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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Sew Up a Home Makeover

I love this book.  It's full of directions for those just beginning to sew, but is also great for those who have been sewing a little longer!


I was actually surprised that there are only 50 projects because author/designer Lexie Barnes covers every room in the house, and then some!  She shows how to make over your home without spending a fortune, and even includes before and after shots of many of the projects.

Sew Up a Home Makeover, if a wonderful and fun book that you'll turn to over and over again whenever you get the itch to switch things up a bit in your home.  Mark your calendars - it's due in stores August 24.

For now, I'm off to find myself a table cloth that would look awesome as a robe...yup, the book tells you how to do that, too!

Copy provided by publisher for review.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Changed my mind

Remember these?


I found them at my grandpa's farm a couple of years ago.  I had to crawl under (and get attacked by) a couple of locust trees - the kind with thorns as long as my finger! - and pull this beauty out from under a 1 room house that had fallen down.  It wasn't pretty, but I got her out.  The original plan was to plant her as a background in a flower bed.  However, I didn't want to do that till we got new siding on the house.

Well, I'm still waiting on new siding.  (Don't ask - you'll get a very long, ranting post!)  Friday, I decided to do something else with this bed.  Mom and I worked on it a little yesterday.  I hope to have it finished before I go to camp again in a week...Stay tuned!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Tree Craft

This book is AWESOME! Author Chris Lubkemann shows us 35 different crafts using found wood.  He has everything from salt & pepper shakers to curtain rods to coffee tables and all sorts of coat/jewelry/hat racks.


The projects in Tree Craft are not only a great way to bring the outdoors in, but are also fairly easy to make!  Trust me when I say there is something for everyone in this book, and it'll have you out looking for tree stumps and fallen tree limbs.

Copy made available by publisher for review.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Lessons from & for Camp

So, earlier this week, I went along as a chaperon for Bug's Webelos Resident Camp.  I am not much of a camper, and this was even more primitive in some ways than what I've ever done before, but also better in some ways.  There was an air conditioned Trading Post where I could sneak into if the humidity started getting to me, and there was a shower house with real showers and real flushing toilets.  All of our meals were eaten in the mess hall.  They were cooked by someone else, and the boys took turns setting and clearing our assigned table.

When I've gone camping in the past, I've slept in tents that are closed with a zipper.  During the day, you can unzip the inner zipper so the breeze can come in through the screen, but the bugs can't.  They also have solid floors, so you don't have to worry about things falling through.  This is what I slept in for 3 nights:


I'll be going back in a few weeks with Awesome for the Cub Resident Camp, and I've come up with a list of things that will hopefully make this stay a little more comfortable.

Cheesecloth  & Safety Pins - I'm hoping to come up with a way to easily pin the cheesecloth to the tent so I can leave the flaps open during the day to let the air through, but keep the pesky mosquitoes out.

Floor covering - I have some canvas drop cloths that I'm going to paint, if I have time.  I also want to add some gromets so that I can secure the drop cloth to the four posts of the tent.

Cot - I used one of the little cots that my parents have had FOR.EV.ER.  It's better than sleeping on the hard wood floor, but it's still a little uncomfortable.  The camp has some nicer ones that can be rented for $5.  Bug slept on one of those last year and said they were almost as comfortable as a regular bed.  I will be getting one of those this time around.

Did I mention that in the last couple of days, I have found 3 deer ticks on me?  Yep.  Those are the little bastards that carry Lyme Disease.  (My mom brought Awesome out for the campfire, and he managed to get one on his little man parts.)  We're watching these bites VERY closely.  I doused myself with bug & tick spray, but I think the buggers must have sneaked in under my jeans.  You know what that means?  Instead of just spraying my clothes, I think I'm going to sneak off to the shower house, strip down to my birthday suit, and dump half a bottle on me every morning!

In the spirit of full disclosure, I do have to admit that the 3 nights/4 days went by fairly quickly.  The boys picked up some new skills, we learned some new games (like Ninja and Human Battleship), and a good time was had by all!

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