Bench redo and house numbered pumpkins

I'm at it again.....
it seems like every weekend lately ive been a craft junkie.  spray paint, sewing, project redos.  of course the BEST ones are the re-dos.  those are basically free! 

ive had this bench around for years.  my bro-inlaw is a fabulous carpenter and made me a set a few years back.  they have been moved all around the country and are still in fabulous shape.  i just dont have the "oak" thing going on anymore.  (this small one has a bigger sister....who is getting painted as we speak--wootwoot)

A-DORABLE!!!  i went to the craft store this weekend got some rubber/foam fake pumpkins.  all i did was print out numbers big enough, trace them using a ball point pen (because it indents in the rubber/foam) and then painted the numbers with crafters acrylic paints.  im going to spray them with a clear coat so the heat doesn't fade them.  (we are still around 100 degrees....im not a happy camper!!!)

here is my bench before.  i just sanded it a little bit with my handy dandy mouse sander.

sprayed it with primer.

spray painted it black.  a few coats to ensure it was covered.

isnt she cute black?  but shes lonely.....

she needed pumpkins!!!

happy fall!!!

linking up to:

FNSI winners

Heidi is in charge of the winners for this months Friday Night Sew In.  click HERE to hop to her blog and see who won.

We also had a bit of a surprise this month.....we had SWEETWATER as a sponsor !!!  how COOL is that!!!  a big THANKYOU to the ladies over there for you prize donations. Heidi is giving a copy of their new book which i adore. have you seen the burlap bag??? L.O.V.E.I.T.

be sure and come back next month for Friday Night Sew In.....i have a little surprise for you all myself.  :)

FNSI results and a goodwill find

hometown....oh how i LOVE this line!  i showed you the other night that i was precutting my squares.  (168 hometown and 300something offwhite)

last night for FNSI i was able to sit down and sew alllll those 2inch white blocks on my 5inch squares. it doesnt sound look like much, but thats a J.O.B. 

im going to make THIS quilt on Moda bakeshop.  Road To Tennessee.  i really really really love this quilt!  I got up this morning and realized i needed (giggle) more fabric for the back and binding.  so off to my LQS i went.  i LOVE my LQS, Quiltique.  After spending millions thousands of dollars there over the past few years, they finally know me by name.  its like walking into the TV show Cheers!  (NORM!!!)

anyhoo....as i was waiting for them to open this am, i decided to hop into goodwill.  usually its a bust for me, but i had a good feeling today.  well looky what i found!  a new/used sewing room chair for me!  its wood with rollers.  i swear ive seen this in the pottery barn magazines.  (thats what im telling my hubby who eye rolled me having another chair in that room!)

check out the price tag.....uh huh....that's right.  $6.99 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

here is my before chair.  one that i recovered a few years back.  no rollers, not a very big seat either.

MUCH MUCH better!  I'm thinking it needs a larger pillow and maybe a cushion for my bum.

lastly.....i bought this at my LQS also.  its a gift card holder.  I'm putting this away for xmas.  ill use it for that stocking stuffer gift of like an itunes card or something.  i just thought it was so fun i had to share.  after xmas it could even be used for a kids ipod.  ?? 

did you all have fun last night and make some cute things?? 

FNSI is tomorrow night!

i have already cut up my layer cake of Hometown by Sweetwater into 168-5inch blocks.

i have 288 off-white 2inch blocks to cut.  i could possibly need 336, but i might get lazy for the backing.

its going to be a quilt.  (YAY)

ill share what the design will be later this weekend when i post my FNSI results.

(Friday Night Sew In--click here to sign up) 

I love Sweetwater and their fabric lines! Hometown reminds me of my "home". 

**North Dakota**

do you know we only have 4 FNSI until xmas?  thats crunch time gals and guys!

see you tomorrow night!



September 11---10 years later

My alarm went off at 4am this morning.  We have big plans today.  Time to get my family up and ready to go pay our respects to all the victims in the 9/11 attacks.  Vegas is having a parade downtown.....but its at 545am to coincide with the east coast.  uffda!

By 5:15 we are all out the door.  no traffic so we make it in record time.  its dark and the weather is "cool" to us desert people.(heavenly)  I'm still trying not to "choke up" because I know once I see those fireman and hear the bagpipes its all over.  my kids like to laugh at me.  I'm a big ol softy.

check this out----there was even a piece of the WTC on display

here are some photos of our patriotic morning in downtown las vegas. 

  my son with is face tattoo.  :)

flags on the back of the firetrucks always make me want to yell USA USA USA! 

our first responders and our military will always be my TRUE HEROES! 

I love all of these "bikers". 

you know...the patriotic ones who block protesters at funerals of our fallen soldiers. 

my guys.....

they look pretty good for it only being 630am!

my son touching the piece of the WTC iron. 



I'm proud to be an American.

 So I figured I would do the most American thing I know today.....watch football and eat junk food.

Cottage pincushion

I  found this tutorial here

and had to make one!!!

its a little house pincushion!  a cottage!  CA-UTE!

if your a new follower....yah i LOVE pincushions.

if your a frequent guest....i know im obsessed!

are any of you going to 9/11 parades tomorrow?  my hubby, son and i are.  ours starts at 530am

to coincide with the east coast. 

i found us some patriotic gear.  my son even spotted the face tattoos.

we are proud Americans!

i always cry on 9/11----im sure most of us do.

that day is always fresh in our minds and hearts.

GOD BLESS AMERICA !!



Patriotic Pride in a picture

September 11

10 years later

seems impossible its been that long doesn't it?

my sister is a fabulous photographer! she took this photo yesterday down the road from her house.

what a beautiful photo!

i love how she caught just enough of the sun on the flag.

its the look....that look that a true photographer knows how to get.

(please do not copy or reprint this photo as it does not belong to me. she has graciously allowed me to show it off! )

Chicken Wire Board---tutorial

Ive been a busy girl this weekend.  yesterday morning something caught my eye in the corner of my room.....hiding....just DYING to be re-crafted!

this was the inside, which is covered up in the above pic.  i was prepping for spray painting.

a little outdated and no color scheme to match my sewing room.
do you all have one of these?  bless the people who made it, but im done with it.  ive had it for 6 years.

here is the finished product!!!  ill also give some pics and a tutorial of sorts of how i did it.

would you ever guess what was hiding under the burlap?  isnt she a peach?  im LOVING the finished product.  although i said a few cuss words, stomped my feet and glared at the back of my hubbys head while working on this.....im glad i did it and i did it all by my selves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so first step was i covered the inside quilt area with parchment paper and used stick pins.  worked perfectly. 

 have you all seen this beautiful color in blog land?  ive been trying to get my hands on a can of this stuff for months. 

here is the after spray paint.  and im talking like 3-17 coats.  (jk...only 4)

i pondered sanding / distressing it some....but got lazy.  its hot and humid today.  who wants to hang in the garage all day.  NOT ME.

i cut the burlap piece to fit, then starting hot gluing from the middle down. 

tahdah!  wait.....is she done?  HECK NO!  she needs some CHICKEN WIRE! 

my neighborhood is still being built.  well they use this chicken wire stuff for the walls here before they stucco.  (peuy, yuck, blehk.  i hate stucco)

welllll, they had a big roll of waste in their dumpsters one day.....so at 5am my sister trekked down there and STOLE it for me!  wait, is it stealing when its being chucked?  um NO!

when using the chicken wire, heavy duty gloves come in handy.  unless you want to risk tetanus.  just saying....

we also dug out our heavy duty power stapler.  (didnt even know we had it).  worked fabulous.  (santa, id like power tools for xmas please)

i made a little burlapy flower for the top, hot glued a button in the middle and VOILA---

it wont be staying outside.  i just had to get some decent lighting   :)

took me 2 days to redo.  took me 10minutes to clutter up.

linking to:




 

PINS

I'm playing around with some stamps trying to come up with some cute ideas for pin cushions.  check this one out....

i have a few different work stations in my sewing room.  i definitely need the diff pin cushions and diff sizes.  i tend to knock them on the floor a lot too.  have you ever stepped on a pin?  OUCH

this is the backing fabric.  i found this tucked in my FQ stash.  totally forgot all about it.  of course my top fabric is my fav drop cloth.  have you all discovered this gem yet?  shhh....dont let the hardware stores know about our obsession with painters drop cloths.  they will jack up the price!  people...seriously....you can buy it for C H E A P! 

i used these stamps and ink.  it wont be washed, so im not scared of the words coming off.  if they fade, it just gives it character.

crushed walnut shells.....they are a MUST for pin cushions.  they give it weight and also supposedly sharpen the needles/pins.   sounds good to me.

you can find the crushed walnut shells in your local pet stores.  it is actually "bird litter".  no smell, not nasty....i promise!   this was a huge bag and has lasted me a long time. 

are you sewing this weekend?  any fun projects out there?