Roadside Rescue (turned into my new sewing area)

This is the story of my new sewing area.

I've really been wanting a spot to work on my new book and quilts where everything was organized and right there. My husband is so good to me and said I could set up a sewing nook in our bedroom. What do you think?

So I've been looking for the "right table." I went to a garage sale last week and saw this table. It was the perfect size but they wanted $20 for it. I just didn't want it that badly.

Then...

I drove back by that afternoon and apparently it didn't sell. There was a sign on it that said "FREE"!!!

I slammed on my brakes and put that sucker in the back of my Durango all by my lonesome. It's my roadside rescue.

I spray painted it red and ordered a piece of glass for it. Instead of an inspiration board I'm using it as an inspiration table. I put a bunch of inspirational pictures on the table and laid my glass on top. I love it.

I found this awesome, naturally distressed shelf at GW a couple of weeks ago. Remember I wanted to cover up the 1980's heart? I made a huge posie and glued it right over the heart. Done. It houses all my sewing supplies.

The stool I already had. I srpay painted her red too and added some funky polka dots. Oh yeah...

I'm so happy with it. It feels really good to sew in there. The only money I spent was on the piece of glass, but I'm totally okay with that. I'm pleased as punch.

Now, head over to Infarrantly Creative for her Roadside Rescue party. I can't win because I've donated a print and coloring book to the winner. :)

This was so much fun! You can't get better than free!

**I've also linked up to DIY over at A Soft Place to Land. There is some genius stuff going on over there!

I'm doing the thrifty treasure dance!

In an effort to save more money (still rolling with Dave, getting closer!!), I realized that my "thrifty" purchases were adding up. So I decided to stick with my "list". My list includes items that I either need or really want for certain places in the house. I could not BELIEVE it when I saw these... I've seen them at Pottery Barn and Pier One for big bucks and love them. They are oversized wall hangings for the kitchen and I never thought I would actually find a set.
The front of our house gets hardly any natural light, so it stays very dark. I've been looking for a lamp for our foyer entrance and GW had this for so cheap! I want to spray paint the body white (not the glass part) and do something much brighter with the shade.

Antique door holder. On my list was "something" for an area that needed something cool in it.

I was happy about this find...Ashton and Jax are sharing a room now and all I have in there is a really cute painted map of the USA. I'm on the search for globes to line 2 shelves with and this is the second one I found. It's a little more than I wanted to pay but I know they retail for a lot more. Searching for these is fun.

The rest are all frames that are for Logan's room. I was actually looking for all these different shapes, styles, sizes, etc. so I am very pleased.

We set a goal in January to pay off ALL debt (except mortgage) and fully fund our emergency fund by the end of the year. We are getting close but now when I buy things I really have to think about it. Will I love it? Do I need it? Can I get it cheaper anywhere else? Or would I be happier using this money to pay off my last student loan?

What criteria, if any, do you have when you go thrifting?

Rhoda (The queen of thrifty treasures) is having her weekly link-up party later so check it out!

Return with Honor (with a tutorial)

I made this today.
I had one million and twenty-three other things to do.
But I decided this had to be made.
(Does anyone else veer off their mandatory to-do lists for impulse crafting?)

Anyhoo, I saw one in the local Christian book store like, way over a year ago. It wasn't my style but I loved the idea. You hang it on the back of your front door.It's a subtle (or not so subtle reminder) every time you leave the house to remember your values.
I mostly wanted to make it for the kids, but it's really for everyone.
Because there are some days (ok, a lot of days) that I need the reminder!:)
If you want to make one I made you a quick tutorial.

I found the frame at the dollar store and the little picture is a wallet card that I've had forever.

I hope y'all have a great weekend.

xo

Chrissie

Quilting Update and some random musings

I'm supposed to be blogging about our Quilting Week Four, but friends, I'm not ready.
I'm still sewing my hearts onto my muslin squares. I've got 20 left. Will you forgive me? I promise I will be up to speed next week and ready to move on.

So I decided on a very random post today. I'm all caught up in the first week of school happenings, deadlines for the new book, and stillllllllllll working on the house. (Door trim and doors are back up, now they need to be painted.)

How about a picture of some of my arts and crafts books? It's lovely isn't it? Sigh...
I heart books.

Sara is one of my daily reads and she showcased Meg today (awesome blog!), and that is where I found this really fun meme. (Just to add to the randomness of this post today)

What is your current obsession?

Quilting and thinking about all the hand-made gifts I'd like to make for Christmas this year

What is your weirdest obsession?

Whole wheat tortillas with hummus, cucumbers, and mandarin oranges for lunch.

What are you wearing today?
New York City ballet t-shirt and jean shorts

What's for dinner?
Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup, and cut-up veggies with ranch dressing

What would you eat for your last meal?
Yellow curry with tofu from our local thai place

What's the last thing you bought?
Some quilting fabric from Joanne's

What are you listening to right now?
The playlist from Farmgirl Paints

What is your favorite ice-cream flavour?
Chocolate vanilla twist from TCBY (it's actually frozen yogurt)

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
Definitely on the beach

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
The biggest Goodwill in the country

Which language do you want to learn?

I took French in high school and I don't remember anything.

It would be nice to know Spanish...

What's your favorite quote (for now)?
"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say "I used everything you gave me."
-Erma Bombeck

What is your favorite colour?
red and turquoise

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
Good fitting jeans

What is your dream job?
I have my dream job! Artist, author, mommy, and wife...all rolled into one!:)

What's your favourite magazine?
Where Women Create, Cloth Paper Scissors, Somerset Studios

If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
some new (to me) books

Do you admire any one's style?
I stumbled across Vanessa Christenson's blog a few weeks ago and fell in love with her style!

Describe your personal style?
Colorful, casual, clean

What are you going to do after this?
Play "store" with 2 of the kids and then get dinner made

What's your favourite fruit?
I love all fruit, really.

What inspires you?
Right now, people. What you other bloggers do never ceases to amaze me.
Going to church too. Our music is amazing and our Pastor leaves me feeling refreshed, renewed, recharged.

Your favorite book?
The Bible.
Redeeming Love.
The Color Purple.
The Simple Living Guide.
This list could go on forever...

Do you collect something ?
Hearts with wings

Happy Wednesday friends. I'm off to play "store".
xo
Chrissie

Everything Crusted Chicken rolls

Believe me when I say this is delicious!
Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 pounds chicken breast cutlets
• 1 1/2 bread crumbs
• 2 tsp granulated garlic
• 2 tbls poppy seeds
• 3 tbls dehydrated onion flakes
• 3 tbls sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 eggs beaten with a splash of water

Heat an inch of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium to medium-high heat.
Spread the chicken cutlets with cream cheese and roll into small, tight bundles. Wash up. Season the bundles liberally with salt and pepper.

Mix the bread crumbs with the garlic, poppy seeds, onion flakes, and sesame seeds in a shallow dish. coat the bundles in flour, dip them in the eggs, and then roll in the flavored bread crumbs. Fry until evenly golden all over and serve.

This week I'm particpating in Tasty Tuesday, Tempt my tummy Tuesday, and Tuesdays at the Table.

I need some new recipes for the school year!

Happy Tuesday!

xo

Chrissie

What I do with broken dishes...

What do you do when you break a dish?

Somehow I lost pictures of the metal pear in it's before state, and the picture of me gluing the crockery on the pear. If you mosaic on metal, use tile mastic.

Does anyone else make mosaics out of their broken dishes?

Go to Kimm's at Reinvented for other Trash to Treasures...:)

The winner of the frame give-away is...

You guys all wanted this black and white set.
I had a hard time with the random generator today so I wrote every single entry down and mixed them up in a bowl. (very scientific, I know...but it does yield a random result).
The winner is Emily.
Emily, send me an email with your address and the frame set you've decided on and I'll send your info to the generous people from All Children's Furniture.
Congrats!;)

Family (Before and After)

I found this picture at a garage sale for $2. It was pretty cute before, but not my style. I have a certain look I'm slowly trying to achieve throughout my house. Lots of white, like a clean slate, with LOTS of punches of color.

Here's what I did with it:

I'm so happy with the way it turned out. I used some fabric scraps (I hold on to every last piece!)
I got the tutorial from the wonderful blog, Happy Together.

And because I know y'all are nosy, like me, I hung it here in one of the hallways, above some family collages.

Here's a couple more pic's of the hallway.

(I need/want to make something to go above the mirror.)I love red and turquoise together. I made this a long time ago, but still love it a lot.

Now that your here, DON'T forget about the frame give-away. It ends at 12 tonite.

Also, I'm doing a give-away over at Joy's Hope, which I am so honored to do. Love her! I'm giving away 3 prints and a coloring book, so go over there to sign up.

For more garage sale/thrift store make-overs, check out all the crafty people at Rhoda's later today.

Happy Sunday friends!

Do you color inside (or outside) of the lines?

This is a project that I'm so proud to share with you.
I've envisioned making a coloring book for a long time and I've finally got one printed up.
Introducing...
"Oodles of Doodles"

You can use it to color in...
Paint in...

Enlarge and copy bigger and then frame it...

Use it as a mosaic template...

It's for kids and adults of all ages...

I think it would be cool to use as an embroidery template too...

I love dreaming up things and then seeing them come to fruition. Makes me so giddy...I know, I'm a total dork.

I have them listed in my Etsy shop now.

If you make anything, please send me a picture. I would love it:)

Does anyone else have a 3 year old who gave themselves a haircut?

Who am I kidding? I know I'm not the only one. And it could have been worse.A lot worse.

So we went to Great Clips with our $6.99 coupon and had them take over 7 inches off to make it look better.

And then we went to the park to take pictures of my big girl.

Why is it that haircuts always make your babies look older?
sniff, sniff...

She insisted on her moo-cow rain boots.

Who am I to argue with such a simple request?

I don't know what I would do without this little girl.

She certainly keeps me on my toes.

:)

Make sure you come visit me on Friday. I have a couple of really cool things to share.

xo

Chrissie