Surprises from the I.D.E.A. Store

When we were at the I.D.E.A. Store the other day, I picked up some tin film containers thinking I would get out my label maker and make some labels for button storage or something like that. I wasn't positive what I would do with them but thought they were pretty fun! I was also looking for a piece of wood to make a hook rack for Brenna. I found a nice piece of walnut and had good intentions of putting about three hooks on it. Sorry Brenna! 

I decided to put these little tins ON the wood and turn the piece into an earring and necklace holder. Then I thought that I wouldn't like my earrings on the cold, hard tin so I lined them with felt! 

 I love all of the bright colors of felt, so festive!

Sorry, the picture is kind of busy.  I just had to show how you can hang lots of long necklaces and have plenty of space to hide your earrings!  

I was thinking about putting it in our new shop, but am seriously considering keeping it! Maybe a trip back to the I.D.E.A. Store is in the very near future!

If you have never been there, you have to go. You never know what you will find, and what you do find may be totally unexpected! It's always an adventure, and the people who work there love interacting with their customers, always willing to help.

New Stuff!

School's out and Michala is pushing me to work on new stuff! We did go to the I.D.E.A. Store last night. And yes, it was our 25th Anniversary. Kevin was pretty good, he even picked out some stuff for us! Then he got hungry...I don't know why Michala feels weird about hanging out with us on our anniversary, she's been around for all of them before!
It always amazes me when we go scavenging for new and incredibly useful things! I found these old metal film cases thinking I could use them for spices or something. BORING! You will just have to wait to see what they will become. I also found some carpet squares, round boxes, a cool compass that I have absolutely NO idea what I will use it for, but it is cool, really cool!
We have lots of new pouchies. And each one as it is turned right side out becomes a new favorite. New bags are in the works, and possibly some aprons! I have a couple of things for Kevin to magically transform with some paint. We will be busy for a while!
Pictures soon, I hope I remember to take the befores...

Long time no blog!

So, my parents invited me along for their anniversary celebration...weird. I know.  But I went anyway, my mother insisted! We decided to meet up at the I.D.E.A. Store in Champaign.  I won't explain too much, you will just have to go check out their site and their store, but basically, this store is sort of like a thrift store, it collects one man's junk and then puts it for sale for another man to find treasure.  They have EVERYTHING!  From laundry detergent lids to fabric to test tubes! If you can't find it here...you won't find it....Well, maybe not but, whatever!  So...I was on a hunt to find something! See below

I saw this REALLY cute tutorial on Design Sponge to make your own Moroccan Lanterns.  The only problem was, you need glass paint. You can't find this stuff at Wal-Mart...and when you live in the middle of nowhere, that is about your only option, and even that is a drive!  So I went to my trusty friend-- AMAZON! Man I love you Amazon!  :)  But alas, you let me down!  All I could seem to find as far as glass paint was this little guy.  Now, on the blog, she recommends two types of paints. This being one of them....But I was NOT about to spend $70 on one project!  This brings me back to the  I.D.E.A. Store!  I started looking in their paints and low and behold....My hand lands on some Delta Glass Paint and where there is one, there is more!   I was SO excited! But before I started digging further, I figured I would check the price.  My jaw hit the floor.  A whopping 2/25cents!  WHAT??!?!?!?!?  I REALLY started digging!  I bought every one they had! I ended up with 16 paints, pretty much brand new! SWEET!  After this I had to go to Michael's for a few things and I decided to look at their prices on this stuff there....again, my jaw hit the floor. $3.50 a jar.  I just saved $52!  Thank you  I.D.E.A. Store!  I seriously love this place and I am SO pumped about their new, longer hours!  Oh yea, and while we were checking out, we got to talking about our blog and the shop we are hoping to get opened here in the next few months!  Thanks for the great conversation ladies!  Please be sure to follow us on Blogger!  :)

So, because I haven't blogged in soooooo long, I feel the need to update you on some of my more recent projects.  For the first few weeks of my summer vacation I was staining my deck...what a chore!  I will post a whole blog on that later....LOL.

I have been stopping by some garage sales randomly.  A few of the things I have found:

 I found this really gross mirror at a yard sale for 50cents.  I saw it's true potential!  Don't mind Riley in the mirror, she likes to help me with my projects!!!

 She's guarding the garage door for me!  She took off running after another dog shortly after this.  I'm sure I looked like a huge lunatic running down the street bare foot with a can of spray paint in my hand! haha.  It's whatever.  I contemplated leaving this mirror as it was, so I cleaned it up...it was filthy...and decided it still needed some magic spray (spray paint...it can make ANYTHING look good!) Mainly because it smelled and that needed to be taken care of before it was allowed to come in my house!  So I chose a pretty gold!  Please see below!

The "After". Total cost for this.....about $4. SCORE!

Another angle, without the blaring lights.  See those cute little lanterns in the corner?  Those were a Habitat for Humanity ReStore find, here in Sullivan. $5 each!  And see the cute vase on the shelf?!  Yea...that's a wine bottle I spray painted and then put some sparkly things in....total cost for that.... MAYBE $5.

So....these two shelves!  I found one at the thrift store and one at the ReStore.  Each were like $1.  They were originally wood....an UGLY wood that I despised...so I got out the magic spray and made them pretty! :)  I'm not sure that I love the frames on them...I will have to play around with that stuff.  (The frames were 25cents each...also coated in magic spray.)

Man! Cute!  :) And I LOVE the Scentsy! 

Another thrift store find for a quarter....it's a picnic silverware set basket!  But I HATE that wicker!  Lol....sorry to those of you that like it, it's just not my thing, or my style.

But I sure made it mine!  :) it's now a nice shiny silver!  

This is another garage sale find, I bought the little cart for 75 cents and already had the cute little buckets from when I grew my garden seeds.  I replanted them with wildflowers!  they are already starting to grow!!!!

Ok, so I ordered this collage a few months back.  The pictures are all from our trip to Mexico on our first Christmas together.  It says "Real love stories never have endings." I originally bought a frame for it at IKEA but dropped it while loading it in my car and didn't realize it had broken until I got home...2.5 hours away.  So I sent it home with my sister who lives right by there and I have yet to see another one!  So I saw this frame on clearance at Michael's for $17.99.  It's a $70 frame! I bought it thinking it was the right size....turns out it was a little too big.  But I REALLY wanted to frame it!  So I remembered I had some matting from another IKEA frame.  Well, that was too big!  So, I cut it down to fit in the mirror and voila!  Total cost for NICE frame and Matting....$20? 

My room and projects are starting to come together!  If only I could just chill on picking up new ones...I really must stop reading other peoples' blogs!  That is my down fall.  Well, I'm pooped. Time to hit the hay.  I just thought I would update my posts in case some of our new friends dropped by to check us out!  

New Link

Senior girls! If you received a gift certificate for our store, check out our new link, Senior Gift Fabrics, to choose your gift!!! :)

Super Easy Cinnamon Rolls

My Grandma used to make the BEST cinnamon rolls in the world. They were actually called Refrigerator Rolls and I have her recipe. TOO MUCH WORK! And I'm just not that great of a baker. (That's what Dad and brothers are for, right?) 
I was sort of watching the Food Channel the other day and think I saw someone making these "Sticky Buns" and thought I could just make them into cinnamon rolls. Since I wasn't paying that close of attention, I had to search for recipes and this is what happened...
A little plug here...photos are by Ervin Photography, check her out on Facebook - Ervin Photography and her new webpage http://www.lervinphotography.com/! Links to the left if they aren't clickable here. 
You will need some Frozen Puff Pastry sheets, put them in the fridge over night so they thaw enough to work with them. 
First of all, you'd better preheat your oven to 400 deg F.
Mix up some brown sugar (1/3 cup) and unsalted, sweet cream butter. A lot of butter, 1 1/2 sticks that is already at room temperature. I threw it into my Sunbeam mixer and let it do it's job!

Put about a tablespoon of this mixture into some muffin tins, 12 total. No need to be a perfectionist here.

Mix up about 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 2/3 cups of light brown sugar, and 3 teaspoons of cinnamon. Lightly flour a cutting board and lay one puff pastry sheet out with the folds going horizontally. (This will help make rolling easier!) Now put about 1/2 of the last mixture on top leaving 1/2" to 1" all around the sides. 

Roll it up like a jelly roll! Cut the ends off then cut it in half. Cut each half into thirds.

Now press each piece into a muffin tin.

Repeat for the second piece of puff pasty! Line a big cookie sheet with parchment paper and put the muffin tin(s) on top. Toss them into the preheated oven for about 30 minutes. You MUST use the cookie sheet or will be sorry! We almost didn't do that but really happy we did! 

That is butter that oozed out of the pans onto the paper. LOTS more underneath! After you take them out, let them cool for five minutes then turn them over onto the parchment paper. The bottom actually becomes the top. 
These are good just like they are or if you want to add even more sweetness and lots of calories, mix up a little icing glaze with powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk or water. 

These will be revised a little probably each time I make them but for the first try, SUPER YUMMY!

Kevin's Totally Cool Boot Box

Really Kevin? Do you NEED nine coats hanging here?

I have helped people all over Central Illinois get organized so you would think my problem would be one I could solve pretty easily. Here's the problem, the front door to our house is the main door and really the only door easy to use. Now, I do have a coat closet at the front entry so you would think it would be easy to use. And it is, for me! But for Kevin, well, that's a different story. For a while, he would lay his coat on the steps across from the closet. That's right, four feet away! And his work boots would be placed right in front of the vent by the front door so they can dry. I finally found a pub mirror with six hooks so he could hang a coat as he is in and out of the house. The other day I counted nine, yes, nine of his coats hanging on it. They hang there because he is going to wear them again soon. Okay, but seriously, NINE coats? They are all varying weights, but we do have a closet four feet away!

Before, an ugly green toy chest.

One day, I was at this really great store, Classic Home Consignment (look to your left for a link!) and saw a really ugly toy chest that was actually kind of cool! But it was green. I like green, just not really this green! Anyway, I think it would work for boots next to the door and with some feet, could sit above the vent. Score! I take it home and strongly suggest he could paint and distress it somewhat and it would make a great place for all those boots! Anything to keep the vent air from blowing straight across them and sending who knows what germs and all right into my living space. Now, I'm not a germophobe but considering he works at the Sanitary District, well, would you want those germs in YOUR house? At one point, there were seven pairs of his boots and shoes in front of that vent. Oh the microscopic gunk! Don't you love this? Check out the paperback books acting as legs. One day, we loaded this toy chest into the truck and took it to The Briarwood in Sullivan. Another link you will find on the left. We had it painted at The Briarwood and the result is just fabulous!  We told them we wanted some legs and whatever would do but what they came up with, well it looks like the toy chest/boot box was already made with them! 

After, a beautiful boot storage unit.
LOVE the legs and new color!

Several people have suggested putting a lid on it but there is no way Kevin would lift that lid and put his boots in if he won't open a closet door to hang a coat or put his boots away. Plus, that would just be one more surface that junk can find it's way onto.
Over the many years of designing organization systems for people, I have found that we are all pretty much alike. Men won't do two actions to put something away. For example, they won't open a closet door and hang a coat on a hanger then close the door. They won't lift a lid to put something inside and then close the lid. They would rather toss a coat on a hook or throw something into a bin. I will discuss women another day!
Anyway, I look forward to taking the bathroom vanity to The Briarwood, and I have a dresser, and well, I am sure I can find many other things to take, and when I run out of paint projects, I guess I will have to hit the consignment stores and re-sale shops, maybe I will have them make me stuff...the possibilities are endless!

See that? Recipes!!! We Have RECIPES!

I was pretty excited to see that Michala posted the new RECIPES tab. That is until I clicked on it and didn't find a single one! Oh well, she's busy I guess. Still, I wanted her Chicken and Noodles recipe. All I can say is JUST WAIT! Seriously, I hope we don't have to wait too long. One of these days I'll post Kevin's Enchilada recipe, that is if I can get him to give it to me without the commentary that must go along with it. Maybe I'll post the commentary too. Somebody might find it interesting!
I wonder if Brenna and Elizabeth will post their Microwave Mac and Cheese? Probably not.  That was most likely NOT for human (or any) consumption. Pretty creative though!

Box mix, canned icing, should be easy, right?

Here's another creative one...Kevin says the cake mix was old, and the icing was store brand and cheap. Well he bought both! After checking the label, I found that he didn't really follow the directions. He didn't prepare the pans like the box said, didn't let the layers cool enough before taking them out of the pan, and tried to ice the cake while it was still hot! Oh, and the icing directions said to stir well before icing...That glob of chocolate on the top is the ENTIRE can of icing! Oh, he's icing it with a butter knife. Now I have never pretended to know how to bake or even cook something tasty but I CAN read the directions on the box and am pretty good at following them so USUALLY my creations turn out pretty good. It'll be a long time before the teasing stops for this one!

Goldie's Front Porch

For those of you that have been following our blog, you will have noticed that we put an online store up! Well, I'm sad, yet happy to announce that our online store will be out of service for a while. Just last night, I went up to Goldie's Front Porch, a really awesome restaurant/bakery in town, and put all of our inventory up for sale on consignment. So, if you happen to live in the Sullivan area, stop by Goldie's to check out our inventory...and if you don't live in Sullivan but happen to be on your way to Lake Shelbyville, Goldie's is on your way! It's right across the street from the IGA.  Goldie's is such a cute little place with AWESOME food.  I have eaten there on several occasions and have not ONCE had something I didn't like!  Pretty great.  They also cater, and do a fabulous job, it I might add!  So, moral of the story, until we get our inventory back up, we won't have anything listed online.  Don't worry though folks, we will be back to work this weekend, I am sure!

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Saturday Sewing Whirlwind

Today will be another flurry of wild activity! We will try to finish several bags already on order and get a few new ones in there for those that have not yet found the one they love. The matching Pouchies have been a big hit and most of the new bags will have at least one.
We have to get busy! Pictures a little later...

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