Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, I Present My Case

This is where it all started....six months ago my dishwasher pooped out. No biggy...haven't missed it really. But there it is, like a big white dead dinosaur, hogging up space. My husband offered to buy a new one....I said no, I'll just wait for my kitchen remodel. Wink wink.

Then there was this. Do you see that naughty outlet? It manages to electrify the toaster....but not my mixer. Annoying. SO......................

This is what I have to do to use the mixer. Run an extension cord across the floor to a different outlet. Annoying.
Again, I'll just wait to have my kitchen remodel and then get it fixed. Wink wink.

(Oh, and if you're curious THESE are the cookies I was making. They make your ENTIRE house smell delightful!!)

Then this....."EVERY DAMN THING HAS TO HAPPEN WHEN YOU'RE IN A DAMN HURRY." Do you know the movie? Love that one.

Anyway, this week my garbage disposer decided to take the short trip to disposer heaven.

Again, it can wait until my kitchen remodel. Wink wink.

Do you see that BEAUTIFUL faux wood paneling? I am offering that for sale to the highest bidder. Okaaaaay......GO.

What? No bidders?


Can you guess where this is in my kitchen?

The ceiling. The whole blessed thing.


Can you guess where this frosting finish is?

On the kitchen walls.
Every wall that isn't encased in faux wood paneling.
And can you guess how much dirt, dust and ick gets stuck to frosting finish on kitchen walls?
It will wait until my kitchen remodel. Wink wink.




Here it is folks, the whole beautiful set up. Envious, aren't you? Isn't it fab? My friend lives in my house's twin house a few blocks over (at least it has TONS of the same detailing)...she still has her ORIGINAL kitchen. It's gorgeous...original cabinets, hard wood floor, plastered walls. I'm all about forward progress....but WHY OH WHY did that "progress" have to happen in my nearly hundred year old kitchen? Why? tears sliding down my cheeks




So here's the deal. I need your help. My husband needs to be convinced that I should just be able to tear into this puppy. I can do it. I know I can do it.....with the help of a plumber...and an electrician....and maybe someone who knows something about floors....and ceilings (did I mention in addition to that fancy finish, the ceiling was also dropped two feet).....with the help of all those other people I can do this!!! It's time for the kitchen remodel.




I rest my case.

Pardon Me While We Step Outside

I feel like one of those rodeo bulls in the pen before they open the gate. Can we just make up a new "frost free" date for eastern Iowa right now. Let's change it to.....yesterday. My tomatoes feel the same way. Bring on the growing season! :-)

What's Your Sign?

A dear friend recently (okay not that recently...I'm just really slow) asked me to create a very special gift for her son's graduation. I was flattered to be asked and obsessed over the details...it had to be just right. I'm so pleased with the result....which I'll reveal after I'm sure the graduate has opened his gifts! Here's a sneak peak in the meantime!!

I could paint signs till the cows come home. On to the next creation.....

The View From Here Today

The sun was so sunny today! Does that make sense? So bright the greens were so green and the blues were so blue. Beautiful. I'm seriously LOVING the flag hanging from our porch now. It was definitely worth the $1 investment . I take it out in the morning, take it down in the evening. It's nice to have porch duty again.....we missed you summer.

We Have a Winner!!

The baskets are on their way to their new home!!!

Thanks for the response to my FIRST EVER giveaway..it was fun!

I wish there were baskets to send to everyone!!

And the winner is.............Kimberly at the Cupcake Cuppy!!

(check out her blog...super cute ideas!!!)

Enjoy your new baskets Kim!!

Free Organization!

This is the beginning. The beginning of a little boy room remodel. My boys have informed me they would like their room to look different...more "big boy". I've had this free free cheap cheap project rolling around in my brain ever since, because let's face it....boys need organization!

We started with this. Target diaper boxes (which we are finally almost done with...YAY!!) I used cloth diapers with both my boys...until my youngest decided to get ENORMOUS before he was potty trained...and I couldn't justify buying the whole next size in cloth for just a few months. We have also been organizing closets and getting rid of t-shirts that are GINORMOUS (do you remember the '90's?) They came in VERY handy for this project!!!

First I taped the box flaps down inside the box.


Cut the t-shirt into pieces to cover the box.



Sew it all together, stretch it over the box, add a felt star and VOILA! Super cute, FREEEEEEEE organization! I have three more boxes to cover and add to their "big boy" room! These boxes are really sturdy and could be covered in ANY fabric to match any decor! Go crazy! :-)

I also snatched up a FREEEE set of lockers on Craigslist....
I'm seeing a theme developing here. ;-)
I'll show updates as they happen!

Oh! And don't forget to enter my basket giveaway HERE!!!!

Linking up to:
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Made it Monday at Persimmon Perch

Just Something I Whipped up at The Girl Creative

Making the World Cuter Monday

A Friday GIVEAWAY!!!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED. THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!!

Pretty pretty baskets, where will your new home be??

Are these not the cutest baskets you've ever seen? I'm so excited to be hosting my first giveaway EVER!! This giveaway is in collaboration with CSN Stores, where you can get EVERYTHING for your home....from corner tv stands to gorgeous bakeware!

To enter for a chance to win these SUPER CUTE baskets, here's the rules!

1) Post a comment telling me how you would use your new baskets! (along with an email address or some form of contact in the event that you are chosen) on this post.

2) For a second entry become a follower of Notes From the Heartland...

in the right sidebar over there==>

or tell me you already are!

(Just leave another comment letting me know!)

The contest is open to readers with US or Canadian addresses only and ends on

Tuesday, April 27th at 5pm.

A winner will be chosen randomly.

Thanks and good luck!

The Little Birdies Have Landed

Welcome home little birdies! Do you remember a few days ago I mentioned I was super lucky enough to win these little guys from Michael's giveaway over at Inspired by Charm?

Today was the big day of their arrival!! And let me tell you, they arrived IN.STYLE. I totally should have taken a photo of the box and packaging...it was so pretty! If I hadn't torn into it like a wild dog at the meat market I could have shown you. Beautiful handwritten label, note, GORGEOUS baker's twine wrapping the birds into their pink tissue blankets.

I think the birdies like their new home.

And as if I wasn't feeling like the luckiest girl on earth already.....Michael was kind enough to include this box of Goblin Chocolates as a little extra.

Combine two little boys, a surprise box of THE.MOST.DELICIOUS.CHOCOLATE.EVER, and a mommy trying to take photos of said chocolate.....not a pretty scene people. They were VERY happy when the chocolates' photo shoot was over and they could dive in. Thanks Michael!!



The boys were so sweet with our new porch friends.....our oldest told our youngest to "be very careful with the birdies. Mommy loves them and she would be sad if they broke." He's so kind.




Aren't they just the cutest thing ever?

Welcome Summer!!

Monogram Window Tutorial

Please ignore the GIANT reflection in this photo...it was just that time of day.

I've had some REALLY nice comments about the monogrammed window on my springtime mantel. SO....I thought I'd share a quick little tutorial! This is a really quick, really easy project for big impact. I like that....easy and big. ;-)

First find a design you really love...it can be ANYTHING. I use Microsoft Publisher to do everything, so I copied the image I found into Publisher, sized it to my window, inversed the image (this is important), then printed it out. Here's a little tip....you don't need to print it out in black, just do it in light gray. SAVES INK!!! Did you know printer ink is the single most expensive fluid on earth? My husband told me that, so I'll just take it as fact.

When you have your pages lined up, tape them all together and trim the whole show to fit inside your window frame.

Find a really dirty, really old FREE window.




The dirtier the better.
Be sure to clean clean clean your dirty dirty window.
Windex the heck out of this puppy.



This is the only part that might be confusing. When your window is nice and clean tape the image onto the side of window that you want to see as your final result. My window was stained wood on the good side, painted wood on the other. I wanted the stained side to show, so I taped my image to that side, so that I could see the inversed image through the window.

When your image is placed the way you want it, paint away! I used Folk Art acrylic craft paint in a nice turquoise color. Don't get too caught up in making everything perfect. Focus on nice brush strokes and clean lines.

It's best to paint on the back side of the window because the finished result is a nice smooth image through the glass. You can paint on the front of the glass if you prefer, but I like the smooth look behind the glass.




Paint over your image a few times to get a nice opaque coverage.
Remove the paper from the window. Flip over your window.

There you have it, a pretty (easy) monogrammed window!


Linking to:
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality

It's So Very Creative at It's So Very Cheri

Trash to Treasure Tuesday at Reinvented

Wiggle Tree Mystery SOLVED!

Once upon a time (last summer), a tall wiggly twig grew and grew....straight up from our backdoor flower bed. Usually these poor little saplings get trimmed right off....but this one was different. It made us laugh because it would quiver in the wind. If you were 100 times taller than you were around you would quiver in the wind too. ;-) Thus, the puny little tree was named the wiggle tree....and we watched and watched as it got taller and taller all summer. Then came winter. We forgot about the wiggle tree.

This spring the wiggle tree was back in all its glory, sprouting leaves to and fro. In fact, so many leaves, I took a photo to blog about....and ask for help identifying our wiggle tree.

But then....a miracle.....our scrawny, pathetic little wiggle tree......became a butterfly.

Otherwise known as a beautiful, flowering, blooming crab apple tree.

I would now like to invite whatever bird whom pooped this beautiful tree into my flower bed to return often. Poop away dear bird, poop away.

VEISHEA 2010

Good VEISHEA morning to you all.

We are off to the land of Cy to celebrate our alma mater!!!! Go CYCLONES!!

And we'll eat lots of these too. ;-) It's tradition....and you just don't mess with tradition.

Can it Be?

Hello Little Lovelies. Do you remember how I went on....and on.....and on about how I NEVER win anything and oh whoa is me and everyone should feel SOO bad for me?

Cancel that order.

I think my luck is changing! Over the weekend I was delighted to learn that I won the Inspired by Charm giveaway for these beautiful little birdies. And promptly insisted my husband get ALL THE PORCH FURNITURE OUT RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!! The birdies are flying our way and we needed to be ready for their arrival to sit on our porch!!

Please chirp on over to Michael's blog...Inspired by Charm! Be prepared to drool a little though...he makes the MOST.AMAZING.YUMMIES.EVER.

An Auctioning We Will Go.....

Have you ever been to an auction? They are wonderful....just wonderful. Until I think about the person who owned all these things.....then it makes me a little sad to think their life's collection is being scattered to the wind. But then.....each person who bids on a particular item REALLY wants that item...so maybe it's for the best. Wow, this post got heavy quick, huh?

Let's get back to the wonderful part. People own really interesting stuff....and auctions are the place to get the very best deals possible. I can say I've been going to auctions for nearly 30 years....and no, I'm not ancient (unless 34 counts as ancient these days...okay, maybe I'm ancient). My dad has been taking me for years (and teaching me the nuances)....and then there was the auction I attended, at the age of 7 or 8, a block from my house, with my little best friend.....and wanted to bid. Who knew, they won't give a 7 year old a bidding number (I asked). I had a dollar....and the item I wanted to bid on didn't even get sold...I would have given them my dollar. Their loss.

Since then I've learned a lot about auctions....how it all works, what to listen for...etc. It's great fun.

The auction Dad and I attended this weekend was very fruitful. A box full of chunky candlesticks and candles....all for a buck!

Snack trays....I can never resist these little pretties....and they are going to have a fun purpose....you'll have to keep an eye over there on the right at the Mill Creek Cafe blog....elegant little girls' tea parties are on the horizon. :-) AND, a nice little gal came up to me after I bid on these ($1 per box) and asked if I'd like SEVEN MORE SETS!!!! FREE.

This box of zippers immediately caught my eye....zippers aren't cheap people! And all those cute little bags I have rattling around in my head could benefit from zippers. There are dozens here....and some really cute vintage trim....crocheted pillow case trim...WOO HOO!! A buckaroo folks....that's it.





Oh and I couldn't resist these GORGIE GORGEOUS ball jars. These aren't the quart size....these are the whopper big size. One with a zinc lid, one with the glass lid and wire closure. These are great to organize with....like we did here.



Since we've lived in our home we've never had a flag. This does not reflect on our level of patriotism...please don't send hate mail. ;-) This beautiful flag was left at the END of the auction...the auctioneer was pooped, the crowd had dwindled and he threw out the offer.....IS THERE ANYTHING ON THIS TABLE THAT ANYONE WANTS.....A BUCK FOR ANYTHING. The flag (and pole...and mounting hardware) were rolled into a box...with a string around the box. This is my little auction tip to you...be snoopy. Open boxes, look inside things, etc. I think I was the only one who knew what the box held. I immediately threw my number in the air and said I WANT THAT ONE. This gorgeous flag, with stitched stripes (not just printed) that is as tall as my mom, holding the flag in the photo, came home with me for a steep price of.......$1.

Tis the season of thrifting....
Attend an auction soon....you won't be disappointed!!



Linking to:
Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous

Hanging on the Line

Sunshine + Wind = The most wonderful sheets you've ever slept on.

YAY SPRING!

The Coupon House

When the weather looks like this......

And a pile of this spills out of the cupboard first thing in the morning.....

It's time for a fun project!!

Clipping coupons is all the rage again....because let's face it....everyone needs 25 cents off a bottle of salad dressing. It's the prudent thing to do. AND, I have the most awesome mom who clips coupons FOR ME. She knows exactly what we use, clips the coupons, sends them to me in the mail. Is that not awesome?

Projects using up stuff I already have in my craft room are even better....because my husband thinks he's going to drown in fabric samples...they're just all so pretty, I can't turn them down! Obviously, my coupons need a new home as well...so....here we go!

On a side note....have you ever shopped for craft supplies at the hardware store? I know you have, because you're all SO crafty and thrifty. :-) True Value is my F.A.V.O.R.I.T.E. hardware store....oh and I love Ace too....but at True Value they have those fun little bins of hardware that you can poke through and buy one of this and one of that. I know, I'm a weirdo. Well anyway, they have really pretty d-rings and other things that look GREAT on bags!

Oh, and at True Value approximately 73 people will ask if they can help you find something...awesome. I think they giggle at girls in the hardware aisle digging through the goods though. ;-)








So, on to the project. I wanted my coupon house to have a square bottom....this took math. I don't advise math and crafting at the same time. I stared at this piece of fabric for a while....and then had to cut a little more.







Sew it all together and the coupon house was born.
And that cute little D ring was only 30 cents in case you were wondering. Love it.

Sorry, no tutorial here....seriously I just keep sewing until it looks right....
while trying to avoid the math.






The first coupon found it's way inside the house pretty quickly! I used chipboard (from the back of paper packs) as dividers.






The coupon house and I then wandered around the house looking for a spec of decent light to take a photo. There's not much light to be had when you're living in Forks, WA for the day. (That's for all you Twilight girls ;-)....speaking of...I think it's a good day to start reading from the beginning again. ;-) I digress......








Oh, and by the way I had a little corrugated plastic scrap in my felt food supplies...perfect to hold the bottom straight and rigid.

Meet all your new friends Miss Coupon House! :-)

Linking up to:

Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design

Penny Pinching Party at The Thrifty Home

Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple

Get Your Craft on Thursday at Life as Lori

Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage

Favorite Things Friday at A Few of My Favorite Things