I 'heart' eBay

 
My latest cheap conquests on eBay.  I'm a sucker when it comes to bargains, and when I get bored I scour the stuff on eBay.  Some of my favorite brand names jumped out at me and I couldn't resist.  I had no one competing with me so I won these items at bottom dollar!  Love it!

I used the photos that were posted on eBay so they're a little small.  I couldn't edit them, but you get the idea.

A Cache long-sleeved ruffled blouse.

 

 

'Born', red peep-toe leather heels, with tan leather bow tie...

 

'Born' wool/leather knee boots for those cold winter days. 

 
I can't wait to get these in the mail.  It's like Christmas when you get a package in the mail. 

I know,,,,but a girl can't have too many shoes, right??  I spent less than $50 for all 3 items though so I'll justify the indulgence.

~Diana

 

 

 

Moooooooo

I'm loving this cooler weather.  Finally down in the 60's this morning so I drug out one of my long sleeve tops to wear with faded jeans to wear to work today.

 

Check out these cowhide booties I found at the Goodwill store in Tyler this past weekend.

They're Nine West and still have the sticker on the bottom with the size on them.  Of course, just my size so I had to bring them home with me.  For $4.99, why not??

They are so comfy and I got lots of compliments at work today.  People are just flabergasted when I tell them where I shop.  One of our senior execs was on the elevator with me and went crazy over these boots.  She said she had been looking all over for cowhide boots.  I told her she was shopping in all the wrong places, and that I got these at Goodwill. I wish you could have seen the look on her face...

 

 
I have more stuff to post but my camera battery died, so it's on the charger now.  Have a nice week!

                                                  ~Diana~

Jean Therapy

I have tons of jeans that fit great, but they are so out-dated with the big boot cut or flared hemlines.  I figured that instead of getting rid of them, I'd just do a major over-haul of the leg seams to modernize them.

I laid them flat on the floor and pinned where I needed to cut to get the right shape.

I used my pinking shears to cut off the excess fabric and then stitched a new inseam.

I left the length on the jeans because I like to wear heels with jeans.  I'll just cuff them when needed.

I ended up altering 4 pairs of jeans today.  It really was quick and simple.  I have more lined up next time I get a chance to sew.

Have a nice weekend.

~Diana

Extreme Makeover

A friend of mine at work gave me this dress she found.  I love the colors, texture, and folds of this dress, but it was way too large for me.

I decided to see if I could alter it somewhat so I could wear it as a top
instead.  I had to stare at it a bit to come up with an idea, and pin and re-pin several times before I came up with something that would work.

I ended up just folding the bottom part of the dress under and tacking it in 4 places. I tacked the center front and  back and then each side.  This created some deep swags in the front and back to give the top a scalloped look. 

In a pinch and not much adjusting, it fits perfectly now.  I like the way it looks with jeans.

Thanks Johanna!

LONE STAR

I recorded the pilot for the new series called 'Lone Star'. 

I think this is going to be a winner for the season.  Great character development and great story.  Check it out. I'm not a fan of 'Dancing With The Stars' and Lone Star is on during that same time slot.  I hope Fox picks another spot for this potentially addicting drama.  I thought it was excellent and will continue to watch.

Goldmine at Goodwill

I made a quick trip to Goodwill on Saturday and as I was about to check out, the manager made an announcement that ladies tops, bottoms, and shoes were 50% off.  How lucky can you get??  I had several items in my basket so this was quite a savings.

One of my lucky finds was this very cute baby-doll top. 

 

The Steve Madden brocade heels came from Salvation Army several months ago.  They're high, but they're really comfortable.

 

The top is made of yards and yards of heavy polyester material. It is so comfortable and very 'swingy'. 

I'm so ready for the cooler weather to come.  I want to get all my warm sweaters and jackets out.  I'd even settle for temperatures in the mid-eighties!  To me that's 'cool'.

Have a nice week! ~Diana~

Baby Denim Makeover

I took a little 18 Month sized pair of denim jeans I found yesterday at Goodwill for $1.99 and turned it in to a cute little girl's purse.  I didn't have a pattern so I just had to 'wing' it.  I had everything I needed on hand except for the little pink handles, but a quick trip to Joanne Fabric took care of that.

First I cut the legs off at the crotch and then opened the mid-seam.

 

I turned the jeans inside out and stitched straight across, and then on the outer edges I stitched a triangle to make the bottom flat.

Thank goodness I have the habit of saving my larger scrap fabrics because I had just enough to make the lining of the purse.

I laid the stitched denim on top of the lining fabric to cut out the shape.  I added an extra inch on each side for the seams.  I placed the lining inside the purse with the right side showing and just folded down the raw edges to make a ruffle and stitched along the existing top-stitch of the jeans. 

I just happened to have the little flower petal in my sewing box.  Who knew it would come in handy someday?

I had this pink polka-dot ribbon on hand as well to make a 'belt' for the purse.

Next I cut off the bottom hem of the discarded leg portion of the jeans that I had already cut off, to make the  2" loops to hold the purse handles. This was an after-thought because I wasn't sure how to attach the handles until I came up with this idea.

 

I used my E Z Glitzer tool to put some little pink stones on the edge of the front and back pockets.  This is a really great tool for adding bling to your craft projects.

Here's a closeup of the handles attached with the loops.

Here's the finished purse.  I'm happy with the way it turned out and it was a nice lazy Sunday afternoon project. 

I absolutely love transforming things.  If you have an idea or suggestion, please add a comment to this blog and I'll take the challenge.  :)

Healthy 30 Minute Dinner

Quick post. 

Dinner:

Salmon Filet braised with mixture of molasses and dijon mustard cooked on my handy-dandy-Goodwill-purchased ($7.99) George Foreman Grill.

Fresh Okra  -stem cut off, spritzed with olive oil, freshly ground sea salt, freshly ground pepper

Fresh corn - spritzed with olive oil and lemon pepper wrapped in foil

Bake the okra and corn in 425 degree oven for 25 minutes while the salmon grills in the George Foreman mini-grill.

Open the wine and serve!

Total time 30 minutes from start to finish.

YUM!

One Man's Junk is Another Man's Treasure

I was driving through my neighborhood some time back and found this Queen Anne Sofa in the ditch for the garbage collectors to pick up.  I knocked on the door and asked the owner if I could salvage it to try my hand at upholstering.  I've always wanted to try this and I needed something to practice on. I hauled it home and had a couple of neighborhood guys carry it up the stairs for me. Sadly, when my computer crashed, I lost the original photos I had taken so I'll have to start this post with the stripped version.

I re-stained the legs that were badly scratched and added some extra cotton batting to make it more 'cushy'.

Since I didn't want to put a lot of money in this effort, and I wanted something that was durable, an idea popped in to my head to use canvas.  I went to Lowe's and checked out the paint department and came up with a very inexpensive idea.  I bought some very cheap, heavy-duty painter's canvases and used them to re-upholster the sofa.  The fabric was a very neutral color, and I ended up only having to purchase 3 canvases.  Total: $66.  I carefully removed a billion staples from the original upholstery and used the discarded pieces as patterns to cut the new pieces. This turned out to be much easier than I ever dreamed of and I'm very happy with the end results. It was so fun to do.

Since the sofa was in the upstairs office I just redecorated, I bought another drapery panel like the panels I have on the window, and some cording  to make some pillows.

I found this coordinating flannel afghan at World Market for only $4.99 to drape across the sofa.

I also found this area rug for the office at World Market.  They have such nice, inexpensive items and they always have great discount coupons available.

 

I did cheat and take the cushion to an upholsterer in town to make the cushion for me, but since I had my own fabric and the original cushion, they only charged me $50 to do this for me.  Considering they had to put an extra long zipper and the cording, I think this was a very reasonable price.

Here's the finished sofa:

The office is now complete.

I'm waiting for the weather to get cooler so I can tackle a garage project I've been wanting to do.  It's time to toss stuff. I have lots of leftover paint from previous projects that I plan to donate to Habitat.

Have a nice weekend!

I love Bracelets

I took some shots of my favorite bracelets.  Most of them are confetti lucite that I found either on eBay or at antique stores.  I love the 'chunkiness' of them and they're so colorful.

 
These are just a few of my favorites.  I have lots more I'll share with you. 

Chicago

I was in Chicago a couple of weeks ago for the most beautiful wedding ever!  The only time I had been here was when my plane was diverted here and I sat on the runway for a couple of hours.  It was nice to finally see what everyone has been raving about.

The city is so beautiful and there are so many things to see and do.  My time was pretty limited with all the wedding festivities, but I did get to see a few of the highlights.  I walked from our hotel to the 'Magnificent Mile' to see all the beautiful shops and snapped a few shots along the way. You know me though,,I'm all about thrift shopping, but I did end up buying some mascara at Neiman's.

  

I had to stop and watch these magnificent street dancers.  So fun and so talented.

 

The Chicago Art Institute was just a block away from our hotel so we made a very quick run through.  I could have easily spent the whole day here, but sadly I only got to breeze through and hit the highlights.  Here are couple of my favorites.

 

We had an awesome dinner at  a restaurant on the Navy Pier on Lake Michigan looking toward the skyline of Chicago. 

After dinner, we walked along the pier and I insisted on riding the huge Ferris Wheel. Do you know the history of the Ferris Wheel?  If not, you need to read 'The Devil in a White City'.  There's a lot of history in this book and well worth the read. It's a little creepy in parts because there is a murder that took place during the world expo, but there are a lot of interesting facts you'll enjoy.

We took the architectural boat tour of the city to see all the beautiful buildings.  So unusual and very interesting to hear the history of the buildings and the criteria that had to be met to construct them.  If you're ever there, I highly recommend this tour.

The wedding rehersal dinner was aboard this incredible yacht that cruised around the lake the entire evening.  The weather was absolutely perfect and the city was beautiful.  Such an unforgettable evening with dear friends.

A view of the city from the lake.

I would love to go back to Chicago sometime and see the city at a much slower pace.

We're off to Horseshoe Bay for a long Labor Day weekend.  I hope to get lots of photos while there.  Have a safe weekend.