SPRINKLES!!!!

Hey there. It's been a while. 

This morning I got an article torn out of BUST magazine in the mail.

It was titled,

Cut from a Different Cloth: Amy Sedaris' New Fabric Line will Give you a Crafting Boner

Now that is a fucking title. 

Which reminds me. I've decided not to censor myself on my blog anymore. I drop F-bombs like sprinkles and that's okay. It's part of who I am. I try to refrain from dropping too many in social situations where it's inappropriate or around my 1 year old, but to be honest, I'm also a lot more concerned about her speech being kind than I am about whether or not it includes a few expletives. Yup. I just said that, Mom. Sorry. Love you!

Anywho, it lead to me having this little conversation with myself in a chat to the AWESOME person who sent it to me. 

I really want to blog about a crafting boner

think it's okay if i start blogging like i actually talk? maybe that's my niche? people who drop f bombs like sprinkles and want to build awesome shit and crafty things?

in fact, i think it is

So, there you go kids. My new niche. It's what sets me apart from all the awesome mommy/DIY/home decorating blogs I read. Which are totally awesome. I love you all. I'm just not you. I'm someone who totally got a craft boner over Amy Sedaris' fabric line (and yes, I'm aware it was a very old article and it has been out for a very long time). I also have hilariously inappropriate conversations while walking across campus with my bestie/GBF(gay boyfriend). My authentic self demands it and I will no longer suppress her.

I'm really happy about this because I think part of my deal was that I just didn't really feel like my blog was me. It was generally random (totally me), and crafy (also me), but it didn't quite ring true somehow.

I know, you're thinking, "how exactly does the judicious use of expletives make that big of a difference?" 

I does. To me. And that's really all that matters since it's MY blog.

In related news, I found this other article from BUST while searching for a link to the article she sent me. Hint, it's bigger on the inside. That's a Dr. Who reference for those of you who didn't catch it. It was mostly just for you, Babe. 

How to Make DIY Blackout Curtains

Remember back in February when I posted about my snow day project?

It's still not done.

Not the curtains. I finished those up in four-ish days working during naps and after Norie was in bed.

That sounds really quick now, but at the time it felt like forever. I ran out of thread and bent two needles including one as I back-stitched the very last seam of the very last curtain.

Grrr.

I even hung them, as long as you count thumb tacking them to the wall hanging them.

I had to. Norie will not sleep in a well lit space and snow plus lots of windows equals a super well lit space.

The part I can't get done is the curtain rods. I'm way too cheap to buy them so I'm going to spray paint some EMT (à la this tutorial) and add some finials you might recognize, but it's been too cold.

No curtain rods means no curtain reveal, but since my blog buddy, Crystal, (like my real, bi-directional blog friend who knows who I am) wanted to know how I made them I figure I can give you the run down on the sewing part of the process and how cheaply I made them.

I had been trying to figure out what I was going to do for curtains in the play room for a while. The room could seriously use some temperature moderation (it has two huge windows and no heating vents) and I knew eventually the light factor would be become an issue with Norie's 7pm bedtime. I found some king sheets on super clearence at Target and bought two sets (I checked the dimensions listed on the package and did some mental math to figure out how many I needed to make six 84" curtains). They were $11.38 each. I couldn't wait to chop them up.

I used Ana White's Tab Top Curtains which I've done before, but this time I added the blackout fabric. I got it for a steal too. No really, 60% off home decor fabrics at JoAnn's with a President's Day coupon. Since I needed 14 yards of the stuff and it usually runs $6.99 a yard I saved like 60 bucks.  My total was only $42.65 including tax. Woot! I bought so much they put it back on a roll for me and I had to unroll it on the living room floor to cut it.

I didn't have to make any changes to Ana's Tab Top Curtain Plan to line them. I just cut the blackout fabric into 84" sections and lined the curtains with them. To make sure I sewed the blackout fabric in the right place I folded the fabric over 5/8" (the plan says 1/2", but I have this thing about 5/8" so I guess technically I made a tiny change) at the top and sides and ironed it. Then I folded the top down 4" and ironed it to make a crease to follow.

When you unfold it will look like this.

I laid the blackout fabric up next to the crease line and even with the fabric I folded over so that it would be inside the finished edge, but not all folded up in the finished edge. Hopefully that makes sense. If not, let me know.

I took a close up so you could see what I mean.

Then I just folded the fabric over again around the blackout fabric and pinned and stitched it at like 1/2" because I'm a little neurotic and I like finishing seams like that to be 1/8" from the edge instead of a 1/4".

I did the same thing on the other side and just wrapped the blackout fabric in the same basic way in the top and bottom hems.

Sheets - $11.38 x 2= $22.76

Blackout fabric = $42.65

Thread (because I ran out and had to buy more) = $3.22

Total = $68.63

That's only $11.44 a curtain. Austin says I should figure in my time and they would become really expensive, but DIY is meant for people who have more time than cash, right?

Flat Wall Book Holders

Here's another flashback project post. I really love these shelves so I'm not exactly sure why I never posted about them. They hold a ton of books, fill some wall space, and we made them out of scraps from the Dream Dollhouses.

We used these plans from Ana White to make two 24" shelves and one 36" shelf. Yes, Austin helped with this building project. Usually I'm way to controlling to get help, but I was pretty pregnant at the time and rational choices had to be made. If only I was that functional all the time I we would probably get more done.

To attach them to the wall we just screwed them into the studs (after pre-drilling with a counter sink bit).

The whole project took maybe an afternoon and most of that was spent waiting for the paint to dry.

And yes, I'm prepping for a full nursery reveal someday soon. I'm shooting for before Norie's first birthday. :)

New Chalk Paint Recipe and a Desk Reveal

Several weeks ago I posted about the desk I worked on with my mom on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. By "worked on with" I mean painted while she busted her butt to sand and refinish the entire top. I didn't get it oiled and moved off the porch and back into the house until a week or so later. Ever since I've been meaning to move our desk stuff back into it and stage it for some glamor shots.

That's not going to happen in the near future and I'm working on being honest with myself about what I can actually accomplish and not starting new projects I won't finish.

I've come to terms with it. I hope you have too and you appreciate the poorly lit shots I took.

Before I show them to you I want to share my mom's new homemade chalk paint recipe. It is a MASSIVE improvement over the old one.

DIY CHALK PAINT RECIPE:

1 part HOT water

1 part plaster of Paris

3 parts paint

Mix the water and plaster and shake the bejesus out of it, shake it like a Polaroid picture, shake it like I don't know what, but shake it really, really well. Then just add the paint and shake it a bit more. It was the most amazing painting experience I have ever had in my whole life.

I mean that.

My WHOLE life.

Anyways, so those iffy, dark pictures of the amazing desk I promised you.

Someday you'll see some improved shots. Maybe when I add the room to the house tour.

DIY Train Table I Made from Free Plans

I meant to post about this before Christmas, but since I just barely got it finished (like I requested a five minute warning to make sure I got it in off the porch and hidden in plain sight as a coffee table on Christmas Eve barely got it finished) I didn't get any pictures taken. I also failed to take any while it resided in my living room until it was picked up by my in-laws.
Thank goodness Grandma was wielding her camera on Christmas morning or I'd have nothing.

That's it in the background. Isn't it cute?

Are you as distracted as I am by the adorable father daughter moment happening in the foreground?

So yeah, basically I hid the table in plain sight not four feet from the present opening extravaganza and my nieces had no idea until they got a train set. They were pretty excited it. 

When we said we should set it up, they were like, "where?" and I was all, "HERE!"

Note to self: train sets are super complicated. With four adults helping I think we got it done in like half an hour.

The only changes I made from Ana White's free Mom's Train Table plans were skipping the bottom shelf and cutting half circles on either side for opening the top. I wanted it to be flat so you could set things on top without them running in to handles, but in hindsight it also means you can easily lose the balls from your Hungry Hungry Hippos game down the holes.

I painted it aqua at their mom's request and I love the color. I distressed it a bit and stained the bare parts. I should have taken some photos of the finish, but I didn't.  I also painted the opposite side of the top with chalkboard paint so the girls can draw when they aren't busy playing with trains.

Sorry I don't have a better full table shot. I'll try to update when I get one.

UPDATE: My wonderful sister-in-law sent me a photo.

How Tuesday: Super Cheap Baby Name Nursery Wall Art

A couple of months ago I posted about my plans for wall art in the nursery. I've been meaning to post about this one for a while. It's one of my favorites AND I made for less than $2.

Yep. I said TWO dollars. I really wish I'd taken pictures throughout the process, but it just really didn't take that long or involve that many steps.

I picked the frame up off my mom's driveway several years ago. It's been waiting for me to put something in the middle ever since. My mom painted it with ASCP in Provence while she was here for Hibbs House Project Week back in March. That paint is super expensive, but it didn't take much. I'm figuring a dollar and I'm sure that's high.

I bought the cardboard letters at Hobby Lobby when they were 50% off. The whole alphabet was originally $4.99, so I got it for $2.50 and I only used 5 of the 26 letters, $0.48.

I glued a fancy sheet of polka dot scrapbooking paper I got for a quarter at a second hand store (it was a leftover from the Dream Dollhouse) to them. Then I remembered I should take a picture, a blurry one with my phone.

I wasn't sure what kind of ribbon to hang them from. Thank goodness for picture messages to my mom.

She was totally right about the yellow.

I hung the letters from the frame's wire with about two yards of ribbon I bought at Wal-Mart. Ten yards for $0.48. Let's call it 10 cents.

Total Cost: 1.00+0.48+0.25+0.10 = $1.77

Super easy. Super cheap. Super cute.

I really like it next to the piece I got from my sister for Christmas. :)

DIY Quilting Hoop Wall Art Reveal

First, a confession. I'm writing this at 9pm in bed after a meeting that, while valuable, meant I missed all of Norie's awake time tonight and it is taking every single tiny bit of my strength of will not to go pick her up out of her crib and snuggle the crap out of her. Like I'm actually hoping she wakes me up a lot tonight so I can see her even though I'm sick and really need the sleep. I basically want to skip all evening activities from now until she's old enough to be obnoxious so I can spend all the possible time I can with her.

Moving on.

Remember way back in October when I posted this about my DIY Quilting Hoop Wall Art? I promised you pictures of it up, but never delivered. I'm working on doing what I say I'll do so here you go. I gave it some little embroidery hood friends too. One has a cut of piece of a gift bag from the baby shower and the other has a doily and a piece of a sheet Austin's grandmother gave us.

I think Norie really likes the bird. I hung them over the changing table so she stares at them sometimes while I'm changing her diaper. Other times she tries with all her might to roll off the changing table, but that's another story.

JOY Sign Transformation

Guess what? I finally started Christmas decorating and I can't resist a close up of anything shiny. 

I made this JOY sign last year. I was never really happy with it was so meh about it I never even finished it. When I pulled it out of the basement it looked like this.

Meh, right? A couple of night ago I revamped it.

First, I pulled off the pine cones and holly stuff. Meh.

Then I gave it a brush down with a brighter green.

Better already, right?

I thought so, but I wanted some bling. Cue tiny Christmas balls my mom picked up while thrifting and some I bought off Craigslist. I also painted over the off white on the J and Y with gesso. I didn't have any white paint.

Just two short hours of hemming and hawing over the placement of every single individual ball (and one serious hot glue burn) later I had this.

It makes me super happy. it's so shiny.

Now, if I can just get up some other decorations so he doesn't seem so lonely.

DIY Quilting Hoop Frame Wall Art

I love a "how to" post. This one isn't super complicated, but I love how it adds some interest and personality to a word print.

This is where a picture of the finished product would make sense.

Notice it's not there. That's because I haven't actually taken a picture of it hanging up. I assure you it is. I just don't have any photographic proof.

I got the print months ago for donating to Love Without Boundaries after Ashley of Under the Sycamore started the Incubator Project. The print was designed by her sister Lesley of Recipe for Crazy. Then I gave birth and it just sort of hung out in our spare bedroom with some other prints I need to frame.

I finally got motivated when I saw some quilting hoops at a nieghbor's garage sale not two days after I saw this picture from the Whatever Craft Weekend House. http://megduerksen.typepad.com/craft/2012/08/always-awesome.html

First I mounted it on a sheet of scrapbooking paper with these dots that I'm just totally in love with. It has the same super bright orange as the small lettering and really brings it out.


See those little words? They say

a bird doesn't sing

because it has an answer,

it sings because it has a

I'm so in love with the paper that I cut out the part that would be entirely behind the print with an Exact-O knife so I could save it for something else. They have matching fabric at Hobby Lobby. It makes me smile.

 

Isn't it lovely?

Anywho, I started with this big ol' hoop. You should go ahead an ignore the fact that I obviously forgot to document the print with paper until after this step. :)

That's the paper I saved to the left. :)

I cut a piece of some fabric I've had lying around for a while big enough to leave some excess and stretched it in the hoop.



Then I realized I needed the ribbon under the hoop too. Or at least I wanted it that way. I measured some ribbon I had leftover from some another project and re-stretched the fabric. Then I trimmed the edges so I had just an inch or so of fabric left all the way around.

Yes, those are baby feet in footie pajamas. I was working on this little project while home alone with Norie. Note to self: baby plus scissors is probably a bad idea.

After that I just taped down the fabric around the inside rim and used a couple of clothespins to hang the print from the ribbon.

It was done-ish, but I thought it needed something. This is the state it's been in the whole time that "Finish the wall art I started for the Song print I got for donating to Love Without Boundaries" has been on my list.

Then it hit me.

I used the bird silhouette from way back when Layla put a bird on it.

I managed to grab a blurry shot with my phone while it was still on the dining table.

1. Buy a bracket and rehang the blinds in the bedroom
2. Plant the mum by friend Nancy gave me
3. Write something on my DIY Chalkboard
4. Finish my fall mantel
5. Take Norie's four month pictures before she's five months old
6. Finish the wedding plate wall art
7. Make some bunting for my office
8. Build a pallet bar/wall art to cover up the attic fan switch
9. Make a DIY ribbon chandelier for Norie's room
10. Do something with the shutters my aunt got me last year
11. Put the label plates back on the enormous drawer thing and label the drawers
12. Finish the wall art I started for the Song print I got for donating to Love Without Boundaries
13. Finish my desk
14. Finish the table scape for Campbell Family Thanksgiving 2012
15. Hang the awesome owl latch hook my sister gave me at Norie's baby shower
16. Clean up the porch
17. Finish the October page in my pregnancy scrapbook (yes, that would be last October)
18. Fix the leg on the coffee table and finish repainting it
19. Sell the coffee and end tables
20. Make a coffee table
21. Create a gift wrapping/gift wrap organizing space
22. Start working on fun holiday decorations
23. Finish the other Dream Dollhouse from last year's Make Two Challenge
24. Make some DIY cake stands from wedding plates and candlesticks.
25. Make map mats for vacation photos