DIY Reverse Applique Stockings

 Ever since scoring this bad boy on Black Friday, I've been flexing my sewing muscles every chance I get.  I made Madison's skirt, a couple more similar skirts for nieces as Christmas gifts(shh, don't tell), and now stockings.

 For the stockings, I wanted to stick with the same color scheme I used for our toddler-proof Chrismas tree.  I also wanted to make them fully personalized.  Until this year, personalized stockings equaled puffy paint applied with terrible handwriting to the cheapest stockings Walmart had to offer, so there was definitely room for improvement.

I started where any originality/creativity challenged DIYer would: Pinterest!  I didn't really find much that struck my fancy until this happened:

Source: tealandlime.com via Kelli on Pinterest

It inspired me not just with the color (grey would/did look great combined with the ultra-bright colors of our tree), but also with the bold style.  Until I came across this pin, I never really considered putting the names on the stockings instead of the cuffs.  I had also never heard of reverse applique.

I decided to go for it, but failed to take many pictures of the during.  If you're looking for a tutorial, Jackie did a great job with hers (just click her picture above).

For font, I loved the way Helvetica looked for Jackie's stockings, but I wanted to use a font that I either already had or could get for free.  I found Lowvetica Extra Bold (sorry, don't remember the font website I used, just whatever came up first on Google) and decided it could work.

I used our old stockings to make a cardboard template, then used the template to trace and cut out six pieces (for three stockings.  Sorry Bella).  Then I traced each of our names(backwards) onto the paper backs of three rectangles of fabric interfacing and ironed them to the wrong sides of our stockings.  I carefully cut the letters out (using my fabric scissors on the paper with gritted teeth), then peeled off the paper backing and ironed colored fleece rectangles over the interfacing. 

I sewed fabric faux cuffs to the fronts of each stocking (pink houndstooth for us girls and green with blue poppies for Pat), then put the right sides of the stocking pieces together and sewed them all the way around.  I added tabs made of the opposite fabric (ie I used the pink for Pat's and the green/blue for ours) and matching fleece on the back. 

Then they sat on our kitchen table until last night when I begged Pat to build just one of the three shelves I want in the kitchen.  And here they are!

The shelf still needs to be painted (it came already primed), and we're going to add two more below it where the tape is.  Well, not exactly where the tape is, they'll all be the same width. 

Anyway, I used books and yarn to hang them.  I just strung one long piece of yarn through the books and the stockings.  Then I added the "NOEL" letters, made of cardboard wrapped with more...yarn.  Yeah, it's a very yarny Christmas for us.  That's also our "ribbon" for presents this year!

Oh, and if you look closely you'll see that the middle part of Madison's "a" is missing.  It fell off, but I've got big plans for getting it stuck for the long haul.

Merry Almost Christmas!
-Kelli

What Our Office Really Looks Like

So I've left out a little tidbit on here for a while now.  The last time I showed you our office, it looked like this:

That picture of Madison is still our wallpaper..it's been Christmas all year!

 Sorry for the even worse than usual picture quality...I guess I had my camera set to low quality, probably so I could Craigslist something.

I hated almost everything about this room.  The bed jutting out and being the first thing you saw from the door made the room look smaller than it is-it's actually the largest bedroom in our house.  The bookshelf was not great quality (laminate), not safe (it leaned against the wall...we could have bolted it down if we liked it, but not-so-much).  The desk being stuffed in a corner made being on the computer not fun at all.  The desk itself, even though it was a very nice piece of furniture, was super dark and heavy-feeling.  It was also literally heavy.  Just ask Pat and the two guys that came to buy it.  (With Patrick lifting one side and two men lifting the other, his back hurt the next day!)

Obviously we sold the desk.  We also sold the bookshelves and bed, leaving the room empty except for Madi's toys and our computer on the ground.  So here's the (not at all finished) reveal:

Here's what we've done so far:

• Sold everything (clearing out the room)
• Bought a futon ("Emily" from Walmart...love it)
• Built a desk (and painted it blue BECAUSE WE CAN)
• Moved Madison's nursery rug into the office (because it's so nice and plush, but we never play in her room)

And here's what's yet to be done:

• Paint the walls (probably a soft grey so I can call myself a real blogger, haha)
• Replace the light fixture
• Address window treatments
• Build a console for under the desk (to hold/hide the PC, file box, and other ugly but necessary desk things)
• Finish refinishing the two desk chairs we already have (which you've never really seen)
• Untangle and hide all the cords
• Convince Patrick we don't need a printer
• Sew Madison a poof cover to contain all her stuffed animals (the huge pile in the corner by the futon)
• Hang real art (what's on the walls is literally only there because I didn't want to find space in a closet and the nails were already there)
• Replace the missing closet door knob
• Find a thrifted or free tv table (but not for a tv) for the wall across from the futon (the one on your right when you come in the door) for additional toy/office storage and a place for Madison to draw/color
• Cover the fronts of Madison's diaper toy boxes (under the futon) with fabric

Phew!  Between this room, Christmas gifts, and DIY Christmas decor, I am SOOOOOOO overwhelmed with projects right now.  But I'm also really excited for what I hope will be a great result. 

Are you overloading your (metaphorical) plate right now?  (Do you spend more time talking parenthetically than not?)  Do you have any soft grey (gray?) walls in your home?  Does all this talk about grey make you curious about the next episode of Grey's?

Happy Monday!
-Kelli

What's on My Mind Monday

 As usual, I'm linking up over here this morning:

 I.  Crossfit is tearing me up, in good and bad ways. 

• The good: I wore my old (as in high school, but don't tell anyone that I'm wearing ten year old clothes) jeans to church on Sunday.  They were buttoned up and everything!  Not that I would ever go to church with unbuttoned pants.  Especially not if I was five months pregnant and not mentally prepared for the elastic pants thing.  No, definitely not me.  (Don't worry, Mom.  If  someone else, who was not me, ever decided to go to church with their pants unbuttoned, I'm sure they would have worn a belt.  You totally wouldn't have been able to tell that my I mean that random, not me, other person's pants weren't buttoned.)
• The bad: Wednesday's workout made my bottom (we've been working on replacing the other "b" word now that we've got a little copycat-in-the-making in the house) sore.  I was so sore on Thursday night that as I crawled into bed, I whispered (we really need a house with carpeting/insulated interior walls/a split floor plan) "Ow!  I sat on it."  Patrick didn't even need to ask what "it" was.

II. Madison got to play with her friend, Audrey, in the church foyer yesterday.  I think it's funny how different their personalities are: Audrey had this HUGE grin on her face the whole time (I'm pretty sure she's consistently the happiest baby I've ever seen), while Madison was alternately frowning in concentration/very slightly smirking.  Patrick and I were concerned that she would "love on" (slap) Audrey's face, like she always does with us, Bella, and the baby in the mirror.  There were a few close calls, but we managed to catch her pudgy little hand at the last second each time. 

III.  I am so in love with her little face.  I can't believe that one day she's going to ask me for makeup.  Can you imagine covering those beautiful little eyelashes in black goop?  I wonder how long I'll be able to get by with buying her clear mascara.  If the peas in lieu of green beans substitution I tried the other day is any indication, it'll probably mean a second trip to the store the same day.

IV.  Speaking of makeup, I had a dream last night that while walking through Walmart, I discovered that all this time I had been shopping in the "expensive" Covergirl aisle.  In dream Walmart, two aisles down, there's another selection of the same Covergirl products for way less money.  I guess it was more of a nightmare than a dream.

Have you ever changed your vocabulary?  Worn ten-year-old jeans proudly?  Would you ever go to church with unbuttoned pants?  Yeah, me neither.  I mean, who does that?  : )

-Kelli

Thank Heaven for Nanas.

Not to be confused with bananas, which we should also be thankful for, but aren't in any way related to today's post, except that when eaten in excess, they can contribute to bowel problems.  No, today, I'd like to talk about what a blessing it is to have a Nana just down the street.

It's nice to have a Nana down the street for an "in a pinch" babysitter.  For instance, I decided that instead of procrastinating this year (sarcasm alert), I would start my Christmas shopping a little early.  So yesterday (the 20th, for those of you who are calendrically (this is my blog and it's a word if I say it is) challenged) I hit the stores Walmart while my mom stayed home with Madison, who was taking a nap at the time.  I told my mom to bring a book, which she did.  I should have instructed her to actually read the book, because instead she cleaned my house.  Which made me feel even more indebted to her.  Maybe I can repay her by letting her babysit more often. : )

It's nice to have a Nana down the street when your dog runs away but you can't chase her because it's cold outside and you don't want the baby to suffer for your dog's disobedience. 

It's nice to have a Nana down the street when your stove has relocated to your living room and you're tired of cold turkey sandwiches for dinner.

But more than any of these, it's nice to have a Nana down the street when, in the middle of your apple and yogurt snack, you notice that your baby has a strange looking puddle by her feet in the base of her saucer, which she then mashes between her toes and slides up her legs, which by the time you lay out a towel on the changing table has miraculously migrated up to her belly button, within range of her curious little fingers that typically spend more than half of their existence in her mouth.  And it's nice that this same Nana is able to drop what she is doing and come running when that sweet baby tries to put her slimy big toe in her mouth, kicks the wall (brown and green usually work together, but in this case it wasn't so pretty), and between her two hands and two feet, comes close to winning the speed match with you by getting something into her sweet little mouth.  And it's nice that during bath part two, the same Nana brings all the fallen warriors linens to the washing machine and gets them started on the hot cycle, then cleans and sanitizes every part of the desecrated saucer.

So Nana, this one's for you. 

-Kelli

There's Nothing Quite Like It.

 The smell of a real, live Christmas tree.  This is Madison's and Patrick's first real tree ever.  Can you believe that?  Well, I mean, obviously the Madison part wasn't a surprise, but Patrick?  He's been around for twenty-seven Christmases before this one, and if he's to be believed, he has never once had a real tree.  I can at least vouch for him for the six Christmases we've been married.  Every year before this, we had a fake tree, but I always knew I wanted to go "real" once we had kids.  Or kid and dog.  Actually, now that we "have a kid", I kind of hate the way that phrase sounds.  Like you have a hammer, or a toaster oven, except it's a kid instead.  But I digress.  This post is supposed to be about our Christmas tree!

Originally, my plan was to go to a Christmas tree farm and chop down the tree of our choosing.  Then I started to dread the long ride to the nearest farm, and the long time spent in the cold picking out/cutting down/dragging back our tree.  At first, I pressed on with the plan, mostly out of some strange sense of duty to Madison to "do it right".  Then I realized that Madison would probably be even more miserable than we would if we "did it right".  So off to good ol' Walmart we went. 

Sadly, we are now a zero truck household.  Man, we miss his Ranger.  Since we didn't have a truck to toss the tree into, we had to go with plan B for getting our prize home.  Enter the Explorer.

Pat spent probably ten minutes making sure the tree wouldn't fly off the top.  His new name for the week is Captain Careful. 

At this point, it was about six o'clock.  That's about fifteen minutes late for Madison's typical dinnertime.  We decided I would feed her (sweet potatoes for the first time, which she loved) while Patrick cut a few inches off the base of the tree.  All we had to cut it with was Pat's circular saw, but he got the job done. 

We put Madison in her saucer so I could "help" Patrick with getting the tree in place.  And by "help", I mean make him come through the back door twice because the camera wasn't ready the first time. 

We obviously haven't put the kitchen back to rights yet.  I'll just pretend we left it this way on purpose so Pat could navigate the room more easily while carrying our tree.  Yeah, that's what we were thinking.  I'm so glad we plan ahead for these things.

I'll admit; once it was in its stand, I couldn't help feeling a little...disappointed.  It was just so small!  But I didn't say anything, because we had just spent more than a dollar (meaning a lot of money in our book) on it, and Pat had worked really hard (in the cold) to get it home.

 But then something magical happened.  When Pat started to pull the twine off the tree, it grew before my very eyes.  I know you'll think I'm being facetious here, but I really was surprised by how full and appropriately sized it looked!  I guess when you go five years with cheap (think <$50) fake trees, a real tree like this is bound to surprise you with its...realness. 

  At first, Madison wasn't too sure about what we had going on.  This is the look she gives me when there's a loud noise.  It's her "Mom, is that okay?" look. 

 I assured her that yes, it's safe, and it's our happy Christmas tree!  Then she felt free to explore.

 Immediately after that picture was taken, she announced rather loudly that it was bedtime.  Since we didn't want to decorate the tree without her, it's still very much bare.  Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with a post on our fully decorated tree!  Until then, I'll just enjoy the sweet smell of Christmas. 

I'd like to know...do you do real or fake trees for Christmas? 
-Kelli

Throwback Fun

 My favorite frame for the frame wall is also the one that took the most guts (you're welcome for my edit there) to change.  It used to be the frame for this bridal portrait that I never felt like hanging:

 Call me crazy, but I've always felt that hanging a 16x20 portrait of myself in an eleven-hundred square foot home would have been overkill.  It would take up practically half of our house!  Plus, the fact that it is an almost life-sized image freaks me out a little bit.

This is the closest I have to a "before" shot of the frame (the one leaning against our dishwasher): 

It was a really nice frame already, which was why I was so conflicted about spray painting it.  In the end, I decided that I wouldn't use it anywhere in its original finish, so it was better to change and display it than to keep it under the bed gathering (more) dust.

Since I knew I didn't want to hang my bridal portrait, I had to figure out what was going to fill this large frame.  I wanted it to be simple and meaningful.  The trim piece on the inside of the frame inspired me to start by covering the back with burlap-ish material:

I picked up a yard of the stuff for $3.48 at Walmart and stapled it to the cardboard back while Madison played with Eeyore:

Then I needed to decide what to display.  I dug through our box of sentimental stuff and found two things I liked: an essay on marriage that Pat wrote in high school and a letter I wrote to Patrick a few weeks before we got engaged.

I love the red marks.

Look at the time on that letter!  I cant be up past midnight these days, lest I would surely die.

 I stapled the letter and essay to the backer because I thought the staples would make it look even more like a school project.

 Then came the least fun part of the project.  The little metal holder-inners (you know what I'm talking about) had almost all come out.  These were the only two left in the whole frame:

 After thinking on it awhile, I decided to hammer some wire brads partially into the frame, then bend them over to hold everything in.  It worked like a charm!

 The finished product:

 I like this wayyyyy more than just a picture of me in a wedding dress, because this represents both of us!  I also like the way the colors are layered.  It was sort of accidental, but I think it looks pretty great! 

What is your favorite "artwork" that's framed in your home?  Maybe a picture of your family?  Marriage certificate?  Degree?  Hospital bracelet?  A cheesy letter to your boyfriend-turned-fiance-turned-husband-turned-baby daddy?

Update: I'm linking up here!
-Kelli

Stranger Danger

The following describes mine and Madison's typical encounter with a stranger in Walmart:

Stranger: "Awe, look at that all of that pretty red hair."
Me: "Thanks!", trying to squeeze our cart past theirs in the never quite wide enough aisle.
Stranger: "I bet you had a lot of heart burn, didn't you?"
Me: "Ha ha, not really.  I figured she was going to be bald" (said from rote; I've repeated this phrase probably 37 bajillion times)
Stranger: "Where do you think she got the red hair from?"
Me: "Umph" (that pesky cart still won't quite fit), "We haven't been able to figure it out!  I guess you never know, huh?"
Stranger: in baby voice "Where did you get that red hair, huh?"
Me: "Well, have a good day!"
Stranger: "You, too!  Anyway, what's her name?"



But that's okay; I've got a plan for our next stranger encounter.  It's gonna go something like this:


Stranger: "Awe, look at that pretty red hair."
Me: smiling apologetically, "No hablo ingles."

Have a good day!
-Kelli

House Tour: The Nursery

Madison's nursery is, by far, the most completed room in our house.  It still lacks a few of those finishing touches, yet I'm pretty proud of where it is right now

It all started with this rug from Target:

I found it online, and was so excited to design Madison's nursery around it.  The hostesses for the shower my family was throwing us planned to buy it.  But before that could happen, Target sold out!  I was sooooo disappointed.  I had convinced myself that this was THE rug, and that nothing would be the same without it.  Well, it was true; it's not the same, it's BETTER!  I think the rug I settled on from Overstock(or the O, or O.co, or whatever they're trying to recreate themselves as this time) is waaaayyyyy better in quality, style, and function.  Based on reviews, I'm pretty sure it's better in smell, too.

One of the things I really appreciated about the new rug was that, thanks to the pink and butterflies, it allowed me to go a little more "girly" in the details.  These mobiles are a (not quite as good, but still fun) knock-off of a project that John and Sherry (who else?) did for their little girl's nursery:

Forgive me for the following picture: despite all appearances, the room is not slanting.  That would be the photographer.  Pat and I made the valance, and the curtains are blackout, which is great for nap time(s). 

Madison loves to crane her neck to see the pier one print above her changing table.  The fan, strangely enough, is one of my favorite things in the room.  I plan to steal it from her one day.  The fun lamp is from IKEA.  I love that place.

You already know all about the table and (soon to be) frame wall.  The glider, surprisingly enough (to me, anyway) gets hardly any use.  Madison just doesn't appreciate rocking gliding.  Maybe it'll be good for kid #2.  Not that we're in any hurry.  Don't start a bump watch just yet; anything you see on my midsection right now is most likely the result of my foray into the baking world.

This is one of the few to-do's in the nursery.  One of the drawer pulls came off a while back (two months, but who's counting), and we have yet to twist it back on.  Unfortunately, this is the wipes drawer, so I slice my fingers (not enough to draw blood, just enough to irritate the skin) on those threads on an almost daily basis.  Kinda like the proverbial howling dog on the porch that won't get off the nail. 

And because I think it's important to close on a good note, I'll leave you with this shot of Madison's diaper pail.  We considered the other route (you know, the Schmiaper Shmenie?), but decided we'd rather not have to buy specialty bags along with diapers and wipes.  I also thought the big plastic trash can was kinda ugly, and the few times I've been around said Schmiaper Shmenies, there was a distinctive diaper odor, anyway.  Instead, we just found a trash can with a lid at IKEA.  We dump a generous portion of baking soda in each new bag, and sprinkle in a little extra when depositing diapers that hold a little extra, if you know what I mean.  It usually looks better than this, but our Walmart doesn't sell medium trash can liners, so we're stuck with the too big tall ones until we get to Kroger.  In my opinion, it doesn't stink at all, but since I live here and may have acclimated to any smell, I can't be 100% sure. 

 

Our Nursery To-Do's:

• Reattach the drawer pull for the changing table
• Fill out the frame wall
• Iron (or toss in the dryer if I'm feeling lazy) the curtains
• Find a basket to set underneath the side table for extra toys/books/blankets

That's pretty much it!  Have you ever been disappointed not to get one item, only to find something much better?  What do you do with your diapers?  Is there any two-minute project around your house that you keep putting off (like the drawer pull)?

-Kelli

Piece of Cake!

I'm one step closer to one of my goals!   Remember that trip to Walmart we took Friday?  Well, I wasn't really just going for milk and spray paint, I just didn't want to spoil the big surprise:  I baked a cake!  (Almost) From scratch!  And it was edible really good!

First, I hopped on over to Allrecipes.com , which is also where I found my red beans and rice recipe, to look for an easy-looking recipe.  I scanned a few of them, but there were too many ingredients and steps!  Color me intimidated.  Finally, I searched for "basic yellow cake", and picked the first recipe on the list, "Scottley's Basic Yellow Cake."

I read over the ingredients list: pretty basic stuff.

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 2/3 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups milk

Here's the part where I realized how little we actually use our kitchen:  out of the eight ingredients, we only had two on hand (vanilla and salt), and one of those (salt) was purchased just a week before.  Of course, we do typically have milk, but I had drained the last of it into my raisin bran that morning.

After googling a few things (like how to soften butter, cream butter and sugar, and what exactly "just until incorporated" looks like) and buying my ingredients (along with a cake pan and sifter), I was ready to get started!

I started by leaving the butter margarine (I know, I'm terrible) out for a little while to soften.  After about twenty minutes, I mashed it around a little:

 And saw that we were ready to go!  I added my sugar and creamed them together until they looked sort of like my mom's mashed potatoes:

 After tasting (and promptly spitting out) a bite, I beat in the eggs:

 Then I sifted together the flour, salt, and baking powder (top right) and measured out the milk (bottom, duh):

 Side note: is sifting flour supposed to make your wrists sore for two days, am I a sissy, or did I buy a too cheap sifter? 

Anyway, here is the batter all mixed and ready to go:

 Remember how I said I bought "a cake pan"?  That's exactly what I meant.  I bought one cake pan, even though I knew I planned to make two layers.  Why waste $2.50, right?  So I poured out the first half and stuck it in the oven, then covered the rest of the batter:

 After baking both layers for about thirty minutes at 350 degrees, then letting them cool, I brought out my secret ingredient:

 Mmmmm, butter cream.  Sadly, I had to use the whole can on the cake.  There was none left over for mindless gnoshing in front of the tv. :-(

After letting Madison decorate the top with colored sugar (okay, it was me, they were supposed to be leaves, move on already!), I was done!

I'll admit it doesn't look all that great, but it tasted pretty heavenly.  As a matter of fact, as of about noon-thirty yesterday, it's GONE!

I'm pretty excited; my first attempt turned out pretty well!  Pat even asked me to make this instead of his typical (box) chocolate on chocolate cake for his birthday!  We'll see about that...I kind of hate to break tradition.

Have you done any baking lately?  Am I the only female over twenty that had no idea how to soften butter?  Do you blame your kids when your attempts at cake bedazzling go awry?

-Kelli