Grand Revival Designs

Procrastination

 

Procrastination, procrastin-a-a-tion is makin me late (I'm singing this to the Carly Simon Anticipation tune). I should be doing work that really, really, really needs to get finished. I should be doing laundry that really, really, really needs to be done. I should be out buying pumpkins to carve for Halloween, cause my kids will really, really, really be disappointed if I don't. But, what the heck, it was more fun to spend this morning taking these silly photos. I've come to accept procrastination as part of my creative process. I wish I could just sit down with a project, start it and work right on through to the finish but I just can't. I've always been this way and I know I'll always be. It's ok though, it always works out in the end and now I have these sweet pics to look at. Hope you're having a beautiful day and if you're procrastinating like me today, don't feel guilty, just sit back, embrace it and do something that makes you happy (and then work like crazy tomorrow to catch up. That's my plan).

Tales From the Dark Side

School Halloween party last night, anyone else notice how Halloween seems to have become a month long event? When I was little we had Halloween, that's it, and it was great. Oh well, the kids had fun despite Ava's expression in these pics. For once the dreaded red eye works really well in a picture. I was so relieved when Ava changed her mind and decided to be a vampire princess instead of a mermaid, this was much easier. Last year's fairy costume is a favorite of mine.

For both of these costumes I bought the basic costume and then made the other elements. I used to make the whole thing but costumes are so cute these days and time so short it doesn't seem worth it but I still like to add personal touches. For the vampire I bought the dress for about $9.00 from Walmart. I had an old dollar store crown lying around but it was silver with pink jewels so I spray painted it black, glittered it like crazy with spray adhesive and green glitter and added the red and gold pin and attached this cool spider web lacy fabric to it, also from Walmart. A "crystal" necklace from Target completes the scary ensemble. Same deal with the fairy. Costume from Target and my mother made that beautiful crown (she is seriously the queen of fairy crowns) and bought some of those gold glittered twisty vine thingys from the flower dept. and tied them up with gold ribbon.

Ich Liebe Das Waffel Haus

Why do foods that you could easily cook at home for free taste so much better at the Waffle House? I sure don't know, but it's true. I'd never heard of the Waffle House before I met my husband but was a fan since the first time he took me to one. For me there's something really soulful about the Waffle House, it's just this old fashioned, honest kind of place that's very American. It reminds me somehow of that famous Edward Hopper painting Nighthawks .The Waffle House is comforting because it never tries to be hip, it's not ironic, and it never changes. It doesn't offer healthy salads, just patty melts, hash browns, eggs and bacon, waffles of course,  24 hours a day...heaven. Now I actually like and really couldn't live without irony, salads and change (hipness, not so much) but I just get happy when I drive by the Waffle House, it's dependable, you know, like an old friend.

   

One itsy bitsy complaint, they are trying to jump on the good coffee band wagon and claim that their coffee is some special "Arabica" blend. But really they're coffee is the same coffee you got everywhere before Starbucks came along, in other words it's pretty bad despite the fancy newish coffee logo they put on their cups. But that's really ok with me, if their coffee was actually good it might make me worry a

little that some Gen  Xer was running the company and was gonna mess with the perfection that is the Waffle House.

We ended up there Saturday after getting lost trying to find this pumpkin patch which sadly seems to have gone out of business. Anyway, we were starving when we got there so everything tasted that much better...

Ruffled Skirt Tutorial!

Finally!! got this tutorial up. Just look right over there at the sidebar where it says Ruffled Skirt Tutorial. Easy and fun!!! The first, second and fourth skirt were made from Barefoot Roses (what can I say, I have a lot of it lying around). The 3rd one which I love is one of Amy Butler's (the dot is Barefoot Roses) from her Lotus collection. Hope you give these pretty skirts a try...

 

Ruffle Mania

I can't stop making ruffled skirts!!! Inspired by Beata's beautiful skirt, I decided to make some for Ava for the new school year. I used a skirt my mother had made for her a few months ago as a sample for Quilt Market for the first try but ended up modifying it a bit. I'm going to put up a tutorial to make these skirts soon cause they are sooooo fun to make and you don't need a pattern since the skirt just consists of a bunch of rectangles, totally easy! I'm workin on one using some Amy Butler fabric to go with her winter boots that she's constantly begging to wear even though it hasn't gotten below 70 degrees here yet. Can't wait to make her one out of wool for winter in a little tartan pattern, ohh or maybe dupioni silk for the holidays. I'm having fun just thinking about it....