Projects here and there

So I decided to take a little break and spend some time with my family.  It sure has been nice and  we have had some fun.

 But it is about time for school to start here (in 2 weeks) so I better get in gear and start posting again.  I mean can I really expect the kids to get back in to school/homework mode if I myself can not get back into blogging?  So here I am back from a fun summer break.  :O)

I thought I would show you all some fun little (and I mean little) projects that I have been doing over the summer.

  I had painted the inside of the front door black last fall.  I love it.  But it needed something.  I had  leftover ruffles from another project and thought they would work great to make a rag wreath.

 Next, I changed out the blue Christmas ornaments that were in the cloche I made a couple years ago.

 I had gotten these green moss rocks quite a while ago so this was a no cost change-a-roo.

 If you have never gotten on Groopdealz than you are missing out.  Check out the fun personalized kitchen rules subway art I got.  It was an awesome deal.  I LOVE IT!!!  It has even helped the kids table manners.  Maybe the kids can learn to be civil at the table.  Ha ha ha.

 It is hanging in my dinning area.  I also FINALLY made the curtains for the window in the dinning area.  They match the living room curtains.  I know why did I have them match?  Because I loved the fabric.  I was thinking of doing different curtains in the dinning area but did not want to spend any more $$$$$ so I had to use the same fabric as the living room.  That is alright cuz I still like them.  Just gives it a little more of a finishing touch in there.  See...

 I had decorated the tops of my cupboards last fall and never showed you all.  I know shame on me.  I had these miss match baskets and some fake grass ( from my neighbor who worked/worked for Albertson's warehouse here in Utah) and he had all of this fake grass that he was getting rid of.  I guess they had an over abundance and was going to throw it all away and he saved it.  Then I got some.  Wish I would have gotten lots more.  Anyways,  I spray painted the baskets black to make them match and put the grass in them.  The memories sign I got from an antique store that was going out of business.  And wouldn't you know it,  the lady that owed the store and I had met via our blogs a year earlier and did not know we lived in the same town.  CRAZY I tell ya.

 I don't know?  I am wondering if I should paint the memories sign.  The finish on it right now is like galvanized metal.  What do you think?  Come on give me your input.

Another part of the cabinets is small so I needed something to fill it up with out it looking cramped.  I made the "B" blocks back when we were living in Michigan.  The egg basket I got from the Goodwill there too.  More of the grass and some fake fruit.

 Here is a better picture of the "B" blocks.

 Just another view of the top of the long cabinets.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you have/had a wonderful summer like we did.  As always have a great week.  :O)

4th of July Decor

I figured it was time to show you all some of my 4th of July decor.  This happens to be from my living room.  If you follow me on Twitter than you might remember a little shopping trip I took with my daughter to some of my favorite stores (Ikea and Tia Pan Trading Co.)  These are some of the goodies that made it home with me.

 The medallions I made for a Cub Scout Pack Night.  I loved them so much I new they needed to find a home front and center.  And what better place than on the living room table.

 Speaking of the table...  Do you all remember me buying it like 2 years ago on a late night walk with my bestie?  I snagged it for $8.  I sanded it and painted it white with leftover paint.  I knew it needed something extra so I pulled out the painters tape and some more leftover yellow paint (used on my family room several years ago).  I instantly loved the stripes.  The hubs not so much.  In fact he said he hated them.  So it sat in my living room waiting for a make over.  Funny thing is.  Come New Years the hubs said he liked the stripes and I was so over them.  LOL  Well it sat there forever.  Now I am liking the stripes again.

 Doesn't the legs of the table remind you of an elephants tusk?

I do love how curvy they are though.

Well have a great summer!  I know we are.....  :O)

Hall Cabinet Redo

Wow has it been over a month since my last post?  I had such high hopes for myself this year.  I better get my butt in gear and start making weekly postings.  I do have a lot of projects I have been working on that need to be posted about.  So lets start with the hall cabinet.

 Now if you have been following my blog for long you have seen this cabinet several times.  Back when I did the Board and Batten post I showed you a glimpse of it I think. But I know you saw it with my book page wreath already made over.  Sorry this next picture is from my old camera so it is really bad quality AND I never turned the picture so it is sideways.  Oops...  But you can still see what it looked like before the makeover.

Here is an up close shot of it right before I started to prime it.  I am not sure if you can see it as a video.  Did not mean for it to be a video.

I used the same paint for this cabinet as I did for our master bedroom makeover.  I love that color.

It is so nice and pretty sitting at the end of the hall now.  I love to look at it.  It goes real nice  with my book page wreath.

                                                           Up close and personal.

I also put new knobs on it.  I was given 2 glass knobs from my mother that she had purchased from Hobby Lobby and never used.  Score!  I ended up having to buy 2 more matching knobs for this cabinet.  I of course used a 40% off coupon.  So my total cost for this cabinet makeover was............. $5.00!  I LOVE THAT....

                                         I just love how the details pop on this cabinet now.

Thanks for stopping by.  I sure do hope I can get my rear in gear and get to posting every week.  Thank you for being so patient with me.  You all are the best.  As always, have a great one!   :O)

Linking to the following patries:

HouseofHepworths

Firefliesandjellybeans

Somewhatsimple

ThriftyDecorating

Savvysouthernstyle

Alittletipsy

Domesticallyspeaking

Thethriftyhome

Oopseydaisy

Athomewithk

Notjustahousewife

EmbracingChange

Favorite Projects of 2011

After going through this years posts, it seems like I did not get very many projects done.  When in reality I have gotten quite a few more done than I have posted about.  I better get on that.  *New  goal for 2012:  Be a better and more frequent blogger!   So here are my favorite projects this year  (and in no particular order)....

 

1. Board and Batten in the living room.  You can read about it here, here, and here.

2.  Shelving for our food storage.

3.  New flower garden for next year (2012).

4. Book page wreath.

5.  My Halloween table scape.

6.  Room redo on a very tight budget.

7.  Our ADULT Christmas tree.              

Hope your have had a wonderful 2011 and here's to making 2012 the BEST ever! 

Living Room update...

                                       I have been working hard the last couple days and this is the result of my hard labor...  Sorry the pics are not great...  My camera broke and I needed a replacement quickly.  I will have to wait on getting the camera I really want a bit longer..  :O(

 This is what my living room looked like awhile back.  It was kind of a Tuscan feel.  And I loved it.  The color on the walls was from Walmart called Riverroad by Kilz.  It matched some of the thread that was in the pillows on my couch and loveseat.  But here is the Living room now.  Same corner/ front door pic.

 I am planning on painting the door.  The front/out side  of the door is black and so will the inside of the door be black too.  Very soon.  Ignore the wing back chair..  Still need to get that slipcover done.

 Now everything is not in its rightful place...  I was just so tired  of everything in the middle of the room.  So I moved it all around for now..  You can see in this pic the way we framed the window.  It helped so much with the board and batten.

 Again, ignore the other wing back chair... And all my paint supplies on the table..

 And yes, that is my china cabinet still floating in the middle of the room. I want to paint it and move it to a different spot so there it sits...  For now...

 I am planning something new for this wall that used to house the china cabinet.

Here is how we had the board and batten meet the floor.  Again, so sorry for the horrible pics...  Yuck!!
But I do like the way the b&b meets the new hard wood floor.  It looks so pretty in real life...  I better get that new camera soon so I will enjoy my pictures better..  Or figure out what is going on with this little camera first..  I like the first choice better..  :O)  Now to see if the hubs will agree..  Probably not..  :O)

It is now time to go couch shopping...  I know what I want but it is always a struggle to get the hubs on board.  But, when I get my way he always likes it in the end..  :O)  Yeah me!!

Hope you all have a great week...  Hope you weather is nicer than ours..  Saturday was 74 degrees and then we woke up to 6 inches of snow on Sunday...  It has been cold ever since...  Not liking it at all...  :O(

It's "PRIME" time...

When I last left you, this is what my living room looked like.  Well, not any more...

So I got ALL the nail holes filled with wood putty...  Then the room sat for a couple days as my oldest left his Geometry report and Science Fair project for the last minute..  So needless to say that is what I have been helping with.  They are all turned in so back to business...  Yesterday, I sanded all the nail holes smooth then wiped the boards down then cleaned my floors of all dust...  THEN I painted the upper part of the walls in Glidden Autumn Haze (thanks Shelley from House of Smiths).  It is very neutral..  I am in L.O.V.E with it..

 Today, I primed the Board and Batten......

 Looking good....

Oops...  Need to get to the side of those boards asap...  I can not wait until it is done...  This is really changing the look of our house...  You see, EVERYONE in my neighborhood has the same house..  The only difference between mine and everyone else is mine is a couple hundred square feet larger..  But that is it...  So I am doing my best to make mine way different.  And I think it is working...  :O)

As always, have a great week...  :O)

Room redo on a VERY tight budget!!!

Since moving back to Utah from Michigan and into our old house I have been trying to update it on a very tight budget... VERY TIGHT mind you....Last October (during General Conference, yes I watched every session) started my painting craze... I started with the master bedroom makeover and to date have spent around $150. Not bad.. That even included new bedding.. :O)

Next up was my daughters room... I painted it this periwinkle while I was preggers with her. It matched her bedding and was exactly what I wanted then.. Well not any more... Sorry picture taken after I started to prime the walls.. I had the primer in my stash!! Yeah! So cost was $0...

It's a little bright and in your face...

So I decided to check out my paint stash and see what I had.. I did not want to spend any money on it.. I know lame... But I did find my 5 gallon bucket of Glidden Sand White paint. Love this paint. It looks different with the way the light hits it.. Sometimes it is grey and others it is a light tan. I used it for the bathrooms and the downstairs bedroom and my craft room and the hallway down stairs.. LOVE IT!! Now that was also like 3-4 years ago.. So to say the least there was not much left in the bucket... It had just enough to do her room.. :O)

This is my start at organizing her closet.. More on that later..

Doesn't that look so much calmer? I love the contrast against the new hardwood floors. Just need to put up the base boards.... STILL.... Hopefully that will be soon...

The transition is so much smoother now.. :O) To date I have only spent about $12 on her room make over.. I even found new curtains at a steal of a deal. Need to put those up now...

I have not decided if I will leave her bed in this nook. But for now it stays.. Don't you just love the denim quilt? My mom made it for her 5Th birthday... She is so wonderful... Thanks mom!! :O)

I still have some things to do in this room. It is just taking me longer than planned..

Now, way back when (last fall to be precise) I mentioned I had found the most exciting treasure at the DI... I know exactly what I want to do with it.. Just need to work up the courage to get it done... But here is a little look at the so called treasure...

Aren't you just in love with it? I knew I had to have it... I was standing in line to pay and saw it in a cart at the checkout and just kept eye -balling it. So when I got up close enough I mention how cute it was and the cashier said the customer changed her mind and it was going back on the shelf unless I wanted it... DING DING DING!!! No price tag so I asked how much and the cashier said $3. YES!!! It was mine!!! Do you blame me?


Do you have any guess as to what I am planning on doing with it? Let me know what your guess is....

As always have a great day!! :O)

Christmas tour day 2!

Well, here is day two of the tour... I know I said I would post this the other day but well, life just gets in the way... Like having your wisdom teeth out... OUCH!! Yes, that would be me!! Not something I really wanted to do at my age (I am only in my thirties so I am still VERY young!). Still it had to be done since one came in and it started to lock my jaw every now and then... Not fun!! Anyhow, Lets get back to the tour... Today we will be visiting my dining area... I think it just might be one of my favorites this year... :O)

So on with the tour..... Here it is all finished and purty!!! :O)

I am trying to have the blue on the frame blend in with every holiday.. I hope it works.. I like it..

Christmas bulbs= Walmart $1/package of 4, ribbon= FREE from my stash... I like it... :O)

Here is the table scape up close and personal.... I added the silver glitter to the mat... I wanted it to transition into the silver and faux mercury glass candle sticks.

I panted the candle sticks silver and also did the faux mercury glass ones with some candle sticks I got back in the day (aka my wedding)... I think they turned out nice...

The subway art I got from a blog that the name is escaping me right now... But she is fab and is always making free downloads for her subway art for each of the holidays... When I can remember her blog name I will let you know so you too could enjoy the fruits of her labor... :O)

Again, here it is almost done but needed a little something... But what could it be?

AAH, more bling!! I added the Merry Christmas ornament to the greenery in the pitcher.. That does it!! :O) Me likey!!

I sprayed painted the pitcher white (it used to be yellow) and added the greenery and berries which is from Hobby Lobby and was 50 % off thank you very much!! And the table runner is the one I used for Autumn that had leaves stenciled on it.. I just turned it over to the solid side... CLEAVER if I do say so myself....

I love how it all works together....

I hope you are enjoying the Christmas tour thus far... Make sure you come back to see the rest of the tour....

Until then ladies... Have a great one!! :O)