back to your crafts already in progress...

posting again...finally!

anyway... now that I'm back to having the time for these things, I thought I should first try to tackle some unfinished projects that had been languishing in the craft cupboard.  First up was a project that I didn't even know I was working on!  I had at some point bought several skeins of super-bulky white yarn (must have been on sale) and I had started crocheting it but with no real sense of purpose and shoved it in a bag and forgot about it.  Then the other day I remembered seeing these knitted poufs by Christien Meindertsma all over every design blog:

So I grabbed the biggest crochet hook I could find (I believe it's a size Q)... and doubled the yarn to get the desired bulkiness:

crocheted through an episode of Bones, and I had the first half of the cushion.  Took a break, and Stoli promptly claimed it as his new napping spot.

another episode of Bones and the crochet part was done, and then a Law & Order to whip up a pillow (filled with shredded foam) to go inside it, and voila:

not as fancy-pants as the original, but still pretty cool.  If I'd had more yarn, I would have made it taller, but this used up every inch I had to work with.  I'd also like to try knitting one, and using some really thick cotton rope instead of yarn to make it more durable.  But there's one fan who completely approves of this version...

cooking up some new curtains

It's been a while since the last time I made new curtains for the kitchen, and the old ones were getting pretty faded.  It took a trip to the garment district in downtown LA, but I finally found some fabric that inspired me enough to sew something so boring (rectangles are really not that challenging).

the photo doesn't really do the colors justice, they are so retro and cute.  The print is utensils!  So rad.

and seriously, how cute is ric-rac?  Yellow ric-rac is like crafting's answer to Prozac.

2 weeks off, too many projects

So I'm currently between film gigs, which means 2 whole weeks to do whatever I please.  I decided this time I would NOT waste my hiatus watching Law & Order re-runs.  So I made a very ambitious list of projects around the house that I had been "meaning to get around to".  First on the list, buying a gosh darn dresser for my bedroom!

So that's done.  Picked up this Danish mod beaut at the Long Beach flea on sunday.  I knew no matter what I ultimately do with the decor in my bedroom, this is a classic and I'll always like it.

Next up was recovering the ottoman in the living room.  It's a funky turquoise vinyl that I've always planned on recovering but never found the right fabric.  I finally just bought something, knowing I can always do it over if I find something better!  Here were the steps:

 remove the legs, by prying loose the super rusty 50 yr old screws

 pry up the funky "woodgrain" cardboard

 cut the piping off with a matte knife.  not doing this would have meant a funky top edge once it was recovered, and I wasn't about to remove the nasty old vinyl, uncovering god knows what...

make piping.  I have mentioned before how much I dislike making piping.  At least this time there wasn't much to make.

 sew the top, piping and sides together.  this was easy for me, as I have upholstered many many cushions.  so I'm not going to explain the process, unless you really want to know in which case just ask.

 I had some cotton quilt batting lying around, so I stapled a layer of that over the cushion, thinking it would be nicer if the fabric wasn't sliding around on top of the vinyl underneath.

 stapled the cover in place, making sure to get a nice evenly tight fit.

 reattached the legs and woodgrain stuff and placed in the living room.  waited for the inevitable moment when a cat would decide that this was now a fine place to spend the afternoon.

I'm quite happy with it!  I even think the new nubby olive tweed looks more authentic than the actually authentic vinyl.  Total cost:  $12 for the ottoman (flea mkt) and $25 for fabric.  Total time:  about 3 hours.

Tomorrow, I'll post the new kitchen curtains I whipped up this morning.  I'm really on a roll!

craft drought!

From the lack of posts here recently you would think I hadn't been working on any projects. I haven't been lazy, really! But it's all for work and things that will be appearing in upcoming French General books, so I can't spoil them by posting here about it. But I did get a bit of a break recently and had a chance to whip up some kitchen curtains, which were on my long list of home projects.

So I picked up some new Amy Butler fabric, and voila!

We have a super crappy view from the kitchen window, so I thought cafe curtains would be a good choice. And I went with the clip-on curtain rings, so it will be really easy to change out the fabric whenever I feel like it.

I'm really happy with how they turned out, they warm up the kitchen and make the new grey winter mornings more bearable!

Sofa's Choice

So I took a bunch of pictures of the apartment today. Brian is working on a show at Fox and they need apartments and houses they can shoot as backgrounds for this crazy animation/photography hybrid they are doing. We're hoping there's some money in it for us if we get chosen, so we thought we'd try our luck.

Anyway, just like seeing a candid picture of yourself is the best way to jump start a diet, looking at all the pics of the apartment pointed out to me all the things I want to change about it! There's a lot of little changes I can make, but perhaps the biggest choice concerns the big couch that dominates the living room. I don't even know what color to call it...beige? grey? putty? Whatever, I hate it. It's a total non-color. I wasn't committed to even keeping this couch until fairly recently, but it's just too comfortable (and too much hassle) to get rid of.

Sooo...slipcover time! Since covering this giant will be a major investment of time and money, I thought I'd try a little photoshop magic to help me make the decision. But now I can't decide!

A dark chocolatey brown? I'm envisioning a short cotton velveteen...I'm also imagining all the cat hair...

A vintagey golden yellow? Maybe in a wide wale courdoroy?

A subduded robin's egg blue? Or is that color too trendy?

This bold turquoise reminds me of a vintage couch at my parents house, which I love. It would be great in tweed.

Another vintagey color, perfect for cotton velveteen.

Or, the standby, white. Boring, but it hides the cat hair and it's easy to bleach clean.


So help me! Tell me what to do! I live with a colorblind roommate!

Patio Daddy-o!

It's been hotter than blazes here in LA, but me...I like the heat. And I love my little patio off the dining room, especially now that it's summer and we can keep the doors open all day. It's like we have a second living room, plus I love being with all my gorgeous plants. Most of the plants are "rescues"...plants that someone else threw out and I brought back to life (but that's another post).

We finally got some furniture out on the patio (thanks mom!) but of course I couldn't just buy the cushions from Cost Plus for $20. Nooooooo. I had to spend two days cutting foam, making piping (I hate nothing more than making piping) and putting in zippers. But of course I'm glad I did, I mean how cute is that?



The patio is still a work in progress (there's still room for a few more plants!) but it's shaping up nicely I think. A very nice spot to have breakfast and read blogs, and who could ask for more?

Before & After

Everybody loves a makeover, right? I sure do, especially when it's fast and cheap. I found this funky mirror at the Salvation Army in Pasadena for $5. The frame is plastic, and in it's original state of nasty spray-on gold finish, you could really tell it wasn't wood. But I liked how over the top it was, and the glass was in good shape.

So I had some high gloss paint mixed up in "Chili Pepper Red" for $6...spent an afternoon with a very small paintbrush...

and voila! It's still funky, obviously...but hopefully in a good way. And, ironically it doesn't look like plastic anymore. I hung it in the bathroom (where I have a whole orange thing going on) and now I can see the back of my head when I do my hair! I know the whole cheap furniture painted bright colors thing is kinda overdone at this point, but it really does add a nice pop of color in an unexpected place. And a funky statement piece for $11? Can't beat that with a stick.

It really ties the room together

I'm a big fan of "The Big Lebowski". Like, so much of a fan that I actually attended "Lebowski Fest" last year, which in case you haven't heard, is the annual mecca for Achievers (which is the preferred nomenclature, dude).

One of my favorite things about the movie is the dialogue, which includes a lot of highly quote-able lines. "This aggression will not stand"..."Mark it 8, Dude"..."That rug really tied the room together". But probably the best line and the one that sums up the whole movie is "The Dude abides". It's deep. It's so deep, in fact, that I decided we needed it cross-stitched on a sampler. Because every home needs a sampler, but our home is not exactly the "Bless this house" type.



So I whipped up this little sampler and now it hangs near our front door. It was really easy, even figuring out the little bowling balls and pins wasn't too hard. And now whenever friends come over, they know...the Dude abides.

Next I'm gonna do "Nobody F*cks With The Jesus".

2 bedroom, 2.1 bath apt

That's the love of my life right there, also known as Grimy the cat. 'Aint she gorgeous? I love having a cat, but of course with a cat comes the dreaded litter box, and the subsequent issues of where to put the darn thing so you and your guests don't have to see and/or smell it.

When we moved into this apartment (about 4 months ago) one of the first things I wanted to do was find a good place for the litter box that wouldn't offend me. Luckily my bathroom has this great cabinet next to the toilet. I don't know what else it could even be used for, but it's a perfect little private place for Grimy to do her thing.




I put a tension rod on the inside of the cabinet and made a little curtain with rings at the top to hide the box from view. Grimy has no problem pushing the curtain aside, and I think she actually appreciates the privacy!



You know it's a success when guests use the bathroom and don't even notice that the cat box is right next to them! Now if only I could find a cute solution for keeping it clean...