Coasters Made With Recycyled Jeans!

 Well hello everybody! I thought I'd get on here and show you all a little recycled project I've been working on.

So I'm sure like me, a lot of you have been busy cleaning, organizing and purging since just after Christmas. Well on my journey of purging I came across a bunch of jeans that I said ten years ago that I was going to get rid of but never did. LOL! If you want a chuckle you can read about that HERE. I've literally been holding on to these jeans for over 25 years! Do I have issues? Yes, yes I do.

But as of a few days ago, I am one pair down. Yes, I actually cut one whole pair of Wranglers into different sewing projects I plan on doing. One of them I'm going to show you today. It's soooo super easy and fast. 

It's these cute coasters. 

They aren't perfect. In fact I'm calling them rustic. ;-) I was experimenting with fabric and different stitches and stuff to see what would give it the best edging. I think these last two are my favorite so far. 

I wasn't going to wait until they were perfect to show you because then I would probably never get this posted so here they are in all their glory. 

Now because they are denim (and not the new kind of denim, these are the sturdy, no give denim) I decided to just stack and stitch. No turning them out and then sewing because it's too hard with this kind of denim. So the stack and stitch is what I did. 

So basically you just stack and stitch. LOL!

I put a layer of batting in the middle for extra support and stability. I used Heat Bond to iron the heart on so it wouldn't move and was easier to sew around. I would suggest doing the same if you have it. And basically that's it. 

 Have fun with different stitches and fabric. You could even do a blanket edging if you wanted. The possibilities are endless. But I like to keep it simple because I have the attention span of a two year old sometimes. Ha!

If you're interested here are a few other projects that I made in the past with old denim jeans.

 Just a warning. I've been blogging for way over ten years and a lot of my past posts have terrible pictures. So you've been warned. In fact we've been in our home now for 10 years and all of these posts were from before that in our old house. So yeah.....

Note Pad Holder

Placemats

Apron

Have a lovely day my friends. 

Kim 

Let me know if you make these. You can connect with me on Mewe these days. I started a group for this blog where us gals can get together and have a fun community.

Love Thy Neighbor

Easier said then done. Am I right?

I believe now more than ever people need to know that they are thought about, cared for and loved. I’m sure we can all agree that 2020 has kinda stunk. People are feeling isolated and alone and that’s not good for anyone’s mental health.

And neighbor doesn’t necessarily mean the house next door. It can mean anyone that is put on your heart to reach out to. Even that grumpy person that never smiles when you wave to them. Especially that person. *smile*

I just thought I’d share a few easy ways to reach out to people without being a freak.

But first a quick backstory. I started walking my street just over a year ago as a means to get more exercise in. Long story short, I have gotten to know a lot of my neighbors this way. So in light of how 2020 is going I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to show God’s love to these people. To show them that not everyone is bad. Which is what you start to think if you listen to the media too long.

So here’s what I’m doing. I am crocheting little pumpkin treat bowls and making handmade cards and handing them out to a few of my neighbors that I’ve gotten to know over the course of this year.

Here’s a few that I have ready to go. I’ve already handed out one and I’m making a couple more.

Now if you don’t know now to crochet, that’s okay. Here are a few simple ideas that don’t involve being crafty at all.

• A card and a just a cute bag of candy tied with pretty ribbon.
• Pumpkin spice coffee and a mug
• Special Autumn flavored tea and a mug.
• A card with a $5.00 gift card to a nearby coffee place.
• Or you could simply give them a nice card or even just a treat bag of candy. One or the other. 

The idea is to not overthink it and to not make it too expensive that you can’t afford to. Simple is best and I believe that even the simplest gesture will not go unappreciated. AND here’s the bonus part, it keeps YOUR mind off all the garbage that’s going on in the world and helps you focus on others, which in turn makes you feel a lot better!

So what do you say? Are you going to reach out to someone around you? Even if it’s ONE person. That one person matters.

If you do something please come back and share. If you’ve already done something please share and kudos to you! Also if you have ideas to add please do so in the comments so others can see. :-)

HUGS!

Kim

 

My Finished Afghan

Okay so my Christmas in July plans had to wait a couple of weeks because I was bound and determined to finish the afghan I started earlier this year. I’ve really enjoyed making it and I’m kinda sad I’m already done.

Here’s a fun fact for you. I made the exact same pattern/style for my mom for mother’s day over 22 years ago. I no longer had the pattern so I had to do a little research but finally found it on Ebay. Yay to finding everything and anything you need on Ebay. Am I right?

So not only do I have a picture of mine to show you, but my wonderful hubby found a picture we took of my mom’s too.

Mine.

And  here’s my mom’s. When they would come down for the winter she would bring it with her. It’s held up really nicely over these past 22+ years

Here’s a picture of the pattern book I used in case you’re interested. Just do a search for it and different sellers come up for it. And if you do decide to make one for yourself I’d love to see your finished project!

Have a lovely day,

Kim

P.S. Let the Christmas in July commence. 
I'm linking up with Made by You Mondays

Making Some Fun Fall Stuff….with links!

Hey you guys. How’s it going? How’s your fall so far? It’s still warm and muggy here in the sunshine state but apparently we are going to have a “cold” front come down on Wednesday to cool it off for all of 2 whole days. Woo! Hoo! I will take what I can get.

Anyhoo, even though the weather outside doesn’t feel like fall, I try my best not to let that discourage me from making the inside of my home feel like fall. With the scents of cinnamon and pumpkin pie candles, it’s nice in here. So I just stay inside and pretend that it’s just as nice outside. Speaking of outside……the first crafty thing I made is actually for the outside but don’t worry I won’t keep you out in this weather for long. If you follow my Homesteader’s Heart facebook page you’ve probably already seen it. It’s my Autumn plaque thingy.

My hubby went around after the hurricane and gathered up a ton of broken fence and now we’re using it for our fun art projects. He put it together and stained it for me and I painted it. You gotta love free wood. Not that I’d want to go through another hurricane for free wood. No sir!

This pumpkin was quick and easy to paint and added a nice decorative touch. It’s funny because while I was painting it my kids were like, “Mom, is this for Fall or Christmas?” The reason being was that the yellow dots were once red and I had to admit that it did look a tad too Christmasy. What can I say I love Christmas, even subconsciously.

Alrighty, now you all can come inside and cool off.

I’ve been on a crochet kick lately. It relaxes me and apparently I’ve needed to relax because I’ve made tons of these coasters since taking this picture. It’s a quick and easy project and for me that’s key. Quick and easy. The pattern I used for the pumpkin coasters is HERE. And the maple leaf coasters is HERE.

 

Now for people that know me, I’m not a great seamstress. In fact I’m not in love with sewing but I do manage to whip out a few projects here and there. And once again, the key to that is quick and easy and that’s exactly what these placemats were. I think I made them in a about an hour. I just measured a placemat I already had and cut out a front and a back and then sewed them together using bias tape. The back is just a solid color that matched the front. Ta-dah! You’re done! Movin’ on.

I made this banner on the mantle a few years ago. But it was quick and easy so I’d thought I’d show you again in case you wanted to make something like it. I wrote a post about it HERE.

And last but not least, another fun project I did a few years ago are these fabric pumpkins. I love em’. They’re so cute! A good tutorial for that is right HERE.

Well I hope this gets your creative juices flowing a little. I have now shifted my focus to Christmas projects and will post about those at a later time.

Have a lovely day my friends.
HUGS!

Kim

Easy Peasy Place Cards

Boy, time has a way of getting away from you. Or me rather. You and time might get along great. I on the other hand seem to have constant conflict with Mr. Time!

I planned on getting this post up last week. But the good news is, they aren’t hard to make and take no time at all.

First of all let me tell you why I like to use place cards. If you are going to be having a sit down dinner for more than a couple people outside of your own family, I like to make sure everyone knows where to sit. I think it makes them feel secure knowing exactly where they will be. Plus you have complete control over who sits by who. (If you’re a bit of a control freak like me, this makes you happy. VERY happy!)  For instance, if you know cousin Eddie doesn’t get along with Aunt Margaret, then you sit them as far away from each other as possible. Keep the peace. If you want. If you don’t want, then by all means sit them by each other and let them entertain the other guests.

I’ve done my place cards a little different each year but I always keep them simple.
This year we will be having around 18 people. Usually we have around 8 so I had to step up my game a little.

So here we go!

First gather all your supplies.

You’ll need:

Paper cutter (or scissors if you don’t have one)

White Cardstock

Stickers and other embellishments

Fall printed scrapbook paper

Gluestick

First cut your cardstock into 2 strips about 3 1/2 inches wide, long ways. Then cut your strips about 4 inches. This is just a guideline. You can make them as big or as small as you want. They should be about 3 1/2 x 4 in.

Fold them in half. Take your printed paper and use those fancy cuttin’ scissors if you have them and cut a rectangle just a bit smaller than the front of your card. Glue it to the front.

Now you can either, cheat and print all the names out or you can hand write them. Either way is fine. My way is just quicker.

Once you glue your names on the front you can embellish them with whatever you have. Or you can just leave them be and they are still cute. I had some stickers left over from last year and I had bought the cute burlap flowers and scarecrows at Hobby Lobby.

And that’s it my peeps. The hardest part is deciding where to put people because I want to sit by everyone. Ha!

Tell me, do you do place cards?

HUGS!

Kim

I’m linking up to…

 

Painting Pottery

Recently a girlfriend and I went to this paint your own pottery place. If you’ve never done this before, it’s tons of fun. They have sooooo many things to choose from. Almost to the point that it can get overwhelming. So it’s a good idea to go in there with maybe an idea of what you might want to paint.

I of course didn’t have a clue what I wanted to paint. My interests are all over the place. I was like “Oh cool a snowman. Oh a butter dish (which I’ll be painting next time), Oh a mug, a dish, a plaque, a cross, a jewelry holder…..” See what I mean? It’s tough. But I did finally decide on something that I had been wanting to replace for awhile but had forgotten about until I saw it and that is a tart warmer. One of my sons had broken mine a while back while playing ball in the house and I’d missed it. Though apparently not too much because it’s been about 3 years now. But whatever.

And because I want everything to match my decor’, I decided to paint it in my favorite colors to match my kitchen area.

I seriously love how it came out. It’s so happy and fun.

Some of you might remember the salt and pepper shakers I made a few years back. I still use them and love them.

So if you’re looking for a fun thing to do, I recommend giving this a try. The next thing I want to try is the Painting With A Twist that is so popular right now. It looks like tons of fun.

Have you every painted your own pottery? Do tell!
Have a lovely day my friends.
Kim

Quick and Easy Necklace Holder

When it comes to projects I don’t have a lot of time. I like to start and finish things rather quickly (I think I have ADHD) because if I don’t then it just ends up sitting there, gathering dust, pushed in a corner to be forgotten about. Sad but true, I know.
So when I decided to make my new necklace holder it was perfect because it didn’t take any time at all. In fact it probably took about 20 minutes total.
Before my new necklace holder was conceived I was hanging my necklaces on a clock in my bathroom. Cause who doesn’t want necklaces hanging awkwardly from their clock? One does what one has to do. You know what I’m saying? But the fact that I kept it like this for way longer than I want to admit is just proof that I must not have cared that much. *smile*

With that said. Here’s my new necklace holder.


I wanted something bright and fun to match my flower garden theme in my bathroom. Keeping it simple was what made this project easy. I didn’t want to over think it. Because I tend to over think things and then end up walking away frustrated. Nobody likes me frustrated, including me. So simple was key in this.
I started out with a plain piece of wood that I think my hubby cut out for me a long time ago for another project that never got done and since I couldn’t even remember what project it was, I moved on and used it for this one.
I then painted it a nice black to contrast the bright colors I would be using.
Then I simply painted a cute flower with coordinating colors from my bathroom.
My hubby predrilled holes for my hooks and then I simply screwed the hooks in. Voila’. Done!
What do you think?
And if you missed the cute earring holders I made a while back, click HERE to see them. So easy to make.
OXOX,
Kim
I'm participating in Mady By You Monday at Skip to My Lou.

The Super Hero Baby Shower!

I’m not normal. Well maybe typical is a better word. Or maybe not normal does fit. Either way when I knew I was going to be planning my daughter’s baby shower I knew I didn’t have it in me to do things the way most people do things. Because I’m not most people. I’m me……. not being normal.

And then the more I thought about my daughter and son in law I knew it was going to have to do with super heroes. My daughter and son in law are both young and trendy and they totally got ME hooked on the super hero movies, so I couldn’t see doing anything else. And once I got started there was no stopping me.

So this is my version of a Super Hero Baby Shower!

First the food table. It was a 3 o’clock shower so I really only had to come up with some light snacks. Nothing too heavy.

Here’s a closer look at things.

This was my attempt at the Captain America Shield. I used cherries, cheese, raspberries, blueberries and then marshmallows for the star. I thought it turned out cute.

Super Veggies, for SUPER strength.

Thor hammers made out of cheese and pretzels, then shaped like the Thor hammer. Not the prettiest thing on the planet but it fit the theme. *smile*

Delicious super hero cupcakes made by my bestest. We just printed out the toppers and stuck them in the cupcakes. Pretty easy to do.    

Muli colored tableware and super hero napkins.

  

Super Flowers!!

Here’s my favorite part. You know how in comics they have those times when they have the words “Pow!” “Ka-boom” etc.? Well we thought it would be fun to use words associated with pregnancy and baby. Totally made it fun.

Then what’s a baby shower without games?

I love this one. You simply give everyone some playdough, set the timer for 5 minutes and have everyone make a baby. Then the mom-to-be gets to pick her favorite.

Here are some of the ladies in action.

And the finished products.

We got some serious laughs with these babies.

Here’s my daughter laughing at them and picking out her favorite. She liked the dark blue one best. Which one was your favorite?

 

The next game we played was the Price is Right game.

To do this you just buy 10 or so baby items and have your guests guess how much each item is and then they total up their prices and the person who comes closest without going over wins a prize. And mom-to-be gets to keep all the goodies.

Then we played the candy game. You can do a search on Pinterest and find different versions of this game, but it is pretty fun.

After games my daughter opened up her wonderful gifts that she was blessed by.

Then I sent the guests home with a little party favor of nail polish in colors of green, or blue and some blue Hershey’s kisses.

 

All in all I think it went over quite well.

Have a lovely day my friends.

OXOX,

Kim