the pensive one

Here's a painting that I've been working on for some time now. I started it at the beginning of the summer and slowly, slowly worked on it until it was completed. The bird is a Baltimore Oriole, a male. He is staring off into the countryside (inspired by an amazing painting I found in SOHO). The nest holds three little blue eggs. The bird is positioned near the edge of the painting as if he is posed to move right out of the picture plane, suggesting an indifference to the nest, perhaps. Though his proximity does suggest some sort of connection.

I LOVE the frame. It's an antique inherited from my kind mother-in-law. It's the sort of frame that elevates anything held within its edges. A scribble painting would look lovely in it, I think.

70s cool

My mom made these pants for me when I was a girl. I love the simple seams, the slightly flaired leg and the pretty flower embroidery on the pockets. These are some cool pants. Way to go mom! I can't wait for them to fit H.

freshly-washed fabric

Today it is supposed to be 102 here. Yipes. I hate hot weather - it makes me feel very grumpy. I especially dislike schlepping large bulky things like car seats, grocery bags, and nylon backpacks around in the heat. Luckily I found this lovely fabric to make me think of fall: precisely, little play pants for my baby and 4 year old, with short blue jackets. Hopefully I can steal some time this afternoon to begin cutting!

button pin

Here's a quick and easy project invented by one of my creative neices. Simply hot glue gun a favorite button onto a bobby pin. This promises to be an instant gratification project.

why measuring is important

Here this little blobby sheep/bear (anyone else have "Last Minute Fabric Gifts"?) I made is looking at a book. Then taking a nap (I am clearly pouring my exciting fantasy life into the stuffy). I set out to make a birthday present for a small friend of ours and decided after both my husband and kids were like, "what IS that?" ... maybe better to keep this project in the family!

paper magic

My brilliant, creative friend Marcia made this beautiful paper cut-out collage. She based her images on a painting by Brian Kershisnik, an amazing Utah artist www.kershisnik.com. I love her color palette and the tender expression of the mother and father. Notice the butterfly paper hidden behind the trees. Marcia is able to make beauty out of an ordinary old thing. Apparently the paper used in the collage came from a stationary set from Target. Way to go Marcia!

I think that paper collage has many interesting possibilities...

internet trance

Last night after the kids went to bed, I sat myself in front of the computer and began browsing around the Internet. I thought I would only do it for a little bit, as I often have trouble sleeping if I do such an activity at night, because it sets my mind is a creative frenzy. Anyway, I started browsing, and one link led to the next and before I knew it, I was in a trance, unable to move from my chair in front of the computer. By the time I decided to go to bed, I could not sleep for hours; my brain was so hyper stimulated. Though I must say, this endeavor was not in vain, for I was able to find some really beautiful things, and work out some interesting ideas.

The top photo of these lovely, lovely baby shoes is from a French blog. You can find the shoes at http://www.padoum.com/. The next two photos are from a Japanese fabric company called Linet, http://www.lin-net.com/. I was coveting everything in this store and wanted to order it all. It is a bit pricey, though the linen fabrics are made in Japan.

I hope you enjoy looking at these lovely finds, and beware of falling into an Internet trance yourself!

a little laundry

My little ones have been doing some laundry around here. I decided to dedicate some of my low kitchen cupboards to montessori-like "stations" and it has been a smashing success so far. The favorite is definitely window washing - I put within a little container a cloth, squeegee, and sprayer bottle with water and a little vinegar (my 6 year old actually does a pretty good job! I think Sunday afternoon he washed the sliding glass door about 8 times). So between that, doll-clothes washing (laundry basket, bucket, small drying rack & clothespins), I also have a little vegetable washing station that consists of a tray with a bowl, brush, and apple slicer; a small tray with two glass jars with some rice (for pouring back and forth), and an art stencil tray. As we often like to say around here in Sugar City, the possibilities are endless!

fix it up project #2

I recently repainted the bathroom cupboards. They were originally a light maple color with a bit of a pinkish cast, which I really disliked. I think they look much fresher in white. This project was quite simple. First I lightly sanded and cleaned the cupboards. Then I painted a coat of oil based Zinsser Bullseye 123, which is fabulous and sticks to anything. This was followed by two coats of acrylic Benjamin Moore semi-gloss white paint. Some beautiful little ceramic knobs from Anthropologie complete the project. I think the bathroom is a much lovelier space now. If these white cupboards wear well, the next project is the kitchen!

some dress love

Check out these lovely fall dresses from the pinkchicken.com...and they are NOT pink! I absolutely loved Lynne's cream colored dress with a fabric rose. Nice work Lynne!

fix it up

My dad was born during the Great Depression. One of his favorite mottoes has always been: "Fix it up, wear it out; make it do, or do without." So this one's in honor of my dad and his innate frugality.

A simple jumper fix up: this dress belonged to the big sister, now the baby has grown into it. With a sweet gathered pocket and ribbon trim, la voila! a new dress. So go find a plain old dress or skirt, and see what magic you can work on it. It's a super fun, super quick project.

white dress

I saw this top picture in Cookie magazine and thought I'd try and replicate the look. I used Melissa's gorgeous bday dress for L as a loose template and came up with this dress. The part I am most excited about is the underside: my mother-in-law explained french seams to me the other day so finally I have made something that is not all stringy on the wrong side. I sewed that little coat L is wearing at the beach about a year ago (alas, it is extremely stringy).

homemade paper dolls

Here's for a new fun project. Make personalized paper dolls of your kids. First set up a simple photography studio. You could hang a white sheet as a backdrop, or simply have your child stand in front of a white wall. Place a piece of masking tape on the floor to mark where your child stands and either mark where the photographer stands, or place your camera on a tripod. Photograph your child either in their undies, or swimming suit for the basic doll. Then photograph your child in a variety of outfits. Make sure your child stands in the same place with arms and legs in the same position. Print on heavy cardstock. Cut out images with an exacto knife. You can cut out separate pieces for shoes, tights, dresses, or other accessories. Then laminate each piece for durability. It would be fun to make your whole family, and your house, and your dog...

white paint!

Since returning from my long summer away, I have seen my house with a new eye--what needs to be changed, what works, what doesn't. One troublesome area was the shoe bench and coat rack directly behind the front entry door. It always looked cluttery. Moreover, the baby was constantly dragging all the shoes across the dining room and kitchen floor , tracking dirt along her way. So, away with the shoe bench, away with the coat rack. The solution: a small IKEA armoire that used to belong in another room. I placed it not far from the entry in a little passageway that leads from the kitchen to the bathroom and t.v. room. I painted the armoire white, the walls a soft blue and hung cheerful curtains in the armoire. A pretty little landscape I bought in an antique store completes the picture. Now this once, nondescript passageway, is now a pretty little nook. Alexander Stoddard, a writer and decorator, said that a person can be surprised with the improvements that can be made in the most undesireable corners of one's home. With some creativity and finesse these ugly spots can become our favorite. I like this notion. Okay, next project...

fairy party run-down

(click on picture for a better view) Whew! Saturday was the fairy party. Exciting to plan, of course crazy the morning of. Look, Melissa, she wore the dress you sent, and got many a compliment! That dress just kills me. We had all kinds of little fairies running around doused in glitter by my daughter, and, apart from cleaning up all the glitter when the party was over, the funnest part was a fairy treasure hunt (I am big on treasure hunts these days). I put piles of craft supplies around the park where we had the party (cottonballs, little fabric swatches, moss, faux flowers, and little peat pots) - and once they'd found all of the supplies via clues, the fairies made small fairy huts. Unfortunately my daughter's hut blew away at some point so I don't have a picture of it...you'll just have to trust me that it was cute. If you are ever considering doing a fairy party, I highly recommend the fairy birthday party article on Martha Stewart online. The pictures are just - no other word - darling. I wanted to totally replicate it. But alas I do not live in the woods or have a white magical-looking pony, so we made do.

some swedish love

I found this amazing website called midnightsunantiques.com a while back. I guess this is a little Swedish antique store in Illinois. Check out the section on items sold. What style! It almost makes you want to paint your living room purple, doesn't it!

little homemade chandelier

When we bought our house, the kitchen was black and sleek and somewhat modern looking. Hanging over the sink was a pendant light fixture with a wide brimmed black metal shade. It was a bit too modern for my taste. So I decided to fix it up a bit. I got my inspiration from some homemade wire chandeliers I saw in ABC Carpet in Manhattan. (I'll have to try to post a picture of them one day; they are amazing.) To make my chandelier, I left the original light fixture, and simply removed the black shade. Then I made a wire structure with heavy gauge wire. I hung pretty little glass crystals that I ordered on-line.

I think the effect is much more to my liking than the austere black shade.

Pretty Pillowcases

For Christmas I got a gift card to Anthropologie from my mother-in-law -- which I refrained from using for a long time because I always seem to make really poor decisions about clothing, etc. while I am pregnant or newly-not-pregnant (my friend Paige calls this the "pregnancy and baby haze," her prime example of the bad judgement being Brittany Spears). Anyway, I finally used the gift card to get these pillowcases. One of these days I'll finally hang some of the pictures up that have been leaning against our bedroom wall for the past two years...

luckiest girl in the world

today i am feeling like the luckiest girl in the world -- look what came in the mail from melissa for my almost-four year old. As well as the sweetest little white dress for the smallest member of the family! I was so excited I almost threw up. Thank you so, so much, Melissa! She tried it on, did a lot of twirling, and determined that it's the perfect thing for her birthday party on Saturday morning. (Which makes me very happy, because for a while her plan was to be naked, along with all of her young guests. Which would have been really akward). And Melissa, I just want to say: how on earth did you get the seams inside the dress to be so neat??