pink picket fence

Pink. It's PINK!

Can you hear that thumping noise?  It's little old me, banging my head against my kitchen wall.  Yes, the red one that needs repainting.

Why?  Because I was totally ready to jump into my WHITE settee slipcover project this weekend. And then I happened to cull through my old magazines last night, ripping and saving, so I could send some to school with Big Sis for a class project. 

And I came across THIS in an old Domino issue: 

Yes.  The pink looks super cool.  (And she knows it, too.  She is sitting there, on her pretty little pink couch, thinking I'm totally going to make chris change her mind about the white.) 

So the question is, do I (gulp) dye my white twill (as laeroport suggested) and go for it?  Run out and buy some new pink fabric and start from there?  Or, tuck this inspiration photo away for a few years from now, when we move and I can start from scratch in a new house where my sweet little settee doesn't have to be so prim and proper, across the hall from a very buttoned-up brown and cream dining room? 

I don't have all that wood trim on mine and I do think that sets it off in this picture. I suppose that could be fixed with some thick white piping, which is also a little more work than I had anticipated... 

I've never even tried dyeing 5 yards of heavyweight twill before.  That alone could be a disaster.  But seriously, the pink?  I love it.

ACK.

Happy Friday.  I'm going to ponder this.  What would YOU do?      

Sew inspired these days...

Work is very busy this week... something not completely unexpected after the impromptu break we took last week...

But I'm so ready to CREATE!  DO!  MAKE!  I'll have to placate myself with the pretty stuff on flickr and around blogland, I suppose.  So... in no particular order,

• I continue to marvel at the ladies at sugar city journal... (Have you SEEN this?? Heaven in a tiny dress.) 
• And Rachel's little pattern review in lovely tangerine...
• And the sweet little tops and things that Lera seems to whip out on nearly a daily basis...
• And this darling little pillowcase dress (or these) at chikaustin...

Can you tell where my mind is wandering these days?  :)

Oh, and lest I forget.  No, I did not make the sweet little granny square blanket pictured in the doll cradle above.  Ha ha ha!  Remember how my last crochet project turned out??  No, this isn't my handiwork, dear friends.    It was a lucky thrift find a few weeks ago.  I love the daring use of color!

A little bit organized

Well, it wasn't, to start.  This is pretty much what my recipe bin/folder/cookbook stack in my desk cubby looked like before yesterday morning's burst of energy.

See that manila folder under everything?  That housed it all.  And boy was it ever handy hard to sort through.  Actually, it wasn't that bad. Things that I tend to make more than others had floated to the top, and other things (like a group of dishes I make for a holiday) ended up stacked together.  Maybe that was a good thing.

So.  I finally remembered to buy a 3-hole punch worth it's salt on one of my daily weekly trips to Target. And now...

Wow.  I don't have my dividers going yet -- and honestly, I can't decide how I want to break them up.  By meals?  Occasions?  Food groups???  I need to think on that some more.  Obviously, putting all my food prep stuff into a 3 ring binder isn't an earth shattering, original idea.   But it's something that I have PUT OFF for how long?  And it took what, 15 minutes???

It's funny how I prioritize.  Because my Home Ideas binder has been put to steady use since we bought this place 4 years ago.

See?  I have everything, and I mean EVERYTHING (inspiration, ideas, receipts, whatever) in this binder, organized by room.

(Like the tattered kitchen towel on the right?  Who's in charge of this photo shoot???)

Original paint chips and other random things are in sleeves.

And other stuff gets thrown in there, too:

Which really works.  I even used that mounted butterfly pin idea on the left for my Grammy's brooches. 

We throw all sorts of stuff in it -- fabric swatches, room and furniture dimensions, etc  -- and take it shopping.  Or I flip through it on occasion, when my scattered brain cannot focus on what part of my home needs attention next -- or where to go with it.  It's getting time, though, to go through my stack of beloved magazines for a good rip-and-toss.

How do you keep it -- whatever It is -- together?   

piling up

I have all these attainable lofty ideas for projects this year, like

....the ripple afghan I have started (oh yes, my dear sweet and talented mother in law taught me the art of deciphering crochet! Turns out you need patience.  Hmph.)

...really truly finishing and decorating the play room.  Right now it looks like all of the scattered toys are being sucked to the floor by super gravity.  Those poor, bare walls. 

...sewing for my girls.  More of it, anyway.  I do pretty well in this category, generally.

...making one Christmas gift per month, so that by December I will already have 11 done.  Sounds possible.  Right?

...painting the powder room everyone uses but I have sadly neglected.

...making cardigans for Fidget out of Daddy's discarded sweaters.

...and more.

You know how it goes.

Unfortunately, I get derailed by terribly un-sexy projects like this one:

Fashioning a big fireplace snake to nip the draft that has occurred now that our house is 'settling' and the fireplace insert no longer fits tightly.   (5" high density foam, wrapped with batting + Joann's courduroy.)  You can even see the blue foam insulation still poking out of the fireplace screen.  Nice.

I have a couple other little things I am working on.  Fun things.  Another apron, for my eldest's teacher (a Christmas prezzie that did not happen) and something kinda little and special for a certain get-together this weekend.   I'd better get busy.

 

Progress.

After a couple weeks of feeling like I could.not.get.my.rear.in.gear., things are starting to look up.

Decs are making there way into the house...

See those pillows on the chair?  The one in back is from that wool I bought back in November and I loooove how soft it is.  The floral is from the new Loft 1800 moda line, which I also adore.  Both are heave feather/down pillow forms -- they only kind I like, because they are heavy enough to stay where you put them and they're so mushy soft.

Yes, the dog has her own stocking.  And I am embarrassed to say we have stockings that are not handmade -- just those LandsEnd needlepoint ones that you can have embroidered.  But I love them anyway.  Not as much as I love this one, though.

I also picked up my paintbrushes and tried so very hard to do Alicia's Saint Lucia Kit justice.

I loved how they turned out.  I didn't have the right scissors so I made use of my scallop stitch on my machine.  Which takes a while (all that snipping around the edges...yikes!), but it was the perfect thing to do while watching the game.  (A totally okay loss in my book.  OU is a great team and they beat us fair and square.  Am thrilled we got this far!  Go MIZZOU!)

Yesterday I took a little trip over to Joann's and picked up some pom-poms (or is it pom-pons??? That way never looks right to me and it looks like 'tampons'.) because I was totally inspired by this gal.* Seriously.  I think everyone should do this.

It was really nice to sit, watch tv and randomly string these along.  Easy-peasy.  And so darned cute.  I'm thinking I might put this in the girls' bathroom with a little pink tree.  :)

My stove is decked, too. >>>  I love the simplicity of ornaments in a bowl/basket/whatever.  It's instant cheer and takes so little effort!   My stove is such a boring old gal, so I think she likes a little sparkle at the holidays.

I did buy fabric yesterday, too.  Going to make those pj pants after all.  Soooo right now it appears I am off my rear and in motion.  What a relief. 

Happy Monday. 

XO,
C.

*via Kirsten ;)

Also have just re-read this and decided it was a major 'love-fest' this afternoon.  Ha.

Sweet.

Hosting parties this holiday season like I am?  Don't want to get left with tons pies and stuff stacked haphazardly on top of your butter dish and salsa jars in the fridge?  I saw this cool make-your-own to-go box at Martha last week and I'm going to keep it in mind for other sweet leftovers as well this December...

(I wasn't quite on the ball with Thanksgiving, so I still have two cheesecakes, a pumpkin pecan pie, gravy and some cornbread dressing in my fridge.  But I'm going to cut myself some slack considering the coughing-pneumonia-asthma-baby-er-trip and everything...)

Of course, being Martha, there are templates and instructions over there.  But I'm thinking you could also make some cute square ones for cookies or fudge and you don' t have to mess with cellobags or tins or whatever.   You could even get fancy and decorate the sides with holiday messages or original art by the little ones....

I'm going to put it on my gosh-I-really-wish-I-had-time-to-do-list and see what happens. 

This weekend might kick off my holiday cookie bonanza.  We like to make sugar cookies every year and this might  be a good weekend for that.  (This picture is from a couple years ago...) Could be a good thing to do while watching the game. 

I might also tackle some vintage-sheet pajama bottoms.  I have several sheets that would work, and since I missed out on Joann's big 99cent/yard flannel sale last weekend, I figure 'free-because-it's-in-my-cupboard' is an even better deal.  Added bonus: this could be a perfect opportunity to use some more of that velvet ribbon trim I bought on a whim a few weeks ago... 

Boo!

By now, surely everyone has seen the gorgeous ideas Martha has for Halloween this year.  The Hostess with the Mostess blog post pretty much sums it up the best.  Goodness, Martha makes it all pretty. 

However, Better Homes & Gardens has some pretty cute ideas, too:

(images from the bhg website) There were several cute ideas in the magazine as well.  There was one designer who goes all out for halloween, but trades orange/black for white/black and makes it all look sophisticated instead of cutesy.  Very cool stuff.

I keep thinking someday I will get more 'into' decorating for this holiday.  Maybe.  With ideas like these floating around, it's entirely possible.

XO
misschris

drool...

Despite the rain that won't quit and water that seems to seep into my house everywhere I look and the dog that is stinking everything up because she cannot do her business outside when there is a threat of any 'weather', I'm in a pretty good mood today.

Yesterday, while the rain stopped for a few minutes, I ran out to the mailbox and had a couple wonderful surprises.  (Hmmm, do they count as surprises if I ordered them?)  A stack of delicious fabrics from Z&S:

a HUGE Real Simple pre-holiday issue, and the new Anthropologie STITCH catalog...  I tell you what, my frown turned upside-down right then.

I sorted through all my new lovely fabrics and immediately chose the next one I would use.  Whee!  I love the Chocolate Lollipop line from FreshCut... it's so feminine and modern at the same time.  And the colors are so perfect for fall gifting.

   

And then I flipped through the STITCH catalog and, whoa!  I was taken back by this gorgeous blanket on page 23, the Weston Park throw:

"Swatches of creamy sweaterknit are patched together and detailed with plump roses, while printed velvet laps around the expanse. "  (copy and image shamelessly borrowed from the anthro website)

So I don't really need another project idea right now, because my list is growing way faster than I can handle, but -- goodness gracious -- isn't this yummy?  I have been wanting to bind a quilt with velvet for a while now, but I love the ruffle so much.

Now, if a rainy day meant cozying up with a blanket like that, bring it on...   

Things to do

Seems lately crafting is taking a backseat to all things basement, back-to-school, illness, and Hawaii trip related!  Not necessarily in that oder ORDER (goodness, you'd think I'd learn to spellcheck), but close!  LOL

However, when I DO get around to things, this is what I want to do:

• Make Fabric labels a la Allyson Hill. 
• Learn to Crochet (thanks to great visual instructions at crafty daisies)
• Make some covered-button ponytail holders
• Sew some little baby shoes
• Find some fun euro patterns and actually make them.
• Use the peekabook bunting instructions that I've had printed for ages.
• Start my grandmother's flower garden quilt
• Enlarge the infant swing smock pattern in Amy's book so I can make it!
• order some holiday fabric so my holiday projects are done on time...

playroom stuff

Seems like since the Older One got home from CA (And WOW did she have a GREAT time at the HSM2 premiere!) it has been everything non-stop. 

The basement is now finished (5 months later) and we have begun the fun fun task of moving everything that was stored in the garage and rest of the house down there and putting it away.  My office has also oved downstairs.  (With little interuption, which is nice!)  The main floor of my house is starting to peek out from under all the toys and office stuff that has been stuck up there for the last year.... And the toys are beginning to migrate down to the playroom.  Woohoo!

On that note.

Now we have a playroom.  It needs furniture.  Right now we have a wimpy little white bookcase.  There is a little white round play table in the garage I want to paint red.  (We have an armoire that I am considering also painting red.  But Mr Pink says it's not good shape and he's not sure about it.) I look in this cute little room and it looks bare, despite all the toys strewn about.

So I was looking for storage solutions online the other day and saw these:

From viatoybox.com .  You can design your own configuration.  They even send you a little catalog with punch outs and color cards for people like Mr Pink who have trouble imagining what things will look like. It seems a little pricey though, for a playroom in the basement.  Perhaps we will use them for inspiration and do something similar.  I had thought about putting two bookshelves and a bench in the middle on the back wall.  And then putting a mirror over that bench and making it like a window seat.  Is that corny???

Of course, I will probably borrow Jennifer's sweet idea for the clothespin gallery display, too!

art gallery_1 ... Originally uploaded by purpledaisykids

I could seriously get into designing this room.  Alas, there are several grown-up rooms that need my attention right now (the now half-furnished living room, the new guest room in the basement, the new office space, the old-upstairs-office-that-is-now-a-sitting-room-but-not-until-the-big-ol-desk-is-moved, etc.)  They are just not as fun.  :)