Kitchen Painting

The kitchen re-do is amost done! (I've only got a couple more coats of clear coat on the countertops, but for all intents and purposes, it's done.) Here is a before:

Take note of the wonderful mismatched cabinets and lovely 1975 yellow laminate countertop. Now, with a little paint, and some sweat equity, here is our new kitchen:

The blue tape is not part of the color pallate. It'll come off when all the clear coating is done!

The cabinets were all painted white, and the wall was painted a tan/taupe color.

The countertops are painted. (Yes, painted.) I sanded the countertops, just to take off the shine, then put on a coat of primer. The first coat of paint was a tan, with cream and charcoal grey sponged on. (We used a plastic grocery sack to sponge it one...worked great, and didn't absorb all the paint!)



There just isn't much I could do about the cracking edge. Oh well, it still looks better than it did before!


Finally, I put on a coat of polyurethane (clear coat) to seal the paint. It needs about two more coats before I can really use it. They say you can scrub it and everything, but I think we'll be a little ginger with it...at least until the "real" remodel, hopefully sometime next year.

All in all, it doesn't look two bad for under $200!

Baby Booties

I live in sheep country. There is a Wool Growers Association here. My father-in-law, and his father before him, raised sheep in these hills. Our high school mascot is The Sheepherders. (You can't even make that up!)


I tried for years to come up with a project, a craft of some sort that I could make for all of my girlfriends and relatives who were expecting babies. (And I have a LOT of friends, and even MORE relatives!) I found the answer in the traditional baby booties.


It's perfect. It's simple. It's quick, which is particularly important when you get the informal, "By the way, we're gonna have a baby shower for so-and-so this Saturday. Can you come?" (Usually comes on a Thursday.)


The pattern is based loosely on a pair of woolen baby booties my aunt brought home from Ireland for my infant daughter. The pattern is tradition and unusual in these modern times, which makes it stand out at baby showers. Paired with a pattern I was already using I was able to make it my own. The upper portion is knit in one piece, then stitched down the back. The sole is a piece of fleece, leather on one side with fluffy wool on the other, which makes them non-skid and still super cozy on baby's feet! A ribbon through the eyelet row helps keep them on little kicky feet.





And, the most important part, I make them with Sweet Grass Yarn, the wool grown locally and processed in a way that allows the natural lanolin to remain in the yarn. And of course I package them in a custom, hand-painted box featuring (what else?) fluffy sheep.

It's a very personal gift that I am quite proud of. Hopefully I will continue to be able to use local wool and support my local sheep ranchers!

Blue Skies are Gonna Clear Up ♪

I painted a room! I know, you're thinking, "big whoop." But I have never done it before, so it is an exciting time for me! I've never really had walls that belonged to me before, so I can't wait to start on all the other rooms!

I started with my daughter's room. It is the smallest, and it actually had drywall to paint. (All the other rooms have paneling) I painted three of the walls white, leaving the wall that is wallpapered alone. (I think it's ugly, but my daughter doesn't mind the cutesy cartoon mice with pink and purple balloons, so whatever...)

But the big fun was in her closet. It's a nice sized walk in, and because she has about 5 items of clothing than need to hang, we've made the closet into a playroom of sorts, where she can set up her Barbies and Littlest Pet Shops in peace. So following this theme, I painted the closet a sky blue and sponged on fluffy clouds.

I think my first attempt at painting was fairly successful, and I can't wait to get my roller on all that ugly paneling...

Holiday Pause

Every year I think about all the cute, crafty things I can do for the holidays. And then I remember what they are actually like and give up. During the holiday season, Mom is luck if she gets to sleep a few hours a night, much less trying to get any crafting done. I always have grandiose ideas, but there just isn't the time.

Hopefully the crafting will pick up again now that they are over. Here's hoping!

Coming Soon:

• Still working on those socks


• Still working on those baby things. (Although they might be outgrown by then!)


• Have got a major painting project in the works...still in the planning phase

Little Stinker

I've been so busy this last week, sewing up a storm! It's easy to tell when it's Halloween around here because my sewing machine takes up permanent residence on the kitchen table. This year, in addition to my daughter's mermaid costume, I made a skunk costume for my son for his first Halloween. I also made a 20s flapper costume for myself. (I was still working on it Saturday afternoon!) Here is my little skunk:

I made his tail detachable (Velcro) so he would still be able to sit in his carseat or stroller. It turned out pretty cute!

Coming Soon:

• Hand-knit socks
• Christmas ornaments
• Baby gifts for friends

My Little Mermaid

My daughter found a beautiful mermaid costume in a catalog recently. (Why do I even bring those home?) Of course, those mass produced costumes cost around $50, and they are usually ill fitting and cheaply made. (The southern belle gown from last year was in tatters before the trick or treating was over.) I figured for $50 I could come up with something similar, that would hopefully fit my petite little gal better. So she and I headed to the fabric store, where we found the cutest fabric that looked like slinky scales! I of course totally over estimated how much I would need, but considering I was working without a pattern, I think it turned out pretty good.

I don't make clothing very often, so it took a lot of planning. (How will she get it on? Can she use the bathroom? Can she walk? Can she wear sweatpants underneath?) The pink bikini top is completely adjustable (hook and loop tape) so she can wear it over her pink leotard for school and still wear it over her pink coat for trick or treating in our frigid, northern climate. We added the green boa because DD thought it looked like seaweed...

Coming soon:

• Baby brother's skunk costume
• Almost got one sock done...
• Sorting through my ridiculous yarn stash for the proper baby bootie yarn
  

Mommy bracelets

As a new mommy, I totally understand the "mommy brain" phenomenon. The one where you can barely remember your own name, much less what time it was when the baby ate last! I saw some nursing bracelets for sale, and the design was so simple that I wanted to try to make my own. Mine are of course a little different, but I think they turned out pretty cute!

These are made with beads on memory wire so they are simple for nursing mommies to move from one arm to the other to help track where baby fed last. There are numbered beads and little charms to keep track of baby's feeding times and number of diaper changes. Plus, the modern beads are pretty cute! I used mine so much the numbers are wearing off the beads, but these two are destined for some mommy-to-be friends of mine.

Coming soon: (Also known as: the stuff I've started but haven't finished yet!)

• My kids' Halloween costumes (a mermaid and a skunk)
• A pair of socks I'm knitting with some fabulous soy yarn
• Baby booties (for those new babies mentioned above!)
• Cloth diapers