the next batch

Another batch of purses... almost ready to go, or I should say- with their faces on.

Scribble sewing on a few...

Waiting to be washed, for a more weathered looking face.

It's time for a vacation, which just means bringing my sewing machine to a different place. Going to the beach, and sewing at the beach is ALL good.

Tie-Dye Party

Super Dad Steve O has been preparing for this party for weeks... he ordered all the supplies from Dharma Trading- a great resource for all things tie-dye, and they were off...

We made a trip to the local thrift store and picked up some white dyeables. We found these white pants that Q cut off and worked some magic on (go ahead and remark on the unfortunate placement of color...) she'll just be able to discern which of her friends and family are polite and well mannered from, well, the rest.

Tank top for M (from the thrift store, thank you) turned out cute with the little white beads and stitching not dyed, good work on the collared shirt too.

Team broken arm, with the job of rinsing and 'accidentally' spraying each other quite a bit too, keep the cast dry please boys.

The team above all made themselves matching rasta colored tank tops. If it were me... the tank top would fit lengthwise, once I got it pulled down around my middle. But in their case, I think we are going to have to take off an inch or two to insure it doesn't get mistaken as a skirt.

making purses

For the first time in what seems like forever, I am getting a batch of purses ready to be sewn together.  It's one of those things I procrastinate because it feels like such an overwhelming project-- but once I get rolling, I can't stop. Another idea strikes me and I have to design just one more...

Occasionally, I have a panic attack thinking that I am running out of fabric, which is completely ridiculous and would likely never happen even if I didn't purchase another yard for the next 5 years. But, I am running out of the bicycle fabric going into this purse. I think it's from the Heather Ross Lighting Bugs and other Mysteries line of fabric from a few years ago. I only have a few little strips left. I kind of want to hoard what I've got left, maybe I'll hang onto a bike or two. I'm almost out of VW Vans and goldfish fabric from the same line- for those of you who remember. So stinkin' cute.

So, whoever gets this purse should feel super lucky...

It's all about the circles (and bikes and flowers), this batch of purses is full of them.

painted desk

Here is the before picture...

and the after... I finally sat down with a brush and leftover garage door paint (Martha Stewart for Home Depot- 'Hosta') and got her done. I purposely brushed it on thinly, I wanted some of the wood grain still visible without getting out the sandpaper and officially antiquing it. Looks cute, with the silver bed next to it too.

the next project

I finally found a desk for M's room (the room with the silver bed we just painted). After driving past it about a thousand times, we finally stopped into that antique store in Scipio, the one with piles of antiques and junk scattered out front- year round. Yeah, well, this desk was in the jumbled mixed on the stoop, but under a tarp. This view makes it look pretty good- I love the wood colors.

Then you get a closer look and see that it really needs some love-

The dovetailed drawers cinched it for me- under all of it's nicks and gouges, this $15 desk is a steal.  When we barely got it stuffed it into the back of the Altima, I knew it was meant to be. Now I just need to decide how much work to put into it. Unfortunately, I don't have time to refinish it. It will likely end up with a coat of paint. A bit of a shame to cover up all the woodwork, but shame on the person who dragged it outdoors and let it rot.

summer projects

I'm finally getting around to the front porch chairs... perhaps it's mostly because I couldn't really come up with any more colors I liked after all of the sudden adding so much with the garage, front door and shutters.  I've collected these chairs over the winter, with the front porch in mind- the rocker one was given to me by a storage unit neighbor (yay, I love free!) and I found the other two in an antique store's back lot- super cheap.

I like the pink, even though it looks a little bright in this picture, the silver works too. The silver chair stood out when it was white, I figured a subtle 'satin nickel' would be better than a bright color. I think the yellow is too bright, I think I'll take it down a notch with yet another can of spray paint- when I get a minute.
 By the way- if you are looking for great spray paint colors, check out your local craft store. I discovered (a little late unfortunately) that Michaels had a much better color selection than even Home Depot or Ace hardware stores.

and the mailbox too

I just had to do it, while all the paint was still out. Once again, chocking up hours and hours with the paintbrush in hand...

flower painted shutters

Here they are folks, my folk art flower painted shutters- in all their colorful glory, with their corresponding front and garage door. I got all crazy today and got my planters chocked full of annuals and the front flower bed planted with my favorite perennials and a few herbs too.  Let's not forget what I think is now my favorite part- the window boxes.

I picked up these metal baskets years ago in an antique shop's back lot. I used them for displaying goods when participating at art and craft shows over the years. It's nothing short of a miracle that they made the move and I still have them kicking around- not to mention- I have two of them, they happened to be about the right size, I figured out a way of mounting them to the wall (anchored with 3/8"C hooks that screwed deep into the wall to the sub-layer of wood) without having to order some crazy expensive window-box-hanging contraption off the internet. Then, without even really searching, I found the coconut husk liners you use with this kind of window box at a local nursery, got the boxes planted and hung up- all in a day or two. Ahhh, I have always wanted something to water twice a day all summer long...  Seriously, they are so cute, I don't even care how many times a day they need water.

silver bed.done.

M's silver bed- all done and put back together. I'm really glad we did the extra work to get it silver, it's much sassier than the plain wood. It's probably a good thing we let the paint dry an extra day, the finish was smooth and hard, not likely to scrape off like half dry paint that just comes right off when accidentally scratched- it's happened to me too many times with walls and such. 

Now I'm on the lookout for a cute desk to replace the beat up drafting table in the corner and a night stand to go in place of the ikea bins she's now using (to the left of the bed) for the alarm clock, 22 tiny bottle of lotion and whatever book she's reading.

The quilt is from TJ Maxx, I knew we probably needed bedding with a white-ish background, with the walls and their super purpleness (chosen specifically and carefully by M herself), and all. We'll work on pillow shams and not just pillow cases soon. But for now, for the first time in 11 years of life- she sleeps with a smile on her face in her giant (no more twin-sized) cozy princess bed in a neat, tidy room she organized by herself and that will hopefully stay that way all summer long.

bold moves

It has been a week of projects- painting this and that, hanging stuff up,  searching ksl classifieds for hours... which is where I found this cute little bed for $20. After reading the ad (it said the bed was kind of beat up) I got the silver spray paint and made a plan. But when I picked it up and saw it was, in my opinion, in excellent shape (I guess I have a low threshold for wear and tear on furniture) I changed my mind and set it up with it's original honey brown color.  But alas- no. can. do.-  it was way too boring. We dragged it outside and without much to lose, started spraying...

I love it so far, it's going to be tough to wait the proper drying time because I can't wait to set it up. It took more Satin Nickel Metallic spray paint than I originally thought (wow- 5 cans for nice, even coverage, both sides and under carriage included).

It looked super sparkly and fantastic in the direct sunlight, I hope it still sparkles inside the house too. I'll get a finished bed&room picture posted tomorrow.