? Totally made my day.

4. My brother-in-law and nephew created this awesome snow fort at my mom’s house last time we got dumped on. It has three entryways/exits. This brings back so many memories from childhood. Most of us up here in Wisconsin dread the snow. But you have a choice: move away, dread it, or embrace it. This is a perfect example of working with what you’ve been given.

5. Another way to avoid the TV trap: go to Kwik Trip, buy two loaves of 50 cent bread, head to the park, and feed the non-migrating ducks. Oh, and you know, check out the beautiful sunset while you’re there.

6. Either we can complain about getting dumped on with loads and loads of snow, or we can go out and play in it. Plus, after awhile, you start to feel warm and don’t get all bummed by that I-can’t-stand-this-cold attitude. It’s also a great way for the whole family to embrace fitness in a non-fitness-y way. The best part? Finding the most adorable little set of skis and poles for a four-year-old. I can hardly stand it!

7. I’ve been on a mission for months now to keep on trying new foods, and after a funny comment made by a friend about how I eat all these weird “tofu” things, I thought, what the heck? It was only $2 at the grocery store. It wasn’t quite as gross as others had led me to believe. It had an egg white-like texture and egg whites are a staple for me. I tried the tofu in a teriyaki stir fry and it was just fine. Such a great alternative source of protein!

So, what have you been up to lately? Any particularly troublesome areas in your life that you’ve learned to embrace or have turned into something you love? Or any ways in which the ordinary has turned into something much better?

January 23, 2013

Show and Tell

C’mon, we can still have show and tell as adults in a virtual world, right? I think so.

Well, the story is that I was completely inspired by this post from Rachel Denbow over at Smile and Wave to make a quilt. I have never felt anything close to desire to sew a quilt before. I thought they were too fussy, too old-lady, too time-consuming, and all those other really bad stereotypes. Boy, was I proven wrong! Rachel actually made it seem doable to me–and stylish! I actually wanted to make one. If you know, me, that doesn’t seem possible. But, on a quilting adventure we will go.

The lucky recipient of my very first quilt is my little nephew who turns ONE this Sunday. I chose colors that were youthful, but that would still grow with him, the theme being yellows, greens and browns. Some of the pieces are leftover from a Christmas stocking that I made him, so it will have a special link. I used a 40″ x 60″ fleece blanket as the backing, so the size of the blanket also leaves room for him to grow. I chose a pre-made fleece blanket for my backing, because it’s cheaper to buy a fleece blanket at the store than to buy fleece fabric by the yard. Go figure!

I made my own binding using the “cheater method” that Rachel recommends. I am all about “cheats” and “shortcuts” when it comes to sewing, as long as it doesn’t affect the integrity of the finished piece. And actually, making binding from the leftover quilt fabric is so much more amazing than just buying premade binding. It matches and it’s so pretty.

Here is the final product, all bundled and ready to be presented to one handsome little guy. I hope he snuggles his face into it as he likes to do with other soft things. That would truly warm his auntie’s heart.

See that stack down there? That is the beginning of the next quilt I plan to tackle. I want to make a quilt large enough to fit our bed and warm enough for my husband’s liking. He didn’t even mind that there were a lot of pink vintage florals, as long as the quilt is warm. It will be three layers “deep,” with the quilted cotton top, cotton sheet backing (rescued from the thrift store) and a plush fleece blanket for the lining. That oughta do it, right? Then, my Peanut has me on commission to make him a quilt too, even though his great-grandma already sewed him a beautiful one. Who am I to resist his request though? Warms a momma’s heart.

Can’t wait for the next round of show and tell. It will mean that I have finished quilt #2. I mean, wow! I never thought in a million years I would be showing you a quilt I sewed. Anything is possible with the right motivation. Thanks Rachel!

January 10, 2013

Birthday Banner DIY #2: Lace Doily Banner

The second installation in my birthday banner series is the Lace Doily Garland.

Thrift stores are littered with doilies, and they are often quite reasonably-priced. I always wondered what I could do to rescue those pretty little lace things. I would never put them under lamps or use them as coasters like in times past, but I thought they must still be good for something this day and age. Enter, the birthday garland.

I happened to find a stack of lace doilies that were all exactly the same. This works perfectly for a banner, but I think it would look neat with mis-matched ones too.

All I did was measure a piece of white thread the entire length of the banner. Simply place the doilies side-by-side to figure out how long you need the thread.

I then started at one side and folded each doily in half. Once halved, I sewed big stitches across the top. These don’t have to be perfect by any means, they should just do the job.

Continue on down the line until all doilies have been attached to the thread.

Leave extra thread on both sides to make loops for securing the banner later. I knotted mine in a loop.

Then, hang as desired. I made an actual “happy birthday” banner to go over the top using alphabet stencils and scrapbook paper, similar to my last one. I think something like this would also be pretty to use for DIY wedding decor too. Enjoy! Oh, and Save the Doilies!

December 24, 2012

Advent Activities: Done!

The days leading up to Christmas have been filled with activity, generosity, creativity, meditation and anticipation. With the creation of our family’s Advent calendar, I made sure we had plenty of meaningful activities to do up until today, Christmas Eve.

I served up tea for two, because my Peanut happens to love tea:

We visited Santa Claus and told him what we wanted for Christmas (Spiderman gloves:)

We wrote a letter to Santa and sent it. We even braved the mall just to get to the official Macy’s mailbox.

Peanut excavated (from the attic) and decorated his very own Christmas tree in his own room.

We cut down a real tree for our living room, a regular family tradition.

We even decorated an outdoor tree for the birds:

We went out looking at Christmas lights.

We made traditional paper chain link garland:

And so many more things this Christmas season. We accomplished everything listed in our Advent calendar and then some…

We are all ready for Santa tonight. And right now we’re getting ready for my favorite thing of the entire year: the candlelit Christmas service at church.

From our family to yours–have an extra-special, warm and fulfilling Merry Christmas!!!

December 23, 2012

Four Simple Goals Update

Things I always push myself to keep up with:

1. Tweezed eyebrows
2. Inbox, sent items, and deleted items all sorted away
3. Checking account balances
4. The stack of bill papers that need to be filed
5. Making the bed
6. Reading 15 mins to my son for school
7. Daily cleanup after son/hubster mess up the place.
8. Dishes
9. Updating my blog
10. Keeping up with phones and cameras full of pictures
11. Getting enough daily water
12. Getting up from my desk at hour intervals
13. Reading several chapters of the Bible
14. Planning out each snack and meal before work
15. Wiping up the counters
16. Keeping the stove-top spic and span (you can clean ANY of it with baking soda)
17. Three cardio and three strength sessions per week

…and on and on and on…

Sometimes I get so tied up in these small things that I forget to focus on the big things. Until everything is clean, I’m fed and watered, and my son has everything he needs for school the next day, I can’t concentrate on anything else. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is in full effect once I get home from work. I’m trying to reach self-actualization, but get caught in the bottom two rungs most days.

Source: Uploaded by user via Sherri on Pinterest

How are you doing on your Four Simple Goals?

I am actually doing really well on the checking account thing. At first, I started out in bad shape, letting receipts pile up and transactions slip by (which is not like me at all). By now, I’ve been checking my account balance at least once a week and keeping up pretty well with the daily ebb and flow of the budget. It feels good to always know right where we’re at.

I also have been trying to keep up with all those little messy spots in my house. I can’t say I’ve been tackling one per week, but I am doing great things with my space. We recently got a new TV, which required a new TV stand. I got to choose an antique-looking horizontal dresser from the thrift store that fit everything I needed it to fit and doesn’t block the windows. A simple sanding and re-finishing (we actually had the right color at home) of the top and it was perfection! These small projects have given me much more breathing room. And I have to say, I’ve been taking loads of unneeded items to the thrift store and I haven’t really been buying anything new lately, so the house cleansing is balanced in favor of extra space.

The last two things I have admittedly not been very committed to. I do move around throughout the day at work, and I always walk on my lunch break, but getting up from my desk at certain intervals just seems anal. I’m ok with not being anal about this goal.

I have also been neglecting my Art Journal. I love the idea of an art journal, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Cliche, I know. But with all those expectations of myself that I listed above, art journaling does not get the attention it deserves. I also have a different, more purposeful journaling idea in mind that I want to tackle first.

Since I’m off of work now until after the new year, I will be setting my eyes on some new goals for the coming year. I am not the type of person that thinks the only time to plan goals is in on New Year’s Day. And I never abandon my goals by mid-January. I just think it’s a great time to evaluate the culmination of one year and use the accomplishments of the year past to perpetuate even better things in the coming year.

I will also be ordering an Etsy print and a new checkbook cover because I think I deserve them for dedicating so much energy to keeping our home and finances in order.

What are you New Year’s Resolutions? Did anyone else complete Elsie’s challenge?

November 3, 2012

Finger Bouquets Addiction

This summer, finger bouquets became my new favorite hobby. As we move into colder weather, I might have to start making leaf and acorn bouquets and then pine needle bouquets. Who knows? Until then, I’m still in love with this simple happiness habit.

I ask again, why would you walk around empty-handed, when you can walk around with fragrant flowers in your hand? Duh!

Pretty little flowers (don’t tell them they’re weeds; they don’t know that) growing in my backyard lawn.

I usually take a walk past some railroad tracks on my lunch break where there is plenty of wild flora to arrange in your fingers. This one made it back to my desk and into a cup of water.

Apparently yellow and white varieties are popular in Wisconsin.

My whole life’s ambition is to make each day a little lovelier. There really are easy things that you can do every single day to brighten your spirits and sprinkle in some special-ness. Finger bouquets are one of my favorite ways to gather beauty and visual gold out of the cracks. Flower collecting is a much better habit to be into than crack numbering, don’t you agree? Train your mind to see the flowers, not the junk in the cracks.

Cool, huh? You should try it.

October 30, 2012

Birthday Banner DIY #1: Fringe Benefits

At work, in my department, we skipped a year or two of celebrating birthdays. That made me sad. So, I took it upon myself to resurrect the whole birthday scene. I promised to make one tasteful, personalized banner for each birthday person. Nearly everything that I’ve made so far has been from supplies I already had on-hand (scrapbook paper, tissue paper, tree branches, etc), so it didn’t break my budget. I just think that birthdays are worth celebrating with something lovely.

Since I’ve been working my way through different designs for this past year, I thought it would be fun to share a few of them to perhaps inspire you for your next celebration.

I’ll begin with one of the simplest banners, cut from tissue paper.

Fringe Benefits Banner

1. Fold about 3-4 sheets of tissue paper in half. Then, fold in half again.

2. Cut along the folds on the side with open ends.

3. Using the side with the open ends, cut slits about halfway up every 1/2-inch to inch or so. They don’t need to be equal. This will give the banner a fringe-ish look.

4. Now, open the banner at the center and attach a length of string right down the middle with tape.

5. Flip back over and you’re finished. Use the ends of the string to attach your banner any way you wish. Use some coordinating scrapbook paper cut into 3″ x 3″ squares and some alphabet stickers to create the “Happy Birthday.” Staple the squares to a coordinating length of ribbon.

I used this same technique for the Concessions banner, except I cut a zig-zags along the end of the tissue paper before I cut the fringe. Feel free to play around with this design. These banners would be especially festive for a Hawaiian-themed party.

There’s more where that came from. I have some map banners, tassels and driftwood designs up my sleeve. Stay tuned!

*Hey, did anyone notice we got a new fence in the middle of this project? Hee hee!

September 9, 2012

Last Year’s Christmas Money

There’s something you need to know about me. I NEVER make impulse buys. I like to think on certain purchases for quite awhile before I hesitantly hand over my debit card. Even today, I told Hubster that I didn’t appreciate being bullied into going out to eat. He said, “That’s the only way I can even get you to go out.” And he had to give me the weekend to contemplate changing internet/cable providers. I just like to weigh the importance of things and make sure I’m not making rash decisions.

So, remember when I told you Hubster and I had a laugh about how he’d be through his Christmas money before New Year’s, and I’d have mine gone by June? Well, close… Mine was gone in August. Ha!

But the wait was sooo worth it. Meet my new favorite “gadget,” my 3-in-one Crosley CD player/record player/radio. I’ve been wanting a record player for years. I had a thrifted one in college, but a friend “borrowed” it for forever and returned it in “not working” condition. Forgive, forget, buy a new one. A beautiful one that totally goes with the antique chest it’s displayed on.

Oh yes!

Peanut and Hubster even got a little involved. Hubster chose a few Dean Martin and Christmas records at a rummage sale and Peanut dances to Rolling Stones with me.

Oh, stash of dust-collecting vinyls, how I’ve missed you.

My other “Christmas” in August purchases? A Bon Iver record, Feist CD, Noah and the Whale CD, Exercise and Nutrition textbook (geek alert), pretty washi tape, and my very own copy of Born to Run. Could this get any better?

Do you still get “Christmas money?” And what do you usually buy with it? This is the only time I allow myself to buy superfluously. Of course there are always things around the house that take precedence, but special money doesn’t count, right?

August 15, 2012

Make Each Day Lovelier

Why would you walk around empty-handed when you can carry around one of these?

Let me introduce you to my new favorite happiness tool: Finger Bouquets. There really is no reason why we shouldn’t always carry flowers between our fingers, if we can. If we can make our days brighter by simply snapping off a few stems along the railroad tracks, why not do it? I think making each day a little lovelier makes sense, don’t you? It’s inspirational. I mean, there really is no substitution for being able to take a whiff of natural fragrance on a whim anyway.

This yellow-and-white-themed pinch bouquet was created as my family and I took a walk down a local trail. The flowers grow in droves along the path, so I decided to take advantage of Mother Nature. I was honestly amazed at the varieties of yellow and white that I managed to pick up. There are at least 10 different flowers (weeds?) in my hand. That makes me *sigh*.

Now if you see me carrying around a fistful of flowers on my lunch break, you’ll know what I’m doing.

July 5, 2012

A Thrifting Guide for Mommas on a Budget (Part Two)

Welcome to Part Two of my guide to thrift shopping, filled with tips and tricks to navigate those beautiful, dusty aisles. If you haven’t already, check out Part One.

6. Think unconventionally. I’ve been known to buy large plaid men’s shirts to turn into toddler pants. Women’s nightgowns provide great yardage of satin material (because it can get expensive at the fabric store). Board games missing their pieces are perfect for recycling into wall art or jewelry. Those tacky wreaths can be deconstructed and remade into modern spring door decorations. Items do not need to serve their intended purposes—they can be made to serve yours!

For example, this vintage sewing basket makes a great corral for takeout menus and phone books.

7. Don’t judge the bed by its coverlet. Similarly to the above, you can make almost anything suit your taste with a fresh coat of paint. Don’t dismiss furniture because of a few nicks and scratches or metal baskets because of an ugly shade of pastel. It’s amazing what sandpaper, a half-hour, and a small can of spray paint can do!

8. Schedule the dates. Almost every thrift store has a special sale day of the week or month. Find out when they are and you might enjoy a ½-price discount. You may also benefit from knowing which days the store tends to stock up for fresh pickings. Be prepared to battle for personal space if you go on Saturday mornings.

9. Make sure you have a truck lined up. And make sure said truck actually has working brakes. Ha! This is especially true for rummage saling and flea market shopping. When you buy new patio furniture for $5, you need to find a good way to bring it home that won’t put anyone’s life in jeopardy. But seriously, this is your warning to have proper transportation at the ready when you find an amazing vintage dining room table for $50 that you can’t live without.

10. Iffy items. Now, I know some people who are completely creeped out by thrift stores. I think they think vintage stores are just teeming with all sorts of unsavory things and characters. The truth is, there are lots of everyday people participating in the equivalent of an indoor rummage sale. It’s not taboo anymore! That being said, there are some things you just can’t buy used (underwear, really???), and we all have our limits and that’s ok! Mine are shoes (unless they still have tags), underthings, anything with holes/pills/stains, pillows, and stuffed animals. I especially stay away from things that can’t easily be sanitized or washed.

Thrift shopping isn’t the only way to nab unique deals. Other places to find one-of-a-kind steals: rummage sales, consignment shops, flea markets, antique stores, estate sales, and Etsy Vintage. I have barely bought a single article of clothing for my son for full price at a retail store. I mostly go rummage saling or get clothes from other people I know with boys. It seems illogical to me to spend $20 for an outfit that might be worn three times before it doesn’t fit anymore when I can buy a barely-used outfit for $1. We’ll leave those prices to the boy’s grandmas who like to spoil him, right?

I’m not a natural-born mall shopper, so I too like to buy my clothes on consignment or secondhand. That way, my style isn’t a regurgitated version of everyone else’s. I love the thrill of the unexpected, unusual and extra-special. And I loved these longs long before it became popular to pick through the thrift stores and resell items for a giant upcharge. To me, it’s more about clothing my family in a truly unique style on a shoestring budget. After all, that is exactly what those stores were created for.

I hope you are inspired to hit up the thrift store this weekend. What is your favorite secondhand treasure?

If you’re interested in learning even more, here are some other great vintage shopping articles that I’ve come across:

*An amazing post with sizing tips for vintage clothing
*Elsie also has a great list of thrift shopping tips.
*The Girls with Glasses have an inside-Goodwill video series to guide you through the aisles.
*Great comprehensive mother of all thrifting guide from a professional, Freckle Wonder: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.