Amber Dusick

Finished Friday: King Quilt!

I finished and I survived.  The king-sized quilt that I mentioned here and here is done!  

There was something about sewing a giant king sized quilt when it was over 100 degrees outside that made me finish it up even faster than I expected.  Are we ever going to use this thing?  Hard to imagine.  Like shopping for a parka in July.

Ironically, I like the "wrong side" above best!  I like the way the pinks and purples look with the gray. 

No action shots yet, so these bunched up pics will have to do for now.  You have no idea how hard it was to find a patch of grass with no dog poop on it.  Sometimes, living in the city on a corner lot with no backyard has its disadvantages.  Can you see why I'm excited to move into our new home?   

Milk Glass Chandelier Redo - When Brass Goes Black

So I revamped the master bedroom light, the kitchen light and the kids' bedroom light.  This one below was the one I've been waiting for yet most scared to touch.  Mess with a vintage 1950s milk glass chandelier that is original to the house?  I had to.  I just hated the brass.

 

This thing was DIRTY, let me tell you.  A tip for anyone who is a hobnail milk glass fan and scores some dusty "hasn't been cleaned in 40 years" specimen.  A toothbrush is the best way to get all the little tooth-like bumps sparkling.

So glad I went with the black, I love the contrast!  The ceiling shown with the lamp is not the dining room, so it isn't in the final resting place.

Wait, there was another diamond (okay, perhaps more of a semi-precious gem really) in the rough that needed a brass to black transformation.  This floor lamp below is perhaps the ugliest lamp ever but it came with the house.

 

I figured if I could make it presentable I'm sure there is a spot for it somewhere...in other words I have a hard time saying no to free.

Not bad, eh?  No, I still don't love this lamp, but it is now benign enough that it will surely come in handy brightening some dark corner. 

Stay tuned for more DIY House stuff...I think there are still a few lamps up my sleeve but more exciting stuff is happening too...four dressers, coffee table, chairs, buffet table, oh my!  Not to mention, the entire flippin' house.  Yikes!  In fact, here is a sneak peak of what our house looks like right now:

This post is part of DIY Day on A Soft Place to Land!  Check out tons more projects by other creative folks and your furniture won't be safe:

Maternity Fashion: Black when you feel like an elephant.

That whole thing about black being slimming and working wonders?  It works when you are pregnant too.  Not that a pregnant mama needs "slimming" or anything, I love me some huge baby belly and adore how I look when pregnant with the extra weight.  However, there are times in the 3rd trimester, like when it is 109 degrees outside and you are finding it hard to get up off the floor after playing blocks with your 2.75 year old who has just casually informed you, "Mama, your arms are gettin' BIG!" that a black outfit really makes you feel, well, normal again.

A long non-maternity tank top from Target paired with a non-maternity stretchy waist black skirt from...gosh, I don't even remember I've had it for too long.  The sandals, while not the delicate or feminine strappy sandals that I wish I were able to wear this summer, they are a pregnancy foot saver for me.  They are Chacos and they rock for pregnancy because of the arch support and that the straps are completely adjustable for swelling and foot size changes. 

   

Toddler Art

With my hobgoblin seeing me painting lamps and doing all sorts of crafty house stuff, he has been bitten by the crafty bug himself!

Yesterday he designed shirts for he and his baby brother using onion and leaf stamps and acrylic paint.  This was one of those projects under the "getting toddler ready for new baby" category and I think it was a hit:

Then he asked me to dye them blue.  You know you are a crafty family when your not yet three year old requests dye colors for white clothes!

Onion prints are beautiful and fool proof, even with toddlers:

Later, we broke out the watercolors. 

He titled it, "A Caterpillar with A Penis"

 

This one is simply "The Kitty"

And lastly, "Octopus".  The thing I love about this one is that it actually has eight legs, with zero direction from me. 

It is so much fun to see him develop through art and enjoy doing it as much as I do.  After we cleaned up, he said, "I love you, mama.  I had fun paintin' today."  Music to my ears I tell you.    

Kid's Bedroom Lamp Before & After

Yet another lamp that came with the house.  This time it was a dirty, dirty, dirty bulb shaped fixture that doesn't come apart so there was no way to actually clean the darn thing well.  Spray paint to the rescue again!

I didn't really mind this lamp as it was, but the orange color just wasn't going to work in the room.  I worried that spray painting it would ruin it but it was a $3 spray paint can risk I was willing to take. 

Moving boxes work well for spray painting outdoors and things that hang.  We've since upgraded to a much larger box.

 

It still looks a little splotchy in the photo, although it doesn't in person or when the lamp is on.  Hmmm, maybe one more coat will do the trick.  I think I'll paint that ceiling hook white as well.  The white is much, much better with the wall color my son picked out for his room.  (Wall color is Light Pistachio by Benjamin Moore in the zero VOC Natura line.) 

Kitchen Light Before & After

Yet another light fixture revamp, courtesy of spray paint.  This lamp was in our kitchen and while my initial instinct was to replace it entirely, I wondered if it just might be cute in red. 

Since a can of spray paint is a few dollars versus a new light fixture which is a few hundred dollars...spray paint wins again!  (PS - ignore that wallpaper and curtain in the before pic...those are coming down, down, down!)

I love the red and white contrast.  This will look great in the kitchen.  The white cord you see at the top is actually another lamp drying.

 

A whole slew of sad, little lamps dissected and ready for makeovers.  With spray paint and a good cleaning, most of our vintage fixtures are as good as new!  I'll be sharing the rest over the coming days as they dry and get re-wired and hung.

 

 

Vintage Bakewell Stove Before & After

We turned this vintage 1800s Bakewell stove into a serving bar!  This stove has been in my husband's family since the 60s (found on the side of a road between LA and Vegas) but once upon a time (the 1800s) it was a functioning stove.  I love to imagine what was cooked on it and by whom. 

The "before" photo...I apologize for this one, I seem to have "lost" the official before photo, but you get the idea, it was dingy and black:

In progress.  We used enamel appliance spray paint with a metal primer first.  At this stage I was in a panic that we messed it up.  I didn't want to cover the original blue "Bakewell" emblem on the front door but the front door was so dingy and ugly:

FINISHED!  We used one layer of blue painter's tape to tape over the emblem and then used an exacto knife to perfectly cut around it and peel off the edges, leaving only the emblem taped.  It worked.  Phew. 

 

A piece of glass was cut for the top (you can see it in the "before" pic) for setting servingware and the inside of the oven will be more drink storage.  We aren't sure if this will go outside on our covered patio or if it will make its way into our house when we move...so stay tuned for an "in action" shot in the future. 

House Progress...is slow

So while I'm doing fun stuff like prettying lamps, my wonderful husband is doing some more serious stuff.  

Tearing up nasty carpet to make way for hardwood floors: 



(By the way that wee room above will be my art studio.  My heart goes pitter patter just thinking of it.  My very own space.  No sharing with filing cabinets or guitars or beer making supplies.  Not that those weren't all splendid company of course.)

Refinishing stairs:

 

Sadly, these are too far gone to be stained and douglas fir doesn't stain well anyway.  We'll be painting them glossy black probably and will get a carpet runner anyway since hardwood stairs + two little kids sounds too scary for me to handle. 

Not to mention tearing down the brick chimney and rebuilding it.  I loved the old brick, but it didn't pass inspection so the new one will be stucco to match the house.  This is one part we aren't doing ourselves, mind you, but it sure did make a mess:

 

Being in the 3rd trimester with a huge belly in the way unfortunately makes me unable to help out as much as I'd like.  This does not make me happy one bit, so to make up for it, I do a lot of supervising and bossing around.  A lot.  The fact that my wonderful husband still looks forward to spending work days at the house with me is a true testament to his patience.

More before & after projects coming up (in the low impact "prettying stuff" category) and of course I'll be sharing actual house progress as it comes along.  Slowly. 

Bedroom Lamp Before & After Makeover

I've been rather silent on the blog lately, mainly because I spend every extra moment working on our house.  It is truly a diamond in the rough and we will be doing much of the updating ourselves, which I'll share here over the coming months. 

Our 1950s home came with a whole lot of great (but in need of updating) vintage fixtures and here is the first of many before and after projects:

Nothing wrong with this burlap hanging lamp in the master bedroom, it just looks dated and the burlap made it too dark. 

I was thrilled to find that the burlap was actually a DIY cover that the previous owners glued on so it was easy to pull off!  The original vintage shade is revealed underneath but it was dingy and badly stained. 

Some glossy white spray paint and a yard of red polka dot fabric later, we have a bedroom lamp that will be adorable with the quilt I'm making shown in my last post.  Ignore the dingy white walls - they aren't painted yet either! 

So much to do, so much to do...