Read the Disclaimer First! Please.

DISCLAIMER! Hello.  Remember me?  I sometimes go by the same "Anne Shirley". If you are familiar with said Anne with an "e", then you know this can go as badly as walking the ridge of a house or trying to dye your red hair.  May work for some.  Others, the chosen few, it becomes an "Anne Moment".  So with that in mind... Be careful if you try this at home.  I am not an expert.  I browse Pinterest.  Oh, and I also go by the name of "Cordelia".

On with the show...

     So, I wanted to print on fabric.  Everyone else was doing it.  They used freezer paper.  I thought, 'Why can't you use wax paper?  The Pinterest article used the terms interchangeably. (SEE!!!  Anne on Pinterest!  Can you imagine the trouble?  Home hair dye ideas?  Not good!) I am going to try it (Abort!  Abort!  Pull up!  Pull up!)'

Awwww, Mama.  Daddy is NOT going to be happy...

I got the WAX PAPER out of the printer.  Eventually.  SO, then I got to thinking (Dangerous stuff...), since I am not going to go buy freezer paper because of the questions I would have to answer:
Gilbert- "Where you going?" 
Anne- "To go buy freezer paper."
Gilbert- "Why?"
Anne- "To put in the printer."
Gilbert- "Wait. What?  Why..."
Anne- " I want to print on it."
Gilbert- "Won't it get jammed."
Great question, Gil!

 

     So, the solution remains, what can I find at home to jam up the printer? Clear sheet protectors.  With like 2 sheets of paper.  With the holes cut off. Not all the way.  Because then, you have TWO page protector to jam.  Yea.  Also, I have an inkjet printer.  Lasers are hot.  Plastic melts.  Don't do it.

     Yippee!  It didn't jam!  I tried different ways- pressing the plastic and rubbing on to the cloth, etc... I finally found that if I stick the sheet on top of the cloth with a towel inbetween that and a warm iron.  And the cloth was a little damp (barely). And I rubbed over the towel slowly (Making sure that the iron isn't too hot.)- you can get a decent image (that I don't think is waterproof).  Aww, I forgot to reverse the image!   Well, it is dark!

     So there are lots of free graphics out there.  I like graphicsfairy.blogspot.com.  That is where I got these.  After a bit, I was able to transfer images pretty well.  I used one for my doll's apron.  I did tea stain it a bit. I also found that you should really clean off the plastic when you are ready to do another image.  It gets a build-up otherwise that prevents the ink from coming off as well.  A little rubbing alcohol did the trick.  I found that an image turned out crisper if the picture was a little less complex (the backwards numbers turned out great!).

Make-do: MAKE IT OVER!

What's the quickest way to primify something? Modge podge, cinnamon, nutmeg, and instant coffee.  Also, a little cheese cloth can't hurt...

     I loved the pie top. Thirty-five cents at a thrift shop? Perfect!  Bust out the modge podge.  So, I primified it and added an old tin pie pan.  Threw some cinnamon rose hips and...

Walla!

Want Some Cider With That?

 Okay!  For this, I took a brown root beer bottle.  Since it had raised lettering, and I didn't feel like doing a lot of layers, I let the cheese cloth do the work for me.   I am still trying to figure out a topper for it.  I thought maybe a piece of corn cob?  The label I made on grocery bag paper with some letter stampers and spelling the quality of some of my fifth graders...

She's a Grand Ol' Flag...

     While most of you have jumped the Summer Ship and swam directly to Fall, I am still trying to hang on to Summer (and when I say summer, I mean the break part.  NOT the heat...). So, I am still playing with Americana.  I know.  Americana can be all year, and some will.  But I have pumpkins like you all have pumpkins, and something has to move out!

Quick Americana Touches...

     I showed you before how you can use a metal floral frog to display flags.  I bought forty cent flags  and primified them.  You can tuck flags ANYWHERE, but sometimes you want a holder.  Here are two different prim holders I tried.  Now, if you don't mind floppy, just stick the flag in the hole.  If you want it to stick in a little better, a little piece of cheese cloth on the bottom should do the trick.  I even like it with the cheese cloth peeking out!

Well, that's all I've got!  I think I have released enough virtual hot air into the Information Superhighway! Remember our talk from the beginning, okay? Truly...

Thank you all for sticking with me through my spotty blogging.  Great intentions this summer.  Poor follow-through.  But I appreciate your friendships!  I can't say that enough!!!

Love and Hugs!

Heather

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Six Million Dollar Man Makeover Monday

     My husband loves that show.  I even got him the doll for his birthday one year (I don't think he would call it a doll).  You know, the one where you can look through his eye that works like tiny binoculars.  I wouldn't say it is my favorite show.  You all know my favorites! ;) But, I must say, when I fix things and create make-do's, it does make me hear that opening theme to that show. I can make it better than it was before.  Here are some Steve Austin make-do's that are simple fixes.

First, let's start with the Goodwill reveal.  I hadn't been there really much of the summer. But, what a score!

 

This little firkin really caught my eye.  It was only $3.  I loved the old needlework on the top.  It was definitely handmade.  I am not sure, but I think they reworked a plain firkin the make this little covered one.

There were some issues... The lid was a bit worse for wear and the wood on the firkin was REALLY scratched. The needlepoint was a bit dusty.  So, time for a little "Steve Austin Makeover"...

     So, how do you fix the scratches?  Well, I had some Antiquing Medium in Apple Butter Brown.  It is almost empty because I use it for everything.  I decided to rub it into all of the scratches.  It worked great! Yea!!!!  But, the wood lost some luster when it dried. Awwww.  So, then it was time for an appearance of my other best friend, Miss Modge Podge.  I coated the entire thing in the Matte Modge Podge (Which really still has a slight gloss to it).  That sealed the deal. I even used the MP to fix the lid.  The sides of the lid aren't perfect, but that's prim for you! Finally, I took one of those felt lint brushes (from my husband's sock drawer.  Shhh.  Don't tell him.  I put it back!) to the needlepoint.  I worked out some of the dust, and then I just used a damp cloth to finish the job.

Oh, isn't it so dear and sweet! Better than being in the musty basement of Goodwill!

The other was easy- add candles and hang!  I always wanted one of these. I think they are a prim necessity. $2!  And when I flipped it over, there was the original sticker from the store- $39! What a find!  Yippee!

 

Here are 2 last make-do ideas for you...

    First, a flag holder from an old floral frog. I have two different ones.  I love them, but I am not sure how to display them other than sitting on a shelf.  I have been seeing a lot of finials with flags poking out of them, and I love the look.  So, why couldn't this work with frogs?  This shaped frog works best because it has a center hole so that you have a more balanced effect with your flags.  My squarish one didn't work as well! I bought some $.50 flags and coffee stained them a bit.  And, well, there you go!  Easy!

      This next one requires a drill with a wide bit.  My husband did the drilling for me.  I had seen this make do idea somewhere- eBay, Pinterest, a magazine... Who knows?  You lose track when you do a lot of browsing.  SO ANYWAY, the idea is not an original one for me. I bought an old hammer from a flea market for $3.  Looks prim all by itself! I measured the diameter of one of my prim nubby candles so that Steve could select the right drill bit.
Before...

 After...

 

 So, there you have it!

     You know, we are a lot like Steve Austins.  Broken.  Not useable.  EXCEPT, by the grace of God, we are remade into something that GOD can use.  Only through HIS power, mercy, and grace.  Not on our own strength or by our own designs.  Steve Austin didn't remake himself.  Someone outside of himself had to do that. God's love and power is way beyond the technology used to fix that man. No matter how much we are broken- spiritually, emotionally, physically- we can be used by God.

Isaiah 64:8

"But now, O Lord, you are our Father;
    we are the clay, and you are our potter;
    we are all the work of your hand."

 Blessings and hugs, dear friends!  

Heather