Happy Halloween!

Remember how Madeleine was a dragon for Halloween last year?

This year, she has magically transformed into a lady bug. A cute-as-can-be, busy-as-can-be little bug.

In California, we got a preview of the Midglets' gnome costumes, skillfully designed (sans pattern!) and sewn by their super creative mama, Sally. 

We managed to snap a photo with all seven PEPS friends this week. 

What are you or your little person/people/pet going to be for Halloween?

Fall in San Jose

What a wonderful weekend! We spent this weekend in Silicon Valley, which included hanging out with the Midgleys, our second pumpkin patch experience, and delicious Sunday morning brunch with other friends who are former Seattlites. I'll let some photos tell most of the story.

As much as we wish these guys were back in Seattle, we love visiting them in California once or twice a year. 

Guess who's all about lifting her shirt and sharing her new word, "belly"? 

The kiddos had their first carousel experiences. The boys loved it while Madeleine merely tolerated it. 

Traveling becomes more challenging as Madeleine gets older. She was definitely out of sorts when we first got to the hotel and when we first met up with the Midgleys, but she eventually warmed up. Even though it can be challenging, I think it's important to keep exposing her to new experiences. 

Overall, it was a great trip and definitely too short! 

(Check out these three kiddos last October.)

Pinned It & Did It: Paint Chip Art

This pin was originally about the coral wall color, but I loved the paint chip art on the wall. 

Pin. Original source via this source.

This is a pretty simple project and added a little oomph to our guest bath. After considering a whole lot of different greys for our house, I had a bunch of paint chips, which I cut into 1.5 inch squares. 

Then, I did a temporary arrangement before busting out my favorite adhesive: rubber cement. 

Ta-da! 

I'm pretty happy with how the colors play off of the yellow paint and grey shower curtain (an Ikea hack made from sewing together two cheap-o regular curtain panels). 

There are about a million paint chip projects out there. Which one(s) is/are on your to-do list? 

Modern Traditional Patchwork Ombre Quilt

I am so excited to share my most recent quilt, which is going to live in Dallas with Denaye and David's son. Denaye and David like both modern and traditional elements, so I tried to incorporate both into this quilt. Denaye asked me to try to do something ombre, and this nursery rug inspired the palette.

I used a traditional patchwork pattern but all solid fabric and straight line quilting for modern touches. 

Check out that post-laundry crinkle! 

All those solids made the front a little serious, so I lightened up the back with this cute puppy print.

I can't wait to see the little guy having tummy time on his quilt! 

Hooked!

I've mentioned before how it's important to George and me that we fill our home with meaningful things. Just like I try to incorporate some antique and rustic items that remind me of growing up in Ohio, we try to bring home special pieces from New Zealand when we visit.

On our last visit, we picked up this beautiful hook, which we have just finally hung in our dining room. I love how it contrasts against the dark paint (Benjamin Moore Stampede). Fun fact: the hook holding the hook was my first ever Anthropologie purchase.

Bonus! The color of the hook nicely ties in with the stone around the fireplace. I love happy accidents!

As an unhappy accident, the lighting in this photo make the living room paint color look similar to the dining room when it's actually the significantly lighter BM Sonora Gray. Oh well, I'm still hooked on our hook. Har-har.

Pinned It & Did It: Repurposed T-Shirt Romper

I believe that this is my first ever clothing sewing project. At least, it's my first non-Halloween costume clothing sewing project. Like always, it started with a simple Pin.

Pin. Source.

It continued with my hoarding habit. Specifically, I held onto a t-shirt from college from the alma mater of my dear friends, Denaye and David. Pretty much the minute that Denaye told me that she was pregnant, I thought about this lil' sewing tutorial and the t-shirt in my craft cabinet. 

One night, I decided I'd finally cut the freshly laundered shirt into pieces. 

An hour and a bit later, and I had this. 

A little more time spent sewing snaps into place...

...and this baby was born. 

This was a remarkably easy project, and I hope it'll bring lots of pride to its new owner and his parents. 

Baby Flock's Happy Nursery

You've already seen Sam's baby shower (parts one and two) and gotten a sneak peek at the fabric used in her nursery linens. Today, I'm thrilled to show you the very happy and bright nursery that Sam and her husband have designed for their baby.

I'm going to keep my commentary to a minimum so that you can soak up all of this cheerfulness.

Get ready to smile!

Fun Fact: This needlepoint hung in Sam's room as a child. How special is that?! 

These are the sheets and crib skirt that I made from that delicious fabric Sam picked out. 

Take a closer look at the changing pad cover and wall color.

This may be a bit familiar...?

Every child of a New Yorker needs a plush NY slice of pizza!

The bunting includes all of the nursery fabrics (one sheet and one changing pad cover not shown).

Gizmo is all ready to welcome his little brother to the happiest nursery in the universe!

A la YHL, what's your favorite part? It's a tough one because I'm still a sucker for cute and crisp crib skirt pleats, but I think the bright needlepoint being used by a second generation wins for me. 

Fall Door

You've seen our visit to the pumpkin patch and our new burlap wreath. It's time to put them all together and show you how I've decorated our entry for fall.

Look who has learned to knock! 

Right now, there's a slight Halloween theme with the bat and pumpkins, but at the end of this month, I'll take those away and be left with a simple wreath and mums to get us through November.

Pinned It & Did It: Autumn Burlap Wreath

It's autumn and finally time to dig out my burlap yardage and one of my very first pins. I'm going to go ahead and call this the year of burlap. Our local craft stores are overflowing with burlap products at the moment!

I started with this inspiration...

Pin. Original Source.

...and I pretty much just followed the tutorial.

I pulled out my burlap (roughly 2 yards) and a foam wreath form. First, I cut the burlap into roughly 4-inch wide strips.

Then I cut those strips into 4-inch squares. Note: getting the exact size is not nearly as important as making sure that every piece is more square than rectangle.

I put two folded squares on each floral pin, like so.

This is what 90-100 squares look like in a stack and on the wreath:

I definitely bunched my squares closer together than the original creator, but I like the bulky (rather than airy) appearance that resulted. Most of all, I love that this wreath oozes texture.

Here's my final product, embellished with a $1 Michaels bat for Halloween.

What autumn projects have you undertaken?