Vision Forum Contest at Life in a Shoe!

Vision Forum is sponsoring a contest in connection with Life in a Shoe blog, for two prize packages of Vision Forum materials worth $700, plus a drawing for a couple of smaller prizes. Check it out. What homeschoolers couldn't use some free stuff from Vision Forum! I haven't gotten any Vision Forum stuff yet myself, as I just started homeschooling YESTERDAY, but I've seen some cool stuff there. They have a lot of things great for the whole family, not just for homeschooling. Check it out!

Contest Winner!

I have selected the winner of the "Cruddy Job Challenge". I thought it would be a big decision, but as it turned out...SHE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO ENTERED! Mrs. Wilt of The Sparrow's Nest, you are now the proud owner of a lovely 1951 Simplicity Apron Pattern! :-D


Thank you for entering, Mrs.Wilt! I liked your post on reclaiming your closet. That was a great idea on storing your hats. I plan to buy more hats, so I think your idea will come in handy for me. For anyone who would like to read her prize-winning post, go to http://the-sparrows-nest.blogspot.com/2006/05/reclaiming-my-closet.html and don't forget to check out the rest of her blog. It's my favorite, so many inspiring ideas, and fun to read! Plus she has a shoutbox and chatroom.


Mrs. Wilt, I'll contact you to make arrangements to send you the pattern, hopefully before the weekend. Please be sure to let us all see the results when you make your first apron! I'm sure it will be beautiful! I wanted to use the pattern myself, but I knew I'd never get around to it, so I'm glad to see it find a good home. :-)

I'm still working on my kitchen, but veeeerrrryyy slowly right now, while I recover. Yesterday bought a few storage containers to organize the clumps of hair accessories I have in a basket for my daughter. So instead of an unsightly basket on the kitchen counter, I have an organizer with a handle kept inside the diaper changing cabinet. The container was chosen from the hardware department, and I wanted one that had a snap-shut lid and handle, so I could send my daughter to fetch it for me whenever I was getting her ready in the morning.

Apron Pattern Prize

Here is the apron pattern I am giving away for the "Cruddy Job Challenge". It is a true vintage pattern, a Simplicity Printed Pattern # 3718, copyrighted in 1951. It shows four views of aprons. The envelope is torn a bit on the front. All the pieces are there, and in very good condition. It doesn't appear to me to have been used.

For some reason, the pattern pieces are lettered, A-M, except for I and J. There are no pieces marked I or J, and the list doesn't include I or J. The pattern lists eleven pieces, and all are accounted for. Being a novice, I don't know if this is typical, or not. The pattern comes in a ziplock bag to protect it. I will probably just send it in a manila envelope.



Here you can see the directions sheet, the envelope, the ziploc bag, and the stack of pattern pieces.






This picture is a close up of the direction sheet, where it shows all the aprons you can make. I showed this because one apron isn't visible on the envelope,where it is torn.



Good luck with the contest. Just think how much more you'll enjoy your next "cruddy job" if you are wearing a cute vintage-style apron that you made yourself! And you just KNOW everyone will ask where you got it! :-)

Challenge Update

Journey to Homemaker

I just found out I have to have surgery on Friday. I will be in the hospital over the weekend, and recovering for a couple of weeks. I will still judge a winner for the contest, but it may take a few extra days to get the apron pattern sent out. I hope the winner won't mind. If you are doing the contest, please post a comment telling me what job you plan to do. I'm trying to flush out all you lurkers! ;-) I am going to post a picture of the pattern tomorrow. I'm still trying to figure out how. If I don't, you all have my permission to post a million comments bugging me to do it! :-)

I have not yet gotten to my kitchen, mostly because I got behind and it turned into a pigsty. My wonderful husband cleaned it up for me this weekend, and now I'm ready to tackle it. Well, actually I did start a little bit, because on Friday I started going through the piles of paper and putting them into in/out boxes, the stackable kind you use in offices. I have four down in the computer room and four in the kitchen, which gives each of us an in and an out box in each room. I cleared an entire counter of clutter, getting rid of the CD's (I got a new CD rack at a yard sale for a dollar, to keep in the computer room) the tapes, and a pile of junk that didn't belong there. It looks SO much better. That had been a major hot spot for months!

Tomorrow I will begin to pull stuff out of the cabinets. When we moved in, I just shoved stuff into them, unorganized and in bags and boxes. We actually have a lot of storage space in our kitchen, but it is under-utilized. I may try to paint the interior of the cabinets white, to make it cleaner looking and easier to see inside. Our cabinets are a very dark 1970's style wood. VERY dark. I may ask the landlord if I can paint the outside, too. I'm planning on repainting the walls no matter what. They painted them a very odd pinkish beige. It's the kind of color you can NOT match anything to, in decorating. Pinks are too pink next to the paint, beige looks funny, and so do most other colors, except maybe white and some greens. Trust me, it's wierd. I have a feeling it was in the "oops" section of discounted paints.

Plus, the landlord told me he painted with washable, scrubbable paint. Bless his heart, he's a nice man, but he doesn't know what he's talking about. The paint is FLAT paint, and you moms out there with a lot of kids know that flat paint is not scrubbable or washable, no matter what the paint can says. I need walls I can wash. I'm going to pick a very neutral creamy yellow that will go with almost anything. But I'm going to ask first about the cabinets, because painting them is a big deal. I want to paint them a semi-gloss white. I hate to spend money like that on a rental, but it will make me happier, and we have an eighteen month lease.

I can't wait to have my kitchen clean so I can start decorating it. I'm going to do before and after pics, it will be great! Just being able to have a place for everything, and know WHERE that place is will be wonderful! The challenge is helpful to me. I can't very well have a challenge and not do it myself!

Cruddy Job Challenge

Journey to Homemaker

Is there a job in your home that you have been putting off, but really needs to be done? Cleaning out the garage, decluttering the basement, paring down on the amount of clothing in your house, organizing your pantry? If you have a job that you need motivation to do, I have a challenge for you.

Get that cruddy job you've been dreading done within the next two weeks, and post before and after pictures on your blog...then leave a link to it in the comments section of this post. I'll chose the winner, who will receive...da da ta daaaa!...a vintage apron pattern. It is circa 1950's, has several styles to chose from (all waist aprons), very cute. I don't think it's been used at all, but I have to double check...I didn't actually open up every single page of the pattern. I'll try to get a picture of the pattern envelope on here in the next day or so.

But the real prize is pride in a job well done...plus the bragging rights when you show the pictures on your blog, lol! Just think of how much you'll smile when you finish...you'll just sit and stare at the neat and tidy results! The deadline is June 5th, and I will announce the winner by June 7th. Good luck!