Working With What We Have

Do you like my new sitting area?  My honey likes it mucho, probably because it is yet another soft spot to rest his feet.   Keep reading to learn more... 

I've been wanting to show you my new sitting area and my folded books, which the kids think are totally awesome.  Coincidentally,  Emily A. Clark has a link up for her series Working With What You Have.   Perfect timing, right?

I'm still sorting, purging, selling, and boxing our things in preparation for our move.  I've also been painting, de-cluttering, and deep-cleaning because our house is going on the market.  Acquiring stuff we didn't want or need just to stage the house seemed completely counterproductive.  Instead, I've been trying to rearrange and use what we already have.

Depersonalizing our home has meant putting away many of the family photos and children's items (Lego creations, Nerf discs, drawing supplies, Nerf discs) that are usually scattered around the house.  The credenza in the front room was one place that was left wanting.  My solution was to fold a few old paperback books and stick them in a bowl.  It was a simple, free and totally mindless project that makes me want to fold another one and put them in an even bigger bowl.     

The biggest achievement, however, was managing to create an official sitting area in our bedroom by pulling furniture from around the house.

The Morris chair had been out of place near the dining table.  The lamp came from the living room where it felt inadequate competing with an even larger shade.  The faux leather chest had previously served as a coffee table by the TV.  The bowl on the chest was nicked from the kitchen.  The demijohn and the little potted plant came from the living room.  The pillow had been languishing in the linen closet.  On the left (it's more obvious in the top picture) you can even seen a sliver of what used to be an orange dressing mirror that I repainted white.  Yes, the pouf is new.  It was originally destined for the porch to add a bit of color but I thought it might work in here with the red wire table.  The whole purpose was to show the potential of this area and I do think we pulled that off.

Then we hung a bit of artwork and wondered why we hadn't created this space years ago. 

I've mentioned before how I love local artists!  This piece is by Ellie Reinhold .  Even after we have moved away, I will forever be reminded of the 50+ trees in my front yard and the just-now-quick-count of the 95 out back.

It is the middle of the day, but I shall turn on the light for you anyway...

Here's a glimpse at the other side of the room.

Any pillows we want to throw from the bed get tossed into the demijohn basket.  Someday we will come across some great bedside tables (I hope that someday turns out to be soon after we move to England while we are browsing flea markets.)  The side table pictured was sold as a bathroom storage cabinet and is actually quite functional - 2 drawers and 2 shelves -  but it's a bit tall.  The other side of the bed is graced with a plastic veneered file cabinet and doesn't deserve to be in the picture.

Quick Fix Footstool

I'm more a "curl up on the couch" kind of person.  My husband prefers to take a pillow from the couch, put it on small side table and then put his feet up on it.  I put an end to that when I sold the pillows at the garage sale last weekend so a quick fix was in order.

Old IKEA nesting table to the rescue.

 The nice thing about IKEA furniture is that it is very easy to take apart. 

I'm trying to embrace patterns a bit more so I bought a small bit of fabric that I thought might give the room some subtle pizazz.  It is not as grellow (greenish yellow) as the photo below makes it out to be.  Definitely more of a deep golden.  The top picture is pretty spot on  - at least on my computer.  Everything else I used was already on hand.   I finally used up all the leftover material I had from these projects here and here.

I took some Gold Leaf Rub-n-Buff and changed the base.  It is the perfect color with the golden chevrons.  

And how did my guy respond when he discovered it by the couch?  "It's all I've ever wanted:  a soft spot to rest my feet."  






 

DIY Union Jack Hoodie

I'm continuing my quest to prepare the kids for England.  Being a little more reserved than his big sister, I decided to make a more subdued version of the Union Jack for the boy child.  Something with a lot less color.  Since he is a big fan of hoodies, it seemed like the ideal vehicle.  Conveniently, he already had the perfect one for this project: a favorite (which means it will actually get worn), pre-washed, and black. 

I grabbed it out of his closet and told him the plan.  He was more excited that I was making him something than that we were going to paint on his favorite hoodie.  But he got more and more sold on the idea as we started taping.

Taping up this design made my brain hurt a bit.  I kept on having to consult a diagram to get my bearings. 

I always love involving the kids in projects.  Especially if it is something I am making for them.

I wanted the lines to look painted on and worn off.

We decided to add a bit of silver metallic paint to the grey acrylic.

He doesn't always wear the hood up, but I wanted to show the pattern on the back.

With the Union Jack Jeans, I wrapped the flag design around the front of the pants.  This time, the front of the hoodie was being left plain.  I didn't want the design to stop abruptly at the seams so I faded it at random lengths around the sides. 

Looks like I should have taken a lint roller to him after he decided to wrestle with the dog.

Subtle in a "there is a giant Union Jack painted on the back of your hoodie" way.

DIY Union Jack Jeans

This project was such fun!  I'm trying to keep the kids excited about moving again and leaving all their friends behind again while doing what I can to help them embrace the idea of England.  This project is my latest attempt.

I believe I first spotted these jeans by Religion on asos.  I immediately thought they would be a super fun project to make with my daughter.  She loved the idea.  Even if they hadn't been sold out, the length was far too long from my 11 year old.

asos.com

We hit the mall, searched the stores and tried on lots of white jeans.  She didn't want cropped or distressed or jeggings so we looked and looked and looked.  Her favorite fit ended up being a pair of inexpensive jeans from Target.  They were even on sale.  They are actually intended to be a bit cropped but we rolled them down and they are perfect.

I already had acrylic paint at home but had never intentionally painted clothes.  After a quick bit of internet research I learned that adding a fabric medium is needed to make fabric hold the color and make the paint more flexible.  So for $2.50 each, we picked up a couple of bottles and headed home.

After washing, drying, taping off, painting and drying we weren't quite done but were so excited we had to try them on! 

We left some places intentionally imperfect.

After waiting for the paint to completely dry, I heat set the paint with an iron, washed and dried them and off to school she went.

I have something in the works for the boy child as well.  Equally as cool but not quite as colorful.

Three Little Birds On My Headboard Part 2

And here it is!

I actually have a headboard!  Yes, there are more than 3 little birds but the pattern is 3 different rows, each with 3 different birds so I went with it.  

Let me remind you of the Before: 

So sad.  There are a few things I should mention:
1.  We repainted the walls in BEHR Dolphin Fin.
2.  I picked out some new bedding that works well for the "I don't like ironing"aesthetic.
3.  The little bird pillow isn't a pillow at all just an extra bit of fabric wrapped around a pillow insert.

OK.  This ended up being a bit more time consuming than I initially thought it would be.  And not just because I had to get out the ironing board. 

I made my own template and some of those curves and angles were not very accommodating when it came to cutting foam or wrapping the fabric.  I actually sketched out 4 designs and asked the family.  This design was unanimous.  

Now you know where all my scraps from my Ikea stool project came from.

After covering the green foam with batting, it was still pretty obvious that there was green foam underneath.  Even with the final fabric over the top, there was still a faint green hue.  I added a layer white cotton fabric to save the day.

I hadn't originally planned on making buttons and tufting.  In fact, I only decided to do that AFTER the entire headboard was finished. But it was at this point that I began to think they might be necessary because the fabric was just not smooth.

In hindsight, I'm glad I waited until the final fabric was on the headboard before I settled for certain on using buttons.  I was able to place them exactly where I wanted them in relation to the rows of birds.  It just came down to quite a bit of measuring to make sure my marks on the back were in the right place.  Then I drilled holes through the wood, threaded a long needle with twine through to the front, added the button and then pushed the needle back through the same hole in the foam and wood.  I used a dozen spare buttons to secure the twine on the back of the headboard.  This worked out really well for holding tension when I tied knots.

Measure twice, drill once.

I took some fabric scraps that I had trimmed off and turned them into buttons with the help of some inexpensive Dritz cover button refills. 

I chose not to add legs.  This headboard is huge enough.  Might I want to position the bed not against a wall?  Probably not, but I will address that issue if it ever arises.  We hung the headboard directly on the wall.  I was thinking of using a flush mount and then we came across these awesome hangers.  Level included!  Bonus!  Slides back and forth for easy centering.  Love em.  Crazy easy to hang.  And sturdy.  Nothing is going to fall on my head while I'm sleeping.

Our bedroom had officially grown up just a little bit.

Three Little Birds On My Headboard Part 1

Because we move not infrequently and because we haven't ever found The One and because, truth be told, I don't think it matters all that much, well, we have had the same very basic H-frame for our bed since before we were "we." 

Yup, we've been living like college students for a very long time.  In our defense, we have replaced the mattress.  I'd love to upgrade to a king sized bed but I always have concerns that it won't fit into our next house.  I have decided that, at the very least, perhaps a headboard is in order.

Our bedroom hasn't always looked so very sad.  My fabric inspiration was a very simple project I did for the bedroom back in 2005.  The Issac Mizrahi for Target line came out and I picked up a tablecloth on clearance for under $10.  I loved the bright pop of color.  I cut out my favorite poppy, stretched it around a 4ft x 4ft DIY frame, and hung it on the wall at the head of the bed.  Obviously it isn't there any longer.  Now it hangs in my daughter's room and my bedroom is once again very sad. 

In order to remedy that, I wanted to find a fabric that was fun.  Dare I say whimsical?  Obviously that was a rhetorical question.  I don't like my room to feel stuffy or formal.  On the other hand, its current vibe is a bit too "eat pizza out of a cardboard box in bed."  So here is a tiny hint at what I have decided to do... 

Is that a shower curtain?  Why, yes it is...

Earring Frames / Off Task Again

At this rate, it will be surprising if I ever get things sorted for our move.  Every time I set about to accomplish the task I get sidetracked into a project.  Last night it was an solution for containing the ever-growing dangling earring collection of my daughter. 

She wants her earring on display.  Which is already the case since they don't all fit in her jewelry box anymore.  With fewer pairs, she kept them lined up on a shelf but now they have been ending up in jumbled piles and she can never find the ones she's looking for.  I told her I would help find a better solution.  (The contact cases tied with ribbon are used as carrying cases for her smaller earrings on sleep-overs and while traveling.)

My objective last night was to sort through some old frames and pictures that are in boxes.  Before long I came across these two matching black frames and an idea was hatched.

My sorting came to an abrupt halt.  I removed the glass, left it with my still-needs-to-be-sorted boxes of frames and proceeded to my still-needs-to-be-sorted hoard of fabric pieces.  I found 2 pieces of fabric that I thought would work as backing.  The toddler-sized dress was a gift to my daughter years ago and she couldn't bear to part with it.  There was just enough fabric in nice condition on the back of the piece.  The gold beaded fabric was leftover from a Christmas stocking.

I cut the fabric to size and ironed out the wrinkles.  Then I removed the frame backs and wrapped each board with a separate material.  I used some spray adhesive on the back to secure the fabric.  To hang the earrings, I looked through our still-needs-to-be-sorted collection of nails and screws.  I didn't want to drill holes so I chose some small bright common nails.  The silver finish of the nails didn't work with the fabric, so I broke out the gold metallic oil-based Sharpie again.  Then I evenly spaced the nails, tapped them in and touched up any nail heads that looked scuffed.  You can barely see them.

The project went together without any problems.  I did add a few larger nails for bracelets.  The frames have easel backs so they can stand on her dresser or get hung on the wall.  

Luckily I left space for more nails because a gift arrived in the mail today with half a dozen more earring to add to her collection.  I'm off to Sharpie more nails.  One more thing to do so I can put off sorting.