Yard Sale Yummies

This past weekend, I convinced my husband to hit some yard sales with me and pick up these gems....

I actually got two of these chairs.  The lady who sold them to me teared up when I bought them.  They were her mother's, who was born in 1899.  They are covered in a plastic seat cover which must go.  We'll see how they turn out....

Two for a buck and I know just what I'm doing with them.

And a very exciting find - this wardrobe that is 100+ years old.  It's got fabulous hardware but I'm still debating on what to do with the rest of the exterior.  It might also need some minor repair inside, once I get around to dusting it. 

DIY Jumbo Dice

Okay, first thing's first.  Ask your husband for a 4x4 post for Valentine's Day.  Or, hop on over to Home Depot or Lowe's or some other such place and buy one for yourself.  Now, a 4x4 isn't actually 4 inches by 4 inches.  More like 3.5 by 3.5. Anyway, go ahead and get yourself a couple of cubes from your post.  Start by sanding your blocks.  I didn't do a ton of sanding - just enough to take away the chances of a huge splinter from picking them up.  Then I painted them brown.  Once the brown dried, I went over the top with an ivory paint.  That took quite a few coats to cover the brown enough.

Next, sand a bit of the ivory paint off so the brown peeks through.  I wanted a more rustic look to match the game room.  Then I cut out 42 circles using my Silhouette.  I made my circles about 9/10ths of an inch in diameter.  Then, using a real die as my guide, I placed the circles on the blocks.

Then I wrapped them up in some ivory netting and finished it off with a brown ribbon bow.  Perfect for gifting. 

Penny Pails for Positive Behavior

I have a new system to help my kids learn to behave well.  Each of my children has a little pail (found in the dollar spot at Target) and when they do something good, they earn a penny.  If they do something they shouldn't, or don't listen, they lose a penny.  Things that they have had trouble with earn them extra pennies.  For example, they have a hard time staying in bed once they get in bed.  So staying in bed after they go to bed earns them two pennies.  Obviously my kids are young enough that pennies motivate them, but pennies for good behavior add up - so try it with your older kids, too!

How to Make Korker Bows

Gather the items in the above picture and what do you get?  A korker bow!  You know, those curly little bows that are adorable on little girls but are expensive and seem like they'd be easy to make?  Turns out they are!  First off, pick your ribbon.  I'm showing this tutorial with grosgrain ribbon, 5'8" wide.  Most of the korker bows I make are with a narrower ribbon.  The width of your ribbon matters because you will be using that measurement to determine what size dowels you should use.  My dowels are equal in width to my ribbon in this tutorial, but it doesn't have to be.  Most ribbon that comes on the dollar rolls at WalMart would work well with a 3/16" dowel, or a 1/4".  So gather your scissors, ribbon, clothespins and dowels.

Start by wrapping your ribbon around one end of your dowel.  To secure the end of the ribbon, attach a clothespin.  Wind your ribbon around your dowel, pinning with another clothespin at the end.

Once you've wrapped all your dowels, put them on a cookie sheet.  You'll be throwing them in the oven.  You can also line your oven rack in foil, if you prefer, but I find a cookie sheet to be easier.

Set your oven to 275 degrees F.

Bake for 25 minutes.  If you're unsure if your ribbons are done, try unwinding a bit of one.  If it stays curled, it's done.  If it goes totally straight, it's not.

 Trim your ribbons to the length you want.  At this point, I like to use Fray Check on the ends of the ribbons.  Some people prefer to Fray Check at the end, but this way I'm less confused as to which ones I've done.  I have a "done" and "to do" pile which works well for me!  Then I cut a piece of elastic cord and lay it on the table.  Line your ribbons up on top of your cord, then tie the cord in a knot.  Or, you can sew them all together in the middle.  You'll end up with a cluster of ribbons that looks like this:

Attach an alligator clip to the back (I hot glue mine) and you're all set.  I like to cover my clips in coordinating ribbon.