U•G•L•Y You ain't got no alibi...

You UGLY! What, what... you ugly! You mama say you ugly.


Is this not the ugliest baby crib bumper you have ever seen?! It's a really sad shade of khaki brown with a yellowish-gold swirl all over it. Kind of a baby poop brown. Ewwww. It IS, however, very well made and in brand-new shape. So I bought it  for $6 (at a thrift store - score) and decided to make a slipcover for it. I found some really pretty black & white material and sewed away. I really, really hate sewing, but I put on my big girl panties and did it. I can sew, just don't like to.



Seriously. This is UGLY.















Here is the new Tater bumper pad...

It's lying on my guest room bed so there is a lot going on here - pattern wise. It was so simple to make. I just measured the circumference and length and made a tube with black grosgrain ribbon added every 26 inches, like the original. Then turned it right side out, inserted the original pad (not as painful as I thought it was going to be) and sewed up the ends. Done. I can't wait to see the whole crib finished. We don't have one yet, but I am looking for one that is already black or even white. I want to pair the pad with a black/white polka dot bed skirt, which I will be making. Dang, Tater, good thing I love you already.

 

I made another piece of art too. I found an 8 x 8 inch black frame at Walmart (less than $10, $8 I think). I cut a 2 inch mat and glued some black & white patterned material to the mat. Just used some ATG tape to secure it. I then added a sticker that says "I love you" to the glass. It is actually 2 pieces of glass sandwiched together with the sticker in the middle on the back piece. (I have a 2nd job working for an artist doing his matting and framing, a skill that has come in handy) No backing behind the picture - I wanted it to be clear and let the wall color show through the glass. I have it here on a shelf in my kitchen and you can see the back of the shelf through the glass, a taupey green color. So when it is hanging in Tater's room, it will have the baby yellow background showing through from the wall.

 

Redo Update

I finished the storage/shelf thingy for Tater today. I love it, love it. I still need baskets to put in the shelf areas, but that search isn't over yet. Finding the right size and color will be my challenge. I'm leaning toward baby yellow canvas, but so far, nothing has turned up. I might try painting plain canvas ones. We'll see.

 

I was going to put glass knobs on the drawers but went with brushed nickel instead. Very pretty! Got them from Home Depot.

Suicidal Squirrels

 

Dammit! For the second time in about 6 months, one of our bazillion neighborhood squirrels did the suicide dance in front of my car. You know how they do it... they jump out as you are approaching them, then they see you - decide that maybe they should go back - and do. But no, they really want to try and cross and they dart out again. Crazy dart out! Almost spinning in mid air. This is repeated about 5 times before they commit to a direction, and all in a matter of nano seconds.  All the while  I am watching and screaming like a 9 year old girl.  Not much makes me scream like that, except the sight of a live, and loose snake, and the possibility that I might hit an animal with my car. I suspect that the squirrel, if capable, would be letting out the same high pitched girly scream in the middle of the street.

I try as hard as I can to miss, but then the inevitable thump-thump. My heart sinks and have to live with that sound and the literal bump of my wheels for weeks. Know that bumper sticker that says "I brake for animals"? Mine would say, "I swerve back and forth, jeopardizing my own life and those of my passengers, for the sake of a fuzzy tailed rodent". Dammit! 

I understand the circle of life thing, and these little guys are abundant enough to not even notice that one is gone. But why, oh why, do they have to pick me as a source to the end of their little lives? I admit, I'm not a squirrel lover, but I wouldn't want to hurt one either. Or any other living thing. I'm a meat eater, yes-yes, and I see the irony here, but I get my meat at the grocery store where you're supposed to get it and there aren't any recognizable body parts in the package. And it's boneless and skinless. Just meat. Did someone kill it? Yes, but not me. I couldn't handle the nightmares that would follow. So, RIP little squirrel. Please tell your bazillion friends to listen for a scream... that's me, run like hell if you hear it.

Furniture Redo numero uno

Oh, Little Tater, it's hot outside, but I am gladly redoing a piece of furniture for you today. I found this at the Junior League Thrift store (my fave) for $20. It's a nice piece of real wood furniture that started out a natural finish pine (not my fave). I have primed it so far and will be painting it black. I promised a before and after picture, but being true to my spontaneously compulsive self, I started priming it before I took a real before picture. Here is what it looks like right this minute, outside drying after primer...

 Don't judge my lawn. We're in the middle of another drought and my poor grass is in a state of shock. Rain, dammit. Well, not yet anyway. At least let my furniture dry then rain.

Look at the big feet on this thing! Loving it.

Yes, I left the knobs on while I primed, and then realized I want to change them out with some cute glass Hobby Lobby ones. So off they came. That's one on the right side of the table. Plain old knob... gone.

 I have high hopes for the outcome here. I love, love the big chunky feet on the bottom and the adjustable shelves. I plan to put some canvas baskets in the shelf areas for teeny tiny beebee clothes. Two nice sized drawers for extra diapers.

Making use of all the drying space I can find. Love you, Tater.

Before and After Tissue Box

Remember this?

A recent $1 thrift find. Nice oak tissue box. Initially I spray painted it black without sanding first. I've never had issues before doing that, but for some reason this time I did. The paint bubbled up and looked awful. The more I sprayed the yuckier it looked. dang!
So, I sanded it (like I should have done in the first place) then painted it green with acrylic paint to match my craft room accessories. Ewwwww! Horrible again. Good grief, this was turning into a throw-it-on-the-floor-and-stomp-it project. Yes, I've done that, I say with a little misplaced pride. I don't lose it often, but when I do, something is gonna get stomped on.

OK, one more try. I sanded and spray painted again and this time it worked fine. Geez!

I lined the box with heavy scrapbook paper in a teal-ish shade of green, and hammered some saw tooth picture hangers to the back. I didn't bother to cover up the tissue "hole" as it was not going to be seen.

I added some of our Ghoulies from our Etsy collection and a picture of Jesse, my sweet dog who I miss dearly, and hung it by my big collaged K and newly renovated lamp. Sweet!

 

Tater's subway art

Finally got around to printing my subway art design and cutting a mat and framing it. I had an old oak frame that I spray painted with glossy black, then strung grosgrain ribbon by two eye hooks. It turned out really nice. I was so tempted to include "Tater" in there, but the dignified Gigi had a fight with the smart aleck Gigi, and the dignified Gigi won.  She's a beeyatch.

Love you, Tater.