Craft Binge

I have been on a craft binge these last three days, and I blame Pinterest.  All these projects were inspired one way or a another by a Pin.  Two nights ago I was laying in bed with my Iphone browsing when suddenly I thought, I am going to paint something with chalkboard paint right now!  I went down to my storage and came up with this little Fourth of July citronella candle.

Now this bucket can still be used for Fourth of July, but it is versatile enough to use for all seasons.

Pinterest Inspiration...

 Cheap Christmas Decor

 The letters were $2 each and the wreath was $3.  The garland was $5 all at Hobby Lobby.

Pinterest Inspiration...

Next Up, Chunky Scarf

I got the skirt below at a thrift store a few months ago.  My intention was to shorten it and wear it with leggings and boots. 

Then I was inspired by these pins...

So I cut the bottom of the skirt off and and opened up one side seam to get a long rectangle.  Then I played with it and added some buckles from some old boots.  The boots were completely worn out and a threw them away last spring.  As I threw them into the trash, I thought those buckles might come in handy.  

Playing With Sharpies on Burlap

So excited to make some pillows with burlap and Stained fabric sharpies.  This was me playing around.

Pinterest Inspiration...

Crocheted Basket

I can't believe how quickly this basket is coming together.  It is all single crochet stitches done with a very thick hemp and a huge crochet hook.  After seeing crocheted baskets on Pinterest I have been looking for the right yarn or rope.  I couldn't believe it when I was over and a friends, and she offered me this.  I think it is some kind of hemp, but not really sure.

Pinterest Inspiration...

Christmas Cards 

My 4 year old did the one below.

Pinterest Inpiration...

Check out My Pinterest to see all these pins and more.

Sophia's Room is Done...again

It has been several months since I embarked revamping Sophia's room from her former nursery.  It was sweet before, but I wanted more color.  I made a new valance and roman shade, a quilt, pillows, and I replaced the closet doors with a curtain to match the valance.

Please ignore the wall decals to the left.  I have already informed Grandma that we don't want those for Christmas ever again.  There is just no way for them to look nice.

I made two 20x20" pillows with a vintage hankkerchief sewn onto the middle.

I added some crochet edging from thrift store pillowcase.

This room is teeny-tiny and just doesn't have room for two closet doors to take up square footage, so I replaced them with a simple curtain.  I put Sophia's doll house under her hanging dresses in the closet so she can still access them to play.  

Click here to see my Pinterest inspiration for this room.  

Many of the inspiration rooms had lots on the walls with a collage feel.  When I tried that it just felt busy.  Maybe my style is a little more simple/uncluttered?

Bathroom Remodel with Antique Buffet

Five Months!...but so worth it.  We started this bathroom remodel the first weekend in February.  As we were tearing up the floor we still hadn't made the decision about weather we were going to keep the old vanity or not.  It would not fit out the door, so we tore it into pieces and left it on the curb.  Never did I imagine it would take us two months to find a replacement that I could love and another two months to paint and do the plumbing!  And that's not even going into the five days with no toilet during tiling.  We only have one bathroom.  But just like labor, now that it is over, all is forgotten.  And I have my beautiful bathroom.

Before

Above is the original bathroom when we moved in seven years ago.  At the time we didn't have enough money to do more than remove the wallpaper and replace the light fixture.  Below is the bathroom as we have live with it the last seven years.  

What bothered me most about the bathroom was the old layers of wallpaper still visible behind the trim, not to mention the rusty metal vent and lovely vinyl flour.  

The Buffet

This is the buffet as we found it at an antique mall back in April.  I can now say I have been to every antique mall in the metro area, and I spent a lot of time on Craigslist, but I finally found this buffet that matched the measurements to fit the countertop.  We paid $220.  I felt that it needed to be stripped down in order to distress it and not have all those clown colors show through.  Stripping all those grooves took me over a month!  Then I spray painted it white.  Next I sanded all the edges so the details would stand out.  Followed by a brown glaze to soften the stark white and fill in the grooves.  And finally, I gave it a coat of polyacrylic to protect it from water.  Then it was time to hand it over to my husband to cut out the insides and do all the plumbing.  The last touch, lining the shelves and drawer bottom with wallpaper.  After five months of washing our hands and brushing teeth in the kitchen, we got our bathroom sink back the last week in June.

 After

We used a 20" square travertine tile.  We actually kept the counter top because it was in the right color tones and was the perfect size for the space.  We also kept the white ceramic tile in the shower because it is in good shape and it matched the trim.  We painted all the trim and doors white, and completely replaced the baseboards.  The wall color is Comfort Gray from Sherwinn Williams.

Just when you think you are done, you realize you have forgotten something.  I figured it would be no problem to find a mirror to replace the old one.  I liked to idea of two smaller mirrors instead of one large.  I couldn't find them in the distressed white I wanted.  These are actually black plastic.  I used the same paint as on the buffet to finish them.  Primer, white spray paint, brown glaze.      

Peas Please

It is amazing how kids will eat things straight out of the garden that they would never touch from a store!  All three of my kids love to open up pea pods and gulp them down, although only one of them will eat them normally.  My youngest eats all of my cherry tomatoes before they ever get in the door.  She also eats basil, cilantro, oregano, and mint right out of the garden.  Just one or two leaves of each whenever we are out there watering, but I am convinced she going to have a very mature pallet as she grows older. We shall see.

If my kids look a little sleepy it is because we were out there before 7 am trying to beat the heat.