Here's to craft room closets.

I love hearing about craft rooms.  I get so excited to see the work space of others.  There's something so personal that gets portrayed with the environment one chooses to surround themselves with.  

I'm still working on mine.

In the early days of this blog I posted about my workspace in my little home.  As you can see, my crafty room is actually just the corner of my bedroom, where lies a table full of crafting supplies.

Well good news!  I've upgraded!

No, not to a new room, but to a beautiful handmade shelf by my husband.  It's so much more added space, and motivates me to be more organized.  

I love the way this came about.  

A few weeks ago I was offered three huge tubs of old fabric from a nice lady who was moving away.  I live by scraps, so I said yes to it all, informing my husband that when we came back to our apartment I would be sorting through it all and of course getting rid of a lot that I couldn't use.  How could it all possibly fit into our small home?

Later that day, as he watched me dig through the tubs, squealing with delight at the treasures of material I was finding, I looked over to find him studying my craft corner with a pensive eye.  

"What's wrong?"  I asked, terrified of what I knew the answer must be.  I knew he was going to remind me that sadly, there was no way I could keep all that I was finding, but that I would just have to pick my favorites and donate the rest.  That's why his answer astounded me.

"Oh, I'm just wondering if there is a way I can build some shelves on your table there."

what?

"Why?" I asked.

"Oh, I figure we are going to need some more space..."  and his gaze lead on down to the piles of fabric surrounding me.

Oh true love!

Now before anyone points out that, "Becka, don't you have a 1 1/2 year old?  Look there at those shelves there.  Can you not see that the legs of your very heavy shelf are resting on the very edge of your table?"   Why yes, we realized this was a hazard and so we screwed some nice strong screws in from the bottom of the table into the legs of the shelf.  It is sturdy.  Very sturdy.

Now enough about this corner.   I wanted to share with you some other awesome little craft places I've come across!

This neat room was created from a walk in closet!  The post I am linking you to is actually just where this cute room was featured, it is not the blog of the actual owner.  Hers can be found here, but I couldn't find the post where she talks about her craft space because it is in a different language.

But here is the before:

And here is the after:

Amazing huh!  It's her own little office!  She even fit in a desk.  I love how it doesn't feel too cramped.  Talk about motivation to stay organized!

The second work space I wanted showcase was from Little Bit Funky.  Her craft room isn't necessarily where she does all her work, but it's 'her' craft space nonetheless.  

Before:

And after:

It's like a candy shop!  I love how she decorated her space.  

Neat.

The last I will show comes from Thrifty Decor Chick.  I am so impressed with what she did.

She took this:

And made this: 

Let's face it, for some women our home is where we go to work.  And sometimes, we need our own office.  I like to see what can be made from a normal home with average circumstances.  Really, not everyone can have a creative refuge like this.

-Becka

I be a farmer

My husband and I decided to grow a few plants on our balcony this year.  The above is the pepper that we will be getting to harvest!  We are delighted.  I haven't been much of a gardener in the past.  I've killed one to many avocado plants in my day.  But there is something about seeing something recognizable and edible grow. 

...even if it's just one little guy.  Peppers can be expensive.

(the orange stick is a pencil, it rained too hard last week and knocked them over, so he's holding them up)

We also have oregano and basil...

Okay, I confess, I have no idea which one is which above.  Any gardeners out there?  Help please?

All I know is that the dried basil in my kitchen is running out (too many homemade pizzas), but having planted oregano and basil, I lost track of which I planted where.  And those little guys on the bottom don't seem to be very fruitful anyway.

So really, if any of you have any tips, it would be much appreciated.  I'm guessing the big guy is the basil.  Am I just supposed to pull of the leaves?  How do I use it?

-Becka (who is really hoping there is someone out there who knows a little more about herbs than she does)

Boppy Cover redo

There are a lot of things I think a boy can share with his big sister.  But a boppy cover like this:

is not one of them.

Boppy covers are quite expensive, and I was not excited about the idea of forking out a bundle for some boyish pillowcases, so I decided to make my own.  A while back I found this tutorial on Grosgrain, that explains how to sew one from scratch.

I found the instructions easy to read, and the pictures were very helpful.

I was even able to sew in my very fist zipper!  

I used fabric I already had for both sides of the boppy, and the zipper is actually picked off of an old baby jammy I found at the thrift store (I had no plans to go to the sewing supply store any time soon, so I made due with a repurposed zipper).  

I think the only advice I would give is to allow extra room when tracing the boppy.  You don't want to sew it all up and find out it is too small.  Then if the cover is too big once you put it on, it is easy to sew it down a size.  You can do this by turning the cover inside out and sticking it on the boppy, then pin around the pillow so that it fits snuggly.  Take it off and sew around the pins.  I had to do this because I made the arms a little too long.  I will forwarn you though that if you use ricrac as a trim, sewing it down a size will be harder because you will have to pick out around the ricrac.

Or you could just get it right the first time like she does in the tutorial :)

~~~~

And as a side note, can I tell you how helpful it is to have a 1 1/2 year old around the house?  Cleaning up something like this:

just gets that much easier when they decide to 'help' by grabbing a wet wipe and pushing the goopy mess around themselves.  After all, that's just what you're doing right?

~~~~

Coming up is a great idea on how to alter a pink toddler's bed into something any little boy would be proud of!



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Firecracker Wreath - tutorial

Hey there!

In celebration of the coming month, I thought I'd make a firecracker wreath for my door.  I snapped a few photos along the way so I could make an easy tutorial for you.  I love how this wreath turned out, and I am excited about the technique because really you could use any fabrics, colors, or themes you wanted for different holidays.

I used the same grapevine wreath I purchased and used for my Curtsy to Spring wreath.  These can be found at most craft stores, and are super cheap.

First, cut out a bunch of little scraps.  I cut out a ton, above is just a sampling of the fabrics I chose.

To make the raggy part of the wreath, string all of the little scraps onto a long strong piece of thread.  Make sure to fold up the pieces like little fans so it creates the above scrunched effect.

Cute out some stars.  Two pieces of fabric for each star.

Sew along the edge.  I wanted a shaggy look, so I just sewed along the outside.  Then stuff them slightly before you sew them shut. 

Take a minute to arrange the string of scraps and the stars around the wreath.  Play with it for a bit until it looks how you want.  

Hot glue the pieces on.

And that's it!  Such an easy afternoon activity.  

I really am a poor holiday decorator.   Most of the time I just don't think about decorating for a coming holiday until it is past.  I am trying to start small, maybe one new piece to add to my collection each year.  

How do you guys keep up on it all?

Best chocolate cake ever.

Hey ya'll.

As requested, I am posting a link to what I consider the very best chocolate cake ever.

Sure, I'll use a box for some things.  Like cupcakes for a preschool party maybe, but if I ever want to really make a (chocolate) cake, this is the only one I will consider.

I think my favorite part is that you can taste the cocoa.  It has it's own flavor.  mmmmmm

It is called the Collector's Cocoa Cake, and can be found here, on Hershey's website.  It takes me forever to find every time I lose the recipe and have to google it again, so it will be nice to have a link to it on the blog.

I think the only part where I sway from the recipe is when I use cream cheese frosting instead of the recommended buttercream or peanut butter frostings (although the latter sounds mighty tasty).

Try it!  Even if you have absolutely no other excuse than that you are trying out a new recipe.

I made it recently for my husband's birthday.  I accidentally measured out the sugar with a '1/3' measuring cup instead of a '1/4' measuring cup, and only noticed when I had already added a few more ingredients.  Fortunately my husband is a math wiz and he was able to sit down and calculate the changes for the rest of the ingredient's measurements for his own cake.  We ended up with a lot more cake than we could handle, but still so good.

Now before you get the wrong idea and wonder why I could be so uncreative, basically copying the photo from the Hershey website (and poorly done at that.  I just can't figure out how you get the messy cake look...), I'd like to make a correction here.

I asked my husband what he wanted.  A dinosaur perhaps?  You know maybe a green or a blue one with big bright spots?  One with big feet?  A long neck?  

What's that?  Oh, you want one just like the one you had last year.

Oh.

Ok.

We really should have had some friends over, overindulging is just too easy when there is a whole cake (plus some) needing to be eaten.  Just sitting there.  On the counter.  With a fork resting on the plate.

Really, I think I've eaten three pieces today, and little else.

happy happy

Alicia at Beautiful Mess is collecting smiles and sharing them on the blog.

I love this idea and I would just like to review what makes me happy; 

what incites a smile...

Yes, nutella and a spoon.  Just a spoon.  And the nutella of course.

Eyelet lace.  Ever since I was little this has been one of my happinesses.  My baby blanket from my grandmother was surrounded in it.

Fresh peaches awaiting their jam-hood.

Grapefruit spoons.  Need I say more?

Dried pineapple and bananas.  Or basically anything my husband and I can get our hands on that can survive a dehydrator.

Radish sandwiches.  And avocado sandwiches.  With cheese.

Mmmmm!  Just the thought of it makes me smile!

Finding hair clips for my daughter like the ones I had when I was a kid.

I especially love the coral one.

Homemade bread.  In this case Amish friendship bread.  Ooooooooh am I glad I tried it.  Too bad it's so darn unhealthy.  And it sort of takes a lot of work to keep it going.

Melted swiss cheese and salt.  Umm, like with a fork.  This is one of those weird things you just have to try.  My mom got me hooked.  I actually really dislike swiss cheese, but this is just something you will have to test out for yourself.

Which makes me curious, my personal belief is that everyone has some type of quirky cravings that no one else would understand.  Do share!

And then I thought I'd share a few things that make me frown.

Like purchasing salt and vinegar chips, having never tasted them before, and learning that it isn't such a good combination...

Or finding that your beautiful mango smells like tuna fish when you peel into it...

ew.

and discovering a batch of newly hatched baby beetles underneath a leaf of your beloved pepper plant :(

Ok this one is kind of cool, seeing as I felt compelled to take a picture of the little tykes.  Just don't let them start crawling anywhere near my skin!

Good thing I have other things to focus on.  The above little girl for example.

What makes you happy?  What makes you smile?

By the way,  you guys are so nice.  All of your comments make me smile.  Just the fact that you like to share your thoughts and ideas with us makes me feel like this isn't such a one-sided conversation.

This post has been linked up!

Check out Chocolate on my Cranium ;)

Cupcake Playhouse Tips

My husband and I were recently discussing our single-bedroom housing situation (which we are perfectly happy with), and concluded that my daughter has a little lack of personal space.  She has no bedroom and her crib is smack dab in the middle of the apartment.  I had seen many pvc pipe playhouse ideas online, and decided this would be the perfect project to help remedy our issue.  Plus, pvc can be taken apart for when we decide we need a break from it in our living room.

Presenting.....

her new playhouse!

I went to the local thrift shop and purchased several sheets for less than $2.00 each.  I actually think the sheet I used for the roof was a fancy bed skirt, because it came with all the ruffles (lucky right?).  I tried to pick fun colored light sheets, so they let light into the house.  

The pipes can be bought at any hardware store.  The fittings, however, I recommend purchasing online.  They can be surprisingly expensive.

If you ever decide to take on a project like this, you will learn that the pvc fittings for making the above structure do not exist.  I found several tutorials online for card table houses, but I wanted one that my daughter could stand up in; I wanted it spacious inside.

This is what my husband and I came up with:

As you can see we would have had to find a pvc fitting that had incredilbe 45 degree angels, elbows, and Ts (I actually have no idea of all the correct terms here).  So to remedy this situation, we created the roof separate from the body of the house, and then drilled a whole through the two fittings that rested on each other, and then inserted a bolt.  This way the house is structurally sound, and yet can still be taken apart.

I added a curtain to the door to help support the whole 'privacy' idea.

Then sewed on ribbons to keep walls and curtains in place.

And here is where I cheated.  The door and windows were kind of tricky.  I basically had no idea how to make them when I started out.  I did know, however, that I wanted there to be door and window frames, so I sewed each piece of 'wood' together separately, and then used heat-n'-bond to iron them onto the pre-sewn windows.  Soooo much easier than trying to sew them all on.

Sorriest looking cupcakes ever... pom poms?  They're almost as sad as that cardboard oven...

Oooo look!  She found the chocolate chips I strategically placed so that I could get a picture!

This was such a fun project!  Although, I will not lie, this giant cupcake was tough to sew without a pattern.  But I know it will definitely be used, so the trouble was very worth it.

If you have any questions let me know!  I'm no expert, but I did a lot of research first, so I might have a few more tips if you get the hankering to try one of these for yourself!

-Becka

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