New Stool & a Sign

Hello Everyone!

Jumping in today to share a couple of projects I recently completed.  The first is a cute little stool that needed a bright face lift. Sorry I don't have a before picture for you.  It was a dirty white that just needed to be brightened.  This little stool goes in my sewing room to sit at my crafting table.  I decided to go with a bright yellow. Here she is.....

Don't ya just love the yellow?

  Next is a project I did for my niece's birthday.  I had seen a similar idea somewhere out there in blogland but didn't have the exact materials they used so I adapted.  Isn't that what crafting and copying borrowing is all about? Anyway, we were given some fence boards by a neighbor.  There wasn't enough to build an actual fence. (That would have been nice. I could use a fence here or there.)  Sorry, I digressed for a moment.  As I was saying, there wasn't enough for a fence so my dear hubby cut them up for me to use for crafts. Yay!
So take a few boards, add some paint, words, pictures, clips, scrapbook paper and what do you have?

This

I don't know if my niece is done having children but I'm taking a wild guess that if she isn't, there will only be one more.  I could be wrong. Stranger things have happened. ;) I wanted to allow for the "next" child so I did three sections and just gave her a few different quotes or sayings about children and motherhood.  That way she could change out every so often. This little project gave me all kinds of fits (in little ways) that I won't go into now.  In the end, it turned out pretty well.  I didn't take progressive pictures because frankly, I was figuring it out along the way.

So there you have my two newest projects.  I've also been working on little flower headbands for my newest great niece. They are coming to visit soon so I wanted to have several to choose from.  The left-overs will probably make it onto Etsy at the end of next month or will go to JBF for their spring sale. That's all for now so until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

End of Year Catch-Up

Hello Everyone!

Yes, it has been a while, but like most of you out there, it has been a busy few weeks.  We went to a wedding the middle of December, on a trip the end of December and had a big New Year's / 18th Birthday party last weekend.  It would take me forever to tell you about it all.  I am going to show just a little bit of what we did or what I made in all that time.

First off is the wedding.  I made my daughter a dress.  Not just any dress, a velvet and taffeta dress.  I swore I would never sew on velvet again. Overall it turned out great but it did give me a few headaches along the way.

Next is the wedding present I made for the couple.

Kind of hard to see the size but it is a simple wall sign with their last initial and est. 2011 for their wedding year.

Over the holiday weekend, we took a trip to TX. for a Christian camp.  We had a great time but I didn't take any pictures there.  We did however, get to see my new great niece at the end of our trip.

Isn't she a doll.  She was only 5 days old here.

We saw her two brothers and 3 cousins as well.  It was fun to be with all those kids and to see my nieces as moms.

This last weekend, we had a New Year's party where everyone had to come dressed in black and white or something that was black and white.  We had quite the assortment of costumes and dress.  There were little cows, an Oreo cookie, a couple of referees, some salt & pepper shakers, a ninja, a domino, a black & white TV, and so many more.  It was fun to see people's ingenuity.  This was also an 18th birthday party for my young friend Cheyenne. (The one whose senior pictures I took and the one who helped me organize my pantry.) It was a great time of laughs, games and food.  For dinner, we all brought an assortment of finger foods.  

Ham, cheese, pickles and olives made up these skewers that I brought.

My daughter put together these "Smiles" out of apples, peanut butter and mini marshmallows.

Cheyenne's mom made this really cool topsy turvy cake. (At least I think that is what it was called.)

Here is a pic of the hubby and me.

We were going to go as a pair of dice but ran out of time and decided it was too much work. We were going to wear shirts like this under the dice since we knew we wouldn't wear the dice the whole night. We just decided to go with this instead.
Here is one of us and the birthday girl.

Like the balloons coming out of the middle of my head. :)

So that is just a quick view of what's been going on here. I don't have any major projects going right now. I need to start working on a baby quilt but I am going to take a bit of time off to get a little ahead in school with my kids.  We are taking a trip to CA next month and so we need to get some extra school done.
Don't forget to check out the Etsy shop.  I listed a few new things a couple of weeks ago and have a few more to list in the next few weeks.  I sold some old wooden spools today so those are gone but you just never know what might show up there for sale. I better sign off for now. So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Wow! What a week!

Hello Everyone!

This is going to be a combo posting.  I have had several things I wanted to post about but have not found the time to get it done.  You are going to get the Cliff's Notes here today.

First off, I had some wonderful friends come over last week and help me finish stripping the wallpaper off the wall in the school/game room.  Remember that project that I started oh so long ago.  Well, with school just around the corner and with the help of friends, I was finally motivated to get it done.  Anyway, after they left, I knew I had to finish because I was starting school in just a couple of days.  So here is the before and after pictures.  Please note that I don't have all my decor up yet.  No curtains, signs, pictures, etc.  I also haven't finished the chairs that will go around the table.  Just to give you a hint though, they are colorful and adorable!

A very messy school room.

The other wall.

Ahh, so much fresher, cleaner, and inspiring for scholastic excellence.  I can't wait to have more time to get the other added touches done.  I have some fun ideas.  Hopefully, we will be able to add some baseboard as well.  I tried to add captions to the after pictures but something was a little screwy and the pictures would get moved to somewhere else in the post.  So I'll say this.  The trim is red, was red and am not changing it for various reasons.  Maybe some day.  I repainted white where there was white before and then in the school room part, painted the walls a gray color.  I am accenting with red, yellow (chalkboard trim is already done), a light turquoise blue and an apple green.  I will reveal more as I get the rest done.

So then after this was done, we started school this last Monday.  So far so good on that, don't have a whole lot to report there.

Tuesday found me in town for piano, shopping and the oh so dreaded, " I've turned 40" doctor's appointment.  Yep, I had my first mammogram.  You know we always fear the unknown and I will say I was a little apprehensive.  I have to say I  found a little humor in the whole situation when they had me put on "The Cape".  I felt like Wonder Women or something.  I remember as a  kid, my brother and I would play Batman and Robin or The Bionic Man & Women or any number of the superheros of the 70's and 80's.  We would use bath towels tucked into the back of our shirts and run around the house and jump over the couch and such; yelling "Shazam!" or "Ka-Pow" or "Bam" or any of those other tough sayings they said back then.  In remembering all that, I giggled to myself and thought that I would have loved to have one of these cape thingys back when I was a kid.

Monday night, I had the neighbor girl come over and ask me if I could fix her homecoming dress by Friday.  It was a little lot low in the front and she needed me to add a piece in to make it more modest.  How many of you out there have a hard time telling others "No"?  I really didn't have time to mess with altering a dress in 4 days but I just couldn't tell her no.  So, I looked Tuesday while in town for some material to use to add to the top.  Do you know how many shades of royal blue there are?  Several!  Anyway, one of the clerks at JoAnn Fabrics gave me a great idea.  One of those, "Why didn't I think of that?" kind of ideas.  She suggested that I use the straps from the tie at the neck.  That is just what I did.  I had her come over and try it on.  Then I measured where it needed to be to hold it on her tightly.  I then folded the ends over to finish them off and overlap a bit.  To keep them closed, I added a pretty rhinestone button and a button hole.  Perfect!  Then I took the left over straps and filled in the neckline.  I added a thin strip of silver ribbon at the top of that and it now looks like it was made that way.  At least I hope that's what she will think.

Today found me meeting a woman in town to sell a Step 2 kids buggy.  I also had to go to the post office to mail two items that I sold on Ebay.  A very profitable morning.  However, the lady was an hour late meeting me.  I had left the kids at home to work on school and was now getting a little antsy about being gone so long.  It all turned out fine but I was wondering if it was worth the drop in price I gave her to sell the thing.  I still made a $30 profit so I don't feel too awfully bad.
Now, as I am typing this, it is rainy, my kids are dressing up the cats...

and I am trying to work on JBF.  If you don't already know, JBFhave to have a new outfit!  That is mandatory isn't it?

So, even though this may seem like a long post.  There really has been lots going on that I didn't mention.  I think this is just the way it is going to be now with school going on and wedding preparations happening.  Maybe it will slow down this winter.  NOT!  Us crafters are always busy, right?!  So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

New Table

Hello Everyone!

I finally found a table for my school room/game room.  This isn't exactly what I had invisioned in my head as the "perfect" table.  However, it is becoming just that.  One of the things to make it perfect was the price.  I stole bought it for only $20 bucks.  That was for the table and four chairs. 

This is how it all happened.  On a Friday, I stalked Craigslist for garage sales in my area that might have tables for sale.  I found a Saturday only one that listed two table sets.  I was really excited.  They said they would open at 7:00 am.  So I decided to be one of those irritating people that get to garage sales early.  (Irritating if you are the one giving the garage sale and trying to get everything out.)  I set my alarm and arrived at the sale 15 minutes early.  To my dismay, there was a pickup already backed into the driveway with a table and chairs already loaded up.  "No way!"  I guess this old man was an early riser, irritating garage saler like me.  Anyway, I thought, "Well, they advertised two tables.  Surely they still have the other one."  Well, I looked around and saw, "What?  No table?!"  So I took a few deep breaths and then sweetly asked the lady if she still had another table.  To my relief, she said, "Yes.  It's still upstairs."  So she brought it down and my first reaction was dismay.  It wasn't what I was looking for.  However, I took a second and third look and asked the price and bam! it was mine! 

This is what it looked like in its original state.  An Ethan Allen solid wood table that once was round but didn't fit their dining room so they cut two sides off and made it more oval.  It also had a leaf to make it longer.

Here are the four chairs.

So, I decided to make a go at painting and distressing this table.  The chairs will have to come later.  Unlike the desk that we just made for our bedroom, I decided to spray paint.  I still am not sure what I am going to paint in my school room/game room so I went with a neutral white.  I almost wish I had done it a color because white is a pain to cover when using spray paint.  But the bright side of all this is that I had already decided to distress it so not having the paint cover perfectly didn't become a problem.  So here is what it now looks like.

White vintagey goodness.

Styro under legs to keep the dirt and gravel off the paint.

Close-up of distressing.

spindle leg

I wish I could show you how great this looks in my school room/game room but since it still isn't finished, that will have to come at another time. That was one of my projects to get done before school starts.  Alas, it still isn't done.  However, I might be having a few friends over next week to help me get the rest of the wallpaper off, the walls washed down, and ready for paint.  Fingers are crossed on that one. 

So that's the lastest project here at Jane of All Trades.  Etsy sales have picked up so I need to replenish my stock.  I'll keep you posted on that as it develops.  Don't forget to enter the My Memories Suite Giveaway.  So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Quotable Quotes #3 and my son

Hello Everyone!

Today I am going to share with you my Quotable Quote #3.

A CREATIVE MESS

IS BETTER

THAN

TIDY IDLENESS

Well, most of the time I am right on with this quote.  My sewing room is usually a "creative mess".  However, lately my son has been having his "creative mess" on my dining room table and I'm not too sure I like that.

Notice sawdust everywhere.

"What is he doing?" you ask.  He has recently started making wooden fishing lures.  I don't know if he is using the right paint or doing it all the "right" way but he is learning, having fun, being creative, staying busy and making a creative mess.

"Mom, why do you have to take my picture?"

Ahh, there's a half, fake, forced smile.  

Here is a close-up of one he made recently.

Love the squigly eyes on this one.

Psst. don't tell him but we are talking about getting him some things for his b-day next month that might make it a little easier to do and to make the "creative mess" not so messy. (As in a box to organize all his stuff)  I love that my son is artistic.  He gets his drawing ability from his dad.  Maybe he's starting to get some of my craftiness. ;)  We'll see if this is a fad or maybe a lifetime craft for him.  Even though I don't like sawdust in my dining room, it is still better than "tidy idleness".  AMEN?  Amen!  So, until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

New Desk for Bedroom Office

Hello Everyone!

Hope you had a wonderful 4th of July with lots of fireworks and yummy food!  Today, I am going to show you the new desk that my hubby built for me.  We have been talking for a while about putting a desk in our bedroom so we would have a place for my laptop and maybe another computer for hubby.  Last week, I showed you the start of the desk.  Today, I finally get to show you the finished product.  But first, I will go through a few more pics of the process.  I have to say that I learned a few things and would probably do things a bit different next time.  We decided to stain the pine wood a dark walnut color first.  Then we I painted over that with white paint.  The idea was to sand it down a bit to show the dark color underneath.  Well, that is what we did but it took a lot of elbow grease to sand off two layers of paint.  I should have stopped with one layer but I was wanting the part that was staying white to be a little more "white" and smooth.  So, I went with two coats.  After it was all done, I put two coats of clear wax to give it a nice finish. Keep in mind that this is a long desk so it was a lot of work all the way around.  I'm fairly pleased with it.  The distressing didn't turn out quite like I had envisioned but it is growing on me.  So, here is where we started.

This is the pic I show last week.

Stained desk.

Painted desk.  (Don't mind the mess.  Our porch was being used as a workshop)

Recruiting the hubby to help with the "elbow grease".

Don't be too jealous of my paint clothes.  They have history all over them.  And, it was a very hot day hence the pulled up sleeves.  Boy, I need to get rid of my farmer's tan. ;)

Here she is! This is minus the desktop computer.  That will go in the bottom of the left hand side.  We also need two chairs and a lamp.  The basket in the middle is for trash.  

A close-up of distressing and baskets.

My side.  You might be able to tell that I have already started filling up my baskets with all things "office".  Fun!

I found this cute little dish at TJ Maxx and the cup/pencil holder at Tuesday Morning.  I am going to be making new mousepads for both the hubby and I that will match better with the colors or theme of our room.

So, there you have it.  I'm excited to have this project done.  I am going to be on the lookout for chairs.  I really don't want office chairs as they are a little bulky.  However, to make everthing fit right, we had to make the desk a little taller than a normal desk.  And, being that I am a little shorter than the average woman (5'3"), I am going to have to find a taller chair.  I have thought about bar stools so I can just tuck them under the desk when we aren't using them.  They won't be as comfortable though so I haven't decided.  I'll let you know when I find the right thing.  The best part about this desk is that we saved a lot of money and got the desk in the exact length that we wanted.  And, we can say, "WE BUILT THIS OURSELVES".  Accomplishments! :)
So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Linking up to:

Ginger Snaps: wow me Wednesday #6
Handy Man, Crafty Women: Wicked Awesome Wednesday
Somewhat Simple: Strut Your Stuff Thursday Link Party
Shabby Chic Cottage: Transformation Thursday 

The 36th Avenue: Share Your Awesomeness Thursdays

DebbieDoos: Newbie Party
My Repurposed Life: Catch as Catch Can
Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday 

Weekend Finds

Hello Everyone!

Hope the weekend went well for you all.  Mine started out on Friday afternoon when the hubby met me at Lowe's to buy wood for a new desk.  Finally I will be able to move all my computer stuff off of my bar and onto a great new desk in my room.  Saturday, said hubby took my son fishing and my daughter and I went to a few yard sales.  We were all going to be back early to work on the desk.  I think we both got a little distracted.
We were supposed to go to Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Tuesday Morning and such looking for baskets for my desk.  We are doing bookshelves with baskets instead of drawers.  We did finally make it to town but you know how tempting those yard sale signs can be.  My daughter was getting a little exasperated at me when I kept saying, "Oh, just one more." or "This one looks promising.  Maybe they will have some baskets."  To my credit, we did pass up a few.  Anyway, we finally made it to town and were kind of disappointed in the basket selection.  Hobby Lobby was about out of baskets.  I'd never seen it quite so bare before.  They weren't getting more in until Wednesday.  I needed my baskets like "NOW" because we needed to know how far apart to make the shelves.  I went several places and finally came home empty handed.  Michael's had some pretty good looking baskets but their prices weren't so pretty.  I kind of had a general idea of the height so we were just going to go with it and hope that I found baskets later.  We were supposed to actually start building the desk on Saturday.  However, like I said before, we both got distracted.  I was told that the fish just kept biting.  Interpretation, "We were having too good of a time fishing to stop and come home to work."  Well, that isn't all together true, he didn't really say that but that was the way I interpreted it.  Anyway, we had plans for Saturday night and the hubby had to work Sunday so the desk didn't get started until Monday.  And, I got my baskets on Monday as well because Michael's decided to be nice to me and give me 40% off.  Well, ok, they gave anybody who wanted baskets 40% off but I kind of felt like they did it for me since I needed them so bad.
All's well that ends well.  The desk is made with just a few pieces of trim to add and I have started staining it.  I am going to paint over the stain and then sand down and distress a little.  Dumb me, I forgot to take a before picture.  Here is one of an upside down desk that is partially stained.

Hopefully, I can work on this more this week.  Wednesday is piano and "town" day so I won't get a chance then but maybe on Thursday I can get the rest stained.

So in your mind you're saying, "What did she find at the yard sales?"  Well, I'll just show you.  I had a lot of fun this time around.  I really only bought something at I think 3 sales.  And really truly, we only stopped at maybe 6 sales.  But enough talking and onto the pictures.

old wooden spools, pink enamel pan, old wire egg basket, glass bottles, chair, picture frame, sweatshirts, nightgown, dresses, shoes, old sign and a baby onsie

Some of this I will keep and some try to resale.  Does anything strike your fancy?  Keep watch on Etsy.  You just never know what you might find there.

The picture frame just got a new coat of paint today and will be made into a chalkboard.  The quilt sign I had in mind to give my sister if she's interested.  So, N. are ya?

With so many nieces and nephews, I'm always on the lookout for shoes that are cute.  These were really cheap as the lady was going half off all her clothes and shoes.  So far, none of my nieces are wearing a size 8 shoe so these will probably go in next year's JBF sale.

Sweatshirt for hubby, one for me, a nightgown for my daughter and two adorable little dresses for either above mentioned nieces or to sell at JBF.  These were new and still had the tags on them for a ridiculously low price.

Last but not least is this old wire milk crate.  I forgot it in the original overall picture.  I used it right off to cart jars of salsa to our Sat. night get together.  I got it for like a dollar or two.  I don't remember exactly.  This lady was also having a half off day.  

So there you have my finds.  I took pictures of some of the items today so I could list them on Etsy.

Overall, it was a pretty good weekend.  My niece announced her engagement this weekend also.  That was exciting but I now realize this summer is going to go by FAST!!!  I will be helping her with a few things, sewing a bridesmaid dress for one of her friends, doing projects around here (still haven't stripped all the wallpaper off of my upstairs room), getting ready for next year's schooling (ordering books), tending the house, garden, kids and my sanity.  I wonder if I could throw in a tropical vacation with the hubby?  Sigh, probably not.  Oh well, a girl can dream can't she?  Hope you all have a good week and 4th of July.  Hopefully I'll be able to share a finished office space soon.  Keeping my fingers crossed... Until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Personalized Wedding Gift

Hello Everyone!

Just a quick post to share a wedding present that I recently made.  I wanted something with a vintage flair as that is the brides style.  However, I also wanted something personalized so I combined them together in this pillow made from Brick Red (my color name) Denim and Linen.

The bride's mother told me her living room was to have this red color but you know how fickle reds can be.  I'm hoping it matches.  The date is obviously their wedding date and then in small letters is their first names.  Here is a closer picture of the linen portion.

Unfortunately we were unable to attend the wedding as it was out of state and my hubby had to be to work very early the next morning.  I've heard it was a beautiful wedding and from the couple of pictures I've seen I believe it.  So a big Congratulations to our friends Hank & Hannah!  Hope you enjoy this pillow to remember your special day.  So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

I'm linking up to:
Inspiration Friday
Funky Junky Interiors SNS 82
My Repurposed Life: Catch-as-Catch-Can
Debbiedoos Newbie Party

I'm still alive

Hello Everyone!

Hope everyone has had a good week so far.  I've been a little out of touch lately.  I'm doing a quick post to catch ya'll up on a few of the goings ons around here.  I have been working on projects and hope to share some of those soon.  We had a two day garage sale last weekend and did fairly well.  I made a wedding present for friends that are getting married this weekend.  I'll show that later as well.  I had computer problems that had me taking my new laptop back and having to wait until Sat. (tomorrow) to get a new one.  I also had issues with my desktop when trying to install new virus protection software.  I spent a good portion of two days trying to resolve that problem.  Have you ever had a company take control remotely of your computer?  It is a really creepy feeling.  I was doing a online chat with my security company and trying to get the software to download properly when I gave them control of my computer.  It was like a ghost living in my computer.  I'm hoping I don't have to do that very often.  Anyway, with all of this going on as well as finishing up school, my laundry has gotten off of its new schedule.  I spent the last two days trying to catch up.  Now if I can just catch up on the ironing I will be doing good.  Tomorrow, there is a Civil War Reenactment in our town.  We are planning to take the kids in the afternoon.  That is after I go pick up my laptop.  :)   The hubby has to work Sunday and many of our friends are out of town at the above mentioned wedding so it will be a slow Sunday for me and the kids.  I will probably be cleaning house as we are having a real estate agent come give us an appraisal on Monday.  This might surprise some of my family but just so you don't get any ideas about us moving, it is just for tax purposes that we are having it done.  Our property tax just keeps going up and up each year but the value of our property (and probably everyone else's) is not getting any better in this current economy.  We are hoping to contest the fees that they are wanting to charge us.  There is more planned for the upcoming week but I think I will stop there.  Sorry if this seems a little disjointed and a bit of a ramble.  I just haven't had time to post and didn't want anyone to think that I had fallen off the face of the earth.  I will try and do better, I promise.  I know of at least three projects I will be posting about and maybe a recipe or two thrown in for good measure and variety.  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!  So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane