Design-Aholic

Taming the Ribbon-y Mess

2011-03-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

A while ago, a remembered seeing someone organize their ribbon by wrapping it around cardboard sheets. I needed to uh, tame the ribbons I had. I love ribbon, but even though I don't have that much, it seems to take up way more room than it should! And considering I just added 13 new styles that I nabbed at the dollar store (to make baby ribbon/tag blankets!) I definitely needed to contain it.

Isn't it pretty:

Since I was doing tons of ordering online of necessities while I was on maternity leave, we had a garage full of cardboard! (By the way, if you're looking for awesome diaper deals, check out Amazon.com/Mom. Seriously, I'm getting super sweet prices with Subscribe & Save. Ok, back to regularly scheduled programming)

I cut the squares so they would fit nicely in the basket(s) I already had. Then, I started unwinding, and re-winding from the spools to the cardboard cards.

So, we went from this:

To this:

Yay for quick, and pretty organization. Love it. Oh, and I'll show you those ribbon/tag blankets soon!

Frugal Finds

2011-03-21T14:53:00.000-07:00

There seems to be some that swear by couponing, and some that couldn't be bothered by it. I have found lately, as I did when we first had to pay a mortgage, that using coupons and being smart about purchases can really save you a lot.

While on Maternity leave, I signed up to follow a few blogs related to living well, but frugally, and it really became a game for me. I did things like signing up for the Target card, to automatically save 5%. I bought things in bulk, directly from Amazon.com and got free shipping (like toilet paper, and diapers). I even started searching for and using coupons. It's really quite amazing how much you can save doing these things.

I wanted to share my finds from this week. I was able to save myself more than I spent, and everything I purchased, I needed. Yes, I had saved my coupons for a while, and yes, I had watched for sales on most of the items (a few I got lucky on) but when you start paying attention, it can become second nature.

Here's what I got, all for $44, Retail was around $100:

I went to three stores. Target, BedBath&Beyond, and Kohls.

TARGET:

Olay Face Wash (2) $4.49 & $2.49 (Retail $4.99/ea)

(On sale for $4.49/ea plus a $2 off coupon for one)

Olay Body Wash (2) FREE (Retail $5.84/ea)

(I had 2 buy 1 get 1 free coupons for Olay- I bought the face wash, and got two large body wash bottles FREE)

Tide HE Detergent $10 (Retail $12.79)

(On sale for $11, had a $1 off coupon)

Tide Stain Release FREE (Retail 4.49)

(I had a buy 1 get 1 free coupon for this item, when you purchase detergent)

Dawn dish soap w/Olay $3 (Retail $4.79)

(On sale for $4, had a $1 off coupon)

TOTAL @ TARGET: $19.95 ($21, less 5% discount was $19.95, Retail was $43.73, a 55% discount)

KHOLS:

3-pack Carters bibs (2) $5 (Retail $17/ea)

(I had a $10 off a $20 purchase coupon, plus the bibs were on sale for $9.99

Christmas Snowglobe $0.41 (Retail $4.99)

Because my coupon was $10 off $20, and the two bib sets were $9.99/ea, they rang up slightly lower than $20 (by $0.02) so I found a Christmas ornament for $0.49, and they discounted that 15%, so it was $0.41. Lucky me, it actually was personalized already with baby boy's name!)

TOTAL @ KOHLS: ~$10 (Retail was $38.99, a 75% discount)

BedBath&Beyond:

Kitchen Dish brush set $2.40 (Retail $2.99)
Luna Bars (10) $7.90 (Retail $0.99/ea or $9.99)
Johnson's baby wash $4.39 (Retail $5.49)

TOTAL @ BedBath&Beyond: $14.69 (Retail was $18.47, a 20% discount)

So, I saved $55, and spent just under $45. The retail value of these items, even at discounted prices was $100.

I bought a new shelf for our garage to organize my extras, and so that I can quickly see what we're out of.

What's your feeling on sales? Do you stock up on items? What's been your best bargain to date?

With a forecast like that...

2011-03-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

Can I briefly share AGAIN why we got hardwood floors and Stainmaster carpet?

Take a look at this:

And these guys:

And this (nope still haven't redone the backyard)

All of that adds up to THIS, constantly: MUDDY PAW PRINTS.

The black dog comes barreling around corners, and gets her muddy feet up on the baseboards, and the walls! How the hell?

...I'm constantly sweeping. However, there's some satisfaction knowing that it's not going into carpet and hiding. At least it's easy to clean off!

So, of course, I'm in love with my Shark Steam Mop (that I got on clearance at Target! Woop!)

All of this, to make it a better place for him:

So yes, I love the Rain, and therefore I love my hardwood floors. The end.

Update to the no cost makeover

2011-03-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, nearly 2.5 months since my last post. That's a record. I miss you all!

I did end up doing my little "no cost" make-over, but it was slightly modified in terms of the "no cost" part.

In order to get the blue, tan, white & black color scheme I talked about in my post, I ended up buying some fabrics to make the toss pillows that pulled the design together. So, I'll count that cost. The rest, I just moved the furniture around like I figured I would, but still haven't bitten the bullet and painted that ladder shelf. (Going from white to black, to really pull the theme together.)

So, the fabrics I purchased were super inexpensive- one was $5.99/yd, the other two were 2.99/yd. I purchased 1.5 yards of the black and white damask, and 1 yard each of the trellis and circle damask. Also, I had found a white fabric shower curtain on clearance for $2.50 at Target, so I used that also to make two solid white pillows. I still have enough of the trellis fabric to make another pillow, so even though the fabric total was around $16, I didn't use it all!

Also, the mirror above the fireplace was purchased in 2010 (Just before Christmas) so it doesn't count in my 2011 project cost tally (but for score keeping purposes, it's a huge round, chunky mirror, exactly like I wanted, and it was $45.)

So, I moved the couches, moved the ladder shelf, put in another table and my Louis XVI chair, moved the sofa table, and added in a small cabinet (yet to be painted) with a lamp. We got a new TV stand (also in 2010), and have the glider from 2010. (Love the glider, but it's hard to decorate around!)

Stay Tuned! I've got a lot of posts coming up soon- even though I haven't been posting much, I've been taking photos of everything I'm doing. It's been a busy place around here, and is just about to get busier!

PS: Baby C is growing like a weed! Here's a sneak peak at his weekly pictures. YES! I'm still taking a new photo EACH week!

Week 1:

Week 10:

Week 20:

A little no-cost makeover

2011-01-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

Anyone else out there relieved to pack away the holidays? The house always looks so large once the tree is down, and the holiday decor is safely packed away and out of sight for another year. However, the large space always leaves me feeling the urge for a change, and a fresh room. It'd be easy, given all the money in the world, to plan out a fresh new space. The trick though is to try a no cost makeover.

Our room has pretty good bones. The couches are neutral, there's a brick fireplace, white slatted blinds, hardwood floors, etc. I couldn't picture the room pulled together though (for our no-cost makeover) until the other day that I sat on the opposite couch in the room and it came to me.

Our makeover will be based on this color scheme:

So, the execution plan will consist of the following:

Paint ladder shelf black (I showed you this shelf before here)

Recover couch throw pillows in white fabric (I've done that once before, here)

Add series of four Black and White NY City prints to the room (from the office, that's not being used)

Reorganize picture frame ledges (see them before, here)

Add white cylinder lamp shade to current lamp, plus add another lamp (this room is dark at night!)

Re-arrange furniture

Here's the room now (right after Christmas decor was removed).

NOTE: This is not for the faint of heart... I'm not proud, and I wouldn't consider this room pulled or put together in any way... ok, disclaimer over, now you can see the photos. :)

How on earth do you decorate/stage a fireplace like this?!

The tree (9ft this year!) was in that back corner

Anywho, I hope to work on this room this weekend. Our adorable baby boy though is so cute, that I just love hanging with him, so I'm not sure how much I'll get done!

Just thought I'd share. Now, to get this done, and be excited over our room again!

Repotting Succulents

2011-01-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

So I've got this really sad plant in the kitchen. It's actually the second plant that's been in the pot, but it's just as sad as the first. I can't seem to keep plants alive. Except the neglected succulents, ironically, that I haven't touched in months:

And my sad indoor plant:

Please ignore the dirty stove. I'm a new mom.

Remember when I posted a while back about my love for the colors and fullness of succulents? Since that post, the aqua container I planted them in has been outside- it was fine during the summer, and now after the rains of the winter have passed, they were getting soggy. Succulents don't need that much water, and prefer the soil to dry out.

Enter the light bulb! I could take the sorry looking plant in my current pot, and replace with my beautiful succulents that have multiplied! Yes!

Here they are outside being re-potted. I snapped the succulents off the long stems near the flowery ends, and replanted them into my red pot for in the house. I buried a few of the leaves, as I read online this was how you re-pot them.

Now, they're inside, and making me so happy! Just look at those colors and textures. I sure hope the transplant worked.

I just love the colors, and the small water droplets from the water down are pretty too.

Have you ever re-potted anything successfully? What about unsuccessfully?! Any tips to share?

Happy-First-Monday-of-the-new-year!

Oh, and the cost, to add to my new "Decor Cost: 2011" tally? A big fat $0! I had the red planter pot, dirt, and the succulents already! It was all about moving stuff around this time. Gotta love $0! :)

Project Tally Cost: 2011

2011-01-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am hoping to be more fiscally responsible this year since our expenses are growing with a little one.

One thing I've missed out on through 2010 was decorating, because there was just no time. I want to revamp our home again in 2011, and I thought a neat project would be to tally the amount spent in 2011 on my projects & decor for the house.

So, on the sidebar now, there will be a Decor Cost: 2011 tally section. (see it over there, on the right side bar?) I'll update that after my projects or revamps and purchases for the house are made. I hope to do a lot with a little... what a game to play!

How do you keep tabs (or not!) on your budgets for decorating and making your house a home? Do you set goals to spend, or do you put money aside? Let me know your way of keeping your home fresh, but while being fiscally responsible.

New Beginnings, 2011

2011-01-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

2010 was a busy year for us. No, really. From basically day one, we were going places, planning events, renovating the house, or dealing with our biggest accomplishment- our little boy.

As 2011 begins, I'm pausing and making sure that I focus on the important things in my life while having some fun, and being responsible fiscally as well. Those are big goals to have but I'm sure it's possible.

Every day I want to tell those I love just how much I do. I want to hug and kiss my son, husband, and even the dogs! I want to keep a clean house, but also keep my sanity. I will continue to take so many pictures that it makes everyone crazy, and I'll also do my best to be social.

And, on top of this, I'd really like to start blogging again. Posts will probably be short and sweet again for a while, and maybe only here and there during the time that I start again, but I miss it. It's an outlet for creativity that I need- Not only posting, but taking some time to view all the great things everyone else completes.

So here's to 2011- new beginnings, and changes abound, and I hope each of you are blessed with a peaceful year.

Take care,

PS: The winner of the gift tags giveaway from the post back on December 8th was Katie! There were 3 eligible entries, and Katie won! Random.org was used to pick the winner. Enjoy your Cardstore.com items! Let us know what you picked out!

Ho-Ho-Holiday Cards: Giveaway!

2010-12-08T12:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

If you can believe it, little man is sleeping (thank you swing!) and I got a moment to pull my computer out and even do some shopping...

At the holiday time every year, I always need the following:

-Holiday Cards
-Gift Ideas for EVERYONE
-Martinelli's sparkling cider.

At least for the first one, my Holiday Cards, I can take care of that easily at Cardstore.com with their hundreds of Holiday Cards.

If you've been following my blog at all (thanks, by the way!) you'll know already that I love this site to easily order personalized Photo Cards & other paper goods, like stationary, invitations, and announcements. I have ordered cards in the past to showcase my photography, numerous stationary cards, and even my Wedding Invitations and Birth Announcements just a month ago for little man.

I will be ordering these "Red Scroll Border" photo cards today and get them in the mail:

Isn't my little man the cutest? He had a blast with Santa :)

The hardest part? There are so many great patterns to choose from- like over 350+ just in the holiday photo card section! Bold red is my favorite, so I love the clean lines on this card. Also, I chose to personalize the back as well. :) I chose to personalize Photo Cards at Cardstore.com this year, and it was fun to browse my photos of little man to find the best ones for the cards.

It's so easy- I really reccomend trying it out this year if you haven't ordered your Holiday Cards yet- they're even going to offer a giveaway for my blog readers! Just leave a comment about your favorite part of the cardstore.com website and I'll enter you into the drawing- You'll get to pick- either a set of photo gift tags (another new item offered this year! see the selection here) or a personalized photo notebook (another newer item that you can check out here). Entry eligibility closes Sunday (12/12/10) 11:59pm PST

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DISCOUNT FOR EVERYONE!

For the rest of you, you get a discount on any order right now too, just for being a Design-Aholic reader: enter code CSHOLIDAY20 for 20% off you entire first Cardstore.com order! Get those holiday cards NOW!

***

Anyway, I really wanted to share with you quickly. Go, check out the cardstore.com site, leave a comment to be entered into the drawing for the photo gift tags or notebook, and have a happy holiday!

Take care, and keep up those awesome Holiday Crafts... I hope to join in with a few this weekend :)

Introducing Little Man!

2010-11-26T19:01:00.000-08:00

I've been M.I.A. again, and for great reason. I wanted to introduce our little man, who is now 6 weeks old!

Minutes old!

4 weeks old

(did you see this great weekly photo project from Young House Love? We're trying to replicate it!)

1 month, on the re-covered glider mommy made :)

Getting time to eat, shower, and do any chores is basically unheard of, and let alone opening my computer, or even as far as blogging (luckily daddy is hangin' out with sleepy little boy right now, trying to coax him to sleep)...

So, there are a few super exciting things coming, maybe even a great giveaway, wink wink, but for now this is a post and run.

I can't wait to share with you again, but I'm trying to get used to our schedule and watch my little boy grow and change. You understand I'm sure. :)

Happy Thanksgiving- I'm grateful to all my readers, for a great family and home, and the desire and will to decorate. :)

Take care everyone, see you soon!

Budget Friendly Alphabet Art

2010-10-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

One of the last projects for Baby Boy's nursery was completing some sort of alphabet art. I had originally desired to make the alphabet a large focal wall, but that can wait until the toddler years. After all, Z said he doesn't need to know his alphabet until at least 6 weeks... :) So, for now, artwork in frames is what I went for.

This was a super thrifty project- We're talking $3 in frames (yes, they're the same color of the crib and glider wood!) from the dollar store- 11x14" even- They're big! The letters came from a pack that was $3, and I used only 1/2 of the pack, so lets call it $1.50. The rest of the materials I had on hand: white fabric, acrylic paint, spray adhesive, fabric glue...

So, here's how the second attempt at my alphabet artwork came together.

I found this pack of letters at the one trip I've made to Walmart in years. They were $3 for the pack, and turned out to not be what I thought they were (I thought they were cardboard, turns out they're more like post it note letters...). I used the holographic letters that were also included since they were coated, and I knew the acrylic paint would stick much better than to the black paper letters.

I organized them in the frames (with the black letters first), and started painting with the 5 coordinating colors in totally random pattern. (I don't do random well, but it seemed to work this time!)

Each letter took at least 2 coats. Some of them took 3 since the paint brand was a little cheaper (more water in the paint?)

I took these $1 11x14" frames from the dollar store, and removed the cardboard backing. I used the spray adhesive to adhere the frame insert upside down to the cardboard, and then used the spray adhesive again to adhere the white fabric to the boards. (I used this same curtain liner fabric for the laundry basket liner I made. I guess it worked out that I had extra) I used my rotary cutter to trim the excess fabric so it was nice and snug in the frame.

Then, I used fabric glue to attach the letters in the predetermined pattern to the white boards. Clean the frames up with some windex, and snap back together! Then, photograph for blog...

They're not hung yet. What I'm trying to determine is whether they should go horizontal along the wall, or vertical. You be the judge (but quickly, since baby is coming any day now!). The reason for the question is because I still need to incorporate the mobile into the room, and I figured it would go in the corner by the dresser. So here's the wall the alphabet art will go on. What do you think orientation wise?

Let me know what you think!

Two-Toned & Lined Curtains

2010-10-08T08:47:00.000-07:00

I made curtains again! Gosh, our baby is lucky I've taken to sewing lately...

These were imagined back in June, when I stopped off at Home Fabrics, and picked up the three main fabrics for baby boy's room. Remember when I showed you this fabric set (polka dots used to cover the glider cushions, that I showed you HERE):

To go with our bedding set my awesome cousins purchased for us:

I wanted a pulled together room (designed from scratch) but not something totally matchy-matchy which a lot of nursery stores provide. So, I imagined these curtains while walking through the store. The top fabric is green and white houndstooth, and the bottom is a blue and lighter blue stripe.

The curtains, for now, are hung on the closet as doors since the doors that were installed were not going to cut it (bi-fold doors, braced together so they opened like regular doors, plus they didn't shut tight and seemed cheap). They're fully lined, in case they become window treatments later (in order to black out the sun while baby sleeps

Since these were all straight stitches again, I didn't really make a tutorial. But, essentially, I measured the full length I needed which was 84" (luckily the closet and the window are the same length, if I want to swap the curtains later), measured the width of the blue stripe fabric I wanted to use, and subtracted that from the full length needed. I cut down the houndstooth and blue stripe fabric (with seam allowance) to the proper size. I sewed the blue and green together first, and then the white liner onto the back. The top seam is rough, but since I knew we were just going to use clips to hang them, it wasn't a huge deal.

With a typical spring loaded shower curtain rod, I hung the curtains as "doors" for the closet. They are a nice touch, and hide the closet that's still a work in progress of organization (even though I've been given orders to kick my feet up and not do much... which bums me out, but it awefully nice!)

Oh, and Shhh, they hide this:

Yep, I forgot I still have to paint these small portions of the closet sides. We were going to cover them in the beadboard, but time got away from us. The paint will be fine for now. :) When I get around to it.

Here are a few shots of the curtains from different angles:

(those small frames resting on the crib will be hung on the wall soon...)

(Do you see that laundry basket at the bottom of the closet? Check that revamp out HERE!)

So, what do you think? I can't wait to show the whole room put together- there are just a few finishing touches that hopefully we'll have time to get to this weekend.

Boat Applique Pillow

2010-10-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, I AM getting good with the sewing machine! Or, at least I hide the imperfections well. :)

Remember when I made the polka dot slipcovers for the glider? It's super cute by itself, but I thought the small little 12x16" I had bought would be so cute as an accent (Plus, potential actual lower back support on the glider, if needed!)

I've had a few pillow cover creation mishaps, so I thought since I've taken to sewing lately, that I might be able to do this one quicker and easier, and I did... but I cheated. How, you ask?

This small pillow was encased in a plastic bag when I bought it, that I realized fit PERFECTLY around the pillow, and allowed it to be nice and plump. So, I cheated by using the bag as fabric cut guide. You know what? It worked! It even had an envelope closure, instead of being seamed all the way around.

So, with the extra drapery lining fabric I had (solid white) leftover from the nursery curtains, I made the 3 fabric cuts: 1 for the front, and 2 for the back to make the envelope closure. Again, straight seams made this easy to put together. I did turn it right side out, and fit the pillow in, and needed to bring the side seam in a bit, so I just turned it out, and made a new seam. Fit better the second time.

I pulled the quilt out, and picked the boat I wanted to duplicate, and drew it out on a paper so I could cut the fabric to the right size (after all, the rest of the nursery is starting to look polished and pulled together, and the last thing I wanted was the accessories to look sloppy)

I had planned to sew the appliques on, but since I did kind of mess up by sewing the whole case together first, that didn't quite work... But, fabric glue worked just fine. I could hand stitch them later, if I feel so inclined. (yea right, after the baby is born?!)

But anyway, as it's all coming together, I love it! Here are some photos of the little pillow on the glider, and how it all fits together in the room. Oh, and did you recognize the sail fabric? It matches the "C" artwork frame I did a few weeks back. Check that project out HERE. :)

And, if you're interested in the painted barn stars on the wall, I love them! I posted about them just the other day... check that post out here.

So as it all comes together, I can thank this little puppy:

Who knew I'd become a sewing fanatic! I always felt more crafty than being a seamstress, but perhaps it's just another tool to be crafty. Who'da thunk?!

Lined Laundry Basket

2010-10-06T13:34:00.000-07:00

Wow, sewing up a storm over here, and pretending to be a pro! So, one of my last nursery projects (yes, ONE of the last...) was this laundry basket.

Let's just say I whipped up the liner.

First, I bought this basket probably a year ago ($4.99!), thinking I would actually turn it upside down, and use it as a side table in our family room... Then, all decor projects stopped when I got pregnant, because I just lost all energy. Anyway, last week, we realized we had the diaper pail, a small trash can, but no place for those dirty clothes everyone seems to remind us we'll have. :) I asked Z to pull the basket down from the garage storage loft, and I re-purposed it.

Here's the basket before (perfect size I believe for baby laundry :) )

I painted the basket blue to start- a nice royal blue in a glossy finish (spray paint, of course...)

Then, I essentially sewed up a really large pillow case (thanks mom for the idea.) I had originally thought I would cut a circle that fit the bottom of the basket, and then sew on the sides in a tube type style. My mom quickly helped me realize with my novice sewing skills, that simply making a pillow case type liner would be quicker, easier, and just fine for this use. I measured the depth needed, used some extra drapery lining fabric, and winged it sewing it together. The finished seams are on the inside, where the clothes drop in, and the rough edges are on the outside of the liner. I just move the basket so you can't see those. :)

I added 1/2" elastic to the roll over sides of the liner so it stays in place. Voila! Totally simple, and an inexpensive final touch. I love it in the closet now, but honestly like the color so much I might find a place for it in the room out in the open!

Oh, and notice the closet doesn't have doors? Yep, those curtains I gave you a sneak peek on are up, and totally cute & functional. I'll share those shortly with you all... They were another glorious sewing project. :)

Hope you're enjoying the nursery posts! I find myself walking in the room all the time, loving how it's turning out. More to come still :)

Power of Paint: Tin Stars

2010-10-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

One element I added to the 95% done nursery was a feature wall of coordinating colored tin barn stars. As my design board showed, I wanted one in about every color to match our Baby Boats bedding from Pottery Barn Kids my cousin purchased for us.

So, I collected the stars at the early "end of summer" clearance sales at Joann's fabrics, and a few at Michael's. They were $4 and under, each, and around 70% off when I picked them up. The three little ones were under a $1 each.

Because they were dark colors (mostly for fourth of July/Americana decor) we needed to spray primer them, before I used acrylic paints to paint them up in coordinating colors. I love the large star. It has some really great detail on it.

I got the quilt out, and my paint bucket and picked the colors that best coordinated... not matched exactly. After all, I was adding them to the lime green walls (which I've been told in person is much more the color of a granny smith apple, instead of a lime)

Here they are painted with the first coat...

And, here's the corner of the nursery I added them to! (Doesn't the glider look great in there too! Here's how I slipcovered the cushions...) I love the pop they provide, and they're the first thing you see entering the room.

Isn't paint great?!

Now, if I could just finish the other corner of the room before baby arrives... Since it's 95% done though, we're in good shape, and I hope to share a post or two with you each day for the next few days as we count down to his arrival!

Polka Dot Play: Slipcovering Glider Cushions

2010-09-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

As you know, if you've checked in at all here at Design-Aholic recently, we've been working on finalizing our baby boy's nursery. Last weekend, I took an extra day off to make the labor day holiday a 4 day weekend. I mentioned last week I got a lot done, but unfortunately, lost all my energy during the week and didn't show you anything! At least now, I can finally unveil the recovered/slip-covered (depending on how you want to view it) glider cushions!

First, since I'm proud of myself, here's the "after":

Do you recall the "before"? Dirty, plain light blue fabric. While the slipcovers were constructed well (maybe even better than mine) the ottoman was a joke. Some things you improve, some things stay status quo. At least the overall looks MUCH better than it did when I bought it with my friend Annie (check out her blog here, at Confessions of a Navy Wife.)

So, to get started, I cut two squares of fabric from my humongous piece of polka dot fabric that would work for the size I needed. (seriously, what was I thinking? I could cover two more full ottoman sets at LEAST with the amount I have left!!! I think I got something like 4 yards of 54" fabric? Good thing it was a STEAL...)

Then, I removed the blue covers from the cushions (which just sit in the chair form, aren't snapped, banded, or otherwise actually attached to the frame) and laid them out on my wrong side up polka dot fabric.

I laughed a little when I saw the backs and bottoms of the cushions were just hand sewn together...

There were two cushions to slipcover- the back, and the seat cushion. The back was more or less a square, but had the trickiness of needing the loops to hold the cushion to the frame sewn in.

Let me just pause here a minute. Did I even mention to you that I haven't pulled my sewing machine out in months, and now I was planning to tackle making my first slipcovers? No? Well, yes, I was petrified. The last thing I made were these straight seam orange curtains, and these envelope fold chevron fabric pillows... For some reason, winding the bobbin, sewing rounded seams instead of straight... all these things gave me the heebie jeebies. I don't know why I was so scared. Really. I think I was most concerned about getting the tread all tangled up in the insides of the machine because I did something small and stupid. But, alas, reading directions helps! Even though the poor translation of these Janome instructions made us laugh the first time I used the machine, months back, this time was serious and I had to pay attention to what they said... Outcome? It worked. Just fine. Now I'm not scared. End the pause.

I attempted the back cushion first, and it went relatively well. I left the bottom seam open until I tried it on the cushion, and fit it to the chair. When I realized it worked, and was finished with my happy dance, I sewed the bottom cushion closed.

The rounded edges of the lower cushion posed a slight problem for me, but going slow with the foot pedal, (no, I guess this was not the autobahn) it worked out. For this cushion, I had actually traced the pattern with a pen as well as pinning it, so that I had a guide to work by. Since the fabric is so heavy duty, it doesn't show through at all, and me being scrappy, I had just used a ball point pen anyway to do the tracing. :)

Is it just me, or does this look like a piece of toast? No? I'm just pregnant and hungry you say? ok, fine...

Sewing this cushion together at the back (the last seam) was trickier than the first because I hadn't left much excess fabric to work with. After some help holding it properly from Z, a broken nail, and some severely sore and tired hands, the cushion was closed (but looked like crap on that back seam) and fitted to the chair. Shhh, don't tell anyone how bad the back seam was. :)

Anyway, even though the nursery isn't being re-assembled yet, we're already enjoying the glider. It's still in the family room, and I just love the polka dot fabric.

And, as a nursery checklist reminder, the following projects still need to be completed:

- Chair rail added above the beadboard (in progress today, weeeeeee!)
- Baseboards added to the floor (in progress today, weeeeeee!)
- Furniture (well, the crib at least!) to be built
- Furniture placed (dresser is in the garage still, and yes I "won" the one I saw on craigslist!)
- Artwork Hung

... The curtains are finished, I'll share those with you soon too... Here's a sneak peak:

Here's the mood board, again, for the eleventy-billionth time:

And, to my (really, my sister's) sewing machine, I'm sorry to have doubted you.

So there's the recent progress... We're getting there, and so is the final baby countdown. As of today, I'm now 35w1d... time is closing in on us :)

Initial Artwork: Letter C

2010-09-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

I suppose initial artwork, or lettering in the nursery is nothing new. It's nice to stamp a nursery, or a kids room with their name to make it more personal. (Heck, I've even talked about my love of monograms before too!) When we settled on a name for our baby boy, I was able to purchase a white letter "C" to try to attempt a project along these lines.

So, here's what I did.

First I took an $8 clearance frame from Home Goods (regularly $25!). Of course, the butterfly motif wasn't going to quite cut it with the baby boats bedding. :) It was all wrong!

The white frame stayed, but the green mat was painted blue. I painted this with acrylics, and I think it looked like wood when I was done. I just loved that the mat was cut to fit the square frame already, plus the cut out/lined details were great.

Because of the depth of the frame, I was able to adhere the C to the board, and still have room to close the frame down. First though, I needed to cover the cardboard backing with green houndstooth fabric, that matches the curtains. I used spray adhesive and adhered a piece of fabric to the top of the cardboard. Since the mat was going to cover the edges of the cardboard backing, I didn't fold it around the back edges... just simply adhered to the top.

Then, after a failed hot glue gun attempt at putting the C on the fabric, I checked out my E6000 glue for it's specs... turns out it adheres fabric to wood with a 3 smiley face rating (I guess that's good?!) So I dabbed it on the backing of my MDF "C" and placed it in the middle of the fabric (I had lined up the mat as a guide.)

Then, just cleaned and reassembled! Oh, I just L-O-V-E it, but am even more excited to see it on the wall in baby boy's room!

It's amazing what a little vision and paint will do!

What do you think about the transformation, and colors?

More to come on the nursery progress. Labor Day Weekend brought a lot of progress that I can't wait to share!

Project Storage?

2010-08-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or do we as crafters/decorators run out of room to either store, display, or complete our projects?

With blogland offering so many fantastic ideas to really stimulate creative expression in your OWN crafts, I've found our house overflowing before with projects in the raw, half done, or complete, and it pains me. I love almost everything I do, but I suppose like the catalog stores, we have to rotate our goods in order to keep it fresh. But what do you do with all your old projects?

I assume there are some options, but I'm really actually curious what the consensus is- Do you give them to the local thrift store? Do you sell them in a store (such as etsy, or consignment)? Do you have regular garage sales? Or, am I going to be jealous to hear that YOU really get to store everything, and continually rotate your projects back into the decor every year?

I've made a lot of fun things in the last year, but some of them just can't stay.

So, this comes up for me, because finally, I have the mental capacity back to have the desire to craft, even though physically, I'm out of energy. The same cheery yellow wreath I made back in February is still on the front door. While cleaning out the garage, I came across a stash from my last thrifting trip I took- of course all with high hopes of re-vamp. Some of it made a trip in the back of my CR-V to Goodwill. Some of it ended up in the rafters.

Either way, I can't store it all. So I need to know... What type of storage solutions, purge solutions, or otherwise do you employ to keep your house in order?

Pottery Barn Bed & Bath Catalog Early Fall 2010

2010-08-21T16:07:00.001-07:00

Well, it's always a happy day when a Pottery Barn catalog shows up in the mail. But HOLY CANOLI, this latest one had me captivated by page 3!

Have you received this one yet?

Um, inspired by Provence?! Yes please!

Seeing that I have no energy to actually get out of bed, I decided to flip through and go on a small shopping spree that I would share with you all. Now of course, most of these items are reproducable in much less expensive manner, but I sure do love browsing.

Right from the cover, this Bonne Nuit lumbar pillow ($49 for the cover only), had me at hello. Can you say freezer paper stencil though?!

This Rosette mirror is a doll. ($249 though. eek.) I just love the detail on the sides, and those grommets.

Mistral Lavender foaming bath gel ($18). The bottle screams simplicity, and the lavender color pleases my eyes. Lavender is one of the most soothing scents.

This Barrett media stand (while I didn't first picture it as that...) has great detail, a great color, and perfectly scaled. However, at $699, I'll keep my eye out at some of those thrift stores I've been missing out on while pregnant...

These chippy heirloom frames, $129 for a set of 3, have been done time and time again, but they still get me. What a great empty frame display, and use of "old" items in new spaces. Love that texture.

Oooh, I just want to curl up in this blanket! I love a good chunky knit throw blanket, and with our baby boy due in the middle of October, there's going to be plenty of couch cuddling to do during the winter months! The price isn't horrible at $79, but I have one in green already. Maybe I could retire the hunter green one?

This cheery "Alexis Lamp" is so chunky and simple, I just love it (I really love the yellow one!). Even on "special" the base alone is $99 (drum shade sold separately). I suppose you could find a similar shape lamp at a thrift store, and a can of spray paint, and go to town. Inspiration is good though, no?

This Windowpane Velvet Bedding looks like I could melt into it. I love the red color- plus it's making me think of Christmas, my favorite time of the year! The king quilt is $229... hmm. Maybe HomeGoods will have something similar. :)

all images per Potterybarn.com website.

What do you think? All of these items add up to $1550!!! Yea, that's not going to happen.

Any of these photos tickle your fancy? :) Do you get the idea that Pottery Barn may be taking a hint from the blogging/craft world? How many of these pieces have you seen someone already create a version of? I still heart Pottery Barn, and in fact wouldn't mind working there- inspiration would overcome me. On second thought, it's probably better for our finances if I don't work there. :)

Nursery Progress Report

2010-08-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

I felt it was time to show off some of the in-progress projects that are going on nursery-wise around here. We had a big weekend planned, but that was derailed realizing I'm sick, yet again (seriously? SERIOUSLY???)

Either way, some really great progress has taken shape, and I'm feeling less stressed than before (read: still slightly stressed, but just a little less... :) )

First, I'm happy to report that the painting of the walls in the nursery is 100% done! If you recall, I used Olympic Premium No-VOC paint, mixed to PPG's Lime Green 209-5 for the walls. I did the dirty work first, one night, of cutting in, and the edging. This way the rolling of the paint took no time. This paint is awesome! It went on really well, and though I did two coats, I could have gotten away with one had I put it on a tad thicker the first coat.

Next, we have purchased the beadboard, chair rail, and baseboards- all 40 linear feet! The beadboard is cut (the sheets start out 8x4') in half, so I have 10 sheets that are 4'x4'. I think we'll go with 38" high beadboard, so we'll need to make some cuts for that to happen. The garage will be set up like a workshop this weekend, so that hopefully next week some of the hard labor of wood installation can actually start.

Then, the remaining painting (chair rail, beadboard, and baseboards) can occur! This part of the project I can't help much on... it kills me!

As for some of the other touches, those are definitely on their way. If I can get some sleep today, and feel ok tomorrow, I should be able to knock those projects off the list! Remember my design board? Well, I'm talking about the star artwork, the mobile, and the alphabet art.

I'm still a little frightful of sewing the replacement covers for the glider and making the curtains, since I've only used my sewing machine a few times! (Remember these curtains, and these pillows from earlier this year?) I think the curtains for the window are slowly turning into curtains for the closet instead, and the intention of purchasing blinds for the window is becoming a reality. Either way, the fabric will be a nice touch- just depends where it ends up! (Closet doors were removed, and I really want to be able to hide that mess!)

We still don't have a dresser, even though I know the one I want. I've been striking out lately, even though I did get excited when Kate @ Centsational Girl found the same one I was looking for, and painted it white... We're in the same area, and it seems that folks just love those dressers, and they either aren't selling them, or they're snatched up quick! But, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for one that was just posted about 30 min ago, and it's already white! :)

I'm really having fun watching it all come together, and planning for what happens next, I'm just a bit anxious about it all getting done. Looking at the calendar, there really are limited weekends left to work with.

How long did it take you to pull a room together? Did you ever have a room that felt like it just wasn't going to EVER be done? Do you work well under pressure, and deadlines?! Do tell!

Teething Bling: by Smart Mom Jewelry?

2010-08-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

Have any of you moms our there seen these before, let alone used them? They're necklaces with a BPA free rubbery feeling disc on a black cord called "Teething Bling." I found these on the daily deal website I subscribe to a called "babysteals.com" and it was my first purchase... Seemed like such a great idea.

I ordered two- one in green from babysteals.com (new discount baby/kid item daily!), and got the blue one direct from smartmomjewelry.com, since the color sold out at babysteals.com right away.

So, what do you think? Good idea? Will they be slobbery on our chests?

They even come packaged super nice:

Thoughts?! My doctor friend thought they were a great idea. I have to hope her opinion is worth something too!

Recovering a Glider Ottoman: Polka Dots

2010-08-08T20:55:00.000-07:00

I was excited to have energy this weekend, but I'm disapointed at how fleeting that little bit really is... Sunday became the day to do some of our first nursery projects (9 weeks now, we should get moving!)

My first project- one to really dig in and finish wasn't small- well, the piece itself is small, but the project wasn't! Today I recovered the ottoman that matches the glider I purchased for the nursery:

I've recovered furniture before... in fact, these two projects, Tiny Footstool, and the Grey bench should have given me the practice I needed for this project. I should tell you though, that Dutalier, the manufacturer of our glider, really makes quality product, which made the initial dismantling more difficult than expected!

The blue fabric was the victim of a horrible recovering job (I purchased the glider chair and ottoman at a garage sale in a nice neighborhood by our house). They just stapled blue fabric OVER the existing dirty upholstery! So while the first layer of fabric came off easy, the second did not. Using the best tools I knew, I pried about 150 staples out of the cushion until there was a clean (enough) layer to work with.

(yikes! The fabric was just trying to JUMP off this ottoman because it had been done so poorly!)

(surprise! There's another layer of fabric under there!)

Turning it upside down allowed me to remove the cushion much easier

Conveniently, the black mesh covering had holes cut out for where the screws held the top to the bottom

Take a look at all those staples!

Then, finally was the *easy* part: laying the fabric out, cutting to size, and stapling the new fabric around. The corners were tricky, but I did them the same way I have on my other pieces (they have two folds rather than the typical "professional" way of having one fold on each corner.)

I left the black mesh backing on so that the screw holes would remain visible, thus making screwing it back together easier. And also, I left a small amount of the old fabric and staple lines on the underside. It just wasn't worth prying them ALL out.

(picture with flash...)

(picture without flash... in a poorly lit room...)

I'm pretty happy with the results, and glad that the chair/glider itself just needs the cushions recovered, which should be made quick work of with the sewing machine.

A full shot of the glider, which is next:

Until then, I leave you with a few more progress sneak peaks of the nursery-to-be. Oh, and let me just tell you that we DID purchased the following today:

- 40 ft of beadboard
- Chair-rail to cap beadboard
- Baseboards (for the 3 carpeted bedrooms!)
- Olympic NO VOC paint in PPG color "Lime Green":

Z filled holes, sanded, and painted the ceiling today. Now we're really on our way! I'll be hitting that green (in more ways than one!) paint up this week. :)

Tons of small holes were filled, and the closet doors were removed...

...which left some really hefty holes that required wood fill, not even spackle would do the trick on those bad boys!

Baby steps to the finish line, but it feels like we're on our way now. I can't wait to see the paint up!

Thanks for stopping by :)

A little Hemnes for the Nursery

2010-08-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

Our nursery isn't going to have much clutter, or much furniture for that matter! Just the basics, for now- remember when I posted our nursery design board here?

Our Pottery Barn Crib,
Our Dutalier glider & ottoman,
and hopefully soon,

the 8-drawer Hemnes dresser from IKEA:

Remember, here's a quick peek of the nursery design board:

BUT, I thought I would search for pictures of others that had used this piece that I feel is extremely versatile (not to mention, grows with the child) in their own real world settings. I came across some great features, I now I'm convinced I'm not crazy.

As a side note, I'm thankful it's the end of the day Thursday, because I have the drive and energy to start working on other nursery projects this weekend. Cross my fingers (yours too?) that this energy streak continues, because with about 9 weeks left, we've got a heck of a lot to do still!

Anyone else out there not use a "traditional" change table, and opt for a dresser instead? Any pros/cons you'd like to mention?

TIA! more coming soon... stay tuned!

Manzanita Branch Centerpiece Decor

2010-07-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

To continue tutorial time, (I recently posted about the pearl bridesmaids bracelets as well!) today I wanted to share with you the process for completing the manzanita branch centerpieces we used for our wedding reception. :)

I had the idea for the branches long ago, but exactly how to construct and complete them didn't really hit until about a month ago. A few friends went to a wedding and posted pictures of what would be the final inspiration for our centerpieces:

As you may (or may not?) recall, I purchased 12 branches inexpensively from a Californian seller on eBay. All 12 branches shipped were like $75 or something silly.

The rest was really easy-

We used 5" cedar fence boards cut to size for the bases- these we hand picked for straightness (7 of them) at Lowes, which is also where we picked up the paint too. Originally we were going to glue them together, but ended up using a nail gun and finish nails and they were done in a snap (Z did the leg work on these, Love you!)

Yep, check out that price: $1.89/ea. Love it!

After the boxes were built (we ended up with 14, and wood left over) they were coated twice with black semi gloss paint... another great find! I was about to have the paint counter mix up black for me, when they took too long and I started poking around the paint section... Low and behold, there was a quart of BLACK Valspar semi gloss for $2.50 on the "oops" paint rack. SCORE! My friend Gina painted one coat, then later that day, Z painted another coat on the boxes, giving them a nice sheen.

I purchased 12 packs of floral foam at the dollar store, and spanish moss at Joann's (I used way less than I thought I would- I purchased 4 bags, and have 2 whole bags left- could have just purchased the same stuff at the dollar store!)

The branches were secured in the boxes with the floral foam- each one took about a whole package of the foam, and luckily it was already cut into 4 blocks (each "pack" was $1 and had 4 small bricks in it). Some of the branches required a bit more support, and a stuck a river rock or two in with the floral foam. Those also came from the dollar store, and I have extras!

After the branches were secured, the next day we added the spanish moss around the top of the boxes to cover the base of the branch and the foam. Then, we used the pom poms and simply hot glued 1 at the base of every centerpiece, and a few throughout the "branches".

There's my sister contemplating the next pom pom location. Please excuse the messy garage background. :)

The colors turned out perfect- and they looked exactly how I had hoped. :)

All in, these 12 centerpieces, which we gave away to guests cost just about $110, or $9.50/ea.

Here's the breakdown:
12 manzanita branches: $75 shipped from eBay listing
7 cedar fence boards: $14
1 quart black semi gloss paint: $2.50
2 packs of tissue paper (for pom poms): $3
2 bags of spanish moss: $3
12 packs of floral foam bricks: $12
TOTAL: ~$110 (or about $9.50/ea)

When I have some good photos from the photographers, I'll post those, but for now, heres an action shots from the reception where you can see them on the tables (sort of):

Oh, and I found out that people loved "winning" the centerpieces! One of my family friends getting married in January is even going to make them for her wedding! I hope we get to go and see them :)

So, what do you think? Pretty thrifty, eh? It's the name of the game I tell ya- champagne taste on a beer budget.

Tutorial: How I Made Pearl Bracelets

2010-07-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, there are tons of tutorials stemming from the wedding to share with you. Here is the first, and one of my favorites:

One of the things I wanted to give my bridesmaids (and flower girl) was a jewelry token for the event. My mom had suggested pearl bracelets, but honestly, I couldn't find ones I was happy with even at a ridiculous price each. Here's what I did end up with, and the story...

Still sick, and running out of time, I was extremely disappointed with Shane Co. I must have gone on the wrong day- there weren't enough employees, the store was packed, and the gentleman helping me seemed preoccupied and distracted. I'm glad I didn't purchase anything there (oh, and we'll stick to our regular jeweler, William McConnell & Sons).

Freaking out a bit, I came upon some jewelry at Target that would have worked, but alas there weren't enough in stores for my group! A trip to the craft store, Joann's to be exact, to find the material to replicate the Target pieces would turn into a blessing. It was there I found the strands of real freshwater pearls, platinum coated toggle clasps and the cute little jars to present them in- totally different than the Target idea I had originally gone in for.

Here's how I made 5 pearl bracelets and cute display bottles for ~$28.

First, I found these 7" strands of freshwater pearls at 40% off... I loved the color, weight, and shape of them (not uniform), and threw them in the cart.

Next, I needed to find clasps- I was hoping for toggles... I found that Joann's carriers all sorts of different metal findings, and I chose the super shiny platinum coated version, in a small toggle perfect for the size of the pearls and the fact that I was making bracelets. These too were 40% off. SCORE!

I ran through the store looking for something clever that I could present the bracelets in that wasn't tacky, and would make them seem a bit more "special". I located some mini jars that were $1 each. Perfect!

Now, I hadn't really made much jewelry as of late, but it all came back to me pretty quickly. I doubled the white beading thread (always do this as it makes it stronger, and you have a fall back in case one sring breaks!) and knotted the ends to the small silver jump rings. I always coat my knots, whether in clear nailpolish, or with a beading rubber cemet...

Then, I threaded the pearls, and knotted the other end to the other jump ring and glued. I did this 4 more times, and let them dry in between.

I needed to make 5 total- 4 for the bridesmaids, and 1 for the flower girl. The "adult" versions were just over 7" long with the pearls, and probably another 3/4" for the toggle. For my flower girl (she's 5...), hers measured out 6", plus the 3/4" for the toggle... which actually was still a bit too big.

With two sets of needle-nose pliers, I attached both ends of the toggle, and called it a day! 5 bracelets I believe in around 2 hours? Plus, I got to get my beading tools out again- How fun.

I put some crinkled packing paper in each small jar, and placed the bracelet inside. I think they turned out super cute! I had picked up some tissue paper and coordinating ribbon in our wedding colors, and wrapped these all up seperately to add to the Bridesmaid's and flower girl's gift bags. I couldn't be more pleased with them- I only wish I had made one for myself :)

So, for the cost of about half of ONE of the bracelets I might have purchased at Shane Co I made 5 bracelets and holders that I REALLY enjoyed. I hope they did too.

The breakdown & Supplies:
5, 7" strands of pearls: $2.39/ea
5 platinum coated toggles: $2.39/ea
5 glass jars, $0.60/ea (I had 40% off coupons for that week!)
crinkle paper: on hand, free
beading thread, beading needle, small jump rings, needle-nose pliers, rubber cement: on hand, free
TOTAL: ~$28 for 5 bracelets

I guess the saying is true- if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself!

Whew!

2010-07-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

What.a.weekend!

To recap, yes, we got all of our craft projects done with plenty of time to spare before the wedding. If you recall, there was quite a bit to do still with a week left till the big day!

The wedding ceremony went fabulous- of course, I cried walking down the aisle with my mom and seeing Z standing in his tux at the end. Gosh, what a handsome guy. :)

We did have the help of an awesome, just graduated from college event coordinator- we really couldn't have done it without her. Luckily, she took the reigns (just what I needed) and scheduled everything.

The reception was nice too- a few minor glitches that probably to everyone else were nothing... Yes, I've got some phone calls to make still, but for now I'm sitting here with some new sickness, so those will have to wait... ugh.

I will be cataloging the "how to's" shortly.

Here's what you can look forward to:

Tile coasters tutorial
Manzanita branch centerpieces
Tissue paper pom poms
Wedding program fans
Bridesmaids & flower girl/ring bearer packages
Pearl Bracelets
Card Box

While we don't have our photographer's photos back yet, here are a few sneak peaks at the finished products that I'll be featuring over the next little bit:

So stay tuned for some new tutorial posts, plus more nursery progress coming soon!

Busy Craft Weekend Ahead

2010-07-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

I've been sick, and man has it been the WRONG time. Now that we're a week out from the wedding there are lots of crafty loose ends to tie up. I think now that day 3 of this sickness is here, and I'm sleeping most of the time, it may be rounding it's final corner.

This weekend is fixing to be super busy, but luckily I've got a great set of friends and a wonderful fiance that will help make our day special!

So, left for this weekend is the following:

- Finish coating, matching, foam backing and packaging tile coaster sets for favors (we've already made around 250 of them for the first pass.) What, have I not told you about these before? See this link for my inspiration. :)

- Re-glue & assemble program fans (spray adhesive was a great idea, but didn't hold properly on the cardstock. good ole glue sticks are in order) Remember, I discussed this project, here.

- Make about 60 more pom poms (which would double the number I have now) This project was discussed on this post as well...

- Nail boards to make boxes, paint, and assemble manzanita branch centerpieces. I told you a little bit about the branch centerpieces, here, although there's the best picture of what I'm going for at the bottom of this post.

- Trip to the dollar store, (woohoo!) for floral foam, and to gather supplies to make activity kits for the few children attending

- Final dress fitting

- Bridesmaid/flower girl gift shopping, even though I believe this can be knocked out at one local shop

- Wrap and apply ribbon to "card box" for reception (oh, and find a box that works for this purpose!)

- Find Tulle for the floral that will be tied to the chairs at the ceremony

Doesn't seem so bad, or am I just lying to myself?

Oh, and Shhh... if you're one of my bridesmaids, you should turn away right now. But for the rest of you that were ever in a wedding, what was your most favorite bridesmaid gift/token you received? I'm considering bracelets from the local jewelry shop, but want it to be a fun gift as well. Thoughts?!

HELP me!

Flooring Project(s) Part 4

2010-07-15T13:55:00.001-07:00

The carpet guys came! (Just try not to scroll down to the sneak peak of the new digs at the bottom!!!)

In anticipation of the few hours they'd be here, I typed up a "Part 4" to the series I've been writing about the flooring projects around here. (...Part 1 Here...Part 2 Here...Part 3 Here...)

As I mentioned in my last post, we had some work to do in the room that the dogs used to call theirs (now that hardwood is in, they have free reign). Z pulled up the carpet and found that they had stained (not surprisingly) down to the subfloor, and subsequently needed to bleach it. That adventure was fun because we used almost a whole bottle, yes a full 2.56 quarts, in one room. Needless to say, after the first round, we needed to add a fan, open the window, and seal the whole room off! I wish I had a photo of it- you'd have thought that it was toxic material in there! A second round, and we were a little smarter, using a little less and sealing the room immediately. I have to say though that the bleach was a great idea (and recommended by the carpet guys in the first place) as well as better than the previous odor. Lets just leave it at that.

So, here, I'll share with you some of the "why we needed new carpet" photos, and some bleached wood photos in hopes that it may help you in the future.

Part 1 of bleaching the subfloor. Awesome, eh? But hey, did you notice the awesome stripes? Remember this post when I told you my secret for crisp paint lines?

Subfloor after bleach.

This room actually stayed decent. It's going to be the nursery, and the dogs didn't go in there much. But, we replaced all the carpet at the same time for consistency.

You can kind of see where the bed was, before we moved it out. Yep, that looks like a highway of foot traffic around it!

My black dog sheds EVERYWHERE! this carpet is supposed to be (or was) tan, but her hairs were even behind the bed!

The last one is just too gross to show you. :) One of the dogs threw up the other day, and stained it! Good thing it was getting replaced just a few days later.

One thing I certainly know is that when everything gets moved back in, I’m going to be more cautious about the clutter, since it’s been difficult to clean around (ok, to be fair, I haven’t had the energy to clean in months, but now the pregnancy energy is in full force, all I want to do is clean!)

Here's a sneak peak to wet your appetite for what the carpet looks like now:

And yes, this new carpet has made me want to paint, change decor, and pick new fabric for our nailhead trim headboard in the master... *evil laugh* but more on that later...

Come back for installment 5 soon!

Flooring Project(s) Part 3

2010-07-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

Have you gotten the idea yet that there are a million big things happening in this household at once?

If you haven't, let me fill you in on a little secret: There are a million big things happening in this household seemingly all at once! Yes, we're crazy. Is it fun?! Sure is! I haven't had this much energy in months, and am enjoying every last second...

Now, to the purpose of this post. If you noticed, this is titled Flooring Project(s) Part 3. Yes 3. (Part 1 Here and Part 2 Here) On Monday, we get the bedroom carpet replaced, and new stuff installed! We went with a shade of loop patterned (in a square design) of Stainmaster carpet in a color called "brown sugar." It really picks up on some of the undertones of the wood floor we just had installed and will be a great dirt hider. :) After all, the backyard still is ripped to pieces, and the dogs (ok, and the humans) of the house bring dirt and dust in every time we walk back in. Plus, with a baby? Yep. Time to prepare to hide that dirt!

Here are some sample shots from the Stainmaster website so you can get an idea of what we're working with. This color is called "chocolate" from their website, but it's nearly the same:

Bedroom scene, because we're only carpeting the bedrooms + closets. Oh, and the hall closet.

Better carpet shot though here in a living room- doesn't it look good with the white baseboards?!

Love, love, love it!

Real photos to come later- well, Monday even!

Remember, this was our flooring:

But here are some better pictures with it installed, and the baseboards up... Yes, these are just teasers! There will undoubtedly be a Flooring Project(s) Part 4 & 5.

Oh, and you'll *love* to hear about the bleach story on the subfloor in the dogs room. Just awesome I tell you!

Hope you're having a great Saturday... I'm sitting here with my chubbies (my pet name for those super swollen pregnancy ankles I've already acquired) with my Game Ready eatin' some FroYo.

Yum

Wedding Program Fans

2010-07-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

With two full weekends left before the wedding, it is time to start putting together the programs! Our awesome coordinator came up with a brilliant idea to make fans since our wedding will be outside in the end of July. (that and white tin drink buckets with iced bottled water...)

I grabbed the supplies today at Joann's and have made a few mock ups- can you say crafting party this week?

Here's the idea though, and I'll share the final product in a few days!

Main items:
- Cardstock in green, sangria purple and white
- Popsicle sticks
- Floral paper punch & corner punch (woops, forgot to get this today, so back to the store tomorrow!)
- Glue, printer for cardstock
- Ribbon (I think I'll add this, but haven't purchased yet!)

Teehee! I was hoping to be crafty SOMEWHERE in this wedding planning! Two weeks before is about right to get going huh?

................................

And, want a sneak peak at the other project I'll be doing this week as well, to accent the manzanita branches for the reception? Here's a hint (and the link is here) to the project:

Of course, the tissue we got is green, and I hope for them to look something like this when they're done (replace the pink flowers with spanish moss... oh, and our branches are much larger and spread out)

It's great to have some energy again, now back to "work" during crunch time! (Remind me, no more nursery planning until the wedding is done!)

Alphabet Amusement

2010-07-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

One main feature I'd like to add to the nursery is some alphabet art. I showed you two great LARGE scale features in this past nursery post. However, after putting my design board together, I was thinking I just needed some art work, instead of a full feature wall for my alphabet.

Now, until the walls are painted, and I can gauge the size of the star wall, I probably won't make the artwork, but I did scour the net for some great alphabet art inspirations that I loved.

Enjoy and Happy 4th of July!

So, there you have it. I love the multiple colors and even somehow incorporating the letter "C" in a special way as the first letter of our son's name.

My artwork will consist of some of these supplies:

- Cardboard/Chipboard Letters
- Pewter Alphabet brads
- Lots of acrylic paint colors!

Fingers crossed that the nursery comes along as planned through the next few weeks before the wedding. Yikes! It's so close... Things are really moving fast now.

:)

Nursery Design Board

2010-06-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

What a great way to spend a Saturday! Woke up early, just a little after my normal "get up for work" time, had some cereal, kicked back for a few, then got ready and did some errands. Fun errands. Like, scoring $130 worth of Old Navy clothes for $79, and getting a new purse, and some baby clothes at Target, and just doing fun running around for a few hours. Amazingly, the 4ish hours I was out wiped me out, and I've spent a good chunk of time this afternoon sitting playing in Photoshop. Oh yes, sitting in the glider, which is in a prominent spot in the living room right now. :)

I wanted to attempt to get my ideas from my head to a concept, since I haven't really been able to work on the nursery yet. Although the carpet should be laid within 2 weeks, the wedding is pushing up against that time, so I figure I won't get to really get going on it until after July 24th.

So, armed with stocked up photos, the internet, and photoshop, I sat, and created this finalized, first pass at the nursery design. I know I shared a few of these ideas with you on a past nursery post. While this board is actually finished, it's bound to change by the time we actually get moving, and I'll more likely incorporate a few things that aren't pictured.

But, without further ado... (don't mind my rambling..) here it is:

And, here are the details:

The bedding is "Baby Boats" by Pottery Barn Kids
Crib is "Kendall fixed gate" by Pottery Barn Kids
Dresser is the "Hemnes" by IKEA (will be used as the change table too)
Glider is purchased, but will be recovered in the red dot fabric
Walls will be the green color at the top of the page, and I'm hoping for adding wainscoting to the lower portion of the room (otherwise I'll just paint the lower portion white, and add chair rail)
Curtains will be the hounds tooth with blue striped fabric at the bottom
Mobile is a whole bunch of different color and size circles, which I'll make (scrapbook paper and fish line!)
I want to do the multi colored tin stars above the dresser, and there are 6 shown because they pull the colors from the bedding and there are 6 numbered boats in the bedding! (educational, no?)
The artwork is the "C" for Connor (which we think is our name of choice)
I purchased the small side pedestal table for $10 at a garage sale and just need to refinish it still. I'm thinking blue?

Interesting little factoid I just found about tin barn stars online- apparantly the colors all have significance:

Significance of the Colors:

Black: Protection, also used to blend or bind elements together

Blue: Protection, peace, calmness and spirituality

Brown: Mother earth, also can mean friendship and strength

Green: Growth, fertility, success in things and ideas that grow

Orange: Abundance in career, projects and matters needing an added push

Red: Emotions, passion, charisma, lust and also creativity

Violet: Things that are sacred

White: Purity, power of the moon, allows energy to flow freely

Yellow: Health in body and mind, love of man and the sun, connection to the God

Anywho. I hope you enjoyed this little tour. As I get some of the projects under way, I'll surely post them here.

Oh, and by the way, I purchased a rug from this post, but had to take it back because the pile was too high to fit under the front door when opened. Sigh. Onward and upward, and more shopping! :)

Enjoy your saturday-

Rugs Needed!

2010-06-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

Now that the flooring is in, I am dying to get some new rugs! Plus, one of my best friends just bought a new place, and I'm vicariously living through her entire interior decorating project... She's having fun, and it's fun to watch it all come together.

So I was browsing for a smaller version of a rug she purchased, to go right in our entryway, and stumbled across quite a few at Target that I L-O-V-E! Here's a sample of the great rugs I found:

Link Here

The very last one is the one my friend purchased, and this photo looks totally different than how awesome it looks in person!

I love the bold patterns, and colors... the brown backgrounds and accents will match the floors, while the other colors add pop to the entryway. Can't wait to do some rug shopping! (Did you know that Target has 3200 rugs on their site?! Holy Moly!)

Oh, and final pictures of the new flooring coming soon!

Flooring Project(s) Part 2

2010-06-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

Day one is done! I showed you earlier the less than stellar flooring we were replacing...

I was told there were about a million staples holding the carpet pad down... and it took 3 hours with 3 guys to remove it!

Here are some brief sneak peak photos of the progress:

The dining room is for tomorrow- you can see the dark flooring from the front, some of the underlayment (green), and the subfloor.

Ah, I can't wait to see the crisp white baseboards against this dark floor!

That's it for now, I'm squealing with delight already, even though it's super dirty and dusty in here. :)

Flooring Project(s) Part 1

2010-06-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

It's here, it's here!

Tomorrow morning our floor installers arrive to strip out our Fun-kay carpet, and replace with the awesome flooring we purchased last November. :)

This project has been on my list of House To-Do's since I started this blog, if you can believe it. So, that's why I'm beside myself to see it get going.

To recap, we're having around 600 sq ft of Armstrong Rustics Premium, Homestead Plank flooring in Prairie Brown installed in the common areas of the house. Here's a color sample:

It's dark brown, with grey undertones. We're also having the baseboards replaced too, so the crisp white boards constrasting the dark wood is going to be awesome!

Just so that I remember how BAD the carpet was, I went through the house after the first round of furniture was moved the other day and took these horrific photos:

Front room had a rug down, but with the dogs, you can see how dir-tay it got. Gross!

Another front room shot, with our nursery glider to be re-covered (that I mentioned in this post the other day)

The small bit of laminate flooring at the entry way is also being ripped out. We'll have our dark flooring flow right from the door to the back of the house, and everywhere in between!

Hallway will also have the new flooring, and WHITE baseboards!

This shot is looking away from the dining room back to the hall.

Another benefit of this project is getting to reorganize, and re-decorate the place once we see what the new flooring looks like! So, we'll get to put the house back together (ok, Z will get to put the furniture back since I can't lift it when I'm pregnant) and refresh the place! Then, we'll get to do the nursery. This is so exciting!

Prepping for the Nursery: Ideas!

2010-06-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

So, we found out last Friday that our baby is a boy! We were shocked, and are super excited!

I've been directing my attention to the potential nursery ideas that fit the bill for a cheery and stimulating space.

I can't fully commit to starting the planning because we're in the process of replacing basically the entire house worth of flooring, which includes the soon to be nursery! The bedrooms will be carpeted, and the main living spaces will be a thick Armstrong laminate in a dark brown color.

So, as those projects start, and hopefully end quickly, I'll be able to draw back on my idea boards, and photo collections.

Here are some of the images that are really striking to me, that I hope to incorporate in our little one's space:

Bedding,
From Pottery Barn Kids, the "Madras Plaid" nursery line:

I love, love, love all the great colors in this bedding. So many decor options!

No turtle sheets here, just a nice solid color...

Love the crisp white crib skirt with the plaid detail at the bottom!

"Baby Boats" from Pottery Barn Kids:

Look at the detail in this set!

The colors are the same as the plaid, and this one has a pattern that I L-O-V-E too!

Art, Accessories

I want to hang a mirror with a red frame on the walls. I'm thinking about re-doing the one I painted white, from this post...

I love this alphabet wall! I'd do one in a smaller scale, maybe over the changing table, but the colors, patterns, and textures are so great. Plus, it's the alphabet- how much better could it get?

Pinwheel mobiles! I purchased the supplies today to make one of these (or maybe two?) Maybe above the crib, but maybe as a nice item above the changing table!

Another pinwheel mobile idea

Furniture:

This is the Kendall Crib from Pottery Barn Kids, and I'm hoping to get a crib like this one

This Hemnes dresser from IKEA is a great sturdy piece, and will grow with baby. We'll make this the changing table, and have room on the sides for a lamp, organization, and a fan...

I picked a glider & ottoman like this one up last weekend for $80... I'm going to recover the cushions in a red and white polka dot fabric!

Glider & ottoman fabric!

I purchased a small side table like this one above for $10 (a Bombay Co. table!) and plan to paint it, but I haven't decided what color yet! Any suggestions, based on the color scheme you've seen so far?

Wall Paint Designs:

At a minimum, I'd like to put chair rail up in the room, but would love to do beadboard/wainscotting like the above photo. The wall color is even a contendor!

More beadboard...

Wall Colors:

Both colors are from Bejamin Moore, by PBK kids. The blue is called Blue Marguerite, and the green is called Stem Green.

Closet organization:

I love baskets in the closet. While ours won't look quite like that above, I love the organization!

I've got two of these PBK Sabrina Baskets with those blue liners so far, and would like a few more to add to the closet organization! I love how sturdy they are, and how good lookin they are!

So that's what I'm working with! I'll show you some of the fabrics I picked up yesterday for the glider, and the curtains! So fun!

What do you think? What was the most favorite part of your little one's nursery? Was there something you wished you'd done differently?

What will it be: Team Pink or Team Blue?

2010-05-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

Friday is a really exciting day for us- not just because it's the start of the long holiday weekend for Memorial Day, but because that's our 20 week anatomy scan on our baby. It's been 2 months since our last ultrasound! I can't believe our appointment is finally almost here. :)

So our intent is to have the doctor tell us if we're team pink or team blue (which maybe should be Team Yellow, or Team Green) if baby cooperates. At the 12 week scan, we didn't have a terribly cooperative baby!

Because we're due in the middle of October, and the weather in CA can be so unpredictable (ie, it's RAINING and COLD at the end of MAY!) I wanted to start looking for some potential going home outfits- plus I just like to shop as it is!

Here are a few darling (in my opinion!) options I'd consider purchasing for the big day (all from Baby Gap)...

Girl:

Boy:

So, could you tell I like orange?! I love the little giraffe print for the little girl, and the boy onesie is cute too! Hopefully a denim jacket isn't too scratchy for a newborn. I'm sure these options are a bit trendy for a coming home outfit, but they're so fun to look at! :)

Until Friday! Ta-ta!

Wedding Details: Reception

2010-05-24T09:11:00.000-07:00

So far in my wedding series posts, I've shown you the colors we're using, some info about the dresses and tuxes, and about the location of the outdoor space...

This post is all about the reception. :)

Because we're getting married in downtown Walnut Creek, CA, there's really an abundant amount of good food choices for the reception. However, since our list grew from 50 to around 70 people, we needed to find a fun banquet space that could accommodate. I've had my heart set on a buffet style (so much easier when you're the guest, I feel...) so we found Pyramid Alehouse to be a great fit!

We've rented one of the large dining rooms for the night, and will set it up buffet style with not only food (which the menu can be found here) but also a drink buffet! We're talking all you can drink- beers, wines, sodas even. They replenish the pitchers all through the night. Ironic though, to have our wedding reception somewhere where I can't FULLY enjoy the surroundings! I'm totally ok with it- I love being pregnant, and our wedding day is going to be filled with so many great people, it'll just be a blast.

Here are some ideas of the place:

One of the next things I had to work on was our decor in the room. I had this crazy idea to use manzanita branches in tall glass vases, probably filled with clear stones, and the branches potentially adorned with small floral. I'm about 30% there... I have the branches, which I ordered from a local farmer off of eBay (here's a sample posting of theirs) and they look great. I've purchased one sample vase so far, $10 from IKEA, but need to go back for more. That was the best price I could find for a 15" glass vase! I think I'll need around 10 of them, so 9 more to go...

Here are some manzanita centerpieces I just love. Ours are going to be simple- after all, it's a summer wedding, with a reception in a brewery... How formal does it need to be?!

Next, ah, the piece de resistance- our cake! While I don't have an ACTUAL shot of OUR cake yet, here are some ideas, that may help you visualize. First off, we're using master pastry chef, Katrina Rozelle (website here) out of Alamo, CA (also in Oakland) for our cake. As much as I'm having a diversion to sweets right now, cake tasting at Katrina Rozelle was fun, and yummy! I settled on the "Erica Torte" which is a chocolate cake with a caramel ribbon through the middle of the layers. We're doing a three tier cake. Katrina even came out herself and helped me design it with the images I had brought.

We're talking:
3 tiers
Rounded (always thought I'd have a square...)
Fondant
Quilted
Green color bands on each tier
Pearls and star accents in the quilting

Very simple, clean lines, the way I like it! This cake is going to be decadent. I can not wait to try it! Our only issue is size... since our list grew, I may need to order a larger size! Yikes! Or maybe cupcakes to supplement? I always thought I'd do that option anyway from the start...

So basically, that's our reception in a nutshell. Of course, I'm looking forward to finally using the services of a recently graduated, sister of a friend to be my coordinator. I just kind of started freaking out wondering who was going to actually get everything where, and on time, and so on. I'm giving up control, and going to ask for help. :) Thanks in advance, Lynn!

So, is this too cliche and trendy? I'm hoping the colors work, and that the small details don't really matter. We've got so many things to look forward to this year that I'm just not taking the whole thing completely seriously in terms of getting worked up. For godsakes, one of my friends got married 4 days after September 11th, 2001 and they pulled it together. I think we can make it happen too.

:)

I love hydrangeas!

2010-05-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

Because it was super nice Saturday, I made a trip to the NEW Lowes a short distance from our house, and gathered up some plants to add to my Thrift Store planters I've had for months!

I went in not knowing what I wanted exactly. But, when I was walking through the indoor garden center, I came across these gorgeous pink and lime green hydrangeas, just under $10 a plant. Score, and yes please! Just look at that new growth still coming in!

I also picked a few bags of potting soil that was on sale up, and just let me tell you- you should be glad you can't smell these pictures. Goodness- all the windows have been down in my car since I got home. The soil smells disgusting!

Planting was easy for the most part, except my 18week belly (yes, I'm pregnant...) is already making things more difficult. I added some large river rocks to the bottom for drainage, then added my soil. The hydrangeas were in large buckets, so breaking up the root ball was difficult, and there was a lot of dirt.

All in all, I planted two, and they're in front of the house, and just making me smile! Lets hope they grow bigger, and I don't kill them! (I have a bad habit of that... doh! Plus, wow, get that lawn some water!!!) Oh, and did you notice my spring wreath is still on the door? Check out that post here.

Ahh, I just love these colors, so I had to show them to you again!

What did you guys do this weekend? Any planting, home improvement, or crafts?!

Do tell!

Wedding details, Location

2010-05-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here's some more details on our wedding! I showed you the pallette the other day- Sangria purple, and apple green accents...

Today, we're adding the purple rhinestone to the mainly green invites, and mailing them out. The insert is all prepared, just need a few printed at Kinkos since I included a colored map.

So, for those of you from CA, or even the San Francisco Bay Area, you may be familiar with a little suburb called Walnut Creek. It's a very affluent city about 20 miles east of San Francisco. It's right where we live and spend a majority of our time. They've got everything from Target, to Tiffany!

We chose an outdoor casual setting at the Gazebo at Civic Park. Since the wedding is in July, it'll be hot, but the trees should be shaded by then. Just in case, we're planning to have some water bottles in buckets at the end of the isle and maybe some fans too. :)

We're going to set up white wooden chairs, and I'm debating on an isle runner, and tulle lining the chairs at the isle. Here are some ideas... (I was thinking of picking up these paper lanterns I saw at the dollar store- they were the perfect color!)

For services so far, I'm extremely happy with our photographer choice- Ultra-Spective (out of Livermore, CA)- we've even done our engagement photo session (a few samples below!) which was so fun, and good practice. These were the first professional photos Z and I have had done since we've been together (5 years!)

For floral, I'm hoping to mimic something similar to what Tia Mowry did for her outdoor wedding- why not right? I'm using her dress, and my bridesmaid's dresses are purple too?! :) I'm not a huge fan of roses, but the colors are right.

So, there's some more details! Next time? Reception details! That should be fun :)

Until then, we're off to register- yay for scanner guns and shopping- could you guess? We're registering at Target, Babies R Us, and possibly Pottery Barn Kids. More on that later as well!

Happy Saturday everyone,

Wedding Palette

2010-05-10T11:35:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned yesterday, 2010 for us is going to be a huge year! A lot has been going on in the months during my blogging absense. For starters, we've been planning our wedding.

The details are wrapping themselves up by now, and I thought for my sake, and yours (to see what's been coming together) I thought I'd post the palette we're using by collaging our colors, location, and accessories here. This will be a series post over a couple of days...

Enjoy!

First off, the most important, our colors:

Bridesmaid dresses from David's Bridal, in Sangria, and Groomsman wear from Men's warehouse, also in Sangria. We're going the vest and tie route, not bow-tie for the boys.

Our accent color, and the color on our invitations is an apple green. We're using Cardstore.com to order our invites. They pre-print them, and can even address the envelopes too. The one we picked is by artist "Delphine" and is called "Melissa Lime". It's not really lime when printed, much more granny-smith-apple-green (this is a sample from the website, not our details, hehe)

I showed you my dress yesterday, but here it is again. I guess I'll mention it now- I'll definitely need a tan before the big day! Tia Mowry looks awesome in the dress, and well, I'm just really white!

So, there are the basics.

Still to post? The other details, like Location, Reception, photographer, and the other nitty gritty details! Stay tuned :)

Mother's Day, 2010 Announcements :)

2010-05-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

2010 is sure to be a year we'll remember.

Today, even more so. Today is Mother's day- we got to spend the morning with Z's family, I had lunch with mine, and then tonight I'm up for some relaxing. It's been one of those years so far.

So, I suppose, it's time to spill the beans. 2010 will be a year to remember for us, because, well, we're expecting! Yep. Baby W is expected to make his or her glorious arrival sometime in October. :)

And, if that wasn't enough, we also have our wedding planning going on! Yep, July is our wedding TOO.

Here's a peak at my dress:

So, that's why it's been so busy around these parts!

I promise to start posting some of our ideas for both the baby and the wedding. I'm not diving into planning baby stuff until we know the sex (which is still 3 weeks away!)

So, happy Mother's Day, 2010 to all of you mothers and soon to be mothers out there!

Backyard Inspiration: small spaces

2010-05-03T12:39:00.000-07:00

I know you couldn't tell the scale from my backyard sketch on yesterday's post, but we have a small backyard.

From the back of the house, to the back fence is only 18.5'. Our neighborhood is designed that way on purpose since we have acres and acres of greenbelts, play structures, 3 pools and a dog park here. For me, I'm ok with the small backyard. It's the perfect size canvas!

Now that the backyard demo has started, I've been scouring online photos to find elements I could add to our yard, based on our shape, our needs (we want grass finally!) and the size.

Here we have the inspirational photos I found so you can see my vision!
Enjoy the tour:

This curvy walkway, grass, and small planters at the grass line are a for sure MUST HAVE for our space. The walkway to both side yards will run right along the house- we don't want to have to water plants right next to the house- you know, avoid as much wetting down of the siding as possible. Maybe some container planting though?

No pool for us, but here are some more plants and grass features. Plus, there are some great colors here, and the height variations are great.

This space is great because our patio set is this length, plus if you notice the built in BBQ to the left, that's in my plans as well. Plus, in the paver patio, they've done another built in plant area. Oh, and grass of course!

This photo has more pavers than we're looking at, but I like the small retaining wall for a height variation, and added seating for those BBQs. I'm hoping to do some raised paver walls, if only in one area.

This photo I love because of the foliage at the fence line. We plan to put a border of plants around the fence line, and this one really captured my attention!

Even though this is a digital plan, I love the small bench with the rock at foot near the upper left corner. We'll add a bench at one of the fence lines, in direct site of the grass and the entire backyard!

We have sliding doors for our access to outside, but I'd love to eventually add french doors instead. Either way, I love the rounded steps down to the main level, and the dark paver/brick look.

So I'm hoping to take my ideas from above, with my sketch I showed you yesterday, and create a backyard we ALL want to use, share, and enjoy :)

If you noticed, these photo inspirations aren't over the top! They're real life, and they're really do-able, without breaking the bank (I think at least!) My desire for our plans is to have the current patios demolished, and the cement removed. Sprinklers can be laid by us, and then I'd have the canvas to create our backyard!

So, have any of you undertaken your backyard (or frontyard for that matter!) recently? Anything you'd do differently, or suggest someone should CERTAINLY make sure they do?

I'm glad I've got some energy back now, because planning stuff like our backyard is what I live for! (I even spied a great teak bench for the backyard at HomeGoods today for $129! We CAN do this!)

A backyard transformation, part 1

2010-05-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

Our backyard looked like this a week ago:

And, it has looked like that since we moved in July 2008. While not pretty, it has been tucked away, and allowed us to focus on the interior of the house, and the front yard.

So, what happened last week, to cause this?

Well, this:

Dry, lifting boards

wet boards that developed a hole over night...

Z spent 1 whole day, like 12 hours at least ripping the entire thing out by himself. Tools? Saw, mallet, wheelbarrow and protective gear of course. Oh, that and his brute strength!

Look at the condition of this wood. Thank god we removed it and got it away from the house!

Could there have been more nails?

Even the cement foundation pillars were removed. Luckily, we were able to have one guy haul away the pieces of the deck for a nomimal fee, in just a few hours.

So, now, this unexpected project leads me to another awesome area to design- the FLAT backyard!

After taking the necessary measurements this morning (I've gone through this exersize before, but lost all my drawings in a mold incident after attempting the popcorn removal in one bedroom. woops.) I drew out a scale picture of the back of our house, and the backyard, and side yard portions.

Here's the outline (cause I can't find graph paper either? What's wrong with my brain?).

W for window, and there's a sliding glass door on the back too, which is labeled. Those small squares with circles are mature trees that are staying due to hanging over each neighbors' yards too.

I played around with a pencil and drew this (knowing that our current no living thing backyard needs much life (grass & plants) since its all rock, stone, brick, and formerly wood from the deck) plan out:

Using these tools, I'm stoked to continue planning! I'll post some inspiration photos soon too.

For now, I wanted to show you one big thing that's been goin on in our Casa.

Toodles!

Stepping back in, slowly

2010-05-01T17:32:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day, everyone!

I'm glad to say, I'm slowly stepping back into blogging. I'll tell you soon what's been going on in the last few months here at our homefront. There's so much in store.

But, in order to not overwhelm myself, I'm slowly stepping back in. Like that song: She waded in the water but she didn't get it wet, yet..." You know the one. Tell me you know the one. I'm not crazy am I? :)

Anywho, this is my official, I'm back note to you all. I hope wherever you are in the world right now that you're enjoying your space, your family/friends, and life.

Thanks for sticking with me, and to my awesome followers that I gained over the last 2 months, even without a post, YOU rock. :)

Take care all, and soon...

Soon

2010-04-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Early Easter Everyone-

So, now that it's been almost a month since I've last posted, I'm nearing the time I'll be back to regular posting.

I've said before there's "so much going on" but now, it's really true. Life changing even. Maybe you can guess what my two big announcements will be sometime next week. :)

For now though, Happy April, and Happy Easter. I hope you and your families spend quality time together. Enjoy!

Been Missing...

2010-03-09T19:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry Guys, I'm totally aware I've been missing this March! There's so much stuff going on, and I can't wait to share it all. In due time, in due time!

Anyway, I will be back soon, I promise.

I'm not MIA permanently. :)

That's it. Oh, and I miss you all. What's been goin on? Anything good? Any links or projects to inspire me?

VOTW #10, Laundry List of To-Dos

2010-03-05T18:54:00.000-08:00

Howdy, Folks! Yep, it's Friday again, Friday evening even here in CA. Sorry I've been slow to get this up- busy family night last night!

So, welcome, to another edition of VOTW: Victory of the week!

As I said last week, and the 8 other times before (can you believe this is week 10 of 2010 already?! ALREADY?) to goal of VOTW is to to remember the small (or large!) Victories that we all have each week. It's good for morale, stress, and our attitude to remember that sometimes, it's the small things in life that matter. So, whether you're proud of a recipe, a project, your kids, or whatever, link up and let the world (well, at least the blog world!) know.

I know I've built these grand to-do lists before, but for some reason this weekend I seem to be extra motivated. Go figure, huh? Maybe it's all the extra sleep I've been getting. :)

Anyway, my victory won't really be counted until about 9:00 on Sunday night, but for now, I'm working off of the lofty goal of doing the following things this weekend (some starting RIGHT NOW- well, after I post this...)

See if my buffet is still available (and offer $50 for it)
Find a basket for off season sheets for the linen closet (and fill that awkward space)
Paint ceilings that are above where the flooring will be installed and popcorn was removed (I've resigned to doing the other spaces later)
Get my Spring wardrobe weeded out, and go shopping (if necessary :) )
Browse HomeGoods, clearance section first of course. New linens for the bed are calling my name.
Check out lease options on some of the cars from this post
Fix the car seat protector (for the dogs)
Read, sort, and recycle magazines

What am I doing tonight? Sitting down with these magazines:

That's 2 Verandas, 2 Everyday, 2 Good Housekeeping, 3 catalogs, 1 Better Homes & Gardens

Oh, and for that awkward storage shelf I was talking about? Yea, it had popcorn on it too! The door was never re-attached after a few weekends ago, but either way, it doesn't go all the way to the ceiling. Totally weird. That's the space I need a basket for. :)

It's like the smallest linen closet ever. sigh. But, that's why I'm reorganizing, and using wasted space!

Sorry for the bad photography- used the iPhone tonight. Another symptom of being lazy. I promise to do better this weekend :)

So, what's your victory this week?! Link up you fabulous friends! We had 29 links last week- are we gonna beat that?!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

PS: Did you see that we're almost up to 300 followers of D-A... (295 this minute!) Holy Moley! And yes, I have totally slacked on getting our 200th follower up. Now, it feels like it's going to be a let down that I'm scared to post. :( But, I promised, and I'll get that going soon. :)

I miss you chairs...

2010-03-03T19:32:00.000-08:00

Ever since last weekend's debacle with missing out on those $5 chairs, I've been pining over chairs of similar style: low back, upholstered, and totally updated. After not knowing anything and re-vamping a Louis XVI chair back in October, I've learned so much about how to re-upholster.

Anyway, here were the chairs. Yes, they were $5 each, two for $10. And no, I did not come home with them. I'm sure they were purchased within a few minutes after I left them. (Turns out these are called "Cane Chairs" and I've found them ranging in serious dollar amounts. Dang, I really should have gotten them now! Humph! I even saw a pair sell for $4410 by a designer who just added new upholstery!)

The goal for these chairs was to clearly refinish them, but add them in front of the fireplace (you know, in the grand plan of eventually drywalling over that H frame brick fireplace we have, and adding the tv over that...) as another seating area in the living room. Z just wondered where we'd put them NOW even. Remember, the garage is 25% taken up by the wood flooring we've already purchased, and 75% taken up by crap and to-do projects. Oy. Don't remind me.

But, because the loss is still on my mind, I searched for some great inspiration that when I do come across another great pair, I'll 1. have the room (assuming we go for that SUV in the next month or so) and 2. I'll have a definitive plan!

So, without further ado, here are some inspirational photos I scrounged up on Google Image search. Enjoy!

I love the rustic fireplace, and the white upholstery. I doubt it would stay that way in my house with two crazy dogs?!

Here's a fireplace shot. Kind of what I was going for. While I'm not crazy about the chair's print, I do like the set up and the wall color.

Crazy! Yes, I love the bold color. Too 70's lime for me, but wow, what a statement :)

This room appears very formal, but I really do love the double chair set up.

Another soothing shot. The colors are so nice. Spa like I tell you!

While the shape, and all over upholstery is great, the pattern is probably too bold, unless in the right room with pared down accessories so the chair could shine!

I don't do much with wood tones, but it's an option...

Another well put together room- I love that the red chair is played off in the red art above the fireplace.

Love the wall color, and the linen color on the fireplace. White upholstery again. See comment #1. sigh.

This I could live with! White painted distressed wood? Linen fabric? Yes, and yes! Me likey. And, look at those nailheads trimming it out!

eh, not really fond of the combo here (too contrasty for my taste, or else it's a bad photo) but I do love that white.

Another one of my favorites. In fact, this one may be part inspiration for the new master re-vamp. Whenever I get around to that. :)

Ooooh, silver pleather, and white? yum!

The yellow and black is a classic statement. Kind of like my yellow wreath on my black front door. :)

Super funky, but I love the white paint!

So, that's the idea. What's your favorite? Have you scored a great chair deal, or otherwise, and then made it your own? Do tell!

And word to the wise- after thrifting for a while, I suggest having easy access to a vehicle to take your potential finds home. Less disapointment that way :)

Wow, I'm blushing to have been awarded these!

2010-03-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

Oh My Goodness. I'm blushing!

Over the last few months I've been graciously given 3 blog awards. Wow! My blog friends- all you reading are included- are amazing!

First, Kim @ Cheap Chic Home awarded me the Sunshine Award. The Sunshine Blog Award is awarded to bloggers whose creativity inspires others in the blog world. I will pass this on to a few bloggers as well!

I pass this award to (blogs I read all the time!):
Domestically Speaking
Fern Creek Cottage

Then, Rene @ Cottage and Vine blessed me with the Beautiful Blogger award. The Beautiful Blogger Award is passed on to bloggers that inspire others as well!

I pass this award to:
Amanda @ Serenity Now
My Backyard Eden
Girly Stuff

And, I received the Happy 101 award from a few of my favorite real life house bloggers- Amanda @ Little House on the Corner, & Mrs. Chic @ Chic Little House. This is a great award that is perfect to pass on to other bloggers and can really just make your day! As a bonus, you can list things that make you happy!

I pass this award to:
Casa Haus
Notes from the Heartland

Love Lee Homemaker

So again, I'm honored to be amongst all you bloggers. I'm having fun here, and I hope you enjoy the site. Now, pass yours along too! :)

Bad Craft, part 2

2010-03-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I can do it right... other times, like I posted yesterday, it's wrong.

Either way, this little project was a no-brainer, once I figured out the things I had to do, and the pattern I ultimately settled on. (the pattern selection was the most time consuming!)

First off, I started with this seen-better-decades frame that I got for $5 at the thrift shop. I painted the frame, and covered the print with a white canvas fabric. I used spray adhesive for the front side, then hot glued the edges around the back (one of the things I did NOT do in the error version of this craft). Since the marbles from my failed attempt pulled right off, I didn't waste anything more than the fabric.

Then, with my warmed up glue gun, I determined a pattern (but not after playing around with a few before!) and glued the marbles down in the desired pattern. Pretty simple, huh? Like this wreath from October... Hmmm... I'm getting ideas for a new wreath :)

hehe, didn't do this version, but the possibilities are endless!

The pattern is very geometrical. I realize I like straight lines. After all, I've posted about this pattern here, here and even here.

Enjoy, and I hope I inspired some of your own crafts :)

Bad Craft, part 1

2010-03-01T18:54:00.000-08:00

Trial and Error is good- you live, you learn, right? That's what I'm telling myself.

This will be the post about the Error. The trial, and success story will be tomorrow. :)

My initial attempt at creating some artwork for the end of the hallway, in addition to using up some of the green flat sided marbles (like the ones I used to make this wreath in October) I picked up months back at the dollar store didn't turn out, well, quite as expected.

Here's what it looked like when I realized this was going to be the error half of this series post:

Yes, that's the fabric peeling back away from the frame it was in.

While it was good to start with, I realized I did a few things wrong. I used this Pottery Barn clover mirror as the shape inspiration... I suppose I was thinking of doing a St. Patrick's day project, but why? I never have decorated for St. Paddy's day before. I think I was just lucky that my marbles were green. :)

Full Tutorial tomorrow, but here's what the frame I purchased looked like this first and this is a taste in how I put this together. And, how I ultimately had to re-do it.

For a few days, it DID look like this:

In the end, it's hanging in the hallway with a new pattern. Here's a sneak peak:

Anyway, stop by tomorrow for the full reveal on the version I think will stick for a while. :)

PS: Don't forget to leave me a note on my SUV post. I'm totally enjoying reading the very informative comments. I've even read some of them out loud to Z! :)

Why I need an SUV

2010-02-28T09:32:00.000-08:00

Shopping early yesterday morning, fruited me the following chair- times two. They were $5 each.

I started to get the creative juices flowing- would I refinish the wood? Paint it? What type of fabric?! I was excited at first...

But, not even one would fit in my car. I moved the seats, tried the back seat, trunk, and even the front passenger seat.

Nada. Nope. Zilch. Chairs would.not.fit. We had plans in the early afternoon, and dinner plans in the evening. Even if they couldn't go in the house right away, I could re-upolster and sell them later.

Denied. ugh!

PLUS, remember that buffet I told you about during my shopping trip post the other day? It was still there yesterday, dropped in price $200, and on the 50% day would have been only $100! (I still was holding out. I'd certainly pay $50 for it though!) But, I still wouldn't have been able to get it home!

Sad face. Again.

Good thing we're already looking into getting an SUV. Anyone have any of the following options that they'd be willing to share about? Right now, I have a 325i (love it!) and haven't even owned an SUV or truck (even though I learned to drive in a suburban and an expedition).

I love all of these options, but of course the price ranges. I'll post them from lowest to highest. And yes, they're all white on purpose. I'm pretty sure I want a white one! :)

Honda CR-V

Toyota Rav 4

Ford Edge

BMW X3

Volvo XC90

So, perhaps when we have an SUV, I'll have a more lucrative furniture business. Lets be honest. It doesn't exist now. BUT, I love working with my hands, and it would be so fun! :)

Do you hate these options? Do you love one, or more of them? Have you driven them, or been a passenger? Do tell!

Easy Friday Night Dinner and Cookies

2010-02-26T19:35:00.000-08:00

I was scouring the fridge tonight for something- leftovers, the standard tortellini, or something I could make. I came up with this quick soup- made from things we had in the fridge, and a can of chicken broth:

Ingredients:
1 can chicken broth
1/2 cup shredded chicken
1/2 cup rice
fresh spinach
cut carrots, about 1/4 cup
small pinch of ground pepper

Simmer on the stove, and enjoy when hot!

Oh, and for dessert tonight? I made a package of those betty crocker sugar cookies. I've had better, but they're alright. I just sprinkled some white sugar on them before baking. Yum yum!

Send me your address, and I'll send you a cookie- I've got plenty left- for now :)

Happy Friday! Stay warm, and dry, out there.

VOTW #9 & The recaps 6, 7, & 8

2010-02-25T21:12:00.000-08:00

Here we go with the 9th edition of VOTW: Victory of the Week!

We do this every week here at Design-Aholic, and the goal is always the same: These links allow us to remember the small (or large!) Victories that we all have each week. It's good for morale, stress, and our attitude to remember that sometimes, it's the small things in life that matter. So, whether you're proud of a recipe, a project, your kids, or whatever, link up and let the world (well, at least the blog world!) know.

:)

So, my victory this week? As I mentioned in my posts this week, I've been tired beyond belief. I'm just excited to recap the last 3 weeks of VOTW. Here we go!

Week 6, there were 9 Links:

Missy @ The Little Green Bean made an awesome Memory Necklace:

Carolyn @ My Backyard Eden had a grand old time with her power tools after trimming out her new bathroom!

Rocio @ Casa Haus made a real life topiary, growing and all!

Week 7 brought 23 links- 23!!

Leanne @ Organize & Decorate Everything showed us how to spell it out in frames:

Golf Gal @ Tales of a Golf Gal shows us how to Make (yes Make!) baby crib bedding. Um, bookmark? Yes!

Bird @ Bird Crafts showed us how she transformed those thrift store finds into amazing pieces:

Chelsea @ This Fresh Fossil repainted her WHOLE living room!

Erin posted about taming her long necklaces on this great project:

Week 8 also brought 23 link-ups!

Over @ A Crafty Amateur, we learn how to really replace a seat in a chair. I could have used this about 5 months ago!

By far, my favorite was over at Simply Stafford, where we were shown how to SPRAY PAINT (yes, SPRAY PAINT!) our kitchen cabinets. Check, and check. :) Can you believe that spray paint was used here?! I can't, but I'm elated!

This yummy oreo ice cream delight was shared from over @ Kuzak's Closet from her birthday! (Yay Feb birthdays!)

Karli @ The World Spins Madly On did this fabulous full on chair re-vamp:

And I have to show this one by Stephanie @ My Frugal Lifestyle where she uses cereal boxes as magazine holders, because I'm seriously dealing with the magazine explosion in my place right now. Come on Z, eat up that Life Cereal quicker!

So, now, come on, with all that inspiration YOU were bound to have something you're proud of. It doesn't have to be just from last week, so as I stated earlier what this party's goal is, link up folks!

(oh, and grab a button if you don't have one already- code is on the right side at the top of the page!)

Have a great weekend all :)

More on the living room...

2010-02-24T20:33:00.000-08:00

Continuing with the living room re-decorate, I pulled out the trusty sewing machine, and sewed me up some pillows!

No tutorial here, because as I was making them, I didn't have a clue what I was doing, so I didn't take photos.

Remember this post where I showed you my inspiration and the fabrics I purchased to get the room going? Well, here are photos of the 16" pillow cases I made:

Front

Back, with an envelope closure

BUT, let me just tell you... it's all straight seams, so who needs a tutorial? I used the old pillow covers as a size guide, and just cut my fabric about 1 1/2" bigger. I made an envelope closure, which while inside out to sew it did stump me for a min. I just suggest to pin it all up and basically turn it right side out to make sure it's what you want, then turn it inside out again, and sew!

So the room is coming together. Here's the inspiration again along with the fabrics I chose:

Plus, on my shopping trip post, I learned I wasn't crazy to create a zebra ottoman. Hey, if Target has my idea, then it's gotta be a good one, right?! :) You should check that post out...

What do you think about these? The color "goes" with the curtains I also made, but is still far enough from them that it's not too much orange. The rest of the pillows will be different colors! And, I'm going to paint my small bench black, and that blue top will really pop!

I'm tired again tonight. I know this is a phase, but I'm missing checking up on everyone's good work. I hope you all have a great Thursday!