paint complete!

I am SO pleased with how the dollhouse looks painted! Interior and exterior are finished, awaiting window molding, decor, and furniture.

bedding fix

Some of you may remember that I posted on Facebook asking for ideas on a bedding fix. My bedding problems were manifold. First, my bed really needs a fun, funky quilt. Like this. See? Drool, right? Someday. When I have time. Now is not the time to tackle such projects. Second, because the bed-making fairy is on strike at our house, shams and throw pillows had taken up permanent residence on the floor. They were no longer pretty things for they bed. They were clutter. I needed a solution that would both rid me of the sham clutter and help me live with the dull red quilt until I have the time and energy to tackle a project like a monstrous king-sized quilt. Wouldn't you know that I found the answer on my favorite crafty blog, Prudent Baby? Turns out Jacinda feels the same way about pillow clutter. She solved the problem with sleep-on-able shams. Brilliant. So that was the plan.

BUT...

I didn't order enough fabric. Darn, darn, big darn.

The concept was still a good one, though. Make three pillow cases from a fun fabric that livens up the red quilt, throw them up there, sleep on them, make the bed or don't make it. No matter. No pillow clutter will reside in the floor.


I'll spare you the list of problems that plagued this project. Ordering too little fabric was only the beginning. Suffice it to say that there was a headache lurking around every corner, and I'm just grateful it all turned out OK in the end.

Would my bed look more pulled together if I stood the pillows up with a trio of euro shams behind them? Sure. But only if I was willing to make the bed every day. Which I'm not. I have a feeling this is going to work out great for me!

the mother of invention

My friend Morgan had a toddler break through a door for the first time today and asked if I could make her a crocheted door knob cover. I can, but not quickly enough to solve her problems today. When my friend Christina, who was also involved in this conversation, suggested a sock and duct tape (which would probably also work beautifully), I had this idea for a stop-gap measure. It's not pretty, but I think it has the potential to work just as well as my beloved crocheted covers. Ready to try?

Grab a men's athletic sock--the newer and thicker, the better. Cut about 3" off the toe. Take a needle and thread (double the thread for strength) and sew a long running stitch along the raw edge. I sewed my row about 1/4" away from the edge. If I were making another, I'd move in a little more, to 1/2" or 3/4" away from the edge. Cut the needle off leaving two long tails of thread at each end of your row of stitches.

Using the thread ends, tie the sock onto the doorknob. Tie it tightly enough so that it can't be pulled off, but not so tightly that it won't turn.

Trim your ends, and voila! This works on the same principle as the crocheted cover. The sock will slide on the doorknob, and little hands won't have the strength to squeeze it and get enough traction to turn the knob. How cheap and easy is that?!

If you try it, you'll have to let me know how it works.

dollhouse update, paint!

I've got one coat of paint on the dollhouse! Unfortunately, everything could use another, so the painting stage is far from over. You can get a good idea of how it will look, though.

It pretty much looks like a pastel rainbow attacked the house, but I think it will look very little girl (and very cute!) when it's all said and done. I have some seriously adorable decor plans up my sleeve that I cannot WAIT to get started on.

keepsake

I was going through outgrown kid clothes today and was feeling nostalgic about this little sweatshirt.

My mom bought it for Jono the winter that he was 18ish months old. He was able to wear it that year and then again the next winter when he was 2.5 (I swear all of that boy's growth has been in his LEGS since he was 9 months old!). Charlie wore it this past winter. No one in my house will fit into it next year. Cue the mama tears. After some nostalgic-ness, I almost tossed it into the hand-me-down pile for my nephew Sam, but decided to do something fun with it instead.

Ten minutes with my sewing machine later, I had turned it into a small football-shaped pillow. Adorable!

How it was constructed, for those of you who care:

I turned it inside out and drew a football-ish shape around the applique with an inch of shirt as border. I sewed on my line, leaving turning/stuffing space, cut off the excess shirt, stuffed, and hand closed with needle and thread.

If you asked me, I would tell you that I'm not very sentimental, and that I am perfectly OK with my babies growing up and not being babies anymore. But I would be lying.

dollhouse reno update

The dollhouse is sanded and scrubbed, and recently got its hardwood floors refinished!
Next on the list? Priming the interior and exterior for painting!!