Spring has sprung

Well, not technically yet, but we are getting there! We had a busy weekend and the Sunday blues are hitting me earlier and earlier in the day on Sunday these last few weekends. Nothing that some warm weather and a much-needed spring break can't fix. The time change helps, too!

I decided to take down my winter pinecone hanging from the front door (pictured here). In its place, I put up my forsythia wreath. It won't be long before those beauties are showing their yellow blooms off in the landscapes. If all goes as planned, I may have a few of those in our backyard, along with some branches to cut for forcing inside next spring!  Here is the wreath:

Charlie and I also bought some pansies for our front door pots. Luckily, once March comes, we can plant some pansies and that gives the green thumb the feeling it's been missing all winter! We picked a mix of yellow and orange:

I do have a paint color in mind for the door....gotta wait until it gets warm enough to keep the door open for several hours to dry.  ; )  I'm really not a fan of the white trim around the little windows at the top, so they'll get the same color as the rest of the door. I'm loving peacock blue these days.

What to do?

With the exception of more major home improvement projects in the kitchen, I am pretty happy with the state of our kitchen/family room. We've done a lot of work in this room since we moved in almost two years ago! Has it really been that long...?

You may recall my post about my valances...here is a photo to jog your memory:

The stripe fabric has really grown on me and I'd really like to work some more pattern into the room. However, this area has me stymied:

This seems to be a quite intimidating area to figure out something to do with these windows. First, it's a bay window, so finding rods to fit the small windows will be tough, I think. Then, there's so much space above the window.

Should I continue the same stripe pattern on these windows? This would give some continuity to room to have the same pattern across all windows (these windows are to the left of the valance above).

Or....just trim out the windows with a lot of white trim and let them be?

I was also thinking of doing a long, white shelf above the bay window to display some white antique pitchers I have. Good idea? Nothing but a dust-catcher?

Any input would be appreciated! I'm looking forward to the weekend. I've got a few little projects on the brain, along with a new mantel in mind. Oh....I also bought a nice mirror on Craiglist that is dying for an update.

Becoming a grown-up...then and now

I did paint one other picture frame over the weekend for something special. About a week and a half ago, we had to say goodbye to our cat, Hunter. He had a tumor in his leg and being ten years old, he deteriorated pretty quickly.


Although it was tough for me, I was mostly concerned about Charlie....he did not handle it well when my in-laws' dog had to be put to sleep. We did our best to prepare him. He constantly asked when Hunter would get better and I kept telling Charlie that he wouldn't be getting better.


I first got Hunter when I got my own place--a condo that I bought with my sister. We had a great time there...and she actually named the new little kitty "Hunter." This was about the time I met Freddie. I had figured since I had my own place and my own magazine subscriptions, I could finally have my own cat! Later on, he became a big boy....19 pounds and my sister-in-law nicknamed him "Cow Cat." Since then, he has also been CooCat (or TooTat, as the 2 year old calls him).


It has been tough, but I know he is better off and not in pain. He was in so much pain at the end. Another part of being a grown-up is knowing when to say goodbye.


I was really touched....the clinic where I took him sent us a sympathy card with a nice poem about how animals that pass on before you do are waiting for you on this side of Heaven before you get there. They also included a card that they had used an inkpad to print his paw.

I also took a picture of Hunter that day I took him to be put down.

I will be missing you, big boy!

Framed

Happy Monday to all. Not too much Daybooking went on this weekend...I've come down with a bit of a cold and we did just some minor projects this weekend. I bought some stencils at the craft store for a project yet to come.

I also painted a few frames. I'd been wanting to redo these frames:

I actually had repainted them this color from their original color, which I think was a buttery yellow. I decided to paint them more of a white and repaint the gold metallic to a silvery metallic:

Ehhh...I guess they don't look that different (maybe more so in person?), but don't the kiddies look cute?  lol

I had been wanting to work some photos of them into our bedroom. We hadn't had any.....so I decided to put one of each by our nightstands:

I did redo one other frame for something special that I'll share later this week.

Last one

Today, I am going to share the last of the accessories I made last weekend. This one uses the other white pleated piece. I used the other to make this. Although the last one was black and white, I wanted this one to be a bit more neutral.

So, after I did this:

I decided to add an off-white, smaller grograin ribbon. Instead of pleating and pinning this one, I ran a thread through the center and pushed the ribbon down to ruffle it up a bit.

After that was done, I put the ends together and used these super easy clips to fasten the ends and attach a clasp. You just clamp them down using some needlenose pliers.

And there you go!

I love the ruffled look as a bracelet. It is a bit springy, so I will be looking forward to working it into my outfits in the next few months. My next ruffled bracelet will be started from black:

I do, however, have to change out the bobbin and thread to black on the machine....and this will take me a bit of time.  :)  I'll share once it's done.

One last pic....of course, I was working on this during "art time while Sweetie naps," so Charlie got a chance to try his hand at sewing a bit. He's a little upset that you have to be eight years old to take the kids' sewing class at the craft store...check out his handiwork. His needle was a huge upholstery needle that is about two inches long and barely sharp, lol!



....and your little dog, too...

Today, I'd like to share another pretty thing that is super easy if you have zero sewing skills.

Here is a bib-ish necklace I made last summer. It was great for warm weather with a tank top and jeans!

Here is the process step by step. They sell these at the craft store and not just in a bib shape...in flowers, circles, etc. Could be cute on lots of things!

I glued the applique onto a leftover piece of black cotton fabric (that I used to make these cornices). I used this glue:

So easy! After it dried, I cut it out along the edge of the applique. Then, I sewed a thinner black satin ribbon on each end at the top. I think you could use the glue if you didn't want to sew.

The finished product....

I like how this one is black and grey, while the other one is more springy. You know, I might need to wear the purple necklace today, since I have spring fever.....I got it bad and that ain't good!

  

I'll get you, my pretty!

I recently had a moment of inspiration. It came from a magazine. I've had moments where I look through a magazine or a catalog and think, "I could make that." In teaching, they say some of the best ideas are stolen and I wholeheartedly agree.....in home dec and creative pursuits as well!

Here is my inspiration pic:

Apparently, ruffles are in now. I was convinced I could make something similar.

I used some white grosgrain ribbon that was leftover from a Christmas gift. Using straight pins, I did this:

It was a bit challenging to space out the folds evenly. I did two of these. Then, I ran it through the sewing machine.

This was a bit of work, since I got the thread tangled up and had to put the bobbin back in. Let's just say I am a novice sewer.  :)  Then, I attached this cool trim I bought at the craft store. It is from Cynthia Rowley and it was on sale, too.

I had to hand sew the end of the trim so it wouldn't fray and also sew the chain on with black thread on both sides. I added a black ribbon to tie in the back. Here is the finished product:

I meant to also post pics of what I did with the other white ribbon piece, but my uploader is being cranky, so I'll post those soon!