All Home and Love: January 2009

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

What's On Your Wall Wednesday and A Fun Find!

I missed the deadline for "What's on your wall Wednesday" but wanted to participate anyway! The time got away from me last night so this post is a bit late!

For the first Wednesday I'm going to show this frame that I bought years ago at a yard sale. It's warped and chipped but I thought it was beautiful. And for $5 I couldn't turn it down. I still haven't hung anything inside it yet. Actually, for three homes now it has hung on the wall by itself. People constantly ask me when I'm going to put something in my frame and I just shrug. I don't know, I'm not sure if I ever will. I think it's beautiful just the way it is. Maybe one day I will spot the perfect item and know they are meant to be together. Until then, she hangs proudly.

Visit Barb at Grits and Glamour for all the Wednesday fun!

I also want to show you what the thrift store had for me yesterday. Check out this fun candelabra. I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with it (except spray paint which is a must) but isn't it great? I was so excited when I spotted it. Now to find a good place for it....

Monday, January 26, 2009

Today's Craft Project and a New Award

Today I decided to get working on a pillow I've been wanting to make. I found a wool sweater at the thrift shop for a couple dollars, and I had an old pillow sitting in my linen closet. Last week I had washed the sweater in the machine and then put it into the dryer to felt the wool. This shrunk it down as the fibers of the wool came together.

I gathered all my supplies....

First, I cut off the ruffle on the pillow so it wouldn't be bulky on the inside.

Then came cutting and sewing a square out of the front and back of the sweater, leaving one side open. You can see from my first picture that I had some ball fringe out to use with it. As I started the pillow I changed my mind and went for a simpler look. I snipped off all the corners for the same reason as above, so it wouldn't bulk up the inside of the pillow.

Turned it right side out and stuffed my pillow in there. I closed the side with stitches I did by hand. You could probably do this on a machine as well, but at this point it was very thick and just easier to sew by hand.

After that was all done I began cutting out some fun flowers out of felt and leftover wool from the arms of the sweater. These were stitched on by hand as well.

And here it is all done! It didn't take me long at all but I may have neglected my family some while my crafting took over the dining room table. I find it so relaxing to create things and get lost in it. Just please don't ask me what they had for dinner tonight....really, don't ask.

And on another note, I received a great mom award from Kristen at Kristen's Creations! If her blog isn't in your sidebar, it needs to be. Be sure to stop by and see her. Her blog is filled with great inspiration. Thank you so much Kristen! Although I may not deserve it today. I hope the criteria for this award isn't a 5 course, made from scratch, meal. If it is, I'm in trouble!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Hailey's Room

For this Met Monday I'm going to post about my older daughter's room. When we first moved in, the room wasn't bad at all but we knew it could be better. The walls were white, the moulding was all scratched up and the carpet was dirty looking. This is how her room looked before we started:

All emptied out....

And this is what we were left with after the carpet came up. The wood under the carpet is Southern Yellow Pine like the rest of the house. It looked as though way back when there was an area rug and they varnished around it. My husband refinished the floors, we painted the moulding white and the walls a soft green and Hailey is really happy with it now. She already had the shabby bedding and a great bed so we just added to it. It was my chance to have fun "girling" it up!

Come on in!

Her iron bed was an amazing flea market find. It already had pink chippy paint on it. As I stood there thinking about it, the man selling it kept coming down in price. It was obvious he didn't want to take it back home. The priced ended up at $30 and I told my husband to get out the bungee cords and rope because we were tying it to the roof and taking it home! The little pink stool was also an antique store find. She needs it to get herself up on the bed, it's so tall.

I took a picture of her on the front porch and had it blown up at Walmart to hang above her bed.

All smiles in her room...

The throw on the bottom of her bed was crocheted by my great grandmother.

I had toile wallpaper sitting in my basement so I used some to dress up the back of her bookcase.

This is the other sconce like the one in my kitchen. I'm still in search of a vintage replacement socket so right now it doesn't work. Hopefully I'll track one down and she can use it.

You can see my other daughter's room. Their rooms are connected and for now they love it. I'm sure when we hit the teenage years, they will be asking for an actual door in that doorway!

Like the bed, the nightstand also came chipped to perfection. I used a spray sealer over everything in case there was lead paint.

And for a bit of reality (because who doesn't need that?) here is the room the day after I took all the pictures of it. The kids wanted to make a tent and "camp out" in Hailey's room. What kind of room would it be without a little mess now and then, right?

Thanks so much for coming by! I can't wait to see what other great Before and Afters there are today!

Please be sure to stop by Susan's blog, Between Naps on the Porch to see more great Met Monday postings! Just click on the butterfly in my sidebar and it will take you there.

Everything Room Progress Report

We're moving right along over here. With three kids, school, activities, etc., I'm going consider our snail speed renovation a success so far. I started working on the furniture for the room this week. Lots of sanding....

More sanding....

Priming, priming, priming.....

And finally some real paint!

See that blue desk in the back on the picture just above? Well now that was an adventure. When I found the blue toile to use in this room, it was surprising to me that I liked it so much. Even more surprising, I decided I had to have a blue computer desk to go with it. Blue? For me? I'm the queen of neutrals so this was a major departure from what I normally go for. Give me tans, give me soft yellows and comforting greens and I'm good to go.

The first step was picking out the color. I headed to Home Depot and stood in front of the paints trying to spot the most obnoxious blue I could possibly find. The winner was from the Ralph Lauren "Island Brights" collection. Just the words "Island" and "Brights" should have been a red flag to me. But no, I brought it home, held it up to the fabric and decided we had a winner.

So back to Home Depot I went. I walked in holding my paint chip proudly and set it down on the paint counter with confidence! "Can I help you?" said the nice man behind the paint counter. "Yes" I said, "I would like a quart of Sunwashed Blue please." He gave me a brief look that I swear looked as though he was thinking, really lady, that color?! I decided it was all in my mind as he walked away to check the computer. He came back and said the base for that color did not come in a quart. I could have a gallon of it, or he could color match it in a quart of Behr. "Please color match it, that would be great," I said. He hesitated. I began to panic. Now I knew for certain he was thinking I was crazy and that whatever I was painting would be a complete disaster. I'm not sure which churned more, the paint mixing in the machine or my stomach. But I was committed at this point! Sunwashed Blue it was!

And you know what? I really like it! Here it is after a little distressing. I was too cheap to buy actual glaze so I just took some brown paint I had, watered it down and brushed it on. Then I rubbed it off quickly with a rag. It worked really well and I didn't have to spend another $13 on a quart of glaze. I do think it looks brighter in person than in these photos but it's a great color. I would recommend it. And when the person behind the paint counter looks at you funny, just tell them you are a proud aqua fan!

Then came patching up some holes and starting the wall paint. After my husband did some sanding, I walked into the room to find this propped up against the window. Apparently my son has his own ideas of what the wall color should be.......

Sorry kid, my heart is still recovering from the aqua paint. The walls will be neutral tan! Here are the two walls we painted. The other two will be wallpaper which will be started soon. I can't wait to see how that looks and I'll be sure to post when some of it is up. I hope you are all having a great weekend!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

My first award, and I get to pass it along!

I was given this award from a great Blogger, Renee of Cottage Lifestyle. Please stop by and visit her!
http://cottagelifestyle.blogspot.com/

What this award is about...

Bloggers who show great attitude and gratitude.

What you have to do...Upon receiving The Lemonade Award, you also pass it on to other bloggers who you think show great attitude and gratitude.

Here are the rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 8 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!

3. Link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

I'm passing this award on to the following Bloggers who always have a kind word and are all around nice people! I can't seem to figure out how to make the blog names hypertext (is that what it is called?) but they are all in my sidebar. If anyone wants to help the computer challenged on how to do this, please don't be shy!

Wendy ~ Some of my favorite things

Helen ~ Living Boldly

Sarah ~ The MamaCanon Blog

Cherry ~ Cherry's Jubilee

Susan ~ Between Naps on the Porch

Debbie ~ Confessions of a Plate Addict

Cynthia ~ Cynthia's Cottage Design

Kristen ~ Kristen's Creations

Cheryl ~ Peaceful Blessings

Thank you Renee!

Lighting!

I love lighting! I love shopping for it even when I don't need anything. Today I was searching Ebay for a wall lamp and found some great lamps and sconces ranging in price from $10 to over $1,000. Happy Bidding!

(Disclaimer - I have not purchased from any of these sellers so I cannot speak for their service.)