Sewing Introduction

Erika, this is a sewing machine.

Sewing machine, this is Erika.

One of my New Years resolutions is to learn how to sew. My mom has been sewing since before I was born. There are many pictures of me and my older sister in homemade jumpers and dresses and of course Halloween costumes galore! Once my sister and I were older, my mom even took sewing to another level as her 9-5 day job as a custom window treatment sewer extraordinaire.

More recently my sister has taken up sewing (among many other things) which was the final straw that really sparked my interest in learning this skill. AND the icing on the cake is that my mother-in-law is a sewer. I am surrounded by sewers!

My mother, being a sewer extraordinaire, bought herself the Cadillac of sewing machines a few years ago. It's a scary piece of machinery to a non-sewer. But, the funny thing is that she saved her old sewing machine, circa 1970-something. It's older than me! And much to everyone's surprise, it still runs but needs some TLC. She offered to give me this sewing machine to practice on and learn the basics. She brought it to sewing machine "hospital" and I should have it soon. I am tickled to have this hand-me-down that was once used to sew my baby clothes among other things. Stay tuned, this should be comical.

DIY Chalkboard

I received this vintage shabby-chic frame from a dear family friend as a wedding shower gift. I have had several ideas in my head on what to do with it and finally decided. 

The beer bottle is not in this picture because I was drinking, but to give you the idea of how large this frame actually is. Confession: this beer was technically consumed by me at some point, as dirty cups, wrappers and empty bottles seem to accumulate in the "man cave" quite often.

Back to the project at hand. Lately I've been noticing cute chalkboards made out of picture frames. I love the look and thought - I could do that and I had the perfect frame!

The hubs and I don't have a saw (yet) so we had to call my dad to the rescue. He cut down a piece of scrap plywood to fit the frame - seen here. Thanks dad!

Then I spray painted the piece of plywood with chalkboard paint. It took several coats, and thinking back, I probably should have primed the wood first. Lesson learned.

Next step was securing the wood to the frame. That is where the hubs came in. Unfortunately no duck boots were required for this project, ha. He did a great job using these thing-a-majigs he got at the hardware store.

I had the perfect spot to hang our new chalkboard...in our kitchen. We needed something on the drab walls - which we plan on painting soon! Here is the finished product...

I love how it turned out!

Blonde Joke of the Day

Q: How can you tell if a blonde’s been using the computer?

A: There’s white-out on the screen.

Happy Friday!

A Punch of Color

I was tickled pink when my mother-in-law came over the other day toting 2 ADORABLE lime green polka-dot pillows. She made them to go on our guest bed.

Last year, the hubs and I did a drab-to-fab makeover of the guest bedroom by painting the walls gray. For the longest time I have wanted to add lime green (chartreuse) accents in the room which has taken me longer than anticipated...surprise, I know. I am very quick slow at making decisions. 

I just adore the new pillows!

They are the perfect bright pop of color needed. I got the darker green ruffle pillow from TJ Maxx (on clearance) and the checkered pillow was made by my mom. Next up...window treatments & blinds.

 

Happy First Blonde Blogversary!

It's official. One year ago today I published my first blog post! When I started this blog, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I still have no clue what I am doing and am purely an amateur blogger. My # of followers has grown to a whopping 4 people. Yahooo! I have 4 followers! (Totally sarcastic!). I am hoping to encourage more followers to jump on the blonde bandwagon in 2011. Or then again, that may be a sign that I should just put this blog to bed :). But for now, I look forward to sharing many more adventures in the 'burbs with you all in the coming year.
 
Ohhhh and a quick shout-out to the hubs. He has officially completed grad school and obtained his MBA. And you know what that means? More time to devote to home-improvement projects which include wearing his most fave duck boots of course! No really, I am so proud of him for this major accomplishment. 

Stay tuned for more projects coming soon!

The Quirky Frog - Happy Blogversary!

Happy blogversary to my sister's blog, The Quirky Frog! My sister is beyond talented in every way. She never ceases to amaze me, project after project! And I know where she gets it...my equally amazingly talented mom. Two of my biggest inspiration for one of my to-do's in 2011...learning how to sew.

I have been fortunate enough to be the recipient of several of my sisters creations. Here some of my faves....

Ahhhhh, the bed warmer. Oh where should I begin. This is quite possibly the one item that I use almost every day in the Winter season. It's filled with this type of corn that doesn't pop when heated in the micro for a few minutes and it holds the heat forever. I heat it up and throw it in the bed before I go get in it and it warms the covers and my toes! Best. Invention. Ever.

My very first pin cushion. And totes adorable!

Emmit has a one-of-a-kind, uber adorable dog bed. He got it for Christmas this year. And he loves it!

And this is the vintage inspired apron I received for Christmas this year. It couldn't be cuter and is so impeccably made. Check out the detail on the hem and pockets!

 

And don't forget to check out The Quirky Frog for more creative and inspiring projects!