{in support}

We all need support when things are hard. If you're like Tilly, all you need is a cuddle with Sheepie the Sheepskin and everything's better. But, if a roll with a sheepskin's not enough for you, you might find inspiration in The Fable of the Table's post today on recognising your support, and keeping them close.

I'll be gone for the next few days, to be with my family in England, supporting and supported. A big thank you for all the wonderful support that you've given (yes, you) -- by writing or calling or getting us out of the house these past few weeks, by sharing your stories or making your own hearts, or simply by reading this and thinking of us -- thank you.

{creativitity is...}

(Creativity Is Papercut by Julene)

I love this quote for all that it includes. How often do we feel defeated because of a mistake, or think that experimenting is a waste of time? I'm a firm believer that creativity goes beyond the sewing machine, and can be lived out in all areas of life -- from cooking up new and exotic meals based solely on the four ingredients in your fridge, to working out how you're going to entertain your neighbour's rambunctious five-year-old for ten hours tomorrow. Invent. Experiment. Enjoy. Repeat.

{what the hack}

Saying that we, as a family, are IKEA-crazy is the understatement of the century. I can look around your living room and point out the Swedish flat-packed furniture (though maybe you wish I wouldn't). I can probably even give you the unintelligible name for it all, too. POANG, EKTORP, EXPEDIT; growing up as the daughter of an IKEA employee, that was the language of home. 

So, as you might imagine, IKEAHackers.net is the New Yorker of my world. And though they classify it as a 'minor' hack, (which, let's face it, is true: the Vimpel has returned to its life as a duvet cover already) I am absolutely over the moon about seeing our handiwork (and Justin's pajamas) on their site. Check it out here.

And, if you're feeling the excitement, too, why not go ahead and 'like' it, and we'll see if we can be a top hack of the month!

{still in progress: play kitchen}

I have not done any work at all on the broken-down cabinet that is to be Tilly's play kitchen. But I have found a second abandoned bit of furniture -- a bedside table with a broken drawer -- which is also fair game for a bit of sprucing up. (Yes, we're turning into a home for stray cupboards. If any more show up, I'll start adopting them out...) 

As there's nothing covering the space below the drawer, it could be the perfect spot to hang a colourful curtain, a la the kitchens that inspired me.

Clearly, we still have time before she's even interested in wooden cookery; one of Tilly's friends just got the most beautiful wooden kitchen for her birthday, and I watched today as Tilly ran straight past it to try to grab a chewed-up bit of carrot off the floor. And then tried to eat a shoe. Play kitchens are pretty low on her priority list right now, apparently.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few of the things that I hope to fill her kitchen with, eventually:



A felt scale, to measure out her pretend flour. What amazing embroidered detailing!



Felt cupcakes, and that adorable felt muffin tray, by umecrafts. I make everything in cupcake form -- banana bread cupcakes, chocolate cake cupcakes, and I've even seen a recipe for macaroni and cheese cupcakes that I desperately want to try -- so I'm sure Tilly would know what to do.



Felt strawberries by KennasFeltForest. Four dollars for three of these beauties seems like awfully good value -- I guess it's the end of picking season!


Felt toaster pattern by GulfCoastCottagePDF. I'm curious if the toastables would go up and down?

Kitchen utensils by bugbitesplayfood. You know, because then I can have my utensils back to cook with!

And, just so that she doesn't forget she's a Texan, this little felt grill by GulfCoastCottagePDF. What do you fancy -- that very well-done T-bone, the so-rare-it's-still-oinking hotdog, or the burger that's one-quarter meat and three-quarters salad? (I call the burger.)

{hello world, it's me, tilly}

Tilly's gone global. Find her sharing tips and tricks from her "Say Cheese" birthday party today over at the brilliant Ohdeedoh (the children's section of Apartment Therapy).

Or, if you've had enough cheddar, cameras and birthday party pics to last you a lifetime, why not check out these other inspired ideas:

• London-in-a-bag wooden block set
• The best apps for traveling with kids (please, remind me of this in a month, as we fly across the world with a wriggly jiggly fourteen-month-old)
• Cloudy day blackout shades
• Build your own bicycle sidecar (with two seats -- one for Tilly, one for Bella!)

{i've finished this but you can't see it}

I've been working on something. But you can't see all of it. Yet. I can, however, show you these super-cropped close-ups to tickle your fancy.

It involves patchwork, starring bits and pieces of the vintage calendar tea towels that either you can't believe I've cut up, or you can't wait to see cut up more.

It involves my first attempt at free-motion quilting. Which, if you've never tried it, can best be described as the techno music of sewing. It's jerky, it's loud (if, like me, you haven't oiled your sewing machine), it's stressful -- but if you give in, it's kind of fun, in a let-loose sort of way.

And, of course, it involves red. Here, there, and, for fun, in the binding, too.

{in progress: the world's cheapest shelves}

Forgive me, Dad. These shelves will not be made by IKEA. These shelves will be made by me. (Well, me and Justin. Okay, let's not lie -- mostly Justin.)

I have the most horrendous amazing collection of postcards -- in fact, I'd go so far as to say I've never thrown one away. They are all stashed away in quite an organised manner -- cards from my family, from grandparents, from friends. But sadly, they're not on display. Yet.

The idea is to recreate this clever postcard shelving from YoungHouseLove (via Pinterest).

And you know what we still have lying around? The two eight foot planks we used to build the photo booth for Tilly's party. Picture them horizontal, and painted white. What have you got? Eight-foot-long postcard shelves! Wait, free eight-foot-long postcard shelves.

Oh, yes. Watch out world of woodworking, here we come...

{from my heart to yours: a tutorial}

Thanks so much to all of you who shared kind words, compassion, and your own stories with me last week. I don't think my inbox has ever been so full of strength and community. Thank you. Welcome, too, to new readers stopping by from CraftGossip and Ladies in Waiting -- it's been a pleasure connecting with you all.

We love to look out of the window, see the bright hearts, and be reminded of Mormor. I like to imagine her looking down from her cloud, scanning Texas, and the hearts catching her eye and showing her where to find us. As the little hearts we hung on our tree seemed to resonate with so many people, I'm going to show you, quickly, how to make them. 

Materials: 

a scrap of fabric, approximately 10" square

stuffing

needle and thread

paper

6" piece of ribbon

sewing machine (optional)

Begin by drawing a heart template on to paper. I find that I usually draw too small, and almost always go around the original adding a 1/4" extra. Cut out your template, and use it to cut two hearts out of your chosen fabric.

Cut a small square, with edges of approximately 2", out of the fabric. This will be your pocket for the front.

Fold the edges of the pocket 1/4" to the wrong side. Iron them to hold the fold.

Sew along the top edge of the pocket (I prefer hand-stitching, but you can use a sewing machine for all of this, if you like). If you want to decorate your pocket, by adding buttons or embroidery, do that now.

Place the pocket in the centre of one of your hearts, both right sides facing up. Pin in place, and sew around the three remaining sides, attaching the pocket to the heart.

Stack the two hearts together, right sides together, so that the pocket is sandwiched in the middle. Place your ribbon between the hearts, so that it forms a loop, with the ends sticking out at the top. 

Sew around the edges, leaving a 3" gap for turning.

Turn your heart inside out, and fill with stuffing. Sew up the gap.

To add messages, we simply cut thin strips of paper, 1" wide and 6" long. For us, what seemed best was writing down the things we would have like to be able to say to Mormor. You could also fill you hearts with favourite memories, prayers, quotations, small instant photographs, favourite sweets or flowers.

Thanks again for sharing your lives with me over the week. For those of you who will be creating your own tree of hearts, I hope it brings you comfort and peace. xx

{the signature tablecloth: year one}

You saw Tilly's birthday tablecloth when it was just a bit of fabric. Then you saw it getting drawn on with black Sharpie by our friends and family at Tilly's first birthday party. Now, here it is, fully decked out in many many stands of white embroidery thread. 

As I said, the idea is get everyone who celebrates Tilly's birthday with us to sign the cloth. And each year, I will embroider over the names in a different colour, creating a record of all our lovely guests for Tilly to look back on.

Yes, ALL the guests... Bella was included, even though she spent the entire party in our bedroom feeling sorry for herself. (Don't be sad for her -- she got to have Tilly's uneaten Cream Bomb cake!)



As a last touch, I drew around Tilly's hand, and added her age to the centre of it. I'm sure she'll enjoy signing in her own way in the future (I know I loved to practice my signature when I was little -- so much so that I still use the same juvenile star shape now. Yes, I've had cashiers laugh at me. No, I'm not changing it).

And, of course, her friends will start signing by themselves, too. We're not going anywhere anytime soon, so I'm hopeful that we'll see many of the same names next year, too.

I'll admit, some of our guests put my sewing skills to the test. I just hope I did their artwork justice!

Recently, someone asked me if I'm already planning next year's party, to which I replied that, no, unfortunately, every year will most probably be downhill from here. But, as I think about it, much of the work this year is going to be reused every year. Tilly's birthday crown will be worn again next year (and hopefully won't be falling down over her eyes), as will her felt envelope, and the growth chart. As for the birthday badge and party dress -- they're for the next little Slagle!

And, I think that officially marks the end of all things birthday. Hurray! (Although we seem to have bought the world's longest lasting balloons -- two weeks later, our living room is still full of them. I can't bear to pop them... perhaps there'll be here to reuse next year, too!)

{in remembrance}

To live in hearts we leave behind
Is not to die.
~Thomas Campbell

When Tilly was born, my grandmother, Mormor, gave us a tree. We picked out an oak and planted it in the garden in March. Today, we hung the tree with hearts.

In each heart is a little message to Mormor, who sadly passed away earlier this week. And though our own hearts are very full of sadness, we feel very grateful for the love and the memories that will live on.

{inspiration: mug shot}

We so thoroughly enjoyed painting plates for our anniversary that I've been looking for more ways to get creative with old china. Everyone's got a plain white mug laying around somewhere (or, can pop to IKEA and get a couple very cheaply) -- these easy projects will quickly transform your bland cups into personalised pieces, full of character.

Gina's tutorial for cross-stitched mugs lets you monogram your morning mocha. I love that you could use any font (ahem, American Typewriter), any colour, and make a set for the whole family. 

Aesthetic Outburst's patterned mugs make doodling look chic. You can draw a line, a circle, a triangle, I know you can!

BaileyDoesn'tBark's Teabag Mug couldn't be simpler. The bag sits inside, while the tag hangs outside the mug, and could even be personalised with a name or a little heart.



Sweet Sweet Life's face cups are all lined up to be our next anniversary project. A little better groomed than Beardy, Mr. Moustache seems to yearn for a nice hot cup of Earl Grey. And, of course, that's Lady Grey next to him!

BaileyDoesn'tBark's Postcups let you write a message -- a 'wish you were here', perhaps, or a favourite quote about tea. Plus, if it ever gets misplaced, the return address will be right there on the cup!

P.S. The lovely Dutch-British couple, Jadyn and Ben, who share our wedding anniversary, also got up to a bit of plate painting of their own back in June. Check out the brilliant results here.

{and the winner is...}

All the names, written in chunky red marker, went into my chunky red mug...

...Justin was recruited to pick the winner...

...and, without further ado, here we have it...

Molly, please be so kind as to email me (astrid@redredcompletelyred.com) with your address, and the big old red package will be with you soon.

Thanks to everyone who entered! I loved putting together all these lovely red things, and am already starting a little collection for something similar next month...

{p.s. one day left}

This could be you:

Eyes about to light up. Giant smile. Surrounded by red red glorious red.

We're picking the winner of our big red mystery packet tomorrow, so if you haven't already, pop over and leave a quick comment. Thanks to those who already have... and good luck!