On a Whim

Sometimes "on a whim" projects are the best kind, and this one was no exception, however, it would've been a whole lot smarter if I'd chosen something a little less utilised.  A little tip - do not decide "on a whim" to paint your bed!  Unless of course you are a speed painter, have heaps of time and can paint uninterrupted and can spare more than, oh, an hour at a time to devote to it!

Our bed had bothered me for years.  I liked the overall style, and it was structurally sound being solid timber but it was stained a horrible, cheap-looking orangey colour and the timber had been badly finished off making it rough with raw edges - so rough that rubbing a hand along the frame guaranteed a splinter or two.  I often dreamt of a new bed (I also dreamt of a house in the Hamptons ...) but because new beds are generally very expensive, and in our house there is always something else to be spending our money on, I knew I had to come up with a cheaper creative solution so that I wouldn't cringe every time I walked into our room.  So, what did I decide on?


This is the only BEFORE photo I have of the glorious orange bed. Me, happily sanding away.

A facelift (no, not for me - although I could certainly use one especially the morning after I've been up half the night with my little Miss) - for the bed! I would paint it - white, like in my dreams.  So, about 2 or 3 months after our daughter was born (during that beautiful, loved-up stage when life is feeling so rosy and special that you think anything is possible and you're capable of marathon feats), I walked into our room, looked at the bed and decided right then and there that it was time.  My husband thought I was kidding but I just KNEW at that very moment I was going to do it - I was passionately determined. Out came the allen key and bit by bit I pulled the thing apart and carried it out to the garage and sanded that baby crazy.  De-orangey'ing it was reward in itself! 

This is how our bedroom looked while the frame was in the garage.  It was very plain and needed a bit of love.

I was feeding my daughter 2-3 hourly at the time so "a little bit of quiet" came infrequently but I just left the bed all set up in the garage and squirrelled away whenever I got a free moment.  It took quite a bit longer than I had originally  judged (in my post-pregnancy, blissful hormonal state) and required a primer plus 3 coats of paint on some parts of the frame (the parts that weren't going to be obviously in view only got 2 coats) and we certainly hadn't planned on sleeping on a mattress for six weeks, but the end result was so completely worth it.  Now not only does it look a hundred times better, there's not a splinter in sight ... kind of a good thing for the marital bed!


Voila!  A new bed! What do you think?  I love it.  And that's my son refusing to let me take a photo without him in it.

Side note:  I sort of knew the bed was going to look good so I gave our room a mini-makeover at the same time, buying new lamps and adding in some cute little Etsy prints from "Tastes Orangey" - which, coincidentally, is nothing like looking "orangey"!

Second Drawer Syndrome

Do any of you have a drawer that looks like this? The dreaded second drawer? The drawer that just refuses to be tamed? Or have I just totally embarrassed myself? What's even more embarrassing, is it's been this way for years ... many years.  Seriously uncool and seriously unorganised making it very hard to find things, a danger to little fingers that like to explore these strange, exotic places and a happy haven for unused utensils - all taking up valuable space.

So, enough was enough.  It was time to call in the big guns.  Drawer separators! So basic, so easy and cheaper than some of the drawer tidy's I came across, plus this way I could control exactly where I wanted them and which way they sat.  I chose to place them horizontally so that anything sharp could be placed at the back - well away from those "little explorers" I mentioned earlier (whose sticky little fingerprints you can totally see all over my drawers!).  They are also spring-loaded so are a perfect snug fit. Happy camper.

And because I am a bit of a sucker for nice paper and "prettifying" things, I decided to take the whole drawer-tidying thing up a notch and line the drawers with some leftover scrapbooking paper I had (I don't actually scrapbook but I can't go past the scrapbooking aisle in Spotlight without buying a few sheets - which is a good thing because then I have a little supply on hand when I get all nerdy on myself!).  I also lined my cutlery drawer with the same paper last year so, well, it had to match, didn't it?!

So, now my boring little drawer looks all tidy and fresh and has been given a bit more life with the added paper and when the paper rips or gets dirty, I'll just replace it with another stash.  The cutlery drawer has been lined for about a year now and is still holding up perfectly plus every time I open it I can't help but think how cute it looks!

The whole mini-project took about 20 minutes and the kids had fun running around with the various "swords" and "wands" that were headed for the bin.  Talk about a super quick fix for something that has bugged me for years.  A little bit of quiet + a tiny amount of organisation = big gratification.

How about you? Have you ever procrastinated on a project only to realise there was a super simple, fast solution?  Here's a "side-by-side" just for fun ...

Little on Project, Big on Love

I am going away for a week with my beautiful Mum & sister for some long over-due R & R (thanks Mum!) and will be leaving my babies at home with their wonderful Dadda ... eek!  I am totally, crazily looking forward to it and have been day-dreaming endlessly about the massage's, the sleep-in's (!!!), the book reading by the pool, the shopping, the uninterrupted night-time sleeping and the pampering, and within days I will be living it first hand - sigh.  BUT, and you totally knew there was a "but" coming, didn't you?  I am nervous and apprehensive about leaving my kids.  In five years, I have been away from my son only a handful of times, and mostly only overnight stays - never 7! My daughter is now 17 months and we haven't been apart at all.  So ... apart from being a blubbering mess when I say good-bye to them, I am going to miss them like crazy, pine for them and no doubt cry for them when I, if I'm brave enough, Skype them (which come to think of it is probably a silly idea - I'll get upset, they'll get upset and, well, that's no fun, is it?). 

Anyway, during "a bit of quiet" today, I decided to print off seven short bedtime stories, one for each night I am away, for my husband to read to them. 

I won't tell them about it - it'll be a nice surprise for them at bedtime.  I have finished each story with a personalised goodnight message so although I won't be there myself, they will each night get a little something from me and I'll hopefully feel a little more relaxed knowing they are heading off to dreamland with a loving message from their Mummy.

So, only a little project today but without doubt, big on LOVE.  Mwah.

Oh Boy

My sister recently gave birth to her third little bubba and because she was booked in for a scheduled caesarean and I knew she was having a girl, I whipped her up these little lovelies at my sewing class (Miss Mary's classes - have you heard of them? Soooooo fantastic. If you live in the Perth area and want to know more - www.missmary.com.au) the night before. Very last minute, I know.

Burp cloth & bib (with "Anastasia May" looking on all whimsical-like)

All wrapped and ready.  I sometimes call myself "Maple Handmade" - just because I like the sound of it!

The next day I was ready and waiting to meet my new niece, when I got the call to say "Nash" had arrived ... a beautiful, healthy, gorgeous BOY!  What?  Uh oh. Why did I think I knew it was a girl?  I have absolutely no idea - it made no sense and was so completely dumb. Anyway, I had some fast "making up" to do so I raced home to throw all the pink & green girly fabric back in the basket and swap it for something much more masculine.  What I found was perfect - some lightweight denim and a red gingham check.  I figured I had to do something pretty special and something very obviously "Nash".  This is what I came up with ...

Personalised Bloomers
(Sorry about the quality of the pic - I was too lazy to get the big girl out so used my i-Phone instead!)

His very own personalised bloomers ... phew, there'll be no getting it wrong again from this silly Aunty.  Sorry Nash.

Tea-towel Totes

So, I started with these ...

I did a real little bit of this ...

And then, as if by magic, I ended up with these ...

Super-cool, huh?  Well, okay, maybe not by "magic" but they were so easy to make and I finished them in no time at all so it almost felt like magic!  They are made from tea-towels - I know, how cute is that?  I would've scored serious "cool" points if they were recycled tea-towels but unfortunately not these babies - I did, however, get them in the Freedom sale a couple of weeks ago for $1.98 each.  Seriously, how can you walk by that little deal?  And, how handy are totes?  Take them to the market and fill them with fresh produce, to an antique fair to stash away your cute collectibles, a quick trip to the shop for bread and milk (which I do just about every day!) or throw one in your suitcase when you go on holiday - they take up zero room.  Love it - ultra cheap, simple to make, good-looking and all for a tad over $4.  Win, win & win!

The "Reversible Dish Towel" pattern is from the "Craftsy" site (which I have just discovered and LOVE), it was definitely a pleasure to sew, the instructions were clear and easy and I will for sure be making more of these bags soon.  And one more time just for smiles ...

Until my next project ...

It's a first for me

I don’t know about you but I love, love, love a little project.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a sewing project, a DIY project, an organising project, a craft project or a school project – whatever – it always makes me feel all "warm & fuzzy", I’m always happy while doing it and it’s a great way to realise your creative potential ... which half the time I don't think I have and then – BAM – I’m done and I love the results, which is super cool.

I have loved creating or making things for as long as I can remember.  I think Anzac biscuits were the first things I ever “made” by myself at around age 7 - on a Sunday in the kitchen, left to my own devices (my parents were happy to leave me to it knowing that they’d get a fresh batch of cookies out of it!), cleaning up my own mess, eating the cookies ... good memories.  Then around about the same time I met a wise “old duck” (I say “old” – she was probably the age I am now ... yikes) who looked after me from time to time and would take me on her “adventures” to the rubbish dump – yep, glamorous I know, but I TOTALLY loved it. We would scour the place together in search of whatever she could upcycle (not that the word “upcycle” was used then, let alone access to blogs and online tutorials!) but mainly it was dolls she was looking for – to pull apart, repair and beautify.  It didn't really matter what it was, it was just fun being with her and returning home together to set about working on our new little finds.  I think right there was the moment I fell a little bit in love with making and creating. 

She also taught me to knit and, at around age 7 or 8, I made THE cutest red coat, complete with collar, belt and gold buttons, for my barbie – from a pattern!  Here’s a pic.

Seriously?  No, of course not.  I so just Googled that image!  But how cool would it have been if I did have a photo? I guess I just wasn't thinking about my blog back then – clearly no foresight.

Anyway, now that I have completely and utterly rambled (I hope you’re still with me) and have told you of my love affair with little projects, I guess I should share with you what project I worked on today during “a little bit of quiet”.  Here are some clues.

Can you guess what I did? I grabbed two of my gorgeous Craft Queen BFF’s and high-tailed it to the Craft Fair!  Okay, not so much a project, but a serious hunt for project supplies!  (BTW, my husband totally thinks I’m “so old” going to a craft fair but what would he know – he’s a phys-ed teacher so knows as much about buttons & twine as I know about climbing walls & carabiners!).  And, yes, the majority of the fair clientele was, in fact, the more mature generation (not to mention a billion quilts & fat quarters as far as the eye could see) but I love being amongst those ladies – they are, afterall, the matriarchs of the crafting world and we have so much to learn from them.  They pioneered the whole crafting/homemaking movement and I am honoured and proud to be carrying on (well at least giving it a damn good go) their traditions and values of hand-made and home-made.  

We had a lovely time, bought some cool little pieces and will be setting to work using some of them soon.  Watch this space.

Until then, I hope you find yourself “a little bit of quiet” and keep in touch with what YOU do with it!