Orange-Lemon-Black tea

 

I made this tea for my “Sew Sweet” party and it was a big hit! So was the sewing party (or as my mom said, my “mending” party. However, '”Mending Sweet” just doesn’t sounds as good!

Now my tea doesn’t look as pretty as theirs…more like their picture but with mud mixed in. Not sure how they got theirs to look so good with black tea in it! Oh well, tastes good!

• 14 cups of water
• 6 individual black tea bags
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup thawed frozen orange juice concentrate
• 3/4 cup thawed frozen lemonade concentrate
• Fresh mint leaves and lemon or lime slices, optional

1. In a large saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat; add tea bags. Cover and steep fro 3-5 minutes. Discard tea bags
2. Stir in the sugar, concentrates and remaining water. Refrigerate until chilled. Garnish with mint and lemon.

$ Baskets or Free Boxes?

 

I see all these cute post where they use baskets and turn a closet of terror into a a true beauty. And organized system but yet one where you can still toss things in when you are in a jam. The baskets just make it look awesome!

The problem is many of those basket easily run $10 each. Now I’m not sure about many things in life, but I do know that if I looked in my closet and saw $80 worth of baskets, that would far out way the organization! So…what I needed to do was fake it!

I have a great linen closet, actually it is the only closet I have that isn’t in a room. I don’t have a coat closet but we make due. I found some boxes a while back and after covering them I tried this cute idea with the clothes pins. I thought it would be great cuz I could move the signs if I ever changed my mind or wanted them somewhere else.

Great idea, not constructed for my house. Within an hour 1 clothes pin was in half and the sign was lost. This one above held up but I knew it’s death was eminent!

So I needed a new idea. While searching for donation boxes, (Did you know that they have cardboard dumpsters? Just boxes! Fabulous) I found some boxes that were the perfect size for my closet so I figured I’d try again!

I forgot a key is to use very little glue or modge podge as I was doing here. So my paper wrinkled. Live and learn. I’ll fix it later…maybe when I don’t have 3 kids under the age of four!

 

I used these brackets to fasten the 3x5 cards I printed onto cardstock.

I was happy with the outcome!

For these I just folded the top part of the box inside. Seems to work just fine but I suppose you could cut it off. I was just worried about rough edges.

I still have some tweaking to do but thought I would post this and then get out of my PJ first! LOL!

Round up

Well, after all my whining eBay seems to have picked up this week. Christmas rush maybe. I sold an odd assortment of things, but by far not the oddest.

 

My mom found this Bat mobile new in a rental they have:

Batmobile: sold for $6.55 with $8 shipping.

It was crazy. They buyer selected free pickup, which I didn’t know I had on there, and couldn’t change the payment so it took sending another invoice and clearing up the whole mess to get my $8 in shipping. So glad I did though! Shipping cost me $7.98!

 

I was thrilled to find a chico travelers at my thrift store. Heard these sell really well. But I did some research and found this one hasn’t sold well in the past. So I was happy to hand it off for what profit I made. I mean come on! Who wants to snap all those buttons!?

Chico's size 1 (med) travelers shirt with button front and mock turtleneck black: $5.58

 

 

My hubby ran in the Warrior dash and got this free hat. I was shocked that someone would pay $7 for it! I didn’t make that much on it after fees and shipping but someone still got a deal seeing that you can get them on Warrior Dash website for $10 plus shipping. Figured October is a good time to sell these kind of things anyway!

Vikings hat: $4.12

 

I found this swim suit and almost kept it for summer but when eBay ran a special I stuck it in there. It sold for $12! Wonderful for heading into winter and an unknown brand!

I.F. Vintage style swim suit: $12

 

Nor sure when mini corduroy skirts are in season but at least one person out there is wearing them now!

American Eagle corduroy short skirt! Dark brown size 6: $4.34

 

Dress barn I’m still not sure about! They don’t sell great on eBay but they have some super cute stuff and sometimes I can’t pass them up. They seem to sell every time though at a profit. But when I look through listings it shows everything that sells, or doesn’t sell, listed at $.99. I’ve done WAY better than that!

Dress barn skirt size 12: Made $6.07

 

Oh! As you can see I figured out a way to post more than 1 picture for free. I know there is a way to use HTML and post it in the text for free as well. I just haven’t cared enough to figure that out yet! This seems to work well. I just use Picnik to make my collage! Works great!

You never know with eBay

I purchased this skirt a few weeks ago for $.99 thinking the “green tea” brand name might be organic or something. But when I looked it up on eBay I realized many people where trying to sell this skirt and no one was selling it. Even for $.99!

Well, on a whim I posted it for $7.99 after finding out it was a Sam’s Club brand.

I did see one blog post about a lady who got the skirt in this color and really wanted a white one. I’m not sure why I put it for so high but I’m glad I did!

It got one view and one bid. $7.99! Yea!!

I don’t think it will go any higher but I just made good money on that whim!!

Everything is better…with a little formalness!

 

I few month ago I got a package of invites in a bag of stuff purchased at the thrift store. I tried to sell them but they aren’t quite the latest in invite fashions. So I held on to them waiting for an inspirational idea to hit me!

Then, while patching the knee of a pair of Jeans (while they were still on me!) I thought of it! What if I get friends together for a sewing party? Actually it will be more of a patch party! So that is what I did. I called it “Sew Sweet plus Handkerchief Gal” Since most of my friends are very sweet and well, then there is me. I’m blessed. I know!

 

 

The set came with 20 invites, bows, sleeves, envelopes and online templates to print it all. Including the front and back of the envelopes!

I figured the rather “formal” wording and invitations might make it a tad more fun! I will do some baking for it and have some tea as well. I’ll try to take pictures if it all turns out!

Man Apron photo tutorial

 

 

 

 

 

 

       

Round up!

 

I know I talked about the grab bags I’ve been getting. Well, they are paying for themselves! Now, I haven’t discovered any $100 items but at least I can support my habit! LOL!

I sold these Roll around balls, 6 of them for .99 cents plus shipping.

Canon photo paper 50 sheets Glossy 4x6= .99

 

 Bought in a grab bag for .45 cents with a whole but of other things

Sold for .99 plus shipping

Sold this rabbit for $1.75 after a bidding war of 3 bids. Shipping was $1. Not bad for getting it in a grab bag for .45 cents!

I also got this Yoshi  which I sold for .99 to someone in Sweden willing to pay $17 shipping! Maybe he is hard to find in Sweden?

  

These curlers I got for 45 cents and they not only got the opening bid of $6.99 but sold for $8.01 with $7 shipping! They don’t have the metal pins that hold the hair on the curlers But they worked great and I made a tidy sum on these! Oh, by the way my son found these in the store. He is three. Yep, that makes up for more than the toys I’ve purchased for him on “special” day trips to the thrift store!

My husband got this free vikings hat when he ran the warrior dash a few weeks ago. I realized most people pay $10 on the Warrior dash website for these silly things and with the most dressed up holiday around the corner I figured it wouldn’t hurt to sell this. And sell it did. Someone paid $7 for this thing. And now I don’t have it in my house. Win win!

Someone paid $11 for these John Deere boots. I got them for free so it was a great deal on both sides!

Awkward and Awesome

Wanna know some awkward and awesome things that happened to me this week? Never thought I would blog about how awkward I am but hey, awkward can be funny! I mean, look at the spelling in that word! It just has to be funny. Kinda like the name Eugene. Just a great bunch of letters put together!

Awkward:

When I was primping for family photos and grabbed my mom’s hairspray so all the work I did curling my hair would not be in vain. Only to think as I was spraying, “Smells like baby powder.” Guess what? My mom now uses spray on DEODORANT. That is very good to know if you are stealing her stuff. Yep. Baby-bottomed head, comin’ through!

 

When at the fair this week and trying to keep up with our group I grabbed our daughter and put her in the stroller only to hear a voice that said, “Um, that’s mine.” And realizing this, indeed, was not my stroller. Only it’s evil twin. Awesome. Sorry buddy! Just forget this happened as I traipse over to my group looking oddly at me while waiting by the correct stroller. Just testin’ out big guy’s stroller over there! Yep! It works!

These packages I just mail are definitely awkward and awesome! I was inspired by This wonderful blog! ! 

 

 

Awesome!

The AMAZING friends we have with the same number of kids and the same place in life as us. Thank you God for the J’s! We’ve been praying for them to come into our lives!

The fact that I have fresh eggs and milk in my fridge right now. And more on the way…ah, life is good! (Specially if your folks own a farm) I now take back all the bad things I said about chickens growing up.