Semi-Homemade Jello Pudding Pops!

It's time for another Tasty Tuesday!!  

I spotted these Popsicle makers at Dollar Tree this weekend and immediately thought about how easy it would be to make healthy Popsicles with real fruit for my family.  Then I thought about Jello Pop's -anyone else remember them?  Frozen jello on a stick - yummy!!  I told my kids about them and about Pudding Pops - of course they wanted to make pudding pops first.

I picked up 2 of these 4-pop holders for $1 each at Dollar Tree.  

Then I mixed one small package of instant pudding according to the instructions on the box.  Pour them immediately into the molds (pudding sets fast!).  Put them in the freezer overnight.  To pop them out of the mold I ran them under hot water for about 30 seconds and they came out perfectly!

Enjoy!!  

I can't wait till we eat all these so I can make Jello Pops & Fruit pops with fresh fruit - YUMMY!

Night Owl.... Hoot Lamp Makeover

Do you ever see a piece at a thrift store or Goodwill that stands out to you and you honestly can't figure out why?  You put this piece in your cart, walk around, talk yourself out of it and put it back.  Then the next time you visit you look at it again, thinking 'Why do I keep coming back to THIS?!'  Finally one day you are busy doing something else and this 'item' pops in your head - and in your head it's completely re-done.  At that point you race to the store hoping they still have that item?  (maybe it's just me...)

Sometimes I see a piece and immediately I know what its going to look like.  Other times I feel drawn to something really ugly and I don't honestly know why...  99.9% of the time I walk away from the items I'm not 100% sure of...  Then about 50% of the time when I know what to do with the 'walk away' its still there and I get to see the vision come fruition.

This post is about one of those items I passed by 3 times before I bought it... I am sure 'Hoot' as I call him was pretty disappointed when I put him back out of my cart (more than once..).  

He is a Ceramic Owl Lamp and looks like he was hand painted.

Now here is my dilemma - which shade?  

My original vision was Hoot painted purple with a black & white shade...  But the above shade came on another lamp I garage sailed this weekend & it doesn't fit my personal home style so I bought a new shade for my new lamp.  

This shade I found at Target on Clearance for $3.74!!!  

(Plus it was black & white - how crazy!)

Now I need to know which shade do YOU think looks better on 'Hoot' the Night Owl Lamp?  

I am hoping to start consigning my make-over's in a new store very soon.  Your help could make the difference on Hoot's Shopping Debut. 

at last... Desk Makeover

Does a project ever feel like its taking FOREVER?!  I got this desk back in April and have been working on it ever since!  I have discovered painting something white takes twice as many coats as other colors I've used (even after priming this took 4 coats of white paint!).

This desk came from Goodwill for $14.99 

(I love the short little curvy legs & dovetail construction)!

Here she is after - my sewing/craft desk!

I ended up priming the knobs with gray primer and then using glitter paint to finish them off!  I'm on the look our for new knobs but until then I'm pretty happy with my AFTER.

Sew no more sewing & crafting on a 24" high Little Tikes table and sitting on a yellow chair!!

Sister Swap Saturday ~~~Guest Post~~~

Both Freckles & Fun and Thrift Store Rock Star have been CRAZY BUSY so we're guest posting today!!

Here is a great post from my little sister @ Freckles and Fun!

Pajama Pants Project

This weekend was such a productive weekend for me! I am SO excited about all the sewing I got done along with all my other weekend "chores." Friends, this RARELY happens at our house. On top of all of that, my husband let me sleep in till 9:30 on Friday AND Saturday!!

HE deserves a pair of elephant pajama pants, don't you think?!

One of the things MADE featured is a tutorial/free download-able PDF pattern for these "basic pants."

I had some flannel fabric that I bought about a year & a half ago. My intentions were to make a baby blanket out of it, but that never happened :( 

SO, this weekend I decided to make some pajama pants for my big boys out of it. 

These pants are awesome & don't look "homemade" at all...except that I didn't think to pay attention to the layout of the elephant pattern as I was cutting the pieces out. Oh well...lesson learned!

The pants are lower in the front & roomier in the booty & fit great!
For Caleb, I added 1 1/2" to the top of all 4 pieces & 1" to the outside edges of all 4 pieces. As for the hem, I just measured a pair of his regular wind-pants & based the measurement on that.
For Keston, I followed the measurements from the pattern and measured the hem based on how they fit him. I had to take them up quite a bit...but as long as these pants hold up, I can let the hem out as he grows (that is, if I'm that ambitious).

I should also add that each pair took me approx 3 hours to make. Now, I don't know if that's normal...but that's how long it took me. I was happy with that.

Seeing Caleb & Keston wearing something I made for them makes me smile!

Looks like they love them too - doesn't stop them from acting normal at all!

Dundee!!

So I've been wanting one of these for a lonnnnnngggg time.  We've visited many shelters and rescues trying to find the perfect match for us.  Then one day we visited Wise Footwear in Lima (great shoe store by the way) and they had 2 mini-Aussies running around (Cole & Boo).  They were adorable and the kids had so much fun playing Frisbee with them. 

I didn't know that Australian Shepherds came in 'mini' until then.  They were the perfect size, not too big but not a small dog either.  Our Dundee should be about 14"-16" full grown.  

I had a few Australian Shepard's growing up whom we loved! (Sam - Trixie - Buster)  We lived on a highway so their life span was usually cut short by a semi or car flying by...

After meeting Boo & Cole we decided to find out if there was a local breeder. 

I found Anderson Acres Mini Aussies from Columbus Grove Ohio.  It's wasn't too far away and her prices were incredibly reasonable compared to the other Ohio breeders I had found!

 Isn't he sweet?!

 (I had no idea that stain was on the couch till I took the pic - LOL)

 BFF's

 He likes his naps.

 

After the first visit (I'm really indecisive) we narrowed it down to 4 pups (Lucy - Eddie - Denzel - plus our Dundee).  It was really tough since Lucy is SO friendly and sweet, but I really like male dogs so I narrowed it down to Denzel & Dundee.  I finally settled on Dundee since  honestly I had the name picked out and he was the only one who 'fit' the name.

I really need to get a pic of his cute little backside - he looks just like a little teddy bear!

Thanks Anderson Acres for our new buddy!

My First Time... Glazing Furniture

I decided I wanted to try something new with my furniture make-overs & I love the look of glazing!  I did some research online and read a few tutorials before I decided how I wanted to approach my chair.  I even spent some time at Menards talking to the paint guy.  He did suggest using technique glaze by Dutch Boy (a quart cost me around $8).

Here is the before of the chair I picked up at a garage sale for $2!!

First I primed it with Kilz Primer/Sealer (this way no sanding required)

 then I painted it with spray paint from Rustoleum in Lagoon

I think the first 'after' looks great!!  

Now check out the glazing I did (keep in mind its my first time)

I mixed about 1/4 c glaze with 1/8 c black paint (to tint it).  I brushed the mixture all over then used a damp towel to wipe off the glaze in all the spots I didn't want it to dry.  (Note: It left almost a brush like mark from the towel - in retrospect I would have used an old t-shirt type rag to wipe off the glaze for a softer look).

Here is an up close of the center of the chair.

How pretty does it look!! 

I even glazed the Cameo's - check it out below.  I found these girls at Goodwill for $1.49 (at first I passed them by but they are one of those items that lingered in my mind for a couple days...)

I primed them and then used the Lagoon Spray Paint to dress them up.  Since the glaze looked so nice on the chair I thought I'd accessorize these ladies with some glaze too!

 I think the more nooks and crannies a piece has the better the glaze looks!!

All of these projects cost me $5 before, then a little time, some existing primer, a $2.99 can of spray  paint and a little glaze made a world of difference!!

All Things Thrifty has a great video tutorial on glazing!  

Sometimes it really helps to see it done.

Fabric Flower - Felt Flower - Ribbon Flower

I"ve been busy trying new fabric flowers all week long!  It's been SO much fun!  Check out what I've made & the tutorials I used to make them!

Flower #1 - Pretty Purple Pomela - check out the tutorial here from Craft Snob

Flower #2 - I used this Felt Flower Template and layered them, stitched on some pearls and hot glued it to a headband! 

(it was super easy - I pinned the pattern to the felt and cut away!!)

Flower #3 - My girls love this Satin Ribbon Flower with burnt edges

 Flower #4 - Gerber Daisy in Happy Orange Fabric Felt Flower - from this pattern/tutorial

 Flower #5 - This is my black & white version of this felt flower tutorial

 Flower #6 - Wild Side Flower Poppy Tutorial from here

 Flower #7 - Pretty Pink Posie - T-shirt Flower clip

This one my Sister taught me how to make

I prefer to put a hair clip on the back of each flower.  Then we can swap them off and on the headbands or wear as a pin on a sweater or clip to a blazer.  These flowers were SO EASY and SO MUCH FUN!!  Plus all of them cost under $1 to make (pin, hair clip or headband included!)  And if you're don't sew any of these can be made just using a hot glue gun!  Have a great weekend!! 

Stay tuned for the results of my first furniture glazing project too!!  (letting it dry now)

$5 Before & After - Thrift Store Challenge (Totally Teal Chapter)

Here is my challenge to you... Take $5 (plus tax - bartering is completely acceptable!) to your favorite Thrift Store (or garage sale) and see what you can find. Then make-it-over into something more fabulous (see what I did with a $3.48 can of spray paint & 6 items)!!

Here is what I ended up with (BEFORE)!

 2 Black Spirally Candle Holders

 I love this candle holder

 Pedestal Candle Holder

Who can resist a rooster basket?!

Or a rooster candle holder...

Spiral Candle Holders After

This is totally adorable after!

Pedestal After

Rooster basket after

Rooster Candle Holder after!

I used one can of Kilz Primer (already had on hand) & Krylon Teal Spray Paint (3.48) to dress all of these up!!  Whatcha think?  Better After?  (I think so!)

Even Better Idea?  Makeover something you already have at home!!

Ooops I did it again....

Do you ever create something completely awesome and then realize after the fact how to make it even MORE awesome?!  I did (again)... Here is a sneak peek

Before you I show my more awesome makeover... I've caught up on my Modge Podge project this weekend.  Remember this guy from a old post?  

I had picked him up at a garage sale for $1.  I gave him a good prime, sprayed him down with Krylon Aqua Spray Paint and dressed him up with some scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby and a little Modge Podge. 

How cute is he now?! All for about $4 total - he's a new elephant - ready to hold some child's books or magazines!

Now for the real fun!  I had posted this cute side table's makeover last weekend.  I was really pleased with the results but still had a vision for a little something 'extra'.

Above (see the big water spot on the top?  I wanted to be able to cover that and dress her up a bit all at once)

Here is my How-To

I picked up 3 sheets of scrapbook paper at Hobby Lobby (.59 each at 50% off) and then cut them into equal size tiles (smaller pieces are much easier to decoupage with).

And the final 'after' is SO much better!  Now I just need a bigger lamp....  Any suggestions?

Now for my weekend bargain!  I got this chair at a garage sale for $2 (the guy totally spoke my language he bartered himself down before I had the chance).  

I'm planning to paint this chair and then try a new glazing technique I have been reading about/studying.  Stay tuned I hope to have the finished chair posted within the week. 

(Note: great way to paint chairs is to put the legs on stilts as in the pic.  I nailed a long nail about .5" into each leg so that I can more easily paint the entire leg of the chair!)