Home Tour - Part Three

The Master Bedroom & Bathroom:
Photo No. 1 - We finally got rid of the headboard/footboard that I had since high school. That thing was so old and rickety, I was afraid it would fold in on me one night mid-sleep! I love the clean look of nothing there. The airy curtains are courtesy of Ikea. The blue lamps were hand-me-down brass ones from my mom, that I spray-painted blue, then added a lamp shade from a lamp my uncle gave us. What a hodgepodge way to decorate, huh?! The little white dresser you can barely see on the right was my mom's when she was a little girl. The white side table on the left was one of our first purchases when we were married, from an antique store (can also be a trunk).
Photo No. 2 - Look at this dresser!! It belonged to my mother-in-law's great aunt. She remembers being a little girl and watching her sit there and get ready with all her perfumes and makeup on a little vanity tray. It came from their family home (also known as "The Hill") built in Mississippi, circa 1852.
The banjo and guitar are growing on me. Not exactly my first choice of decor, but baby girl loves it when my husband plays for her and requests a song every time she's in our room (which is adorable). So that makes up for the huge chunk of wall space they hog.
Photo No. 3 - This is my bathroom. Mine. All mine. Granted, it is only a half-bath. But who cares!? That 50's pink tile doesn't bother me a bit....kind of like it. It's is so nice to have a little space of my own to get ready and kick people out of. :)

Home Tour - Part Two

Craft Space:
The desk I use for sewing and crafting is perfectly huge and sturdy. It was my father-in-laws when he went through school. Thankfully it fits like a glove in our kitchen. The Happy Day Garland I made hangs on the wall with leftover fabrics from various projects right over my collection of new and old family cookbooks. The white basket on the shelf is holding the burp cloths I made for Ruthie. I now use them as mini dish towels.
It goes without saying that this is one of my favorite spots in the house, right?

There's Fräulein Helga! Hi.

Home Tour - Part One

We have pretty much settled into the new place so I thought I'd offer a grand tour. Then I realized how many fun/interesting/nostalgic tidbits there were to share about each photo, so I'm breaking it down so as not to overwhelm/bore you. Everything we own is a hand-me-down, handmade, or has some sort of story to tell.
Photo No. 1 - The Foyer
See that cool piece of furniture on the left? That is a dental piece from my husbands side of the family. My mother-in-law inherited three of those and gave one to each of the kids. It's the real deal. Her uncle was a dentist from around 1930-1960(ish) and when we cleaned out the drawers it looked like it was frozen in time. Each little compartment still had drill bits, crown molds, matrix bands, glass medicine jars with who-knows-what in them. One drawer still has a tooth in it!
My mother-in-law also passed down that little table in the corner - one she repainted a while back. And the picture you can't see very well on the wall is a collage of all the men and women on my husbands side of the family who have served in the military ever since the civil war. My husband's grandfather made it.

Photo No. 2 - The Dining Room
The table was a gift from my husband for our fourth anniversary. He built it from salvaged fence wood. The green chairs were, um, accidentally stolen from a crosswalk attendant. We thought they were trash and didn't have the nerve to return them once we discovered that the crossing guards sat in them while they waited for the kids. The wooden chairs are ill-proportioned and will tip you out if you aren't careful. They were made by our old crazy landlord in Louisiana.
The big beautiful buffet is newly inherited. It is one of my favorite things in the house. It was built in New Orleans, and has been in my mother-in-law's family since she can remember. I scrounged around and found one of my old skeleton keys that actually work on the locks!
Photo No. 3 - Built-in Bookshelves!
We love family photos, love books, and love art...so you can see why this is another one of my favorite spots in the house. That set of books at the bottom left was passed down from my dad to my husband. The letters that spell "Books" in front get rearrange by the four year old to say "Bokos". Recognize that car at the top right? There are pieces of my husbands pottery sprinkled around, and paintings done by both of us. The tiny picture on the third shelf down on the left was a gift from my dad from Russia - a snowy scene painted on birch wood. The cigar boxes on the middle shelf hold my collection of morning post-its.
Photo No. 4 - Back Kitchen Door
I have had to fight for that window pane. Every time we move, my husband tries to get rid of it! This time though, it was his genius idea to put hooks on it and use it as a bag "catch-all" by the back door. Why hadn't I thought of that sooner?
The bench was built by my husband's grandfather a long time ago.

Summertime

This summer was crazy! We traveled (Gatlinburg, Dallas, Nashville, Asheville, New Orleans, and Ruston), we had birthdays and train-rides, we ate lots of good food, we got new teeth and curls (okay, just the baby did that), we loaded up and moved (from Durham, NC to Dallas, TX), we unpacked, we settled, we played, and now it's time to start "real life" again. It has been so fun and so hectic, but I am ready for those quotidian rhythms that bring predictability to my day and offer spaces to create. I feel like I've hardly touched a needle and thread, or paint and canvas all summer. There were a few quick projects here and there, but not enough. My craft space is now set up and the project list is long...stay tuned!
IMAGES:
1. a collaboration piece the 4 year old and I made for my husband's birthday
2. the sky over Texas
3. baby time
4. the birthday boy
5. the boy and the dog in the moving truck
6. new curls in a new house
7. favorite new play spot - the dirt pile in the back yard
8. His and Hers handstands at The Peristyle, City Park, New Orleans, where we wed 8 years ago
9. St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans

Lace Ruffle Hair Combs: A Tutorial

These pretty little combs are super easy to make. I originally bought the wire combs for making myself a few floral ones, since I do so love a flower in my hair but can't always count on there being a real one around. But once I'd made a few of those, my big stash of lace was calling out. So what came of it? Two-toned ruffly lace fan-looking girly hair combs. And since I know you are just sitting at home wondering how to make that exact thing, I have step-by-step instructions for you right here.










What you need:
- some sort of metal or plastic hair combs, I bought my metal ones here
- wire snippers, and pliers
- craft wire
- lace ribbon/hem tape (at the fabric store by the bias tape/seam binding)






What you do: (click photo to see larger)
1. Cut two different colors of lace (preferably analogous) about 18" long
2. With them lined up together, take a piece of wire (about 8-9") and weave it in and out all along one edge of both pieces of lace. Don't worry about being exactly the same distance apart...loosey-goosey here people. Tip: turn your ribbons under twice at each end so they don't poke out when you're all done.
3. Once you've made it through the ribbon, gather it all up and cinch it off at the bottom, twisting your wire a few times to keep it bunched up.
4. Place your ruffle on the comb and hold in place while you take each side of the wire and "sew" it to your comb. Go around the comb several times, then gently through the lace a few times as well to secure it.
5. When you feel that your ruffle is secure, snip the loose wires off and tuck them under somewhere along the comb.
6. Put 'em in your do! You're done!
*white/cream would be lovely for a wedding!

Flower Doodles

The first one is a line drawing of dandelions my husband gave me a few months ago. Dandelions are fine, but are by no means the prettiest flower out there. They do, however, rank pretty high on my list of favorites because they always signal that warm spring weather is near - a sentiment that seems foolish now that it's in the mid 90's and the "southern hug" of humidity has tightened its grip.
















The second one is of a bouquet from the table at my favorite cafe. It was the perfect day. Me, a stack of books and my iPod had a quiet morning while my sweet husband watched the kids for a few hours. I ate a giant slice of cake for breakfast and didn't have to explain to anyone under the age of four why that was okay for grown-ups to do. :)
The flowers were sketched on the back of a bookmark, and I used some hot sauce and coffee to add a little bit of color.

High Chair Seat Cover DIY

Ruthie was like a floppy fish sliding around in her seat when we first put her in her hair chair, so a cushion seemed in order. The one that came with the chair is long gone - Judah smeared peas on it one too many times. I used a brown paper grocery bag and made a quick pattern, and found this image to use as a guide.






































It's sewn pretty much the same as a quilt.
- cut out your pattern
- cut out your layers (front, back and batting)
- sandwich them all together and pin
- sew together!











Useful tips I learned:
- the iron does in fact melt carpet, so don't be lazy and get the ironing board out next time.
- when sewing a pattern of any sort on the fabric, be it ever so simple, draw it out with chalk instead of winging it...those lines can play tricks on you!
- anything can be a fabric weight (ie: fancy candlesticks)





I was a little bummed because I realized that I measured wrong for the bias tape - twice. After a run to the store and still getting the wrong amount I decided to just use extra white leftover from Judah's quilt, and then use the orange just for the ties. I would prefer it being all orange, but Ru might just grant that wish since she can be very, um, active with her carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes.
PS - does that fabric look familiar?