Our Loft color inspiration!

One of the things that I noticed from the first time we visited Arizona is there is a shocking lack of Green.  I actually am NOT a huge fan of green but it is my hubby and my 5-year-olds favorite color so we have a fair amount of green things around the house.  When I was trying to find something that struck me to use as a color for our upstairs loft, these are the materials that grabbed me and wouldn’t let go and I just couldn’t get them out of my head. 

Felicite Mineral 

Paddock Shawl Mineral

Aren’t these materials just beautiful?  They feel amazing too. So soft and luxurious, especially for cotton.  Because I’m a girl with a budget I got them from Joann’s when they had a 50% off Home Decor materials and I was lucky enough to have a gift card for doing some sewing for someone.  I am so pleased that I got them even if they were a little pricier than I usually spend on material.

I  painted the Walls in These Benjamin Moore Colors Fernwood Green 2145-40 and an accent wall in Terrapin Green 2145-20.

I’ve already finished making pillows with the material, so I’ll have to post the photos soon. I am so pleased with what I’ve done with our loft even though we’ve had to do it on a budget.  We have been using it as a family/library/office and I love being in here!

Pleated Pillow Plus…

About 6 weeks ago, my husband came home from work asking me if I was willing to do a little sewing for someone that he worked with who wanted some pillows made.  I thought “pillows?” “they’re a snap!”.  Ha.  Little did I know that the day I started them my machine would decide to break and become totally unusable.  We ended up at the shop twice and then gave up and bought a totally new machine. 

We went with a simple Bernette 66 for Bernina that hopefully will last for years to come.  I really loved the service at the store those ladies were all so nice to me, besides the other perks (such as warranty and free maintenance/cleaning for a year…etc). My machine also came with three classes which I learned some amazing tips from such as: Make sure you thread your machine’s upper thread with the foot down because this sets the tension properly….this is one trick I still need to master.  Also, only turn the side needle-positioner wheel (whatever it’s really called) towards you and  never away as this messes up tension too.  I never knew!  I am sewing better than ever! I’m also thrilled with the foot power that I know have from the courses I took.  I was so excited to start on the pillows that I was supposed to make in this material that I LOVE!  I took the courses before starting and I’m so glad I did.  This was a pretty fun project though a little nerve racking trying to make them perfect for the girl I was making them for :).

Here’s a photo of what they look like in her cute newly-decorated apartment that she sent me.  I also designed the middle pillow myself because she wanted a more embellished pillow but not too crazy.  I love how they turned out!

When we were picking out supplies she also asked my advice on what to do for a flower arrangement.  I was so flattered that anyone would ask my advice on anything…it was a nice feeling.  This was my suggestion for the flowers…she thought of filling the jar with beans which I love and suggested she paint them.  It looks awesome!

Infant Play Mat Combining Functionality and Design…

One of the things that I indulge in way too frequently is watching HGTV.  I don’t love all the shows, but I think the real problem is that as the ability to buy a house is approaching, I’m completely enamored in the idea of knowing what I want to do with my someday home.  Good grief, I’ve wished for a home since I was 14 and I asked my mom why she did something a certain way and she said “You do it your way when you have your own home”.  My favorite shows have designers staging or redecorating (I love “Divine Design”!).  Jared is a HGTV addict too but he’s much more interested in Holmes on Homes and the Home Buyers shows. 

One of the common threads that I’ve found in all this TV watching is that a lot of parents let their children’s toys overtake the main rooms of their homes.  In my parent’s home toys were banned from the front room.  This is fine and dandy if you have a family room as well as a living room.  But for those of us who have less space it’s tricky.          

I came up with a wonderful solution… I designed a tummy-time play mat that uses the colors of my front-room and is a piece of art—using a bold contrasting pattern while mixing patterns and not being too garish—a visual delight.  I used a combination of cotton, velvet, valor, and faux suede to indulge the tactile sense. The leaves make crackle noises while the centers of the flowers squeak.

Now my baby can play on the floor in happiness with lots of stimulation and my room still looks organized and modern.  I’m considering opening up an on-line shop to sell these.  I would customize them to match the colors of the room that they were made for (not necessarily the nursery colors).  What do you think?  Would you pay for something like this?  Or would you rather have a pattern and make your own? I am planning to design some that are more gender-neutral/masculine as well if this idea is well-received.  If you do like it, what would you pay for something like this? 

Constructive comments would be very welcome.

Repurposing Store-Brand Box

   

When Vivian was born, I got a darling gift-set for her from a woman in our ward.  It came in an equally cute box.  The only problem was that it had the store name on it.

 

Not a problem.  I Just added this…

 

Now it is ready to hold her darling memorabilia!

Gold-Leafed Pillow

I’ve been wanting to make a pillow to match my curtains for a long time.  When I first move to the village I hated the 12' wide x 6' long windows so I put in curtains everywhere to get a little privacy.   I couldn’t find anything in my price range that even remotely looked good so I decided to dye some broadcloth.  It wasn’t as deep as I would have liked but it was adequate which is what I needed (and will need for another 6 months or so).  Anyway I planned on making a pillow in the curtain color to contrast with my bedding but never got around to it.  I wanted to bead it at first but after trying iron-on appliqué with the Halloween Costumes that I made this last year, I thought it would be really fun to appliqué leaves on a pillow for my room.  Luckily, while I was watching Martha one day, she did a reverse appliqué pillow with the perfect template!  I didn’t use her method, but I used her template and I love it!!!

 

I did it with the leftover scraps of gold lame that I had ironed onto iron-on webbing and then I ironed them on and then sewed them on (as the adhesive does not adhere long to lame).  I used a matching thread to the pillow which I think gave it a lot of depth. Personally, I think it’s gorgeous!

Here it is on my chic bed in our lit’ ol’ apartment.