Christmas 2011

Every year I like to post pictures of our home all Christmas"ed" out.  Unfortunately this year I wasn't able to go all out because we had to replace our floors due to a water leak.  In fact we are still installing the baseboards but at least our flooring is in and it's quite beautiful. 

We hardly have any snow this year.  Just enough to dust the trees until it melts (but I'm not complaining at all).  So here is the front of the house as you enter our main front door.  I'll avoid any snowless brown grass photos for you.  My mother in law and I made this garland many years ago and it's held up so well.  I strung lights on it this year and put it around our planter box.

The snowmen wreath is a University of Arizona wreath which my husband loves to display.  If he had it his way our whole home would be decorated in Arizona Wildcats stuff.

So come on in...

(I made this rag wreath with scraps from a quilt I made the first year we lived in North Dakota.)

The entrance is simple but I love it.  My son made the green wreath on the left.  I'm all about homemade decorations.

And continuing on to our dining area.  On the left we have our Christmas cards on display.

If you sent us a card, then it's on display here.

We love Christmas cards!

I love this little snowman.  He makes an appearance every Christmas.

And into the living room where the stockings are hanging above the tv (since I didn't finish my stocking holder I started this year, shocking...I know).  I don't know why this picture came out crooked.  I'm thinking I was trying to avoid a dog or child from being in the photo. 

They love to sneak in my pictures.

(we watch Elmo daily)

And last but certainly not least...our tree.

It looked so much nicer a few weeks back when I first put it up.  The kids decorated it and did a great job BUT over time my darling 2 year old daughter has added and removed so many ornaments that it's looking a little sad these days.  But at least it's still standing.  I was certain that it was gonna get knocked over a few times.  lol

Well, that's it for us.  I've actually enjoyed keeping the decor simple this year.  Have a

Merry Christmas!

a shared room

When we found out we were having a baby boy we had some serious thinking to do over the bedroom situation in our home.  We have an extra bedroom BUT it's on the opposite side of the house and I like my kids all sleeping near my room at night in case of an emergency or something.  Yeah, I'm kinda crazy like that.  And the extra room is about half the size of my kids' current rooms so we would be downsizing furniture and more.  Oh, and did I mention that my kids when babies, rarely sleep in their own bed.  My toddler is still snuggling with me at night. 

So it was an easy peasy decision to keep all kids on one side of the house and make two kids share a room.  I figured that since my 7 year old son is the only kid who actually sleeps in his room and sleeps through the night (not to mention he has school and doesn't need to be woken up by a baby at night), that he would keep his room to himself.  He was kinda bummed though.  He wanted to share with the baby.

This is the only photo I can find of my daughter's room before we started turning it into a boy/girl shared room.

We painted the pink room a neutral green and pulled the crib none of my kids have ever actually slept in back out of storage and set it up. 

I made a few little decorations and a simple mobile to go over his crib.  I kept it simple. 

 I may add a pillow or another pop of color though.

The baby boy has the left side of the room and my daughter has the right side.  Behind his crib is a little toy/ cubby nook where each kid has a few shelves and toy bins.

I bought a super plush crib sheet hoping it may help the baby love napping in his crib.  You can buy one here.

I attempted t o get a good picture of my daughter's side of the room but the kids were having so much fun playing that I didn't want to shoo them out of the room.  As you can see it's still a work in progress (like much of my home life).  I need to figure out window treatment and some wall art still.

My kids love playing with the baby's car seat, swing, and well all his gear.

I know I am a bit biased but they are the cutest kids in the world.

making the old new again

I was looking for a rocker/glider type chair to use for the new baby but didn't want to spend $200 and up on it.  After asking around (gotta love facebook) I had a good friend offer up this rocker/glider chair that she no longer had the use or space for.  So it was completely free to me.  It works great and is pretty solid but I wasn't crazy about the fabric cushions and considered painting the wood.

I decided to save myself a whole lotta headache and leave the wood alone. Instead I would sew new cushion covers for the chair.  I was looking for a soft yet durable home decorator's fabric at a fantastic price (in fear that I would mess up and waste a ton of money onthe fabric).  So I went to Jo Ann's and just so happen to find the last 2 yards of the perfect clearance fabric that was an additional 50% off.  I paid $6 for the fabric.  Fantastic, right?

Here is the chair now. 

I should have taken photos of the process but I was kinda figuring it out as I went and doing it all with a toddler in my way.  I basically covered the old cushions tightly with the new fabric inside out.  I then pinned it, sewed it, and turned the fabric right side out and sewed the back or bottom seams.  I tried to follow the layout of the old cushions but also make it more modern by skipping the buttons and trim on the new cushions.  I think it turned out better than expected.  And the ruffled pillow (from Pier 1) helps add a little pizazz as well.  Not bad for $6, right?

i heart valentines

After taking down all the Christmas decor it was nice to have some empty spaces.  It seems like Christmas takes over the whole house and after a month I'm ready to take it down. 

And only a short week or two later I'm itching to start decorating for the next holiday. 

Valentine's Day. 

I didn't have many V-day decorations so I decided to make some this year.

I decoupaged this $1 frame from Michael's with some scrap book paper my sister picked out while we shopped the Archiver's Scrapbook store in the Mall of America a couple weeks ago.  I love it.  The total cost for this cute frame was less than $2.

Next I just added a red doily to the center frame which brings a nice hint of color to this wall.  Never mind the tiny white spot under the shelf.  We puttied it and need to paint it.

I even decided to pull out the sewing machine (as if it's ever away) and sew up some cute dish towels to hang in my kitchen. 

I used this free pattern to make myself a ruffled apron with some v-day cotton I picked up a year or two ago.

And since it's still FREEZING out here in North Dakota we keep our fleece Valentine's Day blanket my mother in law made us a while back on the couch.  I snuggle with it daily.

  This side table is one of the first things you see when you walk in my front door.  I used my pottery barn vases I showed you how to make here and filled them with conversation heart candy and some pink filler I bought on sale last year.  I also added some heart stringed confetti to fill my lamp.  I love this lamp.

Last but certainly not least I added a few hearts and v-day cards to this open frame.  It's looking a little sad now but I'll add a cute card or two to it soon.

 Well, that's it for now. If you're wondering how our bathroom remodel is going we've got the new bath tub installed now. That cast iron tub was so hard to remove. My husband beat it with a sledge hammer for a good hour.

Look at this monster.

As soon as we get a chance to get into town to buy some supplies we are gonna rip out the vanity and built in cabinets and my husband will be putting in the new tile.   Here's the latest picture with our new tub.  The outside still needs to be drywalled.

moodboard

I love moodboards.  It's great to see a collection of items all together to give you an idea of what your final room will look like.  So I attempted to make one for our guest bathroom that we are remodeling in the coming months.

I won the bath sign from House of Smith's.

We went with natural colors.  It's easy to add pops of color with accessories that way.  I can change things up easily.

The stencil on the left is just to give you an idea of the design.  I may or may not stencil on the walls above the beadboard.  I'm still unsure if the stencil will make the room look too busy so we'll decide on that once everything is in.

Here's another look with a similar stencil.

We've bought just about everything.  The only items left to buy aside from building materials are the mirror and a few other items.  We will be framing a mirror ourselves so it'll look like this:

I also need to buy some shelving and artwork to add some color.  Here are a couple of things that caugt my eye so far.  All courtesy of Pier 1.

This one is definitely a favorite and will most likely be coming home with me.

 Oh, and I also need a shower curtain. I'm leaning towards making my own or going with a classic white waffle curtain like this one.  I like the simplicity of it and that it comes in an extra long length so that I can hang it higher.

Well, that's all I have for now but it's definitely a start, right?

silhouettes

As you probably know by now I am a fan of all things handmade and my children most of the time. So of course when I saw this idea a while back I had to try it. I don't remember where I got the idea as it was years ago.

Nevermind the leaves I added to the middle frame. It has all of our names on that frame and I like to keep some things private.

These silhouettes also make great gifts for family members.

Oh, and yes these photos were taken around Halloween.

  Here's what you'll need.

1. a camera
2. white cardstock
3. black acrylic paint
4. a sponge or paint brush
5. scissors
6. printer
7. frame (5x7 or larger)
8. scrapbook paper is optional to use as a background

Ok here are your directions...

1. take a side profile photo of your child.  Having the background a solid light color (like a white wall) will help and upload it to your computer
2. open your photo in microsoft word and resize it so that your child's head fits in a 5 in by 7 in. frame
3. print your picture onto white cardstock
4. now the hard part...cut out your child's head.  Be sure to keep the cute curls and small details
5. paint your child's head (the cut out of course) black.  It will take a few coats.  I like to paint on a paper plate.
6. Once dry...frame your picture OR you can scan it and make make several copies for family.  I would suggest an oval 5x7 frame or a matted 8x10 but it all depends on how big you print your child's silhouette.

I used this fantastic scrapbook paper as a background for my silhouettes.

pottery barn vase on a dollar store budget

I love Pottery Barn as much as the next gal but if I can make a similar product they carry for 90% less, I'm gonna do it. 

I love filling vases with leaves, acorns, ornaments, and well, just about anything really.

These vases from Pottery Barn linked HERE retail for $39-$59 each plus shipping.  I found another way of making them for about $3 a piece.

Here's how I did it.

1. Go to the dollar store or thrift shop and pick up a glass vase (cups work too) and a glass candle stick
2. Next go to the craft store (or Wal-Mart) and pick up glass and China glue
3. Make sure bottom of glass vase/cup is clean and dry (follow your glue's directions for best results)
4. Apply glue to candle stick top (I probably use more than really needed)
5. Apply pressure and push the vase/cup to the top of the candle stick
6. let dry
7. fill your new vase with whatever you want

This vase and candle stick was purchased at the Dollar Tree for $2 total.



My smaller vase was a glass cup and candle stick purchased at my local thrift shop for $1.50 total.

Of course my photos aren't as great as Pottery Barn's but once I get these babies filled with some goodies and displayed, you'd never know that they cost me a few bucks.  Oh, and here is another great idea for filler this holiday season.

broken

It looks like the memory card reader on my brand spanking new computer has broken.  Ugh!  So I haven't been able to upload any new photos.  I ordered a external replacement (cheap fix) until I can part with my tower to get it fixed. 

While trying to get my card reader working I came across some old photos I saved on our laptop.  I made a folder on the computer just for decorated rooms I love and craft inspirations.  When ever I get in a funk I like to look through this folder for ideas and motivation. 

I didn't save where I got these ideas so I don't know who to credit for the genius ideas I'm sharing.

I LOVE the colors in this room.  What a fun playroom, right?  You could make the alphabet prints using stretched canvas from Michaels and some scrapbook paper.

Another great kids' room.  I love the colors and all the small details.  I imagine if I had two girls they'd have a room like this.

I love the color combo used in this nursery and the pretty little flowers on the wall.  I've seen these flowers used a lot lately and I'm tempted to buy some or better yet...make my own.

Moving on to my favorite part of the house...the kitchen.  It's not often that I like EVERYTHING about one single room but this is one of those rare moments that I LOVE it all.  It's so bright and airy.  If my husband wouldn't kill me I'd repaint the kitchen and make myself a new curtain asap.

I often get teased for wanting to repaint rooms a few times.

 Another great kitchen....

My workspace/office/craftroom looks nothing like this room but I really wish it did.

So there are just a few of my favorite inspiration rooms.  Hopefully my external card reader will be delivered soon so I can start showing you some of my recent projects.

inspired

One of the things I love most about blogging is reading other blogs.  There are so many talented people out there with so many great ideas.  Most of the decorating or creafts come from other blogger's ideas. 

I often put my own spin on things.

So when I saw the butterfly wall art project on {the csi project} I was inspired and even better...knew the perfect place for something similar. 

This crafty {blogger} made this. 

Click on the link to see how she did it. 

I bought an old wood frame with a hideous deer print in it at my local thrift store for $2.00 and held on to it until I found the perfect project to use it for in my daughter's room. 

One of her walls has been a little bare for too long.

So with my trusty can of spray paint, some old catalogs, and my new Marth Stewart Butterfly punch that I used my coupon to buy of course I made my own version of the butterfly art.

Now the wall has some more color! 

Hope you had a great 4th of July!!

easy peasy headboard

I'm finally getting back to blogging and have my programs download on my new computer.  I bet you thought I was never gonna post again.

My son's monster room was the first room painted in our home once we moved in.  This was his first time sleeping in his own room (couldn't get the kid out of my bed but I secretly didn't mind all that much) so we wanted it to be something fun and exciting for him to sleep in.  He chose a monster theme with colors that I LOVE.  It's easy to chnage the comforter when he's done with Monsters and still keep the walls and decor the same which was a must. I've shared pictures before here.

Although it was the 1st room painted it still isn't finished like every other room in our home.  We needed shelves, a headboard, and to paint the wood trim white.  Well, all but the wood trim has been done and the latest of these projects is the headboard my husband built. 

I saw some headboard ideas in a magazine and drew up my own version of what I thought would work in my son's room.    I went and had the wood cut at Lowe's and shared my vision with my husband 3 times  so he could build it for me. My husband is so great about helping me build my visions and all my projects I throw at him.  He's cool like that. 

Here's my drawing.  We used 1x8's for it and just cut them to fit his full size bed.  I wanta say 54in. wide but it's been a couple of weeks and I still have my mommy brain (hoping to use that excuse for at least another 4 months).  Our cost was under $20.

We chose orange to match his stripes on the opposite wall.

His room is really coming together nicely and it's a fun room which is important to us.  I love decorating but more importantly I want my home to be a place we want to live in.  My mom had a room when we were growing up that we avoided at all cost and I swear she would know if we even walked through that room.  I never want to have one of those rooms.

I'm linking to:

 My Backyard Eden

Fingerprints on the Fridge

It's fun to Craft