Into the woods: a nursery design

Well here it is. I've finally managed to put together a post about the new nursery! I honestly think nurseries may be my favorite decorating project. I love to concept and plan, and then buy all the quirky little details. Here it is, the 'nursery' side of the room:

 And here's the 'guest' side of the room. I spent several weeks in this bed getting adjusted to a newborns sleep pattern. Again.

Our task was fairly simple this time. Being our second baby, I knew exactly what I needed/wanted and what I could live without. First on the agenda, move the crib in. This wasn't as easy as it sounded since I needed to transition little E into a big-girl bed. Once she figured out the kind of freedom that came with an open-sided sleeping area, we were done for. It was a challenge but after a week or two we were adjusted.

Next I wanted a good quality rocker. The one I had with E was awkward and uncomfortable, and the wooden arms proved a danger to a thrashing doesn't-want-to-sleep-no-way child. So cushy and cozy it was. I was willing to spend money on this. In fact, it's the most expensive piece of furniture in the whole room. Maybe the whole house?

Then came the dresser. I wanted something small and simple (and maybe in need of some work/creative genius), but the husband talked me into something larger and more convenient, something that would grow with the boy and his needs. To be honest, I love it. Lots of drawers and space on top. Perfect.

The rest of the details came in bits and pieces. Finding something at a store, like the silver deer head, or making a custom pillow cover to match my desired color scheme. Stitched arrows, wooden arrows and an antique camera from a flea market.

Other things happened accidentally, like finding an adorable (inexpensive) crib sheet at Target that matched the decor or the soft blue end table I thrifted for $10. My favorite thing might just be the antique skis my mother gave me. With a little painters tape and craft paint, I added a pop of orange to one, then mounted it to the wall and added hooks for keeping baby outfits handy.

 

 To be perfectly honest, I love how everything turned out in this room. I had gathered a lot more items to put in the room, but as I went, I came to a point where I decided I liked the calm simplicity. And I stopped. It was perfect. And perfect for my little man.

Flea markets and antique shops are great places to find unique decor. Think about using items in different ways, like how I turned a couple of old cheese boxes into small shelves simply by mounting them to the wall. If you have any questions about items I used please let me know! Enjoy!

This old foreclosed home: a coat of paint covers all sins

So maybe a coat of paint doesn't cover all the sins of ignoring exterior maintenance, but it sure helps. This poor house sat sad and alone for who knows how long, so it's safe to say the exterior was ignored. Since we finished 98% of the interior build/projects, this summer has been all about the outdoors. We've taken back control of the landscaping, laid a bunch of rocks and torn out a lot of weeds, but we still have finish work to do like leveling out areas and planting grass.

Our shed and barn need a majority of the work as well, and at this point we're still trying to decide if we keep and repair the old, or we knock it down and replace it with something we really want, that functions the way we need it to. Tough decisions like that usually get weighed on the budget scale...

Another glaring problem was all the ignored wood around the place. Our back stairs off the sunroom were about to be replaced until we decided to try a product called 'Deckover' by Behr. You can find it at Home Depot. It's like painting with cake batter. Thick and stinky, but it goes on well and fills in gaps and holes. Once we did that, it seemed like the steps were fine! They'll last a few more years anyway, until we've stopped hemorrhaging money and a couple hundred dollars to fix some steps doesn't seem like a big deal.

Since that worked so well, I decided the front porch could use a coat. Plus, it was a nice color that matched our brown trim{not my favorite, but oh well}, Dark Walnut. After a good wire brush scraping to remove built-up mold and peeling old paint, I shopvacced the area, removed all the leaves and went to work.

Here's a quick before and after comparison. I should have taken a few close-ups to show the worn out state of the place, but this will have to do. Trust me, after your porch/deck has been ignored for probably ten years, it's going to look sad. So now we have this updated and clean porch to walk onto every day! I love that the exterior white primer/paint combo I used for the railings really makes them pop. You didn't really notice there was a porch there before! Another side thing happened during the project that affected the look as well. Our oil tank leaked and we had to have it replaced. At that time we decided to move it across the basement like we wanted {if we're paying for it anyway!} and remove the ugly stinky pipes from the front sidewalk. They're now lovely and tucked away on the side of the house behind a bush. Not sure why they were in the walkway in the first place anyway! For now my potted mums are hiding the patch of concrete and the chopped pipes that we'll have to fix.

Another quick project I decided to tackle while I had all the supplies handy was painting the front porch columns. It wasn't that time-consuming, but I think it makes the whole mix of white and brown trim look a little more planned. Plus, they were worn as well and needed a little tlc before they became too bad to save. So just an hour or so and a few coats of white paint freshened everything up a bit. Now the sidewalk just needs a good powerwashing and we'll be ready for winter...

I'm hooked: a DIY hanging station

So you know all those beautiful knobs and drawer pulls that are all over the place now? I have a slight addiction. I pick them up all over the place and have a stash ready for when a project pops into my head. Like this one. A sweet little hanging station for behind the door.

This version is simple. All I did was cut a piece of pallet board down to the size I needed, and drilled three holes clear through, large enough for the hardware on my drawer pulls to fit through. The tricky part is drilling a hole large enough to fit the nut on the backside, but only halfway through the board. You want to be able to make your hardware completely flush with the back of the board so it hangs nice and smooth on the wall.

When I had all the pulls/knobs tight on the board, I took a metal saw blade on my Dremel and cut off the backs of the screws that were sticking out past my board. I didn't take pictures along the way, but I'm sure I'll be making more of these, so I'll try to remember to document the steps next time.

So after about 15 minutes, I had myself a custom hanging station for the guest room. Give it a shot, they're extremely easy. And I just hung mine up with a couple of drywall screws that you really can't see unless you're looking too close...

DIY personalized memo board tutorial

The other day I decided I wanted something less formal and more functional above our bed. Artwork that was a little more me. I happened to have a bunch of supplies around so I whipped up a quirky little memo board that I can use as art by itself, or to hang and showcase different prints or photos.

Supplies you'll need:
embroidery hoop
embroidery needle
embroidery floss
staple gun
fabric of your choice
stiff but then fusible interfacing
hammer
scissors
posterboard
canvas {I used a thrift store find, which was just large enough for my space and only cost me a few dollars.}

To get started, just cut your posterboard to the size of your canvas and stick it on with some glue or tape. It doesn't have to be extremely permanent since the fabric will be holding it all together eventually.

Now get started on your embroidery. I cut a paper heart out as a template and then traced it onto my fabric. I then freehanded the letters and numbers. Place your fusible interfacing on the back of the fabric {behind your art} and iron on, then put that whole area inside the embroidery hoop and pull tightly. Once everything is secure, you can start sewing the outlines with your floss/thread. I did a very simple stitch to keep it casual. {And I don't know how to do any fancy stitches anyway!}

 

 One you're finished with your embroidery, you can start stapling your fabric to the canvas. Start at one end and put a few staples in, one in the middle and one on each edge, then pull tight on the opposite side making sure your fabric is flat and straight, then staple tight on that side. Continue all around your edges until you have a nice taut piece of fabric on the front. Try to fold your corners in neatly and secure with staples.

 At this point, you're basically finished. You can hang that baby, throw some thumbtacks in it and marvel at your awesomeness. For me, I wanted to go a step further. I took some clothespins, added some wood stain and once they were dry I used e6000 glue to adhere some thumbtacks to them. I now have a completely personalized piece of decor for our master bedroom. And I love it. I hope this inspires you to make a custom piece for your room, office or kitchen! Cheers!

Craftilicious: The ever-evolving key holder, or how to make life complicated

I'll be the first to admit when something just doesn't work. Well, the second since my husband is usually the first to point it out... Sometimes my crafty images of grandeur, just end up flops. And that's okay, because I like that my decor and design is always evolving. I get bored if something stays the same for too long. So after just a couple of months of living with this:

This is the hot mess I had envisioned as an organized entry station for all our important necessities to land. I wanted it to do too much, and I didn't like how the fabrics didn't match. The pocket side bugged the heck out of me and it just looks so, so, messy. Ick.

I decided it was time to upgrade to this:

 

I found the piece at Marshall's in the clearance section. It was badly beat up, corners all torn up and the white paint was marked and marred. Honestly, I probably should have asked to pay less than the 15$ I did. Anyway, after getting it home, I promptly removed the hooks, patched the corners and painted on a lovely shade of blue, the color I just can't seem to walk away from. A spray painted coat of glossy sealer for extra protection and we're good to go. I'm very happy with the end result and even received kudos from the husband. And he's not one to shy away from telling it like it is.  

Craftilicious: Pillow pals

I made some pillows about a week or so ago. It's been a loooong dreary transition into spring and I just needed a little color pick-me-up. A girl can only take so much brown and tan and all shades in between. These pillow covers are perfect for the pop I wanted. I spent a nap time {maybe 2 hours?} and was able to get four covers completed! It's very exciting for me because the last time I was able to sew was....hmm...yeah, I can't remember.

The chevron print is my favorite, but don't stare at it too long or your eyes will go bonkers on you. I think it's my favorite simply because I put the most effort into it. Funny how that happens.

I'm pretty happy with them, so I think they'll stick around until at least fall. And bebe and lamby approve. And on a side note, I think the chevron is her favorite too...

Organization ADD: The kitchen

It might look like a big hot mess with all these up-close photos, but I promise you my kitchen is organized. For the most part. There are drawers that are somehow overflowing with items, when just a year ago they were comfortably full. But I won't show you those... Instead, here are some of the more tidy areas.

Bowl and plate storage, and vintage Pyrex on display:

Stacking storage for cutting boards and muffin tins along with the pots and pans pull-out pantry which also hides the grocery list chalkboard:

The island storage that is constantly changing with the bebe's whims. Currently it's housing all my linens and plastic-ware for bebe-friendly play:

And this is our coffee/tea station, the newly organized spice drawer and my decorative platter storage {using a pot lid rack from IKEA}:

A couple of air-tight containers for the counter, and our family dry-erase meal planning board on the side of the refrigerator:

And here's my ingenious idea of using a magazine holder for roll storage, along with one of our less 'neat' drawers chuck full of silverware and chip clips:

Don't be afraid to use baskets in your kitchen cupboards to keep things concealed that you don't use often. Or use them to keep loose items in drawers from rolling around. We have a couple in a drawer to keep snack bars and bebe snacks at bay. And think outside the box for storage ideas. If you create multiple uses for one thing, than you won't feel bad about your purchase and you can just keep moving it around the house if you get bored like I do. I tend to reorganize everything every few months.