Le Doors and anti-hooligan gates

There are people from over 17 different countries reading my blog! Neato!

"Le doors"

So last post I mentioned that I would post some pics of some projects I/we were working on. The first one was the french doors. We had an office in our house which could potentially be a second bedroom. we have a day bed in there at the moment but without doors it's not very private. So my dad made small french doors that swing both ways that we could put in our doorway. I had to have them made because this particular door way, like our appliances are much smaller than the standard size.
I went to Ikea to pick up fabric to make curtains for them, since they have plexi-glass panels. So i got to the store and they have an entire roll, brand new still in the plastic in stock. I needed the same fabric that I have on my living room curtains. Anyways I am looking at the hanging sample of the fabric I need and as I was calculating how much I need, this lady takes the entire roll and puts it in her cart! Who needs the entire roll?? They were even chatting about making shower curtains while taking the fabric....umm you can't use that material for shower curtains! helloo??!! I had to come back the next week to get my fabric. Now we have a second bedroom so guests can have a private space...until we have kids, then that will become the nursery.









(bragging rights to the first person who can tell me what major thing I changed in my living room. and no its not the pillows. you might need to check other blog entries to figure it out.)

the anti-hooligan gate

The second project was the baby gate. Okay to be honest with you, we haven't completely finished this project. The idea was to make a gate out of shoe racks and hinge it to the door way to prevent Olive from running onto the streets like the hooligan that she is. The gate itself is together but  it hasn't been mounted yet as we have also been using it in other door ways. So for now it is just a blockade. either way I save a tonne of money on a real baby gate. Don't have a hairy kanipshun  now! I know that you are all thinking that I would use this as an actual baby gate but I wont. Relax. it's just for the dog.

I painted the shutters on our house. Did I mention that already? or did I say I was going to? Anyways I did. I painted them. they used to be a light/faded gray. They are now black. I also freshened up the mailbox and the lamp, and added two flower pots to balance out the black shutters since my other window doesn't have any. It really made the house "pop".

before

after

new flower boxes

I've also been busy with a bit of gardening. We expanded our vegetable garden. This year we are growing corn ( way more that we planned, infact it's so much I might debate borrowing the harvester from my parents! Okay that might be a bit too excessive.), cauliflower, kale, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, beets ( but I don't think they will survive) green beans ( Which my husband swears are not green beens, but they are). We are growing some other things too but I can't think of them. Oooh and we have raspberries and blackberries , but they are small plants still so we wont see any this year i don't think.

My "rock" garden

Hens and Chicks

our rose a 1 yr anniversary
gift from my in laws

front garden

our vegetable garden.
 Twice as big as last year!

That's it so far I think. At least until a new project comes along or another price tag enrages me.

genius ideas amongst other things

First item on the agenda:

We bought a dog. This is the part where you  might flip back a couple entries and review the fact that we did this once before and it turned out to be a horrible mistake. And you are probably thinking  "what are you getting your self into this time Jelma!?" And I will respond with a very cool and calm " shhhh...relaaaax,". The problem we had last time was a personality clash. I'm a very chilled and relaxed person. Bently was a horribly wild, loud and obnoxious dog. People should really get dogs that match their personalities. Fritz already said in the first week that we had her that the two of us seem so much alike. and its true.


Let me introduce you to Olive:

Just after a bath

Olive loves to sit by the window
and observe traffic and pedestrians

Olive is a cocker spaniel, if you can't picture a cocker spaniel, then think of Lady, from Lady and the Tramp. She's a little girl dog and acts like a little girl dog. But don't worry she doesn't wear dresses or anything like that. Though she does have a little yellow fabric flower with an orange button attached to her collar. We both fell in love with spaniels at a friends cottage. Family of theirs have a springer spaniel and she was the sweetest dog we had ever met. Immediately we thought we had to have a springer spaniel.  I realize that yes we ended up getting a cocker and not a springer, but Olive still has a very sweet temperament. She is also a very intelligent little pup. On may 28th she will be exactly 4 months old. We bought her at 9 weeks (about 2.5 months). Since that time, she has learned to sit and lay down on command, she knows to keep out of gardens, she's learning stay, (which is difficult for her) she is house trained and rings a bell by the door when she needs to go outside.
I only work part time so having a dog is much easier. on cold or rainy days she stays in her crate, which is feeling more like a safe place for her every day. but on Tuesday's she plays with Kiba at the in-laws. Olive loves playing with Kiba, though I think that Kiba may find her slightly annoying as she hangs off his ears, but that dog has so much patience for her.

eating a broccoli stem

curled up by the couch

Olive loves to eat green beans and sprouts, but don't worry she eats her protein kibbles too. No corn based meals for this dog. Except when she hangs out with Kiba, because then she seems more like a little pig than a puppy as she mows down on his big dog kibbles.
If you ever meet Olive you would love her.



Next item on the agenda:

I have this "i can make that myself" attitude. I don't like paying more for things than what they are worth and that attitude is/has rubbed off onto Fritz. Maybe he had some of it too but I am definitely rubbing off. The other day we were waling though this cheap store and they had a canopy thing. it was aluminum with these fabric panels that could be pulled back to open it. they wanted $300 for it! I don't think so! I would have given them no more than $129. 99! But Fritz and I looked it over, and decided that this wouldn't be so difficult to make. In fact we could make it look better and sturdier.

Off to home depot we went, bought some lumber and hardware. Fritz (with my help, though he claims 100% of the credit) put up the structure. then I went off to Ikea ( because their fabric is cheaper than fabric stores) bought way more fabric than I needed and made three panels that can be hung between the beams.
Ours cost half the price than that crappy one we saw. though we do credit the crappy one for the idea.

the finished trellis/gazebo

corner 

Final item on the agenda:
I'm a genius. No really, I am a smart cookie. We had a little incident with olive in which she slipped out the front door into traffic. No harm was done and everyone is okay, but we learned that our little Olive can be a sneaky little pup. We decided that we need to put up a baby gate to prevent that from happening again. we spent the last week searching for baby gates on Kijiji but couldn't find any nice ones for a good price. There are a lot there, but we specifically want the one that swings open so that we don't have to pop is open everytime.  A brand new one of those costs up to if not over $100. pffft! I'm not paying that!!! so I went into Zellers today to take a look at the gates there. I could not find them but then I had this genius idea. I ended up purchasing a three tier wooden shoe rack for $9.99.  When the shelves and placed side by side they fit perfectly in the door way! the legs will be mounted against the frame and I already own the hinges. all I need is a hook/latch to lock the gate! We haven't started the project just yet, but once it is done, I will let you know if it worked.

I'm also getting tine French doors put into my office/2nd bedroom as well as a new sink and painting the shutters on the front of our house. You will read about all those renos in my next blog when they are complete. Big savings on the sink by the way. Ikea. $149 (ish) and a new faucet for $22.

Seriously though, I'm a genius. A cheap genius!

Have a Seat

When I go shopping/browsing, I always seem to be attracted to the things that are not for sale. For example, when I go to Ikea, I browse through the books on the shelves.
The other day (of course by that I mean several weeks, maybe even months ago) I was doing some groceries at the farmer's market downtown. One of the vendors there was selling all sorts of delicious sweet things ,or so I was told...I never really noticed what he was selling because I was more interested in the tables on which he was serving. They were tall pine tables made out of thick boards, like a picnic table. The legs were this really nice, antiquey tealish -green colour and the table top itself was a natural pine colour lacquered. They were beautiful! The vendor told me that he got them at a place called Mr Used.
Well I couldn't resist, and neither could my husband, we hopped in our car (we drive a little Kia Spectra that we call Special K) and went to check out this "Mr Used" place.  (As a warning I must tell you to bring your warmest coat, a scarf and some mittens. even if you think you can handle the cold).
There is sooo much stuff!

• a life size red power ranger
• many old pianos
• a stuffed lion, baboon, and hyena...like  real ones, not plush!
• old arcade games
• paintings
• tools
• old fair rides
• lamps
• all kinds of trinkets 
• doors
• sinks
• a giant cow
• the tomato from east side marios
• a 15' roman soldier

...

and tonnes more!

it was incredible. there was so much to look at and rummage through! Then when we got home I had this terrible feeling, and incomplete feeling, as if something was forgotten... it then dawned upon me that we never went upstairs!  AAAAAHHHH I needed to know what was up there!
so back we went. Not the same day though because that first floor was pretty overwhelming. I tired not to look at the things around me on my way just so I could get to the upstairs as quickly as I could.

Have you ever watched princess diaries 2? you know the scene where she opens up the closet and it's full of jewellery and shiney things? you know that feeling that she (and me and maybe you)  experienced of awe and wonder?

 I opened the door to the second level  and I was standing before room after room of old refurbish-able furniture. Beautiful antiques, some not so beautiful. Chairs and tables, and armoirs and boudoirs, and chests and all sorts of amazing things! that feeling of overwhelm-ment that I experienced on the lower level, you tripled! I didn't know where to go, where to begin. I could browse for days on end!
I ended up finding a set of really nice wooden folding chairs. They have a coat of grey-teal paint on them that has be peeling away, giving them a beautiful rustic look. I plan to cover them with a sealer so that they keep that same look.

my new chairs, not yet sealed

We took the chairs down to cash to see how much they wanted for them. only $15 per piece. A man waiting by the register said he was willing to pay $25 per piece so I quickly paid the cashier the $15.
The $25 man said " that's a good buy you got there. those ain't Ikea chairs you got" when we got home, we inspected the chairs a little closer to find half of and Ikea sticker on the bottom.  I guess they are Ikea chairs after all Mr! but it was still a good chair, because although Ikea no longer makes this specific chair any more, when they did, they sold them for $70 a piece. Good buy? I think so. Now all I need is a nice wood table to match my set of chairs.

Clean Up In Aisle 3!

Growing up I always knew what items in the grocery store were on sale. I knew this not because of tv or radio commercials, nor did I know form flyers. I new things went on sale because our cellar would look like Bulk Barn. I would always see shelves full of instant coffee or honey, or around Christmas time, Brandy Beans. If stores needed to restock, I'm sure they could have called our home.

 I remember a time I went grocery shopping with my mom. (Grocery shopping was something I would take advantage of. I would beg my mom to take me with her because going to town was exciting for me. Anything to get to some civilization and away form the farm for a bit) Anyways, this particular day, Brandy beans went on sale, and in one or two swoops of her arm, the entire shelf was un-stocked and piled into our grocery cart. I can only guess that doing so was cheaper than buying a box of chocolates and a bottle of brandy. And with the freezing temperatures in our house, the brandy was needed to stay warm. My dad always says to put on another sweater, but I think there is a limit to how many sweaters one can wear and remain mobile. 

ashamed

The point of this short story of mine is that I am turning into

 my mother. Oatmeal Crisp went on sale this week 

and my pantry is full.

PHEW!

(interesting thrift story and fun fact at end)

I got a little bit worried yesterday.  A few weeks ago, I worked up the courage to apply for a vendor booth for the Ancaster arts and craft fair. It took some consideration form my end because as probably not too many people know, I have a fear of judgement. I had the application filled out and the cheque signed. I packed it neatly into the envelope and stuck a stamp on it. I walked it over to the mailbox. I ran home to get into the warmth.
Yesterday ( more than a month after sending off my application), I cheque my finances while paying the bills to find out that my cheque had not been cashed.
Nervously I send an email to the Ancaster Lions Club to raise my concerns over the whereabouts of my money and application.

This heart is filled with
buttons...not anger

As I hit the send button, I decided to browse the website of the fair. I happened to click on a link that lead to a page for the 2011 spring fair . In big bold letters it said:  Sorry we are full. And then something about not accepting anymore vendors. My heart sank...and filled with a bit of anger... but only a little.  all I could think about was showing up that morning with boxes full of merchandise, display set ups  and who knows what all ready to go and no one informed me that I was not going to be part of the show! I think I thought about that too much over those next couple of hours. I right away began thinking of other places to take my things.
However after praying about it, today when I got home form work, I chequed my emails ( I mean checked my emails haha) I found a lovely short email from a lady which simply read "yes you are in the show" What a relief!!

This is my label. see the
SYD in the bird?

A lot of the work is done, but I still have a lot of ideas running through my head. What I have mostly left to work on is display ideas. I have about a month and a half to do everything but the biggist part of the sewing is doen and the moo mini cards are in the mail and should arrive in 2 weeks or so. It seems that everything is falling into place.

Simply Yellouw Designs is about simplicity. I like simplicity. I like simple details. The Yellouw is supposed to be a play on my name. " But your name starts with a J!"   yes it does, but how many people other than my friends realize that the J is in fact pronounced like a Y? Not too many. It's not a silent J either people! if I called it Simply Jellouw Designs then I worry that people would come to my booth expecting to be served a jiggly snack. So I figured what's the harm in making it a Y for pronunciation's sake?

I think the fact that I have my own label makes it feel more real. I don't know if this project will work or if the whole thing is going to flop. But I'm enjoying doing the work, and I am excited about the show. My goal for this is to make back the money that I spent and to have people enjoy my work. If this goes well, then maybe I can start making other things too. we'll see.
Here is a little of what I have been working on. Keep in mind there is way more than these four. Also they all come in sets but no multiples of sets...this
ain't Campbell soup ( Warhol joke...anyone...anyone? Beuller, Beuller?) :

look! My labels!

Value Village Story

So the other day  (I just had a thought that this story is like a when you stay until after the credits of a film to see a little extra....only this is opposite...you see a bunch of words...then some pictures and then another story...if you stay until after the pictures of course) I was working in value village and someone donated a large 4-4.5 foot giraffe. I love giraffes, they are such incredible creatures. I still had an hour left on my shift so I had to wait until then to make the purchase and sweat dripped down my brow as I saw other customers eyeing the item. Anywho shift is over I walk to the giraffe and see a price tag of $40. Ouch (yes hefty price for a thrift item) But this giraffe is fantastic. Hand-carved from on solid chunk of wood. It's the real deal, not mass produced this one. so I pick the item up to inspect it. I phoned Fritz up to okay the purchase with him Only because it was more money than I would usually spend on anything. End of the story is that I have a cool giraffe in my house and I'm not allowed to purchase anything form Value Village for two months.

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fun fact:

 Circa 1990's, it costs $20,000 to purchase a live Giraffe ( now it's probably $25,000). Though it's probably  frowned upon to do so unless you own a preserve or zoo.

"take your passions.....and make it happen" (Flashdance)

( I was going to add this to my previous post...but then I realized after the first paragraph that it needs a post of it's own)

My husband always asks me "what are you passionate about?" and of course I am passionate about my faith and show that by trying to live a Godly life but aside from that I never knew how to answer that question. What am I passionate about? What do I really enjoy doing? This can be very frustrating thing when you just completed 20 years of school and you still don't know how to answer the question first asked by your primary grade teachers "what do you want to be when you grow up?"
I spent 5 years in high school. Not because I failed any courses, I graduated with honours in fact despite the fact that I had people in my life that told me I wouldn't amount to much. But really didn't like English class, as I was and still am a slow reader and could never keep up with the class reading assignments. I was also at a Career plan halt. My original plan was to go through for forensics ( maybe I just watched too much TV)  But the field fascinated me. I had the grades to do it too. But I guess forensics wasn't His plan. I jst finished a grade 11 year in enriched mathematics ( yes..enriched) and finished with an 80 something or other. the next year I was in a U level math...and half way though the year I couldn't apply any of it to tests of assignments. I spent the rest of that year in a basic math class after begging my guidance counselor to let me keep my math credit. Anyways, I spent my fifth and final year of high school studying social sciences and English ( i skipped English in my 4th year cause I needed a break from it)
However one thing remained constant  in high school: art. I wasn't the best, and i still am not, their were many talented people in that class. At the end of high school my art teacher asked if I required a portfolio for University. I said "pfft! I'm just taking art for fun"
Well Mr. Scales, I am a university graduate with an Art major... but the portfolio wasn't necessary so that's okay.
I also took up Education classes to attain a B. Ed. in the primary division. However as soon as I graduated, unlike about 99% of my class, I had zero desire to teach or apply for teaching jobs. But no worries I have a degree in Art! awesome!
I ended up working in a school as an assistant teacher and enjoyed the day while I was there, but dreaded going to work each day. And that doesn't seem right to me. I recently thought that maybe I am being lazy with applying to teaching positions. But twice now I have applied to a position that I was very qualified for, one of which was at the school where I worked for an entire year. I never even got a call back.  And I know that there are people out there with the "beggars can't be choosers" attitude ( which i have at times too) But to me it's important that I enjoy my work. I don't want my job to be a depressing weight on my shoulders. This doesn't mean I wont ever teach. I do use my education to do private tutoring, and I plan on homeschooling once kids come into our lives.

In a previous blog I mentioned how I would sit and watch my mother sew, mend and create. Ever since I made my first stitch, I haven't stopped. I always took out her sewing machine and made things.
My mother got me my very own sewing machine for University Graduation. Best gift ever!!! I don't think that it has gone more than a week without being used. I would always be thinking while at work about the thinks I could create. This also applies to refurbishing furniture. My passion has been with me all the time, right in front of me. I think it took making new curtains and pillows three times for my kitchen and living room in the past year to realize this.
I recently joined the banner making committee in our church, so that I can apply my passion there. I am really excited about this because this means I can share it with more people, and have it be very Christ centred. It's important as Christians I think to use our passions in a way that gives back to God.
  I don't believe that my teaching degree is wasted. God has a plan for us, and at some point, whether it is through homeschooling or another way, that degree will be used. It's never a waste. But I think people need to realize that teachers don't just teach in schools. And they usually have a 2nd degree. Mine just happens to be art.
I have finally discovered my passion. I am passionate about creating, refurbishing, redesigning and being thrifty. I'm a hands-on person. I always have been. It's in my blood.

So now that that is all out there, I have some fun news. Some or maybe only a few, know that I did some contracted graphic design work for the Living Rock. I had my own logo and name,Simply Yellouw Designs. Well SYD is coming back ( hopefully, depending on how things turn out) but not as graphic design ( still available for that too though) but as a home decor creator.
On April 22, SYD will be at the Ancaster Arts and Crafts Show, displaying and selling  one (to four-ish) of a kind accent pillows.
I am really looking forward to this. My goal is to just make back the money I spent on supplies and the booth rental and to have people enjoy my makings.

I think there are reasons why you are passionate about certain things. It's not just about liking or enjoying, but I think that you will be used by God in that way...know what I mean? Or maybe not. Maybe it's just something to keep us looking forward to work being over.

making space without taking space

I bought a two drawer (side by side) dresser the other day from Value village. It's originally an Ikea Product. I had been eyeing this thing for a whole week..okay maybe three days or so. There is nothing really special to it, it's not even of any value. But here is what I did with it:

we need to stain the leg raisers still 

I've always wanted a high bed. they look so much more expensive and feel more expensive. At first I wasn't sure if this thing would fit under the bed. However, when I brought it home, I found out that it actually didn't. Not to fear, we right away began thinking of things around the house to place under the bed on the other end. I originally had one of those big plastic Tupperware things at the foot of my bed. it was the same height so we placed it under the bed and it held...until we sat on the bed. There was a loud crack and then a big thud as the bed came crashing to the floor. It's a good thing I got that tub for free! We ended up making raisers for our bed for each foot....which brings me to a side story:

we were in Home Depot ( that store smells sooo good!) looking for 4X4's to make the raisers. we found them in the lumber section (of course...it's not like they keep them in plumbing...that would be weird), had them cut to the length we needed, and took it to the cash. The price ticket attached to the skid of the 4X4's said $12.39. The cash registers told us $21.99. THERE IS NO WAY THAT I AM PAYING THAT MUCH FOR THIS PIECE!!! turns out that the price attached to the skid was not for the stuff on the skid but rather for the stuff on the skid below it. How stupid is that! any ways, we told them, you can either keep the wood that we just had cut and not be able to sell it for full price, or they could give it to us at the price labeled on the skid....of course we got it for the price we thought it was.

Anyways so yeah we now have a fancy bed with extra hidden storage...or at least storage that doesn't take up space...cause you can obviously see the drawers...they are not that well hidden. Of course it doesn't look as fancy as the real deal you would find in the furniture store, but a higher bed in my opinion looks great homemade or store bought...though store bought would look pretty fancy...but you get my point.


Another addition that we recently made to our humble little home is a tiny bookshelf. Now I know you are thinking "BOOOORING! everyone has a bookshelf" But I made mine out of a discontinued Ikea product I found on Kijiji. I am quite proud of this accomplishment because I normally get Fritz to make the purchases off Kijiji for me. I get too nervous making the phone calls to people who prefer to be called. so I have him do that. But I did it all by my self this time. I even picked it up.... side story:

I picked up this item in Burlington, which is maybe a 15 minute drive away for me. on my way back, because of rush hour, instead of taking the 403 I took Lakeshore road. I think I had a long line up of annoyed drivers behind me, because I was going about 30km/h gawking at the houses along the lake! those places are incredible!!!! WOW!!

Anyways back to the bookshelf. It started out as a discontinued Ikea cd tower. My plan was to slide out some of the shelves so that books can fit on it. But lo and behold, the shelves are all firmly stuck in place. so I had to search on line for the assembly manual for this specific item, to figure out how to unassembled it. any ways after going through all that this is what I got: