Thursday, March 11, 2010

cuckoo for cuckoos!


Thank you for your nice words about my gift for Andrea. I don't really have a how-to, step-by-step guide for making it. But I can tell you a little bit about how I made it...how's that?

First of all, I couldn't have made it at all without my friend Kim. I emailed the idea, a rough sketch, and a few specs. She made the wooden clock base and even outfitted the back with a box to house the clock mechanism. I wish I'd had her cut the molding too for the roof pitch because it was really, really hard for me to do.

I bought the clock insert from here.

First I thought I would paint it but it wasn't turning out as well as I'd hoped. Then I remembered the really, really beautiful vintage wallpaper Karla gave me. It was hard to part with it but I knew it would be perfect. I cut out extra flowers from the scraps and glued them in place. And then I covered it all with a few coats of polyurethane.

I cut the shutters out of an old book cover and then covered them with striped wallpaper.

And the bird? Isn't she sweet? I made her from Air Dry Clay...nothing fancy. Just the Crayola kind for kids. And I coated her with clear glass glitter. I made the little hat out of a little scrap of wallpaper too.

Oh, and Jen asked about the polka dot heart in the background. Isn't it wonderful? It's made by my friends The Chapmans.

Are you ready to make one too? Kim is thinking about adding the cuckoo-inspired clock kit to her etsy shop. If you want one, let her know.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Surprise!



To celebrate Andrea's wish come true, we threw an online surprise shower for her!

Hope and Gabrielle are meeting Andrea just this moment to surprise her with all the handmade gifts from bloggy friends. I can't wait to see all the wonderful things these ladies made. I'm sure there's so much love poured into each one. 

Here's what I made for the sweet little pink bundle of joy...
Cuckoo!
I'll give details about how I made it tomorrow. I hope she likes it.

In the meantime, let's tour the other blogs to see what they made for Blogland's newest princess. Shall we?

Monday, March 8, 2010

39 squares: first row

Today's square finishes the first row of my 39 Squares project. Boy are we having fun!

Check out all the stitchalongs posted in the sidebar of the 39 Squares blog (they are listed with the most recently updated blogs on top)  or go to the Flickr page here and see all the wonderful squares. This is turning out to be a really, really fun project.

Here's a slideshow of the Flickr group:



If you want to jump in, please do...the water's fine!

Friday, March 5, 2010

field trip: the cottage

Alfredo and I went on a bit of a field trip today to see our friends at the cottage in Leesburg. And just look at what I found there. A real vintage grocery cart.

What am I going to do with a real vintage grocery cart? I'm not sure. But here are some ideas: a laundry basket for Alfredo, a place to put toys or balls, a place to put the project du jour, or I could fill it with ribbons and use it in my craft room. I'm not sure yet. But I bet a certain little boy will think it's a toy for him and take it over.

Just in case you are itching for one too, they do have a couple more.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

brief encounter

My friend Lorraine was telling me a story the other day and mentioned one of her favorite films, Brief Encounter. When I told her I hadn't seen it she said I must. And I listen to everything my friend Lorraine tells me that I must do. I really do. And she's never wrong.

So, as luck would have it, guess what... Brief Encounter was just added as a View Instantly movie on Netflix. Isn't that wonderful? I wasn't able to watch it uninterrupted (I was a bit optimistic to think I could) but if you can, you should. Watch it uninterrupted while sipping tea. It will be a lovely sentimental British trip through time. As my friend Lorraine advised (a little too late for me) "You must watch it uninterrupted. No phone calls, no one calling your name, you have to let the momentum build. Any time you have to stop the movie will detract from the climax...."

Some naptime in the future, I will watch it again.  And pretend it's the first time.

Other really wonderful Lorraine suggestions: The Staircase and Mad Men. I'm knee-deep in Mad Men, getting caught up before Season 4 starts on my birthday!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

RevolveR Journal


I'm so excited about this new journal available at my OpenSky shop. It's really two journals in one...with a quick flip of the wrist and a little bit of magic, you go from one book to the next.

Here...look at this video to see it in action:






One side is ruled for notetaking:
The other is blank for doodling:

I used my Pink Persimmon stamp sets, "Cotton" white Staz-On ink, and a white pen to decorate my little blue/black book...

Click here to order your Revolver Journal and, for a limited time, save 20%! Use this coupon code: Revolver20

Show me how you decorate yours! Wouldn't it be fun to cover it with vintage wallpaper or fabric? Just be sure to keep the three sections separate...even the smallest overlap will stop the magic from happening.

inspiration boxes

I signed up for this...won't you?