Designing Emily

The Cubs

2012-06-10T00:07:00.000-05:00

The same day we got the credenza (from this post), we also got two awesome bookshelves from When Pigs Fly. This store is amazing! We'd been looking for something to go on either side of the fireplace since before we moved into our house, and these were the perfect find. They are divided into little cubby holes, so we affectionately refer to them as "the cubs."

Here's the before:

They went through quite a process to get to what they look like now in our house, but it was well worth the work. First, I sanded them (yes, every little cub). Then, we painted two coats of yellow paint and they looked like this:

Next, we beat them up a little... this was fun. After that we stained them. Finally, Justin added some sheet metal to the sides and backs of a few of the holes. Here he is in action:

Isn't he so cute? :)

Here they are right after we moved them into the house!

Finally, here they are all fluffed. They make us smile.

Credenza

2012-06-02T20:40:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite places to shop in Clinton is When Pigs Fly. If you've never been there you should make a point to stop by this week! They have awesome things, and the owners treat you like family. Check out their facebook page here. We bought several pieces from there about six months ago now; what we call the credenza is one of them. It is a beautiful mid-century modern piece with tapered legs and a half circle detail on the top two drawers. This is what it looked like when we first brought it home:

We really wanted some color so we decieded to paint it. So, I sanded, primed, painted (three coats!), and finished with a coat of polyurethane. The color is called Gypsy Teal.

Here are some "in progress" pictures:

The painting process took a while with five coats and drying time, but it was very worth it. Here's how it looks in its home, all fluffed up:

Everything on this table has a story, which I love. Here are some close ups of some of our favorite things:

These Javanese Shadow Puppets and the calendar are from Indonesia... one of our favorite places.

I got the painting with my mom on my senior trip in France and Justin got the Eiffel Tower during his semester abroad in college. The top book is Let the Nations Be Glad; we love the nations and we think John Piper is pretty cool. The bottom book is The Book of Cheeses we got our first time going garage sale shopping together.

I made this metal board (see that post here) and the stand that holds it displayed a picture at our wedding. We picked up this piece of drift wood in Orange Beach on our first anniversary trip.

This space makes us smile when we walk in our back door.

Sally's Shades

2012-05-17T15:41:00.000-05:00

Well, technically they are Sally and Justin's shades, but that kills the alliteration I've got going in the title (sorry Justin).

While I may not have blogged in over two months, I have been busy! I've got lots of projects on the blog list. The first project is a pair of roman shades I made for my friends Justin and Sally. They have been redoing their kitchen and need some privacy. Sally picked out a beautiful fabric and I got to work. These were my first roman shades to make and they took a bit longer than I expected, but I learned a lot and (spoiler alert) I've already made another! Check out Sally's Shades on her blog here. More project updates coming soon!

Recipe Card Pin Up

2012-03-03T16:22:00.000-06:00

I still have tons of "junk" in the garage from the estate auction I went to a year and a half ago... I love having it though! It provides lots of opportunities for projects including this one, this one, this one, this one, this one and this one. (Wow, that was more than I realized!) I'm actually waiting for paint to dry on one right now! I made this one several months ago, but we just hung it last week... I'm excited about using it! It's a frame I cleaned and painted with cork board inside and a yo-yo detail. It makes me smile. I hope you do too!

Friday Night Fun

2012-02-11T00:30:00.001-06:00

I was feeling crafty tonight but didn't really know what I wanted to make. So I gathered up some scrap fabric in red since Valentine's Day is coming up, and sat down at my sewing machine. This is the result. It's a Valentine's pillow cover. I think it's pretty cute for making it up as I went along. It was a fun Friday night.

Christmas Crafting (part 2)

2012-02-06T23:06:00.002-06:00

I got this awesome frame at an estate auction I went to a long time ago. Well, I thought it was really cool, but I only got 3 sides of the frame instead of 4 so I couldn't use it for it's created purpose. Since it was green I thought it would look great for Christmas to display the Christmas Cards we received. I tried a few different ideas before I decided on putting magnets on it and sticking it to a piece of metal I had left over from another project. I sawed one of the pieces into a few more to make a tree shape. Then I hot glued magnets to the back. I like the finished product even without the cards, but love what they add to it!

Christmas Crafting (part 1)

2012-02-01T22:59:00.000-06:00

I realize I'm a little behind for a Christmas post, but it's better late than never, right? And, yes (part 1) means there's at least a part 2 and maybe even a 3... I'm just going with it. We've been a little busy around here (more posts on that coming soon). For now, I'm going to share our Christmas stockings and their holders I made.

I'll start with the stocking holders. I'd seen several wreaths wrapped with yarn and really liked them, so I thought it'd be neat to try that. I found these letters, made of cardboard, at a super discounted price at Hudson's. It pays to have Q start your last name... Q and Z were the only letters left that weren't damaged. Anyway, I decided to wrap them in yarn and here is the final product:

I wrapped Justins Q in red and mine in green (of course). I really like the way they turned out. All of our Christmas decorations turned out a little Old World and we both liked it. After wrapping the letters in yarn I hot glued them to simple stocking holders I bought at Walmart. I think the whole project cost about $11.

On to the stockings, I ended up making them twice. I thought I had some process pictures, but if I do, I can't find them now. I first made them without batting between the outside layer and the lining. (I had made some before with it and I thought they were too think.) However, these were too flimsy and did not look good hung without the batting and quilting. So, I took them apart and added it in then quilted them and sewed them back together at the top with the white cuff in between the outside layer and lining. I didn't use a pattern, I just sketched the shape I wanted onto the fabric and copied it over to the rest so they would match. They look a little different than traditional stockings because of the curled toe. We like the whimsy of the finished product.

I also wrapped yarn around a wooden letter and attached it to the stocking by tying it to the loop used to hang it. The J was a little difficult to wrap, I had to undo the first attempt, but got it on the second!

We really enjoyed our mantle decorations this Christmas. I'm looking forward to decorating it again... Christmas will be here again in no time!

Dryer Duct Wreath

2011-11-13T17:04:00.001-06:00

I recently saw this mason jar wreath on Pinterest:

I think it looks really cool, but I don't have that many old mason jar lids, nor do I know where to find them. I've had a "Q" shaped wreath that was covered in moss hanging on the chapel door when we got married that I've wanted to use for a while. I wanted to do something different with it and this was a great inspiration. I looked around in the home improvement section of Wal-Mart today and saw a dryer vent hose. I remembered we had some we didn't use in our laundry room cabinet and got excited. So, I covered the wreath this afternoon!

This is the wreath I started with:

I had two different dryer ducts we weren't using. I ended up only using the one on the left. (another project later for the one on the right?)

I cut the duct down the center and pulled it apart at the seams:

Then I wrapped it around the wreath and squeezed it into place.

And here's what I ended up with:

I think I'll add a little something to it for Christmas, but here it is on the door for now:

Is it too early to start decorating for Christmas?

2011-11-12T15:34:00.001-06:00

I haven't decided my answer to that question yet. But it surely isn't too early to start sewing for Christmas! I made this pillow cover a few days ago and I wanted to share. I think I'm going to cover all my sofa throw pillows for Christmas this year. Pictures to come when I finish that.

As for my exciting announcement from the last post... well, it fell through. But I am using the Christmas fabric from this post to make lots of Christmas goodies, which is lots of fun. More projects to come, I just want to share my first since I have been a little "blog quiet" for a while.

Here's a closer photo of the pillow:

So, what do you think? When do you start decorating?

Sneak Peak

2011-10-27T07:46:00.000-05:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

...and I may have a few projects up my sleeves... I also have an exciting announcement coming next week! I can't wait to share! (But I will. :) I have to finish working out the details.) Check back next week to find out.

Happy Thursday!

Getting Organized

2011-09-16T12:18:00.000-05:00

We always seem to have paper everywhere. I'm not really even sure where it comes from, but I know it gets on my nerves. So, I decided we needed a designated place to put things that need to be dealt with besides the dining table. That's where I got the idea for this mail pocket/cork board.

I started with some planks from a wood pallet.

I cleaned them and played with the arrangement. Then I nailed them together.

Next I cut a piece of sheet metal I had from a project I did several years ago. I folded over and hammered the edges so they wouldn't be sharp. Then I worked on the placing of the pocket.

Next I place a plank on the bottom, so the papers won't fall through, and nailed it into place.

I had to have Justin help me nail the metal to the sides of the boards. I kept bending nails... he was awesome.

Next, I used a staple gun to attach the cork to the back of the planks. Then I hot glued a "Q" I had painted yellow to go with the other yellow accents in our house. Then, I glued a magnet to some yo-yos I had made and put it on the metal.

Here it is on the wall:

Here it is already in use!

Message Board

2011-09-13T09:05:00.000-05:00

In my quest to make our house look like we live here I've been doing several projects. This is one I just finished. I used another frame from the estate auction I went to a little over a year ago (see here, here, here, and here). I really got a lot of awesome junk from there! Anyway, I took out the glass, then cleaned it and the frame.

Then I covered the cardboard backing with fabric and put it all back together.

I think it turned out pretty well. It will be a great place for Justin and I to leave sweet messages and reminders for each other. Here it is in its new home:

I'm still working on a cute way to attach the marker... more to come on that. The cross is from this post.

Cross

2011-09-10T11:03:00.000-05:00

I've been working on a few projects from wood pallets. This is the simplest one and the first one completed. I just pulled apart some of the planks, cleaned, and primed them. Then I painted the planks in layers, sanded them, and nailed them together.

Here's how it turned out:

Felted Wool Brooches For Freddie

2011-08-31T11:56:00.000-05:00

Freddie

One of my best friends moved half way around the world almost 4 months ago. So, I wanted to send her a happy. She mentioned seeing some felted wool brooches she thought were cool at a market and I thought I could make them. I went to the 4 Cs in Clinton and bought two old 100% wool sweaters. I didn't take a picture of them before I cut them up, which I hate, but imagine huge gold buttons and shoulder pads. After cutting out the zippers, buttons, and shoulder pads, I washed the fabric on hot and dried it on high heat. I did this a few times to achieve felting that I liked. I twisted up the seaming to make the rose looking brooch above and hot glued it to a circle I cut out of the felted fabric. Here's a close up:

For the next one I used the first yo-yo I made. I sewed it to a felted fabric circle and glued a button on top. This one may be my favorite:

Freddie sent me some pictures of the brooches on her garments:

For the third one I cut circles of felted wool and cotton fabric, stitched them together, and stitched around the outside of the felt. I then covered a button and glued it on top. Here's a picture I took of all three of them before I shipped them off to Australia:

I love making things for friends. It makes it that much more fun. What can I make for you?

New Knobs

2011-08-28T17:59:00.003-05:00

The pulls on our half bath vanity were nice enough, but nothing special. So, I've been looking for something unique to use in their place and I've finally found something awesome. Well, I think they're awesome, you can let me know what you think.

Here's the before:

Here's the after:

Interesting, huh?

I'm pretty excited about them. Oh, they are old sewing machine attachments. I got them from the same estate auction as the treasures in this post, this post, and this post. Kinda makes me want to change the kitchen knobs... :)

I'm linking to:

My New Toys

2011-08-26T23:24:00.000-05:00

I have the best husband in the world. He surprised me with a trip to Lowe's on Sunday and this is what we got. I can't wait to show you what we're making!

FREE!

2011-08-14T21:52:00.001-05:00

That's right, I got the above items for FREE! I know it doesn't look like much, but it was such a victory for me. I've started couponing. I'm not an extreme couponer like the show on TLC, but I have learned a few tricks from watching the show.

Here's the break down on the above items:
Crest - on sale 10 for $10. - coupon for $.50 off 1 (which doubles to a $1 at Kroger) = FREE
Cascade - on sale for $.98 - coupon for $1 off 1 = $.02 PROFIT
Glade - on sale for $.97 - coupon for $1 off 1 = $.03 PROFIT

It just takes a little effort to save a lot of money, and it's kinda fun too. There's definitely a learning curve... on my first trip attempting to coupon I only saved 27% on my bill and I was at Kroger for over 3 hours. However, the more I do it the better I get. On my best normal trip buying actual things we use and need I saved 53%. I actually saved more than I spent! I went once specifically to get an item that was on sale I knew I had coupons for... I ended up getting 4 boxes of cereal for $2.03 including tax (the regular price of ONE box is $2.32).

Sometimes couponing means that my living room looks like this:

If you look closely you can see AnnaBelle's bone to the right in the middle of several stacks of coupons... she kept wanting to play and walking through them for some reason. The living room didn't look like this for long and it did result in my first free finds, which was an exciting goal to meet.

I use a few websites to assist in deal finding that I think are very helpful:

www.couponing101.com

www.southernsavers.com

www.couponmom.com

www.coupons.com (I print coupons from here.)

I've gotten some of my family and friends started on couponing. It's fun to hear what others find and to see their excitement... who doesn't love saving money?!

Do you have any fun couponing experiences?

Yo-Yo

2011-08-09T12:12:00.002-05:00

My new "thing" is making yo-yos. I'm not talking about the toy you through down and bring back up with a string, I was horrible at doing that when I was little, I could never get it back up. I'm talking about fabric yo-yos. They look like this:


This is the first one I made.

I just think they're so cute! And you can do a lot with them. I have a few projects in the works using them, but they're a surprise! More details to come on them later. Here are two more I've done:

They're pretty simple to make. I used this tutorial, it was very helpful. I really like making these because they're small hand sewing projects, so I can take them with me easily. I can't wait to show you the finished projects with them!

Cousin Camp

2011-08-09T11:41:00.001-05:00


The "Big" Cousins

A few weeks ago the Martin girls (my grandmother and great aunt's daughters and their daughters) got together for a few days for the first annual Cousin Camp. We made Martin Memories and had a blast. We cooked, ate, cooked, ate, and ate some more. We also went out on the boat and tubed and had a "boatnick," and a few of us (by us I don't mean me) jumped off a waterfall. Words can't express the craziness and fun we had. Pictures really tell the story best.

The first day basically all we did was cook and eat. We even made mozzarella! Check out that story and all the awesome food here.

Us and our food!

Tubing on the lake was very fun and a little painful. I was very sore, ridiculous, I know.

Our wonderful driver, Ginny!


sisters

We convinced mom to tube with us, it was quite hilarious. Just getting on the tube was an ordeal. We managed to keep her on until the very end, we forgot to pull back when we were slowing down and she went flying forward and under the tube. It was pretty hilarious.

trying to figure out where to hold on

happily on the other tube

Katie Ruth switched tubes for a little while.

Us all falling off, you can't see mom because she's under the tube

Katie Ruth and I saving her life


Mom talking about seeing "the light"

Depending on how she's feeling when she tells the story she was under the tube for anywhere from 30 seconds to 90 minutes. It's pretty hilarious to hear her tell it. We're all glad she survived. Needless to say, she did not tube again.

Isn't she so cute?

Before heading to the waterfall, we stopped to get gas and had some fun:


Trying not to burn

Instead of showing pictures of the jumping from the waterfall, here are some videos... enjoy.

BOATNICKING! (We ate a lot, but we ate WELL.)


Laughing... we did this a lot.

Here's the whole clan (minus Sarah, she had to go to school :( we missed her):

Here are our battle scars:

It was a great trip... makes you wish you were a Martin, doesn't it?

Hoot Hoot

2011-07-26T19:19:00.000-05:00

I made this owl for a new friend:

One of my friends had a baby recently and since she and I were in Swannanoa together at MC, I thought it was fitting to make her little girl an owl. This was my first attempt and I didn't use a pattern, but I think it turned out pretty well. Here's a view of the back:

Here's the owl again, a little more close up:

Tick Tock

2011-07-10T16:13:00.000-05:00

I'd seen a clock kit in Hobby Lobby several times and thought of trying to make one. So, finally, one day when shopping with a few friends, I bought it. I covered a piece of cardboard in fabric and top stitched on another piece for some interest. I put it into a frame I got from the estate sale (same one the treasures from this post and this post came from). I wanted to stitch on the buttons because I liked the look of the green thread, but it was difficult to get it tight and in the correct spot. So, I just threaded the buttons and hot glued them in place. It turned out kinda shabby chic. I think I like it, and it actually works!

Industrial Lamp

2011-07-08T13:23:00.002-05:00

When we made the table from this post. We had 4 pairs of pipe that we couldn't get apart, and therefore, couldn't use or return. They have been riding around in my trunk for a few months now while we decided what to do with them. I wanted them to become lamps, so I used some lamp cord sets we got on our IKEA trip. I fed the cord through one of the pairs, then another. Next, I screwed the two pairs together and clipped a plastic holder on the cord against the end of the pipe to hold it into place. Here's how it turned out:

It was a pretty simple, quick project and I really like the look. I still need to create something for the shade. I've got a few ideas, but haven't worked them out yet. Any suggestions?

I'm linking to:

Funky Frame Fanfare

2011-06-23T17:16:00.001-05:00

This is a project I've been thinking about for years. I bought the two large dark frames at Hudson's about 4 years ago with the plan to do something interesting with them and hang them in my home one day. I'm really excited about how they're turning out. The smaller frames are from the same estate auction I mentioned in this post. The photos with the yellow leaves that pull in the yellow from our door table and metal table so well are from our engagement session with our wonderful neighbor, Robby.

The process of figuring out what goes where was fun. The above pictures are the frames laid out on our floor.

Here's the finished (for now) product:

We see this as being a constant work in progress. We plan to add more pictures, frames, and other pieces of art as we find them. I also plan to distress the big frames and paint or cover the top right frame. I love the way this project is coming together.

I'm linking to:

Feathered Nest Friday

Pillow Project

2011-06-12T16:35:00.000-05:00

When planning a wedding some things just don't work out like you plan. This was the case with the pew markers for us. I had a fun idea to make fabric flower balls and hang several from each pew. The first few flower balls turned out pretty cute, but they took FOREVER. So, I had to go for plan B. The pew markers still had some fabric flowers on them and turned out well. However, before we realized plan A wasn't going to happen my family spent countless hours cutting out little green and white fabric circles. My mom did nothing but cut circles for at least two days straight. Yes, she's that awesome.

So, I've been wanting to put those circles to good use for a while now. I've also wanted to make something with the initial of my new last name. That is where the idea for this pillow cover came from. I really like the way it turned out. I don't have any process shots of this project, but here are several of the finished product:

Envelope Back

Q close up

I used an 20" square pillow form I got from our Ikea trip. I made the pillow cover 18" square. It's good to get a pillow form that's just a little bigger than your pillow cover so that your finished pillow is nice and fluffy. I really like the way mine fits.

Here it is in it's new home:

I'm linking to:

Sisterly Sewing

2011-06-10T12:18:00.000-05:00

My little sister came to hang out with me a few weeks ago and we decided to do a little sewing. She had never sewn before and she did very well for her first lesson. She made some coasters like the ones I made in this post. We had lots of fun! Here are some pictures of the process:

Isn't she cute?

Having sew much fun! :)

The final product:

She made 2 coasters in our afternoon of sewing... and they turned out beautifully! I'm such a proud big sister!