Monday, August 31, 2009

Branching Out







Not exactly what the FTD florist delivers but I decided to create a bouquet or two. Normally, I paint in less vivid color but... I'm branching out. Get it?

Airing Our Dirty Laundry

I am a mother of four--that's right FOUR--boys! Handsome, funny and almost completely disinterested in clothes. So it should be something of a surprise, and it is, even to me, that... lying awake a few nights ago, I thought of making an embellished "very girl-y" t-shirt completely from a single let's-just-say "no longer used undergarment." I woke up the next morning and decided that I was going to give it a try before the week's events conspired and I simply forgot to try. Of course, first there was the little matter of getting every one to school which at times is the major stresser of my entire day. That done, I still wanted to give it a whirl. I know... I amaze myself sometimes. Mothers of school-age children out there, you know what I'm talking about.

Most of the t-shirts in our arsenal of unusable laundry are wearing the discoloration that comes from constant washing in a mineral-laden water supply but I did manage to find one that was fairly white and still in pretty good shape. Seemed a shame to relegate it to the ragpile anyway so I cut away the sleeves of the shirt that just moments before it was destined for a future of dusting and polishing.

The embellishing material came only from the sleeves which I cut from my too-small and cast-off Fruit of the Loom Tee.



Then I decided to try dye-ing it another color. I was thinking maybe a soft teal but...after a thorough check, I discovered Mother Hubbard's Pantry was completely out of that color dye so, as a second choice, I opted for diluting some red dye. I wanted to get a soft pink. This is what I got instead...

Not necessarily a bad color. Just too pink for my taste.
The neckline was easy--rolled down and stitched. Really, it was that simple.


All I can say is... Thanks to the magic provided by a little bleach, I got to the
soft blush color I was after with one washing! Clorox is definitely my close friend.











Friday, August 28, 2009

Mix & Match (After)



















Sadly, the color of the gerber daisies in ALL of these pictures is much more vibrant than it looked in real life and the thistle doesn't show up as well in pictures as it did in reality but here is how it all came together. I was pleased but, best of all, my mom was surprised and I think her friends had fun. Little brown paper packages (of course) filled with chocolates and tied with ribbon and roses were the take home favors. Instead of birthday cake and candles, I had individual cakes which were served on some of my small cake pedestals. I love how these little desserts looked grouped together at all the different heights and I really LOVED surprising my mom and her friends!

Mix & Match (Before)

This week one of my very favorite people in the whole world celebrated her birthday. MY Mom! Easily one of the nicest and most caring women you could ever run across. I know it and there's absolutely NO chance I could ever forget as people tell me that ALL of the time. I promise it's the truth!

She has a fabulous circle of friends. There are ladies she "garden clubs" with, ladies she "book circles" with, lovely women she knows through charities and other women's organizations, friends who share a love of theatre, orchestra and opera plus the women (some solo and some with husbands) whom she and my dad socialize with. But... there's this tiny group of women that get together every time one of them is celebrating a birthday and for this group I decided to throw a birthday luncheon instead of their standard get-together.

I made a tablecloth out of this fabric and used pink bandanas for the napkins. If you don't know me, it won't take long to realize that I'm all about about juxtaposition! Naturally, I liked that the bandana is ultra casual and yet the fabric has a more "dressed-up" feel. They match, but... then again, they don't. Sometimes, my "which one doesn't really completely belong?" approach is more obvious but here I think it's really pretty subtle.
I had a great time doing all of this because it was for someone so special AND because my sweet friend Elizabeth helped with all the behind the scene stuff. Friends now for almost ten years, I think my mom almost thinks of Elizabeth as a daughter too.



The flowers were plentiful and, yes, I realize I went a little overboard but I also think that having too much to work with beats coming up short. I used lots of roses, gerber daisies and thistle. I'll give you the details on the grand finale tomorrow!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Playing with Dolls!


A friend and I took her little girl to the park so I could take some pictures. I was thinking she would have a ball playing and, since she'd be completely happy, I'd get some great candid shots which would be awesome for any parent to have. Let me just say, I was right and, sadly, also wrong about my assumption. This little doll is really quite the "observer of nature." She was so busy noticing everything in the park that getting her to laugh and giggle simply didn't happen. But, as a happy consequence, capturing her "uncheesy" grin and sweet natural expressions was a snap (no pun intended). The full color shots are cute but that really wasn't what I was going for; the same shots in black and white are some of my favorites of the week.





I adjusted the contrast in the duplicate picture above just to see if I liked it better and I ended up liking them both so... I'm not deciding. At least not right now.
I LOOOOVE this little expression. Doesn't it just make you wonder what she's thinking about?


What a Doll!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The Icing On The Cake



I know almost nothing about cake decorating. I'm not just saying it either. I honestly have the big "nada " when it comes to cake decorating know-how or experience but I am a painter and I figure that ought to help me somehow. I may be fooling myself but I figure between "Charm City Cakes" and "The Cake Boss" programs on TLC, I've been inspired enough to believe that I ought to give it a whirl. I guess you could say, I'm a woman on a mission.
I often avoid store-bought cakes because of the shocking vibrance of bakery-counter colors, so I decided to try some neutralized pastels and some fun colors for flowers. Though you can't see them all in this picture, for the most part, I liked how these colors turned out but the frosting was really too soft for some flowers and too stiff for others. I'm filing this under "lessons learned" and will keep messing with texture and color for a few days. I'll let you know what happens and if it even looks remotely edible, I'll post a picture in a few days. In other words, don't go holding your breath!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Exchanging Favors

Brown Paper Packages, Tied Up With...



Fortune Cookies in a Box

There's something about the little something extra that a take-home favor provides. It just makes the event seem more special. And what it does for the table is amazing!

Swing Low...




Empty. I know, It doesn't seem right to me either. But then, I have told you how hot it is here, haven't I? And, did I mention the mosquitoes? Well, swings like these are enough to bring even the most committed of the "indoor types" out for a little lazy afternoon. Spring and Summer are my favorite seasons but I swear I just can't wait for Fall!