Lamp Update

I have lots to share.  Just bare with me as I slowly post.  I am in the home stretch of third trimester and the stretch is a little too long.  I definitely have been taking pictures and completing small projects here and there;  getting them to the computer is another story.  Just like the laundry is getting done, but getting it up the stairs and put away sounds dreadful.  So when a spurt of energy graces me, I try to focus it on the girls or housework.

Oh, yes, I have a subject, my lamp, or lamp shade rather. Again, I am going to reference the fact that this is a temporary space for us.  I am trying to reuse and rethink creatively for the nursery until she has a more permanent room at least.  You know, so much of the layout of the room and lighting dictates how you envision the design.  I thought a small spunky investment would add a little personality to this little room.

First polka dot fabric...

 I am going for occasional splashes of bold and bright with neutral in this little white room.

 Existing lamp shade.  Cut strips from polka dot fabric.

 Knot and adhere for a little extra security.
You could do this with any fabric and even make it smooth and fitted.

 Finish the end with pom pom ribbon and hot glue.

Oh, hey now, don't look at the background in this room.  It has recently been a catch all/storage room.  It is a work in progress.  Isn't the lamp cute, though?

Jewelry Project

I was inspired and decided to take on my first jewelry project.  I ordered most of the supplies and then headed to Michael's for some scrapbook paper.

 Like my Holiday snacking?  Keeps the mind sharp, right?

See where I am going with this?

So fun!  

Here is a finished result.  This one, I made for myself.  I may have made some earrings too.  

I can't show them all, though...these may be Christmas presents. Also considering putting some of these in the shop I would like to do (after the Holidays).  Would you buy them?

And...just because she was watching me and asking questions...

Yes, we can not, will not, go through the day without some sort of dress up clothing.  

Martha's Home Latte

I love Lattes.  I love the foam on top.  Unfortunately it can be expensive and inconvenient to frequent the coffee shops all the time.  I happen to catch Martha a month or so ago sharing her tips on making the perfect Latte at home if you do NOT have an espresso machine or a fancy milk frother.  It works for me!

First, pour your milk in a microwaveable container with a lid.  

I used an old salsa jar, we try to not to microwave in plastics.

Then you shake, shake, shake, so you get bubbles, bubbles, bubbles.

Then, take lid off and microwave for 45 seconds.

Pour into your espresso, coffee or in my case Chai tea.

Ahhh...Latte at home with airy milk done cheap.

A Fresh Take

We were given this bookshelf a few years ago.  While it fit in our spare bedroom in our old house, it doesn't in our new house.  Ben has a thing with wood semi-matching or complimenting each other in the same room.  So, to take advantage of some additional storage, I decided to give it a fresh take with some paint.

 Some white paint and then painter's tape to mark off a design.

 And then some brown paint.

 Aaahh...love it.

 Oh, and some new hardware.  I love that 50% sale at the Lobby.   I wanted to stay true to the lines of the bookcase so went with a vintage glass look.

 Hmmmm. Do you see that? I had a little help from a 17 month old.  The girls are ONLY allowed to use washable crayons, paint, markers, etc, etc, etc. However, Mommy has her own stash of markers that are not so washable.  Good thing baby girl only decided to decorate this door that can easily be painted.....again.

Crafty Christmas

After six years of setting up Christmas, Ben and I have accumulated quite a lot of decorations.  I certainly have my favorites and also try to mix it up every year. This year, I wanted to get a little crafty.  I have not done this previously and have had a couple things in mind the last couple of years.  So, I got the supplies out.

The Branch-Twig Tree
I have wanted to do this for a couple of years.  It was so easy, I am not sure why I didn't.  My dad gathered (or maybe cut down) a nice branch for me that I then spray painted a warm white.  You could leave it natural too.  I glittered some of it, then stuck it in a $2 pot (which I also spray painted, sanded and glittered).  Then I added some 50 cent and $1 ornaments.

I am trying to keep the dining room neutral with golds, silvers and whites.  I added a book theme (you'll see) so I put this potted tree on a couple of books borrowed from the spare bedroom.

The Pottery Barn Book Wreath
OH MAN.  I saw this in their catalog last year and have wanted to make it sooooo bad.  It wasn't for sale, it was just a prop in one of their bedrooms.  I found a great tutorial here.  It was so easy, I made two.  I love it so much, I may find somewhere to keep them all year.

 Supplies gathered, a pizza box, a 50 cent book from Goodwill and some liquid fuel...oh and a glue gun.

 A colorful treat always helps the creative juices flow.

Lastly, the Better Homes and Garden yarn ball wreath:
Seriously, I have never been a wreath girl before.  This will be the first time we have had one hanging inside our house.  We typically keep to the Christmas door wreath.  But, when I saw this wreath, I thought it looked easy, cheap and my Mom convinced me it would in fact go with "our decor."  I love it.  Stella even tried to help me make yarn balls.  It was cute, but I have no pictures as the battery died.

 You can't see in the picture, but some of the yarn balls were made with a silver, sparkly yarn (fun!).

THE Chalkboard

Sooooo....Esme has recently started coloring, drawing and chalking with Stella.  She also started fighting with Stella over the chalkboard in the kitchen (there may have been a push, bite and hair pull involved).  Poor Stella, the girl just wanted to draw a ghost and a pumpkin.  Esme just wanted to play with her sister and if that meant practically sitting in Stella's lap to draw with chalk...she was going to do it.
SO. Well. I fixed it.  With a giant chalkboard WALL.

This has really been so much fun.  The girls LOVE it.  There have been several times already where all four of us are drawing together on the wall.  I am so excited to draw a Christmas theme above the photos where baby girls cannot reach! Hee, hee.

The Kitchen

So the problem with before and after photos, is that the room has to be clean for the "after" pictures.  I should say, the the room is typically always this clean, our problem is clutter.  There is usually a paint brush and paint can next to the sink (because apparently that is my ultimate happiness), and usually mail clutter or a newspaper adorns the island and the kids' sippy cups are normally scattered around the counters or island.  However, I put every thing away for some pictures!  I am also left thinking, "that was really not that hard, I should put away clutter more often."
So here are some before shots taken during one of our walk throughs.

This picture is taken from the family room.  My brilliant Mom suggested we take this bar out to create more of an open space.  I love the idea of it, but the sink with in 10 ft of the kitchen sink was silly and being 10 months pregnant, I was on board for the idea of more space.  Ben was a little more cautious, advising us to wait.  Of course pregnant wife wins.  Ben will say now, it was one of the best decisions we made when changing the house.  

 We made a lot of changes to this desk area.  Having had a desk in an apartment, Ben and I already knew we would never sit down here or use it for a desk.  So, you will see later, but we added storage in the open space underneath and I tore out some of the wood divider in the mail sorter in order to fit some baskets.  Storage baskets make everything look neater. 

 Light fixtures. Yuck.  My Dad and Ben took down the big light box that housed fluorescent bulbs.  Then my Dad rewired and did the whole dry wall thing.  (thank you!!!)

 Notice the backsplash here.  Square cream tiles. Not terrible, but this was something Ben and I knew we could do without any help and inexpensively.

We tore out the sink and replaced it with a craigslist purchase (LOVE craig).  And I tore out the appliance garage there in the corner.  Ben was surprised when he came home to see that - but it made the counter space seem so much larger.  Also notice the decorative lattice across the top of the cabinets on the ledge.  That was a quick and easy tear out.  I love it when I can do something without asking for some "man strength" and this was one of them.
What you can't see from the pictures...the condition of the counter tops and the true color of the cabinets.  They really had an orange tint as well as needed some special attention.  If we didn't paint, we were going to need to sand and re-varnish them at the least.

 Better with the bar gone, right?

 Oh the chalkboard.  The girls and I love it.  This was a Mandy project.  Ben did help with the saw (not a fan of those). 

 Officially the art station.  Every drawer and bin has coloring books, paint, stickers, paper, markers, etc.  I found some fun knobs from Hobby Lobby (of course) to add color.  I LOVE this; probably my second favorite part of the kitchen. The baskets above is the mail center.  The open slot...the official camera space.  It is easy to grab and out of reach from the girls.

 Another view to show how open it is with out the bar.

 Ok, here is probably my favorite thing in the kitchen.  My $7 find at a garage sale down the street from us.  It just adds so much personality.

The backsplash.  Occasionally we wonder if we should have gone with a gray grout to make the subway tile stand out more, but we were worried about it looking too "busy."  I think we made a good decision.  It is classic.
Some things we still need to do is scrape and paint the ceiling (you can still see the ring where the box was).  And, eventually we would like to tear out the floor and replace it with wood.  BUT, who wants to do these things?  We have done both before and it is labor intensive, so we are in NO hurry at all.
Inspiration...watch commercials.  With infinite funds, Ben probably would have chosen a dark wood with glass tile and I may have still chosen white cabinetry.  BUT, we started noticing this white trend everywhere.  It is in IKEA, Pottery Barn, Martha Stewart for Home Depot and many others.  We figured we could create this classic look with a paintbrush. We LOVE it.  It feels fresh and clean.  That is hard to get when you have two little ones running around all the time.

*Martha Stewart

*Ikea