pillows pillows pillows

I have the pillow making bug lately. We just needed more pillows to live on our couches anyway, because when we sit down we each grab one or more pillows to cushion books and gadgets on laps and to prop under various body parts.

The added piping makes a nice splash of bright against the darker fabrics. The blue pillow fabric is from one of my favorite collections ever from Anna Maria Horner, Good Folks, and the applique one is from chambray and cotton solids, all from the stash, except for the teal piping.

 It is my fond hope to replace this old sleeper sofa with a nice white canvas sleeper sofa. But for now, it is brown. Alas.

The new pillows add a needed splash of color on both couches (the other green ones are from West Elm). The covers are made in my favorite simple envelope method, which means easy removal for washing (or switching out) and no zippers to sew in.

Joann had pillow inserts on sale for 50% off when I went there yesterday for piping. Plus the added bonus of 15% off with my teacher's discount. Did you know about that?

Anyway, with that incentive I decided to get six cheap 18 inch square inserts and attempt to do easy cop-out-no-gusset seat cushions for my kitchen chairs. Finally. Our backsides will be so thankful. The hardest part will be fabric selection. I want them to look eclectic in a good way and not too matchy matchy with the curtains. I'm thinking they must have contrast piping and covered buttons. Kinda married to that but it limits me because I'm so loving the idea of yellow piping. Also I'm thinking I can squeeze the square insert into a slightly trapezoid shaped pillow cover, since the seats of the chairs are not quite square. So all of this is a huge experiment which may end in tears. Or triumph. Very possibly with triumph. I'll stay positive.

And, stay tuned for a tutorial and template to make your own four leaf pillow.

big floral papercut

I worked on this big ol' papercut a while back while I was in the groove of the floral papercut cards. It didn't turn out very well at first, so I put it aside and waited for inspiration to strike so I could finish it.

I love the strong black background and the punch it gives to the arrangement on the mantel. I have a terrible urge to drop what I'm doing and make an applique quilt just like it.

Made from art papers, cut by hand, with colored pencil accents. In an IKEA frame.

(I have felty plans for that bell jar too. Found it on sale at Ballard a while back. It needs something taller in it for sure.)

jewelry boards

I have found that if I can't actually see my necklaces and bracelets, I forget to wear them. I have one of those ubiquitous tall jewelry boxes with drawers and cabinets, but everything is so hard to get to that I rarely bother to dig through it. So I recently nailed up these corkboards and hung all the pieces I wear on straight pins. I remember seeing a cuter fabric brooch board by Jhoanna a while back and this idea has been simmering in the back of my head.

Of course I would have preferred to take a delicate twisting tree branch and artfully hang choice pieces from it so that they catch the light, like I've seen around the web. But. I am a costume jewelry hoarder and lots of my pieces are heavy natural stone, so that was clearly impractical. This is less about pretty and more about practical. But I do actually enjoy the display made by the jewelry. Can you tell I like turquoise?

The two larger seagrass boards are from Joann and are made by Board Dudes. There was an ugly white logo on the fronts (why, Board Dudes? why?) but thankfully that scraped off just with my fingernail. If you have a 40% off coupon, even better. I just noticed the price on the BD website. As if! I don't think I payed even half of that at Joann.

The other two smaller boards are 8x10 inch picture frames I had laying just around. I took out the glass and added a layer of cardboard with cork glued on it. I had the rolled cork still leftover from a project done years ago, so that nicely reinforced my scrap keeping dysfunction.

kitchen curtain follow up...

 

...with not very great photographs, but here they are all the same. I was just glad to see some actual sun today, but it might have been the wrong time of day to snap the shots. At my house I have to get while the gettin' is good. The table was clean, the sun was shining. The getting, as they say, was good.

 

The fabrics I used are this cheerful AMH LouLouThi and a band of grey chambray at the bottoms. These curtains came together really quickly because:

1. I didn't line them this time. They are on the back of my house, so I didn't have to adhere to the white lining rule in my neighborhood.
2. For each curtain I just used the entire width from selvedge to selvedge and then measured the length I wanted plus 3.5 inches at the top and 5.5 at the bottom for hems. The sides were hemmed 1/2 inch over, then 1 inch over again. The tops and bottoms were hemmed 1/2 over then another 3 inches over at the top, and another 5 inches over at the bottoms.
3. I ripped the fabric to length instead of cutting with scissors. First I snipped near the end of the yardage and ripped off the cut edge to square it up, then just measured the lengths by holding the fabric selvedge against my cutting mat (for example, measured twice to 35 inches for a total of 70 inches for the LouLouThi) and then while pinching it at the spot, snipped it with scissors through the selvedge and ripped it across instead of cutting. So much quicker and easier.

The curtain rings are those clip-on kind that I picked up a long time ago at IKEA. I love those things. I used this method to attach them, so it created the look of pleats without actually have to sew the pleats.

Easiest curtains I've made by far. My next kitchen sewing project needs to be some cushions for the chairs. I bought yellow piping a few months ago but that's as far as it got.

what I'm up to.

 Sewing kitchen curtains.

 Putting together IKEA shelving and organizing stuff in them.

 Framing pretty art that's been laying around for months.

 Rehanging stuff.

Making pillow covers.

Nothing like having a bunch of people to your house to light a fire under your unfinished projects.

hello, floor.

Nice to meet you, O Beautiful Not-Concrete-Or-Vinyl Floor. And hello to you swell people. I've been blogging less lately for a number of reasons:

1.  Mostly everything I'm presently (ha ha) making can't be shared because it will spoil the surprise for the giftees. I am making some sharable things, but gifts take precedence.
2. I've been having a bit of a row with my new Mac Mini (now fixed, thanks Schmoopie dear), but now my elderly G5 looks like it might be tanking before I have transferred everything over. I think it might be angry with me.
3. I've been on a little trip. I went to visit my BFF in Mandeville. I crashed her lovely Christmas ornament craft party and hung out with her. And I forgot to take pictures. So you'll have to use your imagination to see her beautiful home and Christmas decor. Make it really stunning, with handmade tree skirt and lovely woodland ornaments.

Back to the new kitchen floor. Oh, how I love it. My ever handy husband and my wonderful brother-in-law (we owe you BIG, Robby) installed it while I was away. We still need to put down the quarter round and finish the edges near the carpets, but we are getting close. Then hopefully we can get the trim work done under our countertops and the big stuff will be done.

I just received my timely January issue of Living that focuses on kitchen redos. I have a Pinterest board for my kitchen decor ideas, if you are interested in that sort of thing. Part of my Pinterest board has actually come to life:

This picture is for you, Robyn. Thank you soooo much for Mr. Winky on the left there. This row of owls brings some color onto the countertops and just makes me so happy every time I go through the kitchen. My kids have pronounced them way cooler that the previous boring non-avian canisters. I have had to school them on the proper way to open the middle owl cookie jar (Use Both Hands. Do Not Bang The Lid On The Granite. If You Chip My Owl I Might Have To Sell You To A Workhouse.) That sort of thing. I'm sure you do the same for your kids.

Ever since the kitchen repaint I've had fabulous new curtains and seat cushions in on my long To Do list and I'm hoping that my recently ordered AMH LouLouThi fabric will be the ticket for the curtains. It hasn't arrived yet, so I'll keep you posted. Now to take my china and crystal off the top of the TV cabinet and put it back in the hutch. Yay!

summer reruns: faux fall foliage

Another one from the way-back blog machine, a post from Oct 2009:
...............................................................



I've had these cut branches from our back yard in my home for over a year. I've always enjoyed the stark shapes of the bare branches but often wondered what it would look like to embellish them somehow. I'm just getting around to it, so naturally I chose some fall foliage.

Ignore the ugly air conditioning vent. Porquoi, house builders?

I cut a bunch of simple leaf shapes from ochre, buff and yellow paper scraps I had on hand. I scored down the middle of each leaf and bent them slightly along the score to give them some dimension, light and shadow. Then I attempted to attach them to the branches. This did not go so well. The branches are brittle, dry, (and yes, dusty) from being indoors for a year. After some trial and error, I found that clear tape seemed to work the best.

At first I tried Fabritac and also thin foam pop dots. Both failures.

The Fabritac took a while to dry, so I had to hold each leaf in place until it got tacky enough to stay. With the number of leaves I needed, this was a time nightmare. Yes, I thought of my hot glue gun, but having been a multiple hot glue burn victim before and also envisioning the branches festooned with hardened threads of glue, I passed.

The pop dots worked like a charm at first. After about eight hours all the leaves fell off. Which is very appropriate for autumn, but not the look I was going for. So, on to clear tape.

I could be sure the leaf was on securely with the tape around the branch, but I don't like any visible shiny tape, so I made sure to angle all the leaves so that the backsides would not be seen from normal viewing height.

I really like the effect. It didn't take that long to do, once I figured out how to stick them on, and we can enjoy them until after Thanksgiving. I don't decorate for Christmas until December. It's a thing I have.

 ...............................................................

And here you are, magically back in 2011 again! Just as an update, those leaves are still on the tree branches. Two years later. And I still enjoy looking at them. So that clear tape is really a great solution. I'd like to get a fresh batch of branches and do it again in bright oranges this year. Maybe spray paint the branches white first. I think that would look great against my new blue walls!

corners of my house: beanie baby tower

Recently checked this small project off. I bought this cool hanging storage thingie at IKEA a (long) while ago and just now got around to putting it up. It was too intimidating for me to hang it myself since it required 1) finding a stud and 2) making a hole in the ceiling, so I put it on the laundry room shelf for later and forgot about it for um, two years. 

My husband just put it in for me and it is perfect for the girls army of beanie babies. It is meant to hold stuffed animals but it was NOT designed for heavy beanie animals though, because it is really straining against the velcro loop that holds it on the chain and it has fallen off a couple of times. But it is so cute and handy for storage that I'm willing to let it suffer. I have some of the weight supported by letting it rest on the floor instead of swinging free, but I need to take it down and reinforce it somehow. Later.

corners of my house: foyer plate wall

Hey, thanks for your nifty party game ideas. I'll blog her party eventually. Right now I'm shirking my party prep duties to write this post. I should be making the cake. So I'll be quick.

I've been doing little decor spruce ups around the house and you'll probably see several posts about it. I tend to leave things the same way for far too long, then suddenly I have this maniacal urge to change it all. It's happening bit by bit. This is one part of it, my new foyer plate wall. Just pretend that door bell box is not there. Man, I hate that thing.

I've seen this done several times on the web, including this beautiful example by Lisa Congdon. Plates were the perfect way to bring some interest and color to my foyer wall. Pretty cheap too, since I already had most of what I needed.

I love looking at it. I didn't think about it too much, just did it. I had the idea the other day, so I dug around in cabinets and gathered a bunch of plates I've accumulated over the years. Some were gifts, some souvenirs, and some thrift store finds. And a few I bought recently just to fill in the holes.

Then I started with three large plates in a triangle. Then I just randomly added more plates one by one until I felt it was finished. Having assorted plate sizes is a big help in giving it direction and swoop. Making new holes in my (freshly painted and mended) wall usually makes me nervous but for some reason I was able to just let go and whack the nails in without a second thought.

I like the effect at night too. Ok, I gotta go make party stuff.

window film

I have an endless list of small decor updates that patiently wait for my attention around the house. I recently finished this little project on my list, replacing the old colored static film on the sidelights and bathroom windows with new, clearish film.

I love this stuff. It's perfect to give privacy without cutting the light. If you are curious, this particular brand is Light Effects that I picked up on Amazon. It couldn't be easier to apply. You use slightly soapy water and a squeegee. Once on, it will not budge. I had the last batch on there for the past nine years or so and it never bubbled or came up. And it peeled right off when I needed to change it.

One distressing note, when I peeled the old film off there was suddenly an overpowering chemical/petroleum smell. It made me cough. I had to immediately take the old film outside. That was weird. No smell at all was present until I peeled it off. Uhhhh...Maybe you should not leave it on for nine years? The new film has no detectable smell.

Random blog maintenance announcement: I've added a new Google search field to the right sidebar, under my profile. There's always been a blogger search field at the top of the window, but I've noticed it is not the most effective or thorough. This Google search field seems to be more targeted. Enjoy.

make a ruffle circle pillow sham

This is a reprint of a guest post at Kojo Designs' The Sincerest Form Of Flattery series. Enjoy!

Hi, folks! I'm Larissa Holland of mmmcrafts and I like to make stuff and drink coffee. A lot. I'm a graphic designer turned home-schooling mom, and being creative really helps* to keep me sane. I have a shop where I sell my sewing and papercut patterns and the occasional finished piece. You can find a wide variety of crafts on my blog. I like to try new things, but I mainly squander large amounts of free time on papercuts, cards, felt crafts, and of course sewing clothing, accessories and gifts.
*no guarantee implied

I'm happy to be a part of this Sincerest Form of Flattery series. Most times when I attempt to recreate something from the retail world it is due to one or both of the following reasons:
1) I cannot possibly afford the staggering price tag
2) The item I am lusting after does not quite fit my needs (i.e. color, size, etc...)

In some instances, I think good design is just worth paying for. For me, the price/value is on a sliding scale with ease/cost of replication. For example, I recently purchased this Pintuck duvet cover for our bedroom from West Elm. I love and adore it, and just thinking about trying to make something similar to it gave me hives. It was easily worth the purchase price.

image from West Elm

On the other hand, I elected to make something similar to their wonderful Ruffled-Circle pillow shams:

Image from West Elm

I thought it would be a great look to complement my youngest daughter's new duvet cover, however, I wasn't sure the WE white would match it, I didn't like the way the ruffled circle is cut in half on the West Elm standard sham, and the european sham is the wrong size. So, I stared at their photos for a while and made my own version:

Here we go: West Elmish Ruffled Circle Pillow Sham How-To:

First I grabbed an existing pillow sham from my daughter's bed and measured it. It was 25 x 20 inches. Then I hopped on my favorite design tool, my Mac. I drew a layout to size like so:

Next step was to root around in my fabric shelves to find some likely looking white fabric. Allowing for a half inch seam, I cut the following pieces:

1. Two 21 x 26 inch rectangles for the front (one for the top, and one for the backing) and also a piece of cotton batting to match
2. One 21 x 22 inch rectangle for the envelope back
3. One 21 x 12 inch rectangle for the other side of the envelope back

I pressed the edges of the two envelope back pieces over half an inch, then another half an inch and sewed it down to create a finished edge. I set them aside.

Next was a boatload of bias cut strips for the ruffled circles. (Bias cut because there was no way I was going to finish the edges. Raw bias strips don't fray a lot). I laid my yardage on the floor and pulled a corner over like so:

Then I cut along that fold. This new cut edge was on the bias. Then I cut 2 inch strips from those bias edges until I had what looked like a really ridiculous amount. Turns out 225 inches was not even enough to complete the larger ruffle circle, so I had to cut more. (How much you need may vary depending on how tightly you ruffle the strips, but more about that in a minute.) I figured 2 inches wide would allow for the strips to fray a bit in the wash and still look fluffy. If you look closely at the West Elm photos, I'm pretty sure their strips were not that wide. You can vary it as you like.

I sewed all my bias strips together end to end. Here's how you do that:

Ok. This is where your results may vary. I used my ruffler attachment to gather the strips. I didn't want to hand gather a strip that long because, well, I hate gathering. With every fiber of my being. If you have a ruffler attachment, by all means dust it off and put it on. This is where it shines, man.

I used a stitch length of 2.5 and the 6 setting on the ruffler (meaning a tuck is taken every 6 stitches). Then I just fed the strip through and watched it do all the pretty tucks for me. One thing you want to keep an eye on is the needle itself. It can work loose after a little while from the action of the ruffler and you don't want it to fall out mid-stitch. Like I did.

 

So you don't have a ruffler? You can cheat too. You can use a gathering foot, or if you don't have one of those you can experiment on a test strip by increasing your stitch length and tightening the tension until your machine is making gathers by itself as you sew. It will really help if your bias strips are a lightweight fabric.

After ruffling all the strips I pressed them in half along the seam.

Next step was to assemble the sham top. I used my fancy compass (from a drafting course in college) with a pencil lead in it to draw concentric circles in position on the sham top piece, like so:

Each nested circle is an inch apart from the next. Then I also drew in my quilting lines with an air soluble marker. I sandwiched the batting between the sham top and the sham top backing, pinned (a lot), and sewed along the quilting lines only, working from the center outward. (Do not sew the concentric circles).

I used fabric glue to tack down the center seams of the ruffled strips to the concentric circles. Beginning with a tight circle in the center, I worked my way around and outward. I tucked the end under when I completed the circle.

Then I used the machine to stitch each ruffled circle in place.

Now to put it all together. First I squared up the sham top. Then I aligned the envelope back pieces right sides together to the sham top and pinned. Using a half inch seam, I sewed all the way around.

Lastly I snipped the corners, turned it, stuffed it with a pillow and viola! The West Elmish look I wanted for her new bed.

I have to say, after making this sham with the 14 miles of bias strip to ruffle, the WE version looked a lot more attractive, and according to my sliding scale I think the $30+shipping they want for their sham is a pretty fair deal.

But having said that, the one I made still wins with me because 1) it's the style/exact color I wanted, 2) I was able to make it from my stash in more durable fabric for zero dollars, 3) it is something special from her mom that my daughter loves!

by order of the management

 

I got the tipoff about artist John Golden from my BFF. I had not seen his etsy shop, but when she sent me the link I fell in love. She just finished using his By Order of The Management prints in her kids' bathroom redo, and so I had to copy her and hang them in my kids' bathroom too. It's ok. We live in different states. I have full permission to totally rip off any decor idea she has. It's how I get my best stuff.

Sorry for the ick photos. Pictures in the bathroom are a booger. It is a small, narrow space, and I ended up climbing on top of the sink counter and into the bathtub. The lighting is akin to a bat cave. You get the idea though. 

John has a huge selection of clever signs in this series, so it was difficult to narrow it down to four. He also sells precut mats for the signs, and it was so totally worth it not to have to cut my own. He signs each print, and he even mounted them in the mats for me so all I had to do was plunk them in the 11x14 frames, which I found on the cheap at Michaels.

I sure need to freshen up that shelf. It's a couple of hobnail milk glass vases and Thing 1's flower girl basket that I stuck up there for lack of a better idea. It needs something. Maybe I should just ask Robyn to decorate a similar shelf and send me a photograph.

Funny about that shower curtain, both me and Robyn fell in love with it and bought it about the same time. But then she took hers back and totally one-upped me by sewing a much lovelier curtain a la AMH. The nerve.

P.S. I wanted to thank you guys for the lovely response to the needle books! I will make more, but it might be a few weeks. I apologize to those who didn't snag the one they wanted! I will try to figure out a better/more fair way to get the word out.