How many of you have a family photo that you hope never sees the light of day? I know I do. Awkward Family Photos is a site that celebrates these frozen moments in time. Fun to surf when you need a break (and a grin).

I took new photos of the kids last week while we were outside eating cookies.

I planted a hibiscus in a pot outside my studio window and it’s begun blooming. What a stunning flower!

The tufts of yellow pollen are just begging for a bee to come on by.

A new can of wall paint comes with a paint stirrer or two. I use them and I save them. Because I paint my walls often, I have lots of stirrers. I was about to thin my collection when I realized that these paint stirrers are a great record of the colors I have on my walls and trim. If I need to match the paint I can take the paint stirrer to the paint store and get an exact match – which is a lot easier than trying to take in a piece of the wall :-).

I drew a light, level pencil line on the wall in my utility room. I drilled a hole in the end of the stirrers with current paint colors. I wrote pertinent info on each stirrer and hung them with small nails. It’s nice to see them all lined up as time I come and go.

Wouldn’t you know it – Martha does this too! I just looked through a “how to paint” slideshow at marthastewart.com. I hate to say it, but her stirrers look better than mine – and she’s recorded more info on hers. Her paint can is tidier too. But she has a staff of helpers and I don’t!

This short film (found on Design*Sponge) was commissioned by AIGA in Maine to be shown between speakers at the Compost Modern Conference. The conference showcases how graphic design, advertising, engineering, manufacturing, and architecture can contribute to greater global awareness and ultimately, more sustainable solutions. Compostmodern provides valuable tips, tools and information to improve your business (and life) practice. That’s all wonderful and I wish them much success but what I liked the best was the pincushion that shows up at 24 seconds. I believe I’m going to need to make at least one and give him/her a name!

I re-discovered skirts last summer. They are cute and easy to move around in – and often they are more flattering than shorts. I’ve seen so many wonderful cotton quilt fabrics that I wanted to wear that I decided to take the plunge and make one.

I bought this pattern at Creations Quilt Shop in Kerrville, TX last month. I wanted to make skirt A – but I didn’t have enough fabric (I never thought that would happen!) Skirt B requires less of the primary fabric and has a contrasting band of fabric at the hem. I didn’t have enough of a single contrast fabric either – so I thought like a quilter and used 4 different fabrics.

It took about 5 hours to make a lined (I added the lining, the pattern doesn’t call for it) skirt with a zipper. I had to call on skills that I last used 20 years ago and was reminded that a 5/8″ seam allowance is HUGE. The skirt is cute on and swishy which On The Street reporter Bill Cunningham identified as a new trend in a video I watched this morning.

Making this skirt was way more fun that I remember it being. If you’re interested in skirts, you might also enjoy Sew What! Skirts. It’s a good resource.