jane's apron

crocheted christmas

 

Um, yeah...it's my mantel again.  Dressed up for Christmas this time.  But it's the wreath I wanted to talk about...  

I wanted to try one of those cool yarn-wrapped wreaths. For me, the yarn had to be way thicker to bring the effort to a sane level.  I had an almost full skein of thick yarn and a ginormous crochet hook.  I chain stitched the whole thing and wrapped it around a foam wreath.  I LOVE this wreath...it's so simple and so cozy.  If you have the supplies around the house (and don't we all?), give it a try...right now...you'll be done before you know it.  

 

There are still a few weeks to go but I'm going to go out on a limb and proclaim my newly-thrifted crocheted blanket the score of the year.  It's the same pattern as the scarf I made and is in perfect condition...and the prettiest color.  And it fits so well in my granny chic living room with my thrifted pillows.   

 

 

pink trees

 

Vintage aprons have been pretty scarce at the thrift store but I did find a couple of holiday aprons at the one (and only) estate sale I went to this year.  This one is a new favorite...pink gingham, pink rick rack, pink cross stitched trees...with white pom pom stars.  

I re-did my apron shelf for the holidays.  A little red, green...and pink.  

 

  

christmas for kids

 

I always think of things I want to "do" for Christmas and that got me thinking.  What am I NOT going to do?  Most of them are pretty easy...I'm not going to any malls (except for a last-day-of-school trip to see Santa), I'm not putting up the tree until St. Nicholas Day, I'm 98% sure I'm not sending Christmas cards.  This got me thinking again.  Why does everything start with "I"?  Why am "I" in charge of Christmas?  And then it hit me...I'm going to put my kids in charge.  

I bought the coolest yellow/gold mini-lights at Lowe's and am letting the boys put them where they want in the yard. My daughter will like to put the ornaments on the Christmas tree.  I'm going to let the kids decide what cookies they want to make and what they'd like for dinner on Christmas Eve and/or Day.  This is a little hard for a controlling mom like me but I'm liking the idea already.   

Anything you're not doing for Christmas?

 

beautifully handmade halloween

 

I've read a few blog posts recently about how easy it is to bring fall and Halloween into your home...without buying anything.  I like it...shaking my head yes and saying "it is easy".   And even easier when you participate in a swap and receive some of the coolest handmade Halloween-ness ever.  

My swap partner for the Sweet & Sinister Swap was Elise from bird nests & paper.  Elise sent a beautiful mix of items (including a pretty apron) and I am excited to show two of my favorites.  The collage says "birds in the night"...proving that something can be scary and pretty at the same time...love that combo.  And the garland?  It has surpassed all others to become my new favorite.  Elise made the garland by stacking pretty papers (tissue, book pages, doilies, etc) and threading them with seam binding and other pretty bits.  It's awesome...it's handmade...it's got serious style.  Way, way better than anything you'll buy at the store and you can make it...with things that you already have in your crafty-girl stash. 

 

My best decorating tip (other than adding tea lights to milk glass containers) involves only two things; packing tape and ribbon.  I hang stuff from frames I already have. Thread the item on a ribbon and tape the ribbon to the back of the frame.  

 

 

my little peony

Someone told me that when a peony is transferred it takes five years for it to bloom.  I've never attempted to verify this fact but know that I transferred this one from our old house to our new house ten years ago and it took her quite a while to bloom.   But worth the wait.   I lifted a few heavy blooms into my vintage planter so we could see their pretty faces. 

Happy Mother's Day...hope it's a beautiful one.

busy

She was busy in that wholly-consumed way...and I snapped a picture.  

The pattern and fabric have been selected for her First Communion dress.  I've practiced sewing a simple dress.  I will take my time sewing it...none of my usual non-stop-get-it-done rushes...I hope.  I've got two weeks.

IKEA and the arrows

We did something a little wacky on Saturday.  We rented a U-Haul trailer,  drove to the IKEA store in Chicago, and came back home that night with seating for five.  

I've never been to IKEA and had no expectations.  We knew want we wanted and went there to buy it.  Looking back, it feels like some kind of crazy tour of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.  We went in and, somehow, found our way back out with four carts full of furniture and a Swedish candy bar...wondering "What the hell was that?"

Have you ever been to IKEA?  Did you follow the arrows? Did you, like any normal person, have to walk against the arrows?  Did you ask someone for help and did they, without turning to face you, say only "Follow the arrows"? Did you wonder why the store smelled like cinnamon buns?

I know we were there because the furniture (which I love) is sitting in our sunroom but it all seems like a dream...like I've got post-traumatic-IKEA-syndrome or something.  

halloween squares

I created this mosaic to give a quick look at how Halloween looks around my house.  I am really liking how the china cabinet in my living room can be dressed up for the holiday and can't wait to "stage" it for all of the holidays on the way.   

One of my best decorating tricks is to hang things from pretty ribbons...layered on top of framed pictures, mirrors, or big platters (an example of each is in the mosaic).  I'm sure there's a better way to do it, but I just use packaging tape to tape the ribbon to the back of the base (picture, mirror, or platter).   It's an easy up & back down decoration for us busy/thrifty girls. 

And the last picture is of my favorite decoration...our sweet black cat. 

We have teacher conferences this week and are off school on Halloween.  I have allowed my kids to extend way beyond my usual Halloween costume cut-off date and have a feeling we will be running around on Friday putting costumes together.   Just in case I don't make it back with a post before the end of the week...Happy Halloween everyone!

granny chic

First up on my everybody-is-back-in-school project list is putting the next layer on the living room. Everything stopped abruptly last spring and I'm embarrassed to admit that the ceiling is half painted (and my husband is quick to point this out when I call him "captain half-ass"). Anyway, the room is painted "coffee",  I've repurposed a dining room set from Craig's List, added two orange sofas, and purchased curtains...the colors are warm with touches of robin's egg blue.  

I found the big picture at the thrift store this summer (still has the $8.98 price on the glass).  I'm not sure if the picture is "granny chic" or just granny but I'm really liking it.  The picture is big (about 3 ft. wide) and the frame just needs a good cleaning...but I could be talked into painting it.  Anyone want to persuade me with some ideas?  And should I hang it or keep it sitting on the mantle?  

  

I also found this pillow at the thrift store...but I'm thinking the wii is killing the granny chic vibe. 

the office

 

I have a thing for vintage office supplies... clipboards, labels, tags, coin envelopes, office chairs.  When our boys moved into their own rooms last year, I tried for a long time to thrift school desks for them but never had any luck.  I broke down and bought them desks at Target...but held out for vintage office chairs (can't have too much new stuff in one room).   I found one for Ross that is the coolest, most comfortable chair....all wood, metal, and a vinyl seat in perfect condition...$5.05.   

I've also thrifted vintage globes for all of the kids.  The one in Ellen's room is my favorite because of the green plastic stand...love the color.