My Craft Room

Maybe I should say my craft closet.

In our basement we have some awesome storage. One of these storage spaces is located under our stairs.

About a year agony hubby transformed this space from regular storage into my craft room. He was soooo sweet he did it as a surprise for me one weekend I was out of town!!

When you enter my room my sewing machine is on the left. It sits on a desktop along with my Cricut.



I also have a cute little chair pin cushion I picked up at a yard sale, and a large mug that I use as a scrap trash can.

The plaques on the wall are from my band and 4-H days. There is also my college alma matter's red towel hanging from the top bar. I also have my ribbon stored on hangers up there too.

The caddy under the desk hold different crafting odds and ends.

As you look to the right you find my fabric storage cabinet.



On top you will see my glass bottle collection. It has proven to be hazardous to my health. The other day a bottle fell on my head while I was digging out some fabric. I had a nice bump on the top of my head for a couple of days.

In the back if the closet is my wreath collection. It is nice to have a space to hang them.



There is also another set of drawers. These hold knitting supplies, some of my scrapbook embellishments, and my kids art supplies.

As you turn the corner under the stairs is my gift section. The top shelf houses my purchased gifts. There is also my gift wrapping/ bagging storage area.



The bottom holds some extra craft supplies and some


It is so nice to have all of my craft stuff in one spot. And close to my finger tips when I need them.

The down fall of this room is that it has the tendency to be a storage cram spot when people come over to visit. I spent several hours the other day reorganizing and cleaning it up. I don't want this space to get into the cluttered state that it has in the past.

Here's to useful, clean craft spaces!!

Do you have a craft room, closet, cabinet? If so I would love to hear how you have yours set up!

Amy


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Fabulous Finds-Farmers Market

I love the summer. Yes, I love to the warm weather, the smell of fresh cut grass, and all of the fresh fruits and vegetables.

One of my favorite things to do is visit our local farmers market. They have really expanded all of the homegrown/homemade items.

My family and I went to Farmers Market and really racked up on the goods.

We got a couple dozen ears of fresh corn, some locally made cheese, and homemade bread.



We have been enjoying our food all week.



Another reason I like going to Farmers Market is because it helps support people in my community. The Farmers Market we go to is all Kentucky products! And I know several of the people set up selling their goods. So I known I am getting quality items!

If you have a Farmers Market you attend I would love to hear what you enjoy looking for the most.

Happy Shopping!

Amy

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Things to try Thursday- Hair Bows

I enjoy making hair bows for Miss C. I just wish she enjoyed wearing them as much as I do making them!

I have made her basic bows in the past. Nothing fancy, just small boutique bows.

The other day I decided I would try something a little more daring.

If you have a daughter I am sure you have seen the pretty loopy bows at all the children's stores. They are VERY cute, and are usually VERY pricey.

I decided to make some of these bows. It isn't like I have a shortage of ribbon and hair clips.

Here are a couple of the bows I made.












I can't tell you how ,any ties it took to get this one simple shot.




She keep shaking her head or looking at me!

I guess I can't blame her too much, normally I want her to look at me!

These bows were made using this tutorial. this is a great site for hair bow tutorials.

Happy Crafting!!

Amy


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What's for Dinner Wednesday- Chicken Pot Pie

I love this recipe!!

First, it is a quick fix.

Second, it is an easy fix.

Third, and most importantly, it is DELICIOUS!!

Here is what you are gonna need.

2 chicken breasts cooked, and cubes
1 can mixed vegetables
1 can cream of potato soup
1 box of ready made pie crust, at room temperature
Salt and pepper yo taste

You can already tell this is easy. Only 4 main ingredients!!

Start by cooking and cutting up the chicken. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients, except the pie crust.

Mix well.

Place one pie crust in a pie pan.

Add the chicken mixture.

Top with remaining pie crust and press seams together. I cut a few slits in the top of the crust for venting.

Bake it in a 350 degree over for 25-30 minutes. Until the crust is golden brown.

Remove from the oven, cut, and enjoy!!



Happy Baking!!

Amy

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What I got

So yesterday I told you about what I made for the homemade gift exchange over at Craftaholics Anonymous.

Today I am gonna show you what I got in the mail.

Susan sent me these cool tea towels that she made!







I don't know which one I like best, they are all so cute!! I think these could be the inspiration for a kitchen makeover.

Michelle didn't send anything for me. She sent stuff for my kids! It was so fun to watch them open their gifts and immediately play with them!!!




These are little traffic signs that she made! Mr. E loves using the with his matchbox cars.

The train sign is his favorite.



She also had a cute ribbon and heart threading set that Miss C likes! (sorry for the messy hair, she just woke up from her nap)




She also included these cute Thank You cards and shape Monster books.



The cards will be handy for birthday notes from Mr. E. Both kids love drawing in their shape books. Miss C's favorite thing to draw is the American Flag.


Thanks ladies for these awesome gifts!!!


Happy Crafting!!

Amy


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Makin it Monday- Gift Exchange

Last month I participated in a homemade gift exchange over at Craftaholics Anonymous

I participated in Linda's United States and International exchanges. So I got to make TWO gifts!!

My US partner was Susan. I made her a little zipper clutch. I used Noodleheads gathered clutch tutorial.

I used some fabric that my Grandmother had given me for the main piece. I didn't have much,but just enough for this project! I love how it turned out with the red strip across the front.






Susan has a little girl and I wanted to include her in our exchange. Since our gifts had to be mailed by the end of June I decided to make her a Patriotic bow. I hope she can wear it again for Memorial Day. I wad also a little naughty and included some candy. Hope Susan didn't mind! I also added a little beaded necklace for her to make!






My International partner was Michelle from Croatia.

I made her a little zipper clutch too. This time out of a pretty floral print. This bag reminds me of spring!








I also sent her an ABC & 123 book. I included my alphabet and number cards in the book.







I hope these ladies and their daughters enjoyed their gifts!!

Happy Crafting!

Amy

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Linking to:




Someday Crafts

I'm not the ONLY crafty one!

The Hubby got a new job, which he started at the beginning of the month. Since he will no longer be donning his badge and gun he decided to display some of his Police memorabilia.

He used some of this tan/gray fabric,that his aunt gave him several years ago, for the back drop.

Then he added the pins and patches.



Once they were in place he pressed down the pins and we glued on the patches.



It was so nice for him to ask to borrow my hot glue gun!!!

I could tell this didn't spark any new midnight crafting urges for him, but it was nice to see him come up with a good solution to display some of the things that mean so much to him.

Sometimes I feel we want to hold onto things for sentimental reasons, but with out a way to display these memories, our stuff just becomes junk! I hope that I can continue to find ways to display my personal treasures!

Happy Crafting

Amy


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What's For Dinner Wednesday-Cooking Light App

Okay, so I have been on vacation and I haven't really cooked since I got home. I am sure my family would appreciate a nice home cooked meal!!

I must say it was nice to eat at some tasty restaurants while we were away from home.

So, today What's for dinner isn't a meal, but a meal planning app.

Have any of you all tried the Cooking Light app? I got an e-mail about it a couple of weeks ago and briefly looked at the app in the App store.



From what I understand you can search through lots of recipes and plan your own meals, or use one of their meal plans. It also has pictures of every recipe. This is something I LOVE in a cookbook. If it looks good, then I am more likely to try the recipe.

After looking at the reviews this app gets 2 1/2 stars out of 5. It sounds like some of the cool features of this app don't work the way they are advertised.

The app cost $3.99, which is way less than a subscription to the Cooking Light Magazine, but is it a good deal?

If any of you have the app, or know anything about it I would love to know!!!


Hoping to hear from you soon!

Amy


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Teacher Gift- a little late

I know it is late to be showing you a teacher gift, but I am just now getting around to posting these pictures. 

This was Mr. E's first year of preschool and he absolutely LOVED it!  His teacher made a big contribution to the enjoyable year.

Miss Denise was a wonderful teacher, and I wanted to show her our gratitude with a little gift.

I found this cute straw purse at Target and thought it would be perfect for summer, but it needed a little sprucing up.

I made this fabric flower pin to add to the purse, or she can take it off and put it on a top or dress!

I also made her a bookmark with some ribbon and some self adhesive foam. 

Finally I made her a little pad of paper and a decorative pen.  I used a tutorial I saw in blog land.  Sorry I don't remember where I saw the tutorial. 

All in all I think it turned out to be a pretty little gift!  I hope Miss Denise gets some good use out it!!

Happy Crafting!!

Makin' It Monday-Swimsuit Refashion Part 3

I hope you don't think I am beating a dead horse with my swimsuit refashions.

Anyway, I took the skirt off that old ugly swimsuit and made a new cover-up.

I started by measuring my waist and pinning the skirt together to so that it was the correct length around.  Since I had cut the skirt up to use in other projects I needed to add an extra seam down the front.

Just like with the bottoms I made I needed to sew a casing (1/4 in) to put in the elastic waist. 

I used the same procedure as the bottoms by turning the top over and pinning in place.  I cut the elastic to the same length as the waistband of the bottoms. 

After sewing the casing I ripped out the side seam and started feeding the elastic through.

Once the elastic was all the way around, and the skirt waist smoothed I sewed the ends of the elastic together securely.

Smooth the elastic into the waist and then sew up the side seam and you have yourself a new swimsuit cover-up.

And to think I have one of these that I paid full price for at a Department store.  This one works just as well and was only fractions of the price!

Who new you could do so much with one thrifted swimsuit!!

Happy Sewing!!

Fundered Storms

We have had an unusually thunder storm filled summer in my neck of woods.

Miss C isn't so fond of storms, but with the frequency of them lately she is getting used to them. 

The other day she was walking around the house telling her baby, "Fundered doesn't hurt babies."

It was so cute, I am glad to see that she is listening to me, at least some of the time!!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!!

Things to Try Thursday-Coffee Filter Butterflies

The other day we had a couple of friends over for a couple of hours. It was a nice day outside so the kids got in some good bike riding and general outdoor fun!

That only lasted so long, we needed a little crafty intervention.

The Mother Huddle had posted some coffee filter butterflies back in May. I had everything on hand, water paints, coffee filters, and twist ties.

This was a great way for the kiddos to express their own creativity and have some fun all at the same time.

Here are the kids working on their masterpieces.

Here are my kiddos finished butterflies.

If you are looking for a


fun, easy kids craft this is a great one!! My kids loved making these little beauties!

Happy Crafting!