WREN handmade

little house

I wish I had a little house like this, maybe someday...

D*S guest blog this week!

Hi,
I'm just back from a little trip to Seattle for a wedding. It was a great time and I'm just now easing back into the week. The time difference got me this morning, I'm usually like to get up really early.

I am so happy to be guest blogging this week on Design Sponge. I will be doing a DIY project each day this week, trying to use up all the bits and scraps I've been saving and can't bear to throw away. Check it out!

bike area in progress

One thing I really am thankful for in our apartment is that we have a bike area! No longer are there bikes (5 total) in my bedroom, living room, etc., thank goodness. This is how far we have gotten. It's in what would otherwise be the kitchen nook or eating area. Oh well, that's how it goes in NYC. I am planning on painting the stool bright yellow. Ben bought garage type Flor tiles for the carpeting which we love, super heavy duty. We bought the work table at a kitchen supply company in our neighborhood and the silkscreen print is by Jason Snyder that we picked up at Renegade this year.

UPDATE

The bikes are now hung and organized. Now the only thing left is to either buy a new stool or paint the wood one we already have. I wish we could get this stool but alas it is too expensive.

new succulent garden

I am missing having an outdoor space in our new apartment. Although there are major benefits like a lot more indoor space, it's a little sad to not have any sort of garden or patio. This was the backyard at our previous place. I decided to make a succulent garden inside with McCoy pots my mom gave me on my last visit home. I want to collect lots more of all sizes. We've always loved these pots for their functionality since they have the saucers attached.

A few things Japanese

One day last week I wasn't feeling well so I sat on the sofa and worked on Shashiko embroidery. I've always wanted to try it and I found it very quick and satisfying as far as embroidery goes. I bought a kit at City Quilter but they sell similar ones at Purl. Purl also did a nice tutorial. I ended up making two pillows, one out of the Shashiko and another with some woven fabric I bought at Habu Textiles (the thin stripes). I love the subtle shades of blue in the stripes.

My friend Leigh just back from a trip to Japan. She brought me back these sweet items from Loft and Uniqlo, totally my colors and aesthetic. Thanks Leigh!

A big week.

We had a gorgeous day today here in Brooklyn so I thought I'd take some more living room shots while the light was nice.

It's a big week around here. Monday was our one year anniversary (thus the flowers, thanks Ben!) and both our birthdays are this week. Makes for a festive and fun week.

A few FAQ's: my dishes are LuRay pastels, made from 1938-1962 by Taylor Smith and Taylor Co. I've been collecting them since college when I found a pile of it at an estate sale for dirt cheap. I registered for it at Replacements when we got married and rounded out my collection. Of course, the rarer pieces are the most expensive!

The coral colored throw is a from a story at MSL that I did on machine embroidery several years ago. At the time you could buy a CD with lots of different Japanese inspired patterns and the fancy sewing machine would embroider it for you. (Although I remember it being tedious and not all that satisfying). Which reminds me, I recently bought Shashiko supplies at Purl Patchwork and am going to try a project, the real kind by hand. Stay tuned for that.

I had an old sofa reupholstered lately in heavy linen. They did a great job.

I found this magazine rack on the street, somebody was throwing it away. Isn't it cool?

Ben was very proud of picking out the perfect shade of coral peonies for me. I think I'm rubbing off on him!

artwork display

Yesterday I installed two picture shelves above our new sofa! I am excited to be able to change the display whenever. It also gives me motivation to make some new pieces so that I can fill some antique frames I have been saving. The only "catch" (sorry for the bad pun!) is that the particular fabric we chose, is VERY easily snagged by our cat. Because she loves new things, she sees this sofa as her personal playgound! We ordered the linen slipcover but it's not supposed to be delivered until well into May. So even though we use softpaws she is still able to snag the weave with her back paws and even her front. What a pain! Does anyone have any recommendations?

We also had our smaller sofa reupholstered lately, I'll post photos of that soon! It's so nice to actually have space and do some furniture arranging. Next I'm making curtains for the living room.

PS. The two house shaped pieces are by my friend Yvette Rock, check out her website!

coming along

The new apartment is coming along nicely. Because it's so much bigger than our old place we actually have to buy some new furniture which is fun. I put together swatches of linen that I have chosen. I get my linen at Gray Line, which is a great resource if you are in NYC! Everytime time I go there I can't resist more and more yardage. Luckily our new apartment needs lots of small projects, such as curtains. I made cafe curtains for two of the rooms to provide some privacy but still let in a lot of light. Also, because the windows are the same size throughout so I can switch them around if I change my mind. 

ironing board cover

As I am getting my craft room settled, I decided to make a cover for my ironing board. Because I have an extra wide board it's hard to find nice looking covers. I made this of striped linen edged with a bias tape I already had. I used my last cover as a template and also used its drawstring mechanism. I took more pictures of the process but then lost them as I was loading them onto the computer. I've been having computer problems lately. Yesterday I accidently deleted my email inbox!

Have a good Wednesday!

Finally I'm back.

I have finally finished unpacking my new craft room. I am very excited to have a whole room to myself. We moved farther out in Brooklyn to get more space. The apartment has really beautiful light which also will make for better picture taking! The last few weeks were crazy. I got picked for a jury, packed up and cleaned the old place, moved, did taxes and now we are unpacking the new place. But slowly but surely we are making progress!

I repainted the old table I use as a desk in glossy light grey. I also put up shelves and brackets from Ikea I painted in a similar matte grey. All in all, I'm very happy with the result and need to get crafting!