Frock by Friday...er, Saturday?

So I'm on a Frock by Saturday pace...but I think that's alright!  I don't know how Kathleen does it with 3 littles running around!  I got up at 5:30 this morning to finish Monday's homework for this dress.  Maybe that's how she does it too!

For Monday, we were supposed to piece the pattern (a pdf), alter it, cut it out, and cut out our fabric.  Doesn't sound like a ton of work, but it took me an hour to print and piece it last night, so I had to alter it and cut out the fabric this morning.  Just made it before I had to get the kids' stuff ready for preschool and wake them up!

It feels great to be making something for myself finally!

Here's the pieces laid out on the fabric...





And then all cut out! I love this fabric...so pretty!



It's not too late...you should join us :)

Frock by Friday excitement

I've been an avid lurker of Grosgrain for awhile...I think the things she comes up with are just awesome.  She mostly reworks thrift store finds in astonishing ways and runs a "Frock by Friday" series in which she leads her readers through making a dress in 5 days.  Next week's dress is beautiful, and I'm so excited to join her!!  I got my supplies today:







I'll post at least the result next Friday! SOOO excited!!!

Fuzzy foodies

Perhaps you recall my first foray into felt food?  Yes?  Well, I've been slowly adding to my the kids' stash.

E got an awesome cookie cutter and rolling pin set from her aunt and uncle for Christmas last year, and I added the Ikea baking set, which came with a cookie sheet and more cookie cutters. So I made some cookies using the cookie cutters as a pattern!



In the oven :)



I also found an awesome pattern on the web for a sandwich and chips. I haven't made the bread yet, since I just got the bread-colored felt. But I made the insides, and they are cutie!







I also found a neat pattern to make carrots, so three of those were added to the fridge:



Some corn on the cob was next...



And that chicken parm...although no one knows it is chicken parm...oh well.



E requested donuts, and so I made four. Two chocolate, two regular. With colorful frosting ;)







Mmmm, tasty!

Upholstered Chairs, Take 2

Remember those nasty chairs I was working to reupholster?  I decided after the first try (with stretchy greenish fabric) that there was no way in hooch that I would do the second one.  With it's fresh 1000 staples to pull out and icky fabric to remove and toss.  Well, after I re-did the first one in IKEA fabric, I caved and did the other one.  In a different fabric since I couldn't decide...same line from IKEA, though, so they do coordinate.  I have to paint and attach the second set of arms, but couldn't resist sharing what they look like now!

Here's the first chair, with the awesome arms back on.  Swanky, huh?





Second chair, with the different IKEA fabric.  E and I have to paint the arms for this one yet :)



Awesome, huh?  Almost too good to sit on, but the kids love 'em.  Just the right height :)

Alphabet Letters

My sister and her husband just celebrated their one year anniversary (congrats, guys!!!  We love ya!!), and I was searching for a great gift for my only sister and her great hubby.  I saw some awesome things on Etsy, but decided that I should try and make something myself.  Paper is traditional, and I stumbled upon the alphabet letter thing.  I can do that, I thought!

The most difficult part was finding photos that were not copyrighted!  Sheesh...like I had time to find and take pictures with the kids being sick 24/7 :)  I suggest Flickr if you're looking to do a project! 

I'm pretty happy with the end result.  Their last name is long, so I opted for a non-divided mat.  To have 8 openings...well, let's just say I could not find a frame long enough!

I haven't forgotten about you...

Really!  I haven't!  Just been crazy here with little boy sick again and a wedding to go to this weekend.  I've been working on tons of new projects, though, and I'll get the details up early next week.  Check back then, please...a new bag for E, FINISHED chairs, lots of new felt food, and much more!

Jody :)

Two of two...kitchen remodels

Okay, this one is not a "real" kitchen, per say.  But dare I say...it probably gets more use every day than our real one.  By a slight amount ;)

My Albuquerque peeps will recognize the little stove. Somewhere, I have the front to it. Plexiglass window and all. I do not, however, know where it is right now. I'll have to work on that. In the meantime, I finally, after two years, finished the remaining kitchen components. I'm somewhat ashamed that all E had for many years was a stove. That's what getting pregnant and having a baby will do to you, I guess. But it is DONE now! Check it out:

Table and chairs from E and G's great-uncle D:



The whole she-bang:



Detail of the sink interior. Really the only "cabinet" I made, so that's where the dishes go.  The little curtain really irritates G right now.  It might have to take a vacay.  Or be ripped off by G.



Instead of a pot rack...we have coat hooks for our IKEA pots and pans!



Inside of freezer (good place to put that picnic basket and cutting board, ya know) and fridge:






So maybe you noticed the half-finished paint job on the fridge.  Truth be told, I made the fridge out of that old particle board entertainment center of ours.  I kinda forgot regular paint does not stick to that crap.  Oops!  So the doors are already nicked up.  But it's still pretty cute.  About 100 pounds, but still pretty cute.  Going to have to secure that bad boy to the wall once I'm convinced it's done!

One kitchen remodel...of two!

Over the course of the past few weeks, we finally (!) put up a backsplash in the kitchen. Long overdue...I'm a messy cook. With the electric (egad) stove, I can't really help myself!

We hooked ourselves up with some Fastbo backsplash from IKEA. 

And we got down to business cutting the stuff to fit around all of the junk in our kitchen.  We only had two panels that were uncut!

At any rate, we finally ended up with a finished kitchen.  And, despite months of going back and forth about tile options, we ended up with no tile.  And no color!  But I think it looks cool, and really does match the kitchen.  So for those of you who told us to go with black, this one's for you!











I love IKEA!

Train table from recycled entertainment center

We moved this gigantic particle board entertainment center here to Ohio, and the movers really bashed it up. Really, it was hideous anyway, and we've had it through four moves. Time to upgrade, so we scrapped it. But I saved all of the hardware and the pieces, to reuse for other things. Here's one of the "other" things that I decided spontaneously to tackle today. A train table for the littles!







I didn't put the picture of G trying to climb on it. I need hubs to do a safety check first :)

Forays into felt food

Say that 10 times fast!

Anyways...

I've seen it around the blogosphere for awhile now...and it looks super tasty :) Yes, I'm talking felt food! So cute. And much better for the kidlets than plastic. More so due to G chewing the pretend food. Good news about the felt food - it's wool. He put one piece in his mouth today, but it promptly came back out. Yay wool felt!

I ordered a stack of lovely felt wool about a week ago from Wool Felt Central. I got the sample pack of all 90 colors in 6"x9". Really the perfect size for felt food! We got the box today and it was so exciting going through all of the colors with E. She wanted to make something right away, so I got a light brown out o' the box and made...









mmm...ravioli! These would have pinked edges...if I had pinking shears! But oh well.



I'm working on some chicken parm now to go with all of that pasta ;)

E's away, momma paints!

I realized (much belatedly) that I never posted pictures of the painting I did whilst E was away at G&G P's for a week. I had four days of lovely naps to paint something I've wanted to for some time...a harbor scene from our time in Kinsale, Ireland (honeymoon in 2004).

I combined three shots into one gigantic 2x4 foot painting. Large walls, large painting! It's done in acrylic on canvas...and I guess I can't stall any longer, so here it is:



For some reason I have no picture of it framed.  I will have to rectify that, sorry!

Shhh...don't tell the store!

Um, well...I titled this post as is due to the fact that I'm pretty sure that I stole this out from under the consigner. Not literally, of course. But it was at a local (awesome!) consignment store for $129. I don't have a "before" picture, because all I had to do was get some cling vinyl for the clear glass to hide all my stuff. But looky here!



Hubby was super nice and let me buy it :) I've been looking for a cabinet for my DR to use as a pantry of sorts. I saw this and fell in love with the style. How much more mid-century modern can you get? I scouted eBay for similar pieces to make sure it wasn't too much...and holy moly, I think the consigner coulda asked about 10 times $129 on eBay. It's a keeper!!

Ten minute wall art

Okay, so I forget where I first saw this, but I thought it was cute and easy. Little did I know it would take me 6 months (exaggerating, but you know) to collect enough toilet paper tubes. Because I kept forgetting and recycling them! But eventually we got to the art project:



Cool, huh? And, appropriately, in the bathroom :)

My first major attempt at reupholstering...

For my first real upholstering project, I tacked a nasty orange Sal Val chair ($10 for 2, thankyouverymuch!).

Here are some before pictures:







After ripping out approximately 1000 staples, removing the nasty old stuff, and trying once with an inappropriate (read: stretchy) fabric, I bought some awesome fabric at IKEA and hit a home run.

I think hubby might still hate them a bit...because they are so low to the ground. But the kids love it!  I haven't gotten the arms back on, but they're painted.  I'll update the post when I get around to putting them back on!



They are springy, too :)

For two wee little ladies...

My hubby works with two guys who just welcomed little daughters into the world.  They were both preemies, and just one month apart.  I wanted to make them something special, and since I love making wee little shirts...I made a few for the wee little lassies!











I also make a replica of my nursing cover that a friend of mine gave me before I had G. I love it sooo much...my favorite baby thing ever. Really.

I used a striped fabric and coordinating print that my sister brought me from India. So cute! I'll be making her one should she ever have any babes (hint hint!).