Couponing Craze!!!

I've been watching that crazy show Extreme Couponing and love it!  Yes these people are a little crazy but who doesn't want to save a little money.  With the wedding coming up in November, we need to save as much as possible.  I've decided to look into this whole couponing craziness and see how if can benefit my wallet.  I'll be posting deals I've found and my progress throughout this unique experience. Here are some blogs I'll be following to help me through the process.

TheKrazyCouponLady
Common Sense with Money
Taking Stock

Cleaned things up a bit

I decided to do a clean sweep on the blog layout tonight.  I think it turned out well!  Hope you like the new look.

Wow this year has flown by!

This weekend it hit me that Christmas is only 2 months away.  This is the time when all the crafty people start figuring out what to make everyone so we have time to make it!  Of course a few projects end up being last minute but cute none the less. 

 I was browsing through my pattern book and realized I have a lot of patterns bought on a whim but I've yet to try them out.  I decided to try out a notebook slipcover pattern I bought a few months ago.   I'm loving the PDF pattern boom on Etsy.  You can find a lot of really cute patterns with pictures!  Practicing with patterns like this helps me move through the sewing process easier because I know I'm doing it right along the way. 

The pattern is from Virginia Lindsay's Etsy store.  Her blog, Gingercake, is great too!

Lovely!  I'm putting this one on the list for crafty Christmas presents. 

Halloween 2010

This is that one time a year when red eye from a photo is OK!  We had a great time this Halloween!  I decided to be a Voodoo Doll and Michael was the Witch Doctor.  

I made my dress out of burlap and a few scraps from the basket.  Super easy!  All I did was lay an old dress down on top of the burlap and cut out the silhouette for the front and back pieces. 

  Half inch strips were cut and zigzag stitched down the center to keep it from fraying too much.  The strips were sewn onto the edges, front and back locations matching.  The shoulders were sewn together.  The neck and arm holes were altered here with a pair of scissors.  

My friend did my hair and makeup.  Thanks Jill!  Our costumes were definitely conversation starters.  

Good times!

Kitchen Makeover

Before!

I've been wanting to make curtains for my kitchen for awhile but could never find fabric that screamed perfect until now.  I had wooden blinds in there but found out quickly that my cat Lucy liked them more than I did.  She enjoyed chewing the string that each piece sits on...Yay.  We quickly came to the conclusion that we needed an alternative.  I found this great tutorial for Roman Shades on Jen Duncan's What's New blog.  Worked out perfectly!!

The fabric I fell in love with is called Pretty Bird which I purchased from Stitches N' Giggles.  Lori has some great inventory!

Mom, Grandma and my BFF Jill came to my house for the day on Saturday and we finished everything in 10 hours!

Before!  (That's Lucy aka "the trouble maker")

Kitchen Sink Window

After!!

We use blackout fabric on the back so you can't see through the shades at night.

Mom did the whole custom table cover and it turned out beautiful.  We put batting and strips of shelf lining underneath to keep it from sliding around.  Now all I need to do is paint a terracotta pot purple for the little plant.