Welcome to my couch!

What, not enough pillows, you say? My husband begs to differ. He almost had a stroke when he saw me hauling bag after bag of fairly ugly throw pillows into the house. But he doesn't seem to realize, there's a method to my madness. Our current throw pillows came with the couch/loveseat three years and two toddlers ago, so they are sadly deflated. I have also been collecting clearance Christmas and Fall material from Joann's to make some throw pillow covers. And these bad boys were on clearance at Kohl's for $1.99. That's right, two bucks, folks. So I scoured all sections of our local Kohl's bedding department and found nine of them. Plus I had a 15% off coupon. Score! So coming soon to a couch (or three) near you will be a festive assortment of fluffy throw pillows, just in time for my favorite season.

Strange thing is, my husband is still not impressed.

Today's Happy Image

is brought to you today by Hobby Lobby....

I am so in love with the fabrics they have there right now. I honestly wanted each and every lovely scruptious bolt to come home with me. To do what, I haven't decided yet. But something marvelous. Or even just to look at. Love the colors, love the patterns, love the design, love the POTENTIAL!

Mama's big boys

We moved Sam & Ben into a different room and took the crib sides off of their beds. They are so proud to be sleeping in their new Big Boy Room. Oh, and they lovelovelove the firetruck sheet sets their oh-so-talented mommy made for them. I found an easy tutorial here for the bottom sheet, and I just modified it a bit to make a fitted topsheet and a pillowcase to match (haven't finished those yet....). I'm on my second set of sheets for them, and it's easy, and they feel super special to be able to pick out the material themselves. Win-win!

Soft baby blocks

I made a cute little soft baby block (about 5") using a tutorial from londonmummy. The blocks were left over from my mom's Christmas gift, and the animals I heat transferred from the material from Sofia's nursery curtains. I'm not satisfied with the lumps, but my kids love it! I'll probably make up a batch or two to give as baby gifts. I'm thinking shapes for the next one.

Important lessons.

So I made Sofia a nice little tiered skirt last night. She saw the scraps of curtains/dining room seat covers and told me it would make a perfect skirt for her. So after the kids went to sleep, I got to work. Everything went pretty good, actually. I had several different scraps to work with, and had just the right amount of fabric.

I got a little too pleased with myself, I think.

As I sewed the bottom tier together, I noticed something a bit odd. It didn't seem to be the same color! That's when I realized that all the tiers, except for one panel for the bottom tier, was cut from the same scrap. That last panel was cut from what used to be the top of the curtains.

Apparently, sun fades fabric differently at the top than at the bottom.

Curious.

What's also curious is the multi-shaded aspect of her cute little skirt.

Oh well.

At least I finished it.

And maybe with a few washings, everything will fade to the same shade.

I can always hope.

Budget Curtains

I've been living in this house for three years, and have yet to put up curtains in the living room. It was only very recently that I even had a rug or coffee table in the living room. I'm not a big fan for spending money (love craigslist) so I had to come up with something inexpensive that didn't look cheap. So here's before:



And here's after:





These were the expenses:

2 5'9" x 8'9" Canvas drop cloths------ $20 (total)
black wooden curtain rod-------------- $9 (Walmart clearance)
3 packages curtain hooks--------------$15
____________
Grand Total $44.00

Yay! Love bargains. I still have one window to do in the living room, then I will be happy. The canvas has a lovely texture to it, and I really like the black curtain rod & hooks. All in a day's work!

The dress that was a shirt.

I let the kids choose some fabric from Joann's a couple of weeks ago, promising them a very difficult pillowcase out of the deal. The fabric has been sitting in "Mommy's Workroom" since then. Until now. I thought I would get adventuresome and try a shirt for Sofia. I have the patterns, but have been afraid to use them. But I buckled down, ignored the layout for cutting that the pattern gave (it made no sense, after all) and started cutting after the kids hit the sack. Everything was going along swimmingly... I even got the elastic neck done right. Then it was time to hem the bottom.

Something didn't look right. I had made a size 5 for Sofia (a little large for her, given the measurements on the pattern, but I thought she could grow into it) but it didn't look right. It was wide enough, bordering on billowy, but the length wasn't even going to cover her bellybutton! I checked the picture on the package, just making sure that I didn't grab the Princess Jasmine version by mistake. But there was no mistake--the pattern was just too short for Sofia. I threw the unfinished shirt onto the guestbed, stalked out the door, and was just about to flip off the light when I stopped.

There, sitting neglected in my pile of remnants (I'm addicted), there was a little scrap of yellow. This particular scrap was all of about 12 inches, and had been passed over many times for previous projects because it was just too small. But for this, it just might work. You can't really tell in the photos, but it's yellow with little white daisies, and the ladybug material has little yellow & white daisies on it as well. What a match!

I gathered this little piece of sunshine (my first time doing a gather. Newbie sewer here) and attached it to the shirt. Looks good! But not quite finished.... so I cut a strip of the original material to put at the hem, maybe making it look like this is what I intended in the first place. And it turned out okay! It's still a little baggier than I would prefer, but Sofia likes her wiggle room.

I finally finished the darn thing around midnight, hung it on her dresser where she would see it first thing, and went, finally, to bed.

P.S. She liked it.... although you couldn't tell by the pictures. She has the strongest aversion to photos of any child I've encountered. Ever since she was an infant. Seriously. To get these pics, I had to bribe her with ice cream.... and that wasn't enough for a smile! Sigh.

I love Japanese fabric!

So I peruse several crafty-type blogs on a regular basis (obsessively), because I love watching others creating beauty for me to covet. One of the advertisers of one blog is This and That From Japan and let me tell you, I FREAKIN' LOVE THEIR FABRICS!! Now, if only I could: a) afford them; and b) figure out what to make out them I would really be in business!

In the Hood

Whipped up a couple of hooded towels for the boys last night. They've been using the same towels I recieved as a gift when they were newborns. So I figured they deserved an upgrade. And by the way, they chose the colors!

I'm impressed with my younger self!

So in my quest to de-mite our bedroom, I donated my down comforter to Goodwill. And was left with a bare bed. I didn't really feel like spending money on a new cover, so I raided my closet to see what I could find.



I found Emily. Yes, this is Emily, as in Dickinson (I was always destined to be an English major). I made this quilt while I was in high school, I think. I decided I wanted to make a quilt, found a pattern, then thought, why make a twin size when I could make a King size? So make a King-size quilt I did.


As I pulled this out of the top shelf of the kids bathroom and laid it on my bed, I started really looking at it. And imagining what it would take for me to make something like this today. Man, I must have has some free time! And it amazes me that I was able to stick with the project. Granted, I sewed the top piece, then sent it to my grandma to bind and tie, but that was still a whole lotta sewing! And the pieces actually match up nicely.


So I want to thank my mom for helping me get started with that, my first (and maybe only) very large project. I vaguely remember going with her to choose the coordinating fabrics (is anyone surprised that I chose green? I didn't think so) and to explain how to piece it all together. Apparently, some of the lessons actually did take.

Some place hot just froze over.

I actually completed my first apparel project! I started this pair of pants quite some time ago, was interrupted when the boys woke up from their nap, and never seemed to finish it. So today, I finally finished them! They are a pair of pants/capris for Sofia, but you know how she is about photographs. So I got Sam to model them for me (don't worry, baby, I'm saving up for your therapy).

They are made of out a stripe corduroy that I love, and granted, it made the pants a little retro, but hey, you learn as you go. These pants have side pockets and an elastic waist. I'm so happy to have them done. No guarantees she'll ever wear them, but I tried. And I just might try again, given the proper inspiration from a visit to the Walmart material section.....

All in a morning's work

Out with the old....








And in with the new(er)!





I got tired of the striped velvet on my dining room chairs, so I pulled down a chocolate brown microfiber homemade curtain panel I've had since we got married, and perfomed a little cosmetic surgery. I'm pleased. I'm glad it didn't cost anything, because I'll probably feel like changing it again in about a year. That's just the way I am. Filipe's lucky we're legally bound to each other....

Feelin' Good!

Anyone who knows me understands that I long to be creative. I was not given that gift. Give me a list of instructions, and I can produce results. But even with instructions, I don't generally turn out quality crafting.



That's why I'm so pleased with today's production. We got some throw pillows with our couch that I have almost always thought were hideous. But I hate spending $20+ on new pillows. So one of the websites that I follow (and imagine myself being so creative & productive) gave instructions on how to make pillow slipcovers. It sounded easy, so I did it (3 months later)! And it fit! Amazing. And since they are slipcovers, I can: a) remove them to wash in the unlikely event my children will spill milk, jelly, snot, oil, or bath wash on them; and b) theoretically make so many different kinds to fit my mood or season. Not that I think that'll happen anytime soon. But I can dream, can't I?