A Day in the Life...

Painting Project

While Rachel and Alli were in an art class this week, learning to paint like pros, Erin and I did some painting of our own.

I found this desk at a thrift shop and thought it need a little TLC. 

Over the next couple of days, we got to work.

After seeing it with white primer, I was tempted to paint it cream, because I love, love, love white furniture. 

 

But Erin's bedroom has red accents, so she made the command decision to go with red instead of white.  (Good choice!)

Isn't this the cutest desk!!  I can't wait for her to sit here and write stories. :) 

 
 
  
  

A Darling Apron Pattern

Jona has done it again!  My creative genius of a friend has come up with yet another nifty pattern.  I love being a pattern tester for her.  I'm constantly amazed at what she comes up with.  And it's no easy venture, let me tell you.

I, myself, attempted to throw together a super simple pillow pattern once.  The whole pillow took about 15 minutes to make, but trying to create a pattern to describe how I made it was a completely different story.  Needless to say, it didn't turn out well at all.  It would have taken hours and hours, and many pillow samples to get it right...nowhere near the 15 minutes it took to make the pillow. 

All that to say, I have a tremendous amount of respect (and awe) for those who can accurately transform an idea into a usable pattern that others can understand.  My left-brained self is amazed! 

What really blows my mind is her homemade bias tape!  In part of the pattern, she teaches you how to take 18" x 30" of fabric and make 7 yards of bias tape.  Wow!  How nice to have bias tape from whatever fabric you want!  No longer do we need to settle for the boring colors at the fabric store.

Here is my first attempt at the apron. 

The reverse side...

 

I see lots of these darling aprons in our future.  

Thanks, Jona, for coming up with great ideas and fun projects!   

The Bags Keep Getting Cuter and Cuter

These fun little Zombie bags are just too cute!  Here's the latest one:

I made this one for our friend, Shelby.  I had made her mom a diaper bag out of these fabrics a while back and thought it would be fun to do a matching mother/daughter thing.  I love the way it turned out.  These fabrics are some of my favorite.

I almost wish my name was Shelby so I could keep it. :)
 

A Cute Little Zombie Bag

I like making bags.  I think you all know that by now.  Hey...straight lines, no zippers, no buttonholes...that's my kind of sewing.  E..A..S..Y! 

Here's my latest favorite bag.  It's a new free pattern from Happy Zombie.  What's really cool is that it only uses three fat quarters.  So, that means that I can finally do something with all those cute fat quarters that are stacking up in the craft room. 

Here are a couple that I got as a sample.  I think they are from one of Amy Butler's lines.  (The stripe was some extra fabric I had.)  They had just been sitting on my fabric shelf with no plans what-so-ever until I happened up this pattern.  I'm so excited that I can now enjoy them! 

 
They are such pretty, soft colors.

Alli wanted to take a few shots of the bag.  Being her typical creative self, she absconded with my camera (again) and the bag to see what she could come up with.  (The camera comes back with interesting stuff sometimes.  Last week, she took some pretty crazy pictures of a half eaten chocolate chip cookie.) :) 

Here are a few of her shots...

 

This one was funny...

Close-up...

Here, she told me to hold it like a little old lady...

Yikes...I just realized I was totally dressed in my slouchy mom attire, wearing my maternity cardigan from 14 years ago.  Flattering...no; comfy...yes!

Good job, Alli!  But next time, have one of your sisters hold the bag! :)

   

Gift Bags

My in-laws and niece are visiting.  After seeing all the bags we've made over the past several months, they expressed interest in having one too, so I custom made a couple of purses for them.  They each hand picked their fabrics.  (I think they did a great job!)  And then, I made the inside pockets the exact size of the belongings they wished to put in the them.  They turned out great!

Here's the one my mother-in-law designed. 

 

I love, love, love this Amy Butler fabric.  I bought it last summer to make a cute top, but never got around to it.  I'm glad it's getting some use!

We found this polka dot for the inside lining.  And I used a magnetic closure for the first time.  (Super easy to do!)

 

Chantelle chose more girlie fabrics...some of my favorite Heather Bailey Fresh Cut prints.

 

  

It was hard to say goodbye to that one!

But, they both love their bags and I loved making them...win, win!

Summer Can End Now...

The list was waayyy long...my list of summer projects, that is.  Since we did not take a vacation this summer and we finished school in early May, I've actually managed to get quite a lot of that list checked off.  But even if I didn't get anything done except this, it would have been a successful summer. 

I've been waiting for the right time to do this project for a year and a half.  It's not something that can be done during the school year.  I'm the teacher, so I actually need to be in the house mingling with the students.  Last summer was filled with trips here and there and several visitors, so no free time then.  But this summer, I was finally able to refinish the buffet in my dining room.  

I can't tell you the sense of relief and happiness I have when I walk by the dining room now.  I used to grumble and mumble and may even have growled at the room once or twice.  That's how much I disliked it. 

 

Ick! 

The dark wood, light wood, and white furniture clashed in a big way.

 

Now, it feels more cohesive.  I'm still debating about whether or not to remove the wallpaper.  I guess I'll live with for a few months and get a better feel for it.  Maybe I'll even hang something above the buffet so that the wallpaper isn't so overwhelming. 

 

Still, what a vast improvement!  No more snarling at the dining room.  Yeah!

If summer ended tomorrow, I'd be perfectly content.  I don't feel like anything has been left undone.  It's a good thing, because we start school in August.  :)

"The" Summer Project

This is the big one.  The main summer project that I really, really want to get done.  This buffet is sorely needin' a paint job.  It's beat up and just plain ugly.  (It actually looks much better in the picture than in person.)  I think I am probably one of the few people who does not like dark wood furniture.  I actually prefer painted furniture...usually white or cream.  This monstrosity has been in my dining room for more than a year and I've been waiting (rather impatiently) to paint the thing.  Here's an example of what I'm going for...(Jona, of course!)

The only problem is...I also hate the wall paper.  So here's my dilemma...do I paint the walls first, then figure out what color to paint the buffet or paint the buffet white and get all the furniture looking the way I want, then find a wall color to go with it? 

My husband is hoping that I will like the wallpaper after I paint the buffet as he thinks it's great.  (I reeeally don't think I will!)  Even my kids love this wallpaper.  I told them they could decoupage something with it after I tear it off the wall.  That almost won them over.

Yet Another Sewing Party

Yep, we had another one.  Well, it ends up being a party when the girls plan lunch/tea along with the sewing of the aprons. 

It is so much fun to watch the girls use the sewing machines all on their own...and complete an entire project beyond a basic pillow.  What an accomplishment for an 8 year old!  I also love that they pick out their own fabrics.  You never know what they'll end up with.  I love the stripe/polka dot combo that Bethany picked.  I would never have put those two together, but they look darling!  Wow!

Here is our latest batch.  Alli is here with her apron that she started a while back, but just finished today.  She had decided she wanted to gather the main part.  Wha???  I'm a pattern follower.  I'm not a "make-up-a-new-pattern" kind of person.  But Alli is a "make-up-a-new-pattern" kind of person, so I tried to guide her in the right direction.  Only problem...it took a little longer than she expected and she had given up...until today.  I'm so glad she finished it.  It looks great.  She's not too sure it was worth it as you can't really tell it's gathered while you are wearing it.  :)

My New Favorite Bag

I love this new tote bag pattern...it's pretty easy and the bags are a great size.  The girls and I each have plans to make one for our knitting stuff.  Alli's turned out great.  For mine, I chose Heather Bailey's Pop Garden...everything she does is so beautiful and original. 

But I really don't think I can use it for knitting after all.  It's too darn cute to be sitting in a corner somewhere stuffed with yarn.  I've claimed it as my new purse...until I make the next one, of course.

My only problem with this tote...the handles are way too wide!  I made them smaller (by mistake) for Alli's bag, but I was careful to follow the instructions more closely this time.  I think it must be another mistake, because they are awkwardly large.  I still love it though...wide handles or not.

Insta-Skirt

Well, my little creative one is at it again.  It seems every day she comes up with another idea...something cool to sew, knit, or draw.  Today, she came up with what I am calling the "skirt in an instant". 

She took an old t-shirt, cut off the bottom (starting right under the arms), and zig-zagged the raw edge.  She cut slits in the hem and laced a cord through for the tie.  Then she decorated the ends of the cord with beads. 

 

Viola...instant skirt!  I think it took all of 10 minutes!  I may give this a shot myself!