DESIGN FIX

Wannabe (A Serger Owner)

2010-08-31T02:01:00.019-04:00

Dear SewMama Sew,

You ask me to answer the question, “How would your life be better with a new Husqvarna Viking s21 serger?” Well, let me tell you a story…

Once upon a time, I was a music major. Vocal performance to be exact – because I love to sing. I love to sing fun songs with fun lyrics. But along the way, in the gloom of Music History, Ear Training and worst of all, Piano 101, I found myself losing my love of music. Ironically, I was so busy studying for music classes, I didn’t have time to practice singing the songs that I loved.

So I switched majors to Theatre. Yes, it was a practical decision in that most of my credits transferred, but I was also lured in by two words: Costume Design. Up until this point, my sewing experience had consisted of three items: a pair of cotton shorts that could be likened to pair of Jams, a jumper, and a scrunchie, all sewn at home with my mother doing most of my sewing for me. But now I found myself studying the history of clothes and the secrets of their construction. My Technical Costuming (read: sewing) class unleashed a creative urge I didn’t know I had and I flourished in the design environment. For Christmas, my parents bought me an inexpensive Kenmore sewing machine (they weren’t going to commit the big bucks on a Singer– after all, I’d just quit my life-long dream to be a singer) and in class I stitched away on one of the really nice Berninas.

But best of all, as a theatre major, I was introduced to one fantabulous machine —a machine I’d never seen before as it’s not exactly critical for the construction of scrunchies – the SERGER! It was love at first seam.

I was fascinated and intrigued by this machine that chopped off the edge of the very fabric that it stitched. I couldn’t help but drool as I saw four beautiful spools of thread and one cutter work together effortlessly to create professional ‘perfect’ seams. I used it as often as they would let me and I knew without a doubt that I needed one of my own.

Fast-forward 8 years to my present day life. It’s a good one. I’m married to a wonderful man who works hard so I can be a stay-at-home mom to the two coolest kids on the planet. I’ve got a minivan and a jogging stroller and yes, the same Kenmore that my parents purchased. Like my creative urge, it’s still going strong. As this blog shows, I’ve sewn all sorts of items on that baby – from receiving blankets to pajama pants, slipcovers to pillows, blouses to quilts. I’ve hemmed pants and taken in t-shirts. I was even a Runner Up in a Simplicity sewing contest.

You could say that I have it all.

But you would be wrong.

While my Kenmore has served me well, but it’s never serged me well. After all, it’s not a serger!

I want to cry when I read “serge this seam” in a pattern. As everyone knows, a zigzag stitch will never ever produce the same enviable, expertly-executed seams that a serger can create. I’ve considered making items to sell on Etsy, but who would pay good money for sad seams? I’ve thought about offering tailoring services to my friends but I fear the public humiliation if word got out about my ugly edges.

My heart skips a beat at the thought of finally fulfilling my college dream of owning a serger. I know my sewing, my creativity and my mood would all be enhanced with a Husqvarna Viking s21 machine. I know I would make more clothing for my children and myself and my wonderful husband if I could describe my sewing as “like a breeze!” I’d give more homemade gifts if I could use a serger to make them look less, well, homemade.

My life would be better because I’d be less frustrated and more satisfied in my final products. My life would be better because I’d spend less time fretting over projects and more time completing them. Completed projects would be used and enjoyed and the space the un-completed projects are taking up would be freed up for new ideas to take shape.

As I close my plea, let’s come full-circle. Although I am Singer-less, I still love to sing. And I still sing fun songs with fun lyrics. Thus I feel that the best way to plead my case for the serger, would be in song. Having been trained in the classics, I looked to none other than the musical geniuses of our time: The Spice Girls. The following lyrics are to be sung to the tune of their song Wannabe.

Wannabe (A Serger Owner) by Rachel Fix

Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want
So tell me what you want, what you really really want
I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want
So tell me what you want, what you really really want
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really
Really really wanna SERGER-SERGE-AH!

Wanna make my future better than my past?
You’ve gotta give me a serger, so I can sew real fast
I have been wasting my precious time
Wanna get my act together, wanna serge real fine

I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want
So tell me what you want, what you really really want
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really
Really really wanna SERGER- SERGE-AH!

Wanna serge for my lover, Wanna serge for my friends
Make seams that will last forever – serging never ends
If I get a serger, sewing will be bliss
Viking makes it easy, yeah that's the way it is

What do you think about that now you know how I feel
SewMamaSew – It’s a cool contest – is it for real?
Please don't ignore me! Give me a try!
If I get a serger, I will shout “OH MY!”

I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want
So tell me what you want, what you really really want
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really
Really really wanna SERGER-SERGE-AH!

I wanna serge for my lover, I wanna serge for my friends
My seams will last forever – serging never ends
If I get a serger, sewing will be bliss!
Viking makes it easy, yeah that's the way it is

So here's the story from a to z, you gotta serger for me?
You gotta listen carefully
Stitches in place - faster than a race
Presser feet would be, adjusted easily
And yeah, it would-- come for free

And as for me- HA! You'll see!
Slam the cutter down the spools will spin around
Slam the cutter down the spools will spin around

Wanna serge for my lover, Wanna serge for my friends
Make seams that will last forever – serging never ends
If I get a serger, sewing will be bliss!
Viking makes it easy, yeah that's the way it is

When you serge for your lover, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta
You gotta, you gotta, slam, slam, slam, slam
Slam the cutter down the spools will spin around
Slam the cutter down the spools will spin around

Slam the cutter down the spools will spin around
Slam your cutter down and SERGER-SERGE-AH
I wanna serge for my lover…

I will even go so far as to humiliate myself and prove that I have really lost all the professional vocal training I once had (and prove why you shouldn't use GarageBand for the very first time when you are writing a post for a contest. At 2 am. ), I will also include this soundtrack of me singing the above song.

I know, it's pretty wretched. But I just want that serger SO BAD!

So, there you have it. The best plea I can give for why SewMamaSew should give me a new Husqvarna Viking s21 serger. The only thing I can add is “Pretty please!”

Sincerely,

Rachel Fix

UPDATE 9/9/2010: I didn't win. But that's okay. I had a lot of fun writing this post. If anyone comes across a Husqvarna Viking s21 serger that someone else is giving away, let me know.

Pink Martini

2010-08-28T09:23:00.005-04:00

I love Pink Martini. They are such fabulous musicians.

And I really love this advertisement for their end of summer concerts at the Hollywood Bowl! Anyone know if it's available in a poster somewhere? Or where I could get someone to print it off for me? I wish I could attend this concert, but I'd settle for having this print somewhere in my home.

Stella & Dot

2010-08-26T15:03:00.000-04:00

Remember me? I'm the gal who supposedly has a blog called Design Fix. Perhaps I should update it more than once every 3 months, huh?
Well, I've been busy! I've just started as a Stylist for Stella & Dot jewelry. I'll post more about it in later posts, but for now, check out this fabulous Fall Fashion Show to see more of the jewelry. If you love it, and I know you will, ask me how you can get jewelry for FREE by hosting a Trunk Show!

Surprise

2010-06-05T23:14:00.001-04:00

It seems like the only thing I've had time to sew lately are Diapers and Wipes cases. This one was for Baby Eller and it seems plain enough from the outside...

But what's that peeking out from behind the black and white polka dots?

PINK! The Ellers are having a baby girl!

Flossing

2010-06-01T22:06:00.005-04:00

For those of you who might be worrying that I will find myself aimlessly drifting without a specific goal, I've got good news. My new goal is to floss my teeth everyday. It's something I've never been very consistent about doing and it's a easy goal. I need an easy goal. Life with a newborn is not a time for grandiose dreams. And yes, I am serious. Flossing my teeth daily is my new goal. I know my dentist and my father will be happy.

12FOR2010: Just Kidding!

2010-06-01T21:06:00.001-04:00

Okay so I know I've been MIA from this blog for a long time. But first I was sick. Then I went to London. Then I had a baby. And then I got really busy. I forgot how much work newborns can be! And did I mention that I was still sick? Until around mid-May?! Ugh. But now I'm back. And I've got a new focus!

Remember the main goal that I set for this year? It was to "get my priorities straight and serve others." I wanted to work with diligent hands to serve my husband and children. Well, I've been better at doing this but honestly, to blog about all of it here takes away from my time to serve my husband and my kids.
I read plenty of blogs where the women seem to have their whole act together -- they can set huge goals, they can take care of their family, they can keep their house clean, they can love their husbands, all while maintaining a consistent string of posts on their adorable blogs. I figured that these women were just naturally more focused and driven than me and thus their lives were perfect. Well, perhaps it is true that the majority of the world is more focused and driven than I am. But I've also learned that the writers of two of my favorite blogs (here and here) have hired help for either childcare of household cleaning or both. Reading that made me feel a lot better about just not being able to keep up.
And leave it to me to turn a goal of serving into a goal of self-promoting. I thought if I could just show the world that I am as put together and cool as the writers of every other blog, I would become the bees knees and everyone would love me. Ew. Sometimes I disgust myself with how selfish I can be! This is exactly why I set this goal -- to get my focus off myself!

So, I'm giving up (ouch it hurts to write those words!) on my original 12 month/12 goal plan. Instead I'm going to continue to serve my family as best as I can and not worry so much about telling you about it on this blog. I hope you aren't offended by that! The 12 goals are all present in my head so I won't forget them. I'm just going to forget about trying to keep up with them here. Again, don't take it personally.

I will continue to reflect on Proverbs 31 and if I get motivated, I'll throw in some other mini-goals based on my original plan for this year. But, it takes a huge load off my shoulders to back away from trying to do it all and blog about it all!

That being said, I did carry out my goals for February and March (April and May passed by with no goals in place) and I'll be posting about those in the near future so you can know how I faired. So stick around if you are still interested and I'll be back soon.

Sorry!

2010-05-21T09:43:00.003-04:00

I am still alive. I'm sorry I haven't been posting more. But it's taken me a little while to adjust to life with two kids. I will be getting more posts up here in the near future. In the meantime... Is this not the ugliest bathing suit you have ever seen? Seriously Urban Outfitters?! Ew.

Hospital Gown

2010-03-22T16:11:00.000-04:00

About a year ago, I was looking at some newborn pictures on a high school friend’s Facebook page when I noticed that his wife was wearing a super cute hospital gown. I read on and realized that she had sewn it for herself! So, when I got pregnant this time, I decided I wanted to do the same thing.I looked around a lot of places, but the only pattern I could find (for free) was from Lazy Girl Designs. After using it to make this gown I would highly recommend it. That being said, I did make a few alterations…Instead of the recommended velcro, I used snap tape on the closures on the sleeves. I also added about 4 inches to the length and sewed a sash (not attached to the gown) to belt around my middle -- just above the baby bump. Also, the pattern says to serge/zigzag stitch the edges and fold them over to finish but I made my own contrasting bias 'tape' and used that instead. I also made the neckline a little deeper as it felt too high -- like it would bug me during labor clutching at my neck. And the original pattern includes a pocket to hold wires for a heart monitor or something but since I knew I wouldn't use that, I didn't make it.It was plenty big on me so next time I think I’ll move one of the back ties to the side of the gown so I can close it tightly around my middle. I also recommend painting your toenails in a shade to match as that made it extra fun to look down to my feet while I sat around having contractions 5-10 minute apart. ALTHOUGH, in retrospect, I should have waited until after delivery as they placed my sweet baby girl on my belly right after she popped out and the gown got quite messy.My mom took it home and washed it but I didn’t get a decent picture of it the next day. I think Louisa liked staring at the contrasting pink and white pattern.I also made this matching headband (same fabric as the trim around the neckline/hem) but I didn’t wear it until we took Little Lou home.

Room for Two

2010-03-20T22:57:00.000-04:00

Besides the closet, we made a few additions and changes to Rock’s room to make room for his little sister. My original plan for the room included much more red than we ever put in there for Rock. So, many of the new touches (like the nightlight below) bring in this color.Rock’s big boy bed was made by a friend of the family and we added the drawer pulls to match his dresser (just out of sight to the left of this picture). The “R” pillowcase is from Urban Outfitters of all places. I made both the duvet cover (still needs buttons at the top to keep the duvet in place better) and the lumbar pillow is from the upholstered rocker that used to sit in this spot. The 1 2 3 bins are from IKEA and are perfect for hiding random toys.This new print hangs on the wall above Rock’s pillow and is very securely attached to the wall because I am convinced he will try his hardest to bring it crashing onto his head.Rock book collection was rapidly outgrowing the size of his bedside bookshelf so we added this shelf from IKEA next to the door and moved his library there.Across from Rock’s bed is his old crib which will now belong to Louisa. I kept the same bumper and crib skirt that I made for Rock. The curtains are also a relatively recent addition – given to us by Juju from her stash of random treasures.Rock thought she would love this police car so he added it to her crib.The artwork above her bed is also from Urban Outfitters. What can I say? They were having a sale right when I started transforming the room and adding red girly touches! Finally, the Wheel of Responsibility now hangs on their doorway. I bought this before Rock was born but never got around to hanging it.Bring on Baby #2! This room is ready!

Closet Transformation

2010-03-12T21:47:00.001-05:00

Way back in January, I began to organize the contents of Rock’s closet and changing table. Up until this point, the closet has been plenty big enough for one kid so I never really organized it. But I knew with a baby girl on the way, we would need a lot of room for accessories/dresses/shoes/etc.If you can look past all the clutter in the picture above, you can see the old shelf. Instead of a bar, these weird shelves with a lip are in all of our closets. This means we can only hang our hangers one way and we can’t use any hanging organizers that loop around a bar.Needless to say, the bar had to go. Using a gift card at Home Depot, we were able to purchase this fabulous closet system.Thankfully I had these two carpenter to “struction” work for me. And thankfully Rock had good outfits for each of them to wear. After many stupid mistakes and frustrations, we finally finished this project! The drawers in the center hold Shin’s current wardrobe. The grey tub holds the outfits she will wear in coming months. Likewise, the blue tub in the center holds Rock’s future wardrobe.On the right hand side of the closet are Rock’s hanging clothes (or should I say costumes?) and a shoe organizer that holds Shin’s shoes and accessories and small toys and extra wipes. The other blue tub holds Rock’s wooden trains and train tracks. Someday soon I want to find a new spot for this and put a laundry hamper in it’s place. On the left side, her hanging clothes are organized by size.The top shelf is actually the original shelf without the front lip (turns out it was really easy to pry off!). We used iron-on stripping to cover the front edge and I was super impressed with how easy it was to apply! So, there you have it. After months or planning, the closet is DONE!

Dipes and Wipes

2010-02-16T12:26:00.000-05:00

Using some of the scraps from Shin's quilt, I made her a Dipes and Wipes case. We got one of these from Target when Rock was born and I really liked having it.
When the baby is little, it's nice to have their diapers and wipes and diaper cream all stored together inside their diaper bag. That way, you never have to dig around for these items and if you need to change the baby in a public place like a restaurant, you can just leave your diaper bag with your friends at your table and carry this into the bathroom.

Later on, when you don't need a big ole diaper bag, you can just throw this into your purse and you have all your diapering needs together in one place. Anyway, I'm really pleased with how it turned out and that I got it finished before she arrives!

12FOR2010: Pantry Part Two

2010-02-13T11:32:00.003-05:00

The Pantry and has been organized! Sorta. As I look at these pictures, I realize that it doesn't look all that different from before. And there are a few things I still want to add. But for now, this will do and I'm glad I went through it and threw out the old stuff.

These shelves might not look organized, but they are much more organized than before. On the door it's dishtowels on the top, followed by random grains and breast milk bags (I'll need those real soon!) on shelf two. Shelf three is stuff for PB&J's and Nutella. Shelf three is for snacky things. Shelf four is more snacky things and the bottom shelf is extra plastic bags and plastic forks.Then moving inside, the top shelf of the pantry is devoted to cook books and candy. I put the candy up high to keep it away from someone's little hands!

Moving down, shelf two is for spices and cans on the left side. The middle section is for nuts and rice and grains. The right side is for tea (front) and dried fruit (in the back since we don't access it as much as tea).Shelf three is baking central. The one exception is the plastic container of fruit snacks (can I get an witness for the awesomeness of Fruitabu?).

I love these jars from Ikea. They are from the SLOM collection and they are just $3.99 each. I might purchase some more for other food storage in the future. For now, they are labeled for sugar, bread flour, whole wheat flour, white flour, and powdered sugar.

Shelf four has cereal on the left. Behind the cereal is our liquid storage -- for our very small 'liquor cabinet' and our extra olive oil, vinegar, etc. The right side is full of pasta, canned and jarred tomato products, and a big ole bag of rice.

The bottom shelf is for drinks on the left and paper/plastic products on the right.

In front of that is our extra ZAZZ (world's greatest fizzy water!) and juice boxes. And that's about it!
I'd like to get a wall organizer for the extra parchment paper, ziploc freezer bags and craft paper hiding behind the ZAZZ, but I can live with things as they are. And my label maker is out of label tape at the moment so the areas are not as labeled as I'd like it to be, but again, you can go crazy trying to hyper organize. For now, I'm just glad I can see everything that's in there and I can say "A sorta place for everything and everything sorta in it's place."

Katie's Advice!

2010-02-12T23:56:00.000-05:00

My friend Katie nicely put up a post on her blog all about this blog and my New Years Resolution for this year.AND she offers some great tips on menu planning and food preparation! I particularly love the idea pictured above -- a dry erase board to list everything that's in your fridge/freezer. That way things don't get lost and turn fuzzy! Here's the link to check out all her great ideas.

Cool Mom or Design Disaster?

2010-02-10T22:50:00.003-05:00

Quick question.

This is a rug/play mat from IKEA. I think Rock would enjoy playing with his cars and trucks on it. And I would love to have him close at hand while I cook/do things in the kitchen. Meanwhile, our kitchen rug is pretty small and I have wanted to update it with a bigger model for some time.
So my question is would I be a cool mom if I bought it and used it as kitchen rug or would that just prove that I no longer have any design? I'd really appreciate some honest feedback.
p.s. I'd especially appreciate the honest feedback of my husband.

Christmas Album

2010-02-09T22:22:00.000-05:00

I come from a long line of Christmas-card-picture-displayers.Okay so I don't know if anyone else before her did it, but my mom always kept her Christmas card pictures up on the fridge until the next set of cards started coming in. Then she put them in an album.

Although my pictures are on this wall instead of on the fridge, I decided to follow her example and make my own Christmas picture album.

Here's the outside. I got the album on sale at Target and bought some extra pages so it will last for a few more years. The card in the window is an old one from my friend Stephanie. You can't really see it here, but it says "Merry Christmas."

The earliest pictures I had saved were from 2005, but the bigger collections start in 2006.

On some of the pages I cut out designs and words from Christmas cards past but I am no scrapbooking genius. And I have no time to make myself one.

Now we'll be able to look back in years to come and see how we've all aged. Aged gracefully that is.

What's Wrong with Maryland?!

2010-02-04T09:38:00.000-05:00

Simplicity and Project Runway are doing a cool new pattern design contest and I was thinking about entering. But you can't enter if you live in Maryland. What's up with that?!

Okay, okay, I know! This year is about focusing on my family. Not winning contests. So I'm okay with not entering. But still I want to know why Maryland residents can't enter.

12FOR2010: February's Goal

2010-02-03T21:45:00.012-05:00

Proverbs 31: 27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

12FOR2010 February's Goal is all about cleaning, organization, and looking well to the ways of my household. As I've said before, we'll be adding a baby girl to our family in March. So I planned for February to be a month of creating some sort of order before the chaos begins.
First off, cleaning. I've always viewed cleaning as a awful, nasty, no-good chore. But lately I've been disgusted by my laziness and searching for a way to stay on top of this responsibility (and we won't talk about how I've been known to say "Responsibility is a four letter word"). So, the first step I'd like to take on is making a cleaning schedule/chart of sorts, posting it somewhere and sticking to it.
I'd also like to examine some natural methods of cleaning -- or at least some less-toxic options than what I currently use. I'm not super paranoid about these things, but maybe I should be?
As for organizing, I have already started to transform 'Rock's room' to make it 'The Kids room.' In particular, I've been working on reworking the closet to really utilize the space.
Speaking of closets, my closet could use some organization as could our bathroom cabinets, the pantry and fridge (left over from last month), the area right inside our front door where everything gathers, and all the other places where clutter clutters our lives.
I'm still not feeling 100%, but I continue to hope that this month is better than last. And I hope to post on my progress in some of these areas so stay tuned.

12FOR2010: January Wrap-Up

2010-01-30T14:46:00.002-05:00

This is a pretty scary sight, but I'm posting it for a reason. To show you how crusty I've looked all month. Except for a three day long break, I've been sick since before Christmas. Just can't seem to get over these colds when I'm also making a baby.

So January kinda slipped away in between my naps. I'm in the middle of a few projects to finish up my January goal, but mostly, it wasn't completed as I would have liked. I am trusting that God knows best and that's why he wanted me to rest this month instead of getting things done. It's been tough, but I know it was from Him so I'm okay.
To wrap-up January, I'll look back at what I did/didn't accomplish:
1) As far as meal planning and a grocery list, found a solution that combines both of these. It's been three weeks now and I'm still loving this list. YAY!
2) I've found some healthier meal options this month, but I never blogged about them. I do plan on putting up some more recipes in the near future and some of those are healthy ones I've found. Stay tuned.
3) I've determined that coupon clipping is sorta worth my time. It's hard for me to plan all my meals around what's on sale, but I will be clipping from the local paper and the BJ's newsletter when and where they help with my meal plan. Perhaps I'll reexamine this approach at some point...
4) And speaking of BJ's, I love BJ's. I love that you can use coupons there (you can't at Costco). And I love that they have some smaller sized things, like half-gallons of milk and only three hearts of romaine. And I've decided that there are definitely some things that are worth buying in bulk. We have kept our membership there and will continue to use it.
4) I've decided that for now, it's best to not make all our own bread. I did get a bread machine making cookbook from the library this month and tried a few recipes but I've yet to find something that really works for sandwich bread. Plus our local supermarket carries great bread for not that much money. So for now, I'll make the few bread recipes that we like (a good honey wheat, a good herb bread, and a good pizza crust) and we'll buy the rest.
5) I found some local farmers markets (here, here, and here) that are open on days besides Sunday. YAY! Unfortunately, they won't be open until May. BOO! But I'll let you know how shopping goes then!
6) Finally, organization. I've halfway organized the pantry. I haven't started on the fridge. But I will finish both of these projects and post the pictures soon.

And that's how January wrapped up for me! I'll post February's goal on Tuesday!

RECIPE: Morning Mix

2010-01-23T11:46:00.001-05:00

As part of January's focus on food, I've been meaning to post a few recipes. This one is for Morning Mix. My friend Carrie's mom made the original recipe and I adapted it to what you see below. It is a very hearty breakfast cereal - full of fiber to get you going if you know what I mean.

Morning Mix:
6 cups Oats
2 cups Grape Nuts
1 cup Cranberries
1 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Toasted Slivered Almonds (I didn't have any when I made the batch above, but it still tastes great)
1/4 cup Flaxseed

Just mix the ingredients together and store in an airtight container (like this old gingerbread cookie tin!). Add milk and a spoon for a yummy healthy breakfast!

12FOR2010: Pantry Part One

2010-01-16T15:57:00.003-05:00

I can't believe I'm actually posting these pictures.

Isn't our pantry a total mess?!In an effort to clean it out, I am making meals that use items from our pantry. Once I've cut down on some of the excess food, then I'll organize things better and take more pictures. This is all a part of helping our family to make better food decisions.

12FOR2010: Grocery List

2010-01-07T15:17:00.004-05:00

Everyone knows not to go to the grocery store hungry. You will buy things you don't really need because you want to eat. Likewise, it's very risky to go to the store without a list. So I always write a list. But I've always wanted custom list.

I tried to come up with my own list like the one above (from simplemom.net -- LOVE her!) but I am no graphic artist and mine was ugly. And, in thinking it through, I realized our menu changes too often for this type of list to be really helpful/time-saving. So I was back at square one.

Then on designspongeonline there was this fantastic post all about Kate's fantastic Grocery List. This puppy is genius! It is going to be SO perfect for me. I have been planning meals on one sheet and writing up a grocery list on another. But Kate's list combines the two.

You write your meals on the top of the page. Then, in the middle section, you write what items you will need for that meal. Finally, there is a bottom section to put additional items/staples that you need to restock. Honestly, I never thought I could get so excited about a grocery list. But I am! I've downloaded the list and filled it out for the rest of this week.
A final note, based on advice from my sister Sarah, I'm going to try planning just one week of meals at time. Our schedule is relaxed and often things change last minute so I don't want to waste a bunch of food by buying too much at one time. It might be inefficient for others to go to the store once a week but I think that might be just right for our household. And we can walk to our grocery store so I can get groceries pretty easily. If only I wasn't so lazy...

12FOR2010: January's Goal

2010-01-06T15:29:00.007-05:00

Proverbs 31: 14 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings food from afar.

Like I said in my previous post, in doing 12FOR2010, January's Goal will be based on Proverbs 31:14 (above) and is all about food. More specifically, I plan to make some changes around here that will change what we eat and the way we eat it.

While I like to cook, my meal planning has been sporadic. Since Rock was born I have tried to do the two-weeks-worth-of-menus planning thing but I've never had a really good system so it's never really worked. So I will research some good meal-planning methods.

Because of my lack of planning and because of fatigue with this pregnancy (and lately because I've had a wretched cold/bronchitis/sinus infection that just won't quit) we've developed some pretty bad eating habits. Shin (our nickname for baby #2) has been very interested in eating Taco Bell and Doritos and I've been indulging her. This has got to stop. Thus, I'll be looking at healthier meal options during this month.
I'll also be looking at how to save money while eating well. Is coupon clipping really helpful/worth my time and energy? Does it really pay to buy in bulk? Should I start making ALL of the bread we eat (right now I make some of it)? Is there a local farmers market that's open on a day besides Sunday? What should our food budget be?
Finally, organization. The space in our fridge is not being maximized. It's even worse in the pantry. We aren't eating what's in there 'cause we don't know what's in there. I'm going to clean out and organize both of these spaces.
I'm sure I'll come up with some other ways to work on this goal, but that's the vision for right now... And I'm off to take inventory of the pantry!

Modern-Twist

2010-01-05T13:13:00.000-05:00

How COOL are these suckers?! Made by Modern-Twist, these pillows are secretly storage containers!

Twist them up to look neat and tidy. Open them up to store a few items. Perhaps your pajamas? Your diary? Your passport? Anyway, just thought I'd share how clever these things are! And mention that my birthday is coming up soon... and that I like the red lemon twist pattern the best.

Twelve Resolutions for Twenty-Ten (12 for 2010)

2010-01-02T23:51:00.013-05:00

WARNING! AGAIN, THIS IS A LONG WORDY POST! I have a feeling they are going to be this way in 2010. Sorry! I'll try and break things up with pictures!

Anyway, have you ever read Proverbs 31? Allow me to quote:
An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.

She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.

She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.

She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.

She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.

She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.

She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.

She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.

She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.

She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.

She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.

"Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all."

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.
I know that there is debate on this passage. Is the writer describing a real woman or personifying wisdom or just describing a wise woman/person or describing what a man should look for in a woman? I'm not here to debate any of that. But I recently read this passage and thought of how little it describes selfish me.I would love to become more like the woman in this passage. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You can stop laughing now. I know I'll never be this diligent/motivated. But there is a desire somewhere deep down in side of me to 'work with willing hands' in devotion to my husband, children and household. As I said in my last post, I feel that it's time to get my priorities straight and serve others.

And again, the reason why I want to serve others is to bring glory to the Lord. I know that He has given me the roles of wife, mother and household manager and I want to do them to the best of my ability in gratitude for this great life He has given me.

Thus, my New Years Resolution for 2010... I have decided to meditate on this passage and apply it (in an broad/allegorical way) to my life. Instead of breaking down my goal into 25 chunks (as I've done for the past 5 years or so), I will be breaking it down into 12 goals for the 12 months of the year. Each month will have a theme verse from this passage and a handful of specific ways I plan to live out this goal.
For example, January's theme verse is Proverbs 31: 14 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings food from afar. Thus, this month will be devoted to using food wisely to provide for our family... exploring the world of coupon clipping, organizing the pantry, meal planning, etc.

Now that doesn't mean that at the end of January I'm going to stop making meals for my family and move on to something different. Hopefully by taking a month to focus on a specific goal and set up habits in that area of my life, I will be able to keep it up and proceed to a new area.

Oh man, doesn't it sound exhausting? I think I might have bitten off more than I can chew. But I'm excited to at least spend time thinking about something besides myself and with the Lords help I hope to make some changes. Thanks again for your prayers and support. Check back soon for a more flushed out description of January's goal.

Reflecting on 2009

2010-01-01T14:10:00.013-05:00

WARNING! THIS IS A LONG AND WORDY POST!

Looking back at 2009, I have to admit that I am glad that I completed my New Years Resolution (NYR). I was devastated in 2006 when I didn't finish my "Watch Every Movie That's Won the Academy Award for Best Picture" NYR on time. So I look back at all the things I made/fixed this past year (many of which are featured in this post to break up all the words!) and I am pleased with this accomplishment. But as the year was drawing to a close, I began to think about the impact this particular goal has had on me...
I have always struggled with materialism. I can remember being 10 years old and standing in the Disney Store thinking how awesome my room would be if my mom would just let me redecorate it and buy EACH AND EVERY DISNEY CHARACTER in stuffed animal form. I can covet like no one's business.
However, because of my relationship with Jesus Christ, I also know that, like Transformers, there is more to life than meets the eye. And the most important things in life are not made of plastic or wood or cashmere or silk. I know that this world is not my eternal home, but it is a continual distraction for me.
In doing 2009's NYR of Design Fixes I have become more and more focused on the material things in my life. Instead of delighting in all the home improvements I've achieved, my list of things to 'fix' has continued to grow and grow. Seriously, I have a list of over 25 things that I could start in on for 2010! Yikes! My home (and improving it's decor) has become an obsession for me. As I said, this has always been the case, but over the past year, it's gotten much worse.
In 2009, there were many nights where we had to choose between Mac n' Cheese, Taco Bell or eating a real meal at 9:30 pm. I just got so absorbed in working on a project that I didn't stop to make dinner. There were many times when I longed for a nanny or for my parents to take my child off my hands because he was such a nuisance while I was trying to sew. And cleaning? My least favorite activity in the world?! There was no way I could possibly get that done while I was focused on making a dress for a design contest!
Yes, it is true that some of my NYRs really did improve our lives... Fix and I have commented again and again on how awesome it was to remodel the laundry room and how much space that freed up in other closets.
And it's true that our living room is much more cozy now that the couch is not suspended between two different styles while I took FOREVER to recover it! But for the most part, my projects have been fueled by my selfish desire to bring praise to myself by having everyone see just how awesomely I can decorate. My focus has been on myself and my projects.
I can honestly say that I have neglected my God-given roles of wife and mother and home manager over the past year. This has been to the detriment of our whole family and it has made any accomplishments I've had feel very unfulfilling to me.
I see specific ways that both my son and my husband have suffered because I have focused on myself instead of them. Lord-willing, in March of 2010 we will add a new baby girl to our family. That would make it three people I would have to shove out of the way in order to have continual "me time." And while I'd love to check a few more projects off my list, I can't imagine continuing to be so neglectful of my family. My priorities have got to change.
So, my New Years Resolution this year will be to devote myself to my God-given roles of wife, mother and home manager. It sounds rather lofty doesn't it? And you are probably wondering how exactly would one start to quantify such a goal? But come on now! You know me! I can't just plunge willy-nilly into a new year without a tangible way to complete my resolution. Thus, I have come up with a specific plan for how to execute this goal and I will outline that in a post tomorrow.
For now you can know that this year, instead of focusing my creativity on my own desires, I plan to focus my creativity on serving others. Yuck. Service just not "me." But as I've thought about it and prayed about it, I know that it is a word that I need to embrace. It is an attribute that God longs for me to display and I long to glorify Him by putting others needs first. So come back and track my progress with me if you are interested! In the meantime, please pray for me and my family. I know this NYR is not going to be the easiest, but again, I'm excited about it and ready for 2010!!!
p.s. Also, if you know me, you know that while I work on my new goal, I will continue with my creative attempts so keep checking back for posts on that too!

NYR #25 Grocery Bag Dispenser

2009-12-31T01:15:00.004-05:00

Just in the nick of time I finished my final project of my New Year's Resolution last night!

I loosely followed this tutorial (I clearly didn't piece together the fabric and I used a ribbon instead of more fabric for the hanging tab) to make a Grocery Bag Dispenser.
Actually made two. One for our pantry and one for Rock's room. --For his stinkies if you must know. Although I hope to potty train him soon so it'll be for Shin's stinkies when she is born.I would have gotten more pictures but someone was awful busy hugging the dispensers... I'm glad he likes them.

NYR Camera Strap Cover

2009-12-26T12:35:00.000-05:00

You all had good guesses, but no, this isn't a picture of placemats. Or napkins.

It's my new camera strap cover. I followed the tutorial on Made by Petchy's blog, but made the cover a little bigger than she did so it could accommodate a pocket for the lens cap.

Then I made this one for Susi.

Preview of NYR

2009-12-12T11:44:00.000-05:00

I've finished another NYR. But I'm giving the same thing as a gift to not one, but two people this Christmas. So I can't tell you what it is or show you the full picture. I'll post pictures of what this is after Christmas. In the meantime, does anyone have any guesses?

(Lynn, Missy and Fix you can't guess 'cause you know what it is!)

Just Kidding!

2009-12-11T07:13:00.000-05:00

Britt, the original winner of my giveaway, never got back to me with her mailing address and according to SewMamaSew's Giveaway Day rules, I need to mail out my giveaway items by tomorrow. So I picked a new random number and found Greta who said,
"This is a really cute apron. I hope I win :) Love the laundry room makeover too. You are so right about the one shelf and waste of space. Hummm I might need to look into that."
And when I emailed her that she had won, she got right back to me! So she gets the prize! Okay, no more posts about this giveaway... for now.

NYR #23, Treeskirt

2009-12-10T17:19:00.012-05:00

Like I said, I've been wanting a treeskirt for several years now. And when we decorated our tree last week, it was apparent that there was still something missing. And I didn't want to put bunch a cheesy tablecloth around the base like I do every other year.

My parents recently remodeled their bathroom and my mom decided she didn't want to rehang this quilt in the new space. So she gave it to me and guess what? I made it into a treeskirt!

I found the center of the quilt and drew a 4" circle around it with pencil. I know, I should have used a disappearing ink pen, but the pencil was on this floor and I'm pregnant and tired so it worked.

I used two rulers to draw a straight line to the corner. Yes, with the pencil.

Then I pinned along both sides of the line because the backing was not sewn to the front of the quilt.

Then I cut the line with my rotary cutter.

Then I cut out the circle with scissors.

Then I made six ties about 12" long and satin stitched one of their ends. I pinned the non-satin-stitched ends to raw edges of the quilt, spacing them about 8.5" apart (don't have a good picture of that part!).

Then I pinned brand new seam binding up the two raw edges of the quilt (where I had just made the cut and where I had attached the ties).

I made sure the ends looked nice and sewed the binding on the edges into place.

After the binding was sewn in place on the two sides, I sewed binding around the edge of the circle. I intentionally made this piece about 24" too long so I could have two 'ties' (really all one piece) to tie the circle together. Make sense? Probably not, but it's not like you guys are all sitting at home with quilts that are the perfect size and color for a treeskirt, are you? If so, contact me and I'll walk you through it.

Does this help? See how it's not another set of ties, but you can still tie it together? And I satin stitched the ends of this piece too.

And here's the finished edge!

And here is the final product. With a very cute model who said "I lay right next to this fabric."

Here it is at the bottom of the tree. Again, I hope you like the cute model I got to lay next to it.

MUCH BETTER than the tablecloth, I now have a treeskirt! And I only have two more NYR's to go!!!

Tablecloth

2009-12-09T12:05:00.000-05:00

I made my mom this tablecloth for her birthday on the 6th. She recently put a round table in her red and white kitchen and didn't have a good tablecloth that was big enough to really cover it nicely.

Believe it or not, this beautiful fabric is from IKEA. I was pretty pleased with how well the pattern matching turned out. That's one more project checked off my never-ending list of projects...

NYR #22, Twill Tape Ties Tutorial

2009-12-07T17:38:00.001-05:00

Does anyone else have a problem with their duvet moving around inside of their duvet cover? We were really getting tired of our duvet bunching down to the bottom of the bed. I read about this solution years ago on the Martha Stewart Living website, but I've adapted her advice and created my own tutorial.

To do this project you will need:

(1) Package of twill tape in a color to match your duvet (for me it's white to match my boring white duvet)

(2) Spools of thread in contrasting colors

Hot glue gun or fray check

Sewing Machine

Scissors

STEP ONE: Cut (8) eight inch strips of twill tape to make the ties.

STEP TWO: Apply fray check or, as I did, run the slanted end through the tiniest bit of hot glue to stabilize it.

STEP THREE: Beginning with red, I sewed a small box (or you could just sew a straight line) on four of ties. Then I switched to the pink thread and sewed pink onto the other four pieces.

**If you have two different colors of fabric markers you could just draw lines on the ties.**

STEP FOUR: Beginning with one red tie, fold over the end (without colored thread) 1/4 inch. Then pin it to one bottom right corner of your duvet and sew away.

Really. Go to town sewing back and forth so this sucker won't rip off. Repeat with another red tie on the other bottom corner. Then move to the top of your duvet and sew two pink ties to the top corners of the duvet.

STEP FIVE: Now you will attach the remaining four ties to inside of the duvet cover. To do this, flip the duvet cover inside out, fold over the non-colored end of the tie 1/4 inch, pin it to a corner of the duvet cover in the seam allowance and sew away again. Make sure that you use the red twill tape on the bottom of the the duvet cover and the pink on the top.

STEP SIX: Tie the twill tape pieces on the duvet cover to the matching twill tape pieces on the duvet - pink to pink and red to red.

STEP SEVEN: Flip the duvet inside of the duvet cover and you are done! It's still boring white (perhaps an update is due in 2010?) but at least the duvet is now staying in place.

Winner of the Giveaway!

2009-12-07T10:48:00.001-05:00

The giveaway is all done and we have a winner - Britt who said

"My sister would love those!! Sign me up."

Britt, I hope your sister really does love them -- and get back to me soon with a mailing address so I can send them out! And thank you to everyone else who entered the giveaway -- it was so fun to read all your encouraging comments. Merry Christmas to all!

Apron and Napkins GIVEAWAY!

2009-12-02T23:16:00.004-05:00

Hello Everyone! I'm finally doing a giveaway! The first item I'm giving away is this adorable half apron. I made this awhile ago but never found the right person to give it to you so now you have a chance to win it!The apron features two pockets. I've never been sure what you are supposed to put into apron pockets. Dirty spoons? Recipe cards? Regardless, there are two deep pockets for you to use as you please.

Don't worry you will probably look much cuter in the apron because you are not in the awkward "Does-she-have-a-gut-or-is-she-pregnant?" phase of life.

I also made a set of eight matching napkins. That is, they match each other and they match the apron in a creamy white color with a black ribbon detail.

To enter the giveaway:

1) Just leave a comment with your email address so I can contact you if you win. (I promise will not abuse your email address or sell it to anyone or any organization.)
2) Become a follower of this blog. If you do this, leave a second comment to let me know that you are following! If you are already a follower, remind me in a comment!
Deadline to enter is December 6th at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be chosen at random. Sorry, but at this time I am not able to ship internationally. Thanks for stopping by and entering this giveaway! Come back again soon!
UPDATE: GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED AND A WINNER HAS BEEN SELECTED AND CONTACTED! THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE ENTRIES AND ALL OF YOU WHO BECAME NEW FOLLOWERS! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Stay Tuned...

2009-11-28T09:45:00.001-05:00

SewMamaSew's Annual Giveaway Day is coming up on December 2nd. It's a fabulous day when people all over the blogging world giveaway fabulous things, gifts, food, craft supplies. Anyway, this year I am going to participate! I've had a lot of fun with this little design blog and I've got a few little somethings I would love to giveaway to one of you readers so... check back on December 2nd and enter to win!

NYR #21, Laundry Makeover

2009-11-27T00:27:00.001-05:00

Our laundry room has served us well and we are ever so grateful for all the many loads of laundry that have been cleaned in this space. But while it functions fine enough, it's never really lived up to it's full potential.

With just one shelf, there was a lot of unused space up above. And it was nothing lovely to look at. Thus I decided to take it on as NYR #21.
The first step was to buy a crow bar. Which made me wonder how we had we survived without one for so long?! Then we ripped out the shelf and the strip of wood that was supporting it. This left the walls looking pretty rough.
Thankfully I had a cute helper to do the spackling for me. Okay to be honest, he was the one wielding the crow bar too. I just can't handle hard labor with this bun in my oven.
Then my cute spackler went to the SBL Conference for the weekend. So I did the next few steps on my own. The liquid laundry detergent was leaking a few months back and we didn't know it until it created this nastiness. The floors were also rather yucky.
After I cleaned the mess, I primed twice and painted twice and we were ready to hang up the shelves when my helper got back from New Orleans.We located the studs in the closet and placed brackets on the shelves accordingly. These shelves were in the AS IS section at Ikea - $1.99 each! I was VERY THANKFUL for my husband who stayed up 'til 2 am on Thanksgiving Eve to help me hang them.
TA DA! Our Laundry Room makeover is complete!
Because we have so much extra space, we moved the cleaning supplies from the pantry and the extra toilet paper and extra tissues from the hall closet.Likewise, all the extra filters, paper towels, dish soap, shoe polish, etc. that were crammed in various places around the house have a new home here.
And did you see what's in the middle of the bottom shelf?! MORE SPACE!!!And with the extra space I made in the pantry...
I was able to move the cookbooks out of sight!
Thank you again to my cute helper for helping make this laundry dream a reality!p.s. I am tempted to make cute fabric covered boxes to hyper-organize everything and make it look cute, but based on this article I recently read, I will resist that urge. Besides the best part about this laundry room is that I CAN HIDE IT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS!

Thursday Things I Love! (Gift from Christel)

2009-11-26T00:52:00.001-05:00

One of my husband's best friend's is married to a fabulous gal named Christel. She is one of those people who gives thoughtful, completely personal and perfect gifts. They are always generous and ususally out of the blue. I wish I was more like her in this area.

Last week she sent us this postcard for a movie called FIX.** I just love it! The colors are perfect. Red is my favorite and yellow is Fix's favorite so it works with all our stuff. And I had a frame that I hadn't decided how to fill so this came at the perfect time! Thank you for thinking of us (again!) Christel!
I figured since I've been showing you all the artwork in our bathroom (see my last post), I might as well include a picture of this gem. My Grandma Carol died the year I was born so I never got a chance to appreciate her. But I've always loved this little cross-stitch she did for my parents. And I love that my mom let me have it for our home.
** - I can't say if I recommend the movie or not because we haven't seen it... yet.

Father's Day Gift

2009-11-25T00:09:00.005-05:00

My husband feels very strongly about Q-tips. They have to have cotton on both ends, they cannot have plastic sticks and yet the stick must be strong enough to not bend while cleaning ones ears.

I have been schooled on which brands meet his standards yet, when I purchased some Q-tips last Spring from an approved brand, they had clearly cheapened their product as they bent when you used them. Fix sighed and said:

This made me laugh enough to ask Adrienne at Dingbat Press to design a custom piece of artwork to immortalize his quirkiness. And didn't she do a great job? I love the line of Q-tips at the bottom. It was Fix's Father's Day present.

Yes, I'm talking about the Father's Day that happens in June. And I just now got around to framing this art and hanging in the bathroom. Which is where we use Q-tips.
p.s. Yes, that is a skeleton made from Q-tips, and no, I didn't make it.
p.p.s. Just in case you are curious, our favorite Q-tips are Target brand. They meet all of the aforementioned criteria.
p.p.p.s. The 'wedding picture' is from our fake wedding. A friend was trying to break into the wedding photography business so she took Fix and I out for a fake wedding about 6 months after we got married. We took a bunch of pictures all around DC. My dress is my wedding dress but just about everything else is NOT what we looked like on wedding day.

NYR #20, First Quilt for First Girl

2009-11-21T16:55:00.001-05:00

It's done. My very first quilt.
For my very first girl. It actually didn't take me too long to complete as it's made up of forty-nine simple squares. My neighbor Misty and I decided to enter AllPeopleQuilt.com's Quarterly Challenge. We each made a quilt and worked together and now we will enter it into the contest.
And by "worked together" I mean that Misty gave me a ton of help and I watched her work on hers too. I am SO glad that I worked on my first quilt with Misty. She is a real quilting pro and I greatly benefited from all her good tips - and her fabulous sewing machine!
And yes, the quilt is huge. Far too big for a crib quilt, but in the meantime perhaps I can use it for a floor mat for Fetus Fix #2 to play on?

It was so fun to pick out a bunch of pink fabrics for this quilt. The three pictured above were left over from this outfit, this dress, and this dress that I made for Addy.

I also made three squares from Fix's old pink checked shirt.

The back is made of just two big pieces of this pink fabric with tiny polka dots. Most of the quilt was sewn with a machine, but I hand stitched the binding to give it a more polished look.

Anyway, I love it and I can't wait to give it to Fetus Fix #2 when she arrives... or perhaps a few years after she arrives.

Thursday Things I Love! (Powdered Sugar)

2009-11-19T07:55:00.001-05:00

If you remember, my husband has a corn allergy. The only powdered sugar that I could find was made of sugar and cornstarch. Thus, for a little over a year, I've been grinding sugar in a coffee grinder and mixing it with potato starch. It's a tedious process. But I did it because I truly believed that ALL powdered sugar had cornstarch in it.

I stand corrected. And I am SO happy to stand corrected.

Whole Foods, bless them, has made a powdered sugar out of cane sugar and tapioca starch! It is all organic and it is GRRRRRRRRREAT!

Bring on the Christmas sugar cookies! I'm back in the baking swing of things!

NYR #19, Cushions for Church

2009-11-18T20:33:00.000-05:00

My mom works with the children at her church. They recently moved to a new building and my mom bought some gliders and a rocker for the nursery rooms. They were in great condition but the cushions were a bit... um... outdated?
What? You can't see them?

See? Surprisingly enough, the church wasn't going for the faded brown roses look in their new nursery.

There we go! Much better!

My mom decided to forego the back cushion on these in favor of a blue pillow. But since I didn't make that, I took it off for the pictures.

Again, this dingy pink wasn't going to work with the church's yellow and blue color scheme.

Again, much better.

Searching for a Tree Skirt

2009-11-09T09:11:00.001-05:00

Every year at Christmastime, I search for the perfect Christmas Tree skirt. But the perfect one continues to elude me so every year we end up with the same old Christmas tablecloth bunched around the bottom of our tree. It's festive enough. But I'm looking for Fixfabulous!
This year I am starting the search early and if I can't find the right one, I think I'm going to break down and sew my own. I'm not looking for anything flashy or Santa-fied. That's why this one from xmastreeskirts4u appeals to me. But white? Can I trust my two year old to keep that clean? Can I trust myself to keep that clean?

This silver one from Frontgate is gorgeous but lacks a bit of the traditional Christmas feel. Where is the red and green guys?

Of course Pottery Barn has a beautiful option. I just love the crewel snowflakes. But $129.00?! Seriously? And this green reads a little too "apple" to me. Sigh. I'm thinking I've gotta get started on being Christmas Craftastic and make my own....

What does your Christmas tree skirt look like? Can you recommend a great source that I haven't found yet? Leave a comment and let me know!

Fix Can Fix

2009-11-07T12:09:00.001-05:00

Although I am the one with the Design Fix blog, my husband Fix is the true fix-it man in our house. While I do light interior design fixes, he handles the hard stuff.

Like nasty rotting baseboards in our bathroom.

He ripped out the nasty old stuff, replaced it with nice new white trim and caulked it all REALLY well to prevent this wood from ending up damp and gross and mildewy too. Now our bathroom looks BEAUTIFUL!
For the record, he didn't do it on his own. Rock sat right at his side and used the screwdriver to work on the floor grate.

They shared a lot of trade secrets. Thank you Fix - I'd be lost (and mildewy) without you!

NYR #18, Lamp Makeover

2009-11-06T09:39:00.002-05:00

The seeds of all these recent projects began so long ago. This one started at Model Home Interiors a few weeks after we moved into our house. We didn't like their color, but we loved their shape and the fact that these puppies are all made of real wood. We always planned to paint them. But two years later they weren't done.

Meanwhile, Rock knocked this one over so it had a nice crack at the bottom and a large paint gouge (can you see it?) midway up the side.

This picture better captures the before color. It was fine enough but didn't work with our room. Especially not with the new paint color. So, in the process of painting the room, we also repainted our lamps!

Again, no pictures of the painting process. But for those who care, first we repaired the bases (turns out they were both cracked). Then we applied three coats of primer with a small foam roller and a foam brush. For some reason I did the first coat extra light so it hardly counts -- normal painters could get away with two coats.
Then we bought a quart of the same Muslin White paint we used on the Living Room Art but this time used a semi-gloss finish. Turned out nice, no?

Then a few nights later my husband realized that the shade was sitting crooked on the top of one of the lamps. He tried to bend the bulb base just a bit to straighten it out. But he is a man of great strength and his gentle tug broke it right off. Then when we were trying to fix it, I dropped the base and cracked it again. Brilliant. We are waiting on replacement parts to arrive in the mail and then we'll fix the electrical work, repair the base (and repaint it?) and have her up and running. Again. Sigh.

Thursday Things I Love! (Living Room Lamps)

2009-11-04T17:33:00.005-05:00

The Home Depot's current slogan is "More saving. More doing." I don't know about you, but this perfectly describes our HD experience as of late.

First, we found the perfect wall lamps for our bedroom at the perfect price. And then, while in the midst of painting the living room, I went to HD to pick up a few supplies and found the perfect lamps for the side tables in our living room.
Just like the white in the artwork, the white on these lamps really pops against the new paint color.

I love the gourd shape and the ribbing texture.

Even my cute handyman thought thinks they are great. Thanks once again Home Depot!

NYR #17, Painting the Living Room

2009-11-03T09:35:00.004-05:00

When we first moved into our house, we painted Rock's room (above) and Fix's study (not pictured).

Then, we slowly moved on to the dining room...
And a focal wall in the master bedroom.

But one room, the living room, has remained unpainted. When I was spending a lot of time nursing Rock in this room, I often found myself dreaming of painting the walls and imagining which color would work the best.

But long after Rock was weaned, the walls remained white, blah and boring. Our living room was lacking life!
That is, until I found CLAPBOARD GRAY - the perfect gray that somehow conveys warmth even though it has undertones of blue and green!

So we set to work preparing the room for a paint makeover! Our walls were a mess (thanks to previous owners and my carelessness) so it took a LONG time to get them ready to paint.

This is my I've-been-prepping-the-walls-for-two-whole-days-face (y0u can also see the beginning of my baby bump). Then, with lots of help from my dad and my husband, I applied two coats of primer to really cover all the patching we had done...

Then with two coats of low-VOC Clapboard Gray paint, the living room was transformed!

The color is light so it's hard to capture on film. Or at least it's hard for an amateur photographer to capture on film...

But it makes a big difference in the space. I'll explain the broken lamp in a future post!
The new paint job really brings the room together - it even makes the penny jar look good!

It might appear 'white' to you, but if you look closely at the top of this picture you can see the difference between the walls and the ceiling.

The best part is, it's DONE! YAY! 17 NYR's down, 8 to go!
p.s. You may have noticed (or not!) that we didn't rehang the old curtains in the newly painted room. Neither of us were very crazy about them so we decided to find something new. I'll keep you posted (pun intended) on what we pick.

NYR#16, Living Room Art

2009-11-02T13:13:00.000-05:00

Shortly after we moved into our current house, I found some artwork at TJMaxx to put behind out living room sofa.

While I loved the style of these three metal pieces, after awhile I started to wish that they were the same color.And thankfully the scrolly parts were screwed on to the square parts so I just flipped them over and took them off to give them a new look.

To do this I sanded them down...

And painted them. I have no pictures of the painting process as that happened while my camera was being repaired (again). But if you must know, I did two coats of a spray primer and then used the paint tester pictured above (only 2 FL OZ. was plenty for this project) and a sponge brush to apply two coats of paint.
I was very pleased with the results.

But it wasn't until we painted the living room (that's NYR #17 to be posted tomorrow) that they really popped.

With the busy fabric below, I think the new paint cuts down on the visual clutter and makes the artwork even better. YAY!

Thursday Things I Love! (Mr. Clean Erasers)

2009-10-15T13:17:00.000-04:00

These things work wonders on walls to erase all the tiny hand prints, scrapes, marks and spots. Can't recommend them highly enough.

What Missy Calls Pretty

2009-09-23T09:05:00.001-04:00

Remember when I made cookies for Addy?

Well, I got the idea from my friend Missy (her cookies are pictured above). She is a fabulous crafter and a meticulous sewer.

And now you can buy her goods on Etsy. Check her out at http://www.WhatICallPretty.etsy.com. Everything she does is incredibly adorable and incredibly well-made. I can say this because I have seen her wares (well, not all of them, but enough of them to know!) in person.
If for nothing else, I'd click over there to read her cute names and witty descriptions. Not only can she create, this girl can write! Congrats Missy! I wish you the greatest success with this new adventure!

Beanbags for Linus

2009-09-22T16:54:00.003-04:00

For Linus's birthday, I made him six beanbags. I cut the little monkeys playing musical instruments out of a cute fabric scrap I had, ironed them on with Heat-n-Bond, and zigzag stitched around their edges.

Although I told him he would not like it, Rock insisted on eating one of the dried beans as I was pouring them in. It came in a bag and looked like a jelly bean so he figured clearly it was candy and I was trying to deprive him. After a moment or two in his mouth he decided that he did not like it.

Pajama Party

2009-09-08T23:58:00.001-04:00

I'm gonna take on SewMamaSew's Pajama Party challenge! I'm thinking that I'll make some pj's for me that will last through the ninth month of pregnancy, a pair (or two!) of pj pants for Rock, and maybe even something for Fix. I'll let you know how it goes.

Comments?

2009-09-07T23:05:00.002-04:00

This is a couple months old but I forgot that I had taken it.

Someone wrote on the sidewalk in front of our house "I love guys with good hair, pretty eyes, & big B*TTS!" Any comments?

NYR#15, Swing Arm Lamp Installation

2009-08-26T15:30:00.005-04:00

Although I love many aspects of our bedroom, the lighting on our bedside tables has never been one of them.
I've always wanted a pair of swing arm lamps, but I could never find any I liked that were cheaper than $75.00 each and I wasn't willing to spend that much money.
But I kept looking because the state of our bedside tables kept bugging me. What? You don't think they looked that bad? Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Fix was reading by the light of a clip-on lamp he bought before he knew me.

And I kept a weak spotlight and a travel reading lamp on my side to help illuminate my late-night reading.
Then, last week, my husband (Thank you thank you thank you honey!) found the most wonderfully perfect swing arm lamps at HOME DEPOT for $35.00 each!

They are the perfect size, shape, color, etc. for our room.

By the way, I have listed this post as an NYR because I installed them all by myself.

After I hung them, I stood and looked at them for a good 5 minutes straight. Since then I've been walking around with a goofy grin on my face. I just can't help it.

My name is Rachel. And I'm addicted to my new swing-arm lamps.

Pinkalicious!

2009-08-19T11:58:00.001-04:00

So this past weekend I squeezed in some time during all our family festivities to make these adorable cookies.

I completely copied the idea of baking with felt from my friend Missy.

Then I put them in this random bag I had in our wrapping paper box, substituted a hot pink ribbon for the boring white one the bag came with....

And added them to my birthday gift for my niece Addy. In case you haven't read it yet, Pinkalicious is an adorable book for little girls (and boys too I guess) about a girl who eats too many pink cupcakes. If only I was talented enough to make felt cupcakes.... sigh.

I also made her this adorable pink dress that probably won't fit her until her next birthday (does anyone else have as much trouble with toddler sizing as I do?!) Happy Birthday Miss Addy!

NYR #14: Embellishing A Top

2009-08-04T13:27:00.005-04:00

I may be smiling in this picture, but that's because I didn't realize yet that I had somehow LOST half of the pictures I took of this project.
I had intended to give a detailed account/tutorial of how I took a dumpy t-shirt and gave it some cute details around the neckline and sleeves. But, again, I lost half the pictures. UGH! FRUSTRATION!

So now you can only see 'after' pictures. Sigh. I guess the good news is that I have completed another NYR...

And I still have some kickin' modeling skills.

Thursday Things I Love! (Nikon)

2009-07-23T07:11:00.002-04:00

Was I ever happy to get my mail last week!

My beloved Nikon (which looks exactly like, but is not in fact, the one above) is BACK!!!!! And this puppy is most definitely qualifies as a T.T.I.L.

I was especially pleased that the lens repair was covered under warranty.

Look for much better pictures to come!

Quick Fix Friday (Hole in Cami)

2009-07-17T12:42:00.000-04:00

This little hole in one of my white camisoles has driven me bonkers for months now.

And it literally took me a minute to take these pictures, pin it, and sew it.

Will I ever learn how easy these fixes can be if I just pause and do them?!

Thursday Things I Love! (Salt and Pepper)

2009-07-16T12:59:00.001-04:00

This week, you get two Thursday Things I Love for the price of one! Okay so I'm not charging you, but you get the idea.
Let's start with these. For Mother's Day my super-fab husband bought me the salt and pepper shakers that match our New Wave dishes.

I LOVE them!

And because I have them on the dining room table, I can now leave my other shakers on the stove within easy reach of any food I need to flavor.

But this caused another problem. The pepper mill was always dropping little black bits across the top of my white stove. Frustrating!

Thankfully -- I have a friend who is a ceramics wizard. Carrie made us this fabulous tray just for us.

The glaze is actually a lot more blue-green than it appears in these pictures and it works nicely with all the other blue in our kitchen and dining room.

Best of all, it works! No more continually cleaning up pepper for me! Thank you thank you thank you Carrie!

Quick Fix Friday (Taped Books)

2009-07-03T12:42:00.000-04:00

Does anyone else have a toddler who likes to randomly engage in the sport of book-ripping?

This week's Quick Fix Friday was performed with simple tape.

It's not much to report, but I finally taped up Rock's ripped books...

And restored them to read-ready status. So before you throw away your kids 'well-loved' stories, apply a little clear packing tape and give them a second chance!

Amazing how a little tape can take this and make it look like....

THIS!

Some News

2009-06-30T10:26:00.000-04:00

So I finally got the word from Simplicity and ASG regarding the Creativity Contest...

Oh well. I didn't get the big prize. But I'm okay with that. It was a major confidence boost to be selected as a finalist.

And I still LOVE this dress. I'm so glad I participated in this contest and can't wait to try again next year!

Depression.

2009-06-29T12:18:00.000-04:00

A picture is worth a thousand words. Or a thousand tears in my case.

Thursday Things I Love! (Glass Bowls)

2009-06-25T09:07:00.004-04:00

Here's my first of what I hope will be another reoccurring feature on Design Fix... THURSDAY THINGS I LOVE! And the credit for this week's post goes to my husband, Fix.

He really wanted more bowls to use in our kitchen. Specifically, he wanted glass bowls. We had all of three stainless silver bowls to use for kitchen mixing/prepping and it was just not enough. Although we found some glass bowls we liked at Crate and Barrel but they were a little pricey.

Enter BJ's. Oh how that store has enriched my life! We found the bowls pictured here, plus 6 others for only $19.99! AND, included in the box were (red!) plastic lids for 20 of the 26 bowls. Why they didn't include lids for all of the bowls, I do not know...

But man-o-man, I love these things! They make kitchen prep SO much easier and because they have such nice clean lines, I can use them as serving dishes too. They match everything. So, there you go. The first Thursday Thing I Love!

Molly's Skirt

2009-06-22T09:08:00.000-04:00

For Molly's third birthday, I made her the skirt above (and quickly took these two pictures of it at her birthday party in the park). I made it with two layers because of the inevitable see-through problem eyelet brings to the table.

Then I added this ribbon as trim. Bonus points to anyone who can tell me where it came from. And for the record, we also gave her a cute tank from Old Navy in the same light pink color on the ribbon but since I didn't make that, I didn't include it here.

Quick Fix Friday (Khakis for Rock)

2009-06-12T13:27:00.002-04:00

After last week's Quick Fix on a cute tank, I got to thinking that I should make the Quick Fix a regular feature on Design Fix. I plan to have one Quick Fix up here most (but certainly not all!) Fridays. That way, I will get around to doing the fixes that I never fix even though they are quick to fix! And now that I've used the word fix far too many times, here's this week's Quick Fix...

Someone's pants were having a hard time staying 'zipped.' In actuality, there is no zipper on these pants, but for some reason, Old Navy wanted to give them an "XYZ PDQ"** feel.

When I purchased the pants I didn't think it would be a problem but when Rock wore them to church and no fewer than four individuals thought his zipper was down, I decided to do something about it.
After pinning the crotch seams together...
I carefully stitched directly over top of the stitches that were already there and closed up the problem seam.
Look closely and you can see my stitches. They go right up to the edge of the waistband -- so I can still unbutton it to squeeze the pants over Rock's diaper.
And here they are on the boy! I know, not such a great picture.
But someone was very upset with me for taking off his shorts and not putting on his galoshes. This made him a particularly poor model for the 'after' shot.
It was quite traumatic. But even without a good picture, you get the idea, right? They are much improved!

** If you aren't familiar with this classic elementary school exclamation, XYZ PDQ stands for eXamine Your Zipper Pretty Darn Quick! Polite people know that it is always nice to quietly whisper to your friends "XYZ PDQ" instead of shouting "DUDE! YOU FORGOT TO ZIP UP YOUR FLY!"

Pajama Pants

2009-06-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

Rock's wardrobe is seriously lacking in the summer-appropriate-pajama-department. So I decided to sew him some pajama pants out of the same fabric that I used for his cousin Caleb's Christmas gift.

I used a pair of his pants to make the basic pattern and kept it simple with an elastic waistband. A sewing masterpiece they are not, but they will go a long way in keeping me from going into a what's-he-going-to-wear?-panic when bedtime rolls around.

He looks so old in this picture, doesn't he?

NYR #13: Beanbags, Flashcards and 'Staches, OH MY!

2009-06-06T21:35:00.008-04:00

Since we got back from vacation, I've been hard at work, making Rock a few new toys. First I made him some beanbags.

These were made from discontinued fabric samples of commercial grade fabric so they should be pretty durable. Rock really loves them and since two of them are green, he is set on calling them "geenbags" (green bags).

I also 'laminated' his flashcards with contact paper.

Thanks for the tip Christel!

Finally, based on this tutorial, I made Rock a silly moustache so he could play dress-up and I could get a silly picture of him in it.

And where is said silly picture of silly boy in silly moustache? He wants nothing to do with it. Sigh. I'll keep trying.

In the meantime, enjoy this video of him directing his father in "geenbag" throwing.

Sneakers

2009-06-05T09:15:00.001-04:00

I need a new pair of sneakers. And I really like these. Anyone know where I can get them for cheaper than $70? Oh and I'd also like a gym membership and a personal trainer.

Quick Fix (on a Cute Tank)

2009-06-04T23:53:00.003-04:00

I am lucky enough to live within walking distance of both Ross Dress for Less (only calling by it's full name because it irritates my sister Bethany) and a TJMaxx. This means I have many opportunities to buy cheap things!The other day I spotted this cute little tank at TJM for only $2.00! The only problem -- the straps were ridiculously long.
"One Size Fits Most"?! Perhaps you should have said "One Size Fits Most -- Except It Doesn't Really." Anyway, I'm not trying to complain here. Instead, I am trying to point out how nice it is to be able to sew. While other fashionistas had to pass this two-buck-treasure by, I was able to snatch it up.

A few stitches (in thread that doesn't match but it's close enough and no one is looking that closely anyway) and two snips of my scissors later, I have a new tank that fits perfectly!

I will wear it to add a little lacy interest to my (many) shirts that require a tank underneath. How's that for a quick fix?

Mad for Madsen

2009-05-22T16:11:00.003-04:00

How awesome is this bike? You can carry whatever you want in it's super huge bucket. Including children. Man, I want one.... Check out their website at: MADSEN Cargo Bikes

I'm A FINALIST!!!!

2009-05-21T14:45:00.000-04:00

YAY! YAY! YAY! My dress was selected as a finalist for the ASG Simplicity Creativity Contest! Now I've just gotta mail it in and wait to hear if it wins!

NYR #12, Cushions for Friends

2009-05-20T10:17:00.001-04:00

As I said in my last post, I put Curtain Week 2009 on hold while I recovered cushions for my friend from church. As you can see from the picture above, all of the cushions were pretty faded and on some the cording had separated from the side.

This cushion had DEFINITELY seen better days! So I recovered the couch cushions in the pretty stripe below. For the record, this family lives in a FABULOUS old house by the water in Annapolis. Their front porch is large with a deep red floor, white pillars and a light blue painted ceiling.

For the two side chairs and ottoman, I made cushions from the fabulous medallion patterned fabric below. And in my opinion, when I dropped them off last night, they looked AMAZING on the porch.

What? What's that? You say you want to see pictures of the actual cushions?! That would mean you were thinking I would actually remember to take pictures of a completed project. How silly! Seriously though, I COMPLETELY forgot to take a picture of the cushions once they were on the chairs/couch. Perhaps it's because I used too many brain cells to figure out how to get the stripes to line up correctly on the couch. SORRY! I will try and get over there again soon and take a picture for you to see!

JUST KIDDING!

2009-05-06T00:00:00.002-04:00

Curtain Week 2009 is being postponed as I have just been commissioned to recover a stack of outdoor cushions for a friend from church. They need to be done in a matter of weeks so I've gotta give them top priority. I'll keep you posted.

Curtain Week 2009!

2009-05-02T12:19:00.003-04:00

Confession time. I never finished the final curtain panel for the other window in our bedroom (this picture only shows one window). And although I've had the fabric for Rock's curtains since before he was born, those aren't done either. And I've never hemmed the curtains in our living room.
So, I've declared the first week of May (starting Monday, the 4th) CURTAIN WEEK 2009!!! Getting these projects done will be my NYR #12. I'll report next Saturday on how I do.

NYR #11, Pepper and Salt Dress

2009-05-01T22:51:00.023-04:00

So, awhile ago, I told you that I had joined the American Sewing Guild (ASG). I did this for many reasons, but one main reason was to make myself eligible for the ASG Creativity Contest. Each year, ASG partners with Simplicity Pattern Company to put on a sewing contest. Together they select nine of Simplicity's patterns for you to pick from to create a one-of-a-kind outfit. While you can only use these patterns, they encourage you to "adjust, adapt, and embellish" as you please.

Although you are allowed to make multiple items or even mix and match different pieces from different patterns, I chose to just focus on making one great dress. I chose Pattern #2939, pictured above, but with all the adjusting, adapting and embellishing I did, I essentially created my own new pattern.
To maximize on the design of my fabric, I added a waistband and added length (for mommy-appropriate modesty) and width (to allow for some topstitched pleats and to get the stripes to line up nicely on the side seams) to the skirt. I also moved the bust dart so it wouldn't interfere with the stripes on the fabric.
I highly recommend the Readers Digest's Complete Guide to Sewing. It helped me conquer my fear of zippers (tried once before with disastrous results) and I even sewed a LINING in this dress (a completely new experience)!
In order to jazz up the fabric, I sewed reverse tucks that brought the stripes closer together and gave the graphic stitching a softer, almost lacy feel. Above is a photo where the fabric has been modified (see the shots below of the back of the dress to get a feel for the unmodified fabric). This was perhaps the single most time-consuming aspect of constructing this garment.
Here's the ruffle before I sewed it down. Please forgive my unfortunate looking ironing board, I plan to recover it sometime in the near future. Anyway...

Here's the end result! And please forgive my unfortunate bits of arm flab. Now that I don't have this dress to make, maybe I should do a few arm exercises.
It's a stylish frock I can dress up or down for any summer occasion!

A closer look at the front...

And the back.

See how the stripes are further apart? This is because I didn't tuck the back fabric.
Bring on Summer -- I've got a dress that's ready to go!!!
p.s. I'll let you know how the contest turns out if/when I hear from Simplicity. Best case scenario, I get some cold hard cash, a SERGER and five free patterns of my choice from Simplicity. Worst case scenario, I have a cool sundress and I'm an ASG member. It's a win-win situation!

Patience

2009-04-16T23:35:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. My next New Year's Resolution Project is a time-consuming one. I'll hopefully be done with it next week so look for an update soon!

NYR #10, Spring Shirt

2009-03-31T14:31:00.003-04:00

It's been a long time since I've made any clothes for myself so I decided to sew this top from Simplicity's Pattern #2892 as my NYR #10. The pattern was on sale at Joanns (only $2!) and the fabric from SewMamaSew was purchased with a gift card from Zuni (thank you!).

I just love the gathered neckline with the little ruffle at the top!

Now if only the weather would cooperate and I could wear my creation. Will Spring temperatures EVER arrive?!

NYR #9, Judy's Cushion

2009-03-29T00:17:00.003-04:00

Judy recently commissioned me to recover the cushion pictured below.

This cover was looking a little sad and she wanted to change the fabric to match the recent design and color changes she'd made in her room.

I took this shot to show how the cushion looked when it was completed. Then I called my husband to come and see my work. He sweetly pointed out to me that the curved part was probably the back of the cushion (DUH!) and that I put the velcro on the straight (i.e. FRONT) part of the cushion.

A quick call to Judy confirmed that I am in fact a moron and I had sewn the cushion incorrectly. The good news was that the pieces were all sized correctly so I just needed to rip up the seams, re-position the side piece, and re-sew the top and bottom pieces to the side. The bad news was that I had to rip up the seams, re-position the side piece, and re-sew the top and bottom pieces to the side piece.
Now, did I take another shot of my completed work? No I did not. In case you didn't read above, I am a moron.

American Sewing Guild

2009-03-21T14:47:00.000-04:00

I just joined the American Sewing Guild. More on that to come.

NYR #8, Dishtowels

2009-03-19T14:22:00.001-04:00

Both my Christmas and Birthday wishlists this past year included dishtowels. Seeing as that is probably the third most boring gift ever (the #1 and #2 most boring gifts are the ones my dad always asks for - socks and undershirts), no one has bought me any dishtowels.

So to show everyone how serious this request was, I sewed two of them out of some Hickory Chair discontinued fabric samples (the patterns were printed on vintage linen!). I have many more discontinued fabric samples from my days at Designers Gallery so perhaps there will be more dishtowels in the future.

For now, I am loving these two... and I can officially remove dishtowels from my wishlists.

NYR #7, Wedding Album

2009-03-11T08:55:00.004-04:00

This week, I finally finished my wedding album. Let's not talk about how I got married over six years ago.

The most pathetic part is that Kim, my amazing wedding photographer, sent me a bunch of pages from a sample album she had made for her clients so all I had to do was mount them on pages in my own album. Yet, it took me over a year to get around to doing this. I love this spread with the pictures in front and pictures of the cake and table decor in grey scale in the background. Did I mention that Kim is AWESOME?

To my credit, I did do a few extra pages of my own. They were compilations of the group shots. The best part of getting this project done has been reliving the memories of our wedding day. And now if anyone asks us what it was like, I can show them the pictures!

More Burp Cloths

2009-03-07T21:49:00.003-05:00

I made a six piece set of burp cloths in these ribbon colors for two of my friends who are having babies soon. Cute, no? In other news, can all my friends with babies/kids stop having birthdays for them already? I've gotta get some of my own sewing done! Rock still has no curtains in his room!

Scissor Holder

2009-03-05T21:35:00.000-05:00

Because she has a subscription herself, my sister was offered an additional free subscription to Martha Stewart's Living. She gave it to me(!) and I have been surprised at how many easy and practical ideas I've gotten from this in the past 3 months!
For example, they suggested using a knife rack as an easy place to store items that you use frequently. Genius! In my crafting closet, I need to have my scissors, measuring tape, and a few other items at the ready.

And we had an old knife rack that had no home in our kitchen! So, VOILA!

I can't tell you how nice it is to have these guys within reach at all times. Thank you Martha and thank you Sarah!
And yes, I cleaned up my sewing area just for this picture. It's been a mess as I've been putting it to good use with all the baby/kid gifts I've been making. And I may have a few new tricks up my sleeve. Stay tuned.

Bookcase

2009-03-03T14:53:00.007-05:00

Quick Survey! Which bookcase arrangement do you like best?

#1: I call it "Three Fourths"

#2: I call it "Monochromatic"

#3: I call it "Organized Chaos"
Leave a comment and vote for your favorite!

More Kimonos

2009-03-02T14:23:00.000-05:00

Once again, the kimono top pattern from Habitual has come in handy for a gift! This time, I made it for Annabelle's first birthday gift.
Yes, this is the same fabric and bias tape that I used for Sophia's shirt. I thought perhaps they could take a cousins picture together sometime.

And Rock wanted me to remind you that even if Mom's in the middle of a photo shoot, that's no excuse not to get your daily dose of reading!

And just for kicks, I made her this cute red and white version too. It reminds me of strawberries.

This way if she doesn't want to match her cousin she can rebel and put this on.

Diaper Cake!

2009-02-28T13:25:00.000-05:00

In addition to making my gift for their baby, I was busy before Joanna's shower making a diaper cake. Joanna specifically requested this as a part of the shower decor. I think this is my best diaper cake yet.

Why? Because I added these fun ribbons in between the layers (I just taped them to a piece of paper so the ribbon can be used again to decorate something else).

I also liked how the polka-dotted pacifier topper on the cake coordinated so well with the polka-dotted ribbon on the paper.

Yay for diaper cakes!

Gift for Baby Cronkhite

2009-02-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

I sewed a bunch of gifts for Isaac and Joanna's little one.

First I added some cute ribbons to these burp cloths.

Then I used one of my sewing machine's fancy stitches to make an edging on a swaddling blanket.

Isn't this the cutest material? Thank you Ramseys for the donation to the Fix fabric collection!

Then I made him some matching pajama pants out of the same material.

Finally, I sewed what I call a "dipes and wipes" case. It was a challenge to make a pattern complete with velcro and a lining. It was tricky but I was very pleased with the end result. And this is an item I use a lot so I'm glad that Joanna and Isaac will have one to help out with their baby boy. We can't wait to meet him.

Sophia's Shirt

2009-02-20T11:22:00.000-05:00

So, for Sophia's birthday, I made her the shirt for the Sophia Pattern on Burda Style.

Did you catch that the name of the pattern is SOPHIA and I made it for SOPHIA?! I was pretty excited about that.

The back closure with a heart button.

The front yo-yo details that I added for some extra cuteness. I've said it before and I'll say it again, making baby girl clothes is ADDICTIVE! So fun. Happy Birthday Sophia!

Say it Ain't So!

2009-02-18T13:01:00.003-05:00

As far as inspiration is concerned, domino magazine has been so so so so influential in my design choices. My sister has gotten me a subscription to this magazine for a couple years now and I devour it monthly. I have learned a lot from this magazine!
So I was DEVASTATED when I heard that they are stopping publication. At least I have a few back issues to keep and read over and over and over and over again. Goodbye friend. It was fun while it lasted.

NYR #6, Magnetic Wall

2009-02-11T23:54:00.005-05:00

Growing up, my mom created a collage of friends and family on our fridge. Every year, she would put up the pictures received in Christmas cards and leave them there until the next years cards started arriving.

While I love this tradition, my husband doesn't love a cluttered fridge. So we came up with a compromise. I put the pictures on the side of the fridge where they were less visible.

However, lately the clutter on the side of the fridge had moved to the front.

Meanwhile, this blank wall was sitting waiting for something to liven it up.

Enter magnetic primer. Did you know such a thing existed? I just discovered it recently and was anxious to try it out.

With it's help, I transformed this blank wall into...

A fabulous place to display pictures without annoying my husband in the process! YAY! My two complaints/comments are 1) Even after three coats, it's not strong enough to hold up Rock's toy and our kitchen timer that were on the front of the fridge. And actually, only my super strong magnets were capable of holding up the pictures.
**So, if you see your picture on the fridge but not on the wall, don't stress. I didn't throw it out -- I just need to buy some more strong magnets. **

2) Even after three coats, it dried unevenly. I know it's supposed to be a primer so I should paint over it and make it look prettier. But honestly, I like the black color (the can says it will "dry a dark grey," but this wall is BLACK!). I think I'm going to leave it as is. What do you think?

And here's the clean fridge. I have to admit that Fix is right, it looks a lot better without all that clutter. I left the FIX magnets on it so no one will steal it when they come for dinner.

Friends for Supper

2009-02-06T14:26:00.003-05:00

Recently, we had the Coleman boys and their wives over for dinner. And they made me laugh so hard I couldn't hold my camera still.

Carrie said that my efforts for this meal should count as a Design Fix NYR. But since it is not a permanent addition to our home, I'm not going to. However, I did want to show you all the cute boxes I put together for them to take home. They were filled with homemade caramels (my new obsession!).

NYR #5, Throw Pillows

2009-02-05T14:39:00.003-05:00

So, the pillows on our dining/family room futon have been looking a little tired.

We've had them for about 6 years now and although I love them I was ready for a change.

So I picked up some fabric at Joann's (I should buy stock in that company!) and made some new throw pillow covers.

Here's a close-up of the new black and white fabric. I am quite fond of it.

I put three buttons on the backs of the pillows to keep the pillow form from falling out (a problem with the old set).

The only problem is that now this side of the room looks a little devoid of color. Perhaps I need to make a slipcover for the futon to solve this problem?! Sigh. That's a project for another day. In the meantime, could someone come and pick up these books for me?

NYR #4, Creating a Crafting Closet

2009-02-03T22:06:00.005-05:00

So, for awhile now, my sewing machine has been in our bedroom.

Without a home, my crafting tools/books/etc. have found their way into every nook and cranny of our house.

Although I tried to hide the clutter, it was clear that I needed a better space to store my crafting supplies.

Meanwhile, we have a closet upstairs that was not living up to it's full potential. Although I had stored some crafting supplies here, the space wasn't living up to it's full potential and neither was I (crafting-wise that is).

Hooray for the Container Store, a sale on Elfa storage systems, and a gift card from my parents!!!

It was so easy I could install it myself (except for a stubborn screw that needed my hubby's manpower).

And I am VERY pleased with the results!

The red accessories are from IKEA. My labeler got a workout as I made a place for everything and put everything in it's place.
Even my sewing kit got a revamp.

I love that there is space next to the shelves so I can store rolls of fabric and my cutting mats. There is also room for a folding chair (from IKEA) that I can easily hang up off to the side when I need to close the closet door.

I also purchased this handy thread storage rack. I am planning on screwing it into the wall to get it off the countertop as soon as I can spray paint it (too cold outside right now).

Well, by no means is this where my ultimate happiness comes from, but for now, I agree with Elfa! This organized closet has brought me a great deal of delight.

Not only did I organize my crafting and sewing supplies, but I finally have a place to create! Look for many more completed projects now that I have a place to complete them.
***A quick note on this stone. I used to work in a store that sold these clay 'stones' that had inspirational words on them. One day, I was unpacking a new shipment to put out on the retail floor when I noticed there were a few typos on the stones.... CREAIE, FOGUS, INSFIRE, GTVE. They were made in China and were even given a sticker to show that they passed inspection. We called the company and ordered a new set and I got to take these treasures home! I love them!

NYR #3, Slipcover Success!!!

2009-02-02T14:06:00.001-05:00

Remember when I posted this picture and told you not to lose hope because the slipcover was on it's way? That was back in August.

Then right before Rock's birthday in September, we made some major progress. I finished sewing most of the 'body' of the slipcover and my dear hubby Fix completed 4 of 6 cushions.

At that point, all we needed to finish the slipcover was to sew velcro on some key areas to keep the cover from moving around and finish the last two back cushions (cleverly covered by a blanket in the shot above).

Oh and the bottom edge needed to be hemmed. But seriously, all those little steps left us with approximately 9 hours of work left.
Yet for months, the slipcover stayed in the same state as pictured above. Even though it has been on each and every to do list I've made, somehow it never got crossed off.

This one shows that I did sew the piping for the cushions back in October, but did I get around to actually completing the slipcover? NO!

Slipcover, oh slipcover, you have plagued us so!

NOT ANYMORE!!!!

THIS PUPPY IS DONE!!!! THANK YOU FIX FOR ALL YOUR HELP! YOU ARE THE BEST HUSBAND EVER!

HALLELUJAH!!!! After a little work on Saturday night and Monday afternoon, I will no longer need to make excuses when people sit down in my living room!

**Okay, so there is one teeny, tiny issue -- the fabric is a little thicker than we thought and we are having problems making covered buttons. As soon as we can get this problem fixed (any suggestions anyone?), we'll slap some buttons on the back pillows to give it a nice tufted look and be officially finished. But please don't rain on my parade -- for all intents and purposes, I am declaring this slipcover "DONE." Wahoo!

NYR #2, Dining Room Chairs Part One

2009-01-24T16:55:00.007-05:00

For far too many months, we have been dining on some ugly dining chairs. I bought them at a thrift store with plans to paint and reupholster them.
But that was many moons ago and yesterday my husband admitted that he really wanted me to get on with this project ASAP. Because of the fumes, I won't paint them inside and because of the temperature, I can't paint outside this season, but I figured I could at least tackle the upholstery work. So I ran to fabric store and picked out material.

One final look at the gross rust color. And if that wasn't enough to demand a recover, most of them were stained. Anyway, here's how I did it:

1. Unscrew the seat from the chair base.

2. Remove the staples holding on the old upholstery.

If you are as lucky as us, you may be shocked to discover that the ugly rust colored fabric is actually an IMPROVEMENT on what was originally on the chair.

Really people? Was this ever cute?! Although it's heinous, I decided to leave it on so that the foam would stay in place and the chairs would have a little extra support. Moving on...

3. Lay out your fabric underneath your chair seat. Make sure there is enough to cover the sides. This is actually a picture of the third chair I did so I had already cut out a piece of fabric that was the same size as a discarded rust-colored piece.

4. Wrap the fabric around and staple your first staple on the center front of the chair.

5. Alternating left to right, work your way out from the center. However, do not staple all the way to the corner.

Be sure and pull the fabric TIGHT before you do each staple.

Otherwise, you could end up with a lump like this. If that happens, take out the staple and do it over again.

See how flat this side is? That's what it should look like.

6. After you've stapled the front and back, move to the sides and repeat. Again, it's best to start in the middle and move out.

7. Once all the sides are stapled you can work on the corners. I think it's best to fold the side fabric down first.

Then fold the front/back fabric over the side fabric and staple it all in place. It will take some maneuvering to get it flat, but it's worth the effort to work with it. You want to make sure no extra folds or puckers are visible on the sides. If necessary use multiple staples to hold it in place.

8. Clip the fabric away from the screw holes.

Once everything is stapled down tightly and the screw holes are free of fabric, the seat is ready to go back on your chair.

9. Screw the seats back on.

And you're done! See? All that pulling tight paid off. It looks super smooth on the outside!

Voila! There are two more steps (painting and a surprise that I'm not going to reveal until I post 'after' pictures) to do before I will consider these chairs "done," but for now, I'm happy that they are looking MUCH better.

NYR #1, Christmas Wreath

2009-01-22T12:38:00.003-05:00

I have made two New Years Resolutions this year. The first is to have 25 dinners with families from church. The second resolution is to do 25 things worthy of posting on this blog. Some 'design fixes' may be impressive, others may be small, but they are all crafty things that I want to accomplish this year.
I've thought of at least 20 things and I'm sure the rest of them will fall into place soon. Anyway, the first is pictured above. I embellished the Christmas wreath that I bought from IKEA by adding a bow made from jute upholstery webbing. I can't wait to hang it on the front door next Christmas. And yes, even though it is a Christmas wreath, I didn't decorate it until after the new year so it counts!

Model

2009-01-06T12:34:00.000-05:00

Here's Caleb modeling the pajamas that I recently posted. Notice how they are folded up on the arms and the legs. Again, the pattern sizing was way off! He's still cute though!