laurie's-projects

Baby Hats

2011-12-22T07:18:00.000-08:00

Playing with my new grandson has been so much fun. I knew I would enjoy being a grandma...I had no idea how special it would be. I love every minute spent with this beautiful little boy.
As I said in an earlier post, most of the newborn clothes we made prior to his birth don't fit...
10 lbs 7 ounces is a very big newborn.... So, since the winter has been very chilly by California standards, I've taken to making him cute little hats to wear...I found a very easy but very cute hat pattern online...it's from Grosgrain, a smart well done blog I follow. I found it in a round about way googling baby strawberry knit caps...it was just a coincidence that the pattern was on a blog I already follow...just several years back. Here's the link to it if you want to give it a go, the color combinations are endless...as you'll see from the photos...you could make flowers for little girls...fruit...any holiday color combos...I was even thinking of doing red and white stripes with a blue "star" on top for Fourth of July!

Watercolor Orchids

2011-12-12T07:01:00.000-08:00

The weather is dismal, raining and cold. My bright spot...our new grandson Kale. He's a joy. When I'm not visiting and playing grandma, I'm painting. Working on a series of orchids to take back to the Hawaii gallery in late December. Here's what I've come up with so far

I'm a Grandma!!!!!

2011-12-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

We are so excited...our daughter and son-in-law had a BEAUTIFUL baby boy Wednesday. This is so thrilling, our first grandchild. I have been making baby clothes and things for months now...the anticipation was fun but the reality is soooooo much better. Only one problem, he was so big 10lbs 7oz that NONE of the newborn clothes we made fit...ugh. But I think we'll keep him :)

at home with mommy

and grandma

night night

Burlap Wine Gift Bags

2011-11-30T16:05:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas time, thought I'd make up some new wine gift bags. I made some last year, they're super cute but labor intensive. These went together quickly, mostly because they're not lined. I had burlap leftover from the placemats so figured I could put it to good use.
I started with pieces of burlap approximately 9"x15".

I used my Cricut and cut designs out of freezer paper

once they were ironed on it was time to dab on the fabric paint

after you've put on a good coat of paint, peel off the freezer paper stencil

once dry, heat set with an iron

To sew the bag, place a printed piece with a blank

piece, right sides together and sew side seams. Serging is best

because the burlap frays easily.

to create the "box" pleat base fold in the sides like this:

and sew along bottom (careful to "catch" all the raw edges)

you might want to double stitch to make sure it holds securely

turn right side out and iron the box pleat to create the base

serge (or zigzag) the top raw edge

fold the top edge in about 3"- 4"and iron

(this will make the placket for the twine and

create a ruffle along the bottle neck)

Put two eyelets in just above the bottom of the turned over edge

and topstitch all around the bag above and below them

(makes about a 1/2" wide placket)

feed twine thru the placket you created, cinch up and tie with a bow

Reversible Placemats and Matching Napkins

2011-11-23T13:20:00.000-08:00

I've been seeing lots of things made of burlap lately and thought I wanted to give it a try. The rough texture is appealing and I thought an image silkscreened on it would have a fun bumpy look. Placemats are something I can always use and figured a fun nautical theme would work best for the Hawaii House. I knew these needed to be lined...and if I did a good enough job they'd be reversible. I found some great ticking in blue and white that I thought would go with my concept.

I used my Cricut to cut out the stencil of

randomly placed lighthouses using contact paper.

I adhered the contact paper to my silkscreen

and printed on the roughly cut rectangles

When I mixed the ink it matched the ticking quite well,

unfortunately when it dried it was not close...oh well

I serged the ticking to the burlap to make sure nothing raveled,

turned right side out, ironed, then topstitched around the edges.

I made matching napkins with the leftover ticking...

mitered corners make for a finished look.

Chalkboard Placecards

2011-11-19T15:45:00.000-08:00

I bought a can of chalkboard paint the other day to spruce up some old projects...and since I had a lot leftover I came up with a simple way to make placecards for our Thanksgiving table. I found a free turkey silhouette of clipart and turned it into an svg. file for my Cricut. I cut a bunch of turkeys out of Contact Paper and used them as my stencils. The contact paper stuck well to my little wooden squares. All I had to do was spray several coats of chalkboard paint, peel off the stencil and write the initial of each of our guests on "their" individual turkey.

Beach Paintings

2011-11-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

the weather has turned cold, windy, rainy...ugh...definitely NOT Hawaii. My thoughts turn to nice warm days at the beach. I paint from photos so decided to dig out some shots I took last summer when the days were long and warm and beautiful. Here are a couple I did last week...

Emma

2011-11-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

My friend Martha asked me to paint a portrait of her "grand dog" Emma as a Christmas present for her son and daughter-in-law. Emma is a lab-ra-doodle and has a mass of curly hair...I was worried I couldn't capture her in watercolor so asked Martha if it would be okay if I tried it in oils. I figured if it didn't turn out well I just wouldn't give it to her :) Here's the progression of Emma...the photos are from my iPhone...so not the best, but you'll get the idea. I'm pretty happy with the final results...

here's the beginning...I start with a sienna background on the

canvas...makes the finished oil much warmer. With animals,

if you get the eyes right...the rest falls into place

starting the fur...I did lots of colors...the light hits her curls

and creates tons of shades of tans/siennas/browns even though

she's really just one shade of beige

working on depth...adding darks and lights

I asked Martha what colors they had in their house...

light blues, tans and light greens...thought the blue

brought out the rich tones of her fur best

Emma

Gift Tags "take 2"

2011-11-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

Well, Halloween has come and gone. Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner, yikes! With the new grandbaby due any day I figured it was time to start on holiday stuff...the more I can accomplish early the more time I have to spend with Kipp and her new bundle of joy. Yesterday Maya at Completely Coastal had a post on "nautical gift tags". It reminded me of the tags I made last year and how a little coastal twist would be cool. I got out my Cricut and cut a bunch of tags from card stock, then cut stars and anchors. The anchors are not on any cartridge I have, rather free clipart from the internet I turned into an svg file using Inkscape and Sure-Cuts-Alot. Those two tools turned my cricut into a very versatile machine...I don't need to rely on expensive cartridges anymore...I can cut almost anything I can dream up...so cool. Anyway...here's what I came up with in about 15 minutes. Thanks Maya for the nudge :)

New Teddy Bear for the Nursery

2011-10-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

I had some leftover Michael Miller fabric from making crib sheets for the nursery and thought a teddy bear might be fun. I "googled" teddy bear patterns and found this one online here. The pattern is downloadable...but the instructions are thin at best. I wouldn't tackle it if you don't have some sewing experience...but he turned out pretty cute!

The Baby Shower

2011-10-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

Kipp's good friend Lea hosted a beautiful baby shower for her yesterday. So much fun...

name tags and great graphic

art for the nursery

party favors

our "craft" project. Kipp and I cut 14 cute designs

out of freezer paper and ironed them to onesies.

We provided foam brushes and silk screen

ink and let everyone choose a design and

color it in. Made for a cute decoration as well.

finger food lunch...yum

the "bar"

the mother-to-be when she arrived

and saw the set up

working on their onesies

Kipp with her Aunt Terrie and grandma

(soon to be great grandma)

A silly game where you cut a piece of yarn as big around as

you think her tummy is...mine was so long we fit in it together!!!

(I didn't win)

A handmade quilt my sister did for the crib...all the

Michael Miller fabrics Kipp has used in the nursery...

SO thoughtful and beautiful

a LOT of presents...who knew you needed so much for a little baby!!

our finished onesies!!!!

Fun fun day

Watercolor from the Bike Trip

2011-10-14T19:19:00.000-07:00

Over the years I have done watercolors from pictures taken on our bike trips, had giclee prints made and sent a copy to each our fellow travelers. This little village of "trulli" houses was so picturesque I just had to paint it. Here's the first try...

Hawaiian Watercolors

2011-10-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

Only a week left at the Hawaii House. So sad...but home to a baby shower and the birth of our first grandchild...so not so bad :) I've been painting, trying to build up some inventory for the gallery here. This is a slow time on the island, but the snowbirds will arrive soon and hopefully sales will pick up. Here are two I just finished...

Surf Shack 16x20

Beach Vine 16x20

I've done these before, I'm happier with this effort

More Party Favors (and a shower game prize)

2011-10-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

We're back at the Hawaii House for 19 fabulous days. I brought a bunch of projects with me...so lots of painting and sewing and sunning...not all bad. I wanted to make a zippered pouch for each of the baby shower guests and since I had a ton of provencal fabric leftover from pillows I thought it would be perfect. I ordered 24 yellow zippers from Zip It Zippers A terrific site to purchase zippers at GREAT prices.

I precut all the pieces for the pouches and just brought

them in my suitcase...had the zippers mailed here

24 zippered pouches later! Now for one of the "game prizes"

another quilted purse and matching pouch

We return to California on the 19th...the shower is the

22nd...I'm ready. Hope the baby waits a bit more :)

Baby Shower Party Favors

2011-09-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

Kipp's good friend Lea (her maid of honor 3 years ago) is hosting a baby shower for her in a few weeks. I volunteered to make the party favors and since I'll be in Hawaii until 2 days before the shower I thought I'd better make them ahead of time...here's what I came up with.

Super easy, but cute I think. I started with 2 cases

of canning jars (pint size), 2 big bags of cake mix,

a big bag of chocolate chips, yards and yards of

bias tape in polka dot and check/baby blue of course,

and cute labels with baking instructions I printed on the computer

you might recognize the bias tape...it's

leftover from the cradle bumpers

my labels say "thanks for coming" &

"and welcoming baby boy batley"

the flip side has baking instructions

for the cupcakes

{bake @ 350 about 18 minutes

1 egg

a bit under 1/2 C water

a bit under 1/4 C oil

yield 6 cupcakes}

I washed all the mason jars in the dishwasher

then poured 1 cup of cake mix in each

next, 1/4 Cup chocolate chips

I punched a hole in each label, threaded the bias tape through it

and tied the "ribbon" around the top of the jar

all 24 party favors are ready to go

Home from the Bike Trip

2011-09-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

We made it home...whew, great trip. It was divided into three parts...Lake Garda, the biking, Paris. Each piece was super fun and so different. I already shared some pictures from Villa Feltrinelli on Lake Garda, now for a few pics from the bike trip and Paris.

Here I am cruising on my bike...we did over 200 miles in 6 days,

not so much for Chris, ALOT for me!

Here's Chris leaving a lunch spot for

an afternoon of more biking

A pasta making lesson at one of our hotels in Puglia

A mozzarella making lesson

One of the olive tree orchards we rode through (these are 800 years old)

A little local color

The Puglia coastline

Another lunch spot...a private villa in the hills above Lecce

How cute are these Trullis????

And of course, golf amongst the olive trees

and then...3 fun days in Paris. I planned a special treat

for Chris, lunch at Jules Verne up on the 3rd level of

the Eiffel Tower...incredible experience

Lake Garda

2011-09-12T08:34:00.000-07:00

We're at the most amazing place...Villa Feltrinelli. It's where Mussolini was held near the end of WWII...a beautiful old villa surrounded by the most luxurious 10 acres of landscaping right along Lake Garda. It has only 16 rooms...very peaceful...very elegant. Our little Ford rental car looks lost among the ferraris and mercedes...the perfect place to get over our jet lag before the bicycle trip.

the view from our room

the front door (Chris posting a pic to Facebook)

the back door!

we're not too far from Venezia...

pretty cool

Ciao

2011-09-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

We're leaving for Italy tomorrow. Another bike trip...so fun. This time we're biking Puglia. It's an area in Italy we've not spent much time in, it will be exciting to taste new regional dishes and photograph cool buildings and scenery for future paintings. Thought I'd leave you with a little watercolor I finished yesterday...very apropos of the trip (did it for the baby's nursery...his daddy rides a Vespa to work most days) Ciao!

Manzanita Yardwork

2011-09-07T07:22:00.000-07:00

Well, it's finally time to tackle the "outside" of the Manzanita Remodel! Ryan has been pulling out shrubbery from the backyard for weeks...but Labor Day we all pitched in to start cleaning up the front. With a giant pine tree looming over the landscaping and dropping pine needles at an alarming rate...it looked a little creepy and a lot messy. We figured an empty "canvas" would be much easier to work with then a collection of half dead scraggly plants. Here are before and "in progress" after photos.

and after a day of work

Most of the river bottom rock is going...we're thinking of

putting a "free" sign on the pile and seeing what happens.

Lots of neighbors stopped by to welcome Ryan & Katie to the

neighborhood...hahaha, they've been there a year

but since the work has all been going on inside no one knew them.

Now the decision...to change the color of the house or not!

Dog Pillows and Bags

2011-08-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

The boutique in Seal Beach [Hapa Collective] that carries our pillows and etched glasses is participating in a "Pet Day" next month. They requested some new inventory to sell in their booth near the Seal Beach Pier. I just silkscreened some new dog images on unbleached muslin and made 16"x16" pillows and on some cute inexpensive canvas totes I purchased from Dharma Trading Company. Here are the results

The Dachshunds seem to be the big sellers

but I kind of like the Westie.

Sasha

2011-08-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

My mom's birthday is coming up soon. Since we'll be traveling to Italy and then back to the Hawaii House I thought I should get to working on her birthday present while I had time. My parents have a great boxer puppy and I thought a watercolor portrait of "Sasha" would be just the perfect gift. Is this the cutest pup ever or what?!?!?!?

I cropped a shot of her so I could get the details of her face just right

And...here's the portrait I did this morning...I'm pretty happy with it

framed and matted

if my mom checks my blog the cats out of the bag :)

Newborn Sleepers

2011-08-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

Saw this cute pattern on one of the blogs I follow (get the tutorial and download the pattern here). Super easy, and with fleece...and a serger, it's literally 15 minutes of sewing. Think the snaps took me longer to attach than sewing the whole thing. My husband went to graduate school at UCLA and is pretty wild about all things Bruin...so when I saw this fabric I just had to get it

and then...one of my best buddies who will be a first

time grandma 6 weeks after me saw this and just needed

one too...but of course, from USC. So, I made her one today

I made the legs a little longer and did a better job with the

collar ribbing...but essentially the same thing. Super cute, and

now the babies can continue the school rivalry.

Cradle Bumpers

2011-08-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

We're getting closer and closer to baby time. Kipp and Andrew are excited, and with the purchase of a crib and other "infant items" the reality of it all is sinking in. We are very thrilled to pass along the cradle Chris made for Kipp's brother Ryan almost 32 years ago. Kipp was the second baby to use it...then we started loaning it to friends and family. To date, 33 babies have spent their first few months sleeping in this special little bed. Every time a family uses it, we have a small brass plaque inscribed with the baby's name and birthdate and affix it to the cradle stand. Kipp will be the first baby to have a baby of her own use it...pretty cool. It needed a little sprucing up so I've just made new bumpers. I think there have been 6 or 7 sets of bumpers through the years...both pink and blue...but my first grandchild certainly needed a new set all his own. Yesterday I bought some cute blue polka dot and check fabrics, some foam and just finished the project.

first, I needed yards and yards of piping (welting)

so used a YouTube video to make 15 yards of

continuous bias strip using just a 20" [folded]

piece of fabric...it's almost magic!

cut my foam pieces to match the angled

sides of the cradle

sewed cording into my bias strips to make welting

[using my zipper foot]

see...yards and yards of it

then attached the piping to one side of each piece

(again using the zipper foot) to get close to the sewn edge

Then, I just sewed right sides together just like making a

pillow, then stuffed the foam pieces into each "section"

I made ties to connect each piece...slid them into the

cradle tucked around the "mattress"

brass plaques..."our babies"

California Paintings

2011-08-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

Well, back in California. I was in Hawaii for 2 months this time so there were lots of things to do around the house here before I could start new[fun] projects. Chris ,Ryan and Andrew are off backpacking the John Muir trail so I had lots of time to get things sorted out and worked on. I'm still trying my hand at oils...but always do a watercolor every other painting to keep my hand in. Here are my two latest... a lot larger than I usually attempt...the oil is a work in progress but I'm liking it so far...it's a larger version of the one I did awhile ago...it's the beach down the street from our house. The Ritz Carlton is up on the cliff on the right.

The watercolor below is fun...lots and lots of splatter with

a toothbrush to recreate sand...and at 20x30 it took forever!

Hope Ryan appreciates it...yes, going to the Manzanita House.

And...I've started a new blog...this one is for the gallery I'm in in Laguna Beach. I'm hoping it will generate some interest in our gallery, both our online and physical presence. Check it out here

Hawaiian Paintings

2011-07-20T19:23:00.000-07:00

Leaving the Big Island tomorrow after two months. So sad to leave...but back to California and reality. I have sewn so many baby clothes, and pillows and projects...not sure why I always forget to shoot so I can post...something always distracts me. I just scanned these four...my latest little oils. Have yet to find a gallery for the oils, but the watercolors are still selling well so I'm happy with that.

Mauna Kea Beach (6x6)

Snorkel spot north end of Mauna Kea (6x6)

a fun little wave (6x6)

a bit bigger wave (11x14)

Hawaiian Onesie

2011-07-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

Kipp is here another couple of days...then back to California. We've had a great time and made some fun baby clothes in between beach and pool time. Our latest, another set of onesies decorated with freezer paper stencils.

start with a pack of onesies (from Target)

dye bath of Rit Dye (I only had blue and

yellow...so we were limited)

the dyed shirts, ready for printing

xacto knife, cutting board and freezer paper

draw your design, then cut it out (shiny side down)

iron "stencil" to onesie shiny side to fabric,

hot iron, no steam

simply daub paint onto shirt, let dry, remove freezer paper,

iron to heat set.

and...here's the finished project from the other day:

Baby Boy Outfits

2011-07-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

Well, big week! It was my birthday yesterday...I turned 60!!!! ugh...as my mother put it, 6 decades...WOW. Seems old to me. But, I had a wonderful day. Put Chris on a plane to Alaska...he's meeting Ryan, Andrew and my dad for 5 days of salmon fishing. Kipp has come over to play with me. Think I told you - I'm going to be a grandma!!!!! Yipppeeeee. Kipp is halfway there and we're taking this opportunity to make some fun clothes for the baby. Sooooo, after dropping Chris at the airport we headed to Kona and the fabric store then Target for infant t-shirts. I downloaded the super cute, super easy Perfect Diaper Cover pattern from MADE...a very smart and clever blog and we got to work. Dana (MADE) has a great tutorial, so if you want to make some of these just check out the link...great directions, very easy. We were all about making matching t-shirts...so this is what we did.

a package of t-shirts from Target

1/2 yard of each fabric choice

downloaded pattern from MADE

Heat and Bond (to adhere appliques) and elastic

Kipp cut out a shape from the leftover fabric scraps

and ironed on a piece of Heat and Bond

She peeled off the protective layer exposing

the adhesive

positioned the applique

ironed, hot without steam

too cute!

Then, we did it again with bandana fabric

Nautical Pillows

2011-06-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

I've had this project in mind for quite a long time. Ryan's bedroom (at the Manzanita remodel) has been the last place we've worked on (since it's upstairs and no one sees it). To continue the nautical theme I thought it would be cool to make a bunch of 18" square pillows for the head of his bed using signal flag designs. I went to Kona last monday and bought a yard of red, white, blue and yellow. I didn't really care which (flag) letters I used, I was sort of going for cute and colorful. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when I saw the nautical napkin post by Purl Bee yesterday. Now I look like a big ole copycat :( Oh well, happens alot in blogland I guess...She did a really nice job and I'd suggest checking out her post. Great tutorial and great photos. I haven't finished yet...Ryan arrives from Asia today and so we'll head into Kona to pick him up and maybe I can stop by the yardage store for zippers and backing. Thought I'd share my progress so far...these are VERY colorful and quite pretty...think they'll make a statement in a white beadboard room!

Petroglyph Dress

2011-06-18T10:58:00.001-07:00

The Big Island of Hawaii has several areas where you can find petroglyphs. They're very cool...and many of the island logos reflect the cool graphic nature of the designs. I thought it would be fun to silkscreen a border using one of the designs...the Honu (turtle). I bought a rayon dress clothing blank from Dharma Trading Company (a very cool place to buy everything related to textile arts) and dyed it with Rit Dye

following the package direction...I got the dress wet first,

added salt and let sit in the dye bath overnight.

The dye didn't take as well as it usually does,

kinda splotchy...but kinda tie-dye ish so I like it

Next...for the design. I sketched out a pattern

of turtles and transferred to clear

contact paper (for the silkscreen stencil)

I carefully cut out the images with an Xacto knife

saving the inside cutout pieces to add to the silkscreen

to complete the images

screen with stencil adhered, ready to print

with squeegee and fabric ink I'm ready to print

I used the ironing board so as I moved around the hem line

the wet images wouldn't stick to one another

and transfer ink where I didn't want it to go

After heat setting the printed images...the dress

was ready to go!

Ryan's 1/2 Ironman Triathlon

2011-06-10T21:03:00.000-07:00

Whew...Ryan competed in the Honu 1/2 Ironman last Saturday. He did great...such an effort...we're all very proud of him. It's a huge undertaking...his goal was to qualify for the World Championships...and even...with a run he wasn't thrilled with...he did! This race is a 1.2 mile swim in Hapuna Bay, a 56 mile bike along the North Kohala Coast...Hapuna to Hawi and back, and then a 13.1 mile (half marathon) run through the grounds of Mauna Lani. Here are a few photos of the event...

The cheering section

mass start for the swim...1600 athletes churning the water

the swim finish

the bike ride

the run

the finish

the finish (yes, that's 4 hours 36 minutes of hard work)

And now...Ryan and his girlfriend Katie are off to Thailand for

some fun and Vietnam to help build a house for Habitat for Humanity

Watercolors for Hawi

2011-06-03T16:59:00.000-07:00

We've been here (the Hawaii House) a week now. Just getting back in the routine. I've been painting trying to build up some inventory for the gallery in Hawi (I've sold quite a few pieces the last couple of months...yipppeee) Now, just waiting on frames to get here. I never seem to have the right combo of mattboard, frames or glass on hand so I can just paint, frame and hang. But here are a couple of the new ones heading to the gallery

On a side note...Ryan is here to compete in the

Honu 1/2 Ironman tomorrow. The 3 of us have

been playing a bit of golf...super fun. Here we are at Hapuna,

even more fun because I beat the boys...

We played Waimea CC a few days later...payback...

they beat me :(

Hala-kahiki keiki (pineapple baby)

2011-05-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

We're back in Hawaii...yipppeeee....for 2 whole months. It's always fun to see how the yard has grown while we're away...and I was pleasantly surprised to see my first pineapple has really grown. It's so easy to grow one...but I still got a bit of satisfaction seeing it there waiting just for me!

If you live in a warmer climate (Ca, Fl or Hi for instance)

I think this would work well. Seriously, this is stupid easy.

Buy a nice pineapple at the market...

Cut off the top

and then...put it in the ground! Seriously.

You can get green thumby and soak it in a

root stimulant for a few days...but I just scoop out a

bit of soil, lay the pineapple top in and cover the

cut section with the scooped out dirt. Water a bit...then

let the sprinklers, the sun and nature do the rest.

These start to root after a couple of weeks, then after a

couple of months the baby pineapple forms at the top amid

the leaves...VERY exciting...

and when we got here Thursday this is what I found

now, the biggest worry...when to harvest

Macbook Travel Case

2011-05-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

We travel quite a bit and taking a computer through airport screening can cause a bit of hassle depending on the individual TSA folks you meet. I decided a cloth "bag" to hold my MacBook Air would streamline the process (many airports let the bag go thru x-ray without even removing the computer). It is very simple to make, lightweight, padded enough to protect the computer and handy to carry when your arms are full of things in the security line.

I just took a 1/2 yard of fabric and freehand quilted it around

the cool Hawaiian design. Added straps that I'd edged with bias tape and

sewed velcro strips to keep it closed.

And...with all the cords that I take for recharging and

photo downloading I made a matching drawstring

bag. Too easy and handy to keep all the electronics

in one place.

Tile Coasters

2011-05-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

I saw the greatest coaster "how to" on the super smart blog A Little Hut and just had to try them. They're easy and clean and really cool. The tiles are from Home Depot (16 cents each). I designed my pattern on the computer, created an svg file in Inkscape, converted it to SCAL (Sure Cuts ALOT) and had my Cricut cut them out in 2 minutes. Lots of layers of ModPodge later and...

added little felt squares on the bottom...and Ryan's house

has a set of nautical coasters. But seriously...check out A Little Hut

Tee Shirt Rug

2011-05-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

Wow...I started this rug in December. I NEVER thought I'd finish it, but finally, today, it's all done. I saw these on ETSY and thought making one would be easy and a fun way to use up old tee shirts. That's all there is to it...rug canvas and 1"x4" strips of tee shirts. Mine is white...but you could make any color, pattern or mix of colors...just takes some imagination and tee shirts. (I supposed you could dye them first for a really custom look)

I bought a packet of rug webbing (one package was enough for 2 2'x3' rugs)

and a package of rug binding. Sewing the binding to the edge of the webbing is very easy...

Then...just collect all the tee shirts you can find...

I think I used 9 for this rug...and cut into 1"x 4" strips

(a rotary cutter is SUPER valuable)

I cut a template out of card stock and used it as an aid

to make the cutting go faster

Cut off the hem

then just cut row after row of 1" strips

then cut the opposite direction to make them 4" long

Start feeding either end of the tee shirt strip through the

webbing. (initially I did every square...but the rug

became too thick and heavy so I did every other row)

It's very time consuming...but definitely something

you can do watching tv

see the darker square on the lower left corner

of the rug...ugh...thats from a pretty old dingy shirt...

may have to change that out.

We're in St Barths!

2011-05-09T05:14:00.000-07:00

Here we are at Pinehurst!

We haven't been here for a couple of years (used to be a semi-annual trip) but with my illness and the Hawaii House it seemed like a VERY long trek from California. This spring, Chris had a meeting at Duke (he's on an advisory board to the school of nursing) so we combined that meeting with a golf trip to Pinehurst and a few days relaxing in St Barths. Little did we know that US Airways would be fairly disappointing...we sat on the runway in Charlotte for 4 hours yesterday for a 3 hour flight...ugh. We ran like crazies through the St Maarten airport to catch our little plane to St Barths. Made it even though Chris' suitcase didn't. No worries...they'll deliver it today. I took some pictures of the villa we've rented...it's nice...will hopefully be prettier when the sun comes out :( Hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day!

master bedroom

master shower

another view of the shower...very cool

open living area (notice how similar the ceiling is to the Hawaii House)

another shot of the living room

kitchen

The house has some pretty cool details...I'll send more shots later...

just have fingers crossed for sun...it's pretty cloudy right now

Patchwork Pillow

2011-04-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

So...I had all these little leftover silkscreened squares (for the tissue covers).

I've already made 4 covers... that's probably enough and thought I could use them in a new project ...
A patchwork pillow sounded fun...and since the scraps were 6"x5.5" I just trimmed them to 5.5" square, which when pieced together made a 16" square pillow. I laid out my pattern...

then stitched each stripe

making sure to iron open each seam

I sewed all three stripes, then lined up the individual

seams and sewed the stripes together

then, just take the 16" square and sew it to a solid backing,

insert hidden zipper in bottom seam and stuff with a pillow form.

Too cute and very nautical!

New Painting

2011-04-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

I'm at Ryan's today...priming, filling, sanding and painting his front door. It was the thing that attracted us to the house in the first place...only because it's a Dutch door. Too cute, but badly damaged by the two dogs who lived here. So...after sanding...and priming...we're filling the scratch marks...sanding and priming. Good thing it's 75 today...things are drying quickly. Yesterday was a painting day, and I sewed another tissue cover (the last of 4 for Ryan) Here's the painting...it's of Strands Beach (Ritz Carlton is up top) I sold the first one quickly (from Laguna North Gallery) so bumping up inventory before we head back to Hawaii.

Here are some iphone photos of the

latest "decorating" at Ryan's

New Painting for the Day

2011-04-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

I'm soooo excited...the gallery in Laguna called this afternoon and I sold two more small oils!!!! Yippeeee. I have been wanting to try oils for so long, it feels really good to have other people enjoy my work. Watercolors have been my friend forever and it took a bit to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. I'm stoked I have a different "project" to try everyday. Here's today's little oil. It's the beach in front of the Montage Hotel in Laguna Beach...very cool hotel, very cool setting.

New Pillows for the Boutique

2011-04-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

My pillows are selling well in the Seal Beach boutique ... so I've done a couple new designs. Never know what the customers might like...but beachy nautical themes are always a safe bet.

Daily Painters Challenge

2011-04-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

I think I told you I've been trying to paint as often as I can...I'm not up to one painting a day...but getting close. The little painting of Puako Road I posted on the Daily Painters Japanese Relief Challenge sold!!! Thanks to my good buddy Dianna, it's going to a new home...thank you :) Anyway, I entered a new challenge last week...Carol Marine...the creator of the Challenge site posted a couple of photos she'd taken in Germany and dared us all to paint them. I chose one of them, painted my version of it and posted it on the site. Check it out. Here it is if you don't feel like scrolling thru all the paintings but it's a hoot to see all the various interpretations of one photograph

Stair Rope Banister

2011-04-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

I'm back in California...that means more projects at Ryan's remodel. We finally got the stair rope brackets from England (yes, we ordered them from overseas) and 40' of inch and a half nylon rope from a ship chandlery on the East Coast...we were ready to install the super cool rope banister.

Is this just the coolest thing ever?!?!

One problem...we didn't order quite enough

rope...I had planned on tying a monkey

fist knot at either end, but there's not enough slack

to allow it...any suggestions????

Tissue Box Cover

2011-04-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

We're heading back to California Friday...:( Thought I'd get a few projects done here before we leave. I haven't been able to find any good looking (not hokey or tacky) Kleenex box covers so I'd thought I'd make my own. Easy, quick and it's even reversible so you get two covers for the work of one.

You'll need:

8 pieces of fabric 5.5"x 6" for the sides (if you want it reversible use a different fabric for 4 of the pieces) and 2 pieces of 5.5"x5.5" for the top (one in the different fabric), freezer paper, foam brush and fabric paint

Cut out your pieces and sew side seams of the larger pieces leaving your stitching line open 1/2" from the end, iron seams

Download a clipart image or draw you own and transfer to

a piece of freezer paper. Cut out image with an xacto knife

Iron freezer paper to the end panel of your sewn strip

(no steam, shiny side down)

Daub paint onto your stencil with a foam brush, let dry

remove freezer paper (remember to position your design

with the open section of the side seams at the top)

Sew the final side seam so you've created a tube

Iron final seam, turn right side out and

slide assembly over the box to test for fit

Turn inside out, pin top piece to "tube" carefully spreading

open the 1/2" of open side seam to ease corners, sew

Turn right side out, iron, mark the center of the top piece,

then trace the little removable oval from the top

of the tissue box (this will be your pattern for the

opening on the top of the box) in the center of the lining piece

With right sides together, sew the lining piece to the

top of your assembly a 1/4" inside your tracing

Cut out the center section leaving a scant 1/4", clip all around

Turn right side out and iron. Repeat the side piece assembly with the

lining fabric and attach to the lining top. Iron under

raw edges and sew (you'll then have a finished

edge on the bottom of the fabric "box")

Slide over your tissue box...

Daily Painters Challenge

2011-03-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

Wow, just looked at the date of my last post...it's been forever! I have been busy, honest. I have been painting lots of little 6"x6" plein aire oil paintings. Still trying to figure out where I might get them hung...there's a gallery in Waikoloa...if I have the nerve to approach them that might be the ticket! Anyway, I follow a blog or 2 or 3 of daily painters (think I've mentioned there's a group out there who are dedicated to painting one painting EVERY day...no matter what). Wow...that takes some commitment and time management. I've tried...but something always gets in the way to do it everyday. I must admit though, like everything else, the more you do, the better you get. I did post one painting to their site last week. They're having a fund raiser for Japanese Tsunami Relief and every painting is for sale and 100% of the sales price will be donated to some relief organization (as directed by the posting artist) No bids on my painting yet...but it's kind of fun to have it out there and visible to lots of people. Here's the site if you're interested...there's some nice work at REALLY low prices. If you want to see my little piece you'll have to scroll down about 10 rows...but here it is in living color

"Hawaiian Quilt" Stencil Pillow

2011-03-16T20:32:00.000-07:00

You can probably tell from the blog title we're back in Hawaii. We were here for the tsunami...our house is pretty high so we were never in danger...but the island did sustain quite a bit of damage. Of course, it pales in comparison to Japan...but the people who lost their homes here are suffering nonetheless.
We've had some milestones...Chris turned 60 on Thursday...and retired last Monday. Wow...where's the time gone?..I don't feel THAT old!
Since we're here for a month I thought I'd work on some pillows for the living room. All the furniture is white slipcoverd so it's easy to change things up a bit just by tossing around new pillows. I've had Pierre Deux (Provencal fabric) pillows up til now (since the house was inspired by a couple of houses on St Barth's, a French protectorate) I thought that was only appropriate...but little bits of Hawaiiana keep creeping in so I thought a graphic version of the traditional Hawaiian quilt designs would be nice. I got the idea from Martha Stewart Living...they have templates and great "how to" directions

You'll need,

white fabric (2 15" squares per)

a sheet of freezer paper 15" square

scissors

pencil

iron

fabric paint

foam brush

Cut your fabric squares and a piece of

freezer paper the size you want your finished pillow to be

Fold the freezer paper in half

Now fold it in half the other direction

And then fold opposite corners together to

form a triangle

Sketch your design along the folded edge

(templates are available on marthastewartliving.com)

Carefully cut out the design

(if you were using fabric instead of freezer paper, you could use

the cut out piece and stitch it to an existing pillow) ugh...

LOTS of work!

We're using the OUTSIDE piece...so carefully unfold it and

lay it out on your fabric piece

iron the freezer paper (shiny side down) to

the fabric...warm iron NO steam

Using a foam brush and fabric paint...daub on the paint until

the entire stencil has been filled in and the coverage

is fairly opaque...let dry

Carefully peel back the freezer paper...

Heat set the fabric paint as per mfg instructions

Now sew up a pillow using the second piece of fabric.

I always put in a hidden zipper in the bottom seam

so I can "move" the pillow inserts from case to case

Rope Soap Dispenser

2011-03-07T12:10:00.000-08:00

I just had to make a cute soap dispenser for Ryan's powder room. The rope waste baskets (tp spare roll holders) are so fun...why not match them with a rope covered bottle to continue his nautical theme. Super easy and fast. I took an empty glass hand soap bottle

a glue gun, a spool of clothesline rope...

and started gluing and winding the rope around

the bottle, from bottom to top

(bottle in photo is clear rather than the opaque bottle above

...other half of a set)

and...after 20 minutes or so...

So, the new soap dispenser will sit on the

pedestal sink as soon as I can deliver it

It's Been a Painting Week

2011-03-03T18:31:00.000-08:00

I have been really busy this week, made many projects but keep forgetting to take pictures to share :(
Kipp and I finally delivered our pillows

wine gift bags

and glassware

to the new boutique in Seal Beach. Janet (the owner) called Tuesday after close of business the first day to tell us we'd already sold 4 pillows and 2 glasses. FUN! So, back to silkscreening to keep her supplied. Kipp and I tie-dyed scarves with my sister, but it was a bit of a Rit Dye fail. What was supposed to be red and blue sort of turned into pink and lavender (think we didn't leave them in the dye bath long enough).

I made 3 more rope waste baskets for Ryan's remodel

hung two more tp roll holders

but mostly, I painted. I did several small oils for the Laguna gallery

and several watercolors for the Hawaii gallery

Today Ryan and I stripped and sanded doors...ugh. Will it ever end?

Saturday we paint!!!!

Manzanita Re-Do Powder Room

2011-02-22T13:24:00.000-08:00

The ongoing remodel of Ryan's house is starting to really shape up. The powder room is looking pretty cute and nautical. Here's how the sink and vanity looked before:

here it is now:

beadboard wainscotting, a pedestal sink, Restoration

Hardware porthole medicine chest. The towel is on a cleat

the shower/tub before:

the tub after:

lifeguard tower series photo canvas

by Kipp Batley, beadboard surround

toilet before:

love the shiny aqua paint, floor tiles ugh and glass block!!

toilet after:

LOVE the improvised toilet paper roll

made a rope basket to hold paper rolls

(no vanity/no storage) ala Martha Stewart

and Stephanie Lynn (Under the Table and Dreaming)

Hand Made Rubber Stamp

2011-02-21T09:01:00.000-08:00

The gallery in Hawi is "brand" challenged. We don't really have a consistent logo, continuity between business cards, advertising and gallery accessories. I've been working on the design for a new rack card and business card, hoping to spread the word on the Big Island about our charming little gallery at the end of the trail, but thought it would be fun to create a rubber stamp we could use to decorate gift bags customers would take away with their small purchases. The monstera leaf is an integral part of the gallery design and found in the lush foliage of the northern part of the island. The stamp is a quick and easy tool to use on all kinds of things...

you'll need a sketch of your design, an exacto knife,

a piece of eraser or rubber stamp blank (Speedball),

a small square of masonite, a cabinet knob

(just glue the knob to the wooden square for

an easily held stamp)

to transfer your sketch to the stamp blank rub the

back with the edge of a pencil point

place your sketch on the blank and trace around your

image, transferred image will be a bit smudged

but you should have enough of the design to

follow with your knife

cut out the entire image with an exacto knife

glue the cut image to wood...I used a pretty industrial strength

glue knowing the stamp would be rinsed off often

using a brayer, acrylic paint and some sort of flat cleanable surface

(a dinner plate or sheet of glass works well)

roll out a thin even coat of paint on the brayer

transfer the brayer-full of paint to the stamp

then press your "inked" stamp to paper, fabric

or whatever you want the image transferred to

Port Removal T-shirts

2011-02-17T16:06:00.000-08:00

Well...this is going to step way out of the blogosphere comfort zone...but I did an arty project the last few days to celebrate a HUGE moment in my life. I have stage IV colon cancer...have had for 4 years. I've done surgery, chemo, radiation, ct scans, PET scans, blood tests...all the icky things that go along with fighting cancer. My celebration? Last week I had my 27th ct scan 2 years AFTER having finished chemotherapy, it came out clean, clear and perfect! It is a BIG milestone in the battle. I finally get to have my port-a-cath removed (the medical device implanted in the chest to facilitate chemotherapy). So...I'm throwing myself a "port removal dinner party" for all the friends who have helped me with this journey. I thought everyone needed a party favor to commemorate the event so I silkscreened t-shirts!!!!
I made 13 of them...one for myself and all the guests.

these aren't really a fashion statement, but

I put all the little things on them that mean

something to me. those of us who have had a colon resection

refer to ourselves as "semi-colons"...the port is over the

right collarbone, radiation symbol on one sleeve

and one of my favorite little sayings...

and on the back...the reason for

my party...the dates I've worn the port!!!

forgive me if I've offended anyone...

but it's a VERY BIG WEEK for me

Another oil painting

2011-02-16T13:46:00.000-08:00

Rainy day in Southern California today. Staying inside and painting. I used another one of my morning walk photos for today's little piece...remember the seagulls? I cropped it and came up with this;

and this is what I painted

I've always been a watercolorist...I'm determined to

be a better oil painter

It's not Hawaii...but it's not bad

2011-02-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

My morning walk here in California. It's not Hawaii, but it was a beautiful day. The beach (Salt Creek) is a few hundred yards down the street from our house...and low tide makes for great walking. I took my camera along hoping for some good painting pictures...

here's the one that caught my eye for this mornings painting...

Manzanita Remodel Update

2011-02-10T15:00:00.000-08:00

I'm back in California after a month at the Hawaii House. Of course, now that I'm here, it's back to work on Ryan's remodel. It's really starting to look great, interior doors and baseboard are the only two major projects left. Thought I'd share some before and after photos. I tried to straighten things up before I shot yesterday...but he is a 31 year old single guy, so...

here's the living room...lovely slump stone fireplace,

paneling, hard to see but HEAVY drywall texture

and pebble mosaic floor eeew

here's the after, bamboo flooring, new used brick fireplace,

new smooth drywall

(notice the buoys and pine needle basket on the mantle)

pillow look familiar?

the view from the fireplace toward the front hallway and into the dining room,

the floor in the dining room was plywood!

here's how it looks now...beadboard on the entry hall,

bamboo floor throughout, the ceilings are tongue and groove wood

the dining room, the walls were originally STUCCO

(think it was an external patio in another life) and paneling

with a popcorn ceiling

the pine cupboard is in the niche where the panelling cabinet was

remember the dining set?

looking back into the living room (his office is off to the right)

I made a fleet for Ryan too!

view into the kitchen, lovely tile with brown grout, upper cabinets

just gross

this picture is a little busy, but we took out the uppers, black granite countertops

white beadboard cabinets, new travertine farmhouse sink

the staircase to the master...was carpeted, can't find an earlier shot

now...beadboard risers, bamboo treads.

it's coming along :)

Potholder Mania

2011-02-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

Despite a mother fail on my part (not teaching Kipp to sew properly) she has taken potholder making to a new artform! Apparently there is a contest on the very cute website Prudent Baby (winner gets a new sewing machine) and Kipp is determined to win. She has a machine (she registered for one as a wedding gift and actually got it) but it's pretty rudimentary and breaks down quite a bit. She is imagining all the wonderful things she could make if only she had a fancy "all the bells and whistles"machine. So, since she is in California and I am here in Hawaii...there have been quite a few texts and calls and e:mails addressing sewing questions and problems. She has evolved as a "seamstress" in the last few days...it's been really fun to watch. I asked her to send me some photos so I could share. Here are her entries (not sure she's finished yet) in no particular order...but you can probably figure out which were her earlier works and which is the last.

Beachy Bits

2011-02-04T11:17:00.000-08:00

I'm slowly collecting things that say beach to me...and since i'm returning to California Sunday for a month I'm appreciating them more today

a simple lamp filled with black sand from a local beach

the doormat (from WalMart)

the shutterdogs (all the way from the East Coast)

here's how they look in place

all the outdoor light fixtures are these (they look super cool at night)

lots of shells and candles

more shells and sunsets

and who doesn't need a "slipper" candy dish?

or a monstera leaf dish?

and our funky outdoor showers

with cool "whale tale" towel hooks

Matting an Art Project

2011-02-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

As promised, I'm going to attempt to explain matting. It looks way more complicated than it is...just takes a steady hand, SHARP blades and the right tools. Since I paint, have my things hanging in two galleries, it can get VERY expensive to have a professional framer do my framing. I had to learn the technique in self defense a long time ago...now I just do it because it's fun and as I explained in my "how to frame" post, I paint in really odd sizes.
First, supplies you need. the art work
   a piece of matt board (acid free is best)
   same size piece of foam core (1/8" or 1/4")
   pencil
   matt knife (box cutter)
   ruler (straight edge...with a metal edge)
   framers tape (masking tape will yellow and damage art work over time)
   matt cutter (if you want beautiful 45 deg bevels)

First, determine the size you want your finished matted piece to be. Usually I'll allow for 3" sides on my cut mat, so measure the "window" you want surrounding your art and add 3"

Set the cutting edge of your matt cutter to 3"

Slide your already cut to size mattboard into the cutter face down. Use the straight edge of the cutter to draw a pencil line on each side. This will give you the start and stop point for the bevel cutter.

Here's how an intersection will look

Clip the bevel cutter onto the slide rail and depress the thumb lever that controls the blade, slide the unit across the matt board and release the blade when you reach your pencil line

Stopping and starting at each pencil line, cut all 4 sides

Pop out the center piece you've cut and you should have a beveled window that will surround your art

Next, hinge the mattboard to the foam core. Butt the 2 pieces with both pieces right side down and tape along the TOP of the assembly with framer's tape (could be the short dimension or long depending on the orientation of your work) The one I'm showing happens to be a vertical piece

Next, lay your artwork on the foamboard and center within the window of the cut matt

Use a small piece of framer's tape and attach the art work to the foamboard

Artwork should be securely held and beautifully framed within mattboard

And, after framing, here's what it looks like

oops, different piece of art, but you get the idea!

Now, if you're TOTALLY confused, please look at this video...

it is very well done and a lot easier to understand. The matt cutter is an investment, I think around $160 from Dick Blick...but if you frame alot, well worth it.

Touristing in Hawaii

2011-01-28T13:36:00.000-08:00

I have a friend visiting this week (Chris went home to the mainland for work). We have done all kinds of fun touristy stuff I never seem to have time to do.

We played golf at Hapuna

We went whale watching

and this morning we took a helicopter tour of the island

first...the kilauea volcano

and then along the Hamakua Coast

The Big Island of Hawaii is very cool

Kipp's New Pot

2011-01-27T19:50:00.000-08:00

Kipp did the coolest project yesterday and I just had to share. Her sweet husband Andrew gave her a Silhouette for Christmas...and after finishing our nautical etched glassware for the boutique she's been looking around for something new to use it for. She took an ugly old brown pot from the yard and turned it into this!

They lived in London a couple of years ago (after Andrew finished his MBA at Oxford)

so all things British are near and dear to them.

These are the steps though I don't have many pictures;

Select an image you'd like to be the border design on your pot

(Kipp purchased a Silhouette pattern, apparently they have many different "city" designs)

Cut the design out of vinyl

Take a pot or vessel (flat or squarish sides will work best I think)

Adhere the cut vinyl to the base of the pot

(probably cleaning the pot first would be best)

Spray the pot with heavy duty spray paint (appropriate for outdoor use)

Remove the vinyl...and...you've got a cool new pot

Frame Assembly

2011-01-24T11:56:00.000-08:00

As I said in my last post, I've sold some paintings recently and have been painting, matting and framing some new "inventory". Thought I'd share how I frame my work. Since I don't paint to conventional dimensions e.g. 8x10, 11x14, 16x20... (I just paint and then whatever size it matts out to is what I have to frame) I have to order custom frames. It's WAY too expensive to have my things framed so I do it myself. I found a great company online Documounts. They sell unassembled frames in lots of styles and in ANY size you need. They give great discounts for multiple orders (like 5 frames...not necessarliy all the same size) so it comes out super reasonable. It doesn't take any special tool (other than a $4 brad pusher) so anyone can do it. You'll need:

the frame

the artwork

a ruler

a drill (for pilot holes)

a screw driver

glue

a piece of glass (hardware stores usually can cut window glass for you)

glass cleaner/paper towel

brads

brad pusher

picture wire

Begin by laying out the frame sections to make sure all the corners

meet each other and the dimensions are right.

Add a bit of glue to each end

press corners together (maintaining 90 degree angle)

and insert plastic corner key (provided by Documounts)

here's how it should look

be sure to wipe off excess glue from frame with damp towel

measure and mark 1/3 of the way down from top on each side piece

drill a pilot hole

screw in the wire hanger (provided by Documounts)

drop in glass and clean THOROUGHLY

(any lint or bits of stuff will SHOW!!!)

time to put in the artwork

turn it face down onto the glass surface. holding the assembly, flip over

and check to make sure there aren't any bits of dirt

showing between the glass and the matted artwork

this is the most important tool...a brad pusher. It has a little piston inside

that actually pushes the brad into the wood frame

(very cool and easy and only about $4 at the hardware store)

I use 2 brads per side (unless the frame measures more than 20" per side)

The brad goes in the pusher head first, then when you push on the handle

the pointy end of the nail goes into the wood (duh)

next, cut a length of picture wire about 4" longer than

the width of your frame. Loop one end through the hanger and

twist it back on itself

then do the other side

clean the glass on the front...

and you have a custom framed piece

I have more matting to do...I'll show you how I do that

next time.

New Wine Bags

2011-01-23T19:00:00.000-08:00

Wow, I haven't posted in a while. I have been super busy. I sold 3 paintings in the Hawi gallery in the last couple of weeks so have been busy painting to "replenish" my wall space. This is the busy time on the island (snow birds and whale watchers) so I wanted to have new work hung while people are shopping. And...BIG news. I was contacted by a lovely lady named Janet who is opening a new boutique in Seal Beach called Hapa Collective. She saw my silkscreened pillows on ETSY and wondered if I'd like to have them in her new shop. Would I???? So cool. I told her it sounded like fun and sent her the link to my blog so she could see what I'm all about. She wrote back all excited and wanted a bunch of other things I've done. We settled on the wine gift bags, the pillows and the etched nautical glassware Kipp and I are doing. Kipp and I formed a little company and as partners we're having a ball creating all the goodies Janet will take for her shop. Kipp is doing the glassware, I'm silkscreening and sewing the pillows and bags. I brought my silkscreen stuff over here in my suitcase and have been printing like mad. Here are the new designs...if you want to make one...here's the tutorial ...they're easy, just sort of time consuming.

Here's my makeshift silkscreen studio...hahaha, the kitchen counter

And I just had to share...Chris and I went up Mauna Loa

the other day to play in the snow...amazing looking down

on the sunny coastline while standing in snow

Welcome to the Hawaii House

2011-01-10T18:52:00.000-08:00

I've been back in Hawaii a few days now...I always feel so good here. The pace of life is slower, the weather warmer, the sun brighter...you get the idea, I like it here! I thought I'd share a little tour of the house...it's a work in progress...I'm going slowly and adding things when I find something I like (or make) no hurry. We're comfortable...life's good. Here's the front door...since you don't see the ocean right away, we thought it would be fun to have a painting of it as the first thing you see...this painting is by Todd Kenyon (Laguna Beach)

We call it the wave painting

To the left is a loooong hallway that leads to the living room, then on to the den, then finally at the end, Kipp and Andrew's room (almost 200' long with 60' of bookshelves)

Before we get to the bookshelves we're in the living/dining/kitchen great room

Dark floors are epay wood darkened with an ebony stain. The dining table was made by a fellow in Pony, Montana (I found on the internet) made from old barn wood. Furniture is all Pottery Barn slipcovered (I wanted it all to be comfy and slouchy and beachy) Rugs are Dash and Albert

Kitchen is white, satin nickel fixtures, the metal tile backsplash behind the stove looks very cool but is starting to rust...yikes! My contractor warned me...oops.

Here's the coffee table in the living room. Two big pots, filled with sand and shells, covered with a thick piece of glass. Quick and easy.

Down the hallway towards the den

We're slowly collecting books. We read a lot, but have an awful lot of shelves to fill.

The den, paintings by yours truly. We have rope lighting in every room, looks kinda goofy in the daytime, but pretty neat at night.

Ryan's room...I've shown it before in the monkey fist knot post

the view from his bed

His bathroom

Kipp and Andrew's bedroom

Remember my fleet? (left side on the bench)

Kipp and Andrew's bathroom

One set of bunkbeds in the grandkids room. I don't have any grandkids yet...but I'm ready

The master bedroom (the lamp base is filled with black sand and shells from a nearby beach)

The map is of St Barths (one of our favorite vacation spots and the architectural inspiration for the Hawaii House

The view from the living room

Thanks for visiting

Pine Needle Vase

2011-01-09T12:03:00.000-08:00

I'm back in Hawaii and after the hub bub of the holidays, I finally have more time for projects. I had so much fun making my pine needle basket I decided to try another one...but thought a trickier shape would be more challenging. This vase sort of grew all by itself. Of course, it can't hold water....but dried flowers would work.

It's definitely winter here...snowed on Mauna Kea 2 nights ago. We were up in Waimea grocery shopping yesterday and I snapped this picture. Looks almost Alpine...LOTS of snow for Hawaii.

Beachy Pillows

2011-01-03T16:44:00.000-08:00

I'm heading to Hawaii on Thursday for a month (yeah!!!). Whenever I start to get ready...my thoughts turn to all things beachy. Kipp and I are madly making our etched glassware with beach themes...I decided to make a few pillows to go along with them. Out came the contact paper and silkscreen. The Silhouette (with Sure Cuts A Lot) has made the "stencil" cutting super easy. I silkscreened 2 different shell styles and a seahorse.

Here's the silkscreened fabric ready for me to sew it into a pillow.

I've also been working on projects to take to Hawaii. Since

I don't have a silkscreen in Hawaii, I decided to "pre-print" some fabric

so I can make more wine bottle gift bags.

10 pieces 12"x6" ...yeah projects!

I Won!!!

2011-01-03T11:49:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty excited, my post I Made a Fleet was picked FIRST in the "favorite post of 2010 challenge" by CSI Project. How FUN is that?!?!?!? I'm pretty flattered. I love making my projects and posting them...but I'm not very committed to posting them on other sites...(lazy much?) but I did this one on a whim and I'm pretty happy I did. Checkout the site...they have some really neat stuff...tons of ideas and fun challenges. Thank you to them...

Nautical Etched Glassware

2010-12-29T19:41:00.000-08:00

Okay, this project was so fun, so simple and worked so well I had to share. I've been meaning to try glass etching for some time...and with my Cricut I was able to make some great vinyl "stencils"to use with etching cream. A couple of posts ago I was complaining my Cricut was pretty limited (compared to the Silhouette) when Mel from Junkin Junkies commented and convinced me to download Sure Cuts Alot to enhance it's performance. WOW! It' so cool, allows me to cut ANY design or font I want...the design possibilities are literally endless. Kipp and I downloaded some free clipart files, changed them to svg files (using Inkscape) uploaded them to Sure Cuts A Lot and had the Cricut cut away! I watched a couple of YouTube tutorials on how to do it all...seemed complicated at first but once I did one, the rest were easy. NO MORE CARTRIDGE buying...how cool is that????? We cut the designs out in vinyl, transferred the cut vinyl piece to a glass, painted on a thick layer of etching cream, waited 5 minutes, washed it off...and WOW!

creating the "nautical" images on the computer

adhering the cut vinyl to the glass

dabbing on the etching cream

waiting for 5 minutes

the etched design

Thank you Dianna!

2010-12-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

I made a new friend this summer...Dianna. I met her through a fabulous organization called Chemo Angels
She's had a tough year, but is in the home stretch and doing GREAT!!! I just wanted to thank her for her friendship and the great Christmas gift she sent me. She lives in St. Louis, Mo and sent me the coolest "Route 66"cookbook...all kinds of recipes and menus from diners and hotels and restaurants along Route 66 (in Mo.) How fun is that? I made Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies pg. 157 this morning...they're GOOD. So Merry Christmas my friend, and Thank You. Laurie

Make a Painting a Day

2010-12-20T08:30:00.000-08:00

I think I've posted before about a group of painters who have vowed to create one painting everyday...usually small pieces...sometimes practice work sometimes gems...often for sale on their blogs or eBay. I have been intrigued by several painters' works...wishing I had the discipline to do it... I really want to improve my oil painting skills...figure this approach would be a good lesson in time management and dedication. I've started this program several times...often giving up because time here in California is dedicated to family and their needs and projects rather than my own. I picked up my brushes yesterday and tried again. I think I'll be easier on myself and do one when time allows...and the spirit moves me. Here's yesterday's attempt

brown jug with grapes 6"x6" oil on wood panel

Christmas Stocking Disaster Averted

2010-12-18T08:56:00.000-08:00

Wow, parent fail on my part. I left Kipp and Ryan's (and Andrew's) stockings in Hawaii...oops. We spent Christmas there last year and I just forgot to pack them when I came back to California. They have had these stockings since they were babies...my grandmother made them for them. So, what to do? Emergency stockings...Kipp and I thought a Hawaiian theme would be good, then we could take the new ones to Hawaii and bring home the old ones for future Christmases. I had some red and white Hawaiian fabric leftover from a computer bag project (already quilted) and Kipp had green felt leftover from Andrew's Halloween costume...so we were in business. We made a pattern of ridiculously huge stockings and cut them out of the green felt. We made a "cuff" out of the red/white fabric and sewed it to the top edge. I had some red and white polka dot fabric so we used that as the bias tape edging along the top. For embellishment...white felt snowflakes. We fused a piece of felt to HeatnBond, cut out paper snowflakes as our templates, then traced the design onto the paper backing of the bond. Once we cut the snowflake out of felt, we simply ironed it to the stocking. Letters for everyone seemed easier than whole names...they know who they are :)

Doggie Ornament

2010-12-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

Finally...5 minutes to myself. I thought a few new handmade ornaments would be fun. Ryan has a tree in the "new" house...no furniture...but a Christmas Tree! And...no ornaments. I silkscreened a bunch of dog images on scrap muslin...sewed tiny pillows with a ribbon loop for the hanger, stuffed them with fiberfill and in no time...20 new ornaments for Kipp, Ryan and me!

Gift Tags

2010-12-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

I'm finally trying to get into the Christmas spirit. Between trips to Ryan's house to hammer and saw I'm busy shopping and sewing and wrapping and figuring out what to get everyone. Gift tags are always a fun project...quick and easy. I've been having buyer's remorse over the purchase of my Cricut machine. Everyone in blogland seems to own AND love their Silhouettes...and they do look very cool and much more usable than the Cricut...but I did make these little beauties yesterday in about 10 minutes...so ...

I started with a stack of scrap green and white card stock

set the Cricut to cut out a bazillion snowflakes and tags

glued the snowflakes to the tags, tied twine through the hole and...

super cute gift tags

Co-ordinating Pillows for Ryan's House

2010-12-08T07:09:00.000-08:00

Since I was silkscreening anchors for the dining set chairs, I thought I'd do a couple of pillows at the same time. The re-model is coming along...I'll post "after" pictures next week, but here are a couple of pillow designs I've done for his living room.

Dining Set "Re-do"

2010-12-08T07:03:00.000-08:00

I've been back in California for 2 weeks...haven't had a minute of down time...whew. I thought I would start to get in the Christmas spirit...but we're making a BIG push to get Ryan's house close enough to finished so he can move in. So....we've been painting and sawing and nailing and cleaning and buying and designing...yikes...will it ever end? Anyway...we're focusing some time on furnishing...I have this really ugly dining set that has been in my breakfast nook for years. I've hated it since I got it, but never had the energy to change it. Well, it's prefect for Ryan's house (it's free) but definitely won't go with the nautical theme as is...so I took this (there are 4 of them)

and did this

this is really white (not sure why the photo turned blue)

Next, I removed the old upholstery fabric

I used the seat fabric as a template for the new chair

then, I silkscreened an anchor in the center of each piece

then the fun part...the staple gun!

I centered the anchor on the chair form,

flipped it over and started stapling

Here's the first chair (2 down, 2 to go)

Photo is a little goofy, it's early in the morning and the light is bad

I'll take more pics when the set is done and moved in

My Hibiscus Phase

2010-11-19T18:33:00.000-08:00

I have been painting quite a bit lately. Getting into the gallery in Hawi has inspired me. I also discovered a website of artists committed to painting a painting a day, thought that was quite ambitious... figured I could at least try to paint a few paintings per week. I've been painting hibicus flowers, mainly because we have many plants around the house and they all seem to be blooming.
First I started with white. Fun to paint, lots of veins and crinkles and shades of white...

Then I decided to paint the front and the back of a red one...

and then...all 3 colors we have growing

Ryan's Race

2010-11-14T18:10:00.000-08:00

Ryan did a great job yesterday competing in the 70.3 1/2 Ironman World Championships. It's a triathlon consisting of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run. He qualified for the World Championships last June at the Kona Honu 1/2 Ironman. His sister Kipp, brother-in-law Andrew and friend Katie all flew with him to Florida to cheer him on. They must have done a good job...he finished 9th in his age group, 91st overall (out of 1,600)!!! He was pleased with his performance...yeah Ryan. Kipp made GREAT shirts for the cheering section. These photos are from her iPhone...so not the best, but you'll see what a good job she did. Let's hear it for freezer paper...

Here's the graphic Kipp made from a photo of Ryan

Freezer paper cut out and ironed onto the t-shirt

Andrew, Katie and Ryan (after the race)

Ryan and Andrew

Quick Stationery

2010-11-13T15:44:00.000-08:00

I needed a bunch of stationery in a hurry...this is easy, fast and I usually have all the materials on hand.
I use pre-cut Hawaiian quilt stencils, acrylic paint, a sponge brush and pre-cut/pre scored notecards.

Pine Needle Basket Take 2

2010-11-11T16:57:00.000-08:00

Well...I have finished pine needle basket number 2. I have to say, they're really fun to make, sort of mindless work done while watching tv. Remember my first attempt? Pretty awful, I knew I could improve upon it. I thought the Hawaiian pine needles would work, but they turned out to be very brittle and broke easily. I had to wait until Chris came back from the mainland and could bring more needles from Ryan's house. I guess that is better anyway since I wanted this to be a housewarming present for his "newly remodeled" place and the basket would mean more made from his very own pine trees.

So...here is basket number 2. An improvement I think!

I may try some more when I get back to California next month...

Ryan is in Florida for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships...

send him good vibes for a great race on Saturday.