It's Spring Break!

Later, gator!I'll be back!

Cover Everything With Fabric!!

But first~a few thank yous!I was named Blog of the Month over at Savvy City Farmer! I know! A whole month! And then yesterday, Sherry from No Minimalist Here featured my house for her Open House Party! It doesn't matter how long you've been blogging, things like this are always a thrill and an honor!  Thank you so much! 
OK. I was about to cover something else with fabric.

It's probably not a new idea. 

In fact, I just googled it and it's so NOT a new idea. 

From Cantaloupe Corner~her photography is so good!I should have googled it sooner~like, before I started.

sourceThen I would have realized that there are better shelves to cover than something like this.

Which I loved so much I tore the door off before getting a picture of it.

 But you know what? It was still kind of fun.

Even though I'm not a precise measurer or cutter. I should have tried to be, but I did not.

Because then it isn't fun anymore. 
(There's a reason why I don't quilt. Or hang wallpaper professionally.) 

Got an ugly shelf?Cover it!
Have a great weekend! 

Cookies With Expression

I do this weird thing. 

I look at inanimate objects and see faces. 

I was making cookies yesterday and saw these. I thought they were hysterical, for some reason.

I call this one "Cookie in Despair".

This one is "Somewhat Horrified Cookie".

 This one is 
"Angry Evil Overlord Cookie 
Plotting Your Death". 
(I ate him first. Do you blame me?)

They're an appealing trio, no?

Mod Podge DOES Rock!

Remember these?

Well, Kristincita said...

I had blue geese in my first kitchen! I think you should hold onto them but give them a fresh facelift. You could paint them black or white and they apply vinyl numbers 1.2.3.4. You'll always remember what was underneath but they deserve a new spring coat! (of paint)

She was right!

And I was all set to paint them and put some

 vinyl numbers on them, when I remembered this

 photo I pinned a few weeks ago.

BHG

Fabric covered buckets! Such cuteness!

 I must say, I really prefer using Mod Podge on fabric rather than paper. 

I did a few projects with paper and Mod Podge, and it wasn't a ton of fun.

But fabric has some stretch to it, making it easier to get the wrinkles out.

I must do a few more!

What Would You Build?

If I could build any house I wanted, I mean any house, I'd build an American Foursquare.

Something about them really appeals to me. 

The proportions or something.

About a hundred years ago, you could order them as a kit. Take a look at the price. I know. For that same price today, you'd be lucky to be living in a car. And it wouldn't even run.

I used to live in a foursquare, when I was little. The rooms were all the same size, with a center stairway. It made the house more economical to build.Some of these older houses are very plain 

and some are more ornate, like the one above.
I think it's kind of tacky.I'd build mine more plain.

source I really like this one.The floor plan wouldn't even be that hard to modify.A garage could be build in the back with a door coming in the house through the back pantry. The smaller upstairs bedroom on the left could be a master bath and closet, with the other left bedrooms remaining bedrooms.

sourceOr I'd get new plans for a house like this one.I've given it a lot of thought. My husband thinks I'm kind of nuts. It's not that I don't like our house.
I do.It's just not what I'd choose, if I could choose anything.
What would you choose?
 

How Much Has Your Taste Changed?

If someone asked me that, I'd have to say "A lot!" I just found these canisters in the back of a cabinet. I thought I'd thrown them away a long time ago.

 They were the first things I ever got to choose for our house.

I loved them. I thought they were the cutest things ever.

I even had matching kitchen towels. I always kept them lined up on top of the fridge. Now I look at them and wonder what I was thinking. 

I don't think they'd fit in now!It makes me wonder if I'll look at this photo in 10 years or so and wonder "What was I thinking??"
How much has your taste changed?
This will be my last post this week, so I'll see you Monday or Tuesday next week!

Rip Off A Girl Scout

Make your own Thin Mints!

Just three ingredients.This wonderful blogger (I got the recipe from her) only uses two ingredients~you'll have to pop over when we're done and see what she uses. Or go now. I'll wait.(do you hear the theme music from "Jeopardy?)OK. Let's begin.But since one of her key ingredients isn't so available here, I used this.

Just melt equal parts semi-sweet chocolate chips and mint chips in the microwave.

Stir until smooth.

Plop a Ritz cracker on a wooden spoon that's fairly well covered with melted chocolate.

Spoon more melted chocolate on top of the cracker until it's covered.

Place them on a foil lined cookie sheet. If you don't have some place cool to put these until they dry, you'll want to lightly spray the foil with cooking spray, or else they might stick a little bit. Also, I keep mine in the fridge. They get all melty otherwise. (and if you keep them in the crisper drawer, no one else will eat them. Because, let's be serious~who else looks in there but you?)

Yum! Just like Thin Mints.
(OK, here's the disclaimer. Of course you should support your local Girl Scouts. It's a great organization, and they just turned 100 yesterday. But just in case you don't keep a ready supply of Thin Mints in your pantry at all times~this is a good thing to know. Or possibly a dangerous thing. Depends on how much you like them!)

Thanks for reading!

How To Make A Vintage Bed Longer

Here's how we did it.

I don't know if you can see it clearly of not, but the ends of the side rails on the bed are kind of weird. They have these conical shaped pieces that fit into the headboard and footboard.

So we knew we wanted to keep the ends, or else the bed wouldn't be usable. 

We found some longer side rails in our garage and decided to use them. 

The original rails also fit upside down. The bedsprings had a hook that would fit over the rails to hold them in place. 

It was a weird set up. 

So my husband just cut the original rails in half, then placed them under the longer rails with the original ends extending out longer than the new rails. You'll see in a few pictures what I mean if that convoluted sentence doesn't make sense to you.

(My husband wanted me to tell you that he hasn't done in any welding in about ten years, and that he no longer has a cutting torch or a grinder. So this sort of rough and it isn't pretty.)

Then the guys got to work welding. With our ancient welder. Actually, in this picture, they're cutting the rails in half, but you get the idea. 

So we have this. 

And this. A doubled up rail that essentially extended the original rail. Not pretty, but sturdy and functional.

And after repainting, it's still not pretty, BUT

if it bothers him, he's always got the option of keeping his bed made. 

(Yeah. It's probably not going to happen. Often.)

Thanks for reading!

The Bed

 It was almost 60F on Monday, so I took advantage of the weather and finished painting the bed. I'm afraid this will be anticlimactic. Let me explain. This bed is in my 16 year old son's room.

I never have cleaned my kids rooms for them. Not once they're old enough to pick things up and make a bed.

(how cool is that WWII Navy blanket? I found that after we chose the color of the bed. Serendipity!)

I don't even do their laundry. But before you start thinking I'm too mean, all of my kids who have moved out on their own have come back and thanked me for this. They said the transition wasn't as tough for them as it was for their roommates. They knew they could take care of things themselves.

So what does this have to do with the bed, 

and why is it anticlimactic?

This is all you'll probably ever see of the bed and the room. It's just too messy to show 

right now. 

 (If I were a different kind of mom, I'd clean it for him. But if I were a different kind of mom, he'd expect me to do it. 
I don't think that's a good thing.)
He does have some neat things in here. Dust covered as they are. 

He has no interest in re-doing his room. Too much bother, he says. He's not into matchy matchy, and he likes things sort of...spare.
He hangs onto things, too. Kind of 
an odd combination. 

But I'll cut him some slack for the state his room is in. He's a really good kid. A busy kid. His day starts at 7 a.m., and he doesn't get home until 

after 7 p.m. 

Tennis practice and a new after school job have eaten up almost all his free time. Some day, he'll have a free Saturday and I'll bribe convince him to clean it. 

Monday, I'll show you how we made the bed long enough for the mattress.

Have a great weekend!