Ian and Camryn mixing up the "sponge" for our homemade bread...notice who is doing the work and who looks like she's supervising (hands on her hips, even!)
Friday, March 6, 2009
Beautiful Moment
Ian and Camryn mixing up the "sponge" for our homemade bread...notice who is doing the work and who looks like she's supervising (hands on her hips, even!)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Handcrafted Beauty
Here's a sachet I made for my Mom's birthday last month. I hand-embroidered the initial in the center, added a floral fabric border, and attached ribbon embellishments with small pink pearly buttons at the middle of each side. The inside sachet consists of an organza bag filled with rice that I scented with vanilla fragrance oil. The monogram is from a book of iron-on embroidery transfers that I have used for many of these sachets. Each design can be used many times.
Hand embroidery is something that I've started doing just in the past few years. By learning only a few basic stitches, it is possible to create lovely and unique gifts for very little money. This project probably cost me less than $5. Had I used fabric from my stash, my cost would've been almost nothing. Just the time involved.
Frugal CAN be beautiful!
Beautiful Moment
Once in awhile, Tobin sits still long enough to read Sissy a story. "Mister Putter & Tabby" is a favorite series around here these days.
Frugal Beauty
Look what my husband brought home for me today! (I keep telling him that I really am a "low maintenance" wife).
University salvage is a treasure trove for those with well-trained "what-can-I-do-with-these? eyes!" (In this case...my husband!) He called me today from work asking if we could use some sheets. "Sure," I said. Sheets do come in very handy, even if you don't use them for bedding. What I found, however, when we opened the huge bags, were not sheets, but tablecloths! Now, they are not in perfect condition...hence their presence at salvage. Most have small holes, stains, rips or tears...but all are usable in some form.
Because I'm a seamstress at heart, I always think in terms of "price per yard." Fabrics come in differing widths, and is purchased in linear yards or fractions of yards. So, one yard of fabric is a piece of fabric 36" long, by whatever the given width is. For example, 45" and 60" are common fabric widths. But there are many more, depending on the type of fabric.
For the sake of calculations, I took the sizes of tablecloths and converted them into widths of 54"...a common width of home decorating fabric.
OK...here's the fun part.
The bags contained the following:
54"x54" tablecloths...quantity 8,
54"x120" tablecloths...quantity 17,
90"x90" tablecloths...quantity 21.
Converting the "fabric" contained in the tablecloths to 54" wide fabric yields a whopping 173 yards of fabric!
My husband paid $5.00 for this haul. If my math is correct, that means that he paid $o.o3/yard. Pretty good, I'd say...actually only FREE would be better.
Not all the material is usable...but a quick look-over of all the articles yielded many pieces that will be suitable as tablecloths, after some holey or ripped areas are removed, and the edges re-hemmed. The other ones will be used in various ways...to be determined as ideas come to mind. Some initial thoughts are nighties for me and Camryn, cloth napkins, the really bad ones will become drop-cloths for our new building project, summer dresses embellished with different trims, totebags...any other ideas?
I thought it would be fun to document all the uses I find for this stash, so I will post projects as they are completed. How far can I stretch $5? I'll keep you posted.
Added: There were actually 6 other tablecloths in the bags...4 very large oval ones and 2 large round ones...they are heavier polyester and I'm not sure what I'll do with them...perhaps cut off the bad spots and use them as intended.
University salvage is a treasure trove for those with well-trained "what-can-I-do-with-these? eyes!" (In this case...my husband!) He called me today from work asking if we could use some sheets. "Sure," I said. Sheets do come in very handy, even if you don't use them for bedding. What I found, however, when we opened the huge bags, were not sheets, but tablecloths! Now, they are not in perfect condition...hence their presence at salvage. Most have small holes, stains, rips or tears...but all are usable in some form.
Because I'm a seamstress at heart, I always think in terms of "price per yard." Fabrics come in differing widths, and is purchased in linear yards or fractions of yards. So, one yard of fabric is a piece of fabric 36" long, by whatever the given width is. For example, 45" and 60" are common fabric widths. But there are many more, depending on the type of fabric.
For the sake of calculations, I took the sizes of tablecloths and converted them into widths of 54"...a common width of home decorating fabric.
OK...here's the fun part.
The bags contained the following:
54"x54" tablecloths...quantity 8,
54"x120" tablecloths...quantity 17,
90"x90" tablecloths...quantity 21.
Converting the "fabric" contained in the tablecloths to 54" wide fabric yields a whopping 173 yards of fabric!
My husband paid $5.00 for this haul. If my math is correct, that means that he paid $o.o3/yard. Pretty good, I'd say...actually only FREE would be better.
Not all the material is usable...but a quick look-over of all the articles yielded many pieces that will be suitable as tablecloths, after some holey or ripped areas are removed, and the edges re-hemmed. The other ones will be used in various ways...to be determined as ideas come to mind. Some initial thoughts are nighties for me and Camryn, cloth napkins, the really bad ones will become drop-cloths for our new building project, summer dresses embellished with different trims, totebags...any other ideas?
I thought it would be fun to document all the uses I find for this stash, so I will post projects as they are completed. How far can I stretch $5? I'll keep you posted.
Added: There were actually 6 other tablecloths in the bags...4 very large oval ones and 2 large round ones...they are heavier polyester and I'm not sure what I'll do with them...perhaps cut off the bad spots and use them as intended.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Literary Beauty
from my read-aloud time today with the children...
"Now I began to construe the words mentioned above "Call on me, and I will deliver thee," in a different sense from what I had ever done before; for then I had no notion of anything being called deliverance, but my being delivered from the captivity I was in: for though I was indeed at large in that place, yet the island was certainly a prison to me, and that, in the worst sense in the world; but now I learned to take it in another sense. Now I looked back upon my past life with such horror, and my sins appeared so dreadful, that my soul sought nothing of God, but deliverance from the load of guilt that bore down all my comfort. As for my solitary life, it was nothing; I did not so much as pray to be delivered from it, or think of it; it was all of no consideration, in comparison of this. And I add this part here, to hint to whoever shall read it, that whenever they come to a true sense of things, they will find deliverance from sin a much greater blessing than deliverance from affliction."
- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
"Now I began to construe the words mentioned above "Call on me, and I will deliver thee," in a different sense from what I had ever done before; for then I had no notion of anything being called deliverance, but my being delivered from the captivity I was in: for though I was indeed at large in that place, yet the island was certainly a prison to me, and that, in the worst sense in the world; but now I learned to take it in another sense. Now I looked back upon my past life with such horror, and my sins appeared so dreadful, that my soul sought nothing of God, but deliverance from the load of guilt that bore down all my comfort. As for my solitary life, it was nothing; I did not so much as pray to be delivered from it, or think of it; it was all of no consideration, in comparison of this. And I add this part here, to hint to whoever shall read it, that whenever they come to a true sense of things, they will find deliverance from sin a much greater blessing than deliverance from affliction."
- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
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