I took the Wardrobe Refashion Pledge

The Pledge

I, The Incompetent Homemaker, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that i shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! Signed, The Incompetent Homemaker.

Come see my first refashion!

Camera Case

I made this camera case for my new 8.0MP Samsung compact camera that Santa brought me. (Lucky me!)

I didn't want another bulky case, because I want to keep this camera in my purse, but I didn't want to just drop the camera in those dangerous waters either. So I picked up some scrap fleece that was lying around here and whipped up this little case. The fleece is double-layered inside, with only the sides sewn together, so the inner, smaller square creates two pockets that I use for storing batteries. Two layers of soft fleece provide just enough padding for my needs. I also made a similar case with three layers for my 8-year-old's new camera, which makes her case bulkier but safer.

I leave the strap out for ease of carrying the camera. These are so quick and easy, I just might make more of them for gifts or craft swap.

Happy New (and Thrifty) Year!

January first. The perfect day to go to... Goodwill! Why? Because it's open and it's Dollar Day!

I felt inspired to pick up some new clothes for my new size and the new year. I found three pairs of pants and four shirts for a dollar each. And... this handmade skirt for a buck.

It's an interesting skirt. It's a wraparound skirt, with a buttonhole on the waistband for one strap to fit through and ties in the front. The color in the photo is a bit off, but it's a pretty salmon color, with a white butterfly-and-riverbank pattern on the front panel. The other two panels are the same solid salmon color. It fits nicely, so I might copy it for other skirts!

The sewing is very well done. You can tell a lot of care went into creating this skirt. I always wonder why people get rid of handmade items that were crafted with such love and care (there are always tons of afgans in the thrift stores and not all ugly).

I was originally looking for offbeat clothing items to re-do, but I think this skirt should stay as it is. Now I just need to figure out which top to wear with it.

Win a beautiful Ergo!

I have become a bit obsessed lately over baby carriers, spending way too much time scouring the for sale or trade boards on The Baby Wearer website. I have a couple of lovelies coming my way soon, which I will share with you when they arrive. I also have plans to try to make my own DIY carrier... as the Incompetent Homemaker, I'm sure there will be lots of mistakes to tell you about!

In the meantime, I had to enter this contest for a beautiful organic Ergo. I don't have one of these, but I wouldn't mind winning this one. No, I wouldn't mind at all!

Win a Free Organic Embroidered Ergo Baby Carrier Hands Free System
from Along for the Ride

Gah! Clothesline tips over into the swimming pool

...with half my diapers on it!

Imagine the scene... it's a beautiful, hot first day of fall in sunny Arizona. I'm hanging diapers on the line and feel a nice cool breeze float by. It's one of those breezes to appreciate, because it's whispering, "Fall is here, can't you feel it?" The breeze decided to play a trick on me, and took my clothesline right over, right into the swimming pool, dunking all the diapers that I had just hung as I was working my way around the line.

I turned and saw it tip, as if in slow motion, with my outstretched arms too short and too slow to catch the pole. The clothespin bag was inverted and they had started to sink by the time I was able to drag the whole thing up and out.

The dipes are all on the ground in the pic b/c I had to rush around the sides releasing them so they wouldn't pull the whole thing over again. I just opened the pins and let the diapers fall. The casualties are back in the wash right now, the rest that were in the basket are hung (evenly and on the inside lines), drying in the sun like they are all supposed to.

I know what you're all going to say: Space them out. Hang all around. Use the inside lines. Yeah, I know. It was actually pretty funny. So I thought I give you all a chuckle and share.

(Please ignore all the weeds in backyard. It's a jungle back there.)

C(razy) V(erifiable) S(avings)

I am addicted. To CVS.

Yes, the pharmacy. I've just discovered an insane, obsessed cult of crazed penny-pinchers that shop at CVS for pennies on the dollar. And I've joined them.

Recent conquests:

8/22/2008
Spent $3.85
Saved $12.29
Would have been $16.14
76% off

8/22/2008
Spent $7.47
Saved $20.79
Would have been $28.26
74% off

8/25/2008
Spent $5.12
Saved $ 31.09
Would have been $36.21
86% off

8/26/2008
Spent $10.60
Saved $19.00
Would have been $29.60
64% off

8/27/2008
Spent $0.94
Saved $23.56
Would have been $24.50
96% OFF!!!!

I've got it all entered into a spreadsheet. That's how nuts this is. I'm getting stuff nearly for free after coupons and Extra Bucks. And not crap either -- name brand toothpaste, lotion, diapers, batteries, pantyliners, ibuprofen, hair care, the list goes on. Stuff we use.

Get started here. Follow along here. These ladies plan out your shopping for you!

Let me know if you get hooked too. We can swap coupons.

My next organizing project

I am so going to do this for my yarn stash! Maybe I will get more projects done! (Say it with me... yeah, right!)

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2008/08/magazine_bin_yarn_organizers.html?CMP=OTC-5JF307375954

Never tell the Kindergarten teacher that you know how to sew

Because sewing projects will be sent home.


Silly me. I filled out the parent volunteer form and checked all the boxes that appealed to my crafty side -- sewing, scrapbooking, cutting stuff up. Since I don't expect to be able to help out in class (infant siblings are quite a distraction), I thought I could do my volunteer stuff at home. Later in the year. After my freelance job is done. I didn't realize that it would be this soon. Oops.


Last week, I was asked to help sew W.E.B. bags. These are book bags that carry the little readers' "Wonderfully Exciting Books," a beginning reading program that the kids use both in the classroom and at home. Each day, the student chooses a book in their reading level (A-J) to practice reading themselves, and a storybook that they read with an adult. These books, along with a reading journal that that parents and teachers use to track the minutes read, go in the W.E.B. bags back and forth to school.


On the supply lists, the teacher asked for 1/2 yard of fabric. Eight pieces of fabric were sent home in my kid's backpack, along with instructions for the bags. I just finished them tonight. They are very simple, and stitched up quickly. The bags are held closed with velcro strips and feature a nameplate on the front (I'm gonna let the teacher use her pretty handwriting to put their names on -- I am not to be trusted with a Sharpie).


So, I took a needed break from the freelancing to get this sewing done. I think they came out fine. I hope the kids like them!

(NB: the Hannah Montana bag does not belong to my child. Although I did hide it from her while I was working on it, because she would want it for herself!)

Fresh, Easy, New

I guess it's ironic that I got so excited about the debut of this new grocery store in town, and then never went after it opened. I even called a British-American friend in California to gloat that I would soon have a version of Tesco near me!

Yet each week for the last several months, the $5 coupons have entered my home, and left in the recycle bin, expired and unused.

Each week, I would see the coupon, tell myself that it was time to visit, and then forget. A couple of weeks later, I was lamenting the expiration date. Meanwhile, my friends raved about the store, making it a regular destination. I was still clueless. Until today.

Wow. I was impressed. I had heard that they have next-t0-the-door family parking spaces, good prices on organics, a nice variety of store-brand items, and yummy bottled dressings. I had also heard about over-packaged meat and produce wasting plastic, and an excess of prepared meals for lazy, I mean, busy people. What I found was an orderly store, with all the basics at eye level and good prices. The lack of visual clutter makes most other grocery stores look like gimmicky one-ride theme parks designed by Kraft & Kellogg's marketers.

They seemed to have everything we needed today. Plus lots of stuff that the kids tried to sneak into the cart but got caught and vetoed (gummi bears, chocolate powder, corn dogs). There were some protests, but we bought other stuff they like, so everyone was satisfied.

Finally, we found that all the checkouts are self-service. The girls loved helping bag the groceries, and an employee came by to give us additional coupons. I can't believe I bought seven bags of groceries for $42!

We will definitely be going back. If it weren't for the cubhouse, I might not have to shop at Basha's any more. (Well, except our Basha's has a Starbucks too. I still have priorities.)

Hot Sauce

A quick story... so you know that my kitchen is jinxed, because I am not the only perpetrator of foibles here.

A beloved family member who is staying with us was cooking dinner while I was feeding the baby. After the baby was done, I went to serve dinner to the kids -- spaghetti with meat sauce, their favorite. It looked odd, but I didn't think anything of it, because I trust her cooking.

A moment after diving into the spaghetti, M commented, "This is hot." E started waving her hand wildly at her face and motioning for something to drink. I was looking at the sauce in the pot, confused. Why did she put peppers in it? Are those... jalapeno seeds?

Then it dawned on me. She didn't use the jar of spaghetti sauce I bought the other day. I peeked into the recycling bin.

There was an empty jar of Pace Picante Sauce at the bottom of the bin I had just emptied this morning.

After I picked myself up off the floor and found my breath from laughing hysterically, I served the girls plain noodles and put aside the meat sauce. Needless to say, we're having tacos tomorrow.