Jiggywinks!

Sadly, I forgot to take a "before" picture, but my sister gave me a lamp when I moved out of my parents house. It had fake plastic flowers in it, and ugly fake-brass. What did I do? I sprayed that ugly brass hardware to an ugly antique brass color (at least it was different!) and reassembled it with origami cranes inside.

One year, I determined to have a hammock. It was AMAZING. I bought some canvas and grommets from Walmart, rope and hardware from Ace, and had a blast. Nothing like reading in the shade on a hot summer day. Wasn't expensive either! Sadly, the canvas proved more to be of the upholstery caliber than support-someone's-weight caliber...it ripped! At the close of the summer, I cannibalized it and folded the fabric up for another project. I didn't have to look far--when I moved to my brother's house I saw he had a towel binder-clipped to the rod over the laundry room window! The material was just enough for simple casement curtains. My first time, and I'm real proud of myself! When I moved out I left them, of course. 

When I moved to my brother's house, I was seized with the fix-it bug. The first project to get the treatment was a dresser given to me when I moved. The interior drawers were prone to snagging my clothes, and the hardware didn't look like it went with the rest of the dresser. First thing I did was line the drawers with wrapping paper--I bought it for this especially because it didn't have straight lines and you couldn't tell if I put it in crooked or not! I rubbed the drawers with soap so I could get them in and out easier, and then I went on my search for new hardware. I settled on an antique oiled-look with porcelain, as it matched knobs already on my nightstand. This dresser made it to my new apartment, but it quickly left to make way for a piano.  Next to get the treatment was a desk. I removed the glass top, painted it "chic yellow" (I remember the paint saleslady at Walmart calling it "chick yellow") and put new knobs o

About a million years ago (about 8 years ago), the daughter of our church pastor was in trouble. Her Barbie had been played with for so long the one dress she had was in tatters. (I gather that her parents weren't that fond of young-women-looking dolls, and this particular one had been a gift from a grandparent). Anyway, Barbie was now living under the bed because she wasn't under fit for public appearances! Anyway, I borrowed my cousin's doll as a model, begged some fabric scraps from my sister-in-law, and dug through my sewing box. Next thing I knew, I had a small little wardrobe to give to the little girl (I forget her name) next Sunday. I wouldn't mind having some of these clothes myself! The first dress I made was actually part of a sheet scrap, if I remember correctly. I made the bodice first, sidestepping the dart problem by making neat diagonal folds down either side of the bodice and basting. The skirt was measured to Barbie, machine-basted and gat

This year my baby sister will be graduating from high school. Coincidentally, I was hired by the high school to play synthesizer for a production of "Bye Bye Birdie" at the last minute (essentially three weeks rehearsal before the show opened--and I am by no means a professional musician). I walk into rehearsal, and who should be there but my little sister, playing flute? Despite Jocie's help getting me caught up, it was by far the most stressful show I've ever been involved in. Important practice though, and it made me appreciate my MTG shows all the more. The band director asked if I would be interested in coming back next year, and I said "definitely--if you let me know earlier!"  In the end, Jocelyn played beautifully, and I struggled valiantly (I shot the director the deer-in-the-headlights look more than once!) and together we made it through. Love you sis!

So, over a year ago when I was planning my wedding, I hauled off and bought a bunch of vintage postcards, that I immediately realized I could NEVER use as decoration because what if they got ruined??  I love these little pieces of history! So, when we moved into our apartment together, I wanted a way to display them. It took a while but when open frames went on sale for half-off at Hobby Lobby, I grabbed one! A few measurements with a ruler...a few dots of hot glue and some fishing line... and some mini clothespins and voila! I have many more vintage postcards, so I hope to have a lot of fun changing and updating them. Fun fact! I bought these postcards on Etsy from a vendor in the UK--and most of these are from UK and Continental European locations. HOWEVER... second row from the bottom, second row from the left, is a postcard I think is probably a hundred years old--and it depicts our state capital of Madison, WI. WOOHOO! $20 for the frame, and I think maybe $5 for a