Waterproof Drawstring Backpack

We are planning a trip to Disney World (more on that later), and something that I always take when I go is a drawstring backpack. They're lightweight enough to wear all day, and they can hold quite a bit. The only problem is that I haven't found any that are waterproof. I usually end up taking a whole bunch of ziploc bags to keep my camera, phone, etc. safe on water rides, but it can be a bit of hassle having everything stuffed in ziploc bags and then stuffed into a larger bag.

I thought I'd look online for some kind of a wet bag that could be worn as a backpack but didn't find anything that was quite right. So, I decided to make my own!

You know how some people cook a fabulous meal and when asked for the recipe, their response is that they just threw a bunch of stuff together? I not only do that when I cook, but I also do it when I sew. I'm kind of a "cut and paste" kind of girl, and that's probably partially because I just taught myself to sew over time. It doesn't lend itself to very thorough tutorials, so consider this as more of an if-I-can-do-it-you-can-too post.

Here is my sketch of bag measurements that I used while I was planning and constructing.

I bought this napkin at Target almost a year ago and had no idea what I would do with it. It was on clearance for about a dollar, and it was just too cute to pass up. It's 18 inches square, and I thought it would be the perfect size for a backpack. I ripped out the top seam (and tag) and opened the napkin so it could be used as the outer part of the bag.

I ordered some PLU (waterproof fabric) online for the inner lining. PLU can be a little tricky to work with. The fabric side is slippery, the shiny side is sticky, it can't be ironed or put in the dryer, and you aren't supposed to pin it (pin holes allow water in). Since I hadn't used PLU before, I practiced sewing on a small piece before tackling the bag.

A drawstring enclosure isn't very water tight by itself, so I added a zipper at the top of the bag. The bag wouldn't cinch up very well if the zipper was right at the top, so I placed the zipper about five inches below the top of the bag.

Since there isn't any point in waterproofing the bag above the zipper, I just used cotton for the top part.

I added a waterproof interior pocket to the bag for things like cell phones and room keys.

Nylon parachute cord worked well for the drawstrings. You'll need about 60 inches of cord for each side, and you can see in my sketch how I strung the cord through the casing. If you string it through the casing and loop it around each side, you will create "straps" when you pull the string to close the bag. Does that make sense?

I opened about an inch of the side seams at the bottom of the napkin to insert the cord. I sewed over the cord, backtracking several times to secure it well.

I should have tried on my bag before I sewed the cord in; the straps are perfect for Marshall but a little bit long for me. I tied the excess into a bow at the bottom, and I think it's actually kind of cute!

The bag is just the right size for an adult, and I think it will make life much easier if we can just toss things into the bag and go. I can't wait to test it out!

Functional and CUTE!

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Life Lessons and a Ballard Message Board Knock Off

In case you haven't noticed, I have been loving the knock offs lately. Especially the Ballard and Pottery Barn type, because, let's face it... I will never be able to stomach paying what they charge, especially when God has blessed me with a creative mind and the ability to recreate.

You see, I've been learning a very important lesson.

Materialism = unhappiness.

It started when we attended an auction several months ago. A sweet, older lady had to move in with family because she is no longer able to care for herself. They held an auction and sold nearly everything she had. Like me, she appreciated and loved pretty things and had acquired quite a lot over her lifetime. There were a lot of antiques and collectible items as well as some really beautiful paintings and furniture. As is typical of an estate sale, most of the items were auctioned off for much less than they are worth. I felt so sorry for this lady as she watched people paying a dollar here or there for these things that had been so special to her. It made me wonder what my end-of-life estate sale would look like.

In addition to that experience, we have broken an astonishing number of things over the past couple of months (including cracking the windshield on our car just as we were getting ready to sell it). I'm ashamed to admit it, but my first thought is usually, "How much did we spend on that? Can it be easily replaced?" Most of the time, the answer is "No." And then I struggle with my attitude when I realize that money was wasted.

My conclusion?

If I am going to buy something, it has to (a) serve a legitimate purpose and (b) only cost as much as absolutely necessary. If I spend too much money on something, it becomes too special. Too precious. And then I want to protect it, because I spent all that money on it. So rather than owning material, material owns me.

Materialism = unhappiness.

If a dish I bought at Goodwill gets broken or a shirt I bought for a couple dollars on clearance gets stained or shrinks, no big loss. It can be easily and inexpensively replaced.

So there you have it. I realize this is kind of a deep preface to a message board tutorial, but this subject has been really weighing on me. Would I have spent $219 on a message board at Ballard Designs? Never. I would be tormented if it ever got a snag or stain. But I can handle covering a $2 bulletin board I found at the thrift store. If anything happens to it, I certainly won't be broken-hearted.

My inspiration:

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We've always just had one computer desk, but now that Marshall is studying and preparing sermons at home, we needed to have separate work spaces. We have our desks at opposite corners of the office, and Marshall really needed to have a message board near his desk for all of the church related mail and documents that come his way. I thought this would be the perfect look- not boring but not too "pretty."

As I mentioned earlier, we found a large bulletin board for $2 at a thrift store.

All it needed was some burlap and upholstery nails to finish the look.

I laid the burlap over the board, attached it around the edges with the nails, and hot glued the extra fabric to the back. So easy.

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The $7 Ottoman

Marshall and I were rummaging around in a thrift store a couple weeks ago (typical), and we came across the world's ugliest ottoman.

The ottoman had good bones, and since it was only $7, we decided to bring it home and recover it.

It was a pain.

But it's done now, and we love having it in our living room!

That fabric may look familiar...

I guess you could say I really liked it. Perhaps I got a little carried away.

See? More proof that thrifting is worth the time!

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Miss Mustard Seed

Goodwill Gallery Wall

Have I ever told you that Marshall and I are both musically inclined? I don't think the subject has ever come up. Marshall plays the guitar and mandolin, and I play the flute, mallet instruments (marimba, xylophone, etc.), soprano and sopranino recorders (not the plastic kind), and we both play the piano and sing. Needless to say, when we come across anything remotely music related, it perks our interest.

I was at a garage sale this past summer, and I came across some beautiful, vintage sheet music. It was only 10 cents apiece. I thought I had died and gone to Heaven! There were a lot of classics and show tunes, and I snatched up a whole bunch, not quite sure what I'd do with it.

We also recently acquired a piano (thanks, Aunt Susie!), and I thought that a little vintage sheet music gallery wall would look really cool above it.

The only problem?

I couldn't find any frames to fit the music for less than $20 per frame.

So, what do you do when you can't find new? Go to Goodwill!

We have been searching Goodwills all over for quite a while for three matching frames that would work with the sheet music. We could find two but never three.

The answer to my dilemma? I bought three completely different frames...

 ...and spray painted them the same color!

I made my own mattes using gray and white striped paper.

I put up some love songs for Valentine's Day. After that, I'll probably replace them with classics.

Of course, the best part is how much money I saved. It just so happened that Goodwill had their frames 50% off when I bought these, so I bought all three frames for less than $5!

I'd say it was worth it.

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A Burn Pile Rescue

We were visiting some friends a while back, and as we walked up to their front door, we noticed a vintage looking desk sitting outside.  It was pretty beat up and in need of some work, but it had such a pretty shape. I asked my friend if she had big plans to fix it up, and she said, "Oh, that's going in the burn pile.  It's a rickety old desk, and we don't have any use for it."  So of course, we said, "We'll take it!"  And I'm so glad we did!

That conversation happened long before we ever knew that we'd be moving, so we took the desk and kept it at Marshall's parents' store.  Now that Marshall is a pastor and is studying and preparing sermons at home, we each need our own desk and office space.  Our first post-Christmas project was to get the office set up.

We brought the desk home, and it was in need of some serious repair.  Thankfully, it came with all of the original drawer pulls (and they are beautiful!).

One of the decorative pieces was missing from the inside left corner, so Marshall had to cut a matching piece with his jigsaw.

Marshall did a lot of nailing and gluing, and then the desk was ready for priming.  I used our usual Zinsser-covers-anything-without-sanding stuff.  It works wonders.

 I had decided on a bluish minty color for the desk, and then we found a gallon of paint for $5 at Habitat for Humanity ReStore that was pretty close.  That's right.  A gallon of paint for $5.  I still haven't gotten over it.  It had a little more green in it than I originally wanted, but I love how it turned out.

I put my old door behind the desk.  My Goodwill bulletin board find is perfect for the space!

Here's a reminder of how the desk started out:

Plaid Pillow Cover Knock-Offs

Plaid has been very trendy this Christmas season, and I hope it lasts!  There is something cozy about it, especially on pillows.  Pottery Barn, L.L. Bean, Land of Nod, and Eddie Bauer all agree, and they usually know what they're talking about.

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Land of Nod's pillows have been discontinued, but you can purchase the other covers starting at $19.95, OR you can make them yourself for much, much less.

Step 1: Go to Goodwill and buy a bunch of flannel plaid shirts (men's XL work best) for about $3 each.  While you're there, grab some pillows for about $1 each.  They can be a little lumpy, but pick pillows that don't smell like smoke (or anything else).

Step 2: Wash the shirts, and remove their buttons and pockets.  Save the buttons for other projects.

Step 3:  Make pillow covers.  I used the envelope style for all of mine and utilized the finished edges of the shirts.  The edge that I removed the buttons from is the outer envelope edge, and I didn't bother hemming the inside envelope edge.

I was able to buy five pillows and make five slipcovers for less than what it would have cost to buy one slipcover from the store!

Kitchen Reveal

UPDATE: Click here to see how our painted cabinets have held up over the past year!

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  We don't eat out often, so a big portion of my day goes toward preparing meals, making them, and cleaning up after them.  I'm certainly not complaining; I love cooking and baking.  It's just important to me that the room where I spend the majority of my time should be a place I enjoy being in.

When we found out that we'd be moving into the parsonage, we immediately asked if we could paint the kitchen cabinets.  One of the men in charge of the grounds stopped in to see what the cabinets looked like, and when he called us back, he said, "You know, I think if you painted them white, it would really brighten things up in there."

My thoughts exactly.  What do you think?

The wall color is Encompass by True Value.  We primed the cabinets with Zinsser 1-2-3 Cover Stain (AMAZING stuff- no sanding necessary!) and then painted them with ProClassic Waterborne Interior Acrylic Enamel (a water based paint with the durability of oil based!) by Sherwin Williams.

There is a piece of vinyl attached to the wall behind the stove.  It was missing a chunk and had been painted over (in a non-matching color), so we painted over the whole thing.  Covering it was no problem for the Zinsser primer!

The knobs and pulls came from Amazon and ended up only being about $1 each (a little more for the pulls).

There was a door between the kitchen and the back porch, but we took it down so that we can use the porch as an extension of the kitchen.  Our rather large refrigerator is back there as well as the kitchen counter we built for our old kitchen.  We had the counter resting on a dresser and cabinet in our old kitchen, but Marshall built a permanent base for it.  I love it!

Before:

We still have our little coffee and tea station, and we kept the crates for dry food storage.

Eventually, I plan to paint the kitchen baseboards white to match the trim on the porch and around the doorway (it was already white).  I can live with how it is for now while we finish the rest of the house.

One more look: