Done!

I am officially done with my first quilt! I finished last night and am extremely happy with my finished product. It is far from award winning quality, corners don't match up exactly and I'm sure a few other things are poor but I love my quilt!


I started the process last August when I started cutting out squares with a square cardboard template, yes, cardboard. I simply used an old cereal box. Those of you who have quilted realize this is the wrong technique but it worked well enough. Then I started cutting the pieces out with a scissors, once again not the best method but I didn't have a rotary cutter or cutting board yet so I used what I had. 


In September I purchased my sewing machine so that I could start putting my pieces together as I had already determined that hand quilting the pieces together would be way too much work. My pieces went together fairly easily and then my machine malfunctioned, well I thought it did but this set me back about a month because I wasn't able to connect with my neighbor lady to diagnose the problem. The day after Thanksgiving she helped me out so that I was able to put the board around the blocks. 


Finally, in February I got together with W (my neighbor) and she helped me put on the batting and backing after which point I started the hand quilting. I don't know if I will ever hand quilt again but I am glad I did this time despite the immense amount of time required. My stars look pretty wonderful and I'm glad that in some ways I put my quilt together in a very historical method all the way from cardboard template, to scissors and then hand quilting. 


About two weeks ago W once again helped me out by teaching me how to put the binding on and yesterday she walked me through the final step of the binding. Hand stitching the binding last night took much longer than I thought it would but it wasn't nearly as time consuming as my stars. So after many hours at least 70 maybe more I am done, enjoy!

Changes

Since Tuesday there have been some changes in my life which are exciting. As of Tuesday night I accepted a new job as Principal and 6th grade teacher at Black Hills Lutheran Schools! I am excited about this new chapter in life and know that it will be a chapter filled with lots of new learning where I am able to hone my skills and build upon what I have learned in the past five years as well as what I learned while earning my Masters in School Administration. 


Many of the skills that I have gained in the past five years at TIE will definitely help me in my new position especially as I move to a school that is 1 to 1, how exciting that I will be able to infuse technology into my students learning! I have truly enjoyed my time at TIE and will miss my colleagues but I won't miss some of the random hotels I have stayed in over the years. But even those random hotels have helped shape me into the person I am today and I am thankful for the opportunity I have been afforded and look forward to my new position. 


I may be excited for infusing technology into my teaching and learning but I am most excited that once again I will be able to focus on infusing the Gospel into curriculum. This opportunity will definitely build my faith and I can only pray that it will build the faith of my future students. Go Falcons! 

Another Free Sample

Once again I love going to the mail box and some days in the last two weeks it has been one of the rare times I have been outside. (The whole 90's and 100's keep me in the house as much as possible.) So when I went to the mailbox and found another free sample I was super psyched again! 
This sample was once again from Target and included an adorable blue make-up bag, Neutrogena UltraSheer 70 Sunblock (this would have been more useful before it was 90 degrees outside), a Revlon lip color sample and three samples of shampoo/conditioner, Tresemme, Garnier and Aveeno. 

I love saving money with free samples especially of hair products that I use each day. Too bad I can't use the make-up bags for flights. If only they were clear then we'd be good to go but they are the perfect size. Perhaps the airlines should rethink this on my behalf. ; ) Either way I definitely encourage you to check out the many free samples you can come across online or advertised on television they are definitely worth your time!

Golden Birthday

Last week one of my good friends celebrated her Golden Birthday and I helped her husband get the party ready. As I was looking for a few minimal decorations I came across these adorable little metal buckets that I'm sure were being marketed for Independence Day hence the fact that they were white. However, white wasn't going to fit into the theme of Golden Birthday so I decided that I would simply paint them so I purchased two acrylic paints, one solid gold the other gold sparkles and set to work. 

Before

 After

The buckets were a smooth surface thus painting with strokes was not going to work. I had to use my sponge brushes but they worked perfectly! After two coats of the solid gold and one of the gold sparkles the buckets had been transformed from Independence Day white to Golden Birthday Gold! I must say I was quite pleased with myself for looking at something and seeing in a split second what I could do to make it fit the theme. 

Napkins

I have heard several references recently to Christmas being only 6 months away which is crazy. However, when I think of the 109 degree high we had the other day cooler Christmas temperatures sound great. Then thoughts of Christmas turned to what can I make for Christmas? Last year I purchased a few Christmas fabrics, one of which you've seen on this blog because it's the same fabric as I am using for my Christmas quilt. The other is a new fabric that when I purchased it I thought I would make place mats but as I started thinking this week I decided that I would make napkins instead. 


Yes, I could have made traditional square napkins but that would have been too easy so I searched for napkins and came across a circle pattern where the napkins can be folded into Christmas trees, perfect! I was excited for these and have made two sets of 4 already. They aren't for sale yet as I'm waiting for Christmas in July but here you can get the sneak peak. They are stitched with a gold thread to accent the gold stars on the white Merry Christmas print and to add a little extra shimmer to your Christmas decor. 

Being Away

I have been away for awhile now as you've noticed. The first week of June was incredibly busy as I was working, teaching Vacation Bible School and came down with a bad cold and major sun burn so then I was nursing myself back to health as well. Since then work has been busy and today I finally sit down to sew and as I go to turn my project right side out I realize that I sewed it incorrectly! Yes, I was upset by this and decided that it was time for me to put the sewing aside for the day because obviously I was too distracted as I was working to really be productive.


However, I have been productive on my quilting and after tonight I should have all my small starts finished so that I can meet up with my neighbor lady and do the trim and I will finally be DONE! Yes, finally done after a 6 month project that has taught me a lot about quilting. 
1) I will not hand quilt my next quilt and I may never hand quilt again unless it's a place mat then I may consider it...
2) 6 months is too long to drag out a project
2) Sewing baby items is more my style because I see immediate results


So stay tuned for finished pictures and remember anything on the blog can be purchased! 

Beer Cap Coasters

Today I was eager to finally make some beer cap coasters so I went garage sale-ing to find exactly a cork board. As a child we went to garage sales and second hand shops which I must admit were of little interest and of slight embarrassment as I entered jr. high. Then throughout high school and college the only reason I went to such places was when looking for a costume and this has carried into my adult life. Now, with my new direction of crafting I have started sale-ing again at least a little. My favorite sales are those at churches because they often have loads of goods for very little money. I searched high and low but there was no cork board to be found at the sale. Then as I was nearing the end of my search I did come across 2 foam place mats and decided they would be perfect! 

When I got home I gathered my materials, sorted out all of our beer caps as we've been saving them with the help of friends for a year and a half and had over 225, and then I began working. All in all my project took about an hour and a half and when I was done I had 12 completed coasters or 3 sets of 4. Below is the full picture of what I completed but I've divided them into sets of Coors Light/Bud Light, Shiner and Leinenkugels/Schells. 

Envelopes

As summer is here and June is my slow time of the work year I have a lot more time to work on some re-purposed crafts. So yesterday as I was sorting through some of the items I have had for an extended period of time I came across a Road Trip Calendar. I recall when I first got it that I thought I would cut out the pictures and transform them to coasters. As I began thinking I knew I didn't have a supply of coasters on hand and was reminded of a wonderful letter I received  from a friend a few years ago that came in a unique envelope. After I read the letter I took apart the envelope and realized that it was a calendar! It was awesome and so my calendar has now become 11 envelopes. 

Jungle Babies

About two weeks ago I purchased a wonderful jungle fabric that brings smiles to my face every time I look at the adorable little animals. When I went to Hobby Lobby I had intended to purchase some blue fabric for boys but this one caught my eye and non of their blues could compete so i went for this instead. I still think this is a wonderful boy fabric more than a girl so ultimately it my original goal was met just in a different way than I assumed it would be. 

I guess that's how life is we often make a plan for ourselves and God steps in and says "I know the plans I have for you." (Jer. 29:11) and ultimately he changes our plan and at times when we can't understand we hold on for the ride and realize later that it was really what was best for us. So if you were hoping for blue items in the Baby Shop they haven't come yet but they will. My next project is the wonderful pink flannels that I found complete with cute dragonflies. Stay tuned to the Baby Shop to see what you can buy! 

Graduation

Today is the end of an era for me, my last former student graduated from high school. It is bitter sweet for me to have that chapter of my life see a full closure. Yes, that chapter has been closed for 5 years but in many ways this is the final sentence. I have always enjoyed giving practical gifts of any kind and this graduation gift was the same. But due to my new found love of sewing and the special place this student holds in my heart for multiple reasons I wanted to make this gift practical and special. So I went for practical, white bath towels, (ok maybe white isn't practical but towels are) and then I added some fabric for them. It was an easy project but definitely give the towels a little something that remind me of my former student. Below are the before and after pictures that show you just how simple of a project this was. 

Homemaker Day

I often joke with my husband that I should be a stay at home wife and his answer is always a resounding no. Stay at home mom is fine but stay at home wife won't work so I guess I will continue working. However, today is a day off and I must say that in the past 5 hours, yes, I got up at 5 am today, I have been incredibly productive.
Barry had to go to Albuquerque for work today so we were up early. I dropped him at the airport and was at the gym by 6 (don't get too excited I haven't been to the gym in a few weeks) but I got a good walk with a little running in, then I came home, threw in some wash (fabric for my afternoon sewing), and starting my baking and freezer jam. I must say I am quite pleased with the fruits of my labor thus far and below is a little teaser for you. I am going to do my best not to eat the entire rhubarb crisp before Barry returns Thursday night and to accomplish that I may just have to keep the desert in the fridge, out of site, out of mind right. 

I have the feeling that if this became habit along with making a lunch and having a warm dinner on the table every night I may be able to convince my husband that I could be a stay at home wife and then you could call me June Cleaver. What do you think? 


Rhubarb Strawberry Jam

4 cups Rhubarb
3 cups Strawberries
2 cups Sugar
2 3-oz boxes Strawberry Jello


Boil rhubarb and sugar for 8 minutes. Add strawberries and boil for 2-3 minutes more. If using fresh strawberries boil longer. (I used frozen so they were already pretty soft.) Take off stove and add both boxes of Jello. Put in jars and cool. May be frozen or keep in refrigerator. 


Rhubarb Crisp

I used the recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook but I tripled the crisp. I grew up in a double crisp family because we would eat the crisp before it was cooked so that's our tradition. Doubling and still snacking allows for a layer of crisp on the bottom and crisp on the top, yum! 

Free Samples

Since I was a young child I have enjoyed getting the mail. If I was in the house I would watch out our living room window for the mailman so that the instant I saw his truck round the corner I could dart out the door in hopes of beating my little brother to the mail box. If we were outside the footrace was on! Once in a great while the mail was for me but even then most often it was bills for my parents. Now that I’m an adult well, the mail is often for me but continuous credit card offers are not that exciting. Yet I get excited to open the mail box each day and am delighted that my husband does not share my love for getting the mail. I have the feeling he would beat me in a foot race any day! Yesterday was an exceptionally exciting day as there was a small box in the mail from Target, who doesn’t love Target? I picked up the box that was quite heavy in relation to its size and wondered what they had sent me. Upon opening the box I realized it was the free sample I had requested and was filled with wonderful little gifts. 

My biggest excitement is over the face wipes that came in a quantity of 7, a whole weeks worth, that's awesome! And to make them last longer I will cut them in half so now I have 14 days of face washes, wonderful. I also love coupons so those were the second most exciting item for me to find. I must admit that I am a Redken girl when it comes to shampoo and conditioner but the Pantene will be a wonderful body wash and will be much cheaper than other options since it's FREE! 

Free Money

Everyone loves free money or at least they should because it really is amazing. Benjamin Franklin once said, "A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned" and I definitely adhere to this principal, plus many of the pennies are save are pennies I find on the sidewalk and thus they were "free money". A few years ago I came across a website that gives "free money" to non-profits based off of every web search that is generated. In the past year this site: GoodSearch.com has become my favorite free money site!
Goodsearch is powered by Yahoo so the search results are just as good as Google and I love that every time I search I am giving  back to the community. If you have never used Goodsearch before you can create a log-in or use Facebook as your log-in. Then you select the charity of your choosing from a list of 105,974 that are currently participating. My charity of choice is a local school, Zion Lutheran School and Preschool, and in 2012 to date with 21 supporters we have raised $31.96 through searching and shopping. Yes, $31.96 may not seem like much money to many people but to me every little bit counts. The Goodsearch fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 - Sept. 30th so thus far in the fiscal year the school has earned $69.60! Wow, from searching and shopping, none of this money actually had to come out of people's piggy banks and now the school can purchase whatever they need, art supplies, new soccer balls, whatever! 
The other side of Goodsearch is Goodshop which has thousands of stores listed for your online shopping. I am addicted to The Limited and since the nearest one to my house is over 300 miles away online shopping is the route I go. The best part about this online shopping is that with each purchase they donate 1.5% to Zion's school. This makes me feel better about my frequent purchases because they benefit someone else! The percent back has a wide range from the 1.5% to 37% from Match.com if you know anyone looking for their services. So if you're looking to send flowers for Mothers Day check out Goodshop where FTD, my mother's day florist, will give 6% back or 1800Flowers will give 8.5% back, Mom's Happy and you're happy! 

Baby, Baby

The past two afternoons I have been working away on my sewing instead of my quilting and have thoroughly enjoyed my time and the end results. Monday I picked up this wonderful new fabric at Hobby Lobby and am excited because now only can I use it for my baby patterns but I am also going to use it for a graduation gift, pictures on that will come soon. 
Here is a sneak peak of what I did yesterday and if you check out the Baby Shop you can see the other baby items that I have now completed including a second tactile blanket, a bib, burp cloth, and portable changing pad. If you would like to purchase any of the items please let me know. The first person who purchases two items receives the burb cloth FREE as I'm going to make alterations to the pattern so that it's improved (at least in my mind it'd be improved.) 

The ribbons for the tactile blankets are hand and machine stitched. All items are stitched and top stitched in a zig zag pattern as seen below: 

April Showers Bring May Flowers

I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of rain. For a minute or two I couldn't figure out what the sound was but once I realized it was rain I was super excited. We have been watering our lawn like crazy in order to get it to bounce back and I have been praying for rain so we can get some "free water". Our lawn will hopefully start bouncing back a little more and we are aerating it in the next few days so that will help also. 


The rain and impending summer also made me think of my favorite place on earth, Lutheran Island Camp. Even after visiting 7 foreign countries there is no place I would rather be than on the Island. So many wonderful memories and experiences are associated with the Island that make it my favorite place. One of those memories is associated with rain. It had rained for a day or two and I didn't have a raincoat as I had forgotten it at home for the summer and a 75% chance of rain was in the forecast for the next few days. So two of my fellow camp employees went into town and I asked if they could pick me up a poncho and they agreed. Low and behold they return with a Men's Poncho! Now, I am not opposed to this and the one coworker really tried to get Porter to buy me a children's size as I am only 5'4" but he insisted that a children's size would be too small for me and purchased the men's size I believe is 6'3 frame is what influenced his decision and needless to say this poncho went to my ankles! I definitely did not have to worry about getting wet, I could swing my back pack on, put my poncho over top and still had room for my crutches under my poncho (yes, I also had a newly sprained ankle at this point of the summer) 


This experience and the week of impending rain is a wonderful memory and a wonderful reminder that a flood will never take over the entire earth again. When I'm praying for rain and we receive it or don't receive it I am reminded that "Every good and perfect gift comes from above." Jame 1:17. And even when a friend over compensates from me, he was willing to purchase something on my behalf and thus the purchase is still wonderful. And 9 years later I still have the poncho. 

Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day I made the conscious choice today that I would hang laundry outside on the line. Growing up we hung everything on the line but our backyard was next to a cornfield so no one saw the line, now living in town I limit my laundry to sheets and towels. I always feel a little green and money saving when I hang laundry out and oh the smell of fresh sheets hung out to dry, amazing! 

I actually grew up in a family who was big into reduce, reuse, recycle. We recycled everything, paper, cardboard, plastic, glass you name it we recycled. I can't tell you how many bread bags and Ziploc bags I washed and rewashed. We reused aluminum foil and all gifts were opened with a knife so that the wrapping paper could be reused. To this day I have a hard time ripping into gift wrap because I feel I am being wasteful. I don't wash Ziploc bags any longer but I also avoid using them at all costs. I use reusable containers for lunch and if I take my lunch to work in a plastic bag it gets used until it is ripping and then I recycle it at the local grocery store. But I also avoid using plastic bags and have a wide variety, about 20 reusable bags of varying sizes, that I use when I go shopping. My favorite place to use my reusable bags are Target and Family Thrift Center because they give me 5 cents off per bag I use per shopping trip. Being paid to go green, I love it! 
How are you going green today and every day?

Golfing

Five years ago my then boyfriend, now husband, said that he always wanted to have something that he and his significant other "do together" and he asked if I would go golfing with him, I immediately said yes! Of course I said yes, I loved this man and I wanted to be with him so golfing was only a minor bump or so I thought. 


That year I borrowed clubs from a friend and started my attempt at golfing. My attempts were interesting, the irons I had were still true irons so they were heavy and frustration was high. There was a time or two or three when I would through the clubs. At least I never broke any. The following year my fiance bought me my own clubs. Now I was set my irons were no longer heavy, I wasn't going to throw brand new clubs no matter how frustrated I became and all would go well. 


Needless to say I still was no good at golfing nor did I go often enough to improve much.
The past three years I've probably gone golfing less than 10 times and have been to the driving range a few times but this year is going to be different. Actually this year is already different, I have bee to the range three times and have done 2 rounds of 9! I am not playing church or city league softball this summer so my summer will be golfing. I decided in March that going golfing once a week was a must. I'm going to pretend that I'm in a league, even if it is a league of one, but it will be a strong league.

Last night, when Barry and I finished golfing, he thanked me! I had no idea why he thanked me so I replied with "You're welcome but I'm not really certain what you're thanking me for." He said "We finally have something that we can "do together". That makes golfing worth it any day of the week and golfing is definitely a re-purposed step in my life. 

My First Link Party

I had a wonderful discovery come through my Tweet Deck today regarding an Etsy Linky Party and man was I excited. It has been slow going, mostly on my part, for my new Etsy sight so getting a chance to link up with fellow Etsy shops is super exciting for me! Here it is folks, my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AMonogrammedLife Thank you Cacehy Mama's for Tweeting today so that I could join your party! 


The other wonderful networking that I was introduced to today was Social Selling Black Hills. You can view us on Facebook at this link.


On a quilting note, I have 4 stars done on my quilt. They're taking about an hour each so the process is long but I am enjoying my relaxing time and seeing the work coming together is wonderful. 

Hand Quilting

I completed my first quilt top in early December and there it sat. My wonderful neighbor lady helped me get it ready for quilting in early February and now that March is here I am finally getting around to quilting it. This process would be easier if I was not insistent on hand quilting but I also believe that I would not be learning nearly as much from this process if I was having someone machine quilt for me. So I will share my progress albeit it is slow. I have two stars done and 28 more to finish so stay tuned in the coming weeks to see where I am at in the process!

Disappearing 9 Patch

As I work on hand stitching my first quilt, yes hand stitching, I am also working on a second quilt, a Disappearing 9 Patch. This is definitely a hard design to attempt as a second quilt but I'm not wanting to take the easy path and learning a lot as I move forward with my endeavor. I have 15, 9 patches done right now and once I have 30 I will start the next phase. Hopefully I will be dedicated in the next 10 days to work on my next patches. I spring snow storm, despite our currents temps in the 70's, would be greatly appreciated so that I am "stuck" in the house sewing!

A Busy Weekend

I have been negligent in posting and crafting these past few weeks as I have been traveling a lot. But this weekend I made up for some lost time and completed a few projects. I finished another toss pillow that is perfect for anyone who loves red, cupcakes, cherries or just wants to add a splash of color and character to a room.

My other project was my second picture frame for a monogrammed letter. This time I went with black paint and the glitter glaze. I haven't selected a letter yet so it is ready to be customized! These monogrammed letters are versatile as they can hang with a cute ribbon, the hooks that come with the frame or they can stand on a piece of furniture.

 

Easter

I wish I could claim this idea as an original but it is definitely not. I found this idea from a The Creative Homemaker blog via Pintrest and immediately put these pillows on my to do list! So far I have two Easter pillows completed and am in progress with some Valentine ones and an Autumn one. They are fun to sew both with machine and by hand. They are made of 100% cotton hand towels with a 100% polyester filling so they are super easy to clean if needed. 

Finished!

I have finally finished my monogrammed A that I began while my husband was away, as first mentioned here. When I posted my first picture I was happy with what was taking shape but now that I am completed I really like the end product! I completed a few more coats of paint and then did to clear goats of glittered glaze and added the boy. It is amazing how much glitter and a bow can do for anything! I plan to do a few more of these with different letters, based off the popularity of baby names, and in different colors of buttons. If you would like one let me know and check them out at my Etsy shop.

Jeans

I am thrilled with my new catch: these Jeans! I couldn't have ask for a better supply at a better price, Free! One definitely cannot help but rave about Craigslist when it gives you this as a prize of sorts. Not only was I able to help someone else clean out stuff from their place but I am excited to re-purpose these items into a beautiful jean rag quilt. Stay tuned for updates which will keep me moving on this newest quilt.

Husbands Away

This past weekend my husband was away so I had a full day to do some crafting which was fabulous. My living room was a disaster with glue guns, glue sticks, cardboard, fabric, buttons, paint, canvas, and more! Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of the mess for you all to see but through the mess game a few new items from re-purposed materials and a few truly new items. I must say I am looking forward to when he is gone next month so I can do the same thing again. I love my husband dearly but feel so much more free to leave the living room a disaster when he is gone than when he is home and I know he appreciates me not leaving it a disaster when he is home.

This monogrammed A, which isn't finished yet, was made using buttons I've been collecting for years. Every shirt with buttons that you ever buy always has extra buttons which is great and fortunately I never need the extra buttons so this is what I have started.

I also made this pair of items which was a lot of fun for me! When I look at them I see the works of someone who is finally willing to express their artistic side no matter what the results. I also see areas of improvement which is great. In the words of a brilliant educators "Anyone to busy to reflect on one's practice is too busy to improve." Robert Garmston

Why Repurposed?

This blog fulfills two purposes for me that fit into the category of re-purposed monogrammed life. One, I look at my faith as something the re-purposes my life each day as a make conscious decisions to walk the talk. Secondly, I am an avid recycler and have decided to use the hobby to re-purpose many common household items to sell on Etsy.

As a youngster my mom tried teaching me how to sew and it worked for awhile but eventually our learning and teaching styles failed to mesh and my pursuit of sewing ended. In college I had my "grandma" teach me how to crochet which has been a great past time. I have stuck with scarves and baby blankets as they are easy, don't take to long and are always needed by organizations that help those who are less fortunate.

In the past six months I  finally gave way to my desire to begin quilting. One would think that perhaps I took a few quilting classes, purchased a machine and then some fabric but no that is not how I role. I went to JoAnn Fabrics website and purchased my new friend Singer. Then I pulled out fabric I've had since high school and decided to start cutting and sewing. When I needed help I searched YouTube videos and when I came to a full road block I asked my neighbor for help. I am thoroughly enjoying quilting and received many great quilting tools this past Christmas which have greatly aided my efforts. However, my attention can be swayed quickly so I am also branching into other crafts such as re-purposing.

This blog will track everything from faith and crocheting to quilting and crafting so stay tuned and see what happens. It'll be a great ride!