Thrifting and Stockings

I love thrifting. Do you know what I mean?  It's like an adventure! You walk into the store, hoping to  find that perfect treasure.  Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't.

Before craftday I made one last stop at the The Thrift Station in Danville to try and find any fun linens to use in our stockings.  The store was pretty wiped out.  I decided to make one quick pass through the store before I left and look what I found.  

Isn't she cute?  And even better, look what I paid for her.

Here is her new home.  Now I have a place to put my morning cup of coffee.

So we had a great turnout for our Craftivism Day.  We made stockings to send off to the organization Christmas in Dixie.  This group is gathering Christmas decorations for the victims of the Tornado in Alabama.  

See this post for the details.

Everything was in order.  

Fabric table.

Trim table.

Yummy snacks from the farmers market.

Deliciously refreshing water.

Pretty flowers.

And a sample stocking.

Now all we needed were the people.  The wonderful helpers who came to give of their time and creativity to share love with others on the other side of the US.

Everyone worked hard.  We made 25 stockings!  

Ta..Da..

Thanks everyone!

xoxo,

Carol

Flower DIY

Another DIY

(I think I got enough photos this time.)

Today's DIY is for making fabric flowerettes.  They are easy and don't take much time.  You can make them while watching Project Runway or whatever your favorite TV show is.  That is what I do.  I don't like to just sit in front of the tele without something to do.

I made these for our stockings we made on Craft Day.

First you need a length of fabric.  I usually use the width of whatever fabric I am using.  So if the fabric is 45" wide, that is how long your piece will be.   You do not have to use this much.  You probably won't or you flower will get very large.  But it will work to make it larger,  you will just need to sew it up as you go.

Cut or rip about a 1" strip of fabric.  I like to rip my fabric because I like the edges all frayed, but it can have a clean edge as well.

Second, fold the end up to make a triangle.

Then grab the bottom of the triangle and start rolling the fabric.  This starts the center of the flower.

Once you get the center started, fold the long end of the strip.  See the picture below.

After you fold the strip down, keep rolling the center.

Keep folding and rolling, holding on to the small center part.  This acts as a sort of stem.

As the flower starts to get bigger, the pedals will start to form.  The flower will get flatter.

With a needle and thread, sew the underneath part of the flower securing all the layers.

 (ok, maybe I should have had one more picture here of me sewing the back so let me know if you have any questions. I'll be glad to get back to you)

Anyway, you will see these little guys show up in a later post on top of a stocking waiting to be shipped to Alabama.

xoxo,

Carol

I need a new look. Any suggestions?

Actually, I like my look, and it took my 45 years to be able to honestly say this.  I actually am talking about my blog.

My daughter Brittny who orignially started this blog with me has started her own blog.  I must tell you, this was my secret desire.  She has the best way of putting into written word the way she sees the world. Even the name of her blog is creative and original:  10baretoes.   I am so happy.  My devious plan worked!  You really should read her blog.  It's amazing.


She also made a wonderful announcement the other day.  Can you believe it?  I'm gonna be a gramma again! Being a grandmother is the best thing ever!

But, this also means we won't be 6girls3boys anymore. It will be a while until we know if we are 7girls3boys or 6girls4boys.  And can you imagine if I kept this up through all 5 of my kids having kids?  I would have to change the name who knows how many times. 

I knew this name wouldn't last long, and I also wasn't sure if I would be able to keep up with blogging.  But, I love it!  Writing and expressing my feelings have never been my strong suit, but blogging has helped me do this.  It is a great way to journal our life. I also love the creativity that I am able to express and share through blogging.  For now, I will blog.


So that means...I need a new name for my blog.  This is not an easy task, so I am reaching out to my wonderful friends and family to ask for help.  Do you have any suggestions?


I'm serious!  I really need help!  I can't think of anything and I better change it soon before I become famous!


xoxo,

Carol

Today I will choose joy

I am the kind of person who always has too much to do, overcommits and wants to spend important time with people I love.  That's what my day looked like today.  My schedule today:

7:00 Wake up

8:00 Breakfast at Sideboards with Tom

9:00 head home

10:00 Get hair colored

12:00 head to Thrift store to see if I can find any last minute linens for Craft Day tomorrow 

1:00 Drop Bailey and her friends to Sideboards for lunch. Go back home to get Cali for lunch. (I had the wrong car today for lots and lots of girls.)

1:45 Stop by Brittny's house to drop off her phone that she left at my house the day before, invite her to lunch with me and Cali

2:00 Lunch with Cali, Brittny and Chloe

3:00 Back home so Cali can get ready for dance

3:40 Take Cali to dance

4:00 Pick up extra sewing machine at Julie's house

4:30 Grab Coffee (I'm gonna need it to get everything ready for tomorrow)

5:00 Pick up Cali from dance head home

In between the above schedule, I squeezed in some work emails and paperwork, started my first stocking sample, took pictures for a future blog and now (7:34 PM - now 9:01 PM because my internet is having issues) writing this post. PHEW!  Almost done.  I just have to take Cali's friend home at 10:00 PM and finish setting out items for tomorrow.  

As I look at this schedule, I think wow, no wonder I am tired.  

But, I must say, today was a great day.  

I feel good in my soul.  

Tom and I snuck out early this morning and had coffee.  We like to do this.  It is our date time.  I am so grateful that I love spending time with my husband.

I know I complain about all the driving I do, but I really love the time I get to spend with my two youngest (plus friends).  Not much longer and they will be driving themselves and this precious alone time will be gone.  I love impromptu lunches and any time I can spend with Brittny and Chloe.

I am preparing, organizing, creating, and planning for tomorrow.  Some wonderful people will gather in my home to spend their time creating for others who are in need.  

I love this.  

I love having people in my home, 

I love creating for others, 

I love doing things that matter.

Today is a good day.

xoxo,

Carol

Bunting DIY

Today is DIY day.  I will show you how to make your own bunting.  This is a very easy project and does not take much time.  I'm sorry I don't have more pictures of the details, but I will try to describe the steps well enough so you can figure it out.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will most definitely get back to you.

My bunting was being used outside, so I made the triangles rather large.  You can make them any size you want depending on where it will be placed.

I used a rotary cutter and cut out a front and back for each triangle.  Scissors will also work. I made my triangles 14" on the long sides and 9" on the short side.  After I cut out the triangles, I placed 2 triangle pieces right sides together and sewed down both long sides.  Turn right side out and press.

I determined how long I wanted my bunting to be and then divided by the width of the top of the triangle to find out how many triangles I needed.  

To attach the triangle pieces to ribbon, I used vintage ribbon that was 2" wide.  I ironed it in half length wise.  I then pinned each triangle inside the fold of the ribbon.  Sew down the edge of the ribbon to enclose the triangles into the folded ribbon.

Here is the bunting draped over the stair railing for some cute pictures of Miss Chloe. 

Her cute little matching dress will be a DIY later this week.

We used the bunting as a decoration for Chloe's first birthday.

Here is the buntings new home.  On my daughter Bailey's bed.  I love that we found another use for it.  I would be so sad to have it used for only one day.

This is what 15 year old's beds look like...who am I kidding, that is whay my bed looks like as well.
Who has time to make beds when you are busy sewing?

I think the hardest part about blogging a DIY is remembering to take pictures of all the steps.  I'll try to get better at taking more pictures the next time I do a DIY project.  I'll be posting about our stockings after this Saturdays Craftivism day.  We'll see how it goes.  Maybe I can talk someone else into being the designated photographer.  :)

That's some serious baggage!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days.  I had a fun filled weekend with my kids and hubby. 

Pretty relaxing actually.  

I did go to the Alameda Antique Faire and got some great stuff for our craft day coming up this Saturday.

How was your weekend?

I went on a road trip for a weekend a while back and this is how many different bags I had.  

This is so ridiculous!

How many bags does a girl need?  Now Really.

Did I say all this was for only a weekend?

I do love bags.  

And each one has it's own purpose.

Suitcase for Clothes. (I need to find a great vintage suitcase.)

Duffle bag for bathroom items. (This is just unacceptable for a bathroom bag.)

Knitting bag.

Insulated lunch bag.

Computer bag.

Camera bag.

Basket for trunk to hold miscellaneous items.

I made myself an Amy Butler bag to hold my knitting things.  

I loved this bag so much...

I had to make some for a few friends. 

I'm starting to get requests for them now.  I wish I had time to make them for everyone.

A girl can never have too many bags. 

xoxo,

Carol

One Cha Cha

My friend Alexis taught me an important life statement.  In fashion and style you should only have "one cha cha".  In other words, let one items stand out, whether it is a piece of jewelry, or shoes or a piece of clothing.  In my case, however, she says Tom is my "one cha cha".  He is my one item that stands out.  He doesn't quite get what she means by this, but it is true.

He is loyal and protective,  funny and outgoing and always says it like it is.  Some of our friends even call his sayings "Tom-isms".  He likes to say things like "you over it?"  or "front butt" or "it is what it is."

We have been married, off and on (that will be a whole other blog post) for 27 years today.   We have had great times and hard times.  We are very passionate. Whether we are getting along or not, it is always passionate.  I feel like this is partly what has kept our marriage lasting so long.   He is truely my soul mate and my best friend.  I can't imagine life without him.

I have no idea where we were here.

Walnut Creek Kaiser after Chloe was born.

Great America. This is one of his favorite pics of us. He knows why.

Being Silly at Hubcaps Diner in Walnut Creek.

Vegas Baby!!

Kona.

Awesome Date Night!  Last Week.

Happy Anniversary Babe!

xoxo,

Carol