A Few Little Projects

'Tis the season when I want to start spray painting crap. I've blogged about spray painting things white,  and I pondered whether to paint my owl lamp (it's in its pristine state as of this writing). This year I did not paint any pumpkins, as I have in the past, so I have an itchy trigger finger. Meet the next victims.

Anyway, this is becoming one of those spray painting blogs, but I can't help it, because I did not dumpster dive these birdies, my mother-in-law brought 'em to my house and said, "Help me figure out what color to spray paint these guys." Then she left them with me so I could study their personalities. What I've decided is that they want to be silver for Christmas.

This might be a good time to review my post from last year, How Tacky Do You Let Yourself Get For The Holidays. Pretty sure we decided that the sky's the limit. So those guys are going to be silver, and this very unremarkable metal wreath I have that doesn't show up against my front door, it's going to be silver too. Anything else that gets in my way?

Silver.

Also around the house, I've been slowly getting my dining room and office together following their repainting. I think that was in September? Geez. But these things need to ripen. I've had a few big fabric panels sitting folded on a shelf, like forever, that I wanted to frame and hang. The other day I finally did. These two are Marimekko, and as you can see they're the same design in different colorways.

Here's a better view of where I'm going to put them, both together on that wall. I wanted a big bold thing going on there, and I think these fit that bill.

After I got them onto the stretchers, I texted my friend David a picture of them and said, "I'm thinking of putting these right next to each other on the same wall. Or have I lost my mind? Talk me down." He said, "In theory, that's nuts. But I'm seeing it. Do it." So I'm going to hang them. I've left them leaning together against the wall so I could try them on, but now I'm ready.

I also framed the fabric I bought at Ikea that time my sister threatened to punch a guy. That's going in my office. I'll show a pic when I get it all together.

If you have a piece of fabric you'd like to make a wall hanging of, it is dead simple. You just need four of those wooden stretcher pieces (they have them at Michael's or art supply stores), an iron, and a staple gun. The trick is figuring out which part of the image to show, and then getting it straight on the stretchers. Then it's easy peasy lemon squeezy.

And if you have any little pieces left over and you don't want to waste them, you could do what my sister did and put them in embroidery hoops. Like so. This is in my sunroom.

I'm going to give this treatment to some old toddler t-shirts and sentimental things of the kids' that I still have. Like, cut out the design and put it in a hoop, then hang it on Hank's wall and leave it there until he goes to college. Then after he drives away, I'll walk into his empty room and sit on his bed. Then my eyes will land on the little embroidery hoop containing a piece of his old "100% Love" shirt, and then I'll have a good soaking cry. So thanks for that, embroidery hoops.

(I should say that my finally getting to the fabric panels was inspired by Aimee and her excellent 30 Days of No Procrastination project. Props to her!)

Y'all got any Holiday craftiness going on?

xo
b

Crochet Coral Reef

I have been meaning to show you one of my favorite things we saw on our spring break to DC last month. In the Museum of Natural History, in the back of the oceans hall, they have this crocheted coral reef. This picture just shows the front; it extended back through that open space.

Over 800 people contributed their work to make this massive, woolly, marine extravaganza. I have never seen any kind of craft--and few pieces of public art--draw people in like the crochet coral reef did. I spent a long time going over it. You could study it from every angle and still not see everything. Walking around it made me feel like a kid. I felt joy.

Some little dainties like this were in their own display.

In this white section, some of the pieces incorporate plastic trash, like bags and other junk that winds up in the ocean. As much as I love the colored sections, the whites might be my favorite. All of the delicate creams and ecrus. I am so glad we got to see it.

I don't know how much longer this will be in the Smithsonian, but it is worth a look if you are in the neighborhood. When you come in the back door of the museum, you are practically right by it. Then you can walk through the ocean hall, under the whale, then admire the big stuffed elephant, elbow through the Harry Winston Gallery, then go and get an espresso while your husband enjoys the giant sloths. That will be a very nice afternoon for you.

Crocheted Coral Reef, also here and here.

Owl Lamp: How About Now?

Remember when I showed you this owl lamp I got out of a dumpster in North Carolina?



In that post I was thinking of spray painting it ivory and finding a new shade for it. I had reservations, though. I thought it might look a lot less interesting all one color. I wasn't sure what to do with the eyes, either.  I asked for your thoughts.  Click back there to refresh yourself.  Opinions ranged from "Yes! love it! paint it!" to "If you paint it you change the species!" and my favorite, "Put it outside, in a sturdy tree."

I pondered these things in my heart. I was a little daunted by the rewiring so I let it rest down there for a while. Then I was at Pottery Barn with my mother last week and they had a redorkulous sale on lampshades. this huge linen drum shade was sitting there for $11.  Marked down from $59. Good enough that I broke my streak of not having bought anything for myself or the house since Jan 1. It wasn't the solid color shade I'd been envisioning, but I thought it might make the as-is version of the lamp work.  Yesterday I brought the owls upstairs, dusted them off, and gave them new wiring.  Then I put the shade on and sat them in the dining room. Go ahead and tell me what you think.









Now, I had planned to put it on top of Hank's chest of drawers.  The problem is that when he walked around the corner and saw it, he said, "AAHH!"  Then, a while later, he saw it again and said, "AAHH!"  Laura hadn't heard any of that, and when she came home, I said, "Laura, come in the dining room and look at my lamp."  She walked in and said, "AAHH!" I don't think it is really so scary, I mean, look at those sweet faces. I think it is startling in its largeness.  The picture with Hank gives you some idea.

So I don't know. Part of me is curious about what it would look like painted. But it's kind of growing on me as it is.  You know what? If I had a buffet or sideboard in my dining room, I would put it on top and leave it in there. Doesn't it look happy in that room?  Have I lost my mind?

My Super Easy Custom-ish Valentines

I wanted to do something the teeny tiniest bit crafty/personal for Hank's Valentine exchange and I remembered seeing this somewhere in the blogiverse a couple of years ago. I can't remember where; if anyone recognizes it I'll give credit. So stone cold easy. The picture is pretty much its own how-to.

Edited to add: Aha! It looks like this technique comes from Alissa at 24/7/365.  Cool.

I took several pictures of Hank holding his arm out in various ways.  You want your kid to hold his hand forward from his body so it will appear bigger in the frame.  Here was the picture I liked best.



Then I had prints made this afternoon, and used a sharp knife to cut little slits in the photos. That part takes some finessing.  Then I slid the suckers in and bibbity bobbity bang. Trompe l'oeil, doncha know.

We're writing little messages on the back.  I think this could be classed up by mounting the whole thing on cardstock, leaving a little border for the child's name to go on the front.  However, the round lolly does deform the picture a little and it might be hard to get it to glue flat.

Also, Mama has to watch Big Love tonight and we're all about the simplicity of this project as you see it here. I think it's cute. Maybe it will get a smile out of the kids.

Happy Valentine's Day, lovers!

Mwah!

I Made This: Table Runner from Vintage Travel Tea Towels

I did not make up this craft idea, but for the life of me, I can't remember where I saw it.  What you do is grab a few vintage tea towels that you like, not worrying if the widths don't match up (in fact I prefer it if they don't) and use them to make a quick, no-sew table runner.

This is a great solution for you if, like me, you have a little problem with vintage textiles. The problem being that the average human lifespan is only 76 years and that's not long enough to enjoy all the vintage textiles I own.  So making a table runner is one way to get them out of the drawer and let them breathe.

I don't know if this look would appeal to everyone. Maybe too eclectic? It might depend on your dining room.  Or you could use more delicate, ticking strip, pastel, or embroidered towels to go in a sort of Cath Kidston direction.

I got a bunch of these vintage tea towels on ebay (search "vintage tea towel lot"), these are all from English tourist attractions.  I think I paid about $25 for seven towels, and most of them are heavy Irish linen. Not too bad.  My favorite part is that they're somewhat quirky.  Like this Cornwall towel (the brown-edged one) that celebrates someplace called the Lizard Peninsula.



Who could forget that night we whirled together in the Helston Furry Dance?



And then climbed the fence at Goonhilly Downs and made out under the big satellite dish thingie?

Truly, the tea towel really makes me want to visit this Lizard Peninsula.

Anyway, this is super easy if you are so inclined.  First I spent a few minutes laying out the towels and choosing which ones I liked together.  My table is 90" long, and I used four towels.  Then I ironed the fold lines out of the towels and used some of that fusible binding tape that you iron (Stitch Witchery is one brand) to stick the tea towels together.  The only even slightly tricky part is making sure you line up the towels so that your runner will go straight.



I think it will look cuter with the table set, but I wanted to show y'all the pics.  Next I might do one with the Australia towels I brought back from our trip down there last year.  I have a towel with wombats in teacups that makes you want to die.  Cause of death: cuteness.

As a crafter, I tend to gravitate towards things that are easy and a little bit wonky. This fits the bill on both counts. Maybe a lot wonky. Honestly, I'm too close to it to judge.

Smooch,
B

Help, They Want Me To Do Face Painting, UPDATE

Y'all.  Hank's preschool is having a little Halloween carnival, or you know, Fall Festival, on Thursday morning. They have a costume parade and there are bounce houses, stuff like that.  Back in September I signed up to help out.

Friday they sent home a little info sheet about the festival, telling us the times for each age group, and it had my volunteer assignment handwritten across the sheet:

Face painting.

I am scared. Hold me.  Seriously, this is not among my skills.  I can barely put on my own eye makeup. Okay, actually I can't really do that well at all.  I don't know why they assigned me face painting, but like they say in sorority rush, I think my star would shine brighter in another house.  Like leading the kids through a close-reading of a sonnet.  Do you think they might like that?  Kids love iambic pentameter.

Is this, like, a thing that just anyone can do?  Because when it comes to art, I am just anyone.  I did a quick google search for "OMG how do I make the cheek pictures OH NOES" and it looks like there are a good many how-to's out there, but they seem a lot above my level.

So tell me, have you done this?  Can you think of any web resources for it?  Will you come do it for me?

You know who would do a great job at this? Matt would.  I might try to sweet talk him into it. I'd go and sit by him and hold the paints.

In case the sweet talking doesn't work out, y'all let me know if you have any intel about this.    

Edited to add: Matt is going to do it!  Matt is going to do it!  I asked him sweetly and he said he would. I tell you, I got a brand new pair of roller skates, he's got a brand new key. Yes!

Spray Paint Some Pumpkins, Check.

Well, that's done.  Blammo! You're either ready to reap this freaky-assed harvest or you're not.

The other day I found three wonky pumpkins that were not lovely in their orange skin, but that I thought would be fun to paint.  Last year I painted one and really liked it until it exploded in revenge. 



Hank painted the one on the left (not the one he is pointing to).  I didn't hand him a can of spray paint, obviously, but I had a little bit of that seafoamish latex paint left in a can from when Amy painted a table of mine, so I set him up and gave him a little brush.  He went to town.  If you want a pumpkin with lots of visible brushwork and a layered, impasto feeling, Hank is your man.  It is not the most suitable color in itself, but I thought it might set off the other green.

I let Laura spray the pumpkin on the right, it is Krylon's Ivy Leaf in gloss.  Too glossy, I think.  I did the middle one in my trusty Krylon Ivory Satin.



I think they are a cute trio, but as of this writing, they are still sitting on the back porch.  I kind of already have my whole front porch tableau in place, and I went with a terra cotta pumpkin on the dining table, so I'm not sure where I'm going to shoehorn these in.  Rest assured, though, I will find a place. 

I am totally conflicted about my owl. On the one hand, I love the monochromatic look that would be achieved by painting it, and it is a little dinged up (and a lot of look) in its current state.  On the other hand, like several of you commented, I think it might look flat and dead when painted, and the orange eyes would look weird on the white owl, but really blank if I painted them too.  You know?  Aargh!  I'm looking for the right lamp shade, so I think I might see how it looks with a new shade/new wiring before getting to the paint stage.

Anyway, decorative gourd season is on!  Seriously do us both a favor and read that so I don't have to link it in every post from now 'til the New Year.

Smooch.

Owl Lamp: Do You See The Potential?

Up in North Carolina, when we come down from the mountain house, we have to take our garbage to the dump. Or the "recycle center," as we call it.  Some things that are left there, like bottles and cans, do indeed go on to be recycled into other useful objects.  And some things that are left there get recycled into something that lives in my basement.





A trip down to the recycle center is a happy time because the recycle center is home to the Swap Hut.  The Swap Hut is, yes, a hut, made out of corrugated metal with a big open doorway and a little sign that says, "Swap Hut."  People leave stuff in there, stuff you can take FOR FREE. O Hut of wonders! When we drive through the gates of the recycle center, my eyes sweep greedily over the shadowy doorway of the Swap Hut, looking, perhaps, for some discarded Thonet chairs, a Dansk teak ice bucket, or other premium junk.  Could happen.

(My love for the Swap Hut has become a family joke.  What's not funny is that one time Matt wouldn't let me cram a distressed wicker rocking chair into the back of our van, just because the chair's seat was busted out and it had a lot of spiderwebs on it. I still mourn.)

Now, the owl lamp. What do you think?  Imagine it spray painted ivory satin?  Obviously it needs to be rewired, but I have a kit for it.  And it needs a new shade, maybe a squatty drum shade in white? Or linen colored?

Over at Copy Cat Chic, Reichel just did a post about owl lamps that reminded me of this baby.  It is huge--too big for any of the furniture in our living room--but I was thinking maybe it would go on top of Hank's chest of drawers.  I guess I would mask the eyes when I paint it and leave them orange? OR, I could just clean the lamp off, rewire it, and leave it as is. I like the pretty way their eyes are outlined in black paint, even though the whole thing is somewhat dinged up.  But it reminds me of the Mama Owl and Baby Bill in Owl Babies: "I want my mama," said Bill! Love that book.

So do you see potential here?  Or is it all wrong?  Too 2009?  Too 1974?  Or is it so, so right?

And oh, I just remembered!  This owl lamp wasn't even in the Swap Hut.  It was actually in a dumpster.  One of those walk-in dumpsters that people carry big things into.  So I guess it wasn't an according-to-Hoyle swap, but just something someone was throwing away.  Shame!

Lemme know.
I love you,
B

Suburban Matron on Ohdeedoh Today

Y'all!  I am featured today on Ohdeedoh, the parenting section of the Apartment Therapy megablog.  Beth Callaghan, who writes for them, in addition to her blog Remarkably Domestic, sent me some great questions to ponder and respond to, and then she did a truly sweet profile of Suburban Matron.  It was so much fun to do, and  she is the best blog friend a girl could have.  Go over there and have a look! And if a bunch of us leave comments, maybe Beth will win the pink cadillac, or be elected Homecoming Queen! Or something good, which she definitely deserves.

I have mentioned this before, but if you are not familiar with her blog, Beth is crafting her way through the Martha Stewart Encyclopedia of Crafts, from A to Z.  She is, I believe, working her way through "F" for "Foliage" right now (or is it "B" for "Botanical"?)  She's done about 30 crafts and documented the labor involved, always ending with a "Was it worth it?" section.  I expected this project to be interesting, but I did not expect it to turn into such an exposé.  Many of the items on Martha's supply lists, it turns out, are practically Unobtainium and cannot be tracked down by a normal person without a staff of minions. Her latest project had her harvesting seaweed.  

Y'all, when one of the steps in a project is "Harvest seaweed," that is a sign that I'm going to be doing something else.  But it makes for great reading.  And I'm not just saying that because Beth has now catapulted me to fame. But I AM famous now, RIGHT?  

Go check me out!

Air kisses, 

B

How To Make A Feather Wreath: The Return

Yes, this is happening. The time is now: make your own feather wreath, honey!  I posted about this two Octobers ago, and I thought it was due for a revisit as I just got out my Halloween decorations last night.

I'm of two minds. I do know that it's only October 3, and I think the Halloween-Industrial Complex tries to make us buy things earlier and earlier every year. It's like a junior Christmas for shopping.  I walked into Pottery Barn and a sign said, "Halloween: A Season of Decorating," and I was like, "Oh, it's a whole season now?"  But then there's this other part of me that spent like fifty bucks on pumpkins and mums this weekend.

Anyhoo.

So yes, if you are into it, get a straw wreath form, like this:

For our wreath, Laura and I used a 15" form.  We just left the plastic wrap on so little bits of straw wouldn't stick through.

Get some floral pins, like these:

Then get some feather boas.  We used 3 of the 6 foot boas to cover our wreath.  You want good coverage.  Pin one end of a boa to the wreath and start wrappin'.  Go all the way around and around, pinning at the start and end of each boa.  Enjoy the fluffiness.

Add a little bauble if you want. We put an orange ball in there.  I went looking for just such a Halloween-ish bauble, thinking they wouldn't have Christmas-style hanging ornaments for Halloween.  Boy was that wrong.  There so totally ARE black and orange hanging ornaments.  Turns out, people around these parts are having Halloween Trees now.  A Polly Perfect friend of mine over in Fancy Land has a huge one that she made out of what is essentially a giant grapevine cone.  It has hanging ornaments and black birds on it.  But this woman is crazy nuts for Halloween.  She was worried that her HOA would write her a dunning letter about the gravestones she put along her front sidewalk on September 15.  As she said, "But it's just a small graveyard."  See?  A season of decorating.



If I had to critique my own feather wreath effort, I would say that the wreath is maybe a little too fluffy.  It looks more like a circle than an actual wreath, because the feathers fill up the hole in the middle.  Probably some further experimentation with wreath sizes and boa fluff levels would lead to a more refined product.  I dunno, it gets the mood across.

All the supplies cost just under twenty bucks, which is about half what these are going for.  And now I'm seeing feather wreaths everywhere, ever since I STARTED THIS WHOLE TREND two years ago.  Not really. Maybe.

I'll leave you with Hank loving on a pumpkin.



Happy Early October! Are you buying into the whole Season of Decorating thing? If so, feather that mother up!  And naturally, take pics and come tell us where we can look at them.

Let's Recall A Bad Idea

On this first day of fall, let's cast our minds back to how last year I caught a touch of the Martha and I spray painted a pumpkin white. I love to spray paint junk white. Or actually I painted it Krylon's Ivory in semi-gloss. I loved it. It was very SubMat. Then I got really busy and then Matt and I left town.

And left the pumpkin sitting on my table.

Then one morning while we were gone, Matt's mom called me from my house. The pumpkin had exploded on the table.

(crap)

Remember that?

That was sad.

That's all I have. I am just thinking about that spray painted pumpkin because I have a strong urge to do it again. The painting, not the furniture marring. I have a new can of ivory and a can of celery green. I bought the ivory paint for this humongous owl lamp that I got from a dumpster and that's in my garage and that's a whole 'nother story. But a few pumpkins in those colors would be so presh.

Oh spray paint, why can't I quit you?

4 Years Young

We had Hank's birthday party on Wednesday afternoon with our neighborhood friends. It was the perfect number of kids and the perfect level of simplicity. Cake, ice cream, two homemade games, the end.





The only thing I kind of splurged on was this pirate ship cake from the store. You didn't think I made that, did you? You sweet thing! I had to have it to go with all the awesome pirate party stuff and decorations that I scooped up for 75% off at Michael's. I bought all that stuff last year sometime, intending to save it for this very occasion. It was so cheap! So, since I saved money on party goodies, I had to spend it on a cake, obviously.

This was fun: Laura made a "Pin the Feather on the Parrot" game, and carefully left a blank space on the parrot's shoulder to be the target. We had a "big kid winner" and a "little kid winner." Then the kids played a game called "Don't Eat Pete," which a wonderful local reader named Missy had brought my kids, along with a bunch of other goodies. The game is adorable and it could not be simpler, yet it manages to entertain a mixed-age group--you can download a printable board and directions here. It involves eating candy, secrets, and shouting. The Holy Trinity of party fun.

Then it was time for cake.







I think the whole affair was a great success and Hank was a gracious host. More pics are here. And it felt like I was also celebrating the end of my chemotherapy with a pirate-themed party. Which, why not? Yar!

(I also took a picture during chemo, but it is lacking in cute children. Captures the scene though.)

I can't believe my little buddy Hank has been around for four years. I really love the 3's and 4's. I'm not sure I love not having a toddler anymore. I know there are remedies for that problem, but I don't think we're up to it. What I really, really want is for both of my kids to stay the exact ages that they are now.

I hope your day had a little piratey goodness.

I Spray Painted My Pumpkin

I think it turned out really cute. I want to do more, but I wonder how many is too many? As you may remember, I have a penchant for spray painting things white. Or not truly white, but actually Krylon's indoor/outdoor paint in Ivory Satin. Same paint I use on everything. I like this a lot.

Maybe you're like me--I want to start decorating for fall, but I'm not really ready for a grinning orange jack o' lantern. This will ease me into October, I think. Not surprisingly, it is very easy to spray paint a pumpkin. So why the heck not? The only sort-of tricky part was masking the stem. As I was carefully putting blue painter's tape around it, I thought, "Is this what nature intended? I mean, what am I doing? Did my ancestors learn to walk upright, and tame fire, so that I could arrive at this moment?" I guess the answer is, "Yep."

I can't decide, though, if I like it in the living room, or on the dining room table. I like it as a nice, simple centerpiece. But it is kind of anchoring my whole bookshelf tableau at the mo.

I think what I'll do is get another pumpkin and paint it a nice light celery green, and put it in that spot. Then it might sorta match some of my pottery. (As much as I thought it wouldn't happen to me, I've inherited my mother's pottery addiction.) The MSL picture I saw had a bunch of painted pumpkins on a front porch, but I'm enjoying this baby inside.

So this is what's happening over here.