Costumes Complete

Ta da! Both kids had complete costumes in time not just for Halloween but for our neighbors' party yesterday - go me!  Dorothy's dress turned out quite nicely and most importantly, Amy was happy with it.  I even made her a petticoat, ribbons for her hair, and put some makeup on her.  Toto came from Target.  William's costume might be a bit harder to guess... especially with his blue shark boots and the too-small knitted cap that he insisted on wearing, as part of his Han Solo get-up.  Don figured out how to make a holster from an old belt and our pruning shears case, and I glued a red ribbon up the seam of an old pair of pants, bought the white shirt, and sewed the little black vest.  His costume truly came together at the last minute, as I was so focused on the sewing effort of Dorothy that I kind of overlooked making anything for my poor boy who spends much of his day pretending to be Han. 

So... success!  This past week went by so fast.  We had an awesome weekend last, away with friends at Myrtle Beach.  I have lots of thoughts big and small to share about that, and some pictures too, and hope to get to it all before it's old news.  But for now I'm writing on borrowed time and need to get Dorothy and Han to bed.  Hope your weekend is delightful! 

Sewing Progress and Playroom Thoughts

 

Look at what is finally coming together! Dorothy is off to a promising start, I am happy to report. I've probably said this on my blog a hundred times already but I REALLY love sewing. And that fact always kinda surprises me, because somehow sewing projects are constantly at the bottom of my list - I want to but  feel I couldn't possibly start something until the bathrooms are cleaned/the laundry is done/the kids stop bugging me, etc.  But once I just jump into a project, I love it so much that I question why I don't just make it a higher priority in my day, for goodness sake.  Anyway. 

Hey, remember those extremely cool bookshelves I whipped up (with Don's help) in the playroom?  Well, they looked great, and the thriftiness of the idea is awesome... but... in practice they didn't quite work out.  There were a few installation things I would change if I were doing them again, but mostly, the flexible nature of the gutters allowed the books to do some impressive forward flips off the shelf if anybody besides me set them in the ledge and tilted them precisely toward the wall.  So therefore, no one put the books away, and after a few nights of stories the daybed where we sit to read would look something like this: 

 

So... I unscrewed the shelves, tucked them away to try/modify another time, and brought the trusty yellow bookshelf back out of the closet and returned it to its former location.  I am much happier now.  So is the yellow shelf. 

After putting away the books and tidying up a bit I realized that my next home dec efforts really need to happen in this room.  Did I post here about the other changes in this room lately?  I can't remember and it's 11:15 pm so I'm not going to go back and look now... but the short version is that now my desk is up here, too.  We moved the extra tv and its cabinet to the garage and now my desk is opposite the daybed.  I still have my sewing table in the other corner, and generally this room works quite well as mommy-and-kiddos' playroom.   However, as functional as it all is, there is a serious lack of cohesive decorating.  I have some incredibly cute fabric that I think I might patch together for some quilted cases for these huge pillows, as well as for a new cover for the cute but sorta "dated" (I hate that word) tulip pillow in the rocking chair.  And, I think a new cover for the daybed is in order as well.  Maybe I'll even recover my sewing chair.  I've got ideas, people. 

So consider this a "before" post - hopefully I'll have some good progress to report on sooner rather than later, both for the costume and this room in general. 

Little Things

One of the recent additions to my "favorite blogs" list is that of Sarah Marie, who has started a "Little Things"  Friday post that I'll be linking up to. This is a fitting way for me to quickly catch you up on some of the little (but very good) things that have been going on around here.  Here goes: 

1. A few weeks ago I sewed two little bags (all in the same afternoon!). Amy and William had each picked out a fat quarter at this great little fabric store we found, and Amy successfully pestered me into making something for her with it. I used a pattern for a larger tote I've made a few times, reduced the size, and churned out two in about two hours, maybe less. 

2.  At Target I found the cutest wall decals for the kids' room.  Amy and William share a room, and I don't really have a decorating "theme" - mostly just trying to keep it simple and quiet with meaningful pieces on the walls and an absence of branded or gender-specific decor.  Just nice colors and nice things for nice kids to look at.  But I thought these decals would be something fun and special for each one to have on his/her own side of the room, and to look at while falling asleep.  Success on all accounts. 

For William I chose the vintage-y cars/trucks/vehicles, which is right up his alley, and for Amy I picked the sea creatures, which is perfect for my animal-loving, science-y girl. (How many times can I use -y inappropriately?)

 

3.  I finally got another string of twinkle lights to go around the living room window. I've had them around the dining room window (left) since Christmas, but left them up for the nice evening light they add to the whole room.  After a bit of minor redecorating I decided that since I'm not likely to commit to drapes any time soon, I might as well do lights around the living room window to match.  Of course nothing is simple: first set I got from Lowes cost $10, which I thought was steep but accepted, but got them home and discovered that they were too short and too dim. Returned. Second set was from Target, $5, but these were too long and even dimmer. (And each time I was buying the simple 100-count white lights on white wire, 40 watts - no reason for a difference, people). Returned the Target ones and finally ended up at Walmart, where I think I got the original ones anyway, and found them for $2.88, and they are the perfect length and much brighter.  Go figure, but thank goodness for ol' Walmart.  I bought four boxes, lest I go through this exercise again. 

4.  Back in the kids's room: See that little table in front of the window?  It used to be black and live in the garage holding junk.  I spray painted the daylights out of it and now it is pretty and white and exactly the right size for a mutual nightstand.  Even found 3 blue bins that fit perfectly on the top shelf to hold.... well, something eventually. (Walmart again, $0.96 each).  Very pleased with this project. 

Oh, and since the backing is just cheap-o cardboard and didn't take the paint well I just glued scrapbook paper to it, which, miraculously, I HAD, and had exactly the right amount of.  Meant to be. 

 

5.  Feeling really lucky about these pretty saucers, and the mug they came with.  For $2 (total) at Goodwill.  They are Fire King by Anchor Hocking.  I could hardly believe my eyes when I looked at the bottom; I have coveted Jadite for the longest time but never knew the same type of glass was made in this pretty blue, which I have since learned is called Delphite.  The mug alone would go for $30-40 on ebay.  (PS - I just found that link when I did a quick google search for an example picture - but apparently I'm in good company with loving the stuff - if only I actually owned some...)    Anyway, now I have a start! 

6.  A not-so-little project for the weekend: Must. Make. Dorothy. Costume. Eek!  Wish me luck! 

I like this theme... might try to make it a regular Friday thing along with Sarah Marie.  Thanks for the idea and the link! 

Lowcountry October

Not quite feeling like fall yet around here... but we're enjoying a lovely month all the same. 

One of Those Posts

I think I have some sort of blogging glass-ceiling problem.  Just when I think I'm doing well with a steady posting frequency something happens and suddenly two weeks go by without writing.

My excuse this time is that I have moved my desk.

And approximately 5 other small pieces of furniture in the house.

And I've rehung a lot of pictures.  Need to spackle.

It is all very exciting.  But that means that my little camera-card-reader-doo-hickey is in the desk drawer.  Upstairs.  I am downstairs.  I've moved my workstation but I can't seem to move my habit, so I keep finding myself with my computer on my lap on the couch, and cozy as that may be, it is not terribly productive.

Allergies are hitting something fierce right now.  Is it ragweed?  That's what I hear... Ug.

Amy is in some sort of almost-five-year-old stage of being afraid of the dark... and just about everything else.  It is always hard to know with her how much is genuine and how much is a ploy for attention.  Either way, we've had some unpleasant middle-of-the-night crying sessions that are leaving me a bit tired.  How did I ever manage when being awake in the middle of the night was a regular occurrence?

William is easy, by comparison.  He got a stuffed hedgehog puppet the other day which he just loves.  He also likes to wear this old, faded pink plastic garden pot (clean) on his head as a hat.  It fits perfectly.  He likes to walk around the house very seriously with his hat and his hedgehog.

I have fallen behind in the sewing department lately.  Seems to be October already, which means a very finite number of days to complete (or, ah, start) Amy's Dorothy costume before Halloween.  I also have a quilt that needs a few extra rows, and a whole heap of other inspirations I'd like to be acting on but just haven't gotten around to.

My thought with moving my desk upstairs to the sewing/playroom was that it would be more conducive to my doing some work in the morning before the kids get up - either taking care of my computer chores like paying bills (writing posts!) or trying to generate some creative momentum to (gasp) start an Etsy shop or write some stories or just make things for my own enjoyment... ANY of it would be a welcome addition to my day.

Problem is of course, waking up early when I am oh-so-fond of staying up late.  Hmmm.

Think I need to give my blog a makeover, too.  I don't really know how to do that.

I really like this post - and need to reorient myself to that mode of accomplishment.  I've been flying by the seat of my pants a bit too much lately.  Need a good list.

Oh, speaking of creative, I am going to a painting "class" with a friend tomorrow night.  I am very excited, hope it lives up to expectations.

Aaannnd I think that's about all I've got for tonight. Will procure card reader and unload pictures tomorrow... hopefully will have something better to show for myself. Till then!

Pom Poms, etc

 

Hello, it's been a little while, I've got a whole hodgepodge of things to share.  First off, this little guy was just too cute, and he was so cooperative about having his picture taken.  He was hanging out chirping in the garden after what was possibly our last big "summer" rainstorm a few weeks ago. 

Next up, holy cow, I don't think there is much more of a crafty thrill than making pom poms.  My mom is visiting, and she brought her newly purchased pom pom makers, and we've been having a lot of fun.  Mostly just working with leftover yarn of all colors and varieties, but I've got some ideas now...  and Amy made two for herself to tie on her school backpack.  She also really wanted to make a big one for Daddy, so we found some yarn in Coast Guard colors: 

 

Next up, I promised to introduce some new friends, and here they are - meet Belle: 

and Bingo:

 

We had a terrific red betta for over two years who recently died a peaceful fishy death of natural causes.  After a proper fishy mourning period I set out with the kids to find someone else to fill the tank. We were planning on another betta, a blue one, to be exact, but something drew us to the tank of 27 cent goldfish, and with the thought that the kids could each get one, we picked out two with interesting markings, bought some food, and brought them home to our already-established 5-gallon tank.  Amy chose the name Belle and William chose the name Bingo.  

Of course, I can't keep anything simple, and after reading some about goldfish later that night, I started feeling guilty about their relatively small digs.  I realize that plenty of people keep goldfish in nothing more than a bowl, but knowing that these guys can grow to 12" and live for a decade or two in a nice pond, I thought that perhaps they deserved a little more room. 

And as I pondered all this, I got thinking about a different place for the tank, somewhere where the kids could see it more and free up my kitchen counter a bit, and while I was at it, how to better organize the kids toys and art supplies that are front and center in our living/dining space.  Trust me, it was all tied together in my mind. This was the first change: 

Bought a smaller shelf for below the "bar" area, reduced and recombined the art supplies, and moved the bigger, 9-cube shelf over to the empty wall in the living room.  Don't have a picture of that at the moment, but boy did it make me happy to sort through the toys and reorganize and consolidate and pitch out... ahhhh!

Anyway, after almost talking myself and Don into a 30-gallon tank that would, dimension-wise, fit exactly on the top of this shelf, I decided that perhaps that was just too much for our current circumstances, moving and all that.  And so as a compromise William and I picked up a simple 10-gallon glass tank and hood at Petsmart today.  Amy and I set it up this afternoon, and voila! 

 

Clutter! Clutter!  Right now my decorating scheme is a bit "kindergarten class"... hmmm, need to work on that.  Also working on my fish-photography skills.  But you get the idea.  We are all really pleased with the aesthetics of the whole setup now, and the fish seem happy with the roomy accommodations.  And, rest assured, the cats have a close eye on the whole situation: 

On a Roll

I've been on a roll since the weekend, organizing and moving things around.  I've been mainly dealing with shelving and storage issues and the kids areas of books, toys, and art supplies.  I don't have any decent pictures yet of what I was up to over the weekend, but today's project was completed so expediently that I must continue my roll and blog about it.

Before we even moved into this house I spotted this idea for kids bookshelves. Vinyl rain gutters as book shelves are all over blogland, so I can't even come close to claiming this as an original idea.  Nevertheless, it is a good one, and a really cheap one. After we moved here and settled our furniture in we didn't really have the kind of wall space I wanted for that project. But just last night I was sitting in the rocker in the playroom and sort of absently staring into the closet where the toys were kept... and then at the yellow shelf loaded down with books we love but that don't get read much simply because there are so many and they're kinda tight on the shelf (and lately we've been reading mostly library books).

Anyway (phew, this is a big lead up... sorry), I decided to move the toy bin/shelf out of the closet.  The toy shelf was being rather under-utilized, and it wasn't hard to find other boxes and places for the items on it (most are still in the closet). Then the yellow book shelf moved into the closet, freeing up the other wall. (This post has some pictures that sorta show where things were before).

A quick trip to Lowes this morning for a 10' gutter and 3 end caps (they only had the right-side ones in stock; I still need to get 3 for the left).  The grand total on this project will be a whopping $18.

Don was glad to have a project for his day off and so he happily cut and mounted the shelves for me, and voila!

Those end caps help stabilize each shelf, so until I get the left-hand caps the arrangement is a little lopsided.  I am really pleased with how it all turned out.  My plan is to put out new books from our own "library" every week or so, so that they seem fresh and attractive and we can enjoy some old favorites as well as the "real" library books. 

If I can get some good pictures, I hope to introduce some new friends in my next post... stay tuned!