Quick and Easy Refashion

I wanted to share with you a small project that took me about 10 minutes to complete. It was right before I was leaving for a grocery shopping trip, and (imagine this) couldn't find anything to wear.

I got this top on one of my thrifting adventures. It had been laying (at the top) of the refashion pile, so I pulled it out and got to work.



I'm really not fond of frilly sleeves. I just don't think they look nice on my arms. I wasn't born with skinny little arms that can be adorned with much. (other than tons and tons of bracelets, but that's further down) I just grabbed my trusty fabric scissors, and carefully cut along the seam, where the frill met the elastic.
I then tried the top on, and felt as if it was too long, so I just trimmed a few inches off the bottom and was ready to go! Simple I know, but just shows how you can easily add something you like to your wardrobe even if you don't like a few things on the original garment!



I had my fav little photographer take this pic, but it was so late at night, we had to sacrifice some light quality...

(also, I finally re-learned how to do a fishtail braid. Soooo easy, and looks so cute!)


xoxo,

Jamie Lee

Decopauge Dresser Debut

I'm so excited to share this with you. I had so much fun working on this dresser. I had started it quite awhile ago, and didn't put any kind of stress on myself to get it done by a deadline. Decoupage is just such a relaxing thing to do. Other than some thought put into the design I was going for with the paper strips, the whole process was sort of meditative.

This is what the dresser had looked like in a former life. Sorry for the quality of this photo, I had to crop it in a lot b/c it was just a photo of Jalaya's room after we had painted it the obnoxious pink color that it is now. This was right when we had moved into our house. I had just taken this dresser that we bought from Value City Furniture. It was just a particle board job, (dresser had lived the first part of it's life with cartoon zoo animals I had painted onto the front of the drawers which matched Jalaya's nursery bedding) so I wasn't much concerned of how much I would deface it. :D This former dresser was just some fabric I had purchased on clearance when our Wal-Mart still carried bolts of fabric, some carpet padding for the foam, and staples. The knobs were just plain wooden ones I had bought at Lowe's and painted with acrylic paint.






I wanted to paint the parts of the knobs you would see with a coordinating blue color, like the dresser. I had tried to spray paint these little buggers, but the paint just wouldn't adhere over the acrylic paint that was already covering the knobs. Even after I sanded them, sp still didn't want to work. So, I gave in and just painted by hand with my overly huge bottle of blue acrylic paint.





The plate is a little correlle ware piece that I use for my paints all the time. Corelle wear is great. I don't have to worry about myself or one of the kids smashing it to pieces.

Yeah, sorry about the hair here, I was workin' hard :)

I wasn't so overly concerned of the texture of the knobs since they would mostly be covered with the buttons anyway, I just wanted them to be even and covered.












You know that fluttery feeling when a plan just comes together? I fell in love with these knobs. The buttons turned out even better than I thought they would.



All I did was fire up the glue gun, place some glue on the top of the wooden/painted knob, and press the button down over top until it stayed. Easy Peezy.

Now, the paper I used is all from Hobby Lobby. I bought most of it all at once, for both this project, and another one that's cooking as we speak. I cut the paper into strips and other shapes that I felt were visually appealing. I used my beloved Mod Podge to spread a layer on the wood, and sometimes if it was a more stubborn piece of paper, on to the paper itself. After I gently flattened the paper with my finger I spread a thin layer of MP over top of the paper, repeating this a few times in between drying. After all the paper was adhered I painted over the drawers and the top of the dresser with about 20 very thin coats of polyurethane. That was the final step in sealing the paper, and making sure that one of the kids don't find a way to peel it all off.

I had painted the body of the dresser before hand, I used a little Valspar paint sample I bought at Lowes, and I still have some left over. That took about 2 coats.





Here are some extra shots of the paper and knobs (attached). Don't you just LOVE these designs. They scream funky tween. They're exactly what my Jalaya and every other 8 year old girl love at the moment.

























I really cannot wait until I have Jalaya's room finished and able to be photographed. Until then, at least I've knocked some stuff of the list! Stay tuned for sure this week, I have a few refashions and finished projects, and possibly a video or two ;)


xoxo,

Jamie Lee

The Case of The Contact Caper and Fair Fun!

Hi Dolls!!

I know, it's been awhile. But let me tell you the deal. About a month ago I came down with a bit of pink eye in my left eye. It then, of course, spread to my right as well. I went to the ER and they gave me drops, which were heavenly but I could not get rid of the dang infection. So I battled back and forth with that...sensitivity to light..computers etc. FINALLY I got rid of it. Until I cuddled up with my Chunka watching Wizards of Waverly Place and fell asleep in my contacts. Woke up I would say, about 4am with the feeling of gravel and glass in my eye. I took the contact out thinking that would make it all better, but the sensation and pain was still there. I did manage to fall back asleep, only to wake up that morning unable to open my eye. That went on for a few hours, then I could finally squint a little, but the pain was agonizing! Not to mention I couldn't open my eye long enough for it to mean anything, or for me to get anything done, and the sensitivity to light was off the charts! The next day I called my beyond awesome love her to death eye doctor (Candace Macri) and she set me an appointment for a few hours from the call. She put numbing drops in the eye,( which was the most fabulous 15-20 minutes that I had in the past few days), so that she would be able to check it out. She confirmed that I had scratched my cornea several times over, and prescribed me antibiotic drops, which she instructed to hit hard and use every few hours. A few days after that it cleared up. But man! That was excruciating! I spent the time after that trying to find my house and my children after being stuck on the couch for days with a wet rag on my face.

So here I am now. I promise beyond all promises that I will  have a week packed with awesome things for you guys.

For now I would like to share our weekend with you. We decided that before the kids went back to school, we would bite the bullet and do some fun things, even though we couldn't afford it, and potentially leaving important things behind to do so. But hey, we never get to go on vacation or really any big trips at all. So we felt as if we had to get out and have some fun before we lost our minds.

Our first big adventure was the Lawrence County Fair. We had a ball!!I I wanted to share a few (a ton) of pictures with you!

Jalaya and Kyli have been begging me to order some feathers on ebay so I could do a bunch in their hair. There was a booth at the fair from the owner of Glotique Sun Spa   so I decided to just let her do it and cut out the middle man! I've been looking for a new place to get some color on the off season and they're awesome!  If you're in the New Castle Pa area definitely give them a look. They offer some really great/different things. I think I may go get my nose pierced. I've been wanting to do that for years. Also, and even more importantly, they have a service called Lumiere Red Light Therapy this is probably the one thing that I would love to do more than anything. You can read about it here.

Jalaya and Kyli stood at the smoking booth forever. Mesmerized. They're both little divas so I think the brown teeth will deter them from nicotine just for beauty purpose.

This ride is from the devil.

Aww, don't I look so happy and unassuming? Like as if I was going to enjoy the devil ride.

Jalaya was ready to make me regret life

Somewhere between the nausea and the shaky hands, this photo was born.
I also took a video, which I'll upload to my youtube account and update once I do.

The kids were in line for this crazy maze thing. Aiden was entertaining everyone with his Michael Jackson dance moves and songs. Right as he was going into his next act his pants fell down. His eyes got huge, he looked down, looked up, pulled them up, and went right back to his performance. I haven't laughed that hard in a loooong time. Priceless, just priceless.

My Baby Boy is growing up. He did all kinds of scare your Mama things, including racing as fast as his legs would carry him over this bridge.


So that's our fair fun. The next one we'll attend will be the Canfield Fair which is even bigger (and more expensive) those pics should be tons-o-fun.

xoxo,

Jamie Lee

Thrifty Goodness and a Little Makeup Haul

You know, I love reading blogs. As a matter of fact, sometime this week I would love to introduce you all to a few of my bloggy friends that I enjoy (stay tuned for that..)! Another thing I adore are posts about the goodies found in our beloved thrift stores. So I want to share all of the things that I love that are frequently shared with me!

My latest Thrifty Trip was not only fun, but I really acquired some cute stuff. Here's a photo of the bulk of it;


The button down on the left is a TJ Maxx goodie, with the tags still attached. I snatched it up so fast I almost made myself dizzy. It wasn't even all that busy in the store, so I don't know who I thought I had to swipe it from :) It's really an awesome top. It's in a large so I know I'll be able to adjust wherever needed, but it still has the roomy comfortable quality that I love. It's just so versatile. My mind's already reeling of all the ways I can wear it. I'll definitely do an OOTD post on this very soon.

Chunka was the one who actually spotted the books. There were 4 in a plastic packet for 99 cents. I never ever ever say no to a request for a book. I had no idea what they actually were. From first glance they looked so awesome, I was excited to google away when we got home.



They're called Doraemon. Wikipedia says it was a Japanese series about a robotic cat (goes perfect with our recent cat theme huh?) named Doraemon.



You read the books from the back to the front, which is so cool! They're in both Japanese and English. I can't wait to display them in Chunka's room. Awesome conversation pieces.



Jalaya and her friend Bri couldn't put them down. (BTW our house has become the haven for sleepovers. I love it! Kids are so inspiring, don't you think?)



I usually wouldn't buy these in the store, because I love to make them myself, but for 50 cents, you can't beat it. Especially since the Cheer Girls are very much into wacky headbands and barrettes for Jalaya's practice. There was also a 3rd one we bought, a blue Hello Kitty, FANTABULOUS!



UGH!! I took the photos after the sun had gone down, and also on a red blanket. Huuuuuge mistake. This dress is such a great print, but it doesn't really show through with the red underneath it. The dress is meant to look dip dyed, it has rich oranges, purples and blacks melting together. The dress is also a super soft cotton, and lined as well. It's another one I'll have to photo on. I also have to refashion it a bit. I'm not fond of the straps, so I'll surely remove them. I'll figure out how I want to tweak the rest very soon. The colors are fall-friendly I think, so I can see myself wearing it with tights, boots, and my rugged leather.



These jeans are another fashion item I can cross off of my list (colored jeans). They're light blue skinnies. I'm not going to rock them in the current color however, I'm going to dye them a darker hue. I haven't decided whether or not I want to cut them into shorts, or leave them to welcome me into cooler temperatures. The latter sounds like a better idea, even though I'm sure you cannot have too many pairs of cut off jeans :D


This crop top isn't for me. It's dancewear for my little chick. For those of you with girls in any sort of dance, you know the apparel gets a little steep. I'm planning on making the bulk of it, since the new addition of my serger to the family, but this top was too good to pass up. The top is Balera brand, raglan sleeve, and off the shoulder. It's much too large for Jalaya, but I'll tweak it so she can get use out of it for the next few years. Our favorite part are the holes at the end of the sleeves for her little thumbs to poke through. Like mother like daughter, she has to have her sleeves readily available to her hands at all times.


These adorable hats are also another find for Jalaya, Aidie got a bunch of bucket hats too, but he ran off with them as soon as we walked in the front door. You can see how cute they are in the photos above.

True to form, I had to make a Wal-Mart run before coming home. While I was there, I made my usual run through the makeup aisle. I wanted to try a lipstick/gloss that was extended wear. I'm thinking that the formulas have to be a little better now then they were before, always drying my lips out. So I got 2. I also grabbed a Hard Candy Skin Perfecting Primer as well.

I decided that to give the lips a try I would buy the 2 brands in more neutral colors for consistent wear. One is Revlon ColorStay Overtime Lipcolor in Bare Maximum. The other is Maybelline Super Stay 24 Color in So Pearly Pink. Maybelline has 2 ends just like the Revlon, one is apparently the primer if you will, the other is the color. Right off the bat I didn't like that the Middle part where the 2 ends connect makes up the bulk of the product. There really isn't much there. The way I go through gloss...wow...this wasn't exactly a thrifty purchase for me. We'll see how it works however. I'll do a full review once I have a few days of use. A video perhaps?

Now it's your turn, any recent thrifty finds? Or, makeup that you just can't live without?

xoxo,

Jamie Lee

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The Accidental OOTD

Today was a pretty good day. Other than the short spurts of rain, the sun shined all day, and we got to go thrifting. As you know, it's ALWAYS a good day when I get to do that :)

I had my own little paparazzi at the bottom of the steps waiting for me to leave today. Well, actually Jalaya was so happy I did my hair she just snapped away. She's my blogger photographer in training.


Here is also where I would like to introduce you to the "arm parties" al la' The Man Repeller
and further explained here.

The kids even like to get in on the action at times.

(I promise my legs don't look orange in person:P--and you think I could've got a 'hey mom, pull your shorts down' before the photo snap?)

Honestly though, I realized there's been something holding me back from posting a lot of my outfits. I haven't bought anything 'new' all summer. And while that's really not an issue at all to me, I'm confidant in myself, comfortable with my style, I don't know why, but it made me feel less relevant in posting. Isn't that all silly? As I thought of this more and more, I came to the conclusion that being able to pull it all off is nothing less than empowering. I should be showing how I do it, what I come up with... so.. that's what I'll do from now on.

Soooo, the next series of OOTD's will be very much purposeful.


And, just on a side note, when money frees up a bit, you will be bombarded with all of my new shoes. That is what I don't mind buying new ;)

xoxo,

Jamie Lee

Fun Treasures

Some of you less cat-friendly people are going to roll your eyes at these next few photos, but bear with me. I promise to be the same way when I finally get a puppy. Even more so :)

I went home for a small overnight trip a few weeks ago. While I was there, I stopped down to my Grandma Billie's old house and picked up a nightstand that had been rolling around in my brain for quite awhile. I also picked up a few of her vintage kitty figurines. I remember she had them all in a bookcase type stand with glass in the front (which is still down there, and burning through my redo file as well). As a little girl I would pull them out of the case and line them up. Grandma Billie loved Cats. I remember pouring through her Cat Fancy magazines all the time. That's probably why I have such an insane knowledge of all things cat related. They were my study guides while staying with Gram.


This Gorgeous Siamese cat is actually a perfume bottle. Avon made these, this particular one contained Moonwind Cologne. This was a great source of fascination for me as a child. Aren't those blue rhinestone eyes fab? I do believe my grandmother had 2 of these, however, they were wrapped in a box in her attic. In 90 degree weather, it wasn't easy on me being up there digging around, so I'll have to go back next time and check.

There are 3 of these little kitties. Have you noticed the trend? Gram had siamese cats for my entire childhood. They were MEAN. Beautiful, but nasty. I have a scar on my wrist still to this day from being bit by one of them. Anyway, the figurines above are another part of the collection she had.

I believe that my Gram made the little pearl necklace on this kitty. They're so precious!

On another note, the nightstand I brought home ended up having a bunch of pictures in the top drawer. They were mostly of my mother when she was a child. They made me squeal with delight!! With all the editing software we have these days to make our photos look just like the ones I was holding in my hand do? Amazing! I have to share these with you.



I cannot express to you how much I adore this photo. This is my mom at 8 years old. Same age my Jalaya is right now.

You know you love the tinsel tree!



Hope you enjoyed those as much as I do!

xoxo,

Jamie Lee

9 Baby Kitties Jumping on the Bed!!....

You've probably been wondering where I am. About to write me off? I know I know, YOU LOVE ME! You would never! The week has been very busy, Al's been out of town a lot, we've had a lot of kids here, and my computer has some sort of virus...that's making me crazy! Have I mentioned how much I want a Macbook??? I think I have. But I digress, I'm finally here to show a little bit of the photo diary of the kitty birth. There are a few other things sprinkled in. So from here on out my blog SHOULD be packed full of posts let me tell you, because I've photographed everything I've done lately, so there's no excuse!

Anyway, back to the kitties. Lola's a completely awesome mother. I'm in love with her so much more now. I've made sure to love her up a lot while she's nursing her babies, she's so skinny again too! If only we could be like that!

Before you start on this journey, beware, It his heavily photo laden! I went a little crazy, and I can't bear for you not to see them all!


The first kitty born

Let me tell you, kitties don't cooperate for photo shoots. They pile on top of one another, they all look in the wrong direction at one time. But I managed to get a few you can make out.

Like I said..I love the shot of their little claws though


Other than the short labor video, I didn't take a whole lot more pics during the actual birth. I was so scared that something would go wrong. I hadn't assisted in a kitty birth since I was a little girl. I did a lot of research in the months preceding it, but still, Lola is a pretty tiny kitten herself. I just wanted her to be ok. So all eyes were on her for the rest of the time.


Lola ended up being the proud mom of 5 little kitties. We named them all as they were born. Which we know we shouldn't do, since we'll find good homes for all of them, but we had to. So, they came out like this; Hank, Bruno, Sophia, Riddick, and Harlee. We had no idea what their sexes were, but we named them anyway.

That, of course is not all. We've added 4 more little kitties to the mix. There are 3 boys and 1 girl. A good friend of mine had a cat that was basically a stray they had taken in. She must have had quite a few litters because she no longer had any nipples! She (my friend) had taken to feeding the kitties from birth with a dropper and formula. Since our cats were pregnant at the same time, we had planned on trying to have my Lola nurse them after she had her kittens. It worked beautifully. Right away Lola made them her babies as well. The new kittens are a few weeks older than ours, so I make sure to separate them from our kittens every few feedings to make sure there are no 'survival of the fittest' scenarios going on.


It's just a regular jumble of kitties! They curl up and sleep with one another in the most adorable (and uncomfortable looking) ways







So there's the story of the Jackson kitties. I'll keep you all updated on how they're growing, I'm excited to see what their personalities will be like. (Update: our kittens have begun to open their eyes!! Sooo Awesome!)

Stay tuned for more crafty/refashion/vintage/thrifty fun!

xoxo,


Jamie Lee