I finished and hung the chickens made out of assorted beans and seeds on the fence by the coop. I think the real girls like them. I love how they turned out. A little paint is magic! You can see the before' picture of the rooster in the previous post. I still marvel at the patience someone took to make these and I am so glad that I was the one to find them! Olivia is having her 12th Birthday on the 30th. We have been planning a backyard campout party. She is really looking forward to it a lot. She is a listmaker so there are lists all over. It cracks me up. I told her to just sit back and relax and Auntie will do all the work. (haha). I have already been recruited. She finished her invitations. They are pretty cute and she really puts a lot into things. Then she worries. Peer pressure, that they are too girly or not girly enough or too over the top. I keep telling her just do what you like and don't worry about the rest. It is funny how this is showing up in things like birthdays....Kind of sad really. But pretty invitations. Taylor, my little BFF will be here on Monday. We are all excited about it. I guess she packs and unpacks about ten times a day. I know she will add a lot of sparkle to my summer. She is such a doll. A long time ago I had a giveaway for a pet portrait and Roc from whatsuproc.blogspot.com won. She didn't have a pet at the time and we didn't decide what to do right away. She makes the most amazing journal pages and I asked her if it was ok if I did a Thread Painted piece using one of her art Journal pages. I started on it and realized it would make a really nice, big art bag. I used a pair of blue jeans that I got at a yard sale for 50 cents. Then I went to town. Thread painting is when you put your feed dogs down on your sewing machine and sew. I draw out an image in pencil on light fabric and then I paint it in with colored thread and then I use real paint to highlight certain areas. (eyes are almost always painted.) This was a challenge, but fun....There is a lot of color in this. It isn't exactly like her page but it is really close. I used a waistband to add the ribbon detail and the back has two jean pockets that actually give four pockets total. Then inside it holds and art carrier that I had and never used. It can hold supplies or be taken out and used on it's own. I hope you like it Roc. I am a big fan of your artistic journeys. The Bunny in the piece is one of her Stamps that she makes for Stampotique. Tonight I am finishing up a Fourth of July Bunting for my friend Susan. So far so good and I am sure I will post that later. Happy Summer. xoxoxomelinda

Holy Cow, I just came off a two and a half day migraine and I am not sorry to see it go! I haven't had one in forever, so it kind of took me by surprise. I kind of came alive again tonight and I actually thought it was Friday. Really! I so appreciate not having them as a part of my life again. For me, having a hysterectomy took them away. I didn't even know that would be a benefit. I have to say I have become a putterer...You know the kind of puttering that leaves a thing half done here, a 1/4 of the way done here but nothing really done. I like that word "puttering". I just hope it doesn't become a habit because then all the crap that I have gotten at garage sales turns into a word that isn't so comforting...hoarding! Ha Ha! I use everything I get. Just ask the kids who sometimes can't figure out why I am paying a 1.00 for a bowling ball and strutting around like I won a prize. Ok, so what I was I doing before the migraine? Well I pretty much just told you... I did finish and mail a card for my dad for Father's Day. It is almost a kind of dark humor but I think it will go right over his head and he will laugh. I, ahem, have realized I am the black sheep of the family. I also made him an exploding photo box. The inside of the box is pictures of the two of us as I grew up and I didn't take pictures but here is the outside. I had found some old frames at a yard sale for fifty cents a piece and I had some wooden letters. Liv painted them green and I painted them with a sealer and now they are on my back fence. They are right in front of my "straw Bale " garden which is amazing. I am taking before and afters but this is the way I will grow vegetables from now on. On Pinterest I saw the "Grow" idea with the frames and then I saw another Pin that had "damn it" in letters beneath it. It made me laugh. I have a green thumb though and I don't want to make my plants mad so it just says grow. Another super yard sale find is these two big chickens. Well really one hen and one rooster. They are pretty good sized and all made of beans, corn, sunflowers and stuff. Someone cut out a plywood back in the shape and then spent gosh knows how many hours gluing this stuff on. I saw potential, but the colors are pretty worn out. Here is a picture of the two of them. I have painted the hen who was pretty dismal and this is the before of the Rooster who has since been done. They are going to go on the fence too by the chickens. The rooster I did with some nice bright rooster colors. He looks really good lying on the dining room floor. Where I left him. When I got a migraine. Happy puttering. xoxoxomelinda

I just can't believe it is June already! Daniel and Olivia are officially out of school. Taylor (my little bff from Utah) will be here from the 24rth until the 19th of August. She told me she has been packed for two weeks. We are both pretty excited. I just hope that the jealousy bug doesn't hit Liv too bad. We have a lot of things planned so it is going to be busy. I found on Pinterest (of course)a list of 100 things to do this summer so I printed three copies and we are going to make journals and journal about each thing we manage to do. Taylor and Liv were both encouraged to read and practice any kind of language arts over the summer y their teacher's, so we figured this would be a fun way to get some practice in. Olivia's twelfth Birthday is the end of the month. She wants to have a crafty birthday sleepover. I told Stacie (oldest daughter) feel free to have it at your house but I know the answer to that. We are doing tents, a cupcake bar and ice cream they each make in a baggie. We also are going to make fairy jars and stuffed owls. Daniel, Stacie and I practiced and made three owls. They are super easy and fast. Especially since I only have one pair of fabric scissors. It is all just random pieces of fabric sewn together and stuffed. and here are the backs. The one on the far right is mine. I was so tickled to have Stacie sewing with me. She never has shown any interest in anything crafty. NOTHING. She kept telling me how fun they were to make. So she and I before the party are going to cut out a bunch of pieces and have the interfacing ironed on and then the 5 girls can sew them. I have three machines so I think it will be ok. We figured it is better than doing sugar and junk filled goody bags. Both Olivia and Taylor sew too. A really cool thing has happened. I have reconnected with my granddaughter Haylie. She is my sons daughter and she is now 10. I haven't seen her since she was almost 4. There was a divorce and resentment and I felt like I was being asked not to intrude on her new life. It has weighed so heavy on my heart. Well, I reached out again and it worked out good! I made her some things and I sent them and hopefully I will be able to see her after the 4rth of July. She has changed a lot. One of the things I made her is an exploding photo box. These are amazingly cool. They are done with cardstock, cute papers and pictures. The outside makes a box and then you make a lid. When you open it there are all these pictures. Very cute and personal project. I am going to make one for my dad for Fathers Day. I also made her a halter maxi with a nylon chiffon ruffle on the bottom. Liv fell in love with it though it is a size too big for her. I pinned the sides and had her model it so if it looks a little wonky, it is from the pins. Now I love the chicken but I didn't want him in the picture. That was the only way she would let me take her picture though. I was just hoping that he didn't poop on the dress. (he didn't) I just love how it looks in the back. I decided to try my hand at Bowed flip flops too... The zen room will be done tomorrow and the puce curtains turned into something else. Although not curtains. No newspaper either...That will probable be my next post. Happy summer all. xoxooxxmelinda

Thinking about newspaper and a dye disaster.

First of all, it has been a few days since I blogged. I had a little depression setback. Now I warn you this is going to sound really stupid. Ok, I admit it....really stupid. We all have known or heard about the crazy cat ladies. We all know I am crazy. Now in my neighborhood I am that "crazy chicken lady". For real, I kid you not. "why?" you may ask yourself. I know I would be asking. Well, because first of all I fell in love with one of my chickens. Chip, the little white rooster that I was going to keep even though we are not supposed to have things that crow here. The other three hens? No bonding at all. I watch them and sometimes laugh but no love shared either way. They are chickens after all. About a week ago I went out to check on the chickens (meaning Chip who always ran to me and wanted to be picked up). No Chip....I noticed a hole under the fence. The neighbors next door have two neglected dogs that bark nonstop. I climb to the top of the fence, hysteria building. I see something white in the corner of their dog poop filled yard. Ok hysteria has hit a peak. I beat on their door and ask to see the back yard. The woman (pig) says some nasty remark about f'ing chickens. I scream out" he wasn't a chicken, he was my pet!" and take his lifeless body from the poop filled yard. Then I think about things like 22 shotguns. The sad thing is, it's not the stupid dogs fault. They have no interaction, no toys, no nothing. I had a funeral with Stacie and the kids and cried my eyes out and then took to my bed. I love the drama of that phrase...It's very Southern, "taking to your bed." But I was so sad and felt like I lost a little friend and now everyone knows my secret. I am the Crazy Chicken Lady of the neighborhood. You can laugh if you want too. I picture myself hysterical now and it is kinda funny. I am sure in a few years it will be really funny. Just not yet. Right now it merits a secret giggle. So that is why I haven't posted. Although I have been busy around the house. I am making over a room. The inspiration is Zen. As in peaceful, calming, relaxation. Which obviously I could use. I have been taking pictures but I am not done yet. The curtains are holding me up. The issue is money. Everything in the room is being done dirt cheap or even free. That is my challenge. So I have four curtain panels that will be perfect. Except they are hot pink and Daniel wants to claim the room as his for the nights he is here so he doesn't have to hear the fishwife screams coming from a tween girl who doesn't want him in the "girl room." ......"EVER." So I get some dye....Great idea huh? At first I decide to use some navy blue that I actually found unopened at a garage sale. Then I think about it and decide to do dark Chocolate Brown. So I read the instructions and decide to use the washer with the very hot water and let it agitate for thirty minutes. Guess what? it is still pink, yes it is. So I add the whole bottle of the navy blue add boiling water and let it agitate for forty minutes. The result? Still pink. The lesson? Microfiber has polyester in it and it doesn't take dye. Ok, that was a big waste of dye and time. I pull them from the washer and notice that the back of the panels have changed color...The color brings back memories. The color is PUCE! I have always read a whole lot and when I was in sixth grade I read something that talked about the color of "puce" and it became my favorite color. Because it was weird and strange and no one believed that puce exsisted. Never mind it was ugly, a cross between a sickly purple and muddy brown, I was standing by it. Mo mom said it even sounded gross. Did you know of such a color? Well that is the color of the back of these panels and not I am not using the puce side either. I am thinking of melding and sewing newspaper to the hot pink fronts and making newspaper curtains. Here is some newspaper fabric that are curtains. It could work, I think. I made a newspaper dress before and it worked. So we will see, otherwise I just may have to "give puce a chance." xoxoxooxox the crazy chicken lady P.S Susan from Shabby and Frills is hosting a Patriotic Bunting Swap. You know those cute flaggy, pennant things....They are so simple to make and it is a simple swap to participate in. Please click on the link on my sidebar and come play with us...You know You want to cause WE WANT YOU!

Mothers Day Crafting

Daniel and Olivia (Grandkids) came over the night before Mother's day and wanted help putting something together for my oldest daughter Stacie. Daniel is her son and Olivia is her niece although she lives with her now. Single moms have it rough on Mother's day so I was happy to help. Just a quick digression here...I was a single mom of three kids 18 months apart. There were about 10,9 and 7 on this particular Mother's day. I had worked a twelve hour day and picked them up from daycare. I told them I was going to take a quick bath and then I would help get them ready for bed. ( Mothers Day had not been mentioned) I came out and the whole living room and dining room was covered in Silly String and shredded paper and half blown up balloons and all I wanted to do was cry over the mess.. Instead I put on my happy face and hugged them. Then I put them to bed and cleaned for over an hour..Now I look back and smile but then it was just a "Mom is totally and completely overwhelmed." moment. So back to the kids coming over. Daniel made his mom a Carrot Cake from scratch with cream cheese frosting which I thought was really cool. I did nothing on this but found him a recipe and took him to the store. The writing on the cake is sad, but sweet cause he did it. The cake was amazing by the way..... Olivia wanted to go the crafty route. I had found a couple of ideas on Pinterest so off we went. Lemon Lavender soap in a goatsmilk base. I had the lemons, the soap base she bought with her own money at Michaels with a coupon. It was 5.00 and then we wrapped it in scrapbook paper and raffia. We still have half the soap base left. This stuff is yummy and a quick craft. We decorated up a yard sale basket with a newspaper rose and some yellow paint. Made some just like "Mary Kays Satin Hands" stuff. Olivia went nuts over this. We called it making a potion. In fact she wants to do this for her Birthday party. You just find a cute little jar and spoon, mix the Dawn soap that is apricot colored for soft hands and sugar and fill the jar. You use it like a scrub and it really does make you hands and arms super soft. Our jar is a little on the messy side but she was thrilled with it. Then we put together my favorite craft. I found a little terra cotta pot and saucer at Goodwill. Olivia painted them turquoise and then sealed them with mod podge. We glued it all together with a little glass bowl from the dollar store and added a button on the top. Gummy Bears completed it. Check this out, a handmade gumball machine! The kids were so excited with the gifts they made and Stacie was thrilled. I had a wonderful Mother's day too. I was taken to a wonderful dinner and My son got me a beautiful orchid and Stacie and the kids got me a greenhouse and some gardening things. I have more things to post along with a couple of tutorials but I think I will do that in a few days......Have a Happy Day! xoxooxoxmelinda

It feels like summer already!

The last two weeks have been in the mid to high 80's here in Kennewick. I remember snow in May in Utah and I gotta say, " This is a nice change!" It may even be too hot. I sure like getting to putter around the yard this early though. I still am totally addicted to Pinterest. I look at it everyday and just drool. All the ideas and the things I want to do. It really is amazing to me that there are so many ways to do so many things...From making your own laundry soap to how to's for house repairs and pictures of cute baby animals. I have a hard time with the cute baby animals. I want them all in my backyard. It really is hard to restrain myself to 4 chickens, a big dog, two cats, a bunny and a fish. Sighhhhhhhh. I finished a quilt top today. This is one of three UFO's that I have. I struggled with what to do with the rows. It was a round robin row quilt that Barb hosted. It was Barb, Robin, Jen and Hetty along with myself. The theme I picked was bright stars. When I laid it out I noticed the purple. I love purple, so I bought some purple. Here it is... I love me some bright colors for sure. I think I am going to do a soft fleece back, purple binding, straight line quilting and maybe some orange rickrack. When I get it done I am going to try to find a picture of the other ladies finished quilts and post them, because I am sure that mine is the last one! Olivia and I made a hat for the Kentucky Derby. We just decided it would be fun. I thought it was pretty outrageous with all the flowers. Then we went online and googled outrageous hats....Oh my word, there are some doozies. I love them. We might have to revisit the hat making. She loves to wrap some chiffon around herself and prance around in her hat. When I was a kid it was my moms nightgowns...one of them was cut like a princess dress. Weird I know, but kids are weird and wonderful anyway. While she was prancing we went outside and made some mini greenhouses from mason jars and plastic pots. We had gotten some cuttings from the neighbor and I want to see how they do. Most are roses, but there also is a lilac and a snowball bush. I used a pinterest tip of course. Use cinnamon instead of buying rooting hormone. Way cheaper and something almost everyone has. Now we will see how it works. I played in the dirt, cinnamon and stems and Olivia wrote out the names on masking tape and stuck them on the jars. Some of the plants we knew the names, others she got creative on...I noticed an Olivia and auntie rose among other things....Haha. We had fun and I am anxious to see how they do. You don't know until you try. A tipsy plant pot was something I always wanted to make. I saw them several years ago on someone's blog. You basically thread clay pots on a plant stake. Then I saw someone gilded the lily and painted them and added dots. I looked for clay pots and they weren't cheap. I did find some cheap plastic one in colors {!} at Walmart. So I didn't have to paint them first. I picked black then added some white dots and ribbon then sprayed them with sealer. YAY! Tipsy pots. I like them. Are they perfect? Not really but they are fun. I just have to show you a picture of my feathered babies. They are so cute. These two are Rhode Island Red hens...Named appropiately, Ginger (from Gilligans Island) and Lucy. Guess from where. This is Chip, my favorite. I am hoping Chip is not a rooster because I love him. He loves for me to hold him. Yes, I snuggle my chicken. I am crazy that way. The black chicken is Butter. When he was a fluffy little thing, his butt was a creamy yellow like butter. Hence Butter the chicken who I am pretty sure is a rooster. I can't have Roosters here and having had one before, I am not sure I want one. I love the crowing but they can be mean little buggers. I could lose my lips to a rooster. You know if I forgot myself and snuggled one. Oh well! Have a happy day! melinda xoxoxoxoxox P.S. This quilt is going to become a Giveaway quilt on my blog...I think it is a good way to celebrate my new life near my kids, so stay tuned!!!!!!!

Lots'a crafty goodness.

I recently found Pinterest courtesy of my good friend Cinda. I have so much fun looking at all the creative ideas that people have found on the internet and share by "pinning" them. I love looking at the pictures and being inspired. Warning, it can be addictiong to the point where you are constantly looking and not doing! However, I have managed to "do" a few things... I saw a pin on how to take inexpensive glass from a thrift store and paint it with a combination of glue and frosting food coloring and when dry it looks like sea glass. I love sea glass! Daniel and I gave this a whirl and it really does work! I also found a pin that showed using a thrift store frame that you paint and bow and use instead of a wreath. I went to the thrift store and really didn't see the right kind of frame but I found an old painting and decided to redo it. I wanted to put "Welcome" on the bottom but I hate my own writing. Pinterest to the rescue. Take a dark color of paint and paint where you want the letters. Let the paint dry and then put letter stickers over it spelling out the words you want. Then paint a color over the top that will meld into the background. I used two coats letting the first coat dry before doing the second. while the second coat was still wet I used tweezers to pull up the stickers. Then I drilled two holes in the top and made a wired ribbon hanger...I also used craft paint and a dry paintbrush to blend in the second color I painted. It looks so pretty now. To age it a little bit I used a sepia ink pad and lightly inked it. Olivia and I also redid a lamp...She wanted one for the "girl" guest bedroom. She has had more fun decorating it with me. We had seen a few that she really liked at Hobby Lobby but they were expensive, even on sale. So off to Goodwill we went. We found this lamp for 3.00 and the shade for fifty cents. The bottom of the lamp was already a cute purple so all we did was make fabric ruffles and then hot glue them to the shade from the bottom up. When we reached the top we used a cute yarn trim to hide the edge of the last ruffle. Here is Olivia hiding her big smile. She loves the lamp and we had fun sewing the ruffles together. It was such a quick thing to make that we went back downstairs and made my niece a baby card to go with the quilt and a nursing cover that I saw on Pinterest too... Olivia agreed to be the reluctant model. We put a big pocket and a ruffle just to girl it up a little...These are so fast and easy and I know Emily will love it! If you need some crafty inspiration, check out Pinterest... I think you will love it! Last of all, Judy, I tried to email you but your blogger is set to no reply so write a message with your email included and I will send you an email back..... Happy Spring! xoxoxoxox melinda

Vintage Baby girl quilt. Done!

I finished Baby Lily's quilt and I also made booties and a little fleece cap. It is really soft and in May at the Oregon Coast it can be cold...The quilt is made from a vintage chenille bedspread, retro fabric and the border is a vintage pillowcase. I think this is so feminine and pretty!

Fairy terrarium and The start of a quilt.

Here in Kennewick they have a huge Craft Warehouse that also houses an amazing selection of quilting fabric. I went in there to look for fabric and saw these beautiful Fairy jars. They are like a terrarium, but no real plants. I broke down the price and they were expensive to make. So I started looking for alternatives. I went to Goodwill and found three big vases for 1.00 a piece. Craft warehouse sold them for 15.00 and up. I got moss and rocks and colored clear rocks from the Dollar Store...These were about 6.00 per small bag. At Craft Warehouse, I bought the Fairy, a little bench and the bird. The nest and the eggs I had. I just glued moss on the nest and hot glued it onto a piece of driftwood I found at a park that is on the banks of the Columbia river. I love how it turned out. In my window I have this beautiful lily blooming. It is huge and looks like and Amaryllis except it isn't red and it is blooming now instead of Christmas. Maybe I am misinformed. If you know will you let me know? Today I am working on a little girl's baby quilt for my niece Emily. She is having a baby girl named Lily. I am using retro pink fabrics and vintage chenille from a bedspread. I am using a vintage pillow case for the borders. Finished it will have Minkee scallops and a Minkee back. I am going to make a hat and soft shoes to match. I forgot how inspiring it is to be blogging. I am glad I decided to blog again....xoxox melinda