Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Family Pictures

We had family pictures taken just a couple of weeks ago. I'm having fun playing with some Christmas card layouts at "Shutterfly", and hope to get my cards out early this year.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Fall Runner

This was a quick and easy sewing project I put together over the weekend.

I wanted something to lighten up my very big and very dark table.
And add a touch of fall.



I decided to use what I already had--a long piece of textured muslin and a white dish towell from target.

I cut the muslin to the width and length I wanted. Then cut the towell in half and gathered and sewed to each end.

I added a galvanized tin trough I found at the thrift store. and some mini pumpkins,
and vintage sheet music I put through the shredder.

After I sewed the runner I put it in the washing machine, then dryer to give the edges a frayed look.

When I pulled it out, however, the runner was way to short for my table. Either I really messed up on the measurements or it shrank big time in the dryer.


I ended up cutting it right in half and adding a piece in the middle with the stitching seams exposed for added texture.

Besides the little snafu it was relatively easy and painless.

It gives it kind of a farmhouse feel,

in the fall time.


Sunday, October 17, 2010

Gray

I've been busy.
Painting. And sanding.
Here's what my bed looked like before.
Very dark. I wanted to change up the look.


After this project I debated about painting my huge bed. I knew it was going to be a big job but I couldn't get it out of my mind.

I finally decided to block out two days last week to just stay home and get it done.

I chose Behr's "Light French Gray" from Home Depot.

I just love how it turned out. It lightens up the whole space. And its not white. I love white, but my husband claims I paint everything white nowadays. So this was a little challenge for me, and I think gray is my new favorite color--after white.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Altered Book Pumpkin

I had a little fun this weekend playing with some scissors and glue.
I also had a little fun playing on "picnik".

Can you tell?

I love this textured look,

and the cross process, makes it look kind of spooky.


This is the gritty effect.
ok, here's how I made the pumpkin.

I took about 5 paperback books from my son's room that I had purchased from the thrift store for .50 cents each. He hadn't ever read them yet and decided it was a lost cause so I'd make good use of them. I traced a half pumpkin shape with a pencil, then cut using an exacto knife.

Here are two books side by side that make a pumpkin shape.
Then start glueing them together. Let dry under a stack of something heavy. And then continue with the other 3 books until it is really fulland looks something like this.
This goes along perfectly with the fall style I am going for this year,


creams and blacks, with only a touch of orange.




Saturday, October 2, 2010

Ballard Look-Alike Mirror

I did a little painting this weekend, and this time I tried something different. The other day at Walmart I picked up a $2 can of gray spray paint, I realized later that it was technically primer, but I like the end result.



Here's what it looked like before in my very messy garage--pretty boring.

I sprayed about 3 coats, using almost the entire can of spray paint. This was a lot easier than my usual brush method. I decided to not tape off the mirror. After it dried, I sanded the edges and and added a walnut stain for an aged look.



Then I used a razor blade and some windex to get all the paint off that got sprayed onto the mirror. That was a real pain, next time I will tape off the mirror, at least a little bit.




This is the first gray piece I have done and I really like the color. It reminds me of pieces I have seen recently in Restoration Hardware and Ballard Designs' catalogs.


I am very tempted to do this to my all black bed, but it is a king and I'll have to think on it for a while to make sure I really want to attempt that big of a project.






Friday, October 1, 2010

I am so totally doing this ...

for my youngest daughter's next birthday! An Alice in Wonderland inspired party with hanging clocks, teacups and playing cards. {source: unknown}


I have the perfect tree to have it under too, now I just need to start collecting the stuff--9 months and counting.