Storage Bench.

This was my fun New Year's project. I actually made it til midnight on New Year's Eve because I was priming this beauty. My grandfather made it in FL and my dad drove it all the way across the country for me, lovely man or men rather. He and my brother drove out to visit over Christmas and meet up with my mom and sister who flew in from Hawaii. The original vision of this bench was this gorgeous Herman Miller bench, which was only slightly out of my reach price wise...just a bit. My grandmother ended up seeing a picture of the bench over Skype, told my grandfather what I was wanting, and he surprised me with this in about one afternoon! I had no idea I was going to be able to have a new piece of furniture for Christmas! It was such a fun surprise.

I primed the wood, then painted it with a few coats of high gloss (wipeable!) warm white, and painted the inside a pretty blue (leftover from my bathroom).  It took some time but I love how it turned out and it gets everyday use. We so needed a place to store diapers and wipes and blankets and books and all those things that pile up when you have six people living together. Plus the extra seating is awesome! I'm planning on making a removable cushion for the lid of the trunk space. And I have visions of a pretty tray with a little vase of flowers and a strategically stacked set of well designed books decorating the tray sitting beside the cushion. Perhaps that's a bit unrealistic with a near 1 year old, 2 year old, 4 year old, and 6 year old. More likely it will be a little spot to draw or build Lego towers. I'm good with that too.

*Side note: I made the pillows out of Orla Kiely for Target place mats.

Felt Brooches.

The one thing that I did manage to make for Christmas was a few felt brooches. I really enjoyed making these and even made one for myself. I love it, adds the perfect finish to a sweater and would also look great on a scarf. I drew my inspiration from here. Mine aren't quite as perfectly executed as Applique Originals', but I'm quite pleased with them none the less.

Holiday table runner.

Hello and happy 2012! Wow, hard to believe it is upon us. My family had a wonderful Christmas, I hope yours did as well. My parents, as well as my brother and sister, and her new baby girl and dog were able to visit and stay with us for a couple of weeks. It was a full house, but it was wonderful to see them and spend time.

I wish I had awesome handmade Christmas gifts to share with you, but I get a big fat "F" on completing my gift list this year. Don't worry my kids didn't go without. There were plenty of gifts from the grandparents under the tree. And I am looking forward to making all of the planned gifts at some point this year. They really are things that I am excited to make, I just didn't have the extra time this time. Oh well, it was a lovely holiday none the less.

I finally took pictures of the table runner I made for Thanksgiving, which was also used on Christmas and I'm quite sure will be used for various other occasions. It's been used and washed and has held up great, which is something to be excited about :). I just used odds and ends from my stash and had fun with the stitching. I love how it turned out.

I hope you've had a lovely welcome to a brand new year and are looking forward to all that it might hold. I for one am excited that I will not be pregnant this year. We are officially a complete set. There are 6 in the Emrich family and I am so looking forward to having my body and energy back to enjoy and be more involved with my family. That being said I still have a few baby pounds to shed, which is one of my resolutions for this year. I want to get back into those pre pregnancy jeans that are waiting for me in a box in my closet :).