DIY harwood

I have to say, I have been a bit overwhelmed with home projects lately. It feels like once we finish one, there are three more in it's place. We finally made some progress on the dining room floor. After I stripped it a few months back, it sat untouched through the holiday season. You can see in the before picture we had some trouble spots where the black felt pad and adhesive refused to come off. I can't see why anyone would want to cover this beautiful floor.
Anyway, Nate's dad came over on Friday while I was at work and he and Nate sanded it down. They rented a sander from Tru Value. I think it was $40 for four hours or $50 for a day. I think
I've seen or heard estimates of $1,000 to refinish a hardwood floor. I think by the time all is said and done, we may have spent less than $200. Of course, that doesn't include time, strength and
the annoyance of having a coating of wood dust covering my entire house. I am not complaining (well, maybe just a tad) but I was so happy to see it done.
All the yucky stuff was gone and this is what was in it's place. Nate still has to stain and varnish it. We also have to place a decorative border around the trim to fill in the gap, but hopefully we can finish that in a timely manner. After we finally pick out a light and paint the built-in buffet (surely a blog-worthy event) our dining room should be done. Which is great, because then we can concentrate on the office, or kitchen or garage roof or the bathroom door.....oh heck. I know the list will never end!

Creative art

Erin, my friend, gave Nate and I this awesome piece of art for our wedding gift. When I first opened it I had no idea what it was. But if you look closely, you can see that the objects in the pictures form letters that spell "Stiger." How cool? I can't wait to put it in the office. Erin said she saw the idea on a Web site for close to $150, but knew she could do it for less! That's my girl. She kept an eye out for objects where she lived and worked that could double as letters. It turned out amazing.
With more and more people equipped to take their own photos and Web sites like Snapfish and Shutterfly to order them on, there are endless options for personalized art. Erin said she was able to find the 6-letter frame at Target and a longer name might be harder, but I am sure with a little creativity, you could make it work for your name, too. When you see something you love, but it's just not in the budget, think outside the box of ways you can make it your own for much less money.

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.

Watching paint dry

All the schools are closed today, so clearly, I am home. Since I am not getting paid, I figured it was probably best to try to get some things done around the house to make me feel useful. And, no, I am not watching paint dry while I write this blog, but I am waiting for it. After I shoveled the sidewalk and walkways around the house, I finally got to work on our tired, white bedroom. I painted the wall behind the bed (our accent wall) the deep maroon that is in our bathroom. I love the color, but the room is too small to paint entirely maroon, so we'll probably do the rest in the tan color of our hallway to tie the three areas together.
It looks awesome. But, since the wall behind it is white, I need to do two coats. (I am too lazy to prime.)
But what took up most of my morning was the finishing the afghan that I started SO long ago. I have to tell you that I can see that my knitting improved over time. The overall piece is definitely amateur, but doesn't look too bad considering it took so long to do. And I hate to say it, but even though Red Heart doesn't have dye lots, you can tell exactly where I ran out of green. The greens are different enough to see. And I think it's wider at the top where I started than at the bottom where I finished, which means I dropped some stitches. But I have to say, it stays together and is a nice warm blanket.
The photo shows the afghan folded in half. The dark color that looks black is actually brown. Now that I look at this photo, I can see more than one color change in the green...oh well. It's a handmade item that hopefully my husband will cherish forever.

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.