My latest projects

I have kept myself busy this last week with a few little projects.  Last week my friend, Karen, through a baby shower for our friend, Ali, and Karen asked my to make the cake.  I was super excited because I haven't made a cake in quite some time.  Since Ali is pretty laid back, she gave me carte blanche to design the cake.  I thought about it and came up with an idea and then changed my mind about 12 times until I came up with something I liked.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with the look of the cake.  I wish I would have had a little more time to make a better sign but I still think it looks good.  In case you are wondering, the sign says "Buttons and Bows, Ribbons and Pearl, Ali is having a little Girl!"  I made up that little poem to tie together all the different elements on the cake.  My next cake project will be for Joe's first birthday.  Details are forthcoming...

I also made a slipcover for one of my dining room chairs.  Some friends of ours gave us our current dining room set and we love it but the back of the chairs are broken and look a little ratty.  Since we can't really afford new chairs, I decided to make slipcovers for them.  Having never made slipcover and not having any sort of pattern, I just sort of made things up as I went.  First, I made pattern pieces for each piece of the chair back on wax paper and then I just went nuts, so to speak.  I had an idea in mind for the end result and while I need to make a few adjustments, I think the slipcover looks pretty good.  Hopefully each slipcover will look a little better than the previous one.  I found the whole creative process quite enjoyable, though I imagine it will take a week or two to finish the whole project since I only have a few hours at night to sew.

 Before

After:

This is really my first foray into the world making my own patterns and it was more fun than I expected.  I think after I finish making the slipcovers for my dining room chairs, I may make slipcovers for my living room chairs.  That task seems a bit more daunting simply because it requires a lot more fabric and pinning, which I hate.  It is a good feeling to know that I can do domestic goddess type stuff if I put my mind to it.  Beyond beautifying my home, I have a permanent reminder of what I am doing and what I accomplish each day.  The house gets messy, the laundry will never get done, dinner will most likely be late but my slipcovers will be there to remind me that if I persevere and try my best, great things will happen.