in which he works and i take pictures

* It has snowed. A lot. 

* Our next-door neighbor has a snow blower. I love our next-door neighbor. And not just because of the snow blower.

* I have been avoiding said snow. I have a little baby, you know. He should stay inside. And he needs me to stay with him. 

* You've seen this mac & cheese recipe on Pinterest, right? Make it. Tonight. It makes an amazing side dish. Except, if your kids are like mine, don't call it mac and cheese, because this is clearly not mac and cheese, if you follow me.  

* Fairy gel? Two, please.

* The man and I saw The Hobbit on New Year's Day. We both liked the movie pretty well. I just re-read the book a few months ago, so although it was helpful to have the plot fresh in my mind, it also made me sort of irrationally upset when there were blatant (and, to me, unnecessary) inconsistencies. So if you are also the type to get irrationally upset about that kind of thing, be warned. Also, the best time for us to go just happened to be a 3D showing. It was our first time seeing a movie in 3D, and it was fun, though I'm not sure I would pick a 3D movie again. I thought the glasses were annoying.

* We're almost done remodeling the entry way. It's looking goooood. Home reno posts coming right up on that and on our new bathroom. I love it so much that I keep making up excuses to go hide in the loo.

* Okay, so maybe this blog is not going to be completely people-free. But I feel a little less worried about people stealing pictures of my husband's backside. In fact, I completely understand people stealing pictures of my husband's backside. 

* Thanks for all the support on that last post. 

* And thanks to an amazing Christmas present, I've been reading up on super-helpful posts like this one and serging the crap out of everything. What? It doesn't fit? I can serge that. I'll just give your socks a good serge while I'm at it. Don't the dish towels need to be serged, too? What a funny word. Serge. Seerrrrrrge.

* I want to make one of these monsters. Their mouths zip open! Rawwr.

autumn bunting

Maren and I did a little sewing this week while Max was sleeping. She is so good at sitting on my lap and patiently feeding the fabric into the machine. I never used to sew while the kids were awake, but having Lizzy at school makes things so much less crazy during the day. I swear that girl was made for kindergarten. Anyway. I had a bunch of autumn-y fabrics that I got from a friend of a friend years ago, and I love the way they add a dose of fall to the house. We picked up some mini pumpkins and corn from the farmer's market, laid down some burlap, added a black cat, et voila! Insta-autumn.

on being a power drill weenie

So my man has been gone for a month. (Not deployed. Just in training.)

In Army life, that isn't too big of a deal. But still. It's a deal. 'Specially when you're cooking a small human inside your tummy and you have two other small humans outside your tummy to look after.

After a month by my onesie, I am so happy to tell you that 1) he's coming home, and 2) I ain't afraid of no stinking power drill no more. I decided that it was time to quit being such a weenie about drills, hammers, anchors, nails, screws, and other previously intimidating-to-me "manly" objects. and really? It's empowering to wield a power drill with a big mean bit on it with a big ole pregnant belly, to boot. 'Specially when I'm out with my belly in front of my house on a ladder drilling holes into the front of my house. Makes people drive by reeeeal slow.

Anyway, my point is, I drilled holes in a bunch of crap this month. Like my walls. Which is really not all that exciting. 

Except that it is.

My first attempt using anchors. I'm dumbfounded that it's still on the wall. Like, securely.

Ta-da! music box with wheels.

I found the most awesome vintage hook to use as a curtain holdback. Print from Graphic Anthology.

Sexy glasses, eh? This is a funny picture because my man is not short. He's 5'9. His commander is just ha-yuge.

Welcome home, love. I missed you. You can have your drill back now.

art journal: recent pages

{wanting to dive into mandalas but feeling indimidated. tons of inspiration here.}

{heart of romaine printed with acrylic over watercolor.}

{silver gelly over acrylic. practicing blending blue + red into purple.}

{recipe via eating for england. the best lunch!}

{mod podge is my very favorite adhesive/sealer/transfer medium/all-powerful magic spell so far.}

So loving this art journaling. 

I feel a little bit freer every time, and I find myself expressing thoughts and feelings that for some reason, I never would have written down in a traditional journal.

Especially when it comes to babies and things.

{august, y'all.}

drywall vs. decor

We decided to do all our drywall ourselves, and we're glad we did. I think. 

But it really is a pain in the butt.

Drywall or no drywall, I am undeterred.

Hence the V-Day banner, adapted from the ever-lovely Danielle and her recent DIY post.

{how did I forget how awesome glue guns are??}

It ain't pretty (the drywall, that is), but it's prettier than nothin'.

low-tech diy valentine's day garlands

pinking shears + pink and red felt + candy-striped yarn

and

sparkly pom poms + sparkly eyelash yarn.

best constructed while freaking out over downton abbey.

layer over paint samples and bare drywall for best effects.

{my man says the sparkly one reminds him of dr. seuss.}

ed emberley art

 Is there anything better than Ed Emberley during the baby's naptime?

{I mean, other than the preschooler consenting to take a nap, too.

But we all know that that is a pipe dream.}

I think not.

I tried this with Lizzy about 6 months ago and she didn't really get it. But I think something magical happened recently where she has started to draw with much more intent. 

Making teeth and hair and ears and mittens and creepy 3-eyed, 4-legged creatures. 

See that spider in the lower right corner? I'm, like, bursting with pride. 

I got pretty into it, too:

I think my favorites are the crab and the sleeping guy.

And get this -- I just found out there's a line of Ed Emberley fabrics coming out in the spring! (!!!)

Have a happy day, from our family to yours!

yes to yellow

I always admire furniture makeovers on other blogs, but rarely work up the chutzpah to do any of my own. But then last weekend, I found this little pretty at a garage sale and immediately thought -- yellow!

Because I have to tell you the truth -- my decorating skills -- they stink. 

And whenever I get an idea as revolutionary as a yellow chair, well, just you watch out.

 I put on a couple of coats (BHG Dandy Lion, eggshell finish) and was just going to leave it at that, but then I remembered this spraypaint + lace tutorial from A Beautiful Mess a few weeks back. I love the extra little sass it gives the seat. If you try it, make sure your lace is ironed flat and taped to the furniture as snugly as possible. See those blurry spots in the pattern? That's where the lace wasn't snuggly enough with the chair.

Oh well! I love it anyway.

Any other fantastic furniture makeover ideas out there we need to hear about?

{ps. I changed my header again. I want to eat it.}

{pps. today I am doing GI Jane day where all us wives pretend we're infantrymen. hmm.}

the pin-did challenge: week 1

It's time for the very first Pin-Did link party! whoopity whoop!

I'm giddy, so giddy. I can't wait to see what you've got to share.

To kick things off, I'm sharing my own happy little pin-did: fabric-lined envelopes!

I used fabrics from Aviary 2 and Loulouthi. The nice thing is that each envelope only takes a tiny bit of fabric, so you don't have to use up a huge cut of your favorite print. It was super easy and I can't wait to make some cards to go with them.

Your turn! 

Link up to your blog post 

{please link to the actual post} 

or comment below 

 and show us 

what you've been pin-doing this week. 

Visit the other links, spread some love,

keep pinning, keep making, and 

come back next week to see a featured project {or two!}.

guest blogger: jeni from in color order + how to choose colors

Today I am thrilled to my toes to introduce you to Jeni (and her bunny George!) of In Color Order!

Jeni's blog is one of those that I always read first in my Google Reader if she's got something new posted. Her content is unfailingly fresh, pretty, and always so beautifully photographed. Each of her posts makes me want to go sew something right! now! Her Flickr stream and vintage sheet Etsy shop are also utterly delicious, and fabrics from her shop frequently jump into my Etsy shopping cart of their own accord.
Add her to your reader -- you won't be disappointed!

Today Jeni is here with some tips on choosing colors for making awesome friendship bracelets. Take it away, girlfriend!

Personally, my favorite part about making Friendship Bracelets is choosing the colors! There are so many different colors of embroidery floss, it's like candy for crafters! I know however, that it can be overwhelming, especially since you're usually only choosing 4 or 5 colors! How do you narrow it down? I'm going to walk you through how I choose three different types of color palettes. I hope it makes it easier for you to put together your own color combinations!

1. Inspiration Fabric or Photo

This is my go-to method for choosing a color scheme. Find a fabric, photo, item of clothing, or any other object that has an appealing color scheme to you. If you can, take it along with you when you shop for floss and match colors to your item. Easy! For my scheme, I choose this plum Heather Ross Mendocino print. I choose colors from the background, the mermaid's hair, her tail, and the octopus. I ended up choosing the following DMC floss colors: very dark grape (154), dark mauve (3803), very dark cranberry (600), and dark straw (3820).

2. Monochromatic

Especially if you're doing a funky patterned bracelet, a monochromatic color scheme can create some cool effects! So, choose a color that you like, then choose the same color in different values (light--dark). And don't forget about neutrals! For my monochromatic scheme I went with gray. From light to dark I choose the following DMC floss colors: winter white (3865), ultra very light mocha brown (3866), very light brown gray (3024), light beaver gray (648).

3. Two-toned

If you still find yourself struggling to choose colors, this is a great, easy way to put together a color scheme. In this method, you're letting the floss do the work for you! Choose any two colors that you like. In my case I choose tangerine (740), and dark seagreen (958). Now, for the next two colors, I simply choose a lighter value of my first two colors. So to pair with tangerine, I choose medium tangerine (741). And for dark seagreen, I paired it with light seagreen (964)!

It's a lot easier, and more fun, to shop for floss in person. Most craft stores carry a good selection of floss! Don't be afraid to play around with different color combinations, it may take a few tries before you find something that you like! These are just a few of the many ways to put together color schemes! :)

I would like to point out two great online resources if you're using DMC brand embroidery floss. The first is a Color Descriptions Chart. This lets you look up the floss by # and find the color name. The second is a Color Chart. You can see a preview of each color along with it's color #.

Thanks for sharing your color-choosing prowess with us, Jeni! Check out her series The Art of Choosing for a more in-depth discussion on color, fabric, and stash-building. Then jump on her Warm/Cool Quilt-Along! (See, I told you she's incredible.) 

Thanks for coming over, Jeni! Don't forget to visit Jenn to see what's cookin' at her place today!

best snazzy pattern source + printable knot-tying cheat sheet

Just a short post today -- in case you're in the mood to venture beyond chevrons, friendship-bracelets.net is totally rad. There's tons of free patterns, but figuring out how to read them can be tricky. Here's a really useful tutorial on how to do just that.

You'll need to know a few basic knots before you can tackle most of the patterns. 

I've bumbled my way through a few of them so far, but I still need a little cheat sheet! 

Here's a little one just for you; you can scale it down to make it whatever size you prefer.

{download the cheat sheet}

Now go get snazzy -- and don't forget to visit Jenn to see what she's got for today! 

it's friendship bracelet week!

Welcome to Friendship Bracelet Week 2011! {fireworks! applause! emotional hugs! yaaaaay!}

Are you excited yet?? I totally am. Jenn totally is. So let's talk about the swap so that you can get going on some rad bracelets, shall we?

Everyone is welcome to participate in the swap, whether this is your first swap ever
or whether you're a seasoned swap-vet, whether you're 9 or 99 years old...everyone.

To sign up, email us at

braceletswap@gmail.com

with your

NAME
email address
{and}
blog URL, if you have one

...and then get your knot on!! You will be making THREE bracelets to send to THREE new friends (so you'll send one bracelet to each person). Jenn and I will send you an email letting you know who your swap partners are, along with their contact info. It will be up to you to contact your new friends to get their snail mail addresses.

Signups are open through July 27th. We send you an email with your partners' info by July 29th,
and you'll need to mail your bracelets no later than August 5th.

We'll have lots of tutorials and links to some great friendship bracelet stuff over the week, but here's some resources to get you started!

Basic Chevron at Honestly...WTF
Stripes, Chevrons + Diamonds at The Purl Bee
Jenn's bracelet board
My bracelet board

Part of our goal for this swap is that everyone makes some new friends!
So let's all get to know our swap partners + get some happy new connections, mkay?

Spread the word! We want to get lots of new friends in on this! Grab a button for your blog, Facebook it, Tweet it, whatevah.

Don't forget to read Ruffled Sunshine and The Modern Marigold all week long for tons of friendship bracelet awesomeness!

Now get out there and get knotty! (bwa ha ha)

on the work table

Yay for Friday! Anything fun going on? We are getting together with friends -- hopefully the bugs won't be too bad so we can hang out on the back porch and let the kids run wild in the yard.

My work table has been overflowing lately. I have no idea how many WIPs/UFOs I've got hanging around, and so many more wanna-makes than I could ever get to! It's the blessing and the cursing of the Internet. So many amazing people sharing so many amazing ideas!

This week, I've been working on new skirts for the shop...

Awesome mail yesterday -- an NPR postcard from Jentry (so jealous) and pretty new washi!

...and a lovely bundle of new floss in gorgeous, saturated colors for the friendship bracelet swap, thanks to the brand-new fancypants Jo Ann we just got in town, yee haw. I have been seeing color inspiration everywhere lately and think I might need to go back for more!

Have a happy weekend!

friendship bracelet swap!

Guess what??! It's almost time for...

Time to fold a cootie catcher, put your hair in a side ponytail, and dust off those friendship bracelet-making ninja skillz (I know you've got 'em), 'cause next week is Friendship Bracelet Week!

I'm teaming up with the fabulous Jenn from Ruffled Sunshine for a week full of friendship bracelet fabulousness, including tutorials, guest posts, inspiration galleries, and a great big friendship bracelet swap for everyone who wants to play!

Excited much??

little gifts for quality friends

Getting packages in the mail is the best. This little number is for my old friend Nicole, who is quite possibly the classiest lady I know. She a) has a classy job at Pottery Barn's corporate office, b) lives in a classy apartment in SF, c) is classy.

The apron is based on this Grosgrain tutorial from forever ago. Nicole & I made a trade deal back at Christmastime where she made a (uh-huh) classy certificate on deliciously thick paper, certifying that my man could pick out a fancy man-watch as his Christmas present, in return for which I would make her an apron to match her new kitchen. I'm just a leeeeetle bit late (covers eyes).

That got me to thinking of other possible housewarming/just because gifts to make or buy and send to friends. Some ideas (because who doesn't love getting happy mail?) --

doily table runner

butterfly garland

pistachio-apricot granola (peeps. you should make this anyway, right. now. uber props to my rad sister in law)

bunting! (duh, silly.)

I always hesitate a little to randomly send someone home decor stuff (what if they hate it?) -- but these ideas are so cute and non-threatening that hey, if nothing else, they'll know you love 'em.

What do you think? Do you give home dec stuff as gifts? What's your go-to?

the dandelion tee tutorial

I love dandelions! Technically weeds, ok, but I think they're really pretty. This tee has been floating around in my head for a couple of weeks, inspired by all the dandelion bouquets my little chickies have been gathering lately. It's an easy-breezy tee, meant for gardening, picnics, and cloud watching.

All you need are a few small supplies (you probably have some of them hanging around already) and about an hour.

If you have a shirt you want to use that fits well, great. Otherwise, you'll need to dig up that perfect-fitting white shirt of yours that's in the bottom of your laundry basket and is getting embarrassingly grungy because you're too cheap to buy a new one, so you wear it twice between washes and just about every day.

What?

Oh. So, take your men's undershirt and fold it in half. Fold your grungy white shirt in half and lay it on top of the men's shirt, matching the shoulder seams of both shirts. Cut the men's shirt about 1/4 inch bigger all the way around than your grungy white shirt.

Go wash your grungy shirt. Then sew up the sides of the men's shirt, right sides together. If you have a serger, you can finish the neck/sleeves/hem. Or not.

Cut a few small squares of your yellow fabrics and fuse them to a piece (mine is 7x12 inches) of Wonder-Under (man I love that stuff). You'll also need to fuse a long, skinny green fabric scrap to make the dandelion stem.

Cut the Wonder-Undered fabrics into wonky rectangles of varying lengths and widths. Mine were between 1-3 inches long and 0.5-1.5 inches wide. Go fuse yourself to the TV while you peel off the paper backings (I watched Prince Caspian. Kinda fun. I love the part where they storm the castle and one of the guards wigs out when he figures out how to turn on Edmund's flashlight.)

Arrange all the pieces into a design that suits your fancy and iron thoroughly.

Now for my favorite part! Head to the sewing machine and doodle away. Don't get all persnickety, just make squiggly lines and screw up and miss a few spots and then go back for more.

Done! Now go take a picture to share with us (and if you find a way to take a cute picture of yourself, call me).

Thanks for reading/sewing along!