A few card ideas

New Territory

This is new territory for me. We went to visit the Mauerys in Pullman over Thanksgiving, and Susan wanted to talk quilts. Ideas for a twin-size quilt for Nathan. I tried to explain what I'd been thinking. I found pictures on the internet. 24 hours later, I find myself drawing on a giant swath of grid paper and surrounded by piles and piles of fabric...



The beginnings of Nathan's firefighter quilt!

Holy crap. I've never designed a quilt before. This is way out of my league. Thank goodness I'm not the one who's actually going to quilt the thing. That is for more talented fingers than mine to do.

This thing might actually turn out.

Have You Ever Made a Football Helmet? Yeah, I Didn't Think So.

In case you wondered, here's how you make a helmet for a three-year-old boy who decides on his costume a grand total of 5 days before he needs to wear it.

And did you know that they don't make helmets for three-year-olds? You couldn't buy one if you wanted to. Even used. Trust me, I looked.

First order of business, enlist Dad's help and put him in charge of the project. :)

Blow up balloon to approximately the size of your son's head in preparation for papier mache. Have hubby bend a wire coat hanger in the shape of a face mask.

Bake helmet in oven to speed drying process. Y'know, like you used to do with your balsa-wood bridge for physics class when you didn't start it till the night before it was due. Yeah, you did it, too. 'Fess up, now.

Add navy blue spray paint, wrap face mask in white felt, and try on for fit. Watch as my boy finds his inner offensive lineman.

Add racing stripes in the colors of his "jersey." (Did you know that a proper jersey -- even in kids' sizes -- costs $45??? Ridiculous!!)

Happy boy finds his calling as a rough, tough linebacker for a team yet to be named. Recruiters take note. He'll be class of 2023...

The Living Room

At the request and in the honor of the lovely and talented Brekke Sjoblom, I'm posting some pics of my living room. I've been working on properly decorating it for a while now. Vernon and I agreed on a small decorating budget for me at the end of last year, and I did what I could with it. I bought the console and coffee tables, as well as the display shelves, from Crate & Barrel and LOVE them all. I'm still debating which side table I should put at the arm of my couch under the window....


Here's a view of the room as you come in from my front door.


Looking into the dining room, you can see that we also splurged this Christmas and bought a new chandelier for the dining room. I love the shades!


Target is a girl's best home decor friend. This awesome sunburst clock was way cheap there, and the green and white vase was a Target find, too, from their new spring decor line. SO GREAT.

Last but not least, here's a closer picture of the wall display. I had to go with display shelves because I am SO fickle with my decor choices. Putting nails in the wall and having the same pictures committed to a space was just too much for me. So shelves are perfect! Vernon can attest to how often I rearrange what few things I have on there so far. :)

I am also rather proud of the fact that all but one thing on the shelves actually have personal significance. The artwork comes from our travels (the paintings and jade globe from China, the Rodin sculpture from Paris, the print of the streets of London) or was given to us by friends and family (the daisy photo, Mauery sign, and old-fashioned oil lamp).

Brekke, in case you haven't noticed yet, your handiwork is finally on my walls! I got your three black-and-white flower prints framed and have found homes for two the three. Your Christmas gift also fits perfectly in my little wall display. I am so lucky to have such a talented friend!

And just so we're clear, seeing pictures of my house on the blog does NOT substitute for a trip up to visit me. Mi casa, su casa!

It's Curtains for You, Kid

Over Christmas, Vernon got very bored. Very, very bored. Very, very, very bored. Get the picture? :) So he took a whack at the yards and yards of fabric I chose a few months ago to be curtains for Nicole's room and, voila! Now, one Christmas vacation later, my girl has awfully cute, very well-made curtains hanging over her window. Check 'em out and admire my talented husband's handiwork.

Bonne Anniversaire

Been busy on the stamps again! I actually got some new ones for Christmas -- the acrylic kind. Tryin' something new. Have you seen these yet? They come about 8 to a page or so, with a clear acrylic block that you stick the images on when you're ready to stamp them. Since they don't have those big wood backings, they are way easier to store and way cheaper to make, so it's pretty much a win-win. Plus, they're clear, so you can see what you're stamping before you actually stamp it! Anyway, enjoy these birthday cards and hope one comes to you!

Homemade Eclairs

First things first: James, eat your heart out!

I've been looking all over Beaverton for eclairs to rival Bill Leslie's from Leslie's Bakery in Salt Lake, but all to no avail. Beaverton Bakery has pretty good ones, but they're way expensive ($2 each!) and not as good as the ones I remember.

Imagine my happiness, then, when the Oregonian ran a whole two page spread with recipes for making your own eclairs! I made a batch for a Christmas party at the Harts' house last night, and they were great, if I do say so myself! They weren't difficult to make, though they were time consuming and made a terrific mess as I tried to pipe the filling into the pastry shells. Lots of finger-licking -- oh, darn!