Use What I Have....Lots of Empty WIne Bottles!

I am all about using what I already have....and not buying new stuff!

Well....Mr. S. might disagree with that statement...

But, since I do have stuff....I try to use it!

This newly discovered tip is the perfect way for "Using What I Got!!!"

I've got BOOTS!!!

Probably too many boots....

But I love boots!

I've Got Empty Wine Bottles!

Probably too many empty wine bottles....

But we love wine!

Put the two together and you have the perfect solution for boot tree/organizers!

This explains why I was out in the recycling digging to find some empties.....

This explains why I am just going to need to "drink more wine".....NOT A PROBLEM!

 I shared this tip with the Sweetwater Daughter....."Well Mom that might work for you, but I am afraid that if I did that, pretty soon I would have the pile of boots AND a pile of empty wine bottles in the closet.  People will think I am a "closet drinker"!!!!

I am going to try it anyway......we shall see!

In the meantime....just for fun...hop over to this great post by RindyMae..
She has collected some pretty funny sayings about friends and drinking!
I hope she doesn't mind me taking a screen shot of this quote that seems very appropriate!

Which reminds me of a funny thing....a while back, Mr. S. told me he read in the paper that when the county did an analysis of the success of recycling initiatives, they discovered that our little area "won"....in terms of pounds per resident.....

We decided it must be the weight of all the empty wine bottles that put us over the top!!!!
Hope my new project doesn't put our "title" at risk!

Have a Great day!

Link Parties
Shabby Creek Cottage  

Cornucopia's Oh MY!

Seems that everywhere you look there are Thanksgiving displays featuring Cornucopias.....

 WhenThe Sweetwater Daughter needed to make a Silent Auction donation....she decided a Cornucopia would be perfect!

She let me help her put it together....

wait until you see it!

But....you know me....I had to do a little research....and then share it with you....
It's a librarian thing!!!
 
 "Cornucopias have a surprisingly rich history, going all the way back to 5th century BC. The mouthful of a name derives from two Latin words: “cornu,” meaning horn and “copia,” meaning plenty. That’s why cornucopia and horn of plenty are often used interchangeably; we prefer cornucopia because it’s just plain fun to say.
Originally, the cornucopia was made of a real goat’s horn and filled with fruits and grains and placed in the center of the table. So, what’s with the goat’s horn? Well, the Greek legend states that Zeus, the Father of Gods and men, had to be banished to a cave so his cannibal father didn’t eat him. While hiding out in the cave, a goat named Amalthea watched over Zeus and as she was nursing him, he accidentally pulled off her horn. Zeus promised that the horn would always bring her what she wanted and from then on, it represented endless bounty.

Now on to the fun stuff!!!

Notice the two different wicker cornucopias.....the lighter colored one I have had for years.
The darker one was scored at Bonne Volonté for $7.

The Sweetwater Daughter brought her treasures....fresh greens, some artichokes she dried in the oven, some orchids and dried florals and leaves.

The plan was to use the new basket.....





But the plastic container with the floral foam "settled" in better in this one.








 The idea was to have the whole thing sitting on a tray with leaves around it.....more about that later.

Then we started the arranging......clipping and sticking Oh My!

By wiring the dried artichokes to bamboo skewers, we were able to place them securely in the arrangement.

The arrangement looked great....but the "bed of leaves" looked messy, so we eliminated it!

The last perfect touch were the cattails left over from the fall planter project!

They added a nice element of height and dimension.....

amazing that they still look good after almost 2 months.

This photo gives you the full effect....front and back!

Pretty Awesome....and we had lots of fun working together!

Now on to that "other" cornucopia....

All these mini pumpkins still look good because they had the bleach bath when I bought them.

I added a pie pumpkin....that will never be "PIE" ....

Some Indian Corn, bittersweet and artificial leaves from the "fall stash"

Plopped everthing on a large wicker tray (another GW find)....

And there you have it.....an arrangement that can easily move from one table to another!

Now I bet you "plenty" of info on Horns of Plenty!

Have a Great Day!

Link Parties
A Pinch of Joy  The Dedicated House  Ninth Street Notions  
Making the World Cuter  Clever Chicks  
Crafty Spices  Someday Crafts  

I Have A Blogging Injury! Do You?

I discovered that Blogging was endangering my health?

How so?....you are probably wondering!

Well.....For the last month or so, my right shoulder has been stiff and achy.....

At first I thought it was from moving all the books at work....

And then I had an AH HAH moment!
This is the work area where I do all my blogging!

 Looks good....but notice the height of the stool that I sit on for the hours I spend while I work on my blog!

Yikes!!!!  There I was with my shoulder straining upwards over and over and over again!
A repetitive stress injury waiting too happen....actually a repetitive stress injury happening!

I looked like this.....with my arm in an awkward position for hours!

I should know better....for heaven's sake....I actually teach lessons about this to the kids at school. When we teach keyboarding, we stress proper posture and hand position!  I was NOT following ANY of the rules....and it was becoming a REAL PAIN!

Time to PRACTICE what I PREACH!

My research led me to this information:
The symptoms or RSI include:

• Stiffness or pain in your neck, shoulders or back
• Tiredness, numbness, tingling or pain in your arms, wrists, hands or fingers
• Clumsiness or loss of strength and coordination in your hands
• Pain that wakes you up at night
• Feeling a need to massage your hands, wrists and arms 

Obviously I needed to take action!
Obviously I needed a new stool....or chair....!

But I LIKE my stool....it is cute....it slides neatly under the desk....
What to DO?

Using the "Sweetwater Style" philosophy of "using what I have", I set out to solve the problem!

I had a piece of foam that was just the right size to add four inches of height to my stool!  With just a little trimming it was an exact fit!

I had some batting in my "stash"....necessary to cushion my tush!

 I looked through my fabric stash....and the only thing I found was OK but not quite right!

But a quick trip to the fabric store and for $7 I scored this gorgeous remnant that is a perfect coordinate for the message board!

The project was underway!

My trusty pneumatic stapler made quick work of attaching the batting over the foam!

I wasn't too picky about doing this....another tenet of Sweetwater Style....Just Do IT....it doesn't have to be PERFECT!

Just good enough!!!

I could have stopped here!

It looks pretty good....





BUT.....it still  needed SOMETHING!






Then I remembered that I had some leftover nailhead trim from the "leather look" side table project!

I enlisted the help of Mr. S. because nailing the nailheads into the wood was "really" hard....

We used lots of tools and got it to work!

 It doesn't hurt that Mr. S. is a lot fussier than I am when he does a project!

Besides....he is lots better with the hammer and screw driver than I am!

I still need to go to the store to get a few more tacks to finish the project....

But...I didn't want to wait to start using the taller version of the old stool!

 My shoulder already feels better....

My butt likes the added cushion....

A Successful "remedy" for my blogging injury!

BUT....

Marvin is "reserving judgement"!  

Link Parties
Made in a Day Create and Inspire  

Thanksgiving Decor Let's Talk Turkey!

Two Weeks Until Thanksgiving....Really???

http://vintageholidaycrafts.com/free-vintage-thanksgiving-clip-art/

I guess it is time to start talking turkey!!

so....I wrote this and then started to wonder what that really means....

I put my librarian hat on and went to find out....

This is what I found: 

"talk turkey." The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. Answers.com 10 Nov. 2012. http://www.answers.com/topic/talk-turkey

Kind of boring....and a little politically incorrect... 

but now you know....don't say I never taught you anything!!!!

The obvious "Halloween" decor is put away....but that leaves a lot of good stuff that still looks appropriate for moving on to Thanksgiving!

 

The baker's rack always gets a little decorating for each season. 

oooh....it looks like we need to go shopping for some wine!

The elements here are pretty simple...and almost all thrift finds or simple crafts!

• The trays are made from thrift store finds and corks from all the wine we have used up!!!

• The little ceramic cornucopias, the Haeger planter, leaf plate and Rumrill jug are all from Goodwill!

• Some red peppers from the Farmer's Market are strung on raffia and hanging along the side of the rack.

 These two Audubon prints are new.....well not really new...in fact they are pretty old!  Here is the story about them....

Many years ago I found a 1965 "Birds of America" book in the trash at school!  I snatched it up and took it home....

It still has the check out card attached...

Do you remember writing your name on the card and having the date due stamped next to your name?


It was last checked out in 1982!



Now if I hadn't taken pages out of the book through the years, it probably would be worth a lot of money.....oh well!!

Modern reprints of these plates are selling for ten to twenty-five dollars!
And I have the WHOLE book!!!!

I dug through my frame collection....

I dug through my mat board collection...

I got out my trusty mat cutter....

I have "FINE ART" for a "FINE" price!!!

Gobble....Gobble!

Link Parties
Twigg Studios A Vision To Remember  
Craft Envy  Nifty Thrifty Sunday  

Family Room Redo....Winter Warm Up!

By now you know that I am a "bit" obsessed with fabric!

Walking through the fabric warehouse is my way of finding inspiration!!!

When I watch "Project Runway", I always laugh at how hectic the designers look....I think they have it backwards....

When I go to the fabric store, I find a fabric that "calls" to me....

THEN I figure out what to do with it!

Here is a great example of that process.....

It seems hard to believe that it was only 4 months ago that I was worrying about how to make the lower level family room a cool summertime haven!

The crisp blue and white....
the nautical theme....

Nice....but not in keeping with the change in season!




It was kinda bugging me.....but not enough to do anything about it!
To quote Mr. S..... "It's just fine, what's wrong with it?"
So I stopped worrying about it.....at least until I went to the fabric store!!!
See where this is heading?



Long ago....I bought a sofa from a consignment store...I slip covered it in this great red floral print!
This is a photo of our old cat Dave....relaxing on the couch!!  But you get the idea of the fabric!
 I always loved that fabric and it was sad when it faded and needed to be replaced...but such is life!

Life goes on.....
New cat....
Different fabric on the same couch....



But I haven't forgotten the "old cat"....

Or

the "old fabric"






Then "I went to the fabric store"......

AND...

Look what I found!!!!

The updated version of that well loved fabric....

AND....the perfect solution for the much needed seasonal change in the family room!

 5 yards of the fabric only set me back $35!  

Making pillow shams for the big back cushions on the couch was a simple and quick hour's worth of work!

It was a pleasant surprise to discover that these pillows which are covered in the same print chenille that I used to upholster the game table chairs with look nice with the new print.

I am always amazed at the way prints can be mixed if the color wave is the same....and the reds in these two fabrics coordinate nicely.

Last.....but not least.....I used my NO SEW BOX CUSHION technique to freshen up the window seat.  If I let you see....and I won't...you would notice that I haven't even finished the hand stitching on one of the cushions....just pins for now....

The blue summery fabric came off one of the ottomans....revealing more warm red....

Changing out the mantel....from nautical to woodsy was inspired by
the antlers scavenged from Mr. S's workroom!

They were gathering dust hanging from the ceiling just waiting to become "trendy" accessories!!!  Who knew???

There are some more things that need doing.....that will be a project for another day!

But now....it is time to stoke the fire....the couch is calling to me to curl up under the blankets and watch some FOOTBALL!  Go Vikings!

Link Parties
My 1929 Charmer  My Life's A Treasure  A Pinch of Joy    Sunday Funday
Making the World Cuter  Southern Instititute 
A Marvelous Mess   Alderberry Hill Lines Across My Face  You Are Talking too Much   
DYI Dreamer   
Wicked Good Wednesday