I have completed two more projects in the last couple of days. One was inspired by pinterest and the other I just felt like making. The pinterest one came from this image:

You know, of course, that I love the colour - I mean, it's turquoise, isn't it? - and so I had to have one for myself! I used an old cookie sheet instead of a frame and I am really happy with how it turned out. See?

This will be in our new bathroom. It is more of a pale blue than a turquoise but I was mixing colours up using my acrylics and I am pretty pleased with it. I had some good magnets on hand and used a dab of E6000 to glue them on to the backs of all my make up. I can hardly wait to get this into the new bathroom!

The other crafty thing that I made was just for fun. I have a big box of buttons - some from my mother, some I have bought, some my friend gave me. I decided that I wanted to show off some of them. And so I did this - lovely buttons in beautiful shades of blue and green and in my favourite shape!

Did you notice the apple shaped button right in the middle? I got it years ago from a good friend - you know, the whole give an apple to the teacher idea - and never figured out where to use it. I love it in the centre of this piece. I will be hanging this in the stairwell gallery at the new house. It is making me crazy that I can picture it all so clearly and, yet, I have to wait before we can get in there. Only 6 days until we get the keys!

The other day while cleaning out stuff I came across two of these IKEA mirrors. I bought them years ago.

They are only $2.99 each - major score - and they have the potential to become really nice wall art. I had decoupaged both of them in different colours and textures but I really didn't like them anymore. So I painted one white and one black. Then I pulled out my letter stamps. And now I have two more pieces of art to grace the walls of our new home!



Another pinterest idea comes to life...

I saw this on pinterest

 

via martha stewart

and knew I had to do it for myself. My hubby is a collector of all things old and eclectic. That is why I call him my crow - he is always bringing me home things like a crow bringing things to its nest. In his wanderings he has brought home a number of old tins. I knew that they would be perfect for this idea. A little bit of E6000 glue, a few magnets and voila!

I would like to have one more since I think all things are better in threes. I feel sure that my crow will be able to find one that I can add to the set.

And the doll? It is one of a series of dolls I made many, many years ago with magnets in their hands and feet. This one is called "running from success." It was based on a set of activities I did with an art group I belonged to at the time.

Now, I'm off to make something else. What is it you ask? Well, I will give you a hint....

 Stay tuned!

A thing for words...

I have a thing for words - well, for quotes mainly. I have collected them in little notebooks, scraps of paper or written/painted/drawn them in my art journal for years. Since becoming a pinterest junkie, I have discovered the joy of quotes framed on the wall. I now have so many that I want to hang up in the new house that I am not sure I have enough walls!

Here are a few of my favourites...

via hello darlin

(this one makes me think of my dad)

via a month of sundays

via happy deliveries on etsy

(I actually ordered this one!)

via tumblr

via desmobilia

(so true - my hubby would like this one)

via pitter patter art

Don't be surprised to see some of these turn up in the stairwell gallery in our new home. I can see it so clearly in my head. Now I just want to be living there already so that I can make it a reality! 8 days left until we get the keys. Yippee!

Our new home is going to be the smallest space in which we have ever lived. It is roughly 800 sq. feet. I feel equal parts excitement and trepidation. Excitement because I love organizing and decorating. I get a real charge out of figuring out how to use a space in the most efficient manner and still maintain our eclectic sense of style. Trepidation because it is so small!!!! We will be getting rid of about 6 pieces of furniture and at least 40% of our belongings. In the last two weeks I have sent 6 boxes and 1 bag to the Sally Anne. That probably amounts to 2% of what we need to get rid of in the next month. Yikes I still have a lot to do!

One thing I didn't expect to happen is that I would start to feel lighter as I fill box after box. As the rooms clear of books, decorative accessories, picture frames, crafty stuff I never use anymore, clothes, shoes and more I feel better and better. It is a lightness in my soul. I am left only with those items that we truly treasure.

One thing that I can't decide  what to do with is the papasan chair that our daughter saved up her money to buy when she was around 12. It came from Pier 1. She doesn't want it anymore - her room now has a black and white/Marilyn Monroe/Audrey Hepburn theme going on and the papasan just doesn't fit. And....my hubby hates it. And I do mean he HATES it!

But it is one of the most comfortable chairs ever! It is just the right size to curl up in under a cozy blanket to read. I really, really want to have a chair in the corner of our master bedroom. And today I found this pillow that goes on it. In teal! In fuzzy teal! In come over and curl up on me cozy, fuzzy teal!

I find that with small space living there are only so many places to go for privacy. Basically, the only times I can have true privacy are in the bath or in bed. So, I often end up reading in one or the other of these locations. But I really, really want a place to curl up. Only problem (well, besides the fact that my hubby hates it!) is that it is not a small chair. It takes up space. Keeping it will definitely mean getting rid of something else - most likely one of the pieces that I really want to keep.

So, what's a girl to do? It would be a heck of a lot cheaper to buy the new pillow for the papasan and call it a day. But do I want a piece of furniture in our bedroom that my hubby hates? Wouldn't that be bad karma or something? And does a papasan chair really fit in with the vision I have of the new place. Maybe I should leave that corner empty until I have the means to buy the just right chair. Maybe something like this?

via tumblr

via pinterest

via tumblr

vie the virginia house

via re-nest

via pinterest

Hmmmm....have to say that after looking over these pics of such lovely, cozy chairs I think that I am going to thank the papasan for being in my life and then let it go. I would rather wait and find the chair that really calls  my name. Gee, I love when I start a post with a question and manage to answer it myself by the end! Go me!



More Pinterest Inspiration...

I have been inspired by the many signs I have seen on Pinterest about house rules. Signs like these ones are floating all over Pinterest.

via etsy

via etsy

via amygregson.blogspot.com

So, I decided to make my own. I am really, really happy with how it turned out. Sorry the picture is a little dark. The very bottom line says "Love is enduring." That one came from my hubby. Sweet, huh?



I can hardly wait to hang it up in the new house. 10 days until we move!!!!

Boredom Busters

Being sick has to be one of the most boring things ever. I am still sick (the antibiotics are starting to kick in but I was put on steroids today to bring down the inflamation) but I am so glad that I am finally feeling well enough to do some puttering around the house. I have been going through stuff and filling box after box for donation. I am trying to give away two boxes for every one I pack for the new house.

Today I started sorting through my studio stuff. In my sorting I came across some felt, ribbon and fabric scraps that gave me an idea. Since I would rather be creative than anything else, I took a break from puttering and made these.



 I grabbed my letter stamps, an ink pad and some skeleton keys. I tore the canvas in strips and then stamped out "the key to my" and added a heart stamp. I didn't have a heart stamp to use so I made one with a carrot!

It turned out great! I stamped the heart on the end of each phrase then hand sewed the strips of canvas to the front  of the heart with black thread. Then I used a black zigzag stitch to close the heart up. A little black ribbon bow holding the skeleton key on and bob's your uncle!

I haven't decided what I'll do with them but at least now I have less fabric, felt and ribbon to pack! I think that I will probably keep one (since I like them!) and give the rest as gifts or maybe list them in my etsy shop. We'll see....



There is nothing good about being sick. I remember when I was a kid and was thrilled to miss a day of school when I was sick so that I could lie on the sofa, sucking on popsicles and watching cartoons. A sick day was like a holiday! Now, it is just boring. And painful... Bronchitis is just one cough after another resulting in really, really sore muscles! 

So, while my body is not co-operating, my mind is (of course)  buzzing with a zillion and one things it wants to do right now! So, on my mind right now:

• wanting to invent a cough suppressant that really works
• wishing I had the dimensions of the new house so that I could plan better
• thinking about school and wondering how the kids are doing
• planning Christmas gifts
• wondering how to make something like these cool purses from circle craft by noelle hamlyn. My old Power Boys and Trixie Beldens are calling out to have this done to them!

 

• how pinterest really is addictive
• how I have pinned far more ideas than I will ever, ever have time to create!
• how watching tv becomes really, really monotonous after awhile - who knew?
• and some new ideas for our new home - tentative moving date mid December sometime



via apartment therapy - we have an old bike in the backyard that came from a friend who moved away. It is beautifully rusted and would look great as a potrack!

via tumblr - I want to paint over one of my old paintings and do something like this for the new house

via tumblr - I would love to do this for Georgia and New York with a little heart pin on my Dad's hometown and my mum's hometown

a way to show off my fave fabrics via purlbee.com

via curbly.com - I have the table legs and the suitcase. Now I just need the energy!

via bijoukaleidoscope - so, so cool!

via cloth to creation - I really want to do this in our small storage closet. I think the closet is about the size of a double bed and we already own at least 10 of these suitcases. Our storage is going to have to be super efficient and this idea is a definite to do on my list!!!!

And now I am going to take a nap. Again....

Taking a break from house dreaming...

I have started to work on Christmas gifts and, so, will be having to put the dreams and plans about our new place on hold for a couple of weeks. It should work out perfectly as we get possession of the new place on Dec. 1and I plan to be long finished with the handmade gifts by then! The first gift I am making is also the most bittersweet. It is a lap quilt for my nephew. After my father's passing last year, I took his shirts - there is every possible type of plaid and stripe you can imagine. And a lot (and I mean A LOT) of fabric as my dad was a big man.

See what I mean? The main colour is blue with some reds and browns thrown in there for a change. Plaids, stripes and one or two plain ones just to keep it interesting. They are all pretty much the same shirt in different colours. Short sleeved, chest pocket, button down collar. I thought I would feel bad about cutting them up but I didn't.

See what I mean about a lot of fabric?!?! The top pile is all of the collars. Not sure what I will do with those but know that I will think of something eventually! I am pretty sure that I will have enough fabric to make a quilt not only for my nephew but for my own daughter and my nieces, too. But I also know that there is no way I will get 4 quilts done before Christmas AND get ready to move again. So, I am starting with one and will go on from there.

losing steam...

I am back and forth these days...one minute I am excited about moving to the co-op and the next minute I am exhausted (simply exhausted) by the thought of moving again only 3 months after we moved in here. I think about how this place was not so long ago...

Am I INSANE???? Do I really want to be back in this reality by  moving again?!?! I know that it will all work out in the end but it really is hard to imagine all this stuff - even when we have pared down - turning into something that feels more like this...

via prettypetals

via shabby chicks

via southern hospitality

via down size my space

via shannon berrey

via remodelaholic

I am determined though. It will mean a much smaller Christmas celebration and having to basically do three jobs - work all day at school, pack and sort at the old house and paint, unpack and set up the new house - for at least 8 weeks but I will get through. One day I will look back on this and be very glad that I put the time into building a home for my family. After all...

via eighteen25