Yo yo yo

Before.

After.

I bought these red mary jane's at the dollar tree about three years ago. And I haven't worn them since about. . . three years ago. Surprise, surprise, these shoes look a bit funny on the foot. The tops are all bunchy or something. I can't explain it. But I shouldn't be surprised. I did buy them at the dollar tree. This yo yo on the shoe look was one of the ideas I found in a magazine on our long ride to Missouri last weekend. It's from Country Living--the April or May issue, I believe).

They are so bright and cute. And they keep Cash entertained (he keeps trying to pull them off). Still, maybe Dollar Tree should stick to what they know best. . . . Which is, dollar trees? I'm not sure.

Honest Abe

The Lincoln home.

The carpet throughout the house.

Parlor wallpaper.

Abe and Mary Todd's bedroom. The wallpaper is an exact replica.

Parlor rug.

We've just returned from a nice Illinois/Missouri vacation--visiting Wes's extended family. For the first time in ages I actually looked forward to the drive--all the sitting and reading and listening to music. I loaded up on the magazines and ended up finding tons of great craft ideas in them (photos soon, I'm sure!).

On the way through Illinois we stopped in Springfield to visit Abe Lincoln's home. The tour through the home is pretty quick, so you don't have much time to dawdle, but I managed to snap a few shots of the gorgeous textiles and wallpapers inside. There were so many bright, colorful prints because color at this time was a sign of wealth.

Not only was this a nice stop along the way, but the interior got me so inspired I drew the patterns in my sketchbook as we continued on to St. Louis. More photos on my flickr.

terrarium bo barium

Step 1: Stones

Step 2: Moss

Step 3: Dirt

Step 4: Plant succulents, add stones, water.

I would love houseplants, but we don't get enough sunlight in any one spot to allow for them. That's why I've avoided making a terrarium (that, and because I thought the supplies seemed difficult to obtain). But a few weeks ago when I realized that terrariums can do fine without a lot of light, I made it my obsessive goal to make one. And now I've made about four. Uhhm, yeah.

In fairness, two of them were for our house (one, a moss terrarium, to be shown at a later date), one was a birthday gift for our nephew, and the fourth was for my husband's drab, white office. And now I see what all the fuss was about--they're fun and easy to make. They're perfect gifts, and even good "kit-type" gifts to give to kids. I think my husband might be terrariumed-out, so I'm putting away the terrarium-making for now, but--don't you worry--I'll be back.

What we've been up to this week. . .

. . . throwing helicopters from the maple tree in our backyard. who knew it could be so entertaining.

Nautical Pants

Last summer I picked up this nautical XL men's shirt at a rummage sale for $.50, mainly because is was a linen cotton lend and. . . only $.50. In the end the fabric just kept reminding me of. . . well. . . an XL men's shirt. But, I decided to give it a try to see if I could make it work.

I tried the tracing method, using a current pair of Cash's pants as a basic pattern. Initially the waist was much too small, so I added this triangular piece in the center-back to give them a boost. I decided on a cuffed hem that hits him mid-calf (Mid-calf? Who am I kidding, his legs are so tiny there's not much differentiating). I also added a drawstring, which I'd never tried before.

It seems like the tracing method works pretty well for a simple pair of pants, but you need to be sure to add a bit extra in the waist. There are some nice instructions in The Creative Family. More photos on my flickr (which has gone pro!, thanks to my sweet husband's Mother's Day giving).

I Screamo No Emo

Over on Flickr, Elly has this great "I Screamo No Emo" photo week going on. I laughed so hard reading the rules because Wes says all the same things about my self-portraits. He says I look so sad and dramatic all the time. His interpretation of my facial expression in this photo from last year? "I made this shirt. So what." If only you could hear the ridiculously punked out voice he uses. Oh. . . so. . . funny.

Toast

These are just a few of my favorite things from the new Toast catalog. Everything is so simple and gorgeous and loose and comfortable. It's almost simple enough that I think, "I bet I could make that." Images, from left to right: Clarissa top, short sleeve stripe shirt, Lydia skirt, ticking stripe scarf. The scarf reminds me a bit of this one over at Uniform Studio. Now I just have to start saving up some clothes money.

Hello, I'm Johnny Cash. . . on a t-shirt.

I'm not sure why, but I love this photo of Wes and Cash sitting with my sister-in-law and niece, getting ready to brave the cold pool on our recent visit out West. My side of the family's looking pretty pale, don't you think?

And here's another freezer paper stenciled shirt I just made for Cash this week. I found a few white t-shirts at the thrift store up the street for $.30 a piece. I found a photo online of some Johnny Cash graffiti on the side of a building, and I made my own stencil from it--after removing a few elements from the original. I think it turned out pretty sweet, so I definitely plan to make more portrait-type stencils. This site has tons of free images you can borrow for personal use, so I might hit that up first.