Hello Old Friend!

Hello Friends! It's been almost exactly five years since I last posted on this little blog.  I'm going to attempt a little recap...

 When last I wrote I was on bedrest, anxiously awaiting the arrival of our twin boys.  Here I am a couple of days before they were born...

























Jimmy and Johnny (named after their grandpas) were safely delivered at 37 1/2 weeks and got to come home with me 2 days later without going to the NICU!  Their big sisters were thrilled!

 We started feeling a little too cozy in our townhouse, so we built a new house! We moved in June 2015.

I've been busily painting, sewing, and building ever since and I have lots to share with you!

Christmas 2016

Easter 2016

Easter 2018

No more babies to announce, but this little girl joined the crew last December!

I'm looking forward to sharing our new home with you!

Updates and Additions!

My baby just turned two...

and this big kid just turned 5!

Oh yeah, and I'm expecting again!
And it looks like I'm going to have to replace the floral print in our nursery with something a bit more masculine...
Because we found out at my 20 week sonogram that we are expecting not one but two baby boys!!!
Our identical twin boys are due in June!!

So far my pregnancy is going great, but knowing that twins often arrive early and that some bed rest towards the end is likely, I've been nesting like crazy trying to finish up projects!

In my last post (sheesh, was that all the way back in October?!) I shared my master bedroom...

We were due for a new mattress and I've wanted to switch to a king size for a while.  The realization that I'll be nursing two babies in bed convinced my hubby that it was a good idea.

I scoured craigslist for a headboard for a while to no avail and finally decided to make my own.  Here are the fruits of my labor...

 I knew I wanted a simple upholstered headboard with straight lines and nail head trim.  I scoured blogs and pinterest for ideas on how to go about it, but most of the diys I saw online involved constructing a base out of plywood and 2x2s to make it more substantial.  I'm much more comfortable with the upholstery part of the project than with any sort of carpentery, so I decided to simplify the project by upholstering a hollow core door from lowes.

I forgot to take photos of the process, but it was really simple.

• First I cut a piece of foam (a cheap foam mattress pad from walmart) to fit the face of the door and hot glued it to the face only of the door (not the sides, this makes the finished product nice and square on the sides)
• Next I wrapped the door with batting and used a staple gun to attach the batting on the back side.
• Then I wrapped the door in fabric (a curtain panel from Target- I saved the packaging somewhere- let me know if you want to know which curtain I used and I'll search for it!)
• I made piping and attached it with the staple gun around the outside of the door
• Then I glued a band of fabric around the sides and top of the door hiding the raw edge of the piping (I glued over the edge of the piping, but I pulled the back edge over to the back side of the door and stapled it in place)
• Then I added the nail head trim (purchased from Joann's)- this is where I ran into some trouble.  

In case you're not familiar with nailhead trim, it comes in a roll that looks like a neat row of nailheads and there is a hole in every 5th nailhead that you nail an actual brass nailhead through to hold it in place- make sense?

Since I was using a hollow core door (emphasis on "hollow") there wasn't much for the nailheads to grab on to.  Also, the nail heads are only about half an inch long and they had to push through the fabric batting and foam- it was just too much pressure and they kept popping out- not giving me the tufted edge I was looking for.

The solution I came up with was to use tiny brass colored screws (back to lowes!) through the holes in the nailhead trim.  They did the trick!  They are barely visible (though I'm still considering gluing the head part of the nailhead over the screws to hide them...) as you can see here:

Once it was all finished I used a french cleat (also from lowes- sold with the picture hangers) to attach the headboard to the wall.  It's basically two metal strips- you attach one to the wall and one to the headboard and the part attached to the headboard nestles inside the strip on the wall to hold it in place. As an added bonus, since it's about 10 inches long, you can slide the headboard a few inches in either direction once it's hung and it's still secure.

Anyway, I'm loving the new mattress and I'm really happy with how the headboard turned out!  Now if my new back-ordered duvet cover would ever arrive! 

Here's one last photo with the settee at the foot of the bed to make room for the bassinet in the bay window!

PS - I'm now officially home on bedrest after spending 4 days in the hospital for some pre-term labor.  All is well, I'm just hoping these little ones will stay put for at least another week!  Your comments would be greatly appreciated by this bored-in-bed mama!!

Love,

Remember Me?

Hello Friends! I've missed you!

I've started this post in my mind so many times over the last year and 3 months and being stuck inside waiting for Frankenstorm to pass seemed like as good a time as any to jump back in! 

 I've managed to get several large projects (and lots of little ones) completed that I'd love to share with you and I thought I'd start with my master bedroom makeover!

The humble before shots can be found in this post from a few years back...


And here's how it looks today...

 

I made the drapes out of DwellStudio's "Vintage plumes" in birch over a year ago.

 I can't wait to tell you about my new (to me) monogrammed Leontine(-esque) linens!

I reuphostered the settee (a $30 CL find) in a metallic tweed linen.  

Here's a before shot:

and after!

I'd be happy to give a tutorial if there's enough interest!

There are still some more changes I'd like to make (still not sure about that mirror, shoulda painted the base of the settee before I reupholstered, accessories...), but it's come a long way!

So, what would you like more details on?

More big projects I hope to share soon include:

1. Overhaul of my foyer and adjoining powder room  including gorgeous wallpaper and a cheap and easy update for ugly floor tile.
2. Basement Family Room makeover
3. DIY storybook cottage bunkbed for my big girls' room
4. Kitchen dining nook refresh

Love,

Shabby Apple Winner!

The Winner of the Shabby Apple dress giveaway is...

GINAD!

please email me with your contact info at pammyfitz@gmail.com so I can get your prize to you!

The Very First Slipcover I Ever Made...

I got all nostalgic when I set up my bassinet for Felicity, partly because it reminds me of when my first two daughters were infants but also because the cover I made for it was the first big sewing/slipcovering project I ever tackled. I thought I'd share in case anyone else out there is trying to figure out what to do with an old/hand-me-down bassinet.





It's a little wrinkled in this photo, and the sewing is far from perfect, but you get the idea. I did it in two pieces- basically a skirt and a basket liner- so that I could take off just the top piece to wash instead of having to wash the whole thing.

I made a second one as a gift for my sister when her son was born and figured out a better way to fit the skirt. The skirt is made of 4 rectangles of the primary fabric (the width of the 4 rectangles should equal the perimeter of the bassinet) with 4 rectangles of the secondary fabric as insets in the pleats at the corners. You could also just do the skirt in one fabric. I also added piping along the edges of the pleat openings on the skirt and ric rac trim along the hem of the basket liner. Anyway, when I made my sister's cover I stitched the pleats closed on 3 of the corners, but on the fourth corner I hid velcro tabs in the pleat to open and close the skirt.


Here is my first born in the bassinet almost 6 years ago:



fast forward 2 1/2 years to the same child looking in on her baby sister:



and here they are today!



Don't forget to enter my Shabby Apple dress giveaway! You have until Wednesday at midnight to enter!

Love,

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway!

Hello loves! Sorry for all the silence around here! I can't even blame the baby- Felicity is just as sweet as she can be! She's such a peaceful baby and she's started smiling and cooing- so cute! I have an exciting giveaway to share with you today and stay tuned tomorrow for a description of the very first slipcover I ever made!


I have some fun news for you- Shabby Apple has offered a great giveaway to one of my readers! If you're not familiar with Shabby Apple, they sell beautiful vintage inspired women's dresses and little girls dresses, accessories and even maternity!

I love how this company started. Here's a little about them...

Shabby Apple welcomes you to great dresses that make dressing simple.

After years of not being able to find stylish dresses that covered enough skin to make you really feel comfortable (without wearing a tank top, cardigan or long slip), owners Emily and CK decided to do something about it.

They visited trade shows, marketplaces and designer studios only to discover the problem was not that department stores weren't buying the right dresses, but that designers weren't designing them.

Shabby Apple is proud to offer you fantastic dresses that allow you to look fabulous, without having to compromise anything else.

A return to what dresses were always meant to be — a one-piece outfit. No need to add anything...no tank tops, no cardigans, nothing (except accessories, of course!).

One of you lucky ladies will win this "Bali Ha'i" dress:




Here's a description:

A simple shift takes on a new form with a lei of tucks, folds and petal-like ruffles along the rounded scoop neck of the Bali Hai dress. Princess seams and careful tailoring keep the shape classic, and the cap sleeves and deep orchid color make it summer's perfect stand-alone piece.

I had a really hard time deciding on which dress to offer- there are so many that I love on Shabby Apple! Take a look and see which you like best!

Once you've decided you can use the code 'bibbidi10off' for a special 10% discount just for my readers!

Shabby apple carries sizes from XS to plus sizes..something for everyone! They even have a great 'shop by body type' feature to help you figure out which styles would be the most flattering!

This giveaway will start today Thursday June 30th 2011 and end Wednesday July 6th 2011 at midnight. I will announce the winner Thursday July 7th! This is open for US residents only.

HOW TO ENTER:

1) Visit Shabby Apple and take a look around, then come back here, and leave me a comment telling me your favorite style.
2) For another entry, visit SHABBY APPLE on Facebook by clicking HERE...show your love and "LIKE" them while you are there (so you can get special promotions and exclusive discounts!). Then come back here and leave me a comment telling me you did, and you are entered again!

If you are not on Facebook, leave me a comment anyway...and you will be entered!

3. For another entry become a follower of my blog. (This earns you another entry, so leave me a separate comment telling me you are a follower!)

4. Share the love...TWEET, FACEBOOK, BLOG or add the thumbnail below to your blog SIDEBAR. (Yes, this earns you an entry for EACH AND EVERY ONE you do! Do all 4 and get 4 MORE ENTRIES! Woohoo! BUT be sure to leave me a separate comment for each one tell me you did it!)

Love,

Introducing...

Felicity Grace
Born 3-13-2011
7 lbs, 9oz



My best diy yet. Well, top 3 for sure.

We're all doing well and Felicity is just as sweet as she can be. We are quite smitten.


Love,

Chinese Chippendale Chairs Makeover

Happy Friday! Before I show you my chairs I wanted to answer a couple of questions about my new fav product- Silver leaf rub 'n' buff. Amanda asked me how to apply it to cabinet hinges- it is super easy. I used a little angled eye makeup brush that I no longer use for makeup and just brushed a little onto the hinges right out of the tube. That's it. Once I covered the parts of the hinges that show from the outside, I opened the cabinets and brushed a little more on the parts that show when you open the cabinets. It really only took a few minutes once I got going.

A little note about R&B- it's actually wax based, so I don't know that it ever really dries hard like paint does. You probably don't want to use it on things that will be handled. One reader asked yesterday what I thought of using it on doorknobs- I don't think I would go there, at least not without some kind of sealer. You're probably better off with metallic spray paint for that application.

Now onto my chairs...

Remember this pretty Ralph Lauren Chinoiserie fabric remnant I found at DeBois textiles a few weeks ago?


(love those little pagodas!)


Here's where it ended up:


I also gave the chair frames a fresh coat of heirloom white last weekend during our brief bout of good spray painting weather:


I couldn't find a good "before" shot, but just trust me, they really needed a fresh coat of paint and new fabric!

I'm officially 39 weeks prego today, so I don't know how many more posts you'll see from me before my new little bundle arrives, but I'll definitely keep you posted!

Happy Weekend!

Love,

The new cabinet hardware came yesterday! Well, almost all of the new hardware. There was some kind of problem from the warehouse and I'm short a few handles, but they're working on it...

I went ahead and installed what I could so I could show you...

Before:



After:




I added a little silver rub 'n' buff to the hinges so that I wouldn't have to replace them (and so that I wouldn't have to take them all off and rehang the doors!) I'm really happy with the look and it only took a few minutes with a little brush...


I also finally repainted/reupholstered the chinese chippendale armchairs in my living room over the weekend. I'll show you tomorrow!

Have you made any little changes with big impact lately? Do tell!

Love,

Advertising Apology

Dear Readers-

I just wanted to apologize for the ad that appeared on my blog yesterday. I don't even want to mention the advertiser by name because I don't want to give it any more publicity. I just wanted to put it out there that it was extremely upsetting to me personally and I'm really upset that any benefit (no matter how small) came to this particular advertiser from my blog especially since I don't know how long it appeared on my site.

I sincerely apologize if any of you were upset by it. I just recently added Google Adsense to my blog and apparently I didn't have the filters set properly. I think I have fixed the problem, but please- if any of you notice an ad on my site that you don't approve of, or don't think I would approve of- I would very much appreciate it if you would let me know so that I can rectify the situation.

I'm considering taking Adsense off of my blog completely just because it creeps me out so much to know that I'm participating in something in common with this advertiser. If any other bloggers out there have had good experiences with other, perhaps Christian-based advertising networks, I would very much like to hear about it!

In order to perhaps counter-act yesterday's ad I would like to put it out there that if anyone knows of a woman facing a difficult pregnancy, here is a loving option.


Love,

Easy Silver "Leaf" and CL Scores!

It all started with Jenny's suggestion for turning this:



into this:


So, I went to the craft store in search of gold leafing materials, but they were all out of gold leaf... and silver leaf. They only had copper left. That idea didn't appeal to me and I was all set to leave the store empty handed when I spotted this:

Rub 'n' Buff in silver leaf. I've only seen rub 'n' buff used in small applications before, but for $3.99 I figured, why not give it a try?

An hour after I got home my mirror looked like this:


not bad, eh?!

It was super easy. You seriously just wipe it on with a soft cloth, let it set for a couple of minutes and then buff it a little. A little goes a long way. I bought the last 3 tubes the store had on the shelf, but after doing the whole mirror I had barely put a dent in the first tube!

BTW- I came home from the store with R&B in "silver leaf" and in "gold leaf" unsure of which finish I would prefer. For some reason when I experimented with them, the silver went on beautifully, but I couldn't get the gold to adhere, so silver it was!

In my inspiration photo the mirror was surrounded by some beautiful and no doubt expensive prints, beautifully matted and framed. I opted to finally take the portraits I had taken of the girls out of the envelope and get them up where we can enjoy them! I picked up a bunch of super inexpensive frames and gave them a little R&B too, bought some mattes at the craft store and this is what I got:

I've had those little gold sconce/shelves for a decade (they were one of my first ebay purchases ever!). I'm still on the hunt for the right vases to set on top of them. I also haven't decided whether to leave them as is in hopes of tying in the other gold tone items in the room or give them the R&B treatment too?

BTW- if you're in the Baltimore area and you're looking for a good photographer, check out my friend Amy Donahue. She's great with kids, she's really reasonable and she does beautiful work:



After finishing the mirror the craigslist stars aligned and I scored two great deals in two days!

First was this gorgeous 8x10 PB wool rug:



then- remember how I wanted some kind of low profile coffee table for in front of the other sofa? I found this fun MCM bench.






It took some elbow grease to clean it up, but it looks pretty good now. It's still covered in the original vinyl. I may give it a makeover, but for the time being, at least it's totally kidproof!

Oh, and I found that starburst mirror on CL a couple of weeks ago.

Have you had any good CL scores lately?

Have a great weekend!

Love,