Category Archives: Decor

Merry Christmas!

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My Christmas project this year was a series of small trees decorated with my grandmother’s costume jewelry. There are six of them- one for me, one for my mother and one for each of my four aunts- all adorned with her signature button earrings and brooches.

They’re each 12″ x 16″. I didn’t take pictures along the way, but here’s an outline of the steps I used to make each one:

  1. Cut out a tree shape from wool felt, or a felted wool sweater. (I found out during this process that many sweaters are treated so as not to shrink in the washer. It figures, that when you don’t want a sweater to shrink, it does, and when you DO want a sweater to shrink, it won’t!)
  2. Applique the tree to your background fabric. I used a free motion embroidery foot on my sewing machine, which made this step go quickly.)
  3. Make wooden frames, and stretch a piece of background fabric over it like a canvas. I used this tutorial for making mine. This would work, I’d think, for stretching any piece of fabric over a frame, although in the future I think I might spring for pre-made stretcher bars!
  4. I took all the earrings and brooches, and divided them into six groups. Then I cut the necklaces, and also divided the loose beads into six groups. I vaguely matched each group by color and style, and tried to make sure that each group was about the same size.
  5. And then it was just a matter of sewing on the beads. I placed the garland first, then the large earrings and brooches, and then finally the smaller beads. I liked how it looked when I grouped the smaller beads together into clusters.
  6. Finally, wherever I tied a knot on the backside, I touched it with a dab of glue to try and make sure that the jewelry didn’t come undone. I used thread that I had on hand, but I think that unwaxed dental floss would be good for this project, because it is so strong and doesn’t stretch much.

And there it is! These have a lot of sentimental value for me and my family, but this would make a lovely Christmas project for anyone that has vintage costume jewelry on hand.

Due date

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It’s my due date, and I’m still here! I’m on my second day of maternity leave, and rather than pacing the house, or trying to clean up, I thought it might be nice to share some last minute pictures of the nursery. I was going to wait until the baby arrived, but then I’ll probably want to talk about the actual baby, and not so much the goodies in his room.

Mattie’s room was a handy excuse to indulge in a few Etsy sellers that I’ve long admired. Here’s a print from Jessica Swift, flanked on either side by two pictures that Mattie’s older brother painted for him. (Eli got really excited about making these for the baby’s room. It was a great way to get him involved!) I bought the print at Crafty Bastards, and then later purchased her “You are So Loved” print to go in Eli’s room too.

Another print by Strawberry Luna, also acquired at Crafty Bastards. Now, I was supposed to trade for this print, but they must have been super busy at their booth because they never made it over to me. So Allison, if you’re reading this, I still owe you!

The crib was a Craigslist acquisition, and crib bumper is made from a vintage embroidered tablecloth.

Here’s a little baby quilt made from Cloud9 Fabrics. These fat quarters were the first thing that I bought for the baby’s room- before I was pregnant, I think!- because I didn’t want to find myself unable to acquire this collection when I needed it. The only thing that could make it cuter is the baby. (That photo is coming!)

Little elephant from Ella Bella May. Beth and I tried an experiment where I sent block printed scraps to see if she could use them for her elephant ears and bellies, and she sent me a sample! I think that the fabrics were too heavy for her use, but her elephants are adorable just the same, and I have this very special one for Mattie’s room!

The nursing chair was the single biggest project for the room. We bought the chair at a flea market a long time ago, and decided to cover it in my fabric printed in Minileaves in Butternut… professional upholsterers, we are not. But, nor are we perfectionists! I decided when it was done that one of the pillows from Chakra Pennywhistle would make a most excellent finishing touch.  Rikkianne is possibly the nicest person in the world, and her work is beautiful and really, truly ecofriendly. I’m so happy to have one of her pillows to look at every day. Her print goes rather nicely with my print, too!

And finally, here’s my view when I’m sitting in the nursing chair, and a photo of the finished floors. I think it’s a good idea to have something really pretty to look at during those middle-of-the-night feedings. (And a good book. I’ve reserved a copy of Thomas Merton‘s Essential Writings  from my library.) Why a photo of the floors? You may remember that I agonized slightly over what to do with our weathered orange floors, and I have to give my husband kudos for doing such an awesome job. I think we’re officially ready for the baby! Wish us luck!