Sick. Blech!

Hey, Everyone! I don't have much energy to post today since I'm sick in bed with a cold, so that gives me plenty of time to check out other people's Fab blogs! So, I'm linking to these today. Check them out! And, here's just a little more cuteness, 'cause it's that kind of day. Fondly, Tami

Get Your Craft On
The Tip Junkie
Hope Studios
An Oregon Cottage

Spring has sprung

Hey, Froggers. I'm sorry I've not posted lately. I've been SO busy. We had a lovely time last weekend. You see, my youngest plays the violin. Quite well. And for a senior project, she decided to do a senior recital. I mean, she did it ALL- lining up her accompanists, securing the venue, organizing practice times, deciding on the program, writing composer biographies, setting up the program, making and sending out invitations (with a little crafting help from yours truly), and writing thank you notes and getting gifts for all who helped. It was a magical night. SO magical, that her enchanted mom didn't think to take pics. Now, she did procure the services of her good friend, who took still shots and video, which she has yet to see since he's a very busy pharmacist. The only thing Youngest did not do was to plan and cook for the reception after the recital. "How many people were you expecting, Tami?" you might ask. Well, the one thing that Youngest did not do is ask for an RSVP. I wasn't angry with her. I just didn't know how many were coming. So, I prepared food for a lot of people just in case. Lots. Six pounds-of-meat-turned-into-meatballs, artichoke dip (courtesy of my mother, who doubled the recipe), onion dip, chocolate cake (courtesy of my wonderful neighbor, Ruth), peanut butter Tandy Kake, chips, chocolate chip cookies, vegetables and dip, and punch. Whew! 60-ish people later, our house was full off laughter, compliments to the Violinist, wonderful teens and elderly people (Youngest has volunteered in the local nursing home for about 4 years), and a very unhappy dog who was relished to the upstairs, lest she pee with excitement on people's shoes (I hate it when that happens).
Here's Youngest just tonight with her prom date

And, today I had lots of fun. HubbyDoc's garden is starting to look nice. Every year, I forget to take pics, and this time I'm doing it! And, I'm also cutting (flowers, not myself) and arranging.
Here are a few things I arranged today:

And, this was my big SCORE for the week. The white "tray" is actually a cabinet door that I found at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store for...you guessed it...a buck. Can't you just see some candles on this, or painted a Christmas color with vinyl letters saying Joy or Peace or Noel? I may have to go back and get a few more for that price.
Here's the look:

And here's a bird's eye view:

 

Even I have to admit that this looks a little "MissMustardSeed-ish".

And, I just know that EVERYONE wants to see my laundry on the line. It doesn't get any more scintillating than this, Folks! However, it was a wonderful, flappy day.

OK, so I'm not so good at photography, but I hope to get better.
And, I'm leaving you with a little more cuteness.

Thanks for stopping by!
Fondly, Tami

New pillows, lamp re-do, and place card settings

Hey, Froggers. I have been extremely busy lately, and not necessarily tied up with things I really want to do. You see, I signed up to be a part of a dinner club that meets monthly. We went to the first one, and let's just say, we didn't have much in common. HubbyDoc and I felt woefully under-traveled, non-retired, and not quite wealthy enough. Don't get me wrong, he and I are quite satisfied with our little lives, but we didn't really get a word in edgewise. We didn't even get a chance to tell everyone that we traveled to Spain 3 years ago to participate in an orchestra, playing in the world premier of Mendelsohnn's Elijah, sung in Spanish, in 4 different cities.Coolness.

Anyhoo, it was our turn to host this month. Boy, did I ever notice the dirt in my house last week. So, I scrubbed the kitchen cabinets until I was too tired to finish them, and then I just spot-wiped them down. You see, I really HATE housework, so I find all kinds of excuses not to do it. A hangnail, the dog's need for attention, a Facebook post, hoards of blogs to read, a cup of coffee to make, and several errands later, the encrusted house still begs for attention. It really makes me wish that my teen daughter will misbehave, so that I could levy a fine of 30 min. of cleaning. At least, my bathroom would get scrubbed. *Sigh*

I really don't know what I'm going to do when she goes off to college. 

So, we cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and I do have to say that the house looked tres incredible. I'm liking it so much that I'm doing what I should do all along and am actually putting things away after I use them. This is so new to me, that I think I just discovered gold. Just sayin'.

Long story short, here's what the table looked like: 

I was quite smart and picked out my china before I even had any prospects of being engaged. I liked it and I bought some. End of story.

These charming little place card vases were used at our rehearsal dinner, bought by my MIL, who threw quite a swanky affair. Instead of a large centerpiece, I just put these at each place setting with a rose, bells of Ireland, and some simple greens.

I use mix and match crystal, since I don't have enough of any one type for a party of 8.

 I kinda like it.

I like my delicate china. However, after I had about 3 place settings (too late to turn back), I found out it was being discontinued. DRAT! So, if anyone has any extra Lenox Amethyst china you'd like to offload, just LMK. I only have 11 place settings and 13 cups (don't EVEN ask. I have no clue why).

Sunday, I went to the mall to promote my lia sophia jewelry business (April has a GREAT customer special, so you can check it out on my web site www.liasophia.com/tamihowse), but the mall was dead due to the gorgeous day that I was missing outside, so I got only a few bites. Bummer.

I just couldn't STAND it after working all weekend, so I just had to craft. Here's a cutie that I made. The white material matches my bedspread, because Thrifty Tami saw 2 king sized bedspreads, bought both for $12 each at my friend's. You know, Mr. T.J. Maxx. So, I use one for the actual bedspread (novel, I know), and I cut up the other one for pillows. You know the drop cloth curtains (see previous post)? Well, the buttons were covered with coordinating fabrics.

And, here's sort-of a before and after lamp. I didn't take a pic. with the original lampshade circa 1981, but you can see the "lovely" wood and brass combo. I spray painted the metal and painted the wood our accent color. I just love the lampshades. Considering the ones I saw at the lamp store were ordinary and about 70 bucks a piece, I was so happy to score these for only $14.99 each. Not bad, eh?

And. last but certainly not least, here's the pup who was caught unaware with a feather stuck to her nose. She scores gazunga points on the cuteness scale, IMHO.

Thanks for even being remotely interested in the ramblings of a middle-aged housewife.

Fondly, Tami

Links

Hey, Froggers. Yours truly has been quite busy. I'm having a dinner party aka hurry up and clean the house, wash the kitchen cabinets that haven't been washed in 5 years, landscape the yard, powerwash the front walk, scrub all of the carpet stains, flip the cushions on the furniture that are deathly dirty, re-decorate the entire house, clean, clean, clean, and oh yeah, cook. Needless to say, I'm not getting much crafting done this week. Hopefully, I'll be able to post some more pics next week when I have a little more down time. In the meantime, I'm linking to these great blogs:
No Minimalist Here
The Graphics Fairy
The Shabby Chic Cottage
Have a great weekend, Peeps!
Fondly, Tami

I'm so sorry, Froggers!

Hey, Froggers. I just wanted to let you know that if you left a comment on one of my recent blog posts, I accidentally deleted them (ditz moment). So, PLEASE know that I REALLY value your comments, suggestions, and blog love!
Fondly, Tami

No Sew Drop Cloth Curtains, Glue Gun Style

So, Froggers. I've been reading about drop cloth curtains and I was intrigued, especially since we've lived in this house for 5.8 yrs. and I'm JUST getting around to putting window treatments up. You see, I'm very cheap, and I wanted to make my curtains, but I wasn't inspired in the least to use my sewing machine. I was blog hopping, and I found a gal who just used a glue gun on her curtains. "Hot dang," I thought to myself. I could get excited about that! So, I got to work.

Miss Mustard Seed says to wash your drop cloth fabric several times to get it soft and pliable. Since she's practically an idol of mine, I did as she said. What I didn't read was her post about bleaching them. Bummers. I would have liked that look, but I'll save that technique for when I cover my wing backed chair. 

Anyhoo, I really didn't have a particular room in mind to adorn, but when I opened the drop cloth package, I was hit with a wave of brilliance (which happens on occasion). The cloth was put together in three identically sized panels, so I decided that this piece of *expensive* fabric was going to be used for my three windows in my bedroom. Yipee!

All I did was separate the panels with a seam ripper, cleaned up all the little threads that had a magnetic attraction to my black sweater, and went at it with my glue gun. Now, I have to be honest, it would have been quicker and easier to sew these babies, but I really wanted to empower my Froggers who don't like to sew. Notice I didn't say "can't", because everyone can learn to press their foot to the pedal and guide a piece of fabric through a little moving needle that threatens to impale your finger through the nail bed, showering your new fabric in a lovely blood-red color. 

I glued the seams back together, and turned the raw edges under that were "faced" the wrong way. You have to be careful here. Imagine the panel hanging up, and fix your raw edges accordingly. Then, I glued some trim that I purchased from Joann's, for half price, of course.

Trim on the Curtain

Once that was done, I simply clipped them to my curtain rod with those wonderful ring clips that save House Divas like us from having to use that #$()*&% sewing machine.

Now, I really wanted some more color, so HubbyDoc and I went to the Calico Corners Outlet and discovered a wonderful sale. I spent $47 on about 5 different coordinating fabrics. Now, one of the fabrics was $37/yard at the normal price. REALLY? Well, I expect Kate Middleton's wedding gown will be fashioned out of one of those fabrics. Know what I'm sayin'?

I took one of the coordinating fabrics and fashioned a plain rectangular valance that was wider than the curtain. This way, when I clipped the valance to the rod with the panel, it would be a little bit bunchy, thereby giving it the "designer look" that I so desperately desired but for which I didn't want to take out a second mortgage (how's that for excellent grammar?).

Here's the valance:

And my adorable chandelier that I bought for a little too much money. Oh, well.

I needed some sashes, so I made some small rectangular pieces out of one of the fabrics and sewed plastic sash rings to the ends. I mounted a 3M removable hook on the wall beside the window moulding. Then, I threaded a fabulous tassel (that I found at Tuesday Morning for about $5 each) on each sash. I gathered the fabric and hung the sashes onto the hook. Voila!


 

This chick is one happy crafter. The best thing is that the whole deal (with rods, braided trim, clips, and all the matching fabric) only cost about $100- $125. Can you say THRIFTY? Now, I know it's not as impressive as some of my Fellow Froggers, but I was pretty tickled.

Now onto the dining room.

Fondly, Tami
I'm also linking to :
A Bowl Full of Lemons 
Tatertots and Jello 
French Country Cottage

Crafting mania!

So, I had a great SAHM Homeschooling Mom Day. It was the next best thing to Mother's Day. Cooking, spending time with friends, having my Fam all at home, and working on craft projects were the order of the day. I looked a little crazy. My Happy Place (aka craft area) is in the basement, and today, I was up and down the stairs with clean paintbrushes, dirty paintbrushes, pastry bags replete with couplers and tips, a phillips screwdriver, and my Droid, newly loaded with a recipe (I e-mail myself recipes from the internet, then take my Droid into the kitchen and thus- a new cookbook!).
So, today was Multi-Tasking (aka PADD- meaning Project Attention Deficit Disorder) Day. Let me run down the list:
-Had tea with good friends from church, but I had to finish up the homemade box and card set for the hostess (pics below).
- A quick trip to AC Moore for white spray paint (with a coupon).
- Put the first coat of paint on my next bedroom project.
- Made Challah bread in the breadmaker (do you REALLY think that I made it by hand, I mean, do you really think I am a house diva???) which I procured from Freecycle. OK, I just might be a house diva after all.
- Made meringues from the leftover egg whites from the Challah bread (after doing algebra to figure out the ratios- OH YEAH!), while listening to Oldest Daughter singing "Tell Her" (by Del Amitri) and playing her acoustic guitar. I have to admit that she plays quite well and her voice is SO pretty. (Homeschool Mom Moment- I love my girls. They are the greatest. I homeschooled them from kindergarten and first grade. Now, don't go getting all "homeschooling is weird" and "all the kids I know that are homeschooled are social reprobates." Believe me, I've heard just about all the ignorant comments. I'm not anti-public school. As a matter of fact, we gave Oldest the option to go to public school in high school. She chose to stay home. Scholarships, Teen Volunteer of the Year, Phi Theta Kappa, playing violin in the world premier of Mendelsohn's Elijah in four different cities in Spain, which was accompanied with choir singing in Spanish, an offer of a classical guitar scholarship at a prestigious college, almost a full year of college credits in high school, and being told they're delightful young ladies, I think we've earned our keep in society. THIS mom is pretty proud. Sorry for the bragging). And PLEASE, when you feel like criticizing homeschooling, please get your facts straight before you judge. After all, that's how I could use algebra to figure out the ratio for the meringues. Just sayin'.
- Painted the first coat of white on a dull, dark wood picture frame that I got for *c*h*e*a*p in the clearance bin at the Pottery Barn.
-  Refurbed an architectural element (funny story to follow), which will be strategically placed in my bedroom. I'm not sure what HubbyDoc thinks of my new shabby chic style. I think he'll eventually get used to it. He wasn't sure of drop cloth curtains, but he actually likes them (btw, there will be pics of the curtains after I make the sashes, that I'm stuck on, which have to be perfect, you know).

Btw, if you don't see any more posts on my blog, it means we all died of carbon monoxide poisoning from having to prop open the oven door during the 3 hours it took to bake the meringues. Just sayin'.

The algebra for the ratios. I do love math.

 

Here are some of the cards I made for my friend, whose name obviously starts with "J".