Another Picket Fence Post Sign

A couple weeks ago we did a little giveaway here at A Few Miner Adjustments. And whenever I read about a giveaway I always wonder, "Did that person ever get their prize?"

Well, the winner of this giveaway did in fact receive their prize (...the sign's in the mail). No really it's in the mail. This is a special treat though...there is a love story to go along with the quote.

When I read it, my eyes teared up.
My heart melted.
I am a sucker for a good romance.

This is the story behind the quote on the picket post for Kristina...in her words.

"I have been with Heather for four years today (10-23-10).  It has never been easy, nor has it ever been dull. We have had definite ups and downs. But one thing is for certain, love is never wrong.

On October 23, 2010 we had our own ceremony of love. I walked to our beautifully decorated front porch to our song, "I'm Yours" by Tracy Chapman. I have the refrain (as well as Heather) tattooed on me.

{I am yours if you are mine}

I love her and would walk through fire for her...and have done so (metaphorically).

I would not trade a moment of it."

Kristina, I hope that you and Heather enjoy this sign as much as I enjoyed making it for you.

{Trina}

One Sweater...Three Different Projects

{Part 3}

Sometimes a sweater is more than a sweater.  It is warmth for your hands, a head rest after a long day, and something stylish for your boots.  I knew this sweater had to go.  It wasn't for me anymore. So I made a few Miner adjustments to it.

If you are curious about the first 2 projects that I did, you can find them here and here.

So after doing the first projects what is left of this sweater?  Not much...just the arms and neck.

I looked at the neck and said "What the heck can I make out of this?"

A big fat nothin'.  So I tossed it.

The arms are another story though.  A love story, if you will.

At first, I put them on like leg warmers.  Unfortunately, the wrist end of the arm was up by my knee and it was too tight. Ouch!

Picture this. I am walking down the hall at school with a group of students when all of a sudden the circulation in my leg cuts off and I go down like a sack of potatoes.  Not pretty.

So I went in a different direction...literally.

I turned them around and made boot liners.

The stores sell them for high rubber boots and they range in price from about $9.99 - $24.99.

There is no foot in these though, so I will still have to wear socks.

But I my legs have been oh, so toasty this winter.{LOVE}

How did I do it? Here are 3 easy steps.

And there you have it...boot liners!

One sweater that I didn't like turned into three {useful} creations that I love...

Mittens for my hands.

A pillow for my head.

And boot liners for my legs.

What would you make from an old sweater?

{Trina}

One Sweater...Three Different Projects

Project #2

Last week, I told you about this sweater. A perfectly nice sweater, but who wants nice. Nice is a second grade word and I try to teach my third graders to use descriptive words other than nice.  Let's expand our vocabulary, shall we?  How about attractive, charming, lovely, or inviting?

  

And while the sweater was nice, it wasn't attractive, charming, lovely, or even inviting.

So I made a few Miner adjustments. Project #1 was a pair of mittens. They came out just how I imagined.  And they are oh so cozy. One could say they are inviting!

Next, I took the body of the sweater and made...a pillow. 

Just a little accent pillow, but really, truly it is charming and lovely.

Here is a quick tutorial...

And there you have it....a sweater pillow. What do you think?

It is a happy little head rest.

Stay tuned for the last project. Can you even imagine what is left of this once "nice" sweater?

{Trina}

Is it Happy Hour yet?

To my best friend, Tina...

You've been there for me through the great and the not so great.

You've offered honest advice and dodged F-R-O-G-S with me.

You've traveled to shop for wedding dresses
and talked thousands of hours on the phone about nothing at all.

You've been so good to me (and my family)....words could never express my gratefulness.

No matter how many miles separate us, we will always be connected! I wouldn't make any Miner adjustments to our friendship!

I wish for you a new year of adventure and pure loveliness in every one of your days!

I love you forever!

Is it happy hour yet?

{Trina}

One sweater…Three Different Projects

Project #1

There's this sweater. It is light gray, so soft, and it has a cable knit design in it.  All the makings of a cozy winter piece in anyone’s wardrobe. But I don’t like it. Well, I don’t like it on me.  I don’t know…it just isn't cutting it. No pun intended.

Let's make a few Miner adjustments, if you will. Three Miner adjustments to be exact.

Project #1

Today, let's make some mittens.  And just to put it out there, I was so nervous to cut this sweater. But it went well. Thank goodness...I very much dislike wasting anything.

{Step 1}

Make a pattern with newspaper or tissue paper. Trace your hand with a little extra all the way around for the seam allowance. Cut out the pattern (I actually cut outside the line, just to give it a little more space and I am glad that I did)

{Step 2}

Pin the pattern on the sweater right along the bottom edge.

{Step 3}

Be brave and cut out the mitten.  I cut the top and bottom piece together at the same time.  The pattern was pinned to both sides to hold it all together.

{Step 4}

Move the pattern over and repeat steps 1-3 for the other mitten.

{Step 5}

Put the right sides together.  You should be looking at the wrong sides when you sew.

{Step 6}

Sew all the way around both mittens (except the bottom edge). I used a cris-cross stitch to make it sturdier.

{Step 7}

Cut the extra threads off and turn inside out!

Voila....mittens! Even if they only last me a year, I will get a lot of use out of them!

Stay tuned for the next project in this 3 part series!

Happy Cozy Mitten Days!

{Trina}

Project #2 can be found here.

Project #3 can be found here.

Weathered Fence Post Sign Giveaway Winner

I don't cook chicken (ew!), but we do have a winner for our Weathered Picket Fence Sign Giveaway.

Congratulations, Kristina Howland!

I will be in touch through the Facebook Blog page, so we can figure out the details!

Thanks, everyone for your support!

Happy Sunday!

{Trina}

30 Day Spending Freeze....

Did we achieve our goal?

We're done. Finally!

If you are just tuning in, we did a 30 day spending freeze. Here are all the links to the series....

30 Day Spending Freeze

Week 1 - Spending

Will Power According to Frog and Toad

Finding Balance

Week 3 - Spending


I have to say, this time around was much more difficult than the first time we did it in 2010.  There were a couple weeks where we didn't have anything going on, so it was easy to just live without shopping.

However, there was traveling for Matt's marathon (Yay, Matt! You ran your first marathon! I am so proud of you.) So that was extra money spent on gas. And we signed B-Bear up for Boy Scouts.

Although... my super cool dad bought us pizza from our favorite pizza place when we were home.  Is that cheating? Having someone else buy our meal? Who cares...that pizza was so good.  Plus, the kids are older and saying no to bounce houses was well...impossible. 

Anyhow, this is the break down for this week's spending...

Gas for Car #1			$58.48
Gas for Car #2			$54.25
Bread at Freihofer's Outlet			$9.37
Post Office			$20.00
Groceries			$166.49
Bounce House @ Fall Festival			$20.00
	Total Spending for this week		$328.59
	Total spending for the freeze		$1,625.89
	Total Extra Savings		$374.11

We didn't make our goal of saving an extra $500, but we still managed to save more than other months. 

Was this a success?  

I think it was. I'm not going to beat myself up over $125.89

What did I learn this time around?

{1.} Some of the things we thought we needed right then and there, well, we really didn't need.  Frankly, I can't even remember what they were.

{2.}  It feels so darn good to save extra money. Next month we will go back to our normal budget, so this truly was extra money found/ saved. 

{3.} If we do this freeze again, it will not be during a month when we have charities, school obligations, fun fall activities going on.  That made it super difficult to say no and stay on task. Although for the most part we did it. Maybe January, right after Christmas would be easier.

Thanks for following this series.  I hope you enjoyed it and maybe you were successful with a spending freeze of your own.  I'd love to hear about it!

Enjoy your extra savings!

{Trina}

Ever have one of those days....

You know....one of those days when everything is going fantastically.  You couldn't think of a better way to have your day go and then everything goes horrible wrong.

Today is that day.

Scary Roller Coaster Source

Alas, the roller-coaster of life continues!

Try to enjoy the day or have a "mommy needs a drink" drink.

{Trina}

Giveaway...weathered picket fence post sign

I'm trying to put myself out there. 

Going out on a limb. 

The early bird catches the worm. 

Any publicity is good publicity. 

OK...maybe not that last one.  

All I am trying to do right now is get 100 likes on my Facebook blog page.  More would be amazing, but let's start small and work our way up, shall we?

The Giveaway:

When A Few Miner Adjustments hits 100 likes, everyone's name will go into a drawing for a weathered picket fence post sign....just like my Rise and Shine sign.

What that means for you:  

You pick the quote. I will make it and then ship it to you for free.

The fine print:

Immediate family may not be included.  Let's face it peeps, you can have one whenever you want. Love you, though. Thanks for supporting my blog! All names will assigned a number based on the order in which you have liked the page.  A random generator will be used to pick a winner. A name will be picked within 24 hours of the 100th like.  Any other likes above and beyond 100 will also be entered as long as they are within that 24 hours.  That isn't confusing or anything, is it?

It'll be fun! What do you think?

Just scroll down and hit like on my Facebook link in the margin to the right. Or go to https://www.facebook.com/afewmineradjustmentsblogspotcom

Then you won't miss anything! Plus, I love making new friends!

Enjoy the day!

{Trina}

30 Day Spending Freeze - Part 4
Week 3 Check-in

We are 3 weeks into our spending freeze.  One more to go!  I made my list of things that I want or need.

Things that I want...

• a new purse for fall
• a white picture frame for Little Monkey's Room
• some new clothes
• to eat at a restaurant

Things I need...

• a haircut
• sneakers

Making a list puts it into perspective for us.  After our freeze, I won't go out and buy all of those things.  That would make saving this money a wash.  I will probably put some of it on my Christmas wish list.  I will get a haircut though.  I don't know how I show my face in public!

But really the list of things I want or need is not that long.  I really do have everything that is necessary.  And I have noticed that I am spending a lot more quality time with my kids because I am not waiting in the check-out line at Target.  That is an amazing feeling!

Here is our spending for the week...

B's field trip for school			$9.00
Gas for car # 1			$57.77
Gas for car # 2			$51.41
Groceries (for 2 weeks)			$314.28
Cell phones			$23.88
Karate for the kids			$125.00
	Weekly Total:		$581.34
Total spending since 9/16:			$1,297.30

Think we can do it?  I don't think we will need to make any Miner adjustments to our $1500 spending limit.  It's getting close to the total, but I have faith that we won't go over.

Have you made a list of needs and wants? Try it. I promise you will feel better.

Enjoy the day!

{Trina}

Boy's Bedroom Makeover...Closer to Finished

Over the summer (that feels like so long ago...come back to us summer...puh-lease!), I found a $10.00 nightstand and did a cutie to beauty makeover on it. And since my 4 year old requested an anchor on the drawer pull, it seems as though his room is taking on a nautical sailing theme vibe. Maybe throw in a plaid quilt, a canoe paddle, a little art on the wall. Not going overboard, but I'm cool with that vibe. 

I have it all figured out in my head. Now to find the time to get it finished....

Making a Few Miner Adjustments to Monkey's Room List

• Paint the picture rail molding
• Rearrange the furniture
• Frame and hang the art

The art.  I don't think it's really art per say.  It is just a little something I put it together using picmonkey.  That site is so fun!  I think we'll put it in a giant white frame with the white wall behind it, right over the nightstand. 

I hope the 4 year old loves it! Anyone know where I can get a vintage canoe ore for cheap?

{Trina}

Disclosure: I put this together, but did not draw the sailboat. The Sailboat image can be found here.

Firsts...I love Firsts!

{Trina}