Happy Valentine's Day!

I know!  Three posts in less than four month-spaced increments...nobody freak out.  We all just need to stay really calm and read on.  Yes, yes I did just type that.

The hearts in the pots are the extent of my Valentine's decorations this year.  It is better than the previous year that had a whole lotta nada.

Now I must share my roadside find.  Can you believe someone threw out that mid century modern shelf/curio cabinet?!?!?!  Admittedly is was broken on one side, but I showed it some drilling, wood glue and dowel rod love and then put the same on the other side so it would look the same and it is good as new!  I love me some trash to treasure!  It is supposed to have sliding glass doors on the front, but only one of the pieces of glass was still intact.  I may or may not try and get another made and reinstall them.  I also may just use that brown board stuff hanging out against the wall to the left there (can't remember what its called right now) and make 2 door panels with recessed pulls...or I may just leave it open like this...  I don't know yet.  It is completely awesome regardless and I am loving it!  When I get our bedroom sorted out, I'll take pics in there to show what I did with the entryway table I built back in the summer.  I feel like my Heavenly Daddy just gives me a kiss and says, here ya go..here's a gift for you, when my path intersects with fun finds like this.  I know it seems like an odd gift to some, but its along the same lines as Sam giving me power tools and gadgets as gifts.  I'm just that kind of woman.

I decided to split up the kids into separate rooms again.  It seems to be working better.  I found a full-sized bed for the girls room.  I was going to try and find a set of bunk beds for them, but realistically, they wouldn't sleep in them.  They would end up on the floor.  Plus, we really need something for when people come to visit and stay the night.  So far the full size has worked very well...once they actually go to sleep.  I'm having lots of fun putting both of the rooms together.  Today, I am in the process of putting together a paper chandelier for the girls/guest room.  This is my inspiration:

photo by Ashley Ann Photography - http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2009/06/30/entering-the-girl-world-the-nursery/

Its so, so pretty!  I really love how she pulled all of the elements together in her nursery. I have plenty of paper pom-poms from previous birthdays, but I wanted to add a few of these:

(the link for this is ladybird-ladybird-paige.blogspot.com , but the blog is no longer there...)

So, this is my version:

I was finally able to use up quite a bit of scrap book paper I've collected over the years.  I'm hoping I get to finish out the whole thing today some time, but well, it may run over into tomorrow's activities.

I still have a bedspread/quilt to either buy or make for the bed.  I decided on the fabric for the curtains, but still have to go buy it and sew them up.  I still haven't decided on a rug, but I've got a couple to choose from in my stash and if those don't work, then I'll be on the look out for a new one.  Then, I'll deal with the walls and what to put on them.  No biggie, right?!

Last night, when the girls finally went to sleep, I got some sleeping pics of them.  I attempted to do the same with the boys, but there was no light at all in their room.  Then we had a bit of an impromptu photo shoot.

I would just like to point out that not one time did I use an emoticon in this post....not once!  It was a struggle, but I proved it is possible.  In future, I will probably overcompensate for this post with random, ill-placed smiley/frowny/disturbed faces in other posts....it'll make me feel better.

Topiaries, a Wreath and Bookshelf Top-scape

Okay, I've finished my topiaries.  Moss is MESSY!  I also broke my new glue gun in the process. :(  I went with a bigger one so I could get those long glue stick mammerjammers.  I got tired of loading the little glue sticks every two seconds (only slight exaggeration ;) into my little glue gun.  Anyway, on we go:

 Something out of Whoville, perhaps?  Suits me!

 I wanted these to be able to stay out all year round.  I want to put a bead garland around the two trees in fall colors and then Christmas colored ones in December.  I'm going to attempt to make one myself because I have a ton of beads that are just hanging out needing to be used.  I may end up replacing that dowel rod with an actual stick from my backyard.  We'll see if I feel like messing with it sooner rather than later. :)

I've tried using those vase/bowl-thingies-whatever they are called in my decor in other ways for a while and they never really fit, but I like them for topiary bases.

 This is what I have so far.  I like it.  I think garlands on the two outside topiaries would add a bit of pizzaz.....

 I saw a burlap bubble wreath and then another one that had this exact fabric over burlap.  I decided that I like the bubble wreath, but didn't want burlap.  This is what I ended up with instead.

 I'm putting effort into two other spaces, but I'm not done yet.  I'll post pics when I finish.  Maybe even in time for actual Fall.

Fall, Fall, Please come soon!

I think I'm trying to will it to turn Autumn.  Maybe, just maybe if I decorate for Fall, it will just decide to capitulate.  It could happen.  Really.

I've never really decorated for Autumn or Thanksgiving or any of that.  I think I always felt the it was way to close to decorating for Christmastime and therefore too much work and more overwhelming than I needed to mess with. :)  This year, for some strange reason, I am inspired!  I'm wanting to just have a fun two seasons.  Fall is my favorite time of year, followed by winter as a close second.  I have some interesting ideas for the environment I would like to create in my house for my family and I don't want to do it last minute, so I'm getting a head start on my project list for the holidays.  Then, perhaps, I will be able to chill out and just enjoy the season!  It could happen.  No, I really mean it. :)

Okay, so here is the first in my series:

 These made me think of Cinderella....shiny.

I found these unfinished ceramic craft pumpkins at Hobby Lobby for 40% off, hey-hey!  Love Hobby Lobby!  Anyway, some burnt umber acrylic paint for the stems and the grooves and then some gold glitter for a bit of bling and I really like how they turned out.

These rather large acorns, too, were 40% off and all they needed was a little glitter to top them off.  Shiny makes me happy. :)

I've got some other items in the works and I'm pretty exited to see how they turn out.  I'll give you a hint.  Topiaries.  That is all for now.

Shirt Reconstruction and some blingy-blang!

I've been on Pinterest waaaaay too much lately.  I'm highly involved with wanting to makeover my wardrobe.  I've got some skirts and shirts that are on my hit list.  I've already turned a sweater into a skirt.  I found a shirt at Academy that I altered and then I had this shirt that a friend of mine gave me that was too big on me and totally not my style, but I love the fabric. The stripes have a shimmer.

 I came across this amazing blog:  brassyapple.blogspot.com and saw this shirt recon:

Um, yes, please!  So, the blue shirt became this:

(I'm a wanna-be poser;)

I intend to tweak the sleeves a little more so that I have more range of motion.  I have several more reconstructions on my agenda,mostly from brassyapple's site, but there are a few more on my pinterest board awaiting my attention, too.  Love tweaking stuff that I already have!

I'm not one to hop onto fashion bandwagons usually, but I love me some shiny stuff and the jeweled jeans have caught my attention.  Now, anyone who knows me knows I will not spend money on something like that.  I will, however, trot on down to Hobby Lobby with my 40% off coupon and buy a case full of different sized acrylic gems and bling my jeans myself.  Yes, yes, I will.  (Me, trotting...funny visualization.:)

So, here they are:

(Pay no attention to the downward gravitational shift of my bum.)

I honestly don't think there is enough bling on them, so I intend to outline the entire pocket.  SHINY!

There was this shirt that I spray painted MOM to the 4th on and it didn't quite turn out as hoped, so I thought it could use some shiny, too.

I also put some gems on my shoes, but there was an incident involving me holding Brea and tripping over Ailey when she decided to swerve into my lane.  Some of them came off and I haven't fixed them yet.  

I have more bling sessions in mind, but for now I think I'll take a break before everything I come into contact with gets a shine enhancement. ;)

Recent Projects

I've been busy as usual, but I haven't really been putting my projects on here, so I will do that now.  I have other posts in progress, but there's a bum-load of pictures involved so it just takes a while for those. ;)

Today, I finished pillow mattress #2.  I saw the tutorial on them here at Southern Disposition's blog and was pretty excited when I saw her materials list.  She got 1 twin duvet cover and four 99 cent pillows from Ikea.  Well, I just had to go ahead and pick that up while I was there about a week or so ago. ;)  Her cover was cheaper than the one I found, but for less than 20 bucks, I got two out of 1 cover and 8 pillows.  I still can't get over the 99 cent pillows.  99 CENTS! I am in total like with Ikea. :) Anyway, here are the ones I made:

I also had to make up some hair bows for a little girls birthday a couple of weekends ago.  I hadn't made any in quite a long time, so I had to get back on youtube to have a refresher course.  I must say that these turned out waaaay better than the first set I made a year or so ago. :)  I also like that they are more over the top than the others, too.  Big honkin' bows on little girls heads just = cuteness to me.  Here they are:

I got some super cheap sheets at Ikea while I was there because I had seen this Super Hero Fort Kit on Meg + Andy blog and knew I needed to do that for the boys...well, at least part of it.  They kept taking the sheets off of their beds to build forts and it was getting really old trying to put it all back together all the time. :(  Anyway, at first we used clothespins to hook it to the bunk beds, but between Brea's and Ailey's efforts, it kept getting pulled down.  I had just bought some rope for use at our homeschool group field day and wrapped it "strategically" around the bed and just draped the sheets over the ropes.  Aaaahhh...much better.  That solved the problem of having to go in a bazillion times at bed time to fix the fort.  Here's what the kids have done with it so far:

Braden used the excess rope end to make a divider inside, too....

After making that, Ailey wanted one for her bed, so I set out on Google to see what others had come up with.  I was looking for something that didn't require sewing and used stuff I already had.  I came across this idea here at The Better Nester.  I didn't do it exactly, just used it to stimulate ideas to use with what I had.  I may or may not do more to it...works just fine the way it is.  Here is what I came up with so far:

Our yard was in VERY sad shape after the drought last year, so I went to work taking dominion over that thang! Its finally starting to make a comeback, but it will need more time.  Also, the garden is in process, as usual....I think I'm going to have to start it in November for it to produce anything in the spring. ;)  Anyway, here is all of that in progress:

The front porch had that icky green fake grass outdoor carpet covering it and I decided it just needed to get taken off.  It had it on the back porch, too, and after just letting the weather do it thang to it, all the gunky glue came mostly off of it after a while.  I figure by the time I get ready to clean it off really good and stain it, I won't have much scraping to do. ;)

This is the front right flower bed.  I took out all the bulbs that were in it, took out the fluted brick edging that didn't match and looked dated and then attempted to restore some order there.  There's a rose bush taken from a random spot in the front yard as well as some type of flowering plants taken from the back yard.  I had gotten that honey suckle last year and just planted it there in the hopes that it would survive and it did.  Yay!  It is now being trained up the railing.   The border plants next to the bricks I got from one of the other flower beds and I have no idea what they are, but they make a nice bushy border. :)  The bricks were free from a friend.  I also put a soaker hose we already had and lava rocks in.   All the beds were in chaos.  Lots of overgrown and not taken care of going on in them.  Slowly, but surely I am going through each of them and rearranging and adding a bit.  

 This flower bed is to the left of the front porch and it had some really sad looking hawthorn bushes in it.  There are still two left that are giving me a run for my money, but they WILL come out!  Also, where the drain spout it was all loaded with dirt from many years of build up and when I got a hold of it, I found all kinds of buried bricks and stone.  I just dug them out and put them back on top in an orderly manner.  Much better.  I put stepping stones all the way around so I can get to the other beds without tramping on the grass trying to come back in.  I aim to bury one per day until they are all mostly level with the top of the ground to make mowing easier.  I've got them going out to the mailbox, too.

 That pile of bricks there came from our neighbor behind us.  They were free, too. :)  They will be going in as the border for the other front flower beds.

There are some of the bare spots with new grass coming up.  It looks kinda pitiful now, but it was worse. 

 This bed is going to be a challenge...There are lots of bulbs in it, mostly tiger lilies.  I have to dig them out and try to dig out that wandering jew, too.  I don't want it in there, it just takes right over. :(  I have some irises and amaryllis in the back yard and will rearrange this bed to accommodate them all, but much more organized.  There are also some chrysanthemums on the side of the house that will find a new home here. :)  That black bowl thing is my place marker for a bird bath.  I am on the lookout for one...preferably a cast off that won't cost a thing. ;p

This bed has a rose bush and jasmine.  I would like to get some sort of wrought iron gate thing or some sort of large trellis to create a bit of privacy there.  We shall see what comes my way. :)

Ailey had to be in most of the pics...:)  This is the back yard in all of its skeeriness.  The kids have really done a number on it.  That HUGE bare spot is being worked upon now.  Gonna see if I can coax some grass back in there.  Eventually, the plan is to make a semicircular patio with a pergola over it off of the small back porch there.  We'll see. 

 The garden.

 Herbs are up at the front there and there is some lettuce and kale in the middle and garlic at the other end with the rest being tomatoes.  The big huge bush there is oregano and it likes to take over.

The pot has Sam's habanero plant from last year.  He hasn't given up on it.  It has lots of blooms, but something keeps eating the little peppers on it. ;)  Poor Sam!  The bed has strawberries, okra, more habaneros and zucchini.  There was more planted, but it hasn't shown up as of yet.  I'm probably going to have to start those inside and see if I can get them to grow.  I may not, though....depends on whether I feel like it or not. ;)

We've also got a lot of remodeling going on inside the house, but most of it is in mid process.  I still have to finish getting the wallpaper backing off the walls in the bathroom and then I will texture and paint.  I have to sand and repaint the cabinetry, too.  I am considering putting in an exhaust fan, so before the texturing and painting, I will have to cut into the wall to run the wires and also cut a hole in the ceiling.  Then, I would have to patch the wall.  It would be a good thing because there is no ventilation in the bathroom if the window if closed.  

Sam is venturing into building a bigger pantry out of the one that is in the front part of the kitchen already and the little inset prep area right next to it.  He's going to frame it out and then build some shelves in there and then he will install bifold doors there.  We are also going to get bifold doors for the other closet/pantry/craft room at the back of the kitchen.  We will replace the hot water heater door with a new door that matches the bifold doors, too.  Then, there will be texturing and painting going on for a while after that.  He also plans to cut out the subfloor and replace the terrible particle board with plyboard and then we will paint that and lay linoleum tile down.

In the meantime, I have been slowly refinishing the cabinet doors. Ugh.  Such a big, time-consuming job!  I am painting them an off white and replacing all the hardware.  I finished two doors and put a poly coat on them and I don't like it at all!  It has yellowed and the polycoat is streaked making it look even worse.  I'm gonna have to sand it and repaint without the poly.  I might put the poly around the edge of the back of the doors so that it won't stick when they are closed.  Again....big job.  In addition to that, I aim to refinish the countertops and backsplash.  I'm gonna kind of cheat a bit, if I can.  They are covered in formica, but it is stuck on solidly, so I am just going to sand and score it and lay granite tile right over it.  Should be interesting!  The backsplash will just have to come out and backer board and glass tile installed.

Once all that is done, we have the rest of the rooms to paint.  They just need it.  We are also wanting to paint the outside of the house a lighter taupe color that will complement the bricks and freshen things up a bit.  It sounds like a lot, but we just putter through it as we have time and money to get it done.

There are more ideas scrambling around my brain, but I will just wait and see if they come to fruition first......

Poser Christmas Tour 2011

  So, I have noticed the web version of the Christmas Home Tours and I really enjoy looking at some of them and getting ideas. ;)  I thought, well maybe I should do one of my house.  Not because it is tour-worthy in any stretch of the imagination, but because it appeals to my sense of humor to do so.  So, without further ado, here we go:

 This is the living room.  I really should have a taken a picture of the other side of the room because it was a mess.  I basically just picked up in front of the couch for aesthetic purposes.

 This is the heavily-ornament-laden Christmas tree.  I plan to add some more to it each year.  Maybe one of these years, I'll have Sam fashion a metal cage shaped like a tree with tons of slots for hanging ornaments and we can just forgo the tree.... :)  I'm thinking  this might be our last year doing the fake tree.

 This is my nod to an artistic shot.  I laid down on my back on the floor and took the pic upside down.  We were considering getting a new tree this year because we really have a hard time fitting the width of the tree in our little living room, but I just couldn't see spending money on a new fake tree, if I could possibly use the one we already have!  So, I just left the bottom section off of it and put it up on our side table.  Works for me!

 An overhead shot.  Yep, I still haven't done any more to the wall since the starburst mirror project. :)

I got this idea from Apartment Therapy...see?  I think I may spray paint the stick white, so you can actually see it against my wall.

 This is in the bathroom.  I'm not crazy about it and I actually rearranged a bit after I took the pic.  It is still bothering me and I think it is the napkin turned table cloth that is under it all.  Its too dark and everything is blending together.  I'll figure something out. Sam is calling it my little shrine to Christmas....now I'm definitely changing it!!! :)

 A closeup for better observation. :)

 This in 2D looks like a hodepodgy mess.  In 3D, it looks only slightly better.  I think what really makes it all come together is the messy table and Ailey's addition of some building blocks and jingle bells, not too mention the reflection of the school wall in the mirror.

 This is supposed to be our Advent Calendar, but seeing as how I didn't even get it put up until around the 8th and its on a hands-off mirror, I didn't bother this year trying to make that work.  I've got to figure out a better place to put it.

 I got one shelf decorated for the season.  The rest...well, they didn't make the cut this year.

Thought it would be enjoyable to view the whole, um, scene. 

 I cleared the table just for this photo.  I have tried to decorate with things that I can use year round.  Since I have an obliging backyard with trees that don't hesitate to share their branches with me, I went outside and cut this one off of a MUCH larger limb.  Come to think of it, it might have been attached to the stocking "rod"....

I think the bright orange paper lantern lights in the background really add a certain ambience....don't you? 

 This is my wanna-be mantle that is really the top of our bookshelf, that is really supposed to be an entertainment center.  I'm totally not in love with this set up and I will probably arrange and rearrange it until it is time to put everything up.  I have a couple of ideas and it involves taking lots of things off and putting some white stars up there.  Along these lines:

and these:

from besthomeinteriordesign

We'll see....more project craziness. :)

 Yeah, there's a whole lotta no inspiration here....

 The top of the computer cabinet.  I'm completely underwhelmed.

This sits in the dining room next to the entryway to the kitchen.  Again, a whole lotta underwhelming inspiration going on here.

In addition to all the other paraphernalia going on in the above pics, I do have a wreath on my front door that I don't care for.  I would like to chuck it and do something like this:

theoriginalpopupshop

and/or this:

offthewallexpressions

sistersally's

I also like these for all the time:

grassrootsmodern

domesticfluff

CB2

I want to make this one only in the same way as the ornament ball wreaths above.  I want to get lots of clear and frosted balls in different sizes and make one and then I could just change out the ribbon I hang it with to go with whatever season all year long!

the nesting place (I really LOVE visiting this site! It pops up in the majority of my google searches.;)

Here's another one from the nesting place and I really love how large it is and how you just use paper....

Okay, I'm done.....end of tour...

For now....:)