Fall Needlefelting

Last night, I stayed up late making my first needle felted turkey. It sits beside a pumpkin Connor needle felted when my parents were in town.

Maybe that turkey and pumpkin will acquire a few friends before Thanksgiving passes.

Elaine

Strange Letters and Homemade Valentines

Our family agreed to exchange homemade valentines this year. Here's what we all came up with!

The first one I received arrived in my post box. I was almost afraid to open it, and I most certainly did not open it before Valentine's Day! The sender was sure I couldn't tell who sent it, because rather than addressing it to "mom", he addressed it to a misspelled version of my name. Tricky.

Helen decided to use nearly ever inch of my ever-so-precious hand dyed (with natural dyes!) red felt (it's my sign of true love to you, Helen). Red is an extremely difficult color to get, but it's hard to say "work with the cheap stuff - or the easier colors, kid". Because I didn't have enough felt for four heart pouches, she made two of them a dark pink.

She carefully sewed two hearts together, making pouches for all of us. Her stitching is getting to be pretty impressive!

I decided to practice the long-lost art of quilling for my cards. Long ago, my sister and I learned how to take a little metal tool and make thin strips of paper into random shapes. I have no idea why I decided to revive this art, except I'm hoping to interest Connor in it to give him a fun way to work on his fine motor skills.

Ed got in on the action with pop-up cards, which were a huge hit.

Connor wasn't about to get crafty, but he was willing to find just about any way he could to sneak in more of his favorite cinnamon candy - so he wrapped some candy up for everyone (including himself).

Proving that he's not always mean to Helen, he actually wrapped up a candy for her that she would enjoy eating.

Elaine

Craft Room

The previous owner of our home is an opera singer. When an addition was built onto the home, he needed a practice space, so he had a fairly small sound-proofed room sandwiched between the master bedroom and another small room. The practice room and small room were connected by a doorway.

As with most of our home when we purchased it, both rooms were loaded with shelves. One wall-filling set is in good condition, and is quite useful. The rest basically looked (and functioned) as if I'd given Connor a hammer and no ruler and told him to build something. Also in this room was an uncomfortable couch that had been built by the previous owner, which may have also functioned as an uncomfortable bed. Beneath it were falling apart drawers. The fabric on the couch could only be described as gross (though Helen and Connor insist that they need it).

Almost two years ago, our au pair at the time took a design class, and decided the craft room would be her project. For that effort, she removed many shelves from the walls, applied stick-on tiles to the floor in the practice room, and painted the walls pink and yellow. It was a huge improvement.

Still, the space was barely above awful. The two rooms did not function well together, and importantly, there was not adequate horizontal space for both Helen and Connor to be working on projects. If I wanted to paint with Helen, we had to go to the dining room, which is not my favorite thing to do. And, if someone left a project out, it was sure to be messed with by the other party.

Since the space serves as Connor and Helen's designated craft space, a lot of crap tends to land there and not move (yay for closing doors). Over time, this became a huge problem.

The space was such a disaster, that I have no "before" photos. I think I just couldn't bear to record it! This, however, is a half-way photo where all the shelves, except the one decent set, have been removed and my nieces are helping Connor and Helen paint the walls before the carpenter arrives.

I'm not sure what inspired it, but Ed and I decided it was time to fix this room once and for all. We had the wall removed (which was somewhat scary since it is load-bearing - the original back wall of the house), had a second window installed, had the super disgusting ceiling replaced (it was previously yellowed and cracking), had two overhead lights installed with real switches (where previously we had rigged up a power strip with a switch that Helen could reach), and then Ed built two desks from The Container Store, a recommendation from my friend, Ellen. We also had a closet installed so that this room can now be considered a bedroom for re-sale purposes, which seems a lot better than a random ill-defined space that it was prior to this renovation. For my part, I hauled out probably a full can of trash / abandoned art projects, and organized almost everything into small boxes that could sit easily on the shelves. I had the walls painted lime green which makes me smile every time I walk in the room.

I need to hang the print sitting by the (freshly painted) radiator and make curtains. But other than that, we're in business!

Key points of the remodel were:

• Defining separate workspace for both Connor and Helen, to avoid interrupted projects.
• Clearing out all the clutter and organizing the items that were left so that they are both accessible and usable - including my stuff!
• Providing each child with a plastic shoe-box for "in process" project tools. This will hopefully control clutter in the future.
• Having horizontal spaces that can be raised and lowered over time as Connor and Helen grow.
• Having horizontal spaces large enough for painting boards, and having vertical storage space for the painting boards.
• Installing desks that did not have to be screwed into the walls. The desks are stand-alone, which is important, because the plaster walls in this room were riddled with holes from all the previous shelves, so it took a substantial amount of effort to make them nice. I didn't want to immediately disturb that.
• The addition of a window means the space has much more natural light.
• Long-term planning. This room will be able to function as a homework space in the future. And, in the way beyond future, it will make a great nursery for whatever young couple buys my home from me in fifteen years.

Let the creative juices flow!

Elaine

Homemade Friday: Easy Canvas Prints!

Among the many hobbies I dabbled in before children, when I must have had an awful lot of time, was photography. I took a class at the Smithsonian, and then proudly toted my camera around with me on vacation. I can't say as I ever sealed the deal on a fantastic photograph, but I have plenty that qualify as more than decent.

As Ed and I have been knocking off projects (OK, I've been hiring contractors and Ed has been working his tail off), we're finally turning back to the office. This office has a fabulously blank wall. I was going to fill it with artwork from Helen and Connor (and oh my, is there plenty of that), but the frames I purchased don't work well with the hanging system I had Ed install.

So...plan B. I'm slowly going through vacation photographs, and I'm going to hang them up. I've decided to have them printed on canvas, so that I don't have to have them framed. And score! I got the opportunity to test out a canvas print from  Easy Canvas Prints. The prints are cheap enough that I can fill my wall without risk of sending us (further) into debt, and switch them out whenever the mood strikes. The print came super fast, it appears to be high quality - the colors are certainly true to the original photograph, and there are no obvious defects, and I am going to get several more.

I've started with this photograph of Connor, that I took on the beach in Cape May. He's flying a kite, and when Connor flies a kite, it is a much more active sport than when most people fly a kite. I hope he never loses this enthusiasm, and I'm hoping that the recent photography class I took will lead to better ways to capture it.

Elaine

Thank you, Easy Canvas Prints, for the sample 8x10! Consider me inspired.

Builder Wins: Screened Porch Complete!

It was a race to the end, but eventually, the builder pulled through and provided a completed screened in porch. To be fair, Ed has the plumbing working (both toilet AND sink!), and the shower rod is hung. He's been asking me, as the chief caulker in the household, to do some caulking. I'm busy shirking my duties.

But luckily, the builder has not been. We will be officially opening the patio on Sunday when I try to impress a friend of mine and cook a salt encrusted fish. I'm planning on busting it open table side. Stay tuned...

Before.



Step 1. Build frame, wrap it in screening fabric, and put Trex on.



Step 2. It's necessary to dig very deep holes, so the deck doesn't fall down, I suppose. Note: just because you can climb in, does not mean you can climb out.

Step 3. The porch...almost there. With no door, it works more like a bug catcher than a screened porch, but hope is high that the project will be completed.

Step 4. Build the patio. Helen and Connor supervised the building of the patio. These workers worked long days on Monday and Tuesday - possibly the hottest days of the year. It might be the best money we have ever spent in the home improvement arena. They rocked it.

Step 5. Voila! Ceiling fan and door added. Porch is finished!

Elaine

Ed versus the Builder

A few weeks ago, I started ripping cabinets off the wall of our gross bathroom. Then Ed got serious about demolition and removed the toilet, ripped out the old gross linoleum floor, only to discover another layer of plywood and another layer of even older, grosser, linoleum. I guess you can never have enough of those things.

Connor wasn't sure ripping the floor out was was a good idea.

Ed then spent several evenings watching YouTube videos about laying tile. That is completely annoying if you're me. I like them as much as Ed probably likes it when I watch YouTube videos on how to do the Kirtchener stitch. Regardless, I guess they're useful. Ed also went to the local tile store to talk about tiling with a guy there and take a class.

I decided that I was more management for this portion of the project, so the kids and I headed off to Claude Moore Colonial Farm. (Shhh...I bought lots of supplies for more natural dyeing!) We saw some cows, chickens, and pigs. Then we ate lunch and Ed joined us, but only for a couple of hours. He had work to do.

Next, Ed did this to the bathroom. I wondered when the part where the bathroom looks good was going to happen. Ed probably wondered when the part where he would get some help was going to happen. I already knew the answer to that last question.

 Next, Ed painted. Finally, he had a little help.

Then, he laid down the sub-floor. Isn't it obvious that he loves his work?

The floor seemed to be in good hands, so I took his staff to National Train Day.

We had a lot of fun.

Ed learned to use a wet saw. I'm not sure that was very fun, although Helen seemed happy enough to learn the trade when we came back home.

And then construction on our screened in porch started, and the race to finish began. Stay tuned and place your bets now.

Elaine

Taking Advantage of a 3-Day Weekend - And More Cupcakes!

As I sit reflecting on the events of the few days, it's not hard to realize why I'm exhausted.

Helen and I kicked off our weekend on Friday at Bittersweet Bakery in Alexandria, VA to check out some more cupcakes in the area. I had an expired coupon good for a dozen cupcakes, which I hadn't used on time because when I went to the store the last time (on the day the coupon expired) they were literally locking their doors 30 minutes early and had NO CUPCAKES. I tapped on the glass and the guy locking up told me they had nothing for me, but said if I came back anytime before January 15, they'd honor the coupon.

So...on January 14 (apparently procrastinating is my theme with this bakery), I presented my coupon only to have them tell me it was expired. Yes, I realized that. So they told me they'd give me six - which wasn't actually a deal since I had paid half-price for a dozen to get the coupon. So I told them, no, I want a dozen. And then I explained my story, and eventually the line was long enough that they gave me my cupcakes. Helen was excited to go to the bakery because we've been going to the coffee shop on Friday mornings during the time between when we drop Connor off at his class and when Helen's class begins. She adores the coffee shop, but was very excited to do "that thumbs up thumbs down thing again". (The method by which we rate cupcakes in this house. And let me assure you, though it's been since August that we played this game, there have been many, many cupcakes consumed since then.)

Saturday, I took the kids swimming while Ed primed and put much of a first coat of paint in our bedroom. No photos from this event, because I was the only adult and I'm not so irresponsible as to leave my kids to fend for themselves in a crowded pool when one of them cannot actually swim yet (though she thinks she can - which actually increases the danger factor a bit).

Sunday, we went ice skating. Nobody was excited about this except Connor. But, Ed had told him we'd go, so we went. And you know what? We had a blast. The ice skating rink at Pentagon Row was a ball. Connor and Helen cruised around with buckets in front of them, along with some assists from parents. My friend Laurie had recommended this place earlier. She was totally right. They had teeny-tiny skates for rent and the skates had double blades, making them A LOT easier for kids to control. I wouldn't have minded a pair for myself, actually, but instead I just borrowed a helmet and crossed my fingers.

I helped Helen, knowing my back would pay. She prefers to go fast!

By the end, Connor could actually skate just loosely holding one of my hands.

Even Helen could get around a bit on her own, though she kept getting stuck in the slightest of bumps on the ice.

Monday was our big ski day. We headed out to Ski Liberty to use up part of a gift certificate that Ed's parents gave us for Christmas. On the way, my back started hurting. I figured this was payback for Sunday, and didn't think much of it. I had no idea that in a couple of hours, I would be completely useless to Ed as he herded Connor and Helen both down the mountain - even using the chair lift or "swing" as Helen called it! I spent my time being completely incapacitated by some bizarre, yet relatively quick, illness. I'm blaming Dunkin' Donuts and some sort of cross contamination, but I have no proof of this. It was an ugly way to end the weekend, but now I appear nearly completely recovered, about 10 hours after the initial attack.

Off to bed to get ready for the work week. I'll be sleeping in a now beautiful bedroom, thanks to Ed and his sweet paint job. I was mostly moral support in the effort, painting a few edges where needed. I consider it warm-up for the bathroom redo!

Elaine

Finally - A Kitchen Table of Their Own

On the last day of Christmas, I managed to get Connor and Helen a table with four chairs for the kitchen. The kitchen is well-appointed, for sure, but it lacks a clear horizontal surface to serve all the meals Helen and Connor cook up. Sales are good right now, so I purchased this table which was half off, and then used a credit I received from CSN for a previous post to pay for about half of that price, so that I ended up paying less than $50 for the table. My friend Ellen had been looking for one of these for me on Criagslist or at her thrift store, but told me chances of scoring one in great condition where grim.

As soon as Ed got home, the kids started begging him to put the table together. Connor and I went to work on the table immediately (the simpler of the items) while Ed and Helen started tackling chairs. Ed scarcely had the first chair assembled and Helen had started making dinner for pink bear. She decided to make her cake, because wouldn't that make a really yummy dinner?

I love the table, as do Connor and Helen. The chairs are strong enough to support an adult, and because there are 4, I'm pretty sure I won't hear that many arguments between Connor and Helen. Thank you, CSN Stores!

Elaine

Disclosure: As mentioned in the post, I was given a $55 credit to spend however I liked. I chose to apply it towards a table. All opinions expressed in the post are my own, and anyone and everyone who knows me should come over and check it out if they're interested. It wasn't that difficult to put together and it's super sturdy.

Project People: Bathroom Redo Part 1

About two years ago, Ed and I made what was a monumental decision for us. We decided to move from our home - where both Helen and Connor were born - into another house. We were on the edge of a major renovation, when we decided we just could not live through all that construction. And I couldn't live with our tiny kitchen any longer and the layout of that house was just not working.

So we moved into a much larger house, with a huge kitchen. But it needed work to suit us. So immediately, we set about ripping out tons of shelves, and repainting. And then we turned out attention to the outside for the summer, and now we're readying our project list for the winter. And we're going for a biggie. One that will result in Ed and I having to use Connor and Helen's bathroom for some period.

I present to you...Ed's and my bathroom.

What will we be attempting to do?

1. Rip out those white shelves. Nobody needs this many shelves in a bathroom (though we did fill them up!), they're ugly, and someday they will fall apart. Someday soon, probably.

2. Rip out and replace all the bathroom furniture. This will include:

• replacing the disgusting medicine cabinet that is so rusty inside that I have never placed an object in it.
• replacing the very ugly and enormous cabinet above the toilet, that sometimes makes me think the wall will collapse beneath its weight.
• replacing the sink. I'm planning on getting one that is undermount, because I don't want to be tempted to "go toothpick" ever again in my life.
• replace the toilet, probably.
• replace the vanity - that is so gross underneath I only store bathroom cleaner and still in the package toilet paper.
• possibly replace the tub. Totally not sure on this one. It needs to be replaced, but this is already a huge job, and replacing that might open up a can of worms we're not ready for.

3. Rip out the ugly linoleum floor and put in tile. This part is particularly awesome because right after we bought our first home - in 2001 - we tiled our basement floor. We were total rookies, but we took a two hour class and figured we were pros. Naturally. We were not. And by the end of the project, Ed had moved the boxes tiles around the floor so much, prompting me to call him Sisyphus one too many times, and he absolutely refused to take the extra boxes of tiles back to the store, even though we could've gotten a chunk of change back. Instead, the tiles sat in our old basement, and then when we moved, we either left half of them or none of them, I can't remember. But now! Finally! We're going to use those tiles, though I'm sure Ed's back will start hurting just looking at the things.

4. Replace the light.

5. Replace the cheap plastic towel bars that have yellow paint on them because the last folks were apparently not inspired to remove them when they decided to turn the bathroom lemon yellow.

6. Repaint, and possibly tile the walls partway. Because we're totally pros at tiling, now that we've done one floor. Luckily, Helen honed her painting skills all last winter as we repainted much of our house.

It's not clear to me we can actually complete this project. So...anyone want to bet when the bathroom will be finished? Or, alternately, whether our marriage will outlast the bathroom redo?


I'm keeping our handyman's number on speed dial, just in case things start getting rough.

Elaine

Squeaky Door

Our ability to bust Connor committing nefarious acts upstairs in his room has been significantly weakened now that he connects the opening of the squeaky door at the base of the stairs with our appearance shortly thereafter at the top of the stairs.

Time to get some WD-40. Or just stand at the bottom of the stairs opening the door over and over until he becomes immune to the noise. Bets, anyone?

Elaine