I'm not dead.

This has been a weird year. Everyone is now back in school and life is leveling out again. I've done a lot of crafting, traveling, and other stuff but the idea of photographing and blogging it has been overwhelming. Until now.

I woke up, got Squirt on the school bus and the Hubs to work, then went for a little run. A little, peaceful, rejuvenating run. While I ran, I thought. It's amazing how that works out there in nature alone with one's thoughts. It's something I don't take advantage of enough. Irregardless, I am back, and using commas like a crazy person.

Simple Fourth of July Door Decor

I've always wanted to be one of those Martha types who decorate for every season. Last year before I sold my house I had grand ideas of us staying there and I started to accrue some Holiday decor. I really wanted patriotic bunting for my front banisters at Fourth of July but stopped myself after spending just $6 total for three medium size flags. I stuck them into the ground along the pathway to my door and called it good.

I was awfully proud of those little flags.

This year, I'm glad I didn't spend more than that because I'd have to 1) store what I bought or give it away and 2) I'd have nowhere to decorate with it if I did find a way to keep it.

I've been wanting to make the entry to our apartment look a little better so with 15 minutes and a few on hand supplies, this is what I whipped up:

I started with a gold gilded frame that the Hubs had a wedding picture in (from his first marriage) which I gladly disassembled and repainted. The detail is lost in the wussy iphone picture, but it's one of those early 90's carved designs.

The first order of business was to add three thin coats of white paint that still didn't completely cover the obnoxiousness below. Then I placed the flags on top how I wanted them and used floral wire to tie the sticks straight to the frame behind the flag fabric. I tried putting the flags on with hot glue but it just didn't stick. For good measure I did hot glue the you-know-what out of where I'd tied the wire to keep it intact. I have a history with wire coming undone :(

Wire the flags together where the poles cross at the center, add a bow from leftover Christmas ribbon, and hang it on the door. To keep it from banging around on the door as it's opened and closed I added poster putty behind all four corners.

And that's it.

It's so simple and used only items I had on hand, which fits our grad school lifestyle quite well. Now it just screams for a pot of blooming flowers by the wall. Perhaps that will be tomorrows project.

Have you come up with something simple that completely transformed how you feel about your door? I'd love to hear about it.

Melted Plastic Bead Suncatchers

Who, with daughters, doesn't end up with a big bag of random plastic beads from jewelry kits? We certainly have a bunch of those.

Saturday morning brought one of Squirt's favorite activities; staring over my shoulder while I browse Pinterest. When we saw these suncatchers, I new we had to do them. We had everything on hand and she could do most of it herself. It's a great still-in-pajamas project. 

Picture Source

When I went to the source I was disappointed that it wasn't a great explanation of what to do. Granted, it is pretty simple to figure out. The gist of it is this: 

1. Gather plastic beads and oven-proof dishes (glass or metal).
2. Preheat oven to 400.
3. Fill each dish with a single layer of beads making sure the bottom is completely covered. If there are gaps in the beads, there are likely to be gaps in the finished product.
4. Melt beads in oven for 20-30 minutes. Larger beads require longer time, while smaller take less.
5. Take out of oven and let cool completely. 
6. Drill a small hole about 1 inch into the shape. 
7. Thread string (or fishing line) through hole and hang. 

Pretty straight forward, don't you think? 

There are a few things we figured out in process that I'd like to pass along. 

• Transparent beads will remain transparent after they are melted, opaque will remain opaque (this was more a discovery for Squirt than for me).
• Coated beads (i.e. fake pearls) have a coating that doesn't melt. 
• Don't heat the oven above 400 or the plastic will reach a smoke point and start to burn off. 
• This stinks to high heaven. Seriously, there's bound to be some serious toxins and carcinogens going on here so pick a day where you and the kids can hang out outdoors while they melt and about a half hour afterward. Melting plastic can't be high on the list of good things to be breathing.
• As they start to cool expect to hear some crackling sounds. I figure this is the plastic pulling away from the dish as it cools. 

Here are the two sizes we made. As you can tell the clear beads are better at "suncatching," but Squirt is so happy to have made these by herself that it's worth it for them to be imperfect. If we were to do them again I think I'd only give her transparent beads to work with so the end result would be more sparkly.

They were definitely fun though, and a good use of otherwise ignored craft supplies. 

The Twirly Skirt

Ohmygosh I'm SOOO happy to have this done! I am seriously not a seamstress, but this idea has been rolling around in my head for a while. When looking for an Easter dress with Squirt, we tried on a super cute white crinkly elastic waist skirt that she loved. I loved it too and could picture her romping all over the place in it. The only problem was the price. Now, I don't mind buying nice children's clothes now and again but it was $30 and I just couldn't see myself paying that for something that would most likely be designated by her as purely playclothes. So I decided to invent my own.

We bought the girls new twin beds to help them share a room more efficiently, and parted with Squirt's old full size and Munchie's little toddler bed. I donated and Craigslisted some things but there was a pair of white sheets I chose to keep. The fabric is so soft and they are a really high thread count. As I looked at them I just imagined how much it would cost to buy cotton like that per yard and kept them for some unforeseen purpose.

Here was a purpose.

For this I hacked into the fitted sheet.

First I cut the elastic edges off the sheet so it would lay better on the ground and I could actually do something with all that fabric. Then I stitched the edges of the elastic together and found that it made a sweet garland for a baby shower I was hosting. Hooray for happy accidents!

The background was subtle, with hints of color in the different ribbons and the butterflies, but my absolute favorite part was the white fitted sheet elastic. (Hopefully my friends won't kill me for this picture. I didn't actually take a picture of the decorations I made.)

But on to the skirt. I took pictures along the way but have checked 3 separate memory cards and cannot find where on Earth they went - so I'll just give the play by play.

• I started by cutting out a basic 1/2 circle skirt, but I cut it large enough that it could have a gathered elastic waist.
• Then I grabbed my scissors and sliced it in a spiral, making sure the cuts would line up at the seam.
• Put the right sides together and stitched a 1/4 inch seam so that the seam and raw edges would be on the outside of the skirt.
• Stitch this down flat with a 1/8 inch seam.
• Using the top skirt as a pattern, I cut a lining out of the top thin fabric from an old bed skirt. Hem the skirt and the lining then stitch together at the top.
• Measure around the top opening of the skirt and cut a long rectangle of fabric to form and elastic casing.
• Add elastic, pray that you didn't forget the right measurement since the child is at school and you're not waiting until she gets home to try it on and finish.

Which was all well and good, but it needed some flowers. Which I DO have pictures of :)

Then I slid the whole thing into the sewing machine, stitched a spiral to hold the flowers in place, and called it good.

FYI: I suck at sewing. Most of what I do is make it up as I go, so unfortunately this is not a tutorial, just an overview of what I did. The best part? Usually when you wing it things can turn out okey dokey.

I'd say she approves.