Category Archives: Stuff to make

Eight-point star quilt

Posted in Home Design, Sewing, Stuff to make by

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.

Alphabetical Bookcase

Posted in Home Design, Recycled materials, Stuff to make by

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.

  

A Cat Bed for Wonderpaws

Posted in Home Design, Recycled materials, Stuff to make by

Welcome, Captain Wonderpaws! This is our 3-month-old kitten, and no, I didn’t name him. (That would be my comic-loving, crimefighting kids.)

But I did make him some new digs! My husband jigsawed a piece out of a wine crate, and I painted the inside orange and sewed a little cushion (with fab fabric from Jessica Jone’s Outside Oslo collection). Despite his superhero name, Wonderpaw’s a shy guy, so this photo was the best I could do.

A red zipper! And a side view of the crate.

Eve Ashcraft and the Right Color

Posted in Home Design by

Last year I went to the NY Book Expo, ostensibly to find out more about English Language text books, but in practice I scoured the floors for art and craft book flyers and freebies. I picked up a flyer for Eve Ashcraft’s book The Right Color thinking it might come in handy. Eve Ashcraft is a color consultant–which is a fantastic job title, plus her name sounds a little like a DIY superhero–for interior design. Her book is based on a selection of twenty-eight colors–the only ones you’ll ever need–for interior paint, anyway. You can see the colors on the wall of her studio, courtesy of Paulette Pascarella. As much as I love color, faced with a fan deck of  paint chips, I’m pretty pleased to have some help whittling it way down.

We are getting ready to have our beige walls painted–yay!–and I am thinking I might stick to Ms. Ashcraft’s palette. Wondering if I should paint the kitchen persimmon?

Amazing dollhouse

Posted in Stuff to make by

Meg, this post is for you. I thought you would love this chic dollhouse from mousehouse blogger Megan from New Zealand.

I love how she made miniature versions of the art from her real house for this mini version. I am so regretting giving away B’s dollhouse when we moved! I think I could get seriously obsessed, so in retrospect maybe just as well.