House Revivals: gratitude

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Creating Moments of Beauty in Your Home

We all lead busy lives. We have children and pets and spouses and jobs. We have so many things to keep track of, and somehow, still make sure the grocery shopping is done, the laundry is folded, and dinner is on the table. Some of us have been blessed enough to live in a perpetual state of renovation on top of everything.

When your home is being demo'd and painted -- or whatever insanity is going on in your life at any particular moment -- sometimes you need to create a moment of beauty. One small place in your home that makes you smile, or reminds you to take a deep breath. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be beautiful to you.

Read the rest of this post....

Thursday, November 11, 2010

A Poppy for Remembrance

To honor the brave soldiers lost in battle, and all our veterans, a poppy.

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

To make this poppy, using the burnt edge method, begin with a light weight piece of red polyester fabric.

In this case, I re-purposed a thrifted blouse that was stained.

Cut a strip about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide, and 10 to 16 inches long (I used the longer measurement, for a fuller poppy, but for a poppy more reminiscent of the traditional crepe paper poppies, use less fabric).

Fold your fabric length into quarters and clip the fold lines, rounding the corners slightly. It's okay if you hack it a bit and have a rough edge -- this will add character to the finished flower.

Singe the edges, as shown in this tutorial for a burnt edge peony.

Cut a circle of black or brown fabric from a textured fabric -- I re-purposed a velvet skirt that I haven't worn since the nineties. Place a bit of batting in the center of the circle, and gather the edges closed to create the center of the flower. If you like, you can add a bit of fringe around the center -- I decided to leave it out.