DIY Yellow Polka Dot Pitcher

Let me tell you a love story about me and a little vintage polka dot pitcher. I came across it browsing on Etsy one day and thought it would be the perfect thing to hold my paintbrushes and brighten up my studio. (And by studio, I mean the corner of my living room in the tiny apartment I had at the time.) Here's a photo below.

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So cute, right? You might be wondering why I didn't buy it right then and there. The price was too high for my meager budget, especially for something I didn't really need. I mean, I needed it, but I didn't need it, you know? So I kept it in my favorites and crushed on it almost everyday, secretly hoping the seller would have a sale or I'd find a few $20 bills I forgot I had in a coat pocket or something.

Then one day, a very large blog happened to do a post on this very shop and feature this very pitcher! What are the chances? I thought, "Oh no! It will be gone now." And sure enough, it had already sold by the time I clicked over. I was heartbroken.

So after looking for several months for a similar pitcher on Etsy, Ebay, Craigslist, thrift stores, people's garbage cans, with absolutely no luck, it occurred to me that I could try to make my own. And a DIY was born.

My goal was to find another vintage pitcher that I could paint and repurpose, but I could not find anything with a similar shape; everything was very round and short and not at all practical for holding paintbrushes. So my best alternative was to buy a new pitcher from a discount store. I happened to find this one at Marshalls for $9.99. The shape isn't exactly alike, but it's close, right? After that, all I needed was a can of yellow spray paint. It's a pretty self-explanatory DIY, but I documented the process anyway.

What you'll need:
- a white pitcher
- spray paint (I used Rust-oleum Painter's Touch Gloss in Sun Yellow)
- removable circle stickers (these can be price stickers, available anywhere; file color-coding stickers, available at most office supply stores; or what I used, washi tape stickers. Pick whichever size sticker best fits your pitcher.)
- ruler or measuring tape (a measuring tape is easier to use because it wraps around the pitcher)
- not pictured: a small brush and similar color acrylic paint or paint pen for touch-ups

I placed my stickers about 1 1/4" apart, center to center, but your spacing might vary depending on the size of your stickers and pitcher.

Here's a close-up, which is probably not necessary, but you can see the spacing a little better.

Take it outside and paint upside down. I painted 3 light coats because I wanted a really saturated yellow, but you could probably get away with only 2 coats. Follow the instructions for drying time on your paint can. After mine dried, I turned it right side up and sprayed just the top of the handle, which I missed when it was upside down.

After it's fully dry, peel your stickers off. It might be hard to tell in these photos, but some of my circle stickers didn't come off as cleanly as I'd like. I plan on going back and touching up a couple of the edges with some acrylic paint. It's not very noticeable, but if you are a perfectionist like me, you'll want to have a small paintbrush and some acrylic paint in the same color or a paint pen to do the same.

Note: if you are painting over metal or plastic, you might not have the same results. Spray paint can be finicky depending on the material you're covering, and you might need to use a primer first such as Kilz spray primer. My pitcher was ceramic, so I just sprayed right on it with no problems.

By the way, I haven't missed a day yet with NaBloPoMo! Although, I guess I shouldn't pat myself on the back just yet as we're only halfway through the month. :)

(Clockwise from top left: Striation 43 by Elvia Perrin; Scalloped Line Drawing by Missouri Bend Musings - Patti Roberts-Pizzuto; On the Way by Valeria Kondor; and "Moon-faced Margalo" by Tricia Scott.)

Stitched Gifts

I know a lot of you are planning on making gifts for the holidays, and when I came across this sweet book at the library, the timing seemed perfect for a book review. There are projects for newlyweds, babies, friends, and almost every occasion. Nothing is too complicated, and there's a handy stitch guide in the front to help you get started. Even if you are an experienced embroiderer, this book is worth buying because there are some really cute projects! And you never know when one project will spark an idea for another, and another, and so on.

All of the templates are in the back of the book, though several of them do need to be enlarged. I haven't actually tried out anything yet...it is a library book after all, and I'll probably buy it first if I decide to make anything. But I did read through several patterns from start to finish, and they seemed fairly straightforward.

I don't have any experience with embroidery patterns actually. Whenever I embroider anything, I usually just do it freehand or maybe draw on my fabric first and then embroider. Actually, I was very naive when I first began browsing on Etsy and thought everyone selling embroidered goods was also sewing freehand or even that they had drawn their own designs! I know now, of course, that a lot of people use transfer paper and trace designs or use that tear-away stabilizer. I was quite shocked when one lady selling embroidered goods who I follow on twitter made an off-hand joke about how she'd never been able to draw well. And I was confused at first, thinking, "How does she make anything if she can't draw?" Like I said, I was very naive!

There are Etsy sellers who do draw their own designs, of course, and they make gorgeous things. Anyway, drawing is definitely not a required skill for making fun embroidered gifts to give your family and friends, and this book is full of cute ideas. And if you don't care for embroidery but know someone who does, the book itself would be a perfect gift! :)

Have you guys come across any good books for crafty gifts? If you've done a book review, please link in the comments!

On the Mantel

We're still waiting to pay off some bills before we buy big pieces of furniture, so I'm trying to appease my urge to decorate by looking for smaller things like pillows for the sofa, picture frames, that sort of thing. Whatever we put on the mantel will have to be a rotating collection because we have lots of things that have stayed packed away for a couple of years, and I'm ready for everything to be on display. But having it all out at once is too much, of course, and makes a space feel cluttered. So I'm thinking I'll change it up every couple of months. Here's what's on the mantel now:

three vintage Danish candle holders, a vintage Swedish Dala horse, the yarn-wrapped bottle vase I made, and a vase from Jonathan Adler.

Actually, Jonathan Adler is having a 20% sale right now! I bought that blue vase (and another one still packed away somewhere), many years ago. There was only one Jonathan Adler store (in NYC) at the time, and they didn't even have a website! If you wanted to order something, you had to call the store and have it shipped. They didn't even have a 1-800 number. Now Jonathan Adler is a ginormous brand all over the world, of course. It's amazing how much they've grown. And the opposite is also true for other shops. As I unpack things, I find treasures purchased from sellers and shops that have long since closed up. I suppose there's a lesson in there somewhere, why one brand succeeds and another one doesn't. I wonder: is it luck? Marketing? Or something much more complicated? What do you think?

I only intended to share a small snippet of my house, and now I'm getting all philosophical. Must be because I'm another year older now, and that's what old people
do. ;)

Giganto

Remember when I went to see 40 Under 40 and said I wanted to start thinking big? Well, this video isn't exactly what I meant, but it's still awesome nonetheless. Have you seen the Giganto blanket from Laura Birek? Poppytalk posted this last week, and I knew I had to share it.



Both the blanket and pattern (to make your own) are available on Etsy. It's hard to get much bigger than this without calling for backup. ;)

Birthdays are nature's way of telling you to eat more cake.

It's my birthday today. I'm not really one for grand celebrations, so I'm sure it will be a low key day. But it will definitely include cupcakes! :)

This is actually a card I made for my nephew's first birthday. Being a baby, I don't think he fully appreciated all my cutting and gluing and mostly just tried to put it in his mouth. So I thought I'd share it here for my crafty friends to see.

*I think the post title is a quote from a British comedian named Jo Brand, but not entirely sure. Feel free to correct me in the comments. :)

Scenes from Life

Walking down familiar streets and finding some new detail or pattern you'd never really noticed before is a wonderful thing, don't you think?

Hope everyone has a good weekend! xo, Mary