Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Tag Crafting Tutorial

Recently I met Two Crazy Crafters and learned they are having a daily craft tutorial. You know by now that I'm always up for learning new crafts, so I jumped in and made a tag that became part of my dining room Christmas decor ~

I love anything vintage and whimsical, and the free printable the Two Crazy Crafters provided was just perfect.

The other items were part of my existing craft stash - scrapbook paper, a Martha Stewart punch, ribbon, and a sticker button.

If you love crafting as much as I do, be sure to visit Two Crazy Crafters for daily fun tutorials.

I'm sharing at:
http://www.cherishedbliss.com

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Happy Holidays

The quiet weekend lent itself to decorating the dining room.

The tree is not yet up, but I did complete my table centerpiece. Using my mother's antique three-tier server, I added ribbon, tiny packages, and red and silver balls.

The original idea was pinned onto Pinterest - it was designed by Sweet Designs. She used lots of white, I went with the traditional red.

On the sideboard, my Pampered Chef trifle bowl is filled with brightly colored glass balls ~

My two dining room vignettes are similar, or shall we say coordinating. I'm already enjoying them a lot!

Friday, November 25, 2011

Let the Season Begin

Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving as much as I did ours. The weather was perfect so some of our 43 guests ate on the deck, and all of the children played outside for hours. As usual, there were lots of delicious dishes and the desserts were tops.

And now, let Christmas begin.

I had this styrofoam wreath form and some leftover red fabric, so I began by wrapping the wreath in strips of the cloth. The multi-colored balls were part of a great yard sale find last summer. I began by simply gluing them on the top of the wreath and planned to stop at that.

However, when I hung the wreath it was obvious I needed to add balls to the inside and outside edges. I stopped by Richmond's new Christmas Tree Shop and found just what I needed at a really great price. I can already tell I'm going to love that store.

This bow was the first I've ever made ... of course learned from a tutorial on a blog site (sorry, don't remember where), so I'm kind of excited about it.

Remember last week when I was on a "felt, fabric, and paper flower" kick? Watch out, it could be ribbon and bows this week!

This bright wreath is going to be the star of my mantle show this year. I'll be back in a few days with the mantle reveal.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

We Are Ready For Our 43 Guests!

The rental tables and borrowed chairs arrived and are set.

(My little friend Will from down the street...)

The decorations are in place.

Our home is clean and, well, looks very pretty in my little country farm girl opinion.

The turkey is ready ...

And tomorrow, this table will be loaded with pies, cakes, cookies, and every other dessert our guests bake, make, and bring.

We are ready. And we are excited about spending Thanksgiving with our family!

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you, my dear readers!

I'm sharing at:
http://coloradolady.blogspot.com
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com
http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

T Minus 1 - Thanksgiving Preparation

Welcome to Day 2 of our Thanksgiving countdown, preparing for my husband's 43-member family (who bring the food, we provide the turkey and drinks). You can see Days One and Two here and here.

(Thanks to Graphics Fairy for the image ...

be sure to read the fine print in the

lower right corner :)

Today was hard work! While Mr. Redo moved (and hid some) furniture, took even more bagged leaves to the dump, and stopped by the grocery store ...

(this living room table is now hiding in the laundry room)

I was cleaning silverware and making some of the drinks we'll serve on Thursday.

I also cleaned bathrooms and the kitchen ... very tiring to your old friend here, especially after spending the fall ~~inactive~~ blogging while recuperating from pneumonia and other respiratory issues.

(Wow, what a lot of silverware! Bought at yard sales and Goodwill.)

Miss E helped with some of the cleaning. She's a working trick, she did most of the leaf collection and helped her dad carry them to the dump. I slipped her a $20 - we don't do allowance but a teen has to have some spending money, right? She also helped relocate furniture, like our sectional sofa that had to be separated to make room for the 8' rental tables arriving tomorrow.

(It's a dark and dismal day in Virginia, sorry for the

picture quality.)

I plan to read, rest, and blog the rest of the evening. Oh, and eat at Chipotle, my fave restaurant. I've banned everyone from the kitchen since it's clean. I think we could all get used to that :)

I'm sharing at:

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com
http://diybydesign.blogspot.com
http://www.bluecricketdesign.net
http://verymerryvintagestyle.blogspot.com
http://diybydesign.blogspot.com

Monday, November 21, 2011

Woo Hoo - Ms. Redo Reached 500 Followers

Arkie, from Simply Me and Maggie, is my 500th follower!

I'm thrilled to reach 500 followers, but I'm equally thrilled to meet this wonderful wife, mother, grandmother who loves the things I love: the Lord, family, friends, antiquing, and thrifting.

I knew we'd be friends when her Welcome note invited me to share a glass of tea! Seems her adorable granddaughter had serious surgery in September, hope she's doing fine now.

Thanks, Arkie, for being my 500th follower!

T minus 2 - Thanksgiving Preparations

Only two more days to get ready for our 43 Thanksgiving luncheon guests.

I'm thankful that Mr. Redo's family will be with us, and that they bring most of the food! We provide turkey and drinks.

(dining room table loaded with decorations for all 5 tables)

Today we brought things from the attic: folding chairs, card tables, drink dispensers.

While going through the attic things, I came across this newspaper clipping from our local paper in 1993 (the year after Mr. Redo and I married).

It starts with this, which is why I've kept it for 18 years:

"I'll never forget the year I didn't know the oven wasn't working until an hour after I'd put in the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner."

You'd have kept it, too, right?!?!

I washed the linens so they'd be fresh and clean.

(Table decor in the "parlor." The angel giving thanks was a recent

gift from my friend, Jennifer. Thanks, Jennifer!)

I visited the rental company to reserve two 8-foot tables. We won't be able to decorate those until Wednesday when we pick up the tables.

Dusted downstairs, swept the hardwood floors.

(dining table decor)

We rested frequently. Mr. Redo and I are not as young as we used to be :)

Mr. Redo bolted the top to the island that we made this past summer. Do y'all sometimes take forever to do the simplest things, like we do?

Casper wonders what on earth is going on, all this furniture moving, cleaning like crazy, fake turkeys and pumpkins everywhere ...

It's alright, sweet pup, we'll give you extra treats for Thanksgiving!

On a completely different subject, how would you like to be "Follower" #500 here at Ms. Redo? I'll give my 500th follower a shout-out with a link back to her blog. Leave me a comment that you're #500, please.

This is a good time to say thanks to all my followers, I love hearing from you and reading your blogs, too!

I'm sharing at:
http://ninthstreetnotions.com
http://www.cherishedbliss.com
http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com
http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com
http://projectqueen.org
http://www.tipjunkie.com

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Preparing for 43 on Thanksgiving Day

You may remember we're having 43 for Thanksgiving lunch ... that's the final number. We're always glad to spend Thanksgiving with Mr. Redo's aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, their kids, and anyone else willing to join us.

The turkeys are in the fridge, thawing. One of the turkeys is HUGE. Mr. Redo brought him home from the grocery, and all I could do was stare.

The family members bring all the food, except for the turkey, ham, and drinks. Whew, I couldn't do it all on my own, no way!

Today I cleaned glass - the kitchen window and all mirrors.

Many decorative items will be in the way when all that food comes into our house, so I've slowly been moving things upstairs to hide in the spare bedroom.

Mr. Redo took 9 gigantic bags of leaves to the dump because the county doesn't come until December to take them ... and we need the street space for all the cars on Thanksgiving day.

When he returned, I took a trunk full of stuff to Goodwill.

Honestly, the only time I do a major house cleaning is when someone's coming. Hope I never get to the point where I'm not able to have people over - my house will go downhill fast :)

More updates daily this week as we prepare for 43 on Thanksgiving Day!

All pictures courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.
I'm linking at:
http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com
http://www.serenitynowblog.com
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com
http://www.sewcountrychick.com
http://sewcando.blogspot.com
http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com
http://craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com
http://ninthstreetnotions.com

Friday, November 18, 2011

Poor Turkeys ...

TURKEYS

OF THE

WORLD:

UNITE!

Thanks to The Graphics Fairy for the turkey pic.

I'm sharing at:

http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

Cold Days, Hot Soup

I've had this recipe for several years - got it from the church ladies when we took a meal to a homeless shelter. Fell in love with the soup and have been making it ever since.

And I feel so very healthy when I eat it - V8 juice is loaded with goodness, plus corn, carrots, celery.

Hubby and I love this soup on a cold day - and yes, it's turned cold in Virginia just in time for the holidays. Is it cold enough for soup at your place?

Hamburger Soup

1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion
1-46 oz. can V-8 juice
1 can each: Cream Corn, Peas, Carrots, Butterbeans
3/4 c. celery, chopped
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar, and a dash of pepper

Brown the beef and onion; drain.
Combine all ingredients in large pot on top of stove (I use the crock pot). Cook slowly on stove 2.5-3 hours.

Feeds 6 - I usually double the recipe so we can enjoy soup for several days.

I'm sharing at:
http://shabbysugarpinkboutique.blogspot.com
http://www.atthepicketfence.com/
http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
http://www.thevintagefarmhouse.com/
http://romantichome.blogspot.com/
http://tatertotsandjello.com
http://www.serenitynowblog.com

Thursday, November 17, 2011

How To Make Flowers - Part 2

While out and about this week, visiting my fellow bloggers, I met Sarah at Crafting and Creativity blog. She makes felt and fabric flowers in two styles that are different from the tutorials I linked to earlier this week.

Her tutorials are easy to understand, her pictures are clear ...

And I learned two more styles of handmade flowers. Again, with practice I know I will get better and better.

Hope over to Sarah's blog, click on Tutorials on the top bar, then start making your own flowers. You can also "follow" her on Pinterest and find loads of flower tutorial links under her "Crafts" board. It's so much fun!

Update: Here's another style of felt flower with tutorial found at Infarrantly Creative ~

I'm partying like a craft star:
http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/
http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com
http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Christmas Flower Power

Last night I visited some of my fellow crafters from the linky parties - wow, so many talented ladies out there! During one visit I discovered a link to a video tutorial on making paper or felt flowers.

(Vintage Boy and Girl Graphics from The Graphics Fairy)

I've never felt I could make flowers, but after watching the tutorial I was ready to try. Redo Jr. came to my rescue when I got to the hard part (rolling the felt around the point of tweezers!) and while our result (the blue flower) wasn't perfect, it was good enough.

A little practice brought some improvement, and now I could make them all day long!

Click here to link to the Flower Tutorial on Vimeo, then show me some of your flowers!

In addition to the felt flowers, I also learned to make a paper flower here.

I kept saying, I can't do this, I can't do this ... but I refused to stop trying, and before I knew it - I'd made this flower! Again it's not perfect, but I'm going to keep making them (and getting better at it) so I can make a paper flower wreath like Twigg Studios made here.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Rocking Around the Christmas Tree

Today we're rocking around the Christmas tree ~

Music provided by our friend, the lovely Graphics Fairy ~

So sing and dance around the tree with us ~

Then party like a craft star!

http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/
http://networkedblogs.com/pXkPV (Skip to My Lou)
http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/
http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com
http://sewcando.blogspot.com
http://dittledattle.blogspot.com
http://www.cherishedbliss.com
http://verymerryvintagestyle.blogspot.com
http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Sewing Tree

You know honestly, I think I could craft from now until the cows come home.

We don't even have cows so I'm in luck. Craft on, right?!?!

So Goodwill had several baby sweaters, and I planned to make decorative mittens with the sweater fabric. Instead, there was a change of plans, and I made this "Sewing Tree" for Christmas.

Here are the supplies you'll need:

Foam tree

Buttons

Zipper

Thimble (the buttons, zipper, and thimble came together in a package of vintage buttons I bought at an estate sale)

Rick Rack (or ribbon)

Old sweater

Roll the sweater around the foam tree and pin it, then cut away the excess fabric, leaving about 1/2" sticking up above the top of the tree.

Next, run hot glue along the edges of the fabric, about 5" at a time, and attach the fabric to the tree. Then hot glue inside the excess on top and scrunch it together tightly. Attach the thimble, and just below it, the zipper (I used just the head of the zipper because that's what I had, but I do think this would be super cute with an entire zipper running down the front of the tree).

(vintage thimble and zipper)

Hot glue the rick rack (or your choice of ribbon) in a design of your choice to represent garland. Lastly, glue the buttons randomly around the tree, and you're done!

This was super easy to make, using supplies I already had. It would make a great gift for that special seamstress friend! I'm the seamstress friend around here, and I really love my sewing tree!

I'm sharing at:
http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/
http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/
http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/
http://makingtheworldcuter.com
http://craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com
http://sewcando.blogspot.com
http://www.passionatelyartistic.com

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