Front porch update on a THIN budget

This is my new stylin' front porch look:

I grew up with a porch swing on both my grandparents front porch's and hubby gave me a swing a number of years ago for my birthday.  It was in the yard for awhile, then moved to the back deck - but was never used as much as I'd like.  I LOVE it on the front porch - it's on the far left in the picture below.

My front porch has been seriously neglected for quite some time and after much family discussion we decided to correct that.  SO, when St. Louis son visited recently, he and local son flip-flopped the metal furniture from the front porch to the deck and redwood furniture from the deck to front porch. The 'redwood' furniture that now occupies my front porch was on the back deck with REALLY old, ratty cushions.  The chaise wasn't decent for humans to sit on as it had been basically a pet bed.

Have you priced deck furniture cushions recently???  It has been a LONG time since I bought any and I definitely had sticker shock. Talking with a friend, she mentioned she had some old cushions she was going to get rid of - did I want them?  Well yeah!!!!  Her hubby delivered a huge stack of really big cushions.  They were in pretty bad shape and much too large for my furniture.  However, when I started taking them apart I found great insides.

SO, a few yards of indoor/outdoor fabric, a some of her old cushions re purposed and I have lovely new cushions for my chairs - and enough left to make cushions for the back metal deck chairs too (thank you Barbara)!

Now the furniture shows how seriously it needs a coat of paint - that'll come later in the summer.  But in the meantime, I have a decent looking porch.

I even bought some flowers (now if I can just remember to water them when the weather gets hot).  And, don't you love my "welcome poodle" - he was a gift from a friend and is SO adorable.

The little burlap wall cross was a another gift, so when I did all the other reorganizing I thought it might be time for the actual Christmas wreath to come down.

Metal furniture on the back deck must be painted and jazzed up some.  Pictures later - but probably not till the weather has warmed up more :-)

Another "Lazy Girl"

I love my first "Lazy Girl - Margo purse" so much, I've made another one (and plan for more). Perhaps one for each season :)

I found this Michael Miller fabric online at fabric.com and fell in love with it. Of course, I love most anything 'iris' (imagine that). Anyway, decided it would make a great Spring/Summer purse.

So, I made the Margo, and of course, needed a coordinating wallet. I love the Lazy Girl Wonder Wallet. Can't imagine why I ever carried a large wallet, this one holds everything I need.


THEN, decided I'd like a smaller purse for shopping. Now, I don't go shopping very often, but when I do, my regular purse is heavy - you know, all that 'stuff' in it that I can't live without. Found the Runaround Bag and decided that was the one. Soooo, I made a matching smaller bag with long handle. Can be worn criss crossed across the body and doesn't hold much, so doesn't weigh much. That brought the idea of a Maggie. Just a little 'pouch' that I can switch between purses.


SO, the Runaround will go in my car and if I'm shopping, I'll simply transfer the Wonder Wallet and the Maggie from the Margo into the Runaround and I'm all set for shoulder saving shopping. I'm loving them!

I've always loved purses, but never really found one I liked that was the right size, had organization and was lightweight. I've decided I love the Margo so much, I'm going to have one for every season. Since they'll all be alike, I won't be confused about where anything is when I switch purses.

Can you tell that I REALLY like these purses?!!!!

Purse & wallet

I've long felt that men designed most of the purses around (I apologize to those ladies who make the fancy handbags with their names on them) as I don't ever think I've found one that I truly like. And believe me, it wasn't for not trying.

I love purses and I've bought lots more than my fair share of handbags and purses - only to get them home and discover; they were too big, they were too small, I couldn't find anything in them, and on and on and on...

Always thought that one of these days I'd design my own. Well, finally, someone has done that for me, and done a really outstanding job - it's Lazy Girl Designs.

And, actually, I owe my friend Suzie at Ask The Ebay Queen for finding Lazy Girls. She posted a picture of a small purse on her blog one day and while I wasn't crazy about that particular purse, I looked up Lazy Girl and was immediately hooked. She has multiple patterns for a large variety of large and small purses. There's the Chelsea, the Chloe, the Claire, the Miranda, the.... well, you get the idea. There's also lots of little accessories, like the Wonder Wallet (which I LOVE), the checkbook cover and the Maggie, and more. My first pattern was the Margo - I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY MARGO!!!

The Margo is just the right size, has two outside pockets, zips closed and has a multitude of interior pockets. Very well organized!! I used three contrasting fabrics with my favorite colors, though it could be made all one solid color.

So, then I decided I'd try the Wonder Wallet. Never found a wallet I really liked either. This one was really easy to make, is small, but holds a lot. As you can see, I made one to match my Margo.

I've added another Lazy Girl pattern of a smaller purse for shopping, but haven't made it yet. For normal everyday use though, I'll stick with the Margo. I've already bought fabric to make several more.