Cameras and Chaos

another quilt....

2012-02-21T23:36:00.001-05:00

I started another quilt last week. actually, i started 3 quilts last week. it was a busy week to say the least. my friend lisa came back to michigan from her new home in minnesota and spent a few days with me sewing and painting. she brought a bathroom cabinet over for me to show her how to paint and fix up. more on that later.

i have been making a few vintage sheet quilts and i decided that i wanted to try something more modern and clean looking. i decided that i wanted to try a circle quilt after seeing tons of them on pinterest.

it's totally sensory overload there and i was inspired to try my hand on one for myself.

in a nutshell, i zig-zagged some circles onto some gray squares.

so this heap of fabric was cut into circles.

because i am so incredibly ~~lazy~~ ingenious, i pinned eight layers of fabric together, placed a cereal bowl on the top layer and traced a circle.

i cut them out all at once.

and because i am so ~~lazy~~ ingenious, i only screwed up a few of the circles...(that'll teach me).

then, i pinned the circles to the squares and laid them out to see how i wanted the placement to be.

after determining that, i sewed the circles to the each square.

i got a little decorative with some stitching because i thought it would be too boring if i didn't.

(it really wouldn't have been)

i only did this on about 7 of the circles.

it does look cool, though...

i used white fabric between the vertical rows of squares...which i didn't take a picture of.

lisa had a great old sheet in her stash that i thought would be awesome for the backing and she was generous enough to let me wrestle it away from her.

right now i am hand stitching the binding on and will share a picture of the completed quilt when that is finished in the next day or so.

we (lisa, my daughter shannon and i) decided that we would make quilts for the local cancer center. it is the same center that don went to when he had his chemotherapy 7 years ago for colon cancer. he told me that when he would get chemo, he was always cold. i thought that with all of the vintage sheets that i have i would make lap quilts for the patients.

i started two of them last week too...

a pretty flannel quilt

and a patchwork quilt using some of the vintage sheets...

i asked lisa and shannon to help out and we are in the process right now of matching and cutting more fabric and bagging it up in sets to start making "quilts for chemo"....

more updates soon!!!

congrats to adele....

2012-02-13T07:42:00.000-05:00

what a great grammy's show last night....i normally don't watch awards shows because the performers and awards recipients are usually so full of themselves it nauseates me.....

i watched the grammy's last night particularly because of adele.

i throughly enjoyed her performance

and i thought she deserved every award that she got!!

it just goes to show, you don't need all of the flashing lights, outlandish costumes and techno music that disguises your voice. the true mark of a great singer is their ability to do so much with so little technical help....
great job adele, you rock

looks like they deleted the above video and i can't remove it unless i delete this post....so try the one below instead....at least until they delete that one too!! :)

a vintage window.....

2012-02-12T23:14:00.000-05:00

rummaging around in my friend lisa's parent's barn loft last summer was so amazing. there were stacks of old windows leaning up against the wall. I think that they were originally part of the house that they are now in the process of renovating.

i found this one...

it was so dirty that i thought that the glass was opaque and didn't realize that there was clear glass until i brought it home and started cleaning it.

what i loved about it and the reason that i picked this particular one was that the original paint had turquoise overtones. and because it was really dark in the barn loft, i didn't realize how really cool it was until i got out into the sunlight.

it had just the right amount of age and vintage charm. and of course, that great 1930's or 40's turquoise paint...

after cleaning it up, the glass was in perfect condition. i guess all of that dirt helped to protect it, right? i didn't do anything to this window besides cleaning the glass...all of that paint is the original aging and patina on the wood....it's fabulous!

I found the perfect wall for it in my house...

the room that had it's name all over it....this wall was just begging for something to fill it.

but this window was big (57 x 24 in) and heavy so i needed to hang it carefully.

i found some heavy duty hanging hardware at home depot. i normally would have just used one on each end but i thought maybe i had better not take any chances. i decided to disperse the hanging tension by adding the hardware to each pane.

thankfully, the studs in the wall fell into the right place to center this window on the wall.

it filled the space perfectly....

and added the perfect amount of vintage "grunge" and flaky paint patina

to the otherwise clean look of the room.

thanks again to walt and penny (lisa's parents) for allowing me

access to your treasure trove of a barn.....

and gifting me with this amazing piece of your history...

a sweater pillow....

2012-02-07T17:09:00.000-05:00

who knew that you could take a goodwill sweater for $1.50 and make a pillow cover out of it?

ME....that's who.... :) thanks to the internet there are tons of ideas and tutorials floating around.

simple enough.....

make a few simple cuts

find an old pillow or get one at the thrift store for .25 cents

sew a few straight seams down the sides of the sweater you just cut the sleeves off of. i didn't even measure it, i just eyeballed it for the seams....

sew all the way around and leave a small opening to insert the pillow form.

pin the opening and whipstitch it closed.

here is the finished whipstitched seam....

and you get this

cute but boring.... you can see in the picture at the top of the post that the pillow insert i used has a dimple in the middle. had i left it as is, it would have looked weird as pillows usually are pouffy in the middle. so i took some of the scrap sweater fabric

tied a knot in the end of it....

twisted it around and sewed it into a rosette.

i found a button in my jewelry armoire. you know how you get a new piece of clothing and it has an extra button and usually some extra yarn attached to it? well i throw all of those into my jewelry armoire and have amassed quite a collection of buttons....do you do that too???

anyway i sewed the little button on to the rosette because it was looking a little like a pair of folded socks and it needed a little something....

i added another button on the other side of of the pillow so that i could tighten the thread to achieve that dimple...

and a super cute pillow. So soft and cozy for winter....when it needs to be washed, i plan on just throwing it into the washer and dryer. you could probably put a zipper or a button closure on it if you wanted to but i am all about the easy way to do things. in fact, if you use a sweater that has a button down front or a cardigan, you have a built-in opening....

remember those sleeves i cut off of the sweater? they're going to be turned into a pair of

boot socks like these....two projects from one thrift store sweater. gotta love that!!!

now go search your closet for some old sweaters, or if you can't bear to part with any of them, hit up the goodwill or salvation army. look for great colors or design, (cable and chunky knit designs look fabulous as pillow covers), and you will be helping out a couple of great organizations....and getting some custom decor for your pennies...

now get out there and make something amazing!!!

free storage....always a good thing......

2012-02-06T10:43:00.001-05:00

do you remember this piece of trash?.....literally, i pulled it out of someone's trash pile....

it was really rough, inside and out, but i loved the curves and the sturdiness

that comes with an older piece.

the edges were pretty chewed up but i knew a little sand paper would work wonders...

I used annie sloan paint in paris grey for the piece. i figured it would be a neutral shelving unit and any color of fabric that was placed in there would show off as pretty.

because we all need pretty in our lives, don't we?

i love that all of my vintage sheets now have a beautiful home....

to make it even prettier, i painted the shelves in a pretty turquoise.

i still plan on getting a piece of beadboard for the back which i will paint the same turquoise. right now i have a piece of wood covered in blanket fabric that i use for photography. it's a perfect little niche to store that behind the dresser and it works for the backing right now.

the shelves had to be cut in half though, because there was cardboard there before which was pliable. the backer board that i replaced the shelves with was more rigid and the only way i would have been able to get them into their spot would have been to cut and remove the post in the back.

once the fabric is on the shelves, you can't tell that it isn't one piece.

sometimes you just need to improvise to make your design plan work.

the finish was distressed since it was so rough to begin with. now it looks like the flaws are on purpose.....

crappy old dresser....0 dollars

beautiful storage for pretty fabric....priceless....

the fastest quilt top ever.....

2012-01-26T06:00:00.006-05:00

well, that is the premise anyway!!

the jelly roll 1600 quilt is comprised of a bundle of coordinating fabric pre-cut into 2 1/2 inch wide by 44 inch long strips. this is called a jelly roll. fabric stores sell them and they run anywhere from $35 to $45 dollars.

but with all of the lovely vintage fabric i have amassed, i cut my own strips. so that took some time...

and then sewing them together end to end (40 of them) took some time too. 18 inches is cut off of one end. this assures that there will be a random pattern when they are sewn together.

the resulting strip measured about 2 . 5 inches by 1600 inches. you then join the short ends, right sides together, which is now 800 inches, and sew along the long end. that took a really long time because it took forever to join the short ends without any twists. it was 1600 inches long...

when you get to the fold, you cut it and join the two short ends up again

which makes it 400 inches long.

this is repeated three (or four, i don't remember) more times until you are left

with this....a cool quilt top that measures about 48 x 64 inches...

once the first side was sewn, it went pretty fast from there, about an hour and a half...

the only thing left to do is to add the batting and backing and quilt it....

this is the result....

another pretty vintage sheet quilt. now i know that most (all) of my quilts have been some sort of strip quilt but they are the ones that go together the quickest. i am going to attempt something different next time though. stay tuned!! :)

adding in even more projects...

2012-01-24T11:06:00.000-05:00

i haven't had enough to do lately, so i thought i would take on another project. i woke up on saturday, walked into my powder room and decided that i was sick of the black cabinet in there and took the doors off.

i figured if i started dismantling it, i would have to finish it. it is getting a new paint job.

that lovely brass toilet paper holder got a little facelift too!

i figured that if i was going to take on this task on the spur of the moment, it was going to have to be simple and quick. so i broke out the chalk paint and started painting.

i used paris grey

and then realized that the walls are grey too....

so. i have another design in mind for this room. the most changed out room in our house in the almost 12 years that we have lived here... if i am remembering correctly, this would be the sixth design change in this room. (crickets)

fickle much??

anyway, with the walls being grey and the cabinet being grey, i distressed them a little and left them with a rather rough finish. i love the contrast between the rough texture and the cute new knobs.

the toilet paper holder was sprayed with a dark bronze metallic and it instantly updated it.

bye-bye brass...hello, modern!!

i also painted the inside of the cabinet doors just for fun. because bathrooms should be fun, right?

and my homage to harry potter...the lumos/nox light switch. they are just scrapbooking stickers but it is a fun touch. i have done this on a few other switch plates around the house...(and i know that the switches are really grungy and dirty but i am not sure how to clean them....a q-tip didn't fit under there and i am afraid to spray any cleaner into that area.

you know, electrocution and all! :)

(so if anyone knows how to clean the on/off switches, please let me know)!!

so...

my plan to finish this room off is to replace the flooring with a vintage looking tile, a board and batten treatment for the walls and paintable embossed wallpaper in a vintagy tin ceiling style for the ceiling. i have never wallpapered a ceiling but the room is very small so i think it is doable....

i may try a little stenciling on the walls too.

i did finish one project that i have been working on. this quilt was made for a very dear friend who is expecting a baby girl. her baby shower was on sunday.

this is the first one that i made using store bought fabrics instead of vintage sheets, although i did use one for the back of the quilt. since it is for a baby, and babies are tactile, i wanted to incorporate as many textures as i could.

i used linen and lace,

flannel and fur

and corduroy that feels like velvet....it was so soft...

i also made some coordinating burp cloths for her but neglected to take pictures of them.

the picture below is the only one i have of them...but they were really cute....

i loved this quilt...and so did she!

i started a part time job working a couple hours a day for a few weeks in the front office of an elementary school. i love working with the kids and the people that work with me are great. it is a really fun job and hopefully it will become a permanent part time job.

i will be sharing a couple more projects that are almost finished in the next few days....

a curvy beauty.....

2012-01-12T22:48:00.000-05:00

i can't believe that this is my first post for 2012....someone has not been sorting out her priorities....

ahem,.....

i have had my hand in about 5 different projects at once.

i rock at the multi-tasking....

i have been redoing this dresser

and want to use it to store my stash of vintage sheets and

finished quilts.

i picked this out of someone's trash last spring. it was in pretty bad shape and all of the drawers were destroyed. but the frame is in good shape. the shelves (drawer bottom bases) in there are just made of cardboard so i plan on replacing them with mdf. the inside is going to be painted creamy white and the outside with annie sloan paris grey. i have removed the back of the piece and will replace that with beadboard. it is in progress as we speak....

this lovely table....

a cute little duncan phyfe

is getting a makeover.

it has cool brass caps for the feet that i thought were missing.

but one of them was still attached and two others (i have located a replacement for the fourth one online) were in a bag taped to these

cool chairs that came with the table....4 of them....

they are very similar to three other chairs that i had found at the goodwill back in the summer

for $5.00 each...

here is the back story on the table and chairs...

last summer i redid a lot of furniture for my friend lisa. she has since moved to minnesota

(i miss you girlfriend)

but her parents still live here. she called me last week to tell me that her mom, penny, had a table & chair set for me. i thought that penny wanted me to make over the table for her but she had actually rescued the set from her brother who was going to burn it. literally. burn it in a fire pit.

she snatched it from him and delivered it to my house a few days ago...

for me to keep. for free....free.

thank you penny and walt...

after she left i started inspecting it.

the top is in pretty bad shape

but it is really nice mahogany

and all of the hardware is intact. the sides raise and lower very easily.

and the legs and base are in really good and sturdy condition.

and it is hea-vy!!!

i wondered if there was a leaf that went with it but penny said that her brother couldn't find it.

but guess what????

a self-storing leaf......

(insert a long, high-pitched squeal here)

obviously this leaf didn't get much use. maybe no-one knew that it was there.

this little beauty is going to replace my current table and chairs in the kitchen. it is a little less long and wide than my current set is and will fit better. i think i'm going to refinish the top and paint the bottom.

the gouges and scratches on the top are pretty deep, so i'll see how that goes....

i'm really excited about it.

the other project i am currently working on started out like this...

and will be revealed in a few days....

stay tuned!!

favorite projects of 2011

2011-12-31T12:50:00.001-05:00

this past year was a very fun one for me....but it didn't start out that way....

when i lost my job one week before christmas in 2010, i was angry and scared.

then i was just angry.

but i used the experience to do some of the things i never had before.

i was able to do way more than i ever had been able to do in the past when i had a full time job....

i feel lucky that i had the opportunity to experience being a full time mama...

having more time for my photography

doing things i never thought i would ever do, like making a quilt,

and for all of the fun furniture thrifting and refurbishing.

i also had time to spend redecorating some of the rooms in my house.

and i am proud that i was able to do most of them for pennies on the dollar.

here are my top ten favorite projects of 2011:

10. the goodwill coffee table

9. the ugly bench

8. the entertainment cabinet turned pantry

7. my first handmade quilt

6. the diy camera bag

5. the twin tables

4. a sofa slipcover from a dropcloth

3. trying my hand at canning

2. the kitchen makeover

and my favorite (and most popular) post of 2011

1. the laundry room redo

i have also had the opportunity this year to experience washington dc with my son on his 8th grade class trip and go to every one of his baseball and football games. thankfully i was also able to get him to his practices all spring, summer and fall long with their crazy schedules and times....

i want to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year.....

see you in 2012.....

xoxo

handmade christmas gifts.....

2011-12-30T06:00:00.001-05:00

i thought that i would share a few gifts that i made for christmas this year. now that the gifts have been given, i can post pictures of them here....

the girls each got a quilt this year

scarlett's

and tessa's.

both were strip quilts made with my ever growing stash of vintage sheets.

the girls share a bedroom but are getting separate rooms soon. scarlett's is going to be pink and gray with

this bedding with comforter, shams, sheet set and dust ruffle, that i scored at target for $7.59 for the entire set.....yes, $7.59. it was an online purchase that was returned to the store and never sold. it retails for $59.99 and is still available...

score!!

tessa's room is going to be painted lilac so she got this bedding. it came with a sheet set, sham and dust ruffle and i got it at goodwill, brand new and in the package for $30.00. not quite the same bargain as scarlett's but still a great deal....

i was totally excited when i found a vintage pillowcase that (sort of) matched and was used when i made her quilt.

she also got a little chair that i got from goodwill and refurbished for her new room.

the veneer on the harp was broken so i used filler on it....

and recovered the seat in another vintage pillowcase that i also used for her quilt....

she loved it....

the girls also each got these doll beds

which i neglected to take pictures of with the bedding that i made for each one.

my parents got this....

i forgot to take a picture before i started painting it, but it was copper metal with dark wood ugliness....

yukka.....

my parents have a beautiful wooded backyard with some very whimsical garden art.

this screamed bird feeder to me.....

i collected teacups and saucers from thrift stores and

don glued them on for me.

my mom loved it.....but my dad didn't know what to think and it rendered him speechless while he tried to figure it out....

i'm still hoping that it will grow on him.... :)

i made a few other gifts but i was so busy trying to finish them up that i didn't take pictures of them...

but they were cool. i will try and get pics and post them soon...

the laundry room revisited....

2011-12-28T17:13:00.003-05:00

i think that this room has to be the one i am most proud of in my little diy portfolio.....

the before:

yuk!!!

(and i am the one who painted it like that in the first place....

i can't even blame it on the previous owners of the home because we bought it new).

i had ideas for the room swirling around in my brain for a long time. i just wanted light and bright...i considered painting the room white. that was a fleeting thought...what would my family and friends say....the girl with the easter egg house.....(so named because of the bright colors we painted when when we first moved into the house). then i fell in love with turquoise. hard. i am sure that the inspiration for the paint came from the blue mason jars i love so much.

so i mixed the color myself from a can of $5.00 oops paint.

when i started redoing the room, more ideas kept popping into my head and i just went with them.

a chandelier in the laundry room??? who does that?

i do..

(look at that bling bling)

tiffany blue walls in the laundry room??? who does that?

i do...

mason jars styled, photographed as art and framed?? who does that?

i do....

board and batten treatment in the laundry room?? who does that?

well, i saw lots of people who had done that in their houses so i figured i could do that too, so,

i did....

and i did it all by myself...

well........almost.

don hung the chandelier

because ever since i stuck a butter knife into a lamp socket when i was about 9 years old,

i am afraid of electricity...

even if the power is off.

and he helped me use the nail gun for the board and batten ledge

because that thing is scary,

especially when it blew the air into my face when i pulled the trigger.....

it scared the bejeebers outta me....

i am, however, very proud of the fact that 95% of the work was done by yours truly.....

the planning, the painting, the woodwork and the decor....

i love the room. everyone that has come over to the house loves the room.

it makes you want to do the laundry.

sigh......

there have been a few changes in the room since it was first transformed.

most have been cosmetic changes, changing out the decor and adding other girly touches...

glass containers to hold detergent and oxyclean....

a wire basket to hold towels

and more of my favorite blue mason jars.

i made a little cover from a vintage sheet for the shoe storage cube.

the picnic basket holds gloves, scarves and hats for winter.

i had an old half circle table cloth with lace trim that i added to the roman shade.

my friend lisa's parents have an old barn where i found this window. the glass was so dirty that i thought it was opaque....when i washed it i realized that the glass was perfect. the paint is original. it was turquoise. i didn't have to do anything to this window to get it to look like it does.

the patina and rust on this frame is gorgeous and they let me take the window for free....

(thanks walt and penny)

the one thing that i don't like rust and patina on is my washing machine.

especially one that is only about 9 years old.

of course, don tried to fix it. using caulk . which as you can see didn't work very well.

that lovely orange below?? rust!!

i know that 9 years is a long time for appliances nowadays but it drives me crazy that the lid of my washer rusted.

so i am entering a contest to win PartSelect’s $5000 GE Giveaway contest for new appliances

because a new washer and dryer would be the icing on the cake in this beautiful laundry room!
and
because my dishwasher is on it's last leg.....

i am keeping my fingers crossed to win. someone has to win, right? why not me??

wish me luck!!!!

merry christmas.....

2011-12-25T00:25:00.002-05:00

from our family to your family.....

wishing you the most beautiful christmas holiday and

joy and prosperity for the coming year.....

MERRY CHRISTMAS

from the mandernach's

the kitchen floor...finally....

2011-12-19T20:18:00.001-05:00

the kitchen floor was a long time coming....we lived with builders grade vinyl flooring in our kitchen for 9 years. it was ugly, stained and gouged. when we bought our home it was a new build spec house. it was done except for the flooring and countertops. so we got to pick those. that was way before ~~i had any design sense~~ blogs and pinterest were around. i wanted to extend the wood flooring that was in our hallway (which you can see beyond the dark floor)

into the kitchen but the builder told us the cost of doing that would be $3300.00.
what??? uh, no thank you...
so we went with the cheap vinyl flooring. it was fine in the beginning but it went bad fast.
when i just couldn't stand looking at it one minute longer, we decided to redo the floor.
the timing sucked though, because don had lost his job a few months before and we really could not afford to put wood flooring in. i stumbled upon a blog where someone had redone their floor using a wood grain peel and stick vinyl plank that was 4 x 36 inches. it looked great and it was really inexpensive. i researched it and read reviews from people who used it. they had it at lowe's, and at a dollar a plank, it was something that we could afford to do,
if at least as a bandage until we got real wood flooring.
we installed it

we were impressed with it

and it looked great.
for about 6 months.
then it looked horrible.
it shifted and separated at one end and overlapped at the other.

despite what we had read about this product, and all of the reviews, our kitchen looked like crap.

and it scuffed something awful.

i know it was inexpensive, but c'mon, really?

we contacted the company by email and i sent these pictures to them. thankfully, we had kept our
receipt, we sent a copy to them and they refunded our money. with no questions asked...hmmmm, i wonder how many times they had to refund homeowners money!
we took that money put it toward the wood flooring i waited 11 years for.

lumber liquidators cocoa birch hardwood
don started ripping up the old flooring and what a bear that was....we had installed the vinyl plank flooring directly over the original vinyl flooring so we had to take up two layers. the original builders grade flooring was really glued down.... wow!

it took the better part of a week to get it all up but it was finally done.

my brother-in-law came over and helped get us started on the new flooring and show us how to use the nailer thingy with the hammer...

which scared the dickens out of me at first but made the flooring go in really fast.
we did have a problem with the nailer because if it wasn't lined up just right on the board,
it would chip it.

fortunately, i was able to sand (because they were slivery) and stain these little marks and you could not tell the difference.

they finally let me try the nailer and i finished the floor at the doorwall when don was at work.

here is how it started out last year...

i loved it at the time but...

i was really ready to lighten it up....

and here is how it looks now....

i think it looks great.
finally!!!

i finished painting the bottom cabinets the day before we started installing the floor.

i think they look great too....

the color is more like the above picture than the one below....

the rubber band on the door is because my dog thinks that the trash can in there is a snack bar....

i found some cup pulls for the drawers that have a victorian feel to them. now i just need to find knobs to match....

sorry about the white balance differences.....said the photographer :D

i finally got the trim up on the top cabinets. i dry brushed them with cream paint because i had sprayed them with a darker paint than the lower cabinet paint and i was too ~~tired, lazy,~~ busy to repaint them.
(i fixed the discrepancy above, though)

i am very happy with the floor.
except.....
it is really dark. which means that it shows every speck of dust and dirt.
but hey, it is the cleanest floor around because i am constantly dusting, vacuuming or washing it.
and it looks beautiful....
finally!!

a bit of vintage....

2011-12-09T14:00:00.002-05:00

Yes, i am still here.....and i am sorry i haven't posted for so long. the truth is, i just haven't been motivated lately. i don't know if it is the impending christmas season, the change from fall to winter, all of the photoshoots i have been doing lately or a combination of all of these. probably the latter.

i am going to make it a priority to post regularly, though. if only to challenge myself....

so. one of the things that has been taking some of my blog time inspiration?? i have been collecting vintage sheets. that darn pinterest has inspired me once again.....

i tried my hand at quilt making.....

a huge undertaking for someone like me.

let me start by saying that i am no seamstress. to be honest, i don't even like to sew and i suck at it. it reminds me of 8th grade home ec class when i had to sew culottes (yes, culottes) from a pattern. i brought them home the day before they were due and they were a hot mess....my mom, bless her heart, and i spent the entire night redoing them and i ended up with an A on the project. (thanks mom)! i have had an aversion to such detailed sewing since....

but i have to admit, this was fun. and it was easy....

the goodwill and salvation army have been a treasure trove vintage sheets and pillowcases.

i know, it sounds gross and disgusting and i thought so too until i started seeing these beauties all over pinterest.

there was just something about the soft colors, the well worn and faded textures

and to be sure, the nostalgia associated with seeing a sheet that i had as a child. see the turquoise flower and stripe (top right) below? i had sheets just like that when i was a teenager...

now, the thought of cutting and piecing little squares daunted me but i found instructions for a strip quilt.

sewing the fabric, batting and back all at the same time? in long strips instead of little squares?

sign me up!!...

it literally took me about 5 hours to complete. most of that time was spent deciding which sheets to use and cutting the strips. the actual quilting consisted of sewing straight lines and some curvy ones ~~to hide my mistakes on the back~~ just for interest.

it is just a lap quilt and is 50 x 72. i used twin and double sheets as well as a few pillowcases for it...some of the strips are actually the decorative tops of flat sheets,

a lot of them are trimmed in lace or other fabrics and added color and textural interest. you can sort of see the lace trim above and below. the pink strip was also a sheet top.....

the backing is a full sized sheet... the salvation army had the top and bottom sheet as a set for $6.99 which was way more than i would spend but it was half off that day. where can you buy probably 7 or more yards of fabric for $3.50? the batting for this quilt was $14.99 for 72 x 90 which was on clearance at hobby lobby. the vintage sheets (i used 5) and pillowcases (i used 3) ranged in price from .99 for a set of pillowcases to between .75 and $4.00 for the sheets. i probably used about 1/4 of each sheet that i used and just the folded edges of the pillowcases, so my best estimate is under $20 for the quilt.
it is a nice lightweight quilt, perfect for snuggling up under in the winter and light enough to use in the summer air conditioning...
i have tons more vintage sheets

and i think they will make beautiful quilts.....

and then michigan beat ohio state......

2011-11-26T22:54:00.000-05:00

and all was right with the world!!!!!

go blue!

the day after thanksgiving (black friday)....

2011-11-25T08:37:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving. we did here. i hosted dinner for 21 family members yesterday....it was chaotic and loud and wonderful. the food was fantastic and plentiful....i still feel like jabba the hut this morning. the day went by in a blink as it always does.

these pictures were taken at the very beginning of my thanksgiving morning as i prepped the turkey, stuffed to the brim and wearing his cheesecloth diaper. gotta keep all of that gorgeous stuffing inside, right? and as the day was so chaotic, these were the only pictures i took. but be assured the turkey was beautiful when he came out of the oven and provided us with a meal to be truly thankful for.

i woke up in a total fog after taking two benadryl tablets before bed the night before. my friend had told me that she takes them to help her sleep and she sleeps good and hard every night...her doctor told her that it was perfectly okay as they are non-addicting and harmless....

it didn't work for me....

it had the opposite effect and i was up half the night with my brain buzzing and feeling like i wanted to crawl out of my skin.....

never.ever.again

don woke me up at 8:00 am which was the time i had wanted to get my turkey into the oven.

c'est la vie.

the turkey got into the oven at 9:45.

in the end, the fog lifted, the turkey was done to perfection and the

day went off without a hitch. the sides and the desserts were fantastic.

and as hostess, my refrigerator is filled with leftovers...

we will be doing some shopping later today after the crazy crowds have dispersed.

you may have noticed the bottom cabinets were finished being painted and our new flooring is in.

how could i be the mother of a thirty old???......

2011-11-16T21:13:00.000-05:00

and how could someone so incredibly beautiful be something that i created??

i am in total awe of her. she is just as sweet and wonderful as she is beautiful. she is a hard worker, a college student and a fantastic big sister and daughter.

she is a great wife and homemaker.

and she is a fantastic mama...

her girls, my beautiful granddaughters, are the light of my life...

one, the oldest is just like her.....sweet, sensitive and the image of her mama.

she is smart, loving and generous.

and she exudes sweetness....

and the other, the youngest is the polar opposite....sassy, fearless and one tough cookie....

she is also smart, loving and generous.

(and she just oozes sass, doesn't she?)

this picture completely describes their personalities.....

happy birthday, shannon my love.....

(sorry this is two days late!!)

xoxo, mama

neighbors are such a blessing......

2011-11-06T19:37:00.001-05:00

we have some wonderful neighbors....they have six kids and are just the greatest family i know. since i had the girls for the weekend, they went over to their house to play on friday night. while i was helping them clean up all of the toys, i saw the scariest toy i have seen in a while. it was a mechanical monkey..you know, one of the ones that have real looking eyes. i commented to their mother, angie, how disturbing and creepy i thought it was. she laughed and said that she hadn't really looked at it in detail before, but upon examining it again, agreed with me. little did i know that the wheels were already turning in her head.

the next night i took austen and the girls out to eat while don worked on the kitchen floor and we inadvertently had dinner at the same restaurant. when they left before we did, angie thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to hatch their little plan. she sent the three older boys over to my house with the monkey.......well, this is the email i sent to them today. i think you can get the gist of the rest of the story in the email.....

From: me
Date: November 6, 2011 11:08:09 AM EST
To: them
Subject: to my wonderful neighbors

dear ethan, muaz and aiden.....(and the rest of your fabulous family)

thank you so much for the monkey. imagine how ~~horrified~~ surprised i was to see the ~~scary and nightmare inducing~~ cute little monkey in my bed last night.

i was so comforted to see his adorable eyes as he stared at me from between my pillows. you guys are just the best EVER!!!! he had to sleep downstairs last night though, because champ was lonely and really wanted to have a companion. the ~~evil little~~ adorable monkey slept on top of champers cage so ~~i wouldn't have to have it anywhere near my bedroom~~ he could guard him through the night.

this morning i made sure that i gave the monkey to tessa to hold on to so that ~~it didn't end up in the garbage can~~ it could get just as much loving as it could get....

she loved it a lot and ~~hopefully squeezed the life out of it~~ gave it lots of hugs and loving.

and i am sure that she didn't mean to show that rude gesture......i think she loves him just as much as i do!!!!

thank you so, so much for my ~~unbelieveable shock~~ wonderful bedtime surprise......and be assured that i ~~did~~ not have any bad dreams!!!!

all my love,

mrs. mandernach

christmas presents.....

2011-11-02T13:28:00.001-04:00

i decided to try my hand at building something. from wood. by myself.

so i went to home depot, got the wood and instead of having them cut it, i used the miter saw as a chop saw and did it myself.

who knew that this pile of sticks could end up like this.

i got the plans for this cute little farmhouse doll bed from ana white's website.

she has all kinds of projects on her site ranging from furniture to toys to household decor.

she gives you the plans for each project including the materials list and cut list for the wood.

i don't think i would have attempted this if it were not for her excellent directions.

it was really easy and it only took me a few hours to finish it. i just need to cut a piece of plywood for the bed platform and i think i will add a piece of wood across the center for extra stability.

it will fit scarlett and tessa's american girl dolls and any of their other babies.

the wood for the second one is cut and i will put it together sometime this week.

this project was very easy to do and very inexpensive.

here is the cost breakdown:

2 1x2x8 @ $0.82

3 1x3x8 @ $ 1.25

1 2x2x8 @ $1.37

= $6.76 for the wood.

i also bought two packages of screws (2 @ $5.58) for this project so i didn't have to scrounge around in don's hardware bin. it was just easier this way. there were a lot of them left over.

i already had the paint and sandpaper.

and that is for two beds.

i thought that such a sweet country bed deserved sweet country bedding to dress it. i have no experience in quilting but really wanted quilts for the little beds. i decided that i would search for some kind of a patchwork printed fabric so i wouldn't have to sew all of those tiny squares myself. i wasn't too hopeful that i would find something though, that wasn't too cutesy.

imagine my surprise when i found this fabric

at joann's. i didn't know that they even carried anything like this.

it's perfect. and already quilted for me....i found this fabric for the back of the quilt.

i love the mini-graphic print and it will be so cute when it is done.

i already have the batting for the center and i plan on binding the quilt with fabric in the same color as the roses. i love how easy that this is going to be to put it together since most of the work is done for me.

i think that the girls will love these beds, but in the meantime

i plan on using one of them for a couple of newborn shoots....

it think it would be perfect for that and i plan to make an extra one for me eventually.

be sure to check out ana's site if you want to experiment in easy, basic woodworking.

i'm glad i did.

linking up at http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/2011/11/welcome-to-45th-masterpiece-monday.html

for the love of the game......

2011-10-24T23:15:00.000-04:00

austen's football season ended last thursday after a very loooong season.

his practices for freshman football began last june, 4 days after getting out of school for the summer.

he had practice and conditioning every day from 2:30 to any time between 5:00 and 6:30. this schedule lasted until the beginning of august when the schedule changed to 7:30 am until 4:30. every.single.day.

in between football practices, we had to fit in a traveling baseball season. surmise it to say, it has been a very, very long season.....but we all loved it.

austen's football equipment had to be turned in today, so saturday i wanted to do a sports photo shoot.

i told him on friday that since his equipment didn't have to be turned in until today, he needed to be sure to bring everything home so i could do this shoot over the weekend.....

well, he's 14.

and a boy....

so of course, he didn't have all of his equipment when he came home on friday. seems his coach confiscated his shoulder pads before he left school.

curses!!!!

after some brainstorming, i asked around for shoulder pads from all of the boys families in the neighborhood. no luck. but one neighbor remembered that he had a box of hockey equipment in his attic. he found me shoulder pads and we were off.

by this time, however, austen was no longer up to doing the shoot and was a little less than cooperative...

well, he's 14,

and a boy....

so i had to ~~threaten to take away his x-box~~ bribe him to cooperate with me.

i wasn't really successful, but the attitude just adds to the whole sports vibe....

he wasn't smiling here, he was whining....

i figured a few action shots would help..

ooh, a little smile there...

it helped a little....

but he was done.

but i wasn't.

i figured as long as we were taking sports pictures he may as well put his baseball uniform on and get some of those too....

ooh, not happy with me....(hee-hee...~~sometimes~~ i love being the one in control)

i love the faces in this set....

i couldn't get a smile for anything....

that's okay...i love them.... and i think that someday he will too!

fall baking.....

2011-10-20T09:35:00.000-04:00

the weather yesterday was rainy, cold dark and dank....

you know, typical michigan weather when winter is near....

i hate winter.

so what is a girl to do?

hmmmm. i know what would make me feel better.

how about this....

upside-down pear gingerbread.

i had a few pears left in the fridge that were getting old fast. i haven't made something like this before

and to be honest, i just thought about cutting the pears up into cubes and

just mixing them into the batter.

it was really easy to do this though

and i love the way it looked.

warm spicy syrupy pear sauce on the top

and moist gingery cake on the bottom....

come to mama.....

now, my husband despises gingerbread. and pears.

my son won't eat it either. but his friend jake came over last night and

had a nice healthy slice.

at least someone appreciates my baking so half of what was left went home with him.

(well, i couldn't just leave it lying around for me to eat, could i??)

anyway, here is the recipe, modified from epicurious.com. you are supposed to make this in a 12 inch iron skillet but i don't have one of those. i used a 9 inch cake pan and had a little bit of batter and a half of a pear left over. i diced the pear and added it to the batter and used a mini loaf pan. i had to adjust the baking time of the loaf to about 38 minutes. just keep checking...

For topping
2 1/2 firm pears (preferably Bosc)
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
whisk the brown sugar and spices together.

For cake

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup molasses (preferably mild)
3/4 cup boiling water
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten

preparatioPerMake topping:

Prepare pears:

Peel and core pears and cut each into 8 wedges.

Melt butter in skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Reduce heat to low, then sprinkle brown sugar spice mixture over bottom of skillet and cook, undisturbed, 3 minutes (not all sugar will be melted). Arrange pears decoratively over sugar and cook, undisturbed, 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Make cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together molasses and boiling water in a small bowl. Beat together butter, brown sugar, and egg in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes, then alternately mix in flour mixture and molasses in 3 batches at low speed until smooth.

Pour batter over topping in skillet, spreading evenly and being careful not to disturb pears, and bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. (mine took about 55-60 minutes in the 9 inch cake pan).

Cool cake in skillet on a rack 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of skillet, then invert a large plate with a lip over skillet and, using pot holders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert cake onto plate. Replace any pears that stick to skillet. Serve warm or at room temperature.

***recipe modified from epicurious****

hail to the victors valiant....

2011-10-15T11:14:00.002-04:00

the big game...michigan (6-0) vs. michigan state (4-1).

on tap for noon today.

my boys are undefeated. i am picking the wolverines to win.

i will be in my great room with my son watching the most legendary game in college football in michigan. my husband will be at the grocery store, the home depot, in the backyard or standing out in the wind and rain (which is our weather today). he will be gnashing his teeth and developing a stomach ulcer. because not only is the game legendary, so is don's reputation as a university of michigan alumni who

cannot watch a university of michigan football game. he just can't. his brain just won't let him watch a game without

screaming at the tv,

stomping off after a bad play,

hollering at me to turn the tv off so he doesn't have to be tortured anymore

or ripping his hair out at the roots.

yeah, we call him "superfan"!!

and since i love to watch the game without him torturing me too, he has to leave.

so i've written out the grocery list, i'm having him check out the oops paint at the home depot and i've pointed out all of the things in the yard that need to be attended to.

i just hope it is three hours worth......

GO BLUE

anyone for a spot of tea?

2011-10-13T15:59:00.005-04:00

i have been waiting to post these pictures for about a month now, and i am so excited.....

my friend christina, mama to these pretty girls...,
(remember when i photographed them last year in their princess dresses?)

called me last spring to ask if i would take pictures for their 4th and 5th birthday party this fall. i had actually been meaning to call her to tell her that she needed to have a "tea party" birthday party for them this year. i had seen so many beautiful things on pinterest and thought that they were the perfect age for one. we almost said it at the same time because that was just what she wanted to do. she wasn't sure just how she was going to do it, though.

i had just the inspiration for her...

i started a pinterest board with ideas for little girl's tea parties.

she ran with it....totally.

she and her husband built, repurposed and sewed everything.
and i think they did a knockout job!

here are their two girls this year..

she made most of the food. the girls had iced tea or lemonade

poured out of teapots into beautiful teacups...

when christina told her mom that she was going to have a tea party birthday, her mom remembered that

she had a box of teacups belonging to christina's grandmother that she had forgotten about.

they went up into the attic that day and found the box. her grandmother had passed away earlier in the year so it was even more special that she had them to use.

as the story goes, her grandfather was a big sports fisherman. every time he went on a fishing trip, he brought his wife back a teacup and saucer from wherever the trip was.

there were about 20 sets of teacups and saucers in that box. every one was different and each and every one was in pristine condition.

it was an omen.....

it just snowballed from there and she started planning, building and sewing.

they had to cut down a tree and cut the logs into stumps for seating.

she made the little pillows for each ~~stump~~ princess chair.

the table was made from two old doors that her boss had in her garage. her husband made legs and they set them up end to end.

it was set with the teacups that the girls drank out of.

the swing was covered in lace and trimmed with tulle...

and hung from the apple tree.

she hung a pretty frame from anorther tree

and as each guest showed up for the party, they were seated in a chair set behind it and had their princess picture taken.

how cute is this little one?.....

all of the food was special

in lieu of cucumber sandwiches, the girls had peanut butter and jelly croissants.

christina made the suckers and the buttons adorning each package
came from her grandmother's button jar.

the chandelier was given to her from someone that was going to throw it away.

she painted it pink and added the crystals.

the lace covered toy box held the gifts.

the bench below was also something that was rescued from the trash.

the girls all made hats to wear at the hat station where someone was waiting to help them hot glue ribbons, lace and silk flowers to them.

each girl got a pair of white gloves which they all wore when they drank their tea...

she got to blow out the candle on her birthday cupcake...

and the girls played musical stumps....

it was magical and no detail was left out. we had a lovely day for the party during a week of really ugly weather.

it was perfect!!!

indian summer....

2011-10-05T05:00:00.008-04:00

we have had some really crappy weather lately. it started right after labor day and we have hardly had a warm day since. we went from wearing shorts and tank tops to jeans and sweatshirts overnight.

literally overnight....

and rain. lots of rain and wind. and two frosts....

this week has been beautiful so far. the temps are expected to get back into the 80's by the end of the week. and no rain. or wind.

so the girls wanted a little photo shoot tonight.

i am always happy to oblige.....

and i had two (mostly) cooperative little girls...

oh, my goodness, i just want to eat them up!!!

the light was gorgeous. perfectly golden. no wind. long, long shadows.

and my girls were just the sweetest. (once i promised them ice cream)

this one will be 8 next month. i can hardly believe that this much time has passed. i feel very lucky to have such a beautiful and wonderful daughter who has given me such

beautiful grandchildren. very lucky and blessed indeed....

how could you not!!!!!

the little details....

2011-10-04T05:00:00.001-04:00

after i posted about my first attempt at sewing a slipcover for my craigslist sofa, it took a few days

to finish off the back. i needed a way to fasten the two back flaps together.

since i was too afraid to attempt buttonholes, even though my sewing machine can make buttonholes,

i went the ~~easy~~ safe route and used ribbon.

i am kind of a girly girl...

(well, most of the time, except when i swear like a sailor or burp really loud)

...so i like ruffles and bows.

it took a few tries to place the ribbon where it would allow the back flaps to close with a slight overlap.

i used grosgrain ribbon because i figured it would be pretty tough and easy to sew on. i folded each piece of ribbon in about an inch and pinned it on to check for placement.

i sewed it in a square around that fold and sewed an "x" in the middle of each box for

extra reinforcement. that sucker is not going anywhere.

i used fray check on the ends of the ribbon so that when i washed the slipcover, they wouldn't fray. hopefully it will prevent the fraying.....but i guess that remains to be seen.

(i think i said "fray" too much. sounds weird.)

oh, and see how the bottom ruffle was uneven?

it must have something to do with my photographic eye, but things have to be visually balanced and appealing to me. i knew this was going to bug me every time i looked at it.

so, because i am kind of anal when it comes to things like that,

i got that darn old seam ripper out and re-sewed it the right way...

aahhhhh!! visually appealing.....and cute!

don liked it too. which is all that really matters, right?

bwahahahaha...yeah, right!!!!

life should always be cute, don't you think?

wicker is quicker.......

2011-10-03T17:00:00.002-04:00

when it is brought back to life with spray paint.

i have had this wicker love seat for over 20 years, i think....

it has found different places to reside in each of the last three houses we have lived in.

it currently resides in my bedroom and is a holding spot for my clothes when i shed them at night.

it has always been white. i have changed the cover of the cushion on it quite a few times but i think it has had the same white paint job i bought it with. a few years ago i tried to highlight it a bit with

some stain. but i was a dork then and never even took the cushion off before i hit it with the stain brush.

why would i, the cushion was going to cover that part anyway, right?

lazy girl!!!

the stain just made it look dirty. and there was quite a bit of paint chippage going on

and it was just overall worn looking.

it was time for some sprucing up.

enter...my favorite spray paint.

i was at home depot a couple of weeks ago and this paint was marked down.

and i loved the name...

lagoon...

i thought that the color was perfect to add a splash of color to my bedroom.

and how cute would my discarded clothes look as they were thrown haphazardly onto it every night?

so i took it into the yard and sprayed the heck out of it.....

it took two cans and a small amount out of a third can to cover it front, back and underside...

i love it!!!

it covered up all of the dings and chips and tricked out the tired wicker.

and it was completely done in about 3 hours including 3 light coats and drying time.

it had to stay in the garage for a couple of more days because of the paint odor which wasn't awful,

but i didn't want to be exposed to it while i was sleeping.

it is now back in it's niche in the bedroom. i plan on making a new seat cover and pillows for it when i get a chance to get to the fabric store.
in the meantime, i wrapped the seat with my ofelia throw from ikea.

the two pillows borrowed from my bed are actually zippered covers i scored

from target a while back on clearance for $2.00 each.

it is so pretty that i never got to see if my dirty clothes looked cute draped on it.

now i throw my clothes right into the hamper at night.

which is what i should have been doing anyway, right?

I've added a new link....

2011-10-02T13:48:00.000-04:00

to my new photography website.

it's on the right side of the blog at the top.

i would love to know what you think about it.....

oh, and happy birthday to me!!! :D

taking a chance again.....

2011-10-01T20:20:00.006-04:00

once upon a time, a long, long time ago, i tried making bread. from scratch. with yeast.

i failed miserably.

it was hard, gummy and weighed a ton.....and i hated the kneading process because

i never felt the spongy and soft dough that it was supposed to become.

since that time, i have never attempted to make a yeast bread again...

because i was too scared of failing miserably.

i don't know how i plucked up the courage to try again, but i did.

the sam's club near my house sells a rosemary and sea salt focaccia.

it rocks my world.

and makes my pants tighter....

i wanted to try and make my own.

i used a recipe i found in one of my favorite cookbooks

apples for jam

i am a sucker for a good cookbook and tessa kiros is also a photographer.

just about each recipe had a picture and she writes the story of the recipes of her childhood.

it is a beautiful cookbook and i adore the title....what's not to love?

anyway,

it was a very simple recipe with very simple instructions

and, now i have a kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook

something i didn't have the first go around....so it kneaded right in the mixer.

i couldn't believe how easy it was.

ridiculously easy.

the dough rose just like it was supposed to.

i just pushed my fingers into the dough like the recipe said

to make little craters for all of the olive oil.

i sprinkled it with sea salt and fresh chopped rosemary from my garden.

looks great huh? i will admit that it was a little tough and the outside edges of the crust were really hard and crunchy. and it was a little dry for my taste.

since i am not any kind of a baker, i am not sure how to rectify that

but i think if i take it out of the oven a few minutes earlier and maybe spray some water in the oven while it is baking that could improve it...

if you are a baker, can you give me some suggestions on how to make it more tender?

but it tasted delicious and i have finally conquered my fear of yeast.....

my next challenge will be cinnamon rolls....

(i don't know what the deal is with the font....sorry, i can't fix it....)

yes, i am still doing furniture.....

2011-09-23T05:00:00.005-04:00

but barely....

i have been very busy with photography and the furniture is languishing in my basement.

shannon found this ummm, lovely (???) coffee table at the goodwill.

she thinks like me now (like mother, like daughter) and can

see the potential in the ugly.

exhibit A...

it's big (60 inches) and has great bones.

the drawers go all the way through and have knobs on both sides

so the same drawer slides out from either side.

the door opens from either side too. you will see that in a minute....

the legs are curvy little french things and

sit on fluted columns.

there was a lot of damage, however, to the legs and especially the top

these gouges were pretty deep because the wood is extremely soft.

probably why this was only......

but, easy enough to fix. right? well, i love a challenge!

shannon wanted the top to be stained in a dark brown/black and have the bottom painted in a cream color. after sanding the top down to the bare wood and painting the bottom

with annie sloan chalk paint in old white

we started rethinking the dark stain on the top.

we both really liked the way it looked with the bare wood. it looked very beachy so

for fun, i painted the inside of the doors and the drawers in louis blue chalk paint.

the coolest thing about this coffee table is the knobs....

shannon is really a fan of the jane austen time period and loved these.

there are two each of six different designs. when she bought it, there was one knob missing. after loading the table into her car she was getting ready to leave the parking lot when the guy that helped her load it into her car came running out with the missing knob. it had been laying on the floor off to the side of where the table was and they both missed it.

for now, the top is bare wood. she is deciding whether to whitewash it or just wax it and leave it.

maybe a light gray or do you think it would look good with a dark stained finish?

not bad for 7 bucks!!!!

my first attempt at a slipcover.....

2011-09-21T16:54:00.004-04:00

was interesting to say the least.....

i have a couple of pieces of furniture that need to be recovered or reupholstered. the thought of doing it by myself freaked me out. i would read blogs about people that do this seemingly effortlessly.

reupholstery is scary.

the fabric on this small sofa is scarier.

and don't even get me started on this one...

can we just pretend that this chair is not dressed like a ghost?

this chair is actually a really nice chair whose fabric no longer fits our decor.

the decor that i changed about 18 months ago. being the intelligent man that my wonderful husband is, he started (18 months ago) ripping said fabric from the chair. i was able to stop him before he got all of the fabric off but not quick enough to rip the fabric from the ottoman that i have already recovered.

but that only took a staple gun and a glue gun.

now, it looks goofy if we leave the chair uncovered.

hence, the hillbilly slipcover, aka the paint drop cloth.

don hates it and is convinced that i am a master upholsterer and for the life of him, cannot figure out why i haven't reupholstered this chair in a nice home decor fabric.

well, this is why...

detail....

and more detail, aka, piping......

like i said, reupholstery is scary.

slipcovers seemed a little more doable for me.

even though i have no real sewing skills to speak of.

so i researched. and researched. and researched some more.

i found and followed the video tutorial series that marian from miss mustard seed was generous enough to provide for everyone.

and i am proud to announce that after only 4 days, three broken sewing machine needles

and two canvas drop cloths from lowes

and heavy duty thread that never did work in my sewing machine (hence one of the broken needles)

this...

became this...

no piping on the arms because piping scares me...

and a little grey paint on the pretty legs,

it beats the white sheet i had on it before to cover it up.....

i still need to sew some ribbons on the back to keep it tied up

but is so much prettier now than that green fabric.

it's not perfect, there are lots of mistakes (try not to notice that the ruffle is uneven) and it tugs, pulls and buckles in places that it is not supposed to, and my seam ripper was really given a workout.

but overall, i think it turned out okay and i am glad that i finally took the plunge.

this one is next, and i am using the drop cloth that is part of it's ghost costume. maybe i'll wait until after halloween......it's kinda cute!

more senior shots.....

2011-09-13T15:59:00.000-04:00

i have know alexa since she was about 6 years old. her family moved into our neighborhood about 2 months after we did. i became great friends with her mom and austen played with her and her younger sister as a tot....

she has a sister who is two years younger,

arielle breanna...

and one that is 5 years younger,

adrienne monet. (like the artist)

all three girls are absolutely delightful. and beautiful.

they moved out of the neighborhood about 6 years after moving in but their mom and

i have kept in contact and remained great friends.

debbie asked me to take alexa's senior pictures and i was honored that she asked me.

she was born on march 17th, st. patrick's day, with a head of red hair and green eyes.....

and christened....

alexa emerald.

she plans on becoming a physical therapist in an eight year program....she would be perfect for the job!!!

debbie, your girls are gorgeous and i don't think you could have picked better names for them.

i adore them all!!!!

oh, yeah, ignore the no trespassing sign in that picture way up there. we totally weren't trespassing... ;)

we will never forget....

2011-09-11T15:38:00.003-04:00

like everyone else on that horrifying day, i remember exactly what i was doing when i heard about the planes hitting the world trade center.

tuesdays were my day to start work late. i didn't have to be there until 10:00 am. when getting ready on the late mornings, i would turn the tv on and watch the martha stewart show. when i turned the tv on that day (the sound came on before the picture did in our tv) i remember hearing a mans voice talking. i wasn't paying too much attention because i was busy getting ready, but i was trying to figure out what man martha had as a guest on her show that day.

when the picture finally came up, the first image i saw was the burning tower. my second thought was, "why is (the movie) independence day playing at this time of day"?

of course, it didn't take long to figure out what was going on....that i was actually watching the "today show" that had pre-empted martha, and that man was matt lauer.

i called don at work (on the manufacturing floor at general motors) and he had just gotten called into an office with a tv and had seen it too....we said extra "i love you's" during that phone call.

i called my parents and my dad didn't have the tv on yet. i told him what i had seen and i remember telling him "we are in big trouble". with everyone else, i tried to process the shock and horror of what had happened, but i couldn't. it was hard to pull myself away from the tv to go to work and while on my way there, they announced that the first tower had collapsed.

i was petrified and sick with worry.

i'd dropped 4 year old austen off at daycare before i went to work. shannon was 20 years old and already living on her own. within the hour, i made shannon go pick him up and bring him to my work. my mom came to my work too and they all stayed there until late in the afternoon.

i didn't want to be at work, i wanted to be at home, in my secure nest...

i just wanted my family with me. i needed to see them, feel them.

i think the thing that scared me the most was the fact that you could not listen to the radio and hear music. every station was now a news station..the other thing that scared me was that i didn't hear any airplanes in the air that day. that was so weird because there is a minor airport about 7 miles from our house and we heard planes all of the time.

they just became white noise in everyday life but that day,

the silence was deafening.

we sat that night, huddled on the couch together, watching the recap of the days news.

since i had been at work late that day, i hadn't heard too much about

the other planes going down in pennsylvania and at the pentagon.

we all slept in the same bed that night, and the next night.

i was scared beyond thought but i felt lucky that i had my family intact and with me.

my heart went out that day and many, many days since to the families of the victims.

ten years later, i hope that most of the families have found peace in their "new normal".

however far removed we were in distance from new york, i never forgot that it just as easily could have been our family, or yours or anyones.

i pray for the deployed soldiers and their families now fighting to secure our freedom.

god bless them and keep them and i want them to know that my family will

always remember.......

****adding something interesting today****
for dinner today i made pasta with chicken and artichoke hearts. i got out the jar and.......

this was what i found on the lid....

for reals........

i miss them.....

2011-09-09T05:00:00.004-04:00

jerry and tina used to live next door to me....they moved away about 18 months ago and we miss them like crazy. she made our family part of her family and introduced us to the fabulousness of greek food and life straight out of "my big fat greek wedding". we always have so much fun with them and their families always treat us as if we were part of theirs.....

tina is a personal trainer and she trained me down 3 clothes sizes a couple of years back....

i will be forever grateful to her.......jerry is a pharmacist and took immense pride in his yard. he and don always had so much in common because of that.

we missed last year's photoshoot when she moved and subsequent chaos that ensues because of it....

we are back in the swing of it now though!!

their little girls are eden and london.....

one is an image of her mama and one is an image of her daddy!!!

i think that this picture of london flying with daddy is one of my all time favorites that i have taken so far....it takes my breath away!

we took the pictures on a windy summer evening at a small local beach

just as as the sun was getting low in the sky....

it casts the most amazing light and shadows....

just gorgeous.....

eden has a couple of new teeth and was happy to show them off for me.

we miss your family, jerry and tina, and we have got to get together more often..

we are going to work on that, okay??

I've been keeping very busy lately....

2011-09-07T05:00:00.000-04:00

i've been doing a lot of photography shoots and processing really takes a lot of my time. that is why i have been so lame about blogging.....heck, i haven't even been reading blogs for the past couple of weeks.

i love the processing of the photos part of photography. i get to look at these faces for hours...

i can see their personalities in their faces.....

big sister sophie, older than her years, who takes such good care of the sisters

who obviously look up to her...

the serene middle child sadie, who chills while the older and younger sisters run the show.....

and the sassy baby sister sydney, who isn't going to get lost in the crowd.....

their mama is the most beautiful woman ever, and her house is to die for......

i may have to go back over there sometime and get pictures of the inside to share with you.....

and daddy, the lone y in the forest of x chromosomes, and who totally dotes on all of his girls.

the cutest family ever.

i had to spend extra time processing these photos because we were swarmed by mosquitos the entire shoot, even though we were drenched in bug spray, and i had to clone out the welts from their skin.

totally worth it though.....

we all had so much fun.....

christina and steve...your girls are growing up beautifully!!!!

thank you for letting me document the transformation....

my baby is a high-schooler.....

2011-09-06T14:30:00.000-04:00

sniff....

austen started 9th grade today.

9th grade!!!

how does this happen? he was just in kindergarten last year, or was that two years ago....

this mama is having severe anxiety about her boy growing up.

it is all happening too fast.

high school starts much earlier in the morning than middle school. he has to get up an hour earlier than he did last year, which was 6:30 am.

5:30 am is ear-ly!

so we had everything ready last night.

backpack packed....check....

cereal and bowl set out.....check...

ninth grader showered, dressed and ready.....chec----whoa!

5:30 is really, really early!!!!

so early in fact, that it is still pitch dark out when he goes to school now.

so i had to take the pictures in the house.

i made him smile by telling him to say the proper name for "weiner".

he compromised and told me to stop taking pictures. through gritted teeth...

we're even!!!!

have a great year buddy. i love you! ..don't let high school make you grow up too fast...

promise me, okay?

be my guest.....

2011-09-05T19:12:00.000-04:00

I am guest posting today over at musings of a gem....

gemma is a darling young lady who lives in england. i have been following her on her blog for quite a while now and she has an etsy store, she loves to cook and has lots of recipes on her site.

check her out....and give her some love!!!

here in good old michigan, we have had our first fall-ish day. two days ago it was 88 degrees with a heat index of 95....whew!!!

today?

57 degrees with a wind chill of 54!!! brrrrr....

summer goes so quick!!! fall goes so quick and brings w.i.n.t.e.r i am so not ready for that!

in the meantime

i am still hoping for more of

this....

sunflowers are courtesy of don's garden....aka....the jungle

school starts tomorrow in our district.....my baby goes to high school...sniff!!!

just sayin'......

2011-08-30T07:59:00.000-04:00

not a good idea!!!!

what the?????

2011-08-22T13:35:00.001-04:00

i showed you in my last post how i have been canning the tomatoes out of my neighbor's garden. they are away and i have been picking the ripe vegetables out of their garden so they don't rot. i showed the beautiful bounty i reaped

and what i did with it for them...

curtis and don are very (friendly) competitive when it comes to their gardens. they start them from seeds in early spring and every year, there is a competition to see who can grow the biggest pumpkins. we plant mostly the same kinds of tomato plants....lots of heirloom tomatoes and big red, juicy ones.

well, i picked again from curtis's garden on saturday morning and got
this....

don picked the tomatoes from our garden saturday morning and got
this....

huh???????
looks like we aren't even in the running this year!!!
:)

oh, yes i "can".....

2011-08-20T00:07:00.003-04:00

our fabulous neighbors and friends, curt and laura

left for utah last week to drop off their daughter

at byu for her first year in college. since they will be gone for 10 days, we are in charge of looking after their garden. the day before they left, they had picked a huge bowl full of tomatoes, banana peppers and jalapeno peppers. since they would probably go bad before they came back,

they were entrusted to me....
hmmmmm....what to do with the first real bounty of summer?.....
salsa, of course!

so i canned 12 pints of it.....
a few days ago, i hit up their garden again and came home with this.

see that really big one at the top, the one that is split in two? it put up a valiant fight to prevent me from picking it.....but i won.

there weren't enough peppers to make more salsa, so i just canned the tomatoes.....
6 quarts of garden gold.....

now, if only our garden will start producing tomatoes like these......
i will be checking their garden later today to see if there is anymore to pick....
and to can!!!
and just because they are so cute, here are the rest of the kids

hope you have a great weekend.....

senior pictures......

2011-08-18T10:59:00.000-04:00

the lovely kellie......

we found a few really cool places to shoot her senior pictures.

this lovely gazebo and fountain is at the entrance to a subdivision a few miles away.

i also found an abandoned railroad track with the graffitied up train cars just waiting for us to use as a backdrop. that's her cute dog...

we also took some of the pictures in my yard.

the weather was perfect.

my favorite place so far though, is this old abandoned house. there are no windows or doors, just an old crumbling foundation and peeling paint...perfect backdrop for teens...

and last but not east, we found a golf course that closed a few years ago and is now completely overgrown. it's sad but it was cool for us.

we drove our car on the cart path to get to the spot where we took the pictures....we weren't there for 10 minutes when a car came driving up behind us asking what we were doing there. apparently, it has been used by the local kids as a party spot and they were making sure that we weren't there to party... huh? one car, three people and a camera?....oh well, i can appreciate that they are looking out for the surrounding neighbors...

thank you kellie, you were a perfect model and you are beautiful....

it's a jungle out there.....

2011-08-16T21:12:00.001-04:00

or as i like to call it,

the incredible shrinking raised bed...
i'd say the incredible shrinking yard, but our yard is about an acre. as we get deep into the dog days of summer, everything is lush, very green and beautiful.

here are the pictures of our front and back yards as promised....

this and the next pictures are the garden in the front of the house just past the porch. to the right you can see the backside of Petey, our gargoyle. he looks weird because i took these pictures just after watering. this bed includes a butterfly bush, shrub roses, spiderwort and stella d'oro lilies surrounding the gazing ball.

i got that for mother's day a few years back. it's gorgeous!

when i was watering the gardens the hose made a rainbow....i love rainbows....

this bed is in front down toward the street. just some perennials and grasses under an oak tree.

the backyard has a couple of willow trees that we planted a few years ago. they are getting so big so fast....we also have a large retention pond where we have been breeding our mosquito population this summer. and since the mosquitos need to eat, i usually stand out in the yard for a few minutes every evening so they can pig out... ugh!! have the mosquitos where you live been worse than usual this summer? it almost makes me want the colder weather just to get rid of them. (almost).

this bed has russian sage and black eyed susan. there is a small lilac bush just to the right of that bed and a golden curly willow to the left.

this jungle, i mean, garden, is don's pride and joy. i would try and point out where things are planted but i don't know where they are anymore. my machete is on order...

don likes to grow sunflowers in his vegetable garden.....he thinks it adds interest and i guess it does. he is constantly hacking off the bottom leaves so the garden actually gets some sun.....and yes, i painted the wire fence surrounding the garden turquoise.....

this year he had some help planting the sunflowers from the birds. they dropped seeds everywhere in the yard.....

randomly in the flower beds...

in the flower pots, and yes, that is a sunflower in the flower pot.

they also grace either side of the steps leading to the kitchen here...

and on the other side. this ones head is so big and heavy it is in a permanent state of "bent over".

the blue jays love the sunflower seeds and will hang upside-down to get at them when the heads are like this. you can't see it very well, but don has this sunflower staked with a hockey stick...

there is a huge one growing near the window too!!!

on the east side of the house our purple robe locust has a companion this year too....

another sunflower....

entwined in the crook of the tree trunk and branches....

underneath the kitchen window is our very tall rudbeckia plant...it is about 3 feet taller than me.

the large tree on the left is a river birch and is really beautiful, with its cinnamon colored peeling bark. to the right is the vegetable garden and, last but not least,

the incredible encroaching pumpkin plants. our neighbor's property starts where the black lava rock is on the right side. their deck is just to the right of the big pine trees. there is usually a pumpkin growing near their deck every year. we let them keep that one.... :)

so that concludes the tour of our little piece of nature......thank you for stopping by.

weird sky at night, sailor's delight....

2011-08-15T20:30:00.006-04:00

i have seen some weird skies in my life....living in the midwest we have lots of active weather with

thunderstorms, tornados, hail and blizzards....

but this one was about the weirdest i have ever seen.

the sky was an orangish brown and encompassed the entire western skyline. we had just had a threatening rainstorm that actually was not as bad as the weather men were predicting but i have never seen a sky like this in michigan. it gave the entire area a very strange yellow glow.

this was the view out of my laundry room window, the only west facing window we have in the house. the glow was so bright that i thought that the light was on in there.

the storm brought a much needed cooler breeze that night.

in the east, we were graced with a rainbow that was so big,
i didn't have a lens wide enough to capture it all....

we woke up the next morning to this...

foggy site.

it was really quite still and peaceful. this is the road that leads out of our neighborhood.

the yard looked very ethereal too.

what are those large vines growing outside of the garden, you ask?

why, those would be don's pumpkin vines....encroaching into the neighbor's yard to the far right....

here is a closer view....

they also grow into our vegetable garden where we have tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries, tomatillos, rhubarb and more tomatoes. we have a separate herb garden back behind there, where the pumpkins haven't quite invaded, but they are surrounding the bed and i expect a full scale attack to occur any day now. don also planted tons of zinnias and sunflowers in the vegetable garden, so it's kind of a jungle in there. but, that's how he likes it and we have about 6 or 7 pumpkins going....

i will do a post on the sunflower explosion we had this year very soon!

the night view....

and the morning view...

what a view!!!!! weird...

taking one for the team.....

2011-08-07T20:48:00.000-04:00

austen had his last baseball tournament last weekend. it marked the end of his season this summer....

but he will be remembering one of his games for at least a couple of more weeks.

for sure....

he was hit by a pitch in one of the last games. those little squirts can really throw the ball hard.
we love that it is the perfect ball shape.

i'm not sure if the red zig zag is from the stitching on the ball

maybe a little harry potter action...

hmmm, i don't remember voldemort being there...

and yeah, he's going to kill me for posting a picture of him in his boxers.....but, he is going to be graduating high school in 4 years and i need pictures for his grad party slideshow.
shhhh!

the lovely days of summer.....

2011-08-05T13:13:00.001-04:00

since the weather around here has become a bit more temperate, it is starting to feel like a real summer.

this has to have been one of the most unusual years for weather in our little corner of michigan.

winter was unusually snowy, probably the most snow i remember since i was a kid.

spring was unusually cold and wet and we were left feeling like it would never get warm....it was kind of like the dementors had invaded our city.

summer came and we went from cold and wet to hot and humid. i think the weatherman said that our area had seen more days in july over the 90 degree mark than below it...and my electric bill confirms that fact. totally not normal for southeast michigan.

last week, after not having had rain for about a month except for a little rain shower twice, we had

a storm that dumped 6-7 inches of rain in one night, caused a power outage and flooded our basement.

fortunately, we don't have a finished basement. we use it for storage and since we had had a flood when our house was 4 years old and the 4 year old sump pump broke, we got smart and put most of our stored things in plastic bins and up on shelving.

we only had carpet in a small are of the basement where don has his exercise equipment.

there is still a bit of organizing to redo since we tried to get some of the stuff up off of the floor in a hurry.

our poor neighbors weren't as lucky. they had a finished basement and their back up battery powered sump pump (that they installed in the event of a power outage) failed as well. there was just too much water. too fast.

our neighbor curtis came over to the house on thursday morning and told us to check our basement for flooding because theirs had flooded. when i went to their house a few minutes later, they and their kids were bailing water out of the basement egress window. what a mess. i was too overwhelmed to take any pictures of this debacle while it was happening, but lets just say it sucked!

today, things are back to normal for the most part.

austen is done with this:

(ooh, just look at that face, that determination)

(good form)

and they got second place in last weekend's tournament.

it was a fun season, they lost more games than they won but the boys were great. i was a great baseball mom and never missed a game and i will miss the other moms and dads.

football starts soon though, so i will be just as busy with that, i'm sure!

for right now, i am going to happily live what is left of summer and enjoy the little things....

i think they peeked into my kitchen......

2011-07-28T04:00:00.000-04:00

to get their inspiration from my current makeover.

i say current

because my brother-in-law is convinced

that we are losing square footage in our house because of all of the painting

we have done in the 11 years we have lived here.

i got this

in the mail the other day. it was in with a request for a subscription

for house beautiful magazine. those colors look very familiar...

this is the new flooring we are putting down in the kitchen. soon. you hear that don? soon!!

here is the backsplash tile...

this is the dresser i just painted for the kitchen and the blue mason jars that i love.

the walls are a light grey

the cabinets are in the process of being repainted creamy white for the top

and medium grey for the bottom

the kitchen table and chairs

the new rug....

great minds think alike.... ;D

progress....

2011-07-27T11:26:00.005-04:00

remember this dresser?

a craigslist find from a few months back.

it came with this mirror

and, be still my heart, these handles....

why doesn't anyone reproduce these handles? they are gorgeous, don't you think?

i would have bought the dresser just for this hardware.

anyway...$40.00 for the dresser and mirror....

and those beautiful handles.....

since i am lightening up my kitchen, i thought this would be a great piece to replace the black console table that was in there before.

so i brought it in so see if it fit in the space. it fit perfectly

so i started painting it.

rather than painting the whole thing the same color, i opted for a white top and colored bottom.

i used the annie sloan chalk paint in old white for the top and

duck egg mixed with the old white and louis blue for the base.

the detail was much prettier painted than it was in the less than attractive white with gold overspray....

the detail on the drawers is pretty too.

but then disaster struck....

i tipped the dresser forward to touch up the paint on one of the back legs and all of the drawers slid out and landed on the floor.

this was the result..

crap!!!!

oh well, nothing that i couldn't fix with a little carpenters glue

and a clamp....

good as new!!

i sanded to distress around the carved detail and the edges;

i didn't paint the hardware. i love how it pops against the color and brings down the white top.

i know that the handles are on differently, i wasn't sure how i wanted them to go. i will stick with the way they are on the left side.

i painted the market fresh sign onto a broken dresser drawer front

that i pulled out of someone's trash. its the one in the back that says "pants".

i painted it and stenciled the letters on. i love the way it looks.

this dressser helps also, to lighten up the kitchen a little more. and it adds 6 drawers of storage.

and who doesn't need more storage in the kitchen, right?

what do you think?

oh, and i got this rug at ikea for $19.99. i got it mostly to cover up the paint marks on the floor under the table.

when don painted the base of the table for me, (he was bored when i was out one day) he didn't use a drop cloth....(yes, that is the drop cloth right next to the table) but we are replacing the flooring anyway.

i will be painting the mirror that goes with it too and replacing the black one there. i am just trying to decide if i want to paint it old white like the top of the dresser or duck egg like the base. any suggestions?

i am also linking up to robyn's blog for the mountain of giveaway for annie sloan chalk paint. i could sure use some more and if i don't have to pay for it, that would rock!!!

i'm a hottie.....

2011-07-24T20:56:00.001-04:00

as i'm sure, is everyone else in the country this past week....

the temps have been dreadful for about 10 days.

high 90's and last thursday we hit 99 degrees. the heat index was 110 degrees...

it hasn't gotten much better in the last few days. it is almost too hot to do anything. i have been taking my morning walk between 6:30 and 7:00 am and i come home in a dripping sweat. and the dog starts tugging at the leash to go home after the first lap around the subdivision,

even though he knows we always go 3-4 laps....

he plops down on the kitchen floor when we get into the house and tries to flatten himself to get every square inch of his body onto the cool floor.

I have been very grateful this past week for:

central air-conditioning

the neighbor's pool

air conditioning in my car

electricity to run the air conditioning

shade

air conditioning

the chance to see this

and this

during austen's baseball tournament in grand haven, michigan....an adorable little lakeside town on the west side of the state where we had the opportunity to spend last weekend.

poor austen baked in the sun during his games

which were played in a school yard surrounded by a parking lot, a street and fortunately for me,

some trees right next to the field which kept us nicely shaded and cooled.

they (the team) didn't do too well, only winning one game out of four but we had a really fun weekend with breakfast out at a great little restaurant in town, a great hotel with a pool, a team picnic with food that we all brought and great company with the other baseball moms and dads.

the night before we came home, we headed to the beach and pier for some sightseeing and an ice cream cone....

i only got a few pictures of the pier but i loved this one of austen who is getting tall enough to block dad's face.

and this one of both of my guys

and austen got this one of us

as we were leaving the pier to go back to the hotel.

it has been too hot to do any painting lately, i just don't have the motivation or desire to fight the heat.

i did finish up this cute little table before i left though...

painted in a striped beachy style.....

and i am getting ready to let this one go.....

a sweet little craigslist find for $20,
repainted and dressed with a paint drop cloth.

it started out looking like this

and i will be sad to see her go......

i'm so lame.....

2011-07-15T02:40:00.005-04:00

i know it's been a while since i've posted but there has been tons of this

and another tournament this weekend.... it looks like we will have good weather though...

and i am really sad about this

being the end of an era. i am excited to see the final movie but it will be bittersweet for our family.

we have been big followers of the harry potter movie series since it started and have read all of the books. we even have the books on tape and have been listening to them in the car lately. like every time we get into the car...

we went to the midnight showing of the movie last night. our local theatre showed part 1 and then part 2 so we watched both movies...

i loved part 2 but there were some scenes that i thought they could have done better and

been truer to the book.

oh well, it was still great.

i will be back next week......have a great weekend.

kitchen cabinets stage one......done

2011-07-06T14:59:00.001-04:00

the last two days i have been working very hard to get my kitchen redo into gear.

yesterday, the place was a mess....

it kinda sorta looked like this

one half started cabinet paint job....

the whole house was a mess because i worked all day on this project and then austen had baseball in the evening at a baseball field 45 minutes away.

the garage was paint central

don had started painting the cabinet doors with a brush...icky brush strokes

my new love is a foam roller..

painting was a breeze and it went way faster than painting with a brush.

this morning, the kitchen looked like this.......

ugh....don't judge me!!! this is why i don't have glass doors on any of my cabinets....lol

this afternoon, stage one is done

i still have to put up the moulding because we added wood between the cabinet top and the crown moulding to give the builders grade cabinets a little height and elegance....

you can see the gap here a little better....

the trim is in the garage drying right now....

spray painted with dark gray and will be dry brushed with the same paint as the cabinets.

nice and bright!!!

and i am loving the change in the space.
i am sure that you noticed that i have 3 different colors of appliances.

someday, i will find my killer craigslist deal on a new stainless steel set of appliances that actually match...but for now, they are all working and in good condition so i can live with the variety.

let's call it "eclectic" shall we?

this is what it looked like two days ago....

and what it looked like one month ago

quite a change, i think......

i still need to paint the bottom cabinets, but i can live with this until i get the energy to finish.

right now, i need to clean my house....