summer dress!

Here's another tutorial that looks fairly simple. She didn't even use a sewing machine!

Jeans

Since I haven't been home recently to do anything crafty, I decided to post more tutorials that I've run across recently. Check out this one about how to take in the waist of your jeans. Love it!

I've added Freshly Picked to my blogroll. I just found it, and I just love it!

Strawberries & Ruffles

I ran across this brilliantly sweet tutorial today.

I also found this awesome tutorial for a ruffly blouse. I can't wait to get my hands on a sewing machine so that I can make a few of these cutenesses.

Not So Much

Sometimes I have great ideas that don't quite pan out. Like this skirt I made for Lucy.

I thought it would be cute and frilly and feminine, but instead she looks like a peasant princess. This is good motivation to start her collection of dress-up clothes.

Obsession

It seems that I have a new love in my life (pictured below).

I've been going crazy with cans of this stuff. I also have another mirror (or two) that I'm thinking about painting this same color.

I decided to paint the one remaining frame in the living room that was not yet "heirloom white."

Before:

After:

It's so fun to be home!

More Craftiness!

We just finished hanging a bunch of family photos in white frames down our hallway. I totally love it!

But then, the two Elizabeth Foster pieces we have suddenly looked out of place in their heavy brown frames. The problem was, I really liked the brown frames. It was a super hard decision, and some of you will probably scold me for this, but I decided to paint them!

The look is SO different.

This frame was especially pretty and it hurt me to paint it white... but I love it!

It just fits our decor so much better.

So are you all mad at me?

Lucy's Room

It's been slow going in terms of decorating Lucy's room. We've been in and out of town so much, that it's been hard to get important stuff done (like decorating :).

I found this Pottery Barn Kids map at a model home furniture outlet.

It looked a little too boyish, so I added some ribbon (it was actually Dave's idea!) to make it more feminine.

Then we looked through our calendar, and marked all the places where Lucy has been.

And THEN I reframed a cross stitched scene that my mother-in-law made years and years ago. She was going to get rid of it, but I thought it would be really cute in Lucy's room. I couldn't find a frame that would fit it perfectly, but I like how quirky-cute it is.

I was planning to nail the paper mache letters to the wall, but I really like how they look just set on top of the picture frame.

Isn't it cute? Her room is almost done!

New Skirt!

Yesterday I got to sew! And, oh my, was it glorious. I had bought this super cute this super cute greenish yellow fabric several months ago, and I FINALLY got the chance to use it.

I also got a bunch of yards of this black and white striped elastic that I love. I used it on a skirt for myself as well (but I haven't taken photos of it yet). I bought it for something like 50 cents per yard, so of course I got a ton of it.

The elastic is three inches wide, so I decided to sew the fabric on top of it to make it appear thinner.

This might be my favorite thing I've ever made for Lucy.

A friend of mine also suggested that I sew a big fold into the back so that I can let it out as Lucy grows. So smart! Even if it starts to get a little short, she can always wear leggings under it.

Embroidery

I've been trying my hand at some embroidery recently, and I've REALLY been enjoying it. So far I've only done a few onesies, but I'm looking forward to tackling a little pink hoodie next. My mother-in-law just bought me an AWESOME book about embroidery with tons of photos and illustrations. She found it at a thrift store... what a treasure! I wish I had taken a photo of it to show you all its magnificence. Perhaps that will be in a later post.

So with all that said, here's my first attempt... I took the photo in the car right before I gave it to a sweet friend who just had a little girl.

This is the one I just completed. I got the pattern from this delightful store on etsy.com.

It's such a cute little graphic!

Here's a question from an inexperienced needle-worker: is there anything I could or should attach to the wrong side of the design so that it won't fall apart in the wash or irritate baby skin? I use the wash-away stabilizer while I'm stitching, but that's it. Does anyone have any insight for me?

Bedding

Look at me! Two posts in one week! I can't tell you what a sense of accomplishment I feel right now.

So let's get to the point. Dave loves our down comforter, so that's what we've been using. However, we didn't have a duvet cover which means we couldn't wash it (which means... yucky). I was planning to go to Home Goods to buy a white duvet cover, but then I saw something lovely.

Here are my thoughts. After I made the curtains (which I haven't posted about yet because I haven't actually finished them yet), our bedroom started to feel a little bit too country for my taste. I love the fabric for the curtains, but I really wanted to balance it out with some modern elements. I couldn't quite figure out how to do it until today.

See what I mean about the curtains? Cute, but country... especially next to that antique chair.


Here's another before shot:

And now with the new duvet cover!

With the curtains in the background....

I also found this brown felt throw pillow on sale for $12.

I love that there are a ton of patterns going on in the room, but somehow they all go together. It makes my inner-decorator smile :).

p.s. I just bought it today, so if you want one for yourself, run out to Home Goods right now and get one before they're gone!