Signs That You Are, Indeed, Turning Into Your Mother

It was inevitable, I'm sure. The time has come. I'm turning into my mother, with an unhealthy dose of my father.

Here are the signs that you may be doing the same:

1. Organizing and/or relocating your utensil drawer is exciting. The rest of the family is pissed because they keep opening the newly appointed dish towel drawer when they need a fork.
2. Baseboard cleanliness becomes an actual concept. 
3. When you rant at your kids, your brain is so tired that you mess up your words. The kids giggle. You lose. Walk away and drink wine.
4. Mascara is applied roughly once per week. Twice, if you have an doctor/car/school appointment. God forbid the real world know what lurks beneath the makeup.
5. You start slamming cabinet doors, tossing books, and lobbing toys into their place to show your disapproval of the house's messiness. No one notices the reason behind it - you just look insane.
6. The kids start asking why you look mad when you're not even mad.
7. Your joints hurt and you're still under 30.
8. Coffee is the answer to everything before 11AM. 
9. Wine is the answer to everything after 5PM (4PM on weekends).
10. You start finding new ways to use everything. Pre-Pinterest, this is what moms always did, we just didn't see the genius until that magical website came along. 

So, thanks, Mom. You're rad. A little insane and borderline alcoholic, but so am I. 

Diaper Clutch from Scratch

There are about a bazillion tutorials for diaper clutches floating around the Internet. I originally tried this one by Jennifer Kramer, but it didn't turn out so well. After modifying the instructions and the pattern size, I made a clutch that fit my things - and my style - perfectly.

Before I post the tutorial, I want to reiterate that I am an absolute beginner in the world of sewing. My machine jams a lot, I swear from time to time, my lines are wonky, and I frequently end up with stiff shoulders from being super tense. Sounds fun, no? :) My point is, beginners should start simple as to not get frustrated. But there is also a lot of room for personalization and size tweaking for most patterns and tutorials. Just experiment. You win some, you lose some.

The obviously awesome part about making small and simple projects is that you can use up fabric scraps. This particular fabric was first used a few years ago when I overhauled a thrift store side chair (no post about that - it was pre-blog). The second, dark blue fabric is a denim remnant from when I hemmed my jeans. Don't throw out scraps - ever. Ha!

Right. So, here's what you need if you want to make one yourself:

1. Main fabric 12 x 10" 
2. Contrasting (or the same, which is what I used) fabric 11 x 3"
3. Main fabric 10 x 5.5"
4. Main fabric 10 x 5.5" *This will be amended later on in the instructions. But, it's optional.
5. Choice of fastener. I used Velcro and more denim scraps.

• Leave only 1/4" seam allowance for all sewing on this project. 

Super "accurately scaled" diagram of pieces needed.

So the easiest way to proceed is to iron/pin the raw edges of certain pieces and sew: all sides of #2, one long size of #3 and #4. If you're choosing to make an opening for the wipes container dispenser (the dotted lines), then cut and hem the raw edges of that opening, too.

Once all your raw edges are sewn, place #2 in the center of the wrong side of #1 (biggest, unaltered piece of fabric). Sew in place.

See where I'm pointing? Your Velcro should be under there.
(You'll be able to see a tiny amount peeking out!)

Flip over #1 so that you are now looking at the right side of the fabric. If are are using a Velcro fastener, now is the time to place it between #1 and #3. Pin #3 and #4 (right side down) in place.You shouldn't be able to see the fastener at this point - it will be hidden under #3!  Sew along all four edges. I ran a few lines back and worth across the fastener edge to make sure it would stay put.

Turn your project right side out. Fold over the top and bottom (raw) edges of the center and sew. At this point, you'll want to insert your wipes container and diapers. Close your clutch and figure out where you'll want the other piece of Velcro fastener; it should end up just about where your wipes container opening is. Sew your Velcro in place and you're done!

Cute!

More Free, Personalized Art

I love my dog. She's the bomb. I love most things Greyhound, especially art. Aaaand, I really dig silhouettes. My dining room is no stranger to some homemade silhouettes of other things (namely, my son's head and a pig's head), so I figured that my dog should have one as well.

Silhouettes hanging out in the dining room.

Somewhere on the Internet, I discovered that Farrow & Ball sends out free samples (up to three samples, anyway) of their wallpapers. Naturally, I couldn't pass that up, so I ordered a few. They're awesome and I thought they'd come in handy for something crafty. Today, the opportunity presented itself!

Greyhound silhouette art - cheap, easy, and supa cute.

It's as easy as cutting out a Googled shape and gluing it to a background piece of paper. By using a frame we already had, this piece cost absolutely nada. I like free. You?

Personalized Art

Making your own art is a pretty popular way to jazz up a space, and for good reason - you get exactly what you want and you can save some major bucks.

I've had some previously painted canvases in the basement that I wasn't really digging anymore, so I decided to make something for my little lady's bedroom wall. We are both fans of Bruno Mars (dancing tunes and a pretty face are tough to resist), so I came up with art that incorporates some of his lyrics. Now that the little lady is nearing the pre-teen stage, she's begun to think more about her image and how others perceive her. For that reason, I thought that this simple sentiment would be best displayed beside the full length mirror in her bedroom: "You're amazing just the way you are". I did shorten it a little, as you will see below.

Everyone could use this reminder daily, don't you think?

The canvas was originally painted a black and white graphic print (a couple of whirlwind painting sessions while listening to Bowie will do strange things). I decided to use whatever paint I thought suitable from my stash - some dark purple leftover from painting the front door, and some brushed nickel spray paint. I painted thick, uneven horizontal lines using these two colours and let it dry.

At some point last year, I had purchased some vinyl stick-on letters because the whole package was only $2 - see, I knew that they would come in handy. Since the adhesive on the backs of these letters is pretty lame, they're reusable! After the purple and silver paint on the canvas had dried, I just stuck the letters on and rolled some black acrylic paint over the whole thing. The letters peeled off very cleanly afterwards and I called it a day. Finito, Benito.

Ralph Lauren Nastiness

Ever wonder what the inside of a used paint can looks like after a few years of dormancy?

I patched and sanded some holes in the foyer over the weekend (after a 3M hook disaster) and needed this paint for touch-ups. It was part glob, part rusty soup, and oddly bubbly. Did I go ahead and use it anyway? You bet, I did! I dabbed my brush into that glob and a bit of that gross liquid, for good measure. Not exactly the same colour, but better than glaring white patches.

I love the old colour on the walls. It's "Cobblestone" from Ralph Lauren; a rich taupe with grey undertones. The past owners graciously left all their paint cans in the basement when they moved out. The past lady of the house clearly had great taste! Since Home Depot no longer seems to carry Ralph's paint collection, I suppose I'll have to colour match some Behr for future touch-ups.

Speaking of Gifts ...

I sure did receive a new mug that replaces my previous "favourite" spot in the cupboard. Kristen (who made an appearance in my first post and our topiary DIY project) was sweet enough to design her own herringbone mug in white and red and I absolutely love it. She used a small brush and paint and got to work making her angled lines on a neat white mug from President's Choice. Seriously, who can resist "the centre aisle" at Independent grocery stores? Not me. And, apparently, not Kristen. There are way too many kitchen/home gems to pass up, especially when they're on sale!

The best part about this mug gift is that the lines are imperfect - each stroke is slightly different and it just makes it that much more interesting! I can totally picture Kristen, hard at work, dabbing her paint brush to create the design. It's visually appealing and I love it. Love. It.

The first week after I received it, I swear I drank every single drink out of this mug. Behold its beauty and simplicity:

Hands off, it's mine! *curls up on the couch with delicious coffee*

Now That The Gifts Have Been Received ...

I can finally share with you some of the things I've made for others! As you may well know, there are loads of great and simple tutorials out there to make just about anything.

For Ma, I decided on a festive half apron. Choosing the coordinating fabrics was probably the hardest part, I promise. The full tutorial can be found at Jona G.'s right HERE. They've included printable .pdf instructions, too.

The terrific thing about this project is that you only need one fat quarter of one fabric and 1/2 yard of a coordinating fabric! I ended up grabbing some decorative ribbon to finish off the apron, but I really only chose to do that because it was a Christmas style. These can be whipped up in cute and simple prints and look just as great.

Here is my daughter, showing off Gramma's gift: