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Getting back to real life soon…

Uncategorized January 12, 2012
Life is slowly returning to normal. We still have not unpacked and are having to find our way around tools and saw dust, but lots has happened.

In the Bathroom we re-tiled over the 1970’s green tile. We can’t afford to replace the Harvest Gold Bathtub or “rose print” tiles quite yet, so we tried to think of a colour scheme that will work. We chose black stick tiles, and a sunny yellow for the walls. We are now on the search for some white, grey and yellow fabric for a shower curtain. This weekend we are going to try removing the rest of the tracking for the shower doors. Last night we replaced the fittings for the tub hot and cold handles and the spout. Dan sprayed water everywhere, a traditional plumbing initiation practice in these parts.
We painted our cupboards and laid laminate floor down over the old tile floor in the kitchen and foyer. First we put up jack posts in the basement to support the staircase which has a serious slope. Everything got painted, cleaned, and we got our appliances. Looks like a very messy, but very fancy kitchen now. I can hardly believe I’m still allowed to live here! We kept some of the quirky things, like the funny railing along the top of the cupboards and the wood panelling on the walls.
My dad and my uncle have rewired part of our basement and much of our main floor. We knew the house had some knob and tube wiring, but we didn’t realize how poorly the house was wired… so I feel much safer now.
This lovely, rotted old piece of wood was what was supposed to be supporting our stair case. It’s no wonder the stairs were a little slanty… and bouncy!

Our washer and dryer are coming on Saturday, which is great because I am starting to smell bad. We are going to hopefully be picking up a few more pieces of furniture on Sunday at an auction sale, and at that point, we will really be ready to unpack and get back to normal… Which I am very much looking forward to.

House, house, house…

Uncategorized January 3, 2012

I hope everyone had a lovely New Years. We spent ours in our new house. We painted until 10 or 11, then had a champagne toast at midnight and promptly passed out from exhaustion.

We got the keys on Wednesday around noon. My mom and I spent that day cleaning and scrubbing, the house was pretty dirty. Thursday we sanded cupboards, changed light fixtures, and painted trim. Friday the cupboards got painted, and the kitchen walls got their first coat. Saturday we finished the kitchen and started painting the bathroom. Sunday we cut out a hole in the cabinets for the dishwasher, made an end cabinet, and prepped the kitchen and foyer floors for new flooring. Monday we laid new floor, painted the living room & dining room, tiled the bathroom, painted ceilings, removed old knob and tube wiring, and added plumbing for the dishwasher. Today, back to work.
I feel so incredibly lucky to have had many family members volunteer their time to do wiring, flooring, sanding, painting… we wouldn’t have been able to do half of the work with out them. Everything looks so awesome in the house. We’ve made some pretty cool improvements.
Tonight we are off to dinner with the in-laws, and tomorrow our appliances are being delivered. I still have hardly packed a thing, and I have 3 orders to complete still! Time is ticking, and I can’t wait to be relaxing in my new house! <3

Brrr!

Uncategorized December 28, 2011

We had a green Christmas here, which is pretty unusual for this area, known for its skiing and winter snowstorms. However, last night we made up for the lack of Christmas Snow.
Christmas was wonderful, but busy. We had dinner and gifts with Dan’s brother, mom, niece and nephew on Christmas Eve, then headed out to my parents for our Christmas Eve presents (we get pajamas every year on Christmas Eve). On Christmas day we were up early to do gifts at my parents, then headed to Toronto shortly after lunch for Dan’s family gathering – which fun but overwhelming, with lots of people I had never met! We didn’t get home until after 9 and by then I was exhausted. On boxing day, I sewed 3 tops for myself because I am tired of all of my clothes… Then we headed out to my Aunt’s for Boxing Day Lasagna (a new tradition in my family). Yesterday, Dan and I bought all of the paint for our house, new light fixtures, picked out a new tv stand and coffee table, I worked half a day, then we had dinner at my parents again. I am back to work this morning (absolutely exhausted), waiting for a call from our lawyer to come pick up the keys!
In between all of that, I managed to do my nails (my one moment of relaxation!). I got my inspiration from this Pin on Pinterest, but used gold as a base, then painted over with a dark plum. I love this reverse-french look.

I also recently tried that new matte top coat – specifically the one from China glaze. It matte-ifies like magic, but I found after 2 or 3 days, the matte-ness totally wares off. I did a black on black french manicure and after 3 days, my nails just looked worn. It definitely looks pretty cool while it is matte though!

Is it over yet?

Uncategorized December 24, 2011
I am officially having a pre-Christmas, pre-move freak out!

I spent most of this morning packing… and just now remembered I have 1 christmas gift to finish sewing and several to wrap. Luckily, the wrapped gifts were all wrapped in haste so I don’t need to worry about making them look pretty at this point… Though I am sure I will go back and add bows and ribbons before the day is through.
Why is it that no matter how much stuff I give to Goodwill, I always feel like I have way too much stuff when it comes time to move. I swear, around here we do a Goodwill run once a month, getting rid of old, unused clothes, dishes, pots, pans, etc. I don’t feel like I shop enough to warrant giving away so much stuff! And still I’d like to get rid of half of what I own.
Yesterday I made marshmallows and hot chocolate mix to add to a couple of my gifts. I have officially decided that I am crazy.


I used Martha Stewart’s recipe for Candy Cane Marshmallows and Vanilla Marshmallows, and a recipe for hot cocoa mix I found here. I used fair trade organic cocoa to make it a little extra special, and added some cinnamon to my mix (because I like it). I’ve never had home made marshmallows before. They are VERY sweet and very tasty and sooooooo melty, ooey, gooey good in mug of hot chocolate! I found some cute printable tabs from Ellinée Blog and Lovely Design’s Blog. I just printed them out, wrote with black fine-tipped marker on them, and tied the tags on with twine. I think they look pretty good (and taste even yummier).

I normally love Christmas, but this year I will be happy when it is over. We have too much crammed in too little time this year. Today we are going to Dan’s brothers, then to my parents, then home, then sleep & wake up, then my parents, then drive to Toronto, then drive back home, them pack, then move… I will be happy when I can focus on one thing at a time! 🙂
Anyway, Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and gets to spend lots of time with loved ones and good food and all that jazz. I will likely be “out” until our closing date and will be back at that time with lots of pictures of MY Christmas Present – a New (OLD) House!

Getting Ready

Uncategorized December 23, 2011

Phew… I moved 2 times in 2010, and I’m pretty sure at the end of it I swore I wouldn’t move again any time soon!

But, here I am.
I loved the little apartment Dan and I found, surrounded by parking lot, downtown. It’s so cute and charming and cozy. Cozy being the operative word. The small shower, that at first I thought “will do,” has become like torture chamber – every relaxing shower ends being pelted with falling body wash bottles and bars of soap, bruised elbows from the confined space, patches of hairy leg that never get shaved quite right because there’s not room to move with out getting sprayed directly in the eye with an errant spray of water. The parking lot surrounding, which at first was fun to people watch, is noisy; if I hear one more coffee truck cheerfully tooting its horn at the nearby postal workers, I might just snap. The small patch of grass by the Bank has been peed on one too many times by my little dog. I don’t think it can take much more. Our oven only half works, the bathroom has no heat, our closets look like a well-played Tetris game, full of boxes and holiday decorations.
Last night I packed up a few boxes, then we headed out to my aunts for a small birthday celebration. We watched my cousins little boys play in bits of torn up wrapping paper, and point out all the decorations on the tree. It was really fun.
Today, I work half a day, sign papers at the lawyers, then am off for a few days. I can’t believe how fast the closing day is coming. I am so, so, so excited!

*I Think Sew* slipper patterns

Uncategorized December 22, 2011
I found http://www.ithinksew.com/ through pinterest and immediately bought about 5 different patterns.

I made up the Kimono Slipper for myself a few weeks ago, and at first was frustrated with the fit. However! With 2 small tweaks, I think I perfected an already adorable, comfortable pattern.

First, I removed 1″ from either side of the “heel” and inserted 1 2″ piece of stretchy ribbing. Second, I reinforced along the top with a piece of sturdy, 1/4″ elastic, pulled taught and zig-zagged on. This created a “Smocked” effect on the back, but allows the slipper to stretch on your foot, while the elastic holds it on tight. I HIGHLY recommend doing this if you make these slippers. I found, when I made them as it, they were either TOO tight, or falling off my foot. I found that this was the best method for making the slipper the most comfortable and wearable.
On the moccasin slipper, I added a cased-elastic along the heel to hold the slipper on snug. I also experimented with just adding a piece of elastic along the back. Both of these methods work, but I found that the method above was the most comfortable.
I appliqued non-skid “hearts” to the soles of all of the slippers. Over all they were very easy to make and cute to wear! I am definitely going to be making more of these.

Getting Excited!

Uncategorized December 19, 2011

PHEW! I am exhausted! But I feel accomplished.

More orders will be going out on Monday and I finally am almost done my Christmas Crafting. I made my nieces Dress-Up Tutu’s (I kind of want one!) last night out of about 10 yards of tulle each. Aren’t they fun? Wouldn’t you like to frolic and spin in one of these? I know I would.

Remember all of the hand-embellished linens I got from my mother-in-law? They have found new life as heirloom cushion covers. They are made out of 2 pillow cases with crocheted lace trim, embroidered placemats, handkerchiefs, and handmade doilies. I’ve combined the handiwork of myself, Dan’s Great-Aunt, and his Grandmother. I am really in love with these. I hope the recipients like them as much as I do.
I made them envelope style with bridal buttons up the back. I have about 35 buttons to sew on tonight so I will keep this breif…

Knife Edge, envelope pillows are very simple to make and do not require a pattern – you can find simple tutorials for them online, or just wing-it (my method).

Am I crazy?

Uncategorized December 13, 2011

Why did no one tell me there is only 1 Crafting Weekend until Christmas?! I haven’t done ANYTHING!

I have actually done plenty of things, just nothing Christmas-related. I finished up the majority of my orders, and bought a house. Between those two things, I have been crazy busy. Never in my life would I have imagined that buying a house would be so involved. I don’t know how I thought it would be, but I didn’t think it would be as complicated as it was. Now I am just so grateful and in awe of the fact that I have my own house! I don’t think we will believe it until we move.
The only thing non-Ohhh Lulu and house related that I have had a chance to do was my nails. I am a nail polish junkie, so I am glad to see that slightly-tacky patterned nails are back in style (in my mind they never went away). I nearly died when I saw Sally Hansen brought out Nail Polish Strips in LUMBERJACK PLAID. This is what I have on my hands and toes at the moment. Prior to the plaid, I had pink and white polka dots.
Polka dots are really easy to do. Paint your nail the base colour and wait to dry. Drip a blob of contrasting polish on to a piece of paper (this is the “dot” colour). Dip the pointy end of an orange stick into the polish. Do a couple of test dots, allowing some extra polish to build up on the tip. They make the perfect size dots. Occasionally, every 6 or so dots, you will want to wipe off the excess polish from the orange stick to keep your dots a uniform size. A layer of top-coat smooths things out.
I am super, super, super excited to try out the new Matte Top coat that everyone on Pinterest is pinning about. Who else is obsessed with pretty manicures? What is your favourite technique? And, has anyone successfully tried marbling?

On pins and needles…

Uncategorized December 8, 2011

Well, if all goes well today, it looks like we will be moving at the end of the month!

My Etsy shop will close on December 22 and re-open mid-January (just in time for Valentines Day) after we get set up in the new place.
We hit a major roadblock in the house buying process on Tuesday, but I managed to find a way around it. We have everything in order, we are just waiting for the sellers to sign back the Waiver of Conditions and it’s done!
I am in awe of the space we are going to have in this house; the idea of having a place to store all of our stuff – Christmas trees, tools, sewing machines, an extra bedroom for guests, my own bathtub, is a dream come true. 1100 square feet feels like a mansion after sharing a small, one-bedroom apartment with a 6’3″ giant, an over-grown pug, and a humongous sewing habit.

What we wore… Edwardian Shirtwaist & Corset Cover

Uncategorized December 4, 2011
I think I’ve graduated from being obsessed with Victorian Clothing to obsessing over Edwardian Clothing… I’ve moved a century closer!
This is a very usual corset cover. It is made of a starched cotton (beautiful hand), with heavily starched ruffles over the bust (hiding some beautiful pin-tucks). The Edwardian shape always amused me – it is so unnatural with the large bust and thin hips. You can see how this corset cover would help achieve that look, by adding extra volume to the bust with all of those ruffles! If Ohhh Lulu were around 100 years ago, I probably would have designed this:

The shirtwaist is in rough condition. It is a net lace exterior (which is near perfect) over cream silk, which is pintucked down down the front. The silk has seen better days and is beginning to crumble in quite a few places. It has metal snaps down the back and is quite obviously handmade.