Room By Room

Hello again!

2011-07-01T09:27:00.003-04:00

Hi, I haven't died. Everyone's fine. Just a bit overwhelmed with all I have to do around here.

Did anyone miss me?

Until I get back, here's a peek at my beautiful daughter.

How does your garden grow?

2011-05-05T10:26:00.007-04:00

A couple weeks ago I planted some seeds with the kids.

Find the original post here.

And I thought I'd update you on the progress!

After planting the seeds in a mixture of potting soil and "starting mix" (just a bag purchased at the store) I put them under a florescent "garage light" in the basement. Mr. RBR claims you can just get these at a hardware store. It's a florescent light, but it just plugs in. No wiring.

I used twine to lower the light until it was only several inches above the seeds. Then I made sure the soil stayed damp by watering it every 2-3 days.

A couple weeks later we have sprouts!

Radishes. I think.

It will be a few weeks until the threat of frost starts to decline, but unfortunately my side yard (where I plan to plant my little seedlings) still looks like this!

Lots of work to do before it's ready. Any volunteers?

Special Delivery

2011-05-04T15:33:00.003-04:00

If you've been reading the Room By Room blog, you might remember I started vermicomposting.

And if you're new here you're asking yourself, "What the heck is vermicomposting?"

Vermicomposting, is, in short, creating a little ecosystem in your home where worms eat your garbage. And it's very, very, very, very cool.

You heard me.

If you'd like to know how to make your own vermicomposting bin, check out this post.

Because I am an impatient sort I originally went to a bait shop and bought...

wait for it...

72 worms.

72.

72 worms ain't gonna do nuthin'. The point of vermicomposting is to have a whole BUNCH of worms so that they eat up your trash right away. Like in a day or two. 1000 red wiggler worms = approximately 1 pound in weight. And red wiggler worms will eat up to half their body weight every single day. So 1 pound of worms will eat 1/2 pound of trash every day. Get it?

I needed more worms.

So I went to the website Uncle Jim's Worm Farm. On the site I noticed I could buy 1000 worms for $30 (including shipping), or 2000 worms for $40 (free shipping). I went with the 2000 worm (approximately 2 pounds of worms) option.

I thought this was interesting. The worms only ship on Mondays, so they don't get stuck in the post office over the weekend. I would have NEVER thought about that! Poor wormies. Don't want them to get stuck in the post office over the weekend!

Well today I got my worm shipment. It arrived like this.

Well, this bag was in a little square box.

And this is what it looked like inside the bag.

It is completely FILLED with worms. And it looks like a little peat/dirt mixed in.

They came with directions that said to put them in their habitat right away. Just set them in a pile on the top, covered with a sheet of damp newspaper and they'll disperse naturally within the next 24-48 hours.

So that's what I did.

I'm trying to resist the urge to check up on them. Don't want to be a helicopter parent, er, vermicompost-ologist, er something.

Oh, what the heck.

I even picked them up! Ewwww!

OK, now I'll behave and leave them alone.

So, did you make your vermicompost bin yet? If you do, pretty, pretty please tell me about it!

DIY painting

2011-05-02T09:33:00.004-04:00

Is it Monday already? I spent the whole weekend with my hands looking like this.

I wish it looked like more progress had been made. Don't you hate that? Work your buns off all weekend and it doesn't look like much has changed? It's like, I remember painting, and doing all this stuff, why does it all look the same? Blah.

One thing I did finish, however, is a painting for the living room.

Some day I'll get around to showing you the whole room. The only reason I haven't done it yet is because it's usually too embarrassingly messy to photograph. Some day, SOME DAY, however I will keep it clean enough for 2 seconds to make it photograph worthy.

Some day. Some day?

I'm liking the colors and the subtle textures and colors of my new painting.

The canvas is homemade. It's a wood frame with drop cloth stapled to it. Next you use primer or gesso to seal the cloth. Let it dry. Then it's ready to create your masterpiece! ha!

I just used leftover wall paint and dabbed in on with a rag. Old fashioned faux painting style!

Use lots of paint and lots of colors. The texture creates interest. I used a blue-gray color, a green gray color, a green, a turquoise, white and black in this painting.

Oh hang on, I gotta break up a fight.

Ok. I'm back. Isn't he pathetic? Sweet, but pathetic.

Detail shot.

Nice, right? Not hard. Give it a shot!

Linking to some of these super, duper DIY blog link parties.

Slightly less sophisticated

2011-04-30T10:56:00.005-04:00

Today we go from Candice Olson to the thrift store. Um, slightly less sophisticated.

I had a ball (really!) piling up the kids in the ol' mini van and making the trek to a few favorite thrift stores. On the way there I told my two boys if they were good (no screaming, no running, no fighting) then we could go to McDonalds. Worked like a charm--for once! ha!

I ended up spending $60 on this craptastic-ness.

What did I get? Two upper cabinets ($30 for the brown one and $15 for the white one).

A couple baskets ($2 each) and a frame ($4).

A pretty little vintage rose painting ($2), a heavily tarnished silver dish ($2), and that white strip that isn't photographing well is vintage wallpaper (thrown in for free when I bought the cabinets!).

Here's a better view of the wallpaper. The outside is heavily battered, but unroll it a bit and it looks great.

I think it's quite modern. I actually really like it! I won't be wallpapering with it, instead I'll use it to line cabinets.

I bought the baskets at a separate store than the cabinets, but was happy to discover they fit! WOO HOO

Going to try to polish this dish. I thought it'd be a perfect spot to rest jewelry. Maybe even a soap dish? If it doesn't polish well I'll spray paint it.

So what do you think? Trash or treasure!?

PS. good thoughts to all dealing with the aftermath of the tornadoes. Be well.

Crush on Candice

2011-04-23T07:50:00.004-04:00

I have a serious crush on Candice Olson, and it's not just because we're the same height with similar color hair. I looooooove her designs! And I don't even hold it against her that I probably am twice her weight.

I have every show she's ever been on saved on my DVR. I was thrilled when she came out with a new show, Candice Tells All.

More eye candy. And besides, now I wouldn't have to watch the same shows over and over.

Although I totally would.

Now I just won't have to.

When Candice revealed this room, my eyes completely bugged out of my head.

It's hard to tell, but behind the sectional there's a wallpaper. It's like a giant gorgeous chrysanthemum line drawing. Of course I had to track it down.

It's called Chrysanth Neutral and it is made by a company in the UK. I have linked the website here.

Here are some better views of the wallpaper.

It even comes in different colors, like red.

Do you know where I'm going with this?

Thinking about DIYing it. Have I totally, completely lost it?

Possibly.

But I have a history of complex paint ideas that have turned out ok.

The boy's bedroom

This jewelry box.

The mom cave.

I'm thinking I could sketch it out, and then just draw it with a metallic paint pen, kinda like the mom cave.

Eek!

I can see Mr. RBR's sigh and his head shake already.

Vermicomposting for Earth Day

2011-04-22T11:45:00.011-04:00

Happy Earth Day! Here's a neat Earth Day project, vermicomposting.

It wasn't that long ago I heard about vermicomposting for the first time. What is vermicomposting? Well, in short, worms eat your garbage! How cool is that?

Do you feel as guilty as I do when I throw compost-able garbage in the trash? I felt like I was throwing away something that wasn't really trash. I knew that food scraps even had the potential for environmental benefits, if I only knew how to compost and turn it into fertilizer. The problem was I didn't really know how to start. And I was afraid of a big smelly pile in my backyard. I have heard if you do it right, it's not supposed to smell. Well, I didn't really know how to do it, so there you go. It seemed like a risky, long and smelly experiment.

Then I met someone who had a somewhat expensive store bought vermicomposting bin. She composted indoors, in a little compact area. No smell. The reason there was no smell is the food she threw in there would be gone--gone--in hours. And it left her with incredible fertilizer (humus). What is humus exactly? Well humus is technically worm poop. But it's not, um, poopy. It looks and smells just like soil. It basically is soil. Very nutrient rich soil. Some reports show plants grown with humus perform 126% better than those with commercial fertilizer!

Ahem, perfect for the seeds I started the other day!

I was sold! But I still couldn't justify the expense for a store bought system (about $80, plus shipping, plus worms. Probably $130 total). There had to be a way to do it cheaper.

Luckily I learned more about it at a free session at our local public library a couple days ago. I'll show you how to do it. It's very, very easy!

Supplies:

Container of choice

Drill, or another device to make air holes

Chlorine free water

Newspaper or computer paper

Handful of soil (from the yard is fine!)

Red Wiggler worms

Food scraps

Optional: Corn meal

I found this bin at Target for about $5. You need about twice as much surface area as depth, and you can see this container is quite tall. No big deal, we just won't fill it all the way to the top. The reason is, these types of worms don't like to burrow very deep, so if you have a lot of depth it reduces the chances they'll get to all your scraps.

Worms also don't like light, so it's helpful if your container has a lid to keep out the light.

Worms breathe oxygen just like we do, so you'll have to make air holes. Using 1/8" drill bit, drill a couple rows of holes all the way around your bin, about 2-3 inches apart. No reason to measure or get uptight about it, just drill away. Avoid holes on the bottom, which will let moisture leak out. Avoid holes on the very top, which might let in light.

Now you'll need to create the bedding for your new worm friends. Newspaper is cheap and easy bedding. Rip it or shred it. You'll also need to make it damp. Not soaking wet (you never want standing water in your bin), not too dry. But beware, the water you use to dampen your newspaper must be free of chlorine.

Municipal water systems use a lot of chlorine to get rid of germs in the water system. So if you have city water you can do one of two things. Let a container of water sit out overnight. The chlorine will off-gas and the remaining water will be chlorine-free. Or buy a gallon of distilled water.

Put the water in a bowl and dip in handfuls of shredded paper, taking care not to get it too wet. Alternatively, you could also dampen your paper with a squirt bottle. Whatever you feel is easiest.

Take your ripped or shredded damp newspaper and throw it in your bin. For a container my size, I added about 12-18 inches of newspaper.

Why shredded and why damp? Worms breathe through their skin. They need air pockets and moisture to be able to breathe. Why no chlorine? As I said, worms breathe through their skin. You know how your eyes get irritated if you open them in a pool? Yeah. Same idea.

Next add a handful of dirt.

Dirt from the yard is fine. There are two things we're accomplishing by adding soil. One is beneficial microbes which aid in the breakdown of your scraps. Second, worms need the actual grit from the dirt to help with digestion.

This next step is optional, add 1-3 tablespoons of plain cornmeal (not a mix).

According to the vermicomposting specialist at the library, worms love corn meal. It's a real "wake up call".

Of course no vermicomposting system is complete without WORMS!

You'll need a type of worms known as Eisenia fetida. All of the sources I read says these are commonly known as "Red Wigglers." For the instant-gratification factor I went to a bait shop and asked for Red Wigglers. I was told this is a southern nickname, that we don't call them Red Wigglers in the North. Then he handed me a container of "Big Reds". So Red Wigglers, or Big Reds, you need a specific type of worm.

Red Wigglers are ideal because they do well in close quarters, don't burrow deeply and they eat a lot. If you use regular earthworms it may still work, but it will take a looooong time. Red Wigglers eat up to half their body weight every day. So figure it out with me. If you have a pound of worms (1 pound of worms = approx 1000 worms) in your bin, they'll eat 1/2 pound of garbage every day. SWEET, right? You'll be left with NO trash sitting around, getting stinky.

To get the worm/food scrap ratio right, you might want to keep track of how much food scrap you make each day for a week or so. Then you'll know exactly how many worms to buy. I didn't do this. I just winged it.

Also keep in mind that worms reproduce. Your worm population will double every 90 days or so. So it is possible to start small and work your way up.

The cheapest way to buy worms in bulk is online. Try redwigglerworms.com. One pound of worms (1000 quantity) will be shipped to your door for about $30 including shipping.

For instant gratification, nothing beats your local bait shop. I found one by googling "Live Bait" and my city name. However, you'll pay more per worm this way. I bought two packages of 36 worms yesterday for about $7. I paid approximately 10¢ per worm, when I could probably get them for about 3¢ per worm online. In case you wanted to know. ha! Plus I probably have about 1/10 of the worms I need to eat all my food trash. There are a couple things I can do about this. I can see how it goes and let them reproduce on their own, buy more worms at the bait shop, or buy a package of worms online. I haven't decided yet.

After all this explanation, go ahead and add your worms. Nestle them in all snug-like in their new home.

All they need now is some food to munch. Add your scraps! Some people recommend putting scraps 1-2 inches under the bedding, so they are easier for the worms to reach.

You can add pretty much any food scraps, but here are some things to avoid: meat, citrus, eggs (egg shells are fine), dairy, anything very oily or fatty. Pretty much anything else is fine! Even natural cloth like cotton can be composted!

All there is left to do is put the lid on.

It's perfectly fine to put this in the house, or leave it outside. However, worms do best in temperatures between 40º and 90ºF, so if you leave it outside, be sure to bring it in during periods of extreme temperatures. I put mine in my basement. My very own worm farm. Feeling very eco-friendly this Earth Day.

Wanna learn more? Check out this article from How Stuff Works.

Or buy the book Worms Eat my Garbage.

I hope you give it a try! Still have questions? Leave a comment and I'll answer them.

I'm going to try to link to some of these link parties and hope I don't get kicked off! ha!

Update: I bought more worms! Read all about it here.

Spring Garden

2011-04-20T12:08:00.004-04:00

We woke up to an inch of snow on the ground on Monday, but the c-c-c-cold weather is not going to stop me from moving forward with outdoor Spring projects.

Take that, snow!

We had a large garden when I was growing up, and while I hated weeding, I have fond memories of eating strawberry shortcake for dinner on the deck outside. My mom was trying to get rid of a huge surplus of strawberries. We didn't mind!

Is there anything like a ripe strawberry or tomato from your own garden? Nope!

I have been wanting to plant some yummy fruits and veggies in our small city yard for YEARS. But I haven't ever quite had the energy and confidence to get it started. I finally decided what the heck, let's give it a try.

Of course you can start with plants. Plant them in a garden with rich, balanced soil, good light, and water regularly. There you go. But it's cheaper to start with seeds. And I am cheap.

In our area, we typically have frost advisories well into May, so you don't want to plant outside too early (unless you take special precautions). With such a short growing season, it can make growing a garden tricky. But you can still start with seeds--give plants a head start by starting seeds inside.

So that's what I decided to do. I gathered a bunch of seeds, some dirt and containers (leftover egg cartons), and the kids. Then we put it all together.

Follow the directions on the seed packet for how deep to plant, how many per hole, and when to start them ahead of time (our packages recommended starting 4-8 weeks before the last threat of frost).

Here is the finished product.

And here is our sad, neglected, tiny side yard, which I hope to turn into a garden.

As you can see the left half gets full sun, the right half shade. What I'd love to do is turn the left half into a garden, the right half a walkway. It'd be cool if I could screen the air conditioner too, somehow.

And of course replace that hideous old fence.

The work never ends, does it?

I'll be linking to some fun blog linking parties. Check 'em out!

Little Trip

2011-04-17T22:34:00.003-04:00

Friday was a very special day at the Room By Room house. Three years ago today, something amazing happened.

This...

Zack's adoption was very difficult. We were matched when he was 3 1/2 months old, and then things (legal things) went haywire. He finally came home at 20 months old. And we were so, SO happy.

To celebrate Zack's third adoption day anniversary (we call it his Family Day) we did a little bit of this...

Can you get over that little pink flowered booty? AH!

We went to a water park for the day, then we went to my mom's cottage for a little weekend getaway. Would you believe me if I told you it SNOWED? Last weekend for Delaney's birthday party it was 80º and exactly one week later it snowed.

Argh. I'm sooooo over winter.

To cheer me up, here's some pictures of my two favorite sons in the whole wide world, soon after they both arrived three years ago.

Happy third family day Zack. You mean the world to me.

Mom

Half Bath - The Final Tally

2011-04-12T17:30:00.005-04:00

In a couple weeks the half bath in our home got a glamorous makeover for just a little dough.

Check out yesterday's post for before and after shots.

So, wanna find out how much I spent? Me too.

The biggest impact was obviously wall color. Can you believe that came in at $10?!

The white for the trim and cream was a free promotion at Menards (on sale for $11 with an $11 rebate). Well, I think the semigloss white was $2. Anyway I bought it for the kitchen, so I'm not counting it.

The dark color is Brown Velvet by Valspar (Lowes). I only needed a quart for this small room, which came to $10.

I replaced the knob on the medicine cabinet. A pretty cut glass little number for $6. Lowes.

I just about passed out when I saw the hand towel. I could not have found something with a more perfect design and color palette if I had created it myself! $10 each for the hand towels. I bought 2. World Market.

I also bought a chandelier and new wall art. This is what they looked like before.

And after a little spray paint magic....

Did you notice I painted the ceiling blue? Loving it. It's subtle, but really pretty.

I used leftover spray paint for my chandelier and artwork. Just a couple swipes and it looks totally different!

Chandelier was $12 from Habitat Restore and wall art was $40 from Big Lots.

Last but not least, a new window shade.

This match stick blind was on clearance for $5! From Lowes. It is meant for a french door. The shade was the right width, but was 72 inches long. Waaaay too long. Luckily I was able to shorten it and it looks great!

The total spent? $93. Under $100 for a totally new look. I'll take that!

Don't forget! I'd love it if you hopped over to Fireflies and Jellybeans to vote for my Iron Crafter logo!

I was in the lead, but I've dropped to #2! My logo is option #3. It will take 3 seconds. Thanks a bunch!

Half Bath - The Reveal!

2011-04-12T14:30:00.004-04:00

I have good news! We had $700 on our credit card leftover from our airline tickets on January 1st. Those tickets were actually priceless. They brought us to South Korea and to our daughter! Well we just got our federal tax refund. It was for...

**drumroll please**

$695! ha! So instead of owing money, we are back to having no money. Hooray!

I'm kidding. Kind of. Seriously though, we are thrilled to be debt free (except our home mortgage) again! It means we're doing something right. I owe it all to a lot of sacrifice and tips from Dave Ramsey.

Being debt free means I had the green light to buy a couple little touches to the half bath, which means it is DONE! And I am sooooooo digging it. I can't wait for you to see it!

It is located right off the kitchen.

Check out the whole house layout here.

And this is what the bathroom used to look like.

This is what our half bath looks like now!

Come back tomorrow to find out sources and how much I spent!

In the meantime, I'd love it if you hopped over to Fireflies and Jellybeans to vote for my Iron Crafter logo!

I'm in the lead, but it's getting close! My logo is option #3. It will take 3 seconds. Thanks a bunch!

Linking up to some of these great parties.

A first birthday party in pictures, plus a favor.

2011-04-11T08:48:00.006-04:00

I am still amazed. We had THE MOST PERFECT WEATHER for Delaney's first birthday party yesterday. It's been freezing here all spring. We've even had a little snow. Yesterday? Oh, yesterday is was 80º F. 80º!!!! It was beautiful.

And so is Delaney. Here are some pictures from her special day yesterday.

Those flower banners are from Dollar Tree. How cute are they?

For the first time ever in my mom's family, four generations of women. So cool!

And now a favor. Have you heard of the the fun craft blog Fireflies and Jellybeans?

They have a fun craft contest called "The Iron Crafter". I think it is hysterical! As you might have guessed, it's patterned after The Iron Chef. They even pick a secret ingredient! Then bloggers from all over make crafts with the secret ingredient to compete for title of Iron Crafter. It's a hoot!

Well the peeps over at Fireflies and Jellybeans had a logo/button contest for the next Iron Crafter contest. And guess who landed in Top 3?

Yep, yours truly.

I'd love it if you went on over and voted for my button. Just for fun. Thanks a bunch!

Busy, busy!

2011-04-09T23:03:00.002-04:00

I'm so excited! Delaney's first birthday tomorrow. Delaney is already on the lookout, waiting for her guests.

I love my 1 year old girl!

My Daughter's Room - The Final Tally

2011-04-06T05:50:00.002-04:00

First of all, I think it is HILARIOUS that my "bird poop printable" is the #2 viewed post of all time on my blog. And yet hardly anyone comments on it. Why is that?

I revealed my precious daughter's room yesterday. Today we'll go over the items and figure out what I spent. I have no idea, so this will be good for me to review.

Here are some pictures.

The pink furniture was mine from my single days. Originally purchased from a garage sale, it was blue, and I painted it cream. The set got this special pink makeover just for Delaney. The original nightstand to this set is actually in my (the master) bedroom.

Vanity and chair. Vanity was from a second hand store. Here is what it looked like before. It was $30. The chair was just a "spare" that used to float around the house. The cushion was existing, I just covered it with leftover fabric and some ribbon that was lying around.

On top of the vanity is a pretty bunny. $2 from Goodwill.

I made the picture. I bought a frame for $1 from Salvation Army, painted it and made the print (about $1 to print at FedEx).

Can't see it very well, but the lamp was on clearance from Target. $10 I think. And perhaps another $5 for the shade?

Bedspread was existing. Originally on clearance at Target. We used it when this was my middle son's room. We used it on the other side, which is blue.

White sheet set from Target. $35?

I made the pillows. Find out how here and here. We'll say about $4 for the teal one, and $3 for the pink one.

The flower lights are IKEA. I think they were $10 each, so $30 total.

The fabric (Small Talk by Waverly) was by far the biggest investment in the room. I bought 11 yards at $12 yd on sale. $132 for the statement piece of the room. Not too bad.

I made the white curtain rod with wooden supplies from Lowe's and some leftover white paint. $20.

Crib and mattress were existing from other kiddos.

Crib set was "vintage" Pottery Barn bought at an auction. $35

Bright pink sheet, Target/Circo. $8

Special gift blanket from my grandma.

Lady frog, local thrift store, $2. Wearing a dress I made from fabric scraps.

Panda pillow pet, Christmas gift.

Delaney letters are from Babies R Us. $5 each I think? $35.

Flowers were left over from elsewhere in the house. Found them at Target and sprayed them green.

Pink wall basket is from a local antique mall. Found it on this trip. $9.

The bright animal knobs were a gift from my mother in law. She actually gave them to me years ago. They were meant for the boys, but I like them here better. I think they came from Target.

The wicker hamper is an oldie. I've had it forever. Sprayed it with some white spray paint I had laying around.

The beautiful inlaid jewelry box was a gift from Delaney's foster parents.

The little blue ceramic shoes were existing. I've had them for years. I originally bought them at a local antique mall.

Can you get over those gorgeous paintings?! Not prints. These are gorgeous paintings on... I don't know. I think it looks like silk. My mom found them years ago and didn't know what to do with them. So they are on loan here "indefinitely". hee hee Thanks mom! I added the fabric. Let's say the fabric was $10.

The Korean doll was found at an antique mall too. $12

Korean flag was a gift from our Korean adoption agency.

Lastly, paint. Paint colors are:

Yellow = Beach Umbrella by Valspar (2 gallons = $60. I should have primed first. I would have saved $20.)

Bright Pink = First Kiss by Valspar (1 gallon = $30)

The Vanity's Dark Green = Dark Meadow by Valspar (1 sample = $3)

I also bought 1 can of bright green spray paint and 1 can white spray paint. Let's say $10.

Let's total it up!

Furniture = $30.

Bedding = $85.

Window Treatments = $152.

Paint = $103.

Accessories = $117.

Total $487

Not too shabby!

My Daughter's Room Reveal

2011-04-05T09:54:00.005-04:00

When you have the most beautiful daughter ever, she needs a room to match!

Delaney is almost a year old. She was born in South Korea and we adopted her. She's been home about 3 months and is doing great!

Her room has been done for months, but I hadn't gotten around to photographing the results. But I finally got it done! Who wants to see?

This is the layout of her room.

Check out the layout of our whole house in the Home Tour.

This is what you see when you enter the room.

We kept the full size bed in this room because we thought we might need to sleep in the same room with Delaney until she became more accustomed to us, our home and her new room. And we're leaving it because, well, time flies. In another year or two she'll probably she sleeping in that big bed. This way, the room is ready to grow up with her.

The crib lines the opposite wall, next to the door.

The dresser.

And some of the sweet details.

This jewelry box came from Delaney's foster parents in Korea.

The vanity/desk next to the bed.

The bed.

I made these pillows. Learn how to make your own here and here.

The crib.

My grandma (Delaney's great grandma) made this sweet little blanket.

I love this so much. My grandma just turned 90. Who knows how much longer she'll be with us. It will be a special keepsake for Delaney. But I have to admit, I have one problem with it. All the babies on the blanket have blond hair. Argh. My Dutch grandma made everyone blond. I just might change their hair color somehow.

Next to the crib, is this basket.

It holds hair pretties and pacifiers. :)

I searched high and low and I did find one before picture. This is when the room was a guest room. This is the wall where the crib is now.

Big difference, right?

That's it for the room tour. Tomorrow I'll let you know sources, paint colors and how much I spent. So come on back.

This project was featured on Domestically Speaking.

Details, details

2011-04-04T12:15:00.004-04:00

Isn't it amazing what a small change can do? The most beautifully designed rooms are perfected right down to the smallest detail.

With that in mind, check out my medicine cabinet in the room I'm working in right now, the half bath.

Here it is before, with its wooden handle.

And here it is now, with a $6 glass knob from Lowe's.

Big difference, right? And you got a sneak peek at the wall color too. You likey?

I've been using a few found dollars and spare change (literally) to buy a couple things to spruce up this little bathroom.

The two large carved wooden wall plaques are from Big Lots. Honestly they were a splurge to me at $20 each. But I wanted some big beautiful artwork, and I'm getting a bit tired of frames, frames and more frames. So these will fit the bill nicely.

The trashy brassy chandelier is from my local Habitat's ReStore. ReStore was having a 20% off brass light fixtures sale the day I was there. NICE. So I picked up this little beaut for $12. I'm going to spray it--gloss white I think. It will replace the (pardon me) boob light.

I have a couple more things I'd like to purchase. Some bright, fun hand towels and a woven grass shade for the window. Then the room will be done!

It's looking FABULOUS. I can't wait to show it to you!

Color Inspiration

2011-04-03T00:16:00.006-04:00

Because powder rooms are small and often unassuming, they are the perfect place to play with the unexpected.

First of all they're often tiny. So if you've been eyeballing a high end finish (like marble tile, or an expensive wallpaper) a powder room can be the ideal place to splurge. Its small size means you won't break the bank

Secondly, it can just be a nice surprise! If you have guests and they need to use the facilities, why not provide a space with "wow" factor?

I decided a dark color in my main floor half bath would be ideal. The rest of my house is transitioning neutral, and you know I'm not afraid of bold. Heck, my kitchen is still half a rainbow. But what color to choose?

I wanted something with, dare I say, sex appeal? Am I overcompensating for my life filled with diapers and toddlers hanging on my ankles?

Hm. Mayhaps.

Nonetheless. Check out this nail polish.

Hot, right? The brand is even called "Sinful Colors". No lie!

Not brown, not purple, not burgundy, not black, but somewhere where they all intersect. I think it'd make a pretty hot bathroom.

That is how Brown Velvet came into my life.

It's hot, my friends. H-O-T. Hot. By far the darkest paint I've ever chosen. At the last minute I even got a little stage fright. But, say it with me now, it's only paint. I can always paint over it.

My house is ancient--nearly 100. And there are settlement cracks to deal with again. Old house owners call this 'character', right!? ha! This is what it looked like Saturday afternoon.

Lots of patches to deal with. Dry wall patch means you will need primer. You can't paint straight onto virgin walls. It'll look good for awhile, and then the paint will all chip off. Promise.

And then if you're painting a dark color they'll tell you to pick a tinted primer whether your walls are virgin or not.

Here's the thing. You'll only really need a tinted primer if you are transitioning from a light paint to a dark paint. I'll say that again. You only really need a tinted primer if you're transitioning from a light paint to a dark paint. In my case I started with a medium/dark wall color. I didn't feel I needed a primer. And yet I had a lot of light patches that needed primer anyway.... Did I need to buy the tinted primer? Nah. It was a small space to cover, so I made my own!

Just pour a bit of primer into a cup, then add a bit of your wall color. This is probably 2/3 primer, 1/3 wall color. TADA! Free tinted primer. It's all I needed for a relatively small area.

Are you thinking of pushing the limits with a bold color in your house? Tell me about it!

More on the half bath revealed tomorrow!

Free Download Especially for You

2011-03-31T21:45:00.002-04:00

I am going to warn you now. TOMORROW IS APRIL FOOLS DAY. Be prepared.

Sometimes my sense of humor leans to the juvenile too, ok? So I made this, just for you. Download it and use it however you'd like. I even included an 8x10 and 5x7 version.

Just don't sell it, k? That's so not nice.

8x10

5x7

Oh The Office. There's such wisdom there.

In case you'd like to order some fake bird poop, and why wouldn't you?, go here. Sounds like the perfect April Fools day purchase to me!

Seriously. People make fake bird poop?

Introducing... The Half Bath

2011-03-31T05:18:00.001-04:00

We're moving right next door. From the kitchen to the half bath.

It's a teensy, weensy little space. Room for a potty (Am I mom or what? Potty. heh heh) and a pedestal sink.

On the plus side the ceilings are quite high.

When we moved in I put in a (pardon me) boob light. I know, shame on me. I'll get rid of it, k?

I think this space is screaming for a glam-ulous chandelier.

On the floor is super cute hexagon tile.

It's good enough for now, but here's my problem with it. 1. It wasn't installed the best. Can you see by the toilet it obviously shifted? 2. All the grout lines hold dirt. And that's a lot of grout lines, my friend. 3. It's such a small space, I'd like the flooring to match (eventually) with what is in the hall way. For flow and what not.

But that will have to wait. I like hexagon tile in general, so I think it will be fine for the time being.

Now the plan: The top is now a taupe, which is perfectly fine. And boring. I'd like something bold and beautiful. Why not? Below the chair rail is the same orange from the kitchen. I'll just do that the same antique white that the kitchen is now. So light on the bottom, bold and gorgeous on the top. Maybe a fun ceiling color? Definitely a chandelier. New artwork = completely new look!

Stay tuned!

Cabinet Crossroads

2011-03-30T16:48:00.007-04:00

I'm puttering along in the kitchen. Does it look different?

Here are a couple before photos so you can compare.

In addition to painting, I did quite a bit of decluttering. I was even able to remove the "island". Holy moly. I feel like we put on an addition! It's so rooooooomy! Kind of embarrassing to admit, but I was doing dance moves in the middle of the kitchen. Why didn't I do this years ago?!

The microwave is temporarily on the breakfast nook table, until we can buy a new one to go over the stove. At least that's where I think it's going to go. I also still have some trim paint to do. And I also have to paint behind the refrigerator, but I thought I'd wait to paint behind the fridge until I figure out what to do with the cabinets.

So, what should I do with the cabinets?

I really want new cabinets and floors. Reallyreallyreally. But it's so not in the budget right now, it's not funny. If it were going to be in the budget 6 months from now, I might just leave the cabinets. I think it's going to be a good deal longer than 6 months. Time for a temporary solution. I'm going to replace as little as possible, and paint instead.

Here's the dilemma. Light or dark? I feel like the space is pulling me in different directions. The counter and backsplash say "Dark! Paint us dark!" The appliances say "No way! It's white all the way!".

Am I wrong? I love dark counters with white cabinets, but this counter has so many "grungy" undertones I think it will look, well, grungy. And then the rest of the kitchen will be light and bright with grungy counters and dark backsplash. I don't think it's gonna work.

And if the cabinets were painted dark? I think it'll blend with the counter and back splash beautifully. But then of course my appliances would stick out like sore thumbs.

Argh. I gotta think about this awhile. I may just do a happy medium. A medium tone! That might be the ticket. But I'll have to find just the right color.

Maybe I'll move on to the half bath while I think this over.... (Half Bath "before reveal" tomorrow.)

One step forward...

2011-03-28T15:02:00.003-04:00

One step forward, two steps back.

No, these aren't two newly discovered continents, or my attempt at modern art.

They are newly repaired settlement cracks. I hate you, settlement cracks.

What was supposed to be a quick paint is dragging on a bit.

My kitchen is a hot mess.

Jar Lanterns

2011-03-27T20:47:00.008-04:00

Spring is in the air. If you live in a colder climate like me, perhaps you're ready to spend some more time outdoors.

I have been looking for just the right inexpensive outdoor candle lanterns for some time. I was searching for something that had a protective cover, so the inside of the lantern wouldn't get dirty from outdoor debris if I left it outside.

Then these applesauce jars caught my eye.

Why not?

With young children we go through quite a bit of applesauce. It seems such a waste to put nice jars in the recycling bin, but I never had a good idea of how to use them. Until now.

I scraped the labels off with a razor.

Then grabbed some oil rubbed bronze spray paint for the lids.

A couple quick sprays is all it took. I "borrowed" some sand from my kids' sandbox and added some votive candles.

Now to enjoy the evening light.

They go quite nicely with my wine bottle vase, don't you think? ha! And they'd be easy to "jazz up" (if that's your thing) with twine, or you could etch something on there. Or just leave them plain. I think they're pretty as is!

Are you working on anything outdoors for spring?

Linking to some of these great parties.

Now go make something!

Progress?

2011-03-25T10:53:00.003-04:00

This is my favorite part. When I see lots of changes happening quickly. I think "I am so cool, I can do anything!" ha ha

At the end I'll probably be in tears.

But for now, let's call this PROGRESS.

Yikes. I think it's progress.

Here's the before, just two days ago.

Below the chair rail is now Menard's straight out of the can (ie free) Antique White. I primed over the orange before painting, because the orange is such a dark color. In all, it needed 3 coats. A coat of primer, and 2 coats of Antique White.

The trim is straight out of the can Menard's Semi Gloss white (ie $2). I'm liking the tone of tone effect of the white and antique white.

I am doing the same effect on the ceiling. Antique White on the ceiling, White semi-gloss on the crown molding.

Above the chair rail I'm thinking I'll do Smoke Infusion by Valspar. I have this color in my stairway, and it's also the darker color in the basement. It's a nice smoky blue. I literally gathered all my spare change to buy a $30 gallon from Lowe's yesterday.

Sheesh, at this rate, this kitchen is going to take awhile.

Long way to go, but I'm happy with how light and bright it's becoming. I don't want it to become too "beachy" so I'll have to add some dark accents and watch my fabric choices.

Thanks for checking in, now go make something!

Introducing... The Kitchen

2011-03-23T05:30:00.000-04:00

My decorating budget is presently $0.

Zero.

Dollars.

The reason is we have a wee bit of credit card debt. Oh the shame! It's from our airline tickets to Korea to adopt Delaney. So until we get that paid off, I'm going to have to start moving away from the mom cave. Except maybe a couple small things on my to-do list, all the projects I have left are ones that, you know, require actual money.

Just keeping it real, peeps. Real people, real budgets. Even $0 budgets.

There's a reason I am able to move to the kitchen. Our local Menards had free paint last week. Free happens to fit my $0 budget nicely.

Cream and white flat paint was on sale for $11 with an $11 rebate. So I purchased 4 gallons of cream. And semi-gloss white was on sale for $13 with an $11 rebate. Purchased 1 of those for trim.

Dangit! I'm already over budget by $2.

Can you tell I'm stalling because I'm afraid to show you the ugliness? I wish I could blame it on the previous owners. I wish I could say "Orange and red cabinets?! What were those previous owners thinking?" Nope, it was all me.

So, how's the weather over there? Nice and spring-y?

What? Oh, the pictures? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Without further ado...

This is the kitchen layout.

It's not huge, but it's workable. Of course I have plans to make it even more so. And this is what it looks like. Looking from the dining room into the breakfast nook.

You thought I was kidding about the orange and red cabinets, weren't you? Nope.

And the opposite direction. From the breakfast nook toward the dining room.

The sink area.

That swiggly black thing is a wine rack. It's quite cool, but looking at it now, I think it needs a home elsewhere.

And the opposite side, the fridge area.

I feel like I owe you an explanation as to why it looks like a rainbow threw up in my kitchen. The orange, fake terracotta floors were existing when we moved in. And I felt like I had to make them look like an intentional choice.

The adjoining dining room was red when we moved in, and I liked red at the time, so I decided to keep it. I found some fabric at HobLob with red, orange and green stripes (in fact they still sell it) and I used those EXACT colors for most of the main areas of my home when we moved in 7 years ago. Really intense, saturated COLOR. And that is why it looks like a rainbow threw up in my kitchen.

We put up the slate backsplash when we moved in. I thought it made the existing laminate look more real.

I don't like it anymore. Any of it.

The appliances are new. We bought them less than a year ago. I have no idea how, but Mr. RBR talked me out of stainless (for some weird reason he doesn't like it). So they're white. And they're staying.

I brought in this buffet for more prep surface and a little bit more storage.

I still like this old thing, but it has to go. This room is way too small for an island. If we can move the microwave off the countertop, I'll have the exact same amount of prep space I do now.

I have major dreams for this space, but our present budget situation means it's gonna take awhile. And I can tell by the pictures, a major declutter and some de-coloring are going to make a big difference right away.

Thanks for looking. I hope you'll stick around to see it through!

Now go make something!

A Juvenile Sense of Humor

2011-03-22T05:30:00.000-04:00

More Mom Cave projects! Woo hoo! It's really coming along.

Quick question for anyone who has a preschooler/toddler, or knows a preschooler/toddler.

Besides "No", what is the one word you hear most in a day?

For this project, I picked up some white letters at Joann. They were on sale. I spent $6 for 4.

A couple quick coats with Mediterranean Valspar spray paint, and hung with Command Strips let's everyone know this space is...

MINE!

It's mine! Mineminemineminemine!

ha!

Have a good one.

Linking to some of these great parties.

Now go make something!

Striped Post

2011-03-21T05:30:00.001-04:00

There's a support post in my mom cave.

And apparently if something stands still long enough, I'll put a decorative paint treatment on it. Like here. And here. And here.

This time I decided on horizontal stripes.

Taped.

Finished!

Pretty!

Mixing three different wall treatments in one room... too much? Plain, painted wallpaper and stripes. Do I need a decorative-paint-treatment intervention?

Eh, the colors are subtle. It's working for me.

Since I have to work around this column anyway, I have a plan to add a gift wrapping station, made from wood scraps and a dowel. But it will require some minor building. Maybe Mr. RBR will give me a lesson.

Stay tuned!

No go make something!

Room with a (Fake) View

2011-03-20T05:31:00.003-04:00

Work continues on the Mom Cave. If you've been following along, you know the mom cave is in the basement.

Our basement is a "true basement". No walk out. No full size, light filled windows--no egress windows even. All the windows are glass block and very small and high. It makes it a little claustrophobic. At best it's just very basement-y.

Mr. RBR dumpster-dived some old windows for me. What a guy. :) Honestly he's regretted it ever since because he found a bunch, and they've been laying around for years as I've slowly been finding uses for them.

I think two windows would made a perfect addition above the couch in the mom cave. Here they are, waiting in the "cool junk pile" in the basement ready for their makeover.

I used two windows that (I think) were a pair. A top and a bottom. After a decent cleaning, I sprayed the back of the glass with Krylon Looking Glass spray paint.

Looking Glass spray paint gives a mirror like finish to glass. You simply give a few coats to the BACK of the glass. That's it!

Looking Glass spray paint has the perfect level of reflection for this project. It's not super highly reflective like a mirror. It's almost old and smoked looking. Perfect for these old windows.

I found this spray paint at Hobby Lobby, but you can find it at other craft stores or online. The cans are pretty small, and I used 2 cans--one for each window.

Then I painted the front side of the windows black because there are a lot of black accents in this room. I removed the latching hardware from the bottom window, so I could get the windows as close together as I could. The latch was in the way. Next I attached the windows together with some reinforcing hardware (got this at Lowes).

Hung it up behind the couch with some wall anchors....

Ta Da!

A room with a view! Sort of. It's kind of fun, don't you think? It certainly brings a sense of lightness to the space.

Soon I'll add some curtains, and you won't even recognize this wall! It's already an awesome transformation. Take a look at this progression. It's all the same wall.

Looking for another window project? Check this one out.

Linking to some of these great parties.

Now go make something!

Easy Peasy Chevron Pattern

2011-03-19T05:30:00.002-04:00

101 followers?! Who are you people? I only told 4 people in real life about this blog (and not even my own mother). To think there are 101 people who don't know me, but who are interested in what is going on here is mindblowing. HOORAY! Welcome!

On to the good stuff...

Check out how I made this tray over with a chevron pattern.

I found this tray at Goodwill for $5.99.

Those ottomans had a makeover too. Check them out here.

This is what the tray looks like now.

After a light sand, I painted this sucker with some turquoise paint. It was just one of those $3 samples I used for some other projects.

After a couple coats I had a bright, pretty, clean slate.

This tray is going on my heavily patterned ottomans, so I wanted this chevron nice and large so it wouldn't compete. A smaller pattern on a smaller pattern would probably be too busy.

I came up with a pretty easy way to do a chevron pattern. Let's get to it.

I cut out a section of posterboard that measured 3" x 9".

I thought it might be fun to angle the pattern a bit, so I placed my template randomly on my tray.

I outlined the rectangle lightly with pencil.

Next I flipped the template 90º and traced again.

I did this over and over until my tray was filled with the chevron pattern.

Next I decided which areas I wanted to be my accent color (my favorite green, Meadowlands by Valspar). I used FrogTape brand painters tape (super duper awesome stuff) to tape inside the lines I wanted to remain turquoise.

Then I painted the areas I wanted to be green.

Let it dry and painted again.

While the second coat was still damp, I removed the tape. I am really impressed with this tape. The lines are really crisp.

I let my tray dry overnight. The next day I used a damp cloth to remove the pencil marks.

Then I gave it a coat of Flat protective spray to preserve my hard work. After all, before too long this will probably be used for cocktails in my mom cave.

ha! Yeah, right. It's probably more like this.

Sippies and bottles.

Ah well. Let's pretend my life is glamorous for 2 seconds and that I have people over for cocktails.

Give this chevron technique a try, then tell me how it went!

One more before and after.

Linking to some of these great parties.

Now go make something!

Work Table Makeover

2011-03-18T05:41:00.001-04:00

Here's another hand me down. Just like the chair from yesterday, this drop leaf table was in our house growing up. I remember it being in our living room.

When I moved out I totally stole it.

No, no. My mom was happy to cast it off on me. Promise.

Back in the day (13ish years ago?) I painted it two different shades of sage green to match the chair.

But now I think it's begging for something more bold.

A black top and white legs suits it well, don't you think?

Here is the pair together in my work area in the mom cave.

Looking good! (except that faded denim pillow. How'd that get in there? That's not staying).

What I like most about this table is the versatility. With the drop leaves down, the table and chair fit snugly side by side.

I can flip out one leaf for more room, and sort of a desk.

If I have a project that requires lots of room, I can flip both sides out.

And then put it all aside when I'm done.

Nice!

Before:

After:

Linking to some of these great parties.

Now go make something!

Chair Makeover

2011-03-17T05:30:00.001-04:00

This could also be called "Seat Recovering 101".

Here's a pretty chair that has made the rounds.

It was originally part of a set that my mom bought for our dining room when I was a young teenager. She found them in the classifieds section of our local paper.

They served us find for years. My mom eventually bought a new dining set right around the time that I got my first apartment, so the old dining set (a 70s table and 5 redone antique chairs) came with me. Shabby Chic was just become the thing at the time, so I remade the chairs with distressed minty green paint and softly colored plaid seats.

Eventually I bought a new dining set, so the table and 4 of the chairs went in a garage sale. But I kept this captains chair (the other 4 were armless). I use it primarily at my crafting/sewing work table. It still sports the paint scheme I gave it 13ish years ago.

I gotta say, I'm pleased it's not that out-of-date. It still looks ok to me. But my tastes are changing slightly. I still like time-worn finishes, but I like bolder and more modern things too. So it's time for a makeover.

True confessions time. I bought too much black and white fabric.

I only needed 3 1/3 yards for my ottoman makeover. I was nervous about that project and bought 5 yards. Normally I'd pick out a new fabric for this chair, but the cheap side of me is just going to use what I already have. I'm sure it will be fine, it will just be a little more matchy-matchy than I originally wanted.

(channeling my kids' whiney voice) But I don't like match-matchy.

I'm trying to get over it.

Have you ever recovered a chair with a fabric seat? Don't be intimidated. It's super easy. Flip the chair over. You'll see 4 screws.

See the black dots in the cross braces? Those are the screws.

Take out the screws, and the seat will pop right out.

Cut out a piece of fabric large enough to wrap around the back.

You'll be wrapping the fabric around the back and stapling it.

I alternate opposite sides when stapling. For instance, I'll do a row of staples across the top, then I'll staple the bottom (while holding the fabric taught). Then a row across the left side, then the right (stretching fabric taught again).

Alternate sides when stapling.

Leave corners for last.

When you're finished, just screw the seat back in. A couple coats of white semi gloss finish off this chair makeover.

Before:

After:

Did you notice my work table got a makeover too? More on that tomorrow.

In the meantime, linking to some of these great parties.

Now go make something!

Painters Tape Wallpaper

2011-03-16T05:30:00.003-04:00

I decided I needed some wall pattern down in the ol' mom cave. But I didn't want to spend tons of cash on a wallpaper. I didn't even want to spend $50 on a stencil. Still, I wanted something modern, yet whimsical. Finally I decided to make my own pattern with painters tape.

Stick with me here, it's going to be a long one.

This is what my wall looked like before. A blank slate.

This is what it looks like now.

What I did:

First I measured the wall to find the center of the room. Starting at the center (actually 1/2 inch left of center, since my tape is 1 inch wide), I used a large level to mark 12 inch vertical stripes across the wall. I marked the 12 inch stripes lightly with a pencil, then I put Frog Brand painters tape along the pencil lines I drew (PS, that Frog tape is AWESOME. It seals very well with no bleeding).

Marking 12 inch vertical lines with a level and a pencil.

Wall taped at 12" intervals.

Next I made a rectangle template out of cheap posterboard. My template is 4" x 16". I chose 4" x 16" because my painters tape is 1 inch wide and I wanted the final size to be 6" x 18".

4" x 16" template

I marked guide lines at the top and bottom, so I'd know where the tape would line up. I also cut out a random rectangle area on the top and bottom and put painters tape across it. This would hold my template to the wall.

Cutouts with painters tape applied will hold stencil to the wall.

I stuck the template on my wall and after checking it was straight with a small hand level, I taped around it.

Template stuck to wall.

Guides ensure template is centered. I also checked to make sure it was vertical with a small hand level.

The easiest way to make straight corners was to overlap the tape, then score lightly with a knife. Remove excess tape.

Tape around template, overlapping at corners. Then score lightly and remove excess.

Next I removed the template and scored lightly again to remove the tape inside the rectangle.

Remove template.

Score lightly to remove tape inside rectangle area.

First one done!

First row done!

I made rectangles on every other row, checking with a level to make sure they were even.

Lastly I connected the rectangles with horizontal tape lines. I made these the same way as I did the vertical ones. I measured where they needed to go, then used a large level to draw light pencil lines. Then I taped next to the pencil lines.

Connect rectangles with horizontal tape lines the same way as vertical tape lines were made. Mark a starting point. Draw a line with a pencil and a level. Tape along the line.

Tape is finished!

Once the tape was done I painted over top everything with a coordinating wall color. I did this exactly the same as if the tape weren't there. First I cut in, then I rolled. Waited 2 hours for everything to dry. Then I cut in again and rolled again.

Here is everything painted.

While the second coat was still damp, I removed the tape.

There were a couple of spots that I scored too heavily, and a bit of the undercoat of paint chipped off.

A cheap plastic children's watercolor brush (or q-tip) dipped in some paint took care of that in literally a couple minutes.

This is where I originally intended to stop.

I thought it looked nice. But then the more I looked at it, the more I thought it needed... something. It's a perfectly nice geometric. But this is the mom cave. The mom cave, man! It's in our unfinished basement. No one will see this space, unless they're coming down to do laundry. It sounds selfish to say this, but it's really all for me. No one else cares or will probably ever see it (except you, dear internets), so let's push it to a level beyond "safe" to extraordinary.

This is supposed to be an inspiring space.

A creative space.

A fun space.

A whimsical space.

A witty space.

All the attributes I strive to be, frankly.

This is where I told my perfectionist self to go to lunch or take a nap (or have a drink), while the funky side figured this thing out.

I took a silver paint marker (by Sharpie) and freehand outlined the entire design. Was it perfect? Oh no. Quite imperfect. But that's what makes it fun! It's what gives the pattern it's whimsy.

This is oil based paint in marker, and there were a few times I royally messed up.

Oh no! What shall I do?

A q-tip dipped in paint thinner took care of all my goofs.

Hooray!

The final reveal!

Before:

After:

Just for fun, here's a progression of the same wall.

Interested in what I did to that green dresser? Find out about that project here.

Linking to some of these great parties.

Now go make something!

This project was featured on Addicted 2 Decorating and Chic on a Shoestring.

New Vase

2011-03-13T18:27:00.007-04:00

Do you like my vase?

It's an old wine bottle, with a twig I painted green (saved from my Christmas mantle scape).

I honestly have no clue where this came from. We don't drink this wine. And I have no idea why it was sitting in a corner of the basement (although I have a hunch it might have something to do with Mr. RBR's failed attempt at home brewing beer). However it ended up here, I remembered seeing a similarly shaped vase at TJ Maxx a couple days ago. For $20. So after I scraped the label off with a razor, this discarded bottle went to work as a vase.

Sometimes I need to be reminded that it can be that easy and to get a new look. Especially after spending hours painting a relatively small chunk of wall. Notice that pattern behind the vase?

Pretty simple.

Pretty.

Simple.

The wall treatment, not as simple to do. But still pretty!

Do you need a new vase? I think it's a great excuse to buy a gigantic jug o' wine.

It's, ahem, for decorating purposes only, honey.

Tutorial for what is probably the most amazing wall treatment I've ever done tomorrow. (It may even beat the monster truck).

Now go make something!

Mom Cave Sign Tutorial

2011-03-11T11:02:00.006-05:00

I got a decorative sign as a gift years ago. It was cute at the time, and it had a place in our dining room. But now my tastes have changed and I was ready to redo it.

Now it looks like this!

Would you like one too? Let's make it!

When I looked closely at the sign I could tell it had been hand made. I think it was made by a 1x6 board and a stencil. The dimensions are roughly 1 inch x 6 inches x 18 inches. The edges on this sign had been routered. Roouuuterr. Ed. Routturd. Routed? I think you know what I mean. You can route your edges, or not. Your choice. You can also buy precut/pre-routed sign boards at craft stores.

For this project you'll need:

• 1 board for a sign. Approximate dimensions: 6 inches x 18 inches.

• Paint (and possibly primer)

• Printer

• Scissors or exacto knife

• Some sort of glue or ModPodge to attach a print to the sign board

• Pound in picture hangers (optional)

My original sign had already been painted, so I just gave it a few coats of some left over spray paint. I used "Mediterranean" by Valspar, purchased at Lowes. I originally used it for my bedroom lamps, found here.

If your board is bare, you may want to give it a quick coat of primer before painting. This will help the paint adhere.

Next, download this image. (On my computer I have to click twice for the largest version).

I uploaded the above image as large as I can. You may have to enlarge it a touch. The final size should be 5 inches x 16 inches.

If you have a printer that prints TABLOID (11 x 17 inch) sheets--lucky you!-- you can just print it at home.

My at-home printer is pretty horrible, so I do all my "nice" printing at FedEx (formally Kinkos). You can bring it in on a CD or other portable memory device (I have a little cheapo memory stick) and they'll print it while you wait. I think you can even email it to them and pick it up later. I did this today, and my 11x17 print was $1.99 including tax.

Next cut out the image.

In case you're a beginner and don't think you can cut straight lines, this is what I do. For straight lines I use an exacto knife and a cork-backed metal ruler. Here's my ruler. It, uh, has cork on the back and stuff. The cork allows the ruler to sit on the paper firmly, without sliding.

I put my ruler over the image to protect it. Then I rest my knife against the ruler and follow the straight edge of the ruler.

For the flowers poking above the image area, I cut them with the exacto freehand.

It's also perfectly fine to use a scissors, if you prefer

Use your choice of glue or ModPodge to attach the image onto the board. Allow to dry. That's all folks!

If you'd like to hang this sign on the wall you can add picture hangers that pound right in. Here is an example. You can find these at hardware stores.

Pretty inexpensive little project. I already had the sign, spray paint and glue, so my out of pocket was $1.99. Your milage may vary.

It's cute too, if I do say so myself.

Here it is in, duh, my mom cave over my work area.

Someone alert Donna. I got some Funky Junk up (down?) in here!

Here's the original photo of "the junk."

Find the original mom cave post here.

CREDIT: The hydrangea image is originally from The Graphics Fairy. You can find the hydrangea here.

Linking to some of these great parties.

Now go make something!

Dwell Studio Knock Off

2011-03-07T14:02:00.006-05:00

If you've spent any time on this blog you've probably figured out I love bold patterns.

Dwell Studio has some GORGEOUS bold fabrics. Did you know they have a line at Target too? It's pretty awesome. In fact when I saw this Plum Blossom motif I knew I had to have it.

But I don't need new bedding. So what to do?

I painted my file cabinet.

Here is the file cabinet before, in the sad neglected basement. Before it became my mom cave...

And here's the file cabinet now with a new paint job.

It's almost unrecognizable, isn't it?

All I did was sketch the layout on the drawers of my cabinet with a pencil. Then I just painted in the lines. My cabinet started out black, so I left those areas alone. I didn't paint the black areas. It took 3-4 coats to get good coverage, but it's not a large area so it wasn't that time consuming.

Give it a shot! It's fun to give an old piece new life.

Now you can see why I was so drawn to the black and white fabric I used on the ottomans. It has a lot of similarities, don't you think?

Of course I gotta do a before and after:

Linking to some of these great parties.

Now go make something!

Basement Layout

2011-03-07T13:03:00.003-05:00

I've been working on the basement awhile, and I thought it might be helpful if I made a floorplan. I'm no professional, so don't hold me to the exact proportions, but this should give an idea of the space.

This is our basement layout. There's a lot of unfinished space, with about a third of the space "mostly finished" by the previous owners. This "mostly finished" space will be finished and will become my mom cave.

Focusing on just the mom cave portion...

Here's what I think the furniture layout will be.

On the far bottom right, a couch and two ottomans. I purchased the couch already. It was a $70 craigslist find. I admit it still needs a good cleaning (ew). But this area will not be used heavily, so I didn't want to invest in something new. The two ottomans were recently recovered. You can find them here.

Directly across from the couch, is where I have a long, low modern dresser. It was recently repainted. You can find that post here. On top of the dresser is a TV (already owned. Displaced after the built-in redo here). I also have a wall treatment planned for the wall behind the dresser, so stay tuned for that.

The middle of the room is a little narrow. There's a closet on the top, which disguises some water pipes. I hope to finish out the closet and make it more usable space. Below the closet will be my work area. That small square is a support post. The chair I have for the work table will be able to be moved to make it part of the conversation area with the couch/ottomans.

Finally on the top left presently I have a large file cabinet and desk. For now I think that area will just get beautified, but for the future I have a pretty crazy idea... thinking of making that area a kitchenette. Some cabinetry and a dorm fridge? I know, I know. That will probably be long into the future. But fun to dream.

Before I post an update, here's a reminder of where it started.

Stay tuned for more basement projects...

Now go make something!

Bad Hair Day

2011-03-06T05:55:00.001-05:00

How can such a darling girl wake up with such horrible hair?!

Who me? I totally meant it to look this way.

Having a girl is weirdly wonderful.

I can't believe she's been here almost 2 whole months already! In case you were wondering, she is doing great. It's like she's always been here. We love her so. And I think she kinda likes us too. Bonus! :)

Now go make something!

Unbelievably Fantabulous Extraordinary Kitchen

2011-03-05T06:00:00.003-05:00

It's not mine! Waaaaah...

I'm talking about Flea Market Trixie. Have you seen her kitchen!?! I am DYING over every detail. I just know you will too.

I'll show you one before and after just to make sure you go over there. Because once you see it, you will be so glad you did. Or maybe you'll be like me and feel sad that you have the ugliest kitchen ever. (I bet mine's uglier)

OK, ok, ok. One more.

Holy crapsticks.

I have no idea what that means. It just came out.

Now please, do go over to Trixie's and give her some bloggy love on a project incredibly well done.

The kitchen reveal is here.

The cabinets were unfinished oak. Trixie painted them herself (6 coats!).

Here's how she made the table in the breakfast nook.

They built their own range hood!?

I think the floor is so adorable. It's painted wood!

PS. Trixie has no idea who I am, and we have never met. I am just a random kitchen-luster.

Now go make something!

Color Obsession

2011-03-04T05:59:00.002-05:00

I have an obsession with a new color. What should I call it? It's sort of... leaf green. Darker and more mature than chartruese, more youthful than olive. There's just something about it.

I found this mid century modern dresser for the basement.

And there's only one color it could be.

This is my go-to green. It's Meadowlands by Valspar.

This dresser was just $40. I thought that was a steal for it's modern sensability. But it had a few small condition issues. Like this cigarette burn.

A little sanding took care of that.

This particular paint has primer built in, so after a little all over light sanding, I just dived right in.

After one coat.

Let it dry for a bit, then the second coat. I let this paint "cure" for several days before putting the HUGE heavy TV on it. Maybe I should have put a bit of polycrylic on it for extra protection. I guess time will tell. If it gets a little knocked around I can always sand and touch up.

And now the moment of truth. A couple before and afters!

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Linking to some of these great parties.

Now go make something!

Slip Covered Ottomans

2011-03-02T21:21:00.005-05:00

When redecorating your home, often the most inexpensive option isn't finding the best deal for something new... it's repurposing or redoing something you already have.

Enter my ottomans (please ignore the flaking, painted concrete basement floor).

I registered for these suckers at Bed, Bath and Beyond before Mr. RBR and I got married. It was when these square ottomans first came out. I thought they were mega cool. Of course now these little ottomans are all over the place. Now they have cool fabrics, and even storage inside. Nope, not these. No storage. Just little square ottoman cubes. Plus they look a little boring, don't they? It's not like they're offensive. They're just... yawn.

Well not anymore, honey!

A little fun black and white fabric (3 1/3 yards for two). Esmee by Wavery.

Sewn into a slipcover. I have not done much of this, but you just pin it inside out and sew. Sometimes the best way to learn to do something, is just to try to do it!

Now take a look!

No one would ever dream of calling these two boring. They're the life of the party, er, basement!

Speaking of basement, I owe you an update. Major progress. You know it's going to be my mom cave, right?

A before and after? You bet.

Linking to some of these great parties.

Now go make something!

Bolstering your Pillow's Appeal

2011-03-01T06:11:00.003-05:00

See what I did there? I used "bolstering" the verb, and I'm talking about "bolsters" the noun. Get it? AH HA HA HA HA

HA HA

Nevermind.

I have two bolsters. I've had them for ages. And they've always sat on these two chairs.

There's nothing wrong with them. They're perfectly fine tan, faux-suede bolsters. Nothing offending enough to warrant them getting tossed.

But I think they lack pizzaz. Despite the bold geometric on these two chairs, this area was rather... boring. What's missing? Then it hit me. Duh.

COLOR.

I hate to throw anything out. And, heck, I'm cheap too. So how about a facelift?

I found the PERFECT fabric. Epic Tale by Waverly. It's the stripe in this stack.

It was a little more expensive than I usually go for at $22/yd. But I only needed two feet (2/3 yd) for this project, which came to about $14.50.

All I did was cut out two identical striped areas, seam the raw edges, and sew it together to make a tube.

Then just slipped it on. Come on, what's easier than that? And a nice transformation for little time and little money... two things I don't have much of these days.

Linking to some of these great parties.

Now go make something!

This project was featured on Finding Fabulous.

Handpainted Jewelry Box

2011-02-28T08:56:00.007-05:00

Several years ago I asked Mr. RBR for a jewelry box for Christmas. I'm usually not extremely picky and didn't feel the need to pick it out myself, but I did ask that it be 1. large (larger than the one I had at the time) 2. Be white 3. Have silver hardware.

Mr. RBR found this.

It's not tooooo bad. The size and functionality of it I love. It's worked well. But I've never loved the finish.

Mr. RBR said he looked everywhere, but couldn't find something that was large and white, let alone with silver hardware. This finish is kind of halfway between cream and pickled oak. You can't really tell in the photos, but there's a pickish hue and some wood grain showing. And the brass just didn't go with our bedroom decor.

But now that our bedroom is getting a refresher, why not change it?

I started with some spray paint. Just give it a light sand and paint away. The drawers on this jewelry box shut pretty tight, so I didn't even bother to take my jewelry out.

Don't be like me.

Here's what it looked like after 3ish coats with some spray paint. I liked it. I thought it looked nice!

But why not take it over the top? I decided to put a little handmade detail on it. Something branchy. I got me some spring fevah! I got a large artist's brush and practiced on some scrap paper.

Uh oh. I might be in trouble. That sucks.

To the internet for some inspiration!

Um, yeah. Something like THIS!

This is wallpaper by Schumacher, found here.

So I printed out the inspiration on my home printer. I got out a teensy tiny artist's brush and some regular white semi gloss trim paint. I found the paint was a little too thick and clumpy to get the small detail, so I added a few drops of water right on the paint lid. Then I just went for it!

It was a little scary, but I figured if I hated it, all I needed to do was re-sand and re-spray. No big deal. Luckily it turned out very nice! It's not hard. Give it a try! Find some inspiration. Practice before you paint your piece. Go slowly--take your time!

When it was dry I wanted to make sure to protect my hard work. The spray paint seemed very durable, but I didn't want my branches to scrape off. I found some matte protective spray I already had (I used it to protect the chippy finish on the dump truck and train in the boy's room). I didn't want to spray the whole jewelry box in this case, because the sealer is matte and the spray paint was gloss. I was pretty sure that would rip a hole in the universe.

Nah, I liked the gloss, and I didn't want to cover it with matte. If I had gloss spray sealer, I would have sprayed the whole thing. Instead I sprayed a little matte sealer right in the cap. Stuck my brush in there and painted over top all the white areas I wanted to protect. After I was finished I immediately cleaned my brush with mineral spirits so it stayed nice.

All done! Here it is in its new home.

You think if I brought it outside it might inspire spring to come sooner?

Hmm... Not working.

It's still pretty. One more before and after.

Linking to some of these great parties!

This project was featured on the CSI Project.

Nightstand Kitchens

2011-02-25T09:06:00.001-05:00

Did you know there is a phenomenon going around blogland? NIGHSTAND KITCHENS!

People take old nightstands (or sewing tables, or tv stands, or small entertainment centers) and turn them into kiddy kitchens. And they are so cute I can't stand it! Makes me want to try my own. The possibilities are endless. And of course each one ends up unique... it makes want to try to do a bunch and try to sell them.

Then I remember I have 3 children under 5 years old and a house in shambles and I think "WHEN am I going to do this exactly?"

We'll see. In case I can eek out some time this summer, I'll keep these gorgeous specimens in my idea box.

This one from My Little Gems.

Another one from Domestic Simplicity. Pretty!

Girly meets modern at Dwellings by Devore.

Vintage Songbird. Fresh!

Bright red by Little Miss MK.

This little beauty, made from a sewing table, is freaking me out a little bit. Look anything like the beadboard in our Toy Room? Eeeeerie! From Lipstick and Laundry.

The details on this one are killing me! The black windows on the appliances, the highlight and numbers on the microwave? Sooo cute. Martha Writes.

And all kinds of kitchen-y goodness over at Out Of The Crayon Box.

Have you made one of these? Please, please share! I'm begging!

Builder's Itch

2011-02-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Hey, if tennis player's can have tennis elbows, how about a builder's itch?

I have an urge to BUILD. Something. Lots of things. I don't think I've built one stinking thing before, but that dang Ana White sure makes me wanna try.

I know I've helped build lots of things. I've torn apart plenty of things. I've painted, revamped, destroyed and put together a lot of things. But BUILD something? Something from SCRATCH?Idonthinkso.

There's one little itty bitty problem--besides complete lack of experience. I'm afraid of saws.

I keep thinking I'm going to cut a finger off.

A little story that I just thought of. My friend used to go to this church. The minister was missing part of his index finger and part of his ring finger. First of all, how in the heck does that happen? If you're in some sort of finger accident, how do you miss the middle finger? Secondly, as the minister was gesturing he looked like he was giving everyone the bird. No really. Swear.

I don't want to look like I'm flicking anyone off! Argh. But I'd sure like to make some of Ana's plans.

In an old house, storage is often, well, lacking. I'd love to make this entry bench system.

Picture from Ana's site.

Learn how to make the bench here.

Or how about some floating shelves? Yes, please!

Photo from Ana's site.

Learn how to make the shelves here.

She makes it look easy.

So easy in fact, I have a growing wild fantasy of adding a custom built-in cabinet to a little used nook upstairs.

It'd be great!

If I knew what the heck I was doing.

I'll let you know if I'm ready to risk life and, er, finger.

Happy birthday, Clayton!

2011-02-23T06:39:00.000-05:00

Something really amazing happened three years ago today.

After nearly four years of failure to become parents using nearly every method available to us... we finally, finally, FINALLY officially became parents.

Clayton was born.

We had had so many failures, I refused to take any pictures of myself pregnant. Finally on the way to the hospital, I relented.

Finally.

We didn't know on February 23, 2008 what Clayton would bring to our family. But honestly it didn't take long to find out. Clayton's always been on fire. From nearly the moment he was born he has been fiesty. Clayton has been my only successful pregnancy out of 10. I've lost 9 others. In my mind I joke that Clayton came from one stubborn-ass egg. Sorry, but I think it's true.

He laughs the loudest, he cries the loudest. He is a bundle of energy that almost never, ever sits still. He's a rollercoaster on steroids.

Just seven weeks after baby Clayton was born, little Zack would join us. Then the party would really begin!

Dear, dear Clayton. I love all you kids so much, but on this day, your special day, I hope it's all you've ever dreamed of. Just like you kids are all I could ever dream of.

I love you sweetheart. I hope you'll always know how much. You are a special kid.

Love,

Mommy

Fabric

2011-02-22T07:17:00.003-05:00

Bought $150 worth of fabric the other day. EEK! That's a lot of cash for me. Hope I can get all these projects done before Delaney's out of diapers.

Not as in "I need to go buy some more diapers". As in potty trained.

Now that we got that straight, take a looksee. FUN!

The green boucle-looking fabric is going in the basement. Pillows. The color isn't coming across well in the photo. It's not minty, it's more chartreuse-like.

The stripe will go in the living room. Haven't even shown you that room yet. It will be accenting existing pillows. (Fabric is called Epic Tales in Spa by Waverly).

The black and white print is going to slipcover some ottomans in the basement. (Fabric is called Esmee by Waverly.)

The brown geometric is going to be curtains in our master bedroom. About time I got rid of the hankerchiefs. I'm also lovin' the Oriental vibe. (Fabric is Key Ring by 3 Park/Waverly).

Huh. I sure have been on a Waverly kick. Well, they do have pretty fabric.

Better get to work!

More Photos of Korea

2011-02-21T07:02:00.000-05:00

Pictures from the day we met Delaney: Day 4.

The moment I held Delaney for the first time.

Chewing on the remote and sitting with Daddy.

The foster dad was very creative. He made this riding toy out of a bumbo, obviously. Here you can see the dining area behind them. In the foreground are the room "pads."

Where our little lady slept. We were glad to find out she slept in a crib, since that's where she'd sleep when she came home. You can also see behind Delaney they had a glassed-in porch area. It was almost like a greenhouse. The foster mom had all kinds of beautiful plants in there. She must have a real green thumb.

Here we are in front of their Christmas decorations.

Photos of Korea

2011-02-20T09:50:00.004-05:00

Photos from Day 3: Our room and visiting Tae Kwon Do Federation Headquarters, Kukkiwon

Our little (messy) room.

That's pretty much all there was to it!

Our view.

Mr. RBR at the gates of Kukkiwon.

The Kukkiwon museum.

The ceiling of the stadium was covered in HUGE flags. It was very pretty. Picture didn't do it justice.

Mr. RBR ready to practice his skillz. ha!

Do you read too many design blogs?

2011-02-18T15:33:00.002-05:00

Trip Day 4

2011-02-13T10:38:00.007-05:00

Day 1 & 2

Day 3

Before we left for Korea, the social worker at our home agency sent us an email. In the email she said we needed to go to our Korean social worker's office on Tuesday, January 4 at 11:00 am. Then we'd get to go to the foster family's house and meet Delaney for the first time.

We were very, very excited. The day had finally arrived!

The night before I had gone to sleep at about 7 pm because I was so jetlagged. So it wasn't a surprise that we woke up at 4 am.

We puttered around the room, waiting for day break. I was glad I had brought lots of reading material: a book and a handful of magazines. Mr. RBR fiddled with his laptop. The guest house didn't have internet. We showered. Mr. RBR headed around the corner to a Seven-Eleven for some yogurt while I did my hair.

We had heard there was a nice coffee shop with internet access nearby, so late morning we headed out. We were starting to get our bearings and know the neighborhood a bit. We found the coffee shop easily. It's called Tom N Toms. I was surprised to learn it's a Korean business, because it seemed very western! Along with coffee, tea and hot chocolate--normal coffeehouse fare--they also offered a variety of hot, soft pretzels. My favorite was a soft pretzel twist stuffed with baked apple filling. It was delish! They'd roll and make them right in front of you. It was a neat place.

Tom N Toms became our morning ritual. From there I wrote on this blog, emailed, posted stuff on facebook.

We killed some time until it was time to find our social worker's office. The office was just two doors down from the guest house. We stopped back at the guest house to pick up the gifts we brought and went to find the office. We had to ride a very narrow elevator, and were invited to wait in a room until the social worker arrived. I had made some baked goods before we left for the staff. The room we were in had coffee and refreshments for the staff, so I took out my stash of stuff and set it out next to the coffee.

Several minutes later our social worker arrived, apologizing for being late. She said it's time to go! She snagged a driver and the four of us piled into a mini van.

Seoul is very hilly, and the streets sometimes go over each other, instead of crossing. It was kind of a crazy ride. The traffic was probably pretty typical for a big city. Busy. Fast. You have to be aggressive!

We passed the Olympic Village. I was glad we got to see it. With the weather as cold as it was, we probably wouldn't have ventured out to see it otherwise.

After about 40 minutes of driving we arrived at a tidy, tan brick apartment complex. We made it! Up the elevator a couple floors to the foster parents' home.

They met us at the door. There she was! It was so exciting. So wonderful! Little Delaney was even more beautiful in person.

Delaney's foster parents are in their 50s. They were dressed nicely. She was wearing a dark sweater and a long skirt. He was wearing brown dress pants and a striped sweater. They had little Delaney in what was probably a Christmas dress. It was navy and red plaid. Very, very cute. Although it was warm in the apartment, they had her very bundled up. Delaney even had socks over her tights.

Their apartment was very nice. Slightly smallish by mid-western standards. The walls were all cream, with a lot of built-ins that were dark wood. They had a couch and a chair pushed against one wall, but in place of a rug there was a large "pad" on the floor. Later I saw one of these at the agency too. Perhaps to cushion the knees and bums of little ones? They had some Christmas decor on the wall at the end of a hallway.

Delaney's foster parents clearly adored her. They showed us the games she did, and all the things she could do. They showed us where she slept. The foster mom kept telling us how smart she is. She told me to please be patient with her because she has a "hot temper." Oh, how that made me laugh. I reassured her. I also told her we had experience: one of our sons has a hot temper too!

Ahem, CLAYTON.

Foster mom invited us to sit at their dining room table. She had set out a variety of fruits and some homemade tea. Apples, pears, strawberries and persimmons (?) were peeled, cut, and setting out in white bowls. We ate with forks, which surprised me a little bit. The "tea" was cold and fruity. Almost syrupy. Foster mom said she made it herself, and it was good for colds.

We exchanged gifts. I had brought them a nice large, soft blanket (I knew it was as cold there as it is here), some leather gloves for the mister, and a dainty gold star necklace for the misses (Delaney's birthname means Gold Star). I gave them some vitamins (it's big there) and baked goods too. They had gifts for us also. Mr. RBR got a beautiful inlaid business card holder. I got a similar styled jewelry box. We also got tons and tons of Korean Ginsing tea. They also gave us a gorgeous hanbok for Delaney, the dress she wore on her 100 day party, and a photo album of pictures they took of Delaney while she was there.

It was a nice visit. We were there perhaps an hour? We took a lot of pictures, including some of the foster parents and us together. Then it was time to go. We had to leave Delaney behind, which was a little sad. But I knew we'd get her forever very soon.

40 minute drive back to the agency.

When we arrived, the social worker asked if we'd like to see the "Baby Reception Area". Would we? Of course!

In Korea, babies that are available to be adopted spend the first month or two of their lives in the Baby Reception area. They are cared for by nurses around the clock and seen by doctors daily. After they reach about 2 months old, if they haven't been adopted they are sent to live in a foster home. They are only allowed to be adopted by Koreans living in Korea until they are 5 months old. Once they reach 5 months old they may be adopted by people living elsewhere.

So of course we wanted to see the baby reception area--it was where Delaney spent her first 2 months of life! I think I almost fell over when the social worker walked us right to our building. The baby reception area was in the same building as we had been staying. I had no idea.

It was a bit like a hospital nursery. There was a big window in the hallway where we peered in at all the little babies. The little ones were lined up in bassinets, much like a hospital. There was a room beyond the little baby room, separated by glass again, for the bigger babies. In that room there were swings, bouncy seats, and all the items needed for bigger baby care.

It was very overwhelming. All those precious babes. We had a nice conversation with the social worker about changing attitudes in domestic adoption (Koreans adopting the Korean babies). But sadly, most Koreans want to adopt girls, and all the babies we saw in the nursery that day were boys.

Be still my heart. There were probably 15 precious, perfect baby boys there. All waiting for their families.

It was time to part ways. The social worker said we would get Delaney on Friday, then she left.

We headed back to our room to decompress. It had already been such an eventful day.

After a rest, we had heard there was a big mall called Co-Ex. We decided to check it out. On to the subway for my first subway ride!

All the signage in the subway is labeled in Hangul, Chinese and, thankfully, English, so it wasn't too hard to figure out where to go. The tickets are dispensed by machines. It was easy!

Over to the Co-Ex mall. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was just like any mall you'd see over here. Pretty much the same styles of clothes. Stores just like you'd see here. We walked around a bit, then decided it was time to find something to eat for dinner. We wanted something "authentic" but it didn't exist. So where did we eat in the middle of Seoul? Bennigans. Yep, Bennigans. I had a risotto dish, and I do have to say it was delicious. Just not what I was expecting to eat in Korea!

Again, by dinner time I was getting sooooo sleepy. Time to head back to our room. Again I was probably to sleep before 8 pm.

Happy Birthday to Yoooooouuu...

2011-02-12T13:44:00.007-05:00

Happy birthday 36th birthday to the man that has stolen my heart. I love you so, so much, Mr. RBR.

PS. You are hot.

PSS. True story. Mr. RBR is at Monster Jam with the boys right now. HILARIOUS.

Delaney and I were going to paint each other's nails to combat all the testosterone, but then she reminded me she's a baby. She's napping instead. And I'm making cookies for Zack's class's Valentine's Day party on Monday.

Trip Day 3

2011-02-06T08:45:00.010-05:00

To recap:

Jan 1: drove 3 hours to the airport.

Jan 2: On a plane for 12 hours. Lost the rest of the day due to time change.

Jan 3: Dropped off in the middle of Korea with no idea where to go. And that's where I'll start back up.

We were told we were supposed to take the bus that went to the Renaissance hotel. And we knew the guest house was close, but we didn't know where it was. We had an address, and that's it. So we just started walking, hoping we might see a street name or something that would tell us where to go. We walked only a block or two before I declared the plan absolutely ridiculous. Not only was it FREEZING cold, we were a wreck after traveling an entire day. And we were schlepping three bags each (2 large suitcases, 2 carry on bags, a purse and a laptop bag) through the sidewalks of downtown Seoul.

Right in front of us was a Starbucks. I reasoned they'd likely have internet. Maybe we could find something online about where to go? So we went in, set down our bags, and Mr. RBR went to the counter to get us a snack and something warm to drink (neither of us are coffee drinkers. I know. We're weird). Mr. RBR asked about internet access, and the barista said they didn't have it.

Crud.

Mr. RBR gave them the address of the guesthouse and asked if they knew where it was. They didn't.

Double crud.

So we had our little snack and rested a bit. The Starbucks was on the first floor of a tall building, and the window was at sidewalk level. It was interesting people watching, because I could see everyone's shoes. And what fantastic freaking shoes they were! Most women wore gorgeous high heels or high heeled boots. Everyone was dressed fantastically. Really sharp. I felt pretty self conscious in my somewhat sloppy airport gear, that I had basically slept in on the plane.

As we were sitting there, I could see out of the corner of my eye a woman on the sidewalk had stopped and was peering in. It lasted several moments, so finally I turned to look at her (to see what she was looking at) and met her eyes. The woman was probably in her 50s, impeccably dressed and was bent over at the waist looking in the window and staring right at me, right in the middle of a busy sidewalk. It cracked me up. They must not have 6 foot tall, sloppy, blond haired, white women at Starbucks very often.

Just then the barista came to our table. They must have internet in the back office, because she had a map printed out with directions to the guest house.

Oh Saint Starbucks Barista! We'll never forget you!

We ventured out into the streets of Seoul again and found the SWS guesthouse before too long. It was about 9 am by now and it had been 23 hours in actual time since we left our home.

The guesthouse was a narrow gray building, maybe 5 or 6 stories high. We went inside. There wasn't really a lobby, just a staircase, an elevator, and a small desk for the doorman. It surprised me the doorman didn't really speak English. He had us point to our name on a sheet of paper, then showed us to our room.

I knew the room would be small, but it was smaller than I expected. We had booked a regular room, which was two twin beds, 1 nightstand, a small table and two chairs, and a bathroom. There was no dresser, no TV, no closet. The bathroom had a shower, sink and, thankfully, a Western style toilet. It was so cramped the door didn't open all the way. Mr. RBR suggested upgrading our room (they have family rooms which are larger), but I wanted to give it a chance ($$). It took us some time to figure out how to turn on the heat and get the shower hot enough, but once we were warm and clean the world seemed to be a better place. And the teeny, tiny room was just fine.

We laid down for awhile and tried to nap. It didn't really work. I had no clue if it was supposed to be day or night, although it was approaching lunch time in Seoul.

Mr. RBR has been taking Tae Kwon Do and wanted to see Kukkiwon, which is the head of the World Tae Kwon Do Federation. Mr. RBR's instructors had to be certified by Kukkiwon. Kukkiwon is responsible for making Tae Kwon Do a world sport. So it's a big deal for those involved with it. Mr. RBR was even more excited to learn it was within walking distance of where we were staying.

After cleaning up a bit, we went for a walk to find Kukkiwon. There were signs, and we had a map so it was easy to find. It was a steep climb. I wondered if this is why all the Koreans we saw seemed so fit and slim. Seoul is so mountainous!

We walked around the grounds a bit, but didn't see anyone around. So we just walked inside. I think we may have arrived during lunch hour, but they were very accommodating. They showed us the competition "area" and the museum.

Oh look, here we are on the Kukkiwon website! (scroll down)

I don't really know much about Tae Kwon Do, but the history was interesting. And the excitement on Mr. RBR's face was priceless. He was like a little kid.

We checked out a tae kwon do store where Mr. RBR got a Korean flag and Kukkiwon pins, then headed back down hill. We stopped at a coffee shop (they were all over!) for a bite to eat. Mr. RBR had his laptop, and we emailed everyone back home. Then back outside to check out the surroundings close to the guest house.

There was a subway entrance near the guesthouse, and we had heard there was shopping and restaurants below ground. It was a good excuse to get out of the cold, anyway.

I feel a little silly admitting this, but I have never been on a subway before. Come to think of it, the only big city I've ever been to is Chicago. And I had taken the El in Chicago, but I had never been on a subway. Never been to New York. It's weird because I don't think of myself as small town girl, but maybe I am a little.

The subway was so wild to me. We didn't get on the train, but we did look at a number of stores and eventually found AN UNDERGROUND MALL. An underground mall, isn't that bizarre? You big city folks are probably used to all that, but to me it was nuts. And cool.

Once we found the mall we had access to a number of restaurants that were English friendly, which was not the case above ground. We could have wandered for hours above ground in f-f-f-freezing temperatures looking for a restaurant. So it was nice to have one place to go that was out of the cold. We went to a restaurant called Tomatillo. Yes, it was Mexican. :) Fantastic food. It was now dinner time, and we thoroughly enjoyed our first "real" meal since leaving home (unless you count the airplane food, but who really counts that). Also had a Cass beer, which is a common Korean brew. It was TASTY.

Because of jet lag, I was fading fast. It was probably 6 or 7 in the evening. We headed back above ground, and just like back at home, it was already dark. And freezing. Did I mention it was really cold in Seoul? Luckily it was only a short walk back to the guesthouse. I was so tired I went right to bed.

Day 4 to be continued.

Trip Day 1 & 2

2011-01-31T06:17:00.001-05:00

In the absence of any remodeling projects going on around here, how about I tell you about our trip instead?

I guess January 1 is still considered "the holidays", which means airline tickets were quite expensive. We saved about $800 by flying out of Chicago, instead of our smaller hometown airport. Chicago is about 3 hours away, so this also meant no airport party when we returned with Delaney, but whatcha gonna do, you know? $800 could throw one heck of a party at home (if we had it. Which we don't).

My mom came over at about 7 pm on January 1st, and Mr. RBR and I left a little before 8. We drove the 3 hours to O'Hare, parked, and checked in. We flew Asiana airlines. They were awesome.

Our flight left around 1 am. The flight attendants came by every 2 hours with either something to drink, a meal, or a snack. We tried to sleep, but it was hard. We maybe got 3 hours. Probably 2. But there were a lot of inflight movies, so that was nice. We flew over the top of the world, and 12 hours later we landed in Seoul, Korea at 6 am... on January 3rd! With the time change and the time spent on the plane, we skipped January 2nd altogether. Another thing that was interesting (to me at least) is that during the 23 hours we spent traveling, we were in darkness. It was dark when we left and dark when we arrived!

Upon arriving at the airport we exchanged some moolah and headed out. We found a bus that was going near our guesthouse and paid $15 per person for a ride. We waited about 20 minutes for the bus, and hopped on. I had no idea the bus ride was going to be that long! Rush hour was partly to blame, and finally one and a half hours later, we were dropped off outside the Renaissance hotel in Seoul...

with no idea where to go.

to be continued

Three Handfulls

2011-01-30T07:00:00.001-05:00

I really, really, really, really, really want a beautiful picture of all my kids together. And I'm trying!

Ok, ah, hang on a minute. Delaney, uh.

Zack. Yep, look over here. And Clayton. Uh, Delaney, hang on a minute.

Crud. Try again next time.

Pigtails

2011-01-29T07:09:00.000-05:00

My first time doing pigtails.

Big brother Zack said she looks like a deer.

What did he say?

Boys are so silly.

Favorite Dune Pictures

2011-01-28T06:44:00.002-05:00

Last summer was the first year our dune truck had more than a couple seats, so we could use it as a family.

I grew up doing this with my family, and I'm really happy we can continue what was a really fun tradition.

So what do we "do", exactly? Well, we go for rides of course, but we also...

See the sights.

Go swimming.

Try to snag the best spot to watch the sunset.

And play in the sand.

Clayton on the left, Zack in the middle, and one of the boys' cousins on the right.

What family traditions do you hope to pass on?

Dune Truck Before and After

2011-01-27T12:06:00.005-05:00

Here's the evolution of our dune buggy, or perhaps more accurately, dune truck. All courtesy of Mr. RBR. He spent a lot of long days working on that thing (often in scorching heat). All I did was provide moral support. After some long days wrangling two kids all by myself, I sheepishly admit there were times I couldn't even provide that. But now I'm so happy it's to a point we can use it as a family. That was the whole idea, after all.

We do everything cheaply, and the dune truck is no exception. It started with a 1992 S-10 pickup we got for free from Mr. RBR's parents. They didn't use it anymore, and didn't even really know how to get rid of it.

So they gave it to us.

Sometimes it's kind of embarrassing that we (I especially) take other people's junk. But then I remember we have no debt except our mortgage and I get over it.

We got the truck in 2008 (or was it '07?), before we had any kids. It looked like this:

Well, not quite like that. Mr. RBR got a little demo happy and ripped the doors off before he remembered to take a picture.

After a little more demo...

Mr. RBR removed the body rust and painted it... with spray paint of course!

The start of a cage on the back.

New tires and a lift.

New cage.

Done.

Sometimes you just get lucky on these types of things. The truck we got for free, and the big black seats in the back we got for free too (a brother-in-law found them dumpster diving). The pipes Mr. RBR used for the cage were free too (we have family that uses them for business, and these were leftover). The brown seat in the back was a craigslist find.

Of course not everything was free. When we had a little bit of money, we'd use it for the lift, tires, etc. It took about 3 years to finish, because Mr. RBR would only work on it if we had the money to spare.

I'm pretty happy that for relatively little money, we have a pretty neat vehicle for family fun.

How about a final before and after?

We Like Each Other

2011-01-26T06:38:00.001-05:00

We like each other. A lot.

Now that I'm posting again, I don't want to give you any false hope. I don't have any immediate plans to do any decorating projects--although I do hope to get back to them, um, some day. But that doesn't mean we can't be friends anymore, does it? I'll get back to it eventually. Until then let's just relax and enjoy each other's company.

With three small children running around screaming.

Hm. Relax is not quite the right word.

Freaky Freaks

2011-01-25T09:10:00.000-05:00

There is a chance this might be our home made dune buggy, made from an S-10 pick up we got for free.

Might be.

Maybe.

And these kids sort of look like ours, so there is a slight possibility these are my kids last summer ready for a ride.

A chance.

Could be.

Poor, poor Delaney.

A Freaky Picture

2011-01-24T05:27:00.001-05:00

Poor, poor Delaney. She got stuck with a family of freaks.

1. Um, there is a chance we might have a dune buggy.

2. And there is a chance that we are freaky parents that actually take our children--car seats and all--for rides on our homemade dune buggy.

3. And there is a chance that I bought my children new dune buggy goggles for Christmas. Baby Delaney included. But of course her goggles had to be pink.

Signed,

Lisa the Freak

A Cute Picture

2011-01-23T19:13:00.004-05:00

A cute picture, just to make sure you still come around this here ol' blog...

Wish me luck tomorrow. I've had Mr. RBR home for a whole month! But tomorrow he must go back to work.

The way it worked out was pretty crazy. The whole company that Mr. RBR works for has the week between Christmas and New Years off. Then we left for Korea on New Years Day for a week, so Mr. RBR took a week's vacation. Then he got two weeks off for parental leave (so GLAD Mr. RBR works for a company that is so adoption friendly).

But now all that fun must come to an end. On Monday Mr. RBR will leave me with these crazy kiddos by myself for the first time. Not only that, but he has Tae Kwon Do on Mondays, so he won't be home until around 8. Eek!

I think that's called baptism by fire.

Seven Years Ago Today...

2011-01-17T14:52:00.003-05:00

Hello Stranger!

2011-01-14T11:16:00.004-05:00

We are home. We are in love.

And we are so, so tired.

It's true. Delaney has jet lag (and mom and dad do too, a little bit). It's been a bear turning her schedule almost completely around--Seoul being 14 hours ahead of us and all. But we are settling in.

And needless to say, all our hearts have been captured by this little lady.

Excuse my bedhead and pjs. Ya know it's love when I'm willing to be seen like this!

Seoul

2011-01-05T19:25:00.003-05:00

Seoul is incredible. The things we are seeing... amazing. The city is beautiful and the subway system makes it pretty easy and inexpensive to navigate. If you get a chance to visit Seoul, please do.

Counting down the hours until we get our daughter.

Me and my daughter

2011-01-04T19:42:00.003-05:00

She is perfect. And she is mine.

Visited yesterday, we will get her forever on Friday (Korea time, Thurs night in the US).

Hello From Seoul!

2011-01-03T00:07:00.002-05:00

Took us 23 hours of travelling to get from home to the guest house. The weird thing is it was dark the whole time! Despite perpetual darkness we only got 2 or 3 hours of sleep. I've lost all track of time. No clue if it's day or night anymore!

We are tucked into a tiny little room, but it's warm and has a hot shower. It's seriously so tiny the bathroom door doesn't open all the way because it hits the shower. Two twin beds, 1 nightstand and a small table with two chairs round out the room. No dresser, no closet even!

I'm the tallest, whitest person for miles. Apart from one older lady staring, I've been well received. ha!

Tomorrow we meet our daughter for the first time. Very excited and nervous!

BYE!

2011-01-01T16:55:00.001-05:00

Good bye USA. Hello Korea!

Hello baby girl!

Leaving in a couple hours.

Overload

2010-12-30T09:40:00.003-05:00

Once upon a time there was a girl. Girl decided she'd like to redo her house. There were obstacles besides the usual one--budget. The holidays were approaching, but more importantly, a daughter was coming! To add to the insanity, she started a blog to document the process.

Guess what? Everything has come to a head. All at once! Rooms are in disarray, unable to be finished due to holiday obligations (parties, gift buying, parties, gift wrapping, parties, putting up decorations, parties, taking down decorations, PARTIES).

We received word our daughter is ready to travel (more gift buying, airline tickets, finding a place to stay, figuring out sight seeing stops, finishing her room -- done!, buying clothes -- couldn't do much of this earlier, not knowing what size she'd be or exactly how old she'd be when she arrived, buying food and diapers).

And then to top it all off, the blog experienced technical difficulties.

I don't know how much time I'll have to blog in the next few days. But I'm here! I'm hurrying and scurrying around dealing with the craziness and best possible scenario. A busy house, happy children, a new baby coming, and lots of great projects I'm really excited about.

Truly happy holidays!

Quick Lamp Makeover

2010-12-23T06:53:00.001-05:00

Spray paint really is the bomb, isn't it?

I have these two lamps. They were Mr. RBR's before we were married. I think a family hand me down. I made them over years ago, chucking the dated pleated shades in favor of some champagne silk looking ones. And to deal with their brass finish, I spray painted them... flat black?!

What the heck was I thinking? I went through a black phase about 7 years ago. I painted just about every piece of furniture black. I can't explain it really. I guess I thought it was cool. I have nothing against black itself. I still like it. But sometimes, man, it's just TOO MUCH.

This time I decided they needed something... fresher. Valspar Mediterranean spray paint to the rescue. And this time in gloss, thankyouverymuch.

After 3 quick coats the lamps have a new life. They great in our bedroom.

This nightstand is actually the nightstand that goes with my daughter's (I will have a daughter in 9 days!!) bedroom set seen here.

The silver pull is from the vanity in her room! ha! Using what you have... it's free!

In case you think every thing in the RBR house is beautiful, there's a reason I haven't shown you our entire bedroom.

Sheesh. Can you believe I made that valance and thought it looked good? Looks like dirty hankerchiefs hanging from a rod. And I haven't even showed you the mirrored closet doors yet.

Our bedroom is on the list for a mini makeover. Nothing major. New curtains, some rearranging. But that will have to be another day. Let's just focus on the lamps for now, ok?

Lamps before.

And after.

Thanks for visiting!

Linking to some of these great parties.

Easy Peasy Scarves

2010-12-22T07:08:00.001-05:00

I have no clue why, but the boys LOVE to play with my scarves. SCARVES! They use them to dress up, but they also become snakes, tow straps, and all sorts of weird boy things.

Most of the time I don't care if they play with my scarves, but sometimes they get a little dirty being drug all over the floor (yeah, yeah. I should clean more often). After I spotted this tutorial on Hi Sugarplum, I thought it'd be perfect if they had their own scarves.

I let the boys pick out their own fleece patterns, and bought just 9 inches (one quarter yard) of each of four patterns. I think the the total was about $6.50.

They LOVE their new scarves. Since we've made them they've taken them with them everywhere--even to bed at night (not around their necks, of course. They won't strangle themselves in the night).

One tip about the scarves. The fleece I bought was on 60 inch (5 ft) bolts, so obviously it makes a 60 inch scarf. I think it's a little short for an adult--although perfect for kids. I measured a nearly identical fleece scarf I have from Old Navy, and it's actually 6 ft long. I'd consider buying 2 yards (6ft) of fleece and cutting them the opposite way if you are going to make scarves for adults. Of course that means you'll have 6 scarves of the same pattern, which if you're making them for gifts is not necessarily a bad thing.

Did all that make sense? I'll illustrate.

Happy scarf-making!

Shut the Front Door!

2010-12-21T08:48:00.007-05:00

I am completely in shock! The boys room is currently being featured on ohdeedoh.

OHDEEDOH!!!!!!

Can you believe it? I am thrilled!

I've made a couple of changes from the original post already. In fact despite a couple of little projects I'd like to do, I'm officially declaring the room "done".

Let's take a tour.

The boys love cars and trucks, so of course the starting point was a large monster truck mural.

It's based on the Tonka truck illustrations. It actually was a birthday card to Zack for his 4th birthday from my brother. When I saw it's simple shapes, I was pretty sure I could duplicate it. And that the the boys would LOVE IT.

Most of the changes I've made since the original post are on the mural wall.

I added the boys' names, which I had planned to do all along. I also added a couple kid-sized folding chairs (antique store find), hung on the wall with hooks. It makes a darling kid-sized reading nook, don't you think?

And the folding chairs can be put away for more playing room.

Here are their beds, a $50 craigslist find.

Topped with sheets from Tarjay and navy and red comforters from Penney's.

The wooden dump truck (antique store find) is still there. To preserve the crackle-y paint, I sprayed it with matte sealer.

The train (second hand store find) got the same treatment.

Above the train, in the window nook area, I added a couple sprayed clipboards in place of frames.

Find the original clipboard post (and how-to) here.

Just for fun, I did find a "before" picture. This is a picture of the nursery completed, but before we had children. I took the picture for our homestudy to adopt Zack.

Who knew just a year and a half later we'd have TWO energetic, monster truck-loving boys?

Teacher Gift

2010-12-20T13:38:00.004-05:00

Since my oldest only just started preschool, this whole school thing is new to me. And at the last minute I panicked--I need to get a teacher gift. What to get, what to get.

I made them (the teacher and the assistant, both women) felt flowers. Felt flowers again! I can't help it I think they're so lovely. And so I made a third for myself.

I made them in cream. So beautiful for winter, don't you think?

A new addition is a hair clip on the back. So you can pin it or clip it.

Here are the pins and clips I used. I just hand sewed them on before gluing it together.

Ahhh. Lovely.

The original tutorial I used is found here.

Linking to some of these great parties.

It's time!

2010-12-16T13:59:00.004-05:00

Got the call today that we can go to South Korea and get Delaney after the first of the year!

HOORAY!! Happy, HAPPY New Year!

Genius or New Low?

2010-12-16T06:21:00.000-05:00

Anyone else giving their kids a Christmas gift they found on the curb?

We had a family move out of the neighborhood last week. The kids were getting older and they left this on the curb. I let it sit a couple days, until I couldn't stand it any longer. I took it home. I have a little time yet to fix it up (yes, of course I'm going to fix it up before I give it to them).

So what do you think? Am I a thrifty genius, or have I hit a new low--literally giving my kids garbage for Christmas. Well it's not for you to decide, it's up to these guys.

Uh oh. I might be in trouble. They look decidedly underwhelmed.

Genetic or Learned Disorder?

2010-12-15T09:37:00.011-05:00

Mr. RBR jokingly (sort of) calls my mom and me Sanford and Son. You know, the sitcom about a junk dealer and his grown son?

My mom and I looooove junk--when I say junk I don't mean garbage. I mean cool old stuff. And we love decorating too. You could say... it's genetic. Mr. RBR would say it's a genetic disorder.

In fact my mom owns a store--actually two stores--with her sister. The stores are connected. One store is an antique mall. People rent out booths and sell their finds.

The other store--it's ALL my mom and aunt's finds.

There are stores that have fabulous vignettes, where they lay out for the customer exactly how an item can be used. My mom's store isn't like that. You have to DIG for your prize. ha! Don't believe me? Here's some pictures. It's literally stacked to the ceiling with fun, funky, cool, old... stuff.

Good thing this store is in a different city than I live in. I'd be in real trouble if I were closer. The antique mall side has cool stuff too. These two vignettes reminded me of some bloggers I follow.

Red, cozy, a little crafty... Thrifty Decor Chick!

Soft blues, metallics, a bust... Centsational Girl!

What do you think, am I nuts? ha!

Anyway, I do wonder if my mom and my love of all things decor is genetic. Afterall we look alike, sound alike, we enjoy doing many of the same things. We even dressed alike on accident this Thanksgiving. Seriously. Almost identical. EMBARRASSING.

The reason I wonder about this is because of MY family. You see, not all of my children are genetically related to me. And this Christmas one of my sons started holiday decorating with an enthusiasm that really touched my heart.

He made this wreath with his own hands, and then tried it in several locations before finally settling on the back door.

And then he came up with the idea all on his own to hang a single ornament on EVERY SINGLE DOORKNOB in the house.

And then he primped the tree just so. Going back again and again until the ornaments were just where he wanted them. Can you see his little heart bursting with pride over what he created?

Yeah. It's not Clayton, my biological son. It's Zack. Zack was adopted. And from somewhere (his biological parents? me?) my son is starting to find the inspiration to decorate. And he is loving it.

I am too.

Built-in Before and After

2010-12-14T10:00:00.009-05:00

The built-in unit in the Toy Room was pretty beat up. It was long over due for a face lift.

Before.

We need more storage too, so the plan was to expand it across the entire wall, like this.

Unfortunately the plans to expand are going to be phase II. But we were able to spruce up the cabinet and install the flat screen. This is what it looks like now.

These doors are a story in themselves. They were so neglected, I decided to strip them. I don't think I'll be doing that again any time soon. It was my first time stripping and will probably be my last. Mr RBR had to rescue me and give them a good sanding, because I was SO SICK of picking at them, trying to get all the dang paint off.

I have to say, the doors do look fantastic. It was a lot of work, but the results are amazing.

Here is the built-in mid process. We had to rip the top off to get new drywall on the ceiling.

We ended up taking out some shelves to make way for the flat screen. Mr. RBR also lined the back of the cabinet with beadboard, which I painted green. I couldn't resist trying out the vingettes, although it was a little (ok, a lot) premature.

You can also find a number of my projects here on the shelves!

The Christmas prints are here. The Penny Jar is here and the rattan charger was a thrift find I found on this shopping trip. The large R (for Room by Room of course, wink wink) is cardboard. I found it at Joann's. I actually sprayed it with chalk board paint (because I just happened to have some on hand), so I'm thinking about drawing a fun design on it. Eh, why not? I can always change it!

The rest of the shelves hold DVDs and a couple of baskets (bought years ago at Target) to hold the miscellaneous junk that just seems to accumulate spontaneously.

Before I sign off, one more before and after.

Before.

After.

Linking to some of these parties.

This project was featured on House of Grace and Blue Cricket Design.

Just Another Day

2010-12-12T12:26:00.005-05:00

No fantastic decorating pictures today, but my son tried to rearrange his face. Does that count?

Clayton was jumping on the couch and took a nosedive (forehead dive?) into the "toy box turned coffee table." Our first trip to the emergency room since becoming parents. Four stitches. Nice.

Hello to all my new followers!

More Rooms!

2010-12-11T09:31:00.011-05:00

I started this blog as a way to show how we were redoing the ROOMS in our house.

Anyone notice there's not many actual rooms on here lately?

Part of the problem is, ahem, I don't have any done.

None. Not one. Nada. Zilch. Zero.

And as a "decorating blog", aren't I supposed to show you beautiful pictures all the time? Well when the rooms aren't done they're not very beautiful.

But that's reality, and it's almost a tutorial or sorts, too. Dontcha think? Documenting the steps I took to get a room from point A to point B to finished room (like a room is ever really "done", but you get my drift).

So with that in mind, I'm going to show a few more actual ROOMS in the coming weeks. Imperfect, torn apart, wrecks of rooms. And the first one... WOO, it's a doozy my friend. It's the basement. Part of our basement was (mostly) finished when we moved in. The previous owners used the finished part as a play room. My kids are still so young (too young to be alone on another floor in my opinion) and we have a good spot for all their toys (the family room, or toy room as we now call it), so this room is up for grabs in terms of use.

I can't hold it in any longer!

I'M GOING TO TURN THE BASEMENT INTO A MOM CAVE. Could you just die?! I know. It's a luxury I can't even fully comprehend right now. But. It. Is. Going. To. Be. AWESOME. I already have it all planned out in my head. It is going to kick booty.

But it doesn't kick booty yet. In fact it kind of sucks. Here is where it started. Yellow walls, the brightness of which doesn't fully translate in pictures. Green painted concrete floors, some forlorn exercise equipment and a whole lot of mess.

Yikes. Sorry about that. But I have to show you how much it sucks now, so you can appreciate how cool it will be later!

This closet is unfinished and apparently is a graveyard for our crap.

The built in unit above truly sucks. It's poorly constructed and the doors just sort of... hang. There are nooks and crannies and angles that make no sense. It's all coming out.

This will be my little work corner. Most of this junk is going to get beautified and stay. The wolf-eagle weirdo print was Mr. RBR's before we got married. You can make fun of him if you want. I do.

A closer look at the junk.

Oh gorgeous junk. You are going to look so cool in this room!

And one last room view.

When thinking about how this room was going to look in the end, at first I thought I'd do it soft and feminine, kind of like Centsational Girl's office. But then I remembered I had this kick butt Charles S. Anderson poster series from a paper promotion half a lifetime ago. I have never used them, but always loved them. Now I'll have the perfect spot.

So while I think I'm going to take some color inspiration from Miz CG, mine will have a funky modern edge.

I started this room makeover by making my own paint color. I mixed together every gallon of flat or eggshell white or cream we had in the house in a five gallon bucket. I added in a little green and gray and got my wall color. I've painted all the trim bright white, and I love how it's turning out. So crisp.

Just remember in renos, it always looks worse before it starts to look better.

There's a little nook built into this room, and I think it's the perfect spot for an accent wall. I painted this some leftover Smoke Infusion by Valspar. I was surprised at how close the two colors were!

That's all for now. Stay tuned for big changes!

The good news is, I have a lot of rooms that are this close to being finished. So hopefully I'll get those suckers done and I'll be able to show you more beautiful, finished rooms too.

Spectacular Felt Flower Pillow

2010-12-09T10:30:00.006-05:00

Ya know I LOVE me some pillows. Find some pillow embellishment tutorials here and here. I'm so excited to share another tutorial, this one a spectacular, HUGE felt flower pillow.

What you need:

Half yard of felt.
Matching thread.
Fabric glue.
Scissors.

Pinking shears (zig zaggy scissors).
Fiberfill or pillow insert to stuff the pillow.
Needle for a little hand sewing, plus a sewing machine for some very basic sewing.

First start with a half yard (18 inches) of felt off the bolt (not the little squares). I bought this at Joann Fabrics. It was normally $6/yd, but was on sale for $4/yd. So a half yard was $2 + tax.

We'll need to cut an approximately 18 inch circle. If you have something around the house that width, use that. I couldn't find anything, so this is what I did.

The width of the felt is 18 inches, so I made a small mark half way at 9 inches. Then I placed the ruler at that mark and made a mark 9 inches into the felt like this.

Then I rigged up a temporary compass with some ribbon, a pin and a marker. I stuck the pin into the felt and the ribbon, tied the other end of the ribbon to the marker and drew a circle. It doesn't have to be perfect, just close.

Cut out the circle. Use this circle as a template to trace and cut out another circle. Now you have two circles the same size.

Place the circles on top of each other, nice sides facing each other (marker sides out). Sew the circles together around the edges, leaving as much seam allowance as you are comfortable with. IMPORTANT: Leave about a 5 inch hole open, so you can put stuffing in later. Here is what mine looks like, with the hole on the bottom.

Next we're going to cut out some flower shapes. You can use this template or make your own.

We'll need three flowers, a large, a medium and a small. The large one will be about 16 inches. Trace the shapes onto the felt and cut them out. Cut inside of the marker lines, you don't want any marker showing.

My flower shapes aren't the best, partly because this was my first time trying this. Yours will be better. But the nice thing is, it all sort of works, so don't be discouraged if yours aren't perfect either.

Turn your pillow right side out, and place the flowers on the pillow. Large on the bottom, then medium, then smallest on top. It should look something like this.

Now we'll need to hand sew the flowers on. I added a couple stitches right through the middle, then I also "lifted" and folded each petal and sewed it down for extra dimension. This is easier than it sounds and just takes a few minutes. Here are some pictures.

Using the open hole for access.

All stitched down.

Now we need to make the middle of the flower. Go through your scraps and cut two long strips. Mine are about 16 inches long and 1.25 inches wide. It doesn't have to be exact, but they should be about the same width. Cut one long side with pinking shears like this.

Next use your scissors to make a fringe like this.

We're going to roll this with fabric glue. This is what I used.

Start rolling the fringe, gluing it together every so often. When one strip runs out, just keep going with the second strip.

Now you should have a big felt pompom for the center. Just glue the back and stick it on the center of your flower.

Wait for the glue to dry (only takes several minutes). Now stuff your pillow with fiberfill and sew the opening closed (I just fold the edges in and top stitch it on the machine). You have a lovely felt flower pillow!

Linking to some of these parties.

This project was featured on Sunshine and Chaucer.

Free Download-Christmas Pair

2010-12-08T08:44:00.000-05:00

My free downloads continue to be some of my most popular posts. Why not one more? Or two more... a pair!

Why not indeed.

Again, the original image came from the Graphics Fairy. Gotta give credit where credit is due! She rocks, doesn't she?

This time I used the same image to make a pair of Christmas birds. Print these suckers out on your home printer, frame them--instant holiday art.

Here's how mine look, what about yours? I think they look amazing against a green backdrop.

Linking to some of these parties.

A Penny Saved...

2010-12-07T14:06:00.001-05:00

... is one less knick knack to buy!

Do you spend your change or save it? I'm a change spender. Mr. RBR is a change saver. I recently went through his old plastic change jar and fished out all the silver. But what the heck am I going to do with all these pennies, I thought.

TA DA!

I got these large canning jars quite awhile ago off freecycle. What's freecycle, you ask? It's a forum where people want to get rid of stuff--FOR FREE. Find out if there's one for your area. People get rid of all kinds of stuff. One time I got a free pregnancy test, just a few blocks away. I walked there with the boys in a double stroller and got it out of some woman's mailbox (the place where she said I could get it). Weird, huh? But fun too.

Was that too weird of a story to share? I used to be a pregnancy test addict. I've taken hundreds. I don't know how I got from canning jars to pregnancy tests anyway. Oh right. Freecycle.

Anyway...

So that is how I got 5 large canning jars. For free. It makes a much nicer container than what they were in originally. Add a label and you have a cute accessory... and a place for spare change to land.

I stuck the label on there with my favorite spray adhesive, 3M Super 77, but you could decoupage, or double stick tape it, or whatever floats your boat.

Here's the label in case you'd like to make your own. Happy crafting!

Linking to some of these parties.

This project was featured on Beyond the Picket Fence.

I'm in deep!

2010-12-06T21:36:00.000-05:00

Hi folks! Still here!

Phase I of the toy room redo is coming to a s-l-o-w agonizing end. This is the hardest part of a project for me. The last details. I love the dramatic swoosh of the first swipe of paint, but, UGH!, the agony at the end. Everything looks the same while you pick away at the tiny stuff.

It must be wearing on the boys too because they stuck a brush in some paint and started whipping it around the room.

Uh huh. True story.

It all washed out except 1 curtain and the carpet.

We planned to replace the carpet anyway and the curtain panel was made from fabric I bought at the Salvation Army for $2.99/yd so their lives were spared.

For now.

But they have been warned that Santa! Is! Watching!

Notice I said Phase I on the Toy room. Remember how I planned on expanding the built-in with a chest/window bench and additional shelving like this?

That is still the plan, but it's going to be phase II. We need to move back in to our room for all our sanity. When we've saved up for carpet we'll do the built-ins and the carpet at the same time.

In the meantime I must have figured I had too little to do because I started on the basement.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?

Not one room in this house is done and I ripped apart the basement.

Christmas is coming. I have a new baby coming. Nothing is done and I rip into another room. Classic Lisa for ya.

I made myself a To Do list of odds and ends stuff I have to get done. It's 44 items long. And it doesn't include the every day stuff (like making dinner, laundry, cleaning, etc). FORTY FOUR.

But it's all going to rock in the end. It's just a matter of getting there. Instead of turning the basement over to the chilluns, like most people do... I'm turning it into a mom cave. Uh huh. And it is going to be SA-WEET!

Stay tuned!