I found it - the dinette I've been looking for - and my love for it is indelible.

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Ever since I did my snake coffee table I've been on the lookout for another piece of furniture to make over.

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I had been meaning to to replace my dining room chairs for some time. My filler chairs were in this heinous black and cherry farm style, and uncomfortable to boot. Though I kept an eye out for suitable ones while thrifting, I never found any that blew my skirt up as-is.

I've recently been obsessed with caning on furniture (think: the backs of old-timey wheel chairs, Louis XVI headboards, vacation home furniture) and found an orphan pair of cane-backed chairs at Goodwill. They aren't anything spectacular, but not everything has to be. They have a nice shape and are comfortable, and don't stick out like my old awful farmhouse ones. Besides, the price was right at $6.99.

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Today is the last day of my staycation. I spent a blissful week and a half making things, seeing friends, and sleeping in. I got to crack open beers before noon and play Mike Tyson's Punch-Out on my NES (which, in retrospect, was a preeety racist game - observe Piston Honda's dialogue screen).
Perhaps the most satisfying part of my time off was spending the first few days repainting, moving things around, and generally nesting.

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Scrimshaw Plate Set

Design*Sponge let me know Thomas Paul is debuting a new line of bedding in the fall, which reminds me of the intense love I have for everything Thomas Paul does.

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I use a sturdy wooden chair in my studio that stands up to tipping, leaning, and being knocked into, but it gets uncomfortable after a few hours. I made myself a nice little solution using remnants of previous sewing projects.

The Elements:

- Red grosgrain ribbon

- Printed cotton duck

- Leftover batting 

I started by laying the batting over the seat of the chair and roughly cutting around it. I cut it down further until it fit on top of the seat, and I cut out a second layer of batting to give it extra height.

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Just a few nice pics from Mother's day:

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When I first moved into my apartment I painted some of the walls more hastily than others because of waning time and interest.

An Example: After having some success with the birch wall stencil in my breakfast nook, I decided to also use it on the wall my couch is on. The couch wall is considerably larger than the nook wall and I lost interest 1/3 of the way in.

Successful nook:

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I fixate on things. It's standard for me to cram a particular phrase into every conversation I have for weeks, or spend countless hours googling something like bokeh or cabinet cards or Tom Waits. Sometimes this tendency culminates in unbound creativity and wit. Sometimes it results in me not having any clean work clothes and annoying the bejesus out of my friends. Lately I have been obsessing over cakes. 

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Half of the fun of gift-giving is the wrapping. A good wrap job can make the giftee feel like they are the only giftee in your world ;) 

Last year my sister-in-law, Abby, made her own wrapping from brown shipping paper and stamps. It was adorable. I have a hoard of paper craft stuff I feel not great about having hoarded, so I decided to put some of it to use making my own wrapping.

I started out with some brown shipping paper, stamps, and permanent black stamping ink.

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I finally finished the snake table! It only took me a sixer of Kirin Light, the entire Firefly series, and a Sunday afternoon. 
Here it is, all scratched in. I am pretty proud of how the head came out: 

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You may remember the pillows I mentioned I made a few weeks ago. I made those shortly after purchasing a portable sewing machine at (where else, but) Goodwill. After a friend's Grandma showed me where the thread goes, I spent a few hours fiddling with tensions and bobbins and eventually got straight lines down. Of course, figuring out how to sew a straight line though cotton left me self-impressed enough to believe I was ready to move on to clothing, or accessories, or maybe a landscape quilt.

How long could it take? A few hours? I can sew lines! What else do I need?? 

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I work with quite a few potluck enthusiasts. I get bashful, though, whenever we have these sorts of celebrations because my cooking skills are...unimpressive. After a few half-hearted attempts the only thing I've learned is this single nugget of wisdom: Choose your battles. I figure what I lack in accurate measurements and cooking times, I make up for in presentation.

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Today is lazy. 
Here are a few things to look at whenever you wake up:

Wall sconce. 

I made those pillows. 

Best. Chandelier. Ever.

This is a chandelier in the shape of a ship. I am certain that this is the best chandelier known to man. A while ago I went bananas collecting chandelier crystals to use in necklaces and I have ziploc bags full of extras. I am considering trying to make a version of this myself. 

I figure I would need the following:

- chandelier crystals (check)

- 12 gauge galvanized steel wire (check)

- some sort of electrical tubing

- Rubber mallet for shaping tubing (check)

- soldering gun

- candelabra bulbs (check)

- hanging light kit

I am not usually a proponent of directly copying something like this, but I'd make an exception here because a) I am not intending to make several copies to sell for profit, b) this lamp was mass-produced, so by making this I am not refusing my support to an artist who needs it, and c) I am not about to drop $600 on a chandelier, however awesome it may be.

Stay tuned. I am pretty jazzed about this idea.

Your Sister in Craft,

LB

I make things; I always have.  I take pride in figuring out how things are made and I like to look at things other people have made. Making is a pretty simple concept and it covers a lot of ground, but one quality nearly everything that is made (made by an individual, anyway) shares is honesty. Nobody is forcing you learn how to quilt or refurbish your dresser and, if you fail, you're not under any obligation to broadcast it to the wider public. People make things because they want to and it makes them happy to try.

The thing about DIY is that you don't have to be original, or skillful, or hip, or even fully know what you're doing; You just have to be honest. I hope this blog turns out to be an all-kids bin of interesting concepts and honest tries, by myself and other makers. 

This will (hopefully) be the only time I pontificate on the varied qualities of DIY. Introductions are hard and usually lean toward sanctimony, but I hope you can forgive me a little inaugural sermon and come back, soon.

Your Sister in Craft,

LB