Some soft reading

 

Taking a break from painting, I wanted to post up some projects I've done (retroactively). Here is one of my fav babies, Henry Bond, son of Beth and Pancho Bond. Here he is pictured enjoying a Organic Cotton Sateen cloth baby book I stitched together back in December from the lovely "Peek a Boo!" design posted on Spoonflower by Niseemade

Project Reupholstery

a craiglist find for my upholstery project in February/March

I found the one! The clean, modern lines with still a hint of vintage style.

I confess to be a n00b when it comes to covering furniture – so far. I'm enrolling in a upholstery class at Durham Tech (community college) beginning February 11 to learn the proper technique on how to go about this endeavor.

Now to contemplate which fabric/design to use.

I literally go to bed at night and think of colors and designs to the point where I am fighting sleep. It's All I Think About. Borderline obsession.

 

That having been said, I'm glad to have a new interest. My background is in video production and while I am still into that, it's nice to have a break from the technical end of creation all the time. Sometimes I go home after work and I actually make something. Sure, it's little like a bag or I will cover a frame with fabric and spray adhesive, but something gets (wait for it) FINISHED. COMPLETE-O. Unreal.

a reversible tote

A doggie duvet I made one recent evening

pockets for another reversible tote I recently finished

In the video world, it take so incredibly long to finish a marginally well-crafted project. I've tried to expedite the process many times in the past and it leads to wall after wall of obstructions. Files will go offline, render times shave hours from productivity, computers and/or software will crash AKA nightmare.

I do complain about digitalism, but of course, it is my first love and I wish I could do more video. But making something tangible without relying on anything else but yourself and easily sourced materials is the life.

 

My newest projects involve painting the rest of my new crib. The color scheme I went for is as follows:

The kitchen is a now a white, empty canvas. It will be an aqua mint. I thought about painting just the eating area this color and either leaving the cooking area white or using this neat deep mauve color. I like kitchens to have warmth and I (think) I like the contrast of a deep mauve with a crisp aqua. We shall see what develops.

Next up is the living room area which is at present a boring beige color. I chose a very subtle mint shade that reminded me of a less boring version of beige, an almost vintage take on beige. I didn't go too crazy in here since the other rooms are pretty bold. Actually, the furniture is what I want to stand out in here, so staying fairly neutral while still having fun is my goal.

 Um, yuck. This is the bedroom, or at least one corner of it. Now, I realize this is a tiny, tiny house. And most people do not suggest making a room seem any smaller with a dark color. But I hate getting advice that everyone follows and especially advice that doesn't really make sense! Okay, I get it that perceptually brighter, reflective surfaces and mainly using w-h-i-t-e or some brand of eggshell make a room larger. 

I'm here to say I don't think I can fool myself or you to the square footage of this dink of a house, so I'm going paint however I like. If it makes the room seem smaller, I will just call it cozier so whatever.

So it looks like this. It's what I lovingly want to refer to as a "womb-y" color. (I have a co-worker to thank for that descriptor.) My boyfriend calls it "barnyard" but he's a ninny. 

Anyway, it led to funny jokes and barnyard noises, so all's well.

Next

up

is the

bathroom.

it's

actually

the 

only room

left in

the house

hilariously

enough.

 

Yep. The bathroom. I am actually still torn on the color here. I got this periwinkle blue on a sheer whim. I've always liked it as a crayon and I have a cute shirt from H&M that is really vibrant but...I'm not totally sold. It's pretty bright and I associate most bathroom interaction with early mornings before work. Not exactly the time of day I want to be shocked into blinding bright color. Or who knows, it might improve my days. I will have to see how it all pans out. 

 I don't mind being playful at all. This house is so small that I feel like having extra fun with colors.

I should be all done in after this weekend and will add more photos. Until then, here is a dress I want to make with my new Holly Zollinger fabric!

Madewell dress

spoonflower link to "Rainy Dot" by Holly Zollinger

This rules!

there is a place for everything

I've been cobbling together the idea behind this blog for awhile. I've recently realized that I have always been making things (although not always pretty), but I'm a big-time re-purposer/DIYer. It's weird because I just always thought I was cheap. It turns out I might be a little crafty AND cheap.

It all probably started with yard sales and thrift stores. My mom would take me around on Saturday mornings, picking through mostly junk until a treasure rose from the ashes. ("that's a perfectly good orange peeler!")

One day, I matured. I blossomed into online searching and bartering. In laymen's terms, I worked my way up to the weirdness that Craigslist harbors. 

The main point is that I love other people's stuff: how they received it, where it stood in their homes/boats/houseboats, the area it came from and why they are selling it for a song (what could be wrong with it?). Oh, and because I am cheap, I like that you could get just as good stuff but not have to go to a store and wait in a line. I hate lines!

Beyond just being a cheapskate, I like how vintage things seem to function better and look more elegant. The devil is in the details, as "they" say. I am a perfectionist at being imperfect, so these quirky items just call out to me, things like "Buy me, buy me" or "drive to Lillington" for a weird little table I could refinish. One of my best ones is coordinating the purchase of a crystal chandelier in Pennsylvania from North Carolina. It didn't work out though, but I did find one in Chapel Hill so all's well.

I like the things I own to have some sense of humor, maybe humility too.

I could be a hoarder if I didn't get rid of things all the time. I've moved several times and I seem to keep moving into smaller places (not on purpose really).

Living within your means lets you become more creative. If there's a ton of wall space or a huge kitchen, people tend to fill it up with crap. I'll never forget the electronic can opener suspended from the cup cabinent at my childhood home. Why!?

Because of my limitations, I can discriminate about what I choose to have in my house. And when I'm bored, I can easily just get rid of stuff because it probably didn't cost much to begin with.

In addition to old crap no one wants, I also like to make new things no one else probably wants. I hope to chronicle these endeavors with you as my loyal reader. 

Until next time!