Ten on Ten: July 2011

I'm still alive. Couldn't let Ten on Ten pass me by. Hoping it will be the kick start I need to restart my blogging motor.
 
Ten on Ten. Ten pictures over ten hours on the tenth of the month. I have to admit. I cheated a wee little bit. The last few pictures were taken during the same hour. I couldn't resist. They were so much more exciting.

Does it seem like Ten on Ten often falls on a Sunday? Maybe I'm crazy. But I'm remembering a bunch of lazy, dazy Sunday Ten on Tens.

In any event, it was a great day. Beautiful weather. BSD finally home. Morning walk with a friend. Projects rebooted. Garden booming. Meals dictated by the day's harvest. All topped with an evening stroll on the beach. We live a charmed life. Indeed.

 (No. I didn't start the morning off with a margarita. Just a reminder of a fun evening with friends from the night before.)

BEFORE and AFTER: The Big Ballerina's Sewing Table and Chair

The sewing table and chair makeovers are basically done. I haven't quite dialed in the Big Ballerina's whole sewing space just yet so for now I'm only going to share the Before and After photos of the two pieces. 

I'm happy with the pieces, but the style of the chair just does nothing for me. It's hard to tell from the Before shot, but it's a Scandinavian style dining chair. I'm pretty sure it's teak. The wood had splatter marks here and there and one of the front legs looked like it had gotten hit by a stray black spray paint can. 

We covered the cushions with a cheery Annie Selke fabric (you know who Annie Selke is, right? The designer behind my favorite Dash & Albert rugs. I just can't stay away. It's a sickness.) 

BSD sanded down the frame and gave it a fresh coat of stain and wax. After it was all put back together again, I ran out and bought two cans of black spray paint. But I didn't go through with it. I don't think changing the color is going to make me fall in love with the chair. It's the lines of the chair I want changed. And a can of black spray paint, as magical as it can be, ain't gonna change the style.

The table? Now that's all kinds of fun to me. It's really not a pretty piece, but it's solid and makes a great workspace. I removed the keyboard shelf. Sanded down the finish. BSD made a new shelf for the bottom that was missing.

We gave it a few good coats of white spray paint. Changed out the knob. Glued a funky Amy Butler fabric to the table top. And covered that with a piece of plexiglass to protect it. 

So...it went from this...

To this...

It's fun. And I hope it inspires the Big Ballerina to keep enjoying her new passion. I can't wait to get the whole space put together. I promise I won't make her go out to the backyard to sew. 

Even though it seems pretty peaceful back there. I can turn on the fountain for her. hmm...maybe I should set her up out here. BSD shapes his surfboards only footsteps away.

And the Little Ballerina's art studio is set up in the garage. Maybe this corner of the patio is the perfect spot?

The Eel Deal

I'm back with a little more motherly advice. OK, so you've had your spring/summer baby and your birthday parties are in the bag. Good going. You're on the road to easy street. 

Fast forward to 4th grade. The year of the animal research project. 

When your baby comes home shouting, "I chose an eel!" Don't roll your eyes and mutter, "what the heck were you thinking?!" be discouraged. An eel may be the most boring animal in the kingdom, but boring animal= not much info= easy research. You'll be done in no time. And then she can spend the rest of the week getting creative with her project. 

Instead of just drawing a picture of the eel in its habitat, she can get out the new basket of paints you scored at last weekend's rummage sale for $1...

and get busy painting....

and crafting and hot gluing in her artist studio until she's made a model like this. Extra bonus points if she's a ballerina because she'll have plenty of those lovely hair nets lying around to add authenticity.

And then, instead of making a ho-hum word search or crossword puzzle to teach her classmates about her animal, she can create a REAL game and call it, what else...

Eel or No Eel?

If You Give a Girl a Table Saw...

If you give a girl a table saw, she will make a play kitchen out of an old entertainment center (see Sutton Grace Play Kitchen) which will lead another girl to start her own play kitchen business and auction one off for charity (see Charlotte Play Kitchens). Then, a mom with kids who are too old for a play kitchen will be inspired to turn an old potting bench into an artist's studio...

And, that is how it began....just like it did for Mouse and that infamous cookie.


BSD wanted to give this old potting bench away. It was just sitting on the side of the house rotting away. I had to think fast. The ballerinas were taking over his beloved tool bench with all of their "arts and projects" (as the big ballerina has called arts and crafts since she was 3) so I suggested we repurpose it into an artist studio for them a la Sutton Grace.

Knowing he would get his space back, BSD agreed. Since he has some time off from work this month, we were able to knock this project out in a few days. Here is what we did...

1. Cleared out a tiny space in the garage next to his tool bench so they can all work on projects together. (Most of that hanging stuff will be sold in a garage sale as we don't need it anymore.
2. Painted the wall behind it to freshen up the space.
3. Cut the bench legs down a bit to make it a   more kid friendly size.
4. Removed the upper slats and replaced them  with a piece of plywood covered with plexiglass for a smooth table top.
5. Painted the bench.
6. Hung shelves above the bench for supplies.
7. Made an "Arts & Projects" sign.
8. Added a hook in the corner for their smocks.
   
9. Added a child size bar stool.
   

And, now for the "After" picture....

You can't see the smock hanging in the left hand corner. We also haven't labeled the jars or tins yet. I almost bought a cool label maker, but the fonts weren't any fun so I am looking for cute label stickers that I can just write on. Plus, if I bought the label maker I would have to actually use it which would mean being organized, and that is something I am not.

I also think we should paint the bar stool, but BSD thinks that's too "Martha Stewart". What do you think? Paint it or not?

Martha may not let me work in her test kitchen, but maybe she has an opening in her craft department? I can't take the credit for DOING most of the work here as BSD thinks I'm too messy to paint (which is true), but I do a good job of coming up with ideas and supervising. Martha, do you have any openings for messy cheerleaders?