Loving this week: Navy Patterns

Tonight as I was perusing Pinterest, I noticed a strong theme on my boards: patterns. Navy patterns.

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Not even my recipe board or inspiration board is immune! I'm thinking navy needs to have more of a presence in our home. Our living room has looked the same for all of the 7 years we have lived here, and its looking a little tired. A little navy pattern just might do the trick. 

Happy Sunday evening, everyone. 

Love, 

Caitlin

New to Bright July: Pillows! (And Bonus Newborn Cuteness)

I just listed some new pillows to BrightJuly. I'm so excited to share them with you.

So without further ado, here they are. The dinosaurs, Stevie the Stegosaurus and Trevor the Triceratops:

The Rhinoceros and Elephant duo, Reese and Elliot: 

The Striped Sensations, Ike the Impala and Eleanor the Elephant: 

And the solo artist, Ringo the Rhinoceros: 

Also this week, my friend Rachael posted the amazing newborn photos that she took of my most favorite baby ever, Elmarie's son, Jett! (I just realized as I typed that, that I never told you he was born? It was exactly one month ago today that he entered our lives.) Anyway, Elmarie's baby shower gift from me was an Elephant pillow for his nursery. I also made him an initial "B" pillow (the initial of his last name). The pillows were featured in some of the photos! See the whole lot here - and prepare to die from the overload of cuteness. 

{images via Rachael Hope Photography}

It feels so good to be making things. 

Love, 

Caitlin

Before and After: Craigslist Dresser Reno

A few months ago, inspired by so many creative furniture restoration projects I'd seen online, I decided to re-do a Craigslist dresser. I had visions of it in the little's room, but ultimately decided its feminine curves make it a no go for boys. So I get to enjoy it instead!

Here it is, before: 

This little dresser was a great learning experience. It has excellent lines and good bones, but lots of water damage on the top and a bit of warping on the drawers. Quite understandable at around 80 years old, and having been stored in someone's leaky garage for the last 10. The start of the dresser reno was sanding. The drawers just needed a little encouragement to get their glide back (and by a little encouragement, I mean an hours worth of rugged sanding!). The top was another story. Just straight sanding didn't fix it- it required lots of layers of wood fill to get it smooth before it could be primed.

(Don't be jealous of my painting jeans, people.)

Here it is after sanding:

 And after priming: 

More fabulous painting attire in this action shot:

And 3 coats of yellow paint, it started looking much brighter. One of my favorite parts of this job was re-lining the drawers with paper. Three pieces of handmade paper from the art supply store were just wide enough for the long drawers to line them perfectly. 

I flipped the drawers upside down, and used a bone folder to trace the curves of the drawers. Once folded, the paper was easy to mark and trim to fit. 

 After a little more trimming, the drawers are much improved:

Finally, after three extra coats of Polycrylic to protect the paint and going back and forth over knobs for an embarrassingly long time, here is the finished product:

 

After a thorough inspection, Miko approves.


And so do we!
The mellow yellow dresser is now doing the important job of storing everything that belongs to our kids - including tons of amazing hand-me downs from our great friends, their first stuffies from their future Gran, and some amazing wooden blocks on sale from Fab.com.

More furniture renovations are ahead, I predict. 

Love, 

Caitlin

A Baby Shower: It all comes together!

March 10, 2012 - Elmarie's baby shower! 

The spread. Chocolate covered strawberries by Aneta, Caprese Hors d'oeuvres by Glenys, Sandwiches by Sheila, Quiches by my Mom, Shona, Salad by Shona, Barbeque Chicken Skewers by me, Lemon Merange Pie and Milktart by Elmarie, and Ombre Layer Cake by Glenys. Delicious! 

All the guests. We requested that everyone wear the colors of the party. Thanks, friends, for humoring us.

The loot!

The drink table. We had a champagne Mimosa bar with Mango or Peach puree and optional strawberry and pineapple to add in. Of course, sparkling cider was available for the pregnant people! The bottles held iced coffee that Hillary made. 

Baby Scattegories game. 

This pillow is Elmarie's gift from me. Its part of a new series, coming to BrightJuly. Stay tuned for that! 

A very special gift from two of Elmarie's close friends in South Africa. 

Another surprise we planned: video messages from family and friends in South Africa. 

She loved it, girls! Thank you so much for taking the time to record them. 

The aftermath.

My precious "sisters." I love them both so much!

It was a beautiful day. A huge thanks goes out to all the guests who made it what it was. You are all wonderful and so appreciated. 

Now, to rest up and gather more ideas for the next baby. Who's next? 

Love, 

Caitlin