Drop Cloth Pillow

Welcome to Day 2 of the Blog Block Party.

Today's party is being hosted by My Uncommon Slice of Surburbia and it's a drop cloth link party.

I still have drop cloth "fabric"  left over after my Craigslist makeover.  You can check out that transformation here.

Friday was my birthday and my kids got me a Silhouette machine.  I have been wanting one for almost a year now and haven't been able to win one on any blog giveaways.  Lol.  When I opened it I was doing a happy dance.

 I started by creating an easy stencil with my new Silhouette machine.

I wanted to make a super easy pillow with very little sewing.  If you can sew two straight lines, you can make this pillow.  My pillow insert was 14"x24".  I cut my drop cloth (using the finished edge as my short edge) to a single measurement of 28 1/2" x 24".  The 28 1/2" = 14" times 2 plus 1/2" seam.  allowance.  I folded the fabric in half, wrong sides together,  leaving only two edges to sew.

Once I was done sewing I was left with a pillow with three edges closed (the folded edge and the two sewed edges).  I turned it back to the right side.

I took a magazine and inserted it  into the pillow so that I would have something to lean on when I traced my stencil.

I traced it using a pencil first.

Then using a paint pen (and keeping the magazine in between the fabric), I colored my pencil lines in, being careful to keep within the lines.

To close the pillow all I did was cut six equal lengths of grosgrain ribbon and sew three on each edge spaced equally.  This ribbon is from an Ann Taylor Loft bag I had in the house.  You know I love using ribbon from store bags.  Check out this project from my daughter's room.

In less than twenty minutes I have a new pillow cover...ala Pottery Barn.

Don't forget to stop back tonight at 8pm EST when I will kick off my part of the blog block party with outdoor cooking and dining.  The party will be in lieu of my weekly Swing into Spring party and will be the official start of my summer parties.  There will be an awesome giveaway!!

Hope to see you then.

-Judy

Let The Partying Begin

The blog block parties begin today.  Debbie from Debbiedoos Blogging and Blabbing and Vanessa and Heather from At The Picket Fence kick off this awesome week of parties and giveaways.  Debbie is hosting a summer paint projects party.  Here's my favorite summer paint project I've done so far:

Only a few weeks ago was I driving by my neighbor's house when I saw two outdoor chairs waiting for the garbage man to pick them up.  They didn't look like this when I found them.

This is why they were being thrown out.

Nothing a little elbow grease and spray paint couldn't fix.

The cushions were also in the trash....a little drab and faded but otherwise in good shape.   All it took was one yard of outdoor fabric and some basic sewing skills to recover.

Heather and Vanessa's party theme is summer activities for kids.   Now one of my favorite summer activities to do with my kids is go to Disney World.  But, if you're looking for things you can do right in your own backyard without breaking the bank, stop by At The Picket Fence for all kinds of fun summertime activities.

Each of these parties has a giveaway.  Yep, you heard me right...each party.  That's a whole lot of giveaways.  Make sure you stop by all the parties this week and link up.  Don't forget I will be hosting Wednesday's party with the theme of outdoor cooking and dining.  Get those outdoor cooking and dining posts ready.  I can't wait!!

-Judy

Happy Birthday My Love

Today is my wife’s birthday.  Given the tireless hours she puts into DIY by Design, I thought it only fitting to wish her a Happy Birthday via her blog (for those of you about to get upset at me, I did also wish her a Happy Birthday in person).   What started out as a simple idea built from curiosity, has developed into a passion and desire to share with others all that she has and will accomplish in the design world.  It is an opportunity to share, to educate and to learn.  As her first official follower, I have enjoyed every one of her posts since she began in October 2010.

We have completed many great projects together over the years – wallpapering (the single largest home improvement project which leads to divorce – note we are still married), tiling a kitchen backsplash (we learned that grout hides all mistakes), plumbing (ever install your own trap in the main drain of your house?), electric (ever run 250 feet of underground cable at 11pm just so your shed had spotlights, or crawled through a 110 degree attic so your daughter could have a chandelier?), board and batten (what guy wouldn’t love to use a nail gun?).  We have tried them all.  In her posts, you can often catch a glimpse of my arm, my leg or the back of my head.  We have all the tools, and we are not afraid to use them.

I try to always be there for her (often kicking and screaming, but ultimately I come around).  I’m the hot head, she’s the level headed one who says “of course we can do this”.  I look forward to another 20 years of DIY with you.  After 20 more, can we call it quits and hire the regular guy??

I am very proud of all she has accomplished and very proud to call her my wife.  Happy Birthday.

I know I'm Doing This Backwards

My bathroom makeover is proceeding in sort of a backwards way.  I know exactly what color scheme I want, but I haven't been able to commit to a color for the walls yet.

I started the project by refinishing the cabinet in the bathroom.  I used Anne Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg.

Next I painted a mirror I had in the closet as I was inspired by a Pierre Deux mirror.  Again I used chalk paint...this time in Old White.  I still wasn't sure what color I wanted on the wall so I decided to go to Home Goods (where else?) and see if there were any accessories that would help me move this project along.  It was a good day at Home Goods.

I found the right size rug with the perfect colors.

I found some awesome towels to add the color I am looking for.

I combined two different hand towels to add more of the colors and feel I am after.

I'm getting rid of my sea of beige and adding color all over the bathroom with new towels in the basket and an actual wastepaper basket in the bathroom.  Don't ask me why we never had one before.  I don't have a good answer.

I even added more color to my freshly painted cabinet.  I had many choices in the color scheme of aqua, chocolate and cream.  I will add some color to the glass jar as well.

The best thing that came out of my trip to Home Goods is that I think I finally settled on a color...Benjamin Moore Glacier Lake.  I'll be going to buy a gallon today.  Hopefully by the end of the weekend, this bathroom will be painted.  Then I can focus on the last touches like artwork.  I'm excited to have a clearer vision for the bathroom.  Let me know what you think.

Have a great day.

-Judy

Swing into Spring - It's a Party #20

Welcome to this week's Swing into Spring party.  As always last week's party was filled with awesome ideas and inspiration.  Here are my picks for this week's features:

A Very Merry Vintage Style painted these vintage suitcases using Anne Sloan's Chalk Paint.  Check out her blog to see how she did it.

The Homeless Finch gave her jewelry box a face lift.  Look how gorgeous it is now!!

I love the idea of using drop cloths to decorate.  How cool are these letter pillows created by Ellen's Creative Passage using drop cloths?

I just love this DIY sunburst mirror created by Girl In Air out of faux barn wood.  What a great job.

Look at this beautiful before and after.  Decor and the Dog transformed this $0.50 garage sale find for her two year old niece's big girl room.  Now that's a great deal!!!


If you were featured, please grab an "I've Been Featured" button (you can now find my buttons by clicking on the buttons tab right under my header).  Now let's get started with this week's party.  I can't wait to see what you have been up to.  Link up anything you have been working on...home decor, sewing, crafts, organizing, baking, recipes etc.     I will keep this link open through Friday.





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A few rules:

1.  Please become a follower.  

2.  Please grab my party button above and display it either on your sidebar or somewhere in your post.  This way word can spread about the party.  The more people at the party, the more fun we will have.

3.  Please enter the link to your actual post, not just a link to your main blog page.

4. Please visit others who have linked up.   Everyone works hard on their projects and blogs...let's show each other some love by visiting each other.  Let's have some fun and hopefully make a few new friends along the way.

Ok...Let's Party

-Judy

Do You Run a Diner Too?

I have two kids and they don't always love the same foods.  It makes dinner time a little more challenging.  Don't get me wrong, there are nights that I make one dinner and they either eat it or they don't.  However, my kids have super fast metabolisms and don't gain weight that easily, so I'd rather make a few variations to a meal and have everyone eat everything rather than one meal and have it picked at.  Here's my solution for three variations on one pasta meal...

I start out with a pasta shape everyone likes.

My son likes garlic and oil...so all I do is take a little extra virgin olive oil and add crushed garlic.  One precaution...don't burn the garlic or else you really need to just throw it out and start all over.  Burnt garlic is not a good taste.  I make enough of the garlic and oil to use some of it to start my red sauce.

For the rest of the family I make a red sauce using crushed tomatoes.  I start with the reserved garlic and oil and add the crushed tomatoes and italian spices.  It's that easy and much better tasting than a store bought jar of sauce.
My husband and I like fresh mozzarella with fresh basil and my daughter likes shaved asiago.

Now everyone was happy and it really didn't take me any extra time (or extra pans) at all.

Don't forget to stop back tonight at 8pm EST when my weekly Swing into Spring party kicks off.  Hope to see you then.

-Judy

Pierre Deux Inspired Mirror

While flipping through one of my favorite catalogs, Pierre Deux, I came across this beautiful mirror.

Image Pierre Deux

It's a hand painted mirror that I thought would be beautiful in the bathroom I am redecorating in my downstairs.

So far I've changed the cabinet from blah to beautiful using Anne Sloan chalk paint.  Now for a mirror...

I had a mirror in a closet that wasn't being used that was the perfect size.  I started by taping off the glass.

I painted the mirror with Anne Sloan Chalk Paint in old white.   I had some trouble getting into all of the spaced around the raised dots on the mirror.  I grabbed a can of Heirloom White spray paint and painted around the trim.  BTW it is essentially the same color as the old white.  I couldn't tell where I sprayed and where I had painted.

After the white paint was dry, I used a portion of a stencil to create my hand painted design.

I started in one corner with my stencil.  I used Duck Egg for the stencil.

After finishing the first side I realized that it would have been much smarter of me to start in the middle and then work my way to the sides.  So for the remaining three sides that's what I did.

I dipped the end of my brush into the duck egg to paint the raised dots.

After I was done with the stenciling, I used a clear wax and then a dark wax to add some character.

So here it is in the bathroom.  It's only leaning for now since I still have to paint the bathroom.  

The other reason it's not hung on the wall is...I'm not sure I actually love it?  Problem #1 is until I get that paint color changed on the wall I don't think I'm going to like anything.  Problem #2...my goal was to create a french looking mirror...did I achieve that or does it look southwestern???  

Problem #3 - I have to address the poor lighting in that bathroom!! Ok, that will be for another day.

So I ask you...is this a hit or miss??  

-Judy