Excited!!!

Sometimes experiences come your way that are completely unexpected.......

But make you feel like a kid waiting for Christmas!

My daughter called 2 nights ago

And told me she has club tickets

For us

To Go See........

Click here

TAYLOR SWIFT!!!!

Oh, Yeah

I'm pretty excited!

(Just had to interrupt this blog to tell you that)

Ellie

What Are They?

Last week I picked up this little set for $2.  

When I asked the lady the price, she said, 

"Do you even know what they are?"

I told her what I thought.......

and turned out to be right!  

She told me I was the first person all day 

who knew what they were for.

How about you?  Can you guess?

Click here while you're thinking

NO PEEKING

I hope you came back!

Here is what they are for.

Were you correct?

I knew you would know!

Aren't they pretty for a buffet?

And only $2!

Thanks for stopping by,

Ellie

Linking to Show and Tell Friday - See Cindy's Romantic Home Link in Sidebar

Colorful Recycled Necklace

 $3 Garage Sale Purse

The beads were loose and starting to fall off.

But, the beads were perfect to match a cross pendant 

I had purchased

 for $3.

I bought the hot pink beads for $1.50 at the fabric store.

The black-white beads were $1.50 from Hobby Lobby.

All of the other beads were recycled or picked up for 

pennies at garage sales.

Yay!  Finally a necklace that looks right with the cross.

Thanks for stopping by,

Ellie

Where did I go?

Hi Lavendears,

As you may or may not know, I started a new job about a month ago.  Things are going really well at my job, but I have been struggling to stay on top of all the things that were part of my life before I started working.  I'm now going through a sorting out phase, trying to keep the most important things in my life - but cutting the rest.

This blog is one of the things I really enjoy,  and I want to not only continue it, but continue to enjoy it.  Trying to write posts, edit photos, and come up with new projects daily was taking all the fun away, though.  I'm trying to figure out what direction to go with the blog right now, but I wanted you to know - I am still here.

I also ordered a new camera.  I think I've been holding off posting this week, because I want to post my projects with improved pictures.

So, please check back in from time to time.  To not create, for me, would be to not breathe.  As I am able to complete projects - I will share them with you here.

Thanks for stopping by as often as you do.  I appreciate you more than you know.

Ellie

Making Curtains

If you've followed my blog for long, you know that I live in an old house that was built in 1929.......

Photo by Rian Ada Hunter

which means I have 8 and 9.5 foot ceilings 

which also means to dress my windows in curtains means 

BIG, BIG Bucks!

Luckily, I do sew and over time have made all of the curtains that are currently hanging in my house.

I know this seems overwhelming if you are a novice sewer, but please stick with me.  Some of the curtains I made were time consuming and challenging, but many of them were actually quite easy.  I'd like to share a few techniques with you that I hope will inspire you enough to make your own curtains.

Panels require a lot of yardage of fabric.  They also demand much patience to iron the fabric, lay the fabric out, cut it perfectly straight, and sew all that bulk.  In my opinion, if you can find panels you like that are long enough for your windows - buy them.  The cost savings isn't usually enough to put yourself through all of that work - unless you need extra long panels like I do.  Unfortunately, the cost seems to go up dramatically for long panels.  If your heart is set on curtains in a specific fabric however, you're not going to be happy unless you make the panels. 

Valances, on the other hand, are the easiest curtains to make and can save you quite a lot of money.  To illustrate a few very simple techniques, I'm going to share the valance I made for the window over my kitchen sink.

This valance is truly nothing more than a large rectangle.  

Basically, I pieced sections of fabric together to create a finished (after hemming all 4 sides) rectangle about the height of the window, yet 24 inches wider than the window.  It is wider than the window so I could create pleats.

Next, I ironed cabone' ring tape to the back of the curtain. Normally you would sew this - and you should if you will wash the curtains often - but I did not want to see stitching on the front of the curtain.  Instead, I used strips of fusible web tape - made for hemming pants - to attach the cabone' tape.  Follow the instructions on the fusible hem tape to make sure you get a good bond.  

Also, be sure to attach the tape so the top ring is at exactly the same height on each section of curtain.  I ironed 4 lengths of tape on my curtain.

Finally, I stapled the rectangle to a 1x4 board cut to match the width of the window.  I wanted my valance to have pleats, so I created pleats as I stapled.  I will do a tutorial on creating pleats in an upcoming post.  My pleats lined up with where I had ironed the cabone' tape.

To finish, I slipped the cabone' rings onto shower curtain rings, and hung the valance.  A screw on each end did the trick.

See.......that was pretty easy, wasn't it?  The style of my valance may not be your style, but perhaps you can use some of these techniques anyway.  Try only gathering a few of the bottom rings on your valance.  Or maybe try skipping every other ring.  I'd love for you to share what you come up with.

Thanks for stopping by,

Ellie

Wicked Chocolate Sauce

Do you like to hostess events at your house?  Or does the thought of this send you into a panic!

I really love to hostess events, but I must admit:  Sometimes I've been a terrible hostess.  Oh, I think the house was clean enough and the food was tasty.  The problem - the hostess was more concerned about making an impression than making her guests comfortable.

Dear Rob and Lori - please forgive me for the time I invited you for a big Chicken Parmesan meal for my two year-old's birthday.  I could sense how bad you felt when I finally collapsed in my chair after all that cooking and said, 

"Whew!  I'm pooped!"

Seriously, who needs to cook Chicken Parmesan 

for a 2 year-old's birthday?

I have since adopted a motto that I try to apply 

to all areas of my life:

Bless

Not 

Impress

Regardless of what I create, how I spend my money, or what I put on this blog - I try to stop and ask myself, "Am I doing this to impress someone.......or to bless them?"

What a freeing way to live

and what a great way to hostess!  

With that in mind, I have a couple of recipes I'd like to share with you over the next few months.  These recipes are easy, super delicious, and can be put together in just a few minutes.  After all, the idea is to spend time with your friends, right?  Not the kitchen!

The first recipe is for a wicked chocolate sauce.  I gave it this name because when I make this sauce, I cannot stop eating it.  It is EVIL!!!!.......but Ohhhh so good.

Ingredients:


2 Squares Unsweetened Chocolate
1 Cup Evaporated Milk
1 Stick Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt

Mix the ingredients together in a medium pan.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Boil for 3 minutes, continuing to stir.

That's It!

The sauce will have the consistency of chocolate pudding.  To give it a creamier texture, I like to beat it with a hand mixer for about 4 minutes.

This sauce is for a sundae pie where you put ice cream in an oreo crust, layer with this sauce, top with cool whip and then freeze.

In my opinion, however, the sauce is sooo much better on its own or served over ice cream, brownies, warm pieces of cake.......you get the idea.  

A final thought:  the leftover sauce (if there is any) gets a little sugary.  This can be solved by heating the amount you need in the microwave, or reheating the entire batch in a small sauce pan and stirring frequently.  Just don't stir the crystally stuff high up on the sides of the pan back down into the sauce. 

Or, just simply eat all the sauce in one sitting like we do!  Problem solved.

Thanks for stopping by.......oh, and about that dark ring circling my face, heh, heh.......yes, I guess I did lick the bowl clean!

Ellie

Favorite Skin Care Products

Two years ago, I started couponing.  I haven't really shared this with you before, because I try to focus this blog more on creative living and not so much buying things.  Besides, there are so many great sites out there to help you coupon, I don't need to be one more.  My favorite is Hip2Save.com.  If you want to coupon and don't know how, this is a great place to start.

Having said that, I want to share a little benefit that has come out of couponing.  When you coupon, you quit being "brand loyal".  This means as a shopper you purchase whatever product (ie: spaghetti sauce) you have coupons for. This encourages you to try new products you wouldn't try otherwise. (Hmmm, you think the manufacturers know this?)

I have always been really picky about what I use on my skin, because I have oily skin that is prone to breakout, yet very sensitive skin.  If I use something for oily/acne skin, my face gets all dry, itchy and red.  If I try to moisturize, even a little, I tend to breakout.  This is especially frustrating when the wrong product produces those large, painful bumps under the skin that take months to go away, and often leave a scar if you mess with them.

When our budget became so tight I could no longer afford my favorite products, I cautiously began to try some of the drug store brands I could get for $1 or so with coupons.  I actually have found a couple of products I really, really like and want to share them with you.

For cleansing, I find this product to do a very nice job.  It gently washes away make-up without severely drying out my skin.   Most cleansers like this tend to break me out, but  I have not had any trouble with this product.

Moisturizers are a big challenge for me, especially if they have sunscreen.  This product gives some lightweight moisture, again without the breakouts.  There is also a pot of gel cream that provides heavier moisture in this line.  It is equally nice and I love how it feels when you apply it.

When I do have breakouts, I use this:

I am so amazed that putting an oil on my skin actually clears it up; trust me it really does.  I can put this on at night and by morning by skin is considerably clearer, without all the dryness.  By the way, tea tree oil is great for all kinds of skin ailments, not just acne

CAUTION:  Tea tree oil smells terrible!  Like a strong, icky vicks type smell.  If you put this on at night there will be no.......well, you know what I mean!  Just carefully follow the directions when using it.  If it seems harsh at first, apply some with a Q-tip and then gently dab off with some witch hazel on a cotton ball.

Speaking of witch hazel, that is my toner of choice.  Cheap, cheap, cheap, but very satisfactory results.

I'm very happy with these products and just wanted to pass this information along in case you are looking for something new.  My opinion doesn't really matter, but it is unbiased and might save you some dried out skin or painful breakouts.

Thanks for stopping by,

Ellie