Beauty Shop in a Box

Although this was a birthday gift for one of my nieces, I'm including it in Abbi's Handmade Christmas Roundup. Click through to see handmade gifts by others. And OK, this is more "homemade" than "handmade" but I put it together with my own two hands and that must count for something.


The idea came from Chasing Cheerios; I certainly can't take the credit for it. Instead of using a box, I found a hard-sided suitcase at our awesome thrift shop for fifty cents. I scrubbed it well on the outside, and tried to paint [Niece's name]'s Beauty Shop on it. The paint flaked off. So I scraped it all off and just used a sharpie.

There are two pockets on the top part of the suitcase, and in those are clips, combs, picks (no brushes - especially no round brushes! - as those are more likely to pull hair and/or get stuck), and a couple of small mirrors. There is one comb sitting below the pockets that has a small spray bottle built in - I figured they could either pretend or as their mom to put water in there.

In the main part of the suitcase, I have a set of hot rollers to which the pins are lost - they can use the clippies to hold them in more or less, a hair dryer, a hand mirror, curling irons in two sizes, and a straightening iron.

*** Please note that I cut the cords off the electrical appliances so that little ones wouldn't be tempted to plug them in, they won't get hot, and they also won't be in the way (or a tripping hazard, or heaven forbid, a strangulation hazard!).

I tried to find a crimping iron but didn't have any luck. Sadly I sent mine off to Goodwill several years ago. Regardless, this was a huge hit! My niece's party was in the party room of a pizza shop, and they actually had a little girl come over from the main part to join in the fun. Most everyone has has their hair styled and there have only been a few mishaps. Grandma and Grandpa (nope, he doesn't have much hair but it's been styled, too!) reported that the straightening iron really pulled, so they asked the girls not to use it on their hair.

This would be an awesome gift with Mess Free Play Makeup for sure! [Update - this makeup set has been sold; I'll get another listed later today, I hope. You can leave a comment if you're interested in a set and I'll let you know when I get it done.] Unless you are one of my sisters-in-law, you can see what I'm doing for handmade Christmas presents here. I'm also linking up to Frugal Fridays at Life As Mom.

Daybook - April 16, 2010

Seriously, did anybody get the license number of the speeding truck that was the past two weeks blowing me by? It's been a little crazy around here. You may remember that last week, the washing machine drained on our (carpeted) laundry room floor, which was previously soaked in a Tide jug leak. The dehumidifier is still running, by the way. I stepped between the washer and dryer yesterday and when I stepped back, I saw I'd left a soapy footprint. After I posted, just as I finished hanging two loads of Hubs's work clothes on the line, the clothesline fell down. Could've been a lot worse, it was work clothes and on the concrete patio, anyway.

Things took an exciting turn on last Tuesday, though, when GOOSE FOUND A BAT ON THE GROUND. I'm still pretty freaked out about it. I had stepped inside for just a minute to get my gardening gloves, and when I came out, she said "wook, Mama!" and pointed at it. It was crawling around, and I told her "don't touch don't touch don't touch don't touch" as I grabbed a coffee can from the garage and scooped it up. (I fought down the urge to whack the ever lovin' crap out of it because I knew the head had to be intact for testing. Thanks be to God that it didn't start flying around as I was scooping it!)

I called our regional health department (I used to serve on the board of directors) and they in turn called the state to obtain permission to get it tested. We delivered the bat (in the coffee can that I put in a zip top bag and in the TRUNK of my car) to the local vet along with the required registration number, and then the little guy was sent to Kansas for testing. I'm praying for a negative... I don't think that it had a chance to bite Goose, but I can't be sure and as far as I know there has only been one person to survive getting rabies that didn't get vaccinated, and bat bites can be too small to detect.

Outside my window... It was actually chilly today, but not too windy. The past few days have been quite warm and very windy, and we've had some rain, which makes my farmer a bit cranky to get going on fieldwork.

I am thinking... that I need to work on my time management. I say that a lot, but I'm realizing that I don't accomplish very much on a lot of days.

I am thankful for... not getting rid of my dehumidifier when I was decluttering. (Did I mention that we've had water leak under our basement stairs twice? Yeah, I'm glad we still have that thing to dry us out!)

From the learning rooms... I went crazy trying to find the link to this post at No Time For Flash Cards on a magnetic weather station. As you can guess, I have a LOOOOOT of items in my favorites folders, and though I try to keep them organized, there's just a lot of them. This post got starred in my Google Reader, so it wasn't even where I thought it was!

From the kitchen... tator tot casserole, for one. I have several packages of hamburger to brown and freeze, and I plan to make a half batch (two loaves instead of four) of Sarah's Whole Wheat Oatmeal Sourdough bread. Other than that, I'm feeling pretty uninspired.

I am wearing... a grey shirt and purple pants. I actually have two pair of purple pants, I wonder why that is? It's not exactly one of my favorite colors.

I am creating... a spin on this pom-pom lamp for one of my nieces, and a hybrid of these two fishing games for another niece.

I am pondering... how some people really carry their crosses in silence. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes not so good.

I am reading... the same things as last week. Say Goodnight to Insomnia, upon the recommendation of a handful of fellow insomniacs. I really like it so far! Added to my "To Be Read" pile - All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Making Peace with the Things in Your Life, and Is There Life After Housework? I also picked up a stack of old Nebraska Life magazines in the local library's discarded section, and I can't wait to leaf through those.

I am hoping... to get Goose caught up on sleep. It's always a struggle.

I am hearing... Hubs's computer, not much else. I put Goose to bed super early tonight and Hubs is watching TV.

Around the house... lots of things are waiting for the laundry room to get put back together!

One of my favorite things... blooming tulips and daffodils that survived the wind. Goose and I have picked a few of them.

A few plans for the rest of the week... we'll hopefully go out to dinner for my upcoming birthday (and I pointed out to Hubs that there's an indoor mini golf course not too far from here), Bible study next week (which has been an amazing blessing to me!), and I really have to get my drivers' license renewed. Really. :>)

A picture thought I am sharing... I haven't shared a Treasure Hunting success in a while! (yes, Mom, those are Nappy's feet in the picture. It's better than her laying on the stuff, right?)

I scored some handmade felt Care Bears (Goose hasn't seen them yet, but she's going to be pretty excited! And I'll admit, I didn't know there was a Husker Bear :>)) for about a quarter. I think the Disney Sing Along Songs video was another quarter. The dehydrating cookbook and cake decorating book were both a dime each. Do you see the thick red rick rack? Another quarter, I think, for 6+yards! The metal tray has feet on the bottom that swing out so it'll go over a lap, and I plan to make the above magnetic weather station using it (another quarter).

Finally, I need some suggestions for the fabric! It is kind of a canvas or duck cloth, with a tan/khaki background and orange-ish flowers. I'm almost positive it's vintage! I have just under two yards, and I think it's 44" wide. What should I make? I want to make something that I'll actually use, and the only things I came up with were a jacket (probably too difficult for my skill level) or a bag, and since I just bought my enormous mom purse that I love, I don't really need one of those. Although maybe I could make a couple of reusable shopping bags and replace and/or augment the mishmash ones I currently have. Any suggestions are welcome, though!

Hopefully I'll get a Reading The Whole Internet post up this weekend. I have a lot to share!

Holy Amazon Sales!

These are too super not to share! Amazon.com has some AMAZING deals on board games and Melissa & Doug toys. Those links will take you to a deal blog I enjoy very much, Want Not. The links are affiliate links for her - she works hard getting us fab deals, and deserves the bit that Amazon will send her way from them. No idea how long the prices will last, so grab while the grabbing is good!

Another note - my nieces and nephew are taken care of for gifts for a very long time. So, for my mom and sisters-in-law, here's a picture to enjoy instead of clicking through:

Fun Finds - Presbyterian Rummage Sale

I mentioned a while back that I got some good stuff at the Presbyterian rummage sale. (Why do I bother noting which church sponsors the rummage sales? Dunno.) Anyway, thought I'd show off my finds.

A set of wings for Goose. They need recovering, which is easy enough to do with knee-high panty hose. I don't know how I'll end up painting them (or if - I'm not very artistic that way). On this set, I noticed that that they are joined in the middle by felt that was glued on - that's definitely good information for re-assembly.

A stack of books with corresponding cassette tapes. I have an old but loved radio/tape player that I've been thinking about designating for Goose use (hee!) though I'm not sure she's quite ready for that responsibility. (A note on the radio - I won it at our last-day-of-school festivities in the seventh grade. I can still remember how excited I was to win it!)

A few different books. I've already given her Corduroy and A Rainbow of My Own (by the same author as Corduroy) and she LOVES them both. The Country Bunny book will be saved for Easter, as likely the garden book will be. The back two are tucked away for future possible home schooling.

This is what I suspect she'll be most excited about - a tool set. She's been a good little "fixer" lately and I've cracked up a number of times watching her lay down her little bike on its side and mess around with her little wooden hammer and a pair of plastic pliers. She'll be grease monkeying on tractors before I know it! There is also a little red drill that I think she'll enjoy, and because there was room in the picture, I threw in the sack of magnetic letters and a funky ball that I picked up.

Ah, yes, a picture of the random miscellaneous. Lots of good stuff here! Left to right (mostly) - a glass trinket box in the shape of a shamrock, since Goose was born on St. Patrick's Day, three hair clips - the new ones just aren't strong enough to hold all my hair up, a set of cute greeting cards, a couple pair of old black and white shoelaces, an assortment of old thread, some on funky spools, a little smiley face button pin with shamrocks for the eyes, a seamstress measuring tape, a big red button, some foil hearts, and a few tubes of glitter. (Whew.)

I can't remember now exactly how much this set me back, but I'm thinking it was in the neighborhood of $8. I was quite pleased!

Today's Treasures

I visited our thrift store today, for the first time since before we left on vacation. I'd been hitting it pretty hard right up until we left, looking for things to keep Goose occupied in the car. (Note: I updated with more pics and how things worked for us!) Today I was able to relax and browse a bit since I had a bit of time between working and heading home to pick Goose up for lunch. For $2, this is what I found:

Four games for ten cents each. We already have Scrabble, but I wanted to get an extra one to make necklaces! (You can read about my silhouette pendant making, and Make and Takes has the initial Scrabble tile pendant tutorial that got me thinking about it. Chasing Cheerios also put a new spin on Scrabble tile pendants.)

Sorry is an old favorite, Hurry Up is a new one I'd never seen before (it's kind of a marble maze, I think), and you fellow 80s kiddos may recognize ol' Simon. :>)


Here's the rest of the fun stuff! I picked up a copy of the OLD Cheaper by the Dozen, which my mom read to us a chapter at a time spread over several bedtimes - I can't bring myself to watch the Steve Martin movie. I'm sure it's nice, but it just isn't the same. Ahem. I also picked up a copy of Sewing With Scraps (which may end up as a give-away . . . ) and a coloring book for Goose.

I also found a small toy iron, which I think is similar to one I had as a wee lass (is that right, Mom? Did I have an ironing board, too? I need to dig around your basement . . . just as soon as I have an actual toy room to put it all in!) and a small sieve that she can use if we ever get her a sandbox. I also picked up some floral foam, a small packaged kit to make five cloth-covered buttons, some chenille stems (that I will forever refer to as pipe cleaners), three wooden clothes pegs for organizing ribbon scraps, a package of small wooden beads, a magnifying glass, and a package of wooden rings.

I need to dig around a bit more as I thought I had posted about a game I made for my nieces that used a wooden ring, but I sure can't find it. Maybe that'll be next week's Frugal Friday post - it was cheap and easy! (and hopefully fun!) Anyway. My total was actually only $1.75 but they don't make change so I rounded up. Not too shabby, eh? I've already told Hubs that IT IS ON - we'll be playing some Simon tonight!

Treasure Hunting at the Methodist Rummage Sale

There are at least three churches in town that have semi-annual or annual rummage sales as fundraisers. There is a lot of junk, but sometimes I manage to walk away with some cool stuff! (Which is definitely a finer thing! Go see Amy for more finer things.) Here's what I scored this week:

An old flannel blanket for a quarter that was too cute to pass up. The words on it are "me and my shadow" and the little girl is doing various gymnastic moves and tumbles. Also for a quarter each, I got a bag of electrical outlet covers, and after the stomach bug that Goose had, I wanted to get another waterproof mattress pad. This is just a pad that tucks between the sheet and mattress, but it'll do the job plus can be used on a big bed for potty training and the like.

A set of Close-Up USA maps put out by National Geographic. You can read more about them here though I'm not sure which year mine are. They were $1.
A fun box of random old office supplies for $1. Goose will love the labels as stickers, and Mama loves the pile of little memo pads to tuck in the diaper bag (or an activity bag for the car). I'm not sure how Goose will feel about the labels that you have to lick to get them to stick - every time I lick an envelope, I say "bleah" and now when she sees me do it, she says "bleah" too. :>) The little white box holds typewriter correction papers . . . we do have a typewriter that Goose plays with, but I'm not so sure the keys work very well anymore. I bet we'll find something to do with it! My favorite part of this bag are the little yellow birdie notepapers - you write on the inside, then fold up and seal the back, and address and stamp the front. I'm going to have a hard time deciding who to write!
A bag of wooden beads for $1 (or was it 25 cents? I don't remember . . .) - the bad thing is that I don't think the dye is waterproof, so I fear once they get wet, they'll bleed. They might get put away until Goose is a bit older. I also picked up a bag of what turned out to be bias tape (going to have to figure that stuff out!) and other trims. My favorite - the whole reason I bought the bag, in fact - is the embroidered red trim under the beads above. I'm seeing that on a skirt or something in the near future!

Last but not least, an Easy Bake oven and cookware for $2.75. I never had an actual Easy Bake, so I just pretended to bake, but I couldn't pass this up. I'm thinking I'll put it away for an upcoming birthday - I was thinking next year (Goose will be 3) but I think the instructions say 8 and up? Anybody have or know of a little one (or not-so-little) with one of these?

Since I don't really get to town much for garage sales, I guess I make up for it at the rummage sales. :>) Anybody have a favorite find they'd like to share?

Also (get used to this footer for two weeks, regular readers) please visit my give-away post and sign up for a chance to win a pair of baby leg warmers, taggie blanket, bathtub fishing game, fairy wings, vintage craft books, a CUTE set of storage tins - go see!

Treasure Hunting for The Week

First, I must share a pic of Goose playing outside while I worked in the garden last night. My lawn mower isn't working, so Hubs took it to town yesterday and then brought over his dad's riding mower. He did a great job mowing the lawn (even brought the weed-eater over later) - plus he bagged the clippings and deposited them by the garden so I can use it as mulch. I don't mind mowing too much, but I don't care for stopping to empty the bag. If I put the mulching attachment on, I can just zip through it and the clippings blow out the side. So that was a blessing and it looks great! Here's hoping my mower has an easy fix, though. Oh, that yellow sweater Goose is wearing? It was Hubs's when he was a wee laddie. I smile every time she wears it.

Yesterday while I was in town, I made a quick stop at the dollar store to buy bubbles - Goose hadn't tried them yet and I thought she might enjoy them. I discovered they had some school/art supplies on sale, so I picked them up at $1-$1.50 each. And a few other things. :>) The two little tubs of colored "blocks" are plastic gel or something filled things that you freeze and then put in your drink to keep them cool. I've seen a number bloggers who use them for sorting by color, shape, etc. I think there are two paintboxes, and three to five sets of each of the markers. I should be set for a looong time! (It ended up too windy for bubbles by the time we got to them.)

And then today, I hit our little thrift store. I only had about half an hour of proofreading to do at the newspaper, so I had some time to kill. My MIL doesn't like it if I come back too soon and cut into her time with Goose! :>) I scored a number of great finds for $2.50. Not shown is a woven placemat I got to put on the backseat of the car as a rug of sorts for Goose. I've been letting Goose walk down the deck stairs and into the garage holding my hand. But then she gets the seat dirty climbing in - so this should help. I was thrilled to pick up the box of stationary as my collection is dwindling. I especially love the colors - brown and mustard yellow. I love picking up odds and ends of ribbon - these spools are pink and white.

Of the books, I picked up some random textbooks. They include two Spanish books, one on science, one American history, one speech, and two writing/grammar. The big coup for me was Teaching Montessori in the Home although mine is the 1968 version. :>) I was also excited about the guide to growing vegetables.

I can see Goose and her papa writing each other secret messages after reading Codes & Secret Writing in a few years. I loved Encyclopedia Brown as a kid, and I'm betting Goose will too. (1982 version) We also picked up 100 Pounds of Popcorn (great for entrepreneurship!), and three Scholastic books for when she gets into chapter sort of books.

I also picked up a book for Hubs. It's one I read in middle school that I did NOT like, called A Day No Pigs Would Die. I can't be exactly sure, but I suspect this is at least a large part of the reason that I gradually quit eating meat - it was about that time, wasn't it Mom? Sixth or seventh grade? Parts of it have really stuck with me through the years, and not at all in a good way. I told Hubs once he finishes it, I'm taking it back to the thrift store to re-donate.

Pretty good haul, I think! I'm not sure if they get new (to them) books in very often, or if I just all of a sudden see them after looking over them several times. It's so fun to see what I can find, though.

Portable DVD Player Deal (and Extended Rear Facing Car Seats)

Last Christmas, my dad and Hubs ganged up on me a bit about letting Goose watch DVDs in the car. I really try to limit the amount of TV she watches - in fact, most of the time, I try not to turn it on at all. But, it has to be rough when you're strapped in a car seat (rear-facing, no less) and your arms are too short to reach anything. (That's part of the reason she's still rear-facing - I can still reach her to give her stuff that way.)

Anyway. One of the deal blogs I read is Want Not, and today Mir has posted a deal on a dual-screen portable DVD player at Buy.com. I like the dual screen because I could hang the extra screen for Goose to see, and then I should be able to reach the DVD player part to change DVDs as needed. It's $89.99, free shipping.

Hubs said no. I understand - we don't need it right now (although if we take a car trip to a cousin's wedding in Wyoming and then go on to Yellowstone this summer, we might need it then!) and we'd just as well save our money. But just in case any of you are considering one, this seems to be a good deal! The reviews at Amazon.com are mixed, but I always wonder about people who say it didn't work but don't seem to have attempted to return/exchange it.

Yes, we all survived childhood without watching videos in the car, but we also crawled around and read a book laying on the shelf in the back window and whatnot. And we drove uphill both ways in six feet of snow, even in summer. Ah, memories. :>)

Mother's Day Gifts

There's a bit of a story behind what I got my MIL for mother's day. We had lunch at their house last Sunday. My parents were here and came too (it IS nice living two hours from them! and one mile from Hubs's parents!) and my mom and MIL were talking about a serving piece MIL was using. It is a square glass dish that sits in a lovely silver piece.

I was browsing our local thrift store on Friday and this piece caught my eye. It reminded me of the piece MIL used on Sunday. As I was holding it, I remembered how my MIL's mother used to volunteer at the thrift store, and she brought home TONS of treasures and not-so-treasured items over the years. She passed away right about two years ago - Goose was 2 months old, so it was May. I had to buy it! I'm not sure how much it cost, but this piece and a Nebraska drinking glass put together were 45 cents. (I also picked up another stack of vintage-ish craft books. I'm going to have to participate in more giveaways!)

MIL watches Goose two mornings a week while I proofread the local newspaper (and make stops at the thrift store!), and when I picked Goose up, I had to show it to MIL. And then I took it back so I could take a picture of it to show you guys! :>) MIL has a bowl that fits perfectly in it - I was thinking it might hold an 8 or 9 inch round pan but it's actually about 7 1/2 inches in diameter. Anyway, MIL also remembered that she has a similar platter - the top is opaque glass and it sits in a silver base. These three pieces don't match per se, but they look lovely together and coordinate very well. Providence!

My mom? She got a book "Grandmothers Are Very Special People", also from the thrift shop. I only took a quick glance through it but it appeared to be a compilation of short stories, poems, etc. I tried looking it up on Amazon and Paperback Swap to give you all a link and didn't come up with much. (I'll likely do a post on Paperback Swap one of these days, but if you aren't signed up and would like to be, do let me know and I'll get you referred!)

As for me, if it rains, we might get to see Hubs. Mom and I will likely hang out and maybe make a trip to "the city" to hit Wal-Mart. We'll see. I told Hubs the other day that I'd like to get a pair of tennis shoes that I can use for walking for my birthday present and perhaps some recycling bins for Mother's Day - it'll depend on if they'll fit in the cabinet I have in mind.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there!

This Week's Frugal Finds

While the only businesses in the tiny town where we live are the post office and feed store, the next town over is a bit bigger and has a thrift store. It's small, a bit disorganized (they all are, right?), and there isn't a whole lot of turnover, but it is CHEAP! Most of the books, clothing, and kitchen things I've bought have been ten cents each. That, my friends, is a steal! Here's what I picked up this week:



My favorite items are the Sandra Boynton board book Doggies and the sewing book. I have begun collecting these older how-to books for sewing, embroidery, etc. and have found them to be quite helpful in my fledgling crafting. The rest are workbooks that I didn't go through thoroughly, but at a dime apiece, even if I only get one idea out of each, I think they're worth the money. I'm also working on building up our crafting supplies on the cheap, and the chenille stems are in my favorite autumn colors.

Other recent treasures added to our household are two toddler sized chairs and a little house.



My mom bought the house at Goodwill for $1.50 - it didn't come with anything and at this point, it's OK because Goose is having fun with it as-is. My mother-in-law is an avid auction-goer, and I'll admit that is something I don't have much patience for. What happened to estate sales??? Anyway, I had my eye on these two chairs, and MIL thought she got them $25 for the two, not a terrible price in my mind. But when she went to pay for them, it was $15 for the two. It's tough to find plastic chairs for that price! They need a bit of tightening, something I hope my dad can do.

Have you scored any good finds lately? I'd love to hear about them!