Saturday, October 1, 2011

Mantel...Yes, No, Maybe So

Mantel question for you,

I took this mantel down to...
  1. paint it
  2. fix it, because it was loose
  3. and to also see if I even wanted it up any more



This was the mantel at Christmas last year.


and a little autumn a few years ago.


This is the support board that was loose. To remove this mantel, all you do is unscrew 2 screws on the top that screw into this board.

The mantel itself has a hollow back, so it slides over this board.



This was the loose screw. It needed a new sinker in the brick.


Tah Dah!!! I loved it as soon as it came off.

The pros of having it off...
  • I like the clean look ( well not clean as in there isn't a boat load of soot all over it lol)
  • I don't have to think about how to decorate it
  • I don't have to paint it or fix it now!
The cons of having it off...
  • no Christmas decorations up there any more
  • the 2 candle stick lamps I always have up there gave a little light to that side of the room
  • I need to find something each season to put up there



Here is an autumn wreath I just put up.


Here's the question...
  • do I center the wreath over the fire place opening (like it is here) or center it across the whole width of the brick area. There is another chimney off to the right that juts out about 18 inches creating a definite end. 

I also painted one of those large cardboard letters you buy in a craft store. Kind of looks like wrought iron up against the fireplace screen. This may be my go to decoration when I don't have a wreath!

The only thing is, it looks empty off to the right over the basket of wood.



What would you do?
  1. mantel off or mantel on
  2. if it is off...center over opening or center in the whole brick area
Thanks so much for your help,
~Karen~

Friday, September 30, 2011

My First Sponsor!!

I am so excited to share my first sponsor with you.


Jackie has been in business as a wonderful, award winning machine quilter for over 10 years and has now become a sales representative for Gammill Quilting Machines.

Click here to visit her amazing website or click her button on my right side bar. It's filled with links to her blog, fabric shops, gallery of quilts and a link to her podcasts too!! You can also click here to go to her great shop!

Stop by and tell her Sew Many Ways sent you!!

Thanks Jackie for being my first sponsor...can't thank you enough!

If you'd like to advertise with Sew Many Ways...click here to read more info or click the advertising page just under my title.

Take care,
~Karen~


Thursday, September 29, 2011

Thoughts on Thursday...

My favorite cookie...hands down...

Oatmeal Raisin!!

How about you?

Happy Thursday,
Karen

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Blog Buddy...How to Adjust the Width Of Your Blog

Here's another blog tip for you from my Blog Buddy feature. If you want to read more tips, just click the Blog Buddy Button link on the right side bar or click the Blogging Tips Page just under my blog title.

Today is a quick tip on how to stretch your blog width!
  • you can stretch the entire blog
  • you can stretch the side bars (left, right or both depending on your blog template)

Here's how my blog page looks. I use the Simple template with a white background. I think if you have a picture or design as your background, just the post section and the side bars stretch


                          

To change yours...(click pictures below to enlarge and see details)
  • go to your dashboard
  • click design


Under the design tab, click Template Designer


This section can be finicky sometimes...at the bottom, a little sample of your blog should pop up so you can see the changes before you apply them, but it doesn't always show up. See mine...says Sew Many Ways. Even if it doesn't appear you can apply the changes, go back and view your blog and if you don't like it, go back in and change it again.

Well, any way back to the topic at hand...click "adjust width" on the left side. It's circled in red in this picture below.



This screen will appear. See what I mean by the blog sample not showing up on the bottom. Not sure if it's my computer or Blogger being the pain in my behind. Lol!!

Just slide the first level to the left or right. Left to make it smaller or right to make it wider.

Just slide the second lever to adjust the width of your side bar...where all your buttons and labels are.

If you don't like the changes, just exit out and nothing will happen.

If you want to save the changes, you MUST click APPLY TO BLOG in the upper right hand corner. If you do apply it and then don't like it when you view it on a full screen, go back in and adjust again.

As a protection, you might want to write down what the original numbers are in the white boxes where it says "px". That way you can put it back to what you had before.



It's fun to experiment with the look of your blog. Have fun with it!!

Take care,
~Karen~

Monday, September 26, 2011

Tool Time Tuesday...Magnetic Clamp Sewing/Kitchen Helper!

Welcome to Tool Time. You know I love the hardware store. I roam around just looking at things and think to myself...hmmm, what can I use this for (other than it's intended purpose).

Well, here's this week's tool that I won't be using for painting! It's a magnetic clamp for your paint can.



It clips to just about anything...


If you do use it for painting, it has this little metal thingy that gets under the lip of the paint can to pry it open.


Here is the original use. Clamps to your paint bucket and the magnet holds your paint brush.


The metal part of the brush sticks to the magnet.


Not using it for that here at Sew Many Ways though...

How about clamping it to your stitching patterns to hold your place in the book and the magnet holds your needles.


You can keep several needles threaded and stick them to the magnet.


How many times do you lose your spoon in cake or pancake batter? No more! Clamp it to a bowl and the spoon sticks to the magnet!


You won't being fishing for your spoon at the bottom of the bowl any more. This is made from plastic, so I wouldn't try this on a pan.



Back to sewing. If you have a small table or something next to where you do your hand sewing...use the clamp!


Holds your pins and needles perfectly...never search for them in the chair again!


Now here's the best! I sew a lot in the car on long trips. I've had 2 other tutorials for sewing helpers in the car, but this is the easiest to use.


Just clamp it to your air vent and never search for you needles again!


If you think I don't use my crazy creations, here is a picture of my car Monday morning on the way to work. That red note pad is a tutorial I made from a plastic gift card and a name badge clamp. Way down the end of the picture is the clamp for my sewing.


The clamp is found in the paint section and costs, I think, about $1 or so. Well worth it for a needle keeper.

Here are the links to some of the things I mentioned above...

Click here for the note pad clamp

Click here for the car caddy tutorial

Click here for a cup holder sewing organizer

Thanks so much for stopping by. If you haven't visited this week's Sew Darn Crafty Party, click here to join the fun...everyone shares such great projects. Maybe you can link up too!

Happy Tuesday,
~Karen~

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