new blog header

it was certainly time for a new header. i had fun making this one. i hope you like it.

please judge this book by its cover

i've seen these lovelies a few places around the interwebs. i feel compelled to share a new skin for my favorite novel...the great gatsby. yes, favorite. ever!


the classic cover is well, classic, but the new cover redesigned by coralie-bickford smith is so elegant. beautifully updated, very true to the art deco period. i think my second favorite is the cover for this side of paradise, which is i think my second-favorite fitzgerald novel. i like chevrons.

she's done some fun covers for other classics, too. check out her work.

junk bonanza

this one is for you, erin!

on thursday, maggie and i ventured into the junk bonanza at canterbury park. it was a good time. i'm not sure either of use quite knew what to expect, but we each walked away with a few treasures.

we saw gaggles of springs, keys, knobs, and antlers, and assorted letters and numbers rescued from various sources.

 

maggie attempted to spell her last name but we couldn't find an s! of course there was jewelry and other knicknacks for the home. i almost bought the teal strand of beads, but maggie promptly reminded me i already own one almost exactly like it. so helpful!

i was tempted by these canisters. but they were plastic and almost $40. too rich for my blood.

maggie liked this ottoman. so lovely.

and this "flower" was made from an old softball!

maggie and i both loved these art pieces with the names of places around the twin cities.

but i think our favorites were these vintage british route signs. they were used as wall art, on pillows, and as fabric for upholstery. so cool. you can check them out here.

maggie bought some gifts (a clock and an old video camera) and i bought some schoolhouse flashcards to frame (abcs, vocab words, etc.). i'll post pics of them someday, when i get around to framing them, but don't hold you breath. :)

all in all, a good day!

fabric source and thomas paul

thanks everyone for the encouragement about the headboard! again, let me just reiterate that i pretty much just copied instructions, with some problem solving involved (differences in fabric widths, adapting to use wood we already had, finding cheap foam, etc. all these things were like tests for my brain.). but again, it wasn't my idea (although someday maybe i'll start posting my own instructions. goals!). 

a few people asked me where i bought the fabric. well, let me tell ya! i've had great luck with calico corners. (added bonus: their fabric is 15% off until the 25th.) i love that you can shop by color. it's where i got the fabric for this roman shade i made for our bathroom:

i'm totally predictable when it comes to patterns. i like patterns that have two colors only. one of those colors is usually white.

here's the fabric we ordered for the headboard project. it's called stockholm in cherry, and was 20% off when i bought it. it comes in other colors, too. the pattern repeat is so large—i feel like it was made for this project. calico didn't have this color in the store, but i ordered it anyway because it is returnable. when it came, i was a little disappointed with the background color—it is a little yellowy for my taste—but ben liked it. he likes red. plus, i'm way too picky about white. it's time to branch out (well, at least to off-white, wink wink). now, in hindsight, i think it is just great.

these others were in the running, but were vetoed (by both me and ben) in favor of the red. the colors for the bedroom are red, aqua, gray, and white—we already have a few aqua textiles and accessories, so they can stay.

i noticed a theme. all these fabrics are by thomas paul through duralee. when i was browsing duralee's site, i really liked this fabric, but hadn't seen it at calico:

when i was buying batting at mill end, what do you know—i found 2.5 yards of it in the remnant pile for like $3.75 a yard. i saw it online for about $50 a yard, too, so i was pretty excited. can't wait to use it! beki said it tells a story . . .

headboard project: the final product!

here it is. i'm really pleased with the way it turned out. when ben saw it in place, he said, "it feels like we have a real room." true true.

okay, so after i wrapped and stapled the batting (thursday) all that was left to do was wrap the fabric. i tackled that on saturday, and believe me, it was the step i labored over the most. the pattern is such a large scale that i wanted to make sure that it was at least somewhat centered.

i ordered extra fabric so i'd have room to slide it to the side to find the best spot. once i did, i just cut it out with a few inches to spare and wrapped and stapled. by the end, i had a pretty nasty blister on my thumb from the staple gun, but what's a project without a few battle scars?

the corners right below the center curve were really difficult, but the rest was pretty simple. the pattern is so fun and cheerful. we're happy.

next up: night tables.

headboard project: day two

great news: the headboard is finished, and in less than a week! well, actually, we haven't attached it to the wall yet, but i'm still counting it as done. i'm so pleased with the results!

after the wood parts were finished, i added the foam layer by cutting it with a serrated kitchen knife and gluing it down with 3M spray adhesive. i found this egg crate foam for a good price at target.

[i actually ended up flipping the foam to egg-side-out.] then, i used extra-thick upholstery batting to wrap up the whole thing. the last step was fabric.

final shots coming soon!

headboard project: day one

happy tuesday! sure feels like a monday, doesn't it? hope your holiday weekend was lovely.

i spent labor day laboring in the garage. why, you ask? because it's high time ben and i have a grown-up bedroom!

i'm making a headboard for us. we have a select comfort mattress (which we love!) with just a plain frame that is covered by a bed skirt. when we lived in the condo, this was our headboard.

it was a good option for the time, as we were in transition. but now, it's time for something a little more . . . permanent. like, a real headboard!

enter design*sponge. i've gushed about the site before, and even tackled a previous woodworking project with the help of their tutorials. time for round two: grace's headboard. 

look at that thing! love at first sight. i've already ordered my fabric, so i set off to make us a real headboard.

i mashed up the d*s instructions with these from better homes and gardens. you gotta make it work for you, ya know? so first, i downloaded the template from d*s and took it to kinko's. they enlarged it for me—i added a few inches to the width to adapt it for a queen bed, and i didn't have them include the legs, because i could make those myself. i set up sawhorses in the garage, grabbed a leftover piece of plywood, my point and shoot, and a few other supplies and got to work.

once i had it cut out and pieced together, i taped it to the wall the see how it would look. this is one big headboard!

then i used the jigsaw (lent to me by bert!) to cut out the shape. i never really thought i would use my seventh-grade industrial tech skills, but let me tell you, relief cuts made it a breeze (and saved the blade). i think i probably could have used thicker plywood for extra sturdiness, but i wanted to use what we had.

 
i sanded down the rough edges. we had some leftover 1x3s, so i cut those down to size (makita! woohoo!) and used four pieces to make two sturdy legs. voila!

today, i grabbed some batting from mill end at lunch and bought an egg crate foam mattress pad from target after work. i just need some spray adhesive and i should be good to go. so excited! hope it turns out.

[p.s. i'm posting this unfinished project now because i want to finish this headboard this weekend. so if i don't post pictures of the finished headboard within a week, get on my case, okay?]

weekend update

i love that you guys speak up when i haven't posted in a while. thank you, readers, for following my blog. i always like to hear your feedback.

as my sister commented, no—i haven't posted many shots of the master. the past few weeks have found me in a bit of a slump on the house work. but i've had some great coffee/breakfast dates, gone to the state fair with friends, attended an family reunion/cabin day, and spent some time with little hannah joy. i can't resist sharing some of my favorite shots.

all of the sweet time with family and friends makes me teary eyed as i reflect upon God's immense grace in my life.

as far as the house goes, i felt a fresh burst of energy yesterday—in part because of encouragement from maggie to make a list and do things one at a time. we can do this!

here are some fabrics i ordered for the bedroom. the red fabric is for a headboard, which i need to work on tomorrow. the gray fabric is either for a roman shade or some pillow—or both, if i have enough.

we're off to a wedding tonight. enjoy the holiday weekend!