Rocky Road

There's a small patch of dirt between our front walkway and the side of our house. It's not really wide enough to serve as a flower bed, and since it's not connected to the rest of the lawn whatever is planted there would have to be continually watered by hand. I considered planting some succulents there but new they would eventually trail across the walkway and be crushed with all the foot traffic.

There was actually a bush planted where the green pot now sits, but we ripped that out shortly after we moved in since it stuck halfway out into the walkway and groped you with its scratchy branches every time you walked by. Ever since then the spot has been occupied by dirt and weeds.

We decided that decorative rocks were the best solution. No water required and they would keep away the weeds. We chose marble chips because they were inexpensive and the white color went well with the limestone on our house.

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We dug out a couple inches of dirt then leveled the spot with sand.

30 minutes and $15 dollars later...

I can't believe we lived so long with this eyesore...I didn't realize how bad it looked until the rocks were down. Quite a contrast. I hope this inspires you to complete that little project you've been putting off for so long!

Produce Bag Tutorial

I've had a couple requests for project tutorials, including my reusable produce bags. Here's the how-to:

Materials:
Mesh fabric (Update: The light-weight mesh didn't hold up as well as I would have liked. I've since made more bags using a slightly heavier polyester mesh)
2 spools of coordinating thread
Scissors or rotary cutter

Cut out a 13" x 36" piece of mesh. (Your bag will end up being approx 12" W by 17" H)

Using a straight stitch, hem both short ends of the fabric.

Fold fabric in half, right sides touching. Sew together long edges, making sure to backstitch at the beginning and end of your seam. To sew up the sides, I used a double stitch. I found that using a double needle strengthened the seam and cut down on time. However, you should experiment with your machine and find out which stitch works best. The mesh can be a little tricky to work with.

Trim any excess mesh from the edges, turn inside out, and you're done! If you'd like to make more than one size, use different colors of mesh so you can easily tell the difference.

In my next tutorial I'll share how to make nest place card holders.

Wall Art

We've had a blank wall across from our bed since we moved in, and I wanted to paint some word art for the space. Zach and I ended up choosing two bible passages: Titus 2:11-14 and Philippians 4:6-8.

I already had all the materials I needed on hand:

canvases
gesso
acrylic paint (white, raw sienna, raw umber)
blending medium
art sponges
small paint brush
transfer paper

Using gesso, I added a little texture to the canvases. Once the gesso had dried, I painted the canvases a solid cream color. Then I mixed some raw umber paint with a little blending medium, and used an art sponge to apply a dark wash.

I don't have the best handwriting, so I printed the verses out to the size of my canvas, then used transfer paper to trace the letters on to the canvas.

Using a very small brush, I went back and painted over the letters. After the paint dried, I used a brush and a little water to wipe away any lines leftover from the transfer paper. I added one more wash of paint to finish.

Pun Off

Each year, the O Henry Pun Off is held in Austin. There are two competitions, Punniest of Show and Punslingers. Punniest of Show competitors deliver a 90 second prepared speech, while Punslinger competitors deliver improvised puns. This year our friend Athene competed in Punniest of Show.

say cheese!

For your entertainment, here is our very own Punslinger competition. The topic is crafting (Zach's suggestion, honest)

S: Sew, you wanna grab a bite to eat tonight?
Z: Oh scrap! Booking a dinner reservation will be emboss-ible at this hour.
S: It seams that you forgot about my feltings.
Z: Are you going to kiln me?
S: I haven't a glue.
Z: Don't do it, you'll cover the carpet with thread blood.
S: I'm going to needle little help with dinner then.
Z: Thanks sweetie! You're cer-amicable!
S: We can selvage what's left of last night's dinner.

This could go on for hours....we'll let you decide who the winner is.

I'm gonna eat a lot of peaches

I remember getting off the bus in middle school and walking behind a classmate who had a boombox on his shoulder. It was blasting the song "Peaches" by The Presidents of the United States of America and all the kids were singing it as they walked in to school. I bought a basket of peaches from the farmer's market last week and that song was instantly stuck in my head.

If I had my little way, I'd eat peaches everyday....

Reusable Produce Bags

I made the switch to canvas shopping bags a while back, but was still using plastic produce bags for all my fruits and vegetables. At a recent trip to the grocery store, I looked into my cart and realized I had about 15 plastic produce bags. It occurred to me, when filling my canvas bags full of plastic ones, that I wasn't accomplishing much in the way of environmental friendliness. That's when I decided to make reusable mesh produce bags. They're easy to make, and because they're lightweight they won't add any more cost to your produce than the regular plastic bags. Each of our moms got a set for Mother's Day, along with a little broccoli.

Cinco De Mayo

Thanks to all my family and friends for all the warm birthday wishes you sent my way! Here's a little run down of my day...

My coworkers took me to Mandola's Italian Market for lunch, where I had a caprese sandwich (tomatoes, mozzarela, and basil). On my way home from work, I stopped by the farmer's market and bought a dozen fresh eggs from Smith and Smith Farms.

When I got home, Zach was there to greet me. As usual, he did a great job picking out my gift. He got me a lovely bouquet of flowers and a gift card to the Sewing Station! I'm sure it won't last long!

Then he handed me a large wrapped box, which he said was from my mom. I assumed he'd picked something up for her since she wouldn't be here, but it turns out she brought it with her the last time she came to visit, and Zach managed to hide it from me until my birthday. Before I reveal what was inside, it requires a bit of a back story...way back...back before I was born. My parents received a set of glass stemware as a wedding gift, and I ended up with it when I went to college. A few months ago during a visit to Houston, my mom and I were browsing a local antique shop and came across a set of the same glassware, except in a larger size. Zach was studying in the car (yes, zach would rather study that go into an antique store) and I drug him inside to see my amazing find and try to convince him that we needed the larger set of glasses to go with the small set we already had. Zach, always the voice of reason, reminded me that we already had a ton of glassware and didn't need any more. So we left the store empty handed.

I'm sure by now you've guessed what was in the box...

After I opened my gifts, we went to Cafe Bleu out on Lake Travis for dinner. It was a nice birthday.