Christmas for Amelia ~ Vintage babydoll buggy!

Hi all! I hope everyone had a wonderful, magical Christmas! Hard to believe it is over, the time, it just never stops!

 

In general I like to keep things simple, old fashioned and classic. In my own life and also in my daughter Amelia's life. I want her to learn to appreciate things from the past. To love toys that don't scream with loud sounds or blinking screens. My mother was always on a strict budget and my brother, sister and I were raised to know the value of something and to appreciate things/gifts, no matter how small. I guess that is what I'd like to instill in Amelia. I have tried to tell my mother-in-law to keep Christmas simple (present wise), she doesn't need the whole world of toys under the tree! But just being a Babcia (grandma), is to spoil the grandchild. :) So, it's a work in progress....

 

This year I stumbled across the world of Madame Alexander dolls. I loved the look of the hefty weight baby dolls and thought Amelia would love one for Christmas. They range in prices, so I was happy to see that they offer a doll through Toys R Us called the Middleton. She is just precious and I knew Amelia would just love her!!

 

Middleton doll by Madame Alexander

 

 

I tried to wrack my brain and find another tie in to the baby doll gift and soon came to the conclusion that this baby needs a pram!! So the hunt was on. It had to be made of cloth, wood or wicker. Two days of searching later and I found this on Etsy for $42!

 

 

 

She was positively what I was looking for! Wicker, wood and fabric! Woot! Also very, very dirty. Like yucky dirty, but I had to have her. Per the usual which is me procrastinating, I started this fun project the Sunday before Christmas. I worked on it during Amelia's nap times and at night after she went to bed. There were some very late nights there, but I just loved how it turned out.

 

 

First, I took off all the grungy gross fabric and took pictures as I was peeling it off, so I would remember how to put it back together! It was once a very pretty red and white gingham, but was now a sad, dirty, faded color of pink and brown. Yuck. My fingers had a coating of grim after I was done, I couldn't wait to wash them.  Here is a pic of the fabric being disassembled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After taking it apart, I washed the wicker basket inside and out with dish soap and water and let it dry overnight. I then used a matte polyurethane and sprayed the whole thing. The fun part was taking the old fabric and ironing it to use as a pattern. My iron had water in it and as the steam came through the yucky fabric I had this lovely steam plume of dirt, age and who knows what fill my lungs. Fun times!! I cut out the new fabric. I chose a pretty blue with delicate flowers on it. I'm thinking I'm partial to the color blue, I am now seeing it everywhere in my house. Creeping in like a ninja.

 

 

Then the scary part. Trying to figure out how to put this beast back together again. Love it when I have a time crunch and I am just winging it!! Amazingly it all came together, thank goodness for the many pictures I took of the tearing apart process. I took apart the red and black wheels and painted them ivory and shiny black. Added a soft flannel bedding using blanket stitch and finished it the night before Christmas Eve!

 

 

The back of the hood.

 

 

I had to take apart some of the blanket stitching after finishing because I had forgotten to attach the legs and wheels. Ugh. Whoops.



 

Here she is all finished!! The night before Christmas Eve! Phew, that was close.

 

 

 

 







 

 

 

Here is the happy girl on Christmas morning!

 

 

 

 

 

She also received many pop-up books from Santa. She calls them her "special books" and that is something that Jeff loves sharing with her. All in all, a great Christmas had by all!  

 

 

 

 

Fois Bois Changing Table

Hi all! Amelia is 6 weeks old now and letting me sleep through the night. I don't feel nearly as exhausted as I have felt the first weeks after her arrival. I thought I would finally post my DIY Fois Bois changing table/dresser! Fois bois means "false wood". I have wanted to try this technique for a very long time and it turned out great.

For the nursery I knew I wanted a long dresser to use as her changing table. I had been researching on Pinterest for a while and considered using a mid century dresser. I used to see them ALL THE TIME in the thrift stores, but now that I actually needed one, they were nowhere to be seen. Here are some of my favs from Pinterest.

 

source

 

 

 

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SIGH.... so seeing as finding a mid century dresser is near impossible, I went back on Pinterest and kept looking. Then I found

THIS......

 

 



source

 

 

Wow! Hello beautiful!! I was in love the first moment I saw it! I think it's just beautiful and would go with the other furniture in the nursery. How do I replicate this?? I started by looking for a cheap 6 drawer white dresser. I went to all the local big box stores and didn't see anything. Then I came across this on Amazon.

 

 



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When I purchased it, it was $172 with free shipping, now it's $192.98....geesh, got lucky there. Well, when it was delivered the box weighed a TON! Did I mention that I was 9 months pregnant when I did this DIY??! I had to have Caiden and his buddy carry it into the house for me.

 

 

9 million pieces...no really there were 9 million pieces!!!

 

 

It took 2 days to put it together. My butt was going numb from sitting for so long while doing this project! Here's the after picture. I left off the kick plate piece. I didn't like the way it looked as it took away from the faux mid century look I was going for.

 

 

 

 

 

For the fois bois paint treatment, I went to Home Depot and picked up two paint tools, a "wood grain rocker" and a "graining comb" both made by the Martha Stewart brand in the paint department. I did a google search on how to do the fois bois technique. It definitely takes some practice! I recommend having some large cardboard on hand to practice on. Start with a coat of primer, I like Zinnser Cover Stain Oil based primer. The dresser is laminate, so I had to finish it with 4 coats of oil based polyurethane in satin finish.

 

 

waiting for each coat to dry!





    

 

I wanted to replicate the drawer pulls that were on the original dresser but while searching the Internet, all I found were very pricey options.... not in my budget. Then thankfully I found this tutorial from Sarah M. Dorsey Designs, for DIY ring pulls. AWESOME!!

 

 





 

 

 

I found all the materials at Home Depot, and YES! they were made for under $2.00!! I used nickel instead of brass and they came out really nice. I love it when people come up with awesome alternatives!

 

Here's the finished product! I love how it came out! The paint and topcoat have been very durable. I'm so glad I didn't settle on just a regular, boring changing table. This fits the room perfectly.

 

 

 

LOVE!!

 

 

 

 

Next projects: Babushka crib mobile, twin bed skirt and crib skirt!!

 





Radio silence a.k.a "So we had ourselves a baby!!"

Sooooo, it's been a while since I have posted. Sorry for the radio silence. We found out we were pregnant in August and my interest in blogging, sewing, diy-ing etc. went downhill from there! A total loss of energy, for everything. Even reading my favorite blogs. That was the only real "illness" during pregnancy. No morning sickness and all around felt good health wise.


At around 9 months pregnant I finally found some energy to do a changing table DIY! It came out great and I will have a post about it soon!

Baby arrived on Tuesday April 8th and we are over the moon happy! So without further adieu.........

Amelia Catherine Dana

 

6 lbs. 12 oz.

21" long

 

 

 



Yep, two middle names! We're fancy like that! Lol, just kidding. I just couldn't leave one out! Catherine for my mom and great grandmother and Dana for Jeff's grandmother.

Now that I am in the stage of the sleep deprived, I am slowly working on the projects of making the crib mobile and also a crib skirt and bed skirt for the nursery. Hopefully they will be done sometime this century! =) I've also gotten back the interest of reading my favorite blogs again, it's so good to be back!!

Date Night: Anyela's Vineyard

Happy Monday all! Just a quick post before I go into the salon.

 

On Saturday Jeff and I had a wonderful afternoon at Anyela's Vineyard in Skaneateles, NY. It is one of the Finger Lakes. New York State is known for our wonderful wineries along the Finger Lakes.

 

From NewYorkWines.org:

"Nature meets wine"

      "Located in the heart of New York's scenic Finger Lakes region, the Finger Lakes wine country is centered around four main lakes with Native American names: Canandaigua ("The Chosen Spot" or "The Chosen Place"), Keuka ("Canoe Landing" or "Crooked Lake"), Seneca ("Place of the Stone"), and Cayuga ("Boat Landing") with the latter two also recognized as separate viticultural areas due to their unique grape-growing conditions. Some of the newest growth in this region, however, is coming around the "Little Lakes" – Conesus ("Always Beautiful"), and Hemlock (the only lake names for European settlers) found in the west. The smaller lakes in the east – Owasco ("Floating Bridge" or "Crossing Place"), Cazenovia ("Lake of the yellow perch "), and Skaneateles ("Long Lake") are also seeing wineries open in their vicinity."

 

 

 

We did a wine tasting and settled on a yummy 2011 Dry Riesling and a large cheese platter. Soooo good. We LOVE cheese!

 

 

 



 

It was such a beautiful day and if you ever find yourself in upstate New York, please explore our wineries!

 

 

This week I think I will have to tackle my basement storage for our upcoming community garage sale.... so no sewing for me..... this is what my dining room table looks like, Jeff is thrilled. :)

 

 



Date Night: Oakwood Cemetery Ghostwalk

Hi all! Last night Jeff and I had a wonderful time out with friends. For the 2nd year in a row we went to the Onondaga Historical Association's "Oakwood Cemetery Ghostwalk".

Jeff and I as we waited for our group to start. It has rained for a few days straight so we really got lucky with the weather!

 

 

 

It is a tour through one of Syracuse's largest park like cemeteries. It was built in 1859 by Howard Daniels.

 

 

From Wikipedia
1909 postcard of the old original entrance facade built in 1902, which has been closed off since the building of Interstate 81, years ago. Last summer, Caiden and I had the chance to walk around up there on the elevated railroad track part. Very cool indeed. I will have to find those pictures.



 

 

From the website ShadesofOakwood.com:

 

"In the early 1850's a group of prominent men in Syracuse began looking for grounds for a new cemetery. In the forefront of this group were E.W. Leavenworth and John Wilkinson. Meetings were held on and off until the late 1850's when the group began to act. The men were interested in making the new burial ground a rural cemetery, which was a popular cemetery style during that time period. In contrast to burial grounds in the city which were overcrowded, odoriferous, and were prone to vandalism this cemetery was to be an attractive and civilized place to bury one's loved ones. The chosen site encompassed a glacial hill where springs carved valleys around steep slopes forested with massive oaks. The rural cemetery, designed as a series of landscape pictures, was to be a place of spiritual fulfillment for the living as well as a resting place for the dead. An overall picturesque effect was achieved through varied topography, irregular land division, winding roads and paths, and controlled internal views. The rural cemetery was designed to be a place of natural and man-made beauty, where individuals and families could escape their everyday lives and enjoy the surroundings."

 

It truly is a beautiful, peaceful place. While not a traditional "ghostwalk" this was a walking tour where we meet some of Syracuse's famous and infamous that now 'reside' in Oakwood. Portrayed by actors, each person shares their life here in Syracuse and what they did to make them famous. 

 

 

This years inhabitants are:

 

Comfort Tyler (1764-1827)

 

One of the earliest settlers in Onondaga County. He surveyed the land and roads and held a number of political offices. Comfort Tyler was also affiliated and arrested with Aaron Burr for treason, because of surveying land in Texas. The charges were dismissed. Comfort was buried elsewhere but was brought back to Syracuse to be reinterred with family in the Cornelius Tyler Longstreet mausoleum which looks like a pyramid.

 

 

Cornelius Tyler Longstreet mausoleum erected in 1875.

  

Inside the Longstreet mausoleaum. Family or friends could come and visit and lounge on the furniture in the monument. It is completely sealed off now. Source: ShadesofOakwood.com

Milton Price (1825-1889)

 

The Merchant Prince of Syracuse owned a department store located across from his mansion on Salina Street near Jefferson Street. He was known for his wild promotional antics and charitable deeds.

 

 

 

 

Old advertisement for Milton S. Price store

 

 

 

 

Milton S. Price in front of his cash register, telling us about his life.

 

 

 

 

 

John Wilkinson (1868-1951)

 



 Inventor of the air cooled engine for the Franklin Automobile Company among other automotive inventions. He was also known as a champion cyclist and athlete.





 

 

 

 Wikipedia image

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Wilkinson source:Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

 

John Wilkinson telling us about his sporting achievements.

 

 

 

 

 Wilkinson monument

 

 

 

 

Dr. George Greeley (1844-1902)

 

Dr. Greeley was a local homeopathic doctor who suffered through a terrible loss of losing his sister, daughter and wife to illness and was unable to save them with his remedies. He was plagued by scandal after scandal for forgery and public intoxication. These events led to him committing suicide on the steps of the Oakwood Cemetery Chapel.

 

 

 



 Oakwood Cemetery Chapel

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. George Greeley in the chapel telling us about his terrible choices in life. It was creepy and dark in there.

 

 

 

 This was behind us as we were listening to the Doctor. The walls were lined with them. We weren't told what they were but if we had to guess, some sort of temporary vaults. Did I mention creepy??

 

 

 

 

Here are some other photo's from our walk through the cemetery.

 

 

Sabey monument built into the hill.

 

 

 

 

Erie picture of the same monument shown on in the hill.

 

 

 

 

Weiting monument all grown over.

 

 

 

 

How Weiting looked in the 1890's.

source: ShadesofOakwood.com

 

 

 

 

 

The Haggerty Lion.

 

From ShadesofOakwood.com:

 

 

"On November 11, 1982, the Haggerty lion was placed in Oakwood as a memorial to Michael Charles Haggerty who died at age 14 in an auto accident in 1974. His brother Thomas, who was two years younger than Michael, was an art student at Syracuse University when his parents asked him to create a special and original memorial. Michael had always liked lions and his mother thought a lion would be appropriate - a friendly protector, inviting but with claws. Thomas began work on the monument in the summer of 1981. He formed the clay image in his garage, spraying and wrapping his work each night. After this initial phase, the large figure was moved outside of his home and his work was supervised by an Syracuse University instructor. After a year's work, the 620 pound bronze statue was ready for placement. Michael had originally been buried at St. Mary's in DeWitt, but the authorities responsible for the diocese cemeteries objected to the monument. Michael was then reinterred in a special spot at Oakwood with the lion standing guard. Many people do not know about the Haggerty lion because it is situated in a wooded area and during seasons with leaves, it is well concealed. The lion can be found across the road from the Chapel. At the corner where the woods begin is a small trail which leads about 20 feet up a small incline to the monument."


The beautiful monument is completely hidden unless you know where you are looking, I had to be reminded that it was back there.

The old caretaker's office. A huge stone building that is now in shambles. It is kitty-corner from the chapel.

1920 postcard of the caretaker's building.
Source: Wikipedia

 

 

 



 

 

 

Being a genealogist I really love this cemetery. The history and information a cemetery can give a family historian is immeasurable.  We have done some letterboxing in Oakwood also. I loved the monuments so much that our wedding photo's were taken there in 2007!!

 

 

 

I apologize for the fuzzy scanned photo's, it's hard to scan a wedding album!

 

 

All photo's were taken at the Chapin monument. It is a huge structure of Greek style columns. Marie and Henry Chapin were wealthy socialites that lived in Syracuse in the early 20th century. It's hard to believe that there are only 2 people buried at such a large structure. It is so beautiful.

source: findagrave.com

source: www.findagrave.com

Google Earth

 

 

 

 

Well anyhoo, that's my love affair with Oakwood Cemetery. I look forward to next years tour!!