House renovations on the large scale take time, money, and decision-making skills. But renovations in the miniature don’t really involve a lot of commitment on any level.
Zeke & I have been sprucing up the ole dollhouse–repainting, wallpapering (with scrapbook paper), and yes, we “caned” these chairs using thin ribbon and Original Tacky Glue (great stuff). Zeke says we’re going to do this every year but I think this may actually be the last (bittersweet) time.
I couldn’t throw out these coffee cans. They have the silver bullet look of a vintage Airstream–and you know how I feel about gleaming old campers.
So I attached ribbon handles to make art caddies. Which sounds sweet but was actually a little violent–I pierced holes (vertically) in the sides by pounding on the end of a iron file with a hammer. Noisy and satisfying.
Threading and knotting the ribbon was the trickiest part. I folded the ribbon to thread through a 1/2 inch slot and used a lot of ribbon length to make a knot inside the can, trimming the extra after I made the knot. They work great for our art supplies, but I could picture them filled with plastic spoons and forks or napkins for outdoor summer meals & parties.
This bucket hat was a snap to make–thanks to the excellent pattern from Liesl Gibson in her book Little Things to Sew. My daughter is on the cusp of being too old for all the patterns in this charming book, so I had to make something quick. I finished this hat in a morning, just in time to head out into the Florida sunshine.
Here is a peak at the interior fabric–Walk in the Woods from Moda.
This quilt was adapted from a pattern in Quilting for Peace. The author Katherine Bell kindly pointed out in her instructions that the stars are time consuming–ahem, yes they are, as in they will consume months of your time. But she also notes that the results are worth it, and I have to agree. I learn something new with every quilt. This time I learned all about the stretchiness of fabric cut on the bias. Fortunately, quilts are forgiving of–maybe even improved by–their idiosyncracies. After lots of experimenting with more interesting color combinations, I went with charcoal for the binding. I think it adds an elegant touch.
Embrace your inner librarian! Wear cat glasses and a lot of wool cardigans! Above all, alphabetize!
I painted this bookcase for a school library to (loosely) organize paperback picture books, but I think it would be fun to have in a kid’s room. I used precut cardboard stencils and leftover paint from other projects. The bookcase was leftover, too, and languishing in the basement. I set the bookcase on the ground for browsing, but I think the stencils would work well vertically, too.
homemadecity.com 