Stay tuned, I hope to start posting more of my fun projects!
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Thursday, June 12, 2014
It's been awhile....
So.....life has been so crazy that it's been awhile since my last post. Like, over a year type of awhile! Let's not dwell on that! In the past year I've been getting in touch with my crafty and creative side. Thank goodness for pinterest! Here is a little something I painted yesterday.
A friend of mine sent me a similar flag painted pallet that she saw on pinterest. Since I live at the lake I have been making and buying coastal decor. I love this twist on the American flag! The pin my friend sent me had only one starfish, but that resembled the Texas flag a little bit and since I live in Oklahoma I couldn't chance that!
Stay tuned, I hope to start posting more of my fun projects!
Stay tuned, I hope to start posting more of my fun projects!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Being Crafty
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I'm not much of a crafter. However, I see amazing things all the time on pinterest and it makes me want to be a crafter. So, here's a quick glimpse of one of my latest crafts, totally inspired by pinterest!
Being the non-crafter that I am, I quickly realized I totally screwed it up! I figured since the max number of days a month has is 31, that I should only use 31 squares. But, I failed to remember that calendars typically use Sunday as the first day in the top left corner. Opps! One day I may add some more squares, but until then I'll just have to change the order of days at the top each month!
If you want to make your own Dry Erase Calendar, here's what you'll need:
1. a large photo frame (I got mine at Wal-Mart for about $6.00)
2. paint color samples (I got mine from Wal-Mart...FREE! I did have to cut them down to size)
3. Dry erase markers (I got a two pack at Wal-Mart for $2.49)
4. Some type of paper for the back ground. I used silver gift wrap (I got mine at Hobby Lobby for $5.99, but I printed off a 40% off coupon prior to shopping so only spent $3.59)
5. Tape (surely you have some tape laying around)
All I did was tape the wrapping paper to the back board of the frame. Then, I placed the squares evenly on top. Once they were arranged to my satisfaction, I taped them down. Last, write in the info of the current month! Easy peasy!
I am in a mild panic that the year is almost over and I have not even come close to crossing off every item on my yearly goal list. One item is to give my kitchen desk space a face lift. That's where this item comes to place! The desk is still a hot mess, so Greg is refusing to hang my calender until it has been tidyed up. I made it about two weeks ago. So, lets just say the calendar is leaning up between said hot mess and my home lap top. Pics will be posted when it gets a proper make over!
Being the non-crafter that I am, I quickly realized I totally screwed it up! I figured since the max number of days a month has is 31, that I should only use 31 squares. But, I failed to remember that calendars typically use Sunday as the first day in the top left corner. Opps! One day I may add some more squares, but until then I'll just have to change the order of days at the top each month!
If you want to make your own Dry Erase Calendar, here's what you'll need:
1. a large photo frame (I got mine at Wal-Mart for about $6.00)
2. paint color samples (I got mine from Wal-Mart...FREE! I did have to cut them down to size)
3. Dry erase markers (I got a two pack at Wal-Mart for $2.49)
4. Some type of paper for the back ground. I used silver gift wrap (I got mine at Hobby Lobby for $5.99, but I printed off a 40% off coupon prior to shopping so only spent $3.59)
5. Tape (surely you have some tape laying around)
All I did was tape the wrapping paper to the back board of the frame. Then, I placed the squares evenly on top. Once they were arranged to my satisfaction, I taped them down. Last, write in the info of the current month! Easy peasy!
I am in a mild panic that the year is almost over and I have not even come close to crossing off every item on my yearly goal list. One item is to give my kitchen desk space a face lift. That's where this item comes to place! The desk is still a hot mess, so Greg is refusing to hang my calender until it has been tidyed up. I made it about two weeks ago. So, lets just say the calendar is leaning up between said hot mess and my home lap top. Pics will be posted when it gets a proper make over!
Friday, February 18, 2011
My Hot Date!
We finally finished remodeling our master/upstairs bathroom (pics coming soon)! I told myself that as a reward, I would indulge myself in a nice relaxing hot bath. My husband is out of town for the weekend, so this was my hot date for the night!
I don't take baths very often (I'm more of a shower gal), but when I do, I like to do them right! We made this as our craft at the last MOPS meeting, and that was sometimes the only thing that got me through all the painting I had to do. I love treating myself to a reward after a job well done.
Here are the instructions to make your own Ginger Soak:
2 cups baking soda
1 cup Epson salts
2 Tablespoons ground ginger
I have heard of people soaking in tubs with baking soda and Epsom salts (Gwyneth Paltrow does it), but have never done it myself. About 30 minutes after my bath my skin felt pleasantly tingly. I'm not sure if that's normal, but I sure liked it and felt very refreshed afterward.
My companions in the bathroom were these two items:
Capped off by an episode of Sex in the City! I planned on having a mini SITC marathon, but I was so relaxed and tired after my bath I barely made it through one!
Once I finished watching my show, I sprayed some Deep Sleep pillow spray from The Body Shop onto my sheets, and I hit the sack and slept like a baby!
I don't take baths very often (I'm more of a shower gal), but when I do, I like to do them right! We made this as our craft at the last MOPS meeting, and that was sometimes the only thing that got me through all the painting I had to do. I love treating myself to a reward after a job well done.
Here are the instructions to make your own Ginger Soak:
2 cups baking soda
1 cup Epson salts
2 Tablespoons ground ginger
I have heard of people soaking in tubs with baking soda and Epsom salts (Gwyneth Paltrow does it), but have never done it myself. About 30 minutes after my bath my skin felt pleasantly tingly. I'm not sure if that's normal, but I sure liked it and felt very refreshed afterward.
My companions in the bathroom were these two items:
Capped off by an episode of Sex in the City! I planned on having a mini SITC marathon, but I was so relaxed and tired after my bath I barely made it through one!
Once I finished watching my show, I sprayed some Deep Sleep pillow spray from The Body Shop onto my sheets, and I hit the sack and slept like a baby!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
China Cabinet
About a month ago we (meaning Greg) finally took the time to refurbish the china cabinet we found through Craigslist! Here's a shot of it "before".
Pretty old fashioned if you ask me. Our original plan was to paint it black, and then scuff it up to give it a rugged look. In my mind I loved how the wire work on the glass doors were going to give it an almost Gothic look. I thought that would be pretty neat with my crystal I plan on displaying on the shelves.
However, Greg convinced me that we should just do away with the doors altogether. Mainly because it was going to be extra work for him! Ha, ha! But after thinking about it, I decided he was right. The cabinet does not have lights on the inside and since crystal is clear I wasn't sure if anyone would really be able to see it through the doors. So, away they went!
The other thing that surprised me was after it was painted black, we decided not to scuff it up! I just thought it had a kind of elegant look and we decided scuffing it up could always be done in a few years if we get tired of how it looks then! So, here it is, complete with some of my crystal! What do ya think?
Pretty old fashioned if you ask me. Our original plan was to paint it black, and then scuff it up to give it a rugged look. In my mind I loved how the wire work on the glass doors were going to give it an almost Gothic look. I thought that would be pretty neat with my crystal I plan on displaying on the shelves.
However, Greg convinced me that we should just do away with the doors altogether. Mainly because it was going to be extra work for him! Ha, ha! But after thinking about it, I decided he was right. The cabinet does not have lights on the inside and since crystal is clear I wasn't sure if anyone would really be able to see it through the doors. So, away they went!
The other thing that surprised me was after it was painted black, we decided not to scuff it up! I just thought it had a kind of elegant look and we decided scuffing it up could always be done in a few years if we get tired of how it looks then! So, here it is, complete with some of my crystal! What do ya think?
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The piece de resistance
Out of all of the rooms we've remodeled in our house, this is definitely the one that I'm the most proud of! The only thing if needs is a cute little bundle of joy!Without further ado, I present The Nursery:
The closet is filled with clothes! The ones hanging are all 0-6 month! Courtesy of my sister and gifts from loved ones!
I put stuffed animals from both mine and Greg's childhood in the crib for our little boy to snuggle up with!
There is the rocking chair that my mom and I refurbished! (Greg did his part, too!)
Another DIY project that I forgot to take a before picture of. This platter was actually a yellowish color and said "Believe". Greg spray painted it for me and then I free-handed Parker's name on it with the same paint we used on the walls.
It took a lot to bring these curtains up to par. For one, they were way too long, so I had to re-hem them. Then the valance was too long as well so that had to be taken care of also. The finishing touch: silver star Christmas tree ornaments sewen onto the valance! Sometimes I amaze even myself!
The closet is filled with clothes! The ones hanging are all 0-6 month! Courtesy of my sister and gifts from loved ones!
I put stuffed animals from both mine and Greg's childhood in the crib for our little boy to snuggle up with!
There is the rocking chair that my mom and I refurbished! (Greg did his part, too!)
Another DIY project that I forgot to take a before picture of. This platter was actually a yellowish color and said "Believe". Greg spray painted it for me and then I free-handed Parker's name on it with the same paint we used on the walls.
It took a lot to bring these curtains up to par. For one, they were way too long, so I had to re-hem them. Then the valance was too long as well so that had to be taken care of also. The finishing touch: silver star Christmas tree ornaments sewen onto the valance! Sometimes I amaze even myself!
Monday, March 15, 2010
A Visit From my Parents
Once again I've been a bad blogger. And it's a good thing I already wrote teasers of upcoming blogs, or I would so not be writing. Believe me when I say pregnancy has given me a serious case of lack of motivation to do....anything. Blah.
My parents arrived right around dinner time on a Thursday evening. And of course, I was in the middle of a cooking catastrophe. I had planned to make meatloaf (one of my favorite meals) that day and when hubby called and asked what we were having, after I told him, he made the comment that he sure wished he could help me with the menu planning because he can always count that at least one night a week we have meatloaf and another night we have grilled pork chops. Now, one reason why I hate Monday's is because that's the day I go to the grocery store. It also happens to be the day it literally takes me two hours to come up with a menu for the week. And I'll admit, yes, I'm guilty of making the same things repetitively. I can't help it! However, I don't beat myself up because I know if it were up to Greg we would have tortilla soup and chicken burritos at least once a week! But, I digress. Back to the meatloaf. Since he made that comment I decided to make the meatloaf like one of his grandma's makes. It happens to be the recipe on the back of the Lipton onion soup mix. I thought I had all of the ingredients. Until I started to make it. One ingredient was ketchup. I had ketchup...just not enough ketchup. So this is how my parents arrival went:
Note: a prior phone call from my mom, who was lost in my neighborhood (seriously who would name all the streets in a neighborhood the same name?) resulted in me telling her to just "come on in because I'll have raw meat all over my hands" when she got to my house.
Mom: "Hello, we're here!"
Me: *frantically* "OK, I'm having a little catastrophe! I don't have enough ketchup! *banging of ketchup bottle on the counter top*
Mom: "Uh-oh"
Me: "I gotta go to the store! Make yourselves at home!" *dashing out the door*
Yup, that is what life is like in my house. Sounds exciting, huh? Needless to say, I finally got the ketchup and dinner went off without a hitch. Oh, except Greg decided that he liked the old way I make meatloaf better because it's less greasy! (I am proud to say that I haven't cooked meatloaf since then! I'm working on it!)
The next day, Friday, Greg and I had a lot of errands that were pertinent to be taken care of. Unfortunately they took up most of the morning and my parents had opted to stay at home. That afternoon we just hung out around the house. I did ask my mom to help me with a project though because *surprise* I just wasn't motivated to do it. I know I could have, but the idea of having my mom help me just sounded much more appealing. That project was to make new pillows and pillow coverings for a rocking chair that Greg and I were refurbishing. The rocking chair has kind of a funny story. I'm probably about to get in trouble by Greg's side of the family for telling it, too! But, years ago Greg's dad gave us the rocking chair that his mom used to rock him in when he was a baby. Greg told his dad that he didn't want it, but his dad wouldn't hear anything of it. We both thought it was ugly (sorry) and therefore we always kept it in the garage of every house we ever lived in. Let's just say that by the time it arrived in Colorado it had definitely seen better days. The fabric was covered in dust and I was a little scared to sit in it because the bottom was made with lawn chair strips. But, Greg and I decided to give it a little TLC. We ripped all the fabric and cushions off and chucked them. Then, I wood filled all the holes and marks that were in the wood. Next, Greg sanded it and painted it white. He also re-stapled the lawn chair strips to make them sturdier. After that it was up to me to make pillows. That was easier said than done because the rocking chair is kind of an odd size. I did find one pillow that worked for the back and ended up just demolishing an actual bed pillow to make the seat cushion. The hardest part was finding upholstery fabric in this little town. In the end, I got creative (which is a stretch for me) and bought a fabric shower curtain and just used that!
By the time my Mom was at my house I had partially finished one pillow. All I needed to do was stitch the fabric closed. Luckily, my mom saw what I was about to do and told me how to do it so it would look more "professional". I knew there was a reason I was procrastinating! I let her take over the actual sewing and went about tearing up my bed pillow. We worked on them for a little while longer and then decided to finish them up the next day. My parents are pretty cute in the sense that despite the fact that they are in their 70's and late 60's, they go on a date every Friday night. Usually dinner and a movie. So Greg and I thought they might enjoy going to the one screen movie theatre here in town. I was a little worried they would have already seen the movie playing, because movies don't usually show up here until they've been out for a month or two. Luckily, it was a kid's movie, "The Tooth Fairy" so they hadn't seen it. It was actually pretty cute! After that it was time to go home and hit the sack!
Saturday morning was again a lazy day at the house. Luckily, it also gave my mom and I chance to finish the pillows. I was beyond happy! It felt so good to have another piece of furniture in place in the nursery before my baby shower the next day!
That afternoon I drove my parents around to do some sight seeing. We went to the wind farm south of town (Greg opted to stay home...that's the last thing he wants to see on his day off!). Not because my parents hadn't seen one before, but because at this wind farm the property owners put wooden windmills next to the big wind turbines. It's kind of funny! I always think, "past meets present" when I see it.
From there I took them to Two Buttes. From the highway it looks completely flat (like all of SE Colorado) but once you get in there it drops down to a canyon and there's a water hole there. It was a little chilly out so we didn't last there for very long. I forgot my camera, so here's a pic I took at "the hole" the first summer we came to town. If you look real close, you'll notice that's actually a person jumping off of the cliff into the water. Legend has it that divers have gone down and cannot find the bottom of this water hole. That's what all the locals say anyway!
The rest of our day was spent at home hanging out. If you read my blog about my baby shower, you already know that on Sunday we took them out to lunch then came home for the festivities. The baby shower was a lot of fun and I was happy that my mom was there to celebrate it with me.
They left early Monday morning. If things work out well, they will be making the trip back up here in just 5 weeks to meet my sweet baby boy!!
P.S. In case you're wondering why I didn't post any pics of the completed rocking chair...that's because I forgot to take one of it by itself. And a before picture would have been nice, too, huh? Oh well! I finished decorating the nursery this weekend so stay tuned for pics and you'll see the rocking chair there!
My parents arrived right around dinner time on a Thursday evening. And of course, I was in the middle of a cooking catastrophe. I had planned to make meatloaf (one of my favorite meals) that day and when hubby called and asked what we were having, after I told him, he made the comment that he sure wished he could help me with the menu planning because he can always count that at least one night a week we have meatloaf and another night we have grilled pork chops. Now, one reason why I hate Monday's is because that's the day I go to the grocery store. It also happens to be the day it literally takes me two hours to come up with a menu for the week. And I'll admit, yes, I'm guilty of making the same things repetitively. I can't help it! However, I don't beat myself up because I know if it were up to Greg we would have tortilla soup and chicken burritos at least once a week! But, I digress. Back to the meatloaf. Since he made that comment I decided to make the meatloaf like one of his grandma's makes. It happens to be the recipe on the back of the Lipton onion soup mix. I thought I had all of the ingredients. Until I started to make it. One ingredient was ketchup. I had ketchup...just not enough ketchup. So this is how my parents arrival went:
Note: a prior phone call from my mom, who was lost in my neighborhood (seriously who would name all the streets in a neighborhood the same name?) resulted in me telling her to just "come on in because I'll have raw meat all over my hands" when she got to my house.
Mom: "Hello, we're here!"
Me: *frantically* "OK, I'm having a little catastrophe! I don't have enough ketchup! *banging of ketchup bottle on the counter top*
Mom: "Uh-oh"
Me: "I gotta go to the store! Make yourselves at home!" *dashing out the door*
Yup, that is what life is like in my house. Sounds exciting, huh? Needless to say, I finally got the ketchup and dinner went off without a hitch. Oh, except Greg decided that he liked the old way I make meatloaf better because it's less greasy! (I am proud to say that I haven't cooked meatloaf since then! I'm working on it!)
The next day, Friday, Greg and I had a lot of errands that were pertinent to be taken care of. Unfortunately they took up most of the morning and my parents had opted to stay at home. That afternoon we just hung out around the house. I did ask my mom to help me with a project though because *surprise* I just wasn't motivated to do it. I know I could have, but the idea of having my mom help me just sounded much more appealing. That project was to make new pillows and pillow coverings for a rocking chair that Greg and I were refurbishing. The rocking chair has kind of a funny story. I'm probably about to get in trouble by Greg's side of the family for telling it, too! But, years ago Greg's dad gave us the rocking chair that his mom used to rock him in when he was a baby. Greg told his dad that he didn't want it, but his dad wouldn't hear anything of it. We both thought it was ugly (sorry) and therefore we always kept it in the garage of every house we ever lived in. Let's just say that by the time it arrived in Colorado it had definitely seen better days. The fabric was covered in dust and I was a little scared to sit in it because the bottom was made with lawn chair strips. But, Greg and I decided to give it a little TLC. We ripped all the fabric and cushions off and chucked them. Then, I wood filled all the holes and marks that were in the wood. Next, Greg sanded it and painted it white. He also re-stapled the lawn chair strips to make them sturdier. After that it was up to me to make pillows. That was easier said than done because the rocking chair is kind of an odd size. I did find one pillow that worked for the back and ended up just demolishing an actual bed pillow to make the seat cushion. The hardest part was finding upholstery fabric in this little town. In the end, I got creative (which is a stretch for me) and bought a fabric shower curtain and just used that!
By the time my Mom was at my house I had partially finished one pillow. All I needed to do was stitch the fabric closed. Luckily, my mom saw what I was about to do and told me how to do it so it would look more "professional". I knew there was a reason I was procrastinating! I let her take over the actual sewing and went about tearing up my bed pillow. We worked on them for a little while longer and then decided to finish them up the next day. My parents are pretty cute in the sense that despite the fact that they are in their 70's and late 60's, they go on a date every Friday night. Usually dinner and a movie. So Greg and I thought they might enjoy going to the one screen movie theatre here in town. I was a little worried they would have already seen the movie playing, because movies don't usually show up here until they've been out for a month or two. Luckily, it was a kid's movie, "The Tooth Fairy" so they hadn't seen it. It was actually pretty cute! After that it was time to go home and hit the sack!
Saturday morning was again a lazy day at the house. Luckily, it also gave my mom and I chance to finish the pillows. I was beyond happy! It felt so good to have another piece of furniture in place in the nursery before my baby shower the next day!
That afternoon I drove my parents around to do some sight seeing. We went to the wind farm south of town (Greg opted to stay home...that's the last thing he wants to see on his day off!). Not because my parents hadn't seen one before, but because at this wind farm the property owners put wooden windmills next to the big wind turbines. It's kind of funny! I always think, "past meets present" when I see it.
From there I took them to Two Buttes. From the highway it looks completely flat (like all of SE Colorado) but once you get in there it drops down to a canyon and there's a water hole there. It was a little chilly out so we didn't last there for very long. I forgot my camera, so here's a pic I took at "the hole" the first summer we came to town. If you look real close, you'll notice that's actually a person jumping off of the cliff into the water. Legend has it that divers have gone down and cannot find the bottom of this water hole. That's what all the locals say anyway!
The rest of our day was spent at home hanging out. If you read my blog about my baby shower, you already know that on Sunday we took them out to lunch then came home for the festivities. The baby shower was a lot of fun and I was happy that my mom was there to celebrate it with me.
They left early Monday morning. If things work out well, they will be making the trip back up here in just 5 weeks to meet my sweet baby boy!!
P.S. In case you're wondering why I didn't post any pics of the completed rocking chair...that's because I forgot to take one of it by itself. And a before picture would have been nice, too, huh? Oh well! I finished decorating the nursery this weekend so stay tuned for pics and you'll see the rocking chair there!
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