In the meantime until I can post about the Christmas presents, I will continue with our Apartment Evolution. If the move wasn’t official before, it is now. Last night we decided on our last day here and reserved our moving van to seal the deal. Before our apartment is dismantled, here are some detail photos from the main room (see post below):
The first photo is the corner of our main room. The prints on the wall are cards that I bought at Etui online that Andrew and I framed.
The flowered curtain Andrew bought for me from a thrift store when he was living in Chicago.
When I was growing up, our elderly neighbor and his wife were ceramicists and they had a studio in their basement. Every Saturday, my sister and I would go to their house for ceramic lessons. It was so much fun and I’m so glad I had the experience. When they moved away, they left us a bunch of fired, unpainted ceramics and that’s where the roosters and owls on the windowsill came from. I love the fact that they are still all white.
The last photo is of our craft area and you can see the branch that we hung on the ceiling. We both love the outdoors and we thought it would be nice to bring some outdoors indoors.
Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!
Fondly,
Crystal
As you can see, the whole apartment is a bit askew. It’s much like being in a fun house at times with the sloping floors and acute or obtuse angles. One of the first things I did when I moved in was set up my work area. This area has had three different configurations starting with this.
This was my temporary set-up until I could get a REAL table (instead of plywood on stools.) Until Andrew moved in, it was a little difficult to buy furniture because
1.) I didn’t have the muscle power to carry furniture up my stairs
2.) things are a lot easier to transport home when you have a car and
3.) I spent all my money on rent!
I had lots of ideas and little resources. However, after Andrew moved in the work area got a lot better. Here are different variations on how things were set-up.
The first table we got (with the green edges) was from a friend who wanted to get rid of it. The table we use now (the long one) Andrew and I made it out of an old door and some piping. It’s a million times better, but we still need more space. The table was as big as we could make it for our space.
This is the most recent picture of it, in the middle of a messy work frenzy!
and a view from the living room, the same angle as the shot from when i first moved in shown above.
I’ll post more details of the room soon!
Fondly,
Crystal
Really small, really inefficient. All the cupboards are really high up and there is no counter space or ANY space really. My first instinct was to move the refrigerator out of the kitchen area because there was sooo little space. Also, to add some pattern to the room I wallpapered the area behind the sink with vintage wallpaper that I got at a thrift store.
Without the refrigerator and with the wallpaper and a lamp, it’s not that bad!
I painted the only existing shelf and added a new one for extra storage. The paint is Benjamin Moore in Baby Fern and the white shelf hardware I got at Lowe’s Hardware Store.
With a new curtain (I made from a pillowcase that I found at a thrift store), a new table cart, and new kitchen towels it’s almost done.
A couple final touches, artwork by a family friend and some wren bells that Andrew’s mom bought for me.
And if you were wondering about the refrigerator, this is where it is now.
Fondly,
Crystal
Time for Christmas Present #3 given to my friends Toby and Ash: Wee’s. These guys were made from the Wee pattern from Hillary Lang over at Wee Wonderfuls. They are so simple and easily customizable. Made from thrift fabric with embroidered faces. If you want to check out of her amazing patterns you can go here for the free ones to download, and here for her shop that definitely has some stuff worth checking out.
Fondly,
Crystal
It seems that my illness has abated somewhat after a couple days rest. Despite my lingering illness, last night Andrew took me to see The Nutcracker at the New York State Theater. He knows how much I love dance and my slight obsession with ballet, so he bought us tickets for my birthday back in October. It was so much fun and beautiful and amazing! I recommend everyone try to see it at least once.
And to continue with the Christmas theme, the next installment of past Christmas presents. Christmas Present #2 given to my niece Abigail and my nephew Josef: Happy Little Monsters
These guys are made from thrift fabric, felt, foam and poly-fill. The are really simple to make and the kids seem to enjoy their tossability. They are pretty much just sewn cubes filled with a big foam piece and filled in with polly-fill. The number of faces you could use are infinite. I chose to just cut out felt and glue AND sew them on for extra reinforcement, which is a good idea if you are making them for kids that are prone to pulling things off and eating them.
Fondly,
Crystal
Enough with the excuses. Since I’m here I guess I should post about something. Christmastime is coming and I had mentioned before that a couple years ago I made presents for family and friends. So as not to overload you with everything all at once, I’ll do it in parts.
Today is Christmas Present #1 given to my dear friend Angela: Apple Crisp Basket!
Angela and I both love Apple Crisp and we have this romantic notion that it must be made every year on the first snowfall. If you’re looking for a really simple, but very personal gift you should think about giving someone a shared experience or memory. This can usually be created through a combination of simple elements that are special to the both of you. For the Apple Crisp basket all you need are: apples, jars, and ingredients to make the crisp part.
And! Don’t forget your very own special Apple Crisp recipe! Enjoy!
Fondly,
Crystal
If anyone is looking for Christmas presents in the form of beautiful, affordable art you should check out This Is For That over at etsy. A good friend of mine runs this shop and hand cuts all the decorative initials herself. It’s truly beautiful and a great personalized gift. I’ve been fortunate enough to see some of the stuff she plans on making and it’s super cool, so you should keep track of this lady!
Fondly,
Crystal
My sister, Maria, used to own a tailoring shop located in the Goodyear headquarters in Akron, Ohio. It was this amazing little storefront and it was stocked with all these vintage sewing notions. Some of the thread was so old, it wasn’t even usable anymore. One of the tailors that worked there was this 80 year old man who would sew on an antique Singer sewing machine and put his sewing needles in the side of his chair! I thought it had a lot of charm and was inspired to take some photos. Recently, I had 8″ X 10″ prints made and was really happy with how they turned out. So now, you can purchase copies of your own from our etsy store.
Fondly,
Crystal
Since I didn’t get to doing a full post on Christmas presents like I had planned, I figure I’d at least show you a couple photos to get you in the spirit. A couple years ago, I got really into these colored ribbons. Half the photos I took were just of the wrapping, I was so smitten. So here are the wrappings, you’ll have to check back later to see the innards. A little Christmas anticipation already!
Fondly,
Crystal