Owen's Olivia

Fabric Friday {Judy Ross Textiles}

2012-02-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

This collection by Judy Ross Textiles is embroidered and handmade. It is small, but I can understand why. Can you imagine embroidering this? They offer custom work, which is really nice. Collections come out twice a year. The website is worth checking out, and they offer more than just fabric.

All photos come from Judy Ross Textiles.

Have a great weekend!

P.S.- My giveaway will be coming to a close soon! The last person to leave a comment on any post when I reach my goal will receive four snack bags made by me!

Pinterest Food # 2

2012-02-23T10:59:00.002-05:00

You can see # 1 here.

I am trying out the foods that are getting pinned on Pinterest because I LOVE variety. I am not one of those gals who can eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I debated whether or not to share the recipes I disliked. No one likes hearing their cooking sucks. I know everyone has different tastes when it comes to food, and that's fine. I am sure someone hates something I have made. What would you do? Inform others of poor recipes? Keep it to yourself and let others find out on their own that the food tastes like crap? Don't worry though. I'm only sharing the recipes I liked and will make again.

As usual, I don't document the food I make, so I use the photos that were pinned.

First up, the infamous 7up biscuits from Plain Chicken. I'm sure you have seen this photo before because it's been pinned a bazillion times by now. And I can see why. They are freakin' awesome. So easy to make. So little ingredients. So soft like a baby's bum. I actually goofed the first time I made them. I poured my melted butter into the Bisquick and had to add extra flour. But they turned out just fine. I made them a second time following the recipe, and they turned out great.

Next I made this Chicken Enchilada Soup from Home is Where the Holmans Are. The recipe calls for some fancy Mexican cheese (okay, I'm just too lazy to look up what the cheeses are), but I used cheddar and mozzarella instead. It is a hearty, thick soup. I enjoyed it. Matt loved it. I will be making it again.

The other week I made BBQ Chicken on the grill, and I used a sauce recipe from Our Best Bites. Oh my word. I thought this sauce was delish. In fact, I was eating it by the spoonfuls before putting it on the chicken. You would have thought I was pregnant. Matt liked it, but he wasn't as super impressed as I was.

I love eating Broccoli and Cheese soup. Especially from Panera Bread. This photo looked tempting, so I made the soup from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I did enjoy it, but I wasn't super thrilled by it. It was delicious, don't get me wrong. I guess I will hold every Broccoli and Cheese soup up to PB's standard. Shame on them! This recipe also calls for swiss cheese, which really gives it a different flavor to the soup. Matt suggested ham would be really good in the soup.

From Me-To You made this gorgeous roasted bird. Take a look at that photo!! Doesn't this make you want to go out and kill (or buy :) a chicken RIGHT now?? Well, that is what happened to me, though Goldie, Tweedle, Sassy, Baby, and Halley are still alive. I didn't have any of that fancy herbs de Provence or lavender, so I googled it and made up my own with what I had on hand. It turned out great!

Zuppa Toscana soup from Mommy For Reals = YUM, and not because I "know" Danny. All I can say about this is I have made it 3 times since pinning it. I made it once for my two sisters. One sister made it for two weeks straight until she literally got sick of it.

Thai Coconut Rice from Cooking for Seven. This was good, but it was not as sweet as I was expecting, and the coconut flavor is not as pronounced as I would have thought either. I will make it again though.

Have you made or pinned any of these items listed?

one seventy to go

2012-02-22T14:36:00.000-05:00

my first instagrams

2012-02-21T20:08:00.001-05:00

i probably could have taken more exciting shots like the dead carcass we found in our chicken coop this morning. who cries over dead chickens? this girl. i love my babies. luckily, comet played with us in our home over the weekend, and i took a few shots of owen and comet playing together. this is our second chicken loss.

i just played around with instagram today, and i am sure the photos will get more interesting as i remember to pull out the phone more.

timeout...reason for timeout...walker

brushing those toothies...owen learned how to hold the toothbrush in an unconventional way

you can see my current giveaway here.

woot! woot! how 'bout partying with me?

2012-02-20T12:29:00.003-05:00

via

matt came up with this great idea. to celebrate the blog reaching 200 followers AND approaching 100,000 views, i am hosting a little giveaway. great reasons to celebrate, right?!? i think so. i love you guys. maybe you guys love me too? well, anywho, i love my blog, and i want to party.

so here's how it's going to go down. one person will receive four snack bags! Olivia's Snack Bags have been my most popular post, so it seems appropriate to give some away.

The Comment Giveaway

PRIZE: Four snack bags in various prints. These bags hold dry goods only.
WHO CAN ENTER: Anyone. I'm not looking to increase my following with this giveaway, but of course, I'd love for you to join us, if you like what you see. I really dislike forced following (picture me with a finger pointing down my throat), so I don't want to do that to you. This is a just for fun giveaway. Read more about my giveaways here.
TO ENTER: Leave me comments on old or new posts.
ENDS: When I reach 100,000 views.
HOW WINNER IS DETERMINED: I won't be using random.org for this. A winner will be selected when I notice my views have hit 100,000 or more. I will then scroll down to see who commented last, and that person is the winner.
PRIZE SHIPS: US addresses, but if you do not have an US address, you may enter if you are willing to pay the shipping through Paypal. Please allow 2-3 weeks for me to make them and ship them.
ANNOUNCED: here at the top of this blog post and winner will have 72 hours to respond to my email before a new winner is selected. Remember, I can't contact you if there's not an email attached to your name.

watch out for Danny and Jen. these girls are my top two commenters. ;)

here's the current status.

okay, let's see how quickly we can end this party! :) best of luck!

*if you are not interested in participating but still want to leave a comment somewhere on the blog, that is fine.

Etsy {Neon Love}

2012-02-20T08:00:00.027-05:00

love. me. some. brights! i was SO tempted to do a Neon Regretsy post. trust me. there is SO MUCH neon trash on etsy. one of my hardest etsy treasury lists to date.

source


source

source

Fabric Friday {My First Quilt ~ Fabric Selections}

2012-02-17T13:47:00.000-05:00

I know this isn't a typical Fabric Friday. I even posted earlier today! Small, I know, but still.

Can I scream with excitement right now?!?!?! My fabric arrived for Owen's quilt!!!!!!

source

I knew from the very beginning I wanted to work with Monaluna for his quilt. Originally, I was going to use the Anika collection, but Foxy was sold out and will not be coming back. Though I did hear that Monaluna will put out a new Foxy with a new colorway. I'm just not patient enough. I also really loved Taali, but I was not sure if the scale would be small enough for what I was doing. I ordered some samples, and I loved them! It's a Scandinavian inspired collection. Love that too. They are so pretty in person. They feel so soft, and I know it will feel great against Owen's skin.

There were two prints I chose not to use in the quilt. The Mixed Apples and Astors.

Both I felt were on the feminine side. Yes, I know Posies screams all girl, but I am hoping to play around with the pattern. If I decide to add Mixed Apples for a little more color, I can always do so later.

I may also add Amy Butler's River Shine or Rashida Coleman-Hale's Extras Charcoal to the quilt, but I am not sure yet. It features a cream and black, so I am not sure how I feel about that with the white. You just never know until you get in there and try.

And there's something weird about making a quilt for the first time. Excitement. Butterflies. Nervousness. Anxious. Joyful. Happiness. Want to puke. Impatient. Scared. Overwhelmed. And back to Thrilled.

(Please forgive the quality of personal photos for awhile as I am trying to learn how to use my DSLR camera.)

baby girl's dress progress

2012-02-17T08:31:00.000-05:00

It's coming along. This isn't the dress I had in my head, but this is my "practice" dress.

(Please forgive the quality of personal photos for awhile as I am trying to learn how to use my new camera.)

she orbs, she orbs ~ I Pinned, I Made ~ I Failed

2012-02-16T09:42:00.001-05:00

okay, to some people this is not considered a fail. but it is for me since it's not getting used for my original purpose, and the orb went a little lopsided on me. so it's a fail in the design department.

the other week i got my orb on. remember this lovely shot?

this somehow miraculously transformed into this

making the orb was really easy. you can see Crafty Nest's tutorial here, but this is basically what i did.

1 bouncy ball
1 bottle Aleena's Clear Tacky Glue
1 cereal bowl
1 spool of yarn (i used the yarn from my yarn wreath that i made awhile back.)
1 deflating/inflating needle

make a circle on one end of the ball with marker. this will allow your hand to go inside of the orb to change the bulb.
i spread out crafting paper on a table, so glue wouldn't get everywhere. i placed a pea size amount in my fingers and i placed it on the yarn while pressing the yarn between my fingers. i wrapped the yarn with glue onto my ball, which was resting on a cereal bowl. that's not necessary, but i found it helpful. repeat the process over and over and over again. it will take some time so pop in a movie. just don't cover the circle you marked on your ball. let the ball dry for a few days. she recommends 48 hrs but owen got a hold of my orb and bounced it down the hallway after 24 hours. it turned out just fine. but i would say 48 hours is a good time. place the deflating needle into the ball and squeeze out the air. the ball will come out of the orb, and the yarn will not stick to the ball. you will be able to move some strings around to work with your choice of lighting kit, so don't fret about that.

so here are some things i suggest.

1. she recommends a quarter size amount of glue at a time, which i thought was excessive. but then again, i was working with yarn, not hemp. i started out with around a pea size, but then i got impatient, and started squeezing out more.

2. make sure your ball is inflated well. all the balls at wal-mart were on the verge of dying, so i was lucky to even find what i did.

3. if you use a hemma cord, stretch it out for a day or two. if you look at the picture with all the arrows (below), you will notice the cord is not straight.

4. for some reason the hemma cord can make my pendant a little lopsided. refer to photo with the arrows. i may just need to rethread the cord in a different hole, which leads me to my next number.

5. when you make your circle on your ball, i would recommend figuring out where the center of that circle would be on the other side. i would mark a small circle. this way when you are making your pendant, you can leave a small opening for the electrical wire to go through. this will also help your pendant to hang nicely instead of being a little lopsided like mine, but hopefully that is a quick fix.

6. as for the large hole in the bottom, i used a regular cereal bowl to trace. if i were to do this again, i would use a cup. i think the hole in the bottom can look "odd" at times, but since it's tucked nicely into a closet that no one other than myself goes into, it's just fine. you can refer to what i consider "odd" in Crafty Nest's photo at the end of the post.

7. other than those things, Crafty Nest did a good job with the tutorial, so you shouldn't run into any problems.

i used the hemma light kit from ikea to hang it, but the cord wanted to drift off and do its own thing.

i decided a little bit of sticky velcro in the corner would do the trick. i apologize for these crappy shots (off my old camera), but hopefully you can see where and how i applied velcro.
1. cut small pieces of velcro (i actually cut in half, but that's not in the photos). 2. place one piece in the corner and the other piece on the cord. 3. stick together.

HOW TO HOLD A CORD IN PLACE

i did a few of these along the corner of the walls, and voila! no retarded cord.

~~i'm sitting on the fence with this one.~~ what is it with me and lights??? as usual, i will let it hang in there for a few weeks to test it out. it doesn't help either that the rocking chair that goes underneath this light is covered in a sheet. so if this light doesn't stay in owen's room, i will find a place for it.
i moved it out of owen's room. it wasn't quite the look i was going for, and since matt and i have no lighting in our largest closet, i moved it there. it works WONDERS in there too. i can now see all of our food storage, and i moved all of my fabric in there too.

i pinned these hemp pendants by Crafty nest awhile back, which comes with a full tutorial. i didn't have hemp, so i used yarn.

my pendant is way cuter in person, and it was actually fun making it. you should make one too! thank you Craft Nest!

Veni ~ A before + after

2012-02-14T08:34:00.001-05:00

Either I'm talking French, or I'm talking about my newly spruced up plastic deer. Veni came to me last Thanksgiving when I was visiting my sister. I stopped by the local thrift store, and Veni asked me to come home with me. How could I say no to this plastic face? So I packed her in my purse, after I properly paid of course, and we went for a little joy ride before she went under reconstructive surgery.

After a few coats of Valspar Island Orange, Veni is feeling quite pretty.

Veni's ready for a night out on the town. Don't be surprised if I pull her out of my purse while we are eating sushi or something.

my weekend

2012-02-13T11:44:00.000-05:00

Some little lovelies came in the mail over the weekend.

Here are the four items that came to my home to live with me.

New fabric from Rashida Coleman-Hale's Washi Tape collection, and Amy Butler's River Shine in the Lark collection. I just love that bat looking fabric. I have no idea why, but I really love it. I am hoping to use one of these prints for Owen's quilt. I have a some samples from a different designer coming in the mail this week, so I will be able to compare these two prints to the ones I ordered.

My new camera!!! Our tax refund hit last week. Ah-mazingly fast! yipee! I got it with a 50mm lens, but I may need to return it. I didn't want the 18-55mm lens that came with it, but I might have to get it. I can't take pictures of the rooms in my house with a 50mm lens. I think I need a smaller variable lens. Any suggestions?

A little print by Holli Zollinger. Luv her!

And here is the fabric I am currently working with for my sewing project. I had this project in my head for months now, and the fabric has been in my closet for a year and a half. It was definitely time to get it out! I hope this works out. I am using the project to increase my sewing skills.
Update: As if I need to do this since this post hasn't gone live yet, but while I was typing it up today, I was also lolly gagging on Pinterest. I came across a pin from a friend that had a dress using these same two prints! grrrrrr. I guess I should be optimistic here and say we both have excellent taste :)

So on the home front I have a little dilemma. I am stumped with reupholstering Owen's rocking chair and ottoman. Good 'ole ran into a brick wall, nowhere to go, my brain is mush stumped. Picking out the right fabric has got to be the most difficult thing for me. So with this said, I am on a hiatus. Thinking about reupholstering the rocking chair is turning my hair gray, so I am going to finish up the kitchen instead. The kitchen has been BY FAR much easier. I have no clue why. Wait, I think I do. It's called a PLAN.

Here's my checklist for the kitchen

Lighting above my island
refinish the island aka dresser
find the right and affordable countertop for the island
replace dishwasher and finish off the trim around the dishwasher, if needed with the new one
window treatments for the two doors in the kitchen
finish caulking a few areas around the tile backsplash
finish painting and replacing baseboards next to the pantry
possible shelving on the wall that links the kitchen and dining areas
rugs

Here's my current budget proposal to get those things done

Island- $250 for countertop (it's 8 square feet)
Island- $80 for furniture grade wood for the back and possible sides of the dresser
Island- $15 for paint or stain
Window treatments - $140 for custom work including the shipping
Lighting- $100 for two pendant lights to go over the island
Dishwasher- $150 (hopefully find one on craigslist or clearance)
FLOR carpeting- $240 for 20 tiles at $12 a piece (hopefully I can find some at the outlet or on sale)
Another option for rugs is to make my own or find cheap runners that I like.
2 Shelves- $15 max per shelf b/c I will DIM (do it myself) this, and $40 for four corbels unless I DIM this too.
Caulking, painting, and replacing baseboards will be free b/c I have all the stuff already

How was YOUR weekend?

And you will have to forgive me for a few months with the quality of my pictures. I am not familiar with my new camera.

Fabric Friday {White and Cream Eyelet} Reader's Q & A

2012-02-10T08:11:00.019-05:00

I really love getting questions from readers. I received this email from Casey.

"I live in the Ozarks and we just don't have a huge selection of cute fabrics like you seem to find!

I'm wondering if you have a good eyelet fabric resource. I'm working on the nursery for baby #1, and want to make some curtains like these. I think I can make them sooo much cheaper than $99 a panel, if I could only find a similar eyelet!! Any ideas?"

I agree with her on this one. $99 a panel is a bit steep for a curtain panel that doesn't even touch the floor. Casey has a few options to achieve a similar look.

1. She can use fashion fabrics since the curtains will not get much wear and tear.

2. She can use traditional home decor fabric, but that can be more expensive depending on the manufacturer.

3. She can use eyelet fabric as a trim rather than cover an entire panel.
4. She can use eyelet shower curtains or bed sheets, if she is doing a shorter panel like Urban Outfitters. Using a seam ripper or razor blade, she can separate the eyelet fabric from the backing.

Here are some eyelet fabrics I found. Casey is interested white or ivory fabrics, but there is a nice selection of colored eyelets (all with different designs from striped to paisleys) out there. Mood Fabrics, as well as Etsy, are great resources for eyelet fabrics.

source


source


source

source

Eyelet fabrics can be costly because of factors like how intricate the design is. Sometimes, it may be cheaper to buy the product instead of doing it yourself, but I think Casey has a good chance of making her own eyelet panels for a lot less.

Casey also asked me, "Do you think your ombre chevron curtain technique would work for a shower curtain?"

My answer? Heck yeah! Most shower curtains are 100% cotton or polyester. My ombre curtains are polyester, and I purchased them from Hancock Fabrics. You should be able to paint on cotton, and many DIY bloggers are doing just that. My only recommendation is to stay away from the seams, if possible. The paint tends to leak under the tape around the stitches (I used the blue tape). If you have to paint over the seams, press really hard and a few times right before application to achieve the smoothest line possible. My paint did not bleed at every seam line, but it did happen a few times. If you plan on washing your shower curtains, you will need to add a fabric paint medium to the latex paint. Do a test strip first to see how latex paint and fabric medium hold up in the washer and dryer. You can test this on any scrap fabric you have lying around. And of course, you could always use curtain panels for your shower curtain. Who says you can't hang drapes in a bathroom???

Have fun!

*If you know of a great place to find eyelet fabric by the yard, please share that information with others by leaving it in the comment box.

Marimekko Sunrise ~ I Pinned, I Made

2012-02-08T09:06:00.000-05:00

Okay, I really don't know if this is a Marimekko print or even a sunrise, but it reminds me of those things. Everyone is entitled to their own interpretation of art, right? I LOVED making this. I LOVE the end result. There are several noticeable differences between the two prints, one being the size. The original print would have been too large for Owen's room, so I scaled it to fit my needs. I pinned this print off MadeByGirl, who showcased some interior design work by Jamie Meares of Furbish Design.

My work, which will hang in Owen's room:

Print in photos (photos belong to MadeByGirl):

a sweet little surprise

2012-02-07T08:12:00.000-05:00

i have told you before that blogging has introduced me to some wonderful people, right? well, my friend, Danny, sent me a sweet little package. it was quite unexpected too.

i love the fabric she sent over. the mustaches are too cute, and the bright colored print of girls and cats/dogs is fun too. i've been thinking about what to make using these prints. i definitely want to make something for a boy/man using the mustaches, and i imagine a tweenster using the other print.

Danny made these adorable burp cloths.

thanks Danny!!! you should head on over and check her out. she has a giveaway going on right now. she made an adorable zippered pouch, and it includes a tutorial!

what would you make with these prints?

the beginnings of an orb pendant

2012-02-06T10:06:00.000-05:00

over the weekend, my eyeballs saw a lot of this.

and then . . .

i was pooped. Burn Notice, Bones, and Portlandia may have distracted me a wee bit too. i have to let the ball cure for a few days, but i hope to have this baby up by the end of the week. pendants are not really an option for my home due to our 8 foot ceilings. luckily, this baby is getting tucked into a corner, so nobody's fat head will run into it.

here's a clip from Portlandia that made me laugh.

also, i am in the market for a new camera. i bought a canon s95 (point and shoot) back in october, and i really dislike it. fortunately, amazon is amazing, and i'll get 90% of my $$ back to spend on a new camera. i am thinking about a canon rebel (slr). we are getting a nice tax refund, so i will have a little extra play beans.

any suggestions on a camera?

Fabric Friday {Triangles}

2012-02-03T10:00:00.002-05:00

source


source


Michael Miller

LittleMissQuarter


TreasureBayFabric


Anda


Rottendoxie

Natalie

Kimsa


Brokkoletti

Anticipatricia


CristinaPires


CANOPYstudio

FreshModernFabric

NewMomDesigns

source


Ravynka


Siya

Candyjoyce


Sammyk


MissTiina

boosterseat

Rainbow Raindrops ~ I Pinned, I Made

2012-02-02T12:21:00.006-05:00

I may start a new series (or a new page at the top of my blog) called I Pinned, I Made showcasing the things I pinned, and well, made. For now, it will just be labeled I Pinned - I Made, which can be found on the lower right side of my blog under Labels.

My work:

Madame Cupcake's work:

I'm sharing my awesomeness with:
Bubbly Nature Creations, Fun to Craft, Whipperberry, Shabby Nest, Simple Home.Life, Creation Corner, 504 Main, freckled laundry, Sassy Sites, Remodelholic, be different, act normal, Bacon time with the Hungry Hippo, kojo designs, chic on a shoestring, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Mad in Crafts, Skip to My Lou, Keeping it Simple, Today's Creative Blog, Type A Decorating, Vintage Wanna Bee, Sugar Bee Crafts, Tip Junkie,

Fabric Silhouette Tutorial

2012-01-31T09:04:00.001-05:00

I want to do a grouping of fabrics displayed in embroidery hoops with Owen's silhouette being the centerpiece. These will go into his room.

If you do not want to make one but still want one for your home or as a gift, you can contact me to make one for you.

Items needed:

Embroidery hoop
Digital photo of a person in profile or a photograph
Fabric for the hoop and for the silhouette
Fusible web
Printer
Marker
Fabric marker
Pins
Scissors

1. Take your digital image, preferably in black and white to help save colored ink, and open it in your preferred photo software. I am using Gimp, a free software. Go to Image -- Scale Image. Select Inches, and press on the paper clip looking thing.

Press on the paper clip looking thing so you can set your own dimensions. Mine is the blue circle next to inches.

Set your desired dimensions, and hit Scale.

Your image should look like this.

Go to print and preview your image.

This is what my image looks like on an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper.

2. Print your image, and check the size with your embroidery hoop.

3. Trace your image with a marker, and cut it out.

4. Pin your image to your fabric. Trace it with a fabric marker, and cut it out.

5. Pin your silhouette to fusible webbing. Cut it out leaving about an 1/8" around all the edges. Follow the directions according to your fusible webbing to adhere the silhouette to the main fabric.

6. Place fabric in embroidery hoop and trim the edges.

Enjoy!

I'm sharing my awesomeness with:
Reasons to Skip the Housework, Strictly Homemade, Ladybug Blessings, At Home with K, Coastal Charm,

weekend roundup

2012-01-30T09:00:00.014-05:00

It's really not my goal to share with you every Monday what I did over the weekend, but these past few weeks I actually did something. :)
This weekend:
1. I took a shower and did my hair and makeup. Big accomplishment.
2. Held a crafting party.
3. Worked on Owen's little table to go next to the rocking chair.
4. Took a 2 hour Sunday nap.
5. Shopped at a local thrift store.

And though all of this was really thrilling, I think #2 and 5 are at the top of my list . . . okay, add #4 since that doesn't happen often.

Let's look at a few pictures! . . . and a video that I hope "E" will not hate me for posting . . . on YouTube

So here's Owen helping me sand his log table. I have two of these already at my house. When we moved into the house in 2008, the first thing we did was cut down our two dead trees in the backyard.
I told Matt I wanted to keep two of the logs, and he gave me this funny look. We have been using them as stools for our back deck (free seating!). Well, I pulled one of them into his room to rest books and toys on, and it has been there for the last few months. I am swapping it out with the taller pine log that someone chucked into the woods in our neighborhood months ago. It is fully dried out now, and now I am contemplating what I am going to do with the log. Paint it? Stain it? Polyurethane it? Mod Podge the heck out of it? Au naturale? Put stickers on it? Crochet it? I will have to sit on this one for awhile. No pun intended.

Okay, I swear we are not a dirty family (me no showers, continual pics of Owen dirty).
You see, it was 68 degrees in Dec!!!!! That meant a shirt and diaper day, so Owen played in the dirt and with water while I sanded the log.

I think this log has potential, and it was free! I know not all free things are good, but I am sure I can make this work. And if not, it was free!! Back in tha woods it go. Sorry, I was itching for poor grammar. I am in the south.

Okay, let's cue the angels for this next picture. I scored some good stuff for $22 total. I love shopping at thrift stores, and I have become to love it even more (on a scary level) now that I am trying to work with a budget this year.

What I got:
1 Caboodles HECK YEAH!! I had one of these growing up, so I was excited to spot this one. It will now hold all my sewing notions. $2
1 Coral J. Crew skirt. I love the fabric. The picture doesn't do it any justice. $5
1 awesome square frame shadow box with a ROUND mat! I love it!! And the art work in it is hilarious! $8
2 square frames $3 each
1 pair of girl's Minnie Mouse Crocs $1 (um, $1?? Maybe I'll have a girl someday. Do you ever play that mind game?)

Are those not adorable????

This next picture is actually for Danny. She thinks she's not a great cake decorator, but I've got her beat. It was really good though, so don't let that poor frosting fool you.

My birthday was awhile back. I hosted a birthday/craft party. It was so much fun, and we stayed up too late! These are the ONLY three pathetic photos I got for the night. Another confirmation that I suck at taking photos.

I wish I had taken photos of what everyone was doing, but I didn't even think about that until typing this post. M made cut outs for a heart attack project. H made a fabric ball to hang in her son's room. She's doing the rainbow, and she feels she may have been a little overzealous :) R made a rosette ball. R crocheted. M made magnets. E made a felt watermelon for her felt food collection. I really should have gotten a picture of it because it turned out so well!! E and E chatted since they are not the crafty type, but they still love me.

O and I made the Rainbow Drops I pinned awhile back. I don't know what she is doing with hers, but mine is going in Owen's room. This is O's work. I sat across from her, which is why the pic is upside down. You will get to see mine once I glue everything down.

R did capture the last bit of E singing the intro to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I'm not sure how we got on the subject of The Fresh Prince.

And lastly, I am sharing with you my chicken painting. Most of you may not have remembered my post on chickens back in October. Well, I completed it within a few days of that post with the exception of touching up some things. I just have not shown it to you for several reasons. It is in Owen's room but not hanging up. After putting up the pallet wall, I have come to the conclusion my chicken art will not reside in his room. I fear the room will look too country bumpkin, if I hang it up. Plus, I am dreading hanging it up. It is heavy. It is plywood. A large piece of plywood.

Well, here is the final product. I still need to retouch some of my lines, but other than that, it is done.

Here is the painting by Sugarboo that inspired me.

I hope to have a craft up this week. I get in these moods where I have to do something crafty, even if it is small.

Did you have a good weekend? Did you do anything fun?

The winner of the fat quarter bundle can be viewed here. From now on, winners will be announced on the original giveaway post.

Fabric Friday {frumafar}

2012-01-27T11:00:00.068-05:00

frumafar is an Etsy shop that features Japaneses designers. They do not have a large selection of fabrics, but sometimes quality surpasses quantity. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Have a wonderful weekend! I am hosting a little get together with girlfriends and working on a stool for Owen's room. (And it was free!) His room is almost completed. I finished up his pallet wall this week, and I loved how it turned out. It's so nice and cozy with a touch a rustic.

Etsy {Absence}

2012-01-26T09:00:00.012-05:00

Oh how I missed thee! I've been pretty busy with home projects that I haven't shared an Etsy post in awhile. Like over a month! I love my Etsy posts because it's like I am shopping without guilt. But of course there's no product on my doorstep :( There's no theme to this particular post like I normally do. I'm just sharing with you some things I have added to my favorites recently.

*Some items may have sold.

StarBags

MeshuMaSH


boardstiff


inhauspress


elementclaystudio


The Lonely Heart

ThreeBirdNest


lovemaude


Corrieberrypie

NANCY LOVE SOME Leah Duncan


uncommon

If you haven't entered my giveaway, you can enter here. It's a little thank you for those who frequent my blog. It means so much to me!

30 Fat Quarter Projects

2012-01-24T08:11:00.003-05:00

Alright, I gathered up 30 more fat quarter projects for you. :) And to kick it off I am offering one lucky Owen's Olivia reader a fat quarter bundle from Joann Fabrics. So let's take a look at some of these projects, shall we?

Country Living makes pincushions using cookie dough cutters. You could make several out of one fat quarter. I like this idea because you are reusing what you have in your home. I think they would make great gifts too.

whipstitch made this castle. I know it looks big, but it really is not.

Mauby thought about the little boys! Here's her tool belt using one fat quarter.

Positively Splendid made a ruffled sunglass case. Now if only I would stop losing my glasses . . .

Remarkably Domestic covered a small tin using one fat quarter.

Checkered Tote from BHG.

edward and lilly made a fat quarter tote bag using Cicada Daydream's tutorial.

Cicada's bag.

If you don't want to make a little bag, you can opt for this easy wallet from BHG.

Elsie, from A Beautiful Mess Blog, shows you how to make hair bows. I need to wear hair bows.

You can make little treat bags for birthday parties like the people at allpeoplequilt.com did.

Stop Staring and Start Sewing made an Apron in an Hour for you.

I would have never thought about making a pillowcase from fat quarters, but Quilter's Home will show you how.

Amy Friend will show you how to make an iPhone case. I love the print.

Blissful by quenna made this mini wallet.

Youcanmakethis.com offers a free downloadable "Charming Twirl Skirt" pattern for the American Dolls. Perfect for those people who bought those expensive son of a guns this Christmas.

And here is a little quilt from Sew, Mama Sew your daughter can tuck her American doll into.

{LBG} Studios made a cute mini coloring book bag.

She also made a makeup brush roll.

If you have felt fat quarters, which, honestly, I don't know if you can buy felt fat quarters, and you are feeling whimsical, make these shrooms. I guess you could always make it from cotton.

Visit Saltwater-Kids for this coaster. Or as Jen would say, "Mug Rug."

This is a cute appliqued bag from V and Co.

2 Little Hooligans made this Ruffled Wristlet.

She also made these clothes dividers. (She has a Fat Quarter Friday post, if you are interested)

Craft Blog shows you how to cover a notebook with a fat quarter.

Soule Mama made a Gratitude Wrap for writing notes.

Here's a drawstring bag from BHG.

Jen Grant Morris covered a trough with one fat quarter.

The Sewing Blog made a Moleskin Journal Cover.

This quilt is from Bolt Neighborhood. This would be up my alley since I have never quilted before.

Moda Bake Shop made plate chargers.

Didn't get enough of a fat quarter fix? You can see more here, here, and here.

*******************************
Thank you to all those who participated in the fat quarter bundle giveaway! It was so much fun reading your stories! Seriously. I was laughing at all of them, and it made me feel great that I'm not the only one out there doing stupid stuff in this life. And thank you so much for visiting my blog. It really does mean a lot to me, and I love getting comments from you guys! Keep 'em coming!

The winner is Garnet who had movie marathons with her family. Okay, let's do the math on this one. Most movies average about 1.5-2 hours long. Let's just round it down for Garnet's sake. 6 movies times 1.5 hours is 9 hours of movie watching. My eyeballs are hurting looking at those numbers. This doesn't even include the minutes they had to wait between each film. No wonder Garnet couldn't remember the movies! :)
Congrats Garnet!

Please send me your address, so I can mail these out to you quickly.
*******************************

Interested in the giveaway??? Well, you should be! Here are 10 pieces that I put together for you. It was really difficult for me to find pieces in my closet that actually coordinated, but I did my best. I had a few prints that did go together, but most of my stash is not coordinating. Most of the fabrics in this bundle came from Joann Fabrics.

Giveaway

To thank my readers, I'm giving away a fat quarter bundle from my closet.
A mixture of blues, greens, and grays.

TO ENTER: Enter by leaving me a comment telling me one of the craziest things you've done. I would like to know I'm not the only crazy retard out there.
ENDS: January 27, 9 PM EST
PRIZE SHIPS: US addresses, but if you do not have an US address, you may enter if you are willing to pay the shipping through Paypal.
ANNOUNCED: Jan 30, make sure I have an email address

*Please note a dog lives with me. Also, some fabrics have already been washed.
**This giveaway is only for my readers to thank them. You can read more about my giveaways here.

what my house looked like over weekend

2012-01-23T10:35:00.002-05:00

This weekend I experienced one of those "I'm gonna go psycho on somebody" feelings. Have you ever looked at a room in your home and thought you were going to pull your hair out for whatever reason? Mine was due to piles of junk and messiness throughout the entire house.

I am not an extreme clean freak, but I do like to have some order in my home (Matt probably just rolled his eyes right now, if he is reading this). At times, I let it slide. I get busy. I get tired. I get lazy. I get crazy. (Most likely in that order too)

Well, now I'm all crazy. I am feeling the stress from motherhood, wife, maid, and cook.

Why am I sharing this with you?

I admire beautiful, well-kept homes I see on the internet or in magazines, but my home is nowhere close to it. That's why I drool and fantasize over those pictures. In fact, I am hoping and wishing that this mess is actually "normal" for any woman in my situation. Just lie to me and tell me I am normal.

Let's take a look at the stuff that was literally driving me crazy over the weekend.

Hold on. I just need to scream for a moment.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Warning! The pictures you are about to see *may* cause an anxiety attack.

My bedroom dresser topped with construction paper, a quad, DVDs, and papers.

A stapler, box of colored pencils, my bag hanging high so Owen cannot get into it, and one lampshade on top of my library cabinet.

Those are freaking yams on my chair. Yams.

Owen's bathroom. Dirty clothes, dirty rug, shampoo bottle, and one towel.

Oh.My.Goodness. Piled laundry, everything piling on the back of the toilet, and some junk on the sink. Oh, and one Mac charger.

This my nightstand. Not very relaxing. Coupons and magazines.

A very ugly, messy, mismatched, unrelaxing bed. Still working on that bedspread.

Told ya I was eating on a card table. I moved our dining table into the craft/sewing room.

Oh my goodness. More freaking yams. And a towel, and a trash bag, and other crap all on the buffet/dresser.

Remember that dresser I bought for a kitchen island? It is becoming a home to our utensils. Oh, and Matt's running hat.

Our dishwasher broke :( Lots of hand washing now.

Gross. I'm soooo tired, and it's only 8 am. Hence, I leave pans from breakfast alone. (and I don't want to hand wash)

Someone sign me up for Nate Berkaus puh-lease!!!! I need a makeover! (and an extra 8 hours a day)
Did you notice how I didn't attach my name or enlarge those boogers?

Can you see why I want to go all psycho on someone?

Sometimes, I just look at my son and I look at the mess, and I just watch him as my mind drifts off to la la land to escape. How does anyone keep up with this with more than one child??? How are all those cool home bloggers keeping their places so tidy and pretty?

**********************************************************************************
Update: My home budget is not only for decorating but also maintaining the home, buying appliances (our dishwasher recently broke and the washer and dryer are heading down that road too :), repairing things around the home, et cetera.
On a completely random side note, Matt and I are finally using a budget. I don't mind sharing with you our budget, but the real trick will be keeping it. You see, I'm a spender. I will buy, buy, buy. But I never spend more than we have. Though I was keeping ourselves out of debt, we weren't really saving much either. So that wasn't good. We decided this year to have a budget, and I have never really budgeted before. But to me, it ain't rocket science. It's just sticking to a budget that will be difficult. Since Christmas, I am proud to report that I have stayed within my grocery budget. Well, my home budget doesn't start until Feb 1st. And we only allotted 10% of our extra income (this is after all necessary bills are paid) to go to the home (think decorating and remodeling). I say "only" as if it were a bad thing, but really, it's quite generous considering Matt works one day a week and attends school full-time. We do get scholarship money and the GI Bill, which helps out tremendously. My monthly home budget is $235. That may seem like a lot and maybe it is, but with a girl with BIG dreams, I am scratching my head at this one. Do you think I can finish my kitchen, finish Owen's room, redo my bedroom, spruce up my living room, redo my laundry station, and do some other little projects here and there with $235 a month? Oh man, I am going to have to be VERY resourceful. :)
Are you wondering where I am going with this?
I thought it would be interesting to let you in on my spending habits. To let you see if I really can stick to a budget and decorate my home on a budget. This is a BIG challenge for me because if you read my About page, you will know that a flaw of mine is I like expensive stuff, and sometimes, I just don't know how to be thrifty. I am hoping to gain a greater awareness for being thrifty.

How do you decorate your home on tight budget?
***********************************************************************************

Update: I got the laundry done, washed all the dishes, cleaned off the kitchen island and card table, picked up the crap out of Owen's bathroom, Matt made the bed, and I removed those freaking yams. The day is looking good. Looking good.

If you want to know if you won the Heart Art giveaway, go here. Tomorrow I've got fat quarter projects and a little giveaway for ya. I am just itching to do something creative (sewing or craft). Anyone want to hook up virtually and do a little craft together and then blog about it?

Fabric Friday {Tortoise General Store}

2012-01-20T10:00:00.005-05:00

Giveaway ends on 1/22.

These are all Japanese prints, and they are adorable! I want them all. Downfall? They are actually 100% cotton towels sized 12" x 36" which means you couldn't use the fabric for larger crafts or projects, but I wouldn't let that stop me from buying some of these prints and doing something crafty with them!

Have a great weekend!

Whitewashed Wood Technique {Tutorial}

2012-01-19T09:00:00.002-05:00

First off, I am not experienced with whitewashing wood, BUT I did whitewash the wood on Owen's wall. I really like how it turned out. I thought I would pass along what I learned from doing it. The photo below shows half whitewashed wood and half original wood.

I found whitewashing to be fairly easy. Maybe that's because I did it wrong??? Who knows, but I thought mine turned out great! I'm pretty sure I can apply this technique to furniture as well. But then again, I don't mind taking risks with paint.

One thing I noticed was the color of the wood had an effect on the outcome. I know this might sound like a no brainer, but I really didn't consider that when doing this. The color of the paint did too, but I figured that was a no brainer. When I first started, I used the same paint color from Owen's walls mixed in with a little of this taupe gray color from Benjamin Moore. The outcome was not so great. It turned out purple-ish. Not the look I was going for for a little boy's room. He ain't no Prince. Purple rain. Purple rain. (I wish there were a music note key on the Mac :) I wish I had taken a picture, but I didn't. Luckily, I only painted two small boards before I changed paint colors. I ended up using only the wall color for my boards, which the outcome was perfect. I have to say I was really lucky to only fail once with the color choice. If you do this, you may need to fiddle with your paints on spare wood to achieve your desired outcome.

Supplies Needed:

1 part paint
*2 parts water (meaning if you used 2 oz of paint, use 4 oz of water)
Paintbrush
Cup
Dry cloth (I used cheesecloth)

*The ratio of paint and water may not be important. You just want to water down the paint, so the wood will show through. So don't sweat over the actual measurements. It. must. be. 2. oz!! j/k

** I sanded my boards with 80 grit paper before application.

Mix your paint and water together really well in a plastic cup or bowl. You will want to apply a small amount of mixture using a paintbrush. You will work in small batches. DO NOT apply paint to the entire surface you are working on expecting to be able to thin it out. My brain tells me your paint will dry, and even if you wet it, you risk having paint lines. But don't worry. This isn't a terribly time consuming project.

Using your cloth, rub the paint in the direction of the wood grain.

You should be able to spread it out easily. For my project, I left some of the original color on the boards, so I wasn't getting into every nook and cranny.

Spread it out as much as you can.

This is what my board looked like afterwards. (It's the second board down.)

Repeat the steps all over again covering new wood.

Here are the completed whitewashed boards. Some boards I chose to use two applications of paint. Sorry, no finale shots of Owen's room just yet. ;)

And here is a reminder of what the wood use to look like.

This was an easy technique, and I would love to try this on a dining table! Hmm, I am eating a card table right now. (Insert thought, *make my own table?*)

So what do you think? Did I do a good job? Would you try this technique in your home?

I'm sharing this with:
Somewhat Simple, 30 Handmade Days, Making It with Allie,

About Owen's Olivia

2012-01-18T09:11:00.000-05:00

Enter the current giveaway here. Ends this Sunday!

Gee, this is long overdue. When I started this blog back in July, I had a simple About page. I ended up deleting it until I was ready to say what I really wanted to say about this blog . . . and me. So go check it out here!

what i did over the weekend . . . pallet wall progress, kitchen island find, yada, yada

2012-01-16T09:52:00.002-05:00

Enter my giveaway here.

Well, it was just me and the little man this weekend. Matt went to DC for some Civil War board game tournament (didn't even know those existed), so Owen and I lived it up. We broke all the rules since daddy was gone. Owen ate his Cheerios in our bed. We stayed in our pajamas all day. We ate Strawberry Shortcake for breakfast one morning. Owen played with the kitchen faucet and "washed" the dishes. (I normally let him wash dishes for about a minute and then I make him stop because it wastes so much water. This weekend he got to play for like 10 minutes. Each day. He was in heaven.) We stayed up a little later than normal too. And I didn't lift a finger to clean. Whatever dishes got washed were the ones Owen did. Oh, and I didn't cook a single meal.

So while we were doing all of that, I still found time to work on Owen's pallet wall. I painted the wall, and then I got to work on the pallets. I had already cut them and removed the nails. That was definitely the worst part of this whole experience. I just needed to put the pieces together over the weekend, which I am almost done. Here are just a few shots.

Ah, working at night in the night. In the low 40s. And my source of light was that green lamp I either love or hate.

Don't hate. I know you're jealous. LMBO!!!! My inspiration? All those crappy shots of girls (me included) trying to be sexy while taking the shot themselves. (These are probably the most unflattering photos of all time! Go ahead and take two screen shots, so one day, when I am famous, you can throw this back in my face :)

So Walker chewed my real mask, which forced me to use cheesecloth. But it kept my face nice and toasty in 40 degree weather.

Isn't this guy so adorable? "Hmm, where shall I put this screw?"

"Ah, that's a good spot!"

See? Can't you tell I didn't do much. The kid is only wearing his diaper. :)

Since I am on the subject of Owen's room, I will mention the rocking chairs I drooled over. I do have a story to tell about my rocking chair(s), but that will come at a later time. I decided that I need a good rocker for his room, so we can cuddle, sing, and read together. I have fond memories of my mom rocking me at night and singing to me, so I want that for Owen. I gushed over these incredible rockers from monte.

I found a more reasonable rocker at Babies R Us, which is very similar to the Luca Glider from monte.

I also found a dresser for my kitchen island!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is quite the beauty. Thank you Craigslist! And thank you Aaron for selling it to me for 125 beans. Without you, this wouldn't be possible.

And lastly, I scored my first two Tiffany & Co. items for $0.98 total at a local thrift store. I LOVE thrift stores. If you don't thrift shop, you seriously need to. How gorgeous are these mugs??? There were only two of them or else I would have taken more.

I love the gold detail, and there's a gold stripe along the handle. I imagine these mugs holding a small bouquet of flowers or sitting on a white lacquer desk holding pens.
What would you put in or do with these mugs?

source

How was your weekend? Did you break any rules? Did you do anything fun?

Fabric Friday {Olivia's 15 Fat Quarter Bundle}

2012-01-13T12:24:00.000-05:00

If you have not entered my current giveaway, you can enter here.

I am participating in Quokka Quilt's Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle contest. I would like to make my first quilt! I came up with a few fat quarter bundles, which I will share with you over the course of a month or two, but I was only allowed to enter one bundle. Even though this was really hard work for me, I enjoyed coming up with a color palette. It is difficult combining patterns, which I believe is the hardest part for most people. This can also pertain to interior design, and I definitely fall under the scared category. :)

I knew I definitely wanted Kaffe Fasset Pastel by Westminster Fabrics in my fat quarter bundle, and I worked from there. I had to use 3 solids and 12 prints. Here are my selections.

1. Echo Purple by Lotta Jansdotter
2. Heirloom Gray Cobblestone by Dear Stella
3. Herringbone Stripe by Westminster Fabrics
4. Paris Apartment by Bari J. Ackerman
5. Storyboek Fresh Bubble Stripe by Birch Fabrics
6. Ruby Cotton Grey Sundae by Moda Fabrics
7. Palladium Ikat by Dear Stella
8. Palladium Grey Gridlock by Dear Stella
9. Lakehouse Cream on Cream Dots by Lakehouse Fabrics
10. Tilly Organic Dawn Mumsy by
11. Kaffe Fassett Pastel by Westminster Fabrics
12. Taza Blue Little Navina by Dena Designs
13. Kona Cotton Teal by Robert Kaufman
14. Stella Gray by Dear Stella
15. Bella Solids Blue Raspberry by Moda Fabrics

And this was no easy feat. Just take a look at my desktop. There are over 130 pictures on this screen. Now if only there were an easy way to delete these . . .

Happy Friday! I'm working on those darn pallets this weekend, and I figured out exactly what I am going to do. I am VERY excited!

Kristen Michele & Heart Art Giveaway (Closed)

2012-01-11T08:00:00.025-05:00

*********************************************************************************
A huge thank you to Kristen Michele for the giveaway and for all those who participated. I know she felt your love.

From now on, all giveaway winners will be announced in the original post. Hopefully, that will make things easier for you . . . and me. :)

The winner is

Congratulations Jessica!

Psst- I don't mind Anonymous comments, and I respect their wishes to not be known publicly. Unfortunately, I have to delete any anonymous comments that do not leave a least a name or email attached because there is no proof of identity.

*********************************************************************************
I am excited to you introduce you to Kristen Michele, the designer behind artisteboheme. I noticed her work awhile back for one of my Etsy posts. It is amazing the wonderful and new people you get to meet through blogging. Kris and I have been chatting back and forth since August, and it has been a joy! She is a very talented and determined woman. She also works hard, which shows through her career and graduate studies. Kris creates Heart Art for artisteboheme, and she has a perfume line, Kristen Michele Parfumeur. (Hit mute, if needed, before heading to the perfume page. Can't let your boss know you're doing something you're not suppose to :)

She is graciously giving away YOUR CHOICE of Heart Art, which colors, initials, names, and dates can be customized, up to $80 in value. ANYONE can enter. Also, from Jan 11- Feb 11, you can get 25% off any product in her Etsy shop. Enter OWEN25 when you place your order. Her Heart Art is perfect for Valentine's!

If you are the type that doesn't like to read interviews, I highly recommend reading hers. She has a way with words, and her story is very touching and humbling. I am sure she will reach out to someone, and that may be you.

Isn't she gorgeous?

When did you know that you were an artist?

It is funny, because I never used to be comfortable calling myself an artist. Now, I almost have to tell people that I am an artist because of the various projects I have going on. In order to understand me and know me, one has to know that I am an artist. I think that I have grown into the title, however. You could say that I am a renaissance woman because I have many creative outlets and my creativity is always brimming.

As a child, I was very imaginative. My artistic expression has been an evolution of experiences over my lifetime. This is my path. From a young age, I was highly curious about perfume and how the variations of scent could evoke intense emotions in me. In illustration, I observed my father drawing and painting. He encouraged me to learn to draw with pastels. I had a nice collection of supplies for a little girl. We used to frequent art supply and hobby shops-as they were called-and buy a bunch of new things, then go home and create. I still love doing this. I had a big school project when I was about eight or nine years old. The students had to choose one of the California Missions and replicate it in any style we chose. I chose Mission San Diego, because it was where we lived. I remember being amazed at how my dad had conceived the recreation using cardboard cutouts and clay to build the structure. It turned out so perfectly, though it was definitely not a typical eight-year olds artwork.

Were there any challenging obstacles you had to overcome to get to where you are now?

My life has always ebbed and flowed with challenges- both small and epic. Because of the variations in my life experience, I believe it has shaped who I am today. I can say with conviction that nothing has come easy for me. I had a difficult childhood from about 13 on, being raised by a single parent. I missed out on many things that other kids had. At 25, I lost my father tragically, which devastated me. This single event set an internal fire and truly became the force by which I was able to achieve my endeavors. Part fear driven and part pride driven, I have been able to graduate from a prestigious, private university, start my own perfume line and develop my Heart Art. I have grown spiritually and emotionally through the trials of my life and I believe that my dad has been looking after me through it all.

What is one important lesson life has taught you?

Life has taught me to stop, think and take in the present moment. Too often, I find myself reflecting on the past with feelings of melancholy because a part of me did not appreciate that moment in time or I simply was not present minded at the time, like being too caught up in the little things that really did not matter. Because of this, I try to find the brighter side of my challenges. I remind myself that they are not forever; that this moment, this experience, this small moment in time will be a passing thought sooner than I will know. This mindset keeps me grounded. I am glad for the trials in my life. I am glad for the painful and joyful experiences I have had. They make me. Most of all, life has helped teach me to cherish my relationships with people. Having experienced so much gives me the ability to touch people’s lives through my art forms, be it painting, crafting symmetrical hearts or perfume creations. I believe that all I have come to be transcends subtly through my art. Having the ability, the sensitivity, to bring joy to people through artistic mediums is like a gift from God.

Where does your inspiration come from?

I lost my father when I was 25 years of age and we were very close. It had a profound effect on me. It made me feel I had to carry out my dreams, stick with my goals and become successful -- something he didn’t get a chance to complete in his lifetime. He was an artist too, and I credit him with my crafty and creative, and even entrepreneurial ways. My father, he was very creative, fun, laid back and a total risk taker. He had a keen business sense, good intuition and amazing character assessment. I loved him more than anything. We were similar in so many ways. Each of my parents did they best they could. My mom provided stability encouraged sound reason and my dad really helped me develop my creative side and taught me to take risks. I was always in competition with him creatively. It could have been something as small as trying to sketch a better mountain scene. I was sort of trying to out draw him—as he was showing me how to draw something specific! We fought for the paper across the table throwing down the pencil after each addition one of us made. He would draw something, I would then draw it my way and hand it back to him for approval, and then he would draw the same thing with more detail, just to get me to redraw it…probably just testing my resolve. It was pretty funny.

No matter what I wanted, was interested in, etc., he always supported me. He passed away, did not get to watch me grow as a perfumer, an artist, and a woman, but his spirit still manages to influence all my creative endeavors.

Deceased or living, whose studio would you raid?

Coco Chanel.

What is success to you?

Finishing what you start, even if you do not achieve the outcome you expected.

Where do you want to be in the next decade?

Living between South Carolina and Italy with a healthy child, lots of animals and to be stress free.

What activities do you enjoy in your spare time?

I love decorating and re-decorating and sketching interior spaces I want to create or perhaps, just jot down a vision I have. I absolutely love pouring through, really devouring, design magazines. I think I may subscribe to them all!! Music, singing and songwriting have always been part of my life. I also love buying new garden flowers as soon as spring hits. I am surprised at how good a gardener I have become, probably because I baby every little thing. I guess, the common thread among all the things I do for fun is taking something, be it an idea, flower bulb, or emotion and working with it until something really pretty is born. It is the idea and the not knowing of what is going to come out of it in the end. It is both joyful and a struggle and this is what attracts me.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is a sample of her work. I could see these placed in any room of my home! Oh the possibilities!

Keep up with Kris
Twitter - @artisteboheme
Etsy
Heart Art on Facebook -artisteboheme
Parfumeur on Facebook- Kristen Michele Parfumeur

Giveaway

PRIZE: Winner's choice of Heart Art valued up to $80. This can be customized.

TO ENTER: Like Heart Art by Kristen Michele on Facebook AND like Kristen Michele Parfumeur on Facebook. (Please leave only one comment on my blog)
BONUS ENTRY: share this giveaway, followers of mine (one comment per)
ENDS: January 22, 9 PM EST
PRIZE SHIPS: Internationally
ANNOUNCED: Jan 23 and you will have 48 hours to reply, make sure I have your email address

I did not receive any compensation for this giveaway. My opinions of Kris and her work are mine.

How to Organize Home Decor into One Accordion Folder

2012-01-10T08:24:00.006-05:00

Have you ever decided to change a few things in a room, but when you go out to a store and find something you love, you are not sure if it will fit in with your current home decor or future project?

Enter the Home Decor Folder to the rescue! I feel like saying that again. Home Decor Folder! ah, that's nice.

I have been using this trick for a few years now. It is my go to folder for anything home decor related. And it has been a super time saver. I keep this little folder tucked away in a closet, and whenever I need to go out shopping for something, I place this folder into my bag. There are some items that do not fit in my folder, like my paint deck, so I just keep that with the folder for easy finding.

Here is what you can put into your Organized Home Decor Folder. (This is all optional. You can customize your folder to meet your needs.)

Labeled paint samples, either chips from the store or ones that you paint yourself. You can even dip a popsicle stick into your paint, let it dry, and then label it. This would include wall colors, painted furniture, etc.
Textile samples including trims and fabric samples from couches, chairs, bedding, and drapes.

         1.   If you do not have fabric samples from your furniture or bedding, you can take a picture of it or use several paint samples that comes closely to what you have. I got a paint deck from Sherwin Williams, which includes every color they have. You can get one of these too from a local paint store.
         2. Sometimes, bedding is packed into a matching bag. If that is the case, just simply cut a piece of the bag before throwing it away.
   3. For trims and mass retailer fabrics- If you make something, just ask for an extra inch of trim at the cutting counter, and keep a piece of your scrap fabric to throw into your folder.

Floor plan dimensions. Having measurements of your rooms can be very beneficial, especially if you unexpectedly find an unique find but don't know if it will fit the space.
Flooring- Flor tiles, paint chips that match closely to rugs or wood floors, or pictures of your rugs. You can also stain a small, flat piece of wood, if you have wood flooring.
Pictures of your rooms with furniture in place. I know this sounds a bit like a doozy, but it's easy to forget what you have in a room, especially if it is heavily decorated.
Pictures of items that you may not be able to color match but need a reminder of what that item looks like. Think of tables linens, pillows, lamp shades, bedding, etc. Did I mention you can get same day pictures at places like Walgreens, CVS, or any other drug store for around .19 cents a print???
Magazine clippings of items you like. Have you ever gone into a furniture store trying to explain what you are looking for, but the sales associate sort of has an idea but not really? Visuals help you and the associate, and they may be able to help you find something like it.
Important phone numbers from contractors, upholsterers, seamstresses, furniture stores, and interior designers.

So let's take a look at a Home Decor Folder.

1. Pictures of things in your home. (I don't use this, but I wanted you to get an idea.)
2. Magazine clippings of furniture pieces, rugs, anything that I would like to have in my home.
3. Fabric samples
4. Upholsterer phone numbers in the area.
5. Paint chip samples
6. Paint samples on popsicle sticks.
7. Flooring samples
8. Floor plan dimensions
9. Paint deck
10. List of all the paints in my rooms (This is optional just like all the other items, but I keep this on one page for easier referencing.)

So, what about you? What would you include in your Home Decor Folder?

And don't forget about my giveaway going on tomorrow!

I'm sharing this with: Vintage Wanna Bee, Today's Creative Blog, Type A Decorating, Hope Studios, Not Just a Housewife, Home Stories A to Z, At Home with K, Sew Stylish Boutique, Sugar and Dots, Some Day Crafts, Somewhat Simple, Ginger Snap Crafts,

woodecklaces

2012-01-09T08:08:00.001-05:00

I'm positive you all knew that was short for wood and necklaces.

I hate Mondays. I enjoy the weekends so much I don't want it to end. I spent this past weekend cutting and tearing apart wood. I had no clue what I was getting myself into until this weekend. About a month ago I picked up pallets by myself and hauled them to our carport. I am making a pallet wall for Owen's room.

Yeah, I'm soooo last year.

I am definitely intrigued by these pallet walls I have seen in the past year. To me, they are amazing. I'm sure you have seen these walls too.

source


source

source

My pallet wall will be placed right here. I really don't want the wood to be dark or warm colored, so I will have to do a lot of whitewashing. A L-O-T.

And here are the pallets I worked through over the weekend. If anyone ever tells you this was easy, they are lying.

Wish me luck (and strength and energy and carefulness and time and a table saw (we don't own one)) on this project because I am going to need it!!

So this is where woodecklaces come into play because pallets and necklaces are so random for one post.
I mentioned awhile back about the Random Tutorial Generator (uh, why did I not think of this first???) and stumbled upon these adorable nest necklaces. Call it hormones or call it motherhood, but I swear I fall for more sentimental items now that I have had a child. Three beads in a wire nest wouldn't mean that much to me 10 years ago, but now, I want to make one! Sarah, from Sarah Ortega Photography, shows you how to make your very own nest necklace. I know many of you are crafty, so will you be making one of these soon?

Sarah also upcycled one of her necklaces, which looks fantastic! (And she shows you how make the rosette)

Make sure you check back this Wednesday for a fabulous GIVEAWAY for your home!

Fabric Friday {cloth ~ Sewing and the Home}

2012-01-06T10:42:00.000-05:00

cloth is a company based in Sydney, Australia, and they make sewing and home decor fabric. I hope you find the company as exciting as I do and can find inspiration through their patterns and colors. They have some amazing fabrics and really awesome products.

All photos come from cloth.

Working Cloth - Ideal for home sewing/crafts

Furnishing Fabric

well grout me and call me good

2012-01-04T22:45:00.000-05:00

We got our tiles and grout up the other day. It really made a HUGE difference for the kitchen. We were so use to painted wallpaper (yes, that is what the contractor did) that now we feel like kings our kitchen. We can actually clean our backsplash now. Tiling is really not that difficult. We started at 9am and finished around 10pm that night. Applying grout was really easy. We bought two colors and did a test strip. I highly recommend this as well, if you can't decide on the color. We attached our tiles with Liquid Nails to a piece of drywall and grouted them. We didn't need to view our tiles for 24 hours to decide the color. We instantly knew what we liked. Whew!

Here's a picture of the tiles going up. We chose the gray grout, which is actually lighter in color than above due to the grout still being wet in that photo.

What really helped was using tiling mats. Oh my goodness! If you are going to tile anything, buy tile mats!!! You simply stick the mat to the wall and place your tiles on top. Super easy.

There's still much to do for the kitchen. I need to work on our island, frame the dishwasher, install a new kitchen light, and finish painting a few spots. As for the island, I wanted to refinish the one we have. It turned into a big FAT fail. I must show you pictures! I just don't have any at the moment. So I have been playing with the idea of buying a used a dresser and turning it into an island. It's not a new concept, but I really like it. I found a few pictures to help you get the idea. Mine, of course, would be a glossy white. As for the top, there are several options that I can do, but no matter what, I will be placing something on top.

Apartment Therapy

Remodelholic


Beautiful Nest

the kitchn

Okay, are you getting the idea? :) I have to say that our kitchen redo, overall, is not that bad. It's only been a few months because we are sooo slow. And we didn't do any major demolition like knock out a wall. We ain't going Young House Love style here. That family is going all out, and I LOVE what they are doing. It is so nice to have a pretty kitchen again. Do I need to bring out the hot mess again? Okay, since you asked.

I need to explain something here. When we first moved in all the cabinets were white, but the contractor did such a crappy job. I'm talking no sanding, no priming, and HUGE paint drips. But when you're buying your first home, your so giddy you don't pay attention to stuff like that. All you think is, "Hey this is waaaay better than my last kitchen." Now why are there brown spots on the cabinets? Well, a year ago I attempted to scrap off the paint so we could save money by not buying new cabinets. But because the cabinets were in such poor shape and the paint was so crummy, I could barely get it off. Even paint remover wasn't working very well. So I gave up. So we lived with white and brown cabinets for about a year before we got new ones. The wait was definitely worth it!

My ABC's and Moments ~ A Further Look into the Virtual Face of Owen's Olivia

2012-01-03T11:46:00.001-05:00

First off, I see these things floating around Facebook, and I immediately think LAME-O. So I ignore them. BUT when I saw my virtual buddy, Danny, from Mommy For Reals do this, I noticed myself enjoying reading more about her. Since you guys do not know too much about me, I thought this might be a fun way for you to get to know me a little better. And since I do not participate in things like this, like ever, I am copying Danny's letters, unless I feel the need to change one.

A. Age – Yikes! 31
A. Afraid moment- the week before I gave birth because I didn't know what to expect.
B. Bed size – Queen, though I tell Matt I want two twins in our Master, so I could have the bed space ALL to myself. (I'm not the cuddling type)
B. Blissful moment- marriage
C. Chore that you hate - Going to the bank and mopping floors. Okay, maybe laundry and dishes too.
C. Childish moment- When I was 18, I went a club, got on stage, and entered a "Shake your Bootie" contest. (clothes on people, come on) I won, and I got tickets to see some ridiculous rap star in concert. Lame! Or maybe when I tried to impress a boy, and I fell off my bike causing the chain to dig into my calf. Yep, I had to get stitches (and a scar today), and I never tried to impress a boy again using tricks.
D. Dogs – One German Short Haired Pointer named Walker. I've mentioned him here, and here.
D. Dumb moment- When I stole fake eyelashes from Wal-Mart (I was 16).
E. Essential start to your day – Peeing and Eating, just not at the same time.
E. Embarrassing moment- When I accidentally farted in front of a doctor and patient. (one of my old jobs)
F. Favorite color – Certain greens and blues, teal, gray, and black.
F. Fun moment- Backpacking Europe (2008)
G. Gold or silver – I love both. My wedding ring is gold, and most of my jewelry accessories are silver.
G. God moment- I mentally hit rock bottom at the age of 20, and I decided it was time to turn my life around.
H. Height – 5'6"
H. Highlight moment- the birth of my son (2010) and running my first half marathon (2009)
I. Instruments you play – None, and you don't want to hear me sing either.
I. Impaired moment- everyday when I lose my wallet and keys, and forget to drink water. (I think drinking water will help cure this, but I forget to drink the water.)
J. Job title – Currently, chauffeur, maid, cook, secretary, financial officer, teacher, and nurse.
J. Jerk moment- On the last day of school in 6th grade, an 8th grader had a mouthful of water and spit it on my head. I didn't even know the boy.
K. Kid(s) – Owen, who is 21 months old.
K. Kind moment- Recently, Matt used his Christmas bonus to buy me a new phone. (My phone was broken, and I had been without one for about 6 months.)
L. Live – In a suburb just outside of Raleigh, NC
L. Law (like Law Enforcement) moment- Once again, when I was 18, I used a fake ID to get into a club (who knows why????), and I got caught. I had 42 hours of community service, and paid a fine.
M. My first kiss- Spin the bottle at Amanda Gressle's home. I think his name was Joey. I should have waited.
M. Matt moment- All the times he is willing to stop what he is doing to serve others.
N. Nicknames – The only thing I can think of is Nance. Fortunately, I didn't receive any scarring names during adolescence.
N. Nice moment- When my husband remembers something I casually said and then surprises me later.
O. Overnight hospital stays – None. I birthed Owen in a birthing center, which is not a hospital.
O. Overwhelming moment- When my dad ran me over with his car. Or maybe when a dog bit off the side of my face. Or when I lost a finger nail. Or when my sister ran my head into a corner and busted it open.
P. Pet peeves – People drinking the milk out of their cereal bowl.
P. Piercing moment- I had my tongue, belly button, and the top of my ear pierced. I broke a tooth, almost passed out from the belly piercing, and my ear got infected within a week. So no, I don't have those things.
Q. Quiet time- I usually surf the net or work on projects during quiet times. I have a hard time turning my brain off to take a nap, unless I am extremely tired.
R. Right or left handed – Left handed.
R. Regretful moment- all the times I pass people with hunger signs, and I have food in the car.
S. Siblings – 3 older sisters.
S. Scared moment- When I went skiing for the very first time down Black Mountain in MT. I was 24, and I cried the entire way down.
T. Time it takes you to get ready – Uh, is this referring to my typical M-F attire? If so, 15 mins. If not, 1 hour depending on what I am doing.
T. Tattoo moment- When my mom passed away when I was 15, I contemplated putting her initials on the back of my neck when I turned 18. I never did it.
U. Underwear – Seriously? This was a question? Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything to replace it.
U. Under stress moment- My first engagement (Matt was the second guy I was engaged to)
V. Vegetable you love – Bacon. Wait, that's not a vegetable.
V. Vixen moment- (2009) I had lost 25 lbs, could fit into my high school prom dress, and was a size 6. Also, I felt incredibly beautiful around 6-7 months pregnant. I think I could have sported a bikini and thought I could have won a Miss America pageant or something.
W. What makes you run late – I have no concept of time.
W. Worst moment- do I really need to state this? I mean, just pick any one of those bad teenager moments.
X. X-rays you’ve had – Teeth
Y. Yummy food you make – Tacos, grits, Roast, Fish tacos, burgers, mac and cheese, pork carnitas,
Z. Zoo animal – sea lions (I'd rather go the aquarium)
Z. Zany moment- I'm sure I've done something stupid to make others laugh.

I have to say this was quite interesting on my part. I realized some things about myself, like which parts were a little harder for me to answer. It's also interesting to see what I have remembered, or what I am so focused on (like motherhood or my poor choices that still haunt me). It's also interesting to see patterns. For instance, I was a crazy kid.

how to paint chevrons tutorial {readers requests}

2012-01-02T07:34:00.002-05:00

I am posting my tutorial on the chevron walls in my home. We have seen chevrons throughout many blogs and in interior design. Some people hate them. Some people are tired of them. Some people cannot get enough of them (that would be me). To be quite frank, I ~~think I sat~~ sat on this post out of the fear of chevron hate mail. So I feel honored that there are some of you who want me to teach you how to make this design. Thank you so much; you guys are the best.

I wrote up this post back in the day (okay, not really that long ago) when I shared photos of Owen walking down my hallway. Some readers asked about the walls and how I did them, and then I received an email recently asking about my walls again. Thank you for kicking me in the butt to get this posted and overcoming my fear of hate mail. All I needed was a finale shot, and the other day was perfect. Matt was home to tend to Owen, so I could take some pictures. Otherwise, toys and random poses of my son would be included. Let's be realistic here. I can't make the room look nice when a toddler is running around, tearing things up, and making a new mess after I just cleaned up the last mess. Oh, and let's not forget to mention the crusty, sticky finger prints all over my coffee table.

How the wall came about

When we first moved into our home, we had a somewhat long, narrow hallway that was beige. It was the traditional painter's beige that is found in most remodeled or new homes. I faced a dilemma because part of the hallway's wall was exposed in my living room. I thought about putting up a huge picture or grouping frames on this bare wall that faces our front door. You know, something like this.

Because the hallway was long, I felt that it needed something on the walls. Another dilemma I faced was the width of the hallway. If I were to put pictures down the hallway, people would have to stand close to the opposing wall just to get a good look at them.

A LIGHT BULB CAME ON.

How about something graphic? I LOVE graphic walls. How about something that can be changed for new owners. I LOVE paint. I LOVE wallpaper. But wallpaper would be a big pain in the butt when it came time to resell our home, especially if I chose graphic wallpaper and bold colors. By accident, I stumbled upon a beautiful chevron wall on Apartment Therapy.

I heart chevrons.

So it came to be. Ah, doesn't this look so nice? (You can refer to paragraph two if you don't know what I am talking about.)

Items needed:

A design

Pencil

Ruler, if needed

Carboard

Scissors

Tape, if needed

Blue painter's tape

Paint (I used a darker taupe color over my beige walls. I wanted there to be a contrast, but I also needed the colors to be neutral.)

Painting accessories

Level

I do not have too many photos since I didn't document this project when I did this, but just bear with me. I will get you through it! :)

Step 1.

Determine the width and length of your chevron (though to be honest, I didn't do this. I just made a template not thinking about any of that). You will need to draw two rectangles for your template (or if you have a large enough piece of cardboard, cut out a V). Cut out your templates. Tape them together and make sure the corners are square! (90 degrees . . . um, not talking about the band)
(**Do note that I did not measure my walls to determine how many chevrons were needed. I know some people suggest doing that, but I just went on a whim with mine.)

Step 2.

The next two steps are probably the trickiest. Refer to my amateur sketch in Step 4 for additional help. Place the template somewhere on the wall. I started mine at the end of my wall, because I thought that would be the easiest. Trace your template with a pencil.

Step 3.

You should have V rectangle on your wall when you remove the template. You will now line up your template at the top of your V and overlapping it to make a new V. (You're making the chevron shape) Trace the template again.

Step 4.

Take your level and line it up to the tops of your V. You want to make sure your chevron is level or else people will think you were drunk when you painted your wall. :) Don't skip this step!!!! If it was not level, you will need to erase your lines and use the level to help you get a leveled V. An extra pair of hands might be beneficial. If it was level, continue to repeat step three. So I would not have to use the level every time, I drew two V's and then I placed the template below what I had drawn and continued tracing. It should line up perfectly. But feel free to check periodically, if you like.
You should have straight chevrons if
1. Your template is square.
2. You build off of your leveled drawings.

Excuse my amateur pic. Learning to use Gimp is on my 2012 goal list.

Step 5. (photos are below)

Take your painter's tape, and tape off the pattern. Each point on the chevron shape will require different taping methods. You may find an easier way of doing this, and that is great!

To tape off the top of the point, you will simply tape it off, and overlap the tape to make a nice point. You will do the same for the point that is facing down.

To tape off the inside of the chevron, you will need to tear off a piece of tape. Take your scissors and cut a straight line at the end of the tape. This nice straight edge will give that nice sharp point. Place the straight side of the tape along your pencil line. Tear off another piece of tape to finish off the chevron. Repeat this step until you have taped off what you want to paint.

Step 6.

Paint your chevron stripes, and take off the painter's tape. I like to do this immediately after placing my second (or third)coat. You are done!

Warning: Painting chevrons is time consuming and tiring. Depending on the square footage, it can be a very tedious task for some people. If you were to paint walls like mine, it will take you a few days. BUT it is SOOOOOO worth it!!

Here I am painting at 41 wks pregnant. Shh. Don't tell my midwife.

Am I crazy?

Yes.

Is my baby okay?

Yes.

Was the hard work worth it?

Yes, the walls and birthing were worth it.

The view from the front door.

Owen and Matt saying hello.

Due to the width of the hallway, I thought it would be best to not apply chevron around the door or on the frame.

There are other tutorials on the web, so you may find one that works better for you. Here are a few that I found.
Remodelaholic
Caitlin Wilson Design
Sabbe
The Tall Chick

Are YOU afraid of painting chevrons or any other bold design? You know what I tell myself? It's just paint. So what if you screw up? So what if you don't like the color? That's the beauty of paint. You CAN COVER IT UP. Happy painting! :)

Pin It

New Year's Eve with Zooey and Joseph

2011-12-31T08:00:00.001-05:00

Yeah, we're on a first name basis. Enjoy this little song by Zooey Daschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Fabric Friday {Ikat}

2011-12-30T08:00:00.009-05:00

My mom use to let us girls (I'm the youngest of 4) bang pots outside on New Years Eve. That had to be really annoying for my neighbors. Nowadays, we walk/run for The Reindeer Dash 5k when the ball drops. I didn't participate last year since I knew I would need to get up early with Owen the next day. This year I think we are dragging our 20 month old out of the crib for all the lights and festivities. If we do that, I hope and pray I will not pay the consequences of poor mothering. How do you ring in the New Year?

source
(Thanks Danny!)

source


source source Have a safe and Happy New Year!. P-S- The tile is up and grouted! Woo hoo! Pics to come shortly. Do you think we went with white or gray grout?

small progress

2011-12-28T14:51:00.001-05:00

Our tiling project got pushed back by a day, but that is fine since today we Matt installed the microwave. We also have to clean our walls and prepare them for the tiles. I picked up grout samples yesterday at Home Depot, and I laid the card against the wall on the counter.

This would help me decide which color grout to go with. I wanted the sample card up for a good day to determine the color during the morning, afternoon, evening, and night, but poor Matt dropped the card behind the counter while making his toast.

Seriously??? I've got my sister's luck.

We scored a new microwave through Best Buy during the holiday sales. We got our Samsung microwave for $99 including no tax and free shipping. Boo ya! We are craigslisting our old GE Profile Spacemaker microwave (which I LOVE) for $30, so hopefully it will sell, which will mean our microwave costs $69. Double boo ya! We are no longer microwaving on the floor, and it's great!
Owen loved microwaving his toys though.

The brand/model microwave I would highly recommend to anyone. It's awesome!

The only downfall at this moment is that it's not part of an appliance set. Our microwave is Samsung, and our oven is GE. This means slight color variations and such along with a darker glass for our microwave. See the pic above, and notice how light the glass is. But anyone searching for a 130k home (we're moving once Matt graduates) would be pleased with a new microwave, newer appliances, new cabinets, and granite counter tops. Am I right, or am I right?

So here's the before and after.

Yay! No more stained yellow wallpaper (or microwaving on the floor).

It's a beauty. Good job babe!

Christmas and a Lamp Before/After . . . possible fail?

2011-12-27T12:44:00.003-05:00

Sorry, no lady's leg lamp, if ya got the joke. Though that would have been pretty funny. Hmm, maybe next year? We spent Christmas with my sister and her family. It's usually a chaotic time of the year for the kids and adults, but this year went smoothly. No tree fell down, which happened a few years ago. No screaming or crying over presents, which seemed to happen every year. No fighting during the family picture, which also happened every year. We had a great time playing games and just spending quality time with family. It was also a short holiday. We got to my sister's house on Christmas Eve. We left early in the morning on the 26th, so my husband could work. We could have stayed longer because there was not much work for him, but we didn't know that. :( Sorry Liz!
I may have mentioned this before, but I am the worst when it comes to remembering to take pictures. Hence the very few photos I did take. I swear I could have the camera wrapped around my neck, and I would still forget that I have a camera. It's that bad. We took a few of Owen opening only two of his presents, and we had my niece take a quick photo of us. Yep, that is our only recent family picture (see note below pic for more info). I'm placing family portrait on my 2012 goal list, which I will share with you. The goal list that is. Also, I am creating a budget. Something I haven't done. Like ever. I will be sharing that with you too. Are you creating a 2012 goal list? Do you budget your money? I hope you enjoyed your holiday. It's back to work for us tomorrow. We are tiling our kitchen, which I will share photos of that as well.

So this is another attempt at a family photo. Just before Thanksgiving, a good friend of mine offered to take pictures using her new camera. I accepted, but we had to postpone for the week after Thanksgiving. My husband and I got into this nasty fight that week, and out of spite and anger, he shaved ALL of his hair off. I mean we are talking skinhead here. And it looked BAD. So this meant another year without a family picture because I was too stubborn to allow any photos to be taken that would remind me 1. of the fight 2. how awful his new hairdo was.
Speaking of hair, I rarely wear my hair down. I recently paid $130 (which is a lot for us) for a cut and color to help me get out of my "mommy" rut, but alas, those darn hair bands keep finding their way back to my wrist. Are you like me? Oh, do you notice my necklace? My husband got that for me for Christmas, and it is the same necklace that I featured on my Wish List. Aw, how sweet.

Okay, that last picture of ~~Owen~~ Hercules just cracks me up.

The Possible Lamp Fail

Update: I moved the shade to my living room and the lamp will get spray painted down the road.

Over the holiday before we left, I painted a lamp in Owen's room to give it some more color. I liked the before, but I just needed that pop of color in his room. It's truly amazing what paint can do. The color was left over from a custom paint mix I made. I think I would have like the color to be a little lighter, but it is what it is. It took me two days to transform the lamp, but I think anyone could really do this in one day. I applied fabric to the Walmart shade. The fabric I chose I had forgotten about, and I am so glad I found it in my closet. It will work perfectly with a mirror that I am painting for his room that will be white and black. I have never recovered a lamp shade before, and here's the one tip I will pass along to you. If you choose to use a horizontal pattern (though I could have made the design vertical), keep in mind that some lamp shades are CONES. This means the top is smaller than the bottom, which means it is impossible for a horizontal pattern to be even from the top and bottom of the shade. Did that make sense? I hope so. I am waiting to pull out my black paint for another quick project in Owen's room, so I can paint the yellow cord. Here's the before and after along with the cost breakdown if you were to purchase everything. My lamp redo was FREE because I had everything on hand. Gotta luv free.

Lamp: Free, we got it from my mother-in-law.
Shade: $15 from Walmart, but I don't really count this a cost for the project since I bought the shade a year ago and was already using it in Owen's room.
Fabric: Queen Duvet purchased from TJ Maxx for $30, but I hardly used any of it to recover the shade. I think I used maybe a dollar's worth, if that.
Fabric Adhesive: $6 (I used Aleena's Tacky Spray), and I still have much left over.
Paint: Custom color from Sherwin Williams, and I used very little.
Primer: Zissner around $20/gallon, and I used very little.

So is this a fail? I'm not certain. Some days I like it, and some days (like today while typing up the post and reviewing photos) I don't like it. I do like the contrast of the blue curtains and the green base. Luckily, the parts are interchangeable, so I could opt for a white base with a detailed shade or a colored base with a simple shade. Or I could put it in a different room. Or I could burn it. But ultimately, that corner of the room is a little happier.

You may have noticed that his room is a different color too. I loved the green that we had in there. There was nothing wrong with the color, but I opted to go lighter for a brighter effect. It sure has changed the mood of the room . . . drastically. I feel much happier in his room now that the walls are white. But they are not bright white like the doors or molding.

Fabric Friday {It's a Hoot}

2011-12-23T12:44:00.000-05:00

alexander henry


valentinaramos


shiny


holli zollinger


melbomba


stefaniexu


melbomba suzy ultman


michael miller the inside alphabet soup


Saffron Craig


Birch


Alexander Henry


Kokka

Kokka


premier

abbysfabric

walmart


natitys


petunias


ravenwoodstudiodesigns

Merry Christmas!! We are heading out of town, and we are starting our tile backsplash project in the kitchen before New Years. If you are celebrating Christmas, I hope it is wonderful for you and your family. If anything, just enjoy this time off from work and RELAX!

what i did last night

2011-12-22T09:00:00.008-05:00

i hung out with my peeps. i love me some simon, paula, and nicole.

oh yeah, i worked on this bad boy too for owen's room. i hope it turns out all right because there is no turning back once primer is on!

Nativities from Around the World

2011-12-21T10:00:00.001-05:00

Once a year, my church will display nativities from around the world. It's a three day event, and it has become increasingly popular. Each year, we receive more nativities. These nativities are donated for the event, and they are returned back to their owners afterwards. There were several hundred nativities, and I'm sharing a few of them with you.

*I borrowed my brother-in-law's phone camera since I did not have my camera on me. This will explain the quality of the photos. :)

DENMARK

GERMANY

TONGA

JAPAN

SOUTH AFRICA

JAPAN

INDIA

PERU

GUATEMALA

Olivia's Tailored and Slipcovered Stocking {Prudent Baby Top 10}

2011-12-19T08:00:00.025-05:00

Well, a few of you may have already seen this post title, but when you clicked on it, you got my Friday post instead. Yeah, that was a doozy on my part. You see, I still have not mastered typing on my Mac, and some how, some way, the post was published . . . while I was working on it! This shorthand crap bothers me sometimes. So onto tha good stuff! (yeah, that "a" was intentional)

I participated in Prudent Baby's Put a Serger in My Stocking contest for a chance to win a Project Runway serger. A free serger for making a stocking?? Yes please. Well, I didn't win the serger. Boo! Now, it would be a total lie if I said that I was not bummed . . . or that I did not cry that night . . . or that I did not feel somewhat depressed the next day. (Come on. A freakin' $900 serger was at stake, and I don't own a serger nor the dough to buy one) I am happy though that I did make the top 10, and I won fabric from Birch. I love Birch fabrics, and I did a post on them here.

The stocking process was quite the experience. I really thought this would be an easy project for me since I can figure things out and sew. I mean, it's a stocking, right?!? How hard could that be? Well, it was difficult for me. I have a new found respect for pattern designers. I think I cut out four different designs done by me until I got the pattern I wanted.

From the very beginning, I knew I wanted a reversible stocking. I also had the idea to make it baby's first Christmas on one side, and then a more grown up version on the other. So the kid could have a stocking that "grows" with him or her.

Here's what I sketched up. (Maybe Owen sketched this??)

I also knew I wanted to incorporate my screen printing skills. I drew a deer with the help of a vector, and I filled it in with circles. I love circles. I have drawn this shape continuously for as long as I know. I even filled an entire 8.5" x 11" piece of paper with tiny circles one day while working at a dental office. Yes, I was bored. At the office. I just love the repetitive motion. Anywho, I sketched up this deer, and I showed you guys a sneak peak of it here. I used my printing skillz to apply the deer to my fabric. Let's take a closer look at my masterpiece.

I thought it turned out well. The deer side was going to be the "grown up" side, but as I progressed into the stocking, I realized this deer was too sophisticated for any tweenster. I had to change gears. Oh, I failed to mention that at this point I already went through two different designs for the baby side of the stocking. I decided to stick with the deer because let's face it. It was just awesome. I had to get rid of the baby idea, so I was left with what I had on hand. (Not gonna run another trip to Joann with a tot in tow) I picked up the perfect cotton ticking in red and white my last trip, so I was going to use that.

I wanted the deer to be the showstopper, and I didn't want my stocking to be sophisticated on both sides. So I chose to make the other side a slipcovered style stocking. I added Ric-Rac to the top to give it a little detail.

I didn't think of adding a zipper until three days prior to the deadline. (I notoriously race against time.) A zipper was a nice touch because I have many memories of stocking stuffers not fitting. It had to be invisible on the sophisticated side. Anything else would just conflict with its style. Did I mention that this would be my FIRST installation of any kind of zipper? What was I thinking?? It turned out fine in the end. :)

The one requirement from the contest was the stocking had to have jersey or knit. It could be as little as trim or as much as the whole stocking. I cut up my homemade Moby wrap and made a poinsettia. The jersey I owned was gray, so I had to dye it red. I used satin buttons from my wedding dress for the pistillates. (yeah, I had to google the anatomy :) I also made it detachable for more styling options. I thought it turned out well.

That is how my stocking came about. Two weeks later, no sleep, and neglecting my family, I have this adorable stocking. Oh and fabric from Birch.

Now let's look at the whole shebang.

If you are interested in seeing the rest of the top 9 stockings along with the winner at Prudent Baby, you can see them here, but I will give you a sneak peak at the winner. ;)

Pin It

A HUGE shout out to Amanda B. for letting me borrow her gorgeous home for some of the photos. Thank you!!
I'm sharing my awesome-ness with:

I Heart Naptime, Making the World Cuter, Skip to my Lou, Sumos Sweet Stuff, CRAFT, Keeping It Simple, Embellishing Life, Dittle Dattle, The Creative Girl, CraftOManiac, All Things Fee, Life Made Lovely, Sew Can Do, Sew Stylish Boutique, Vintage Wanna Bee, Today's Creative Blog, Sugar Bee Crafts, Tip Junkie, Giggles, Glitz, and Glam, Not Just a Housewife, A Blonde's DIY Life,