Saturday, December 26, 2015

Making a Cute Pillow Using a Placemat

 
 
I've made pillows out of dishtowels, placemats, grain sacks and drop cloths.  (Yes, I have a lot of pillows!)  :)    Making one from a placemat is the easiest way! 
 
Find a placemat that you love.  Make sure it has two layers.  I found four of these at Kohl's on clearance and paid $4 for all of them.
 
Pull the thread from about 4" on one side.  (enough to fit your hand in) 
 
Fill with batting. 
 
Sew up 4" where you pulled the thread, either by hand or with a machine.
 
Woohoo!  A new, cute pillow!
 



 
 
Thanks for your visit!
 
Pam
 
 Thank you to those who entered the Rockwell Tool Giveaway.  HilLesha was the winner!

 
 
I am linking to the following parties:

 
 
Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home



Friday, December 18, 2015

Just in Time for Christmas! A Rockwell Tool Giveaway!

I am so excited about this giveaway!  Rockwell Tools is offering one of my lucky readers a Sonicrafter F50.  I tried it out recently when we helped a friend put in a wood floor in her 100+ year old house.
This tool is powerful!  It cut through everything we threw at it!   We had to cut out some old wood, some old tile and some parts of the floor that were under the sheetrock.  It took care of all of these things easily!



Here's the floor that was under a layer of carpet and subfloor.  It's 100+ years old and appeared to be made of fir.  We originally thought it could be lifted up, sanded, then put down on a new subfloor, but there were hundreds of nails throughout the boards and they splintered when trying to lift them.  Ok, onto Plan B--laying new subfloor on top of the fir, then laying a new wood floor.  Our first step was  making sure everything was even.






Between her two rooms, there was a threshold made of sandstone.  Over that was a layer of tile that needed to be removed.  Enter the Sonicrafter F50 and it was soon history!


 The tool cuts up and down or flat.  It really does the job quickly!







This is where the old subfloor was uneven under the sheetrock.  We used the the tool to cut these edges off right at the edge of the sheetrock.  Viola!

Once we had all of the edges cleaned up, we were able to lay the new subfloor.
Stay tuned for the rest of the project!
So, onto the GIVEAWAY!
On Saturday, December 19, I will use Random Number Generator to pick the winner and they will win their own Sonicrafter F50!
Rules are pretty simple:
  • You must be a follower of my blog
  • Leave a comment telling me what project you're working on that could use a Rockwell Tool
  • Only one entry per person
Thanks for your visit! 
Pam

I received a tool to try out.  All of my opinions are my own.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Have You Discovered Uncommon Goods?

Boy has this year flown by.  With the holidays quickly approaching, I was thrilled to come across Uncommon Goods.  At Christmas, I'm on the lookout for gifts for friends and co-workers.  What fun to find a place that offers so many unique gifts!  Uncommon Goods has tons of handmade gifts.  And I love that all of their products are produced without harm to animals.
 

 



I love birdhouses.  I am a sucker for all birdhouses...  This site has the cutest LadyBug Castle (that looks like a birdhouse) that I can't wait to put in my yard.  Ladybugs are essential to any garden and having a safe place for them to lay their eggs sounds perfect to me! 



I will have to get a couple of these Garden in a Can sets!  (I'm now quite aware that if I find something that I absolutely love that I'm buying for a friend, I might as well avoid the internal struggle and buy two--one for me and one for her!)   Since it's going to snow here this week, I need to grow my herbs in the house.  These would be so cute in my kitchen (and hers!)








I have friends who are moving into their new house in a few weeks.  I love this Cheese & Cracker Board for their Housewarming gift. I think it'd be an item that they'd use for years to come.




Or maybe this Tulip Tree Kit.  This would be so fun to watch the tree (and their little kids) grow up!


Thanks for your visit!  I hope you'll visit Uncommon Goods

Pam



 
I received compensation from Uncommon Goods; however, all my opinions are my own.





Friday, October 30, 2015

Crate and Barrel Towel Art

 
 
 
 
I love the graphic dishtowel that Crate and Barrel is selling right now. 
 
 
I enlisted my handy husband to make another frame with pallet boards.  I love the patina of the old boards.
 
 
 
 
 
 
On the inside of the frame where he made the cuts, I used my trusty old trick of apple cider vinegar and steel wool to age the new cuts so they'd look like the rest of the boards.
 
I started by ironing the towel.
 
 
 
 
We used spray adhesive on the backer board, then used a rolling pin to make sure all of the creases and bubbles were out of it.
 
He made the frame so that we'd only have a 1/2" of overlap in the back.  It fit perfectly in the frame and went on the wall. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
I love it!
 
Thanks for your visit!

Pam
 
 
 

I am linking to the following parties:

 


Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home



Saturday, October 24, 2015

Silver Polishing Made Easy!

 
 
I had been storing my silver in drawers of a cabinet my husband made a few years ago.  I cut velvet pieces to line the drawers and put some papers in to keep the silver from tarnishing.  Well, the silver tarnished like crazy!
 
 

I got on Pinterest and found this great way to clean silver fast from Everton Terrace.

Start with a plastic container and line it with foil, shiny side up.  Add several scoops of baking soda (I buy the big bag at Costco).   Add boiling water.  Add tarnished silver.

 
 
 
Use tongs to remove the silver after a couple of minutes. 
 
I kept boiling water and adding it to the container so that I could get all of the silverware done in one shot. 





Rinse well.


Dry well.  
 
 

Put all of the shiny pieces away in the special boxes that silver comes in and you'll be set for the holidays!! 
 
 
Thanks for your visit!
 
Pam
 
 
 
I am linking to the following parties:

 


Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home



Sunday, October 11, 2015

Pallet Wood and Dishtowel Wall Art

 
 
 
Recently we went to Portland, Oregon for a family wedding.  Because Monticello Antique Marketplace is very close to the airport, it's our first stop when we arrive in town.  We were lucky enough to get there during their Fall Show, which is always filled to the brim with great treasures!

 

One of the things I found was this great dishtowel.  I knew I wouldn't be using it as a dishtowel since the graphics were so cute.
 
 
We decided to make a frame for it using pallet wood.  It took two pallet boards to make the frame.
 
 





 
 

 
 I used my handy-dandy wood aging technique on the  inside edges where the cut marks were, so that they'd look old too.  (if you don't want to click the link, the secret is Apple Cider Vinegar and Steel wool) 
 






 
 
He cut a piece of hardboard to attach the dishtowel to.  We used spray adhesive on the board, then used a rolling pin to attach the dishtowel to the board.  We then put that in the frame, used  glazing points to hold it in, added some tape around the edges, and a wire stapled across the back to hang it.


 
 
The dishtowel was $8.  We had everything else on hand, so I'd say $8 for a neat piece of art is worth it!  :)
 
Thanks for your visit!
 
Pam
 
 

I am linking to the following parties:



Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home