Guest Bedroom: Before & After

BEFORE

Fabric

Pillow Case

Pillows Finished

Curtains Finished

Room Complete

1982: Mothers Day Gift From My Mom to My Grandmother

The new house is bigger then our old one, and one of the advantages to this is having a guest bedroom. It has been fun to decorate with a clean slate and the use of old things and new things. My sisters gave me some old things of theirs to make them new to me. Jennifer gave me a couple yards of a fun modern print and Becca gave me two antique chairs, a side table, and vintage sheets all belonging to my grandmother. T.J. insisted on hanging the longhorns that belonged to his grandfather. All of this came together in a vintage/antique/western/modern prints collaboration. I even had a place for my mothers owls that she made for her mom in 82' and a photo shoot I did in college of black and white prints of my two girlfriends with vintage clothing, hula hoops, and bubbles. The fabric was made into curtains, and pillow covers. It's ready to be slept in for any guest coming to visit. Hopefully it will be used soon by some Denton folk, but for right now Kiki thinks it's her own personal room.

The Purple Lady

 

Rachel's Birthday Party 2009

My friend Rachel is obsessed with the color purple. She claims it as her own. Her glasses are purple, her clothes are purple, her coat is purple, her shoes are purple.....even her pinata on her birthday was purple. So it is only right for me to knit her a purple circle scarf. I did the double drop stitch every four rows. It's ready to be delivered to Denton, to a lady I miss, a good excuse to leave town for a night to listen to blue grass, build fires, and let the dogs play in her backyard.

Future Projects

I have a list of projects that I slowly mark off a list that I keep in my studio. Since we moved, the list has gotten longer. Some things have been on the list for over a year. I hope to tackle them in the next two months. Here is my list thus far.

1. Sew Baby Bedding for my future nephew.
2. Sew Curtains for the guest bedroom.
3. Sew Napkins (I bought the fabric in the summer of 09')
4. Re-do 1920's/30's? Dresser: Fix drawer and refinish.
5. Knit Button Cowl for Becca. 
6. Bathroom: Remove awful sliding shower doors, re-paint with gloss paint, and caulk.
7. Paint Vent Hood in Kitchen
8. Sew Pillows for the Guest Bed
9. Re-do 1970's end table. 
10. Build a garden bed in the front yard.
11. Paint Chalk board?? Really haven't figured that one out.  

The sweetest guy...

.....makes me breakfast every morning and leaves it in the fridge for me to wake up to after he has gone to work. He feeds the animals, lets out the doggy and always kisses me goodbye when I'm in my slumber. He's my T.J. and I don't know what I would do without him. I don't like cooking that much ( I'm too critical with myself and I think anything I cook never turns out good) so he does...and I clean. A perfect match I would say.

Blueberry Pancakes

The winter always brings comfort food to mind when we are sitting in the house with our long socks and slippers on. I bought blueberries at the store....for what I don't know. Then Friday I thought...."I want blueberry pancakes!!" as I said at the dinner table. Sunday I finally made them. I used whole wheat pancake mix....although buckwheat is better in my opinion. Either way we demolished them, along with some ice coffee. T.J. is building my confidence back up for cooking. I've been out of practice for too long.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Securing with a stitch

 

I finished my sister in-law's button cowl right before the weekend. The buttons are vintage and from my grandma's stash I received over the summer. I decided to do the double drop stitch every 5 rows. I really liked how it came out and I hope Lindsay will too. She wanted something to match her coat which is white, black, and gray. 

Cat vs. Dog

Dog vs. Cat

 We had a guest in our house this weekend and our kitty didn't like him very much. Gus the Australian Shepherd came to stay from Wednesday to Saturday. His parents went skiing and he needed a place to stay. It was our first time to watch Gus and he was a very good guest.....Kiki would plead differently. The cat didn't like the dog, and the dog didn't know what to think of the cat. He would stare at her indefinitely if allowed. The two pictures are of them in a stare off, the cat hissing every so often. I decided to put the baby gate up to the studio while Kiki perched herself on my drafting table covering it and my computer with hair. Despite the hair, it was nice to pet her while I was at my desk. Emmy at first was much like a toddler, telling Gus what is "MINE!" She warmed to his presence soon after establishing her dominance and they would play for hours in the backyard.

When we first looked at our house to consider it for renting the door was painted a lovely blue. But the day we moved in, it had been painted over this washed out taupe. That same night when we went to pick up essentials from the store I got a quarter gallon of blue/green paint that was as close to the color the door had previously been. I put two coats on it and it might need a bit more touching up. It's a little brighter then the previous color. Our chairs clash a bit, but I'm hoping to find some lime green ones soon. I love bright colors in small quantities. The same taupe is on the garage and on a column and I hope to get rid of it when it gets warmer to brighten up the house. I know it's just a rental, but to me it's fun to watch how a little bit of paint can change the face of a house.

 

Kierra and Aliyah

My childhood friend's daughter Aliyah turned 2 this week and I knitted her a hat. I don't know Aliyah very well, but I hope the move to Dallas will turn that around. 

One big reason I am happy about living here is seeing babies of family and friends grow up. That is something you will never replace in life and living a little too far away has made me realize that I want to see these little ones develop.

Baby Shower

The cutest cake ever.

Drinks and Flowers

Festive Candies

Baby Talk Game

I drew this owl on my moms pantry chalk board

Fruit Kabobs

Pee-Pee Tee-Pee :) Onesie reminds me of BIG the movie

Last weekend was the baby shower for my sister. I tried to photograph as much as I could. There were ladies everywhere, stories being told, food being eaten, champagne being drunk, and multiple pregnant woman. Only one was being celebrated, and that is Becca and her baby boy Everett. The theme was owls and forest critters, which is the same as her nursery. Next project is her baby bedding.

Baby Gift: Everett and Becca

 I made my gifts for my sisters baby shower my sister, my mom, and I hosted. 

Printed Onesies

Supplies

Cutting out stencil

Cut and ready stencils

Layering

Drying

In process

Finished Product

Finished Product

Finished Product

These decorated onesies were fun and easy to make. I of course got all my inspiration from Lotta Jansdotter's book Simple Sewing for Baby. I used two of her ideas for stencils and three of my own. The bird and the dog/wolf Lotta's. I thought the dog looked like a coyote so I added a moon and a star. 

How to make:

Supplies :

    Acetate, or stencil paper (I used Bristol board)

    Permanent marker (or pencil)

    Craft knife

    Cutting mat or heavy cardboard

    Paints and inks for fabrics ( I used Tulip Soft fabric paint...Matte)

    Old Plate

    Fabric

    Masking tape (your best friend)

    Stencil brush or sponge (brush for small spaces and edges, sponge for large spaces)

    Old Towel

    Cardboard/ Bristol Board (to put in between the front and back of shirts)

    Scissors 

1. Draw your design on stencil paper and cut out using a craft knife and cutting board. 

2. Tape your stencil to the designated area on the fabric or clothing. 

3. Use old plate for paint and start with the sponge to fill large areas and the stencil brush 

    for edges and small spaces. note: put pressure around edges of stencil so you get a crisp line. 

4. Put 2 to 3 layers of paint on.

5. Place fabric in a safe place and allow to dry for 4 hours before removing the stencil. 

6. Remove the stencil. Safe to wash after 72 hours, but turn inside out.

Changing Pad

padding, flannel, heavy cotton print

Strap is placed between flannel and heavy cotton on the inside.

Rolled Out

Rolled UP

Another thing I made for my sister was a changing pad that you can roll up and take anywhere. This was so simple to make and will come in handy a lot! I used about 5/8 yard of a heavy cotton that I found in the home furniture fabrics section at JoAnn's, 5/8 yard of flannel, 5/8 yard of either very thin quilt batting or a soft plush fabric, 3 inch black elastic, and sew on black velcro. 

If you line up all the edges of the fabric, first putting the batting or plush fabric down, then the flannel, and then the heavy cotton, with the print facing down. 

Then determine how you will fold the changing pad and where you would like the strap to go. Place the strap on the inside inbetween the heavy cotton and the flannel, making sure it's straight and that the edge of it is sticking out enough to be secure when sewed. 

Sew three sides, and leave a shorter side un-sewn. Flip right side out. Iron in the last side with a half inch hem. Then you can measure and trim the strap and sew on the velcro and appropriate places.

 Tag Blankie

These apparently are very addicting to the wee ones. This is a very simple project with little supplies. All I did was cut two cotton squares each 13 inches so when sewed it would be a foot big on each side. Iron a 1/2 inch hem on all sides of the two pieces and put them together so there is a print on two sides. You can choose any ribbon you want both shiny and ribbed. I found a cute owl ribbon and matched colors to it. I cut 5 inch, 4 inch, and 3 inch long ribbon strips to fold in half and pin all around the edge of the blankie. For this sized tag blankie a yard of each kind of ribbon resulting in 4 yards of ribbon.  I hope Everett will like all his little gifts, and Becca as well.

Sold

Supplies

Brown feathers with silver

Black feathers with gold

Order DONE

I've been making my feathered earrings since my junior year of high school. Now I'm selling them to my friend Vicki. She owns a great shop here in Dallas called The Shining. Last week I delivered her ten feathered earrings. It's here second order and I hope there will be more. 

It takes simple supplies: 
feathers
28 - 25 gauge wire
craft needle nose pliers
wire cutters
clamping earing hooks
simple beads