Re-purpose? And giveaway.

I was shopping at my favorite store, a local thrift shop called H2O, and as usual I was determined to find a treasure. This place has lots of junk at really cheap prices. What's not to love?

I was almost done combing through the bargain basement when I saw a smooth and elegant piece of fabric shoved in the piles of yucky 1980's pilled sheet sets. I pulled out the fabric to investigate and found what appeared to be a curtain panel, about 40" by 108." The tag said "West Elm," so you know I bought it even though it was pricy at one whole dollar.

It appears to be brand new with packing creases still intact. I looked on West Elm's website, but this particular curtain is no long available. Their similar panels are $60 and up for one.

The fabric is a smooth, sheer burlap and the edges are bound in satin. Really a dramatic and lovely piece.

I'm a fan of West Elm for their sophisticated, modern country decor. Rustic finishes made chic with polished accessories. But wow, is their stuff expensive!

But now my question is.... what do I do with my amazing curtain panel?

My earlier shirt-turned-pillow inspiration tapped out my genius. I'm at a loss.

I don't have any single windows in the house where this panel could go, so it needs to be re-purposed.  Please, please leave a comment with your ideas. 

If I use your suggestion, I'll send you a Starbuck's gift card.

Thanks in advance for your help!

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A deal I couldn't pass up.

I have a hard time paying full price. A good deal is a rush. I was at Old Navy and found a clearance shirt for really cheap. Really, really cheap.

Marked down to $1.47

The problem was my new mantra: if you don't need it, don't buy it!

I tried the shirt on, a nice white button-down, and I looked like a waitress. 

But it is $1.47!

You will never wear the shirt and it will be a $1.47 mistake.

But it is SO cheap.

Don't buy something you have no purpose for.....

Thinking of re-purposing the shirt made my head spin. What could the shirt be in another life?

Remember this post about the jammies turned pillow?

I wanted to make a couple of pillows out of the remaining fabric from my curtains.

I decided to use the shirt front as the back of the pillow where I would need to make a closure anyway.... buttons and placket saving me the work. And the plain back of the shirt would be the lining under the curtain fabric.

I used a pillow form I had from a time gone by.

And drew a square on the front of the shirt 1/2 inch larger than the pillow form to allow for 1/4" seams.

Thank you Fellowship of Christian Farmers for the free ruler. It was a great help in my project.

This guy was a helper too. Need a ruler, pen, measuring tape, or scissors? He'll run off with them on the double. I'm hoping this is the beginning of a servant nature.... not just a naughty nature.

Still the project took only 30 minutes.

I used a seam-ripper to take off the pocket.

This is the curtain fabric. I just cut it the same size as the shirt/square and pinned the lining to the front so I wouldn't get confused.

Right sides together with the left-over tab tops from the curtain sewn in the corner. It was a design gamble, but I am happy with how it turn out. Very shabby-chic.

I unbuttoned the back of the pillow (the front of the shirt) and inserted the pillow form.

And the back:

Thanks to the old-navy shirt for making a cute pillow possible!

I found this picture of some beautiful bedding from Ethan Allen:

Take a gander at the price of the throw pillow pictured on the middle of the bed....

$119.00

$1.47 plus a few scraps. I love a good deal.

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Merry Christmas! (plus video highlights)

From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Photo credit: Kellie Parry Photography

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Top 10 reasons I haven't been doing 25 days of Christmas:

10. Laundry.  Over 2 weeks ago now, my family and I had a terrible, messy flu. Every bedding item, towel, rag, and sleeping outfit was washed more than once. When all my children can aim their projectile vomit, it will be a happy day. Because of the mountains of laundry that had me surrounded for days, I vowed never to do laundry again. And that brings us to present day where all of us are wearing our lasts and my husband is looking at me with puppy-dog eyes as he wrestles with a 4 inch thick pair of wool socks he got for Christmas 5 years ago and has never worn before today, but has to out of necessity because everything else is dirty. Instead, he should be saying, "Women, get to the laundry already." Bless his heart, he didn't say that, but I'm doing laundry today anyway.


9. Tutorials take time. I really thought I could just take pictures as I went, but it seems to take twice as much time. People put together such fantastic tutorials and I always think I should be just as fantastic.

Like in this project I wanted to show how you can take a scarf (I got it for .25c) and make it into anything you want. I was making a headband like I saw a friend of mine wearing. Pretty much I developed this scarf technique because I am too lazy to crochet or knit. It turned out a bit puffier than I had hoped, so I put the project aside to work on later.

8. Homeschooling. When someone tells you they are homeschooling, you shouldn't automatically think, "Wow, she's superwoman," you should instead think, "Wow, she has very little time for anything else." A superwoman would manage to get homeschooling done AND everything else too with time to spare. But in reality, other things just slip by the wayside and life goes on without all the fabulous holiday baking, clean house, laundry done, and craft projects complete. I spend most of the morning working with Emma and keeping Mandy occupied with school-ish activities. Mandy's attention span lasts about 3.5 seconds, so she is my biggest challenge. Rem sleeps in the morning still and I am asking God to make sure he continues this habit until he is school age.... it is really helpful.


7. "I need you to come and pick me up. I can't walk." When my strong man calls to say he can't walk, well, that's not good news. This time of year means working with a lot of cattle and Jeff and his dad move them from the wet fields to the dry barns. It's pretty dangerous work and I always pray that no one is kicked, bulled over, or falls. Jeff had twisted his knee and was in a lot of pain. We went to the chiropractor and he re-set Jeff's knee and diagnosed a sprain to the inner ligament (MCL). Praise the Lord, he can walk on it and it still able to work but definitely is reminded with the pain that he isn't invincible.

6. Trying to stay organized. "A place for everything and everything in it's place" is my ideal world (as I have told you OFTEN before). To get to that point, everything needs a place. I'm still working through a few areas of our home that don't function well... i.e, clutter collects and makes me grumpy. Today I desiganted a container for all the stuff we don't want/need anymore. If there is not place for it, it WILL GET SHOVED SOMEWHERE. It's my human nature. So I made a place for it where it collect anyway, by the back door.

It sure beats the paper sack I had shoved in the corner for the last month. Because I have Martha-genes, I made a cute tag too and attached it with a wordless-bracelet I took off the end of a free ruler the girls picked up at the Ag show.

Feel free to print your own from this image if you are in the mood to make a designated give-away box too.

5. All that label nonsense was just to avoid wrapping presents. I think you are supposed to have this done ages ago. It's not my favorite part of this season.


4. Making candy. I usually bake A LOT at this time of year. To save myself some temptation and use my time more wisely, I haven't made much at all.  My skinny jeans were thanking me and then my husband started asking about my traditional Peanut Butter Balls. Okay, okay, I'll make them. Along with a recipe my friend Amanda gave me for Mocha Truffles.


Peanut Butter Balls

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 softened butter
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together until it holds together.... add milk if the mixture is too crumbly. Form 1 inch balls and dip in 2 cups chocolate, melted (I used milk chocolate melting chips).


Mocha Truffles

1 8oz. package cream cheese softened
3 cups powdered sugar
3 cups chocolate chips melted
3 TBS. instant espresso or instant coffee dissolved in 1 tsp boiling water.

Beat cream cheese until smooth and add powdered sugar. Stir in melted chocolate and coffee. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until hard enough to shape into 1 inch balls. Dip in melted chocolate ( I used dark chocolate melting chips).  I sifted cocoa powder over the top for decoration.


My skinny jeans are no longer happy with me. Thank you very much.


3.  Taking pictures. I did a few more photography sessions in December. I love helping families get great photos. It is a blessing to have a hobby/business that both inspires and encourages me. Family is SO important.


2. Sewing and sewing some more. (Thanks to my mom who gave me her machine when mine went kaput).

I figured out how to make a french seam.... with a lining.... ooh.... ahh. The crowd goes wild.

[tap. . .  tap. . . Is this thing on? ]

1. And finally, the #1 reason I have not been updating my blog is that I am too busy enjoying this season. There is so much good and special about Christmas. We celebrate Christ and his love by celebrating eachother. Check out some touching Christmas specials on Drops.

Blessings to you and yours!

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Happy Holidays!

The husband, pup and I started our 2-week California road trip last Saturday. We're slowly making our way around California visiting family and friends for the holidays. Unfortunately the Portland rain appears to be following us! But I love California when it's dark and rainy, since it's often such a rarity!

So, as I sign off for a bit, I will leave you with one of my favorite gift guides from the season, Wood + Leather (via one of my favorite new-to-me blogs, Miss Moss).

Hope everyone has a splendid holiday season and I look forward to bringing this little blog back to life in the new year!

xo, Roberta Jane Read More.. Read More..

Stripe Tote

I discovered this cute striped tote via one A Cup of Jo's recent gift guides... I really like the addition of leather handles to the canvas bag.


Of course, I am a sucker for the stripes. But I wonder if this would clash with my wardrobe considering how often I wear striped tees... Can one have too many stripes!?!? Read More.. Read More..

25 days of attempted crafts: Gracenotes

I've been crafting every day, just not blogging every day. I have high hopes for my days and by the end of them I fall into bed wondering if I could have squeezed one more thing in.... nope, as I fall immediately to sleep. The goal of "25 day of attempted crafts" is not send me to the hospital with exhaustion, but to have fun making things for the people I love.

Today I hope to make some gift bags. Easy and I'll try to take pictures and post them later.

For now, I'll post some pictures of my new friend's site, gracenotes. Her and her sisters are making some beautiful things and their site is really easy to order from (I know because I just did!).

This beautiful necklace is only $7.00.

The Tea sampler is 4 different teas and 2 organic cotton reusable tea bags.  $5.50, you can't beat this price for home-grown goodness.

I'm especially excited about the salves and lip balms. Love that stuff!

I hope you check out gracenotes and make some holiday purchases. Let's fudge the rules today and call buying other people's craft okay for the 25 days of attempted crafts!

Grace is doing a giveaway today for the tea. 

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25 days of attempted crafts: consumable gifts!

I crafted yesterday, although some would consider it "baking." I was making some container gifts. I used a granola recipe that I enjoy from my friend, Grace.

Check out her link here: Grace Is Blessed By God.

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PJ's

I have never been a huge wearer of PJ sets, but these from Toast might just make a believer out of me!


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25 days of attempted crafts: Beautiful Beads

We are suffering through a icky flu virus at our house, so it is the perfect time to look at someone else's crafting:

Check out Zeal Custom Jewelry for truly unique and pretty things (at affordable prices!).

The gorgeous necklace above is only $14.

I am seriously considering  changing my whole wardrobe just so I can get this necklace.

I love this one too.

Zeal is run by two sisters, one of whom is my sister-in-law Kelly, with a love for everything D.I.Y. Our personalities are visible in our products and each item is completely one-of-a-kind. We use unique and found objects for creations that are truly fun and full of personality. Add some more offbeat to your life today!



Check out their bracelets, earrings, and knitted hats too.

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25 days of attempted crafts: Pillow Cover

For many artist, it is hard to discern if their newest idea is pure genius....

 or just plain weird.

I have many moments like this. An idea leaps into my head and it seems to be the best thing since sliced bread. 

Others might not agree.

Like the artist who constructs odd looking duck-things out of newspapers. It is probably a pretty cheap craft, but don't worry, that's not today's featured selection.

It all started when I tossed a few pairs of Rem's outgrown jammies into the "give away" box.  

I realized that when I put those jammies on him a few months ago, they were too big and now they are too small...

 and pretty soon footed fleece pj's won't be cool...

and Rem will be asking for the keys to drive my minivan...

 and looking at colleges so he can leave home...

 and thinking girls other than his mommy are beautiful.

That's when I devised a plan to keep my favorite pair of his jammies forever.

And this, my friends, is where it gets weird.

I sewed straight seams (inside out) from sleeve to sleeve and across the bottom, just above the legs.

That formed a box and I cut off the excess, making sure the zipper was accessible. 

I sewed around the edge, right-side-out, to form a flanged edge.

Then I stuck a pillow in it and zipped it up.

I even transferred the little zipper cover from the top of the pj's to the new zipper top on the pillow.

Have a reached "odd-looking-duck-thing-made-out-of-newspaper" status yet?

Keepsake Fleece Jammie Pillow.

The next cool thing.

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