The Girls' Room

It's almost done! Meg and I have been working on redecorating her girls' room for... a while. Meg has chosen adorable fabrics, curtains, paint colors and accessories and has arranged them all so creatively.

I offered to do the sewing and upholstery projects.
Several years ago I made a headboard for Meg and Ben that was a simple tailored rectangle covered in linen. When they gave it to the girls I cut it into a more feminine shape and slip covered it. The fabric is from only one pillow sham from Pottery Barn Kids, with all the seams opened it was large enough to cover the whole headboard! When Evie (5 years old) saw the quilted pillows with bows she said all the right things, she was thankful and complimentary, as usual. Then she asked me very diplomatically if I thought that they might need a little more "fashion". When I asked if little pillows made with the blue fabric and pink trim would add enough "fashion" she was satisfied because they would match her bed and "Relax Chair". Her "Relax Chair" was purchased many years before she was born at a yard sale for $5. A little paint and more PBK fabric made it just right for their room.

I made the lumbar pillow from a blouse that I bought for $1. It was no longer in style but, had beautiful embroidery, eyelet trim and shell buttons, so I knew it could have another life as a sweet little something.

All that is left for me to do is make the window valances (I think). I hope to show those to you soon! You can see their adorable, almost finished room on Megan's blog.
Annie added a little "fashion" of her own to the bed...

Budget Bolster

Last year I shared in a blog post that I planned to make a bolster to match the headboard I made for our guestroom. The most promising result to my search for the right size foam insert was on-line and $30 before shipping.
That may not sound like much to you but, I am convinced that there is almost always a less expensive way to do just about everything.After a few failed attempts with fiberfill that resulted in a pillow that resembled a giant anaconda that had just eaten a donkey, I found this solution...
...a pool noodle from the $ store, wrapped in a foam "egg-crate" mattress pad, held together with a little foam glue, and covered with quilt batting (the last 3 items were purchased from garage sales).

I'm pretty happy with my custom bolster and even happier that I only spent $3!

Janet's Chair

Janet recently found this great chair and ottoman at a garage sale!
They were covered with a funky "coffee-house" sort of fabric that wasn't too bad but,she bought this beautiful fabric on sale and asked me to recover them.

I love your choice, Janet. It looks so classy!

Ella's Baby Bed

Baby Ella arrived yesterday!
She'll be going home soon to sleep in this beautiful bedding that her mommy designed just for her. Isn't it delicious?

I put it all together with monogramming help from Megan.

Storybook Chair

My sister rescued this great vintage chair from a trash pile in Riverside 30 years ago. She hired someone to recover it with sea foam chenille fabric. I don't remember how it came to be mine, but I do remember being absolutely amazed that someone could recover it so beautifully and thinking I could NEVER learn to do that. It was part of Megan's bedroom for most of her childhood and now it has moved to her house. She and her little girls will read stories in the same cozy chair where she and I used to cuddle with her favorite book.

I found this linen fabric at a decorator's sale and recovering the chair was not as hard as I once believed it would be.

Soon the chair will be complete with a monogrammed pillow and a copy of The Poky Little Puppy.

Gingham Again

I found this vintage headboard at one of my favorite antique stores. It was just the thing that I had been looking for to upholster for our guestroom.
I chose a silk gingham fabric from Hobby Lobby (on clearance). I want to add one long bolster made of the same fabric. Pictures to come...

Rich really did not want me to drive screws into "that beautiful wood" so I mounted the foam and fabric-covered board with 3M picture hanging strips. It seems to be the perfect solution to the problem of securely attaching it without damaging the headboard.

I realize I have a gingham theme going in my last 4 posts. I can't help it. It's elegant in silk for a bedroom, cozy in a kitchen nook, and what is better than red gingham with big ric-rac in a playhouse? There are even little bits on baby clothes and lamp shades in the Sniglets post. It is a classic that never goes out of style.

Nina's Playhouse

I made a playhouse for all of our grandchildren - in the closet under our stairs. Evie, our 3 year old granddaughter, was enthralled Christmas day when she went on a hunt for our play kitchen and found it behind a door that she had never noticed before. If you come over when Evie is here prepare to be invited to "her house" and remember to duck your head. I've spent more time in this closet in the last week than I did in the 7 years that we have lived here.

You'll probably have to "go to sleep" at her house. Turning the lamp and overhead light on and off is her favorite activity.

Of course it is decorated for Christmas and we're making plans for other holidays.

Evie said, "Nina, Thank you for my very own house!"

Anabelle, 15 months old, loves it, too!

They are looking forward to sharing it with future cousins.

That's not a hint.

Sniglets

I had a shop in Avondale... (said with all the wistfulness of Meryl Streep in the opening lines of Out of Africa, "I had a farm in Africa...").
Megan and I actually rented a small space in a children's boutique, 3 Chicks, in the Avondale shopping district for the past 4 months. We moved out last Monday. It's a great shop in a trendy area but, it didn't work out for us. Oh well, we tried.This is how our original display looked.

We still have several of the items in these photos. Just let one of us know if you see something you need.

What I did on my Summer Vacation...

...and most of Fall.
I have been absent, but BUSY with several trips and many projects. (Of course I don't have pictures of most of these things, I'm bad at that.)
I've been to Montana, Mississippi, Louisiana, Pensacola, North Carolina & Georgia; all to spend time with precious family members.

I have installed a tile back splash, scraped hateful vinyl flooring, rewired and restored a vintage chandelier, painted a living and dining room, tailored 2 sets of curtains, made custom bedding for a nursery, recovered 2 chairs, altered a duvet cover, sewed at least a dozen pillows, and covered 10 patio cushions; all for other people. Then in October I made something for us.

Our empty kitchen corner bothered me, this magazine picture inspired me, that little blue tool (a Kreg Pocket-hole Jig) enabled me, and Lowes assisted me by making the rip cuts in the plywood."Before" - Almost "After" - Our new cozy kitchen corner.
We now have more pantry and dish space plus 2 additional drawers (we had only 4 small kitchen drawers before). The bench top lifts for more storage space.
This cabinet shelf slides out for easy access to the coffee maker.

The sconces, accessories and furniture are all estate and garage sale finds. The cushions are a Goodwill bargain that I recovered.

I did have help, Richard has been my sheet rocker, wiring guru, muscle, sounding board, financier and constant encourager. Thanx, Babe

http://www.kregjig.com/

Retro Dresses

These simple shift dresses that I made for my GRANDgirls remind me of the kind my mother made for my sister and me and in the sixties. Our outfits often matched, too.

They're made of yellow seersucker with vintage trim, buttons and ric-rac. The girls felt as cool as they could on a hot July day.

Funky Beach Towels

Fun, funky monograms on happy colored beach towels. The only thing better than wrapping up in a dry a towel after swimming is a snack, any snack.

Jo's Chairs

I recovered this chair for a dear friend. That was the "BEFORE"... This is the "AFTER"...

...and its mate.

She chose a gorgeous ivory matelase fabric, very classy. Thanx for trusting me, Jo.

Upholstered Headboard

I've collected magazine photos of upholstered headboards for several years planning to make my own one day. I finally narrowed my choices down to this one because it had some interesting detail without being too feminine.I bought supplies and fabric, gathered tools, and went to work.The fabric is a dark taupe velvet. I'm pleased with the results and surprised that Richard is so excited about it. He even said that it was "Classy".

FYI ~ Richard found some great mounting hardware at Lowes. You can check out the "Hangman Mirror and Picture Hanging System" at www.hangmanstore.com

Chocolate Bunny Dresses

I love Easter!
It's my favorite holiday and it comes during my favorite season. Spring and new growth, Christ and new life; His unfathomable love for us in that while we were yet sinners He died for us...AND rose again!

I love seeing the dogwoods and azaleas bloom, attending worship services, watching the children at church in their new clothes, hosting our family's Easter feast, sharing it with friends, having egg hunts, and eating candy. Isn't Easter candy the best?

When I saw this pattern with chocolate bunnies I decided to yield to Megan's "subtle" hints that I could smock for her girls. The blue dress I posted last December was practice for these...I needed a lot of practice. This kind of smocking, "picture smocking", messes with my eyes and my head. I've stitched each bunny more than once trying to make them perfect, they're not. I've worked for a month on these 2 dresses and was crazy enough to buy patterns for others during the process. I guess I'm hooked on, what is for me, a frustrating hobby.

When I'm asked about my granddaughters I always respond, "They are delicious". It fits them! They truly are just delicious.

(I hope their dresses fit, too. They could always wear them next year ... and every other occasion during their lifetimes. Hmmmm.... I wonder if they would consider a chocolate bunny theme for at least one of their weddings. Too silly. Maybe their babies will wear them, I'd sure love to see that.)

Anabelle's Car Seat

My daughter has been on bed rest during her second pregnancy and has had plenty of time to shop on-line. Shopping for a new carseat cover was high on her list. She found several that she liked, but they were very expensive so I offered to make one. She picked out the fabrics and I used the old cover for a pattern and the pad. This is the result... Won't Anabelle look even more delicious in this seat? Like icing on a cupcake.