Monday, March 31, 2008

Weekend Fun and more painting!

Fefff... boy was I busy this weekend, I don't even know where to start!

Okay, I will start with Easter weekend. I dragged my friend Niko out shopping and in our travels I found a bed! It isn't as great as the Flower bed by BDDW, but it is pretty close. So, I dragged db to the store to check it out and he loved it too! It is the shelter bed by brownstone furniture (picture below - it looks WAYYY better in person).
Once I realized we found our new bed, that meant more painting! Off I went to the Benjamin Moore store to get paint! After the fiasco with the colour choice of the bathroom, I decided to get a sample of the colour I thought for the bedroom. Well, good thing I did because it didn't turn out anything like I thought. It is probably because we have a huge window with a large field right outside. Our neighbours did warn us about how the field affects the colour of items. So, I hummed and hawed and realized that the other spare bedroom needed to be painted in order to move our old bed into it.

Yup, again I was off to the paint store to buy paint. db helped me sand, putty and wash the walls to get ready for painting. Then Saturday I went to baseball practice and then picked up Niko to start the painting. db went to Vancouver to watch the Flames vs. Canucks (Canuck won... boooo).

Niko and I painted 1/2 the room and then it was time to go to the Canada Women's hockey game! It was awesome! I love those girls. They were in Victoria practicing before the World Championships, which are on in China from April 4 - 14. Details can be found on the Hockey Canada website. Niko and I took lots of pictures... I will post once I get them back.

Well... long story short. The painting is done and I had a good weekend. My next plan is to paint our walk-in closet while we are still looking for that perfect paint colour. Hopefully it won't take long!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Love at First Sight...


For months now, db and I have been shopping around for a bed frame. I suppose we feel that we should get grown up furniture for our grown up house (okay - maybe it is just me... ). We currently just have our box spring and mattress on the floor - I would post a picture, but it is way too embarrassing.

In our search to find that perfect bed frame, I came across BDDW. Yes, as the title suggests, it is love at first sight. The bed I want is the Flower bed (as seen in the picture above) - sounds very romantic and it is the most beautiful thing I have seen in a long time.

I was reading about design today and one designer said that live simple and love each piece in your home. Well, he's right. I love this piece and I am getting up the nerve to call BDDW to see how much it will cost and if they ship to Canada. If not... road trip anybody?

Sunday, March 16, 2008

New Chair!

Last weekend, I went shopping for the binding and I quickly jumped into the Polished Home to check out what they had in stock. They were having a huge sale and I ended up purchasing a brand new chair for only $200 (it was reduced from $600). My original plan was to purchase a used chair and recover it, but for $200... I doubt I could have refinished a chair for that!

It was sort of a hasty decision, but the owner of the store was there and she even had my paint chip (silver grey by Benjamin Moore) in the store so I could check and ensure the colours would go together.

It fits the bedroom really well and db likes it too. Now I want to get a round footstool in a deep teal colour to go with it. My searching for furniture never ends!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Meme: 7 Random Things


My sister @ Bright Turquoise tagged me for a meme (see below for details for memeing).

7 Random things about me...

1. I don't believe in random... I think that everything has a pattern (you just have to look long enough). Maybe it is because even when I try to be random, there is alway a pattern. I use to try and make beaded necklaces that had no pattern, but if you really looked at them, there was alway a pattern.

2. One of my hero's is my grandma Ruth. I think she is an amazing person and I hope I become more like her as I grow up.

3. Like my sister, I rarely wear matching socks. I feel like folding socks is a waste of time and I rather waste my time doing other stuff.

4. I still haven't unpacked all the boxes since we have moved into our house (over a year ago). Mostly the boxes contain my craft stuff, books, and random other things.

5. I love making lists! I have a little book in my purse that I write down my lists for various stuff. Some of my current lists are: 2008 Christmas Presents (i.e. My Mom, my dad, Steph...); Movies to rent; Books to read; Things to buy; Stuff I want.

6. I am the worst gardener ever. I buy plants, but then forget to water them, so db has to take care of them.

7. I love this commercial and I have no idea why!

I'm tagging some peeps for this meme thing. The people I'm tagging are (sorry - I don't really know 5 people that blog):
“7 Things” Meme How To:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 random facts about yourself
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their Blogs
5. Have fun!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Happy Birthday Steph!

EmptyGeorge's Card - available here on Etsy

Happy Birthday Steph! Hope you have a lovely day.

In honour of my sisters birthday, I have composed the top 4 of my favourite eCards:
.::. Screaming Banshee Birthday Card (Hallmark.com)
.::. Cirque du Soleil's Creative Cards - It will re-write your message in a fun way! Must be a member, but sooo worth it!
.::. Espectro - It is more an art postcard, but you are able to browse many artist and send postcards
.::. Red Hat Cards - not eCards - but very fun!

If anybody has any to add to the list, please send away!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Binding... Binding... Binding

My binding troubles continued this weekend. I went to the store to buy some of the pre-made bias binding, but after going to 4 different fabric stores, I realized the colour I wanted didn't exist (In Victoria anyways).

So, I had to take a crash course on how to make your own binding. I started with this tutorial how to cut fabric on the bias. I learned that you cannot just make straight strips - unless you are doing straight lines. Here is another tutorial: http://www.quilterscache.com/StartQuiltingPages/startquiltingfive.html

It is quite simple and didn't take long at all. I wish I had a rotary cutter though. That would have made the job simpler. I will put one on my Xmas list!

Once I had all my binding strips cut out and sewn.... I remember reading on Sew That's It blog about a tool to make binding or bias tape. The tool demonstrated on this blog made ironing and finishing the binding tape very simple.

And voila... here is the bias binding! I wouldn't do this for every towel, but for very special people, I will definitely do this again!



I also finished another towel. I had some troubles with this one, so I am glad that it is done. Only 2 more to do this week!