Queen Of Whirled

Hello Spring!

2012-03-04T22:21:00.000-06:00

A day as glorious as today warrants a walk to the park with the punk and the camera. I'm a dufus and forgot to reset my ISO after shooting at 1600 a few nights ago. The image was grainy, but still so sweet and whimsical. I'm not usually a fan of heavy textures on images, but I felt like this needed a little lift and the texture did just the trick.

Hello Spring. I'm so glad you're here!

Seal it up.

2012-02-28T05:00:00.000-06:00

Scrubbing, etching, and staining finished, we were ready to seal up our concrete floors and get some furniture in there.
Let's recap with a look at the floors after 2+ coats of stain:

We skipped back up to Sherwin Williams for some H&C Wet Look Concrete Sealer. And to Lowe's for a suitable roller and paint brush for cutting in.

And with supplies in hand and Isla with my parents, we set about finishing up our floors. The sealer is a thin, milky white liquid. I used the brush to get into the corners, cracks, and divots, where the roller couldn't reach and Awesome followed along behind me with the roller as we worked our way to the door. We went pretty thin on the sealer at first, but quickly realized we needed to use more to cover everything. This part was pretty painless. The can says the sealer goes on milky white and dries clear...but in reality it goes on neon blue-ish. So don't let that worry you. It does still dry clear.

The floors felt sticky to walk on for a few days. We were beginning to wonder if they would stay that way. They didn't. They are shiny, and soft and silky feeling.

We are so pleased with the way that they turned out, and for a FAR smaller price tag than having it done professionally...even when you consider the chemical burn fiasco. The color(s) pick up the colors in the brick beautifully. I can hardly wait to get furniture in here and start using the room. You see a sneak peak of our airy white curtains above. I'm loving the juxtaposition of soft and light, to the dark and dirty.

Staining. Finally!

2012-02-26T18:13:00.000-06:00

With our concrete scrapped and scrubbed we were SO. DARN. READY. to get our stain on. We decided on an water-based concrete dye in a rich espresso color. After trips to both Lowe's (who do do not carry the color we wanted) we finally located the color we desired at Sherwin Williams. The brand? H&C.

The first thing I did was sweep and vacuum VERY thoroughly to remove as much dust and debris as possible. We read that you want to be able to wipe your hand across the concrete and have it come away dust free. So CHECK.

Next it was time to protect our beloved brick with plastic. We'd be using a pump sprayer to apply the stain and we didn't want it on the brick. We debated over what tape might hold the plastic to the brick. Gorilla Tape looked promising so we gave it a go.

I started by applying the tape to the base of the brick wall, leaving the top edge of the tape loose. And YAHOO! It stuck! Awesome worked behind me and stuck one edge of the plastic the to loose top edge of the tape, and tacked the other edge up higher on the wall with...wait for it...more tape.

It was too difficult to work with a continuous roll of plastic, so we cut it into sheets and taped the seams together with Frog Tape. Of course, we couldn't forget to protect that sunken bottom step I love so much.

After practicing my circular motion in the driveway with water in the sprayer, I felt ready to lay down a nice even coat. But the concrete wasn't so cooperative.

The stain was instantly sucked up in some places and pooled in others. Of course we wanted that rich leathery look, but I was pretty worried that these tentacle-like drip marks would end up looking sloppy. Once they soaked in (4-6 hours later) it looked great!

But what REALLY bummed us out was this, obviously newer, slab of concrete. It just inhaled the stain and didn't get that great leathery look.

While the first coat looked pretty awesome, we decided to go for a second...

More pooling...

Eventually it all evened out and looked amazing. We really concentrated a LOT of stain on that newer slab. We probably re-sprayed it 5-6 times. Since this piece of concrete didn't have a lot of natural variation, we made some ourselves. We got the whole slab to a color we liked. Then we flooded selected areas with stain to make them darker...until we ran out of stain. It doesn't look as amazing as the rest of the floor, but it is certainly better and we plan to put an area rug there anyway since it will be a play area for Isla.

Oh, and in case you were wondering about the spots of mastic we couldn't get up, they stained surprisingly well.

Next up...Sealing!

Concrete Etching

2012-01-16T11:53:00.000-06:00

The next step on our concrete makeover process was to clean and etch the concrete. This opens up to pores of the surface to help the concrete better accept the stain.

We stocked up at Home Depot with everything we needed to scrub the floor.

Here we have black scrubbing pads, gloves, shoe protection, body protection (after the last chemical burn fiasco we decided coverall's were a good idea), and a scrub brush for the corners of the room (that we didn't end up using).

We also rented a floor buffer and bought a wet/dry shop vac and the concrete etcher pictured. Side note: How handsome is Awesome in his white coveralls? OK so they are kinda dorky, but I still think he's a stud.

Again this was an all hands on deck procedure, so I do not have photos of the process. Basically you pour some etcher on a section of concrete, buff it into a lather, and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

Next you rinse it with water and suck it all up with the shop vac before moving on to the next section. It seemed like an easy enough process.

BUT with the slope of our concrete ALL of the water wanted to run down to door an pool. In the only corner of the room where wood and drywall meet the floor.

In a serious comedy of errors, Awesome and I frantically worked to suck up water as fast as possible. The shop vac was supposed to hold 6 gallons. Well after about a gallon and a half it would stop sucking. Do you know how fast it can suck up a gallon? We were emptying every few minutes, that should give you an idea.

With the mess behind us, we're glad we've settled on a water-based concrete dye that we won't have to rinse after applying like you do with an acid stain. The dye is supposed to really mimic the look of an acid stain. I'm crossing my fingers that it actually works out that way.

Some concrete progress

2012-01-09T11:29:00.000-06:00

Upon ripping up the old schoolroom Berber in the solarium, we were pleasantly surprised to only find mastic around the edges of the room.

After much research and reluctance to use chemical solvent to remove it, I thought I'd try sanding it out. What a bust. I decimated a whole piece of sand paper on about 2 inches of mastic.

We discovered that there was a third brick step sunk into the concrete. Unfortunately, it was covered in mastic. Sad face. How does anyone do this to beautiful brick work?

It was obvious we were going to have to use a solvent. So we headed to Home Depot and come home with this:

This stuff was pretty scary and required all hands on deck, so I didn't take any pictures of the process. But we basically just followed the instructions. It was a total mess and I was skeptical about how well it would work. We both suffered minor chemical burns, but the solvent really just liquefied the mastic and it scrapes right up. We then washed the chemicals off with soap and water.

Here it the brick after project mastic removal...pretty amazing difference, huh?

And the concrete...

As you can see, we didn't get it ALL up. And after the unintentional chemical peel our legs received, we weren't about to try it again. We are hoping that a good cleaning/etching will be enough. And we've decided to go with a concrete dye rather than an acid stain. So. We will see how it turns out.

What's hoppinin?

2012-01-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

Sunday we drove over to Mobile, Alabama to visit the Exploreum for the last day of Kangaroo Kraze. We heard that we'd get to hold a baby kangaroo. How could we NOT take Isla to hold a baby kangaroo?

It was adorable. We were a little skeptical that Isla would actually touch it, but she dove right in.

They had three joeys in rotation to limit how much each was handled. The joeys not being held were hanging from the side of the cage in little fabric pouches. Isla was pretty excited that they were at her level.

She couldn't resist hugging this one.

And when she saw that another group got to bottle feed a joey, she insisted on doing so as well. I am just thrilled she enjoyed it so much. What a neat opportunity.

Gifts from the babe

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000-06:00

My sister and brother came home for Christmas this year and I wanted Isla to have something to give them to open on Christmas day. I decided it should be something hand made, because what's better than a gift made especially for you by a tiny person? Nothing.

But then again, what do you DO with a craft made by a kid. Unless it's frame-able it's not going stand up to well to life. And with both siblings facing a move (Nathan to California and Katie from California) I thought a picture frame might be a bit of a burden.

I came across tiny 4X4 canvases and miniature easels at JoAnn and had an idea for an art project/gift that would be fun for Isla to make and easy for her aunt and uncle to transport and treasure. So I bought them and we rushed home to put on our "Orange" (Isla's Home Depot apron from their periodic kid craft days), and we set to painting.

I gave Isla a small selection of colors for each canvas and let her go to town. And because Ammy (what Isla calls my mom) would be sad if she didn't get her own Isla original, we snagged a 12x12 canvas for her too. Here are the results:

And here were the reactions:

Everyone was thrilled by their gifts and Nathan and Katie were happy to have a little piece from their niece to take to their next destination. I think we may make this a Christmas tradition.

Anyone notice that bag of gummy bears? Those ended up in Isla's stocking by mistake...and they are the only thing she all day. Sigh.

Sunny Solarium - Paint

2012-01-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

Picking a paint color for the solarium was a monumental, and probably never to occur again, event for me and Awesome. We lined up about 100 paint chips in different shades of yellow. And out of all of them, we agreed in just seconds on the perfect color.

Behr's Bicycle Yellow. I pointed to it, he said That's the one I like too!, and we headed to Home Depot to buy a gallon. For the first time in my life I didn't paint three test swatches and agonize over them for months. It was liberating. Though, it reads darker in the pictures. In real life it's more lemon-y.

With relatively little work and cost to paint just a couple of walls, it wasn't a huge risk. But we're both smitten with the color. It's cheery and bright, and it's going to look wonderful with the dark espresso stained concrete floor and looooong airy white curtains we have planned.

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T11:08:00.002-06:00

Wood.

2011-12-13T06:30:00.000-06:00

So, I promised I would show you my set up for photographing my playmats as seen here:

Well, it's a relatively easy set up. I scored a box of laminate flooring at IKEA in the As-is section.I laid it out in front of a brick wall in Awesome's sunroom (maybe you noticed from my last post). There is a window off to the right that gives me a nice puddle of natural light in just the right spot. So I laid out the click-lock planks.

Now I'm no Amazon, so I use a ladder so I can shoot down at the product from a greater angle. It's a great little place to photograph kids too.

You can't beat that. If I didn't tell you, would you have ever known it was just one little box of laminate that didn't cover the whole room?

Photolicious Friday

2011-12-09T05:30:00.000-06:00

My first attempt at using cheesecloth on a newborn. I am in love with this stuff.

Sunny Solarium - Before

2011-12-06T18:09:00.001-06:00

I have always dreamed of and longed for a living space with exposed interior brick. Awesome's house has an enclosed but half finished sunroom off the back. We've always thought it would be a great playroom and intended to plop an old couch in there so we could sit and guzzle coffee on Saturday mornings while Isla ran wild. But we've recently decided to glam it up and make it a stylish space that we can all enjoy.

Right now...not so stylish. I'm currently using it as a makeshift photography studio and Isla has commandeered the steps as a bed for her baby dolls.

The room isn't air conditioned, and in Florida, a space that isn't air conditioned is pretty much unusable for a lot of the year. It also needs some minor finishing work. Specifically the windows, which were left half framed out. There was some ugly shoe molding on the brick there...Awesome is removing it so we can paint.

We also asked my uncle, who is a contractor, to come check it out and see if we might be able to run some duct work out to the room. He pointed out that the placement of the vent in the den actually forces air right thru the sliding glass door and into the room. I tested the theory on a particularly cold day, and with a couple of space heaters the room became unbearably hot. We've decided that, for now, we will leave the duct work idea on the shelf and see how we do.

We've chosen a super sunny yellow to pain the walls and decided we'd stain the concrete (under this horribly elementary school carpet) a dark dark brown...almost black.

I am seriously excited about the concrete staining. We've got a nasty layer of mastic to scrape up before we can prep the slab for staining. We're really hoping to have the stain done by Christmas...That might be deliriously optimistic. Check back to see our progress.

Sew THIS

2011-11-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

A friend and co-worker needed a birthday gift for her precious little niece. So I whipped up this little gem with a soft pink minky on the back. Bayley is two, but her auntie thought this would make a splendid little blanket for the tiny toddler.

I have to say that I agree! Get your own personalized pattern right here.

Lovely Grey

2011-11-15T21:40:00.000-06:00

I am having a little love affair with the color grey. Check out the latest design mock ups for playmats.

I am especially smitten with the grey/yellow color combination.

These two designs are currently on sample sale. If you don't love grey like I do, fear not, the colors are customizable! Check out the shop for more details.

Photolicious Friday

2011-11-11T07:00:00.000-06:00

Oh, the simple joy of being a child. A patch of weeds, the golden wash of the setting sun, and a whole lot of fun that we adults no longer understand. It's nothing short of glorious.

Custom Fabric Playmats

2011-11-07T18:59:00.000-06:00

For a while now I've been searching for a method of making more affordable playmats and blankets to add to the shop. There is no denying the adorableness of an appliqued playmat, but the time it takes to make one equals a good sized price tag. It's definitely a luxury item. In an effort to make my design available to more DIY savvy clients, I introduced printable patterns for all of my designs. And I am happy to report these have been a great success.

But now it is my great, GREAT pleasure to be able to roll out a brand new style of playmat.

The design is printed directly on the fabric! The printed style has less of a handmade quality to it. But I'm okay with that. In fact I am glad to diversify a bit for those that are not so into the handmade look and prefer things with a more store-bought vibe.

But still, it's completely customizable. I would venture to say that the printed style playmat is even more customizable because I design every element, right down to the pattern and colors, and I am not limited to mass produced fabric choices. The playmat above was perfectly color matched to the baby Dawson's giraffe themed nursery.

I have plans to slowly introduce more items with custom printed fabric...like PILLOWS!

And because I LOVE my DIYers, I am adding all of the designs I create to my Spoonflower library and the fabric will be available for purchase as a cut and sew pattern, directly through Spoonflower. A lot will be personalized, but I definitely plan to add more non-personalized designs as time permits.

Now...I am really curious to know what designs you would like to see. Some of my favorite designs have come from client request. Leave your two cents in the comments.

Did you noticed my new wood floor? More on that later.

Photo-licious Friday

2011-11-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

I've been seeing all of these weeds...I guess weeds, you know the ones with the fuzzy V shape on a long stalk?...on the side of the road driving home from work. It never fails to take my breath away when the setting sun hits the weeds and they wave in the wind. It's gorgeous. I've been dying to photograph Isla running thru them. But let's revisit the fact that they are on the side of a busy road and the image of my toddler bolting into traffic tend to crush the glory and whimsy of the scene.

A few weeks ago we were out at Fort Pickens for a wedding and I spotted a patch of weeds with the setting sun in the background. I (very excitedly) sent Isla running in that general direction and crouched down for the shot.

And now I am left wondering if I like it better in color...

...or black and white?

Thank goodness I took advantage of the situation. We went back last weekend and all the gorgeous weeds had been mowed down. Carpe Diem.

Link up your Friday Photos in the comments!

A Halloween Situation

2011-10-31T19:43:00.000-05:00

Last year trick-or-treating was a total fail. Even the lure of candy wasn't enough to entice Isla onto the doorstep of a ~~neighbor~~ stranger. She is till very wary of adults she doesn't know so I didn't expect too much this year. But with Isla and Awesome dressed up in their costumes, we headed out to give it a shot anyway.

Isla surprised me and was asking for treats and saying please and thank you after the first house. There were a lot of kids giving candy out, so I think that helped to ease her apprehension. We barely made it out of the cul-de-sac before Isla decided it was time to dig into the candy.

We eventually got moving again (candy in hand). She trick-or-treated with the greatest of ease and even braved the neighbors haunted garage. What a courageous little swashbuckler.

YAR MATEYS!

Studio Makeover

2011-10-27T19:43:00.003-05:00

For my golden birthday (apparently that is what it's called when your age and birth date are the same number, like 28 on the 28th) Awesome took me to Atlanta for an Ikea shopping spree. My birthday present to myself was to makeover my studio. I've been dreaming of an organized and functional place to blog, edit photographs, sew, and be inspired.

My before studio just wasn't cutting it.

It was devoid of storage options and workspace, and completely lackluster. I needed a place to put my computer, a place to sew, a place to cut, a place to store (and see) fabric, and a place to iron that wasn't on the floor. See that square on the floor under the window? That was where I ironed. And I REALLY wanted a comfy chair for Awesome so that he would want to sit in the room with me while I worked.

The first thing to go was the blue. We painted it a nice soft grey (Martha Stewart's Nimbus Cloud). I wanted something light and airy, but neutral so that my projects would be the things to stand out in the room. I wanted the fabrics to be the star of the show.

Then out went the table and bench and in went half of Ikea...

So let's break it down.

I have to start with the chandelier. I LOVE the Maskros Pendant Lamp from Ikea. This light comes in 2 sizes, 22 inches and 32 inches in diameter (which is GIANT). Thank goodness Awesome was there to talk me out of buying the giant one, because my head barely clears the smaller sized fixture. I apparently have no sense of scale.

The room is 119 inches X 124 inches. Two 59 inch long Vika Amon table tops fit perfectly from wall to wall along the far wall. And another 47 1/4 inch long Vika Amon table top makes the short leg of the 'L' shaped desk.

My computer sits on the shorter table top. It is supported by 1 Vika Alex storage unit, which houses the tower, and 1 Vika Alex drawer unit. In the corner to the right of my monitor are my peripherals (printer and cricut). I scored that handy white apothecary drawer shelf thing at Hobby Lobby. It is just what I wanted to store small pre-cut items that I use frequently. Below the shelf is a Bygel rail with S-hooks and containers so hold other frequently used tools. The end of the table top in the corner is supported by 2 Vika Curry legs.

Further down the two table tops are supported in the middle by 2 Vika Annefors units and another Alex drawer unit on the end. I left a nice long empty space in the middle to work in and my sewing machine is at the end. I bought this spiffy Bungee Chair from The Container Store. The reviews said it was wonderful for sufferers of sciatica (which I am). I have to say it is by far the most comfortable task chair I have ever sat in...and the ONLY task chair I have ever been able to sit in and maintain good posture for an extended period of time. I will probably order another for my office at work.

My thread rack is waiting to be hung on the wall. I haven't quite figured out the best way to do that. But I did hang another Bygel rail on this end to house scissors and other sewing essentials. And Isla painted that little yellow masterpiece at school. I have lots more art to hang, but I am still debating what and where.

My ironing board is a piece of 48x48 inche MDF from Home Depot. I decided on 2 Expedit bookcases (more storage-yippee!) to support the MDF and began to brainstorm how I could easily move it away from the wall and back, as I often need to walk all the way around it. Then I discovered that Ikea sells locking casters for it the Expedit series! The were pricey, but so very worth it. I have plans to make an ironing board cover once I find the perfect fabric.

And finally we make our way to the closet. We nixed the cumbersome bi-fold doors and painted the inside of the closet. Awesome got one of the same Closetmaid closet organizers that we used in his closet (but in white) and some extra rails. The shelving houses my stash and my stock of shirts and onesies for the shop hang on the rails on both sides of the shelving unit. I decided to hang some curtains from the inside of the closet. And I have future plans for something to hide the track left over from the bi-fold doors.

And then there is the chair. I had no idea where we would find something small enough that was Awesome would want to sit in. He likes to lounge. I suggested he try the Poang chair and after a slightly skeptical look he proclaimed it was super comfy. After his approval we decided on the black/brown frame with the natural colored cushion. Boring, but I could make a slip cover for it. When we strolled into the self service warehouse we spotted this black and white cushion with a seaweed looking pattern. SOLD!

The curtains are all the Lill curtain from Ikea and the black curtain rods and clips are from Walmart. As mentioned I have a lot of empty wall space to fill. I want to settle in and make sure I don't need any more shelving to use as functional storage before hanging anything for decorative purposes. I plan to frame some of my favorite fabrics and more of Isla's art work, and I would like to get a gallery print of a photo or two that I have taken. But all in good time. For now I am set and ready to ~~roll~~ sew.

Have you revamped your work space lately? Share a link in the comments.

{Phriday Photo Phun}

2011-09-24T09:47:00.000-05:00

Awesome and Isla making eggs.

Because that is what Isla wanted out of the blue. And because Awesome is wrapped around her little finger. It turns me to mush.

Has her cake. Eats it too!

2011-09-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

I have a real struggle getting Isla to eat anything other than "see-wee-al" of yogurt. Of course, at school she eats everything they put in front of her and she eats very well for my mom.

But for me it's No thank you. I want see-wee-al.

I've gone so far as to reverse phychology her into eating something she didn't want...

Me: MMMM. Mommy is eating this nectarine. You can't have any. It's all Mommy's
Isla: NOOOOOOO!!!! I want some too!

That is some stellar parenting right there folks. My guilt about resorting to mind games is lessened by the fact that she is getting important nutrients that cereal just can't provide.

Several weeks ago we made tacos. I made Isla her own little soft taco and set her down to eat it. "I don't like that Mommy," she said. She refused to eat any. Despite eating (and loving) taco meat at my mom's house.

Two weeks later it was taco night again. Play-doh inspired me to try something. I threw a tortilla and some taco fixings on a plate, strapped Isla in her high chair, and told her to try and make a taco like Mommy's.

She (very proudly) filled her tortilla...

Took a bite...

And ate ~~it all~~ enough to satisfy me that she wouldn't starve.

So I guess the moral of this story is this: Let kids play with their food.

How do you entice your picky eaters to eat? I can't count on one method to work all the time.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

2011-09-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Use them to entertain your toddler.

My sister loved lemons as a kid, much to the dismay of our dental hygienist...aka, Mom. Were you crazy about lemons as a kid?

Where have I been?

2011-09-17T11:14:00.000-05:00

It may seem like my poor little blog has been pushed to the back burner. But my lack of posting of late hasn't been out of bloggy neglect. My blog is actually getting a face lift.

This horrible blogger template and header that I threw together haphazardly, have outlived their welcome. Here is a little preview of what I've been working on.

Jenn over at Munchkinland Designs has been collaborating with me, and after several drafts I have finally made up my mind on a layout and designed the graphics. Jenn is in the process of putting it all together for me and I hope to go live in the next couple of weeks!

I am so looking forward to checking this task off my ever-growing list of must do's.

What do you think of the design? Should the grey be a little darker? I'd love to know how you feel about it since you will have to look at it every time you read my blog.

Bea's Baptism

2011-09-15T07:29:00.000-05:00

My dear friend Paula asked me to photographer her newest daughter's baptism a few weeks ago. Of course I agreed...and then freaked out a little.

Why? Well since my commitment (to myself) to shoot only in full manual mode, I've been avoiding event photography like the plague. Learning to shoot in manual makes you SLOW. And when capturing these once in a lifetime important moments...well, that requires a certain degree of speed and accuracy.

Add to my lack of conficende, a dim sanctuary with bright patches of light from ceiling cans, and you really have a difficult shooting situation.

But for the most part, I surprised myself. And shooting in Manual turned out to be the key to getting some decent shots, despite the patchy lighting.

Well, shooting in Manual and a lot of dodging and burning in post-processing. And group shots? Unfortunately, there was little hope for those with the vast variation in lighting from one person to the next.

Thankfully, Paula is a photography buff too and understands the challenge of shooting in our church. Ultimately, we ended up with a few really beautiful shots and a whole bunch of decent ones.

And then, like all good Orthodox parishioners...we ate sinfully delicious treats.

Thank you Paula, for having more faith in my skills than I do!

Saturday Kids Say

2011-09-10T09:06:00.002-05:00

Isla: How was your day Mommy?

Me: Good. How was you day Isla?

Isla: Hot.

Where does she come up with this stuff? It's gold.