I love you banner!

I made a fabric banner for Valentine's Day... or any love-celebration day.
On one side it says "I love you."


On the other side there are birds, a bee, a flower, a tree...

You know, love stuff.

Pirate Party Details!

A certain young pirate turned seven!!!
And so we had to celebrate!  Alli wanted a pirate birthday party.  So I have been collecting and dreaming up pirate party ideas for a few months.

We sent out invitations with a treasure map on the envelope.  If you know our part of the neighborhood, you may recognize the streets as the water.  The maps for the kids in the neighborhood showed how to get to the X from their own houses.  For the kids who don't live in the neighborhood, the map covered a larger area and had street labels on the waterways.

The invitation says:
Ahoy Pirate friend!  Ye are invited to celebrate Cap'n Alli's 7th birthday on Monday..... from 9-11am.  A hearty breakfast will be served... cake too!  Come dressed in your pirate best... or walk the plank!
We all dressed up.

The kids costumes were easy.  We had a bunch of pirate accessories.
For my costume I wore a wide-striped shirt, a pair of capris that I cut off with a jagged edge, and a bandanna around my hair.

I looked like a deck hand.

My sister came with a much more exciting ensemble...

She wore her husband's white shirt with lots of jewelry and scarves.  For the mustache and goatee, she glued hair onto her face.  Afterwards it peeled right off.  Where did the hair come from?  She has a teenage son with a big red curly mop of hair... maybe he should check for missing locks!
My brother took a different approach...

Sort of a pirate wizard.

We played a fishing game at the party.

The kids sat around the "pool" (a blue blanket) where there were fish, gators, sharks, and a wooden plank.

The fish have paper clips sewn in them, and the fishing pole had a magnet on the end of the string.
On the back of each fish was a message...

"Pick 1 prize" 
"go again"
"shout ARG!"
"Walk the PLANK!"
We passed the fishing pole around and the kids took turns fishing.  I switched out the notes in the fish after each one was caught... these are clever kids you know.
Once everyone had a few turns, those who didn't end up winning a prize got to pick a prize... so everyone got something.

Here is how I made the paper gators...

I cut out these shapes (two fit on one 8.5x11 piece of paper).  On the top I drew eyes.  On the bottom, I drew nostrils.  Where the dotted lines are, I folded it so I turned out like this...

There were shark fins sticking out of the water too.  (Shark fin = triangle folded in half.)

Alli picked the theme of her party long ago, and so I was able to pick up some party gear on sale after Halloween! 

Down in the playroom there was a boat.

Never underestimate the power of a cardboard box!

We had two large white boards and a bunch of dry-erase markers.  The kids drew pirates and treasure maps.  I didn't take a picture, but you can see a little bit of it behind this pirate.


We played a treasure hunt game.  Clues were written on post-it notes and hidden around the house, one clue leading to another.  The clues led to the "treasure" which was a bowl of prizes for everyone.
The treat bags were simple paper bags with a treasure chest drawn on each.  Ruby embellished hers with heart stickers.

It was a fun party.  I'm glad Alli picked pirates as a theme this year... and I can't wait to see what she will want for next year!

what's next...

I think I am finally ready to tackle this chair.  We got it for $5.  I found some fabric (lower left corner).  The fabric is a sturdy upholstery fabric, and on sale it was $17 for 5 yards.  I love the bold, graphic pattern in soft, neutral colors. 
And now for the demolition...

Ceck back soon.

the table

We got this table at the beginning of the summer.  I loved the size of the table and the clean lines and solid form.  It was $60... this was a Craigslist find.  It came with scratches and watermarks on the top.  So we stripped off the old finish, sanded it down, stained and finished it with polyurethane.  The legs were in great condition, so we left them alone.
Our table just came into the house Sunday night.

And now Andy has a spot in the garage for his car.

the ottoman empire

I bought an ottoman at a yard sale.  It was clean and well-built.  It was a nice size.  And it was $10.

But the fabric was UGLY!

And then I found this diamond checked upholstery fabric at another yard sale.  It was new, unused.   I love the bold graphic pattern!  Best of all, it was $3 for about 2+ yards.

And so I started another project.  I took the ottoman apart stitch-by-stitch.  And I used the old pieces as a pattern to reupholster the ottoman.  I recovered the cushion.  I used white muslin on the bottom of the cushion because I didn't have enough of the diamond-pattern fabric.  There is velcro connecting the cushion to the ottoman base.  I reused the velcro and the zipper from the original ottoman covering.  When I finished, I had an 18 inch square of leftover fabric.

For $13 and about three hours, I am pretty pleased with the finished product.

painted backdrop

As you may have seen in my other blog, I am doing photography professionally now.  My sister-in-law Betsy showed me how to use inexpensive shower board from Lowe's to make a white background.

So I have two sheets of 4x4 shower board... but sometimes white is just so plain.  So I painted the backside of the shower board.  I used broad strokes to blend the paint and made the edges darker. 

And now I can use the white side or the painted side as a background.  And it doesn't take up any extra space!  I love how it looks out of focus (it's nice in focus too).  The colors add a nice pop to portraits.

But a word of caution... make sure to put your paints away properly!

Bath night.
(It did come off in the tub, which is a good thing because it looks like a horrible wound!)

recycled fabric = adorable dress

I got this nifty piece of cotton fabric a while back at my favorite Chicago thrift store.  I'm not quite sure what it is supposed to be... a scarf?  a wall hanging?  I loved the primary colors and graphic design and I knew I would use it for something awesome.  Someday.

It waited patiently in a box for months and months... while we moved... and unpacked...
And then I saw it again. 
I paired it with a yellow cherry-blossom-like print, bright red pom-pom trim, and big red buttons.  The inside of the bodice is yellow gingham.

I love it.