My Poor Lavender…

This summer, I took a few weeks to spend some time with family.  We visited family on my side, my husband’s side of the family and friends.  We were also able to do some camping in our camper trailer at the same time.  Summer went by so quickly!

Of course, in the meantime things get neglected around our house when we are gone.  The grass in the backyard turned into a jungle.  Weeds over took our grey rock area around the fire pit in the backyard.  My lavender planters are… DONE.

The poor things are done blooming.  Not sure if they are normally done blooming by now or if the lack of water sent them into early shock.  I gave them a watering and decided to give them a trim to clean them up a bit. 


I didn’t even get to enjoy their great smell very much, I think I missed their prime fragrance timeframe.  Hopefully, the plants make it through the winter and I can try again next year.

I love vacations, but I don’t look forward to all the cleaning up and loads and loads of laundry after the trip…

Our house looks like a bomb went off, YIPES.

As Always,
Sandra

Pillow Covers for Living Room Cushions…

I ordered some new fabric a little while ago, and I finally made time to sew the pillow covers for the living room pillows.  I’m loving the modern prints.

The fabric is from Fabric Spot (www.myfabricspot.com).  Great source for online fabric in modern and fresh prints.  A Canadian company too! –which means no duty or customs for me to worry about.  Plus FREE shipping to Canada on orders over $100, and to the USA on orders over $150!  I recommend Fabric Spot if you need a Canadian online fabric retailer-- I had GREAT service.

Here is a peek at the pillows…


I picked up IKEA down pillows in 20”, 26” and a lumbar pillow (16” x 24”) size before we moved into this house.  I finally found the fabric I liked to complete the pillow covers, I was beginning to lose hope!



I made all the pillow covers with envelope back closures, so I can take the covers off and machine wash easily—a must with kids in the house!




The living room is looking much more comfy now.  Plus, I now get to do the karate chop at the top of the pillows, which is so fun!

As Always,
Sandra

Our Entrance…

I did a post for Kelsey at Poofy Cheeks last month.  Something was missing from my front entrance and it took me awhile to figure out how to best complete the space.



Check our my post on my front door entrance here –> http://www.poofycheeks.com/2013/07/creating-inviting-entryway-simple-is.html

As Always,
Sandra

Living Room Update

So we’ve been living a couple months in our new home.  Things are slowly coming together, and I thought I’d share a quick update.

I’ve set up the china cabinet, and I’m happy with how everything looks… for the time being.  I’ll probably change it again in a few months, I’m always rearranging things!


Currently, I have placed a few cookbooks in the coffee table for some added color.


I added some grey baskets to the bottom of the coffee table-- for color, texture and extra storage (even though they are empty now).




A few days ago, I completed my pillow covers for the living room sectional.  Soon, I will get some pictures up.

As Always,
Sandra

Alcohol to Remove Ink Labels

I like to reuse containers but I don’t like looking at the original ink labels after I use the containers for something else.


Here is a simple way to remove ink labels.  I have used this method to remove labels from soap containers, milk jugs, plastic baby formula containers, and many other plastic food containers that I have re-purposed and reused around my house.

Here is what you’ll need:

Make-up remover pads, Kleenex, paper towel or other disposable cloth (I prefer make-up remover pads because they hold up well with scrubbing and absorb the alcohol easier)

Rubbing Alcohol



Just pour a little rubbing alcohol on the make-up remover pad.  Next, scrub off the ink label.  Some labels take longer than others to come off.  You may need to take a new make-up remover pad and wet it with new alcohol a couple of times depending on the amount of ink to remove and how fast the alcohol evaporates.



I like to re-purpose containers lying around my house.  I used this washed milk jug to mix and store my Homemade Laundry Detergent. 



Check out this post to see how to remove stickers or residue left behind from stickers and labels. 

What kind of containers do you re-purpose around your house?

As Always,
Sandra