Reusable Cup - Personalized!

I cannot claim this idea as my own, I got the idea from my super crafty friend Trish! She bought a hard plastic reusable cup {if you haven't seen them, they are at craft stores and Marshalls, as well as Bed, Bath and Beyond- they are super hard plastic with a screw on lid and hard plastic straw that has a stopper on it so that it doesn't fall all the way out.I bought my cup at Hobby Lobby yesterday and couldn't wait to cut some vinyl to personalize it. Trish has big red polka dots on hers and it's super cute! I think she used outdoor vinyl. I didn't have any outdoor, so I used regular vinyl and so far it shows no sign of coming off when I wash it by hand.

I love these two colors together and the shape I decided on! I order all of my vinyl from Expressions Vinyl and they are great! I strongly recommend them, as well as ordering the sample ring so that you always can match up exact colors for your projects before ordering.

These would make cute little gifts!

Free Shelf Re-Do

A couple of weeks ago I was given a free shelf. I'm not one to turn down free stuff...especially when my kids play room has been a disaster area and driving me crazy. Here it is after I started sanding it. It didn't sand very well because it's not solid wood. The front trim pieces are, so they were easy to sand, but the rest of it...not so easy. You can see where I tested spray paint on it to see what it would look like before I sanded it. It looked terrible so I knew I wasn't going to spray paint it.

I knocked out that one section that had plywood backing on it. I am thinking about getting a piece of bead board and covering the entire back of it to make it look more finished.

Sunday afternoon we painted it using a sprayer hooked up to my hubby's air compressor and some off white paint we had on hand. My hubby was a saint and did a second coat for me without me even asking! =)

I am also toying with the idea of covering all of the interior surfaces with a pretty patterned sticky paper. I was able to get rid of a broken filing cabinet and organize my files into the smaller filing boxes I bought yesterday: one for medical bills/records, one for our business papers, and the last one for our regular bills.

So, while I don't think I'm done with it, I'm thankful to be able to use it now that it's painted, and that it was FREE! =)

A taste of Orange Blossom 2-4-11

Last night was date night...so you know what that means...ORANGE BLOSSOM. Last night we were brought our first special to try out. We were given the choice of trying the special entree or special dessert. My husband shot me a look like if I said dessert he was gonna flip out. Ha ha. The special was Roasted Duck Legs with white bean chili and red cabbage. Brandon was dying to try the duck! This was my first time tasting duck and I was pleasantly surprised! It is actually closer to turkey than chicken as far as poultry goes. Brandon was practically giddy until the last bit was cleaned off the plate.

If you ever think a combination from the chef "sounds funny"... if it's Chef George, you've gotta try it. We liken him to a mad scientist in the kitchen. He comes up with some creations that sound strange sometimes but taste GREAT! Join the email list at OBJ and then you will know the specials weekly and keep up with what's new at the Junction. Right now we are just looking forward to next Friday! =)

Hearts on a string table runner

I am actually having a productive day! It's amazing what you can get done when you don't leave the house! I saw this post for a heart runner and loved it. Check hers out because I only "loosely" followed her instructions so ours are a bit different.

It makes a perfect place for my Heart tree!

Ruffled Sunglasses Pouch!

I have a THING about sunglasses...meaning I ONLY buy cheap ones! Not only am I just to thrify to fork out the cash, but lets face it, they will get scratched, broken or lost eventually! I bought my new glasses for just over $5 bucks at Forever 21 and I love them! The only thing about cheap glasses...they don't come with a case. And if you just throw them in your purse they won't be surviving very long!

I found this cute quilted glasses case at Hobby Lobby for $1.99! Score! It's the kind where you squeeze the top to open it. I have had this fat quarter of fabric for awhile but didn't know what I was going to use it on, I just knew I loved it!

First, I folded the length in half and cut a wide strip {right sides facing in}. Ignore that there are two strips, I was going to do both sides but then decided it would be to much. When the strip is like this, sew around 3 sides of it, leaving one little end open to turn it right side out.

Turn right side out and press. Tuck the open seam under and run it through the machine. Now it is all closed up.

Now you need to run a stitch down the middle of it...do NOT backstitch!

Grab one thread and start carefully gathering the ruffle. Be careful not to break the string.I gathered from both ends and met in the middle. Gather it until it is the length of the pouch.

Here I am laying it out to see if my ruffle is the right length.

Stitch it on by hand with black thread. Make sure you don't stitch through the other side of the pouch, only go as far as your hand {as shown}.When you are done, tie a knot on the inside and you are done!

All done! I love it! AND I love that I don't have to keep my glasses on my head all day if I'm not wearing them. Not bad for $1.99 and a strip of fabric!

Linking to Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap-Up Party

Sweater Hearts and V-Day Tree

I subscribe to Your Homebased Mom's blog and today saw THIS POST with a tutorial on making sweater hearts. They are so cute to hang on the outside of gifts. I wanted to make some, so I went to Rescued Treasures today and picked up a few sweaters. They were $4 each, and then I washed them in hot water to shrink them {and clean 'em!}. I thought it would be cute to make a Valentine's Day tree. They were super easy to make, I did it while watching a movie. I got this pot 50% off at Hobby Lobby, so it was only $7.50. It's actually bigger than it looks in this picture. The big twisty branch was also 50% off so it was $2.50.

I may make some more hearts tomorrow to add on, but it's pretty cute!

Linking to Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up Party

SUPER easy V-Day Banners!

Today while the girls were quietly working on a school project, I was able to whip both of these banners up with stuff I already had! I've had these white heart paper doilies for years. I simply cut a length of thin twine and weaved it through the holes on the top of the hearts, knotted each end and hung!

Pretty cute, and could NOT be easier! {bonus-it was free for me!}

I had a hard time getting these light enough to see, but the other day I went to the Visalia Learning Center and cut red construction paper using their die cut machine. I cut a bunch of these hearts with arrows. All I had to do was weave the arrows through the slits {that the machine does for you} and hot glued them to ribbon! Super simple again!

My house is lookin' pretty festive for our upcoming V-day parties! I think this holiday is my favorite to decorate for!