How To Bring a Bean Bag Back to Life

I bought this HUGE bag of "Bean Bag Filler" awhile ago for yet another ill-advised  DIY project. I left the bag in the garage until I was ready to tackle "reviving" the two "poufs" DH and I use to rest our feet on when watching TV in our bedroom. I paid $100.00 for the two poufs a couple of years ago and wasn't ready to give up on them yet. "I can do this," I told myself, as I handed the clerk at JoAnn's Fabrics my 40% off coupon for the "BIGGIE" bag of pellets.

Every time I walked through the garage to my car, I had to pass this monstrous-looking bag of styrofoam pellets. It seemed to grow larger and more ominous by the day, in my mind at least. The directions on the back warned of the potential for "static electricity" and suggested one might want to use these little pellets "with a friend".  That scared me enough to put off the project for a few weeks more. But, as I procrastinated, my poufs were shrinking and slowly becoming unusable.

Once I finally dared to open the bag, I realized that the role of the friend would be to keep me calm as the pellets literally flew around my craft room, sticking to rugs, curtains, lampshades, fabric, yarn, and my pile of half finished holiday projects.. In moments, these little styro-UFO's took on a life of their own!

That's when DH walked in and found me not only covered in styrofoam pellets, but in tears.  Actually, a few "bad words" might have been slipping from my mouth as well.  Quite a few actually.  But DH saved the day, and the project. 

Here's what he came up with. DH taped the vacuum cleaner tube from his shop vac to the bag of pellets . I held the other end into the slit I had made in the side of the bean bag, and VOILA . . . gravity did the rest. It worked perfectly. We filled both poufs in minutes with no more styrofoam UFO's!

Here are  the finished poufs. Good as new! Actually, even better.

Hopefully you'll never need to fill a bean bag. But, if you do, remember this little tutorial. It'll save you time, a BIG mess, a few tears,

And lots of wine!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Acorns

I've spent the last few weeks planning a birthday party for my daughter.  Since it's October, the party will have a fall theme.  Searching online for ideas, I came upon this recipe (at throughthelooking glass.com, a blog which apparently no longer exists).  The chocolate acorns exist though and they are so cute, so easy, and so delicious, that I had to share the recipe.

There are just three ingredients. Here's what you need:

 1. Nutter Butter Bites  (These are the little dollar snack size packages often found near the cash register, not the big packages of cookies).

2. Hershey Kisses

3. And Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

1. In a microwave safe dish, melt about 1/8 cup chocolate chips to use as "glue",

2. Assemble acorns - Hershey's kiss for base of acorn, then a Nutter Butter Bite for acorn cap, and finally a chocolate chip for the stem, using the melted chocolate "glue" to hold them together.

3. Refrigerate for a few minutes to harden before serving.

Wouldn't the squirrels love these?

 And the kids (even the big ones) too!

How much fun is this?

This post is linked to:

Flaunt It Friday #421 at Chic On a Shoestring Decorating
Thursday Favorite Things at Follow the Yellow Brick Home
Amaze Me Monday #286 at Dwellings
Talk of the Town #146 at Knick of Time

Do You Have a Home Coffee Station?

I'm probably one of the last people I know to invest in a Keurig, but I finally did. With cool fall days ahead, the lure of quick single cups of coffee and hot chocolate was just too tempting. I figured though that if I was going to get a Keurig, I might as well have some fun with the color. I chose "Oasis", a pale turquoise,  just for fun!

It was coincidental that a few days after my coffee maker arrived from Amazon, I happened upon this discussion on Houzz, entitled, "Do You Have a Coffee Station In Your Home?". My new Keurig was on the kitchen counter but the photos from Houzz and other internet sites encouraged me to add to it to make my own "Coffee Station". Here are a few of my inspiration photos . . .


The white tiles in the photo above reminded me of my kitchen and I loved the use of galvanized metal to hold coffee supplies in the two photos below.


Photo Courtesy of Home CBF

  Photo Courtesy of Houzz

A three-tier galvanized stand was too tall to fit under my cabinets but I found a two-tier one that is perfect. They are available online but I happened to have a 50%off coupon at JoAnn's Fabrics, where they had the same one I was about to  order from Amazon. Under $15.00 and it holds creamer, sugar, Sweet 'n Low, utensils, coffee pods, and two mugs. Perfect!

The little white-framed chalkboard was all of $5.00 at Target, in the "Wedding" section of the Stationery Department of all places!

I love this farmhouse-inspired coffee station.

Photo Courtesy of Home CBF

And this coffee station (below) on a vintage wooden ironing board! I recently posted about the wooden ironing board I just bought but didn't see this in time for my post. What a unique idea!

Photo Courtesy of Home CBF


Photo Courtesy of Home CBF

I always thought I'd like a coffee station in our Master bedroom but decided that, with the layout of our house, it would probably be more trouble than it's worth.  I also thought it would still involve a trip downstairs unless we had room for a mini-frige and bar sink in the MBR as well. (We don't.)

But I'm really happy with the little "Coffee Corner" I did create, inspired by photos from favorite decorating sites.

Do you have a "Coffee Station" at your house?

If you were only a little closer, I'd invite you over for a cup of coffee at mine!

This post is linked to:

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Share Your Style 179 at The Red Painted Cottage
Flaunt It Friday #421 at Chic On a Shoestring Decorating
Farmhouse Friday Link Party #79 at The Painted Hinge
Thursday Favorite Things at Follow the Yellow Brick Home
Amaze Me Monday #286 at Dwellings

Call the Midwife

Have you ever watched a TV show that was so good you cried when it was over?

That's what happens to DH and I as each season of Call the Midwife comes to an end.

We sit on either end of the couch, in the dark, afraid to look at each other because we know we will see a few embarrassing tears.

We just finished watching Season 7 of Call the Midwife and can't wait for Season 8 in early 2019.

Call the Midwife, based on the memoirs of the late Jennifer Worth, tells the often heart-wrenching, often funny, stories of midwifery in London’s East End  in the 1950's and early 60's. The drama follows the nurses, midwives and nuns from Nonnatus House, who travel by bicycle to provide maternity care to some of the city's poorest mothers.

The series is produced by BBC1 and PBS.  Newly qualified midwife Jenny (Vanessa Redgrave) and the  eccentric, lovable community of nuns at Nonnatus House can all be found on Netflix, which is airing all 7 Seasons.

This is the perfect series to binge watch as the fall days grow shorter. I promise that it will make you laugh, cry, and maybe even want to dance.

That's because the episodes of Call the Midwife are accompanied by exactly the perfect music for the times. The soundtrack includes so many favorites from the 50's and early 60's:  Diana, Lollipop, My Special Angel, Here Comes Summer . . . 

Little Darlin', Come Softly to Me, Stranger In Paradise, Dedicated to the One I Love. If you're a Boomer like me, you can fill in the rest of the list (and probably remember all the words too!).

As the Series begins, Jenny is surprised to find herself at a convent -- she thought she was being sent to a small private hospital -- and is initially daunted by her surroundings, most notably the formidable Sister Evangelina and the unconventional Sister Monica Joan. 

But Jenny gradually begins to find her way and develops incredible friendships among the nurses, as they are drawn into the lives and homes of the women and families they treat.

I like that the producers of Call the Midwife are not afraid to address the medical and social issues of the time, including polio . . .

Thalidomide babies . . .

Down Syndrome . . .

and womens' issues like poverty, domestic violence, and the lack of birth control among women who can't afford even one more baby.

Thankfully, truth is mixed with a big dose of British humor that often makes you laugh out loud

As the nuns interact with the families of their East End neighborhood of  Poplar.

Jenny's voice lives on in Vanessa Redgrave’s crackly narration, as an elderly Jenny, who reminds us at the end of each episode . . . 

that love is often the only answer. 

   By then, I'm usually reaching for the tissues and repeating to DH, "This is just so well done". 

I say it every time. 

This post is linked to:

Share Your Cup #310 at Mrs. Olson blog
Sundays at Home #13 at The Little Farmstead
Amaze Me Monday #285 at Dwellings

Repurposed Ironing Board

My friend, and felter extraordinaire, Kathleen Gerdes, recently had a "Yard Fair" at her home - half Yard Sale and half Craft Fair.  My big purchase? A vintage wooden ironing board! I had no place for it, and no use for it (I'm downsizing, remember?,) but couldn't seem to leave without putting it in my car. I'm so glad I did!

It was leaning against the side of Kathleen's garage when I first spotted it.

Kathleen had planned to paint sunflowers on it but, like most of us, had just too many projects going and never quite got to it.

I loved that the original label was still on the underside of the board. And it was made right here in Portland, Maine. 

 I couldn't find a date on the label but, judging from the clothes and hairstyle of the lady ironing her husband's shirt (Wow, this really is an OLD ironing board!), it's  probably from the early 1900's.

Did they really iron back then?

Did they really iron in heels back then?

After moving my "new" ironing board all around the house, I decided to check the Internet for inspiration. Other bloggers always have great ideas! These two are from Floriane at Floriane Lamarie Blog. Designer Floriane writes in French but the blog has a "translate" button which works well. (Any way, I think "vieille table a repasser" sounds a lot better than "old ironing board", don't you?)

This one is from Anita at Cedar Hill Farmhouse.

This ironing board image is from Pinterest. It caught my eye because I have the same sign (thought I was the only one!). It reads simply, "Work Hard and Be Nice". I haven't really gotten into the "Live, Laugh, Love" sign trend but this one really speaks to me so it now lives in my kitchen to remind me of what's important. I love how this vintage ironing board is styled.

 And here's mine. There were so many places I could have used it but it has finally settled into my dining area, right off the kitchen. It will be great for displaying seasonal vignettes as well as for serving when I entertain.

DH just cut back the hydrangeas for winter. They dried right in my vase. Aren't they beautiful?

And if you happen to find a newer ironing board at a yard sale, how about this idea for your laundry room, again from Floriane Lemarie?

Even though I refuse to think about Christmas yet, I had to share this ironing board from Becky at Beyond the Picket Fence.  How about the "tree lights" coming through the steam vents?

Who thinks up this stuff?

 For now, I think I'll just stick with my old wooden model.

Yours in repurposing . . . 

A lot more fun than ironing!

This post is linked to:

Amaze Me Monday #284 at Dwellings

Talk of the Town #144 at Knick of Time

Inspiration Monday at Refresh Restyle

Share A Cup #310 at Mrs. Olson blog

Share Your Style #178 at The Red Painted Cottage

Farmhouse Friday Link Party #78 at The Painted Hinge