love, goldfish, and fashion design

43/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Muslin Making" 28 Feb 2013

Sewing a muslin of the "Lori" shorts. Can't wait until they are finished and available for you guys!

42/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Sleepy Head" 27 Feb 2013

Just picking on the little sleepy head.

41/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Pattern Love" 26 Feb 2013

Making a pattern for some adorable, high-waisted shorts. So excited about these shorts!

40/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Hand, Face" 26 Feb 2013

His idea for the picture. Little cutie thinks he's funny. Wow, my hands are pale!!! Vampire girl here. By the way, notice the super messy man-cave? My little piglet.

39/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Goldfishes" 25 Feb 2013

Mmm mmm good, one of my favorite snacks of all freakin' time, Flavor Blasted Cheddar Goldfish! Even my nails love them so much that they turned orange!
**AM

prairie chic with my Indy hat

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a huge fan of the Little House on the Prairie book series which helps explain my love for all prairie-esque garments. And the hat well, being Indi-Anna Jones is my life-long goal. Life threatening adventures, hunting for treasure, traveling to exotic places, and cool hats...who wouldn't want that?

By the way, anyone notice that I'm wearing my sweater again?

(Blouse, skirt, and belt - thrifted at Goodwill; Sweater- vintage Eddie Bauer thrifted at Goodwill; Hat- Christmas gift from Stein Mart; rings- years ago from Body Shop; and the shoes- Vintage Ariat bought on Ebay)

I think I'm going to wear these boots everyday...forever!!!

**AM

samurai, candlesticks, and the 1970s

38/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Sealing" 24 Feb 2013

Finally putting sealant on the samurai painting I painted for my Love. Details on this painting to come in a future post.

37/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Cute Little Shorts" 23 Feb 2013

Loving patterning some adorable 70s inspired shorts for Rehcy Vonne.

36/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Outfit Day" 22 Feb 2013

Details of an Awesome Outfit Day. Check out the entire outfit here.

35/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Second Layer" 20 Feb 2013

Another coat on the candlesticks. See my boots sneaking into the picture, a bit of a chilly day so I wore my warm and faithful Ugg-ish boots.

34/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Little Gold Mirror" 19 Feb 2013

Putting paper over a Victorian inspired mirror to protect it, and so I can paint the frame, you guessed it, white! This mirror was an amazing thrift find. I bought them the same day as the candlesticks below. Oh, the thrift goodies that day...mmm mmm good!

33/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Candlesticks" 18 Feb 2013

Putting primer on some candlesticks for my dining table. These used to be a super blah gold tone, so of course my obsession with white decor changed that. I'm so excited to get them on my beautiful, upcycled pallet table! I'll show you guys the before and after in a later post.

**AM

little bookcase redo

My little bookcase all redone in white. So cute!

Here is the before and after and redo process.

This is the bookcase before, dark brown faux woodgrain... ughh!

First I sanded the entire case, and then wiped off all the dust with a damp cleaning towel. The sandpaper I used was Sandblaster from Wal-Mart, and the sander used...

was my trusty little Black & Decker. I love this thing and use it in every furniture project.

Now time for primer, I used Zinnser 1-2-3 Primer for all surfaces.

First primer coat in process

Painting is the step I love most. The paint is Valspar Ultra Paint plus primer in Ultra White. The paint is a paint and primer, but Lowe's recommended putting an actual primer underneath, which is why I did used the Zinnser primer before painting.

Look at that first coat. The bottom is not painted here because I was waiting for my Love to get home so he could help me flip the case upside down to paint it. This shelf may look a bit dainty, but she's a heavy one! A second coat was needed, and after waiting 24 hours for a complete dry between coats, it was time to move her inside.

Next I had my own personal, professional shelf installer put the shelves back in for me. Such a cutie!

And there it is...now why does it seem so much simpler here than it was in reality. **AM

this is my sweater...i like my sweater

One magical day last winter, I discovered this gorgeous Eddie Bauer grandpa style sweater on one of my hunts through the Goodwill racks. It was love at first sight, and we have been inseparable ever since... well, at least in throughout the more chilly months. It just sits so perfectly draped over most any garment, almost like a serape. So cozy. Not to mention it promotes delusions of grayed, fabulous, eccentric, billionairess... Geoffrey, please be a dear,and get the door... :-D

**AM

(Sweater: thrifted Eddie Bauer, Dress: a gift, Necklace: many seasons ago from Bealls Outlet, Headband: Wal-Mart, and the boots: Minnetonka bought on Ebay)

little bookcase in white

I've had this bookcase in storage since college planning to paint it one day. Finally it happened! The case was a perfect fit for the corner of our living-room. What do you think? For the decor colors I've been going for a clean, semi-minimalist inspired, majoritively white look broken up with shades of brownish natural-tones and tiny bits of black. I love openness and light because they incite feelings of creative freedom. I keep telling my Love that it's our little Greek desert oasis. Which I know makes zero sense, but hey, you get the idea 

We originally planned to use it for our movie collection, but after placing it, I decided to use it for books instead. Now we just have to collect all of the classics in those lovely, antique inspired Leatherbound Classics from Barnes and Noble because no puny paperback will be found in our gorgeous bookcase!!  (Yes, I'm crazy, I know, and that's why my beautiful birthday, Jeffrey Campbell Litas are on the shelf.) 

I'm just sharing the bookcase's "after" pictures in this post, and I'll share the "before" pics and redo process in a later post.

I am so happy with how it turned out. Can't wait to get more of the Leatherbound Classics for it!

These Greek inspired, carved stone, vintage bookends were bought at Goodwill for just $5.00!!! I was so happy to find them. I love the color so much, and of course, I love horses... and Greek inspired things... so yea, a win, win, win!

My lil' antique chair thrifted on one of my trips with Peculiar Pigeon.

 I'm not usually a fan of faux flowers, but I love these. They were part of my high-school graduation bouquet. The pitcher vase was given to by my mother because she knows I love decorating with white. She also gave me the white basket on the shelf.

As I took the last few pics for this post, I made a late addition to the decor... this little arch was a gift from Peculiar Pigeon. It's one of my absolute favorite decor pieces.

Have a great Thursday! **AM

cupcakes, college grads, and love

32/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Sunday Blogging" 17 Feb 2013

Sundays are my blog day, so they are always filled with lots of picture editing. It's fun looking through all the pictures I've taken throughout the week. Makes me feel as if I've actually accomplished a few things. 

31/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "S'more Please" 16 Feb 2013

2013 Resolution progress, painting, designing, movie and s'more meeting with my very own Peculiar Pigeon. Do you have you have your own Peculiar Pigeon? If you do, know that they like s'mores.

30/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Valentine Love" 15 Feb 2013

Heading out on our Valentine's date a day late because my Love had to work on Saint Valentine's Day. It was an amazing day!

29/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Cupcake Valentine" 14 Feb 2013

Super delicious cupcakes with my Valentine date, Peculiar Pigeon, at A Cupcakery by the Sea.

28/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "College Grad" 11 Feb 2013

My baby bro receiving his Associate in Arts Degree! So proud of him! I love you, lil Bro!

Hope you enjoyed these little snippets of my life! **AM