Hot Air Balloon Mobile

For my future son (due in two months!) I decided to make a hot air balloon mobile for his side of the nursery from the idea here.

I followed her tutorial for the most part but made a few variations of my own. I started with a template for the balloon. I did mine from card stock. Fold it in half and draw half the hot air balloon (like you'd do for Valentine hearts). No template here, just winging it. I drew it big and fat and basically cut it down 10 times using some Google images of real hot air balloons to get the shape right.

There are 6 sides to one balloon and I had enough paper to cut out 66 flat balloon shapes and piece them into 11 balloons.

I mixed and matched with patterned paper so each balloon looks different depending on which angle you are viewing it from. It'd be just as cute to do each balloon in the same pattern/color, I think. I even fancied the idea of making each balloon with only 4 sides because I was getting tired of cutting. I think that'd work, too. But the more dimensions the balloon has, the more visually interesting it is, and I'm glad I went the extra mile to make them all 6-sided. I glued them together with Elmer's glue.

I used an awl to stab a hole near the top.

STAB!

I was going to use blue yarn but the hole wasn't big enough. So I bought some basic twine-like string. Can't remember what it's called. I still had to force the hole bigger to get that through, but it all worked out. I tied a knot at the top of the balloon and tied it at the top of the embroidery hoop. Still working on what to do about all those fringy knot tops. But here's the mostly done mobile:

And future baby boy's view from the crib: 

I'll post it again when it's in place in the finished nursery. Stay tuned for some wall art inspired by hot air balloons, too. 


*Martha

Walmart Chairs

I have been scouring the web for chair ideas for a client and was surprised to come across some amazingly cool finds on .... wait for it ... Walmart.com! Sometimes that place just surprises me. The online selection is much more vast than the in-store selection, of course. I found myself wanting to snatch up a few for my own house ... although I don't need them and don't have anywhere to put them. A good, cheap, different chair is just so hard to find.

 *Martha

Dream House

Or should I say "dream townhouse." There's a cemetery a couple blocks from our place and recently someone finished building this incredibly gorgeous modern townhouse right across from it. The funny thing is, the rest of the houses on that street are GHETTO. Capital-G GHETTO. It's no neighborhood to be proud of. But every time my husband and I drive past this, we practically drool all over ourselves because we want to move here so bad! 

Well, bad news, folks. It sold a couple weeks ago. And somebody is in there just enjoying all the wide open floor plan and wood flooring and delicious modernism and ... the view out their front windows of an ancient cemetery (heheheh).


*Martha

Where to Find Curtains and Drapes

My cousin asked me for some advice on picking out and finding drapes...she asked, "I am looking for good window panels and keep striking out. Any suggestions of good web sites?" She then emailed me pictures of her BEAUTIFUL house along with 4 links to drapes she had been looking at for the space. 

So FIRST here is the room from all angles:

LOVE this Chair!

NOW here are the drapes she had picked out...and I will review how I think the do or do not work for the room.

Barcelona Drapes from JcPenney: could work but I think the burgundy color is too dark for the space.

Alessandra Floral Drapes from Pottery Barn: This is my #1 for this room. The colors and pattern complements the chair, pillows and accent wall beautifully.

Margaritte Embroidered Drape from Pottery Barn: This is a VERY beautiful drape BUT for this space I do NOT think it is the best choice, because there are already two similar patterns in the room with the chair and pillows. It is best to MIX patterns (get lots of different patterns), rather than many of the same pattern.

Simone Drape from Pottery Barn: Nice but for this space I like the idea of bringing in more red tones to the wall instead of green, since there is already a green accent wall.

Some ADDITIONAL option:

Peyton Drape from Pottery Barn: You can never go wrong with a simple solid. Even though it is a solid color it will balance the room by complementing the green accent wall.

Where to buy curtains and drapes?

I will admit that ALL of my drapes are from Ikea because they have great products for an AWESOME price. BUT they don't sell many things online and I don't think they sell any drapes online (which is such a bummer) so if you don't live close to and Ikea you need some more options.

Another place I like to look for inexpensive but good quality drapes is Overstock.com. They have a HUGE selection of great products, but the downside is it is sometimes like finding a needle in a hay stack ESPECIALLY if you don't know what you are looking for. So it is best to have something in mind before you start searching through Overstock.

If you want to head into a store World Market has some fun and fairly inexpensive drapes if you want a more global feeling to your space.

If you have a little bit MORE budget to work with theses are some fool proof places to look:

Pottery Barn

Crate & Barrel

If you want something kind of funky and unique try:

Urban Outfitters

Anthropologie

Note: There are TONS of other places to find great drapes and window coverings...this is just some ideas.

Or if you are feeling crafty try sewing your own drapes. FabricGuru.com is a GREAT source for discounted designer fabrics. Even if you just hem the edges of the fabric you can purchase some drapery hardware like the one bellow that clips onto the fabric.

PEACE!

Cyndi

Chevron Desk Re-Do

Ok so I finally FINISHED my desk re-do that I talked about HERE a few weeks ago. And I'm super excited about it. So I only used 4 items to give a $30 Walmart desk a new lease on life (honestly the desk is really is a piece of junk that we have had for 5 years and were ready to throw away).

 

 So HERE is the list of items you need:

• Primer (I started to prime but then realized my furniture was light enough in color that I didn't need to)
• Colored Spray Paint (or if you prefer a paint brush you can definitely go that route)
• Fabric (I found this AWESOME Chevron pattern fabric from FabricGuru.com)
• Mod-Podge
• Clear Spray Paint Sealer

 So here is what the desk looked like before...with my little midget being a dare devil and playing on it. (You can see he thinks he is pretty cool)

 So as you can see I started to prime but realized I didn't really need to on this particular piece. 

So when do you need to use primer? If it is a DARK piece of of furniture and trying to cover it with a lighter color (which I needed to do for a roll top desk I spray painted and it still bugs me when I look at it). Another reason to prime is because the primer is used to make the top paint stick better and have better coloring. You can also use the primer to save you a step, if you are like me and are too lazy to sand down the gloss finish just prime it and that will help.

 WOW don't I look lovely with my hair all disheveled in my husbands In N Out shirt?! AWESOME!

 So I just sprayed the base and left the top.

 Then I cut my fabric to the right size.

 Then it was time to BUST OUT the Mod-Podge!

 So I put the mod-podge on the desk first and started with just a few inches on the table so I could get the fabric lined up the way I wanted it and stuck it down.

 So I go the top all stuck down from the bottom...then I mod-podged over the top of the fabric.

 Make sure and make it even with your paint brush.

 This was the little shelf but wanted to show you that I did hospital corners on all of the corners.

Once you get the top mod-podged down you need to do all the sides and corners. Once the Mod-Podge had dried completely I spray a clear coat of a sealer and let it dry. DONE! 

It was a little bit of a process but in the long run it was a pretty easy project. I didn't totally time myself but I would say TOTAL it was maybe 3-4 hours of work time (of course there is time in between for drying).

And here is the FINAL PRODUCT I love it. it is a fun place for me to sit and write THIS BLOG POST! (while watching the Nate Berkus Show)

Happy CRAFTING!

Peace OUT!

Cyndi

PS As I'm about to post this I learned something new on Nate Berkus show...did you know they have "Reflective Spray Paint" that is like an INSTANT mirror? IT IS SO COOL!!!  I know what I'm buying next time I'm at Lowe's.

Estate Sale Finds

I went to my first estate sale on Saturday. It was sooooo fun. It was put on by my friend Jihan to sell her late grandparents' things and also some of her own before she moves to LA. Here's what I scored:

Random photos! ($2 each) A rendering of the Mona Lisa on a concrete side wall; the letter "H" as seen on a brick wall; a bicycle in some foreign country? Who knows! That's the best thing about "inheriting" somebody's random art - you get to make up your own story about it! 

Two of Jihan's old rings ($1 apiece). She was also selling tons of old clothes and shoes but I didn't have the time to try on nor would I have fit the size for most of it. But, shoot, it was all beautiful. Picking through her closet - you'd think you were in some high-end boutique. And all of it was going for practically nothing! Durned pregnant belly and large feet of mine!





This grey chair for $25. There is a mark on the seat, but you can't tell unless you study it. And someday if I get reupholster-happy, this would probably be a fairly easy project.

And it fits perfectly into my once-empty, awkward living room corner! I also bought it thinking it might be something to stick in a corner of the nursery if I have to move my chunky rocking glider out of there. We'll see.

Have you ever been to an estate sale? What did you think? Any grand purchases? I regretted not getting there sooner because right as I did, two people walked out with things I coveted: the perfect lamp for my nursery and the purse I've been dreaming of. More estate sales are definitely in my future!

*Martha

Churchmouse Yarns & Teas

On a recent excursion to Bainbridge Island, I made a quick stop in Churchmouse Yarns & Teas. Not really being into either yarn or tea, I just stopped in because it looked cute from the outside and I was curious to know about the inside. It was such a cozy, adorable little place, I wanted to stay longer but ran out of time.

From what I could gather in the few minutes I was there, it's a knitter's hang out ... and I'm sure they probably enjoy the tea while there, too. I love places like this - a welcoming little home away from home where you meet up with friends who share your interests.  I snagged these photos from around the web since I didn't have my camera.

Wall of tea canisters.

Classroom area.

This is such a pretty display - yarn out of its packaging and lined up nicely. Yarn can look so messy and yucky, it's nice to see some care taken here.

I really want to make it back to Bainbridge soon because I didn't have any time to peruse other shops and there were tons that interested me.

*Martha