Category Archives: crafting

Atomic Age Throw Pillows

June 4, 2013 admin

I’ve been in a bit of a nesting phase lately. I think our apartment is about halfway to being pretty darn awesome, and I’ve been overcome with the urge to push it the rest of the way. I’m trying to take advantage of my enthusiasm and motivation to actually tackle some householding projects, and one of the first is something I’ve had in mind for awhile now: new throw pillows for our couch.

My parents bought this couch for me when I moved to Walla Walla, because my mom couldn’t stand the idea of me not having a place to sit and relax in my little house. And because my parents are unfailingly generous. It’s a lovely little couch upholstered in soft brown microsuede, and it’s very, very comfortable. But it came with two fairly boring, polyester throw pillows.

The pillows just felt lost and sad; their muted colors ensured that they practically disappeared into the couch. And they weren’t very pleasing to the touch, either. I wanted something with a little more style and flair, and finally I decided to bite the bullet and order some new fabric. I bought some matching piping at Britex one afternoon, and as soon as my fabric arrived I got to work. These pillows were actually very easy to make (so why it took me over a week to finally get both pillows done is a mystery), and while I didn’t quite get the piping on the corners right, I’m calling that a design feature.

Isn’t this fabric fun? I love the way this robin’s egg blue pops against the brown, and the colors modernize the otherwise very retro print. These throw pillows make me happy, and I actually have enough fabric left to make a third.

I really like the texture of this fabric, too. It’s a printed cotton, but there is a bit of roughness to it which I think is a good contrast to the smoothness of the couch fabric.

This was such an easy and gratifying first project in my grand apartment-polishing scheme. Both Sean and I want a new rug, and some new art to hang on the walls. And I’m right in the middle of an epic 30 Day De-cluttering Project (which I will definitely be sharing soon). It feels good to purge some of the stuff I’ve accumulated, and to make our apartment feel a little more pulled together. It’s a small space, and I’m trying to make better use of it than we have been over the last two years.

Of course, it will be all-too-predictable, in my peripatetic life, that as soon as I get our apartment all fixed up and perfect, we’ll have to move… (Did I just jinx myself? Doh.)

crafting, wedding

Rustic but Elegant Tea light Holders

March 27, 2013 admin

My aesthetic is pretty obvious to anyone who has looked at my Pinterest boards. Or my house. Or my wardrobe. I like things that are classic and elegant, with just a touch of, I don’t know, country? Rustic? Vintage? Whatever you want to call it, I like the element that brings elegant back from formal.

I few months ago, I see these gold and glass candleholders in Martha Stewart Weddings. I have a fondness for shiny things, and I immediately thought that, with a little metallic glass paint, these would be really easy to make. I also have a fondness for Mason jars and other canning jars. I thought that would add just the right amount of rustic to keep these candleholders playful and relaxed. And thus, my first wedding craft idea was born.

I made some prototypes a few weeks ago. They do look nicer with tea lights burning in them, I will admit. (So why didn’t I take pictures when the candles were lit? I don’t know.) They’re still not perfect. These were with two coats of paint, and I did one jar with a regular paint brush and one with a foam brush. I don’t want to see brush strokes, but it’s possible that the only way to get there is with spray paint. And that is a kind of mess I have no space to be working with. I also think the paint should stretch further up the sides of the jars.

So, I plan to do prototype round two soon, before diving in and painting all the jars. I’m aiming to have at least 60 of these suckers, so I can group them on tables at the reception. I also have to buy some long-burning tea lights, because the guys I have went out after about an hour. No good, my friend.

My florist kind of balked when I mentioned using mason jars, but what do you think? I like the combination of sparkly and elegant with, well, rustic. I think I mentioned I’m into that? I also love that this is a really easy, inexpensive, and fast craft project, AND that the glass paint is dishwasher safe, AND that there will be enough that people can take one or two if they like them. Also, painting on glass is fun.

Do you like them? Do you think they look weird? Do you want to see pictures of round two prototypes?

crafting, goals, wedding

A Whole Lotta Love Stamps

March 19, 2013 admin

After agonizing about invitations for way to long, it feels really good to have just made a decision already. I decided to use stationery that we will print and assemble ourselves. Well, the folks at FedEx Office will print them, and I’ll cut the cards out, procure envelopes, print labels, and get everything ready to send. The first round, our Save the Date cards, are done and ready to go in the mail tomorrow.

I ordered a custom stamp for our return address, and decided to make things easy by printing mailing labels. Writing them all out by hand sounded like a nightmare, and hiring a calligrapher just isn’t a huge priority for me. Besides, these are only save the date cards. I don’t think we need to get too crazy.

I feel like, with this project finished, the beginning of the small-detail-oriented work begins. I do have a lot of crafty projects in mind, and I suspect I’m going to overwhelm myself. I’ve been making a mental list of priorities, so when it comes time to let things go, I’m prepared to do so.

One project that is a high priority is making our flower girl’s dress. I bought some lovely fabric in Santa Cruz last weekend that will be perfect.

This is the dress I’m planning to make, with the scalloped hem and the bow.

The hem band and bow will be red, and the body of the dress that gorgeous floral print. She’ll be freakin’ adorable.

I’ve done a few prototypes of some of the craft projects I have in mind, and over the next week I’ll be making myself a detailed timeline of when I should be working on these things. Because that’s the kind of planning and organizing freak that I am.

I am still making too many plans, and taking on too many projects, and giving myself too many goals. I think I’m starting to accept that this is just part of how I operate. Generally, I like having a lot going on, but it can be hard to have all those fun and exciting projects happening without putting pressure on myself to do all the things, and to do them perfectly. This is a perpetual struggle, and I suspect that the next six months of wedding planning won’t be the time when I finally win that particular personal battle.

At least this is all still fun for now! No, I didn’t write every day in March. No, I haven’t sewn a new garment or project every week this year. But I’m still doing more than I did before, and that counts for something.

And once those save the date cards are in the mail, and I can check one more thing off my To Do list, I’ll be able to give myself a pat on the back and move on to the next thing.

crafting, fall

Holiday Magic?

December 12, 2012 admin

I took a bit of an extended leave of absence from blogging. It wasn’t entirely intentional, but it just wasn’t feeling right to me. I was starting to be stressed out by it, and that pretty much destroys any enjoyment that might come from an activity. I was putting all kinds of pressure on myself to churn out “content,” whatever the heck that means. And so one day, I just said, “That’s enough.” I wasn’t sure whether I’d ever come back to it (although deep in my heart I knew I would, because, come on, I’ve been blogging for 15 years).

December has been busy, but mostly in the very best ways. I decided to make at least half of my holiday gifts this year, so our apartment is basically a little crafting workshop. Sean has been in Boston since Sunday night, and that means our apartment has become my sewing studio. The kitchen table has been covered in fabric, thread, scissors, measuring tape, and pattern pieces the entire time. There are bits of thread littering the floor and scraps of fabric and batting all over the place. Tiny beads have managed to make their way into all the corners. I’m hoping to have time to clean up most of the disaster zone before he gets home tonight, but there is still much making to be done.

I am LOVING it. And I’ve seen my sewing skills improve over the last month, which is deeply satisfying. I also picked up a new hobby: jewelry making. Because I don’t have enough interests already. I love jewelry making because it’s faster than sewing, so I have a finished product after one sitting. And so shiny!

I haven’t even started to holiday baking, so I think this Sunday the oven will be cranked up and the mixer will get a serious workout. I had a lot of holiday cookie ideas this year, but the truth is, my interest in things culinary isn’t as strong right now as my interest in things textile. So when I’m trying to decide what to do in my free time, the sewing machine generally wins. But I do want to have cookies to bring in for colleagues next week, so I should probably get cracking.

You’d think this feeling of obligation would be unpleasant, and I’ll admit to feeling tiny twinges of stress, but for the most part, it is really satisfying and fun. I wish I had more hours in the day, it’s true. I wish I could take next week off work and just create create create, but I can’t. I’m actually supposed to be finishing up a book manuscript that is due in early January, and perhaps I’ve been in a bit of denial about how much work should be dedicated to that project right now. What, me? Denial? What are you talking about? I don’t even know what that word means.

I want to blog again, because I miss it, I do. But there are only so many hours in the day, and at the end of it, I need to know that I’m spending them doing the things that make me feel the most fulfilled. Balance isn’t always easy to achieve, but I keep striving.

I hope the weeks leading up the holiday are fulfilling for you, and not overly stressful. Are you making things? Baking things? What does December look like in your world?