The Bench I Want

January
14 29
comments

Ballard Bench + Hable Construction Fabric

That’s the Simone Bench, which can be custom upholstered and is on sale at Ballard Designs for $200. I’d love the bench with Rose Checker fabric by Hable Construction. Alternately, I would also looooove the following:

Pie in the Sky Fabric
Sky Collection: Pie in the Sky, from Vanessa Arbuthnott

Sigh. That fabric is gorgeous.

Brandon likes to remind me that we already have a bench though. It was in the basement.

Mabel Claims the Bench
You like that wrinkly rug? That was in the basement too.

Eh. The only thing I like about that bench is the fact that it’s a bench (and can therefore add some much needed seating in our living room). I don’t like the legs, I don’t like the color, and I don’t like the overall shape.

Still, in the spirit of frugality, I may try to make it work. With spray painted legs and new fabric, maybe the bench could be cute? Possibly with some Amy Butler polka dot fabric?

Amy Butler Fabric

I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try. It would only cost $15 or so. Then when it looks horrible, it will be easier to convince Brandon that we need the pretty one instead. Or you know, maybe I’ll actually like it. ;)

link    'F' for Fabric, Living Room, Pets  •  29 Comments  •  January 14, 2008

Gravatars

January
14 8
comments

I’ve been quite happy with WordPress. There is something I miss about Blogger though: the avatars. I like seeing somebody’s picture or a cute little image when they leave a comment.

It turns out I could bring that functionality into WordPress with gravatars. If you don’t have one (and it looks like most of you do not), might I suggest you sign up? It’s free, and it’s quick. Other sites are increasingly using them too, so you will be all ‘web 2.0′ with your bad self.

link    The Blog  •  8 Comments  •  January 14, 2008

How to Make a Patterned Vase

January
12 29
comments

The Finished Patterned Vase

I came up with the idea for this little vase after talking to my friend Amy. She wanted a vase like this simple glass one from IKEA, but in white. One could spray paint a vase from the inside, but Amy doesn’t really have a good space to do a spray painting project (and it’s winter in Chicagoland, so no going outside).

I thought a good alternative would be to line a vase with paper. Then you could switch it out with different colors or patterns whenever you want to! I decided to try it out myself, and I put together a little ‘how-to’.
Continue Reading…

link    Crafty (& Handy), Pets  •  29 Comments  •  January 12, 2008

Disappointed

January
11 38
comments

I made a purse.  It didn’t turn out quite like I had hoped.

I bought a pattern, per Lili’s suggestion. I hesitate to link to the one that I bought because I don’t think it’s the pattern’s fault, but I went with the “one for all shoulder bag” from Betsy Ross. (Sorry to not do your pattern justice Betsy Ross – it was my first attempt at making something other than curtains.)

I didn’t want to potentially waste any of my ‘good’ fabric, so I used an old duvet cover from IKEA and a sheet I picked up at the thrift store for $1. The whole project took a few hours, and really wasn’t too hard. The purse is even sort of cute…

My First Purse

The pattern didn’t call for any lining, but it did say that thick fabrics are better. Maybe that’s why my purse is so floppy? I did try to get fancy though with a lining (thinking it would add the requisite thickness) and pockets. The pocket I created specifically for my cell phone, by the way, is too small.

The Lining

Oh, I also added interfacing to the gusset (the bottom/middle part) of the bag. I thought it would give a little extra support.

It didn’t.

Meh.
Hello, big floppy mess!

Why does it look like that? What should I have done differently? I was having so much fun making it, but now I don’t think I’ll even use it. It makes me a little sad.

I want to try again, but I’m worried about getting the same results. Any ideas on what I did wrong?

link    'F' for Fabric, Crafty (& Handy)  •  38 Comments  •  January 11, 2008

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