Monday, August 29, 2011
Beauty
Sometimes a moment just takes over and I'm learning to let it. A moment of joy or awe or just giddiness that makes me feel all over-the-top vital and alive. I think for me, wisdom means rediscovering that connection to something bigger... not thinking about things, and pondering meanings, but just being fully in the moment and in my body and letting it all wash over me. I don't have a photo of this, but my kids remind me what it looks like every day. 
Sunday, August 28, 2011
the cutest undies ever
My family likes Target. We shop there fairly often, and even buy our groceries there (now that have to live without HEB.) But honestly, I'm getting really tired of all the character stuff for kids. My kids love this stuff, but I can't even walk down the pasta aisle without seeing Cars macaroni and cheese or Toy Story soup. My son doesn't even really know what this stuff is, but he wants it, just to have something with that picture on it. And it's even worse when we start looking at clothes. If Rosemary had her way, she would only clothes with princesses on them - nightgowns, underwear, t-shirts, you name it. Same for Hugh. His favorite clothes have Lightning McQueen on them. And don't get me wrong... I don't want to deny my kids stuff they love. (and I love the Pixar movies too, by the way. and Tangled.) But I just get tired of all the characters on everything. It seems to leave less room for imagination (and style).
So... when I heard about this child-sized underwear pattern from That Darn Kat (via Zaaberry) I had to try it. I've been making upcycled shirts for Hugh from large men's t-shirts (more on this later) and in doing so, I've become more comfortable working with knit fabrics. This pattern only uses small amounts of fabric (for tiny bums) so I was able to splurge on some knits for both kids. I found some for Rosemary and a really amazing little sewing shop in Dripping Springs called Vallie and Kate. I found Hugh's at Joanne's fabrics. The pattern was very easy to follow, with photos of each step. And I'm so pleased with how they've turned out. So far I've only made one pair for Hugh (because he only uses the potty when the whim strikes, and he's more fond of his Superman undies), but Rosemary now has about 6 pair, and they are in constant rotation. It's hard to explain how deeply satisfying it is for me to make something useful and beautiful with my own hands, and then to see that the recipient loves it too. Every time I see Rosemary wearing these I smile.
A side note... I don't have a serger, and although I'd love to get one someday, I'm finding it's not really necessary for knits. A serger definitely creates a more finished look and a cleaner seam inside the clothing, but really, these clothes are durable and lovely even with just my regular sewing machine. So... in conclusion... power to the people! The people who want to do cool stuff and don't have sergers (yet).
So... when I heard about this child-sized underwear pattern from That Darn Kat (via Zaaberry) I had to try it. I've been making upcycled shirts for Hugh from large men's t-shirts (more on this later) and in doing so, I've become more comfortable working with knit fabrics. This pattern only uses small amounts of fabric (for tiny bums) so I was able to splurge on some knits for both kids. I found some for Rosemary and a really amazing little sewing shop in Dripping Springs called Vallie and Kate. I found Hugh's at Joanne's fabrics. The pattern was very easy to follow, with photos of each step. And I'm so pleased with how they've turned out. So far I've only made one pair for Hugh (because he only uses the potty when the whim strikes, and he's more fond of his Superman undies), but Rosemary now has about 6 pair, and they are in constant rotation. It's hard to explain how deeply satisfying it is for me to make something useful and beautiful with my own hands, and then to see that the recipient loves it too. Every time I see Rosemary wearing these I smile.
A side note... I don't have a serger, and although I'd love to get one someday, I'm finding it's not really necessary for knits. A serger definitely creates a more finished look and a cleaner seam inside the clothing, but really, these clothes are durable and lovely even with just my regular sewing machine. So... in conclusion... power to the people! The people who want to do cool stuff and don't have sergers (yet).
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Our Concrete Patio: from filthy to tolerable for under $80
I love our house, and one of the first things I fell in love with when we walked through it early last summer was the patio in the backyard. It's nothing fancy, but it's shaded by these two huge oak trees, and it's situated so there is always a shady spot to sit year-round. It's a simple concrete patio, but it has this nice low brick wall around the perimeter that forms a pretty curve and a nice place for both kids and adults to sit. And while the previous owners had done a great job of fixing up the house before they sold it, they had pretty much just left the patio as it was. It really needed painting. See my before photos:
I didn't think to take any photos before I started cutting in with the paint, but you get the idea. Time and weather had taken their toll and various shades of old paint and the original concrete underneath made for a pretty dirty looking mix. I really wanted to brick-over the concrete, but that would have been a pretty major investment of both time and money. There were other options to consider (trying a true enamel paint or a garage-type epoxy), but they were also fairly expensive and I wasn't sure how they would hold up on our uncovered patio. We ended up using the cheapest oil-based masonry paint we could find, Glidden's Porch and Floor Polyurethane Oil Gloss. This was only about $18 per gallon (we used three), so including some new rollers, a new 1 1/2 inch angle brush for cutting in and some of that sand stuff you mix in with the paint to make it less slippery, I spent less than $80.
Prior to starting this project, I spent maybe 4-5 hours just cleaning and prepping the patio, over the course of a couple of weeks. I used a paint scraper to get up as much of the loose and flaking old paint as a I could, and then I just swept it really well and mopped with some plain soapy water (dish soap, since I wanted it to rinse clean).
With my mom watching the kids, I was able to do a quick sweep of the porch and complete the cutting in and painting in about 3 hours. I went back the next day and did a second coat and I was finished! I'm not really fond of working with oil based paint, mostly just because of the messy clean up. But I've learned to be realistic and just buy myself a brush I'm willing to toss and a disposable roller. And I'm happy with the results so far. We've had a brutally hot summer, and we also keep our kid's wading pool on the patio, so it's constantly getting wet. We also drag our metal patio furniture across it daily and so far it's stood up to all our abuse. And even if it starts flaking a bit later, we can always just scrape off the loose bits and paint another coat. Until we rip it all to add a pool someday...
In the meantime, here are some more photos. I still need to get some nice styled photos of the "after", but somehow it feels really satisfying for me to see these photos of the halfway point. You can see just how yucky the original patio looks and how clean the blue-gray paint is.
On a side note, the paint has really changed the light inside the house. We have a large sliding glass door that opens from our living room onto the patio, and since I painted the light reflects strongly off the patio and up onto the ceiling of the living room. It reminds me of last winter when we had snow(!) covering everything for nearly a week. I had never experienced the effect of all that sunlight reflecting off the white ground and up into the house from below. Interesting and lovely. Also, as a stay-at-home mom of a two and four year old, just being able to listen to my iPod and paint, uninterrupted, was pure bliss. I love working on projects like these and just wish my mom was closer so I could do this more often - thanks Mom!
I didn't think to take any photos before I started cutting in with the paint, but you get the idea. Time and weather had taken their toll and various shades of old paint and the original concrete underneath made for a pretty dirty looking mix. I really wanted to brick-over the concrete, but that would have been a pretty major investment of both time and money. There were other options to consider (trying a true enamel paint or a garage-type epoxy), but they were also fairly expensive and I wasn't sure how they would hold up on our uncovered patio. We ended up using the cheapest oil-based masonry paint we could find, Glidden's Porch and Floor Polyurethane Oil Gloss. This was only about $18 per gallon (we used three), so including some new rollers, a new 1 1/2 inch angle brush for cutting in and some of that sand stuff you mix in with the paint to make it less slippery, I spent less than $80.
Prior to starting this project, I spent maybe 4-5 hours just cleaning and prepping the patio, over the course of a couple of weeks. I used a paint scraper to get up as much of the loose and flaking old paint as a I could, and then I just swept it really well and mopped with some plain soapy water (dish soap, since I wanted it to rinse clean).
With my mom watching the kids, I was able to do a quick sweep of the porch and complete the cutting in and painting in about 3 hours. I went back the next day and did a second coat and I was finished! I'm not really fond of working with oil based paint, mostly just because of the messy clean up. But I've learned to be realistic and just buy myself a brush I'm willing to toss and a disposable roller. And I'm happy with the results so far. We've had a brutally hot summer, and we also keep our kid's wading pool on the patio, so it's constantly getting wet. We also drag our metal patio furniture across it daily and so far it's stood up to all our abuse. And even if it starts flaking a bit later, we can always just scrape off the loose bits and paint another coat. Until we rip it all to add a pool someday...
In the meantime, here are some more photos. I still need to get some nice styled photos of the "after", but somehow it feels really satisfying for me to see these photos of the halfway point. You can see just how yucky the original patio looks and how clean the blue-gray paint is.
On a side note, the paint has really changed the light inside the house. We have a large sliding glass door that opens from our living room onto the patio, and since I painted the light reflects strongly off the patio and up onto the ceiling of the living room. It reminds me of last winter when we had snow(!) covering everything for nearly a week. I had never experienced the effect of all that sunlight reflecting off the white ground and up into the house from below. Interesting and lovely. Also, as a stay-at-home mom of a two and four year old, just being able to listen to my iPod and paint, uninterrupted, was pure bliss. I love working on projects like these and just wish my mom was closer so I could do this more often - thanks Mom!
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