Faux Roman Shades

I have my faux roman shades done!

I don't have a picture of the shades pulled up. I tried, but the sun was killing every shot that I got. You'll just have to use your imagination!

Here's a closeup of the fabric that I chose.

I chose that fabric because it went well with my wall accents.

I'm not going to post a how-to on this. I couldn't do a better job than Britt from A Penny Saved

Click on the link to learn how to do this in your own home!

Coming up: a fun little project for all the music lovers out there!

Bow Holder

Here's my daughter's bow holder that I had promised.

I got the idea to do this from The Fabric Floozie. I'm so jealous of her little girl's room! Click on her link to get a tutorial on how to do this.

This is what I ended up with...

Wow, is it nice to be able to organize all those bows and clips!

If anyone has any ideas on something cute like this to hold pony tails or headbands, let me know!

Anyways, remember I said that my Corner Garden was being invaded by sunflowers? Here's what I clipped out of it yesterday!

Cauldron Pot

My mom gave me this cool pot...

As you know, I'm always re potting my plants. I've had this plant since my brother got married, and I decided that this guy would go perfect in the new pot...

Looks pretty good, huh?

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post on a mirror redo!

Signature

Like the new signature? I do!

Anyways, you may have noticed that my newest posts are all going on Sept. 9th. I did a crazy amount of project in one day, drafted my posts, but I'm only publishing one a day. Don't want to overload you, ya know?

Girly Wall Sconse

Look at this ugly light, it's my daughter's only light source in her room! (Aside from a reading light in her bed cubby)...

I've been searching stores and online for the perfect sconce. The ones I like are too expenisve. The ones in my price range are ugly. So why not just redo the one she has?

I taped off everything and took off the old shade....

The I spray painted the base. I put a fan in the window to exhaust all the fumes out of her room as I did this (so don't worry!) I put the new flower shade on, and it looks like a whole new fixture!

A wider view of my daughter's room...

Reupholstered Corner Bench

Remember in my Growth Chart and Roll Pillow posts, I mentioned something about making a "pocket pillow?" I was going to, but I really liked how my bed looked with just the roll pillow. Everything was symmetical. I like that.

So what was I going to do with this triangular-shaped valance? Note that the fabric is the same as one of my throw pillows!

I took a look around my room and noticed my lonely ugly bench. I built this corner bench for my husband when we first bought our house. I cringed every morning when he would put on his socks and shake the whole bed for 5 minutes in the process. He never used it. Ever!

It's upholstered in a dirt-collecting fuzzyball-creating white fabric. I hated it the second I stapled it on. Look at this thing!..

So the idea pops into my head. Corner bench+triangle valance= The Perfect Fit!!

I got out my trusty staple gun and went to town on that bad boy! Wow! What a difference!..

So I stuck my beautiful, calming fountain on it (knowing damn well it still won't be used as a bench), a basket underneath, and look how gorgeous it is now!...

Notice how the basket is too small for the space? It's driving me nuts! I was thinking about putting a floral arrangement on the front and using the basket to house some slippers, but I still don't think it'll give it enough bulk. Give me some ideas!!!

Hardware Template

Here's a cheap way to put hardware on any door or cabinet flawlessly without buying any expensive equipment.

Here's my closet door before. Note that there's already a small hole where a knob used to be. The old owners must have taken it off, because I've never seen a knob there. I bought tons of hardware on ebay for my kitchen cabinets, and still have a lot of hardware left. So I thought "why not the closet doors?".....

So I made a template...

1. Use an index card.

2.Place your card on your door/cabinet and tape it in place.

3. Decide how far you want your hardware from the egdge by placing your hardware on your index card to the desired place.

4. Mark where the hardware touches the card. Punch holes into the card in these locations.

5. Mark arrows pointing to where the egdge is. This way you don't end up using the other side of the card and get differenct distances.

Just measure down/up to the holes at a consistant measurement each time, and you will get professional-looking results without the price. Making a template also guarantees to reduce the total project time.

Here's my closet after...

Don't you love this hardware? It's classic!...

Roll Pillow

Alright, I lied about the project that I was going to post today. I ran into a problem, and until I run to the hardware store, I can't finish the project. Hopefully tomorrow though!

But....

Remember I promised a few how-to's? Well let's get one done today!

Roll Pillow

----------------

-fabric

-foam sheet (any thickness will do. If you have a small thickness, it will just need to be rolled many more times)
-string/ribbon/twine (Anything that can tie)
-needle and thread

Ignore the peace necklace. I used the string for part of the pillow, and will be using the medallion on something else. It was a funny gift from a good friend...

Roll your foam sheet into the shape/size you want. Temporarily secure it with strings. Fold your fabric over the foam with the back side facing out. Pin it together. Zip this through your sewing machine (I hand sew mine since I still can't work a sewing machine)...

Turn your case right-side-out. Stuff your foam inside the pillow (you can take the strings off now). The ends are still flopping out, right? Well, if I can cut any corners to avoid sewing, I will. So what I did was tuck the excess fabric into itself to give a nice clean edge. Then I tied a string around it. It makes a little ruffle.

Then I tied strings over the length of the pillow (refer to the picture below) since I didn't like the "tube" look. It really adds some funky character! All done!....

Here's a picture of it among my sea of pillows on my bed (I have an obsession, there's 9 there!)....

And here's a wider shot of the pillow in my bedroom. Note the new curtains that I mentioned I was getting in my Growth Chart post. This roll pillow was made out of my old curtains (the pocket pillow will also be made out of my bedroom curtains, but in blue) so I needed something new to put up. The scarf frames the bed much better than the valance that was up....

So, once I head to the hardware store and get what I need, I'll get the next project done and you'll have a good "tip." Stay tuned!

Busy Bee

Alright, so here's my excuses for my absence:


1. I made some awesome cupcakes. No recipes. I just used the boxed stuff. They didn't last long. I left the house for a while, and my "garbage disposal" took the liberty of eating most of them.

2. We went to my cousin's wedding. It was by far the most gorgeous wedding I've ever attended. I'm so glad to have welcomed a lovely lady to our family. Pictured left to right: Elisa (my sister-in-law), Ethan (my nephew), Will, John, Hailey (my kids), Joe (my husband), and me!

3. The morning after the wedding, we brought my family to the zoo!

4. I've been staining parts of my railings. I did this on my front porch earlier this summer. It's a very tedious, annoying job, so I've put off doing my back deck. But since I had the stain out for my faux french door, I decided to start the railings again.

5 & 6. A before and after of a pot that I spray painted an aged gold. It looks much better in my kitchen. I've also re-potted 4 other plants in my house. The poor buggers were choking themselves in their roots. It seems like all I do is re-pot when I have 28 house plants. (Jungle?)

So there's a little recap. Today I'm working on a very small project, and I'll give you a how-to on how to do this simple procedure flawlessly tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Faux French Door

I've been gone a while, haven't I?

I will show you what I've been up to tomorrow. A lot of little projects. No how-to's. Just little things to keep me busy.

But for tonight....

I've finally finished the patio door!

This is what it looked like before (half the door, other half was under construction)...

This is what it looks like now....

Here's the door from the outside...(remember the faux planter?)

And here's a wider shot of my patio...

I absolutely love it! I used the same technique as my front window.

Tomorrow I'll let you see a few things that I've been doing. A little recap.

Oh, and have you noticed that the Challenges posts are gone? No one seemed to dig it, so I trashed it. Not every idea is a winner!!

New Button!

New button design! Ya like it? Copy and paste the HTML code to put it on your own page!

Garden Birdhouse

I found this decorative birdhouse at Goodwill the other day. Though with the Christmas lights attached, it was ugly, but I knew it had awesome potential.

So I took off the Christmas lights and gave it a good coat of spray poly...

made a stake by cutting angles using a miter saw, then attached it to the bottom using wood glue...

stuck it in the ground in my corner garden, and BINGO! I love it!

And that's why you always buy something you love. (If it's a good price!) This bugger only cost me $3. The poly, stake, and glue I already had.

Notice the crazy plants that invaded my garden? It's sunflowers! From my birdfeeder. Though I will love having boquets of sunflowers in my house in a few weeks, I'm hoping that I get my post-light next summer to avoid this in the future.

Stay tuned!

Stay tuned for a project (maybe tonight?) that will completely change the look of the outside of my house.
Okay okay, maybe not completely, but I've been wanting this certain "look" since I bought my house, and I finally stumbled on a way to get the look without going broke.
Stay tuned, you won't regret it!!

Chalkboard Cabinets

When I first bought my house, I painted the two inlaid panels of the "playroom (now my son's room)" with black chalkboard paint. I loved the idea of giving the kids a way to show their creativity while saving my walls.

Years down the road, I find my lonely can of chalkboard paint. My old dry-erase message board hit the dust about a year ago, and I've been dieing for something to put my never-ending lists on again. I have very little wall space in my kitchen (due to so many decorations), so I thought "why not inside the cabinet?"

This project only takes 10 minutes, but I will love it a lifetime. I love it so much, in fact, that I'm planning on doing it on the inside of all my kitchen cabinets!

Before----

After----

Some ideas of lists for your chalkboard cabinets:

1. Appointment reminders

2. Grocery lists

3. Shopping lists

4. Phone numbers

5. Birthdays or other yearly dates

6. Favorite recipes

7. Labels of the items that are supposed to go in that cabinet (great for when my husband puts away the clean dishes!)

8. Lock combonations for kids in school

9. Tune-up dates for vehicles (or milage of next tune-up)

10. Notes of endearment for anyone who reaches in <3

Mailbox Redo

I redid my mailbox a few days ago. No "before" picture. Sorry, I'm lazy. But let's just say that it was a floral abomonation that I had thought was soooo cute only 3 years ago. It....was....ugly. Anyways, here's my new mailbox redone. I'm not good at freehand, so I WILL be painting over the lettering and getting myself some stencils. Things are smeared for obvious reasons. But I'm just in love with this "wine" color. I'm smitten <3

Sorry for the picture quality. This emormous "bush" on the side of my house is apparently a walnut tree. Someone planted too many seeds next to each other (or mabye Mother Nature did this) and now my tree won't grow upwards. It's now a walnut "bush." Commical, no?

P.S.-----100th Post Today!!!

Bathroom Remodel

Here's the pics on my bathroom remodel as promised.

The walls are canary yellow. It's a very small bathroom on the second level of my house, and I wanted something very bright and cheery to open up the space.

I was on a tight budget for this project, so I installed a white chair rail all the way around the walls and painted below it to give it a wainscoating/country paneling type look. It's much cheaper than buying the paneling and the look is about the same.

I added a big mirror (not pictured for lack of a decent angel to take a picture) on the wall behind the door to add the illusion of depth.

I didn't have enough money in the budget to install new flooring, so I painted the linoleum a bright white and put a plush pastel yellow rug over the top.

For a touch of luxury, I added a hemp basket on

the back of the "Crapper" (a little inside joke for those readers that were at the family reunion this past weekend), with soft face towels rolled in them.

Since the angling of the ceiling didn't permit for a mirror to be added to the back of the sink (unless I wanted a view of my chest every day), I hung a beautiful painting of a flower with soft pastels over it instead. The opposite wall has two similar paintings, but smaller, hanging.

With the purchase of expensive (but on Yellow Dot at Younkers, so not so expensive for me!) decorative towels, a few nice candles, fake tropical plants, and pretty tealights (that my mother-in-law made), my bathroom came together wonderfully.

Sure, there are some more things I have planned. Like changing that ugly light (that happens to be a fan that vents into my closet. Dear Lord....) with a gorgeous sconse I've had my eye on, new fixtures on the sink, and matching accesories. But for the most part, I'm pleasantly pleased with my remodel.

Sorry I don't have any "before" pictures. It was so bad. Let me explain. Floral wallpaper all the way to the ceiling. The door was wallpapered with the same crap. Then the ceiling had wallpaper (I know, absolutely stupid). But not with ordinary wallpaper. On no! With FABRIC wallpaper! Who does that?! I was in such a hurry to get this project started, I completely forgot to take "before" pictures. Sorry!

Bird Cage

I just want to show off a cool garage sale find. It's my favorite find from the past few weeks. It has threading on the bottom so that you can attach it to a pole, but I like it hanging out on my patio table.

It's the weekend, Happy Hunting!

(How-to posts will come soon, I just didn't have time to take, edit, and post pictures. I'm working all day =P)

Headboard Garden

I had an amazing rummaging experience last week, but first I need to put a little backstory past you:

2 years ago, I went to a garage sale. Some good stuff, some bad. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a "free" sign by a tree. A cute little headboard. I figured, "why not?" I decided to use it as a little border on a corner of my driveway. I HATED IT. Every time I drove into my driveway, I cringed inside. I loved the headboard, but it was just too dinky.

So, last week, oddly, I stumbled onto the same exact headboard! They wanted $10 for it, but I wasn't going to pay that for something I was just going to stick in the ground. I got 1/2 off. I love haggling. So I rearranged the headboards, posted a bird feeder between them, and WALA! A much better corner garden! Now I love it! Eventually I will be putting a pretty white lamp-post where the bird feeder is, but in due time. One step at a time.

So that brings me to this once again: cottage-style is about treasures that you find. Repurposing objects.

Now I must depart and fight off a swarm of wasps that invaded my beloved trellis >.<