Wordless Wednesday: Chicken Head

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Rusty ol' Owls

When we moved into this house, these owls were hanging on the shed in the back yard.

When I stood at my kitchen sink, it was these owls that I would see outside. I really didn't like them. In fact, I almost ripped them down and threw them out on several occasions.

A couple of weeks ago, my sister told me she's obsessed with owls lately. And she admitted to wanting to abscond with these little rusty critters during one of her visits.

My husband had to take them down to repaint the shed. Also, it was my darling sister's birthday coming up........YES! The perfect opportunity to do something with them and pass them on to her.

I spray painted them with a Rustoleum paint called "Hammered". It was supposed to look like hammered metal. I'm not really seeing it, but I think they look nice anyway.

Now they can be perched somewhere in her yard for her to admire always!

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Tackle it Tuesday: Terra Cycle

I didn't know about Terra Cycle until recently. As soon as I learned about what more I could prevent from ending in land fills, I started collecting. I have a small section of my pantry dedicated to storing recyclables to send to Terra Cycle. Items such as yogurt cups, cookie packages, chewing gum packages, and chip bags. These capri sun pouches have been sitting outside in a box since my girls' 5th Birthday party in April. Ummmmm.....I don't recommend waiting so long to empty and clean out these things! Ants had made their way....some were a little moldy....and they were all covered in pollen.

However; I diligently cut them open and washed them all so I can send them on to Terra Cycle. Feels good to have THAT Tackle out of the way!

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A LONG Time in the Making: My Quilt!

Friends, I cannot even tell you how excited I am about having this quilt on my bed! Did you know that I quilted? Yeah, I kinda forgot too!

In 2002 I got out of the Army and left my husband in Korea to complete a second year of duty. I came home to the US so I could take care of our sorely missed pups. We had no kids. I was a full time student, but still had a lot of time on my hands. Time to learn how to quilt!

I went to JoAnn's and picked up one of these Quilt of the Month kits. I completed the entire Queen Size quilt top. And I was so ambitious I thought I could do the actual quilting on my home sewing machine. I was wrong! So, I folded up what I had gotten done, put it in the attic, and vowed to find a professional quilter to finish the job (i.e. quilt it together with the fluffy batting and backing).

Over the years I contacted several quilters, but not one ever got back to me to take on the job. Perhaps it was just too big and daunting since I'd already started some of the quilting.

Fast forward 8 years and I inquire about a Quilting Guild at our local Sea Port. Yada yada yada....I'm put in touch with Lora Sparks....a professional quilter! She excitedly takes on my quilt! Look what a beautiful job she did!

Not only did she have to do the quilting, but she actually added fabric on to my existing quilt to make it fit a king sized bed. Amazing!

Here's a close up of her work. Note the whimsical freehand designs and flowers.

I'm so happy to be putting this baby to use! It brings such a pop of color to our bedroom. And I'm also a little inspired to sit back down with some fabric and make a twin sized quilt (or two!) for my girls. Might be a whole new edition to Fibers on Fridays :-)

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Blue Cricket Design

Wordless Wednesday: Be Free, Butterflies! Be Free!

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I Heart Faces: Barefoot Week

Two posts in a row pertaining to feet........hmmmmm?

Oh well, this one is for a cause! I Heart Faces is showcasing a charity called Soles 4 Souls. Check it out: And my little contribution to this week's photo challenge is my kids' "paw prints"....taken when they were not quite 3 years old. It's so sweet to me :-)

Fancied Up Flip Flops

The idea for these flip flops came from Make it and Love it, except I simplified it.

I bought a couple pairs of cheapy flip flops from Old Navy (I missed $1 Saturday, bummer).


Instead of cutting Velcro and sewing ribbon to cover the whole strap as seen on Make it and Love it, I just wanted to adorn the spot between the toes. So, this eliminated the need for sewing....nice! Just attach a little piece of Velcro.

Gather up your accessories. You can use rosettes made from old t-shirts, ribbon, or fabric. Or, you can take a hideous quilt covered in these bobble thingies ~ which you later find out are called yo yo's ~which you found at a yard sale for $1~that you just knew would be put to good use somewhere.....somehow. Cut off a couple of the yo yo's and you've got an accessory!

Be prepared to see these little babies popping up on future projects

Glue Velcro onto the back of your beauties and you've got cute little interchangeable flip flops!

After discovering the origin of the orange bobbles, I found a tool to make my own. It's a yo yo maker! So, I made the black and white ones and sewed three together for each black flip flop.

The brown rosettes I also got from a yard sale! I have no earthly idea what they were intended for, but I immediately knew they belonged on my flip flops!

Things I learned from this project:

~E 6000 adhesive works pretty well
~Use a Velcro that is strong. Mine said soft and flexible. Made for sewing. I think it's too soft and not sticky enough. Although I've worn these flip flops two days in a row and have not had one fall off.
~Put the harder side of the Velcro onto the flip flop (facing up) so that the softer side is on the pretty facing down and against the skin (it might not even touch, but just in case).