should have done this years ago

PROBLEM: towel always slides off of my stove handle, AND it's too far from the sink. And yes, that is the fabulous induction stove I won in the 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off®.

SOLUTION: secret placement of IKEA hook.

 Mark drill bit with tape so you don't overdrill.

Drill a pilot hole.

 Then attach with hardware that rhymes with schrew...blogger rejected the correct word.

 Now easy to reach with drippy hands.

Drawer Safety (FIFMNoodle)

Earring Post. Get it?

What I thought was the perfect solution wasn't. My plastic earring holder from The Container Store was messy looking and it had a broken hinge. It was getting full and I needed to find a more attactive way to house my growing earring collection.

So I sketched out my dream earring holder. How about rotating disks with a light?

Maybe I could adapt the rotating racks I saw at Marshall's. But they were ugly, broken, and the wrong color. I happened upon these candlesticks wrapped in rattan.

Maybe I could tuck my earrings into the lattice?

Here are some of the earrings that needed a new home after the failed craft show (I only sold ONE pair in 8 hours). Sick. 

Can you believe no one bought these?

I'm actually glad no one did. So here are the towers are all loaded up. Reds/oranges on one, and blue/greens on the other. I've staggered them and worked my way around, kind of like Charlie Brown's shirt.

To finish my dressertop tableau, all I need are these low touch lights I saw at Home Depot yesterday.

Gap Dress Re-vamp

Got a great deal on a dress at the GAP.

I'm not a strapless kind of girl. Maybe I could just wear a shirt under it like January Jones.

MMMM...what could I do?

 

I opted for the skirt. Adding straps to make a jumper was problematic.

Here's how. Cut off the top edge to an even width.

 The waist band needs to fit to your body. 

 Rip out former dart lines, and pin in place.

Sew darts above the pockets, and on each side of the zipper.

 Time to try it on and see if it fits.

It was a little tight, so I ripped out 2 darts in the front.

I had marked the previous seam with tape (more accurate than pins, which fall out).

 I hand sewed the dart and tried it on again. Bingo!

Time to sew the dart and rip out the hand sewing.

 Tack the lining and the waist together.

Time for a break.

 Fold top edge under (width of one of the squares) and iron. 

Fold raw edge under 1/4 inch. Zig zag for a clean finish (do it now, not later like I did).

 Place on ironing board. Pull up lining as flat as you can get it. 

Cut lining flush with top of folded waistband.

Tuck lining up under folded waistband and pin in place.

I decided to secure the folded edge with a zigzag, so I had the unpin, sew zig zag and re-pin.

Add a few tucks to the lining so it will lie flat. No need to sew fancy darts. It won't show.

Hand sew using a hem stitch to secure lining.  

I didn't want any machine stitches to show on the front.

Since the zipper was too long, I folded it over and hand sewed it down.

 Voila! New high waisted skirt!

from my mom's noodle

Buy a bag of beads at a garage sale and here's what happens: