Another Drawstring Bag…with Accessories
Fun with Ginger Blossom
So I promised a cute top out of this Ginger Blossom fabric by Sandi Henderson…but the cute top turned into a sweet little hat, a pair of bloomers, a couple of twirly skirts for my girls, and a bag for me (still in the works, but I’m so excited about it!). I love looking at these colors together, and have been kicking myself for letting my little stash simmer for so long. It’s been perfectly lovely to sit and create with.
Ever Been to South Dakota?
I’ve been out of town for the last few days…decided to go on a road trip with my husband, a marathon three-day drive to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and back. It was fun to just relax and ride. We stopped nowhere, though we passed many interesting places. (This shot was taken at 65 mph as we zoomed past South Dakota’s 1880 Town.) I’d like to take the kids back some time (when they’re older!), it really was lovely country. We made it home last night, and it’s back to regularly scheduled programming for me today. I hope to have some new things to post about this week!
Mmmm…Waffles
I grew up on mixes. More specifically, cake mixes, pancake mixes, waffle mixes. They’re great time savers, and I have lovely memories of my mother cooking a nice hot breakfast for me nearly every day…even though most mornings she’d already been to work for a couple hours before heading home to get her little brood off to school. I really appreciate her doing that for me (us).
I don’t profess to be a great cook (we’re not too fancy around this place), but I have discovered that I enjoy cooking from ‘scratch’. Can’t say I always do, but it usually doesn’t take much longer than the mix.
These waffles are my little girl’s favorite breakfast. I often double the batch and pop the leftovers in the freezer. They warm up just right in the toaster on those scramble-to-get-everything-done-before-we-have to-head-out-the-door-mornings. Hope you like ’em!
Easy Waffles
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
3 t. baking powder
2 beaten egg yolks
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. oil
2 stiffly beaten egg whites
Beat egg whites. While they’re in the mixer,
combine flour, salt, baking powder.
In a separate bowl, combine milk, oil and yolks.
Slowly add wet mixture to dry mixture and mix well.
Fold in egg whites.
Bake in waffle iron and serve.
Birthday Bags
I bought the fabric for these sweet little drawstring bags last summer with the intention of making one for each of my nieces for Christmas 2007. They’ve turned into birthday gifts for this year (we won’t delve into my procrastination issues just now). These two are the most recently finished…so quick and easy, and they are the perfect size for toting around a little snack, a book or two, or a handful of Polly Pockets.
Grateful
I adore the Willow Tree figurine line by Susan Lordi. Just love it. The figures are so simple, but have a depth of character and emotion that touches me each time I view them. I purchased this piece when I was expecting my third child, because it felt so significant to me. The number of flowers she’s carrying, three…one for each of my babies. The title of the piece, ‘Grateful’, is an ever-present reminder of how I feel to have these little people in my life.
A shelf in my living room displays most of my small collection, but this girl needed to stand on her own, so I removed a boring old candle from this sconce, and…voila! A lovely display that catches my eye every time I pass through the room. What are your favorite display ideas?
Pantry Overhaul
Next month will mark the tenth year we’ve lived in our home. We built it from the ground up, my husband and I, and it took a looooong time. Something I’ve learned in the process between then and now: finish everything before moving in, because once you’re in–you’re tired and you don’t want to tackle niggly finishing touches for a long time. Like ten years. Because you’re tired. And you’ve got other things to take up your time and attention. At least I do.
So, one of the niggly finishing touches that just hasn’t hit the top of the list in the past decade has been my unfinished pantry shelving. I’m almost embarrassed to post this photo, but it’s hard to appreciate the finished project without seeing the before:
Shudder. Now you’ve seen the reality that was my pantry, we’ll move on to the inspiration. I’ve had the pantry re-do on my weekly list for several months, just kept moving it to next week…and next week…and next week (I love Outlook–makes it so easy to move things to next week!), until a month or so ago I really looked at the task and decided to take a little time and think about what I’d need to actually DO the job. Baskets! Cute ones! Because if I’m going to re-do the closet, I want it to look pretty for at least the first week. Here’s what I found:
A stack of these wire grocer’s baskets sat in my bedroom for several weeks more while I moved that job to next week…you get the drill…and then last week I finally decided it was time to get the job done. I hauled everything out, slapped several coats of white paint on every surface (I thought about doing some fun color, but decided it’s a PANTRY, and I want bright and clean), had panic attacks every time I walked through the messy kitchen, and then finally, at long last, my closet looks like this:
Sigh. Much better. Now I’m going to take a nap.
Cheerful Little Flower
I’m loving this cheerful little flower, one of hundreds of bulbs I planted a couple years ago. How is it that my bulb success ratio works out to be something like 1 in 50? Hmmm…I think I’d better stop wondering why and focus on being grateful I’m getting something! Hopefully one will become two next year…cross your fingers!
I’m in the middle of a pantry overhaul this week…decided it was time to paint and re-organize. So my kitchen is full of pantry items and it’s killing me slowly every time I look at the mess. That little closet holds a lot of stuff!
Liberty and Annie For All
I found these sweet patriotic sisters at a local craft fair a few years ago, and couldn’t resist bringing them home with me. I love primitive softies, and the flag motif of these raggedies is very clever, don’t you think? I wish I knew who crafted them…but there was a pattern listed on the tag still attached in back, and I am in love with pretty much everything on that designer’s site.
I hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend!
Fixin’ the Drawstring
I purchased a new swim outfit online for my oldest girl a couple weeks ago, and the cover-up shorts I ordered have a waistband made of ribbed fabric with no elastic and a cute but non-functional drawstring. (You can read why here.) This would be fine, but this particular waistband is too big to stay up around her waist, creating an unacceptable non-cover-up situation. I put the shorts on my sewing machine so I’d be sure to fix them ‘soon’. Sure enough, about thirty minutes before the birthday party she was to attend wearing a suit, I got to fixin’ ’em!
I started by checking for an unobstructed path through the waistband. There were two: the faux drawstring stitched at the front and the label sewn in the back. I removed the drawstring and opened up 1/2″ on each side of the label (please don’t laugh at my trusty old seam ripper…she’s very self-conscious of her battle scars):
I didn’t have enough ribbon to go entirely around her waist, so I grabbed a bit of 1/4″ elastic and tacked my ribbon to each end:
To be sure it won’t come apart, I hit the ends of the ribbon and the elastic with a bit of Fray Check. The new drawstring looked like this when I was finished:
Using a small safety pin, I guided the drawstring through the waistband:
I re-stitched the back label to secure the drawstring, threw the finished shorts on the girl and we ran for the car!
Sage Meadow Studio 
