Upcycled Denim Sandbags - Photography Weights

These were an experiment. My husband is a photographer, and he uses those big light stands to maneuver the light around and make beautifully lit pictures. Unfortunately, the stands that these lights go on are very top heavy, and really need weights to keep them steady.

He asked if I could make him some sandbag weights that would go over the legs of the stands, and this is what we came up with (as a prototype). They are the legs from an old pair of jeans, sewn closed with a seam in the middle and two ziploc bags of sand in either side. I also put on a tiny strip for a handle so he could pick them up more easily.



They're not pretty yet, but they work great! The first one was a tiny bit too long and they touch the ground. So I made the second one shorter and the handle strap wider and I think we have a Yahtzee. We made them for the cost of a bag of play sand, $2-3, the legs from a pair of jeans that would have gone to Goodwill, and 4 ziploc bags ($0.25). Pretty good if I do say so myself.

The next set will have "neat" handles, and will have a zipper at either end. That way if we need or want to take out the sand, we can.

Annual Christmas Trip to Beantown

It's actually become and annual tradition..we started going four years ago when we were just getting to the "serious dating" stage. We take a trip to Boston for some great food in the North End, some Christmas shopping, and a quick little getaway in the chaos that is holiday time.

This year we stayed at The Langham, Boston. It's right in the heart of the financial district. The room was very nice, but no free breakfast. A pretty big drawback in my book! We decided to walk to dinner, although it was pretty windy and cold, and saw this along the way, and I just loved it.



We got to dinner, at Trattoria di Monica on Prince Street in the North End. It came pretty highly recommended, and being the research geek I am, I read tons of online reviews. It was exactly the type of restaurant we love. Small, great atmosphere, romantic (ok, that's my favorite, not Rob's), and amazing food. Very cozy on a cold wintery night.



Even though it was tiny, Rob managed to snap a few pics, and caught me smiling at the amazing choices. At least this time I wasn't tweeting, or updating my Facebook page, which is what he usually catches me doing.



After dinner we stopped at Mike's Bakery, on Hanover Street, which was actually rockin' at 10:30. There were literally throngs of people going in and out. Some sitting with coffee, some taking boxes of sweet deliciousness home. That I did manage to tweet about.



I got a decaf cappucino, and about 8 different chocolate treats. Giant peanut butter cups, giant chocolate dipped pretzel rods with toffee crumbs on top, coconut clusters...oh lord. All of them were amazing, and we actually have a few left.

When we got back to the hotel, the concierge actually managed the truly rare and elusive photo of Rob AND Rebecca. These don't happen often, so I was glad it came out as well as it did.



The next morning we went to Sowa Holiday Market, which is a fantastic show featuring 80 amazing artists and craftspeople. I tell myself that I'm there to buy gifts and then manage to come home with presents for myself! My favorite artist was there, James Polisky. He designed my logo.



He has an amazing perspective. He manages to show the darker side of people, kids, animals, you name it, with what to me feels like a beautiful, funny overlay. For some reason, his work just speaks to me.

As we were eating lunch on Newbury Street, I was looking out the window and saw all kinds of people in Santa hats run by one block up. As luck would have it 5 minutes later, the Speedo Santa Run went right past us. I had never heard of it, but I guess it's to raise money for a few local charities. Needless to say Rob got TONS of pictures, but just to give you a flavor...these people were CRAZY.





As always, it was a wonderful, memorable trip. We will most definately be going back next Christmastime.

Pattern Test for Patty - Flora & Fauna Blossom Pillow

Once again, thanks to Twitter, I was given the fantastic opportunity to test a new pattern for fabric/pattern designer Patty Young.



Patty launched a new set of patterns this week, and I was asked to test one of the decorative pillows from her "Pillow Trio" pattern. This time around Patty sent me her new Flora & Fauna fabric, and a suggested layout for the fabrics.



The fun part is that my finished test pillow gets to be in the actual pattern once it's printed, and Rob's great photos of the pillow get photo credit in the finished pattern too!

Overall, the pattern was super simple to complete. Something a new sewer could make with ease, and get some super immediate gratification. All of the pillows are a finished 18", so they really look fantastic and stand out on a chair or bed.