Stuff to sew

For the Girls

February 24, 2013

What do you do with one daughter who loves pink, and another that loves blue? Oh the dilemmas. They still do not have any dressers in their rooms, and there are plenty of pictures to be hung; but we have made progress. So here is a taste, and a little of how we did a few things that we did.

First, the headboards. I wanted white tufted headboards. White doesn’t scare me, because you can bleach white. But I also didn’t want to pay for white tufted headboards, at least not retail pricing. So one weekend when my brilliant, math minded, brother-in-law was here visiting; I sent him into the garage to draw a couple of headboards for me on plywood. I showed him a picture and then said, “Good luck, and make sure they are symmetrical.” It was tough, but he is, after all, a thinker. I knew it would come to him: Desktop7
I knew he could do it, and he did. Smarty pants: jason working And then my hubby cut them out for me and sanded them smooth: kevin building We know a wonderful upholsterer in town. He and his wife are so dear, they work together and do beautiful work. We delivered the headboards to him for tufting, as I had reached the end of what I was willing to do myself. They are absolutely lovely. I sewed the panels behind the beds with Ella one rainy weekend. It was supposed to be a three person job, but Caroline lost interest after 20 minutes. one headboard I still love the side table:Remember the before: old sidetable You can click here to get the recipe for creating this same look. The knobs are from Anthropologie, of course. knobs The oil painting is my own art. Created especially for my girls. With great hesitance, because only real artists can name their artwork, and I’m kind of a real artist sometimes, maybe, and then other days not so much….I named this piece “Becoming Beautiful”. Because they are, we are, together, a little more everyday:There are other thing to still be done in this room of theirs. Like some kind of a bridge to connect our homeschooling room to their loft, but I’m staying out of that discussion and leaving it to the more adventuresome. loft But even incomplete, it’s a beautiful place, like most things in life are…
two beds

Filed UnderFrom House to Home, My House Tour, Stuff to paint, Stuff to sew, The Second of the Remodel: The Addition 8 Comments

Only the Brave Create

May 21, 2012

I am learning why only the brave create. These past few weeks have made me appreciate on a much deeper level all the artists out there in this big world. When you are in the midst of creating, you see how hard the process of creative work really is. I have heard people say that you know you are an artist when you need to create as much as you need to breathe. Most would likely call that melodramatic, but for those that create, they get it. I get it. Sometimes I write to create, sometimes I paint, but usually I just dream. I think and I think and I think until I fall asleep; and then I wake up the next morning too tired to talk myself into creating what I was thinking about the day before. I stare at that half painted canvas too scared to finish it. Who in the world is too scared to paint? I am. I likely have more half-written blog posts on the topic of Grace, than I do collective published posts on this blog. Why is that? In some ways, I considered it laziness that kept me from finishing (or sometimes even starting) a creative work; but I’m beginning to wonder if it has more to do with fear, than an unmotivated heart. What about you? Can you relate to this theory on creativity?

In case you couldn’t tell, I am currently wrestling a project that has my stomach and brain in knots. But ironically at the same time, my heart is all a flutter with joy. Simple, grace-given joy that accompanies the soul of someone that is doing what she loves to do. I’m doing a thing that makes me kind of feel like a little girl who is coloring a picture for her Daddy. I just want Him to be pleased, I want Him to be seen, and most of all, I want Him to be glorified. So what’s on my brain you ask?

A little of this:

Hopefully a little of this:

And a touch of that:

So what does it all amount to? Well I’m not totally sure yet, but I will let you know when it is created.

If you would like to subscribe to Playing Sublimely, you can click here to do so, or go to the top right hand column of this page and enter your email address.

Filed UnderStuff to paint, Stuff to sew 6 Comments

Emerson’s Flower for the Guys: A Tutorial (Just in time for Easter)

April 14, 2011

I promise this is a post about the flower that my little man is wearing. What I really want to talk about is how much fun I have dressing up that little guy…but I am going to fight the urge. But since we are on the subject, I will say that most people claim that it is not as much fun to dress up little boys as it is little girls, and just for the record, I kinda disagree. I mean seriously, look at my Thomas’ outfit!

Now back to the flowers. Here is Emerson’s “Little Dandy” for men. I love it. And I started thinking that Thomas most certainly needed one for Easter. You can read about my other do it yourself Emerson adventure here. That tutorial was for Emerson’s “Big Poppy” flower, this one is for the guys. Here is Emerson’s man wearing his:

And since I don’t think I can get my husband to wear one (though he totally should), here is my little guy wearing one instead:

These are easy to make, and you know how I hate writing tutorials, so we’re gonna keep this brief. Cut out a few linen circles. That navy felt circle in the bottom of the image is for the back of the flower.

You can spray your flowers with Fray Stop if you want, but it is not a must. It will help keep the flowers looking fresh for longer, you can also just spray them with a heavy spray starch.

Stack your circles and stitch an X in the center:

Cut your “petals” by rotating around each circle cutting long lines, being sure to not get too close to the center. Once all your circles have been cut, hot glue the felt circle to the back and then glue on a pin. Lastly, fluff the petals.

Then pin it on your little man, take him in your backyard and take 400 pictures of him, and then cry about the day when he will one day leave you.

OK, don’t do that last part. That would just be unhealthy and weird, certainly nothing I would ever do.

Filed UnderStuff to sew, Thomas 5 Comments

Perfecting Emerson’s Flower: A Tutorial

February 7, 2011

You know all about my girl crush on Emerson. I love her. I love her style. I love that she has a pet duck. I love her flowers. I just don’t love her flower prices. It’s not that I don’t think they are worth the really, really high price tag. I think they are (my husband just doesn’t agree with me); and I think if you have more money than you know what to do with you should totally buy hers instead of attempting to make a “wanna be” like mine. But if you are in the same marital dilemma that I am in, if your husband has refused to support your Emerson addiction the way mine has, then check out this tutorial because my girls and I are getting closer and closer to a totally legit knock-off.

Some more inspiration before we get started (check out her site by clicking here to see even more):

Here is what you are going to need:

two different size rounded heart templates (click here for a PDF template)
spray starch
scissors
an iron and ironing board
linen of your color choice (the thinner the linen the better)
cut out felt circles
needle and gold thread
broach pins or hair clips (obviously, depending on your purpose for the flower)

Step 1: Use your two sizes of heart templates to cut out 19 flower petals (10 big, 9 small)

Step 2: Spray your cut out petals with spray starch.

Step 3: Iron your flower petals by creasing the petal at the bottom. This bottom crease will allow the petal to curve, giving a more natural look.

Step 3: Do not take anything I have said so far too seriously. Have fun with this, and play around with the arrangement of the petals until it looks natural.See, even I am confused, and this is my tutorial! And yes, I know I look like death warmed over in this picture. One of my girls informed me that night that I looked like Bernie from the movie “Weekend at Bernie’s”…you know the dead guy they carry around all weekend trying to convince everyone that he was really alive. I need a spray tan.Step 4: Using your gold thread, stitch each individual flower petal to a piece of felt. Our felt was navy, and we cut it into about a two inch circle. The final top layer of petals will require an “X” stitch on top…just for looks though.If you are too lazy to stitch the petals into place, you could always use a sad little glue gun…though I really do not think that is how Emerson does it!

Step 5: Attach a pin to the back of your flower. The Sassy Seamstress got all fancy and showy and glued a label on one of her flowers.

They look dreamy on the front of a coat:

And lovely on the front of a clutch:

I am the most pathetic tutorial writer that I have ever known…I apologize. Did any of this make sense? Email me if you would like more suggestions. I’m linking up with Today’s Creative Blog and The Tip Junkie…’cause I love them like I love Emerson!

Amy

If you would like to subscribe to Playing Sublimely, click here to do so, or go to the top right hand column of this page to enter your email address.

Filed UnderAccessories, Stuff to sew 10 Comments