3.31.2013

[wip] new dresser project!

all sanded, wiped down and ready to go
I'm at it again - starting a nice new long-term furniture project! The weather finally warmed up enough to make this possible.  I belong to a few yardsale groups on Facebook, and when this six drawer wood dresser popped up for $70 recently, I immediately posted for it! I was the first of many, so I got the dresser! It barely barely fit in my awesome little car. It was a tight squeeze for sure, but I managed to get it home a few days ago.

I haven't yet decided what color(s) this dresser will end up being painted. For now I just plan to prime it and let it harden for a few days while I contemplate color schemes.

so many drawers!

[life] big news!

stylistic representation
I have big big BIG news! We are buying a house! We found the perfect one after a not-so-perfect one fell through. We close in May, and I just cannot wait to move in and set up home. I'm not looking forward to the actual process of moving, but the house is great and I am so excited for it to be mine and Adam's!

You'll probably see a lot of home-related projects coming up in the next few months, as I simultaneously try to purge my household of unnecessary items and stock up for the new house!

3.27.2013

here fishie fishie

45 gallons of awesome
Meet the newest addition to our household: a beautiful 45 gallon fish tank with a black stand!

Adam has always wanted a big fish tank, and when I saw this tank/stand setup complete with fish and accessories for a steal of a deal, I decided to get it as a surprise present for him. (Sadly, he guessed the present before I actually got to surprise him with it - but he was thrilled, so it was okay).

Moving it in my little hatchback was easier than I had anticipated, although sound of the water sloshing around and the stand's door banging was a bit unnerving. Then, after I got home, I had no way to moving any of it into the house (Adam was at work), so I had to move all the fishies into a large plastic storage box and then crossed my fingers that they wouldn't get too cold. All went well, though - they are swimming around the tank now.

For now, we've set it up in the corner of the "dining room", under my favorite picture of us. When we move into our new house in two months (assuming all goes well), it will probably go in the corner of the kitchen.

Adam is very excited (although I'll be doing all the work). The tank came with two plecos (one huge one and one fairly small one), three mollies and a large rainbow shark. I am giving away the small pleco and the mollies today so that we can add Adam's favorite fish: angelfish! His brother has giant gorgeous angelfish, and I think Adam is a wee bit jealous.

Adam is excited, I'm excited, and Sassy is certainly excited.

3.25.2013

emily the bread-maker

bread!
When I was visiting my sister in Canada, we made a bunch of delicious loaves of bread following this simple recipe that our lovely mother had found and shared with us. All the loaves my sister made (because let's be honest, I didn't help much) turned out awesome, and I've been meaning to make some more at home. So last night, I whipped up the dough and this morning I baked it in a ceramic pyrex dish (with a lid) that my mother's boyfriend gave to me and Adam for a wedding gift. I don't use those dishes often, but I was so glad to have them today - I don't have anything else suitable!

The bread is cooling now. My loaf is a little unevenly shaped, but it rose beautiful and the crust is perfectly golden. Hopefully it will taste as good as it looks!

[sneak peek] belated birthday present

orange thread snips, oatmeal aida, stitches and needle
Yesterday, I had a wicked headache, so I spent the day working on a very special cross-stitch project for a very special friend. Unfortunately, the headache decided to stick around today, so I will be working on this project some more while I try avoid anything headache-inducing (like this computer screen!).

Hopefully this headache will have the unexpected benefit of motivating me to finish this overdue present, and I will be able to complete it quickly! Cross-stitching always takes me longer than I expect, and I'd like to send this present off to its intended recipient soon.

sneak peek of the pattern and project

3.24.2013

[completed] superhero quilt top

quilt top

Remember this block? Well, I made a few more, and ended up with this superhero quilt top! While I had a lot of scrap squares, I ran out of the black tone-on-tone fabric I used for the background of the blocks and the sashing. So I ended up with eleven coordinating blocks, and then made the last twelfth block out of red, orange and yellow scrap squares. I enjoy the pop of that twelfth block.

The red polka dot fabric you see under the quilt top will be the backing. There are uneven borders of orange and red fabric to bring the quilt up to a lap/crib size. I made the borders uneven to offset the blocks, but I wish I'd made the difference in size even greater to make the quilt feel even more fun and modern.

so colorful! 
I love how this quilt turned out - and with the exception of the borders and the backing, all the fabric came from my scrap bin or stash! The back is complete, and I am ready to baste and quilt. But I have no idea how to quilt it!

as usual, Sassy loves the quilt

3.08.2013

a rose for emily

rose!
My darling little sister has been crafting beautiful watercolor-painted coffee filter roses (check out her first one here!), and she graciously agreed to make me one so that I can have an everblooming rose of my own. We agreed to have it fade from red in the center to white outer petals, but the watercolors dictated a more pink rose. Which is fine by me, I love pink!

closeup!
The roses are carefully assembled with lots of little petals - you can see how she made the inner petals a darker pink than the outer petals. I love that effect!

leaves and a floral tape wrapped stem
I love that the rose also has leaves (which conveniently hide the tape used to secure the rose petals) and the white floral tape wrapped stem (made of a wooden dowel) is the perfect finishing touch. It's so elegant and lovely - I can't wait to display it in my home. I just have to figure out how to transport it safely...
a rose for emily
I feel loved!

3.07.2013

[completed] love you bracelet

hearts!

For the past two weeks, I've been residing in the Far North visiting my younger sister. We've been doing a lot of crafting together (check out her new blog!), and I've made a bunch of random things - the banner for her blog, paper napkin flowers, and lately, friendship bracelets. I haven't made any friendship bracelets since I was wee pre-adolescent, and lately such bracelets have been all the rage around the blogosphere. So I decided to jump on the bandwagon.

I had a number of miserable failures, but I finally followed this Purl Bee tutorial and successfully made a few bracelets. I am wearing a hot pink and yellow-lime heart number at the moment, and my sister immediately requested a similar heart bracelet in more subtle colors.

So, of course, I made her one.
Isn't she cute?
 She chose a peachy-pink and a mauve purple for her version. I followed this tutorial for attaching the clasps, and she chose a toggle clasp.


action shot!

pretty clasp!