creative little daisy

Lest you think it's all Bayleigh all the time...

Just 90% of the time. The other 10% I let her parents have her and I do things like laundry and occasionally cook. I also did a little mini-makeover on the back porch. It was a very low budget makeover, my favorite kind. Just the cost of a few cans of spray paint, some patio lights from Kmart and a couple of clearance accessories from Hobby Lobby. In total I spent less than 50 bucks and it was worth every dollar. I've been out there every morning and evening since, though the good cleaning I gave it probably made that possible more than the makeover. Good grief, how much hair can a cat shed before she's bald?!
This is how it looked before I started. Not bad, but not the look I wanted. (thank goodness, you can't see the three inches of cat hair on those chair cushions)

Better? I spray painted those wicker chairs for the 37th time. They've been natural wicker, white, green, black, white again, black again...I like to spray paint.  The table there between them is actually a birdbath.

A glass top (made for those cheap round tables you can get at walmart/target) happens to fit perfectly.

My favorite change was the swing. I've had it for years and it's the most comfortable swing you can imagine.  Comfortable? Yes. Pretty? No. I had made a cover for the cushion but it was faded and dirty from kitty lounging, but the frame was still a dark green. Again, not so bad, but not the look I wanted.

Is there anything sexier than a man with a paint gun? I think not.

Patio lights from Kmart were the perfect finishing touch, if you ask Bayleigh.

Like Monica, I get trigger happy and spray paint everything that doesn't run, once I get started.
I  painted the chairs, 

and the plant stands


Seriously, if it isn't moving, it is in danger of getting painted. That's why Toby tries to be very still.

Move over Toby, the swing is big enough for both of us.

If you need me, I'll be on the back porch, sipping iced tea, and checking out the great reading material Mr. UPS brought today.

Blowing in the breeze...

Sheets won on ebay- they came out of the box with that distinctive otherpeoplesoldstuff smell. You know what I'm talking about, thrift store smell. Into the washer with some hot water, a little white vinegar added to the detergent, then out to the clothesline.

Like magic, they smell like sunshine and warm breezes.

Tweet, tweet

Because I love birds and aqua and red and linen....

and because you know she'll be spending lots of time at Nana's house...

I had to make a pretty place for her to dream her sweet little dreams that goes with my decor.

I think it looks right at home here. The mobile that came with the bassinet had little white bears. They were easily replaced with tweet little birds, made from the Bird Ornament pattern in Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts. The fabulous bird fabric is by Kristen Doran Design, it's called Mollybirds.  I've had it for quite a while but could never think of a good enough reason to cut it, until now.

OK Miss Bayleigh Caroline,  Nana's ready when you are.

I made a prom dress

For my desk chair

Inspired by this fancy, dressed-up chair.

More of the same quilt used for the seat portion was used  to make a cushion cover for this chair, also in my sewing room.

Yesterday's title wasn't entirely true

I didn't have much sewing progress to share, but progress was made, nonetheless.

I can't truthfully call this a before, it's more like a during. Yes it was worse than this, a  lot worse. I really, really, do not enjoy doing laundry and this nightmare of a room didn't help matters any. What is all that crap you ask? It's sheets and towels and pillowcases. Light bubs. Paper towels. An Iron. A pillow. Curtains. Stray socks. I'm sure there's more, but you get the idea. I have a linen closet, it's a narrow little closet, but it will hold quite a bit of linen if folded neatly, and it has a door. Why then are the shelves in my laundry room stacked with towels and sheets and curtains and pillowcases? Because Alyssa convinced me to let her use the linen closet for shoes. Her bedroom has two closets, yet she still felt the need for a separate closet to house her shoes. I reluctantly agreed, only if she would find a new home for the linen. She spent the better part of a day folding linen and stacking it on my laundry room shelves. It was neatly organized and all was well with the world. That was oh, about 2 years ago. Alyssa doesn't live here anymore. Yet, still, my linen closet continues to house the shoes she's not currently wearing and my laundry room is doing a lousy job of housing my linen. I love my sweet daughter dearly and I'm in no hurry to turn her room into something else, but her shoes have got to find a new home... perhaps in her own house... just a thought. Anyway, until Alyssa can work out the shoe logistics, they got the boot (corny pun intended) to a couple of laundry baskets and I reclaimed my linen closet. This in turn allowed me to reclaim the shelves in the laundry room. I think what kick-started this endeavor was seeing this photo on flickr. I was sure the world would be a better place if only I had a laundry room that looked like that.  I spent several days imagining the joy that could be had washing clothes in just such a room, then I had to accept the fact that this room only exists in a magical, mythical world. The same world where you'll find this pantry and this garage and unicorns and the tooth fairy. Such open, airy, soft-light-filled,  pristine laundry rooms cannot coexist in my world, my reality that includes dogs and cats a husband and teenage son and, well, laundry. East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.  I'll have to settle for this.

There is no soft light filtering in, because there is no window. I don't have pretty containers to hold my detergent. Necessities are not housed discreetly in matching canvas bins, spaced perfectly along the shelves. I did gather up, around the house, enough baskets and bins to hold what has to live here. I even made some labels-

just in case one wonders what's in that clear, lidless container, one need look no further than the label on front, that plainly reads Light Bulbs.   I also designated a container for stuff you need to wash the dog and one with stuff for washing the floor- both clearly labeled, so that in the event someone other than myself should ever wish to wash the floor or dogs, they will have no trouble locating the supplies. There I go again, drifting off into that dream world. I know my laundry room will never look like this, but it has come a long way and doing laundry is a tiny bit more pleasant.... OK,  laundry is never going to be pleasant, but at least I'm no longer afraid something is going to fall on my head. That's progress.

It's gotta be the drugs...

I'm all hopped up on steroids and getting things done like nobody's business. I felt the beginnings of something settling in my chest this past weekend, so I started taking some prednisone. For something to be so bad, that stuff is SO good. If you've ever had any problems resulting from inflammation and taken prednisone, you know what kind of magic it works. I have energy like a toddler, I breath so much easier, and have absolutely no joint pain. Can you say miracle drug? The only problem is, for all the good it does, it does equal amounts of bad, so I can't take it for long periods of time. I just enjoy the ride when I do and make the most of the burst of energy.

I've just about finished the bedroom.

I made some shams.

some fabric art,

and fabric covered balls.

I want to make a throw quilt for the end of the bed, and I think I'll call it done.

While I was working on the bedroom, for a little diversion, I decided to rearrange the living room. A little background- I used to be famous (or infamous) for frequently rearranging furniture. A combination of lack of options for furniture placement in this house and lack of energy has resulted in very little moving about of large furniture in the past 10 or so years. I'm telling you, I may be a small woman, but there was a time when I'd think nothing of moving the refrigerator if I felt it would look better across the room. Those days are long gone, except for the occasional prednisone induced surge of energy. Not long ago I found a site that's part of the HGTV website called Rate My Space. Fun stuff! I had so much fun looking at rooms, I decided to add a few of my own. You know how I like to join a party. Anyway, the first couple of comments I got sounded kinda like this. This room really needs a rug....the furniture placement could be better.... try this...do that.... My first reaction what Who the heck asked you? Then I remembered, duh...it's called Rate My Space, I guess I asked. I really didn't think of the rating aspect of it when I added the photos and initially I told myself, that's their opinion, they don't live here... but it stayed in the back of my mind and you know, I agree. The furniture arrangement wasn't a very cozy one, it just seemed to be the best one for the layout of the room. Sunday afternoon I pulled the couch out to vacuum the dust bunnies from underneath and behind, the sort of thing prednisone can lead an otherwise lazy person to do, and decided to try a different layout. Guess what? I think the RMS commenters knew exactly what they were talking about.

I swapped the positioning of the sofas and moved one away from the wall.

I wasn't sure about the traffic flow, but there's plenty of room to walk behind.

I moved a few other pieces and made a cover for the top of my great grandmother's sewing machine. (Energy overflowing, I tell ya!)

And just to prove it's not me, it's the meds, look what I did today,

Just because I saw this one and couldn't resist. (have I told you I don't like to cook?)

I was beginning to think the spirit of Martha Stewart had taken over my body, but dinner time rolled around, and I was relieved (sort of) to know, that I'm still me.

Frozen pizza anyone?* That's my piece with the peppers and onions. 

OK- I failed the dinner challenge. I made it two days, then it was the night before Casey's birthday and Mitch and I had to go shopping- so we ate in town. Then it was Casey's birthday (18!!) and we had pizza and cake and chips- then it was Saturday and Sunday, I don't cook on those days. I did cook last night, but after skipping 4 nights, I figured I was too long gone to redeem myself.

Wednesday post part 2, a bit of this and that...

Busy, busy, busy. I've been busy getting my room back together. That's where the flooring was going if I forgot to mention. Yes, on a whim (well sort of) the master bedroom got a makeover. The carpet had to go. Had. To. Go.  What a waste it would be of an open room not to paint while all the furniture was out. One thing leads to another with these projects.

I'm so pleased with the laminate and the new wall color and I've been happily making new curtains and changing things up. It was time for a change. The old curtains were so heavy and dark and full of dust. I'm sure removing those and the carpet did wonders for the air quality. The paint color is Blue Rain from Lowes (Waverly Classics). Initially my plan was to do the bedding and curtains in black and white and accent with silver here and there, instead I decided to go with shades of grey.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to photograph curtains? At night the lighting is bad, during the day, it's too bright. This was taken at dusk and it isn't very good. The color isn't coming across quite right, but the top part is a silvery grey sheer flowy fabric. The bottom is  pewter with a slight sheen. Both were clearance fabrics. The band across the bottom was one of those happy accidents. I forgot the old measure twice cut once rule, a mistake I'm glad to have made.

I found the perfect silvery grey velvet to reupholster the headboard, also in the clearance section.

My sister-in-law gave me a pair of pine bedside tables that will be painted black, I still have to decide on some sort of quilt/coverlet/duvet, maybe some art, I have a mirror to paint silver....so much work- so much fun!

On the subject of work and fun, I started a flickr group for sharing projects that make the most of your skills, not your checkbook. Liz posted just such a project today.  I love the way she described the thrill that comes with taking what was trash and making it a treasure. Go check out the high on skills, low on cash projects and add yours too. The more the merrier!   

He works

We supervise

and contemplate


I told Mitch the floor is looking great, but there's a problem with the wall. They don't complement each other. He informed me they do in fact complement each other. He heard them.

Well I must not have been too bad,

I didn't get any coal in my stocking. How about you? I got as many gifts made as time would allow, the machine was humming right up to about 5:00 Christmas Eve. I must start earlier next year. We had a nice, low-key Christmas, just time with family, some good food, and of course, there were a few goodies under the tree. I'm so easy to please when it comes to Christmas. New underwear, (thanks Jessica)* some socks and I'm tickled pink. Throw in slippers and a gown and I feel like a princess. This year I felt like a queen, because not only did I receive all of the above, Santa, (aka Mitch) bought me a fancy, schmancy sewing machine cabinet.

I was fine with my shelving board and rubbermaid drawers, but this is so much nicer.  It has lots of room for all that stuff that accumulates around the sewing machine.

It has this plexi-glass thingie that allows the machine to sit flush with the table. Nice.

I kept the rubbermaid drawers and just rolled them under the cutting table along with some other not so pretty to look at storage. To hide it all I made a skirt from some red ticking I've had forever and stapled it to the underside of the table.

I'm so proud of Mitch for thinking of this. It's nice to get a gift that's a complete surprise, something I didn't even ask for, but am so happy to have.

Now all is clean and ready for some baby sewing. Before I sew for Bayleigh, I have another baby to sew for. A lady who was a close friend of my mom in high school is expecting her first grandchild and has commissioned me to make the crib bedding. Once that's finished, I'm not taking any more custom orders until I've had my fill of pink and ruffles and all things sweet and girlie. If anyone is reading who does custom baby bedding, please email me, I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask.  There's a link to my email over in the sidebar.

*We draw names for Christmas gifts with Mitch's family. Jessica is my niece, every year she gets my name (even if we have to shuffle names a bit) and every year I get the same gift. I'm one of those set in my ways old ladies who only likes one style/brand of underwear and she knows what to get and where to get them. Love you Jessica! Sorry if that's bordering on TMI- they're nothing fancy, in fact they're darn near granny drawers. That really was TMI wasn't it? If Jessica didn't get my name every year, I would be wearing holey (not to be confused with holy) granny drawers.  Love you lots, Jessica!

Did I ever tell you I love paint?

I do. I LOVE  paint. I can't go to Lowe's without a stroll down the spray paint isle and many times I'll buy a can or six, no particular project in mind, just to have on hand- you know, just in case some painting emergency should arise. They happen. Really. I've had this quart of blackboard paint in the garage for a couple of years and finally got around to using it this past weekend.

Old frame + some sort of smooth board Mitch cut for me + paint

= new kitchen blackboard.

I sprayed the frame with that fabulous Blue Ocean Breeze spray paint. Great new color Krylon! (if you follow the link, click on the spray paint can to see all their wonderful colors)   Once the paint was dry I aged it a little with some watered down brown craft paint. (the brown craft paint that started the organizing frenzy) Doesn't get much easier than that. Now what am I going to write on it? The daily menu? Bwaahahahaaaaaaaa!!!! More appropriate would be the phone numbers for pizza and Chinese takeout.