Wednesday, September 27, 2006

The Great Frugal Fall Fix Up Part 1

The temperature dropped below 85 and the Fall Fix Up Bug bit us. We have been patching, painting, sewing, mulching and planting. The most satisfying project by far for me is my "This Old Couch" fix up. As you can tell in the before picture it was seriously in need of a make over. Our dearly departed dog, Toby, did a number on the cushions. It was dirty, torn and just all around objectionable. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/Scatrodee/before.jpg I knew I couldn't afford a new sofa, and if I messed it up really bad I would just have to invest in slipcovers. So, with nothing much to lose, my daughter Laura and I set out to make it over. We found the matching material for a total of $20. Laura used her imprssive sewing skills and made new covers for the cushions. I set about recovering the arms and washing and restuffing the back pillows. Now you don't sink into the back of the sofa, it actually supports you. The pictures don't do it justice. I am so happy how it turned out, especially considering the fact that neither of us had never tried to recover anything before. I remember now why I picked it in the first place. I love the colors. click to enlarge So I have a "new" sofa for around $35 total plus labor. I'm happy and Randy is VERY happy! LOL. Hopefully it will last at least another 10 or more years. Truly a frugal makeover.

Sunday, September 03, 2006

I love my camera...

click to enlarge

because I can take great pictures of bugs and stuff. I took this while Tyler and I were at Ijams. We love to go there for field trips. I took some great pictures of frogs in the bog there.

I would really like to learn to take portraits. I really like black and white photography. The problem is lighting. I don't want to invest in lights right now. Amanda, Jesse's gf, is a photographer. I am going to have to pick her brain for info.