#511...while I was away

I was away at the seashore last week. While I was gone, some weeds in the yard abducted my yellow outdoor chairs.

Before we left, the weeds were slowly creeping around the chairs (above)...and when we got home, they were completely gone (below).

 ugg...time to do some yard work.

#510...johnny's nursery

Johnny came home to his vintage-western inspired nursery today. Here are some pics of his new room.

notes about the nursery:

• Johnny's big sister KC the boxer has one blue eye and one brown eye
• Johnny's mom and dad are big music fans, and got the Noah and the Whale concert poster at their show in France
• Johnny's aunt Lisa made the barn wood and rope sign of his name. She embellished it with a horseshoe collected at the ranch where Johnny's parent's got married.
• Several of the things in the room are vintage pieces from when Johnny's dad was a baby; including, the sly cat pillow, the wooden toys on the bookshelf, and the horse needlepoint over the bookcase
• Johnny's mom got the handmade quilt on etsy
• I made the stuffed deer (see it here) and the yellow rick rack roman shades (see a tutorial here)
• I helped Johnny's mom paint the changing table (here). We added some vintage Bakelite red pulls and brass moon knobs to the doors and drawers
• We got the ceiling pendant light at Lowe's. It has a vintage western photo scene on the inside of the shade that shows through the linen drum when lit

#509...faux bois changing table

I helped my friend Nancy transform this plain vintage credenza.....

...into this colorful piece that she is going to use as a changing table in her nursery.

Nancy painted the exterior of the piece with a soft light gray color, and the doors and drawers in a solid navy blue. Then, I mixed a glaze using the gray paint and used my faux bois tool to create the effect on the doors and drawers. I have posted about how to do faux bois here and here. It is an addictive technique...I love doing it.

more pics of Nancy's nursery to come.......

#508...links to me on tv

Here is a link to the oilcloth vase tutorial that aired on Fox news on Saturday morning.
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/19019002/2012/07/13/makeover-thrift-store-vase

Here is a link to the oilcloth covered table tutorial that also aired on Saturday.
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/19019033/2012/07/13/ten-minute-tiny-table-transformation

...and here is an H-town skyline pic Tyler took this weekend, when the clouds briefly parted and the rain stopped long enough for a quick ride.

#507...me on tv

This week, Fox news reporter Sally MacDonald came to my studio and we taped a "Do-it-Yourself" crafting tutorial which will air tomorrow (Sat. July 14th) on Houston's local Fox station during the morning newscast. It airs from 5am to 8am, so I'll be setting my DVR to record it. Once it airs, there will be a video link on their website, which I will post a link to when available.

For the how-to tutorial, we used laminated cotton (also commonly called oilcloth) to cover a plain glass vase and a small thrift-store side table. I have previously posted about both these projects here and here. Other projects I've made with oilcloth include this storage bin, these tote bags, and this baby backpack.

Here's a little background on the difference between oilcloth and laminated cotton. Oilcloth is an old-fashioned fabric, made from a thick layer of PVC infused on top of cotton mesh. It is very thick and harder to sew than its modern day counter-part laminated cotton. Oilcloth makes great tablecloths, floor mats, placemats, outdoor seat cushions, and is easy to use for flat projects. Oilcloth contains phthalates (a chemical found in PVC and vinyl) so is best not used on any products that a baby may put in his/her mouth. Use laminated cotton for baby related projects. Here is another descriptive article about oilcloth from ebay.

Laminated cotton offers a modern take on oilcloth. It is make with a thick layer of cotton or canvas that is coated with a thin layer of polyurethane film. This coating does not contain phthalates and are not made with vinyl or PVC (polyvinyl chloride), making them a good choice for baby bibs, raincoats, shower curtains, tablecloths, diaper bags, totes, make-up bags and much more. It is typically a little bit thinner than oil cloth and has some drape to it, making it easier to sew.

Often laminated cotton is referred to as oilcloth, so just read the description before purchasing yardage to understand what you are getting. For some on-line shops look at

fabric.com

oilcloth addict

harts fabric

#506...corn salsa salad

On Sunday, we made a batch of corn salsa for eating as a dip with tortilla chips. There was some leftover, so I made the remaining salsa into a salad for lunch yesterday.

To make the salsa:
1lb frozen corn (defrosted)
1 can black beans (rinsed)
2 tomatoes (diced)
half a red onion (finely chopped)
handful of cilanto (finely chopped
garlic clove (pressed)
lime (squeezed and zested)


To make the salad:
handful of spinach (roughly chopped)
handful of arugula (roughly chopped)
tomato (chopped into large pieces)
leftover corn salsa

#505...zebrawood bench

Back in January, Tyler and I visited Clark's Hardwood Lumber Co. to look for a slab of wood to create a long bench under the windows in my office area, where my standing desk lives.

We searched through rows of exotic hardwood slabs, in search of a slab that would make a 7 ft bench.

We decided on a piece of zebrawood, which Clark's planed and cut to size for us. After hunting around for someone to finish the slab, we ended up deciding to sand and finish it ourselves. Tyler sanded it about 10 times to get it perfectly smooth.

I finished it with this Wipe-on Poly by Min-Wax in Satin. We ordered custom shaped legs for it from this Etsy shop. 

#504...July in NH

I'm in NH this week, eating donuts, swinging babies, and petting horses.

#503...H is for hannah

I made another baby quilt using strips of scraps of fabric. I laid it out in the shape of a big letter "H" for baby Hannah.