Monday, May 28, 2012

Monday Fun-day

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Here, for your viewing pleasure, is a crazy dog.



Happy Memorial Day. Enjoy!

*He doesn't usually look like this.
He just got his face all wet and rolled around on the floor in some sort of celebration.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Coming Attractions

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     I've been planning on doing built in bookcases in the office since we were in pre-construction. We love books! I wanted to use hardwoods and build them 'from scratch', but oh boy- are those expensive and labor intensive or what? I do not want to spend a large portion of my life sanding raw boards. So I'm thinking about the Billy bookcases from Ikea. I measure the wall, and figured out what it would accommodate. I figured out how I could get the most out of the space. After the bookcases it would take a bit of trim, a couple pieces of plywood and caulk, paint, etc to get it finished and pretty.

     Did you know Ikea has a page on their website where you can build your own bookcase system and see exactly what it will look like, the exact total measurements, and the total price as you build? Did you know they charge considerably more per bookcase for colors other than white? Crazy when it's all laminate. Paint is a beautiful thing. Especially paints you can use on any  surface without priming, like Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint. And, coming in June, Miss Mustard Seed will have her own line of Milk Paint as well. I can't wait! She's a great lady.


    I think Centsational Girl, did a great job with hers. I'm no Sgt. Rich, so I will not be growing my own trees and telling them to jump into bookshelf formation. This is sorta DIY, right? 

     Stay tuned.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

One Little Thing

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     I have been on a quest to do at least one little thing a day to enhance our home. It can be anything at all, really. I started a guest room makeover one day, fixed up the mantle with books another day, did touch up painting, brought in a new piece of furniture, painted a piece I already had, etc. Anything, really, to add another speck of love to the house.

     After yesterday's failure to cut triangles I hung up an old pajama top on the other guest room window. Things don't have to match, right?

*There's nothing like a photograph to show you when something just isn't right. I for sure need to fix up that left side to make it nicer. But it's a start. And in person the light doesn't seem to show through as brightly and show how crazy-folded it is in the back. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

     The other thing we did today was bring the new-old sideboard into the dining room. A family friend gave this to me (!!!!!) this weekend. It had been in her family for four generations, but nobody had a place for it now. It's a beautiful piece. It needs some love, and I'm not sure yet how to go about it, so for now I'm going to leave it as is. I'll clean it up a bit and let myself get to know it before I do anything drastic.

New-old Sideboard
      Isn't she gorgeous!?

Beautiful side of the New-old Sideboard
     So even though some things feel like slow-going, and I can't cut triangles, I have managed to make the house a bit more loved. In a few days when we can bring vehicles on our new driveway I will be bringing something else great in the house. Right now it is in extended immigration in the van, patiently waiting to move into my front room.

     What are you doing?

Monday, May 7, 2012

Today's Parenting Tip

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     Parenting Tip: Get your children to leave the good food for you by telling them "It has that stuff in it you don't like." This has worked for me for 25 years!

Failure In Action

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     The reason some girls I do not do crafty things more often is this: I get about twenty minutes into it and I feel like I am failing kindergarten. Take today, for example. (Trust me, it's a perfect example.) I have these beautiful pennants I won from a blog giveaway.

      Since these are lovely I decided I would like to make some more. I have saved some favorite pajamas for years waiting for inspiration and they will be perfect for this project. I will admit I was feeling pleased with myself. A little giddy, even. I dug out the sets of pajamas, wrangled up some straight pins, and even found my sewing scissors. I brought the paper cutter into my room for a good hard surface. This, my friends, is going to be great!

     I took down the pennant and decided to use it as a template. It is cumbersome, since it's a whole pennant, so I thought to myself "Self, what you should do is get some greeting card paper and make a template from it. This way you wont cut the pennant you already have." At that point I began to feel a little smug. I was doing everything right!

     I should never, ever, never be smug about anything crafty. I should know enough to just thank God when I don't manage to accidentally cut my sheets, hair, or the clothing I am wearing.

     I decided to use the paper cutter to cut the paper so I wont have a bunch of jaggy "Tammi cut this" looking spots on the card stock I am going to use as a template for my triangles. I am so smarrrrrrrt!!! I am proud of myself.  My husband came in the room as things were just beginning to take a turn for the worst. He asked a question about immigration and I answered him. Then I started to tell him my plan. He got that look you give a person when you know it's hopeless and said he wouldn't bother me any more. That man got out of the room and downstairs as quick as he could! Once he was gone I managed to cut this 'triangle':

Triangle of Failure
     This is why every art teacher I ever knew hated me. By the way, looking around the room for a good photo op for failure is even more frustrating. Wave hello to my cute little guest room clock. I love it  - probably because I didn't make it. Probably even more because whoever did make it could probably cut a triangle with or without a paper cutter. 
   
     I should have opened a can of paint. I can rescue a piece of furniture and love it.  Cutting triangles is just not in my skill set.


Saturday, May 5, 2012

Just Ignore Me

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Color Inspiration
     This photo has been an inspiration to me for a long time, but I also lost it for a long time. Here it is now, on my very own blog, so I can find it when I want to look at it again. I think it is a photo of a guest room in the Ritz Hotel, Paris. I plan to paint my armoire with these colors. I hope it turns out as loveable!

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

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     Things have been super busy for me for a while now. Every time I think I am about to hit a lull, something new comes around the bend. This week has been no exception. I found time for a major project I did all on my own. The guest room had been limping along, bit by bit. It isn't done yet, but it looks very welcoming now. Every time I walk by the guest room door now, I see this:

I need to get pillows and bedside tables. I hope to find some tables I can make over. I also want to do something with the little old desk. It has it's charm, but it could use some love to go from nice to something lovely. The bed itself may have some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint or Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint. (She just found out she's getting her own line of Milk Paint!)

     In the future I will get a picture to share all the goodies on the desk. There are treasures there, to be sure.

      Friday my son and I went to a town full of garage sales and found a few little things. I'll get pictures and share some soon.  Saturday the sky was giving us freezing rain/sleet/snow/rain, but an antique store produced a magical little find for me. I was thrilled, to put it mildly. My mother gasped when she saw it. I want to get it put in place and pictures of it are sure to follow. It's a great compliment to my antique wooden ironing board.

     Sunday my mother came over and ran "Garage Cleaning Boot Camp" According to my back I overdid it, but the results were worth it. I have things started for the garage sale the first weekend in June. After giving away what was easily half of our stuff when we moved in February, I managed to find more stuff and again have an excess. I will be glad to get even more stuff out of this house.

     They brought a giant machine to take away the stones from our driveway so the concrete could be poured. The machine's hydraulics line broke in our driveway. We were left overnight with a pile of rocks a few feet high in front of our garage. Our van was inside. The next day it was after 3:00 until he showed up again. Not stressful at all.

     Yesterday they finally actually poured our concrete! Yay!

     Today we are allowed to walk on it. I might go dance on it. The grading of our yard can not be far behind. After the final grading and inspection we will have a lawn! I bought my trees and lots of burning  bushes, rose bushes, and berry bushes already, so I am chomping at the bit to get them in the ground.

     There was a lot going on yesterday morning. We had concrete guys prepping the drive and sidewalks while we were getting deliveries. I ordered two couches exactly three and a half eternities ago. They are here and more beautiful than I expected.


     Yes, I realize today's photos are even worse than usual. I tried, I really did. You Sort of get the idea, though: Look! Sofas!

     I don't know about you, but I am happily exhausted.