homemade decorating! (or what to do on a snowy day)

 

*spicy hot cocoa of my own recipe topped with homemade cinnamon whipped cream & sprinkled with cayenne pepper & nutmeg! mmmmmm!

    it's snowing today. big wet flakes started this morning & have fallen all day in varying intensities. the christmas music is playing and i have been trying to decide what to do about my tree situation. this year when i started thinking about my christmas decorations i was contemplating doing something a little different. i had seen some wonderful decorations, consisting mostly of greenery with some low key ribbon and eucalyptus tucked in here and there, candles in plain glass jars &  sturdy garden cloches full of a single color of pretty glass balls... i really liked the almost rustic simplicity of the look. and when josh reminded me that we have a frisky kitten as well as a two year old, the thought of putting up the 6 foot tree with all those breakable ornaments was just intolerable to me.                 

                so.....  i decided to do a charlie brown or maybe a topiary type tree this year. and for the sake of still having some lovely decorations, i'm thinking paper (and maybe some felt?) ornaments in white & kraft, white twinkle lights, cinnamon scented pinecones. i bombed out at the store looking for a tree in the size and shape i was after, so back to the drawing board i went with that. then, today, i found this one today and got inspired!  so... i made a tree this afternoon! ta da! lol

 it still needs some finishing touches..(aka greenery!) and to get all dressed up but i'm happy with the shape & size of it so far! i took pics of the process and put them up in my picasa gallery. don't know if it will continue to live in that pot or if i will get a chunk of wood drilled for a base?  hmmmmmm. anyways, after all that, i set out on an online fact finding mission to find some fun & beautiful patterns for paper ornaments. here's some of the great links i found....

.......on the wonderful design blog howaboutorange.blogspot.com i found these delightfully

       modern yet elegant ornaments... she also has a bunch of great links for paper ornaments!

.......found a tutorial for an amazing lacy (and easy!) star here 

.......your basic puffed star template & instructions here

.......template for dodecahedron that makes a beautiful ornament here

.......hp.com also has quite a few ornament projects here

it's all starting to come back to me now.....

finally....
something i WANT to work on!
the aforementioned blahs are beginning to fall away
and little blips of creativity or starting to show up on my radar...
like a barely detectable but growing heartbeat.

today this just came OUT... kind of on accident.
i'm gonna run with it :)

progress!

got sams quilt all layed out...its turned out really close to what i had in mind. i ended up with more blue/green/purples than reds & such but i still think it looks really neat. also, its way bigger than i thought so i don't think i'm going to put a border on it...if i do it will just be a little one & then the binding.
nothing like fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants quilt planning! lol

the glowing squares are the slippery fabric & when its all layed out like this it looks like sparkly facets...its a really cool effect!
i was going to sew this all in rows but now i'm thinkin that it might be easier to sew 4 squares together to make a bigger square then sew the bigger squares together...
hmmmm....
it's going to drive me cross-eyed trying to keep all those tiny squares & their seams all lined up! lol

my boys... :)

*this is a really great pic of josh...he didn't know i had the camera & he was smiling at lars' antics!*

on a roll....

here are {most of} the 36 fabrics we picked out for sams quilt...

and here... {after 2 afternoons of measuring & cutting & ironing} are four hundred & twenty 3.5 inch squares of said fabrics. the small pile on the side is all of the "slippery" fabrics. i *hate* sewing/cutting/pinning/dealing with slippery fabrics...but they *are* pretty and we *do* likes them..... >.<

here is everything together so you can kindof get the gist of the quilt idea... we have decided to make it more like a throw with a flannel back but no batting & i will embroider all over it instead of just quilting it. sam already has a quilt that she loves so i wanted this to be something else to love rather than a usurper of quilt loves lol

btw....lars *really* dislikes being trapped in the livingroom for this process.

the newest thing i'm working on....i think it will be going up for sale at my etsy shop....

this is part of the stuff i have for this project...i've got it all laid out the way i like it but it's not set in stone yet, so to speak. i kindof like it on the front of the "cabinet" but i think maybe it would be better on the inside of the door so you can see the whole piece at once...maybe i'll go ahead & put it on the outside & then make a brooch or something to display inside the cabinet? who knows? i'll have to play with it & live with it for awhile for it to come to me lol

it's just a balsawood box that i turned up on end. i took off all of the hardware and i made these little wire feet so it would stand up...that was tricky, making four of the same thing out of that wire like that...lol i am going to "upholster" a little cushion for the bottom {out of that yellow polka dot fabric} and that will cover up those screws. not exactly sure what else i'll be doing with it...but it's fun so far!

fun little flanged screws i used to hold the legs on

a good look at the neat-o hinges i used :)

done, done aaaaand.... done!

a blanket for lars made out of three of his "old" recieving blankets with a new butter yellow flannel back.
i am admittedly a little jealous...i want a yummy flannel "blankie" now.... :(
but sami doesn't have her quilt yet & i was seriously pushing the limits of harmonious co-habitation
by making ANOTHER blanket for lars before having EVEN STARTED her quilt.
ah...teenagers! aren't they wonderful? **count to ten, count to ten.......**
no matter that hers is in the works, is already past the planning & buying fabric stage
and now all i need is a day to myself to get all those tiny squares cut out & sewn together so i can move on the the part i actually like about quilting...the quilting! lol

the gold mirror is finally the gloss black i had envisioned it to be forever ago...lol
and much better for it, i think!

and...FINALLY! the new pillows for the couch.
*our old ones having suffered a horrible fate involving spilled soup & the washing machine. we were very sad.*

today is....

sam found this really cool rock while we were out in Montana...we had gone for a rock-hounding walk down by the river & we both found lots of neat stuff but this was THE find of the day, in my opinion anyways! she only agreed to give it to me when i told her i would make a necklace out of it...so here it is.
i wanted it to look like a primitive bead strand...almost an amulet type feeling...
it turned out just like i had imagined & i love it!

some fun little earrings to go with the necklace.

the {now infamous} orange scarf...i have been working on this since last fall.
josh teases me so bad about how long its taking me...he says that by the time i get it done i won't need it because hell will have frozen over...lol
i am really kickin it into high gear though... i really want it done for this year!

little mister in his new scarf...he actually likes to wear it! i was a bit trepidatious as to whether or not he would leave it on but he actually seems to flaunt it a little :)

done!

my garden journal...filled with notes about what worked where & plant tags...

scarf for Lars, with a "buttonhole" to keep it on him!

an altered pencil case to go up for sale @ my Etsy store

kitchen idea...presented & accepted!

a color presentation for josh...
what you can't see from my goofy little drawing
(perspective is not my strong point! lol)
is that the wall the door is on will actually be the softer yellow with a white stencil over it just like the pattern paper, as will the backsplash of the main countertop & the stove.
the soffits & the other walls will be the green color.
i want to paint the main cabinets over the sink counter all white with yellow inside & "glass"panel doors.
maybe paint a piece of beadboard for the peninsula that same avacado green that's in the living room?....hmmmm
it's a bit bold but i think it will be really cool!

and...josh said...
it looks good. go for it.











just like that!
ta-da!

also pitched him this idea for the living room floor.
figured we will have to replace the plywood subfloor anyways so why not buy slightly nicer plywood & just do this to it?
we like wood floors & we could always put down a rug...
he liked this idea too.
i need to go buy a lotto ticket...lol

this is a 6x6 postbound scrapbook that I altered yesterday...
it was just a plain olive green fabric cover & i hated it so i did this to it!
now i love it & can't wait to put stuff in it!
*the clock here is actually a copper color with a nice sheen to it (not as pink as it appears to be) but i can't seem to get it to photograph properly.

I may still take out the plastic pages & replace them with paper pages ala vintage scrapbook style.

I showed it to Josh & when he saw the back he said it looked like it was stained lol
i told him that i did that on purpose & that was the look i was going for.
he just looked at me funny & said ...oooookaaaaaaaay.
boys.
geez.

surprisingly heavy for their size

a couple of neat little tins I altered to hold some of my tools...
I used felt to make the "compartments" on the inside.

The yellow & purple one has a little pin for removing the "confetti" after you have made your slot...that is what is poked into the flower on the lid (there's a foam pop dot under there but it's hard to tell at this angle)

I put a strip of magnet in the bottom of this one under all the little tips so they will stay put. I used a little piece of dowel covered in felt to make the divider on this one.

I'm gonna have to make a new shelf for my studio to put these on...they are too cute to shove in a drawer...lol

Our stockings were hung by the {microwave} with care....

the only acceptable spot in the house to hang stockings...
please disregard the patch of subfloor showing....lol
didn't get the floor refinished before winter set in & now we have to wait till spring to get it all finished off...

*Mom*
remember the stocking I had 2 years ago that I made in the dead of night right before we came to your house for Christmas?
the one that I hated rather badly?
well, I dragged it out this year & revamped it.
now I love it...
raw edges...vintage trim, beads & velvet...wool...polka dots...odd usage of usual materials...
and
the recently ubiquitous Tim Holtz laundry pin!
yay!

totally Jenn!