Book purses and more

Was in D.C. recently and saw the coolest thing at Eastern Market: purses made from hardcover books. Now, I know bibliophiles may be appalled, and I love books for reading too, but these were quite cool.

I have a couple of boxes of books that have sat around for YEARS waiting to be carted to the used book store ... well, one of them will be a test case. And in this case, the pages will not all go to waste: I cut out some illustrations and plan to decoupage them on the otherwise plain cover.

The toughest part appears to be designing the side gusset, so that the purse will open a bit. Otherwise I'd be limited to a slim billfold and a lipstick.

Also on my agenda: embroidery. I learned how to do this when I was maybe 7 years old, and every so often I pick it up again. It seems to be having a resurgence, what with books like Sublime Stitches or the Chronicle Books kit. I ordered some plain dish towels — talk about retro! And I plan to embroider the felted wool too — I have something in mind for the apple-green purse I plan to make.

Felting

I've discovered felting. It all started with some Manos del Uruguay knitted slippers that were designed to be felted. (Unfortunately they're still too big; must thread in some elastic.) Moved on to wool sweaters from Goodwill, which — if I ever find the time — will be deconstructed into purses and embellished with embroidery. Anyone know of a source for transfer paper other than the chalk tracing stuff from the fabric store?

News from chez moi

I know ... long abandoned, but not for much longer! Chez Craftymama will become a Web site in the not too distant future! Meanwhile, I will resume blogging on a more frequent basis. Look also on Twitter, twitter.com/chez_craftymama, to see what I'm up to.

Clam dip and chips, and other comforts

New Year's has never been my favorite holiday. I never really got into the party thing, and a day of college football is not my idea of nirvana, either. What made up for it was my mother's tradition of Coca-Cola (a rare treat in my childhood), potato chips and dip — French onion for her, and clam for me.

Somewhere along the line, clam dip went from balm for a boring evening to balm for all sorts of blues. When I moved away from home, a bag of Ruffles and the familiar small tub of dip — salty, creamy and punctuated by chewy bits of clam — was more than an occasional dinner on a melancholy weeknight.

Nor is it my only comfort food. Combination fried rice lifts my spirits, as does brown sugar cinnamon Pop-Tarts. And it's a good thing, too: It's nearly impossible to find clam dip now.

There's plenty of spinach dip, which is too close to healthy to be of much comfort. Bean dip doesn't do anything for me either. There's even still my mother's favorite, French onion. But no clam.

Not for lack of bivalves, I would think. One can find plenty of chowder on the supermarket shelves. Clam juice for cooking is a bit rare, but I figure that's more for lack of demand. I guess there's even less demand for clam dip.

It's a shame, too. Of all the legal, ingestible escapes from reality, I consider this one of the more benign. Liquor is quicker, as they say, but it carries well-known drawbacks. It comes in a small enough container that even if you ate the WHOLE DARN THING, you'd be better off than if you ate a whole carton of Haagen-Dazs. Which — admit it! — has been known to happen.

Out, damned spot

Some days are good. Children and hair both behave; adults conduct themselves in a manner commensurate with their age.

Other days, not so good. Grown, well-groomed women find themselves with the coordination of a 2-year-old in a growth spurt.

I have had days like that. Those days usuallly involve articles of white clothing. A perfect white tee, for example.

Said perfect white tee may dodge splattered orange juice, dribbled blue toothpaste, gray smudge from a grungy vehicle. One may arrive at work mightily pleased with oneself and one's well-fitting white tee.

But then there is coffee. Wear a fine white tee (like Gap's Essential T, pictured). Get a full mug of strong coffee. Commence drinking. And spill.

There is nothing — nothing, I say — like a half mug of hazelnut-flavored coffee poured all over one's chest. And mind you, this never happens to flat-chested women. No, only an ample bosom catches this.

And remember: Even if it is not hot coffee, it is still wet coffee. On a T-shirt.

No woman wants to take part in a wet-T-shirt contest at work, even if she is the sole contestant and sure winner.

It was the recollection of coffee-drenched tees and other sartorial calamities that fueled a recent conversation on spot removers. You know, there is always someone at work who has those and other lifesavers. Sewing kit, safety pins, clear nail polish, something for that-time-of-the-month, maybe even anti-static-cling spray ... and spot remover. Some hold by Shout wipes; others vouch for Tide-to-Go pens.

I've used them both. The wipes leave much to be desired when dealing with the fallout of a half mug of Peet's. I've had good results with the pen, but even that would have its work cut out for it in the wake of the coffee spill.

The spill of which I write was a particularly bad one. There was no simple fix. Sure couldn't take off the shirt and rinse it (although some might have welcomed that show). Couldn't just leave it, either — the whole front of the shirt had gone from white to brown, and reeked of Major Dickason's Blend and flavored Coffee-mate. I had no choice: I scurried up the street to a Limited shop (thank goodness for working downtown!), found the cheapest white tee they had, paid and scurried back to work. Ducked in the ladies' room for a swift change, and voila! presentable once again.

And hence my epiphany: To the emergency stash, add one dressy white tee. Needn't be expensive.

But keep it in a zipped bag. Wouldn't want to spill coffee on it before its time.

Speaking of light fixtures

It really isn't that difficult to install a light fixture. No special skills are needed.

If the thought of working with electricity is a chilling one, read up on it first. Most home repair books include it. While you're reading, read the directions that came with the fixture too. Familiarize yourself with the installation steps. Look up anything that confuses you.

Inspect your fixture and the hardware that came with it. Make sure you have everything the directions call for. It's a good idea to have a set of cap screws in varied sizes, which you can find at a decent hardware store. Check here also if you are missing mounting screws or other hardware.

If you have everything you need, shut off the power to your circuit. Never work with live wires. Double-check that the circuit is dead.

Removing a standard ceiling light is fairly straightforward. Remove the globe or shade and lightbulbs; unscrew the base from the outlet box. Painted in place? Give it a gentle tap or two with a hammer. Pull away from the outlet box, unfasten the cap screws and gently unwind the fixture's wires from the power wires.

Note the color of the wires on your new fixture, and in the outlet box. Like goes to like: black or red wires to same, white wires to same. Twist together; fasten with a cap screw. Tuck wires inside the outlet box if possible. Affix your fixture, using mounting hardware. Once it's securely and properly installed, restore the power ... and admire your handiwork.

Walking in my footsteps

I installed a couple of light fixtures this week. Which really isn't a big deal, in spite of my fear of electricity. (Let's just say I'm the poster child for outlet covers.) But it inspires awe in some.

It reminds me of the reaction I received when I first traveled to Europe alone. Wasn't I scared? How would I manage? (No, and quite well, thank you.) In both cases, I stepped out of a presumed comfort zone — defined by many things, but perhaps most of all by gender. Women aren't thought of as "handy." Traveling solo is seen as dangerous for females.

Perhaps more telling, women think these things.

I don't want my daughters to think that way.

My daughters see a woman who builds, repairs, installs. Their mom, not their dad, is in charge of talking to contractors and mechanics at home and waiters and ticket takers in foreign lands.

Don't get me wrong; their father is smart and capable and confident. They know this. But they know their mother is too. In turn, I hope they seem themselves that way as well.

One pillow

One pillow. Some scraps left over from other projects; a few bags of polyester stuffing; some piping and thread.

A fast-and-dirty project for a harried mom. Inspired by a magazine piece that featured the very same raspberry-and-lime color scheme in a young girl's bedroom. A floor cushion, a full yard across; Twister dots adorning a giant dot of a pillow.

Oh, but so much more.

A spot to share with a big sister, as she reads "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." A perch for a rogue's gallery of stuffed animals. And, at the end of a long day, a cozy place for a tired 5-year-old to curl up and drift to sleep.

Get your craft on

It's not just me. People across the United States are rediscovering the joy and satisfaction of craft.

Don't take my word for it. Faythe Levine's documentary-in-progress, "Handmade Nation," recently was featured in GetTrio.com's e-newsletter. What they said: "Having done the grand tour of craft fairs, galleries, boutiques, and visited with the crafters themselves, Ms. Levine is creating a movie about the process of those indie crafts people, the artists, artisans, and designers."

You can watch an eight-minute clip here.

Goodies in my in-box

Yummy stuff, courtesy of Fabric.com! My daughter's tastes must be rubbing off on me; I thought this Alexander Henry print (pictured) would make a very cool tote. In fact, if you look at their retro & mod quilting fabric, you'll find all sorts of delish prints. Amy Butler and more. Unfortunately I've missed their sale, but even their regular prices are good.

More retro treats, courtesy of Pottery Barn: quilts. Check these out.

HGTV.com's e-mail newsletter takes us to the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. New, enticing stuff, of course. My favorite: video on appliances for small kitchens. Lots of video, including top-10 must-haves.

It's that time of year again

School starts this week, and my living room is full of binders, pencils and everything else a kid or two needs at the beginning of the school year.

They may have everything they need, but I certainly don't. I need order. Not just in storing it, but in gathering it as well.

What I've learned, five years into this tradition, is:

• Keep the supply list all year. You may catch a sale in January, or otherwise run across a grade-specific item.
  
  
• At the school year's end, inspect and save extras.
  
  
• If you have the storage space, buy in bulk. You know you will need No. 2 pencils until the final SAT is done. However,
  
  
• Don't buy more than you will need. Wide-ruled binder paper does have an academic shelf life.
  
  
• Decide which is more important to you, and shop accordingly: convenience or price.
  

Organizational needs do not go away once the kids are in school. The more people one has in a household, the more one needs strategies for dealing with the stuff generated by those people. I find it gets ever more complicated living in an urban dwelling. City houses, condos and lofts tend not to have mudrooms, or even large entries or foyers, to provide landing places for backpacks, laptop totes, soccer gear and such. And even suburban homes are easily taken over by toys, junk mail and the like.

My personal challenge is my younger daughter's 9' x 10' bedroom. Space is at a premium here, so I began thinking of solutions before she outgrew her crib. Things I've tried or have considered include:
• A chest bed, with shelved headboard. The three drawers under the bed are handy now, and will become more so as she outgrows toys and wants more clothes. The headboard, with its three cubbies, provide space for her alarm clock, jewelry and hairband storage and a few favorite knickknacks.
• Ditch the dresser or chest of drawers. It takes up a large footprint within a small room, and doesn't pay dividends in flexibility. A better choice: a closet organizer. By using space vertically, you can claim the same volume as a small- to medium-size dresser in a fraction of the floor space. And most items still will be within the reach of a grade-schooler.
• I can't say it enough: Use vertical space. Hang shoe or toy caddies over doors or from the ceiling. Mount a column of magazine caddies in a narrow, unused space. Hang clothes on multiple-item hangers.
• Try magnetic paint to eliminate wall-hung boards. I can't personally vouch for its effectiveness, but in theory it's a great way to bypass the traditional bulletin board, its many stray thumbtacks and the inevitable holes in the wall.

Some more resources for getting organized and using space efficiently:

Mission: Organization from the HGTV show of the same name.

How to Organize (Just About) Everything: More Than 500 Step-by-Step Instructions for Everything from Organizing Your Closets to Planning a Wedding to Creating a Flawless Filing System by Peter Walsh. Strategies for just about every organizational dilemma, including several family scenarios.

Organizing from the Inside Out, second edition: The Foolproof System For Organizing Your Home, Your Office and Your Life by Julie Morgenstern. Not just the what of organizing, but the how.

A word from our sponsor

The ad poll has expired ... while many (ah, there's a relative term) indicated they weren't interested in ads on the blog, no one was adamantly opposed to them. Since Craftymama has to feed those Craftybabies, there will be ads in the near future. I'm certainly open to feedback on them; and if I'm not happy with them, they may well go away. I do hope that readers will find something of interest in them (just not as interesting as MY content, natch).

So many projects, so little time

For a long time, the urge to create deserted me. It has returned, for which I am glad ... but as always, there is the issue of time. There simply are not enough hours in the day.

I have patterns of clothes I want to make for the girls. There are slippers I want to knit and felt. The box covers I saw on vacation, as well as the jewelry that reinspired me. There is more home decor to finish.

Back to making stuff

Thought I'd show off my pole-mounted Roman shade. I like Roman shades, but the traditional mounting method — akin to blinds — is more work than I prefer to engage in. Also not conducive to frequent change.

But this pole mount version is a nice alternative. My only complaint: The shade tends to bunch along the pole when you raise it. I'm sure there's a way to firm the width of the shade; I simply haven't had time to contemplate it. Got an idea? Shoot it my way; I'll try it and give you credit if it works.

Night markets and day tripping

VANCOUVER, B.C. — As much as I loved Granville Island, I did venture into other areas of Vancouver. We went to Chinatown one warm Friday evening to check out the Night Market. There's one in Richmond as well. The long days and summer's slower pace make this a delightful diversion. It runs 6 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Live entertainment punctuates the later hours, and dim sum and noodle vendors will keep you fully fueled for shopping or browsing.

Now, this is not designer fare by any means. Much of what was for sale might also be found at your local flea market. But there's a time and a place for that too. Finding a few hand-crafted items was a nice surprise. Fabric covers for tissue boxes made a nice souvenir — and provided inspiration to try making my own, perhaps in vintage fabric with more mid-century styling. Also found tiny beaded zipper pulls — quite the rage among tweeners, I gather — in Chinese astrological symbols and other icons. Cherries, a horse, a jacket and the ubiquitous Hello Kitty have found a home with the girls. How thoroughly have I brainwashed my daughters? The elder wanted to know if I could make them too. Possibly; they appear to be basic bead weaving. I might go blind trying, though.

Yaletown is a style maven's haven, but it's not terribly well suited for visitors. Furniture shops — ranging from antiques to modern — predominate, with a few trendy apparel shops, salons and eateries tossed in for variety. The location is intriguing from an urban planning perspective — it's clearly the old dock-and-warehouse district. Nice reuse of structures that have outlived their original purpose.

Made the obligatory stroll along Robson Street. It's been compared with Rodeo Drive, but what I saw was far more comparable to San Francisco's Union Street. Or, even more accurately, Georgetown's Wisconsin Avenue in the late '70s-early '80s. Chic, relatively upscale but not ridiculously so. What was refreshing was to see Canadian (or at least not American) brands, and independent stores. Well, there was an obligatory Gap and Banana Republic, but not much else.

Never made it to the other Eastside shopping clusters on Main Street, or even to the Commercial Drive shop I wanted to visit. I guess I now have a reason to return someday!

Fueling the creative fires

VANCOUVER, B.C. — There's nothing like seeing the work of other creative people (or seeing them at work) to stoke one's own creativity. Mine certainly got a jolt by visiting artisans at Vancouver's Granville Island.

There are 54 artists, craftspeople or cooperatives located on this tiny spit of land (that isn't a true island at all, but hangs by a sliver of land) who purvey handcrafted items ranging from paintings to furniture, coffee to boats. Potters, jewelers and glassblowers are particularly well-represented here.

New-Small & Sterling Studio Glass (right) has a delightful mix of work by studio artists and other Canadian glass artists. Pieces range from elegant ikebana vases to platters in Sixtiesesque patterns to glass "slippers" that would take Cinderella's breath away. The "hot shop" is right next to the gallery, and visitors can watch the artisans at work.

I hope to indulge my inner Imelda at the Ken Rice Shoe Studio. "Handmade fashion footwear," as the Granville Island Artists site says, is quite an inadequate term. Art for your feet, I say. What caught my eye were the wooden-soled sandals that reminded me of Bare Traps from my teen years, but with artistry. Workshop and sales shop again are on the same premises. Since I actually hope to have my own pair of these, I had a chance to chat a bit with Mr. Rice. He comes across as a gentle, quiet man who loves his work. Hopefully he'll have his Web site up and running soon so you can love his work, too.

I found the most personal inspiration at Object Design Gallery, home to more than 100 Canadian jewelry artists. In particular, I found works by two that were close cousins to work of my own: knitted (or perhaps knotted) wire (right) and patterned/printed paper. If I weren't a thousand or so miles from home, I'd get busy.

Speaking of getting busy, Maiwa Supply would inspire anyone remotely fond of textile arts. Dyes of all sorts, stencils and patterns, books, fabric, you name it. Maiwa's main store, also on the island (in the Netloft building) features a variety of ethnic crafts.

Check out these and other craftspeople at the Granville Island Artists & Artisans site. Better yet, check out artists and crafters in your own community. Visit your local open studios and art fairs. Let their work and their passion inspire you to create something of your own.

Visiting Vancouver!

Greetings from Vancouver!

We've gotten away for a few days and will be checking out all that Vancouver has to offer. We are staying near Commercial Drive, a street with a fabulously eclectic array of shops and eateries. It's similar in feel to San Francisco's Valencia Street or, to some extent, Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue (minus the Cal students). More on that later.

Also planning a visit to Granville Island, which is home to many of Vancouver's craftspeople. Also home to a year-round public market (guess it's comparable to Pike Place or Ferry Plaza).

Off to see stuff!

Fabric, fabric, fabric

Some fabric sites and sources I like...


Melinamade --- Tres cool vintage-inspired fabrics and wallpapers. My favorites are the fun '50s patterns like Celestial Lemon, which comes in barkcloth and wallpaper. Who knows, if I ever tire of the colorblocks, this might show up in my bathroom.

Another retro fave: Reprodepot. Also has current designs from such names as Kaffe Fassett (love those knits!) and Amy Butler.


Speaking of Amy Butler ... her new Nigella collection has to be the hit of the blogosphere! It's everywhere ... and now it's here. I found out about this in an e-mail from an online fabric distributer ... I plan to order something for moi! (I think I want something for the dining room too.)

Another site I turn to for inspiration: Javis Davis. They primarily do custom bedding, but they have great combos of fabric patterns. My daughters' new quilt and duvet cover trace their roots here. Not just girl — or girly — stuff here either.

Getting fancy with paint

Once I was old enough to be more help than hindrance, my mother and I did quite a bit of painting around our home. We couldn't afford to hire painters, plus we enjoyed each other's company. And we were complementary workers: She wielded the roller and got up on the ladder; I mostly stayed on the floor and painted the trim. She hated that "fancy" stuff, whereas I never much minded.

I have not lost my affinity for the "fancy" stuff. Even my current home, which has nowhere near the amount of trim and woodwork of the Edwardian I grew up in, evidences my fondness for color and pattern.

My favorite techniques

I'm not much of a faux-finish gal, although I love the look of one done well. Right now my favorite looks are contrasting shapes/colors/finishes. You can get high-impact looks for a minimal amount of effort, compared with techniques that actually require some skill.

Color blocks, stripes and other geometric shapes predominate now at my home. They range from a simple accent wall, in a contrasting color, to the Mondrian-inspired color blocks of my bathroom (see previous post).

Here's an example of contrasting finishes, rather than colors:


This is my older daughter's bedroom, done in contrasting flat and glossy stripes inspired by striped damask fabric (which, by the way, is used for her curtains). It was a simple process: Paint the walls in flat paint (here, Sherwin-Williams' Aloof Gray); measure the stripe intervals; tape off with painter's tape; paint alternating stripes with a clear medium-gloss polyacrylic.

Tools of the trade

I can't speak highly enough of the virtues of a laser level with a suction cup holder. Those stripes are straight, folks, and that is why. Follow the laser line with the painter's tape for consistently straight lines. I used this method in the color-block bathroom as well, and plan to use it in the master bedroom (one of these days).

Let me also address the question of tape. There are painter's tapes (the blue ones, folks) made by recognized manufacturers, and there are tapes put out by lesser or unknown companies. I used some of each in my bedroom and bathroom projects and, without naming names, found that not all tapes are created equal. On my next project, I'll probably spend the few extra cents to avoid tapes that tear unpredictably and allow seepage.

Of course, even more expensive tapes will allow seepage if you don't firmly press down the edges. Some people recommend going over the raw tape edges with a clear poly (I'd think the flattest finish would be best for this) before painting colors. I've not tried it, but it sounds like a good measure for large areas. However, I think I'd have driven myself nuts if I did this with the bathroom.

I found the most useful (and kind of cute) kit for painting my bathroom: a mini-roller kit with three 1/2" roller covers and the small roller, packaged in a mini paint tray. Here's a similar one. A construction buddy recommends these for cutting in at the ceiling: Wipe the excess paint off the end, and roll away.

Hey, I'd like to see more examples of blocks, stripes and such. Send me some links to post!

Welcome!

As I begin to write this, one thought shoves its way to the front of my brain:

What took you so long?

I could say it's the kids' fault, and I wouldn't be far off. Then there's the minor issue of the day job, and sometimes the nighttime responsibilities. Why, I barely have time to do the stuff I want to write about, let alone write about them.

But here I am. And who am I, Craftymama? I'm indeed a crafty mama. I have two daughters (9 and 5) and I love crafts. I sew, knit, embroider, make jewelry (wire, beads, polymer clay). I occasionally dabble in paper crafts, art journaling, crochet and glass painting. I know my way around power tools, too.

I also love home and garden decor. I was raised by my mother and my grandmother; the latter was one of those women who could make you get lost in your own home. I'd leave for school in the morning and by 3:30 the house would be entirely different. Sometimes she'd still be in progress when I came home, and I would have to help her finish the job. I am one of those women now. (Working on the daughters, too.)

A couple other things have shaped my philosophy about making a home. One, I am of the generation that actually saw women stay at home, but who were raised and instructed to have a career. So I have both.

Second, I hated homemaking in junior high. Flunked the sewing part. My mother didn't laugh about that, but my grandmother — who taught me how to sew long before junior high — did. Draw your own conclusions.

Enough about me for now. You have to see my bathroom!
This is the before shot:

It's a run-of-the-mill late '50s job, roughly 6' x 9', with the original butter yellow and blue-green tile. It's been green, and for the last 16 years, had been yellow. I needed something different. Found some inspiration at HGTV.com, from the "Decorating Cents" site. Colors I got from Sherwin Williams' "Suburban Modern" '50s color palette. Here's the after:



Finished it in February. Nearly six months later, I still love it. What do you think?