New in Campbellstown - kitchen shelves

Every gal has her dream kitchen glittering somewhere in her mind - posh appliances, perfect cabinets, gorgeous dishes, miles of counter space, happy colors or maybe all white... My dream kitchen, you'll see if you follow me on pinterest (Campbellstown), is something like "cottage clutter" with wood floors, a pie safe, heaps of white ironstone, a spiral staircase, fireplace, apron front sink, and shelving instead of cabinets.

All three pics via Pinterest

My for realz kitchen (seen in this post), is home to an army of cabinets. I'm grateful for them, since we don't have a pantry (c'mon architect, seriously?), but shelves has been my dream for a long time. So finally this past week, I took down my family photo board and drilled in these babies!

 

I found an old plank underneath our shed, cut it in half, sanded down the edges, and bracketed it to the wall. It's perfectly sized too! My fav part are the mug hooks, which you can easily find at Lowes for a couple bucks. The shelf brackets cost $6 each, mug hooks were $3, so this whole happy project took less than $30 and less than 30min - my kind of DIY! Now my bright kitchen looks a little more like my dream kitchen. Thank you, Lord, for free wood, and free time!

10 Minute Slouch Beanie DIY

I love me some goodwill; both the happy feeling and the thrift store. Weeeell, their prices could be a bit better since they are, at times, the same as Walmart, but often i still find cheap treasure. While there recently, I snagged a couple of old, thick sweaters to make into beanie hats for the kids... and, okay, for me too. It was an easy 10 minute project, and hard to mess up, yay. (perfect for this sloppy sewer) Here's how i went about it...

- grab an old sweater, flip it inside out
- use another hat as your template for size and line it up with the bottom of the sweater (NOTE: for a slouchy look, I cut my hat several inches taller than the template hat)
- cut it out. ugly edges are fine, just try to make both sides fairly even
- pin the two pieces together
- use a small, straight stitch (stitches close together), and sew yourself a beanie!

hope y'all like yours as much as I like mine! and I promise Eva liked hers too, but she wouldn't let me take a picture that could convince anyone of that. stinker.

 

Easy Ruffle Shorts in 10 Minutes

Y'all, i am NOT a short shorts kinda gal....mostly because Jesus told me I look cuter in longer shorts, but also because I'm half-ginger rather pale and freckly. As I like to say, with a hearty chuckle, "These thighs bless few eyes." Teehee. Anyway, if you're like me and prefer more length on your shorts, then you've probably noticed there are two options out there: Bermuda shorts (they hit right above the knee - a fine look, but limited.) or what I call "classic" shorts (you may know them as "Mom" shorts, a take-off from "Mom" jeans - high waisted, thick, rather roomy, and not typically fashion-conscious. An unfortunate few are still constructed with the use of elastic in the waist. Girls! That look does nothing good for your hiney! But I digress...) Classics shorts are at best bland and at worst the worst, but they do provide a "canvas" to work with as I did here...

 

Frustrated with the selection in the stores, in recent years I've taken to making my own shorts out of old wide-leg jeans, though those are getting harder to find with the whole skinny jean craze. This summer I just couldn't find any wide-legs, so I bought these "classic" shorts at the thrift shop for $2. Not bad, but they were a little wide and a little long. An easy way to fix both of these problems typically, is to simply roll them legs up a bit, but inspired by a trend of ruffly shorts on Polyvore, I decided to give these an added touch.

Some pins and fabric glue assited in the transformation, as you can see here. Note: It's really important to try them on with the lace pinned lik this so you can see what the final length will look like on your body. Just look at that smiling lace! So happy to be hangin' out with me. Teehee again, no?

And there they were! Tada! The whole thing took about 10min.

 Of course this look is so customizable for personal preferance. I was pretty happy with out they turned out, might try adding a touch of lace to my little girl's shorts too!

 So there you have it! My little...

Hope ya liked it!

Jute-Wrapping

Overhead Light Re-Do

everyone has at least one of these in their house, right? right? oh, please don't tell me i'm the only one...  actually, i've got TWO. ugh. yeah, i'm not a fan of this brass 'n glass style from the early '90s, plus they were clashing with my rich oiled-black hardware and old-world rustic light fixtures that we installed all over the house when we re-did the place three years ago. something needed to be done, and done cheaply.

i scoured thrift stores and discovered this breath-taking antique pendant that i was able to take apart and use in place of the other globe. a REAL score for $10!! (that black ceiling collar used to be the brass one that went with the ugly globe, see below for it's transformation)

so what happened to the other one? well, i couldn't find another stunning antique globe, so i came up with another solution using stuff i had layin' around. employing a can of matte off-white and a can of satin black spray paints, this globe got the tszuj-ing (pronounced "jooj-ing") it needed. tada!

it has a softer glow now and a 20's vintage train station vibe that fits with the rest of Campbellstown nicely. it blends in with it's beauty, rather than sticking out like a sore thumb... that you hurt in the 90's. and it was so easy to do!

more details? mkay, here's the break-down.

1. turn off the power (at the breaker) to your fixture. (don't come whinin' to me 'cuz you got yourself killed while tszuj-ing.)

2. remove glass globe, carefully, and shake out the bugs. (oh you know they're in there. you've been lookin' at 'em for years... again, i can't be the only one.)

3. clean and dry globe thoroughly.

4. remove light bulb, then detach brass fixture collar from ceiling and disconnect from power. clean collar and sand off any old paint. stuff light bulb hole with tissue to keep paint out.

5. using 3-4 thin coats, spray-paint outside of globe with white paint, allowing time to dry between coats.

6. do the same to the fixture collar using the black paint, but avoid getting paint into light bulb socket. also, spray the screws and hardware if they show.

7. after all has dried, reassemble the fixture collar and (carefully) test the power. if all is well, reattach the newly-frosted globe and enjoy that "vintage" glow!

note: this method would also work for other fixtures like those flush-mount dome type....

from lowes.com

  

happy tszju-ing, y'all!

Makin' Your Own Laundry Soap - Why and How

while i wouldn't label myself "crunchy" (i don't care a whole lot about the environment) or a true "naturalist" (i still regularly delight in eating oreos), i would say i "lean green" when it comes to food and cleaning 'round here. it's not a conviction, or something that overrules the budget, but if i can find a deal on a healthier product or make more things from scratch or use what i have so i don't have to buy something else, i'm all about dat.

like this...

making your own laundry soap isn't a new idea, lotsa people do it. i've been making mine for a while now, and it's not complicated, it cleans well, and is really worth it if you are looking for a cheaper version of a "natural" laundry soap. so if you're trying to save money, my recipe is not cheapest MYO recipe out there (if you want one that is, this one claims to be), but it is still pretty cheap. i make my own with natural bar soap because i'd like to have less exposure to toxic/harsh stuff for me and my kiddos. if you're game to try it, the whole process takes me just 20min and it makes about 50 loads worth at about $0.10 per load.

here's whatcha do:

buy one box of each of these... 20 mule borax and a&h washing soda (NOT baking soda)...

...grab a bar of dr. bronner's lavendar castile soap...

...grate that bar into a gallon of water getting hot on the stove...

... stir as it dissolves completely... (yeah, that's my kid's hand not mine, fyi)

  ... carefully pour that hot soap-water into a 5 gallon bucket (with lid) in the tub and add 1.5 cups of borax and 1.5 cups of washing soda. fill bucket to 5gal mark with hot water, and stir it up, baby.

put the lid on and keep it in laundry room. let it sit for 24 hours. it may get lumpy, but just use an old whisk and break up the chunks if they bother you. i still use separate spot-treating gel on my stains, this stuff doesn't work that way.

to use: start your load with hot water (only to activate the soap for the beginning). use a 1 cup measuring cup and scoop a bit less than one cup per laundry load. let it mix with the hot water for a minute, then change the water temp to your desire for your load and add in your clothes. PLEASE NOTE: if you add your clothes first, it will not mix in well... at all. actually this method helps most laundry soaps to work most effectively. so remember: SOAP FIRST into the water, then clothes. mkay?

  

notes:

• i still use spot-treating stuff for stains, this soap won't work like that.
• i don't have a HE washer, but many of the recipes online like this one claim it is completely safe to use with them because it's low-suds. i don't know either way, so use caution there, i guess.
• like soft clothes? add a cup of white vinegar to each load instead of using fabric softener. it gives extra freshness, especially if you’re like me and forget to get those wet clothes into the dryer until the next day... gulp. (helpful household hint: if you do forget your laundry load until the next day (or so) and it does stink, you don't need to rewash them with soap, just loosen up the clothes, add a cup of white vinegar, and wash away. this actually works BETTER than soap for getting rid of that smell.)

Silk Flower Craft (and selling them at Beaucoup Vintage)

after reading this kewl tutorial from the simply vintage girl, i've been whippin' out a lotta these lately...

i got so many compliments and people asking if i sell them, that i decided to try just that. so i made this adorbs (if i do say so myself, and i do) display....

 went downtown to an also adorable and girly little store called Beaucoup Vintage.... and Megan (the shop gal) loved 'em!

Here they are selling out fast! I've already had to restock 'em twice since October.

i was so inspired by my happy luck, that i also decided to open up an etsy shop. (see Em sell here)

try the tutorial yourself! it was so easy and fun. hot tip: go to joann fabrics and ask for a sample of the silk fabrics you find (anything with "silky" in the title or satin) for this craft and they will give 'em to you for free! (up to five 4in wide strips) a free, fun, feminine, flower craft? yes, please.

Tattered Tee Tutorial

and now, y'all, an easy-peasy tshirt restyle. i got this t at Good Will for a couple bucks and liked the fabric, but not the plain, semi-unflattering fit, so, inspired by Pinterest ideas, i decided to rip 'er up - nicely. if you'd like to give it a try, follow the steps below. note: make sure the shirt you choose is made of a fabric that won't fray (like jersey cotton or fleece) - unless that is the look you want, of course.

1. draw the pattern you want. i chose to make dash marks with a washable marker and cut slits, but you could cut small circles or make Xs, just keep in mind that the holes will stretch with wear and wash, so cut them slightly smaller than you want them to look.

2. cut the slits/holes.

(i also chose to chop off one sleeve and the collar.)

3. giver 'er a tug to stretch out the holes.

4. show 'er off. that's it!

i realize now that with the color of the tank i wore underneath, i ended up looking rather like Baby Bop in these shots. i trust you all to make better choices than i.