Pickup Some Creativity

Caution...painting in progress.

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:29:00 +0000

I like to paint. Really I do. But, painting the an entire house is hard. And messy. And smelly. (The label claims to be low VOC...I'm not convinced!)

Despite the hardships, I am so happy with how it's coming together.
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Playing with Pom Poms

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:10:00 +0000

Wow, I didn't mean to disappear for a week like that! It's been a crazy week. We set the goal of being ready for paint by last Saturday...which meant late nights and lots of extra time at the house. Good news...we made our self-imposed deadline. Bad news...the blog suffered a bit. I hope you'll understand. I thought today I'd show you a fun take on making little pom poms.

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Wherein we surprise our kids (and ourselves!)

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:43:00 +0000

If you've been reading along for a while, you know that our family has been working hard on building our own home...kids included. It's been a tough slog at times, but we're nearing the end. Less than two weeks ago, Mr. Pickup decided we needed to take a break, and we decided to do something crazy...surprise our children with a trip to Disneyland. So, we booked a trip and left less than a week later.

It was the best thing we could have done.
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Padded camera case

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:30:00 +0000

I received a new camera for Christmas. I love it. I wanted to keep it in my purse, but our old bulky case wouldn't fit nicely. I've been on the hunt for a pattern that would work for my needs.

A few weeks ago, I found Michele Designs (formerly Keyka Lou)'s Padded Camera Case. I thought it might just do the trick.

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Finish work is coming along.

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:23:00 +0000

We've been setting doors, cutting and installing trim, and getting really dusty.

This is where the work becomes more meticulous, time consuming, and nit-picky....I love it!

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Mixing Bowl Cover + curvy sewing tips

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Tue, 01 May 2012 22:17:00 +0000

My Sister-in-law requested a mixing bowl cover for her birthday. She sent me a photo via Pinterest of what she had in mind.

Out of respect for the etsy seller and originator of this idea, I won't post a full tutorial, but I did want to share one tip that helped me make a casing around the edge of a circle.
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Pinterest Experiments, take two.

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:57:00 +0000

I had so much fun with the last post showing you my latest Pinterest experiments I thought I'd show you some new things I've run across and tried.

Up first is my latest iteration of Cheryl's ice cream. I made plain vanilla this time by substituting 2 teaspoons vanilla extract for the mint, and made strawberry shortcakes as a treat last Sunday. So good!
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Soffit and Fascia...check!

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:21:00 +0000

While the drywall subs finish up the texture on our walls, we've been working on the soffit and fascia, which covers the eaves of the house.

For this house, the soffit and fascia are made of aluminum which is powder-coated white. Mr. Pickup was able to borrow a friend's back hoe, which made reaching all those eaves much easier than climbing up and down ladders.
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Black Apple Doll

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:09:00 +0000

Yesterday my younger son came home from kindergarten and announced he needed to give a gift to his friend. A friend that's a girl who had birthday this week.

As this was such a rare request from my son, I thought it might be best to comply with such noble desires.

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Adding Extra Coverage with Lace

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:26:00 +0000

Dolly is growing at a much greater rate than her sister did. She's already wearing clothes that Sis did in preschool. Last year when we were living near a mall, I found a darling dress for Dolly on clearance, and snatched it up for this winter.

She wore it maybe 3 times, and we realized it was getting too short!

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The Second Easter Dress

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:12:00 +0000

In case you were wondering, I did get Sister's dress finished. With help from my mom who was up for a quick visit over her spring break from teaching.

The dress is based on Leila and Ben's Sweet Dress pattern in size 10, and the band design came from my Banded Peasant top pattern.
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Big things are happening!

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:41:00 +0000

The last week has really been productive over at the Pickup homestead. First, we passed the building and electrical inspections. (YES!!!)

Once those inspections were complete, we had the insulation company come do their thing, and we were ready for drywall.
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A Village Frock for Easter

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:37:00 +0000

I did it! I finally made a Village Frock!

This dress is intended for Dolly's Easter dress. I'm not sure how I managed to get it together with the house, but I did. I'm tickled with how it came out.
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On Roofing and Shingles

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0000

We're nearly done with shingling the roof. It is very difficult work to be at an angle, leaning down, and nailing each piece into place. The pitch of this roof is a bit higher than our last, and that also means it is steeper and a bit more daunting.

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New Ironing Board Cover, x2

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:58:00 +0000

My ironing board cover was getting really nasty. I've had it for a long time (3 moves worth or so!), and it finally started getting actual holes in it. It was time to break down and make a new cover. I actually made this over a month ago before my life started revolving around wiring our house...but that's a story for another day.

While I was at it, I also made a cover for Dolly's ironing board...thank you, Mom, for saving it from my childhood!
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Tiny Toes

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:28:00 +0000

Since I discovered craft blogs a few years ago, there have always been a few tutorials out there I have wanted to try. This is one of the them...Bitty Booties by Heather Bailey.

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Doors, Driveways, and Rough-in, on my!

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:40:00 +0000

We've been working away at the house, and I thought you all might like an update.

(Bonus points if you noticed the snow flying through the picture!)
Whew, we've been busy, and we've also had some great contractors working with us too.
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DIY Craft Kits

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:07:00 +0000

For Big Sister's birthday, I wanted to come up with something that would continue to nurture her creativity.

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Nine.

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:57:00 +0000

My oldest daughter is nine today.

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Pinterest inspired hits and a miss

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 01:13:00 +0000

Do you ever look through your Pinterest feed and think, I need to try that? Well...here are a few ideas that I've given a whirl.
First up, homemade fabric softener.
I'd seen this formula on several different pin boards, and when Suave conditioner was on sale, I picked up a bottle. Here's my version:

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Five things for Friday

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:13:00 +0000

Hi everyone.

As per the course lately, my thoughts are a bit scattered but I had a few things I wanted to share for the weekend.

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DIY Sewing Box

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:54:00 +0000

I thought I'd share how I made the sewing box for Big Sis. I actually made it last spring hoping to make it past the first week of One Month to Win it. The theme was Mod Podge, and so this is what I made. However, since I got kicked off the first week, I'd tucked it away until the day when Sis was ready to learn how to sew.

Now, knowing that I made this almost a year ago, please understand I am racking my brain trying to remember how I did all this just based on the photos! :)
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It's still progressing...

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:41:00 +0000

We're entering a busy phase for our house building adventure. It's time to rough in all the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems. To prepare, last week we finished up the framing that remained to be done in the basement. We've also been adding extra blocking as needed to prepare for the rough in of the electrical and plumbing.

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Just like her mom

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:22:00 +0000

I wanted to show you how fun it has been for me to see my mini-me in action.

Big Sis and her third grade class took on a big project. Mrs. O wanted to have a market day, where the students could apply their knowledge of currency, making change, and even a little marketing in a "real world" experience.
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Birthday Week

noreply@blogger.com (chris) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:03:00 +0000

The end of January and first week of February is a busy time in our family with four birthdays coming in rapid succession. This year was especially exciting because it involved "6". My youngest son turned 6, and my parents turned 60. Little boy was also born on my grandpa's birthday...so there was a lot to celebrate!

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