Pop Up Camper - Part 2

We've been making quite a bit of progress on the pop up lately. You can check out part one here. After Jason took all of the cabinets out, I scraped off all of the loose papery bits then gave it a good cleaning with a TSP substitute. I don't think this is a necessary step, but I did it anyway. I guess it can't hurt. We were originally going to reuse the hardware, but they weren't in very good shape. We removed those and I patched the holes with some wood putty. After that I gave it a coat of Primer. I used Zinsser Bullseye 123 Primer. It stuck to everything which was really nice! Then I finished off everything with two coats of Behr Dark Cavern. 

P.S. It looks like I shouldn't have stopped at the doors...our garage is in dire need of some new paint!

We really love the color. We weren't expecting it to have brown undertones but are very happy with it! We're keeping the white countertop for now. It's in pretty good shape, and I don't think it looks awful!

I'm so excited to see it come together. We had to get these big countertop/bench pieces out of the way so I can spread out to paint the doors, drawers and trim pieces.

Look - I'm helping! I think I've actually done more than Jason on the camper so far. Shhhhh, don't tell him!

While waiting for the paint to dry, I decided to tackle the cushions. We chose this awesome stripe fabric from Jo-Ann. It's an outdoor fabric so I hope it holds up okay. I used the old cushions as pattern pieces and reused the foam as well. The foam was in really great shape. I think I might wrap it in some batting though. That might help it fill out some of the corners. It seems a little loose since the cushions were already squished a bit on the corners from the old covers. I was going to use the old zippers, but we ended up finding some zipper by the yard in the upholstery section. It was about $5 to replace all of the zippers and now they match a bit better than they would have if I used the old ones.

The bottom of the cushions is a flannel backed vinyl. The original cushions used this same type of vinyl, but I'm still not sold on the fabric. It feels a little too flimsy. I hope it wears well. Note to self - next time use the walking foot like I knew I should have! The vinyl stretched quite a bit with the regular foot.

Stripes are tricky, that's for sure! I had to remember to line them up so that when the cushions are sitting on the bench the stripes will be in order. I also had the zippers all close toward the camper wall. The corners were a headache too. I could not figure them out for the bottom cushions. I finally found this post from another camper that posted pictures of what I knew was the way to do the corners. Sometimes you just need to see it. At least two of our cushions look nice and square with no puckers...we're just going to have to live with the other two! I don't think I'm going to redo them.

More camper reno to come!

Trying Something New

I've always wanted to learn how to reupholster furniture. I finally figured out that I had to just jump into a project. I'm starting with these two chairs. They were given to us by my mom. The plaid isn't really our style. The arms are all ripped and fraying. But the chairs are in pretty good condition otherwise. I like the seat height, and I like the traditional shape. 

Here's Kent's attempt to fix the arms of the chairs. He thinks tape can fix anything. Well, tape and dad.

I found this black and white houndstooth fabric at Hobby Lobby that was cheap enough to buy just in case my attempt at reupholstering didn't work out. But it's not cheap quality fabric. It's a nice durable upholstery. I think I'm going to love the more modern fabric on traditional chairs. I'm hoping to replace the rug someday (maybe with this one, maybe not) and paint these walls. I'm done with brown walls for right now.

I started taking one chair apart last month, but haven't really made much progress over the last few weeks. I'm hoping to get motivated again so I don't forget how I took the thing apart!!

Our Fortune Cookie

My mom bought these cutest little fortune cookie shoes for me last year for Chinese New Year. They were more for Kara, but she wasn't born yet, so I got the gifts! I decided that I wanted to get a cute little Chinese dress for Kara and have her wear her fortune cookie shoes for this year's Chinese New Year. Well, the hunt for the Chinese dress didn't go as planned, of course. I decided that I would make one, but it didn't happen for the new year. No worries.

I know the dress is a little more Japanese in style, but that's okay too. I love the dress. It was super easy to make too. I used this Sweet Wrap Reversible Dress pattern by Heidi and Finn. I really love their patterns. And I love that we get two dresses out of one! I think she'll be wearing it next year too. I made the 12-18 month size. She's swimming in it. Next year she'll either still be wearing it as a dress or maybe a tunic with leggings.

She's so cute sometimes. We can't get over it!

Peekaboo! She's finally starting to enjoy this game. It's fun for the boys to play with her.

The cute little shoes.

Sidelights Obscured

Before Christmas I took down my sidelight curtains to wash them. The once solid curtain panels were now striped from the sun and looked sick. I really liked the extra light that the uncovered sidelights brought in, so I left them alone for a couple of months. Then I really looked at them again. Those glass blocks are definitely NOT my favorite thing in our home. So I picked up some fabric from JoAnn and went to work. I think it's a vast improvement! Now to work on a new rug for this area...

The Fox Says, "Nice Tie!"

Kent loves the fox! And he loves his new fox tie too! I wanted to make him a fun tie for moving up to Sunbeams at church. I made Clark a snake tie, but I wanted something different for Kent. The fox tie was born!

Would you like to make a fox tie of your own?

I started with this tie pattern at The Purl Bee. I made the tie according to the pattern all the way up to the SEW TIE section at the end. Then I added my embellishments. I kind of had to play with the lining a little to make sure I didn't sew it down, but it wasn't that difficult. I felt I had a better idea of the finished tie with the lining already sewn in. You could add your embellishments at the beginning if you wanted.

1. Start by adding two buttons for eyes.

2. Create your ears by making triangles. I used the main fabric for one side and a minky for the fur inside the ear. Clip the corner and trim the edges as shown below. **Check for the direction of your fur when you cut your triangle. Also, it may be easier to use the shape in step 3 to create your ears. Live and learn!!

3. I found this shape made more sense for how I was going to attach the ears. I didn't want to recut the ears, so I just tucked in the corners of the triangles and topstitched along the bottom so they wouldn't pop out...very technical. You probably wouldn't  need to sew the bottom together if you made this shape from the beginning.

4. To give the ears a little shape, I made a fold in the center and tacked it down. This made the ears curve a little bit.

5. Place the ears on the tie. Read through step 6 so you can get a better idea of how it will look when finished. Stitch the ears fur side down. Try to keep your stitches on the ear and not over the edges. Don't you love the beauty of handmade where one ear is larger than the other!!

6. Flip the ears up and topstitch again above where the raw edges end on your ear. This will hide the raw edges for a nice finished look. Keep your stitches on the ear and not over the edges.

7. Your ears should look like this. I roughed up the fur along the topstitching so that it was less noticeable.

8. Using some embroidery floss or Pearl cotton thread, add a nose. I used a satin stitch for the nose.

9. With the same thread, add some whiskers. I used only 2 pieces of thread on each side. You can kind of pull the whiskers through. I wanted to reduce bulk with knots and things on the inside of the tie.

10. Finish up the tie according to the original tutorial!!

He loved his tie! He walked around showing everyone his fox. I just can't get enough! Such a cute Sunbeam!

Holiday Highlights

I thought I might take the rest of our pre-Christmas photos and compile them into holiday highlights reel instead of them each being their own post.

The Christmas Lights Polar Express

This was so much fun! When Clark and Dad got home (and Kara was fed) we gave each of the boys a ticket for the Christmas Lights Polar Express. I punched them with my favorite teeny paper punch just like in the movie. We made a stop at McDonald's for drive thru dinner and set out for Elburn, IL. Seriously, it seemed as far as it would have to go to the North Pole. 

We watched a few episodes of The Great Christmas Light Fight and saw the Larsen's house on the show. They won the prize for the night and we knew we had to go see it. In the long drive, we had enough time to eat dinner, read a book, fall asleep...you name it. The lights did not disappoint. I was hoping we would have been able to see more or do more, but Kent kept saying that he had to go to the bathroom. We don't mess around when he says he has to go to the bathroom. We're hoping his bladder control gets a little better for next year's show! After the lights we of course had to have some hot chocolate while listening to the song from the movie. That was Clark's idea. He's so funny!

Clark's Class Christmas Party

Clark's teacher is so nice to invite all of us to school events. Kent, Kara and I all went to Clark's Christmas party to have cookies and take pictures by the fireplace. I'm so glad he loves his class. Kent loved hanging out at his school too. He found these little blue papers that you could see through and was checking out how they made the everything look. Clark even made us a Christmas card - love the spelling on the card. I used to sign my name "Merry" on Christmas cards, but I think his version of "Mary Christmas" works too!

Our Christmas Tree

I didn't hate our Christmas tree this year as much as last year. It looks so sad though. It's no longer pre-lit and the extra lights that we put on this year just weren't enough as you can see on the bottom rung. But we're holding out to buy a new one after Kara goes through her toddler years. I'm just hoping this tree is going to make it!

Kara's Christmas Dress

I was so glad that I was able to make Kara's Christmas dress this year. With the way things were going, I thought I was going to have to buy one. That wouldn't have been a terrible thing. But I just really wanted to make one for her. I even found this shop that sells cute dress patterns for infants. I made the Ella Dress. I figure the boys just have to deal with having a silly picture here. This one showed off Kara's dress the best.

A Season of Excess

I have seriously felt the excess this season. It's everywhere. Smeared all over Kent's face in the form of cake batter and on Clark's plate for Sunday lunches. His new favorite sandwich...the triple decker. I am so grateful for a January of Simplicity after the December of Excess.

The Loyal Order of the Water Buffaloes Christmas Party

I should have declined the work of putting together a Christmas party for Jason's friends, but I always love a good party. And to be fair...Jason did most of the work despite having to work crazy long hours too. Dave was even kind enough to wear the shirt I made the group for their first Christmas party 3 or 4 years ago. I think he's the only one that still fits in his shirt!

Next up...Christmas!

2013 Costume Parade and More

More Halloween posts! There might be a few more Halloween memories in my back pocket. Just so you know!

Clark wanted to be a devil this year just like he was last year. I was so sad that he didn't want to be something new, so we took a trip to Menard's. Isn't that where you go for all of your Halloween inspiration? We were there on other home reno business and love to check out the Halloween decor. I introduced Clark to the Grim Reaper and his Halloween costume was decided.

Kent was a harder sell. He didn't want to be anything for a long while. Then he decided on a football player werewolf. We had a few rough patches with his costume (including a night time parade of 6 different JoAnn stores) but in the end, we love the way it came out!

Kara didn't have to hide behind a costume and could be Supergirl without anyone being the wiser! We also love how her costume turned out! She's SUPER!

We had an awesome time at Trunk or Treat this year. Clark went around twice and then came back to help hand out the candy. He told me he wasn't interested in getting more candy. Then I saw him pick through the bag of candy that we were giving out and sneaking it into his bag...nicely played.

Then we went over to my brother's Halloween party. It was a Villain's theme which was awesome. Dave went as Syndrome from The Incredibles. My dad went as Gru and my mom went as his minion. Love that!

There are more Halloween posts to come! Stay tuned!

Halloween 2013

And that's as creative a title as we're going to get!

Happy Halloween from the gang. Isaiah - football player, Alvina - nerd, Mary - Supergirl's sidekick, Kara - Supergirl, Clark - Grim Reaper, Kent - football player werewolf (aka: Toddler Wolf)

After getting all dolled up in costumes we hit Gigi's work for some easy candy. We go every year and the kids make out like bandits.

Seriously, isn't she just so precious...those eyelashes! She needs such big cheeks to hold up her lashes. Haha!

This year the whole family was invited to Clark's school party. We were all happy to go regardless of how Kent looks in this picture. Cracks me up!

Each of the first graders got a pumpkin from their field trip earlier this year. They each had to come up with a way to decorate it without carving it. Clark created a mummy out of his.

Some awesome cookie decorating and apple slices made for some fantastic Halloween treats. Then there was the school parade. I was surprised at how many kids I'm getting to know at the school. It's fun to see the kids I recognize.

It was agony waiting for Isaiah and Alvina to show up for trick or treating! Don't you just want to pull his tail?

Off they went in the rain to collect as many Milky Way candy bars for me as possible!

For previous Halloween posts: 2012, 2011, 2010 (I have to round up some 2010 pics! Clark was an awesome Batman and Kent was Clark Kent.), 2009, 2008, 2007