$5 Dresser + TLC.....Priceless

I wish I'd taken a picture of it all together, but...

...and it was even uglier in real life!  Beige, with brown/"gold" accents.  The mirror was filthy - there was some sort of grease all over it.  You can't tell from the picture, but the knobs were mismatched, and the two front legs were loose and wobbly.  It was in pretty bad shape, but I still can't believe I got it for $5.

Once I stabilized the legs so that it didn't wobble, I realized that this thing is built really well!  Solid, and the drawers have dovetail construction...which of course we all know from watching Antiques Roadshow, is a good thing.  ;)

I didn't take step-by-step pics, because as another blogger recently put it, "the world doesn't need another tutorial on how to paint something white."  Amen, sister.  I did refer to this tutorial by Centsational Girl, the veritable queen of furniture makeovers.   I was pretty sure I knew what I was doing, but I really wanted to do it "right."

I'm so unbelievably proud.  Here it is!

I love the hardware I found.  This is from Lowe's.

Look how smooth!  Thanks to a product called Floetrol. 

It's ironic. I spent $5 for the dresser.  Then I spent $30 for the hardware (a splurge for me, but not NEARLY what it could have been).  Paint & polyurethane...about $20.  I only bought a quart of paint, which was more than enough for two coats.  So all in all, this cost a little more.  But to me, it's my $5 dresser.  :)

Linking to:
http://tidymom.net/tag/im-lovin-it/
http://www.missmustardseed.blogspot.com/
http://www.remodelaholic.com/
http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
http://romantichome.blogspot.com/
http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com/
http://southernhospitalityblog.com/another-thrifty-treasures/
http://www.homemakeronadime.com/
http://nightowlcrafting.blogspot.com/2011/08/hoos-got-talent-62.html
http://southernlovely.blogspot.com/2011/08/show-share-1.html

Lap Desk Tutorial @ Brassy Apple

 Hey Everyone!

Just wanted to let you know that today, I'm over at Brassy Apple with a tutorial on how to make a beanbag-style lap desk (or two, or three!) for your kids.  It's part of her Back to "Cool" series...see where it says "Brassy Apple and guests?"  I'm one of the "and guests."  How fun!  :)  So head on over there...and while you're at it, check out some of her other back-to-school ideas she's been featuring this month!

OH...and lest you think I've forgotten, here's a little sneaky peek for tomorrow...

GIDDINESS ABOUNDS!!!

Highs and Lows: Dirty Toilet Edition (aren't you curious NOW!)

It's Sunday: time for Highs and Lows, one of my favorite posts of the week.  And if I may...do you have a blog?  You should join this party!  Every Sunday, you write about the highs and lows of your week.  Then you link up to Life, Crafts, and Whatever.  I've had fun with this...and I've made some new bloggy friends too!  It's not one of those mega-link parties where you're one of hundreds (which I also love, not knocking them)...it's small, manageable, and more personal.  I've totally enjoyed it so far, and it would be nice to see some new "faces" there!

So here are the highs of my week:

1. I got something in the mail yesterday...

Giddiness abounds! I haven't even opened it yet. That'll be today. 

OK apparently my spell checker says that "that'll" is not a word.

2. The ugly $5 dresser...

...was my project for the week, and oh my goodness, you should see it NOW!  I just have to do the mirror, and it'll (that's a word) be done.  Stay tuned.  :)

3. I found out that my kids' former preschool teacher, whose preschool had to close due to all kinds of upsetting circumstances (pre-k program at the public school, and a pre-school board that wouldn't even let her advertise or do fundraisers, to name the big ones)...well I found out that she got a job as the preschool teacher at the daycare that my kids went to when they were little. 

This just does my heart good!  Because she could have retired.  She has been teaching preschool for over 30 years.  But she loves what she does so much, that she went out and found another job...amazing. 

AND, the daycare she will be working at...I recommend it to everyone I meet.  Sending my kids to daycare when they were 1 and 3 was heart-wrenching for me.  But the two women who run it, and all of their workers...they just seemed to genuinely love my kids.  It seemed like they were truly happy to see them in the mornings.  And that was confirmed for me when about 2 years later, when I went back to staying at home. They (the owners) actually cried when I told them that our kids would be leaving daycare.  This place is the real deal.  These people are special. 

And wait until you hear this.  If you haven't been with me for long, and you didn't read my post about the preschool teacher gifts, read it now.  And then come back.  Can you even guess the name of the daycare?  Little Starfish Daycare. 

I tear up every time I think about it!  God is so good. 

LOWS for the week:

1. This can be both a high and a low: we are getting our windows replaced.  We're both SO EXCITED, because our windows are original to our 84-year-old house.  84 years old.  Can you imagine what they are like? 

That's a "new" screen. 

ewwww.

that's one of the original screens.  You can see that it's really doing a good job...and so attractive!

EEEEEK!  Yeah.  That's our kitchen window.  It gets a little chilly in the winter.

Oh, and have I mentioned that most of the downstairs windows won't open?  They're painted shut.  Which makes the house in the summer feel like a greenhouse.  Seriously, it's unbearable.  And the ones upstairs?  They ice up ON THE INSIDE in the winter.  Our western PA winters get cold...you don't even want to know what a heating bill is like in the dead of winter for us, and we don't even keep the thermostat up very high.  I won't even show you how they look from the outside, frankly, because I don't want to give you nightmares.  (That, and I'm too lazy to go outside and take a pic.) But trust me, the word "decrepit" comes to mind. 

So we got a few window people to come in.  The best quote we have so far just makes my heart sink.  But it's a necessary evil, I guess.  And no, we're not going to do the installation ourselves to save money.  Yeah, we're DIY'ers, but we know our limits.  I nearly burst out into uncontrollable laughter when one (Uncle Rico-like) salesman looked at our windows and then actually asked us "why are we interested in replacing our windows?" 

So I'm dancing the dance of joy because we'll have new windows before winter, but I'm also kind of ill, thinking about the cash we're dropping on them.  But then again, if we can significantly reduce those heating bills...it's a good investment. 

I'd like to say that the window thing was my only low this week, but that would be a lie.  

There was quite a big low for me.  But I'm not one of those bloggers who can share her deep dark secrets with the online world.  I just can't!  Or maybe it would be different if I knew that my blog was being read ONLY by people I've never met before.  But it's not.  I'm amazed at how many "real-life" people I know read this thing. So I have to leave it at that, that's about as personal as I can get.  :(

Rambling ahead: Read at your own risk!

I try really hard to be genuine on here.  I try not to "be" anyone else but myself.  If there's one thing I can't stand (as far as blogs go)...well I guess in real life, too...is someone who is super-cute, and KNOWS it, and tries to be even cuter.  It's like cute overkill.  Now I'm all about being cute, but...I'm not talking about that.  I'm talking about people who try too hard to make everything look perfect and all "together."  Life is not perfect, and no one has it all together.  Perfect pictures.  Perfect clothing.  Perfect husband.  Perfect children, family vacation, birthday parties, FINGERNAILS for pete's sake...

Do I sound bitter & grumpy?  I'm really not!  It's just that when I see someone like that in real life, I tend to stay away.  I'm not interested in fake-ness.  I'm not interested in appearances.  I don't have the TIME!  One of my friends, I thought was like that.  So perfect and together, but genuine.  I really liked her.  The first time I went to her (awesome) house, I used the bathroom.  And her toilet was dirty...like, hadn't been cleaned in at least 2 weeks, dirty!  From that moment on, I liked her even more.  She became a real person to me. (A note to those of you "real-life" friends reading: I PROMISE, IT WASN'T YOU.  I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, AND I KNOW YOU'RE FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW.  IT WASN'T YOU.)

Oooooohhhhhh dear.  Where was I going with that???  Oh yeah. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is, this is me.  What you see here, that's me.  I don't try to pretend to have it all together, and I'm not trying to pretend that my biggest problem in life is that we "have to" spend money on new windows.  Ew.  I know how that sounds.  It's just that there are limits to what I will share, but it's not because I'm trying to make it sound like my life is just so darn perfect. 

Ugh!  I'm giving myself a headache trying to put this into words!  Oh never mind. You get it, right? 

Sewing Tutorial: How to Make Your Own Piping

***Hey, are you here from Pinterest?  Hello!  :)  I'm so glad you found your way to my blog. I hope you look around!  I write about all sorts of things, but mostly focus on sewing & needlework.   I have recently changed the name & url of my blog - it used to be Pleased as Punch; now it's Gilbert Street Stitches.  If you'd like to start receiving posts from here in your reader or email, go ahead and subscribe!  The buttons are to the right.  :)  Why don't you drop me a note to say hi; I always love to meet new readers!***

Now, on to the reason you are here in the first place...

*****

Today I'm going to share a very helpful sewing tip, how to make your own piping.  Piping is so useful!  You can use it for a lot of things (bags, cushions, pillows, curtains, etc) and it really gives your sewn items a polished look. I really hope to de-mystify some of this sewing stuff as time goes on.  It's not such a scary thing.  ;)  The worst that can happen is you'll make something that isn't presentable to the rest of the world.  Heck, that still happens to me from time to time!

So....piping:

1. First, figure out how much you'll need.  Add a few inches just to be safe. 

2. Next, get some bias tape, or make your own.  There are many wonderful tutorials out there on making your own bias tape.  Angry Chicken (Amy Karol) has an awesome YouTube video...google it.  And in the case of piping, you don't even need to mess with the folding and ironing of the bias tape...just cut 2" diagonal strips and sew them together.  Easy peasy. 

3. Get some cord to go IN your piping.  You can get this pretty inexpensively at a place like Jo-Ann's, especially with a coupon...or you can do what I like to do, and use a clothesline!  Saves me a trip to the store, and it's very cost-effective.  (I've come up with a lot of euphemisms for "cheap" over the years!) 

4. Cut your cording to the size you'll need, plus a few inches.  Line it up with your bias strip, and fold the fabric over the cord, like so...

5. Put the zipper foot on your sewing machine.  Most machines come with one.  If you're extra fancy, you can put a piping foot on!  Then again, if you have a piping foot, then you most likely don't really need this tutorial. :)  See your machine's owners manual for help using the zipper foot if you need to.  I still refer to mine from time to time; no shame in that! 

6. I like to "tack" the fabric in place before I sew the piping.  Just sew forward & backward over top of the cord.   Like this:

7. Now, just sew right next to that cord, sandwiching it between the fabric.  I don't bother using pins.  I just pinch the fabric together as I'm sewing it.  So much easier!  Go slowly if you need to.  Once you get the hang of it, it goes really quickly.

pinching the fabric to hold it in place over the cord.  I really wish I had cute fingernails. 

Here's what you'll see coming out the back of your machine.  Suh-weeeeet!!!

Edges a little uneven?  Not a big deal. 

See?  It's not perfect.  It doesn't have to be.  What matters is what is above that stitched line. 

At the end of the cording, I like to tack it in place again, just for funsies.  Like I did at the beginning.

And there you have it: Piping!  Trust me, unless you want to learn all about drug paraphernalia, don't Google "how to make piping."  Just follow these instructions!  :)  And please, for the love of Pete, email me with any questions.  I'm happy to help if I can!

Linking to:
Skip to My Lou
The Girl Creative
Making the World Cuter
My Junk Drawer
Not JUST a Housewife
Home Stories A to Z
Today's Creative Blog
It's a Blog Party

DIY Potting Bench

Hi there!  First of all, an update.  My daughter had her cheerleading practice/"surprise final tryout" last night.  And she gets to stay on the competition squad. :)  I walked in at the end of practice, and got to see them do their dance from start to finish, and I have to say, she looked good out there!  I was impressed! She really looked like she knew exactly what she was doing.  I was very proud of her.  (But the girl we carpool with got moved down to the "alternate squad."  That was a tough ride home.  I felt for her.  I've been on that end of the stick more than the other side.  I really knew how she felt.)  So that's that.  If you're wondering what in the world I'm talking about, check this out.  And then come back to see my new potting bench!

:*****

Back to our regularly scheduled program!  :)

A few weeks ago, I decided that I'd finally had it with the dysfunction of our tiny little back porch:

that's on a good day, nice and cleaned up

the only thing it's NOT lacking is more sidewalk chalk on the wall

So when DH had a few days off from work (in a row! imagine that), I sent him to Lowe's with a list.  :)  

Using Ana White's "simple potting bench" plans,  we built one of our own!  Have you ever made anything from Ana White's website?  It used to be called "Knock-Off Wood."  I liked that name; I thought it was clever.  Oh well.  Anyway, let me tell you: you need to try something from her site!  Her instructions are SO clear, and SO foolproof.  (And SO free!  ;) She even gives you a list of exactly how many of each size lumber pieces to get, and then a "cut list" so you know exactly what to do with them when you get home.  She makes it easy and FUN!  

I didn't take any pictures of the process. Why?  I don't know.  It wasn't that exciting...just a bunch of wood getting put together. 

Here's what we ended up with...ta-da!

And check out the wire hanging decoration...

There's my handy guy, wielding a drill.  I'm behind the camera, most likely asking if he's SURE he doesn't want me to get the level?  That's an ongoing point of, um, "loving contention" every time we do a project together, btw. 

tee hee!  Got it at a yard sale earlier this summer for $10.  Bargained it down from $15.  :)

Pretty!  And level.  Why did I doubt?

So we went from this (on a good day, remember)...

  

To this...

This isn't really a "before & after."  It's more like, "before & a good start."  I have a few things left to do to really make it a "Barbie Dream Porch."  Such as...

1. change out the light fixture.  I think that thing's been there since 1927.  I shudder to think of all the bugs that will fall out when we do that.  And when I say "we," I mean "DH." 

2.  maybe a larger floor mat or outdoor-type area rug.  I've looked into painting my own floorcloth, and frankly, it looks like a major pain in the bum.  And not necessarily less expensive than just getting one on end-of-season clearance.  So there! 

3.  finish the potting bench

Here is what I'm thinking for the potting bench: I want to put a curtain across it so that it covers the bottom shelf.  That, and/or get matching bins for underneath.  

I also want to either paint or stain it.  I'm not sure which, though.  I'm leaning towards painting it off-white.  Or I could go with a bold color; that would look great.  Like the red one on the aforementioned Ana White website.  Or a nice light sage green?  I have no idea.  What would YOU do?  Side note: I'm not very good at distressing things in a way that doesn't look like it's been distressed on purpose.  And I have a feeling it will get "naturally distressed" from use, anyway.  But I'm up for anything.  Seriously, I need suggestions!  

I think I'll link!
http://skiptomylou.org/

Yard Sale Heaven

That's where I was this weekend.

For one thing, there were so many GOOD ones!  And such deals! 

I mean, of course there are always a few duds.  Like the lady who was selling her rubber stamps for $5, $3, and the little ones for $1.  Um, lady, this is a yard sale, not Michael's.  I don't care how much you originally over-paid for them.  You're crazy! 

Oh, and I almost got into fisticuffs with a woman who left her toddler grandchild out in the hot car, and then shrill-ly screamed at him to get back in his seat when he started to cry.  From the garage.  And then went back to her browsing.  I think flames started to shoot out of my eyeballs, and I said as assertively as I could (which is not very much), "you know, it gets really hot inside a car in this kind of weather, especially for little ones."  To which she replied, "Oh no you DIDN'T just go there!"  To which my husband replied, "Oh yes she did!"  LOL!  I thought she was going to pound me into the ground.  I am NOT THE TYPE to say things like that to strangers.  I'm really not.  But I just wanted to rescue that poor kid from that car and take him home with me, I felt so sad. 

Well, you didn't come here to hear about my escapades.  You came to view the loot, right???

I have to say, DH is the one who gets the quantity award.  Here's his stuff from the day:

Some highlights...Fisher Price Tennis, .25...some other vintage FB stuff, .25 each...vintage alpine village houses, .50...PB Kids handprint kit brand new, $1...and a lot of other stuff that he likes to buy and then sell on ebay.  It's his hobby.  :)  He did well.  But not as well as the QUEEN...!

I won't bother with pictures of all of it...I got a blacklight and "urine out" spray, brand new, for $2.  If you read my last post, you know why I need this!  I got a bunch of great books to read to the kids...quality books like A Wrinkle in Time, James and the Giant Peach, etc...for .10 each.   Two electric blankets for $1 each. 

And then there were these:

I have plans so definite in my mind, that when I look at these, I can almost see what they will look like.  I cannot wait to fix these up!  I saw them in the morning; they were $1 each.  But when I plugged them in, I found that they didn't work - it wasn't just a light bulb issue; they didn't work.  So I passed them up.  But I regretted it all morning.  So on our way back home, DH said, "oh, let's go back and get those lamps."  So we did.  And here's the best part: at that point in the day, everything at that house had been marked down to 50% off...which means I got the PAIR for $1!

Here's a cute little thing that called my name...

Here's a mirror for my son's room, $2...

And now, for the absolute best yard sale find, ever....

I spotted this dresser (put together) and asked how much it was.  The lady gave me a price.  I told her no, not the stuff sitting on top of the dresser; how much does she want for the dresser itself?  She said, "I know what you meant...it's $5.00." 

$5, can you get over that???  I cannot wait to get started on this one! 

So that was our day.  One of the best things about summer!!!


Linking to this great party, dedicated to all things thrifty!

Highs and Lows: "I'm tired and it's late" edition

Hello, long lost blogging pals!  I am so super tired right now.  But I have just written possibly the funniest email ever to my dear sister, and I know it's dumb, but she's in an earlier time zone, and I'm kind of hoping she's reading the email right now and is going to reply before I go to bed, because I want to know if she got as much of a kick out of it reading it, as I did writing it. 

Yeah.

So here are my highs and lows from the week...again, not many lows!  That's great!  Or maybe there were, and I just don't want to be a Debbie Downer.

I'll do the lows first again:

1. My little girl - the one who made the competition cheerleading squad? - is now on the chopping block because her coach says that her tumbling skills aren't where they need to be.  Um, do ya think so???  She can barely do a roundoff; did you really think she'd have her back handspring down by now?  She couldn't have figured that out a month ago, thus saving my girl the disappointment???  I mean it's one thing not to make a team.  But it's another to make it, and then have that taken away.  UNCOOL, coach.  Uncool.  So tomorrow (Monday) is sort of a "final tryout" and a decision will be made.  I had to prepare my girl just in case.  That really upset me.

2. The dog keeps peeing on our bath mats.  I put a fresh one down, she pees on it.

Fortunately, that's all the lows I can think of right now.

And for the highs...

1. This weekend, the sun, moon and stars were in perfect alignment, resulting in the most epic yard sale day EVER.  I will share pictures soon.  Prepare yourselves!

2. I got a job that I wasn't even exactly looking for.  It doesn't satisfy my artistic needs, (name the movie) but it's an answer to a prayer!  When school starts, and my precious babies leave me all alone to cry my eyes out and wallow in self-pity....well, after that first day, I will be (Super)nanny-ing for a friend's kids, full time.  She is a teacher.  Yes, that would be a job with a teacher's schedule, without actually having to teach. Oh, and she lives about a mile from my house.  Oh, and her house is one block away from my kids' school.  OH, and her kids are the kind of kids you would actually want to be with all day.  (Not those other kind.  You know the kind.)  AND she said I can bring the dog with me so she won't have to be stuck in a crate all day.  I mean, the list goes on.  I'd been praying about what I should do once my kids are both in (sniff, sniff) school.  I won't bore you with the whole story, (oh, wait, I have already) but basically I wanted to have my cake and eat it too.  A job that didn't take me away from my family on nights & weekends, and one where I wouldn't have to work in the summer...right.  That doesn't really exist.  Right?  :)

3. Oh, I don't remember the third one.  I'm sure something else good happened, though.  Use your imagination! 

Well, my sister didn't reply to my email yet, so I'm going to bed.



Luv ya Jen, thanks for the hilarious haircut story this week!