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A Few Previews – Custom-Made Baskets, Wallpaper Sample, Colorful Floral Shower Curtain, and More

Well, the week has only just begun, and yet I’m having one of those weeks. You know the kind. Those weeks where you feel very busy, and yet nothing gets done. Those weeks where you face one road block after another.

For the last two days, I’ve been trying to turn this pile of fabric…

…into my new shower curtain for the hallway bathroom. It should have been a simple, one-day project, and yet I’m on the third day and it lingers on. I’ve had problem after problem with my sewing machine — bobbin not working right, broken needles, and then finally the machine just refusing to work at all. I have no idea what the issue is, but I finally borrowed my mom’s machine last night, and I’ll be taking mine in to be serviced. Hopefully today, I can finally make some headway on this.

But if you’ll remember, that’s the fabric that I purchased in 2016 during my failed attempt to turn my living room into a dining room. The other day when I was itching to add some color to my blah bathroom (my blahthroom, as Matt would say 😀 ), I remembered this fabric, so I went digging through the big box with all of my extra fabrics to find it. And fortunately, I had just enough for a shower curtain!

So over the last two days, as I took breaks from my infuriating sewing project, I decided to play with some resin. I’ve had this idea of making a series of nine framed resin petries to hang together on one wall, but I didn’t have a place for them. But now that I’m making some changes in the bathroom, and my original artwork that I used in there doesn’t look right anymore, I figured this was my opportunity. It’s a blank wall that’s the perfect size for nine 12-inch-square frames.

So after I get my shower curtain finished, I’ll be making frames for these colorful cuties…

Moving on to the studio, do you remember that wallpaper I designed and shared with you a few days ago?

Well, my sample that I ordered from Spoonflower arrived yesterday, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!


Y’all, the colors are so bright and vivid, and the paper itself is a great quality. Now I’m chomping at the bit to get that room drywalled so I can order this wallpaper and get it installed! I shared a bit more in my Instagram stories yesterday evening, so if you hurry, you can see more details before my story disappears.

Now moving on to kitchen news, do y’all remember how I want to remove the dishwasher from my kitchen and replace it with pull-out baskets? I’m envisioning something like this…

Well, after looking at all the stores locally, and all the stores online (yes, ALL of them 😀 ), I still couldn’t find any baskets that were the exact size I needed to fit the space where my dishwasher currently lives.

So I started searching for custom-made baskets online, and I came across a place called Amish Baskets that will make baskets for you in any size you need. So back at the beginning of December, I placed an order for three custom-made baskets, and they arrived a couple of days ago.

Y’all, they are PERFECT! And they’re so beautiful and sturdy and well-made.

I can’t remember the size that I ordered, but I needed them to be almost square. I think they’re something like 19″ x 20″. But I was able to specify the width, length and height, and they made them perfectly to my specifications.

Evidently there are three Amish families who make the baskets, and one of their non-Amish neighbors takes the orders, maintains the website, does the shipping, etc. But they send you an email when your order goes into production, and they tell you the name of the family making your order. And then your baskets are signed on the bottom by that family.

I just love them! They’re definitely not cheap. My three large baskets came to $220, so they were just over $73 each. That’s more than I would generally pay for a basket, but considering these are custom made to my exact specifications, and they’re each beautifully hand made, I think they are worth the price.

Now I just hope that I can do these beautiful baskets justice and make some equally beautiful frames to go around them to turn them into pull-out drawers.

And finally, I’ve decided that starting this month, I’m going to give away a free downloadable piece of artwork on the last Saturday of each month to everyone who subscribes to my blog. Subscribing is a great way to stay in the loop and never miss out on a post or project. (As you know, if you rely on Facebook to stay informed, they may go weeks without showing you my posts, so you’ll miss out.)

Anyway, these free downloadable digital files can be used pretty much any way you want to use it, as long as it’s for personal use only. You can have it printed and framed to put on your wall. You can have it printed on some notecards. You can use it as wallpaper on your phone. You can print it and frame it and give it as a gift. However you personally choose to use it is up to you! (Just so long as you don’t use it for commercial purposes.)

So this month’s free downloadable artwork will be one of the paintings that I did for my breakfast room. And I’ll always try to provide a digital file that’s large enough that you can have it printed fairly large, if you so choose.

So if you don’t want to miss out on the free monthly artwork, just enter your name and email address in the bright pink form at the end of this post. If you’re already subscribed (i.e., you get my new posts to your email inbox), there’s nothing you need to do.

Helpful sources and products:

Did you miss the post about how I designed my own wallpaper? You can see it here…

Want to see how to make resin petries? They’re mesmerizing to look at, and the process of making them is fun! See that here…

  • Spoonflower – This is where I uploaded my custom wallpaper designed and ordered a sample.
  • Amish Baskets – This is where I ordered my custom-sized, handmade baskets, and they’re beautiful!


Update:

My bathroom makeover is finished! Want to see the entire project from start to finish? You can find every single post about the bathroom makeover right here…

Or you can skip to the end and see how it turned out. Here’s a peek of the finished bathroom…

You can see more pictures on the before and after post right here…

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51 Comments

  1. I knoooooow you said on Instagram that making your studio cabinets out of wood would REALLY test your skills, but look at how pretty that wallpaper looks with the counter top. You can dooooo it 🙂

    1. Totally unrelated- I’m wearing a shirt right now that has a really similar color palette to your wallpaper except…the background is black. I wonder if you tested out making the background of your wall paper black? It’d be bold, for sure….I wonder if it would look good? Then, white or really light colored cabinets would pop on top. And brass hardware….it looks good in my head. Not sure if it would in real life though!

  2. I am excited about the artwork. Will the link come in an email? Be on the website? Other location?
    I just want to be on the lookout for it.
    I love everything in your post today…even if you haven’t made the progress you had hoped. I love all these colors…the fabric, the baskets and LOVE the paper…and reminded how much I love your pantry….those countertops are beautiful!
    The week is young..hoping your sewing endeavors are successful today! 🙂

  3. I love the wallpaper! Can’t wait to see it in your studio. Also the baskets are beautiful and great quality! I live within an hour of Amish families (central Illinois-Arthur Illinois and Arcola Illinois) and their furniture, baskets and food are all wonderful. I also love your resin pieces for your bathroom. So looking forward to all your projects!

  4. Oooo Love the wallpaper! It’s totally YOU!! 🙂 I’m just curious are you moving your dishwasher somewhere? like to the butlers pantry? I would not want to be with out my dishwasher – It’s totally up to you but I’m just curious? 🙂

    1. I’m getting rid of it completely. 🙂 I realized that in the years since I remodeled my kitchen (back in 2014) and installed that dishwasher, I’ve used it about four times. And when I did use it, I pre-rinsed all of the dishes anyway, so I could just as easily (and with no more effort and only a little more water) have washed them and put them away. So right now, it’s just wasted space.

      1. More power to you! You have to use the space you have in the way that works best for you. My dishwasher runs almost every day, so that would be a hard no for me. 😉
        I love following along on your remodel/redecorating journey. It’s fun to see your progress.

  5. My mom doesn’t use her dishwasher very often so she uses it for storage – she puts cups, jars, glasses, etc. in the top “basket” and pans and bowls and anything that doesn’t fit in the lower “basket”.

  6. Love gathering inspiration from you….what you accomplishment even in a single day always blows my mind👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 With all your creativity I have always been curious that I never see you incorporate any holiday decor in your home…may I ask why?

  7. The Amish do wonderful work. I have some custom furniture that I ordered from them when we downsized and needed something a little different in size. It was wonderful and after 11 years, all of it is just as wonderful….no loosening of joints, etc. I think your baskets will serve you well.

  8. Yay! When I saw the color of the bathroom cabinet, I was hoping this fabric would make an appearance as the shower curtain! Hoping the sewing goes well today. Loving the wallpaper and the baskets – your house is really evolving into such a beautiful home!

  9. I loved that fabric when you first got it. So glad you found a good use for it. I wish I had you to come and tell me what I need in my house, although unlikeyou, I could not do those things myself.

  10. Great updates! Love the shower curtain fabric and petries – those will definitely liven up your bath. Those baskets are AHMAZING! Completely worth the money, IMO. And, the wallpaper is AHMAZING, too! I wonder why it looks more vibrant in IG? Anyway, great progress!!

    1. It’s just different lighting/different times of the day for different pictures. The paper is very vibrant and colorful, so the IG pic is probably truer to color.

  11. I heart the baskets! Pricey yes, but great quality so they should last forever.
    FYI, if you draw my name for a free print, I need it to be 3 ft wide & 2 ft tall with lots of turquoise to go above my bed! 🤪😁😂

  12. I didnt know that you were capable of being ‘slowed down’!
    Leave it to a sewing machine. My nemesis! They can be so frustrating!!!
    Glad you got your moms so you can finish😁

  13. When I see those Petrie dish @art laid out like that it makes me think how cute they’d be strung together as they are and hung. Maybe with copper wire/hooks? Either all inside a shadow box type frame or none at all, more like a curtain. Pretty.

  14. Hi Kristi,

    Re sewing machine – did you try removing the total bobbin assembly, needle plate and cleaning all thoroughly? Could be thread or dirt/dust causing the problem. Also oiling per directions for your machine. Using appropriate needle size and type for the fabric. Have you re-read threading directions and threaded it properly (I know – don’t be mad or think really – I have different machines and sometimes forget how to thread them after not sewing for a while – they are all slightly different). One machine jams and needle breaks when I mess up threading. When I haven’t used one for a long time it does seem to need all this extra baby care.

    Love the pantry – so beautiful. Bathroom – love the new colors and the coral cabinet. Gorgeous home. You are AMAZING!!!

    JoAnne

  15. That fabric is just stunning. This like reading a mystery, every post, a new chapter, which way will she go, what will she come up with next??????? Exciting!

  16. I love following your blog and look forward to seeing your posts. I have a question that
    I hope this isn’t too personal. I am wondering how the keto diet is going and when you are going to post a picture of your new look.

  17. I have several baskets by the Yoder family! There’s a store a mile or so north of the Iowa border that I stop at each time I head home to visit my family in northern Iowa and I always try to pick up another Amish basket, made by the Yoders and other families. They are simply wonderful! The store also has delicious jams, jellies, and other food stuffs made by the Amish. Soooo good.

  18. Hi Kristi, love the bathroom update. I did have a question on your baskets. How do you plan to hang them from a pullout shelf? Your sample pics show a lip on the baskets, but I was curious what you plan to do with your Amish baskets as they don’t have much of a lip/top edge on them.

    1. I wondered the same thing. but I’m sure Kristi will have a good solution! All I could think of was basically building a “sort of” box recessed in with a framing around it, but then I thought that the baskets wouldn’t really show that way. (The box would hold the basket I mean. Get me?) Saw the wallpaper on insta, it is gorgeous! Hate when the sewing machine decides to be finicky just when you have a quick little project to do that requires less time than the fussing with an ornery machine!

  19. I still can’t wait to see that pretty shower curtain and your resin plaques. The color will be just the jolt your guest bathroom needs. Perfect!

    I’m also looking forward to that beautiful wallpaper you designed in your studio. Another blast of color and inspiration for you!

    those baskets are so pretty and since they are made to order, I think the price is actually pretty good. I’ve always loved those basket drawers and I’m sure you’ll find yours very useful.

    You GOOOOOO Girl!

  20. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the wallpaper you designed! Your home photos are so beautiful; you’ve come a long way, baby! Looking forward to seeing the bathroom in its newest iteration!

  21. Lots I could comment about because it is all great, Kristi. Practical question: how wide is your fabric for the shower curtain? Did you make two seams? Matching not an issue because of the random pattern, correct? Love the pattern because of the coral that correlates with your cabinet. And the resin pieces are gorgeous!

  22. Blahthroom ! Ha, made me laugh out loud Matt! Good one. I don’t think Kristi could have a blah room even if she lost her sight !
    Your wallpaper made me literally gasp. It’s going to be just stunning. I have to go back and read how you did that !

  23. The wallpaper is beautiful! The baskets stole my heart though. Looking forward to seeing both incorporated soon!

  24. I’m loving all the colors!!! That wall paper sample is just so happy/vibrant! I can’t wait to see your shower curtain and artwork. Matt is funny! Blahthroom! Ha, ha!

    Thank you for the upcoming freebies! <3

  25. On another note, did you change your whole website, not just the comments? It seems so much easier to navigate than it used to.

      1. I would add one comment though: There doesn’t appear to be an archive anymore. You can search for a specific word, but you can’t just back to a specific point in time. So, when you mentioned the “watercolor fabric” from your living-dining-living remodel, I couldn’t jump back in time to see it. I did search for it and find it, though. Anyway, just some feedback that I liked the archive and I can’t find it now (if there still is one). JMO, though.

  26. Hi! I was wondering if you have a favorite site or app that you use to show your artwork in a virtual room.

    1. Not really. I just purchased three images that I liked from iStockPHoto and then use my photo editing software to “hang” my artwork on the wall above the sofa.

  27. I love the new wallpaper! And I’m a big fan of Amish baskets. I wish I was ready to part with my dishwasher, but I still use mine once a week.
    I think building a custom rack like the ones in the picture would be doable with the right reinforcements behind the screws I know you will come up with a great solution that is easy and elegant!

  28. Beautiful craftsmanship on that basket! My sister made a basket for me once, and no she’s not Amish, but she DOES make and sell cheese