I'm just a little bit caught in the middle....

.... of too many projects!

Couldn't make it in to see my kids today -- fevers get you sent home.  But boatloads of Sudafed and Tylenol do wonders!  Not to mention 2 gallons of water, saltines, 3 hot baths, and a ton of fresh air.  By noon I felt like a brand new woman! 

So just what is there to do when you feel refreshed on a beautiful day when you're not at work in this town?
Why, I thought you'd never ask!

Your DIY til you forget you were ever feeling poorly at all!  :-)

The source of my inspiration for this latest project can be found HERE.  As I'm sure you've noticed, the price tag  for FLEECE seems to have gone up exponentially for this product.   And as my LookBook says "What I Cannot Afford, I Instead Adore!"... and I adored it so darn much I just had to see if I could make it myself!  So after staring at the picture for no less than an hour (not all at one time mind you, I'm much too ADD for that noise) I decided I'd see what sort of resemblance I could re-create.  My dad and I took a trip to Hancock Fabrics this weekend where they had a 50% off sale on all anti-pill fleece and let me just say, they have the CUTEST FLEECE PRINTS EVER.  Though the cute ones were not anti-pill which is what I decided I needed for this jacket.  Two and half yards of neutral, camel color anti pill fleece, invisible thread, and two hours of determined ingenuity resulted in this remake:



Front
It can be worn at least 5 different ways, has a hood, & pockets

 Moving on past this project I decided to get to work on a t-shirt project I've seen a million times on Pinterest.  One pack of four men's white undershirts at Walmart = $8.50.  For that price I now have TWO new t-shirts (one to keep, one to sell).

I also decided to make my own facial cleansing wipes using these products.  My facial cleanser (which I would swear by) is $35 a bottle.  And while it does last, it doesn't last as long as I'd like a $35 investment in SOAP to last.  So I made a way to stretch my product life AND cut down on my face cleaning routine!  Apply homemade eye makeup remover with cotton balls, Toss, Get a facial wipe, Swipe, wipe, CLEAN, spritz with homemade astringent, DONE.  Cheap, Easy, Effective - my three new favorite words!  Here's what I used:

Watch out for the Knife.  I've got horror stories.

And last but not least...

As this DIY craze has taken over my life, it's become more than apparent that I need a way to store it all.  I considered some DIY options but as I priced them out... $50 and up was getting a bit ridiculous for a hobby organizer.  So.... OFF TO GOODWILL!!  For $20 I found this gem which serves my needs and then some!  PLUS, it was a new project!  Just what I needed for the evening.  The people at Goodwill were so kind as to help me load it and secure it into my car.  As I was attempting to unload it from my car and get it up a flight of stairs by myself, my newest neighbor came out and offered to help me.  (Like I was going to resist help, I wouldn't have asked for it, but when it's offered... Don't mind if I do!)  Small world too.... my new neighbor is from a part of Kansas City that I grew to begrudginly know -- Grandview.  Anyway.  Got up the stairs and spray painted it a neutral mocha beige in a satin finish.  Ummm hey genius... how are you  going to get this monstrosity across the wood floors of your apartment?

Paused to think.

I'll just lay it on its back, create easy leverage by placing a spray can under it, secure scraps of felt from my jacket with hairbands around the legs, stand it back upright and push it. 

Worked like a charm. 

The friction of the fleece on the carpet caused the fleece to be pulled off and my hairbands to be returned.  Lined the back of the cabinet with wrapping paper, afixed a mirror, and began filling it up.  Need some decorative knobs from Hobby Lobby obviously, but that will have to wait til this weekend!  Here's the beginning and end (the end for this evening anyway):

What started as a Child's Corner Cabinet

Is now a Grown's Crafting Corner!

And with that, I am officially exhausted!!!!



If You Give a Girl a Picture...

She'll more than likely want to keep it forever.  ~*~*~

No matter what is on the actual photograph.  Case in point - I found a picture of a chinese baby making the cutest face EVER about 10 years ago on the internet and printed it off.  That photo is still hanging inside my armoire. And I still smile everytime I see it.

Which got me thinking...

I've got several old family photos that my grandparents have given me, as well as photos I've acquired digitally for various family functions.  I hate not being able to display them.  Resizing is too expensive and I wouldn't DREAM of cutting them or mounting them in a scrapbook for fear of damaging them or losing the photo, etc.

So why not just DIY screenprint it onto an 8 x 10 canvas?

Don't mind if I do!

I took my favorite picture of my dad and my three uncles with my grandpa that I had on my computer and made it into an 8 x 10 canvas in less time than it takes to find something decent to watch on TV.  (Seriously, what is this crap they televise anymore???)

Granted it was my first trial... but now that I've seen I can do it, I'm sure I'll be doing it more often!  I can take any photo, adjust it to my own specifications, and ta-da! 

For ideas on photo layouts click here

Kick My Heels Up and SHOUT!!!

I'm going to go ahead and be so bold as to say, I would guess that the majority of the working world has issues with their job.  Ethical.  Moral.  Whatever the case may be... no job is perfect and no worker is perfect.

Nevertheless, there are those in the working world who - for lack of better sense - still want to be perfect or make their job perfect, or at least try to shape themselves and/or job into some tangible ideal of perfect.  (Oxymoron much?)  That being said, today that ideal became a reality for me for about an hour.

The nerd that lives not too terribly deep beneath my exterior shell was all but crawling, kicking, and screaming it's way out today when I recieved an email from a teacher at a school where I worked last year.  I'm quite sure this teacher had no idea I was still included in the standard mass email list for the entire school.  I thought it was odd to hear from him so I opened the email and found only one attachment with a very familiar title.  I opened the attachment and much to my surprise was a tutorial I had written and distributed to the speech therapists in the parish.  My name was not on it so he had no way of knowing who came up with this attachment he'd mistakenly sent me.

I was ELATED that something I'd worked on was found beneficial to someone other than myself.  To know that my work was helping other people -- definitely brought my ideal of the perfect job into full view.

The rest of the day I cannot speak so highly of, but that is not the point.

The point is -- never underestimate the power of your insticts. 

If Pasteur had ignored his, we would not have vaccines.  If Franklin had ignored his, we would not have electricity.  If Edison had ignored his, we would not have light bulbs.

After all, it's the little things that add up to the big ones.


I suppose this isn't a DIY installment such as the previous three entries, BUT it is ABOUT a DIY.  That's got to could for something ;-)

When in doubt,... Craft it out!

I haven't been as dead to the world as this blog would make it seem.  I spent the weekend upside down in re-claimed lumber, sandpaper, nail guns (no I did not operate it!), and wood stains.  It's interesting to see just how vastly different two views points can be in how to execute a project when the two people are looking at the same picture.  No matter.  They weren't my projects!  In the end it all turned out, I've got the back pain to prove it.

Back in my real life, in my cave to which I escape to block out everything and everyone else... I've found that when I get truly upset I focus on a project.  In the past it was cleaning like a fiend.  However, there's only so much cleaning that can be done in a 1,000 sq ft apartment.  Hence my return to all things DIY last night -- and my Pinterest obsession. 

If you ever have the desire to begin sewing, I highly recommend this woman's blog:  Elle Apparel

She has the cutest skirts (loving her Mad Men look) and easiest tutorials EVER.  From her amazing site full of simple instructions I came up with this:

---DISCLAIMER--- it's not as "Amish-meets-Morticia Adams" as this photo makes it appear!

As a sidenote:  I have a serious committment problem, I'll admit it.  I like having options and I like little changes.  Emphasis on the LITTLE.  Even though I can't stay focused long enough, I openly admit I adjust very poorly to change.  Now down to business.  I've said all this in reference to my cell phone case (among other things).  I get really annoyed that to protect my cell phone it will cost me anywhere from $20-$50 for ONE case.  Oh no no.  That simply will not do.  So I resorted to a clear case I purchased with a coupon, a little free ingenuity, and VOILA!  New, cheap, interchangable cell phone cases to fit my mood/situation/whim/etc!

re·pur·pose = to adapt for use in a different purpose

While I'm quite certain the title of this entry is rather overtly self-explanitory, I've got my own definition of this newfound craze/trend that's raking in the big bucks (for people other than myself of course).  To me repurposing an object is simply giving it another chance, a new life, a new shine on what was once tossed into the unused/unwanted/unnecessary pile.  Ok so there's this huge group of the planet that's taking one man's trash to make it another man's treasure.  Literally.

And those who are crafty enough and business savy, well those select few can support themselves for a month one a very hefty salary with very little investment.  So here are a few things I've given a second chance at life.



Wine Glasses become Candle holders filled with lentils, split peas, and tea lights.




Empty Febreeze scent dispensers become safe, healthy, and new when filled with essential oils and water.




Old glasses dishes from Goodwill



New bathroom containers for cotton balls and q-tips with texture and paint!



I realized that in doing this, it's really not anything new for me beyond what I do everyday.  The kids I love so much are the kids that no one really loves at home.  They are kids that no one has expectations for, no one cares what they do or how they do it... but they come to my classroom and I see purpose in them.  I have expectations for them, whether or not they see it or know it.  Most are too young to understand it.  My expectations of them go far beyond making a grammatically correct sentence or saying their pre- and post-vocalic /r/ (though when they do that, I flip out with joy).  I expect them to be the absolute best.  They have high standards of behavior, manner, and performance in my classroom.   We discuss grades, we talk about their behavior issues in other classes.

To look at their faces and see nothing more than a mouth to feed is beyond me.  My kids are being re-purposed in my classroom everyday.  And those transformations are the most enlightening and gratifying to me.

A glimpse into my day:
During a review of spelling/vocabulary words with my sixth graders I was explaining the word "suffer".  I asked "How could you suffer if you don't have enough money?"
My student reponded, "Well you suffer because you can't blow it!"

Reading, Writing, & 'Rithmatic... meet Hancock's, Hobby Lobby, & Michael's

I guess I should start with a disclaimer... I don't really know what I'm doing.

But I guess that's part of all the fun/experience of learning... if we never undertake a new task, we'd never grow as a person, a community, a culture, etc.  I've never really been what I would consider creative.  In fact I couldn't tell you of many things I've ever done on my own.  But living in a small town where there really isn't much to speak of besides one very historical street facing the river has left me to my own devices for over nine months now.

Sitting around in my apartment when it was far too hot to go outside this summer got me thinking.  What can I DO?  Do with my own hands and mind to keep myself occupied.

Enter HGTV.

I started watching all those design shows, makeover shows, house hunting shows, etc.  After countless episodes and hours I realized something... what those people are doing on those shows really isn't rocket science.   Most of those people don't have to have a specialized degree for what they are doing either.  In fact what they have is an eye, a style, and a will to bring to life what they envision.

Just the same as everyone else.

Now I'm not seeking a camera crew with boom mics and awkward equipment and hilarious outtakes.  I just want to look around my small apartment and feel comfortable.  Comfortable in knowing that hey, this is my space and I made it what it is.

And so started my DIY craze.

Two weeks ago a very dear friend (who knows me very well) sent me a text in the middle of the night:
"you've got to check out pinterest.com.... it has your name written ALL OVER IT"

And so started my DIY obsession.

From then it has been a non-stop mission of go to work, play with my kids who light up my life, go home and search for inspiration to put myself to work.  My mom let me borrow her sewing machine and I've managed to haphazardly teach myself to sew.  I'll be honest, that machine has scared me all my life, but it's really not so bad!  I've purchased a staple gun, wrachet, glue gun, spray adhesive, patterns, lumber, spray paint, brushes, etc... and what I've come up with has kept me sufficiently entertained!