The Apple Street Cottage

  Everywhere you look, Valentine's Day projects are in full-swing.  Personally, I've never done a lot of decorating for this holiday, but I had some vintage fabric that was begging to be used and I was inspired. First, I cut a pattern and grabbed some fabric. The first heart pillow was made using pieces of an old wedding gown I had bought for $2 many years ago.  My daughter loved to play 'Dress-Up' and it was just perfect for her.  After she outgrew it, I cut some of the satin, lace, and buttons and tucked them away.   Those beautiful buttons were going to be a part of this pillow.   After folding under the edges, they were pinned to one of the heart pieces. After they were sewn on, the two pieces of satin were pinned together. I used LOTS of pins because satin fabric is very slippery! Sewn and turned. Time for stuffing: The opening was stitched closed and it was done. But I really wasn't happy with it.  I didn't care for the gap.  So I ...

  If you're thinking you've heard this before, you are correct!  This is not a first, but it is a beauty and I must share it with you.  At the end of this post, I will share the links to the original 'Office In a Box'.  But, first, let me w elcome you back to the 'Do It Over' Designers blog hop.  We are a group of bloggers who love to recycle/upcycle/DIY.  I'm so happy to host this blog hop and hope you'll visit everyone to see what they have to share with you.  Their links will be listed at the end of this post.  Now, let's talk about that box.... Needless to say, it didn't look anything like this when I found it. I saw an ad on fb marketplace for a silverware box and when I picked it up I was pleased to see it still contained the silver.  It wasn't a complete set and also contained some odd pieces, but for $5 I wasn't complaining.  Take a look at this pattern: Sorry, I digress..... The box was quite scuffed-up and the veneer on the top...

Welcome Back and Happy New Year!  I hope you are safe, healthy, and happy.  It certainly has been a rough ride and I'm not going to lie, I had little to no 'Holiday Spirit' this year. It's 2021 and we may have 'stalled', but I still have hope for a brighter future, so let's move on..... It's that time of year when many bloggers create special posts on their blogs.   Many choose a 'word' to inspire them in the new year and others  look back at the previous year and share their favorite or most popular posts.  Not me! Nope!  I've decided to go in a different direction. The past couple of years I've done a special post for the beginning of the new year too.  There was Keepin' It Real in 2019  where I shared my 'not so perfect' house and projects to be done.  Last year was Hello 2020  telling who I am, what my 'style' is, and sharing my projects and passions.  Feel free to read them.  They're not very long, but since I...

  Hot cocoa bars and hot cocoa bombs were all the rage for the holidays, but, it's still winter and there's nothing like a cup of hot cocoa to warm you up on a cold winter day.   Welcome back to  10 on the 10th ,  a group of bloggers sharing ideas and inspiration for under $10.  Our theme this month is 'Winter Blues' - anything Winter or blue and I've got just the thing! While hot cocoa bombs sound delicious and hot cocoa bars look amazing, often the ingredients didn't really thrill me.  People were using pre-made cocoa mix and from my experience, anything you buy pre-made tends to have extra ingredients that don't sound very appetizing.  Here's a list of the ingredients of a popular brand of hot cocoa mix: Sugar, Corn Syrup, Modified Whey,  Cocoa  (Processed with Alkali), Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Nonfat Milk, Less Than 2% Of: Salt, Dipotassium Phosphate, Mono- and Diglycerides, Natural Flavor.  Some of those ingredients make me ra...