A thrifty sweater

I found a sweater at Savers the other day on their 50% off day marked $2.99.  So that made it about $1.50.  I washed it first and then I cut the arms off and cut the neck so it was straight.  Then I put one of my pillows that came with my sofas inside.  I didn't sew.  I glued.  Yes, my glue gun again to the rescue.  It's now a soft and warm and cozy pillow. 

And with the arms I made some sweater roses to dress up some plain pillows.

Not bad for $1.50.  Do you have an old sweater in the back of your closet?  Give it a new purpose.

A perfectly good fan

Do you have a ceiling fan (or several) that work great but are hard on the eyes?  I do.  There is absolutely nothing in the world wrong with them.  They do their job perfectly and I'm sure in 1995 they looked beautiful!  But not anymore.  Replacing them all just for looks isn't practical.  So I have begun operation ceiling fan redos.  Here is the first of many:

Brass.  Oak.  Tulip floral shades.   No thank you.
This one is in my family room and is on a vaulted ceiling.  Good thing I don't mind climbing the ladder.  I began by taking everything off except the motor and taped the ceiling up the best I could.
I painted all the blades and little pieces outside with oil rubbed bronze.

I started out spray painting the motor a brushed nickle, but my paint can clogged.  Dang paint can.  So through a little trial and error by switching to copper paint which was a total fail, I just painted the whole thing oil rubbed bronze.

The picture shows up a lot darker than it really is.    I bought new shades.    All four for $16.  I already had the paint, but it's about $7.  So a brand new ceiling fan for a little over $20.

I have worked out all the kinks in my system so the next ones I do won't take nearly as long.
Go forth and redo!

The thing about poultry pals is.....

They think they can do whatever they want.

Crazy chickens!

Death by Disco

Allow me to introduce you to Teresa Maria Garcia

She's a latina disco dancer who also studies law.

She has an A.T.T.I.T.U.D.E.
She's trying to help solve the murder of her dance partner.

Her eyelashes are an inch long and she does the hustle like nobody's business.
She looks a little like Amy Winehouse.

But underneath it all, she's my third born.   And she was born to act!

Death By Disco
Cactus H.S.
Wed, Thurs, Sat.
7:30 pm.
Groovy!

Tricks and Treats

Happy Halloween!!

We carved a very tricky witch pumpkin last night.  Here she is all spooky and glowing by candlelight.

Here is my treat of a chandelier my mom and dad found for me in Texas.  I took all the electrical out of it and hung it out in my gazebo.  Dollar store emergency candles make it glow.

Here is my outdoor "room" lit up (with the help of the flash).  It's nice to sit out here now that the nights have finally cooled down.


Those are my tricks and treats for Halloween.  I'm attempting to make bread bowls with potato soup for dinner.  Something to balance out all the candy!

Sweet girl to Evil Villain

How to transform a sweet girl into an evil villain:

1.  Find a sweet girl.

2. buy a black punk rock wig and spray paint half of it white.

3. buy a child's royal king robe, feather boa and long black gloves.

4. have her wear her black and red skirt, black shirt and your jewelry.

5. apply lots and lots of makeup.

6. watch her inner evil villain emerge.

 

Before

After

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Cruella DeVil.

I could tell you how to transform a Mom and Dad into a crazy Gypsy and Indiana Jones but we'll save that for another day.

And the two shall become one

This is our new headboard.

  It began as a twin head and foot board.

  They were sitting in the garage collecting dust.

My handy hubby took the two and made it into one.
It's fitting for a marriage bed.


He built it.
And I painted it.
I love it.

Happy Haunting

There are some halloween mantle parties going on.  This is my haunted mantle.

Some haunted houses I found at the dollar store, displayed on my old window with a silver tray.

I found this "Happy Haunting" bunting template somewhere in blogland and printed it out.  I love how old and creepy it looks.

some candlesticks with spanish moss, crows, old books and a lantern.

I like how it turned out.  Not your typical orange pumpkin display.

A Mysterious Birthday

There's been another birthday at our house.  Isabelle had a Mystery Mansion birthday party today on her actual 11th birthday.  After her guests arrived, they had to guess their new identity.  Then they changed into their costumes.  I actually can't believe we had all the stuff for these and didn't have to buy anything!  While they were changing, the gifts were stolen!  So they all became suspects and had to be fingerprinted and have their picture taken one by one.

 

 Isabelle Rock Star!

  Blushing Bride

Wicked (but really nice) Witch

Geisha Girl

Gypsy

Cheerleader

Then they went on a treasure hunt and followed the clues to find the presents and goody bags.  I think they had fun.  I know Isabelle did.

Later she opened presents from the family.  Here she is realizing that her present was ringing.  Yes, she got a phone.  I think eleven is too young for a phone, but with our church callings and her siblings being gone alot, sometimes she is at home by herself for a little while and we don't have a house phone.  Spoiled girl.

But she's sweet and good.

Kind of like this ice cream cake I made.  I'm getting better at making them.  They rival any ice cream cake I could buy.  Yum!

Happy happy birthday Isabelle!