Hay There!

I've been working on my free chairs and when I took them apart I found the seat cushions were padded with hay! It's a little creepy! Needless to say I will be using nice, new, clean chair padding when I put them back together!

A bird in the hand...

I found yet another reason to haul out my new sewing machine. Yay! While at the Goodwill a while back, my sister found this needle point wall hanging and commented that it would make a great pillow. That was all I needed to hear! At the time I was looking for any excuse to sew more stuff! Because the needle point is so old fashioned and quaint I wanted the back fabric to be more modern and graphic. I like the contrast and that it's reversible. I just wish I had added some pink trim or tassels...maybe next time!!

Gum-Drop Pillow: Part Deux!

After multiple trips to "Jo-Ann's" to buy ..."just 1 more box"... of fiber-fill, I have finished my second Gum-drop pillow! I bought 1 yard of this grey ikat from West Elm, and that was all it took, barely a scrap left over! I stuffed, and stuffed, and stuffed it full with 3+ boxes of fiber-fill and then sewed it up, all the while trying to contain all that stuffing! What a job that was!! I love how it turned out and it fits into my living room perfectly...and I finally got to take my new sewing machine out of the box!

Visions of Gumdrops...

I finally decided what to do with this lovely grey ikat fabric I got from West Elm. Here is a clue!

Ode to My Mentors

My Grandmother made this patchwork dog, out of scrap yarn no doubt! My Mom hand sawed 2 pieces of plywood to create this perfect sun burst mirror! I am the proud owner of both these treasures!

On this Mothers Day I would like to pay tribute to a couple of my crafty mentors: My Grandma Reta B and my amazing Mother, Christie. My grandmother was literally a pioneer. She grew up in the country and while sitting in a horse drawn wagon, taught herself how to knit with an old scrap of red yarn. Some 60 years later she taught me to knit. She crocheted over 100 afghans in her life and I still have the 1 she made me. She taught me how to use a thimble and she had a large collection of them that I inherited from her along with bags of yarn and half done projects. She and I had a somewhat unsuccessful attempt at learning tole painting...but we tried!! She was the original DIYer not just out of fun or hobby but out of necessity and the need to preserve the craft. I often wonder what she would think of me now and what I have done with the skills she passed on to me. And then there is my truly amazing mother. When she was 18 and her and my Dad were newly married, their first home together was on an Air Force Base. Their base housing was without a fireplace, so for Christmas she made one out of cardboard. She painted it like brick and hung their homemade stockings from it. She has sew everything from bibs and pajamas to matching dresses and Halloween costumes galore. She can slipcover anything! For several years she made our holiday cards, lining us 5 kids up on the couch for a photo she would take and frame beautifully with construction paper, every one done by hand. Our parents built us a Barbie penthouse one Christmas and my Mom decorated every room perfectly, framing our tiny school photos and hanging them there so we could pretend that we were Barbies pals. She can paint and draw beautifully, use a miter box, work a jigsaw, hang wallpaper, do stained glass, and one summer she painted the entire outside of our 3 story house using just an extension ladder and a brush. If the whole diy-home improvement-blogging world existed back then she would have ruled it. Only she would not have had time because she was too busy being creative to brag about it. My grandma Reta B and my beautiful Mother Christie are my crafting idols. They were crafty before crafty was cool, and they taught me everything I know!

LinkWithin Love

I ordered 1 yard of this lovely grey ikat from west elm. I'm not at all sure what I'm going to do with it but I love how it is used here:

Since I only bought 1 yard I will likely bust out my new sewing machine and make a pillow or 2...or I could turn to my tried and true, girls best friend-staple gun and transform a chair seat into a work of art...or sell some of my stock in fiberfill and make another pouf! The possibilities are endless!!

"And the Oscar goes to...."

When my oldest son was in high school he took a pottery class. He is a writer and at the time was big into screen writing, penning such classics as "Blood Fest" and "70's Snug", soon to be at a theater near you, I'm sure! Well, along with a lovely blue bowl and a less lovely, but much more interesting, pinch pot trio, he made this "Oscar" for himself inscribed with "Best Screen Writer" It makes me smile every time I look at it, not because of how imperfect it is, but because of how perfectly confident he was, and is. When he wins his first real Oscar he can put them side by side on his mantel and remind himself where it all started.

Just Gretel

I have found some really cool things while surfing around the Internet. It is amazing how one thing leads to another and before you realize it you have gone from a review of "The Stories of John Cheever" to some guy's blog about life in Chicago, to a link to these cool book shelves. Its easy to forget where you started but that's what is fun about it. If I leave a trail of bread crumbs, aka: constantly adding to my favorites pages, I can usually find my way back.

Hair-DO!!

As an amateur decorator,

a lover of letterpress art from ETSY

and a longtime hairdresser,

I love this little bit of simple beauty.

Embrace it baby!!

I Love Fox News

My son is turning 20 on Monday, but you're never too old for cookies, right? I first saw these on Evie's blog, and put them on my wish list, because I just knew that someday I would find an event worthy of their awesomeness! Don't you agree that a sons 20th birthday is just that event? Ha! We came up with some fun words, and quotes just for him and will be heading down to Eugene tomorrow to deliver them in person! (The Gutenberg Galaxy is his latest blog!) Thanks Evie!

Form Over Function!

Do you remember this dresser I got back in July? It was a mega-bargain at Goodwill and I could not pass it up despite the very clear lack of need for another chest of drawers of any sort!! As you know that has never stopped me before! Well, I have finally finished, found a home for, and photographed said dresser, and here it is! It was a bit of an experiment for me, I hadn't done much decorative painting before, but how hard could it be? Right? Turned out it was easy and fun. I just cut out a shape and traced it on and started painting. The hardest part was knowing where and when to stop, I could have covered the whole thing but I thought less was more in this case. I got new drawer pulls and its better then new, except for the fact that the drawers stick so badly I can barely open them! Oh well, it looks great!! Form over function!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!

Have a Super Special 2011!

My Talented Sister

The best Christmas gift I got this year was from my sister Katherine. She is one of the most thoughtful and talented people I know. She put together this amazing and very sweet work of art for all of her siblings which I am lucky enough to be one of. It's an ode to our childhood and growing up together, that I will cherish forever. Thank You Sister, I love you too!

It's True..

I love the simplicity and truth of this

Advent Calender

A few years ago I saw an adorable knitted advent calender in a Garnet Hill catalog. Being an avid knitter at the time with a large stash of scrap yarn and a lot of time on my hands, I did what any good do-it-yourself-er does. I said those 4 magic little words that can sometimes (often) lead to trouble...."I could make that." And I did. I had no pattern so I just made it up as I went along. In about a week I made 12 little mittens and 12 tiny hats and stitched numbers on them all. I fill them each year with small trinkets or candy and for the month of December at least, it gets my curious kids out of bed on time!

Who Needs Starbucks?!

I am not a baker and I am clearly not a food stylist, but I do love a good scone and tis the season for pumpkin! I found this recipe for Starbucks Pumpkin Scones online and they turned out so great! Next time I will add chocolate chips because lets face it everything is better with chocolate chips!

On the subject of chairs....

Another great piece of original art via etsy

this one by uniqueseeker

I Love Chairs!

I never met a chair I didn't want, love, or want to love!

I wish I would have thought of this

but James Hopkins did and it really

made me smile!

Happy Halloween!

I'm not much of a baker but after tuning into "Top Chef : Just Desserts" for the last few weeks I got inspired and decided to break out an old cookie recipe for Halloween. I found this one on the Internet ages ago but its been so long since I've made them and I don't know why, they are so much fun!

Black Cat Cookies

1 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup of water

2 eggs

1 package chocolate cake mix

plain M&M's

Red Hots

Beat together peanut butter, eggs and water. Gradually add cake mix. Mix well. Form the dough into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten balls with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. Pinch out 2 ears at the top of the cookie. Add M&M eyes, and a Red Hot nose. Press a fork into the dough to form the whiskers. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

These cookies are fun to make and were so easy my kids could make them on there own!

Enjoy!!