But Will Gramma Like It?

My wedding is just days away and I really miss my blog!  I just don't have an ounce of free time!  But I thought I'd take a quick minute to share another of my favorite wedding DIY projects.

I was visiting my Grampa one day.  My Gram passed away in 2008 and left behind a box that said, "Do Not Touch", which, of course we've all touched since then.  I was digging through the box MAD because some dirty rat took her wedding dress out of the box.  I loved it and always thought that if I got married, I'd love to copy it. She and Grampa married in 1955 and the full skirt and sweetheart necklines were popular then.  I love that look.  Plus that dress looked perfect on her and I have her figure so, surely, it'd look perfect on me. 

So I was talking out loud to my late grandmother, telling her how mad I was that her dress was gone when I stumbled upon this:

I may not have my Gram's dress...but I do have some of her wedding pictures and I recognized this instantly.  It was her cake topper!!  But remember how I said that she was married way back in 1955...

....yea.  The thing was pretty nasty.

Ew!  The base was plaster and must've sat right on the cake.  It was all brown and there were clumps that I could scrape off of the bottom - either 57 year old cake crumbs or 57 year old plaster bits.  I couldn't even tell which.  And the lace and flowers had yellowed as well.  Who'd want to eat cake with that on top? 

And yet, I  loved the idea of incorporating something of my grandmother's.  I decided to try and pop the wirework off of the plaster base, spray paint it white,and glue it onto a new base made out of a food-safe item, like a saucer or something. 

But with one twist of the wire....


Oh no!  The base cracked.  I could almost hear my gramma cursing, "Pshah clef, helety poss koodney!" in Polish.  Well, now I had to get creative.  In the meantime, The Conductor and I firmed up our cake choice which included a very teeny tiny cake - way too small for a topper of this height and size.

And yet...it was hers...and I still wanted it in my wedding somehow.  Time went by and I realized I hadn't yet made a ringbearer pillow. 

Crud!  After five months of sewing muslins, the dress, the underlining, the petticoat, and fitting and refitting....the thought of sewing a simple pillow was just too much.  That's when it hit me!!   The doves on Gramma's cake topper are holding rings in their beaks.  Why not convert the cake topper into our ring bearer's presentation piece.  Who says you need a pillow? 

I drilled a hole in a dowel rod and painted it white. 

I took the wirework and soaked the lace and flower parts in a tub of OxyClean.   (That stuff gets the stains out of anything!).  I rested it atop a ceramic elephant to keep the metal on the rings from being exposed to the soaps.

Don't threy look like they're swimming on his back?

Then I attached it to the dowel with wire and covered up all the wire with some ribbons and wha-la:

I just have to tell our ringbearer, Q-boy, to hold it up high like a staff so his Great Gramma in Heaven can see what became of her cake topper.  I hope she likes it. 

In an added burst of coolness, we're working our grandparents into the whole weddiing tradition of...
Something Old - The Conductor will be using his grandfather's cufflinks
Something New - This "new" ring presentation that I made from my maternal Gram's cake topper
Something Borrowed - A pin belonging to The Conductor's Grandmother
Something Blue - A rosery & pouch from my paternal Grandmother

How cool is that?? 

I'm Sick of My Own Wedding

Is that a terrible thing to say?  The Conductor and I are getting married in just 10 - TEN days.  We're both sick of our own wedding. 

By the way, thank you to those who still check up on this blog in my absence.  Amazingly, I got two new followers:

Super mom Rustown Mom of The Canneary Family.  She's got a fig tree!! The only figs I've had are from Newtons.

And the lovely Revi of Revisionary Life.  She's painting all her furniture a shade of white.  For as SICK OF WHITE as I am after five months of making my wedding dress, I do love how relaxing her house is starting to look as she goes neutral. 

Every bit of free time for the past six months has been given up to wedding planning and chasing around and hashing out piddly details.  We never wanted to take the quick way out and elope or just have a civil service.  It just wouldn't be the same.  And yet....we just want to get it over with already! 

I'm sick of having to steal a quick ten minutes here or there in the garden instead of being able to play outside for hours. I"m sick of stepping into my sewing room and thinking it's Wintertime because the whole room is a sea of white fabric.

I think one of those blobs ofwhite is my dress.  There's so much white in that room I can't even tell anymore.

I'm sick of every surface of my house covered in DIY wedding projects. 

I"m sick of the Tumbleweed...aka my petticoat...blowing all over the place.  This is it, piled atop the sewing table and trailing all over the floor and over the chair:

And I'm really sick of everyone asking me, "Are you neeeerrrrvvvvous???"  No.  I'm not.  I've never been this sure of something in a long time.  These same people almost seem confused that, at 10 days and counting, I'm not a crazed out Bridezilla....and they also seem kind of disappointed by that.   Which I find kind of a sad statement in a way. 

But for as much as we're just ready to be Married ...I have been enjoying the process.  Here's some of my favorite things.

First, the Insipiration...
I didn't intend to have a Theme.  As long as everything matched, I'd be OK with that.  But I kept passing this piece of fabric at the store.  It's a printed chiffon from the Sew Sweet line that JoAnn FAbrics had with dots of watermelon, dusty rose, sea green, and lime:

I'd pass it and be so bummed that I had no way to use it.  I"m not crazy enough to be making my bridesmaids their dresses.  We're not having a flower girl.  It's too big a print to scrunch up into hairthings or bouquets.  Oh well....and then it hit me.  I love the colors.  I love polka dots.  Like dots, wedding rings are circles....why not make the fabric my theme?

From there, I chose the watermelon color for the bridesmaids dresses and the dusty rose for their shoes.  Dots of these colors will appear on variouis things all over our wedding.  More details to come...

So there it is....the theme for the wedding of a seamstress inspired by....fabric.  Who'd'a thunk? 

One of my favorite DIYs so far are the boutonnieres.  The Conductor made it clear that he didn't want to "wear a craft project" and he wanted flowers because they symbolize life.  But he's marryng a seamstress...so here's what I did.  I found small round-shaped flowers in watermelon and lime and some white buttons.  I used a dusty pink dot-printed cotton to make some fabric covered buttons to round it out.  Ran wire through the backs/shanks, wound fabric tape all around with a safety pin at the back...

... and these are the finished boutonnieres:

They are so stinkin' cute!!!   They match the inspiration fabric colors....they are a mix of real flowers for The Conductor and artsy-flowers for me...yet they stil look like a manly boutonniere. 

I even used the watermelon flowers to make matching hair clips for the girls:

So there's a teaser for now.  Hopefully I can squeeze in one more post before the wedding.  Thanks for sticking with me Readers!  And now, I must catch the Tumbleweed Petticoat and sew on the last tier. 

Start Something that Matters - GIVEAWAY!

Do you have a message to spread or a mission to accomplish but don’t know how? Have you ever wondered if it was possible to help your community or solve a societal problem while earning a living at the same time? Or do you have the next Big Idea but have no idea how to go about implementing it? Is the economy forcing you giving you a chance to reshape your own goals or lifestyle?


My sister, Carrie, and I just finished reading a book that might help. Ever hear of Blake Mycoskie, founded TOMS Shoes? You buy a pair and a pair gets donated to a child in need. “One for one”, he calls it.

His book, “Start Something That Matters” tells the story of how the company was founded and its social mission. Mycoskie also goes on to inspire us to take our passions and DO something with them. Everyone is passionate about something –social justice issues, their faith, a political issue, a favorite charity. We all have great ideas that we’d love to turn into profitable products or a message we’d love to spread.

Carrie has been working in the community service field and decided to enter the corporate world. Here are her thoughts on the book:

"The book was an easy read and very thorough. After reading the book, I found I was comforted in a way I did not expect. My work in the non-profit sector was ending and I was headed for a commission-based job. I thought that non-profit work and corporate sales required two different frames of mind. But I was wrong. When I learned more about Blake and his life journey, I could see the connection between the two. He showed that it is entirely possible to cross back and forth from a steady corporate job to helping start or grow a movement. We can be of many mindsets! There can be balance.

I will say that the tone was, at times, a bit pompous. And some examples were redundant. But if you are in a quandary about whether to stay in the corporate world and you think that doing so means that you can’t do non-profit work or support (or even start!) a good cause, this book will show you that this simply isn’t so!"

As for me, I’m an accountant so I read this like a business book. My take on the book is, if you don’t need yet another self-help, motivational book than skip this one. But if you are looking for a guide for how to begin turning your passion into something that matters, this is a great book. Whether you’re looking to do this as a non-profit/mission based venture or you’re looking to launch a business that is for profit, yet meaningful this book is very helpful.

Although he writes about his social mission of getting shoes to kids who have none, this is really a great explanation of how to market your idea, how to find resources when you’re on a shoestring budget, and how to build trust and rapport, both with your staff and with your customer base. He really explains how to make your mission resonate with others.

I do agree with my sister, though, that the tone is a bit pompous. In all honestly, I haven’t ever bought TOMS shoes and probably won’t. We Americans tend to think that all we have to do to “help” is just throw money at a problem. As in “Hey I just bought a $60 pair of TOMS shoes…now I don’t have to feel bad that there’s kids in the world who don’t have shoes!” Not quite.

This blog is about being brave as a homemaker and a homeowner. Part of why I started my blog was reading the sites of so many “mom blogs”, "hobby blogs" and “homemaker blogs” started by women who just wanted to share what they know with other women! But some of them got a little brave and turned their “mom passions” and “homemaking or hobby passions” into cookbooks, sewing books, or even their own TV shows. If you’re looking to get brave and turn your passion into Something that Matters, check out the book.

Mycoskie’s “one for one” mission works here, too. You buy a book and he donates a book to a needy child. Can’t beat that!

Want a free copy? I’m giving one away. To enter the giveaway just:

1. Become a follower of this blog over on the sidebar.

2. Read any other post on this blog and leave a comment

3. Do something today that matters. Even if it’s just doing the dishes.

The giveaway will stay open through April 19th. I’ll draw a winner randomly.

Braver Than Storebought: Swifter Dust Mop Sheets

When I bought my house there was nasty flattened used-to-be white-but-now-it's-grey carpet in my living room.  I told Dad of All Trades that I was going to rip it out and refinish the floors.  "Beeeee careful", he warned in his Dad voice.  "You might not like what you see under there". 

Well, I ripped up the floor anyway with as much pleasure as a little kid gets from ripping off a scab.  And, sure enough, wood floors underneath!  I wish I had before and after pics. 

Anyway, I LOVE my wood floors, although next time, I'd hire a professional to do it.  That floor sander is hard on a girl's arms, let me tell ya!   With no carpeting in the house, I go through a LOT of Swifter floor dusters.  I love them, but it gets expensive. 

But why dust floors when you can sew, right?  Except that sewing generates a lot of scrap fabric.  Like this pile of waste from this project and a pair of pj pants that I made:   

It pains me to have to toss out such big scrap pieces.  Then inspiration struck.  Expensive Swifter dusters....lots of fabric scraps....aha!!  I can make my own duster cloths! 

This was a great project to do in front of the TV since it requires absolutely no brain power.  Added bonus, my husband to be was sitting next to me watching me be so resourceful.

I will, of course, remind him of this resourcefulness when we get in our first fight over how much money I'm spending on fabric. 

I laid out a real Swif*er dust cloth on top of a scrap and cut around it. 

The I did it a zillion times more til my whole pile was cut to the size of dust cloths. 

As you can see, it works famously! 

Of course, not all fabrics would work.  The yellow was fleece and the pink was flannel, both of which will generate enough static to pick up dust.  Satins and other polyesters won't work as well.  But hey, using up some scraps is better than tossing them all in the trash, right!  And it's FREE.

I'm Back

Wow. My last post was February 7th. That's just sad.  But not because I don't want to blog anymore.  I've just been incredibly BUSY.  My June wedding is fast approaching so I really have to use every ounce of free time wisely and, unfortunately, blogging has taken a seat in the way-back.

(When I was a kid, my family had a station wagon and the coveted seats were in the very back.  And they faced backwards.  You could do all kinds of screwing around back there and Dad couldn't see a thing. It was great!).

So, here's a summary of some of my business:  In the last two months I have been:

Working on carving out some of this mess here - -

 - - into some space for The Conductor to move his things into once we're married.

I planned and hosted a baby shower for my sister.  We did a "First Lady" theme since she was expecting the first girl in our family.  Princesses are SO overdone, if you ask me.

I also welcomed my new niece, Vee.

I went with The Conductor to the wedding of a good friend of his.  Isn't her dress pretty?  She wore her late mother's headpiece, too.  I'm so jealous of them - they live in a city (Grand Rapids, MI), but they get to have chickens!!!



 Isn't her tablescape pretty?  The plant in the glass vase next to the name tag was our party favor. It's an air plant which I've never heard of.  But they really do live just on air.  They don't need water or dirt.  Crazy cool!

Speaking of plants, I've started a bunch of seedlings.  I'm trying not to plant anything that will need much attention come late June since I'll be getting married and honeymooning than.  Most of what I'm starting are flowers and herbs that won't really need me or things that can stay underground for a good long time.

And I've been working like mad doing my wedding stuff.  I'm doing a lot of DIY type things but we're moving at a good clip.  We also finished one of the two classes required by our church.  The first one is a survey to see if both of us are on the same wavelength.  Except for a few "no big deal" kind of differences, we really are in focus. 

So much so, that we can predict the punchlines of each other's lame jokes. 

I'm also working feverishly on making my own dress.  Sewing it will be a breeze.  The hardest part is finalizing the design.  Essentially, anything I see, I could conceivably "do".  So, I can take the neckline from one, the bodice from another, the sleeves from that one, a sash here, a train there, a ruffle from that one, an overlay from over there....and before you know it, I'll have the tackiest dress ever.  It's been hard to edit but I think I'm there.  In the meantime, the petticoat is coming along nicely. 

And, as if I don't have enough on my plate, I had a terrifying encounter with this:

I know....I'm a gardener.  I garden barefoot where bugs are.  I pick plants that have bugs on them.  I've brought produce inside and found bugs on it. 

Bugs are a part of life. 

BUT NOT WHEN THEY'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR SEWING ROOM FLOOR. 

Yea.  This thing was just.....there....on the middle of the floor.  I have no idea where he came from.  It's still wintery here so there were no windows open or anything.  I don't bring food in there.  Where he came from and where he was going, I have no idea. 

Look at him!  As big as a bobbin.  I am not kidding when I say I spent the next three hours freaking out that he was in there because he's the kind of worm that likes to eat fabric. 

I can handle bugs of any kind in any situation - - but not near my fabric stash.  Ugh!

Anyway, I did get a few more projects done which I will hopefully post about soon.  I'm here, my dear 12 followers!  I've just been crazy busy!

Tempted by the Mailman

Aaacck!!  What is my mailman trying to do to me???

Three times now he has delivered dirt-y magazines to my house and the images I'm seeing have me climbing the walls!

Oh get your mind out of the gutter!  I said "dirt-y" -

like the stuff you grow plants in - not dirty like something else! 

That's right.  For some reason, I've been besieged with seed catalogs. 

Just look at the color in this layout of the Jung Seed catalog:



This picture of squash is upside down, but I, too, flipped when I saw them in the Baker Creek book.



Why am I stuck eating the white tasteless faux-matos of winter instead of these beauties?



I hate eggplant.  And this kid was really getting on my nerves.  She's on every other page playing with potatoes, cavorting with carrots, and munching on melons.  Why does she get to have the fun and not me??

Look at her eyes.  It's like she's mocking me, the little twerp.

All these lovely images nd I can't do a darn thing with them.  It's only February in Wisconsin.  Too early to even start seeds indoors.

To add insult to injury, we've had unseasonably warm weather here and next to no snow.  It's totally messing up my internal clock.  I've had the feeling for days like I should be throwing windows open for fresh air and spring cleaning. 

But we've got a good three months of winter before I can do any of that. 

And I've got wedding to worry about which means I won't be able to get hardcore in the garden even if I wsanted to. 

So, to satisfy my cravings for dirt, I did my traditional mid-winter project of starting my indoor compost bin. 

Take one garbage can with a lid and holes drilled in the bottom.  Set it inside a drain pan.  Add one layer of shredded paper, a dozens of these guys

and a layer of this

and tape on a note for unsuspecting houseguests....

 And after filling it with my produce scraps and eggshells for the next three months, I'll have a nice big bucket full of compost.   Which, of course, I will use to grow my own pretties....like this

Isn't that the most gorgeous cabbage you've ever seen?  Curses on you Mr. Mailman for bringing those catalogs in February!!!

Winner, Winner Buy Me Dinner!

I won, I won, I won!!

I never win anything!!

I posted my "I Can Do That - Fleece Hood" on a sewing link up at WhiteWolf Summit Farmgirl blog. 

A few days later, Heidi emailed me to let me know I won the giveaway for link up.

I didn't even know there was a giveaway! 

Happy dance, happy dance!  I'll be sitting by the mailbox awaiting my treat. 

Check out Heidi's blog.  She does a weekly farmgirl link up where readers can share the latest happenings on their farms (or pseudo-farms if you're a city gal like me).