Fun With Tote Bags

We all have things, lots of things.

Things we need and must carry with us.

I carry a small purse, so I usually take a tote bag along with me in the car.

My tote is filled with extra glasses, pens, notebooks, pills, and now hand sanitizer and face masks.

Just things I may need when I am out and about.

I bought some canvas bags at Michaels with a 50% off coupon, and started thinking of ways to decorate.

I love Rae Dunn products, she is an American artist using a simple farmhouse lettering.

I have always loved her products, although they can be a bit pricey, so when I saw Rae Dunn look alike stencils on Amazon, of course, I had to have them.

So very happy with the outcome of these bags I completed using my new stencils.

A simple saying, so cute!

Again I used my Rae Dunn stencils on this black and white canvas bag.

Couldn’t resist this little pouch too!

So cute and whimsy!

I love them.

On this next one, I tried for a little Bo Ho style using a tricolor pack of pom pom balls, again from Michaels for $1.99.

Using my glue gun, I glued the balls in a row on both sides of the bag.

What a cute stocking stuffer idea, totes for many folks on your Christmas list.

Roll the bags up and tie a red ribbon around them, don’t forget to add a cute tag, homemade of course!

Yes, Christmas is only 5 months away.

Time to get started.

This last bag is the one I am currently using.

Stenciled with lemons! I love all things lemon.

It just says “summer”.

Totes are great to take along to a farmer’s market or craft event to carry all the goodies you buy.

Before I end this post I want to say something about stenciling.

The most important thing is to use an almost dry brush, you can always repeat if needed.

Too much paint will cause bleeding outside the stencil.

If you want to shade an area on your stencil, go back, after the first coat has dried, with a darker shade.

Just use your craft paints, they work fine.

I have a dear friend, Denise, who is a wonderful sewer.

If I could sew like Denise, I would make tote bags, in beautiful, colorful fabrics, using the simple pattern on the video below.

Get busy Denise, I expect one in my stocking.

Since my sewing machine hates me, I will have to settle for stenciled bags to fill the stockings of all my loved ones.

Hope you all are being creative, staying busy and staying safe.

Hugs.

DIY Drawer to Table

Well, I was not really sure what this was, when I bought it for $2.25 at the thrift store.

Is it a drawer?

A large rectangular wood piece with some sort of veneer finish.

So, after cleaning and sanding, I knew paint was the next step.

White or gray?

You all know me, white, as usual.

After a couple coats of white chalk paint to this “drawer”, inside and out, I added a simple gold handle to the front.

I ordered legs from Amazon, and painted them gold.

The piece turned out to be a small table, I placed at the foot of the bed, in my spare bedroom.

A piece for books, a throw, or maybe some pillows.

My kitty, “Puss Face”, seemed to like it!

Maybe she will make it her comfy bed.

So pleased with the outcome of this project.

Who would have thought that the odd piece I started with, is now a table.

I love it next to my chenille bedspread.

The spread is not old, but I love it so.

I guess loving it comes from the memories of grandma’s house, and the bedspread on our bed as children.

In this old photo of me with my sister you can see a chenille spread on the bed. We have no memories of that little boy!

I remember naps, laying across a chenille spread.

This has turned out to be one of my favorite “flip” projects.

Hope you all agree.

Have a beautiful day, filled with all things that make you smile, like sweet childhood memories.

Simple Patriotic Pride

Happy 4th, the birthday of our great country.

It’s our patriotic pride of this country, along with the cookouts, and fireworks, that make it a wonderful holiday.

Things are a bit different this year, but I hope you all have added a few simple touches of the red, white, and blue to your homes, even during these troubled times.

My touches were simple.

I changed out my porch pillows, and added some flags.

I found a vintage look banner on Pinterest, printed it out, and added to our family room fireplace.

Yesterday I made a pound cake from scratch to have with strawberries and lots of whip cream.

Yummy!

We have our old folks fireworks ready, sparklers!

Although our country is currently in such turmoil, it is still the greatest country on earth.

Celebrate that, show your patriotic pride.

The hatred shown these days is so sad, I don’t hate anyone!

Pray for our country on this day, enjoy your celebration, large or small.

Enjoy this day, remember our country’s history and all who served to make it great.

God bless all, and God bless America.

I have attached a link to Lee Greenwood’s new version of, “God Bless The USA”.

Recorded with my favorite group, Home Free, and our US service men and women, it is so good.

Love to everyone on this day.

3 Step Projects #2

This is my second post featuring simple thrift store finds, upcycled to be used again.

The definition –

upcycled

-reused in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original.

Hopefully, you all can see that in these three projects.

I found this large wood bowl for only $2.00.

It was in great condition.

I cleaned it, and cleaned it again.

Sanded all around.

Last step was a new coat of stain.

It turned out beautiful, such a great display piece.

So nice on my kitchen table filled with apples, lemons, small pumpkins in the fall, pine cones and greenery in the winter.

A really fortunate find.

I love it!

I have been wanting a new entry chandelier for so long, my old one had a bit too much “gingerbread”, and was over 25 years old.

Hard to justify spending for a new one right now, so when I saw this for only $6.00, it came home with me.

Cleaned it thoroughly.

I touched up the chain with a bit of gold spray paint.

After shining up all the glass, and adding some new bulbs, it was ready to hang.

Beautiful.

So very pleased with the look as you enter my home.

Simple lines, which is what I wanted.

My next project was inspired from this Pottery Barn wood crate, on clearance for $35.00. The original price was $55.00.

I immediately thought of this small wood crate I had in my garage.

Smaller, with a darker stain, but the same old nails and printing on the side.

All I needed to complete this project was to clean, and cut 4 wood legs from some scrap wood.

I stained the wood pieces and glued to the crate.

Pleased with the outcome.

As the Pottery Barn ad shows this crate can be used two ways.

A perfect piece for magazines, or turned upside down a great riser for a table.

Quoting Pottery Barn, “Organize your space or put seasonal decor on display – the possibilities are endless”.

Thank you Pottery Barn for the inspiration.

Hope you all are safe and healthy.

Don’t forget to wear your masks!

Love and blessings to all.

It’s Summer on the Porch

The most popular blogs are all showing their porches and patios for summer.

Beautiful, expensive outdoor furniture, amazing decks, yards, and many with unbelievable pool areas.

For many of us, just a dream.

If that is what you are expecting in this post, you need to click out now!

But, maybe, just maybe, the most of us want and have simple lives, with little money to spend on such things.

We love what we have.

I know I do.

So here’s my crooked back porch tour for this summer.

Same outdoor furniture for the past 8 years, it is perfectly fine.

Changed up the color with pillows as I do every year.

This year a whimsy bright flower pattern in turquoise.

I purchase most of my pillow covers on Amazon, the prices are very reasonable and good quality.

Again this year, I used red geraniums with the turquoise, love them together.

I used the same wood box planter I made, painted white, with an old knob.

You will see a new birdhouse, thanks to a Mother’s Day gift card from my sweet sister.

My DIY wind chime hangs above, along with a beautiful Dauphin violet hanging basket.

My Shasta daisies are blooming, spreading around the bunny next to the porch. So cute!

The birdhouse I made several years ago is still standing, surrounded by Vinca vine, growing wild on the side of our house.

Well folks, that’s my crooked little porch tour for this year.

Nothing expensive, just loving and using the things I have.

It’s wonderful to us.

Beautiful, peaceful, just ours, a part of the home that we love.

We need nothing more!

Hope you all enjoy your summer.

Blessings.

DIY Plate Chargers

Hey folks, today I am sharing a simple idea from Pinterest.

DIY plate chargers.

To be honest, I did not know what plate chargers were, or at least that they were called “chargers”.

An inexpensive project, just using scissors, cardboard, fabric, glue and a glue gun.

There is no sewing, no painting.

The first step is to cut out a 12″ circle from a piece of cardboard.

I took a shortcut and used some 12″ cake boards I had from my old cake decorating days.

You will need about a 14″ x 14″ piece of fabric for each charger.

I had fabric left over from a previous project so I used what I had.

It is a lemon pattern, that I love.

This is a large pattern, smaller patterns will allow more color around your plates.

I ironed each fabric piece first, then laid the fabric piece face down, and traced around the cardboard.

Cut out the circle piece, leaving an extra 2 inches all around for turning the fabric up and over the board.

Using your hot glue gun apply a strip of glue on the edge at the top, then turn the fabric up and over the board securing, take care not to burn your fingers.

Repeat at the bottom, left and right sides, pulling the fabric tight as you work around the board.

Continue applying glue all around, securing the fabric.

Trim the edges on the back, if needed, and remove any threads or glue strings.

That is it!

So simple!

I love them!

I finished 4 chargers in less than an hour.

If you are having a special lunch or dinner, impress your guests with your creativity.

The fun part is choosing your fabric, or maybe you have an old print tablecloth you could cut up and use.

Hope you all enjoyed this project, give it a try!

Love this little quote,

“If life give your lemons, make lemonade”

I have sure had a bunch of lemons in my life, how about you!

Blessings.

Don’t Throw That Away!

Well, this was almost thrown out in our trash.

Oh, no, no!

I still see life, a new life for this old basket that has been in my garage for so many years.

The lid is gone, no matter, don’t really need one,

The color has faded, no matter, a new coat of stain or paint will fix that.

It is still sturdy, lots of useful life ahead.

Could be used for many things, but I saw a picnic basket for two!

First step was to clean, really clean, especially the inside.

I then gave it a new coat of stain inside and out. When completely dry, I painted the outside area a medium shade of gray, leaving the handle and trim the brown stain.

So pleased with the finished look.

I filled it with some plastic outdoor dishes, an outdoor tablecloth, plastic glasses, all things needed for a lunch outside.

I keep my basket in a handy place, where I can just grab it on those beautiful days when being outside is a must.

We have a wonderful large shade area in out backyard, perfect for a mid-morning brunch, or lunch.

I found the floral dishes at my local Dollar General store for $2 each. They are really nice.

Picked up the salad bowl for $3.50.

I have other plastic dishes and outdoor tablecloths, but I could not resist the colors in the floral plates.

Today we are going to have a beautiful day, 80 with low humidity. A perfect day for hubby and me to head outside.

Don’t just throw old things out!

Take a look, make sure you don’t see life with just a bit of work.

Until next time, thanking God for this beautiful day.

Blessings and love.

A Box for Christy

I am so blessed.

Blessed to have a niece, I did not know, come into my life.

Her name is Christy.

Oh how very lovely she is!

Our entire family is overjoyed that she has reached out to us, to get to know us.

Christy lives far from us, as of right now, we have not met, but my prayer is that God lets me live long enough to meet her, to put my arms around her.

Recently it was her birthday, and I wanted to send her something special.

I bought a wood box, painted it with several coats of white chalk paint, and finished with a vintage look knob.

Not perfect, but still beautiful, made with love.

I started gathering old photos to fill the box. Starting back to her Great-great-grandparents, the earliest photos we have.

On the back of each photo I added notes.

Who was in each photo, dates, things about her family she did not know.

My sweet sister helped me, sharing some of her photos, and also writing a special note on the back of our Momma’s photo, Christy’s, Great-grandmother.

As I gathered photos each day, just one more photo, don’t forget anyone, the box filled with well over one hundred photos.

I placed the photos, generation by generation, in the box, along with a ribbon tied note on top.

The box was delivered this week, and as I have written often, I love when a gift returns.

This is my gift back from Christy, she wrote,

“OH MY GOODNESS AUNT MARLENE. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. You have no idea how much your gift means to me. It is beautiful !!!! I am speechless. I’m sure this took so much time and effort, and that alone means a ton. I can’t get over how beautiful it ALL is. And my family is beautiful. I cried when I saw the box and you can imagine the tears that came after opening the box ! I am so in love. Thank you so so much.”

❤️

How blessed our family is to have Christy now in our lives.

Thanks to God.

Blessings and love to all.



Fun with Dollar Tree Pots

I sure hope you all are happy and healthy.

Before the shutdown, I bought these pots at my local Dollar Tree store.

They were perfectly fine the way they were, loved the designs, but I saw color.

So I bought 9 of them!

I painted them the colors I use in my home, using my craft paint and a sponge brush.

I left the inside of the pots the clay color, and I painted the rest.

Pots take paint well, only a couple of coats were needed.

So, here’s a little photo show of what I did with my pots.

Of course, I potted plants in some.

I painted and added some pot saucers which I already had on hand.

You can use one or many on your porch or patio to hold a candle during the evening hours. A must for me at night sitting outside.

My favorite look was putting a saucer on a pot turned upside down to hold a candle for my living room.

Love the butter yellow color.

The design in the pot really shows up when painted.

Taking two saucers, one small, one large, along with one of the pots, turned upside down, makes a great serving piece.

You can glue together with E6000 glue, but it is not necessary.

Using the same set up, you could make a jewelry holder for your dresser.

The pots work great as containers on a table to hold silverware. So cute for an outdoor gathering.

I plan to place one on my husband’s dresser to hold his loose change, just not happy when it is all over the place!

A pretty shade of blue pot was placed on a nightstand to hold those things I use before bed. Glasses for reading, pens for writing in my journal, and the cream I use every night.

The pots can easily be stacked and stored until needed.

I like to store several on my kitchen shelf, the colors of my kitchen.

Cute!

Well, what do you all think?

I think I got a lot for my $9!

What fun, there are endless uses for pots.

You can do the same with regular clay pots and craft paint.

A fun project during these times in our lives to keep busy.

Hope you all are staying safe during all the trouble in our world.

Being creative with my simple projects helps me.

With love and good thoughts, until next time.

Colorful DIY Wind Chime

Hello everyone!

I pray you are safe while we are all staying apart.

With God’s help and love, we will all be together again soon.

“Together”, sounds so good.

I have been cleaning, and working on getting my back porch ready for the warm weather.

Sitting on our back porch is one of the joys of our retirement years.

Wanted to add extra color to the porch area with pillows, pots, and flowers.

I remembered seeing an idea for a wind chime that I loved, it was so colorful, and I loved it’s simplicity.

The wind chime was made from wood spindles.

I found some spindles at the flea market, so I had to try it!

There was a handwritten note on the bundled spindles, “used for replacement parts on an old screen door”.

I remember those vintage screen doors with a row of spindles across the middle, do you?

For the top of the wind chime, I used the top from an old wood pedestal I had in my thrift store stash.

My first step was to drill a hole horizontally across the top of 8 spindles, and 8 holes evenly spaced on the top piece.

I painted the spindles and top piece with my craft paint. You could also use spray paint, whatever you have on hand.

The next step was to run fishing line though the holes on the spindle tops, allowing line on each side of the holes, and then up through each hole on the top piece.

I left extra fishing line at the ends for securing and hanging.

Tied off the ends, and slipped all onto an “S” hook.


To finish up I added a lovely glass knob to the top.

It turned out so nice, I love it.

Love the soft sound when the wind blows. love the sun shining on the glass knob.

Just simple.

Just colorful.

Just whimsy and beautiful hanging on my back porch.

It has been a beautiful day today, so sunny, and 79 degrees.

I have enjoyed looking at my creation as I worked about my yard, and especially when I sat down on my porch for a bit of rest.

What a wonderful gift today has been.

Be safe.

Blessings to all!