sewing sister

i don't feel creative. i haven't blogged in 4 months, haven't painted in a year, and frankly have been to busy with a 2 month old and a 2 year old :

to even think about the possibility of being creative. Lord willing i will eventually tap into that creativity but for now i am completely content being mommy. however, some of us are still carrying on with our talents like my sister anne (i blogged about her sock animals previously). she was given a sewing machine for Christmas and will spontaneously get an idea to sew something, run home sew it, and deliver something like this (below) and an hour (MAX!) later...



mollie's strawberry dress



yes, she made it. and she made this adorable piece of nursery art:

she also made this sweetie pie dress (her first of many i believe) and the precious gold shirt...perfect for 9 holes with daddy:

 

it makes me feel better to blog about someone being creative since i'm obviously not the one getting the juices lately. just happens to be my sister, best friend, and occasional babysitter. hopefully one day these sisters will share creative styles like we do:-)

feeling crafty?

hello blogging buddies,

it has been a while and i will tell you why.  this is not why: we have moved states, which entails things that you would never imagine once you get settled somewhere.  we have renovated a beautiful 1950's home.  i am 7 months pregnant.  yadda yadda.  this is why: as stated in my mission for starting this blog, sweet mollie is my inspiration.  she has become such an amazing and interesting person that it is difficult for me to focus on anything other than her. so in a nut shell: blogging and painting have been low on my list.

moving on...my talented sister has moved to town for the time being.  she has learned to sew.  score!  below are the cutest and softest nursery accessory she made out of fabric and buttons. also, an adorable puppy dog she gave mollie made from my brothers old socks (via none other than martha stewart's sewing book i gave her for christmas).  you will be very disappointed if you don't stay tuned for the post on the dress she made for mollie.  it is quite simply, amazing.  she only received the sewing machine for christmas, mind you, AND she is also now hemming my living room curtains.  side note: i took sewing classes for 3 weeks and gave up leaving with nothing, absolutely nothing. 

on another crafty, but not so creative note, included are also some shots of the hydrangea pressed flowers i made for our dining room.  friends have asked, so i am answering.  so easy...simply cut your favorite flower or leaf just before the end of it's life.  for ex. i cut these hydrangeas in august.  then, use newspaper and encyclopedias (or other heavy books) to press them.  be patient....i left mine pressing for a month! the key is after mounting them- i used PVA glue http://www.dickblick.com/products/polyvinyl-acetate-pva/ on the paper of your choice- i used somerset velvet http://www.dickblick.com/products/somerset-velvet-printmaking-paper/ -then you will need a little bit of acrylic paint to touch up the pressed plant giving it more "life."

baaahhh, mollie's favorite

if you look closely you can see i added some shades of teal and periwinkle paint to the flower

after!

photos of our house a few days before moving in...yay!  will update with furnishings soon and hopefully the back patio and porch too.



 



view from kitchen through archway to den




new butcher block island





new pantry door, icemaker




new built-in cabinets with old metal inlay



view of den vault and new fireplace



new heartpine doors to hallway



view from new opening to 2 bedrooms, cabinet doors added to existing shelving

mollie's room, just painted and stained floors

new master bath

doors to my walk-in closet:-)

my new favorite hideout!

new half bath off of playroom

resources

just thought i would share a list of my go-to websites during this wild ride.  i don't know what i would do without these resources and it helps to have this list for personal reasons right here on my blog:-)

a wonderful outlet for paint color dilemmas
http://www.peacockpaint.com/paint_colors/

such a cute girl with great ideas.  very casual style like mine.
http://www.nestegg.typepad.com/

love these lighting ideas for out screen porch, kitchen, and casual lighting inside http://www.barnlightelectric.com/
but for more modern lighting, i ordered from http://www.jonathanadler.com/ceiling-lights
and for reasonably priced elegant lighting i usedhttp://www.tarashaw.com/maison/index.php in NOLA

great site when i need to show a visual to my contractors!
http://www.decorpad.com/index.htm

for everything in our bath
http://www.ferguson.com/homeowner.shtml

for pretty tile
http://prosourcejackson.leads.com/Products/naturalstone/Pages/BrowseProducts.aspx

for solid surface counter tops...ask for remnants!
BJ's Ceramic Tile (couldn't locate a web address)

for hardware i love getting ideas from restoration hardware  and then matching them at lowes or ridgeland specialty hardware for better prices

cool outdoor gardening stuff http://www.shopterrain.com/

hmmm that's about all i can come up with for now.  will update when i start on interior decorating!

during



family room vault



master bath gutted

                                                                       
 


pantry door from old house depot




pantry goes in middle door and brick archway to the left



view from family room of brick archway

 

new opening to master

mollie lost two small closets for a bigger master bath...



raised casings to living, dining



made two bedroom closets more efficient

closed off lots of doorways in hall