Thrifting

DD and her DH are moving to a new house this week. Their living room area is all tile. DD was wanting a nice area rug to warm up the space and tie it together.

That is where MY story begins! DH and I happened upon a yard sale in Arlington, TX, yesterday. I spotted this rug and asked what they would take. $10.00, people!!!! It was only a couple of months old, very clean, and had been originally purchased for $300.00!!! Major score! Then the lady holding the yard sale told me she had purchased the lamps (above) to go with the rug! $10.00 for the pair! Another score! (As DH would be happy to tell you, I have a "thing" for lamps and chairs!). Of course, after she saw the photos, DD was happy I found them for her!

I have been a "thrifter" since I started dating my DH at 15 years old. His Mom always took me with her every weekend to the garage sales around town. We both passed the love of thrifting on to my kids! It IS a treasure hunt, after all!

Seeing Double!

No, this isn't a repeat of an earlier post! A co-worker came up to me yesterday and told me that she had checked out my blog and wanted to ask if I could make both of her daughters a "Princess" pillowcase like one she had seen in one of my earlier posts. I whipped them up this morning before work. I hope the two little "princesses" enjoy them!

**Edited to add: I found my fabric at Wal-Mart for $3.97 a yard. I also believe I have seen it at Jo-Ann Fabrics.**

Not much goin' on!

Here is a photo of me and dh at South Padre Island, Texas last weekend. We went to see dd and her dh. I haven't been doing much of any type of crafting this last couple of weeks. I worked on baby bumper pads and the dust ruffle (no photos) and have just come to a screeching halt on the crafting after that!! I have been reading a lot more, too. Just finished "The Six Sacred Stones" by Matthew Reilly from the Library (action-thriller, but don't bother!! I'm glad it was a free read) and "The Buried Pyramid" by Jane LindsKold that I got from www.paperbackswap.com (a somewhat Sci-Fi Archeology type fiction, but I liked it!). I also supplimented those with various "mindless" paperback mysteries from the Library. I hope to get back in the crafting groove soon!

Valentine's, Part II

Here is what I got for Valentine's Day this year. DH made hearts flutter in all the ladies at my work by getting me these:



Here is a bouquet that a co-worker received that really intrigued me.....can you guess why?


They are made out of ..............................drumroll, please!........................dried APPLES!!! Does anyone out in blogland know how to make these? I searched the internet and found one set of instructions. I might give it a whirl sometime, just to see if I can do it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! I celebrated by baking a Red Velvet cake for DH to take to work! I am trying to limit my own intake of sweets, since I am trying to eat healthier and lose weight, but I love to bake! So Voila! I came up with the bright idea to go ahead when I want to bake, then just send the resulting goodies to DH's work! His co-workers told him that they enjoy getting a treat once in a while, and I get the satisfaction of baking something, but not gaining the weight! It is a solution that works for everyone!

I have been sewing some lately, not doing much of anything else. The items below are burp cloths and bibs for one of our friend's soon-to-be-born granddaughter. I also made a receiving blanket, but didn't get a photo of it before we gave the gift to our friend.

I am working on another amigurumi crochet monkey (different pattern), but haven't had much time to work on it this week. I hope to remedy that this weekend.

More of the same...

Here is "Monkey-boy" (GS hasn't named him yet) posing with a set of burp cloths I made for my DD last night, free pattern here , I alternated using flannel and chenille for my materials.


and as you see, more pillowcases have been in the works, stacked here on my craft table. They are so fun and fast to make! I think Linda over at Craft Apple turned me into a Frankenstein after I saw her Christmas pillowcase post!! When I saw her post, I went out on the 'net and found this pattern that I liked the best. There are also a couple of good tutorials for making them on http://www.about.com/. I finished another set last night for my GS who requested this material below (and in a strange twist, he doesn't even know that he was born in the year of the dragon).

Now I am off to start working on some baby bibs with a pattern I found here. Toodeloo!

Amigurumi Weekend

I have finally jumped on the Amigurumi bandwagon. All it took was one look at these, and I was hooked! I have twin grandsons coming in April, so I plan to purchase the pattern soon, however, I have been wanting to try my hand at Amigurumi, anyway, so I searched Crochet Pattern Central for a similar free pattern to practice with this weekend. I found the Monkey pattern below and tried it out with Caron Simply Soft Brites yarn. It was a hit with my 7 year old GS, his 1 year old baby sister, and both of my dogs, who were both desparately trying to make me think that they needed a new toy!

GS won out over all the others, but has instructions to share with, but to also monitor, his baby sister! I tried to be sure the sewn on appendages were strong, in case she pulls on arms, legs, head or tail!