A Fall Tote Rehab~

This was one of those (too easy for words) projects that I was debating whether or not I wanted to bore you people with posting about. But just today I received three compliments on it, so I decided maybe it was post-worthy after all.

Meet my sweet little wool tote. I purchased this bag a few years back at Banana Republic, and it has served me well. With it's heavy wool, it is perfect for cold weather accessorizing. And it's roomy enough for me to stash all those kiddo-things that moms inevitably get stuck with. I love it.

When I pulled it out this year, however, I noticed it was looking a little bit worse for the wear. I even thought about donating it to goodwill (GASP!). But then I had a brilliant little idea. I had several posy pins laying around. A few that I won in a giveaway from The Pleated Poppy and some that my sweet sister made for me out of vintage fabrics she stashed away from my grandmother. They just happened to blend well with one another...so I pinned them on the bag in a cluster. They may or may not be covering a spit up stain. ;-)

VOILA! A "new" bag at no cost! Gotta love free fall accessories!

And everything old is new again!

For my November thankful thought of the day...Today I'm grateful for this view outside my boys' bedroom window!

Lots of fall inspiration and a tutorial coming your way this week!

Have a great day~

A Clever Display Idea~

I just love finding clever new uses for vintage objects. Take vintage canning jars, for example. They are great for storing and displaying any number of tiny objects....buttons, coins, sea shells. But the other day, while visiting a friend of mine, I noticed that she had used some vintage canning jars in a very creative way.


She used them to "frame" some of her family photos.


So I borrowed the idea for my Thanksgiving mantle.

What a fun way to display photos of those blessings for which I am most thankful...my kiddos.

The mantle is still in progress...I'll share it as I finish it up. But, for today, I want to express my thankfulness for my sweetest blessings...my children.

Do you have a unique way to repurpose vintage objects? Share it with me!

Have a great day~

Pretty, Repurposed Christmas Stockings~

It's no secret by now, that I love frugal decorating. So last year when I was looking to get new Christmas stockings for the family, I hit upon the idea of repurposing some items I wasn't using anymore into new stockings for the whole crew.

The Princess and I got pretty white quilted stockings made from an old baby quilt that I had honestly forgotten I had. It had such cute scalloped edges that I simply turned it over at the top to make the cuff!

The Hubby and the three boys got new stockings made from an old linen dress I couldn't bring myself to part with. It had long since gone out of style, but I loved the fabric sooo much, I knew I would be able to find a use for it. It isn't exactly your typical Christmas fabric, but that is what I loved about it. And this year I have seen linen and burlap stockings all over the place, so I guess a lot of other people love the idea too, huh?

Then to make sure Santa knew whose stockings were whose, I added buttons (also from the dress) to the cuff of each stocking and tied on nametags made from vellum and sparkly alphabet stickers!


And the moral of this story is...before you throw out that old blanket, or dress, or sweater or what have you....try to think outside the box. It may just be your next Christmas stocking! ;-)

And yes, these photos are from last year as well. I do have the stockings out this year, but they are hanging from a piece of twine. Just as cute really, but with all this packing going on, I couldn't pull out the old camera to take a pic. Hope y'all will forgive me.

Come back tomorrow for a fun giveaway~

What to do with that repurposed dresser drawer~

Okay, I promised to tell you all what I did with that dresser drawer that I refinished for last week's Frugal Friday. Well, I have a confession to make. The reason I didn't share it with you last Friday, was because I was second guessing my original intention.

When I first decided to save this drawer from the trash heap, I thought that it would make a nice underbed box to store the Princess' huge collection of stuffed animals.

But after I saw how cute the drawer turned out, I began to question hiding it underneath a bed.

As these things sometimes work out, however, the drawer ended up being just a bit too tall to actually fit underneath the Princess' bed. ( You can't really tell that well in the photo, but the drawer doesn't clear the bedframe by a mere 1/2").

So what did I decide to do with this little pretty? Well, I had many wonderful suggestions from my creative readers. One of my favorites (and one that had occurred to me as well) was to fill the drawer with fluffy towels and put in the bathroom. I absolutely would have done this...if my bathroom had anywhere to display it. No such luck.

Instead, I loaded it up with some of my favorite cozy quilts and placed it under the green buffet in my living room. Perfect for the upcoming cold winter weather. I must admit, after looking at the photo, I'm not completely sold on it. I decided that since height is no longer a factor for the little drawer...it could really use some casters or maybe some bun feet to give it a little lift. The scale is just a little off...it looks...well...it looks like a drawer sitting on the ground. I love it, but it definitely needs a little something. What do you think?

Have a great Tuesday~

Frugal Friday~

Hello all! Welcome to this week's edition of Frugal Friday. So what am I talking about today?

Repurposing dresser drawers.

As I was driving down the street about a week ago, someone was throwing out what I could tell used to be a lovely old dresser. But it was trashed. And I mean trashed. Half of the drawers were missing and the two that were left looked a little worse for the wear.


"What a waste," I thought as I drove by.


Now this is a street that I drive down often. And a few days later, the dresser was still there. But this time I had a flash of inspiration. I pulled over and looked at the two remaining drawers. They were actually in pretty decent condition aside from the pulls which were falling off. So I pulled the drawers out...with a LOT of effort...and loaded them in my car. I have only finished one of them so far, but I couldn't wait to share.

Here is the first drawer before I set to work on it. I could see its potential. Pretty details...excellent craftsmanship!

I started by removing the hardware (which had been replaced, and really wasn't in fitting with the style of the dresser). Whoever replaced the hardware had filled the old holes with putty - and didn't do a very good job at it. So after I took off the handles, I used the screwdriver to scrape the putty out of the original holes.

Then I gave the whole drawer - inside and out - a coat of Nantucket White paint by Ralph Lauren. I only used one coat because I wanted the drawer to look old and used. I even left the holes which the new hardware had made.

The drawer had this wonderful keyhole on the front. I painted lightly over it and then used a sanding block to gently rub away bits of the paint. Isn't it gorgeous??

Then rather than adding handles - I strung some black and white check ribbon through the holes. An idea I shared here. I'm still debating whether or not to add casters to the bottom, although I think I will probably leave it as is.

So, my dear readers, what would you do with this little beauty? To see what I did, you'll have to come back next week. (I know, I'm so cruel to make you wait...)

Edited to add...here's what I ended up doing...

Linking to DIY day at ASPTL~

How to make a "green" tote~

I believe in trying to go "green". I'll admit, I'm not 100% good at it, but I do try. So when I saw this idea in a magazine ages ago (sorry, I don't remember what magazine it was) I decided that I had to give it a try.


Here's how to make a great "green" tote out of an old wool sweater. (you can left click on the very ugly photo above - I took it when it was getting dark and I realized I didn't have a "before" photo to share - to enlarge it if you want to be able to read what I typed in the boxes. )

EDITED TO ADD: I've had a couple of readers that mentioned they think the article was from Country Living.

1. First find yourself a wool sweater. I haven't worn the sweater that I used for my tote in probably 10 years, but I still liked it and always knew I'd find something to do with it.

2. Wash the sweater in hot water and then dry on a high heat setting. This will cause the sweater to shrink and will felt the wool.

3. Then cut the sweater as shown on the photo above.





4. Fold the sweater so the side seams are now in the front and back. (The felting will cause the seams to be much less obvious)





5. Turn the cut sweater inside out and sew the bottom closed.





6. Fold the cut edges over and hem.

VOILA! A recycled wool tote that will look great all through the fall and winter.

Linking to DIY day at A Soft Place to Land.

Have a great day~