Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Kimono

I thought I'd try something new and exciting with the wonderful fabric I just got by Joel Dewberry (LOVE IT!). Making this little kimono was much more challenging than I had anticipated... mostly because I bought bias tape that was not wide enough, and tried to make it work anyway.

I added a little soft and fuzzy detail on the sleeves.

Here's a view of the inside ribbon tie.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Dress #2

I used a new pattern for this one. No zipper, just two cute little buttons. It's a size 3 and I think it turned out to be adorable. I'm planning to sell it for $25 if you know anyone who might be interested :).

Dave Is My Hero

He has been working so insanely hard at this cabinet project. It's taking so much more work than either of us thought... which is weird because we've painted cabinets before. The funny thing is, the last time we painted cabinets we said, "we're never going to paint cabinets again." Apparently we forgot we said that, and decided to paint anyway.

Our kitchen has been an absolute wreck for the past week, but I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

We bought 34 hinges to replace these beauties. Yes, this is a photo of brass hinges spray-painted silver. Good try guys...

Here's a photo of the light we bought (we actually bought 3) to hang above the countertops. It's the single pendant one in the sort-of middle.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Coming Along

Since I got such a huge response to my last kitchen update (can you sense my sarcasm?), I thought I'd load a few photos of our progress today.

Flood

When Dave and I were in Seattle, we got a call from our friend, Brian, telling us that when he went over to our house to start working on the kitchen... he saw water everywhere. It seems that a little pipe behind our fridge had been leaking for 5 days while we were gone, and the water had soaked through the floor and down to the bathroom in our basement. The water then flowed out of the bathroom, down the hall, and drenched our carpet in the den.

Our insurance company (which is most likely going to cover all the damages) sent over a drying company to help get things under control. We're actually hoping that this will be a good opportunity to make the bathroom nice down there because it's always seemed like it was built as an afterthought. Here are some photos of what we found when we got back.
These are some of the driers.

The bathroom walls look like a nasty hotel.

And the ceiling..

Last, but not least..

Monday, January 21, 2008

Pike's Place Market

I love Seattle! Dave and I were just there for a World Vision Artist Retreat and it was wonderful. They loaded us all in 2 big buses and let us wander around Pike's Place for a few hours. There's so much to see.

The produce and the flowers are so beautiful.


I love the signage.

And the people!

...and the wall of gum. Kinda gross, kinda intriguing.

Kitchen Progress

This is what we came home to tonight. We're sooooo excited! Please notice the absence of the nasty wavy connector board things, and the single cabinet by the door. It opens things up so much!


Estelle's

I've found so many wonderful things from a great little antique store named "Estelle's." It's definitely my favorite place to find treasures (it's where I found that green chandelier and the red metal table for the fax machine). I also just found this cute green vase.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Kitchen Color

Here's what our kitchen looks like right now (from a few different angles).



The plan is to remove the two wavy pieces between the cabinets (we're also going to remove that single cabinet that's to the right of Dave in the second photo). I'm also VERY excited to have two lights hardwired to the ceiling to illuminate the countertops. We'll put one of the pendant fixtures in where the chandelier is hanging right now, and the other one centered in front of the single widow by the oven.

We're pretty sure that we're going to paint the cabinets white, but we're trying to figure out what color to paint the bead board (which basically makes up all the white parts that you see in the photos...besides the molding around the windows). I love the look of an all white kitchen, but it also might be nice to add some color to bring out the lovely molding around the windows. What do you guys think? Any insight?
Below are some inspiration photos :)



Monday, January 14, 2008

soup


I decided that I wanted to make more soup this winter. I found a recipe for broccoli cheddar soup that turned out really well (even if it was REALLY rich). I'll have to make it again sometime.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

I Couldn't Resist

I saw this little dress pattern for $3.50 and I just had to buy it. Because I chose the infant size, I was able to make the whole dress out of a half a yard of fabric (given to me by my wonderful mother-in-law). I also added this beautiful applique that I cut out of the same fabric I used for the butterfly onesie below (thank you Amy Butler!). I'm going to put this one up for sale as well. Any ideas for pricing?


New Onesie

I used some leftover fabric (that I love!) to make this new onesie.


Today I photographed all of my merchandise for my Lovely Little Things store. I decided to keep the setup simple so that nothing would distract from the actual item. Since I love using tan thread, I thought I'd go for a tan fabric background.

Even though I got everything photographed, I couldn't crop them all because Photoshop was acting up. Dave said he's going to have to reinstall it. So, I must wait until another day to launch my etsy store.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Old Presents

Here's a sweatshirt that I personalized for my mom. It was her birthday present a few months ago (I forgot to post it). My Dad coaches football at The King's Academy, and I'm pretty sure my mom is their biggest fan.

I made these pj pants for my wonderful sister-in-law as a Christmas gift. It was very helpful that we are similar in size so that I could keep trying them on throughout the sewing process (to make sure that I was on the right track). I even decided to go out on a limb and add a pocket. Good news... the pants fit her! Here I am modeling :).

The Dress Is Done!

I couldn't wait until daylight, I had to take a photo of me modeling my creation. It's really comfortable... I'm just gonna have to buy some tights to wear with it in the cold winter months:).

Friday, January 4, 2008

Dress Update

I sewed the pockets on..

I started on the neckline...

I just have to buy the zipper, and put it in!

Below is a photo of me wearing my first attempt at making a variation of the Built By Wendy pattern. This one has longer sleeves, and elastic in the neckline. I think it's pretty cute.

Dressmaker

I bought this pattern, and I'm attempting to make the dress with the pockets in the front.

I chose a heavy-ish brown velvety fabric so that I can wear it (hopefully I'll WANT to wear it) this winter.


I still have to buy some interfacing and a zipper, but it's coming along :)

Thursday, January 3, 2008

We're Home

After a month of being away, we're finally back in Nashville.

Dave wanted to test out his kites in the Tennessee air, so off we went to the park in the (literally) freezing cold.

Even though our fingers were frozen, it was such a beautiful place to be.

Then we went to the grocery store, and it started to SNOW!!!!