Saturday, February 19, 2011

I Made a New Friend and She's Having a Give Away...

Guess what? I made a new friend and she lives in the next town!! I have three words for this...
I Love Blogging!
space
and you will LOVE Gwen from Gwenny Penny. You all know I love play on words, so the blog title is the best. What's even better is her blog...it's chock full of wonderful tutorials, printables, beautiful photography and a GIVE AWAY!! Woo Hoo..
space
Love this picture in her header...


These are the wonderful items in her give away.


She made these...too cute. A coffee cozy, tissue holder and a zippered pouch.


I am the biggest tea drinker ever, so this teapot pin cushion is just the best.


If you'd like to enter Gwen's give away, pop over to her blog and become a follower...you won't be disappointed!
space
Click here to link to the give away post.
space
and click here to link to her fabulous blog.
space
Thanks for letting me share a new friend with you...blogging really brings the world together!
~Karen~

You Might Be on My...No Reply List:(

Ok Ladlies...I had to do it. I feel so badly when someone leaves a comment and you are set to "No Reply". What is No Reply you ask? Most of you may already know, but many do not. No Reply means...every comment you leave on some one's blog goes to their email inbox, but a No Reply has NO email address attached to it, so we can't correspond back to you.

Some bloggers may want to be No Reply, because they may not have a blog or they just love to only leave comments. However, over the past 2 years, I would say 99.99% of the people I contact to tell them they are a No Reply, have no idea they were and want to change it.

If you have a blog and love open communication and emails back and forth between other bloggers, being a No Reply isn't the best feature.

In the past, I have always tried to search out the commenter through their profile and leave a comment on their blog to tell them they are a No Reply, but this is becoming too time consuming for me. This week alone I had over 40 No Replies. I feel so badly that they aren't receiving replies back...so here's my new solution!

A Weekly No Reply List: I know people won't mind their names being on a list, because they have already left a comment some where on my blog leaving their name and I know most will appreciate fixing the problem...I hope...if you don't appreciate it, please don't tell me or I'll cry, LOL!! I'm really only trying to help and this seems to be the best solution for all.

To change a "No Reply" status is quick and easy. Click here for 2 tutorials I've done on this in the past

So here it is...dun, dun, dun (can you hear the low drum roll?)

The No Reply List...

Kay Lynne
Southern Star
M. Rene Noyd
Allyson/HB Mom of 2
Cat n Cart Crafts
House of Hemingway
The Sewing Geek
Debbie
Victoria
Rose
Jamie
Jill @ Blessing of a Lifetime
To the Moon and Back
Vireya
Brandy
Rachel @ Lovely Crafty Home
Laurco
Goddess Mychelle
Delightful Order
Tracey @ Bits and Pieces of The Better Life
Nancy B
Stefanie Stanick
Joen
Barefoot Apron
Monika K
Susan
Emily Love
Lamb Around
Jessica @ My World Made By Hand
angie
Victoria
Kim
Humble Homemaker
Kaye
Peggi
The Whites
Debbie
Alissa
Hoosier at Heart


I will update this as much as I can, as needed. Remember, I am doing this with a BIG blogging heart, so I hope this is ok!! If you have changed your status and want to check it with me, just leave a comment some where on one of my posts and let me know you did. I'll email you back to verify!

Have a great weekend,
~Karen~

Friday, February 18, 2011

Jumbo Button Wall Decor...Sorry Mom!

My mom loved teak wood...anything teak wood. She would buy it all in yard sales and thrift stores. Well, I think she cringed a little from up above when I took a drill and a paint brush to one of her pieces. I had one of her cheese boards tucked away in a closet...within minutes, look how darn cute it turned out. I think she's ok with it, because she was the best seamstress ever and would love this button!




If this was the only cheese board she had, I would have thought twice about it, but it is one of many teak trays...many!



Look...don't you see a button in there?


This is when I think she shed a tear...LOL






If you don't want to drill your cheese board or tray, you can use those office stickers and then paint over them as stencils. Peel away the stickers to reveal the button look.



Just one quick coat of paint, add a little hanger on the back when it dries and you're done.


Cute!


Even cuter when it's threaded.


Wish I could replace the "O" in office with this button...hmmm where's my saw?


Here it is threaded on top of my calendar.



My push pin buttons match the big sister.



Just hot glue buttons on thumb tacks...easy, easy!



Remember my motto...always look twice at something before you pass it up. There are a lot of cheese boards out there waiting to become jumbo buttons.
space
Have a great day,
~Karen

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Hand Sewing Blind Hem Tutorial...

I'm back again...I just did a post on how I turned this sale tablecloth into 3 pillows and a tote bag.




Here's the pillow, but I also wanted to show you how to close up the opening on the bottom with a blind hem.



Here is the opening on the bottom of the pillow...pinned along the way.


Take your needle with a single knotted thread and bring the thread through towards you, so the knot is on the inside of the layer closest to you. Seen here in the picture below.


Now take your needle and bring it through the fabric right across from where the thread is coming out on the other side. (I hope this makes sense..hard to explain in written form)



Keep the needle inside the fabric under the fold for about 1/4" to 1/2" and then poke it out a little from the fold. See the tip of the needle coming out?



Now bring the point of the needle towards you and grab a little bit of fabric from the fold of the other side closest to you.


Pull snug. Now you do the same thing again.



Place the needle across from where the thread is coming out, travel under the fold and come out towards you and grab a little fabric from the other fold.



It's called a blind hem, because the stitch that keeps the fabric closed together is under the folded part of the 2 edges of fabric.



Just keep doing the same all the way across the opening.



The stitches are hidden under the folds instead of the whipped stitch or a machine stitch showing on the outside.



I hope this makes sense...let me know if you have any questions.
~Karen~

Target Tablecloth Update...

Remember my Target sale items I told you about last week? Well, I worked on the tablecloth today. One 70 inch round, linen tablecloth yielded three 18 inch pillows, a lined tote bag and I still have scraps left over to make some coasters, eye glass case and another small bag.




All that for $3.74...not bad!



I made three of these pillows. Two for the couch and one for the chair.




Here's the tote bag. The tablecloth was almost like duct cloth, so very sturdy for a bag. If you want to make one for yourself, I used my eye glass case tutorial. I just cut larger pieces of fabric the size I wanted and added the handles on each of the short ends of the fabric. Click here for the eye glass case tutorial.



I lined it with muslin.



The bag was a quick sew and I used every piece of the tablecloth...even the hem.



I cut them hem off close to the seam and used that for the handles. There is the raw edge, but I'm just using this to carry my books or magazines in the car.



I put together a short tutorial on hand sewing a blind hem on the pillow I made...or at least what I call a blind hem.
space
I'll be right back with tha tutorial,
~Karen~

Monday, February 14, 2011

Tool Time Tuesday...Easy Picture Hanging

Today's Tool Time uses more free paint sticks! Woo Hoo...we love free things. Just don't tell them we're not stirring paint with them. We'll be making a little gadget that will help you hang a picture on the wall...exactly where you want it! I saw an idea similar to this a long time ago. I'm just giving it a Tool Time Twist by using paint sticks

You will need 2 paint sticks, wood glue (or any glue) a pointy screw and a drill. You could use one paint stick, but I wanted a thicker stick so it won't split when drilling. You can also use a regular stick of wood, but the paint sticks are already cut and a perfect size and oh yeah...they're free!




The pointy screw needs to be long enough to have about 1/4" to 1/2" sticking out on both sides of the stick.



Run a bead of glue on the length of the stick.


Place the other stick on top of the glue.


Wipe off excess glue.


Place a heavy object on the sticks until it dries. I used clamps for mine.



Place a piece of scrap wood under the sticks to drill the hole.



Drill the hole smaller than the screw that you are using.



Now twist in the screw so part is sticking out the front and the back.



Place the object that you want to hang on the wall on the front part of the screw. It could be the hook from a picture frame, the ribbon on a plate or that tiny hole on the back of a clock etc. I'm always trying to guess where I should bang in the nail, so this is the trick that will help.


I will be hanging the decorative plate from the ribbon. See the ribbon on the front screw. While your object is hanging from the screw, decide where you want it to be on the wall. Move the paint stick around until it's in the perfect place.



Now with a little pressure or a tap on the screw, you will be making a small mark on the wall with the pointy part of the screw that's on the back of the paint stick, just where you want your item to be.



See the tiny hole? Now you know where to tap in a small nail and hang your picture.



Easy peasy and right where I wanted it. No second guessing where to place the nail.


Now there won't be 15 holes in the wall behind that picture you wanted to hang. Just one and in the right place!
space
Have a wonderful Tuesday,
~Karen~

Wisata Danau Toba - Sumatera Utara

Danau Toba adalah salah satu destinasi wisata alam terbesar di Indonesia dan terletak di Sumatera Utara. Ini adalah danau vulkanik terbesar ...