Fall Pinterest challenge!

I'm in! I joined in the Fall Pinterest Challenge hosted by Sherry at Young House Love, Katie at Bower Power,  Sarah at Ugly Duckling House, and Carmel at Our Fifth House.

The Challenge is Simple: Do something, actually follow through, and make something that you've pinned on Pinterest.  So I did.   I added these bats......

 

 .....and more bats to our wall around the fireplace.  Quick, easy and free!

 

I simply freehanded some bats from black construction paper I had on hand.  They are attached to the wall with painters tape so no paint will be harmed in this ghoulish Halloween preparation.

How fun!  Here is one, of many, Pinterest inspirations I took from Thrifty Decor Chick!

Check it off: Cabinet redo is done!

Check it off....this old cabinet re-do is done! 

 

It started here, with an old cabinet that went from my grandfathers house to my mom's house to my house, over the period of about 50 years (or more!)

Before this shot, it had legs on the bottom, but years ago I sawed those off for my mom as they had a ton of water damage.

When it came to live with me, I immediately envisioned an open cabinet with gradient color shelving, just not the colors above....but it finally came together.  I originally repainted the outside the beige color of my walls, but that was blah.  I finally went back and gave the outside a fresh coat of white, and I love it!





before...in worse shape than it appears...and after!!  Much better!

Check it off: Bookcase redo

this is just not working!

Check another "to-do" off the list: The office shelf re-do project is....Done! I don't even know how long I've worked on this, but it's been off and on for a loooonnngggg time. I'm so glad to have it done!


This is the before: It (along with the rest of  the room) just wasn't working.  I processed whether to give it away and start over for a long time.  I also contemplated cutting it down for a future project as it is a solid wood piece.  I bought it unfinished and stained it years ago, and it's solid as a rock.  At one point I almost cut it in two pieces to make it into two smaller bookshelves.

In the end I flipped it on its side and looked at it sideways for a long time.  It just seemed to fit my space and needs, so I went to work.

What used to be horizontal shelves were fixed with nails and because vertical.

The bottom because the left side. 

 

I added an additional piece and some trim to the bottom to finish it, as you can see in this picture.

I slowly thought about how I would use each section, and then started filling in the (now) horizontal pieces.

Once I primed and painted it, I added trim to the front to make it feel more finished.

 

Better!

 

And voila!  My new used-to-be-a-bookshelf .....shelf!  The worst part is I don't know what to call it!  A hutch? Sideboard? Shelf? 

Whatever  it's called, I love it.  I have my accounting type work to the left, my jewelry business in the middle, and sewing projects and supplies to the left.  And the top just adds a wonderful space to have personal pictures, flowers and is quite useful! 

This was a huge step to getting my office reorganization done....I'm one step closer!

Time for a Giveaway!

It's time for a lauraGdesigns giveaway!

 

this.one.is.taken....design your own!

And it's so easy!  Visit my Facebook page here, hit "like", and you're in.  Isn't that easy?  Once we reach 200 likes, all 200 "likers" will be entered for jewelry from lauraGdesigns up to a $50 value!  And if we hit 300 likes before the end of the month, I'll do a second $50 value giveaway! 

Happy Friday! 

Sick day ramblings and furniture painting

Quite the combination, no? I finally succumbed to the nasty cold Brad has been fighting (for the second time around) and gave in today, at least a bit. It's that )don't feel good but not flat out sick" kind of sick....., and I feel like I can still get things done. The man-cave-fan-cave sofa is arriving in a few hours, so we need to be ready! I bought supplies for our MOPS meeting, and we'll be making this fun, easy pumpkin paper craft: I'm painting, in between times on the sofa.

This cabinet from way back when was painted on the inside, but I never got around to the outside completely. I started with the wall color, but that was blase.

I finally decided to paint it a nice crisp white. I jumped off the sofa, grabbed my oil-based primer and there it is. Yes, I paint right in the middle of the room. The only issue this time is that this is an old can of primer,and there is no lack of VOC's in the air. I moved myself outside, but next time, I will definitely research for a better option. Low or no-VOC's are a must!

In other ramblings for this blah day, I've discovered stencils. If you're a child of a (cough cough) earlier DIY decade, you'll remember stencils from back when. But wait! These are amazing! Take a look:

 

How beautiful is that?

 

And this:

This is from Cutting Edge Stencils.  I can't wait to order something from them and give them a try ...it gives a whole new meaning to the word "stencil"!

 

Jumping back to the sofa, and waiting for paint to dry, and a delivery to arrive!

 

Monday Fun-day Photo File:

Hmmmm....how do you explain to a nine year old that mom doesn't ever want to wear anything that says "CHUNKY" all over it? Let's keep shopping bud....you'll find the perfect costume for mom...but this isn't it!!

Little random updates

Number 1) Does this get on your nerves?

Cute rug, great, but if I'm constantly chasing it across the floor, it's not cute, and it's not helping the dirt situation, is it?  And I really wasn't going for cute as much as I was for practical!

Enter rug tape. I found this on clearance at BBB months ago, and just tucked it away. 

 

Pulled it out....taped away....

 

......made some fun patterns....

....and a week later, it's still holding tight!  Much cuter, less irritating, and much more helpful in keeping the outside dirt contained.

 

 

Number 2) My new bought-from-a-guy-in-a-parking-lot saw is working great and working hard.

 

Number 3) The "man cave fan cave", also known as the basement, is undergoing major improvements this week!  Carter and I worked on it a long time last night, made a few additions, and another major addition arrives Tuesday.  Stay tuned....

 

Number 4) The family room curtains are growing on me.  I have three options hanging, and two I like. Progress.

 

So I keep seeing new project ideas (big ones), but I've done well so far to stick to the "to do list" projects and get them done!  Here's the updated list:

Finish painting the basement steps (no progress)

Finish painting the family room cubby (see above)

Sew curtains for family room (almost there...)

Finish cushions for porch (Yes!)

Sew fabric bought for dining room (nope)

Finish tile project mid-phase in garage (almost done!)

Finish garage storage project (almost done!)

Finish office shelf project (almost there!)

Finish quarter round in basement (progress...the saw is helping!)

Build shelves in garage (so close!)

Finish back of hutch (decision made, materials bought!)

house numbers (the quickest project that has taken me the longest!)

So that's my quick update on the to-do list week that went in a flash.

On a totally different note, I woke up one morning to a day I didn't really want to conquer. I didn't feel strong, or positive, or ready to go, and wasn't 100% physically well to top it off. 

Yet I woke with a song in my head, a song I haven't heard in a long time to my knowledge.  It carried me through that day, and in the days since, it has been in my head.

I finally pulled it up on Youtube, to remind me of the artist, who I was thinking was a contemporary christian artist for sure.

Guess who I found? Kenny Rogers. Yep, and the Oak Ridge Boys!  Who knows from where your inspiration may come?
Love Lifted Me

Have a great week!



The man in the parking lot

Yes, I had a rendezous with a strange man in a parking lot this weekend. But boy was it worth it!

 

I got to come home with this new-to-me awesome Dewalt table saw!

It was a great deal too....about 1/2 off the  store price, and it's in great, like new condition!

 

So I did the logical thing on Monday:

 I made one of my favorite day trips ever: Off to Lowe's to pick up some new lumber.

Soon I had this:  Nope, it's not a new ladder, but part of something else on my "to-do" list that is getting done, and it's getting done so much faster with my new friend. 

 

I don't suggest meeting strangers in parking lots, but in this case, a super Craigslist find was my win of the week!  It was also good for some laughs: Carter couldn't stop talking about mom meeting men during his baseball game in the parking lot.  It's all good!

Check out this store: GeeZees.com

How amazingly cute is this? GeeZees.com makes custom canvases with your words on them.....this heart is my favorite so far.  I think this would make a great wedding gift with a couples dating history on it....or even better, a gift for parents 50th wedding anniversary....oh the possibilities!

Visit  geezees.com to see the other options for your personal canvas.  I'm already dreaming up ideas for Christmas!

Valance-spiration

It's time to make a choice and move on to the next project. So here were some things I found I liked:

The cornice board: I'm not going to do this this time, but I love the look, and this would be a very easy DIY project:

www.windowtreatment-ideas.com


 This is a nice, easy and simple design:

www.thehousedressing.ca


I also like this one, and it's similar to what I've tried to do:
 

www.freshhome.com

 

This is a simple pleated idea, but I'm not sold on the bulk of the fabric being in the middle:

www.window-blinds.net

Hmmm....this looks familiar, without the stripes!  These windows are a bit wider, and they took the fabric all the way to the crown molding.  It also looks like they are installed on boards as there are no curtain rods showing:

www.windowfrills.com


So it's time....Something will be done, and the next project is starting. 

Have a great weekend!