artsy-crafty babe

the dining "area"

I never know what to call this space.  It isn't the dining "room" because it isn't it's own room, but an extension of the kitchen.  So, dining "area" it is.  This was the big project this weekend.  I finally got my bench.  It's an outdoor love seat, purchased from here.  It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but I figured that it would be a useful piece of furniture whether we kept it with the dining table or not.  I do think about these things when we buy furniture.  I'm not a willy-nilly furniture buyer. 

So, the cushions that came with the bench didn't go with my new theme, so I made removable covers for them out of white twill.  A little crazy?  Maybe.  I finished all the interior seams so that they would withstand LOTS of washings.  I love it.  Please excuse the throw pillows, those will be recovered once I get the table top quilt made.  I'm very happy to report that since adding the loveseat, we've eaten at the table twice!  The kids love it.  This space is so much cozier now.

I also painted the two keeper chairs brown.  As I was painting them I thought that the color was totally yucky, but once I got them in the space I was happy.  I *heart* spray paint!  Now I need to find one more similar chair.  I'll probably make some sort of little white seat cover or something.

The plates got hung.  This turned out way better than I thought it would.  There is a mix of vintage and new plates up there.  I love it!

Last but not least, this old girl is getting a new dress.  I love this chair.  I've talked about it before, my $1 Salvation Army purchase.  I've reupholstered her and made slipcovers many times, so this should be a snap.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the wooden parts, maybe just an antiquing with dark brown?  I don't know, but I'm sure she'll look great!  Yep, this space is coming along nicely.  I think I'm even ready to start that table top quilt...

pooped

Oh boy, am I tired!  For the past two night I haven't been able to get to sleep before midnight.  Did I mention that I get up at 5:15?  Yeah, that's not enough sleep, even for me!  I'm hoping that tonight I crash.

Other than driving myself crazy with my thoughts, I did manage to cut out two more pleated totes. 

I picked up some cute fabrics to make dresses for Ava.

And, I brought home a new to me chair.  Not bad for $24.50.  I think she'll look great with a white twill slipcover sporting a box pleated skirt.

I think I have enough projects planned to last me a few lifetimes - no wonder I never get enough sleep.  Ta-ta for now, I've got some rest to catch up on!

one step closer

I apologize for the horrible photos, but taking photos of a window is hard!

With the long holiday weekend I had grand plans of getting to all sorts of crafty projects.  Of course that didn't happen!  The only thing I did do was something that I didn't plan on doing, it just sort of happened.  Crazy, I know.

Friday night we had 2 less kids, so I made new curtains.  This was so easy, I don't know why I put it off.  I took the total slacker route and didn't line them or hem the sides, but I like them anyway.  Wait, I more than like them, I LOVE them. 

When we installed the first shade weeks ago, I really didn't like it.  Then I put my old curtains back up to see if I liked the shade any more.  Eh, I liked it a little more, but not much.  I decided to wait on my decision about the shade once I had the real curtains made.  Then I got my curtain fabric, which I was still questioning.  I procrastinated a bit, but once I got the curtains made and hung, I immediately installed the second shade.  I'm so happy I followed through with my idea.

See, these are long enough, unlike my last ones, which always bothered me.  These curtains are made of natural colored linen, which look pretty gray.  I love the look of the light filtered through these.  It really does give the room a whole new look.  It's all coming together, I guess I had better get started on that table quilt!

houston, we have a problem

Hmm, now that I've been moving furniture back into my kitchen/dining area, I don't like it so much.  The change in the wall color and floors make me want to change everything!

It all started with this magazine cover.  Oh, how I love this!  I decided that I was going to make a quilt for my table in the colors of my kitchen.  That seemed like a good plan until I started thinking about the colors in my curtains.  Uh, I'm kind of tired of that.  I think it's too much, too frou-frou, too muddy.  I made those curtains to match my cabinets, but now that the cabinets are white, I don't exactly need them to match anymore.  What I want is something solid, maybe simple linen panels ibn a light color with some sort of woven shade (like bamboo or something).  I think that would be nice.

Then there's the issue of seating.  Since Rachel posted about turning her eat in kitchen into a living area I've had that on my mind.  I don't think I can get rid of my table, but I can make the seating more comfortable.  I want a bench with a back on one side, something with a cushion and throw pillows, and new dining chairs.  The chairs we have now are bulky, old, rickety, and not comfortable at all. 

To add to the "living" theme, I've moved my buffet & hutch into my living room, and moved this old cedar armoire in.  That armoire will eventually house the TV, which will then free up some counter space. 

Oh, and as a total coincidence, I just received this vintage tea towel in the mail fron Angelique, which I LOVE.  How fabuluos are those colors?  I love them so much that I've decided that these will be my new kitchen colors and inspiration for my table quilt. I love the combo of gray, yellow, brown, and peach - they look surprisingly well with the green on my walls.

If only I could snap my fingers and have it all done!!!  A girl can dream, can't she?

the floors

This weekend we finished up with the tile removal from our kitchen/dining area.  I couldn't resist, I had to take a picture of those last few pieces, just to remember what it was like.

The tile removal was totally worth it, though EXTREMELY dirty and dusty.  I can't tell you how happy I am to be done with all that tile dust.

I think we'll leave the floors just as they are.  They could use an topcoat of polyurethane, but I'm in no hurry to do that.  Thanks to a wood stain pen, I was able to touch up all those screw holes in a snap.

I'd like to say that we're almost done with the kitchen, but we're not.  We still need to paint the baseboards, install new counter tops and replace some windows.  *Sigh*, we're getting there...

hmmmm...

Looks like "painting master bedroom" just got moved up in the list of priorities.  That's permanent marker.  Green permanent marker.  After my attempts to clean it off.  Thank goodness they didn't decide to color on my coverlet with it (it did come off the mirror frame for the most part).  Life with small children is never dull, is it?

not too bad

Look what we did this weekend.  Yeah, I'm feeling it.   Wielding around a big hammer is a work out!!  My right arm is sore and I have blisters on my hands.  All from a few hours of manual labor.  Man, I'm a wuss.

Not too bad.  The holes aren't near as bad as I was imagining.  I think we'll go with it.  I actually like the color.  Why would anyone tile over these?  Crazy, I tell ya.

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In case you're wondering, Berkley is continuing to make progress.  Thanks again for all your prayers!!

kitchen update

The other big event in our lives (thought not nearly as important as the health of our niece) - the kitchen.  Well folks, we're still working on it.

The cabinets are painted and the new hardware has been installed.

The walls are in progress.  We have one coat applied, all we need to to is some trim work on the tallest part of our wall (vaulted ceiling) and touch ups in a few spots.  You can't really tell from this photo, but the color is great.  It seems so springy in here now.

Next up are the counter tops and floors.  Oh, those pain in the ass floors!

So long nasty, cracked tile.  Too bad you don't want to come up.  See that?  That's hard wood flooring.  The previous owners installed the tile over the wood flooring.  Unfortunately, they screwed the hardy board into the floors every. 4. inches.  We were hoping to salvage the wood, but I'm beginning to have my doubts.  I wanted to paint them.  Our current plan is to get up a big enough area of tile (if we can - that stuff doesn't want to budge!) so that we can get a good idea on how the wood looks.  If it's too damaged we'll replace the tile then install some type of floating flooring on top of the tile.  Yes, that would make three layers of flooring in our kitchen.  Yay us.  Things never go as planned, so they?

I've created a flickr set of our progress if you want to see how the kitchen looked before.

over and out

With all the holiday hustle and bustle, I think it's time I took a little blog break.  I still have a little bit of shopping to do, along with some making and baking.  Once I get that checked off my list I plan to kick back and enjoy the holiday with my family.

But before I sign off I'd like to leave you with a few photos.  First, I have to give a big thank-you to Jen of Sanctuary Arts for this adorable Santa Key.  I won it in a drawing on her blog.   Isn't it great?  The kids get a big kick out of it.

I'd also like to show you my tree.  I love my tree.  It is full of ornaments, all from various places - from my childhood, Matt's childhood, given to my kids, made by me, made by my kids, etc, etc.  It's a medley of memories.

Look at this - Matt and I both painted the same ornament as kids - his circa 1977, mine circa 1982.

This little angel bell was given to my mother from her grandmother, which she then gave to Lily. So sweet.

In the evening when all is done, I love to sit on my sofa and stare at the lights on my tree.  So peaceful, so pretty.  If I don't get the chance to pop back on to share all the gifts I've been making, I hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas!!

Oh wait, one more thing - I whipped this up last night because my poor daughter didn't have a Christmas shirt to wear to her class Christmas party tomorrow.  Hand-me down shirt + pink applique tree = happy little girl.

good use of felt

New stockings for everyone! 

**I wish I had splurged and used wool felt.  These were supposed to be a temporary thing, but I love these much more than I thought I would!!

If you want a better look at them, I've created a flickr set with pictures of them all. Unfortunately, all the pictures are horrible - dark & grainy. Damn this dreary weather!!!