Yarn wreath

I have been determined to get a wreath for every season for my front door. It really adds to the curb appeal. So, this one is for winter, when it's not Christmas. It was very simple to do and I was able to make it with supplies I already had. I bought a foam wreath. I wrapped it with yarn and decorated it with flowers. I used scraps of an old sweater and felt to make the flowers. I also knitted a flower. I stalked Pinterest to find different tutorials that I felt comfortable doing. If you haven't figured it out by now, my blog doesn't have a lot of tutorials, because I use other people's. I just like to make things myself, and with Pinterest and other online resources, it's pretty darn easy!

Tie it up: Spring wreath

  I have a pretty beautiful front door. It's probably original to the house, built in 1938ish. It's deserving of some adornments. I have a great fall and Christmas wreath that were gifts, but I needed something for spring, summer and winter. So, I set out on a mission. Since it's timely, here is the spring one. I am a pretty random crafter. I kind of start with an idea and just wing it. I am sure this drives some people crazy, but I don't always like to read directions...I just want to craft.

What you need:

Wire wreath frame (About $3 at Wal-mart)

Fabric remnants (a sheet is a great, cheap choice)

Buttons

Needle and thread (hot glue if you hate to sew)

Directions:

 

1. Cut your fabric into strips. I would say about 8 inches or so.

2. The wreath has 4 rings. I found it covers the wreath better with less fabric if you use one of the middle rings and not the inside or outside.

3. Simply start tying knots. You can space them as close or far as you want. Tie until your whole wreath is covered. It’s a great project to do while watching TV or socializing.

4. For the flowers, there are A LOT of tutorials on Pinterest for these. I read a few and then just did what I thought worked for me. I just cut different sizes of a flower shape and layered them until it looked like a flower. I sewed them together in the center and added a button.

That is it! Seriously.

Redone desk

This little beauty wasn't so bad before in the left picture, however, it was a very poor paint job, and I wanted to give it new life. The paint was chipping and bubbly in spots. It was also really, really shiny. The color is very popular right now, but I still felt like it needed something to revive it. And who doesn't love shabby chic.

I started off with some paint stripper only to find that whomever painted it really didn't take their time nor have concern for the nice piece of real workmanship of this desk. The tongue and groove drawers and great construction showed that this desk was very sturdy and would certainly stand the test of time. The stripper was making a such a royal mess, I asked my little princess to help me clean up.

So after attempting to strip without success (blisters, sweat and curse words later), I decided this was a candidate for a good sanding job, primer and a fresh coat of paint.  I ended up just cleaning it up the best that I could and sanding it as smooth as I could. I applied a coat or white primer. Then took to painting.  Instead of painting, then sanding to make the distressed look, I decided to experiment with some painting techniques. This is what the drawer looked like before as I was trying to strip.Then the after. To get the look, I painted the drawer with primer. Painted a layer of green called Canteen.

                                                                                                                   After that dried, I took a lighter aqua color. I dipped my brush in water first, then in paint. I lightly brushed the drawer and then dabbed off the excess with a paper towel. When that dried, I drug a little stain over the drawer. And that was all. I decided to avoid a lot of distress, I only accented the drawers with the paint technique and used the canteen green and aqua to paint the rest. I am pleased with the results. I finished it off with a wax instead of polyurethane because I wanted it to look more natural and less shiny. I am please. The plan now is to sell the desk, however, I am not sure where to even start. How much to I charge, where do I list it? This is the first piece that I didn't do for myself, even though I think it would look awesome in Ayla's room!                                    

 

Ayla's big girl room

 For the longest time, I have been plotting Ayla's big girl room. I scoured Pinterest, came up with some ideas, visited tons of thrift stores, yard sales and flea markets and slowly started assembling the pieces. My goal was to come up with a shabby chic, vintage-looking pretty room for my little lady. It's really a room that I would love to sleep in, but I am sure she will, too. It still has a little work to make it complete, but I think it's ready for her, when I am ready to move her out of her nursery. The plus of this room is that it has a huge closet where we can put all of her toys and clothes and keep the room looking clean and girly. And this room was seriously very, very inexpensive. Really. You know me!

In the first photo, is the reading corner.
1. The tree is a hand-me-down from grandmother.
2. The rocking chair was a gift.
3. My dad is an avid auction goer and gets me the best deals, so I do have an insider. The little wicker shelf beside the rocking chair was probably only a dollar or two at an auction.
4. The window came from Re-Stor in Lancaster for $10. I added the bird decal (Stampin' UP) and the Dream word (A.C. Moore) for only a few dollars. It's hung with a rustic looking chain and hook I found at the Re-Stor in York for less than $1 for both.
5. The dresser was $2. Not kidding. It needed a little TLC and after fixing a few problems, I painted it white and distressed it with sand paper. The new knobs were less than $20 at Home Depot.
6. The shutter was 25 cents at a yard sale, and I added a light coat of acrylic paint.
7. The pictures on the wall were made by my crafty mother.
8. The jars and glasses came from yard sales.

 This photo shows the gallery wall...my new obsession. I love the look of these and they can be done so inexpensively. I eventually may add more, and of course replace the old advertisement in one. I can with all honesty say that this wall cost me less than $10, with most of the cost coming from the Command Strips I had to use to hang some of the frames. Most of the frames were from the York Rescue Mission Thrift Store. They were having a 50% off frame sale (as if they weren't cheap enough), so they came out to be about 25 to 50 cents each. I looked for the old gold and silver metal frames. After I got a stock-pile, I laid them all out and spray painted them in the yard. The silver tray was 50 cents at the same thrift store as well as the two small mirrors. You really can't look at something for its color or material. A coat of spray paint does wonders. I painted the silver tray with chalk board paint. I found the old sheet music at the coolest little store in York New Salem on the square. The little place is full of old books and quirky little things. He is open Fridays and Sundays. The quote and the bird on the sheet music were cut out with my beloved Cricut. The A, is really just a wooden A from the craft store and covered it with decorative paper.  Her bed is under the gallery wall, but for now it's just a mattress on the floor for safety...so I kept it out of the photo.

And the final photo is her vanity/desk/bookshelf. Who knows what she will use this for.
1. The vanity/desk was the most expensive buy ($75) and it's probably the one piece she will take the longest to use. However, I fell in love with it at Restoration Warehouse in York. It is also clear that whomever painted it knows much more about it than I do..because it's gorgeously distressed with silvers and grays.
2. The chair was the perfect color and already distressed, and again, my dad got it at an auction for a steal, I am sure.
3. The magnetic board behind the desk/vanity is my masterpiece. I used an old frame I found in my basement. I think it was part of a box lot at an auction for $1. I covered a piece of sheet metal (aluminum so it's magnetic) with fabric (a few dollars at Joann Fabric). I can't remember what I bought, but a nice gentleman at Home Depot was very helpful in finding me what I needed. It was $10. I cut it with tin snips to fit the frame.Take a magnet with you to make sure. The magnets are actually vintage buttons and old clip-on earrings I found at yard sales. I used metal cutters and glue to assemble them.
4. The bookshelf was $1 at an auction (again my dad). I cleaned it up, removed the ugly legs and distressed it.
5. The mirror above the bookshelf was $1 at a church yard sale. It was gold, and I spray painted it gray. Going with the distressed look is lovely because you don't have to worry about chipping paint or colors showing through because that adds to its charm.
5. The silver frames on the book shelf were 50 cents each at same church yard sale. I added some acrylic white paint. I have to find something cool to put in them.
6. The top shelf has old children's books I've collected over the years.
7. The middle shelf has a large food can I covered with decorative paper, as well as a frame I painted with chalk board paint.
8. The plastic storage bin are from the Dollar Tree. $1 of course.

Overall, I am pleased with the room. Of course, I don't think it looks much like the lovely ideas I had in my head or the dazzling photos on Pinterst, but it's unique and there is no other room like it. I put a lot of love into it and used many items from family that mean a lot.

Shabby chic success

I have been drooling over shabby chic furniture on Pinterest, Blogs and Web sites for weeks. I knew I had it it me to tackle a piece on my own, but I just needed the right one. Enter: My Dad Chuck. While bidding at an auction on a dresser for Ayla's new big girl room, he also came across this kid-size bookshelf for $1! The quality was really very good, and the only features I didn't like were the metal legs and the collection of spider eggs that came with it. But, those are easy fixes. The legs screwed right out and the shop vac took care of the spider sacs. I had everything I needed at home for this lovely project so I didn't even have to trek to Home Depot. Two coats of primer, a coat of white paint, some serious sandpaper action, Mod Podge (oh but of course), decorative wrapping paper and Polyurethane was all I needed to make my drooling days end! It took me a few trips to the basement between Ayla's naps today to add each coat and this is what I came up with. It's for Ayla's bedroom, but

the photo I took of it finished in the basement didn't do it justice, so I staged it in my living room. And, I actually love it there for now. I haven't added the coat of Polyurethane yet, but I wanted to make sure I really did like it before I made it permanent. My original idea was to do the backs silver or gray, because that is the theme of Ayla's room...Shabby Chic Glamour, but I loved the way the green turned out. I am sure the little addition of color will just steer the theme into a different direction. So, I write this blog with a happy heart that I tackled something new and it turned out just as I had imagined.

Power hour

I am really proud of myself for finally finding the courage to take the power tool plunge. There are so many ideas on Pinterest (my new addiction) that require a little knowledge of drills, screws and saws. And surpisingly, it's really easy to use these tools that are usually reserved for the man of the house.  My dad spent a little time showing me a little of the ropes. I just took a deep breath and dove in. I wanted to create something unique that wasn't on Pinterest. I have an industrial look in my kitchen. It's painted grey with copper and silver accents. I don't really know how the idea came to me, it just did as I was digging through my tool box. I uncovered the old knobs I took off my built-in buffet (copper). They were replaced with cool yellow jeweled baubles. So, I had the cool tin trough with the copper handles and the copper handles. I decided to make a shelf-style storage container for the kitchen. I have no idea what will go in it, but that is for another day.

Beauty in a bottle

A few years ago, I snagged a very large box of random old bottles at an auction for a few dollars. I gave some some away and used some in home decor. However, the look is tired and old So, I have been seeing some really cool techniques on Pinterest and decided to try it out. My bathroom recently got a facelift with a crisp new coat of paint, so it needs some snazzed up knick knacks. Putting one of these flairs into the bottle as is would be a really cool rustic look, but that isn't what I was looking for. I wanted something that popped.

Nursery, continued

Here is the view of my cozy corner with the awesome canvas paintings Amy made me for Christmas and the prints I also received. The chair was a steal for $75 at Pottery Barn...one of my first baby purchases. I draped the quilt and the other cover is from my mother-in-law.

What I have been up to

I feel like I am running a million errands. My day Tuesday consisted of running all over York County gathering the materials that I needed to start on the bathroom. I visited three Wal-marts before I finally got the paint. I also picked up some hand towels, a soap dispenser and a few other items for the newly decorated bathroom. But, I was getting a little bit ahead of myself. It
took me all morning to get what I needed
BEFORE MIRROR

and when I finally got home, it was after 2 p.m. I started the bathroom. The drab white needed some color and I decided on a Bermuda-themed bathroom. Well, just something beachy, really. Not seashells and sand, but you know whites and blues. I chose tan for the wall, a neutral that would represent sand, but maybe later could be transformed into something else. I painted well past 8 p.m. This tiny bathroom needed a few coats. The craftsmanship wasn't perfection and there were a lot of little cracks to paint in. I also had to paint the door. I started with a layer of primer and I added a second on today. I also took down my old mirror and spray painted it white. I hope to have finished pictures up in a few days.
I thought having off would give me more time to get stuff done, but I feel like I added way too much to my to do list. I'll take it one step at a time.

BEFORE DOOR
BATHROOM BEFORE

So much to do

So here it finally is, summer. I sort of knew I would find myself with millions of ideas of projects to do and little motivation. I've been spending some time at Cracker Barrel serving, so I haven't been completely off.
I have totally enjoyed being able to go for a morning bike ride (I did 50 miles in two days) or run without the pressure to get home and ready for work or something else.
My first project is the downstairs bathroom. Nate and his brother installed a door. What a relief. That was something that I hoped to have done before our housewarming party. Now, I am charged with decorating it. I have this idea to do a Bermudian-inspired room with light, cool colors since the fixtures in the bathroom are white and I am not in the mood to do any demolition.
I looked around a little on the Internet. I am building the design around a watercolor we bought in Bermuda while on vacation. I found a white shelf, white stool and some colored bottles and a few other items in boxes and around the house that will go great. I was hoping to use leftover paint from other rooms in the house, but I am not sure that I have enough. We will see!
I am also looking for ideas to make the door fit in a little better. It looks a little cheap (probably because we got it at Restor York for $6), but it totally works. It's kind of like the fake wood. I am thinking about painting it. Thoughts?
Today, I also tried to clean up and patch the holes in the wall from removing the large cabinet in the bathroom that prevented the installation of a door.
I made some chili for dinner and Cannellini bean salad for a cool summer snack.
What a random day! Now I am off to Cracker Barrel for a fourth day in a row.

Here is the recipe for the bean salad from Better Crocker

2 (19 ounce) cans of Cannellini beans
1 medium tomato seeded and diced
1 red onion diced
1 medium red pepper diced
2 tablespoons fresh basil (*my first use from the garden this year)
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the ingredients together. Serve with lettuce.


**Hopefully a post to come on my adventures in gardening.

Side by side before and after

The before

As I was uploading the photos back from a USB memory stick to my newly restored, higher RAM computer, I came across these photos of the dining room before. Like, really before. Click here or here to see it during and after the rennovations. Amazing. I will have to post photos of the living room, too. It only had lawn chairs in it :-)

Our home rennovations can hopefully continue now that my salary is back to normal and I won't have to work at Cracker Barrel so much, so I will have more time. There are so many choices. I would love to have the basement waterproofed and refinished. We've talked about new windows. We need a new garage roof. The bathroom downstairs still needs a door. We would love to tackle the kitchen or maybe a garden and some landscaping. I would have hate to see the "to do" list on a fixer-upper!

Amy's shower

The secret crafts were for Amy's shower, which was a surprise. We rented a beautiful bed and breakfast, so I didn't want to go all out on decorations. I wanted something simple, that would make it unique for Amy. I decided on canning jars mainly because I was able to borrow them for free. I filled some of them with coffee beans and a vanilla votive and tied a simple real ribbon to the top. Amy loves coffee and the combination makes a heavenly smell. I also bought some teal candles and filled the jars with rocks and used a brown bow. I had most of these items at the house...I just had to buy the candles (33 cents each at Wal-Mart) and the ribbon, which was also on sale at Wal-Mart. I wanted to do one really cool centerpiece for Amy to keep. I had a blueish candle that was a gift, but NOTHING in my house is blue. I placed it in a clear vase ($4.99 at Christmas Tree Shoppes) on top of shiny teal rocks ($1 a bag at Christmas Tree Shoppes...LOVE that store) and tied a brown bow around the outside. My real craftiness came out in the beaded flower that I added to the outside for some pop. All it required was some wire and seed beads, which I also already had in the house.

I really enjoyed crafting these fun and inexpensive decorations. It's easy if you just take a little time, creativity and a peek around the house to see what is already there.

And the finished (well almost) dining room

Check out the photo to the right for a before glimpse, well, more of a during.
And look at the bottom to see the photos of the finished dining room. The photo on the left shows the natural light better, but Nate didn't install the new light yet. The second photo shows it at night with the new light, but without the beauty of the natural light shining in on the gorgeous floor. This dining room was a true test of our teamwork. I think we did a great job making it through together, even with a messy, dusty house for weeks. We are sitting down to eat dinner more!
*A special thanks to Ron Stiger for his help, advice and guidance!

Surprise -- the hutch

Just when I thought my camera was going to take the trip to the electronics graveyard, it some how resurrected. Not sure how, but I am done asking questions.
So, I can post the dining room photos. I wish I had a better before, but just think white walls, white carpet and1980s fixtures. Not to mention the ugly laminate hutch. Check previous posts in home projects to see the progress.

Anyway. Click here to read the background on the hutch. Here is the before, during and after of photos of the hutch.
I added little jeweled handles to the black doors. We only put two doors back on because there was the beautiful wood drawers that added contrast to the all black hutch. If you look close, you can see my amateur painting, but I don't think anyone is looking too close :-)

Before
During

After

Sprucing up lamps

During my 5-plus years at the YDR, I thought I was missing out on daytime TV. Let me tell you, Oprah and Dr. Phil aren't much to miss. But I have caught up on a lot of HGTV. And one thing I notice on nearly all of their shows is that they do many creative things with lamps. Some involve drilling and light kits, while others are as easy as hot glue.
It reminded me of this project, at left, that I did several years ago when I lived with Amy in an apartment. I found the really cool green lamp at Goodwill for $2. It didn't have a shade, so I purchased one at Wal-Mart for less than $10. I chose the brown to add contrast and for something different. I hot glued the gold trim around the top and bottom. For the dangling beads (which I realize are as in vogue as they were five years ago) I used jewelry making supplies. I placed the beads on head pins with flat bottoms. I then bent a circle at the end of each beaded head pin and slipped in onto a jump ring. I then ran each separated each jump ring and ran it through the trim. Voila...a one-of-a-kind lamp that makes a great addition to any room.

I've been busy....err...lazy.

I don't really have an excuse as to why I haven't posted in a little while. I only subbed two days this week and worked at Cracker Barrel two days. I find that when I have a whole day with no concrete schedule, I tend to dilly dally. I did give blood on Wednesday, which takes 2 hours apparently, even if you are the 4th in line. After a smooth blood donation (except for having to prick my fingers twice to check my iron), I drove 15 minutes south on 83 to the Shrewsbury Wal-Mart to get one $2.47 skein of yarn for my afghan. When I bought the yarn five years ago, I had different ideas for the pattern, so it turns out I had too much brown and not enough green to complete the thing. I was tempted to just change the pattern, but after all that work, I figured it was best to do it right.
Wouldn't you know it, Wal-mart was out of the only color I needed. Fortunately, I bought Red Heart, a brand without a dye lot, so I didn't have to worry about matching up the yarn.
I asked the employee to call another Wal-mart before I drove all over looking for it. Reluctantly and with a roll of the eyes, she called the East York store. So nearly 2 hours after I set out for my one skein of yarn...I had it in hand and was back at home. See, it pays to know what you are doing before you try to do it to save gas, time and the interaction with Wal-mart workers.

Friday, Nate and I went to Ikea in White Marsh looking for some home project ideas and supplies. He's now all into my 1950's black and white war-themed room (adding the war part to the decor was his idea of course). It's transformed a bit. He's starting to add his two sense, and can I blame him? It's his house, too.
We came home with a really long curtain rod and accessories for about $13. We also bought two paper lanterns to hang in there. When we returned home and sat in the room and looked around for inspiration, I pulled out the fabric I spent hours picking out to coordinate with the black and white quilt (as seen in photo with the fabric) that used to be on my double bed when I was single. The black and white quilted curtains were the anchor and the reason for my ideas in that black and white room and he didn't approve. I was a little disappointed, but he's probably right...it might not fit with Army-green walls and hard wood floors. Oh yeah, we decided to rip up the carpet in there, too. Fortunately, it involves no stripping. The upstairs floors weren't soiled with black felt padding that takes a lot of effort to strip.
I quickly got over the curtains. Marriage is about compromise, after all. So, I will probably use the fabric for pillows on the futon. The thin black and white fabric will make better pillows than curtains. So, I have to add curtains to the list to complete the black and white room. It's a never ending list.

Decorating the office

This is some of what I have in the black/white room so far. Nate and I bought this bookshelf at Oak Express for a decent price. It's a little too tall for our low ceiling, but we improvised and turned that nice little accent piece on top upside down so it would fit. I love the look books create in decorating, and of course, I love to read them. I organized them together and tried to make a nice display, stacking some vertical and leaving the others horizontal. I also use a lot of glass bottles to decorate. They are a few bucks a piece at yard sales, auctions and the thrift store and they make great accents to any picture/book/art display. Nate has a penchant for collection coins, so instead of having them scattered throughout the house getting stuck in the washer and dryer, I put them in a jar and used it as a book end. You can see it in the top left corner of the shelf if you look really close. It's full. I am working on getting them wrapped and into the bank.

And as promised, here is the art I made on Saturday morning while waiting for my assignment from Amy. It was free. All it cost was the ink from my mom's Sharpie marker and my time and imagination. I am really into the quilted look. I divided the paper into 4-by-4-inch squares and made each it's own little picture. I tried to mix dark and light. I think it turned out OK. I did it all free hand, except for the bottom right corner, I used a stencil.

Craft addiction

My craft addiction is getting out of hand. I went to A.C. Moore with my mom and sister yesterday and my head was spinning like that little girl in exorcist. I know I have five million projects at home, enough fabric to make a quilt to cover my house and all the supplies to do it. Yet, I still spend money EVERY time I go. If something is on sale, it's even worse. I think, "Oh, I will use this eventually so it's better to buy it on sale." That is usually OK. One time, though, I bought printer cartridges on sale at Staples (like 6 of them for $35) and my printer broke before I even opened one.
I bought an embroidery book. It's like sewing, only you actually make a pretty design. I did it once a few years ago on a pillow I made for Nate's mom, and she raves about it all the time. I REALLY need to finish my afghan. I have fabric to make curtains, a quilt I started using my race T-shirts as the patches and beading ideas like mad. I'm making recycled cards now and I also make my own potpourri. I get it from my mom, I know it. If we go shopping, she always picks up things and tells me she can make them. I'm the same way. I have a hard time buying stuff because I think I can DYI. That is all good if I have the time. I need to prioritize my projects.

I am really interested in starting the 1950s-style office. I scanned in some old black and whites my grandfather took when he was an U.S. Air Force photographer and drew a black and white wall hanging (that I will post a picture of soon). I need to decide on paint and get some shelves hung, but it should be fairly simple. I have the idea in my head, I just have to carry it out....just like all those other projects collecting dust in the craft closet.

I decked the stairs

I had the pile of greens spread out on my kitchen floor. As you can see, my cats had a lot of fun playing in it. I think they even ate some.

I found the motivation on Wednesday night to finally decorate the banister on the staircase like I planned to.

I have to tell you that I am not a patient person when it comes to decorating. If I can take shortcuts, I do, as long as it looks OK. When I have a vision, I want it to appear immediately. I know, I am working on this.
I don't really have a process of how I did this. My thought was to join the branches together with flower wire and then weave it up the staircase. That didn't really work out so hot. I ended up sort of attaching a few, then I got bored. So, I took the little thin string over the banister and just laid it there. I attached it to the banister with flower wire. I then fattened it up by just sticking random branches into the bare spots. Most of them stayed. I just used a little flower wire of they didn't. Anyway, the ribbon is what really helped tie it all together, pun totally intended.

I cut a piece of gold gross-grain ribbon and tied it so there was just the flat front showing. I did this on every three spaces. Then, I tied the perfect bow (a future post will show this) using the gold and a little organza green for a holiday touch. I used a straight pin to attach it to each of the ribbons. I don't think it turned out too bad!