Shower curtain or pool bag?

Things have been a little crazy at our house for the past few weeks.  Little Nate has had severe eczema attacks and we have been trying to figure out the irritants or allergies.  It is hard when the baby is too young to tell you what bothers him.  As of today, I am feeling like we are turning a corner.  We are armed with a topical steroid and have ruled out all of the food he has come into contact with.  That makes things much easier to cope with.

Needless to say, my long list of projects has remained untouched.  I noticed in the past few days that I was particularly grumpy and deduced that I had no outlet for me to recharge during these stressful few weeks with Nate.  I couldn't even get into my book for my book club - by the time I got him to bed, I was left with zero energy...especially mental energy.  I needed something that was not too challenging but not too mindless because I was also exhausted.

On Friday I found my inspiration and outlet for creativity.  A shower curtain.  I know...how and why was I inspired by a shower curtain?  I was walking through Target, trying to keep Nate entertained between naps and I noticed that they were clearance-ing out every shower curtain.  Our Target is getting a face lift and they are changing their inventory for the new "grocery" Target.  Did I mention the discount was on EVERY shower curtain from this past season?

So I came home with these two beauties.  Navy and yellow, $5 each.  I have been working on adding yellow to the guest room and I have been contemplating our outdoor patio area's new look this summer.  I don't know what I am going to do with these huge pieces of fabric but $5 for big sections of fabric is irresistible.

It was so irresistible, I went back to Target the next day.  I needed....umm...hamburger buns.  And I just happened to stroll back down the shower curtain aisle.  I bought a few more.  Most were $5, and my favorite was $8.

Here is my favorite:

It doesn't match the color scheme in my house, but I couldn't resist.  I love the the kelly green and the neutrals.  I went to bed dreaming of my new shower curtain.  And I woke up with a pool bag in my mind.  Sometimes I get my best inspiration in my sleep.

So I found this great tutorial for a pool bag.  But of course I couldn't follow it exactly.  This is a great tutorial - but here are my "additions."






I made my bag a little bigger then her tutorial - 20"/23".

I cut all of my pieces for my 1st bag. Yep, first bag.  I decided to make it a fancy pool bag with a lining.  So I used mainly white for my lining.

I faithfully ironed my edges and pinned everything down for my pocket.  I think I use my iron twice a year.  I really hate ironing.

I even made fancy corners like she told me in the tutorial.  I was really trying hard to follow the instructions.











I took a little break and hung out with these cute kids.  Abby noticed that Nate looked like a bumble bee and one of her favorite books is Ladybug Girl and Bumble Bee Boy.  So she put on her ladybug costume and wanted me to take a picture.  Who could resist.

I attached the pocket onto the white fabric, knowing that this would be the inside of my bag.












The next few steps were very simple - I sewed all of the pieces together to form a straight line.  I did use a wide zig-zag stitch to help stop the fabric from coming apart.










The bottom section of fabric was a little tricky.  I did have to go back and sew two of the corners by hand to make sure the seams wouldn't split.

And there is my inside bag!  It turned out pretty nice.  And I couldn't wait to get started on the next bag.  I cut all the fabric and went through all of the steps again.

Next I put the white bag inside out and placed it inside the colorful bag.  Then I pinned only the top seam, sewing both bags together carefully.  I also sewed down one side, along the seam, to give it a little bit more cohesion.

The handles took a little thought.  I wanted to utilize the grommets on the inside bag.  I cut two strips of fabric and made handles.  I am not sure how long they were...I just sized it to my arms.

And here is is, my new pool/beach bag.  I LOVE IT.  I can't help myself.  Should I tell people it was a shower curtain?





















And because I loved this fabric so much, I threw together this little purse at the same time.  I think it came to me in my sleep again.  And the handles were on clearance at JoAnn's for only $2.  I love wood handles.

I can't wait for summer to come.  I think the entire family's gear will fit in this bag.  And I love my purse - perfect for a night out with no little ones.  I have just enough fabric left to make Abby a matching purse.  I think she wants to sew it herself.  So fun.

Mommy therapy

For the past few years, I have been taking art classes as a means of therapy.  Mommy therapy to be exact. There comes a time every day...usually around 5 pm, that I want to pull my hair out.  And just when I can't take it anymore, my kids are fast asleep.  Peace and quiet.  But have you every watched Groundhog Day?  Sometimes I feel like Bill Murray.  5pm comes every day, and usually just as crazy as the previous day.

So instead of paying a lovely person hundreds of dollars to hear my woes, I decided to sign up for an art class.  I think every stay at home mom should sign up for an art class.  Vanderbilt offers art classes to the community at a really low cost.  My first class was painting with acrylics, then drawing with live models, digital photography and most recently, pottery on the wheel.  Painting was fun but not my thing.  I found that I really enjoyed working with charcoal in the drawing class and the photography class was not much fun late at night.  But I loved pottery!

I made over 20 pieces of...art?  I figured the more things I tried to make, the more I would learn.  Every Thursday night my hubby came home early so that I could rush out the door and get dirty.  I couldn't get enough!  I loved working with the clay and learning the MANY steps to throwing pottery.  Once you get the piece to look how you want it on the wheel (which is soooo much harder then I expected), you have to wait a few days and then work on "trimming" the piece.  You need to shave off extra clay and help the art piece sit properly.  Next it is fired for the first time and becomes a "bisqued" piece of work.  Next you "glaze" the art piece.  Glazing looks like milky paint that doesn't necessary look the color it will be at the end.  You dip or paint your bisqued piece and then have it fired in the kiln again.


So with each step, there were a million things to learn.  And a million things to mess up.  This is one of my first bowls.  It is only 1 inch high and very lop-sided.  And the speckled glazing just doesn't look quite right.  This was a big fail.

By the end, I finally made a few bowls that I was proud of.  Here is my new cereal bowl:

And this round bowl that I love...but don't know what I will put in it!

And my all time favorite peice from this class is this leaf bowl.  It turned out exactly as I had it in my mind.  Luckily my instructor helped me with trimming the bottom so that it would sit evenly.  Otherwise it might have cracked in the kiln!

I also learned how to make mugs.  My first mug is in the middle.  Not the best thing in the world.  It was also my first attempt at a handle.  But I got a little better and made Caleb and Abby these mugs.  We use them every day.

I had so much fun making different pots, bottles, vases, creamers, etc.

I can't wait to take the class again.  I feel like there is a lot to learn!  Every step has many details. This was very fulfilling...in so many ways.  It was a great way for me to make it through the hard days of parenting.  But there was this element of artistic release that meant more then just getting a break from the kids.  It is so wonderful to do something that has no need...to create just because you want to create.  Can you tell that I am hooked?

Treehouse anyone??

I am excited to announce the arrival of the first ever Deering family treehouse - construction is scheduled to begin on May 11th.  Let the planning begin.  And by planning, I am thinking about the design.  I have a few ideas.

How about this one at Garden Design.  I am sure our guests would love to stay here.  Hmmm, maybe I can make it the master bedroom.  The kids don't REALLY need a treehouse, do they?





























Or maybe this one in an issue of Popular Mechanics.















This is a nice collection of decks in this intricate treehouse, also from the Popular Mechanics issue:

Well...I don't think the treehouse will look quite like my pictures.  I am guessing Mark has to keep his day job.  And I know my measuring skills are not up to snuff.  But since I was dreaming of treehouses,  I ordered these two books from Amazon:

They are GREAT!  And extremely detailed.  They show how to build everything from a gang-plank to a hobbit house tree-fort.  The kids have been pouring over the books, dreaming of the perfect treehouse.  Each of them have designed their own perfect treehouse.








Here is Abby's first design:
















A pirate ship fort.  She found this page in one of our books and has requested this be built in our yard.  I think she loves all of the accessories.






















I had to break it to her that we weren't going to build this elaborate ship.  She wasn't disapointed for long.  She quickly came up with plan B.





















Here is a close up of Abby's plan B.  She asked me to write the explanations.  If you look closely, the design is a 2 story treehouse on the top of the tree/stump.  Again, quite elaborate!

Caleb also has some ideas.  Yesterday he took his sketch book outside so that he could get a closer look at the perfect tree.  Luckily, he is listening to our ideas about which tree we think would be best.  Here is Caleb's drawing:

Early this morning he added the descriptions.  This is actually pretty darn close to the idea we have in mind.  And of course, we need a pully with a bucket.  Every fort needs a pulley.











Here is the sketch from the book:


































And here is the tree we have selected:





























While taking pictures of the "perfect" tree, Abby found a new friend.  Maybe he can live in the treehouse.

Now that we have a plan, we just need to get supplies.  I am hoping to hit up the Habitat Re-Store over the next few months, looking for extra supplies.  We will add windows and trap doors once we have the structure in place.  And there has been a suggestion for a rope bridge to another tree.  Here is an example:



I REALLY hope we get this far.  I have my doubts...this is already getting pretty complicated!  I will post pics once construction begins!