Today I'm pondering....(heavy on pix)

Ruffles! I grew away from them for a while, hating the dust they caught, but I find myself inexplicably drawn to them again. I can't explain it. There's just SOMETHING about them...

From ruffled hems ....
To singular ruffled highlights...

A clean ruffled edge...
BABY slips & dresses (OUCH! I think my uterus just twitched)
Even God likes ruffles!

Ruffles on ladies clothes (they're not just for Sunday school dresses any more!)
Lampshades....
Different TEXTURES....
Magnolia Pearl's rumpled ruffles (SWOON!)

Sloppy ruffles....

Asymmetrical ruffles...in jersey knit even!
Ruffles in burlap
Tied up in the back like an old corset....*sigh*

Ruffles in your bathroom
Ruffles mixed with embroidery, smocked empire waistlines, and pintucks (can it get any cooler?!?)

Even us chunky girls can get in on the ruffle action now without it making us look like parade floats!

Man, He's got ruffles down pat!

Can't get enough ruffles!
From simple, to shabby, to classy....

Ruffles are EVERYWHERE!
In colors.....
In crisp, clean, refreshing WHITE....

*sigh*

Ruffles and balloon flounces...makes a girl giddy!

Dressing up your table...
Inviting you to slouch....
And relax.

Ruffles are definitely in designers minds' right now. Why am I thinking about them, you ask? Well, I still have to do that funky little window on the south wall of my bedroom. I wanted to do ruffles, but the more I look at them, the more I'm thinking...."pretty, and I love them, but if I want that curtain to OPEN more than halfway, it's gonna be bulky."

So I spent most of yesterday surfing the net, pondering solutions to my small dilemma and I'm still doing ruffles, they're just gonna be low-key on the smaller window. My solution involves....well....I'll give you a HINT (scroll down).

Can you guess? Hopefully, since it's supposed to rain all this week, I won't have a lot of running to do and the men in my house will give me some time to myself to drag out my sewing machine. Then I can SHOW you my solution! Till then, I'll just leave ya guessing! *LOL*

Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Picture credits: Magnolia Pearl, Google images (search: ruffles), Ruche clothing online

Trick or Treat

Short post...it's late and I'm ready to hit the hay. Here are some freebies for ya...

I'll see what else I can put together for ya later this week. Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Make your own shadowbox frame

Even though Stashbusting September is over, I'm still committed to going through my goodies and using what I have. It's kinda easy to do right now, since money's tight.

Last month when I was out thrift store hopping, I nabbed this lovely crocheted butterfly for only 75¢. I knew that I couldn't alter it by sewing it onto clothing or a pillow, so I decided to highlight it. My first thought was "frame it" but I didn't want it mashed under the glass. I did want it protected from dust, so the glass was needed. What to do? What to do?

A shadowbox! Most of them right out of the store are too expensive for me right now and I needed an 8x10, because this beauty measures 7 inches across. So, I decided to make my own. I took two flat unfinished frames from Dollar Tree...
Removed the backing and mats from both and the glass from one that would become the back of the frame.
I pulled the glazing points out of the one I left the glass in...And ran a bead of glue around the inside of the frame to hold the glass. I let it dry overnight.
Next morning, I grabbed my wood glue...
and put the frames together. Use clamps or heavy books, in case some of the frames are a teensy bit warped, to hold them together until the glue dries. I let mine sit overnight just as a precaution.

While the glue was drying, I went through my abundant paper stash & found an 8.5x11 sheet from Hobby Lobby that I liked. It's really close to the colors I'm slowly bringing into my bedroom. Got out my Xyron 900 & ran it through, then stuck it onto the backing that I saved when I took my frames apart.

Day 3: After the clamps were removed, I took some Elmer's natural wood filler & filled in the gaps all the way around my new frame. I like the tube for these smaller projects, because it squeezes out like a caulk bead and I just smooth/mash it in with my finger tips.
After two hours, it was ready to sand smooth. (sorry, it's a tad blurry!)

Then using my "mad skillz" acquired as a teenager masking cars for painting, I taped off the outside glass...
AND the inside....
Took it outside with my lil homemade paint booth, a can of Krylon satin finish paint (color - pebble), and went crazy. Let it dry, sanded a bit more, then shot it again.

When it was dry (thanks to thirsty wood, the Utah sun & 87° temps today, it didn't take long), I peeled off the tape, cleaned the glass with a bit of alcohol & a lint-free rag. I mounted the butterfly to the backing using a few light dots of acid-free glue, popped the backing into the frame, and.....

Ta-daa! My nifty lil $2 shadowbox!

Even Biker Boy, who usually just smiles & nods when I finish something (because he gets sick of having them stuck under his nose) gushed over how pretty it was!
I have two baby bibs that my great-aunt Josephine crocheted for me when I was expecting Oldest Child. They're packed away but deserve to be out in the open. I may have to make frames for them, too!

Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!