Stripes!

I finally did it! It only took about 3  months from start to finish. Well, there was ALOT of down time inbetween, because really the total project took me part of 1 day. That includes all the painting, and the chair rail. I am horrible with Before pictures. I thought I had one on file from along time ago, so I never took one before I started painting. But imagine all the walls beige. And the one surrounding the door brown (as an accent wall). Now, I  have a bright, bathroom, with stripes! I have been wanting to try them forever, and I  am still not sure my husband is so keen on them, but I love the way it turned out. And it is in a small room, so it isn't as overwhelming as it could be!

This project cost me a little under $30. It was around $20 for the chair rail, and another $7 for the Frog tape, which I would recommend to anyone! The lines are sooo straight, and the only places the paint bled, was the places I didn't press the tape down enough in. It makes touchup non existent if you do it correctly! And the paint was all leftovers. I really do enjoy using leftover paint!

~Elisa~

The finished Nursery

Here is a little reminder of what this room once looked like. It was awhile ago, but it did look like this.

 And here is the after!

 I Love the dog painting, mainly because my great grandmother painted it. I have had it for years, and haven't really had the right place for it, but I think it goes well in a baby boys room. And I love using and reusing old things, and giving them new life.

I can't seem to find the picture I took of the cute quilt my mom is making. But I will post pictures as soon as I take another! I LOVE it, and it really ties all the colors together nicely.

 Remember THESE guys? Well,since then, I have made 2 more, then this little guy joined the group to make a total of 8. And in a few short weeks, I will be needing to make 1 more! I have made them for all my children, and all my neices and nephews. It's kind of just a fun little quirky monkey that they can play with till it falls apart, or just keep it forever, but each is handstitched with a heart and my name on the bum, so they know who it's from. It's just a fun think I like to do!

 Sorry little guy, but mommy had to take over your closet, so you won't be able to hang up all your dresses! J/K, I am glad this is a boys room, since their clothes don't require hanging up. And the few that do can find a home in his sisters closet next door.

 I know it is a little early for this, but I like to plan ahead, and since I was getting everything else out to clean and get ready, I went ahead and set up the bassinet as well. My babies usually only use the bassinet for a few short weeks, but we'll see how it goes this time. He may not be as grand of a sleeper as they were (sleeping 6 hours straight while nursing by 3 weeks old), but I am hoping he follows suit. And if that is the case, he will be in his own room, in his crib.

~Elisa~

The Closet Office

Once upon a time, this room looked like this. Pretty ugly, I know.

 Then, it developed into a lovely craft room, all to itself!

 After time had passed, and much had been done in this space, it started to look a little like this ALL THE TIME! (yes, pretty sad) Then something magical happened, and a new baby was to be born, and needed a place to live.

 So..... the room had to be condensed into a little closet, soon to be know as the Closet office!

 And here is the halfway finished project! I have to come up with a more permanent closet door that will keep little fingers and toes, and curious minds out of my stuff! But I have a little while till this little man (who arrives in about 6 weeks) will be able to get into it. But it is still kindof on the top of my to do list. The folding table is also not permanent. It is just holding the space for my future work table I have yet to make. That will propably happen after this handsome little guy arrives as well. It will most likely be the dark wood color I stained the shelves that I built (they are hiding behind the curtains if you can't see them) are, and possibly big, white, chunky legs. Something sturdy! But I do like the 2 tone look, but we'll see when I actually make it how it turns out. But until then, this is doable. And let me tell you, it wasn't that easy fitting a whole room into a closet, but i did! And am very pleased with the outcome so far. It gets used almost daily, and will be used much more in the future as well.

~Elisa~

Work Chair

When I saw this chair at the thrift store, I had to have it. I loved the style, and the highback, was very comfortable and supportive. I knew it would be a wonderful work chair. Then when I saw it was fifty percent off, I had to have it even more! If I remember right, I paid $7 for this lovely thing.

 And with some leftover fabric from a duvet cover I used to cover a different chair, it was a total cost of $7 for the chair! My original plan was to strip the fabric and padding off the legs, and stain them a brown to match my shelves and future work table, but when I did so to one of then, I noticed what was underneath, and that plan flew out the window. So instead I just did the simple thing and covered the legs as well. I am still debating on whether or not to add the skirt back on, any suggestions? What would you do? But for now, I like it as is, and it works wonderful for all my late night projects!

~Elisa~

The Girls New Dresser

Before:

After:

I had been searching for a new dresser for the girls for awhile. I was having a hard time finding one big enough, that isn't huge, that would be the right amount of storage. So anyways, this is what I found on craigslist the other day. I originally didn't want to spend more than $25, but this one was listed at $35. So, I decided to budge a little on my price. And the paint was a deal at $5/gallon. The brand was being clearanced out, so it was a great day to stop in at the home depot. I also bought a small can of stain for about $3.50 to antique it a bit. You see, I am not a fan of ballet pink. It just isn't my thing. My first paint choice would have been a brighter pink, but with the price of the $5/gallon, I just couldn't pass it up. I am a fan however of the antiqued look, so this really worked out well. I loved the style it had, and the style of the handles, so I decided not to switch those out. Instead I just sprayed them a gloss brown with some leftover paint I had. The bottom middle drawer is actually missing a handle, but I am still on a hunt for a handle that looks similar in design. Haven't found it yet. Also in the near future, it won't be so squished in between furniture. I am needing the mattress from  my daughters toddler bed, so that will be out of the room soon, and the girls will be sharing a full size bed. I think it will look a little bit nicer not being so squished together, but hey, I have a small house, so what can you expect?!

~Elisa~

Painting Project 6

Here is a vase I had decorated with awhile ago. It really didn't match anything in my house anymore. I was about to donate it, and thought, Hey I have some leftover spray paint, I think I will use it on the baby's shelf. It was needing something with height on it, so I figured this would help alot. So, here is the before,

 and here is the after.

It added just the right touch I was needing, and it helped with the brown accents around the room. Also, you may recognize this shelf from the post here. But it is a little different. I finally found an owl on a random shopping trip to walmart. That was the one store I didn't look, because I didn't think they'd have what I was looking for. Anyways, I liked him much better than the frog addi had picked out. So I replaced him, and his coloring ties into the brown accents as well.

~Elisa~

Our Owl Flew away!

Do you remember the owl  from THIS project? Well, one day not too long ago, he went missing! My oldest was worried when she noticed, and asked me where the owl was. I told her he must have flown away (under the paint brush!). She said, "Hmm... we'll have to solve this mystery!" I sure do love her little mind! Well, the truth is, every since he was painted, I didn't like him. And everyday I had to look at him it got worse. For starters, he turned out way too bright for what I was going for. Then his ears started to look too pointy, and his wings were just all too wrong. Not to mention, he was just too big , and he didn't match the size of the whole in the tree. So, I decided to say goodbye to Hootie. Then I started looking for an owl more along the lines I was thinking in my head. I came across an old shirt of my daughters when I was cleaning out clothes, and found the perfect owl to refer to. The only thing is that is was a girl owl, and I had to change it a little to make it look more like a boy owl. It was alot smaller, which I wanted, more bubbly (if that's a word) and just more animated looking. I also wanted the colors to be completey different. If I could come up with one word to describe it, it would have to be that it is just more "Cutesy". So, this is what we came up with. I also painted a few more similar owls for some artwork on the gallery wall in baby's room. Pictures to come of those later. Anyways, please welcome our new baby owl, who is here to stay!
~Elisa~

His wings really aren't shiny. The paint is still a little wet in this pucture, so they look shiny.

A little more fabric

In our Bedroom, we have some black curtians. These help keep the light out when my husband is sleeping during the day.  (His job requires it!) Anyways, when we put up the curtain rod it was originally stretched too far, and we have just never (in 3 years) done anything to fix it. The other problem, is that when the drapes were closed all the way, light would still peek in the sides a little. I have been wanting to do something about it for awhile, and today I came up with an idea. I had 2 king size pillowcases that matched our duvet cover that I have never used, so I took them apart, and made 2 end  panels to add the to curtains. It helps bring in the duvet cover (matching) a little better, and helps alot with the light issue. I had to add a little black fabric to the end so the panels would all be the same length, but I think it blends in just fine. And it is just along the bottom, so it could easily look intentional!

 Here is the before (not long enough for the rod)

And here is the After: Fits much better!

~Elisa~

Painting Project 5

Sorry for the random before picture. It was all I could find of the dresser that used to be shoved in the closet. It never opened that well, and was used to hold random stuff. I thought I had taken a better before picture, but couldn't find it, so you can at least see the color, and black handles.

Here is the after. After many coats of primer and white paint, we were able to cover the very glossed stain. I sanded down the rails on the drawers so they would slide easier, and I also had to flip the bottoms of the drawers. When it was orgininally built by my husbands younger brother, he had put the nice smooth white sides down, and the ruff brown sides up. Clothes would always get caught and snagged, so to make it a little more useable, I had to switch it all around. But now it is in good working condition. I used a green spray paint that matched the walls to paint the handles, a toy basket, and a laundry basket.

~Elisa~

Painting Project 4

When my oldest (who is now 4) was an infant, we had purchased this bee shelf to go in her nursery. At the time I was against pink (but now it is her FAVORITE color, and i just had to give in since she has such a strong opinion!). Anyways, I have kept the shelf thinking I sould someday use it in a baby boys room (if I ever had one). Luckily for me, we have one coming in June!

I still liked the bee, but needed it a little simpler since there are alot of other patterns going on. So we painted plain white over the yellow plaid, and his sister picked out the prince frog to put on the shelf. She was really excited to help me, so I let her have this one decorating idea. The colors matched so I was ok with it. She points it out whenever we are in the nursery.

~Elisa~

Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent

I google this recipe, and now I can't remember the exact website I got this from, but just so everyone knows, I did not make this recipe up. So... first you need to buy the following ingredients. I purchased them all at Winco in the laundry isle.
3 Boxes Super Washing Soda
2 Boxes Borax
4 Bars Fels Naptha (or another washing soap)
2 Cups Baking Soda

 Then, you want to grate the fels naptha bars. I did this in my Cuisinart, and it was REALLY fast.

 Finally, mix all the ingredients together in a large bucket.

Now, for the bonuses of making your own detergent. It is better for the environment, your clothes come out VERY clean, you only use a tiny bit (2 tablespoons for a small- regular load) and (1/8 cup for a regular to large load), the batch should last you 6-8 months or longer(I cant say for sure yet, since I just made it this week for the first time), and it is less expensive. To make the whol batch it cost me around $22, and I will have plenty of baking soda to last me 2 more batches. Also, it is supose to be able to work fine for HE since it has no suds. The water just looks kind of merky, so you don't have to add more if it isn't suddsing. It still works wonderfully. The Fels Naptha bar smells wonderful, but if you want to add more scent to it, you can add essential oils. I personally prefer the clean smell of the fels naptha over the lavender or tea tree oil. But it is toally up to you what you want to use. Let me know if you make it and how it turns out for you!
~Elisa~

Vintage Retro Aprons

The cute little girl wearing the Blue apron is my youngest daughter. The reason I am pointing her out, it because she is wearing my apron from when I was little. I love the little style, so I decided to copy it.

My sister had given me this adorable vintage like fabric from Ikea, and I was never sure what to use it on. Then, the lightbulb went off. So I made 3 of them, and still have some leftover fabric to play around with and make something else! I made 2 aprons ( a little bigger than the blue one) for my girls, and a matching one for their cousin. It was fun trying to figure out how to put it all together, because they were no seams showing on the original blue one. I came pretty close, and I am happy with the end results.

~Elisa~

Aprons

I made these aprons for my nephews to use at art aprons, or cooking aprons. They Love to do crafts and cook with their mom. It was very easy to make, and a very simple pattern. I didn't use a pattern, so here is a little tutorial on what I did.
First, find a piece of fabric you want to use, and lay it out flat.

 Second, Cut the side to where the neck will go up, and the sides will go under the arms (I just did what i thought looked about right).

 Third, fold in half to cut other side, so you know it will be even.

 Fourth, Cut a pocket, and 4 straps. use whatever size you want.

 Fifth, sew the pocket onto the apron, sew and turn your straps, and then pin to the front of the fabric.

 Sixth, Lay the back (right sides together) ontop of the fron piece, and pin in place. Sew around the edge of the apron, leaving an opening on top.

 Seventh, see the opening, now turn the apron inside out through the opening.

 Eighth, sew the opening closed, and top stitch along the outer edge of the apron.

 Tenth, Try them on your kids (or you if you make a larger version) and start cooking!

~Elisa~

Curling Ribbon

I had someone ask me the other day how to make the curled ribbon bows. So, here you go. I have yet to take a picture of the finished project, because I haven't finished them yet. But here are the pictures of the hard part (and it is very simple).
First, you need to get some 1/4 inch dowels and some wooden close pins. I purchased mine at home depot, and then cut them to the length of a cookie sheet.

 Then, you take your ribbon (you can use gross grain, or other), and loop it around the end like the picture.

 Secure it with a clothespin, and then start wrapping the ribbon around the dowel.

 When you reach the bottom, secure with another clothespin.

 Place dowels on a cookie sheet, and then put in a 275 degree preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

 Remove ribbons from dowels after cool, and cut to desired length. Then, place 6-12 ribbons together (depending on how full you want your clip) and tie or sew soem thread around the middle to hold together. Place on a clip, and you have yourself a some fun hair accessories, You can do all one color, or mix and match. Just be creative!

~Elisa~