Me, me , me , Me, Me , me. me.....

How guilty am I of thinking that way, more often than not?

Today, I had a huge fire in my belly, that was getting out of control. I had to do something! It has a name it's called "Volunteerism". I LOVE to volunteer. You know that person who watches tv ads and at the end of the ad, they say, "call to volunteer", so they volunteer for lots of things? GUILTY!

I have volunteered, for tons of things from, holding sweet premature babies at a hospital NICU, for hours,.... to giving awards at Senior Games. You name it! I've helped build houses, held fundraisers, cooked food, given food and on and on....

I have recently been feeling the urge to volunteer again. Why? Because I haven't in almost two years now and my life feels devoid of something. I know we all get caught up in the economy, our jobs, our families and a ton of other things in a day. But it really makes a difference when you look outside yourself for a moment and help someone.

I can remember when I was growing up and we used to go to the South Phoenix-Salvation Army Center as kids, and there was a lady there who taught crafting, Linda Castillo. She taught us all kinds of crafts and was a listening ear, when we had something on our minds.

All of this is to say, I have been given so much as a child, from others and I want to "pay it forward".

What did I do about it you ask? I drove around and found three causes to volunteer for, Senior center, County Arts Council, and possibly a victim's advocate center. I am so very excited!

I will have more details soon...

With that in mind I just want to encourage you all to give of yourself in some way, daily. When you pour into someone's life, you really DO make a difference! It is also great investment in our future.

***3/25/09***Let me clarify something...because folks will take words and interpret them with their own motives, thoughts, and experiences. I volunteer, because I have the time to share. If you are busy with your family, by all means, do not take away from them to volunteer elsewhere. Invest that time in your family. My boys have so much of my attention and time, they encourage me to go out and do other things. I choose to volunteer.***

***Because blogger saves drafts and puts the date you draft it vs. the date you actually post it, I will add dates like a journal******

Saturday 3/21/2009

So I had my first volunteer opportunity today. It was lots of fun!



The theme was Dr. Seuss, how fun!

There was performance art...


Arts and crafts...


Cooking classes ....

Face painting...

Fishing moms with kids...

Cooking dads with kids...

There were hi-5's from the Mouse


And just plain ole' good fun around the house!










Before it was all over my own sweet boy decided to help out! How befitting, as it was Family Volunteer Day!

Child after my own heart..makes mama so proud!




So, have you figured out what my volunteer job was today? Yup, .... photographer!

I loved being behind the camera, as I was absolutely not prepared to be in front of it! Do you volunteer? Care to share any stories or pictures?

From cardboard to G-L-A-M!

Here are a few fun projects I have been working on. Of course they are all a product of upcycling . That word is debatable, but I like it!

The first is a roadside rescued love seat. I liked the lines of it, it had no smells, and no tears, WoW! It ain't EVEN (yup I said it) pretty, but who cares?



It was free!
I was initially going to paint it, but never found the right color metallic purple. After searching and discussing with my genius little man, He said, "why don't you just use that fabric?" (It was on my windows as curtains). I explained that it was too thin, and that I didn't know how to do upholstery.

Like they say, "out of the mouths of babes..."

Well here is what I did with cardboard, glue, and fabric. No sewing skills necessary! It is 100% original and has our family crest embellished on the bottom. This piece makes our house feel like a home!

This project cost me about $22.

Here is the video if you would like to see the "how-to" for this makeover.


Next is a really fun project. I simply love it, because email cards are so impersonal and cliche nowadays. I think we should get back to the basics. Not only is it a thoughtful gesture it is a great way to recycle. I got this idea from an etsy forum post.

Simply cut out a 5x7 or 4x6 piece of your cereal cake or any other household box and send someone a thoughtful postcard. You can get four out of bigger boxes, but definitely two. For one you don't have to spend any money, other than a stamp, and someone special, will be surprised to see a personal card coming from you. Remember to draw a line on the back for the address section and don't forget to put your stamp on! Cereal costs so much nowadays, I am getting my money's worth!

The next idea, is this ultra modern. It is one-of-a-kind and NO ONE else has it! These are for sale so, I can't give out the details for making this one...but I can personally make one for you.

But, I will show you what I mean by one-of-a-kind. I upcycled cardboard and a dress from my closet. WOW! Fashionable laptop bag!

This dress never closed right in the upper region, but I loved the design and fabric. So it just hung in my closet for the past five years...yeh I know, after a year of "no wear" toss it. HEY! I can't afford that...

I did get another use out of it, and I can see this hip, neutral, gorgeous pattern daily! People always ask where I got my bag, too!. Isn't this simply delicious!?!



Now, c'mon people, pull that favorite dress or shirt out of your closet and let's get UPCYCLING!



If I have inspired you, please let me know. I would love to know about it! Have a pic too, let's show it off!

And the winner is...

1st giveaway for Fabric Facelifts

Cathy G!

I met this fellow crafter in the aisles of Wal Mart over the weekend. She has some awesome ideas, and I can't wait to see her products on the market soon. Congratulations Cathy!

Thank you all for participating.


Meanwhile.... check out my other posts on painted upholstery, upcycling my Water bottle, and the red and white kitchen!