making a splash

Back splash options:
Stainless steel: check out an inexpensive version of this idea at Ikea
Glass plate: GlassKote is the only place I've found that carries this product
Metal tiles: American Tin Ceiling Co.
Beadboard: Any old Hardware store

I'm leaning towards painted beadboard in a fun color like red, chocolate brown, charcoal gray, or a teal. My cabinets are white (or they will be... :) and my appliances are also white with black details.

simply fab

I'm on the hunt for fabric to make curtains for my living room. The color scheme in the room is neutral (tan and chocolate brown) and red with small touches of turquoise; the room is also open to the dining room and kitchen (kitchen will be white and silver). After striking out at the local fabric stores I've stumbled onto some great online stores.

The above fabric are my favorite finds so far for curtains. They are from Pink Chalk Fabrics .

Midwest Modern Collection, Garden maze in mustard--by Amy Butler

Ginseng Collection in Rust by Joel Dewberry

Other online stores to check out:

Modern Fabrics

Trendy Fabrics -- check out the good prices on Amy Butler

Purl Soho

I should say that I have not purchased anything from any of these stores, so I can't vouch for service or shipping times.

Happy crafting!

kitsch chic

Have a bit of free time on your hands? Check out Imagini Style Finder and take their fun style quiz. Take in the eye candy and choose what fits you best; in the end it summarizes your personal style. I am "kitsch chic" or "...a real magpie, always on the look-out for things that will add happiness and personality to your retro-styled home. You love to mix old and new to create an interior design cocktail that's easy, fun and whimsical." That fits me to a T. What's your style?

a bag for katie

One of my more recent sewing projects was this bag, a gift for my good bud, Katie. I used Lotta Jansdotter's basic tote bag pattern as a starting point and then changed the size and added a flap and interior pocket. The fabric with the black ribbed ball shapes is from Ikea and the other fabrics are from Hobby Lobby.

burnt toast

We've settled in to our new place and now I'm itching to put my years of stored design ideas and HGTV knowledge to the test. Thus far with the help of my parents we have done some gardening, laid a linoleum floor in the art room/office, removed the beheamth microwave (quite possibly the first one ever made--I swear it was haunted too, it kept randomly turning on and off), and replaced the oh so attractive florescent box light fixture in the kitchen. We've continued to work on the garden, decorate, and do a few small projects here and there all of which leave us panting and sore by the end of each weekend. I don't mind though, so far it's been very satisfying and a good workout.

As you can see from my last post updating the kitchen is high on my list of indoor projects. I've attached a picture of the kitchen as it looked before we moved in. It is pretty nice to work in since it's compact, but in terms of style well it's lacking to say the least. It's overall look has improved a bit already since the microwave and light fixture have been removed, ikea shelves added next to the door (to the garage), and colorful kitchen accessories added.

Planned kitchen updates (date of completion tba)

• paint cabinets white or light gray
• replace cabinet hardware
  
• cover brown floral back splash tile with metal tile
  
• at some point paint the walls a color, but for now the fresh tan paint job works

Any other advice?

kiss the cook

I'm in love with the kitchen designs below and hope to do a diy update on my own sometime soon. Now I just have to decide what style I'm going for...

craig's list chic

Things are looking good on the house front, so I've officially started combing craig's list postings and craning my neck out the car window to look for garage sale treasures. Our home isn't much bigger than our apartment, so luckily we'll really only need a few pieces of furniture. Today I hit Craig's list gold, when I stumbled across these babies...Eames-style metal and orange plastic chairs. I'm in love and at $20 for the whole set I'm feeling like a very lucky girl! The lister does say they're scratched and need of a little TLC, but I'm feeling confident I can fix them up pretty easily. The only other things I would love to get, but don't necessarily need, are a danish modern style sideboard (to use as an entertainment center), another work desk for the art room/office, and a vanity table (I always liked the idea of this, though I'm not great with makeup). Otherwise I'll be saving my pennies for plants and paint.

Walls of Many Colors

The house hunt continues and the decorating possibilities continue to occupy the corners of my mind even as I grade the last few student projects of the year. Here are a few I found on Domino's website--they listed the wall color used in each photo, which is ever so handy, so I'll include it as well just in case any of you are in the mood to paint too.

Colors (left to right)
Waterfall-Benjamin Moore, Saint Paddy's Day--also B.M.
Blue Green--Farrow Ball, Rivera Azul--B.M
Pear Green--B.M, Direct Green--Sherwin Williams

Quinn and Pierre

I altered my sumo cat pattern a bit and created a new little creature, with more of an owl like appearance and a few jingle bells inside for added fun sound effects. Two people have commented he looks very French; could it be the mustache like curl of the lips? Hmmm... He has been dubbed Pierre and his little owner, Quinn, seemed to enjoy him, so I'm happy.

Four more days of school, yes!

oh domino

At the moment I'm between teaching "regular" school and "night" school; I should be making the best of this time at school and working on grading, but I've been working all day and need a quick break. Here are a few more inspiring images for my future dream home. The images above are mostly from Domino magazine--I think this will be my next subscription, it's lovely.

Below you'll find some kitchen floor is amazing; it's actually made from recycled wine corks. If Josh and I end up with one of the fun, but carpet-tastic ranch style homes we've been looking at we'll have a lot of carpet to rip up and replace with either bamboo, some sort of laminate, or cork. Here are a few places you can shop for environmentally friendly flooring: Eco Friendly Flooring (in WI) and Corkstore.com

mentally redecorating

The school year is winding to a close and my students are driving me a bit batty with their spring fever and shorter than usual attention spans. Unfortunately their behavior spreads to me some days and I feel just as anxious for some well deserved time off.

I did manage to finish 2 small pieces and one larger piece for the end of the year staff and student show. They are mixed media pieces with drawings, digital photos, and fabric sewn together quilt style. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. More ideas are floating around for paintings and sewn pieces, but I also have a mountain of grading waiting for me to get to tomorrow...so we'll see which gets done.

I've also been obsessively dreaming about finding and decorating our first home (the house hunt is still on, but we found a few really promising places today). Here are a few ideas I've come across and would like to recreate. Most images are from various Design Sponge blog posts.

feeling stitchy

I've been terrible about keeping up this blog--again. To those of you who don't know the reasons (and I'm guessing it's mostly my dear family and close friends reading this) I'll sum it up: got sick, got distracted, got stressed, and got distracted again--most recently by the arrival of spring, finally.

Craft wise I've made one new creature since my last post; I've dubbed him Sumo Cat. It's an all original pattern and pretty quick to make, so I'm planning on making more and tweaking the pattern a bit as I go. This one is already in the tiny hands of it's new owner, my second cousin, baby Sam.

I've got to get back on the art making track again, since we have our staff art show coming up next month and I'd like to put in some new work. Oh, and don't forget Mother's Day is almost here. I have a few ideas for both projects, just need to dive in.

errands and daydreams

Today I spent over an hour wandering around Jo-Ann Fabrics (a big suburban version) and was overwhelmed by the rows and rows and rows of fabric. I thought I'd hit the mother load, only to realize after looking through them that there were only a few bolts of fabric I even remotely liked. The selection was better than Hobby Lobby, my normal stand by, but overall the prints seemed a little dated and stuffy (lots of florals and little kitty cats, etc.). In the end I bought 2 yards of fabric, a few remnants, and some yarn to add to my crafting stash. Next I'm planning to check out Prints Charming II, a small independent fabric store.


Here are a few inspiring images (mostly from Design Sponge). I'm feeling the greens, grays, yellows, and whites lately...seems soothing and springlike.

pillow talk

On my first day of spring break (Good Friday) I finished my first machine sewn throw pillow cover. I searched the internet for a basic pillow case pattern that didn't require a zipper or buttons and came across a great one. Then I used an upholstery grade fabric remnant from Hobby Lobby and a few pieces of felt to create the embellishments I designed for the front. All in all a pretty quick and satisfying project (not to mention inexpensive). I think I may make a few more--for myself or possibly put up for sale in an etsy store that I'd like to start someday. I'm hoping to buy some more fabric soon to play with; I'm loving online vender Sew, Mama, Sew.

Hopefully I'll be productive and finish lots of fun projects over spring break...