I am floored

Check out the tile I used on the floor of the Skitzo Leezra Studio. After ripping out the carpet, the cracks were filled in with a tube of grout. (The grout in a tube is better than the grout in a plastic bottle.)

Oh wait, I forgot to buy tile.
Nevermind, let's paint the floor instead.
You heard me.
Valspar Latex Porch & Floor paint.

This stuff dries super fast. Woo Hoo!

Lines drawn with pencil.
Determine the center of the room.
Draw lines out from there.
Believe or not,
my line placement is near perfect.

Get this, two visitors touched the floor to make sure it wasn't genuine ceramic tile but it was way faster, super easy, way less expensive.

Let's start loading the room.

Starting at the top

Okay, the carpet was gone. Room emptied. If there was a time to scrap the the nasty ass cottage cheese ceiling, it's now.

Man, oh, manoshevitz, how I wish I could meet the guy who invented that textured shit. It would be a serious ass kicking for sure. Maybe not, I've never had a physical fight but I can guar-damn-tee ya, it would at least warrant a windmill swinging and slapping of arms and hands.

Anywho, here's how get rid of the crud.
Get yourself a sprayer. Big but not too big because water is heavy, don't ya know. Lay down some plastic.
Spray the ceiling. Spray it again. Try a scrape. If it releases easily, get to it, be-yotch. If it doesn't, spray it again. When your fabulous sister and wonderful mom come over to help, restrain yourself from weeping from joy.

Scrape it, patch it, prime it and paint it.
Slap up a cool light fixture (Lowe's) on it and toss some shiny stuff on that.

More is more, I say.
Of course it needed a disco ball.

How it started

Late one Sunday night I realize I'd forgotten to put fresh sheets on the now stripped bed. Too lazy to remake my bed late at night, I decided to sleep in the guest room.

"What a cozy room," I thought to myself. It felt better than my much larger bedroom. Build a ginormous house with super high ceilings and note most folks will congregate and linger in a smaller room with a lower ceiling. It's an animal cave-like anthropological type thing. Anywho, I realized I never liked my bedroom because it was simply too large. Furniture had been brought in, rearranged, switched, etc but it never felt right.

All I did in there was sleep anyway . . . why not switch rooms? The guest room could become my bedroom, my craft room, the new guest room and my big bedroom would be the newly expanded Skitzo Leezra Studio!

The room was quickly measured and I began to graph out the new project. Holy guacamole, the current craft room was overflowing and could be consolidated in the larger studio! I could barely sleep that night in anticipation.

The next day I emptied my bedroom and ripped out the carpet . . . .

Skitzo Leezra's New Studio

WooHoo!

The new and expanded Skitzo Leezra is being unveiled! It's been months in making and I am ready to share photos and how-tos from painted floors to fabric covered peg boards.

Take a look at a few sneak peek photos and check back for detailed tutorials and ideas.

The Master Plan

Ribbon Gutters make an appearance

Gotta be organized!

You label me, I label you

This has been me

A wooden artist model used to reside on my closet shelf where he held bracelets until stuff was relocated while the closet was painted.
There he sat on the hall bath vanity for months as the project dragged on and on.
And one day, I noticed a change in posture.
Pretty sure my wisenheimer sister Rikki Tikki Tavi adjusted him to be funny but it was a reminder to me to get my finger outta my ass and get goin' on my much-too-long project.

Here's hoping YOU won't need a wooden digit in your backdoor to come back and check my progress.
New stuff tomorrow!

Trippin' on ribbon

Being a ribbon whore/hoarder, I have plenty of grosgrain stash to make the (say it in a high-pitched tone) fabulous cosmetic bags!

Sew some ribbons together then add a zipper. With right sides together, sew one narrow side and long side. Make sure the zipper is open. Fold other narrow side and sew.


(Wish like heck I could give credit for the concept but I cannot remember the ribbon craft book title.)

Craft supply suggestion: buy in bulk from eBay.

Book cover

Kristie the commenter asked where I've been.
Down a rabbit hole, I think.
Last year, I had an easy job where I blogged from work and worked on volunteer group obligations to pass the day. Now that I have a "real" job, volunteer work is done in the evenings thus, cutting into my craft and blogging time.
Very little crafting lately and I gotta tell ya, it's been wearing me down. However COMMA I am working on a new and improved craft room. More soon. I promise!
Here's a cute book cover sewed for a volunteer group friend. One handle made longer; the other, shorter. The longer handle pushed through the shorter handle holds the book closed. If you make one, note the ends of the longer handle could be placed closer to center. Fray Check applied to webbing. (It's not yet dry in the photo.)

Upholstery fabric, cotton webbing handles.

Super fast + super easy = just like your ma.

Fabulous floribunda (that's Latin for fabric flowers, I think)

Looka, I made a whole mess o' fabric flowers for my hen party Girls Night Out friends.

This one is silk necktie fabric.

The wool fabrics are my favorites.

Home dec fabric

Gingham. Me love gingham.

Click fabric flower link for the original Design Sponge tutorial source plus check out my suggestions for quicker, faster, easier flower success.

Trixie gives me stuff

Trixie sent me a box o' goodies. Yay!

My very own just-add-water prince

Ribbon, fabric and tulle ~ oh my!

Purse handles, neckties and fabric

Beads!

Thanks for thinking of me, Trixie!
A home for craft cast-offs.
That's me.

Baby stuff

A gal in my Girl's Night Out group had a baby last week and we showered her with gifts at dinner the week before.

While I'm no fan of babies, I actually like making baby gifts. Go figure.

Her first child was to be a male child so off to fabric store in search of masculine fabrics to sew a stack of reversible burp cloths. (No more sewing diapers for me. The diaper fabric slips and slides to make for a jumbled sewn mess.)

Oh Fuh Gawd. Have you shopped for baby fabric? It is the worst. Little cars, little trucks, and girly fabrics galore. Oh, and John Deere shit. Tractor brand for a new born baby? Get this, there's even John Deere motifs in pink. Sure, pink tractors are great for future dykes and farmer chicks but I'm not digging the lame-o bambino themed prints. Wonder if style and good taste disappear with gestation?

ANYwho . . . .so not impressed with the fabric choices.

Found a flannel plaid (you KNOW I loves me some plaid) in the apparel fabric section and combined it with a flannel polka dot print. Boy-like but not hokey.


Used a cloth diaper as a cutting guide, sewed the coordinating flannel prints face to face around 3 sides, turned inside out and then top stitched around all 4 sides plus two lines to emulate (simulate?) a true diaper. It gives a bit of body to the burp cloths plus "quilts" the fabric so it lies flat.


The onesie is a quick reverse applique with T-shirt knit scrap. So dang easy. Click HERE to see my tutorial.


The gift wrap was my favorite part. Most baby gifts from me are in the "special delivery" theme. Brown paper packages tied with string, a vintage diaper pin embellished with a blue scrapbook flower sticker plus a rubber stamped paper package tag. The stack of burp cloths and onesie were folded and placed inside brown paper and SEWN closed with a zigzag stitch. Edges were trimmed with pinking shears.



Fast, simple and (as Elizabeth would say) so stinkin' cute.

Chalk it up, dog

Look who I hung out with yesterday ~ ~

George Rodrigue of Blue Dog fame!


The New Orleans Museum of Art sponsored traveling Rodrigue exhibition showed up in my lower left-hand corner of the boot-shaped state that is Louisiana.
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny Saturday and crowds showed up to watch George draw on parking lot pavement with sidewalk chalk. Parents and adults wanted first row looks but allowed the magic to viewed by children.
George drew his familiar and much beloved Blue Dog.

Later, I took credit for drawing it and told my friends he signed it for me. :-)

Here are a few creations by budding artists.
My nephew was good enough to allow me to partake in the day by being my excuse to go. You don't often hear me NOT be sarcastic or jaded but it was a special day. A rare opportunity to be upfront and close to an artist. A real sense of community with youngsters and creativity.

Right place and the right time.
That was me.
Yesterday.
Joy.


Check out the free Blue Dog iPad counting app for children or just to let your eyes get stuck on something fun.