Just Another Day

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!

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

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

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...

... 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!

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!

Clipboard Change-A-Roo

Hello boring clipboards. Let me introduce you to one of my favorite design philosophies.

Interesting shape (ornate, simple, classic or familiar) + unexpected color = new fun accessory.

Was, a boring clipboard. Now, frames in the boys' room.

A little red spray paint was all I needed to give them some "wow". And to hang them sideways, I used Command strips.

Ah, who am I kidding. Is anyone looking at the clipboards? The boys are too dang cute.

I took these pictures of the boys this fall. We went apple picking at an orchard, and I brought along two children's chairs for a quick photo shoot. They turned out so cute, and I'm so proud of myself because this was my first "real" photo shoot of the boys.

Look at Zack the ham. And he's usually the QUIET one! ha!

Linking to some of these parties.

This project was featured on Simply Jenna, Under the Table and Dreaming and A Little Lovely.