My name is Breanne, and I'm your average Metro Detroit resident trying to get the best out of the D. I love working on my home, spending time with my family and learning how to become a domestic diva!
Knock Knock...
As I was running up and down the stairs this week doing laundry, I noticed something odd in the hallway.
It appears that somebody has moved into my house.
When I knocked nobody answered, so I opened the door (that was rude, I know)... I wonder where it goes!
Quilting for the soul...
I've been having some issues with getting bogged down both creatively, and in the use of my free time. So I thought one way that might help me to break out of my funk would be to run out a quick and dirty project, both to recharge my batteries and drain-o the creative constipation I've been having (lovely visual yes?). I liked the result so I'm sharing it with my Fresh friends!
Seeing as it was St. Patrick's day recently, I thought - why not make an Irish Chain quilt?
Why not indeed.
It's a simple pattern that I'd done a variant of once before, so I scooped up my pile of coupons and snagged some quilting cotton at the store for a weekend of 'personal time' with my sewing machine (wow, 2 slightly disturbing visuals in one post - I'm on a roll!).
An Irish chain is a basic criss-cross design, and for this one I spiced it up by using 2 different colors in the background instead of one. I started with the idea that I wanted the color orange in this quilt. It's one of my favorite colors and I hadn't used it (in quantity) in any quilt to date. After falling for the perfect orange, I thought it would be cool to use fabric with circular patterns in it for each color. I like my fabrics in quilts to follow a 'theme'. All floral, all stripes, etc because I feel like it makes for a more cohesive design. After finding a teal-y blue and a white with copper metallic circles on it (how much more perfect could THAT find get???). I was set to go. You can see my selections on the right.
So in approximately 24 hours I made this:
See the obligatory 'kitty helped me' photo?
The borders stumped me for a bit, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, especially since I didn't have miles of extra fabric. This top in the end used nearly every scrap of the 8.5 yards I had. I want to see if I can find the blue somewhere else so I can bind it in that color.
Before binding it will have to be quilted, but that will come later. I haven't settled on a pattern for the quilting yet and it's time to get back to other projects.
That said, it sure was nice to clear my head on this project!
Preparing for Spring to Spring!
For several years now I've had a project I wanted to take on, but I was always afraid to 'get my hands dirty' or that it wouldn't work out. Well this year I've had enough! I'm going to try my hand at growing some of my own produce.
Home-grown vegetables and fruits can be a great healthy activity for your family - and an easy way to get started is with a raised planting bed. I made mine from start to finish in a Saturday afternoon.
These instructions call for cedar fencing - each plank runs for only around $2, and cedar is better for garden boxes because it is resistant to rot and doesn't contain the chemicals that standard lumber often does which could get into your produce.
Supplies (for one 3'x6' box)
How-To Build a Raised Garden Bed from Cedar Fencing.
If your fence planks have the corners of one side tapered, start by sawing off the the tapered end so both ends are square (wearing your safety goggles of course).
Then measure cut 2 of your cedar planks in half.
Then saw your 2"x2"s into 18" pieces - now we're ready to assemble!
1. Lay out 2 of the 2"x2" sections - one beneath each end of a cedar plank and screw in place as shown with 2 screws on each end.
2. Butt a second plank to the first and screw together as well.
3. Measure and mark the center point of your wall, screw a 3rd 2"x2" section here (this post ads extra strength on the long sides of your box). Put this wall aside and repeat steps 1-3 for the other long side.
4. Stand your long sides up, lining up one of half-planks you cut earlier on the end. Screw in place - watch out you don't hit the other screws holding the long planks on.
5. Repeat step 4 on the other side, closing all sides of the box.
6. Add the second short plank to each side - you've completed your box!
You will see there is still 6" of the 2"x2" posts sticking out of your box - this side of the box goes on the ground, with the posts sunk into the earth (you will need to dig a hole for each one). These little posts offer extra stability for the box and help hold it in place.
Now all we need is to fill the box! I'll discuss that next time. For now, check out the boxes I made! They are still upside down - the ground was just a little frozen yet to start digging.
It's a day off - enjoy it!
So many snow days! Are you running out of ideas of what to do with your little ones today? Here are a few suggestions that will hopefully keep everyone entertained and retain sanity when everyone is trapped at home.
Go outside! - Lucky for us, today's snow is wet and warm. Warm enough to bundle up and build a snow man, throw snowballs and make angels or go sledding. Run off some of that excess energy in the white stuff!Only a few ideas, but hopefully I've listed something you've never done - have fun and enjoy the last days of winter!
$aving, $aving, $aved!
Do you ever have trouble saving money? I do, especially when it comes to saving for something specific. I have a hard time keeping on goal when I know that I need X amount to do ______ by a certain date.
I recently stumbled across this useful idea - the 52 week Money Challenge! The trick is to put away the same amount as the number of weeks you've been doing the challenge. So week 1, I would put away 1 dollar, but week 13, I'd put away 13 dollars.
Check it out:
The amount you need to put away increases so slowly, but the total amount saved goes up so fast! And if you're in a hurry or have a bigger chunk to start with, you don't have to start at the beginning. Customize it to what YOU need!
I'm going to start saving for my next vacation. *thinking beachy thoughts*
