Crafty Tuesday

I LOVE Anthropologie.

Love it.
Although I can’t go in and buy every single thing I see in the store,
just walking through and browsing is {happy-dance} relaxing to my senses.

The smell.

The texture.

The décor.

It does it for me (and I know I’m not alone).

Which brings me to my circa 1970’s condo which has no interesting history and leaves me feeling uninspired - but I have a great fireplace that works – I love that! However, fireplace mantles have always been a bit of a challenge for me and then I was motivated by a post from a Facebook friend and a couple blogs I happened upon all within a 12 hour period of time. 

One day later I had my own Anthropologie inspired wall.

I used clip earrings from the collection I inherited from my mom. They get to sparkle with a new, repurposed life!

I used old sheet music for the carnation shaped flowers because I just couldn’t bring myself to tear out pages from ANY of my vintage books I have laying around. 

As proud as I was of my new decorations, I didn’t say a word to the Guy-I-Dig. I wanted to see his reaction… Ironically, even though the fire place is the first thing you see when you walk into our living area, he didn’t notice for two full days.

He even set down and picked up his glasses from the mantle.

Three days later, as I sat at the table working with Harrison on something, I glanced up to see him looking intently at the wall above the fire place, “How long has this been here?”

“All weekend.”

He laughed, “DOH!”

I love my husband.
…and he gave the wall décor his two thumbs up.

Crafty Tuesday–I Don’t Need No Silly Sewing Machine!

So the sewing machine is gone from it’s little corner of the dining room for a couple months now.  But that hasn’t stopped me from crafting from fabric.
It also has been no secret that moving was hard on all of us; but I’m a believer of making lemonade out of lemons. At least I try…  Along those lines, I needed to make something cute and cheery for my circa 1970’s kitchen (I am of the belief that the 70’s was  not a good decade in the way of Kitchen design… although I know there are some who love avocado green appliances). 
So to give my little 70’s apartment kitchen a little pizazz of it’s own (that doesn’t include the badly needed cabinet redux) I made more bunting flags – because they really make me happy.



Since I couldn’t sew them, I folded my fabric in half and cut triangles at the fold and then ironed double-sided fusing to the inside, I folded them over twine and ironed them again to seal them and they were ready to hang.


I love walking into the bright light of the kitchen and seeing those little fabric bunting flags hanging over the sink.



Happiness.

Redondo Beach Child Photographer | Crafty Tuesday - Only 39 More…

I had the pleasure of offering a photography based fundraiser for Harrison’s preschool this Spring (something that had been discussed with the parent committee since last year while Harrison still attended)and delivered 39 3x3 accordion books to the parents. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these little accordion books! I have three for Harrison now and I order them with a magnet closures which make them perfect for a mom or grandma to pop in her purse.



They were a HUGE hit and I plan to offer again next year.  Plus, a couple of parents have ordered additional books for family members from this year.

But… I wanted to add a little something to them, something to deliver and keep them in; but still cost effective since this was a fundraiser. I looked online and locally for a little bag to keep them in to no avail.


So what did I do?

I bought fabric in the color I liked and sewed not 10, not 27, but 39 little gift bags! 



The bags are so simple – just straight lines – I cranked them out within a couple hours including breaks.  And just in the nick of time, I might add, because  the day I started the bags the owner of my loaner sewing machine called and asked for the machine back .  Her four-year-old decided he was ready for a home-made cape! Can’t argue with that!


I guess it’s time to invest in a new sewing machine…

(sigh)

Crafty Tuesday

So a few months ago I had this eleventh hour, light bulb idea to sew gift bags for all of Harrison’s birthday party guests… not just make goodie bags; but personalize each one with the letter of their first name. Crazy. I know.

But they came out great and I only ended up with two extra. (Mainly because I didn’t want to take a chance on two people who RSVP’d “maybe”). Now I admit I am not savvy enough to come up with these on my own (let’s not forget my sewing machine woes) but I stumbled on them at Lovely by Design. And if you haven’t heard of Lovely by Design, go over and visit her (or her store) because it really is lovely.

I really wanted to make something that was reusable and personalized, something special for the day (especially since I had no control over any other aspect of a party at Chuck E Cheese) that could be used in the car or in some other way without quickly landing in the trash and off to the landfill.

 

Inside was a pencil, mini composition book, a pencil sharpener [because I can’t tell you how many pencils we received this year!], Trader Joes fruit bar and a couple other small things.  They were a hit and really fun to make!

Oh, did I mention I made 27 of these puppies!!

Happy Crafty Tuesday!

Crafty Tuesday | One Year, Nine Months and Twenty Six Days Later...

I finally finished the bird mobile!

Only to find that in the time that has lapsed we have moved and now I don't have a final home for it.

When I walked into my husband's office {a.k.a. Man Cave} eyeballing a preexisting hook in the ceiling with step stool in hand, and mobile soon after, his only response was a heavy sigh and a defeated, "I knew this was going to happen".

I think he would have warmed up to the little birds had they been Garnet and Gold in color.

then again, maybe not.



Well, at least I finished Ah project.

Crafty Tuesday | Inspiration Chair

I came home this afternoon and found this on my front lawn...waiting for garbage day to arrive. It's not much to look at - at first glance...

But it quickly called out to me with visions of what could be, bright fabric, maybe new paint, a big field to plop it in for a photo shoot or maybe just a day at the beach.  I envisioned it all and walked inside, frustrated that we no longer have the room to add "found" treasures like this. (I had looked long and hard for a chair similar to this for the guest room in our old house.)


Seriously, how could I possibly leave it for such doom? (better yet - for someone else to grab up and give new life to it. For. FREE.)

You just can't find chairs like this For. FREE! I went in the house to start dinner then grabbed Harrison to go test it out. I just HAD to take a picture of it, test it, you know. It's the thrifter/photographer in me.

 Oh my gosh, don't you just love it!?
Harrison loved it. (he's acting in this picture)
He immediately wanted to keep it; but really, we don't have room!

Then I started fantasizing again. I couldn't stop myself...worse case scenario - I still give it away.
Best case scenario - I eventually do something like this to it:

Look at all that Anthropologie loveliness. Oh, the possibilities!

It was time to go back inside to finish making dinner, I needed to let it go.
"But what about the chair, mommy?"

"We leave it where we found it, someone will probably pick it up."

"But I want to keep it!" Harrison was adamant {I secretly agreed}, "We can put it on our grass rug in our patio!". He sat on it in the front yard to "protect" it.

The G.I.D. went outside to get Harrison and came back in with the chair. {secretly did the happy dance; but still not sure where to put large chair}



So now we have this too-big chair in our too-small home... and I feel so inspired by it!


Time to get crafty.

Finally.

Along with finishing the bunting banner for Harrison, I have also wanted to make a felt pencil roll.
[the pencil rolls are inspired by Soule Mama's book the Creative Family]

First we made one for a friend because his birthday was rapidly approaching. I decided to sew his name on with felt. It came out great (no pictures though)! Then we made Harrison's; he decorated it with some shapes and insisted on his name, too.

Only his name has eight letters and his friend's name only has four. But I obliged because frankly, I LOVE personalized and monogrammed things. He helped with sewing the first two.

 I loved these so much that I decided to make a couple more for a set of twins Harrison is friends with at school. Harrison insisted that the pencil roll for the girl had to have pink flowers because she likes pink, so he picked out a fabric and I proceeded to cut her name out and sew on the roll - that wasn't as easy as it seemed. I'm not a seamstress and it's not like sewing felt; but with a few more gray hairs and a breathing break - I got the job done! (hopefully they liked them...)

 Harrison took his pencil roll out for a test run on Fathers Day when we went out to dinner. Yup, it was perfect to have at the table while waiting for food to arrive. I'll be packing it for our trip to South Dakota later this summer.

And if that isn't enough, I whipped out one more bunting flag banner this week for a birthday party Harrison has on Saturday, I admit - I like this one better than Harrison's! I planned to personalize it but got so excited about getting the flags all cut out that I sewed them right away! Luckily, I didn't sew the tops and I could get my hand in there.

 Let me tell you - I am NOT a hand-sewer. No way, no how! It didn't relax me one bit. But I love the outcome all the same! (Too bad I don't have the light and yard of the old house to show these off in!)

Now I'll head over to Carrie's to see what craftiness she was up to this week!

Crafty Tuesday | Revving Up for Summer

So we downsized and we no longer have a quaint backyard with Adirondack Chairs that we can cozy up in on warm summer evenings as we sip warm tea or cool beers.

Then again, we didn't do that often because spiders liked to congregate in our backyard. (including the Black Widow that hitched a ride to our new home via sand toy - bad idea for that gal!) I am SO done with Orb spider season! I think we've all been traumatized enough by the little buggers!)

But we make due with change and I quite like our cozy deck. So to celebrate summer I finally got around to making the hanging tea lights out of baby food jars that I've wanted to do from some time.

 Instead of hanging in the lemon tree (with the thorns and spiders) they hang from the deck above.

 I can't wait to light them in the evenings when the sun has set and it's still warm outside.

We embellished them with beads and little bells that I had in my craft supplies and then curled the wires.

I also made candle holders out of Mason and jelly jars for the table, Harrison helped me put pebbles and sand inside and then I put colorful citronella candles in them. Again, I can't wait for the right evening to light them up.

I just feel more relaxed thinking of our deck as it has already become an extension of our home. It may be a deck but we have already had meals out there and watched the sun go down and planted and painted and played.

Bring on Summer!

Now go check out the awesome crafting my girl Carrie has done this week. I'll give you a hint... I love me some chalkboard paint!

Back in the Saddle Again

I took my old {beloved} sewing machine in for a repair estimate... That didn't go so well. Over $200 to fix it. No.

But...

My friend found the manual to her sewing machine {one in my collection} and after one year, two months, a bit of frustration tears, and a few adjustments later, I have finally finished a project!

I do love how the bunting flags for Harrison's room came out.

But we've moved since I started them to hang in a different room. So now I've hung them over the closet doors, I'm still deciding if I like them there or on the wall with the maps.

Of course, I love the idea of hanging them out on the patio in the warm weather, too.

Oh it's so good to sew, I love the {almost} instant gratification of a finished product in my hand. It's really... therapeutic.I turned off the computer this weekend and focused on creating things and using my hands with Harrison. It was good.

I needed the break from all the constant stimulation (well, I did listen to Carla Bruni and Patricia Kaas, but that doesn't count). Summer is almost here and I'm actually looking forward to it.

So looking forward to it.

Crushed Bliss

There I was holding a small plastic bag containing the bobbin case and foot pedal belonging to my sewing machine for the first time in years. I was ecstatic! I was finally going to finish all the projects I started with Harrison on MY machine! All I had to do was bring the machine up from the garage.

But I would have to wait a couple more days as I had priorities.

Alas finally, I had a free moment. I nervously plugged in the power cord to the machine,then the wall; I flipped the on switch and the light illuminated above the needle and foot. I cautiously became giddy.

Within seconds, Harrison was there hovering over me to see how it worked, wanting to see it sew. I found one of the unfinished projects, excited at the prospect of completion and not caring about the tread color, I sewed one straight line down an edge...

And then it stopped working. Just like that my bliss was demolished in with one tiny thread tightly stuck in the mechanics of the machine. A part that, once cleared of said thread, still refuses to turn.

I swear if there were such things as Sewing Machine gods, they would be a top of Mt. Everest, rolling around on there backs, laughing until the stomachs hurt like a bunch of freakin' hyenas. Like maybe they are trying to tell me something... Come on, throw me a bone here, I know I'm not "domestic" but can't I have one little moment of "domestic glory" in the shape of a sewing machine that allows me to actually sew for more that one minute? Is this asking too much?

Back to square one.


Seriously.

I Try

I finally cut out flags to make a bunting flag banner for Harrison.  Now if only I had a sewing machine.

Oh wait...

I have three.

'Cause I'm "craf-tee"

Can you believe I almost through a pile of old road maps away (it actually would have been the second round, the first being a couple years ago - or more).

As they sat in my hand, the light went off in my head; what am I doing!! I'm holding the perfect [free] wall paper for Harrison's room.

After all, we have vintage blue-floral wall paper in there and even though I could have taken it down and painted, but since we don't own this 100+ house, I didn't want to open a can of worms under that very old wall paper.

Now that Harrison is a little older I wanted to change up his room a bit, albeit he seems quite fond of the little pink flowers on the light blue background; he's going to make a good husband some day...

Once he saw the wall, he was THRILLED, and so was I. Now we just need to update the picture rope.

The best part is, they are put up with thumb tacks (using the rubber mallet to get them in there tight) and can easily be removed without damage to the wall or maps.

Here's a [older] before picture.

nice wallpaper, eh? Actually it worked into the vintage nautical theme of his room pretty well, most people didn't even notice until I said something.

I really love the maps though.
Renew, reuse, recycle - I used what I had!

Just Another Crafty Tuesday

A while back I made a chalkboard out of an odl frame, a piece of wood and chalkboard paint.

I love chalkboard paint. If I could, I would probably cover a whole wall with it, or a door, or something else. But I exersice self control in this area - probably because I don't have much of a choice.

Then I thought of something, I got these really awesome huge pails from Tuesday Mornings before Harrison was born; before he even had a room. They were a fraction of the cost of the same thing at Pottery Barn Kids, only they had words on them, 'Toys', 'Crayons', 'Pail'.  Last week I painting right over those words with chalkboard paint so that we could write anything one them. Then as the contents change - so can the description!

I LOVE the outcome!

Okay, off to do laundry now!

Happy Tuesday.