The Train To Crazy

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14 posts categorized “Design & Photography”

September 16, 2013

The Powder Room is Complete!

Friends, I can't tell you how exciting it was to write that. One room in my home that was touched by this remodel is complete. I wasn't sure that would happen, ever. This remodel is two steps forward, one step back but we're almost to the point where we can start unpacking everything! 

I couldn't be more thrilled with the powder room. I changed everything. Nothing that was there has stayed. New floor, paint, toilet, vanity, faucet, mirror and lights. But here's the sad part. No before pictures. I know. I'm losing my blogger card for that one. But I've put together a mishmash of random internet photos to show you just how different it really is now.

What a difference! Light, bright, modern and fun. And just a little magical.

I made a list. Just in case you can't decide which to start with.

When you can only fix a few things:

Paint. Paint. Paint. Try light and bright. I know the trend used to be (still is?) to paint dark colors or one accent wall. Don't do it. Think light and bright. This is a light dusty gray/blue from Sherman Williants. It made a world of difference!

Change the faucet. Old crusty, outdated faucets are the single thing you use and see the most in a bathroom. And it is usually really easy to put in a new one! This is the Delta Touch.20 and it is beautiful. I told you about it here but now that it's installed I can say that it has lived up to the hype. It can be a regular faucet or a magical one. Great for cold and flu season or just for entertaining toddlers. I love the looks of this one but I'm thankful every time my two year old climbs up and doesn't have to touch the faucet after going to the bathroom. Oh, YES. Friends, this is amazing. If you're not a fan of germs then you can appreciate the value in that.

Get new lighting. You can get modern vanity lighting at any hardware store that is inexpensive and still really nice. Something simple that matches the color of your faucet is best.

A new sink/vanity or mirror is really nice but if you've changed those first three things you may realize you don't need to change the rest!

I bought a towel ring. Help me out here. White towels? Or should we do a color there? 


And look at that toilet that no other people have sat on and actually flushes! Woohoo! Fantastic. 

Make music everywhere…
Delta Faucet
Embed

 

Delta Touch20 Technology for your kitchen and bathroom is precisely in tune with your every touch. Take the quiz to learn which faucet style best describes you at deltafaucet.com

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Delta via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Delta.

Delta-Logo

September 16, 2013 in Design & Photography, DIY | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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July 22, 2013

New house, new faucet

Most of you know we moved. My husband moved across the country in May. The kids and I packed up the beginning of June, vacationed with family, then arrived in the new destination in July. We still haven't moved in. What? Oh no. We had decided to get new flooring. And make a pantry. And a few other changes which are taking forever and ever. But this is the week we'll get in. I'm 95% sure. Friday we're moving our boxes in. Or I'm buying a tent and sleeping in the yard. Either way, we'll be there.

I haven't really taken any photos of the house. Except for a few on instagram. 

House-photos

In case you were wondering, I decided not to paint the front door. The photo on the right is my bedroom. Just waiting for their floors… But I love how bright it is!

Continue reading “New house, new faucet” »

July 22, 2013 in Design & Photography, Home & Fashion | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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April 19, 2013

Busy busy and a handy little “where is she now” map

I feel like this blog gets neglected a lot. I rarely show off what I'm making anymore. I think things will slow down a little soon and I'll be able to write a little more. As I alluded to yesterday, I'm working on some big changes at Go To Patterns. I'll share those next week but that's what I've been up to. SO ready to be done with that project! But I'm also beside myself excited about it. 

We also just found out we are moving. Again. This is me for the last 17 years since I graduated from high school:


My oldest daughter just turned 8. When we move this summer it will be her 5th state. If that's not bad enough, my 4 year old will be on her 4th state. It really isn't as bad as it sounds. We were on this last star nearly 3 years…

Have a great weekend!

April 19, 2013 in Design & Photography, My Family | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

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April 08, 2013

Limit your kid’s screen time without whining or complaining

How-to-unplug-a-plugged-in-kid

My kids haven't been watching much TV lately but they play a lot of games on the ipad or their old leapsters. Right now they're really into playing Life on the ipad. That was one of my favorite games as a kid, so I get it. Fun game. But is it so great that you should play it two hours a day? No, not really. 

If you're like me you may want to limit your child's screen time (ipad, video games, TV, etc). You could just use a timer and a set amount of time each day or you could do something a bit more fun.

Free-printable-screen-time-reward-tickets-for-kids-great-idea-#parenting

Enter the Screen Time Express tickets. Earn these by completing your daily tasks without whining or complaining (see the free printable chore chart). How you use them is up to you! Hand them out daily or weekly. Give as many as you like. As long as you're consistent with enforcing no screen time when they run out of tickets this system will work well!


Screen-time-is-a-reward-not-a-right

Laminate them if you want or just print and cut. There's a place for a name so you can be sure they aren't being traded as a commodity. Unless you're fine with that!

Do you have kids that complain they're bored and don't know what to do? Post a list of ideas! Often they just need a little reminding of all the great things they CAN do instead of playing games or watching TV. Here's a fun list to get you started:

  1. artwork
  2. write a story
  3. play a board game
  4. make a fort
  5. ride a bike
  6. make an obstacle course
  7. clean your room
  8. make something for someone
  9. build something with supplies from the recycle bin
  10. read a book
  11. quiz yourself with flashcards
  12. learn something new
  13. play with toys
  14. hunt for bugs
  15. act out a story
  16. build a scupture with clay
  17. help a neighbor
  18. build with legos
  19. cook something
  20. make a map

There are so many great things to do! I'm sure if you sat down with your kid(s) to brainstorm they could come up with 100 possible fun things they like to do!

Download Media time tickets

How do you limit screen time at your house?

April 08, 2013 in Design & Photography, Parenthood, printable | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)

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March 21, 2013

Tips for adding COLOR to your living space

I love that color is trendy right now. Cheerful Spring colors are so much fun, especially if you live somewhere where winter is long and dark. It's easy to brighten your living space with just a couple pops of color. Fight your desire to pick out a couple floral pillows and call it good!

1. Mix geometrics & florals


Embroidered Pillow, geometric patterned pillow

Don't be afraid to mix it up. By combining floral and geometric (stripes, shapes, patterns) you're adding interest to a room. If you have a striped throw, add some floral or or patterned throw pillows. It is good to always include some patterned accessories!

Continue reading “Tips for adding COLOR to your living space” »

March 21, 2013 in Design & Photography, Home & Fashion | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

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March 12, 2013

Easter Brunch

As Easter approaches I've been considering a table setting for an Easter Brunch. The problem is, I don't usually do fancy. Table settings and centerpieces aren't something I think about often. So I made a mock Easter table and now I need your help!

I thought I knew how I wanted to set the table. When I started photographing I decided I didn't like what I had envisioned in my head. So I switching things around. Then switched them around more.

I used my square white dishes. These aren't our every day dishes. Those are melamine. Because everything here breaks. I hope we aren't the only house like that. Though I do love the white dishes and look forward to the day we'll be able to use them daily. They are heavy and sturdy and we've had them for years. They say Target Home on the bottom but during a recent trip to Target I noticed they are now branded as Threshold from Target.


You'll notice my new lapkins. These cute egg cups are from the dollar spot. That's moss. It did not deter anyone from eating those chocolate eggs. I love the little nest. Perfect addition for any table with children.

Continue reading “Easter Brunch” »

March 12, 2013 in Design & Photography | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)

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February 07, 2013

Help! I need some fabric and paint advice!

Hey, friends! I need a little design advice from you! I've got an old bench in our entry way that I'm planning to paint and make a new cushion for. Can you help me choose my fabric and paint? There is no "theme" in that area of the house so just tell me your favorites! I can't decide. They're all so great.

Choose-the-fabric-and-paint

All these fabrics are from the Home Decor Fabric section at Sew Fine Fabric on Etsy.

A. Embrace in Tangelo Slub
B. Embrace in Yellow Slub
C. Embrace in Aquarius Slub
D. Sydney in Aquarius Slub
E. Sydney in Storm Twill
F. Aruba Feliz in Blue
G. Small Dandelion in Corn Yellow
H. Chipper in Corn Yellow
I. Ikat Domino (in Chili Pepper)

So what do you think? Which fabric, which paint? Or would you use a different color paint??

Thank you to Sew Fine Fabric for supplying the fabric for my project!

February 07, 2013 in Design & Photography, DIY, Fabric | Permalink | Comments (23) | TrackBack (0)

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February 05, 2013

Inspiration Boards

After reading Jamielyn's post this week about the launch of The Inspiration Board I had to go try it out. It's a fun website where you can easily upload photos to create a cute, crafty looking inspiration board. Complete with washi tape and binder clips to add on. A crafty blogger's dream. Maybe.

So I took some time to make a little inspiration board. I had some photos from the Sew Fab sale and threw them up on a cute chalkboard looking inspiration board. 

From top left: Banyan Pants sewn by Fabri'cate, Ruby Lou sewn by Sew Much Ado, Goodship Dress sewn by Me Sew Crazy, Alex & Anna Pajamas sewn by Delia Creates, Madelyn Dress sewn by Me Sew Crazy, Banyan Tunic sewn by Mad Mim, Sidekick Suitcase sewn by rhombitruncated   

Continue reading “Inspiration Boards” »

February 05, 2013 in Better blogging, Design & Photography | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

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February 02, 2013

The world’s easiest fleece scarf tutorial

While creating a tutorial for using a rotary cutter I discovered the world's easiest way to make a fleece scarf. And cheap. Like 10 scarfs for $3.99 cheap. Find out how to make an easy fleece scarf over at Go To Sew.

Here's a sampling of the little photoshoot I did for the scarf. My favorite photoshoot this year. Probably last year too!

Continue reading “The world’s easiest fleece scarf tutorial” »

February 02, 2013 in Design & Photography, DIY | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

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January 18, 2013

My assistant

Sometimes when I'm taking photographs I ask my kids to hold a reflector. They're not great at that job. But they sure are cute.



January 18, 2013 in Design & Photography, My Family | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

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January 01, 2013

Interview your child this year- free printable

I love the idea of interviewing your children every year. I know they would love reading their answers in the future. I made a quick interview form that older kids can fill out themselves or you can write younger children's answers in for them. This All About Me This Year printable is on our to do list today! What a great way to kick off the year!

About-me-this-year

You can download this PDF file at my dropbox for free HERE. (updated to add My Favorite Toy)

Do you keep track of your child's likes and dislikes throughout the years? Have you found a fun way to keep these memories?

January 01, 2013 in Design & Photography, printable | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)

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October 28, 2012

Week in photo

What a fun week. Long. Fun. Here is my week in photo.


I bought too much fabric for pants. Namely these Skinny Jeans. JoAnns gets me every time.


I finished a couple mermaid tails. 

Continue reading “Week in photo” »

October 28, 2012 in Design & Photography, week in photo | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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July 31, 2012

Where has the summer gone?

I don't know about you but I feel like the summer has slipped between my fingers. How is tomorrow August already? It's not that I haven't been busy with pattern tours, guest blogging, more guest blogging, and still more and more. Or launching a pattern company. But really, where did it all go??

I'm still keeping busy. I've been working on my next pattern. If you folow along on instagram you've seen a few shots. I'll give you a peek too.

Continue reading “Where has the summer gone?” »

July 31, 2012 in Design & Photography, DIY, Fashion, Go To Patterns, Home & Fashion | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

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July 05, 2012

Fourth of July family photo attempts: unsuccessful

Yesterday was Independence Day here in the U.S. and I completely forgot today was Thursday. Each week Make It Wear It creeps up on me and for some reason I refuse to schedule them ahead of time. Sorry I didn't post it but we'll be taking a break from it until August. Keep coming back though because there will be SO many fun things going on here in July!

My kids woke up Tuesday morning and asked me to make them outfits for the 4th of July. I should have said, "No" but I said, "Let's go to the fabric store!" First off, the fabric store with four kids at lunch time BEFORE they eat is just a bad idea. Really bad. But we survived and managed to get some fabric. I didn't have time to calculate how much I'd need or how many pieces because all the crying from the little guy really distracted me. So I bought a lot. 

We rushed home, washed it and then started sewing. They alternated sitting on my lap and I didn't get much done. So once they went to bed I set to mad sewing. By 10 p.m. I was done with 2 outfits. The last 2 are pretty simple and shouldn't have taken me long but they took forever. First my serger refused to thread. I have a Babylock so if the threading mechanism doesn't work, it doesn't work. I fought it for an hour then gave up. Then I tried doing some things I that didn't work out and finally decided on designs and finished around 4 in the morning. Did I mention I didn't use any patterns and decided not to do simple skirts. WHY was that?

At that point the baby was crying "ouch ouch. I want mommy" so not a lot of sleeping happened after that point.

The sun came up and I took the girls to the parade in our neighborhood. Baby was still not feeling well so didn't get to wear his outfit. 

Fourth-of-july-2012-1
I think that dress on my left is one of my favorite things I've ever sewn. For whipping it up on short notice and drafting it myself it came together beautifully. See all the photos below.

Continue reading “Fourth of July family photo attempts: unsuccessful” »

July 05, 2012 in Design & Photography, My Family, Sewing , Sewing for boys, Sewing for Girls | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

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