Now for the really fun stuff.

We have already discussed how I have tried to stay with in a country theme and use the resources available with the house instead of just ripping everything out and making it modern. In my opinion modern is not always better. Imagine this little house with brand new cabinets and marble counter tops with the latest appliances. It just would not fit. If I were to do that to my kitchen then I would have to do that to the entire house. And, the finished result would still, in my opinion, look out of place.

So I stayed with a country theme, took my modern style and created a perfectly delightful living space. As frugal homemakers we should always look for areas to save money for our household. To do this I opted to make my own curtains. By making my own curtains, I not only save money, but I can design and create exactly what I want. Because face it, there are only a few styles of curtains and items of this type available out there. We are confined to the styles which the manufacturers give us. Unless you can create your own. So this is what I did. I took a few days to look in MANY magazines at many curtain styles. I took note of what I liked and didn’t like and what fabrics that I liked and which fabrics that I thought would go well in this home environment. Then I spent the day browsing the fabric store looking for just the right fabrics. I knew that I wanted my kitchen/breakfast and laundry areas to all go together, but not all be exactly the same. So I picked a few corresponding fabrics and incorporated into the design small things that would connect them all together. Below is the finished product in which I am very pleased.

I used a red toile print with a deep red corduroy fabric for the dinning room and kitchen windows. I originally made these curtains with just the four center panels that you see here. But I felt like it was too stiff and straight which made the room feel more formal. So I added an extra panel to each end which brought fullness and softness that I like.

When making our own curtains we can decide just how many pleats and bows that we want or don’t want. The small kitchen window did not need all the folds and pleats so I created it simple with just the one in the middle.

For the laundry area including both the doors. I used a green and cream gingham. I used the same red corduroy fabric for the straps of these curtains to add continuity between them and the curtains in the kitchen area. If you notice we painted the wood paneling the same rich green and painted our blue wooden shelf in a two tone of white and green. This shelf is destined to be my herb shelf. Very soon I plan to have it adorned with bright red pots full of fabulous herbs that I am sure you will get to hear all about in another post.

And last but not least here is our side view of the kitchen once again. No curtains here. but you can see where I took just wooden place mates of matching colors to add a touch of texture to the walls. I have thought about attaching them permanently but like the idea that they can be used as a trivet if the need arises.

That is it. We hope that you have enjoyed walking through this process with us. We are currently working on the bathroom and hope to have this project finished soon. So stayed tuned, and let us know what you think.

Now for the fun stuff. In this post you will see what a difference just a little bit of paint makes. Painting is one way of totally changing a room. A gallon of paint doesn’t cost much and just about anybody can do it. I know many who are intimidated by the idea of painting their home, but it is a very frugal thing if you can do it yourself.

I am not the kind of person who uses drop clothes and painters tape, but it is very handy to have a wet soapy rag handy. It I happen to drip, and I do, then just a quick swipe while the paint is wet is all you need for clean up. I do recommend using a water base paint. Clean up is easier and spill clean up is too.

As you can see the original curtains are still up. But just adding this rich color brings out the green tones of the paneling. The color I chose here is a deep olive green. Very popular right now but still fits into a country house with out looking out of place.

This is a different view of my kitchen. It was not pictured earlier but is just to the left of the sink area. You may notice the vintage counter tops. I wanted to leave these in the house and work my style into their classic touch. Red (counters tops) is not a color that a generally use in decorating. Lucky for me I have a mother with a flare for decorating. She helped me greatly in finding my “modern” style and incorporating it into the “vintage” house that I have to work with.

These are the only “paint” only pictures that I got. So stay tuned for the next post to see the finished projects.

Well, I finally found my camera cable so I thought I would share a few pictures of our house before the remodeling began. The house we bought is a small country home build about 50 years ago by the older couple that lived here. Their family is still on property adjoining ours which I think is a great opportunity to learn about the history of our new area.

Here in the first two pictures you see our little dinning/breakfast area. Complete with the old time cafe curtains that had been hand stenciled. This picture was taken after the wall paper was stripped off, but if you check out the picture in the strawberry post you can see that it was your typical country print with border.

This is the sink area of our little kitchen. This door leads to a laundry room that was an addition to the houses original structure. So it is like having two exits to our home. I have incorporated this space more into our daily living and keep this door open most of the time.

This is the main view from the kitchen door leading into the laundry room, this door actually opens to the outside.

Second view of laundry. As you can tell we are still in the unpacking and finding a place for everything mode. But this is life and this house is lived in. So feel privileged that I did not clean it special to put on heirs that I live in a perfect world.

Ok well that is it for the kitchen/dinning area of our tour. Stay tuned for the next post that will begin to unfold the work that we are doing.

A very dear friend of mine has started visiting our local Amish produce auction about every other week. She doesn’t usually know what will be at the auction each week, we get just what ever items happen to be in season. Now that I have moved into the local community I get to enjoy the benefits of her shopping spree.

About 2 weeks ago I ended up with about 8 quarts of strawberries. and 6 heads of broccoli. Since I do not have a large family this will last us quite a while. I decided to freeze both of the items as I didn’t have time to can them this week. Freezing provides fresher veggies when dinner time comes and the process is quite simple. Just wash and store. Some vegetables require a quick blanching before going into the freezer, but Broccoli does not.

Strawberries are a perfect way to consume some of the antioxidants that our bodies need, and in the hot summer weather frozen strawberries are the perfect ingredient for smoothies.

Here is how I make my smoothies, which I have to say are simply the best in the world. At least to me, that is why I make them.:)

• 1 cup orange juice
• 10 frozen strawberries
• 1/2 slice frozen fresh pineapple
• 1 frozen banana
• a hand full of frozen cherries

I like to use a not from concentrate OJ. Finding affordable good fresh oranges to squeeze my own is a bit of a challenge. But if you are a Florida or California resident then you should have no problem. I usually buy banana’s when they are marked down on clearance because they are really ripe. There is no way we could bring them home and eat them, so we just bring them home and freeze them. I do recommend peeling them first and putting them in zip lock bags. You can throw the banana in the freezer peel and all, but when you thaw them out it gets quite messy. The pineapple is also fresh we peel and slice it and bag it for freezing. We first discovered the idea of freezing pineapple by accident. My daughter put the bag of fruit in the freezer instead of the fridge. It turned out to be a tasty mistake. And, that is it. stick with as much fresh produce as you can. If fruits are out of season then I recommend buying frozen. or stocking up and freezing while the harvest is plentiful. Some people like to add yogurt to their smoothies. I do not have a recipe for that but if you would like to share your recipe then I would love to try it.

Well, I had hoped to announce the new blog catagories with a couple of great post for each. But for the moment I am having trouble finding my usb cable to download pictures from my camera to list in the post. So I guess you will just have to hear about what is coming soon for today.

Before I deleted my blog, by accident, I started a new catagory called in the kitchen. My hopes are to post here all the wonderful goodies that my daughter and I make in our new kitchen. I have pictures of us putting up strawberries along with squash and zuccini. So pictures and info to come on that soon.

I also just added, Around the House. I have been working on some projects to make our new house a home and will be posting before and after pitures of the remodeling that we have done so far. Pictures to come will show painting that took place alone with curtains and decorations that were all made by hand. Around the house will also include other changes that we make or projects that we do to help others see a finished work to gain inspiration that may be needed for your own homes.

And last we are adding In the garden Where I hope to show bounty from our garden, when we get it planted, and to share wonderful recipes from farm fresh veggies.

So we have great plans to bring more information to the site for you that will not only be encouraging but will also bring ideas and helpful information as well.

I just wanted to post a reminder about our made to order aprons. If you have an event that you would like to special order an apron for, then we are the ones to see. Through either e-mail or phone correspondence we are able to design an apron to suit your specific needs.

Here are a couple aprons that were created for special events to give you an idea of what we can do.

Wedding shower:

Regency Apron

(first created for the lexington school of ballet-for a cinderella recital)

Whew, what a weekend. To finish off a very busy week and move we headed to FL. for a short weekend of visiting and wedding celebration. We are now back, and after a 24 hour bout with the flu, that we picked up in FL, we are back into production.

We are a little behing in our apron making, but I am hoping to work through Saturday to get caught up. You may experience a day or two delay in shippment of your order, but we plan to work extra hours to insure that your wait time is in our normal time from.

We thank you for your patience with us. This has been a very blessed trying time for us. We are so joyful for our new home and look forward to spending much time in our new kitchen. And, hopefully we can get a garden going soon before it is to late for summer growing.

Stay tuned for some great recipes and garden info.

Ok so the move went smoothly, but our internet access has been delayed. Who knew it would take 10 days to connect a phone? Anyway, I have been able to check my e-mail about every other day from a family members house. But we are not back on line permanantly yet. We are suppose to get hooked up on Friday May 16th. So come Saturday we should be back to smooth sailing.

We are going out of town this weekend for a wedding celebration in FL. I will not be answering any e-mail request over the weekend, even though I usually try to. However as soon as we return on Monday I will answer e-mails and process orders on a first in first out basis. It is my hope to have all outstanding orders filled and shipped before we leave on Friday.

Thank you for your continued patience and support during this transitional time in our business and life.

Yea! Our family here at Amelia’s Aprons has been learning much about patience and God’s timing. Over the past 2 years we have looked at over 10 different properties with great interest in all of them. However, none of them seemed to be where God would have us. So we have been content and have been given great opportunity to practice our longsuffering while living in my mom’s basement. God, is good and all things work together for His purpose in His timing. And, we are glad for it.

This is an article that I wrote a little over a year ago. I thought I would repost it now,in an attempt to replace some content that was lost. 

Return On the Apron

Aprons have been a part of our culture for hundreds of years. If you take a look back in history, you will see that aprons were used for many practical purposes and were worn by both men and woman. They were worn by blacksmiths, farmers, shopkeepers, and millers and used in daily chores like gathering eggs, working in the garden, cooking and cleaning. The main function of the apron was to protect the clothing and keep trade tools handy. Whatever you were doing on the farm or in your profession, the apron extended the number of days that an outfit could be worn before washing and extended the life of the clothing underneath. Most aprons were long and made of durable fabrics; some were even made of wool to protect women from burning when cooking over an open hearth.As the years progressed, apron styles began to change to meet the needs of the wearer. With the end of World War II came a boom of home entertainment and dinner parties. It was the “Leave it to Beaver” era, and moms were in the kitchen. Homemade pies and breads awaited hungry children almost every afternoon, and mom enjoyed her daily task of home management. The apron then took on a new look. It was no longer worn for just practical purposes; it was now worn for style. Aprons were soon known as the symbol of the homemaker, and every mother and hostess had one, if not several. There were hundreds of styles and colors, and most moms had fancy, decorative aprons to match outfits for special occasions. Then, almost overnight, the apron was gone. Not quite without a trace, but gone as far as the fashion industry was concerned.