Basement Chronicles #56784

First the walls came down. 

Well actually it would be more accurate to say first it flooded and then everything got ripped out.  Which prompted the idea for a much larger renovation, therefore causing the walls to come down.  Just to be precise.

And then they went back up.  And then we had fun with electrical, plan changing, tiling, painting, fireplace installing, molding and my personal favorite, caulking.  Which brings us to a very important day in the life of our basement-functional with some furniture.

Don’t let the one randomly placed pillow fool you, we still have a long way to go.  Like scraping the paint off the windows. 

But a couple of movie nights have already been enjoyed down here.  And it was awesome.

And while some members of the household will beg to differ, my favorite thing in the space is not the TV, but the entertainment console.

It is metal and therefore very heavy.  At least that is what I am ascertaining by the grunting that occurred getting it down the stairs.  And it already looks beat up and old, so there will be no worries when Carter continues to beat it and make it look older.

It is technically a buffet, but it works perfectly under the TV and a quick hole drilled in the back made it an instant entertainment center.  We were a little worried about the height when we saw it it in the store, but I am so happy we took the leap.

Love it.

The sectional was also a great find as it was the exact dimensions we needed/wanted and liked how it does not feel oversized. Oh and it is comfy.

Since the walls of the workout room came tumbling down to  make way for bigger and better things, we built a workout closet.

Still missing the barn doors to cover it all up (hey we need a toilet in the bathroom first), but I love how it works in the basement.  Because it does not take up too much space and can be easily hidden.  And you can still work out while watching TV.

Far away TV, but TV nonetheless.  Jillian does not need to be up close and personal.

I could list all the things we still need to construct, do and decorate in the space (hello toilet), but for now we are just enjoying the “done-ness” of having a place to sit. 

And watching movies and drinking wine…with the hum of a baby monitor in the background.

Lawn Chair Quilt

My baby sister is getting married this summer so I wanted to whip up a quilt to help them celebrate for a shower gift.

I was eyeing a pattern that was beautiful but would require a whole lot of time as well as precision in the piecing.

Yeah I chose something else.

Otherwise it would be more likely to become quilt to be given to her at a future baby shower.

I used the Lawn Chair pattern from Moda Bake Shop and half of a A Stitch in Color jelly roll.

I love the fun colors and the way it looks like a woven lawn chair. And the fabric.

Swoon.

Oh and how easy it came together.  In a non-precise sort of way.

On the back I added my paper pieced LOVE to make it more wedding-ish.

 

Now it has a home on their couch.  And all that snuggling underneath since this spring been so…well it looks nice at least.

Spring Garden Clean Up

Our garden sucked last year.

My normal “red x’s on the calendar counting down until the last frost” self gave way to well…being busy and pregnant. 

That led to weeds.  A while lot of weeds and pretty much no vegetables.  Because that would require things like watering.  And actually going out to pick them when they are ripe.

I would go on kicks where I would try to get things back on track, but it was just too overwhelming.  And let’s be honest, no one wants to see a 8 month pregnant woman weeding in the middle of summer.

And that whole bending over thing proved to be problematic.

So this year is a do over, and with the gorgeous weather we decided like there was no time like the present.

Out came 11 bags of weeds, dead plants and miscellaneous crap that had been sitting there all winter.

Our raspberries got some fungal disease last year that in my expert plant google knowledge, was not treatable so they had to be dug up as well.  Which was sad, but they took up a lot of room so I am trying to look on the bright side of having a lot more space.

This year we are trying the popular square foot gardening method.  It sounds easy and I am especially loving the “no weeding” part.  Obviously.

In the book, he is adamant that you make grids.  I thought this was a little extreme and almost did not do it.  Or should I say almost did not ask Derek to do it.

But after he made the grids, I can see why it is important.  I already see how much more stuff I can squeeze in.  We have had great results in the past (other than last year) and I am hoping to add to that.

Now we have 72 squares all ready to grow some goodies.

Seeds  have arrived and will be planted this week.  Well at least the lettuce, radishes, potatoes and asparagus.  

The others will have to wait until we get a little closer to that last frost date. Since I am back to caring about that again.

So let’s hear all the awesomeness of square foot gardening.  Any other newbies like me? I am in my spring optimistic no weeds state of mind right now.

Office Mini-Makeover

The office was one the first rooms we put lipstick on when we moved in.  And since that has now been a couple of years ago and I was not happy with all my original “get in and get something on the walls and use furniture we have from the old house decisions”, it was time for some changes. 

So let’s start with the Before Before.

We painted (obviously), beefed up the crown molding and added an overhead light fixture.

The In-Between-

Not bad, but as we lived with it, not exactly what I wanted either.  So with some minor changes, here is the new After.

New art, new chair, new drapes, new light and new accessories.  And unfortunately a new printer. While it does not go with the design aesthetic it is very functional and I decided to keep it real and not move it for the picture. That and it would have involved moving a lot of cords.  Nap time is not that long around here.

I liked the vacation photos that we had printed in black and white before, but they looked puny where they were and we needed some variety.  So they moved to the wall behind the TV.

All of the frames were reused and we just updated some of the pictures. 

The bookshelves were streamlined by taking off all of the excess stuff and moving all the books forward.

I love looking at stacks of books…it is the one thing that I dislike about my kindle…no more books to stack and remind you to re-read. Oh well.

The top of the bookshelves holds our Italy maps and wine corks…

As well as a cute Halloween dragon and Made by Girl print…

I have already shared the drapes, but let’s look at them again shall we?

And while we are doing that, you can see the new lamp and lack of ceiling fan.

Most of all the accessories came from everyone’s favorite…Homegoods.  Including the lovely nail head trim chair and wood lacquer box.

I wish I could add a rug in here, but between the funky diagonal spacing and the placement of the vents, everything looks ridiculous.  I have tried.

I have toyed with changing the paint color as it is the only space in our house with a warm tone and a peacock blue might be amazing.  But I also worry it would be too dark with all the black furniture.  Maybe when the basement is complete and I am itching to paint again, I will think about it.

So what do you think of the cheap mini-makeover?

I Hate Sewing Drapes

Every time we talk about revamping a room I hunt for that perfect fabric for drapes.  I enjoy finding the perfect complement to the decor and knowing that whipping up some lined panels is not difficult.  Ahhhh…

Except that I hate making curtains.  I always seem to forget this small detail in the fun part of the search but as the months pass by and the massive amounts of yardage sit collecting dust in my craft room as I remember all the crappy ironing, pinning, measuring, wrestling with large amounts of fabric and plain boringness of sewing drapes.

Over I a year ago I washed our office drapes and they shrank.  Which made them look like we were going to have a flood anytime.  Not to mention sun shone through the loops at the top of them which made them look…well cheap.  And too small for the window.

This bothered me every morning as I walked down the stairs.  And it bothered me enough to find and buy fabric on my IKEA trip.  Over one year ago.

I could pretend that some bolt of inspiration made me get over my curtain making hating ways.  Or that I really was going to be the queen of finishing projects this year. 

Or maybe it was because I want to buy fabric for the basement drapes and I knew I could not justify that with both office and kitchen drape fabric still inhabiting my craft room.   I let you be the judge of which one sounds more like me.

Anyway no matter what the reason…they are D-O-N-E.

 

And I love them.

As you can see, they needed to be washable as our two furry friends are their constant companion.  This time I was smart and pre-washed both the drapery fabric and the lining so our shrinking problem will not repeat. 

We also moved the curtain rods to hang them higher and wider so that the windows would look larger.

But I did not just want to show you the new curtains, I also wanted to share my trick for faking pinch pleats.

I wanted some pleats but I also wanted to use my existing hardware.  So I sprayed the back of the top tab with starch to stiffen it up…

And then I pleated it and stuck the clip of the ring halfway down the top tab.

The starch keeps it stiff and non-floppy at the top and you can’t see where the clips are attached.  And you get pleats.  Super easy and can be redone in a snap for washing.

With the completion of the drapes the office mini-makeover is now complete which I can’t wait to share.  Since it has only been a year since it was started. 

Mark your calendars for this time next year when I am ready to unveil the basement drapes.  Because did you really think I was really going to be finisher this year?

L-O-V-E

Happy Valentine’s Day!  In honor of the holiday I thought I would try my hand at a little paper piecing.

OK I admit this was not just for Valentine’s day, but a part of another unfinished in progress project. I was surprised that paper piecing was not a difficult and tedious as I was expecting it to be.  And maybe even a little enjoyable.  So if you are scared of it like I was, do some googling for tutorials and give it a whirl. Now I can spell anything I want on a quilt or sewing project.

How about D-O-N-E?  Or F-I-N-I-S-H?

Nope, I think I like L-O-V-E better.

Burp Cloth Tutorial (Field-Tested)

When I found out I was pregnant, one of the first things I did was start buying fabric for burp clothes.  Easy and cute and I finally had an excuse to buy some kids fabric besides giving it away to other people. There are precisely 23894 tutorials on the blogosphere for how to make them and I did the whole sewing fabric on a diaper method (don’t worry, I go into greater detail in the actual tutorial).

They did look prettier before they were washed a million times.

I made over 20 like this and thought I was golden.  Because we were not going to have an urper anyway so they would just sit pretty in their box.

And then Carter made his arrival.  And he had reflux.

Which meant that burp clothes became a constant fashion accessory.  And that you did not get nice clothes on for work until you were literally walking out the door in case he erupted. 

You should be thanking me for not sharing a picture of him actually spitting up.  Because we have them.

Anyway with all the urping going on, the diaper burp clothes I made were showing their weaknesses.  Namely that they are too wide for shoulders and were constantly falling off. Leaving your shoulder in a vulnerable position.  Not to mention your back.

My friend Lauren made us some thinner ones which worked so much better (and matched his nursery too- bonus!).

So taking her thin design and adding some flannel for some extra “stickiness” I have now perfected the burp cloth.  At least think so.  Now if I just find the time make some more of them…

Ready for the How-To?

Materials:

Printed Cotton Fabric (approximately 9x18- a fat quarter works well)

Flannel Fabric (double the size of the printed fabric)

Scissors or Rotary Cutter

Sewing Machine

Iron

How To:

1. Cut your fabric larger than the size you are thinking of making your burp cloth and pre-wash it to get the shrinking thing out of the way.

2. Cut your now shrunk printed fabric in a 9 in x 18 in rectangle.  This size can be varied, I cut the three burp clothes I made at slightly different widths depending on how much fabric I had.  This is not an exact science.

3. Cut two flannel squares the exact same size you cut the printed fabric.

4. Line up your three squares right on top of each other with right sides together. (In the picture the three pieces are fanned out slightly so that you can see the order…when you sew make sure they are right on top of each other).

5. Sew around the 4 edges, and stop before you reach where you started, leaving a three inch opening to flip it out.  I used a quarter inch seam.

6. Cut your corners of the sewn fabrics.  Be careful not to cut the seam. Press open the seams.

7. Stick your hand in the opening and pull it right side out.  The second piece of flannel stays in the middle for extra urping absorbency.  Make sure to spend some time poking out the corners.

8. Press well so it lays flat.  Make sure to press the flaps where the opening is in so that it matches the rest of the seams.

9.  Edge stitch around the all 4 edges to finish it off and to complete the area with the opening.

10.  And you are done!  Super fast and easy.

One side is cute, the other side is sticky and the extra piece of flannel will help absorb the urping.  Not to mention it is skinny enough not to be sliding off your shoulder.

Tie it up with a bow and it also makes the perfect shower gift.

Happy Urping!