Another Blue Christmas Creation

I finished this blue wreath today.  I bought the silver wreath at WalMart and added blue Christmas ornaments from the thrift store.  Ribbon for bow is from Micahel's.  My holiday decor is progressing.  Today I am removing Thanksgiving and boxing up for next year. 

I was hoping to get the tree out of the box today but don't think it will happen.  I'm off the see Tangled in 3-D with granddaughters and then it's Lighting of the Christmas lights at church this evening.  The holidays are off to a great start.

My "New" Thrift Store Horn Sewing Cabinet

Earlier this summer on one of my trips to visit my favorite local thrift store, I found this sewing cabinet.  It was hidden under another piece of furniture but when I saw it, I thought sewing cabinet.  I got one of the guys to remove the furniture on top.  When I opened the top of the cabinet, much to my surprise I saw a Horn Collection label.  On closer inspection, I found that all the drawers open and closed easily and the lift system was working.  Entire cabinet was in near new condition and was still filled with someone's sewing supplies.  The price you ask?  $30.00

The employee loaded the cabinet into my Honda and I carried my find home.  My DH inspected it closely and determined that it needed new rollers.  He went to Home Depot and purchased six new rollers for less than $20.00.  He installed them and made a few adjustments.  Now I'm the owner of a Horn sewing cabinet for less than $50.00.  I think it is about 20 years old based on information I found in the cabinet.  I looked on line and similar ones sell for over $1000 today.  On the new models, the sewing box and mirror top have been replaced with a fold out that extends the cabinet space.  But for $50.00 I'm so pleased.

I had intended to take the cabinet to our vacation home in Kentucky this fall so it's been in the garage waiting for a ride.  However, we probably won't be driving to Ky this fall in the motorhome and I decided to see if it would fit in my studio.  I already have a Koala SewMate which houses my Bernina embroidery machine and serger.  After rearranging. the Horn fits perfectly in front of my design wall.  My Memory Craft 11000 now has a permanent home. 

Pillow for the Coffee Lover

I finished this pillow last week but had to wait until the weekend to add stuffing.  It seems that WalMart no longer carries the stuffing that I used to stuff the last pillow.  It was called Cluster Stuff by Morning Glory.  I purchased it at WalMart a few months ago and loved the down-like feel it gave to the pillow.  So I had to settle for regular stuffing.  Here is the finished pillow.

It is one of my "using my stash projects".  The squares and backing fabric are left over from  a quilt kit I purchased last year from Fat Quarter Shop.  The kit was called "Cherry on Top" and was made from this coffee themed fabric.  I find that the Fat Quarter Shop's kits often have left over fabric. The fringe is another of my thrift store purchases.   I'm thinking this will become a gift for a coffee lover in the family. 

Here's a photo of the little quilt made from the fabric.

 

Charm Pack Pillow

Today I decided to return to working on my goal of "using things from my stash".  I wanted to make a bright pillow for the greatroom and remembered these leftover "charms".  They are from two charm packs that I purchased at a thrift store a few years ago.  I had previously make a tote for a swap on Fabric in Altered Art with some of the squares.  There were enough remaining squares to make both the front and back of the pillow.

After I finished sewing the squares, I remembered that I had purchased a large pack of fringe at the thrift store last year.  The color was perfect for the pillow.  I had a bag of stuffing in the closet and was able to finish the pillow this p.m.  I'm very pleased with the pillow and it now adds a bright spot in my greatroom.  Tomorrow I plan to make a coffee lover's pillow with left over "charms" from a coffee themed charm pack. 

New Project

I found this antique child's rolltop desk at a local thrift store for less than $15.00.  It is missing the wooden drawer handles (you can see the lovely ones that someone added!)  I just love the little key hole in the drawer.  It has been painted at least two times.  Once a horrible lime green and then the white.  I'm hoping to strip it back to it's original wood finish.  I've already started on one of the drawers.  I just wanted to see what kind of wood it was because I found this at Kewel.com listed for more than $2,000.

 

It's oak and I don't think my thrifted one is oak.  I'm thinking it is maple but will have my neighbor check it out when I have finished with striping the paint.  He does alot of woodworking and will know the type of wood. I do know that it is solid wood and very heavy.   I'm planning to use it as a side table in my greatroom when I redecorate later this summer.  I'll keep you posted on my progress.