February 1, 2012

The Kid’s Playroom

I cant even begin to tell you how much I love having a playroom. Seeing toys all over the house just drives me crazy. I guess I just need order to stay sane. Yes in the past I was unable to do anything about it, but now every toy has its own place and if need be, I can just slide one of those doors shut…love that!

The room is pretty small. It measures about 7′ x 8′, but really that is plenty of room to store all of their toys. My first plan was to buy new storage for the area, but once I started putting all of their toys and our old storage bins in there I realized we didn’t need any new storage. The hardest part I had when designing the layout for this space was the lack of walls to work with. There is only one wall to store anything on. Two of the other walls have windows on them and the last wall isn’t much of a wall due to the doorway. Plus the little wall on the left side of the doorways is off limits to hanging anything since that is where the hubby ran the drain pipes from the upstairs bathroom. That is one wall I will NEVER be sinking a hole into.
The larger storage bin was something I bought about 7 years ago from The Christmas Tree Shop and the little bin was something we got as a wedding gift for our bathroom. It is actually a large hamper, but it didn’t fit into the bathroom so I decided to take the top off and use it for storage. The large white cushion was a fun clearance find from Home Goods.
In our old playroom I hung the bags and plastic buckets on hooks to store all of their mega blocks and other small toys. I thought that the corners would be a good place to hang them. They are a little too high for the kids to reach on purpose. This way they have to ask for help and its a great way of keeping things from just being dump out for no reason. Funny how kids love to dump out baskets but hate to fill them back up. To hang the bags and plastic buckets I just bought a few of those heavy duty hangers at Walmart that are actually used to hang bikes on. They are super cheap and can hold a lot of weight.
With such a small space, I wanted to make sure I kept as much stuff off the floor as possible. And by hanging the bags and buckets it gives the kids the extra space they need to play on as well as keeping it all organized.
I ended up using the same shelves we had in our old playroom to store some of their art supplies and little toys that I want out of their reach. Eventually I want to find some old cabinets to line this wall with, but until then these shelves work fine.


The walls are painted Sunflower from Glidden paints. I like the color even though it is super bright. I have walked over to this room many a times to shut off the light just to find out that the light is not on and it is just the walls shining brightly.
I have to say, the kids love this little room but they still prefer playing with their toys under my feet. I guess even a new playroom doesn’t change some things.
And lastly how fun is this view…the playroom, living room and kitchen and all its bright colors?!
And just because I love seeing the before and after pictures. Here is what the playroom used to look like. It was a bit smaller then what the playroom is now and it was being used as a closet. It was also where the staircase was heading upstairs. (And sorry to the person in the picture…don’t worry you will remain anonymous. But I think some of you can guess who she is.)
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Filed Under: house, kids, play room, playroom, renovations
January 25, 2012

Momma’s got a sewing room.

I think this just may be my most favorite room in the house now, but that has not always been the case. This is the room that caused my worst “why did we buy this house” melt-down. When we purchased the house this room was not being used for anything, it was a big, dark, empty room. There was no insulation and the walls were actually the siding from the outside of the house. There was even a little hole in the back wall that was completely open to the barn. The floor was patched together with old barn boards and plywood then they were covered with roofing tar paper. Hmm? It was one of those floors that bounced like crazy when you walked on it and in all honesty I chose to crawl and not walk on it. I still remember the day when my hubby sent me up there to start demoing the floor and to pull up the tar paper. It took about one minute to completely break down. This room scared me! Seriously I thought something was going to crawl out from under that tar paper and attack me or that I was going to literally fall through the floor. A few minutes later with two spot lights and lots of reassurance I was pulling up that tar paper. Within a few months this room was framed, insulated and had sheet rock. At first it was our living room/office/guest room. Then it became our bedroom with the first little one joined our family. So here we are 7 years later and this once scary room is my craft room and…Momma’s got a sewing room!
I can’t tell you how amazing it is to have all of your materials and tools stored in one place. I can finally sew and create with all of my materials in the same room. Goodbye to running around the house to find all of my items so I can begin sewing at the kitchen counter. Goodbye to stacks of fabric and unfinished projects stashed all over the counters. And goodbye to having to clean up my sewing messes just so we can eat. Yes, I am one lucky girl, that I know!
So welcome to my sewing room! I’m pretty sure that when the kids are sleeping this is where you will find me.

So the two huge armoires hold all of my fabric and crafting supplies. I am so lucky to have these to store my fabric in. They are great! Unfortunately now we have no where to store our clothes…minor details right?

Most of the items that I added to my craft room came from thrifting, yard sales or something that I already had in the house.

Nothing more perfect for a craft room then to hang bunch of pretty fabric up on the walls with hoops. And of course my 2 little hooligans logo needed to be hanging up there as well.

A little peek inside at my fabrics that are finally neatly organized.

I used a combination of comic book boards and Fabric Organizers from here.

All of my knits, satins and whatever cheap fabrics I have snagged up to make clothes is stored on the top shelf.

In the other armoire I placed all of my home decor, upholstery, minky and odd ball fabrics. I also squeezed my batting’s, pillow forms and whatever else I could in here. The drawers are filled with zippers, threads, patterns, and every single crafting supply or material I own.

I purchased this little vintage inspired dress form a few weeks ago. I had been searching for a real dress form for months now but they were just too pricey. So I snagged up “Beatrice” for a mere $30 with free shipping (brand new) from Ebay. I think this will be great to bring to craft fairs and is just a fun display piece.

And in all honesty we are the same height. So she may help with draping and some minor fittings, but her waist is going to need a lot padding before she can even get close to the same measurements as mine. She may be skinny, but my bust size is bigger, so boo-yah!

Ok, so here is one of my most favorite thrifting finds…my sewing chair! I saw this little beauty and knew it would be perfect and for $15 I couldn’t pass it up. Just look at the shape of it, how cute! I think I might end up painting it white in the end, but for now it is going to stay as is.

My sewing table is actually a fold out table that we already had. The top was in pretty bad shape but with a little sandpaper and a few coats of white paint it is now perfect. I love how big it is and really it was free, so you cant beat that. I also bought a large cutting mat and a new ruler. I had been using a tiny scrap booking mat to cut all of my fabric and let me tell you how difficult it was cutting out large pieces of fabric. So this is amazing to use. I also found a fold-out suitcase holder while thrifting for $2. Now it makes the best little spot to hold unfinished projects so that my table can remain clutter free. It’s s holding a sleeping bag that is in the works right now. I’m just hoping that my unfinished pile doesn’t get too big.

Then there is this little chair. Yet another thrifting find for $21. The fabric is in amazing shape and needed nothing other then a new home. Its not my typical style but for some reason it was calling my name (maybe because there is orange in it) and I’m so glad I brought it home. What a cute shape and you should see the piping on it…adorable! I have learned over the past 6 months that my style has changed so much. I am now a cheap, thrifting, vintage loving girl…who loves bright colors!

Another dresser for storage which is actually still filled with some of my clothes. In time I’m hoping to fill it with all of my handmade items. I would love to start selling again in the next few months and hopefully I will have enough items to go to a few craft fairs this year.

And here is my newest little baby…and obviously not a thrifting or cheap find, but a NEEDED one.

I’ve used it a couple of times, but I need to spend A LOT more time learning all of the stitches and how to master threading it. But I know in a few months this is going to be my best friend! Goodbye to zig-zag stitching all of our clothes.

So all I need now is a good light for sewing. The only problem with this room is that there is not a single window in it. So it is really dark and as you can tell from the photos, really hard to photograph. Any ideas on a good light? I see them all the time at JoAnn’s but wonder if they are worth the money or if I should buy a cheap lamp at Walmart.

So there you have it, Momma’s new sewing room!

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Filed Under: house, renovations, sewing area, sewing room
January 23, 2012

I kinda like it.

So I just kept going with my first paint choices and I’m glad I did…I kinda like it. No, I don’t love it, but I really like it. And in all honesty I think it will grow on me. This is a change. A big, bright change. So time will only tell. But one thing I do know for sure is that I am LOVING my kitchen being a kitchen and only a kitchen.

This weekend I even started decorating the walls in the kids rooms.
And even started working on my sons comforter. Can you guess what I’m making?
I even started making a little something for my bunny-button loving girl.
Oh and I almost forgot to mention that I finally finished organizing my sewing room! Oh I am thrilled! Don’t worry, lots of house pictures soon to come.

So any fun projects for you this weekend?

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Filed Under: house, our kitchen, renovations
January 17, 2012

Shabby Apple giveaway winner and repainting the kitchen.

The Shabby Apple giveaway winner is…

Adventures of Shaw who said…
My favorite Shabby Apple Dress is Le Coeur. We are going on our honeymoon to France in April and I want all of them.

Congrats! And how exciting to be going to France for your honeymoon. That dress couldn’t be any more perfect for the trip!

So this weekend I decided to repaint our kitchen. I know, I said I was going to take a little break from working on the house once our other rooms were finished, but this room desperately needed a new paint job. And really I just couldn’t wait, even though I promised the hubby I would.

Instead of repainting everthing the existing colors I decided to go with something new. Most of the time I can pick out the perfect color in minutes, but I was just having a tough time with all those blues. So I took a couple of fans home to help me decide. Gosh, all of those colors are dangerous for a color loving girl! I thought about going red for a minute or two but decided to go with big country blue for the cabinets and true blue for the walls. It took hours to remove all of the doors, hinges and hardware so late that night I started painting. It wasn’t until I finished painting the built-ins (on the left) that I realized the color I had chosen was way to bright for me. Like WAY too bright. Trust me, these pictures make the color look great, but they don’t really show the true color. But I had gotten too far to turn back…plus the paint store was closed and I’m an impatient kinda girl when it comes to such things. So I decided to go with it and make it work somehow. Last night I finished painting all of the cabinets. I wish I could say that I love it and that all of the time spent painting was worth it, but I can’t…not yet. Hopefully after I paint the walls and trim today I will like the color and it tones down the brightness on the cabinets a little.

Oh geez, sometimes my love for color can really get me into trouble! And in case your wondering, the hubby loves the color.

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Filed Under: house, our kitchen, renovations
December 8, 2011

Home renovation updates

So apparently some of you are curious as to what things are looking like around here. So the living room is pretty much done except for installing the sliding barn doors onto the kids playroom and the doorway to the cold cellar. As you can see the hardwood floors are covered in cardboard for protection from little boys with hammers and to keep from tracking in too much snow and sawdust onto them. I am so tempted to pull that stuff up and see what it looks like. Nonetheless I wait…impatiently. One of the many chairs sitting waiting to be reupholstered. I never liked the style of wing back chair but for $5 I couldn’t pass it up. Plus these chairs are dang comfy! My hubby has already claimed this one to be his along with this spot, but the designer may have other ideas for this area already. Shh, we’ll keep that one between us until he finishes the house.
The playroom is finished and as you can see I couldn’t resist laying that rug down. I’m still searching for the best way to design this room that will fit our storage needs without looking too crowded. There are a lot of great inspirations out there I just need the time to sit down and organize them all.
The kiddo’s room is finished and is just waiting to be filled.
The bathroom is still needing a second coat of paint along with all of the joints and nail holes need caulking, but by tomorrow it should be finished. I just need one more late night up there. Hopefully this time I wont spill my glass of wine all over the floor while painting. And that is why we still have cardboard protecting the floors. The tub and sink have been sandblasted and painted…orange. They will be installed this weekend and hopefully by the end of the weekend this room will be completely finished.
Our last big project will be to install all of the stair treads and risers. Then trim out the stairway, caulk, paint, and do minor touch ups.
It’s becoming more real now that we can actually see into the other side of the house. I cannot wait to take down that gate and let the kiddos run free and I cannot wait to decorate…the fun part is coming soon!

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Filed Under: house, renovations
November 17, 2011

Home Renovations.

How true is that? Those of you that have lived through a major home renovation like us know how true that is. But thankfully we are finally seeing it come together.

The rooms are painted.



And the hardwood floors are in.
And so is the tile.
Yes, it has been far from easy (especially this past week), but WE WILL be in there for Christmas. And we will have a real Christmas tree this year. So all of this hard work will be worth it. Then once the house is finished I think I better check myself into a facility for craft addicts.
I mean really, who looks at tile spaces and thinks of all the crafting possibilities with them? Me of course!

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Filed Under: house, renovations
September 19, 2011

We *heart* dry wall.

Three 16 hour days, 80 sheets of dry wall, lots of coffee and take-out and we are done. We have walls!
It was a lot of work and took a lot of patience, but it was also a lot of fun. It was great to be working on the house with the hubby again, but definitely harder with 3 little ones under our feet though. Luckily my mom took our kiddo’s for a whole day and we were able to get the entire upstairs and the ceilings downstairs done. The two other days we did what we could to keep them out of trouble while we kept working. All I have to say is that I’m glad its done and hope that we never have to hang that much dry wall again!

Ironically, our kitchen was featured this weekend over on Remodelaholic. Gosh, just looking at those pictures again make me realize how much we have done…yet have so much more to go!

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Filed Under: house, renovations
September 2, 2011

Seriously… an orange bath tub?

Next week we will be hanging drywall on this side of the house (insert lots of screeches!!) Seriously, this has been a looong time coming! And while I’m trying not to get too excited, I am. Fingers crossed that we will be celebrating Christmas this year with a Christmas tree and not another Christmas branch and that we will be sitting all together around a table instead of around our kitchen island. We decided that over the next four months we were going to work as hard as we can to make this happen. We so badly want to have the house finished by Christmas and cannot think of a better gift to give ourselves and the kiddo’s. So as you can guess we have a busy few months ahead of us! So once all of the tutorials are finished up for the baby basket cake I will be switching gears up a bit and working on some home decor.

Anyhoo, the other night my hubby brought home two lion claw tubs for FREE. That’s right, FREE! I was planning on trying my hand at tiling a shower in the new bathroom, but he couldn’t help but snag those free tubs. And if we go with the tubs that means less time tiling and more time spent elsewhere. Surprisingly the tubs are in pretty good shape. The inside of them are in really good whereas the outside of the tubs are in ok shape, but they will definitely need to be sandblasted and repainted. So since the tubs were free and I’m such a lover of color I think a colored tub is in order…hmm…orange? Would you expect any different? When I asked the hubby if I could paint it he just shook his head and smiled. He is a good hubby and yes we will be bathing in an orange tub! Crazy? Yes! But I’m not the only one, look at all of these colored tubs I found…

source:designvagabond.blogspot.com

source:eviesindependentliving.blogspot.com

happylivingdesign.com

lovelychaos.typepad.com

source:monolohome.com

 source:bigboxdetox.com

So whatcha think? Seeing all of those make you change your opinion? Although I have to say, I love that red and turquoise tub too, it’s gonna be a hard decision. Any suggestions on a color? Or how about a mod podged tub? Now that might be stretching it a bit…but how cute?!


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Filed Under: house, painted bathtubs, renovations
April 12, 2011

Inspirations for my home.


I have finally decided on a color scheme for the living room and dining area. For the walls, I have chosen Rosemary Green from Benjamin Moore and red as the accent color. I have loved these two colors together for the longest time, but have found very little use of them together. I was nervous about pairing them together, but after watching Color Splash, I know that they will work great together because they are opposite on the color wheel. I think David would be proud of me!

Benjamin Moore has a great tool for choosing the right colors and seeing your visions on the walls. I just wish they would let you change the decor so you can really see how well the colors would work together.

Our dining area is going to look very similar to this one. We will have built-in bench seating on one side and chairs on the other sides. The color scheme will be the same as in the living room since the rooms are open to one another. I can totally picture a table just like this one in that space. How cute is the chalk board paint on top of it?! How fun for the kids…and us. I can already see lots of plumbing diagrams and sewing ideas being drawn on top.

We would like to make a sliding door similar to this one for the playroom. With the playroom being so small and the dining area being so close to the playroom we don’t have a lot of space for a swinging door, nor do we want to compromise the space on either side of the door for it to swing. I have seen these door used a few places and just love them.

And after seeing this playroom I was in LOVE! Granted our playroom is going to be about 500X smaller then this one, but the color scheme is exactly what we will be using, especially since I already have these colors throughout our house and this would be a great way to tie them all in. Plus the kids kitchen set and storage containers are already in this color scheme. LOVE!

The only space we are still unsure about is the bedroom upstairs.

We are not sure if we should do something like these built into the walls.

Because we have very limited areas for storage and have a major lack of closets in this house. So we need to utilize any and every space we can.

source (House of Turquoise)

But I am also in love with the idea of building the girls beds into the walls and utilizing that space in such a great and unique way. Of course we would only be able to put their beds down low on both sides of the room and not like shown above. So I guess our biggest question is whether we make the room for us or for the girls. Thankfully we have some more time to sleep on it.

I have found so much inspiration on the web and thought I would share my favorite sites with all of you. Plus this is a great way to keep them all in one spot as a reference point for me. I love being able to have all of these great ideas in one spot and to be able to show the hubby “my plans” and hopefully we can make our plans work together.


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Filed Under: house, renovations
April 5, 2011

House updates.

Three weeks ago my hubby took the week off to work on the house. Before he could start framing out the walls, he still had more demo work to do. So after an hours worth of work, this was what I saw…Iya-yaI! Luckily my hubby is a hard and fast worker because within a few hours the room was clean and cleared of the debris.

Unfortunately, we had to add a beam in downstairs since we have reworked a few of the rooms. So here is the hubby putting in a beam weighing a few hundred pounds all by himself. Crazy hubby that he is, he rigged a pully system to hoist up the beam and slide it into place.

The beam is in place, and now it is time to start framing.

A few days later we have a room! Yes, a teeny-tiny kids play room, but it’s a room and there are walls. Or at least they are walls to us. And they are beautiful!

Stairs…we have stairs! For a few years now we have been climbing a ladder to get upstairs. So unsafe, but safety surely has not come first in this renovation.

It may not look like much to all of you, but to this momma (and very proud wife) this is huge! We have waited 6 1/2 years to see a living room and dining room evolve. And I can see it more and more each day.

There is something beautiful about a huge box of nails.

And a pile of new wood.

So what’s on the list next?

Well, the upstairs floor joists are as level as they are going to get and it is time to lay down some plywood.

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Filed Under: house, living room, renovations
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