well hello there...

my boy’s 1st birthday

Mon, 24 May 2010 21:17:21 -0700

The year has flown by like the blink of an eye. But I did want to make his first birthday special, so I planned ahead and worked on some projects as I had time the weeks before his birthday. Here’s a sampling of my projects...

chair makeover

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 22:19:12 -0700

I have discovered a wonderful little gem called Pats. Really, Leeana (from gypsyink.com) sent me there because she knew I would fall in love. It’s like a thrift store, but way cooler and more like a junkyard. I’m a sucker for the potential! Tons of furniture and they will paint, fix, and distress it for you right there- and it’s cheap. Or you can bring it home and do it yourself. So these two chairs (I do realize that only one is pictured, but there are two matching ones) came home with me a couple weeks ago for a makeover. Also, an old tin bucket and a crystal lamp found a new home. I’m headed back tomorrow to pick up a mini secretary desk I had them paint. I’m telling you, this place it trouble. I’ve already brought 2 friends there. One is for arguably as addicted as I am :) She’s picking up a bench tomorrow. And we will undoubtedly find something else that can be turned into something fabulous if only given the chance.

For the makeover:
2 cans of Vespar black plum spray paint, a half a yard of upholstery fabric, 4 yards of trim, staple gun and hot glue! Oh, and pliers and a flathead screwdriver to pry a bazillion staples out to remove the old upholstery. That was the most time consuming part of the whole project!

quick decor

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 22:42:39 -0800

For a recent Women’s Event at my church, I was on the decor team. I do love a chance to decorate a beautiful space- especially when I get to work with a great team. We went with a natural shabby chic elegant with a touch of garden theme. Trying to keep the budget low, I scavenged the church storage area and found 3 bright red frames. I just gave them a quick prime & spray paint followed by some staple gunned fabric. And there you have it, 3 instant makeovers! They are now repurposed in various rooms in my house. Soon, I will attempt something like this. I ended up distressing the dark brown one and I really like how it came out- a bit of the red and a bit of white primer are peeking out.

A while back I saw a banner here and loved the idea. Now I had a reason to make one (see, it really is worth it to subscribe to way too many blogs because then you can be on the decor team and get to make some of things you see). For this banner I printed the letters out from the computer and taped them to acetate sheets, they are the overhead projector sheets. For some reason I had a package of these. I think they were from a group presentation project from college. Anyways, I cut out the letters with an exacto knife making a stencil for each letter. I laid them over the burlap and sponged on some ivory paint. If you ever paint on burlap, make sure there is some newspaper or other inconsequential material underneath because lots of paint goes through all those holes! To finish up, I strung some twine through the tops of the burlap pieces. I love it. After the event I was trying to think of what else I could spell with those letters so I could reuse it. Any ideas?

Christmas Deliciousness

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:23:44 -0800

Actual Date: December 25th

Brad requested some kind of eggs benedict for our Christmas Brunch. I found a a recipe for Eggs Blackstone in the William Sonoma Breakfast & Brunch Cookbook. It’s like eggs benedict, but with bacon and a slice of tomato. After watching Julie & Julia on Christmas Eve, I was ready to take on the task of poaching. I am pleased to report, they came out fantastic!

layers of yum!

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 20:47:35 -0800

My husband and I often have a after dinner sweet tooth. I saw this recipe for Chocolate-Covered 7-Layer Gingersnap Pan Cake with Espresso Creme. And if the title wasn’t enough of a mouthful, you should try eating it! The picture with the recipe looks all perfect and neat. Ours was wildly messy and uneven. In our haste to try this pile of flavor we didn’t really wait for it to cool- so the creme was melting and the chocolate slid off. But it tasted like heaven so we didn’t care. And the two of us ate half of it :)

garlands galore

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 19:52:04 -0800

Actual project date: 11/9/09

When I saw this post, I knew just what was in store for my stash of saved gift ribbon and leftover fabrics. What a darling addition to a mantle, a wall, or a dresser. I started with one for Josiah’s room because it has desperately needed wall art. And then I wanted to make a white one for my sun room, which led to a Christmas on to take to McCall. So a bazillion fabric strips and ribbon strips and knots later, I have three very different garlands that I love. Each one tells a story. The blue and teal one has the rest of the jeans I cut up for the bibs, remnants of a sheet I used to sew a duvet cover in high school, and lots of ribbon from Josiah’s baby shower. The white one includes lots of wedding ribbon, some fabric that my mom made our ring bearer pillow and flower girl purses out of, a hair ribbon from when I was a little girl with a blonde ponytail, tule from the first baby shower I hosted, and fabric from my first quilt attempt. The Christmas one has a bunch of fabric from the first pillows I made for my house after I got married, leftovers from the tablecloth I made for the first Thanksgiving I hosted, tule from a fairy Halloween costume gone terribly wrong, and a ribbon from flowers a boss sent me after a successful event. Mixed in are some thrift store pieces, scrap fabric and ribbon I don’t know how I acquired. The point is, I cleared out my fabric and ribbon stashes and made something that captures some of those memories in the process. You should make one!

Landon is 5!!!

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 19:08:31 -0800

Actual date: November 25th

For my dear nephew Landon’s birthday this year my family was in San Diego. I made his shirt with a easy iron on transfer that I printed on the computer. He opened it in the morning before we told him that we were headed to Legoland for the day. And much to this aunt’s delight, he asked if he could change into it on the spot! So he wore his “5 Lego shirt” to Legoland on his 5th birthday. After a long fun day, he ate his lego cake (which I did not take any pictures of, but you can see in my bro’s video and while you’re there check out all the awesome pictures and videos!), and opened a couple gifts. I made him this little binder with handwriting practice sheets, personalized with all sorts of stuff (ex. I am five years old. Clara is my baby sister. Aunt Kristy is so funny.). Then I did alphabet pages with whatever I could think of off the top of my head (A is for ...).

Thanksgiving packages

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 18:37:53 -0800

Actual Date:11/19/09

I made some baked good for the neighbors. I kindof cheated and made two Trader Joe’s mixes and re-packaged some Moose Munch I got at Costco. I’m learning that life with an infant is unpredictable and I cannot make everything from scratch. I used the Apple Spiced Bread mix and baked these darling little loafs in cardboard pans from Bake it Pretty. The other little bag is from the Gingerbread Mix and I did the cookie recipe and used a mini maple leaf cookie cutter. Not my best baking by far, but I’d like to think that it’s the thought that counts. And I’ve never made anything for the neighbors before, so they wouldn’t have any expectation, right?

ribbon tag crinkle square

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 18:37:31 -0800

Actual Project Date: 11/7/09

I noticed that J was starting to notice the tags on his blankets and stuffed animals, so when I saw this tutorial on Joy’s Hope, I knew it was just what he needed. So, a bit of fabric, some ribbon, and stitching later... a crinkle square! I later slipped a ring through one of the ribbons so I could clip it to the car seat, stroller, or whatever was closest. And, when it gets too slobbery- I just throw it in the wash.

I made it during nap time put it on the edge of the crib for him to find when he woke up. When I heard the crinkle over the monitor it went in and snapped these picts.

oilcloth changing mat

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 18:29:49 -0800

Because I’m behind on my posts- Actual project date 11/7/09

I had been meaning to make a changing mat to throw in my diaper bag- because I never got a real diaper bag that had one included. I snagged this oilcloth at the fabric store the day I bought the fabric for Clara’s quilt. I just cut it to size and finished the raw edges with a green velvet ribbon. Simple and just what I needed. Folded up, it’s about the size of my travel wipes case (or a pair of scissors).