A great PB knockoff

Almost a year ago, Sir Johnson and I went to IKEA to purchase this lovely thing:

We were desperate for more clothing storage and this one (plus its tallboy cousin) made it happen.  I loved the farmhouse style and the color (it's really not just straight up black like it appears in the picture) and the price was just right (we got it in the as-is for $250, it's normally $300), and it's solid wood.


Given all that, I was pretty happy when I cracked open my spring PB catalog and saw this:

 It was even the same color as the IKEA one in the catalog.  So, the happiness came when I realized I had inadvertently gotten myself an excellent knockoff for 1/5 (one fifth!) of the price.  Few things give me the happiness and satisfaction of an excellent bargain/deal/sale.

Another oldie but goodie

First, some good news- I  feel better sometimes!  I may, in the near future, do actual crafty things again.


The post title is referring to my St. Patrick's day from last year.  Maybe I posted about it then, but I don't remember.  And I'm so lazy I'm not going to check.

Anyway, I seriously love it.  It's so tacky.  I figure St. Patrick's day is a good holiday for gaudy kitschy awesomeness. 



Coming up: organizing the basement.  Oh man, it's such a mess.

Ta-Da!

So, my big project?



GESTATING!


This is only my second pregnancy, but looks like I'm not going to be much luckier with this one than I was with the first- I get hit HARD with morning sickness.

So that's why nothing much has been happening here.  I haven't been down to my sewing machine in the basement for about 2 months now.  I have done a few things with my brand new lovely Silhouette, but nothing too big.

Hello, new followers!  I was so surprised the other day when I saw that I had made some new friends.  I thought pretty much everybody would have abandoned me by now. 

So for Valentine's I did one of the most awesome/worst things ever for decorating.  My husband even commented on how much he liked it, and he never notices anything home decor related (which I'm totally cool with, by the way).

Yeah, I decorated with candy.  You can already see how it's not awesome- that hurricane on the far left had been full of peanut butter M&M's.  Like the day before.  And in this picture they're almost gone.  Nice.

I did stuff with my Silhouette, too.  My favorite was this:

Just vinyl and paper.  Heck yes.

And because the awesomeness of this picture makes me laugh and because I actually do have big project plans coming up in the spring, when I might actually feel better.

These are my Paint skillz.  We'll also be putting in a lawn (thank heavens, I can't wait to let my little bug play outside).  As you can see, I have big yard plans that I'll probably be posting pretty often about on here.  TONS of diy opportunities, that's for sure.  If you have any tips for balancing a big yard with a little house that's situated in one corner of that big yard, feel free to let me know.  Because really.

Also, please note the tree that I erased by using blue and white squiggly lines.  It's my husband's favorite part.


Well, until next time.  Maybe by then I'll have done something.  Maybe.

What's my deal?

This is my deal:  I've been working on a big project and haven't done much superfluous crafting.  And just barely I was going to take a picture of what I have done, but the camera battery is dead.  So, here's something I did last year that I still just love.

The original idea was here, I believe.


Anyway, I'll post about my big project sometime soon, once I've made a little more progress.  For now, thanks for still reading (you know, if anyone actually still is).

Oh, I almost forgot!  Some awesome crafting news for me- I won a Silhouette from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar!!  I love that blog and I'm loving the Silhouette, as well.  I'm still figuring some things out, but I have some ideas for it.  By "some," I mean a billion.

Itty bitty ruffle apron tutorial

 I made Mim a little apron to go with her kitchen.  And I took a bunch of pictures, so thought I might as well make a tutorial about it. 

I cut all my pieces first.  A top, a bottom, straps, waist band, and bottom ruffle.  All the gingham strips are 3.5" wide.  The top is about 11" by 9" (in the picture below it's folded in half).  The top of the bottom is twice the width of the top section (so, 18 inches) and then widens out about 3 inches on each side.  (The bottom is also folded in half in the picture below.)

 

First thing I did (because I just wanted to get it out of the way) was fold the waistband and shoulder straps in half (right sides together) and then turn them all. 

 After they're turned, I pressed them with the seam down the center in the back.

Then I did a rolled hem on bottom of the bottom ruffle strip (which was about twice the length of my bottom piece, around 48" or so).

 

Then I folded the top piece right sides together and sewed around the open edges, except for between the pins (about an inch and a half).

Then I turned and pressed it, making sure the raw edges were pressed under in the openings I left.

I inserted the shoulder straps into the openings, pinned, and then top stitched around the top and sides of the top piece.  I was at the top of my game.  (C'mon, that was solid!)

I didn't take pictures of the next bits- a rolled hem along the sides of the bottom piece and a gathering stitch around the top.

Then I was ready to attach the waistband piece (I think it was like 36" long or so- I wanted it really long so I could make a big bow in the back).  I pinned it across the top, then top stitched.

Then I attached the top and bottom.  I had to be a little weird about this because my machine is old and crazy and has a really hard time handling layers and ruffles all at once.  If you have a good machine, you could probably simplify my last couple of steps, but you work with what you have, right?

I don't have a picture of the back, but the top part overlaps the messy ruffle bit, but isn't sewed down over it.  The top is connected to the bottom because it's top stitched to the waistband. 

 

I don't have pictures of the last few bits- doing a gathering stitch on the top of the ruffle strip, gathering it, and then attaching it to the bottom (right sides together).  As for the shoulder straps, you could just tuck the ends under to finish them and then leave it and tie it onto your little one, but I went with d-rings.  I won't explain it without a picture.  I'm pretty sure it says how to use them on the package, anyway.  

And there it is!  She loves wearing it around, so I'm counting it as a success.