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Paris Themed Party Games

2013-04-03T13:55:00.000-04:00

Hello and Happy Spring! There are many of Paris-themed party and shower ideas on the Internet, I wanted to add my 2¢ worth, since I thought some of the ideas were worth sharing. Recently, Fun-Sized Chick had her 14th Birthday party. Here's a rundown of what we did.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Invitations: I was going to order customized photo invitations from Etsy, but the date of her party kept changing, so I took matters into my own hands. I think we got a really cute result.

We purchased a beret and Paris themed scarf from eBay. A friend went outside and shot a few photos. I then used Picasa to add the party details. They were printed within an hour at our local Walgreens.

Games:

Paris Bingo - I used landmarks, etc., and hand drew individual bingo cards. They were topped off with a pink Paris stamp (which didn't scan). When I called each symbol out, I had the explanation/history (copied and pasted from Wikipedia, mostly) that I briefly told the girls, i.e., a brief sentence or two on Marie Antoinette (1st picture, 3rd row down).

Pin the Beret on the Birthday girl - I sent one of the photos from the invitation shoot to Staples. (You can do it through copy and print, choose an engineering print.) We ordered the 24" x 36" size, at $3.49 and used sticky tack to adhere it to the wall. We cut out pink and white berets before the party and the girls tried to stick the beret on Fun-Sized Chicks head.

Clothespin Butterflies - The girls made butterflies by folding a 3" x 5" index card in half, then cutting out a butterfly body. Then they used markers and colored pencils and made their own creations. Most of the girls made more than one butterfly. The butterflies were then hot glued to clothespins.

Butterflies on the Eiffel Tower -

The girls added them to the Eiffel Tower (This wasn't a game, per se, but an activity.)

I cut out the Eiffel Tower using my jig saw and a thin piece of wood that was lying around the garage. I tried to measure everything out, but ended up kind of free-handing the template as you can tell, if you look closely, that it's not really symmetrical. Artsy Chick did all of the intricate painting.

Lastly, we did a "photo booth". Nothing new here...Fun-Sized Chick made the lips, moustaches and eyeglasses. We used an empty frame I had around.

I didn't go all-out, eye candy decorating, but I hung pom poms on the chandy and kept to pink/black/white accessories. And, we finally conquered the cupcake icing! All this time we've been experimenting and have had flat icing. I Googled a recipe and found one that worked perfectly from Taste of Home.

Fun-Sized Chick made all of the picks using our die cutter and Paris-themed stamps (found at JoAnns, they are Fiskars, 12 Simple Stick, Paris motif), she also piped all of the frosting.

There was a lollipop bouquet that was part of the centerpiece. I used the Tim Holtz Tattered Flower die. I have made this before doing all freehand flowers, seen HERE.

Lastly, Treat Bags - We used plain white lunch bags, used rubber stamps on them, filled them with nail polish and candy that was part of the centerpiece, and the girls were able to clip them shut with their butterfly clothespins.

Thanks for stopping in, I hope I've inspired you!

Christmas Home 2012

2012-12-17T09:56:00.000-05:00

Hi all! I wanted to pop in and show you my Christmas decor this year. I'm really rusty at posts, so please bare with me. I'm adding blues to my living room, so it's looking nice and fresh to me.

I almost, almost, donated the Santa to the thrift store. The wreath is just refaced with blues and Martha Stewart owls--Tip: The ribbon was from florals, not the Christmas section at JoAnns.

You have not seen this trumeau. It's done in chalk paint, and although it's been up since summer time, I haven't waxed it yet--oy!

One of my favorite new aquisitions, a jewelry holder from Target, festooned to resemble a Christmas tree.

Similar to what I've had here in the past--another NEWBIE--dark brown paint on the wall. Vintage ornaments from the thrift store are in the glass vase.

Although, homemade tool boxes are all the rage, I broke down and purchased one (I know, "Gasp!", right?) from Home Goods.

For those of you who have hung out here before, you may notice that we've moved into the family room area. This is my favorite new display this year--ornaments in BIRD CAGE! I got this idea either from a magazine or online this year, I forget.

This area suffered a little since I was getting ready for a party and ran out of time--there is now an oversized bow draping the boxes. I'm going to make a note to make up wrapped gifts for the sleight next year. This sleigh has been tucked away for who-knows-how-long? in a box in the garage marked "linen closet" that I opened up this summer to see what on earth was in it. It was all Christmas decor. The deer were a new purchase from Lowes.

I just love this little set up. I was going to give the sleigh basket away as a door prize, but found this little deer at Home Goods and used oversized candy canes for the runners.

I didn't mean for this post to be an ongoing commericial for Christmas products--I just wanted to let you in on my freshening up of the house. Coming next...

This is a sneak-peek of my tree topper (hint: Made from a sliced off oatmeal canister!). The tree has been redone in blues, and since I didn't want to spend much, I hand made almost all of the ornaments. I'm really excited to share one, in particular, with you, as I think you'll be able to use it for your own homes in the future. Another hint: I used the last of the coffee sack I won from Marty long ago!

Restoration Hardware Wanna-Be Chair

2012-07-25T17:37:00.001-04:00

We are heading off to vacation tomorrow morning--so what am I doing on the computer?! I thought it would be a great time to share my Restoration Hardware Wanna-Be Chair with you -- finally!

Mine
(Okay, I guess I could have scraped even more paint off)

Theirs
Sells between $595 and $790

I bought two of these burgundy chairs (from Craigslist) and it only took me until 2012 to finish the second one! Inspiration had to strike, I guess. It just got all of the double welting finished last week. The fabric is a linen-look blend. Plus, I'm telling ya it's really comfortable, maybe because it's a Thomasville. (I will probably be selling this chair. If you are in the Tampa Bay area and are interested leave me a comment or email. Crazy, I know, but I'm trying to weed out my furniture, um, collection.)

(I made the welt cutting about 2 1/4" bias strip of the fabric, then folded in a single piece of cotton welt and stitched, then added the second welt piece folding the remaining fabric over and stitching with my double welt presser foot. Here's a double welt tutorial at Much to do With Nothing for you to check out.)

To see the first chair and how I got to this point, click HERE.

I'm so out of practice for blog posts, I barely know how to compose one, anymore. I'm making changes in my living room and hope to be able to show them to you before long--hint--I'm making it less formal and adding a pretty aqua blue.

A great-big shout out "Thanks!" to my friend, Kathleen, at Charm Bracelet Diva for cluing me in that I would have fewer problems if I switched over to Google Chrome!

Quick Bench Turnaround

2012-07-16T18:08:00.000-04:00

No matter when I sign into Blogger, it boots me off and gives me all kinds of problems. (Obviously, I haven't switched over to WordPress.) It tells me I need to update my browser. Darling Husband will have to take care of that for me. Meanwhile, I'm just going to complain, although that's not very productive.

On to what I am planning to blog about---one of my quickest redoes ever. Friday night, whilst I was surfing Craigslist, which has become quite the hobby, I found a bench. My mom was using an over-sized leather ottoman in her foyer area to sit and put her shoes on. I finally got that big monster out of there and to the consignment store, but she still wanted a bench to use in that spot. (Never mind there is a kitchen chair on wheels about one step away.) Anyway, a bench showed up not too far away and was part of an advertisement for a Saturday garage sale.

My Darling Husband and I went out to get coffee Saturday a.m. and I asked him "pretty please" if we could go check it out. The woman was selling lots of furniture. At first I didn't see the bench, but it was hidden back in the recesses of the garage. Phew!

The top photo is how I bought it. Notice the gray spot in the upper right corner? It looked like someone used spray paint and it bubbled up. The middle photo is test-driving a fabric leftover from a former slipcover. The last photo is the finished project, of course. The gray spot was sanded and then I used black gloss paint and lightly feather-sprayed over it. You'll probably notice, too, that I left the welting right on the fabric, as it's at the ends of the bench. You'll see a closeup of it in the very first photo.

Hmm, interestingly enough, it "just happens" to go with this table runner. Seen at THIS post.

I'm so glad I'm finally getting this post up. I've tried several times on my computer, but happen to be on the "big" family computer this afternoon. Go me! I'm so happy to be here remotely connecting with you all!

Hugs!

Pottery Barn Grain Sack Runner

2012-06-07T20:02:00.000-04:00

Just when you think life is smooth-sailing, the waters get rough again. There are some home repairs and other things we need to get in order at the CC Homestead, which kind of has feeling a little overwhelmed.* It's been rainy (which we need!) and a bit dreary here for most of the week. Today, it fits my mood. Anyway, not to be a downer, I thought the least (and I'm really going for "least") I could do was get this post up. *Things got so desperate today, that I went into Publix for a newspaper and also picked up a Lindt chocolate bar (usually it would be dark chocolate with orange and almonds, but today I went for milk). I informed the cashier that it was either that, or a something with hard liquor!

A few weeks ago I was shopping at the thrift store and was looking at the draperies/bedding along the wall. I kept going back (and back and back) to this drapery panel, it looked so grain-sack like. I checked the price. It seemed rather high for the thrift store... Then I looked at the tag and discovered it was from Pottery Barn! Okay, "high" price forgiven. Well what can one do with only one panel? Glad you asked.

You know I can never leave well enough alone, so I made not one, but TWO table runners. The fabric is a nice, I'd even say "luxurious", weave 100% cotton that is quite heavy. First I made one with ruffled ends, then wasn't sure I was feeling the ruffles, so made one with pleats. Now, I can't decide which one I like best!

I used the existing hems and made the other end and side hems to match.

I really like how it looks with the transferware.

Oops, don't let the dishes slide off the table!

So do you think I'm a bit crazy? What would you have done if you found this great panel? I'd like to keep one of the runners for myself--so I don't have to decide, I thought I'd put them both in my Etsy store. Whichever one sells first, I can keep the second one.

This is what else I've been up to:

I'm even quite a bit further than the photo shows! (The Thomasville lining is deceiving because it's more/less the same color as my linen.) I'm also working on two sets of draperies and slipcovers. Never a dull moment!

P.S. Strapping Lad is starting an internship next week, in Seattle of all places. (Not that there's anything wrong with Seattle--it's just about as far as you can get from FL and still be in the continental U.S.!)

Coastal or Elegant

2012-05-29T16:10:00.000-04:00

Did you all have a fun-filled, long weekend? We had a wonderful time and the entire family was here at once--I suggested we get our Christmas photo done--which was met with groans. (I wasn't really serious, but thought it was a good idea, nonetheless.)

A couple of weeks ago, when I was taking some things up to the consignment store, I found these framed, encased paper roses. At the time, the frames were painted in flat white.

It was one of those times, when I passed them by, thinking they were odd, but then thinking "odd" in a compelling sort of way.

I thought they would look good on my Master Bath wall. (I had grown tired of the previous arrangement.) First, the white needed to be repainted. Next, the towel bar was moved about 8" to the left (originally, I had it installed so it was centered in the doorway view, but it bugged me, so I re-centered it on the wall). The patterned "towel" is a liner I made for a basket.

That change made a change on this side of the room necessary. The vase was brought in from the family room--the twigs seem a little aggressive to me, they may get swapped out.

Before

After

Back to the title of my post. I was shooting for elegant. Did I "over shoot" and move into a coastal look with the blue and bead board styled frames?

Painting with a Paint Sprayer

2012-05-23T14:57:00.000-04:00

A paint sprayer seemed like a wise purchase after I decided to buy a crib for Precious Grandson. Actually, I really wanted to get a changing table (to save my back from bending over) and decided to go ahead and get a crib with it.

I found this set on Craigslist, but it came in golden oak.

Painting every spindle seemed quite daunting to me, so upon Carol's advice, I purchased a Command Max paint sprayer from Amazon.

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Sprayer Review

It worked really well. I didn't have any problems with the power being too strong or anything. The directions were easy to follow. I did have to stop and de-clog the spraying tip a couple of times (just with my fingernail), but that may be because I used chalk paint. The part that was a little time consuming was getting the consistency of the paint right. It may be because I used chalk paint which tends to thicken. To get it the proper consistency, you need to put your paint through a (provided) funnel and time how long it takes to run through. It seemed as if the chalk paint needed quite a bit of watering down, although I wouldn't be able to give you a ratio. Fortunately, I was using a can that had been used before, so there was room to mix water in.

The crib was completely disassembled, so I had four separate pieces. The paint went on really well. I used 3-4 coats, part of that was from missing spots on all of the rails. The changing table didn't go quite as smoothly, through no fault of the sprayer, other than it being too tall to fit between the shelves. That necessitated me painting the insides mostly by hand.

It really gave me a nice, smooth finish. I don't paint a lot, but I generally have at least one good-sized project every few months. Fun-Sized Chick wanted her bedroom furniture painted--I wouldn't hesitate with the paint sprayer. Since it was so reasonably priced ($67.74 as of this post), I think I will get my money's worth out of it.
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Now just where are the crib and changing table set up? Gulp. And double gulp. In the master bedroom! Talk about being a little freaky.

It was really a process-of-elimination. The college kids are home right now. Even if they weren't, Strapping Lad's room is too small and Six-Foot Chick's is too far away (it would be cramped, too) and the loft would be too noisy. I honestly think it makes a sweet little corner.

Darling Husband was quite startled when I moved it in (I told him beforehand, but he listened in typical "husband" fashion). For the time being, Precious Grandson is here when we are up--if it came to him spending the night, in all likelihood, we would move the crib out! We're grandparents, not crazy!

No compensation was received for this post.

New Grain Sack Pillow

2012-05-18T11:04:00.002-04:00

I really didn't mean for it to be such a long time between posts. Honest. Two posts ago, I showed you this faux grain sack and coordinating piece of fabric.

It's finished and I love it! The grain sack fabric was trimmed to 27" square to fit an old euro pillow that really was in need of a new cover.

Here it is on my settee so beautifully coordinated. Sigh. Pillow Heaven.

This is the reverse side, I used an over-sized welt cord. Plus, my euro pillow has a secret which I'll share-->

It's as cuddly as a Teddy bear! Why? Here's my secret: When I made this, I couldn't find a euro pillow form around town, so I made my own. But, I didn't use any ol' stuffing. I purchased a discount bed pillow that had a soft down-alternative filling. Oh, so plush! A cover was made out of lining, then the bed pillow was cut and the filling put into the new form--a nice, new cozy pillow! Shhh, I shouldn't give away all of my secrets!

It's one of those decor items that fits just about anywhere in my house. It may even help these girls (Six Foot Chick and Artsy Chick II (Strapping Lad's girlfriend))...Hide? Get cozy? Pillow fight!?

Now, one of the reasons I haven't posted recently.

Headache!

image from funnycutestuff

Blog migration. Argh! I transferred my posts to Wordpress. See prototype HERE. All of my posts transferred and 2/3 of my comments. So far pretty good. Next, I want to get my own domain name (just purchased that this morning) and upload Wordpress to the host. (My Darling Husband has a host, so the domain name goes there.) Although the host has a WP upload, since his is the main website, I need to separately add WP, my data files, and of course point everything in the right direction. Oh yeah, no problem! I need to wait a few days for the domain and host to connect (Um, I could have bought the domain name through the host. Didn't. Darling Husband informed me of that, but it didn't stick in my brain.) If the headache gets too intense, I'm getting a project quote for the host site to do it. As much as I love a good geeky challenge, this might make me pull me hair (or whiskers) out!

So if all goes welllll--there should be some changes pretty soon.

Linking:

Wax Tips

2012-05-08T12:22:00.001-04:00

Hi! I'm back, again, with a couple of wax tips for you. Do you remember the drum table I was working on awhile back, trying to decide on the wax technique I liked best (shown below), the left or right photo? It was painted with Annie Sloan's Provençe then coated with clear and dark wax.

Well, do ya'know that once the wax is dried, it can't be moved around, right? I thought maybe I had ruined my chances of making this look like one cohesive piece. Brainiac that I am, I didn't even think about not being able to adjust the wax.

Tip 1
Enter--ta da--mineral spirits! Mineral spirits will remove any unwanted wax and let you start anew.

Image from Lowes.com

Here is the fully-finished table, all coordinating and everything. Phew, I'm so glad the mineral spirits worked its magic! I was able to remove any unwanted wax and redo it.

Tip 2
Use brushes when applying wax. Previously, I had used a rag.

The last time I visited Robyn Story Designs, she was having a brush special--buy one, get one free. Those are the brushes on the left. The are a bit on the small side (maybe 1" in diameter), but when I purchased them, I had a small project in mind anyway (which you'll see in the future). When you buy your brushes, get two, one each for the clear and dark wax.

But, wait? Why brushes? Once again, I had to learn the hard way. There were two things I noticed with waxing: 1) My clear wax was getting used too quickly, gah, no good!, and 2) The project remained a bit sticky after buffing. Which project? My gorgeous dresser. Remember this beauty?

The stickiness isn't too bad, really, and this doesn't get used a lot (although the Strapping Lad is moving home for the summer!). Now, if I wanted/needed to correct the stickiness, I could employ Tip 1 above.

I hope this helps! Happy waxing! (Ouch, maybe I should rephrase that.)

P.S. This new blogger editing format is killin' me--don't love it! Can someone tell me an easy way to view all of my posts w/o going to my main Dashboard???

The Fancy Flea and Me

2012-05-04T15:49:00.001-04:00

Hey all! (I'm hoping there's still some "all" out there, to view my post!) I had to let you in on my recent trip to the Fancy Flea last weekend in Lakeland, FL, to see my blog buddy, Carol from The Polka Dot Closet. She's from Orlando and I'm from Tampa, so this was a good (almost midway) point.

Carol, was such a joy to meet and was the reason I got over the the Flea Market. And, Yes!, it was worth the trip! The weather was just gorgeous and there was tons of wonderful merchandise. I also saw dear Robyn from Robyn Story Designs. There were a lot of people there and I overheard someone say it was better attended this year, than last.

There were so many tempting items to buy. I purchased a set of vintage drawer pulls from Carol, for which I have a project in mind.

I also bought this stenciled/screened(?) swatch of fabric that I'll guess is 36" square. Could I have done this myself? Yes, yes and yes. However, it was all made up in a print that I don't have, so I'm counting it as a time saver. At this particular booth, they also had these made up as euro pillows for $80--yikes!--so glad I can sew. I am going to use this to recover a euro pillow that I've been ~~sick to death~~ tired of, using the striped fabric peeking out underneath (from Old Time Pottery) for the backing.

And now...the moment I just know you've all been waiting for--a photo of my new precious grandson! He was born about six days early at home on March 29 (so he's a month old, already!). Healthy Chick did a great job and the whole family is doing well. He was 7 lb. 6 oz. and 20 1/2". (Note to self: At least run my fingers through my hair and wear a decent shirt forgodssake when mugging with Darling Little Guy!)

I have some posts that I'd like to get up, so check back soon! Gosh, it's good to be behind the keyboard again.

Good Buys and Goodbyes

2012-03-27T11:45:00.000-04:00

Hello all! How are you this pretty spring morning? It's lovely here, I hope the sun is shining and the birds are singing where you live.

I wanted to take a look back at some of the good buys I've gotten to share with my blogger friends. Do you remember these?

Pottery Barn rug

$60

McCoy Bowl
$15

Drapery Panels (in ROOM here, topper HOW-TO here)
$25

French Settee
$20 "before"

When I was sifting through my close-to-500 posts, the thrift store was the clear bargain winner, followed by Tuesday Morning and Craigslist. Now onto the other half of my post:

Goodbyes

I have decided to take a blog break. You may have seen it coming, I've been thinking about it for months, although it's not been till this last week or two that it's been more difficult to get my posts together. The main reason is I want to reclaim the time that has been spent on-line and use it in real life. I don't know if I'll give blogging up altogether, come back, or reinvent my blog in some other form. I'm considering just putting up posts with more major projects, as well.

I have had such a wonderful time meeting you all, making friends, and being inspired by your encouraging comments or your blogs that include interesting stories, beautiful pictures, wonderful ideas and sometimes even sorrow and heartbreak... It's with a heavy and sad heart that I'm writing this. I will miss my frequent interaction with you all.

I also really appreciate all of the features I've been given over the last two and a half years. So many blog friends have been generous in recognizing my projects. I didn't do a post, either, on being featured in Good Housekeeping magazine. You see, I'm a bit red-faced because I don't know exactly what issue it's in--I haven't seen it! It was sometime between November 2011 and January 2012 [I'm assuming, because they contacted me in October. Nothing like waiting almost six months to officially tell you all (although, I did mention it on Facebook), sadly, it's so "me" to not be on top of it!]

The mention was for this stencil project that I made from their magazine:

Cool, huh? I really need to email them back and see when it ran. Shame on me, but many thanks to Good Housekeeping magazine!

While I'm absent remember to...

Image snatched from thelittlehousewife.blogspot.com

Hugs and sweet thoughts,

Out-of-the-Box Decor

2012-03-23T08:14:00.001-04:00

Hi yah! I know I'm really out of the Easter loop, sigh. Which doesn't mean I haven't been busy! Ya'll know I've been working on my mom's condo on and off. During spring break last week, I was able to paint the guest room. (Ben Moore's aura, only one gallon for the entire room! A beautiful golden color called "Honeymoon" from their Affinity stack. Okay, commercial interruption is over.) I haven't ordered the daybed bedding, yet, but I did get a chance to deck the walls this week. Since she moved to a smaller place, there are a lot of wall decor pieces to choose from. Or not.

Although, many of you are masters with your walls, this post may give others inspiration. This hanging guitar was a surprise for my mom. It is my dad's old steel guitar (he passed away three years ago). I didn't tell her I was planning on hanging it and when I pulled the guitar from its case, she cried. Isn't it gorgeous? It's a piece of art on its own. I purchased this guitar hook from Amazon. If you want one get it now, when I purchased it, last week, it was about $4.50, as I'm setting up this link the sale price is $2.65!

These are the items we used: My dad's guitar; small wire guitar player; a picture that my parents purchased after seeing the artist actually paint it in Paris. Isn't that so cool! My mom said she didn't like the picture itself that much(!). The colors go perfectly with the wall color. I like it because it has heavy strokes of paint on it, darn, should have gotten a close up! The bowl used to hold fruit in it (don't ask) on the coffee table. Lastly, the drawer pulls on the dresser were repainted with ORB. I found it on Craigslist for her former guest room, selecting it because of the petite shape. It is really out of her style comfort zone, but it goes well with the daybed. I would like to paint the entire thing, but it's at the bottom of a really long to-do list, so it's probably staying this way.

The mirror was recently purchased at Old Time Pottery--we added the dark items to tie in with it, as well as, the daybed frame, you can see a peek of it in the mirror. I couldn't get the middle medallions off (there weren't screws in the back, and I didn't want to try prying them off.)

Still on the to-do list: Get a new lamp and maybe something else pretty for the dresser top, (the sunflowers just happened to be there). There's a book shelf to the immediate right of this that needs some TLC. And, of course, the bedding and maybe some curtains...

One final note--I really like hanging things in a vertical line--it takes up negative space and looks contemporary.

I hope I've inspired you to begin or continue thinking about what you may have packed up or sitting on a table that you could hang on the wall.

A New Tray

2012-03-21T09:30:00.000-04:00

It all started innocently enough. I was doing a quick scoot-through of a furniture store for a client. When this caught my eye. I thought "Hmm, that would look good at my house!"

Since I was in a furniture store, I figured it would have a high price tag. Plus, the size is generous, 15" x 25". I was, oh, so wrong! For less than $30, including tax, this beauty came home with me. Since I thought lightening might strike twice, I priced another one of their trays--cough, cough--about $70, which is what I expected.

"Light"

To "trick" it out for Easter, I decided to try both a light and dark version of accessories.

"Dark"

Which to you like better? Dark or light? It's a tough decision, but someone's gotta make it! I'm thinking dark, but give me a couple days, or a couple minutes, and I might change to light.

Do you remember my eggs--Spring on one side, flowers and butterflies on the other--from Ross two years ago? I didn't even pull them out last year. Why?--they're so cute!

Speaking of cute. While I was paying, around the corner where I couldn't see, the sales associate was bagging the tray up. It really sounded like she was wrestling with some plastic. Um, that tray was packed in a LARGE bag. How large was it? This is 5'10" Artsy Chick nestled in it!

I'm so glad you stopped by today--how is your spring/Easter decorating going?

New Easter Placemats

2012-03-19T13:18:00.000-04:00

Hey all! Gosh, my posts got sporadic during spring break. This is one of the things I was up to last week, new Easter placemats.

{heart} mixing greens...

Some of you undoubtedly recognize it as older, as in vintage-mid-90s, Longaberger^® fabric. As a consultant, I was able to purchase 5 yds. of it. Weeellll, it's been sitting around, perhaps since the mid 90s (that's a lot of fabric to just let sit around, too)! I just didn't have the heart to get rid of it during my many fabric purges. The funny thing is, I wasn't even sure I liked it anymore, but it is so stinkin' cute made into placemats!

If you would like to make your own round placemats, here's a quick "how-to."

Make a pattern. I took an old one of my round placemats and traced it onto a piece of newspaper. (Beware, not all "rounds" are the same! I purchased newer ones to replace my old ones and they are not as big--it seems as if I need one placemat for my drink(s) and one for my plate)

Cut two rounds of the fabric and one of lining. I used flannel drapery inner lining.
Baste the inner lining to the wrong side of one of the rounds.
With right sides together, sew around the placemat leaving about a 3-4" opening (I used 1/2" seams). Trim the seams.
Turn right side out and use a blind stitch to close the opening.
Press then topstitch about 1/4" away from edge. Done!

Each one is a generous 16 3/4" in diameter and easily will hold a good-sized dinner plate and all of the other accoutrements.

Like a bunny!

I will be adding these to my Etsy store.

Fabric Flower Clothespins

2012-03-14T11:58:00.005-04:00

Hello friends! This week is spring break at the CCHomestead and I almost forgot I should keep on top of posting. Today, I'm sharing my pretty floral clothespins. Remember the tease I gave you awhile ago about staining them?

I made these fabric flowers to use on garland for Healthy Chick's baby shower. They are so pretty, I needed to find another use for them. Purely by accident, I came up with this--a colorful, festive addition to an Easter basket.

(First seen here.)

I used the tutorial found at ali foster patterns. We (Fun-Size Chick helped) traced the rim of a glass (about 2" dia.) and used five circles per flower. The baby fabric is thinner, so we really could have used six on those. I was really thinking about pinning them around a circular piece of cardboard to make a wreath.

While they were waiting to be made into a wreath, I tossed them in a basket--then I clipped them on the edge... This is what evolved.

The carrots are from Tuesday Morning--I was, I was, I was, going to make some myself, but these were so cute and at such a good price, I couldn't, and didn't, resist.

Linking with Springtacular craft party at Random Thoughts

Pottery Barn Family Room

2012-03-11T19:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Sunday everyone! I usually don't post on Sunday, but I wanted to join Debbie's Copy Cat Challenge, and you know how ya gotta keep on top of these awesome link parties.

Snuggle in with a cone of freshly popped popcorn and see what I tried to pull off over here. When I first saw the photo in one of the current Pottery Barn catalogs, I knew I had to mark it, as it was destined for Copy Cat-hood.

Mine

Pottery Barn's

Poofy green flowers, check; old camera, check; round thing, check (okay, their's is a film reel, but mine's round just the same); scattered pillows (they have a gray one behind the popcorn--my blue one is dusty, so that "counts"), blue ray dvd, well, you get the idea...

The elephant pillow is "new." I had made the cover ages ago, but it was opened on one side with no ties. I pulled out my handy seam-binding gadget and made red plaid binding and ties, as well as, a blue-ish plaid pillow insert. (If you would like to order a custom slip-covered pillow, please email me.) Instructions for slip-covered pillow here.

The camera was my dad's and is about 50 yrs. old. The popcorn cones are made with the width of wax paper and 1/4 page of the newspaper rolled into a cone--how fun are they?!

To see the last Ethan Allen room I copied, click HERE.

One last look. Ha ha, as comfy as Pottery Barn's! And, I just realized while looking at the photos--I have plenty of M-plaques over here, I should have thrown one in the arrangement, since theirs has an M on the throw. Next time.

Joining DebbieDoos Spring-tacular Copy Cat party.

Chalk Paint and Faux Wood

2012-03-10T12:25:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday to you all! I've had this project on the back burner since before the shower and really, really needed to get to it ASAP. It was all in an effort to save $145. For what? You ask. I could order a blue table for $249, or the same table in ivory for $104.

Said Table.

My plan was to order the light colored drum table and paint it. Annie Sloan's Provençe chalk paint to the rescue... It wasn't quite as an intense of a shade as I would have liked, but I was hoping the dark stain would help. (The top is still in its original state, as I wanted to try to emulate it.)

These are the steps I used:

Shown in original finish.
Two coats of paint.
To get a wood look, I used both dental floss and regular sewing thread, dipped in brown craft paint, to create a grain.
Used a 1:1 ratio of dark and clear wax, crumpled a cloth rag and dabbed over painted spots.
Used about a 5:1 ratio of clear to dark wax and rubbed over the rest.

Now, I have a little dilemma.

Said Dilemma.

It originally was waxed using the 1:1 dark/clear (shown on RIGHT), but wasn't sure I liked it. So, for the remainder, the formula with more clear wax was used. I think I like it better--for the record, in person, the light and dark variation isn't as pronounced as shown in the photo on the LEFT.

Now, this is really important to me--With which one would you be happiest???

Please leave all opinions in the comment section, below ;).

Linking:

Burlap and a Bottle

2012-03-07T17:11:00.001-05:00

Hello friends, how are you this midweek? Are you up to your elbows in projects, or have a case of spring fever? I went shopping today with Six-Foot Chick (who's at home for spring break). We hit the shoe, jewelry, and makeup depts., you can't get more girly than that!

The subtitle of this post should be, "A funny thing happened on the way to get the garlic bread." Friday I was searching for garlic bread that I could have sworn I purchased. We have a refrigerator in the garage, so I went to look there. There were some things that needed to be tossed--of them, was an old glass gallon of wine. I'm pretty sure there was a light bulb that popped up over my head, cartoon style.

Some time ago, Sherry at No Minimalist Here, covered a bottle in burlap. I remember thinking, I need to do that if I ever get one of those bottles...

Well, today was the day. Unfortunately, I don't remember exactly what hers looked like, so we'll pretend this is ~~spot on~~ close.

To cover it, I measured the width around the bottle and divided by four, since I wanted four separate pieces (adding 1/2" per side for a seam allowance). I didn't take photos along the way, and knew I'd regret it later. Below is an attempt to explain what was done. It is supposed to be one strip of fabric.

This is what I did with the strips. I sewed them all together the 5" length you see on the diagram. After that, I slid the tube over the bottle inside out and pinned (then sewed) the bottom 2" of the seams so they would fit the bottom of the bottle snugly, then hemmed up 1/2". Then, slipped the entire tube over the bottle and pinned up two seams (then sewed) of the neck portion. I only sewed two sides so I could slip the bottle in. After the bottle was placed in, I hand sewed the two remaining sides. I pre-hemmed the neck (although it's a little askew) before I hand sewed it. The bottom of the bottle is not covered.

Of course, I had to whip out my stencil. It got the same design on both sides and was added after the bottle was in the burlap cover (I just held the stencil and slapped the paint on, thank goodness for stencils!).

I never did find that garlic bread.

Pastel Shower

2012-03-05T09:59:00.007-05:00

Welcome to the Jungle Baby Shower review! We had such a blessed time on Saturday. The house was filled with a wonderful combination of family and friends. Healthy Chick, mother-to-be, proclaimed the pom pom filled chandelier was "the bomb." Fun-Sized Chick was invaluable with the games and extra helping hand. My favorite things, were the cupcakes and "Poof-elier." It was a lot of work, but it turned out beautifully! Warning, long post ahead!

With all of the b-e-a-utiful inspiration on line, I opted to go for a focal serving table.

Healthy Chick's MIL and I co-hosted the shower, we used a tea party with a jungle theme (or a jungle party with a tea theme?) or Jungle Baby Shower. The baby quilt was used as a jumping off point and Healthy Chick really adores tea. Cupcake picks were made with my new die cutter (details later!) using cardstock, scrapbook paper with jungle animals, and short skewers. Cupcake recipe is from Bon Appétit Key Lime Cupcakes. The are not very cake-like and are quite dense, they are also rich, delicious and are a straight-forward recipe to make, with a lot of zested lime. They are a fun bright green because a single recipe (Yield 12) calls for 1/4 teas. neon food coloring. The icing is made with cream cheese and lime zest, Fun-Sized Chick piped it on. Meringue cookies are a recipe from Joy of Baking (dot com), and are very easy to make, I made my first pink batch for Valentine's Day to use up some egg whites. (Although, judging by the size of this container, I should have doubled the recipe!)

Poofed-up chandelier, there were six large pom poms using two of each color and five smaller lanterns. Pom poms made using Martha's instructions, the lanterns were from Healthy Chick's wedding (originally ordered from Oriental Trading).

I couldn't decide on a favorite view, so you get kind of a 360^o

The food was served on tiered plate holders on each of the tables, dining, coffee and patio. The menu was curried chicken sandwiches, an egg salad roll and fruit plates.

Onesie garland from Pinterest inspiration, including the fabric flower clothespins--instructions coming soon. Looking back at these photos, this garland was probably superfluous. The patio table (round, seating four) was right under this arrangement.

Plastic ruffle tablecloth (inspiration from Lucy at Craftberry Bush) made for tea table that was stacked with hot water, various teas, and a collection of Fiestaware cups. Funny, true-confessions story--see the exposed seams on this tablecloth?--they were not supposed to be that way, but I ran short of "fabric" to finish the other side of the table cloth, so I put it on upside down.

~~~ Budget tips and tricks: ~~~

Baby headbands (3/$1) from the Dollar Store to decorate glass containers.
Perrier bottles used as vases (maybe I should have used tea bottles of some sort, but our humble Publix only carried plastic tea bottles) at least the Perrier bottles are green and contained lime flavored water.
Plastic shirred custom tablecloth ($2)
Homemade pom poms (a little over $1 ea.)
Recycled lanterns from the wedding
Purchased one dozen roses and divided (I wanted Baby's Breath, but at my local florist, it was $30/bunch, my roses were half that.)
Stacked pedestal plates on top of a platter for maximum cupcake holding
Tablecloth and runners that I already had. (I had a gold-ish Ralph Lauren tablecloth that always looked kind of dull to me, but that worked perfectly as a subtle background for all of the decor on the main dining table.) I ended up not using my previous paper cloth creation as it ended up being too bright.
Borrowed Fiestaware and glass containers from co-hostess
Moved patio table indoors to maximize seating.
Repurposed wreaths for front doors.

~~~ Easy Wreath Update ~~~

Two were used to great guests at the double front door, to introduce the Jungle Baby Shower motif.

First off, I pulled off all of my coffee filter roses (boo hoo, they'll go back on!). But, you can do this with a plain green wreath from season to season...

Gather your plain green wreath(s)
Use a spring floral vine (I used one that I was going to donate), snip it apart after every two flowers
Take the smaller two-flower portion and, using the vine in between them, poke through the greens in your wreath
For an event or holiday, either wire or (in my case) tie with ribbon your theme decor.

~~~ ABC Banner Game ~~~

This is for a baby shower game that I concocted myself (as far as I know) and thought it was a good one. This is a baby-advice game with a decorative spin. (Sorry, I can't pull back on the photo. Unfortunately, I used masking tape that wasn't covered up with something decorative. Oops.) I put Artsy Chick in charge of the letters. They are pretty, but rather light, you may want to make yours darker.

You will need:

Note cards, either pastel, brights, or white depending on your shower (ours were 4"x6")
Hanging cord (I used colored rafia)
mini clothespins (available in the craft section at Walmart)

Before guests arrive, trim cards in banner style you'd like. I let Artsy Chick do this and she selected a combination of points and dovetails.
Decorate the blank side of your cards in ABCs. If more than twenty-six people attend, you could add small case letters or numerals.
As guests enter, have them write their baby advice on the lined side of the card and tell them to remember what letter is on the front.
Collect cards and hang on cord using mini clothes pins. We free-form crisscrossed ours.
At the end of your game-playing session, or before guests leave, have the Mom-to-Be (randomly, i.e., instead of "pick a number 1-10," "pick a letter A-?" depending on my many guests have filled out cards) choose one or more letters for a prize.

A game, decor, and baby tips all in one!

One final note:

The Ready to Pop favors ordered from Jennifer at Scissors and Spatulas, were a big hit! Jennifer was a pleasure to work with, and I would highly recommend her if you want to order these. (I used her white chocolate covered popcorn recipe to fill mine.) She was able to find paper that was in keeping with our jungle baby shower theme, because she's thoughtful like that!

(Notes for next time: Get additional help, start preparing earlier, or don't have handymen in the space a few days out, or all of the above! It was quite hectic the day of!)

Two of four Precious Daughters -- Mom to Be, Healthy Chick, and Fun-Sized Chick.

Link-ing!

Jungle Fever

2012-03-01T18:19:00.001-05:00

Hey all! I've spent so little time on the computer this week, it's kind of eerie. And, if you haven't already noticed, that's added up to me being really horrible about getting around to comment. We've had major work done on our backyard the last few days--oh, how I wish I would have taken a "before" photo. Plus, you know, I've had handymen around as well. They packed up this afternoon, which is a good thing, since I need to get shower prep into high gear. I wouldn't want to have to get rough with them and kick them out and all -- ha! like I even could.

Which leaves me with just enough time to show my best on-line friends the completed baby quilt!

When I was looking around for inspiration, this Spring Fling quilt at Cluck Cluck Sew really caught my eye. Isn't it so bright and pretty?

I copied her pattern and came up with my "Jungle Fever" version to baby-ize it--and I had to give it a catchy name, too!

Here's my other little secret...

Shhh, this is the one thing Healthy Chick doesn't know about yet. I was so inspired when I saw these over at marthastewart.com. I went right out and looked at the thrift store and found a sweater similar to the dog in the photo. But,

I did not buy it! I wasn't sure if I was going to make an animal, and figured I was in FL, who's going to snap up a sweater? Sure enough, when I went back a couple of days later, the perfect sweater was gone. I looked for a sweater in the color closest to the quilt colors as I could find--it doesn't sound that hard, does it?--there weren't many choices. You can see, I went with a coral number. (For the record, I didn't follow Martha's directions at all, except for the sweater thing.) I used this Simplicity pattern and chose it simply because it looked cuddly.

In the way of friendly advice, I would not suggest this project for a beginning sewer because I had to really work to get all of the pattern pieces laid out correctly (the sweater was sized XL, but it was small and a V-neck to boot, there are only the tiniest scraps leftover). The knit wanted to spread out when I sewed it, an experienced sewer would be able to handle it, but I think a beginner would get frustrated. I used a small zigzag for stitching and pushed the fabric under the needle as I went along.

The baby goodies.

(I'm still going to make a dust ruffle, but that ain't happening before the shower!)

One last look -- see ya soon!

Beads on My Chandy

2012-02-28T21:47:00.002-05:00

Yippee! We now interrupt your regularly scheduled blog post, to bring you this wicked awesome blog post!

Do you just love it?! I wanted to do some comparisons for you, so I Googled "beaded chandelier," and got some that looked like these:

Image via Decor Pad originally available at Ballard Designs

Image via Lamps Plus

This is pretty close and is a kit for a ceiling fan!

Mine looks like this--
(Note: I purchased it with the beads on it, no DIY.)

This is what happened over here today! This chandy has been sitting on the floor in the master bedroom as seen in the top left photo, flattened, wrapped in an old sheet for over five and a half years!!! That's Years! However, today, that all changed. My dining room got some long overdue TLC. If you look over the top of the handyman's shoulder in the bottom left photo, you'll see where a pretty big hole in the ceiling got patched up. There were six recessed lights in here. The center two were on one circuit, so we filled those in (also visible in the bottom middle photo). Then at some point (before the actual installation), I realized that I wanted to run out and buy a ceiling medallion--get this--for the ceiling! Big Box store #1 didn't have what I wanted, but I bought two (one with a good-sized diameter, but a lot of extra "who-ha" and one small simple one) just in case Big Box store #2 didn't have anything I liked better. Fortunately, BB#2 had a nice one that didn't have a lot of embellishment, but was a nice size. THAT is the one that made the cut.

The scale is quite grand. I can see in this photo, that it needs to be lowered some. No worries--that will get done tomorrow morning. I can't wait to show it off in a nice staged photo.

The light, both sunshine and bulbs, looks so pretty shining through and reflecting off the beads. You may notice that some of the bobeches* are missing on the right. That was a trial, those may be coming off. Do you have an opinion on that?

*bobeche

: a usually glass collar on a candle socket to catch drippings or on a candlestick or chandelier to hold suspended glass prisms
Origin: French bobèche

First Known Use: 1855

I'm so delighted this finally got hung!

No-Sew Paper Table Runner

2012-02-27T10:12:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone! I'm coming off a crazy week, how about you? This week I am going to concentrate on party prep and house cleaning. Did I tell you, Healthy Chick's MIL wanted to host a baby shower? We are going to co-host it and it will be held here. I'm really going to make an effort to keep the cutesy baby-oriented things to one post, and share some all-purpose ideas along the way. Meet my taped and hot glued table runner!

If you've visited CCH for any length of time, you know I have a slight obsession with table runners. Since I'm going to attempt to keep the guests in the living and dining rooms, I wanted to make them food and drink friendly. I also want to have a drink station on top of a wooden table, which means I'll want to protect it from spills. When I need disposable tableclothes, I like to purchase the ones that have a napkin-like top, lined with plastic. I looked for softer colors for the shower, but those only came in all plastic. Anyway, I am getting side-tracked. This one happened to be in my pantry, so I thought I'd give my idea a try. If you want to make your very own no-sew paper table runner, this is what you'll need:

No-Sew Paper Table Runner

Supplies:

plastic backed tablecloth
hot glue gun (I used a low-temp one.)
scissors
masking tape

How to:

Measure the dimensions of your table.
Cut the paper tablecloth adding two inches to the width and however much drop you want on the ends. (My coffee table was 50" and the width of the tablecloth was 54", so I used the width.)
Cut 6" strips for the ruffle (you will need approx. double your runner width). I used a little over two 54" strips per end.

4. Turn the runner over one inch on the sides, fold and use masking tape to "hem." (If you are a neat cutter, you could skip this step.)

5. Run a bead (2-3") of hot glue and pinch/gather up your ruffle strip, continuing down the entire end of your runner. Repeat with other end. Keep your hot glue gun tip away from the plastic backing, as it will melt it.

6. Let the ruffle hang over the edge of something, so you can check for gaps. Add a couple more dots of hot glue.

7. Place on table, smooth out the paper as best as possible and relax--no need to worry about drips and spills--just pick up and toss when the party's over.

See? I told ya I was obsessed. This took no more than 15 min. to make and I already had the supplies. Yes, it's totally unnecessary and you could use a washable cloth one instead, but sometimes disposable is good. And, I have enough of my paper tablecloth to make another runner. That adds up to $2 per runner.

Joining:

Pottery Barn Typewriter Key Art

2012-02-22T09:24:00.005-05:00

Hello friends, I'm sorry you had to hang out so many days with my lamp shade project. At least today, I have something new for you. Okay, okay, this doesn't sound like anything new, right. I mean, this was around blogland about two years ago when I first saw it on Susie Harris's blog. I thought "Wow!" and rushed right out and purchased some stencils. Hmm.

Crickets. Chirp...chirp.

They got used for other projects, but not for the keyboard. Fast forward to last week, when I saw a neglected thrift store canvas leaning against the wall in my bedroom and thought, ~~I need to clean my bedroom~~ "I need to make that into Typewriter Art!" So, even though it's "nothing new," it's all new because of the colorway.

Canvas is 18" x 20"

Bye, bye, landscape!

I painted over the original picture in white (it's the first time ever that I painted on canvas, it was pretty cool). It was a little trial and error with the dots. Instead of being all mathematical, I just grabbed glasses from the cupboard and experimented with the sizes for the horizontal line. I did have to do some measuring for the vertical spacing. Needless to say, there were a lot of pencil lines that I had to paint over.

I traced a wine glass for the dots. For the pale colors, I put a puddle of white on a paper plate with a drop of a regular color (blue, green, peach, yellow) and mixed as I went along. At first I was trying to mix the paint together to get a consistent color, but soon discovered I like the variation of the blending on the canvas.

For the letters, I used my stencil and mixed burnt umber and buttermilk to get a soft brown color. The circles around the letters were made with the lid from my bullion jar, 'cause I have awesome art supplies like that. (I had to scour the cupboards a bit to find the right size.) For those, I used the same umber and buttermilk mix, and dabbed the lid randomly in the paint and pressed onto the dot. (My inspiration fabric is in the top left corner.)

Since the background white was already splotchy, I opted not to give it a coating of glaze. When everything else was completed, I went back in and used a ruler to add the grid lines using a fine paint brush and mocha glaze. (Note: I didn't realize till after I got all of the dots painted that the grid was a part of the design.) Had I looked over someone's directions prior, I would have drawn them first, as you can see now they are perfectly imperfect, because, yeah, some of the grid lines bump into the keys.

I've gotta tell you, there was a point (or two) at during this project that I was ready to bag the entire thing, because I didn't think it would work out. I kept plugging along and now I'm totally smitten with it! Why did I choose these colors??? W--e--l--l, remember I mentioned I'm working on a baby quilt? These colors match it perfectly! Even though, you're not likely making something for a baby, I hope this will make you think "out of the box" to customize the colors for yourself. I'm thinking a coastal blue or a pretty gray, maybe yellow...

The almost-completed, inspiration quilt is in the background, Healthy Chick, a.k.a. Mom-To-Be Chick selected the printed zoo/jungle fabric. It's not ready for a full reveal, yet!

I have a frame that fits this, um, that would be the one the canvas came out of to begin with. But, I'm going to get a ribbon and glue it around the edge and cover the hanging wire with it. So much more fun for a baby's room, don't cha think?

This is one of those projects I'm crazy about--I like to walk past it just to internally Ooo and Ahh and how great these look together! And, aren't ABCs great for children's room decor?! One last note: I opted to put 1 and 2 in the remaining dots since the Little One is being born in 2012.

I'm joining:

Gathered Muslin Lamp Slip ~ Fail

2012-02-19T19:25:00.001-05:00

Okay, it all started out innocently enough. I found these lamps that I really liked at TJs and toted them home, kept them the requisite couple of weeks to make sure I really (vs. a passing fancy) liked them. Then, I saw this really cute lamp slip and thought, "I could do that!" Here's my version:

Now, quit laughing! I'm sure your momma told you it wasn't polite to laugh out loud at someone. Let's take a look at my inspiration.

Image via SoftSurroundings.com Vintage Linen Lampshade cover.

Sorry, I couldn't get it to copy over here better.

It looked lovely, classic, with a touch of romantic softness. I thought it looked gauzy, and "hey," I had muslin, it was a done deal. Does it look like a grandma bedtime hat to you?

...I remember this book illustration from when I was a child...the resemblance is uncanny...

image via This Blog

Back to the drawing board, I'd say. I flung a few other fabric remnants on the other shade to check them out with the new gold! paint color.

This fabric looked really good against the wall color.

But. I dunno, stripey/stripey.

I think I'll take the striped scrap to the fabric store and see if I can find something else that will work well in the room.

Sigh, I guess I'm not destined to be romantic. Or, at least my dining room isn't.

Clay Santos

2012-02-16T10:16:00.003-05:00

Hi friends, happy Thursday! This is turning into another off-schedule week for me. Oh, well, what's a blogger to do? I'm looking forward to sharing this with you today. It was a collision of several things that got me going on this project.

I really like cage Santoses and mine appears occasionally on this blog. Then, I saw a really compelling Pin and, um, Pinned it. Next, Kathy, over at Creative Home Expressions did a Santos Pottery Barn Christmas ornament giveaway. She did not select me as winner--I guess that had something to do with the whole random thing. So, I took matters into my own hands (ha, literally!).

I finally broke down and purchased some polymer clay (the baking kind) from Walmart and got a pretty big brick for about $6. We had popsicle sticks. From that point, I tried to copy Connie's work.

Image via Artful Play blog.

For the body, I crumpled up foil and put clay around it; the neck is a wooden skewer; the arms were built over a floral wire that was threaded through the torso. This was my first attempt making a Santos (of course), as well as, my first polymer clay project (that I recall). I used maybe a third of the clay. Connie's is about 5", mine is closer to 8-9".

She sat around the house like this for a good week and the Chicks referred to her as "Creepy Doll." She looks a lot less smooth than Connie's version. I did try to sand her, but the 150 wasn't doing the trick and there was bug on the coarsest sandpaper outside, so there was too much of an "Ew" factor. For "feathers," I pressed a toothpick into the clay and they painted with streaks of ivory and gray paint.

Her crown is my daughter's ring. She was reluctant to loan it to me for the photo shoot, so I ~~snooped through her messy~~ looked in her room and "borrowed" it while she was at school. This photo is of her "bad side," she fell over while baking, so has a dent in her cheek. (Shh, she's rather sensitive about her deformity.)

She was actually easier to make that I ever would have anticipated. She may benefit from a coat of glaze over her, since her skin is a bit bright--I'm not sure--I may leave well enough, alone. In case you're wondering, I hot glued her wings to her back (I wasn't sure if one could even use hot glue on clay, I guess one can!)