It's Getting Cold

     The Mercury has finally dropped...a bit! It doesn't really get cold here in Southern California. At least not by East Coast, Mid West or even Northern California standards. But tonight it is a cool 51 degrees. I wait all year long for it to cool down. As I said in an earlier post, the last three months of the year are my favorite.  Every year I pray that a freak storm system will bring us a dusting of snow, but to my disappointment, nothing. One year it did get close, Malibu Canyon (about 30 minutes from me) got some snow. Well, it was all over the news. Even friends from back east were stunned and called asking what was happening. It was so beautiful. Maybe this year.
     I always wait anxiously for the colder weather so I can pile on the "winter clothes". Scarves, hats/beanies,
ponchos, sweaters, gloves, socks...in cashmere, wool, angora...so nice, so warm. I love layering clothing. So in order to celebrate my love of the cold I wanted to share some pictures of my friend Cheryl's knitting projects. She has been knitting for about a little over a year now and I find that her work is pretty good. I cannot believe that she has gone from novice to this so quickly. I have been knitting for years and I still only do knit-purl-knit-purl...(not that I have taken a class like her) I think she has found her calling. And to top it off, she enjoys it. I don't exactly have the patience it takes to knit the same thing for more than maybe a couple of days. This obviously narrows my choices significantly. I don't think I will be knitting an afghan any time soon. So I say "good for you Cheryl!"
     It all started with a beanie she made me. I just loved it. So I asked her if she would send me some pictures of the other things she has made. Beautiful! Of course she is her own worst critic, feeling that her end product was less superior than expected. I beg to differ my dear friend. I think they are fabulous.
     The pictures of her creations are below. If you are an aspiring knitter you can find patterns for many of these and other projects on many website or blogs. You can also find patterns on Etsy.com but you have to purchase them. Some sites offer free patterns. Good luck and may we all be Domestic Geniuses.

Cheryl wearing one of her creations

My beanie. Love the colors. The combinations of the two blues
and flecks of neutral makes it can be worn with anything...like
 a pair of jeans

Finger-less Gloves
They are all the rage. She made these from the
same yarn as my beanie. I'm still trying to find
 a way to get my hands on them.

Just a simple scarf.

What a great scarf. Simple, beautiful winter
color and cable knit! Need I say more?

     

Halloween Costume

          So about a week ago I made a Halloween costume for my friend Tiana. She is in Roller Derby and they asked everyone to dress up in togas. Well she's not one of those girls that just wraps a sheet around herself. So off to Joanns we went. She wanted a hot pink one (the colors of her team are pink and black). So be it. That fabric was hard to work with (it was that stretchy costume material. It was pretty easy. Straight stitching, two pattern pieces, some elastic, gold rope and decorative ribbon.
         So if anyone wants a simple enough costume this is it. The pattern actually makes four different costumes so it's worth it. We actually hit a 40% of sale on fabric and pattern and $5 off our whole order coupon, so it only cost us $35. That included a the thick gold rope instead of thinner one (so it was more) and thin gold rope that she's going to attach to her shoes and wrap up her legs.  We purchased a bit more of everything in case there were any mistakes (just in case I cut something wrong). It could have cost us a bit less but she was okay with it and most costumes at those Halloween stores are going between $50-$70 or more. And don't forget all the accessories you need, it can add up.

          Apparently everyone loved it. Most wrapped a sheet or fabric around themselves and called it a toga. She was happy that she went all out. Everyone thought she bought it. And I had just a bit of fabric left over for some fabric covered bracelets! If anyone wants the pattern number and company just email me. Below are some pictures of the costume.

Okay, so it was more of a sexy toga...it was kind of short.

We tied some of the thicker rope on the shoulder.
Just a simple tie.

More of that thick rope went to the waist.

As you can see we put some of the decorative ribbon on the bottom. A little "Steam  A Seam"and presto! No sewing on that one. We also made the cuffs above the same way. I used the "Steam A Seam" and ironed it onto some extra thick fabric.

Here we used the thinner gold rope for the shoes and wrapped it around her legs.

Fall is here!

          My favorite time of the year is here! I love October, November and December. Halloween, Thanksgiving/Harvest and Christmas. How awesome that my three favorite holidays are bunched together one after the other! But, these three months can also be the most hectic of the year. And I know that with the current economy some of us need to make our money go a long way. Well, I've got some ideas.  

          Last week I went to my storage to pull out a few things to put on Ebay. Before I decided to go to Interior Design school I had a "Boutique" business. I rented booths in several surrounding towns at Crafter's Guilds and made home decor items and also retailed others. I did this a few years and decided that working full-time, going to school full-time and doing the boutiques wasn't going to work. So full-time school and work it was. Two years later our economy changed and I had to stop going to school. Since then I've worked full-time and that's it. I really miss making stuff and creating. 

          So as I was in storage pulling stuff out and opened a tub of some of  my boutique items. Well, they happened to be Halloween and Harvest. So I pulled out my other Halloween decorations and rushed home and put them up. 

          Among the "boutique" items I found, there were these cute decorative cotton towels. I put two up in my kitchen and they look cute. I thought I would put some pictures and directions up because these are really cost friendly. You only need about a 1/4 of a yard and you can get two out of that. And if your local fabric store has a sale you can really save some money. I just go to the quilting section or wherever the cotton fabric is. That's not to say you cant use a different fabric blend or type. But usually holiday fabric is cotton. We have a Joanns here so I go to their holiday section or the quilting section if I want something more solid.

            I spoke of unfinished projects in an earlier post. Well, among the boutique items some of those decorative towels hadn't been finished. It's a simple project. If you don't sew much, do not fret. It's straight stitching. Directions follow below. 

Here's one of the finished ones I had. I put it over a regular black kitchen
 towel which I purchased at Target. 

I chose fabric from the quilting section because I didn't
want something with Halloween designs on it.

Here are some other examples of fabric you can choose.
Some of those I'm going to make for Thanksgiving. You can also
choose fabric for any other holiday during the year or something
that goes with your current decor. Make it all year round or seasonal!

Project Supplies and Instructions:

Sewing machine

Iron (for pressing seams)

1/2 yard or 15" of fabric (there will be a little extra if you have 1/2 yd)

Thread to match color of fabric

Pins

Scissors

Measuring tape or yard stick  

Start by cutting fabric to 21" by 15". Fabric comes 45" or 60" wide. Most are 45". When you lay the fabric down it will be doubled. The 22 1/2" wide part will be the long part of the towel. Cut a 15" wide piece then trim the rest to 21". (I sew 1/2" seams because it is just easier. But if you wish you can do 1/4" seams). Using the iron on steam feature fold in seam once and press on all sides. Then fold in seam once again so no raw edges show and press again. This will make it easier to sew and keep your seams even. At this point if your are using a lace type decoration you need to cut it the same width as the fabric. Now pin your seams with "lace" to keep them in place. I sew to opposing seams first (top and bottom or both side seams. This makes it a bit neater. Now you're ready to sew. Stitch all seams. trim any loose threads. After finishing stitching, fold towel in thirds and press. You are done!

Here is an example of how to press the seams and what
it looks like when seams are sewn. Here I stitched the top and
 bottom seams first.

Here is the seam pressed.

Here is the finished towel. Just hang it anywhere
by itself or on top of another towel.

Gaudy Mirror going Modern

         
     Okay, so I’m going to give you a little background first. I’ve done many projects in the past, but I wanted to start off this blog with a new project.  I’m putting it up in my house, and  want to start off slow.

            I picked up this mirror one weekend this summer by absolute luck. My friend moved and asked if I could help her take some stuff to the recycling center in my truck. Apparently the landlord didn’t quite clean out the whole house. In the garage there lay furniture! Unwanted Furniture!!!!! Free furniture and other items the landlord hadn’t dumped. Honestly, I can’t use another piece of furniture in my house, BUT I saw the mirror and had to take it. I had seen the same mirror in a little shop in town, it was on clearance for $150! I know I live in California, but really, that much, on clearance? It’s made of resin. Well free is always better.

            Now my style is a mixture. Let’s call it modern, vintage, Asian chic. Whew! Maybe I should just call it eclectic chic, ha-ha. My colors are browns, turquoise and red accents. Then I mix in creams/whites, black, gold and silver. That’s a lot right? I’m into breaking the rules (as long as the room flows). I’ve seen this trend start to peek out in magazines and shows a bit lately (TV show Home by Novogratz for example, but we will talk about show on another post).

            So how does this mirror fit into my style you say? Let me explain. The mirror is very ornate, gold and basically gaudy. I’m going to paint it in high gloss paint. No not black or white. Although it would go nice in my house, I want it to make a statement. I’m thinking Chinese Red. I thought of going over it with an antiquing glaze (just slight so it’s not so modern). Then maybe a little silver rub. Another alternative would have been antiqued silver. That would have been too much since a have a huge corner armoire that I’m turning into a bar and I want that in silver.

            So painting it in high gloss or even semi gloss modernizes an otherwise ornate classic piece. Antiquing it with a glaze tones down the brightness of the color, subduing it just enough. That’s not to say you can’t leave it like that and really make a statement.

             Well, in the end I decided that I wanted to leave it glossy red! I put it in my entry way. Now, my entryway is small and ceiling is low, but by breaking that rule (big pictures and mirrors should be on a big wall) it makes a statement. I love it. Although, there is a big wall in my living room that it could go on should this mirror pose a problem visually at some point for me (I have been known to move items all over the house because it bothered me visually. I look forward to your comments or questions. May you all be domestic geniuses.

This is the mirror when I brought it home.
It was dirty and needed a good cleaning.

I fell in love with the beautiful detail at the top.

You can really see the dust in the detail. It took a lot of time
and patience and a brush to clean it.

Okay, so here is the finished product. I think it came out pretty great considering the detail. It helped that I used a spray paint. It gets in the cracks and detail much better than a brush.

Add caption

Here it is in my entryway right above the table.
The light reflects off of the mirror and opens up that small space.
I think the table might have to be painted black.

There's that detail at the top. The glossy paint helps 
the light reflect, in turn you see more of the detail.

Spray paint really helped get into every crack and crevice 

Instructions

I used RUST-OLEUM  spray paint for Plastic in "Sunrise Red". Since the mirror is resin (a plastic like material) I thought it would work great. I got it at Home Depot but I'm sure you can find it at most home improvement stores or online. I masked the edges of the mirror with blue 1" painters tape and then covered the rest of the mirror in newspaper. Before starting make sure the piece is clean, and I used a wire brush to slightly etch the piece before painting it. Since it was resin I actually took the hose and CAREFULLY washed it. Try not to get the back part wet since most are backed with a type of press board. Another option would be to take it all apart (take backing  and mirror off). I myself wasn't up for that so I took care not to get everything wet.

Welcome

Welcome to Domestic-Genius. What does Domestic-Genius mean. Well I'm definitely not saying that I'm a complete and utter Genius. I HAVE been known to have genius ideas from time-to-time though (ha-ha). "Domestic-Genius" is the Design Genius in YOU! Some people have a knack for designing, cooking, sewing, painting...etc, some don't. I believe there is a Genius in all of us. The "Domestic" part, well, explains itself.  

                This is not only a blog for interior design, it's a blog about everything that has to do with the home. If you like to cook, sew, knit, paint, draw, re-design, re-do or recycle, this is the place.

           So why not come to the place where you can get an idea that snowballs into a fun and exciting project? Now I'm not saying that there isn't any hard work involved, but the satisfaction of saying that YOU did it, is far greater than the blood, sweat and tears you may put into some projects. So many times I quit in the middle of a project (and I DO have some unfinished ones laying around) because I didn't think it was worth any more of my time (or my "crafter's A.D.D. kicked in). But eventually I went back to some and finished. It made me feel great that I accomplished something. And then the praises from friends and people who found out I DID that project...well it was worth it. It's not just the praise or "props" you'll get, it's the sense of accomplishment and seeing that project finished in your home. 

               Hopefully this blog will help you find your Domestic Genius. If you have unfinished projects (like we all do) it's time to get them out, dust them off and make a list of materials. So lets get started and may you all be Domestic Geniuses.