Vinyl Revival Project #10--Hair Elastic Holder!

Yet another vinyl recycle zipper bag--this one holds a cute selection of dollar store hair elastics and keeps them easily visible!

I actually use these for sewing and craft projects, a couple of which I hope to post before too long--the bag keeps them all together and easy to find in my elastic-and-trim drawer. Could be a fun and inexpensive stocking stuffer as well--there are some pretty fun hair ornaments at the dollar store these days!

I really think I am coming to the conclusion of my epic and on-going living room and kitchen remodeling/redecorating project. The carpet should come this week, and then it's basically finished. And I'll have brain space for other things, like Christmas...and projects...and blogging...photos to be included!

Vinyl Revival Project #9--Speed Scrabble!

We do love our word games in this family! Scrabble is a big favorite, and when time is short there's always Speed Scrabble, which is similar to another commercial word game called Bananagrams.

Daughters Lol, Ibu, and I have collecting old Scrabble games from yard sales and thrift stores. We've come up with 4 or 5 games--some complete, some partial--to carry out our crafty plans. What better than our own Speed Scrabble game from our bounty of tiles, complete with it's own recycled vinyl pouch? And let me point out the Scrabble-box colored zipper from my stash!

This pouch is about 8" by5"--could have been just slightly deeper. I think that Speed Scrabble is another game where many people have house rules, but instructions are available on line. We tallied the letters from a Bananagrams game, and chose our tiles accordingly.

This will not be a fun and inexpensive gift--it's mine, all mine!

Vinyle Revival Project #8--Greedy Guts!!

One more vinyl recycle--our family loves to play a dice game we call Greedy Guts, which you may know as Farkle or maybe Zilch. When the dollar store had some clear, colored, luscious--looking dice this fall, I just had to make a Greedy Guts pouch to keep the game together.

I made the the little pouch (directions here) 5" by 2-1/2', and used a red zipper from my stash to set off the colorful dice. To play the game, all you need are dice, paper, and a pencil--I have a tiny pad of paper and a pencil that I'll add to the pouch.

This is one game where it seems many people have house rules, but directions (even video) are on the internet if you just search 'farkle'.

Another fun and inexpensive stocking stuffer!

Vinyl Revival Project #7--Manicure Set!

Okay, I do have a few more vinyl-recycle projects--I'll admit that I haven't put it down yet! Now for a few fun and inexpensive gifts inspired by the dollar store!

My original vinyl-recycle zipper bag was fun and fast to make, and I love the look of the exposed zipper in the clear vinyl--so when I found a cute, colorful manicure set at the dollar store I rifled through my stash for a matching zipper.

This little pouch is 6" by 3-1/2" and took only a few minutes to make. I'm just thinking I'll find a bit of pink ribbon or trim from my stash to tie into the zipper pull--a quick, cute, and inexpensive stocking stuffer!

Thrift Store Table--Finished at Last!

I've been laboring away these many days to finish my epic and on-going living room and kitchen remodeling/redecorating project, and I'm happy to report that progress is being made--and I have at last finished updating my thrift store table, last seen here.

I had to stare at it again and think some more--sand? Strip? Paint? Stain? Too much work. Perfect solution: gel stain! Although apparently it's not made for the purpose, my brother tells me that gel stain, being fairly opaque, can be used over other finishes--and when brushed on, it can give the impression of wood grain.

The stain covered the ugly old finish, and brushed easily onto all the turnings. I have to say I love the new rich color!

Blogger's Quilt Festival!

It's Amy fourth Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side--I do believe I will join in the fun!

My Stack-and-Whack Star quilt, which I now love, had its beginnings (at least in my mind) as my Unfinished Quilt of Horror, or as Care dubbed it, the Vomit Quilt.

It truly began with the best of intentions, and then went swiftly awry. I had done a few stack-and-whack projects, and happily contemplated a stack-and-whack star quilt. I chose a pile of fabric pieces from my stash (how I do love a scrap project!) then stacked, whacked, shuffled, and began to sew my way through the pile. I was excited to see the random combination of fabrics in the blocks, but then some of them turned out seriously less than cute, and almost disturbing. Queasy, I quickly put it all away.


Over the next couple of years, I would take it out and wonder where I had gone wrong, then put it back in horror. At last, Care helped my put my finger on the problem--the fabric she ruthlessly called the 'vomit print', which had contaminated everything it had touched--and I am sure you can tell which it is. (Warning--you may want to shield your eyes at this point!)

With the worst of the blocks firmly eliminated, I was able to make progress--you could read more about the process here--and finished with a cute, girlie birthday quilt, now beloved by my grand-daughter Joy-joy. Here's a view of the back:


Since I was determined to make this a scrap project, I scrounged up the backing from scraps and my available yellow fabrics, and pieced the batting from scraps. I even had the perfect stripe for the binding! It was a fun learning process--triumph at last!