Junk Revolution Bag

I loved this bag when I first saw it over at Junk Revolution. But the price tag was way too steep for my budget (Sorry, Ki). Let's see....a week's worth of groceries for the family or a fun bag for me?! I decided the bag would have to wait. Then I found a great canvas messenger bag at a garage sale for $1. Perfect!

This week I finally got around to working on my version of the great bag. On another blog (I don't remember which one) I saw a fun scarf tied around the handle of a tote bag. I liked the idea and found a scarf at the thrift store. That set the color scheme for the bag. I just went through my stash of "stuff" and started embellishing.
Fun little flower trim.

Vintage buttons.

An old souvenir pocket knife.

Fabric scraps.

It was fun to make and will be fun to carry around. There won't be another like it, that's for sure! When you are out thrifting or garage saling, make sure you always look at the purses, bags and totes. With a few embellishments you can make a boring bag into a fun one-of-a-kind bag!

Even though I didn't buy Ki's bag, I love her Junk Revolution site. There is a store, a blog, a message board.... Lots of fun stuff! Please go pay her a visit. You'll be glad you did.

We've had lots of cold rain this week. It has been rough - especially after the 80° temps we had last week. Finally it stopped raining this afternoon and the boys were able to go outside and play. They had definitely been cooped up too long.

I better go work on supper. We are having salmon and grilled asparagus. Yummy!

{The shopper says, "That's junk—I'll take it off your hands," then goes off boasting of the bargain. Proverbs 20:14}

Eight Years Ago...

Very early in the morning, eight years ago today I went into labor with baby #2. No big deal except that I was at home in KS and hubby was at a conference in WY. I wasn't due for three more weeks, but I guess the baby had his own opinion on that. So, I got my three year old son out of bed, drove him across town to my dear friend's house and then drove myself to the hospital. A while later another sweet friend came to the hospital to be with me. She stayed by my side and was right there....

...when this guy entered the world. He was healthy and strong. That was definitely a day to give thanks. I had a healthy baby and I had wonderful friends who were there for me. In case you were wondering, hubby got home a couple hours after delivery.

Here is a quick little project I did a couple of weeks ago. I've had this old screen window (minus the screen) for several years. In this house I decided to hang it in the dining room, but it was looking pretty bare.

I found these chippy old plates at the thrift store. I'd never seen them do this. The white "paint" has come off around the edges and the underneath is black. Most people would probably look at them and think "trash", but not me.

I turned them into "treasure" with a few simple steps. I took a couple old dictionary pages and printed "Give thanks" on them. Then I just cut them out in a circle and glued them onto the plates, added plate hangers and ribbon and hung them in the windows. I do think I still need a punch of color somewhere, but at least I have more than a bare wall now. Not bad for a quarter! I think that is what I paid for the two plates. Everything else I already had.
This old scale came from the antique store. Yes, sometimes I do a little shopping of my own when I stop by to check on my booth. It was half price and I just thought it would be fun in my kitchen. It looks good outside with the pumpkins and gourds, too!



Just in case you think all I ever buy is things for the house or to resell in my booth, I thought I would tell you what I got for $20 at a garage sale on Friday. For boy #1: 1 hoodie, 1 jacket, 4 shirts and 2 pair of pants (all Aeropostle or American Eagle). For boy #2: 1 hoodie. For Sweet Girl: 1 skirt, 1 shirt, 1 pair of shorts and 4 pair of pants (all Children's Place). I have no idea how I would afford to clothe three kids without garage sales, thrift stores and hand-me-downs. I promise you they wouldn't be wearing Aeropostle and American Eagle!


I hope each of you has a wonderful week. Hubby is out of town all week, so it is going to be a long one for me!

{"She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes." Proverbs 31:21}

Craft Therapy!

I finally carved out some time to do a bit of creating. I got most of my craft supplies unpacked last week. That helps!

It was fun to make this collage. I was pleased with how it all came together. Blue and birds are some of my favorites lately.
My dilema - keep this collage for the master bedroom or use it as a wedding gift this weekend? I started out making it for a gift, but I sure do like it. Hmmm....
When you are out thrifting keep your eye out for those little boxes of scripture cards. They are great to use in collages and cards.
I also made a couple of cards. I am going to submit them to Lilybean's sketch challenge. I absolutely love everything that gal creates. Man, is she good! Often when I am "stuck" on a project I will go to her blog for inspiration.
This one is a wedding card for a wedding we are attending this weekend. Now I've just got to decide on that gift!

That's all for now!

Teacher Gifts

Leaving town last week for my Grandma's funeral really messed with my schedule. I had plans to make teacher gifts so we would have them to give out on Friday. That obviously didn't get done. Friday was tough. It was so hard to say goodbye to everyone. Lots of tears were shed. I really felt bad that we didn't have anything to give to the teachers.

So.....this weekend we worked on gifts and delivered them on Monday morning. My first grader is pretty creative. He's been wanting to paint a canvas, so that is what we did. He painted and then we decorated it. He came up with the #1 teacher idea, wrote "I love you..." on the circle and, of course, wrote his name.

I think it turned out cute and his teacher loved it. And we loved his teacher. He had her for kindergarten and then she moved up to first grade this year. That means we had two years to get really attached to her.
Next is the gift for Sweet Girl's kindergarten teacher. This was her second year of teaching. Having a child with special needs in her classroom was obviously something she had never experienced. Actually, it was a pretty new concept for the whole school. Most of the special needs students are together in their own classroom. That is great, but we thought the regular classroom was the best for our girl. Mrs. Davis did an incredible job!

This actually started out as a wall hanging from the Hobby Lobby clearance aisle. I just covered over the picture. I guess you can probably tell that the card holder is a math flashcard. I just cut it in half and then sewed the pieces together to make a pocket.
Then there is Sweet Girl's aide.....What an answer to prayer. We had no say in who the district hired to be with our girl during the entire school day. She would have to feed her, change her, help her with her work....Well, she did more than that. She loved our Sweet Girl! What a blessing Miss Angela was. I always knew my girl was being taken care of. It was so nice not to worry about her. Sure wish she would move to our new town with us!
I love the photo because Sweet Girl is looking right into Miss Angela's eyes. She has such a sweet look on her face and I can just see the love in those eyes! It made me think of all the things she might say if she could talk.
I hate all the goodbyes, but I'm glad we came up with something to show our appreciation. Like I told each of these wonderful women - words just cannot express how much they mean to us.

{"Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God." Philippians 1:3}