Just Because

Sunday, June 26, 2011

the land of the free

As I was reading Tatertots and Jello the other day, I came across this really cute idea for a 4th of July decoration.
Isn't that cute!?! She used a  personal letter as the background and a map for the stars.  So neat!

I liked it so much, I decided to make a version for my house:
I found an image of the Declaration of Independence on the web and faded it out a little.  Then I just put the text over the image and printed it out.  I used my Creative Memories star punch for the stars and just sewed them right on the paper.  My background is just some rippled paper I had on hand with the red paper Mod Podged on that.  I had the frame left from this party, and I just painted it white.

Here you can see how the stars stand out from the paper - so festive!

Happy 4th of July!

Friday, June 24, 2011

for the love of a chair

A few Friday nights ago I started a project that I've had in my head for a long time...and it involved this:

 and some of these...

and this:

 and tearing off lots of this stuff.


You see, I've had this chair for several years (it was my Grandmother's, and one of the great pieces I got when she passed away).  I remember the chair always being in her bedroom.  Those green striped things up there - well, those are part of the chair, and that's the original fabric - great, right?  It's very soft, almost plush, and it just reminds me of my Nanny.

When I moved into my condo, I wanted to have it recovered to match my living room.  That's what the gold and red fabric is.  I have to be honest, I never loved it that way.

A while back, I found a remnant of fabric at Brentwood Interiors (half off because it was already cut), and I immediately thought it would work for the chair, which by then was living in my bedroom.

So I finally got the nerve up to tackle this.  And here is the finished product:
 The tearing apart was some serious manual labor, but it wasn't difficult.  The painting was easy, and actually all of the fabric that was attached to chair was not bad at all. 

I had two problems:
1. Piping - not hard to make, but very hard for me to sew correctly.
2. The Cushion - see this curve?
 and how it fits around the chair back there....that was some tedious stuff, right there!! 
Don't look to closely, it is so very far from perfect (in fact the more I look at this picture, the more I realize I want to go back and see if I can make that piping look better), but I'm glad it's re-covered, and I look forward to making this little corner of my room a place where I can sit and read, do Bible study, and pray.

And I'm happy to say I love this chair again!!

I'm linking up to:
beneath my heart

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

my not bummer summer

 Yes, I totally stole that title from this movie (which looks cute, by the way!)




In this post I mentioned that I didn't have any special plans for the summer.  Since then, summer fun lists have been popping up in the blogosphere like cicada posts on facebook - and that's a lot! Understandably, most of these lists are for children who are out of school for the summer, but who says kids get to have all the fun!?!  So - I came up with a list of my own, and I've posted it up for all to see, so there's no going back now!



    Here ya go:
    Girls Night - dinner and movie
    Dinner Party at my house
Day Trip(s) - I've already taken one with Mel a couple of weeks ago to Louisville (much fun!), but I have a couple more in the works.
Weekend Trip to the Beach

Beach Theme Party
Scrapping/Crafting Weekend(s) - I have this one for sure planned already, but I would really like to set aside some chunks of time to work on a couple of other projects.

 
Make Pajama Pants - this has been on my mental to do list for some time, but I'm terrified of making clothes for some reason. I got a bunch of fabric at a sale last summer and I have perfect piece for some pj pants, so I'm going to try it out!

Take in some Sights of Nashville - I'm thinking the Frist, Hatch Show Print, exploring the "new" East Nashville, and maybe even a Segway Tour of Downtown.

Take "my kids" bowling, skating, and/or a movie - just hang out with the cool kids I love =)

    
    Read some Summer Books - I've gotten into listening to audio books, and I really miss actually holding a book and getting lost in it for a while. I found the first book in the Dorthea Benton Frank "Lowcountry" Series at McKay's this past weekend, so I'm starting there!!
    
So, there you have it!  And in the words of Judy Moody herself:
"I want more thrills - you can't have a not bummer summer without them!"

Friday, June 3, 2011

the bags

i've been wanting to post this for a while, but wanted to wait until all of the graduates had gotten their bags.  all but one have been received, and i hope to get that one to her on sunday.

just to recap - the girls picked out the fabrics and the pattern of bag they wanted.  i am pretty pleased with how they turned out.

this is ashley's.  this pattern was a bit tricky - that curved part of the band was a bit tougher than i thought it would be!!  this was actually the second of this pattern i did, so it went much faster than the first.  i love the way it turned out!

 they all look wrinkly (is that a word?) on the inside because when you make a bag that's lined, you have to sew the top part together with the whole thing wrong side out, then you have to turn it.  since there is stabilizer ironed to back of the fabric, that turning process makes it all wrinkly.  it has been my experience that once the bag is used for a while those wrinkles will smooth out.
 this is allison's bag - same pattern as above.
 close up of the button and evidence of the trouble i had stitching that darn curve =\
 i love the girliness of the outside and then the playfulness of the peace signs inside.  that button was a fluke find, and i think it works perfect!
 this one is kausha's - as her mom was able to identify just from the fabric pics!
this is the bag that i have made previously, the amy butler birdie sling pattern.
 this is a big, roomy bag.
 another birdie sling bag - this one shannon's - the music girl!
 she will be able to fit all kinds of college stuff in there!!
 this is kayla's - the only one i haven't delivered.  i have to say, pattern-wise, this is my favorite - the one i would most like to make for myself.  it's a big bag, also, and could be used for a tote or a purse.  there is a cute band on the top that comes to a point where the button is - another new thing for me was making that point, but i like the way it turned out!

five fun bags for five awesome girls!! 
i will miss having them around all the time, but i know they are going to do great things in college and beyond!