A Turtle For Sitting

I posted about this "to be completed" task a looooong time ago here and here. My grandpa made me this awesome little stool when I was a fair bit younger, and I have loved it. Unfortunately, as does happen, over time this poor old turtle lost his eyesight, acquired a couple holes in his shell, and just took a bit of a beating. He has finally been given a new lease on life. He can see again, he has a new shell, and a fresh coat of paint, er...um... skin??

BEFORE



AFTER



I found a bag of these fantastic eyes at the St.Jacobs Antique Market for 2 bucks. Anyone need eyes for anything??? I've still got several pairs left. Jim drilled holes in the turtle and glued the eyes in, and I painted him up and recovered his "shell". I am so excited that this little stool is now going to be a part of my little boy's lives as it was a part of mine!

Cloth Pre-Folds & Thrifted Wool

So, I mentioned recently that we quit our diaper service simply because it was becoming easy enough with Levi that we knew we could do it on our own (especially after bringing cloth with us to Italy and seeing that we DID do it on our own). The other reason was cost. Two babies with a cloth service was going to be too much especially after this whole ridiculous HST crap brought the price up considerably. What is with taxing a cloth diaper service???

I thought about putting together some pre-folds like the ones in Amanda Blake Soule's book Handmade Home, and finally just got serious about it this past week. This will save us from buying the first stages of newborn and small size diapers - hopefully...



So thanks to my hubs for humouring me and accepting my plan less than 2 weeks before our babe's due date! I have made 10 so far as a test to see how we feel with them. They are made out of old t-shirts and a few old flannel blankets, and one side is from a large piece of super soft flannel that I just bought brand new. For the 10 nappies it cost under 2 bucks to make (only the new flannel cost me). Not too shabby. The soaker in the middle is a mix of t-shirts, flannel & terry cloth (again all of it from our old stuff). We'll see how we go with them.

My man has promised to keep an open mind. As we have been spoiled with our deluxe cloth diapers, I'm afraid his faith will be lost at the first blow-out, but we shall see!



I am highly sensitive to wool, so haven't ventured to make more of these yet, but this wool cover was made for Levi by my mom and I'll for sure be giving it a try. If it doesn't seem to bother the newbie I have a couple of thrifted wool sweaters waiting in the wings to become covers. It seems they come highly recommended by a lot of people as opposed to your average waterproof cover so it's worth trying.

Speaking of thrifted wool sweaters and that lovely book Handmade Home, (which I seriously can't get enough of, and I have tagged nearly every other page for everything I want to stitch up!), I made a couple of her Family Sweater Hats for myself and baby-to-be yesterday and they honestly took maybe 20 minutes each to put together. Can't wait to see it on our little one. Hubby and levi will be scoring one of these soon as well!





xo

Thrifty Upcycle

I just thought I'd share with you something very easy to find in your local thrift shop that makes for a really nice gift, or can add a unique little something to your own space.

I was always seeing piles of these glass hurricane shades at second hand shops for one or two dollars and knew there had to be something useful for them.





Funky lonely little porcelain plates are always readily available and while they can make a great soap/sponge dish for next to your kitchen sink, or a nice little spot on your vanity for loose change or lip balm, they also work great with a shade and votive.





*It helps to have one with you when selecting the other, to ensure that the inner cup rim of the saucer nests well with the shade.

Happy Thrifting!
xo

Which "shell" I choose...

Decisions, decisions...
This old guy has been pulled back out of the garage, since three potential fabrics were discovered for his "shell".





The local Fabricland is closing due to not having enough business which is incredibly sad as it is the only place to really get sewing supplies without driving 20km. The one positive thing is that everything has been 75% off!

When we were living in Perth, Australia, I had to take about 3 buses just to find a store even for the simplest of sewing projects. Everyone I asked said they had all closed down due to a lack of interest. I suppose less people are sewing all the time which is really surprising as with sites like Etsy and so many creative bloggers out there, it seems the opposite.

Anyway, I have collected my fair share of fabric and other sewing implements in this past month while the store clears out their stock. These 3 fabrics are possible contenders for my little turtle footstool.







May the best cloth win!

New Love For Old Desk

Finally, this desk has been completed! Here is the post from back in June that shows it's before state, which wasn't so bad either.



I didn't originally buy this chair and desk together, but they just work so well, don't they?
The chair was finished and in the room months ago just waiting on it's buddy. Things like this, once they find their corner in the garage, really seem to sit a while. It's kind of a do NOW, or do in a few months thing.

We have been the accomplishment champs lately. Must be the desire to sell and move that finally gets us all settled in a place... How does that work exactly??

Anyway, thanks a whole bunch to my Hubby for painting this up for me!

Projects

So, here is my vanity table & seat I FINALLY finished (with a little help from my hubby) for our bedroom. I bought it at the thrift shop for 30 bucks at about this time last year. The mirror is an old find from several years ago, the little vintage Avon jars I picked up around the same time as the vanity. My husband's aunt gave me the tree which is meant for small photo frames but they have been discontinued. It works perfect for my collection of earrings (jewellery was and is my travelling weakness).


...And here sits my next project
(Desk from the thrift shop for Forty dollars)


...And my next
(This turtle footstool was built for me by my Grandpa, but has since lost his eyes, poor guy, and worn out his "shell" a bit - He is in desperate need of love)


That's all I'm allowed right now. I have been forbidden to bring home any more furniture projects that I may want assistance with.
Oh, but he is a good sport. I'm sure he could be swayed should the perfect item appear. ;)
xo