First I tore off the “leather” top and cleaned the wood with Mineral Spirits

Gave the table a light sanding to rough up the surface,

then painted it using Behr Ultra paint with primer in matte – a color I had mixed from a Restoration Hardware color called “Graphite”. The little sample was a couple of bucks and was more than enough for 2 coats.

After the paint dried I sanded the paint to give it a distressed look

Then I used a recipe widely found on the DIY blogs for a “Swedish style” finish using 8 oz. of Feed-N-Wax mixed with 2 oz. of Dark Walnut stain.

I rubbed the stain on with a rag, let it sit for a minute and then wiped off the excess and buffed it to a nice dull sheen.

At JoAnn’s I found some “faux leather” in a kind of cognac alligator pattern. I used the old green vinyl to make a pattern in cardboard but ended up using the outside of the cut out cardboard pattern as a template so I could choose where I wanted what in the alligator pattern, to land.

I used Elmer’s Spray Adhesive to affix to the table but I had to work quickly so it would stick permanently but so that I could pull and push it into the perfect fit. I worked really well!

Finished Top:

Finished table:

Lucy looking like a pro!

This past July my niece and nephew came to visit me for the first time.

I planned for this visit for months; fixed up the yard, cleaned, cleaned, cleaned and booked 3 hours of studio and engineer time at The Parlor here in Nashville. My brother had told me that Lucy, my 12 year old niece, was getting interested in music and theater at school. So, with a sincere longing to become closer to a family I hardly know, I decided to ask Lucy if she would like to sing a duet with me – a song I wrote – in a real recording studio. Lucy’s response was simply, “Yes please!”

A month or so earlier, in our regular writing session, my dear friend C J Watson and I wrote a song based on a title I had, “Ordinary Day”. We wrote it for Tricia Yearwood but it was the perfect song for a young lady to sing with me backing her up all the way; and for the more mature lines I would fill in.

As the day approached, I stressed and stressed over how it would go; Could I teach her what I know without freaking her out? Would my constant intensity and perfectionism run her off forever? Could we have fun in my introducing her to a world  that she knew little about but that I have worked and created in for decades?

Robin Ruddy ready to track the guitars

The experts all say that the key to happiness is not in the stuff we acquire, the success we achieve or financial wealth. The key is in the experiences we have with family and friends – What do we remember most, say they? “Holidays, vacations, proms, weddings…” and possibly recording sessions? I agree.

This is me counting Lu in

The big day arrived. We shipped the boys off to go Zip Lining and headed to the studio. My friend Robin Ruddy helped me lead the day along, charting and playing guitar as if it were a normal guitar/vocal session on any other ordinary day.

Lucy and I were in adjacent recording booths with a window between us so I could count her in when she wasn’t quite sure where to enter and make faces at her when I thought she might be getting a little hard on herself. We are, after all, cut from the same cloth.

Lucy punching a line

We sailed through the vocals, comped a track, punched in a line or two here and there, after deciding not to fly the choruses. As Lucy heard Robin, our engineer, Matt Legg and me talking through all of this in our short-hand studio-eeze, she said, “Should I be getting concerned here? I mean, we’re comping, and flying and punching and cutting and pasting and I’m not really sure I like the sound of it!” My little niece brought down the house with her dry wit and quick sense of humor. Delightful!

Lucy was lovely, funny, fun, confident and beautiful. She sang like an angel and listened to every bit of coaching I gave her – and I saw her grow. My mother and HER mother watched and listened from the control booth and heard her blossom from a little girl to a slightly older more experienced one. So many generations understanding one another on a higher plane; maybe for the first time ever.

Me singing a line or two

I guess the best part of it all was that I’ve never been happier. I felt important in my world; a world in which I have to fight for every drop of validation. I felt like a mentor and I felt like maybe I had changed Lucy’s life in one small way…forever. In all the days I’ve had the privilege (well mostly) of living, this was one of the top finest of all time. Not such an ordinary day after all.

Click here to listen to “Ordinary Day”

L to R: “It goes to 11″, “Long playing 33 1/3 rpm”, “45 rpm Single” and “A 3rd for a word”

My “Musical Pillows” designs (see my post “Musical Chairs”) have been featured on one of my favorite blogs, The Graphics Fairy.  The artwork is up for free downloading and there’s a lovely feature written by the fabulous Miss Karen Watson!

If you visit her site, you’ll see there is tons of wonderful vintage clip art, all of which is available to download for the DIY project of your choice!

I hope you’ll visit her site, read the lovely feature and make some music pillows of your own! If you do PLEASE send a photo and a little description to me.

Thank you Karen!

My problem was while I love the French Ephemera, in particular, I couldn’t connect with one that would reflect my life as a musician.

SO, I designed my own pillows, with numbers and music phrases and they came out great!

1. I made my design on the computer using Adobe Acrobat and some cool deco fonts I found online. I needed them to be pretty big. I also needed them to be toner based copies, which can learn more about on the Tutorial for Printing on Fabric. So, I saved them as .pdf files that were 11 x 17 and brought them on a CD to Staples.

This is thumbprints of the four pillows for spacing reference.

2. The images had to be reversed for the printing process and I had to bunch them up on the page and then recreate to fit on the various pillows.

“A 3rd for a word” is a songwriting term quip

3. Then it was time to center on the already made, canvas drop cloth pillows and GO FOR IT! I used a conservative amount of Citrisov and tried the yellow Spackle knife but really the spoon worked best of all for the transfer.

This one says, “It goes to 11″ (like my life!)

4. This process was so easy and fun! Here they all are on the new Restoration Hardware knock-off shelving unit Casey and I made (more on that later)

L to R: “It goes to 11″, “Long playing 33 1/3 rpm”, “rpm 45 Single” and “A 3rd for a word”

Now, when my musician friends come to my house and sit in my living room, they get a kick out of the pillows:

I’ve been working so hard this year. I’ve been producing and editing “Sing For My Supper” and learning how to produce and narrate books. But, mostly I’ve been writing like crazy.

Just for fun, I’m sharing a simple demo my writing partners Robin Ruddy and Justin Adams did. Justin and I are singing and Robin is playing EVERYTHING ELSE!

Justin has one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. I think he’s gonna be a STAH! Just click on this link: “You’re Everywhere I Go”

I had searched the web for lots of ideas and realized that the Pottery Barn idea was spreading like wild fire. I made this my prototype.

Pottery Barn Ideas

We have an old love seat which has seen better days and way too many cats. Jack Black and Mickey approved of keeping it but we all agreed it needed a facelift

After wresting the 12′ x 20′ Canvas Painter’s Drop Cloth into the laundry and dryer and leaving it to dry further for about 3 days, I had a mass of canvas to dry and wrangle onto the love seat.

Jack Black does some critical smoothing out.

Next I had to figure out how to tuck in all that fabric, create pleats around the back corners and secure the whole thing with 3-1″ thick dowels – one in the back and two shorter ones on each side.

Tucking in, lining up the main seam and pushing a lot of fabric and the dowel behind the cushions

In order to smooth the canvas around the two back corners, I pleated them.

The back corners pleated and pinned in place

Then, before sewing anything, I trimmed off all the crazy excess and smoothed it out. Jack napped.

Finished Couch Cover with Jack Black…he never got up….

I then hand top-stitched the pleats from down under the cushion to about 8 inches down each side so it would hold it’s shape and lie flat.

The next part is a little funny. Afraid to remove the cover after ALL that tucking, I had to sew it in place. First I pinned it all around.

Jack plays a key roll in keeping everything in place while I hem.

I positioned my mom’s old Singer on the coffee table and slowly stitched while I turned the couch bit by bit.

Mom’s old pinking sheers

Then I trimmed again, gave it a fluff and a gentle pressing…

I found a couple of jars; one at the Flea Market and the larger one at a garage sale for a DOLLAR! I was just back to the “flea” yesterday and saw that there are Mason jars GALORE…and the prices have gone up. I guess it’s a popular craze.

Anyway, I copied a DIY tutorial from one of my favorite blogs, Park House Love. We changed it up a little in that Casey got the idea to use a Glass and Tile Bit and drill the hole through the ceramic from the inside out. Otherwise I followed the tutorial exactly.

Here’s how it went for us:

I ordered some pumps online from One Dream Design. They have a great selection. You can salvage pumps from old bottles or buy them at Bed, Bath and Beyond BUT the ones at BB&B are plastic coated in metal. The ones I bought are metal and are more fitting (pun intended) for the vintage Mason Jars.

Casey drilled out the glass hole and then widened it with a regular bit

This process worked for one lid but not the other

I hot glued the tip to the lid, and cut the tubing to the correct length for the jar

Then I filled up the jars! The quart jar is for dish-soap; the 8 oz. serves as a hand soap pump in the bathroom

I love it and I already have two more to make. Thanks Christine!

I frantically checked for the precious keepsakes; the big fat sweater Mom made for me in the eighties, the beautiful printed sweater Aunt Joan gave me when she moved to FL – a hand made find from Maine which I had always loved,  something I spent way too much on at Anthropologie: Check. They were OK. But, I knew something had to be done.

I did a fair amount of research online and discovered a wool wash called Eucalan Delicate Wash that was very gentle and way safer than Woolite. It was easier to wash the big ones with it because it doesn’t have suds and needs very little rinsing. I was off in a frenzy of sweater washing, flat drying and responsible folding which took a couple of weeks!

Then I had to figure out what to use to deter the moths. I found a “recipe” and made a huge batch of it:

2 ounces each dried rosemary and mint
1 ounce dried thyme
8 ounces whole cloves
Cedar chips soaked in cedar oil
Lavender soaked in lavender oil

Moth Mixture

I had to make my own cedar and lavender with essential oils from the health food store

Then split it up into small cotton tea bags.

The next thing I found was that people suggested sealing the sweaters in plastic boxes wrapped in old cotton. I opted for sealing them in the large Ziploc bags, wrapped in old pillow cases and then storing those in canvas boxes – sachets inside and outside the bags. That way I can store them in the canvas boxes in winter without the bags.

Sachet inside Cotton inside Plastic inside Canvas Box

After the bags were sealed, I closed them up in the boxes.

I labeled the boxes and put them back in the closet; fingers crossed!

I made my very own Tamarind Paste last week, not having any idEA what it would even taste like! The process is a little time consuming but if you have a food mill I think it would speed it up a bunch. Also, some recipes call for adding sugar and vinegar; I left it pure as it was!

Turns OUT it is delicious; kind of like if you cooked plums – tart and sweet.

I followed instructions off of this wonderful blog on Home Thai Cooking Called “She Simmers”.

1. I bought Sweet Tamarind Pods at the Asian Market.

Sweet Tamarind Pods

2. I peeled off the hard shell and most of the veins and roots from inside…I couldn’t get to the seeds; that came later.

Peeling the Pods

3. I then brought them to a boil in water; ratio 1 fluid ounce to 1 ounce of pods. I let them soak for 25 minutes.

Soaking in hot water

4. I strained them and when they were cool enough to touch, I squashed them with my hands to get rid of the seeds and then forced the whole lot through a strainer to remove the rest of the seeds and roots.

Through the strainer

5. Finally! The finished paste! I used some that night and froze the rest in 2 Tbs amounts, in an ice cube tray!

Tamarind, Tada!

The Candi & Randy Show Featuring: Leslie Ellis