Save That Table

This idea I've known about for a long time and have always wanted to implement it somewhere in my home.  I've just never gotten around to it.  Martha Stewart left directions on exactly how to do this. (What would we do without Martha?)

1. Unscrew the extension mechanism from the bottom of the table. Remove the part of the table you won't be using.
2. Sand the remaining part, then prime and paint it.
3. Nail or screw a two-by-two-inch piece of wood to the wall at the height of the tabletop so that the edge of the table rests on the wood support.
4. Screw through the top of the table to the wood support; fill the holes with wood filler, and paint over them.

The Shirt Off His Back

This idea came from Country Living. 
Make great pillows from mens shirts .  The directions are below. 

STEP 1: Iron shirt to smooth out all wrinkles. Button it, then pin the shirt's front and back to each other to keep them together when cutting.

STEP 2: Cut out the shirt to match the shape of your pillow insert — adding two inches to both the width and length, and centering the row of buttons down the front. (You'll now have two pieces of fabric.)

STEP 3: Repin the fabric so the shirt's finished sides face each other. Sew the pieces together using a 6/8-inch seam. Snip the corners at an angle to ease turning.

STEP 4: Unbutton the fabric and turn the pillowcase right side out. Iron, then rebutton.

STEP 5: Topstitch around the case twice — first 1/8 inch from the edges, then 3/8 inch from the edges — to finish it.

STEP 6: Unbutton the case, insert the pillow, then rebutton and fluff.

Follow these instructions to add rickrack trim to your tailor-made cushions.

Cut an old shirt as described in Steps 1 and 2, but adding only 1/2 inch to both the fabric's width and length. You will have two pieces of material: one with buttons (keep them closed) and one without. Take the piece without buttons and pin rickrack along the perimeter of its front side. Rickrack should be parallel to the edges with no overhang. Machine-baste the rickrack onto the fabric using a scant 1/8-inch seam (you will just be sewing across the top of the rickrack to hold it in place — the trimming will flip up once the pillow is inserted). Pin the two pieces of fabric together so the side with the buttons and the side with the rickrack face each other. Sew together using a 1/4-inch seam. Unbutton the case, turn it right side out, and insert pillow.

A few gatherings

Many times when we go to a thrift store or flea market we just look for things that pop out at us.  But, when you take a little time to match things up, you could put together a beautiful setting for an end table or dinning table.  Slow down and smell the roses and you could go home a very happy shopper.

Hankies from the Past

Vintage appeal

Ladies pretty hankies can usually be found at most thrift stores and flea markets. But if your one of those people who think these little things are adorable and just don't know what in the world you could do with them, well, here's an idea.

You'll need to decide how many you want to use in order to create a collage or hanging.  Press each one of them and then secure them individually to a 14 inch artist canvas.  You will need fusable webbing for this.  The rest is just as easy. Hang on a nail or mounting strip and your done.


                  Diy -BHG

Design a hanging pot rack

The next time you run across an old screen think about this project.  A hanging pot rack.  All you need is a screen door, take out the screen and replace it with heavy-gauge wire mesh.  Suspend the door from the kitchen ceiling with heavy metal chains. You'll use "S" hooks for hanging the pots and pans.  Easy, breezy project. 



Do it yourself -Better Homes and Gardens

Does this picture appeal to anyone else.  Every time I walk by the shelf it sits on at our store, I look at it and I just imagine a calm, peaceful, quite lifestyle. Although, I'm not sure that kind of life really exist.  Maybe it does.   I'll just continue basking in my dream of living in the countryside of rolling hills like this one, with just a few neighbors around, flower gardens that are perfect for picking, home grown vegetables ready to be picked and enjoyed and a beautiful home ready to be visited by family and friends.