Building a new home: lights! camera, and the big chandelier

It's a funny thing building a home.
(I know I've said that before)
But really, it's such a learning process!  Some things you can anticipate; some you never can.  And often you spend months searching, and researching, and stewing over photos of the perfect tile or flooring or light fixtures.  MONTHS!  And then you finally make a decision and order it (so that it's ready to be installed on the proper day) and then the stuff just sits there for another few months til someone gets around to it!
Humph.

On the other hand, you will make some huge decisions spur of the moment---like the design of our fireplace---and it will turn out beautifully and you'll love it.
You never know how the story will go.

...or when the story will lighten up.

And then one night you'll happen to drive by the house and notice....
WE. HAVE. LIGHTS my friends!
The electricity is ON.
And the house takes on a new personality.

Yay!

If you’ve missed my other posts, our family spent the last year building a custom home in the Austin, TX area.
We didn’t physically build it ourselves—we hired a custom builder to do the hard part; we were along for the decision-making ride.

Check out my previous posts documenting the whole process:
We’re building a new home!
Groundbreaking Party
From foundation to frame 
Stucco, shingles, and a pretty paint job 
Sheetrock, paint, and a double-decker deck
We moved!…and an ode to the old house
Tile, Flooring, Countertops, and Color 
Guest Room makeover 
Mosaic Tile and Wallpaper


One of the most surprising moments for me with this whole process was the day these boxes showed up in our garage....which is hard to believe since we'd already experienced many other surprises, like all the wrong windows being delivered and installed, floor tiles being run the wrong direction, tan colored grout with gray tile....

But one afternoon I pulled into the garage and saw these:

It's hard to tell the size.  But the box on the left is huge!   I really should have taken a picture with the kids standing next to it for size.
Anyway, after inspection I realized  Oh!  They're the ball light chandeliers I ordered for the entry way and stairwell!  I couldn't wait to see these in person.....I knew they would be interesting.

And they totally were.
But I guess what surprised me is well, the size.
I ordered what I thought was a small and a "large" ball for the house.  But what I thought was going to be the Large, was actually the Small.  Which means that the Large was more like an XXL in our entry way!
I worried for days that it was going to be way too huge until it finally went up, and I saw that it actually fits perfectly in the space.  And looks really pretty above the front door.

The smaller orange ball hangs in the stairwell and the two really play off each other, bringing in subtle pops of color and more of that modern-beach-home-craftsman-whatever-my-style-is look.

So the lights are called Coral, by New Zealand designer David Trubridge.   He based this design on the ocean coral he loved as a child.  And when I saw these in a local Austin store I knew they would be one of my "splurge" items for the home.  Funny enough, the design really ties in with the headboard I bought months later for the Guest room.  I love it when design features come together.

These lights come in so many different styles and colors and are really unique! I love how it looks in the gorgeous home from Uraguay:

And the other interesting thing about the lights, is that they're sort of like a puzzle.

To keep down on shipping costs, the lights are packaged in individual pieces in a very small box.  Then the customer puts it all together with small brads, holding each piece of coral in place.  Crazy right?!

The good news for me is that, since we ordered through the lighting store, they put both balls together for us.  And it only took them 3 days.  Ahh!
Actually, Casey would have loved that challenge.
He loves puzzles.
I however, love shortcuts.
And I loved it when these little pieces turned into a huge ball! 

I'm so happy with the character they add to the house, especially since it's one of the first things you see as you walk in.

They look gorgeous in the morning light when the sun peeks through that very tall 2-story window,

and in the middle of a bright white day.

And ready for this.....
They're really fun at night!
This is the other unexpected surprise that never really sunk in til the first night we lived here.
Both balls glow a subtle shade and cast the most fantastic shadows.

Since you're probably wondering...yep.  We've already had a toy mishap.   Poor Owen.  He wandered downstairs in tears, nervous to tell me what had happened, and slowly pointed to the light.   And I just had to chuckle---there was Mr. Prickles, stuck in the giant jail of Turquoise.

And in case you also wondered...it was no easy task hanging those lights as well. 
Just one dude, climbing a ladder, balancing 20 feet above the ground.

Totally safe, right?

I'm just glad I wasn't there when he hung the giant blue ball, which is two-stories up in the air.

Those are the joys of having someone else take the risks for you.
I just hope those light bulbs never run out.

Sick of ball lights?
Then here's some yellow to mix it up.

In the kitchen I selected the Farm Pendants by Young House Love from Shades of Light.  I pretty much love everything about that last sentence.  Seriously, check out all the lights they offer. They're fantastic! And such reasonable prices. I love that I did NOT have to splurge and still got the look I was going for (btw, check out my lighting board for all sorts of links).

Even in a room full of chaos the yellow pops out.

Of course they look a little better like this.

And that's a colorful wrap.
Have a good weekend friends!

Mastering Zipper Techniques

Do you ever worry that life will be too short to learn everything that you want to??
About once a year I think, eek!  I still need to learn to build furniture, and play the guitar, and use Photoshop, and C-walk (Yep. That's high on the list).

Well thank goodness we live in a digital playground where there are so many, many resources available for learning!  I love to share tips and ideas with you guys; and I love to learn from others as well.
And this month I decided to improve my knowledge about zippers.

You see, I am not a master of zippers.  I know my fair share, but I wanted to learn more.  So I did a most logical thing...I headed over to Craftsy and clicked on their free Mastering Zipper Techniques class.  FREE!  Yay!

Of course before I could even click on the sewing class category, my eyes wandered to all the other fabulous categories they offer....like improving my photo skills....

And what??  There's a class on making artisan bread??  I need to do that.  Today.  YES.

If you're new to Craftsy, like me, just start clicking around.  Because there's really something for everybody (and probably a lot of things from your must-learn bucket list).

In a nut-shell: Craftsy is like an online school full of interesting courses, taught in a video/lesson setting by interesting teachers.  In fact, some of the instructors will be familiar faces!  Many classes you pay for, and in return you have access to the videos and download content forever and you're also able to ask the teacher questions.  Some classes are offered as Free mini-classes---like this one I took here---and give you a good taste of the Craftsy brand before jumping in.

And hello...you get to learn about zippers!
I clicked on the Sewing category and checked out this: 

The class is called Mastering Zipper Techniques with Sunni Standing.

And it walks you through 6 different lessons, from a very basic zipper, to invisible zippers, and even how to sew one into tricky spots where there are linings and facings, etc. 
It might sound complicated.  But you know what....with the way Sunni talks, in her really calm manner, and how carefully she walks you through the steps, it makes you feel like you can sew a wedding dress, with zippers at every seam.

....which sounds like a horrible design idea.
But really.  She makes you feel like you can do it all.
The class really gives you a grasp on all types of zippers, what the differences are, and how to install them.
And since I'm a girl who likes to wing-it most of the time, I appreciated learning all her proper methods (so that I know when I'll want take short-cuts. At least that's my philosophy).

So.
Want to become a zipper master too?  It's easy....just click the link and hit enroll.
And if you're interested in other Free sewing courses, click through all the categories because each one offers a few mini-classes.
Have fun sewing!

This post is sponsored by Craftsy.

Before and After: Front Porch furniture

Back when we were just thinking about building a home, I knew there needed to be a front porch.
I mean, there's always a front porch.

...but how bout the kind where you can actually have furniture? 
And sit outside with a cold beverage, watching the kids ride bikes and scooters down the street?

Or....maybe a porch is just an excuse to go shopping at the thrift store and not feel guilty about walking out with an entire bench and two chairs?  Let's just be honest.

And when I saw this patio set at my favorite antique store in town, I just couldn't pass it up!
The style was perfect.  Kinda beachy.  Kinda craftsman.  Very simple.

They just needed a little facelift.
My first thought was to paint them orange like the flower vase above, or yellow like the basket below (which I also "had" to buy at the antique store.  Isn't it cute??)

I asked on instagram (find me @danamadeit) for your input and the ideas were all over the board!
"Yellow!"
"Navy Blue!"
"Turquoise, kelly green, black, white, red....."
So I went with the obvious decision,

I called my mom.
And she painted the whole darn thing for me.
Is she the best mom or what??

She and my dad were in town and asked what projects they could work on for me.  So we pulled out the sander, pulled out the brushes, and they finished the whole thing for me! 

Thank you mom and dad!

And thank you Sherwin Williams #7005 Pure White, for always being a fantastic paint choice.

Yep. I went with white.
Actually I really considered Navy Blue or Black.  But against the gray color of the house it just had to be white!

And I love how it turned out.

Now I just need to make some pillows, and get out the bikes, and make some lemonade.
Favorite input?

Have a great day!

ice cream, bacon, and balancing on 5 chairs: the OC Fair!

Summers in Orange County, CA as a kid always meant a visit to the OC Fair.  The fair!....this magical playground of lights and food that rolled into town for a few weeks, then rolled off to another town to enchant new kids (and empty new wallets)

I always loved the fair, and the rides and overall atmosphere.
And from the moment we arrived my brain was scheming what special treat I was going to buy.
I mean, the food. The food!
It's overwhelming.

So on our month long adventure this past month we joined our cousins for a morning adventure on the same rickety old rides.  And they loved it!  Owen was nervous to try the rides but was easily swayed by peer pressure...and always exited the ride later claiming, "Best. Ride. Ever!" 
We all loved the Family Fun Circus where a dude did a headstand atop a stack of wobbly chairs. 
Clara wanted to touch every single toy and rubber ducky in sight.  And she absolutely loved the animals. She's an animal girl.  It's in her heart.

Lucy loved everything about everything and enjoyed being the "older" kid with her cousin Ava, making sure all the kids were part of the fun.  She's always been my peacemaker kid. 

And for me?
Yep. I got a treat.  And it was bacon-dipped.
But the real highlight was glancing over to see a sight that looked all too familiar.....
Another family taking pictures for a blog post.
and um....wait, look at that cute gingham dress....and those girls....Is that Ruby?

It was!  What are the chances that I would run into Ruby Ellen of CAKIES and her 4 sweet girls? (more on Ruby and her book in this post here) She is just as charming and cute and adorable as you can imagine.  A virtual friendship come to life.  I love those moments!    
And her girls were perfect models.
Mine was not.
Probably because I told her to stop touching the rubber duckies.

And that was an Orange County Fair adventure.

We topped off the experience with treats all around.
And the Frozen Banana dipped in dark chocolate and bacon did not disappoint.  The bacon was actually kind of subtle, adding the perfect amount of salt to the sweet.

Till next year!

What would you like to see on MADE? New videos, posts, patterns....

Hello friends! I'm alive!....and back from many travel adventures.   I can't wait to share photos from our Norway/Sweden/Denmark trip!  What a gorgeous part of the world.

In the meantime.....I'm looking for input on my blog and the new sewing show---
MADE Everyday, with Dana.
You guys are always good with the feedback.

And it's good to take inventory of the blog from time to time.  Because YOU are the reason I love blogging and making videos and sharing ideas!  So I'd love to know how I can make things better for you.
 
What do you think of the site?  How do you read and follow blogs?  What projects would you like to see in the future? 

And most specifically....what type of videos would you like?

We're getting ready to shoot Season 2 of MADE Everyday, with twice as many episodes as the first batch (there are still 2 more episodes to come in this season--hopefully one later this week)  So let me know what you hope to see.  It can be a MADE classic or something new!

To make the feedback easier, we've created a small survey below.
If you have a few minutes, we'd love your input!
Simply toggle through the questions below, or leave a comment in this post.

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And as always, thanks for tuning in!
You guys make this adventure a fun one.

(Project photos above: Baby Doll Basket Pattern • KID Shorts Pattern • Diaper Cover free pattern and tutorial • Baby Tank free pattern and tutorial)