backyard

Another home project. Daniel finished this built-in seating and matching table about a month ago but I haven't had a chance to post a picture. He designed and built it. We made the cushions out of 4-inch foam sheets, plywood, fabric, and a staple gun. I sewed the pillows. Voilà! 

Herbs growing nicely. The railroad tie on the right is a wine rack in progress.

Now to park it with a summery cocktail, maybe something with strawberry and basil....

sewing lesson

home improvements

Have you ever seen the movie Overboard with Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn? There's a scene in the movie that has become the stuff of legend in my family. He says, "Honey, this never used to bother you." And she growls, "Well, it bothers me now."

This is what happens to me whenever I come home from a long trip. I'm always so happy to be home, surrounded by special objects full of memories, our pictures and candles, and the cozy comfort of home. But I also tend to suddenly notice things that bother me--I mean really bother me--things I didn't even think about before I left. And this is when the purging, organizing, cleaning, sewing, driving-my-family-crazy mood sets in.

Our crazy DIY bias means that I head for the sewing machine and Daniel heads for the power tools.

Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to:

#1: Sew new living room pillowcases. I decided to go whole hog with the yellow and gray, all based around these sweet antique yellow figurines my Mom gave us back in grad school (see them on the mantle?) and the black-and-white wallpaper we inherited with the house.

#2: Change out kitchen decor. Trying to fight the grayish-green counters (which I don't like) with my collection of cobalt blue glass from my Grandma just wasn't working. So I took out all the blue glass and swapped in anything lime green, white, or silver I could find in the house. Then I made some new napkins/tea towels. A friend gave me the vintage phone from a reject pile in her garage. Score!     

 #3: Strip, stain and refinish our hideous Craigslist table covered with sixteen layers of peeling, crusty poly and black stain and who knows what else. 

#4: Build a gorgeous new bench to match the "new" table. (Isn't Daniel dreamy? I mean, what kind of man just throws together a beautiful bench in a day?)

 

Ah, so happy. Less than $100 later (plus a few nights of not sleeping but instead plotting and scheming), and we've got a few small changes that make our home feel fresh and clean. 

 

 Now to attack the guest room, office, boys' room and our bedroom....

I think she likes it!!

a doll for my niece

This summer the boys and I checked out a gorgeous book from the library called Kiki and Coco in Paris. We sat on the porch swing to read it, which we love to do on stay-at-home mornings. Jack announced, "Hey, that's Skylar!" (his cousin).

 

I immediately became fascinated with the exquisite doll and looked up the dollmaker, Jess Brown. Her creations are absolutely magical. I love the elongated limbs, the embroidered star eyes and button shoulders, the fabulous materials and vintage French aesthetic.

So I got to thinking. Since spending $200 on a doll, no matter how lovely she may be, is out of the question, could I make one for Skylar?

A few months went by and one day on a fall tromp through the leaves I mentioned it to my uber-crafty friend Kirstin, who sure enough came up with a tutorial on her design blog. 

That decided it. This past week, working into the wee hours, I made a doll and all the clothes. The boys had fun helping me pick out fabric, and they even made a tiny necklace with embroidery floss and bells. I set myself a limit: I had to use only materials I had in the house. I wasn't sure I could manage, but sure enough, with cast-off shrunken sweaters, fabric remnants, a spare pillow to unstuff, some new snowflake cashmere socks, and a random assortment of lace, yarn, floss, and ribbons, I was able to pull it off. I even stuffed her with lavender flowers.

Without further ado, here she is! The yet unnamed doll. I sure hope Skylar likes her.