Valentine's Day 2012

You should know how this blog goes by now. I post and post and post and then I fall off the earth for a couple of weeks (or a month) and then I go back to the post and post and post routine.

But this time it's a little different.

I managed to drown my brand new gorgeous laptop. In beer.

Yeah.

Not my proudest moment.

The good news is that I uploaded all my photos from all of my crazy photography outings that I've been on lately. Engagement photos, new house photos, another set of engagement photos (teeny tiny mini session, but it still counts!) and pet photos. So nothing was lost, thankfully. BUT, it has hindered me in my ability to share things with you.

Things like my Valentine's Day gift to my husband. What do you give a man who has everything he wants? You make him stuff.

Like beer truffles (...ironically flavored exactly like the beer my laptop chugged shortly before its death.. so much for being budget conscious on V-Day!).

But how do you give him beer truffles?

You make a heart-shaped box out of an old rafter from your new house.





I love it. I'm not proud of it because it's perfect (I couldn't stay on the line to save my life), I'm proud of it because I made it. And it was functional. And someday I'll look back on this little rugged box and laugh, Oh, you were such a beginner.

Someday.

Sewing Table: Completed! SO MANY PHOTOS!

This is where my new table lives:


This is where it works:

And this is when I start singing the theme song to Transformers:

And this is about where I belt out "SEWING TABLE IN DISGUISE!!" so loudly it scares the dog.

Need a table like this? Build one! Super easy, and great (and free!) plans to build this little beauty here!

The color is an exact match to an antique Ball mason jar (Fish out of H20 by Mythic Paint). I'm completely in love. I was unsure at first, but my hesitance succumbed to adoration.

Since it was sitting so seductively in the corner, I just had to make something. This was my very first project on this table:

It holds a whole lot of war paint makeup.

See?

I followed this tutorial.

Hope you're having a great weekend so far!

Beard on Bread

We eat mostly organic foods made from whole materials, including bread. Unfortunately, our bread machine died in a spat of flames a couple of weeks ago, and now the job of making bread has become a more manual endeavor.

I've been meaning to learn make bread, to really learn how. And for my 30th birthday in June my brother gifted me Beard on Bread, so I've had this lovely gem of a book for the last 7 months and haven't been making the most of it. Well, that's going to change.

I'm going to attempt to make every (eggless) bread in this book. Because I can. And because I'll learn a valuable skill while I'm at it.

Behold, my first handmade loaf of bread:

Basic White Bread (page 22):

This one was washed with condensed milk (it's what we had, don't judge!) and baked at 400 for 35 minutes. It wasn't perfect, but the taste was incredible. Next time I need to let it rise longer on the second rest.

So take this as a warning- you'll be seeing a lot more photos of bread on here as I work my way through this book.

Sewing Table: The Saga Continues

I am covered in paint. It's apparently the only way I can effectively get stuff done. My creative process has always been wrought with chaos.

I can't decide if I love or hate the color yet. It is growing on me, but the initial shock hasn't worn off yet.

Something I do love: Gnome fabric from spoonflower.com. This will the very first thing I'll be sewing on my table when I'm done.

EDITED 1/28/12: So the gnome fabric was NOT the first thing to get sewn. Turns out I'm not brave enough to cut it. I'll practice on a few things first, and once I gain some courage those gnomes are going to get it!

I have a paint color for my sewing table!

Aptly named "Fish out of H20." Because that pretty much sums up how I feel when I'm sewing.

Sewing Table: Structurally Complete!

It needs a little paint, sure, but it's done!

Speaking of needing a little paint, I think something needs to be done about this:

Sawdust indoors really, really sucks, hence the scarf mask. I'm looking forward to building stuff outside again. Sweet, fresh air. Oh, how I miss you.

Screw the snow, I'm building a sewing table.

The last time I left the house was last Saturday. In the meantime, I've been making our house a disaster by pulling everything out of the drawers and closets and not putting things back. I've discovered a stash of fabric in the chaos, and it's made me really want to start sewing.

Sewing takes space. It takes a proper working area, and the only area that has enough surface space is our kitchen table. So typically I'll set up shop there, then leave everything on the table for a minimum of three days, because it's a pain to put everything back just to pull it out again. And while I really wanted to sew this last week my husband needed the table to actually work-work, so I was stuck. No sewing for me.

But now the weather is better, the roads are visible and they're no longer a skating rink. I'm building myself a sewing table. A teeny, tiny sewing table, sure. But it will be all my own.


I found this great little design here, on ana-white.com. If you've never been to her site, I highly recommend spending some time browsing it.