Halloween Past & Present

I've never been big on dressing up for Halloween but having a little one to put in costume is so much fun. Mr. 65th on the other hand loves dressing up and making costumes.

The first two years we got to decide what to dress her up as....

This is our little pea pod on her first Halloween.

The buzzing bee...

This is the year she wanted to be a mouse.

Then we had the year of Thomas the train...nothing but trains! Her creative Daddy made her the train costume and he was Sir Topham Hatt, director of the railway. All the boys were checking out her costume at the parade. One little boy dressed as Thomas insisted he have a picture with her, it was really cute.

She won a prize that year.

This year we have a black spider. I snapped a couple not so great pictures tonight; she was so excited because she got to try it on for the first time. Her Daddy sewed the legs into her spider web skirt and a friend did the spider applique. What are your costume plans? I would love to know!

Update 10/31/10

We had a great time trick or treating but the little spider's favorite part of the day was handing out the candy! 

We used a fluffy tutu under her spider web skirt to make the legs stand out a little more...much better.

Nature Inspired

This is the best time of year to be inspired by nature for our well being as well as design.

Our family loves to take walks in the woods and spend time playing outside; especially if our little nature girl can collect leaves, rocks, acorns and pinecones. Throw in a spider or two and she couldn't be happier, that will explain her dressing up as a spider for Halloween.

Here are some of the things she collected on one of our hikes....

The colors and textures are so beautiful and always inspire me when I bring color into my home. How does autumn inspire you?

Channeling Martha

First of all, thank you for all of your feedback about the chalkboard wall; it was fun reading everyone's comments. I've decided to go for it as soon as I get some time. Right now I'm in a nesting mood and want to deep clean and organize everything in site. The cold weather will be here soon and we will be inside a lot more. I think I better keep going so I don't loose my enthusiasm.

I found a couple good organizing ideas from Martha...

Martha Stewart

We have a very dysfunctional back hallway that we use on a daily basis. I dream of having a big mudroom with all the trimmings someday, for now I'm collecting ideas to make ours function better. I love this metal mailbox idea to hold keys and stuff from the day. The magazine holder makes a perfect coat hook.

BH&G

This is another great idea for our guests that use the front door. Rectangular baking sheets would be a perfect place for wet shoes. When you're done with them, wash them and put them away for next time. I will be doing this for sure.

Martha Stewart

Oh, and remember the leaf garland I made and hot glued onto the mantel? Well, a few of you were curious to see how it held up and if the hot glue came off ok. I used a plastic spatula to scrape the glue off and it worked perfectly. The leaves looked good for three days; I left mine up for about a week. If I was having Thanksgiving dinner at my house I would definitely make another one, it was so easy.

Is anyone else channeling Martha?

Chalkboard Paint, Love It Or Leave It

Chalkboard paint is a trend that some people are done with, but I still can't get enough. Once I start painting something with chalkboard paint I don't want to stop....so what if I got my fix by painting a whole wall? It's definitely nothing new; I've just never been brave enough to do it.

 Then I saw this kitchen in the recent Better Homes and Gardens magazine and started thinking about it again. It's so dramatic and useful at the same time.

Tyler Florence's kitchen

It's not an expensive experiment, just a bit time consuming.

One of my favorites from Cottage Living

Anthropologie

I like the idea of a pretty frame drawn right onto the wall.

Janell, from Isabella & Max Rooms had a great idea to hang artwork on her chalkboard wall. You can read her post about it here.

I'm loving this huge tray from Pottery barn, perfect if you don't like the whole wall idea. So what do you think of the trend, love it or leave it?

Double Dot Designs And An Interview

Hello and happy Friday! I have a wonderful etsy shop and new sponsor to share with you today called Double Dot Designs. The shop owner, Kristen, is a talented women who makes the most beautiful children's clothing.

Here are just a few examples of what she has to offer:



Take a look at her shop to see the rest of her amazing line.

On another note, I am thrilled to be featured at Pepper Design Blog today for the Friday Guest Blog Interview series. See you there!

Meet Big Red

Meet my new air compressor, Big Red. We were out doing a little painting with the paint sprayer yesterday and I thought I would introduce you. She's big and a bit intimidating but I like her.

I finished up the other part of the bedroom set I bought to spruce up and sell. I wish I could find furniture like this more often.

First we have this sweet scalloped bed...

Can you believe we have all these leaves on the ground already? They came from a tree that sits on the outside of our fence. It leans over our yard and looses its leaves faster than any tree around, it's almost bare!

Here is the matching dresser...

First I sanded them down with medium grit sandpaper, primed then sanded again with a fine sanding block.

Then a few light coats of paint sanding one more time between coats.

I think these pieces would be perfect in a little girl's room, don't do you think?

Sharing with Primitive & Proper Piece of work wednesday

Making Over A Garage Sale Chair

Making over my little seven dollar chair was easy, the hard part was deciding on the fabric, more on that later. Painting it green was an easy choice for me because I won't get tired of it any time soon.

This is how I found her...

My husband cut a seat out of 1/4 inch plywood with a jigsaw; he used paper to make a template first. Then I traced the foam and cut it to size. The foam I used was one inch thick wrapped with three layers of batting.

I primed and painted two coats of dill pickle using sample pots from Benjamin Moore. Then I sanded the edges with a sanding block. I was happy with the color at this point but wanted it to be a bit more dramatic...more fall like instead of spring.

So I used burnt umber acrylic paint mixed with a little water. I wiped it on with a damp rag and then wiped off any excess. If I didn't like the way part of it looked, I used a damp rag to remove my mistake and started over.

 My paint store had all their color samples on clearance for a dollar. The paint went a long way; I used less than two little pots for this project.

I wish I had a few more of these chairs...even the back is pretty.

(I still need to attach the seat)

I started out with a totally different fabric, but I couldn't stop thinking about the other one I found at a different store. I went back for it and decided to take it home, just to see. Well I loved it, so instead of ripping this one apart and starting over, I asked my sweet husband to cut a new piece of wood for me...He did.

 Now I can change it out whenever I get the urge.

Sharing with The Nester's Best-yard-sale-finds-ever

Primitive & Proper Piece of work Wednesday

                       

Through The Eyes Of A Four Year Old

Projects tend to take a while around here. Sometimes I just really need to think about something or live with it for a while before I can commit. That is how the dining room photo wall has been....lots of thinking. Well, we finished it up this weekend and Mr. 65th couldn't be happier, he is great with a tape measure and very patient with me...most of the time.

I was showing the little one the photographs on the wall today when we got to one taken on a trip to Paris.

My mom and I always talked about going together and in 2008 we did.

I told her Paris is a very old city.

M asked: Are some parts rusty?

Me: Yes...I guess some parts are rusty.

M: But sometimes scratches make it look cool right?

Yes, I think she is right about that, she is obviously used to seeing things with "character" around here.

I read somewhere about a mom who would jot down some of the funny and crazy things her kids say on scraps of paper and throw them in a jar to always remember. I've been doing this for a while now....I have some good ones! Oh, and I date mine too.

I will be back soon with some dining room pictures.