kenzie's room

Well. I think after I came down off my "crafter's high" - & {I think} I was able to save the lamp. However, it may be one heck of a fire hazard?? And, the neurotic thought about heating up that Spray adhesive, and releasing the fumes into the air, has crossed my mind?? Perhaps, this wonky little lamp shold just sit around and look pretty (unusual)?



I think it's time I move on to store bought stuff for the remaining Kenzie room embellishments. Her room is a eccentric mix of furnitures that have had several different lives. I refinished the dresser, the desk & chair.



I made: All the wall art, the doll (which was mauled by a dog, fixed, and sat up high to avoid it falling into bits & pieces), the lamp shade, the quilt, & the pillows (where the heck are the pillows??? I just noticed they are missing. Confession: I only really make her bed when company is coming!!).



Please excuse the mess. The room-owner decided she wished to play in the middle of the photo shoot. And, well... it is her room & I couldn't kick her out. (although I totally thought about it).



I do have a piece of art that is being commissioned from another artist for the big blank wall. Which is why I was taking these pictures, and not bothering myself too much about the poor light and disheveled cluttered room.

And, for Kenzie's birthday, she's getting a RED stereo and a bookcase in the shape of a house to replace the current temporary case. And, she'll be getting pretty white molding along the ceiling. And then, well, I give up.
She DOES like it. So, that's all that matters.



P.S. Just a reminder -- SHE chose the colors. :) I just worked with what she gave me.

Feeling loopy

Tree Fall has a most wonderful lamp shade that she embellished with a modge-podge of fabrics. I decided that my daughters room might need one, since it's taken on a pretty spirited Oilily kind of feel. So, I proceeded to not follow Treefall's excellent directions and use the materials I had on hand.

Um, this stuff is baaaaaaaaaaaaad.
My head is kind of up in the clouds, and I can't say the wing-it approach that I took with cutting and matching the fabrics makes any sense. But, it was the best I could do given my loopy-drugged state.

We'll see if I can "save" this little project with some stitches around each square...and trim at the top and bottom.

But, I wouldn't recommend this spray adhesive stuff for anyone - unless you have a bunch of spare brain cells, that is. I sprayed outdoors, but still inhaled more than my share of fumes (one HAS to breath every once in awhile, you know??). And the residual fumes that linger on the shade even when the stuff is "dry." Well, Pheeeew!

**I'll have to return to this post later and insure that I made sense. Seriously, I'm cashed!!

Doodle letters

I was quite the multi-tasker today. While on a conference call staff meeting for several hours, I doodled around with the new nickname letters for Kenzie's room. I painted 'em red and then added paper to the tops. I also repainted our old set {which spelled out Kenzie}, so that they were red as well. I'm quite pleased with them. They're wonky, whimsical and fun.

I sanded around the edges a bit, added some drybrushed complimentary colors, and voila:



The room scene also reflects the pillows I made recently. The quilt top was also given to me by a relative. I backed it and tied it with buttons. Lot's of my work is reflected in this little photo, I guess!

(the letters were purchased from Deb at Say it with Letters. She has some really fabulous & unique letters! Go check them out.)

My twins: pillows

As I mentioned in my other post, I have a lot of ideas that continue to overwhelm me in my little crafty studio. The other day, trying to decide what to tackle - I just started making these. And, they. were. not. on. the. list.

I originally visioned them for Kenzie's room, tossed on the bed, but I'm not clear if that's where they will end up (especially as she's napping right now, and I can't go toss them about her bed to see if they look good). I think they'll be cute in there. Or, maybe somewhere else. We'll see.



They turned our really cool and pretty darned modern, for someone who doesn't have a terribly modern home. I see so many visions of modernism on other blogs though & I guess it's catching. They are also very difficult to photograph for some reason. I tried to catch a good shot, but didn't manage it in the crazy amount of pictures (of pillows, for cripes sakes!!) that I took.



They still need to be hand-stitched closed. But, my poor right hand is feeling crippled. When I was pregnant with Kenzie, during the very late stages of pregnancy - I suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome. It woke me up and kept me up at night. Once I shed the baby, it mostly went away. However, every so often it seems to come back although - it might not be that at all. It could just be a weird injury, that pops back up with various insults. It's an odd stabbing pain with any sudden moments of my wrist region. Let me tell you - stuffing these pillows was pAiNfUlL. I doubt I should further aggravate the situation with hand-stitching - so these may remain pinned closed until the pain subsides. It usually takes a few days, and then it's back to normal. The timing just figures...just as I get my crafty inclinations back!

Big girl bed

Okay, here's a photo of my work. I may have mentioned that the room is orange? This is what happens when you involve a two year old in swatch selection. MY original thought was a nice shade of light blue.... But, it does feel good, and Kenzie loves it. This all started with the quilt placed at the bottom of the bed - as I've already shared what I did to that. And, I found the bed at a garage sale (can you say 50 bucks???). There's a footboard too, but it's not visible in this shot. We bought another quilt for everyday use (tan with random colored stitching curling through it), and I've just tossed on some pillows that are left over from Kenzie's crib collection (which my mom made all the bedding and coordinates for). It's all pretty cute together. Kenzie chose the room color from about 10 different swatches (a zillion blue shades, one orange, and one green).

Now, I didn't photograph the rest of the room as the toddler was busy dismantling it. I also have not concluded the painting in there as I plan to draw some whimsical flowers throughout the room - reminiscent of the bugs that she had in her room in San Diego. WHEN? I might do that, is still a question to be solved. The room is definitely a nice sherbert-y shade of orange. Yummy.

So, this is Kenzie's big girl bed and she's thrilled.
She has, however, not slept in it yet. Hmmmnnnn. Each night she bounds on top of this bed saying she wants to sleep there - yet she panics at the last minute and we go nighty-night in the crib instead. I don't mind. She can sleep in that cage until she's 17 for all I care. At least she hasn't figured out how to let herself out of it in the middle of the night.

Yet, we are NOW prepared for when - my girl is ready to be a big girl. (sob).