"NEW" ~ summer & fall Face Masks

It has become clear that you can never have enough face masks these days, at least for us, so I decided to have a supply on hand. In order to keep things simple and limit shopping trips I challenged myself to make them with fabric from my stash which has been fun. I have found all types of great fabrics and trims that I had forgotten about and have now made into something useful.

At the same time I have been making changes and improvements to my face masks such as adjustable elastic for a comfortable fit around the ears and now a new removable nose wire.

On some face masks I had intentionally made them without nose wire since there are some that do not care for that feature. For my trial run with the removable wire I added a small pocket in the back of one I had already finished to see how I liked it. It worked great and so now I sew an outside nose wire pocket to the back when making the masks. I also discovered Pipe Cleaner wire which I happened to have in my craft supplies. I really like it because it stays in place and it is so soft. 

Sometimes you need a face mask that is a little more dressy so I made a few from some metallic cotton fabric.

Denim is very versatile and this denim happens to be extra soft. I have made several of these and they are lined with either red and white gingham or red paisley hankie print fabric. 

It is never too earlier to prepare for fall. It will be here before we know it.  Hopefully these will match an outfit or can be used for a special occasion but, either way, they will be put to good use.  

There are more face masks in the works so I will be back with more.

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Sunday

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope.

Psalm 16:9

from my list of: one thousand gifts

homecoming :: safe travel :: family time :: smooth move-in :: tasks completed :: BBQ & game night :: goals accomplished :: 

Blessings,

DIY wood pallet projects

Every so often I drive by businesses that have a stack of wood pallets outside of their building with the word “free” written on a sign in big letters and placed on top which always fills my head with endless ideas of how to repurpose them. 

Those thoughts finally became a reality a few weeks ago when I convinced Mr. Wonderful how wonderful wood pallets could be and he is now on board. 

Not only did he go and pick them up for me but he is also taking my ideas and turning them into some fun things. Before he could start any of the projects though he had to take the pallets apart because, for most, only single boards were needed. 

The wonderful boards with printed words and numbers went into separate pile to be saved for something special but yet to be determined. 

In the meantime, the first boards were made into hexagons to be used for decorations. I wasn’t quite sure what dimensions would work the best so I ask if he could make me a sample. 

He not only made the sample I asked for but multiple samples and in different sizes to boot. 

They are all wonderful so now I may want more in all sizes. 

He also made a couple rustic boxes which are great and have a lot of possibilities. We may need a few more of those as well. 

Within a few days we had already moved on to bigger and better things with our free wood pallets. In fact, the newest project is currently under construction and will take about another week.  

Once it is finished I will be sure to share it here. { If I can wait that long! }

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

DIY Copper Marshmallow Roasting Stick Holder

Every fire pit needs a convenient place to keep marshmallow roasting sticks so that they are handy when you need them. At least that's what we thought and decided we needed some type of holder, maybe a stand or something that attached to a wall, and imagined that something similar to that existed and would be easy to find. We started our search in June and asked at every store we tried and came up empty handed. Since we wanted to have one by July 4th time was running out so Mr. Wonderful decided to make one instead. 

It quickly evolved from an idea to reality while we were at one of the hardware stores shopping for unrelated items. Right then and there he dreamed up a plan for a wall mounted holder and we bought the supplies on the spot. He is a man with a plan and for this plan he used copper pipe, welded the parts together and then mounted the finished holder with copper brackets on the back of our fire pit bench. We love how it turned out. It looks rustic and is already forming the green patina which looks great and is exactly what we wanted.

He also had it finished in time for the 4th of July weekend which was perfect. 

On a side note: we also went blueberry picking! Our blueberries are ripe and ready to pick and I could not resist sharing a picture of these beautiful berries. We saved some out for snacking but froze most of them. There are more where these came from so we will have more picking to do very soon.

It is always busy around here, and it seems especially so in the summer. There are more projects in the works so I will be back soon to share those too. 

Happy Sunday!

4th of July ~ cupcakes, face masks & doodles

The 4th of July was not quite the same this year without our annual neighborhood parade, all day activies and BBQ.

Instead, we had a smaller celebration with our kids which included a family barbecue and bonfire. 

I made a batch of festive cupcakes and a blackberry cobbler to go with our barbecued steaks and corn on the cob.        

Of course we had to have red, white and blue face masks to wear so made up a few. 

While I was at it I changed the nose wire pocket to the outside so that the wire can be removed and also tried pipe cleaners in lieu of wire on a couple which also works well. I also switched to elastic cording and made it adjustable as well. Once the elastic is tied to the right size and comfort the knot can be pulled into the casing, out of sight and away from the ear. 

It was a fun family Fourth of July. 

Happy Friday!

Backyard: Maintenance & New Projects

There always seem to be a project or two going on in our backyard. If  it is not repair then it is either an improvement, change or addition. I think this year it is all of the above. The first chore comes in late spring which is lawn maintenance and this is what our yard looks like for about a month.  

Mr. Wonderful does not like crabgrass growing in his lawn so each year it requires some extra work and a lot of patience while the new grass begins to grow and fill in. 

Thankfully our late spring and early summer days are not too hot and we can count on rain showers now and then which is good for the grass. The birds, on the other hand, make it a bit more difficult for a speedy recovery as they like to eat some of the seed. 

Meanwhile, we tip toe around the patches of new tender blades of grass to around and replace seed where needed.

Finally the grass filled in and just in time for the 4th of July. It is now ready for warm days and bare feet. What you can't see here though are the other backyard projects that are currently in progress. 

In this corner Mr. Wonderful was replacing and moving a downspout. This required the removal of the bricks and a very deep hole. 

I am happy to report that the downspout has been moved and the bricks are back in place except for a couple of corner pieces that still need to be cut. But that is not all, oh no, that is not all. 

There is another project on the other side of the patio as well. 

A cement pad had to be poured last weekend to get things started. 

And now this area has become construction zone. 

It should not be long before it takes shape and then I will be back to share more about our latest Backyard Project. 

Happy Thursday!