Let Them Eat Cake

The most unique and unexpected Christmas present I got this year came from my dad.  It was an oil painting kit that came with everything you need to get started.  Paints, brushes, canvas, and a how-to book.   I felt a mixture of excitement, inspiration, and terror thinking about what in the world I was going to do with it.

The walls in my parents house feature a few of my dad's masterpieces from over the years.  After a long hiatus he started painting again, and I got dibs on one of the first ones he did when he started back up.  It's hanging in my kitchen, isn't it nice?  I left Christmas with some pointers from my dad, but was still terrified at tackling a landscape.

While reading Jordan Ferney's blog I saw an old post about a collection of cakes her husband Paul Ferney painted.  How freakin amazing is this?  And each painting has a cute little phrase like "After a slice of that chocolate cake she was in the mood to crash a party." and "As she sat there with her sisters, giggling and devouring an entire cake, she felt like she was 12 years old again." I love them all!

So while legitimately snowed in today, with my DVR bordering on empty and Netflix devoured, I pondered what to do with myself.  DING DING DING!  Today is painting day.

Not completely sure what I was doing, I pulled out all of my brushes and paints and planned my attack.  I took a look at a bunch of Paul Ferney's paintings and settled on which cake/cake stand/background combo I thought was do-able and I set up shop.  Do notice the laptop playing a marathon of Friday Night Lights on Netflix.

Now the smart thing to do would be to sketch out my attack plan with pencil, but I couldn't find one anywhere, so I drew ever so lightly with pen, which gave me enough of an idea of where to put paint to canvas.

I started with the cake stand, which I was hoping to be a nice jade green.  It came out a little darker than I was hoping, but I quickly realized that the more you try and fix a color the more paint you wind up with.  It was getting out of hand!

Next I moved onto the most fun part, the cake!  I outlined the cake and filled it in solid brown, then went back and really caked it on (no pun intended).  I wanted it to look like thick, gooey frosting.  I added a candle, painted in the background, and voila!  She was done.  And for the record, it may have been easier to paint the background before the rest of it instead of trying to paint around everything!

This is by no means a Paul Ferney, but I'm glad I took the plunge and gave it a try.  Here it is.  Not quite good enough to eat, but I tried.  I think I might attempt a painting class to actually learn what I'm doing, but this was a much better way to spend an afternoon than shoveling snow.  Although eating cake may have been better...

Knock Off-Of A Knock-Off Table

Would I like a Jonathan Adler table? Yea, but $595 is not realistic. Would I like something similar from West Elm? Yea, but I could spend that $180 on a flight to visit my BFF. Can I make something close enough for pennies? Damn right I can.

I’m kicking myself for saying in my pillow post that one of my pet peeves is when people make things with supplies they found around the house. I’m doing it again, BUT… you could buy everything I used for around $30. So there, I saved you hundreds. You’re welcome.

So, what do you need?

A snack table like this beauty. $10 at Walmart or Target, or find one in your parent's basement that's been sitting there since you graduated college.  Just saying.

A tray like this or this.  I got mine at Target a few days after Christmas when all of the holiday stuff was 80% off. So, $15 tray for $3. I didn’t need it for anything so it sat on my coffee table for a few months. Now, it’s reborn!

Spray paint – A couple bucks

I wound up cutting down the edges of the table top just a bit, because they were rounded and just sticking out. Then a few coats of spray paint (how much fun is that) and I put the tray on top. Voila! Knock-off of a knock-off table!

I’m not delusional. Well, not completely delusional. I know it’s isn’t the same, but I think it’s pretty damn close. And I didn’t have to buy a single thing to make it. This makes me feel better about buying random things when they are on sale. You know you might need it one day. And who can say no to a $3 tray?

As of now, my version is the reverse of the Jonathan Adler and West Elm versions just because I had a silver tray and white paint on hand. I’m thinking about doing the legs silver at one point, but for right now I am plenty happy with it as is.

OK one more thing.  The whole living in a shoe box thing.  This table takes up close to no space.  I can use it as a coffee table, or as a bed side table.  It folds up and is totally portable.  If you can't tell, I really like this table. 

I Made My Bed, And I Will Lie In It!

I developed an obsession with the Stratton Bed from Pottery Barn. My dad took half a look at it and declared that $1,300 was ridiculous, and he could make it for a fraction of the cost. Welp… works for me!

Full disclosure, my original intention was to help build this thing. I wanted to use drills, and saws and hammers. Inhale saw dust. The whole nine. However, my dad beat me to the punch and had it 99% done before I even knew he started it. Thank God for early retirement.

I did a little research and found great plans from Knock Off Wood. The only catch (and there’s always a catch) I wanted the design of the twin bed, but in full size. The Queen version at PB has two openings on the side and one at the head of the bed. I wanted three down the side. Like the twin, but wider to fit a full mattress. Dad to the rescue.

Now, I’m not really a basket person so I struggled with what to use underneath. After much searching and many many country barfy baskets, I found some online at World Market that fit exactly. And at $15 a pop I might add. It’s like they were made for this. I would have broken down and bought the PB version if they sold them solo. The problem is you have to get the $1300 bed to get the dang baskets. These are actually pretty shallow but it’s fine. It’s enough to hide what’s behind, and leaves tons of storage space. It all just fell into place.

Also amazing is that the bed breaks down into pieces, which makes it easy to move. Not that I’ll be doing that anytime soon.
And remember my Brimfield find turned pillow? I lurrrrve it on here. 

I am so incredibly happy with it, I only wonder why I didn’t do it sooner. Talk about storage, I can fit an insane amount under there. I have luggage, extra linens, off season clothes and the list goes on. The Pottery Barn version is amazing, and I wish I had that much money to drop on it. But it’s pretty great to have one that was made for me, the way I wanted it.

Nighty night my little bed bugs!

One Girl’s Trash

You know what they say. One girl’s trash is another girl’s… pillow? If you remember back to my trip to Brimfield, I bought a burlap bag that I wanted to make into a pillow. Unlike many dresses on my sewing to-do list I actually completed this one!



The burlap is a pretty wide weave, so I knew I had to make a lining before I stuffed. I found some khaki/green cotton at my mom’s that I knew would do the trick. I didn’t even measure. I cut a piece of fabric the same size as the bag (using the fold so I only had to sew 3 sides). This wound up creating a ½" seam allowance so the lining was just smaller than the bag. I sewed around the sides leaving about a 4 inch gap at the top for the fluffy stuff.

Onto stuffing. I found a down body pillow from days of old in my parents’ attic. I made a quick snip at the corner and made a trip outside (these feathers are no joke). My mom and I shimmied and shook until the lining was full. It took the two of us to finish this linig. My mom held back the feathers while I sewed the top closed. I sewed, back stitched, sewed, and back stitched because I’m scared to death of what could happen if this thing blows. Think pillow fight on tv, trapped in a studio apartment.

I dropped the new pillow inside of the burlap bag, and it fit absolutely perfectly! I took a needle and upholstery thread and hand stitched the bag closed. Since there was already a seam there, it was easy for me to stitch on top of it which hid my handiwork.

One of my crafting pet peeves is when people make something and say it was free, or only a few bucks because they found everything conveniently at home. Well, sorry but that’s exactly what I did here. I was lucky enough to find cotton lining, thread, and a down pillow at my mom’s house, which made the extra supplies sum to a grand total of NADA! The only cost was the $5 I paid for the bag.

The original plan was to snip off the handles, but I left them and I really like it. I may add a tarnished vintage brooch to the corner, but it’s ready to go as is.  Hope you like it! I think it will look amazing on the new bed I am having delivered this weekend. More on that later…

Skirting The Issue

Will I ever run out of pun intended titles? Doubtful.

I said I was going to sew this year so damn it, I’m gonna do it. To ease myself in I started with the amazing tutorial for the 20 minute skirt from Grosgrain Fabulous. I can see how it would take a seasoned sewer 20 minutes, but me… more like 45. Still, in 45 minutes each and the change in the bottom of my bag, I got two new skirts. Not bad for an afternoon’s work.

My first step was heading to Joann for supplies. All I needed was fabric and elastic, and I used mis matched thread I had at home. First I found crazy navy/pink sail boat material on clearance for $4 a yard. I think it is perfect for summer. The brown/red/aqua fabric was $9 a yard but I was mesmerized by it. I just love it and had to have it. I grabbed two packages of ¾” elastic for a buck a pop. The pink and red bottom layers were on sale 2 yards for $3 so the grand total was just $18. Not too shabby!

I won’t bother reinventing the wheel since the tutorial is so good. I just printed it out and kept it next to me as a guide. I wound my bobbins and threaded my machine before I put the pedal to the metal. The only semi tricky part was making sure I sewed straight when making the elastic casing. I built in a 1” allowance for ¾” elastic and figured as long as I didn’t sew like a drunken sailor I would be OK. Except for the one part where I did sew like a drunken sailor and the elastic has to fold to fit through. Oops! For everything else I found that when in doubt if I pinned like a mother chucker and/or pressed seams to help make a clean edge (like when doing the casing) I did ok. This pattern is so incredibly forgivable so it was a great way for me to ease back into sewing without committing to something too daunting.

I have plans to make about a gazillion of these over the summer. I want to dig through all of my mom’s fabric that has been filling up the basement and attic for years. There is some funky old stuff in there for sure. In the next round I may use ¾ yard to make it a little less full. I don’t mind the fullness except that the waist band tends to show through a t-shirt. I would also like to try a slightly heavier fabric and maybe just do one layer. Oh the possibilities!

Side note- I read a billion sewing blogs and I knew I recognized the floral fabric from somewhere, I didn’t realize it was from the skirt tutorial until I got home. So, I have a legit replica of Grosgrain Fabulous’ handiwork. I am now so in love with the fabric that I might make a valance out of it for my kitchen. In fact, I actually hung the skirt IN my window to see how it would look! I smell a new project…

My Little Urban Garden Of Sorts

Here in Boston we don’t typically have much of a spring. We go from blizzards to sweltering humidity with only some torrential downpours in between. However this year, it feels like a legitimate spring and I like it! To honor the season, I have decided to garden. In my windowsill.

Due to my obvious lack of space I thought that herbs would be the best choice so I headed to Home Depot to get the goods. After swiping a few paint samples (the new Martha Stewart paints are to die) I headed for Lawn & Garden. Since I do not have total faith in my green thumb, I picked up a seed starter before investing in pots and soil.

The only bummer, I read that they had buy one get one organic seeds this weekend, but I saw no such thing. Even though my seeds aren’t organic, I am growing them in my house so I know there will be no crazy toxic chemicals involved. I picked up basil, chives, cilantro, oregano, and rosemary seed packets. So this seed starter business, funny little thing. You look at these dehydrated little biscuits and think “how the heck is this going to grow anything?” It’s made of coconut fiber, which is apparently a renewable resource. Bonus. You pour a little warm water on the hockey pucks and POOF… they expand. I dropped some seeds on to each (in alphabetical order so I can keep track), added a little more water, said a prayer, did a dance, and plopped it in the window.

So here we go. My little horticultural experiment. I really hope this works and I will be sure to keep you posted. Grow little babies, grow!

Mrs. Plumber

As a renter I have the constant debate of what is worth fixing/replacing when I don’t own the place. I have decided to start doing some of the simple fixes that don’t cost a lot but are worth it if it makes me happy. I mean, just because I don’t own the pace doesn’t mean it isn’t my home.

Today’s challenge was my grungy disgusting bathroom sink knobs. They are that crystal looking acrylic material that is less than desirable. Herein lies the rent vs. own debate. If I owned the place, the whole dang faucet would be replaced but I’m not dropping a hundo on a new faucet. Time to get creative.

First I tried to clean them. My limited plumbing knowledge lead me to believe that I had to crawl under the sink to take them off, but after a quick call to my dad I realized I just had to flip off the top with a screw driver, and unscrew the knob. Duhhh. Cleaning was no match for the years of grossness that was caked on. Believe it or not, my “before” pictures are after cleaning! So the decision was made. Time to replace.

For $12 and 5 minutes of labor, my sink looks (almost) new again. I unscrewed the old knobs and put the new ones on. After screwing them in place and popping on the new cover, the chore was done. It was beyond easy and way rewarding. I only wish I did this a long time ago!

I Made An Art!

Last night my friend Amber hosted a sleepover for some of the girls. Is it still considered a slumber party when you’re all pushing 30? Anyway, she has a cute painting hanging in her living room that we all loved and we started talking about how easy it would be to make some of the paintings we see in stores. It reminded me of something I made a couple years ago which caused me to yell like a four year old “I MADE AN ART!"

For less than $10 I cobbled together a simple painting from items bought at AC Moore. I bought a plain canvas and a few of those acrylic stencil paints that you can get on sale for less than $1. I painted the canvas cream and let it dry, then stood above it and made concentric hearts with each color paint, squeezed straigh from the bottle. Complicated right? Admittedly I am no Picasso but it was super simple and cheap to create something that matched my décor and the technique (if you call it that) can be used in many variations.  It’s now hanging in my kitchen, which has become the land of misfit art.