She thinks it…He builds it!

I can't be the only one this happens to. Browsing the blog community and come across a great idea. I can do that, you say and next thing you know you are in the home improvement/craft store looking for the little treasures you read about.

With stars in my eyes, I recently discovered a DIY headboard from Thrifty Décor Chic and off to home depot I went to buy my piece of wood for our very own DIY headboard.

This would be a good time to mention I am less than handy.

No worries the nice home depot man cut it for me! I brought it home sharing my idea with my hubby and he smiled encouragingly. The girls and I were hard at work and created this headboard using fabric from an old curtain.   
  

zebra print headboard

It went well and so I was hooked! I wanted to make another for our shabby chic French country bedroom. Using the other half of our board and an $8 drop cloth from Home Depot, we headed back to the garage.
   
Remember how I said I wasn’t handy? Well I couldn’t even staple the staples into the board. HA!



Enter my HandyMan…J. Before we knew it our headboard was getting revamped. Instead of just a boring old fabric-covered board, J suggested framing it with a trim piece. And so we started over.

First we pulled out all my staples…yes all 10 of them! No judging please. We made a quick run up to Home Depot where J found some trim pieces that we could use to frame the headboard. Then we used the trim piece as our measuring device and cut the foam where from the board where the trim piece will now be attached. In case you were wondering…

I helped clamp the trim piece to the board!

This would be a great time to note that I LOVE working in the garage with J. He puts up with all my crazy ideas and most of the time, makes my visions become reality.



He then used a few staples to attach the remaining foam to the board. Originally I used spray adhesive but J felt this would be more reliable.









Then we recovered the board with the drop cloth and a few staples. This time J did the stapling and it went MUCH smoother.



Time for my contribution to the project! I painted the trim pieces. While the paint was drying my mind was racing. I have LOTS of ideas and instead of watching paint dry, why not get started on that next project!

Yes that IS how my mind works.

“Oh hey, can we cut that mat for the picture?”  More on that later!

Part two of the headboard project coming soon!

Project Life...



Project Life

Have you heard of seen this? Project Life?

I will be honest and tell you that I was completely clueless. I saw some tweets about it but still wasn't sure what it was. Then I was on shutterfly this weekend working on my annual family photo album.

Yes, I am a wee bit behind but hey at least I am getting it done!

Anyhow, while starting my photo book I noticed that one of my choices was Project Life and of course being the curious sort I started exploring. I was hooked! I have always been a scrapbook lover but have gone digital in the interest of time. At the end of each year, we choose the best of the best and put it in our album and then I journal the year. I love doing it! But now I am a little excited about the possibilities. Project Life is both digital and paper so you have your pick. The pages are fun and intentioned and I am hooked! So who else wants to Project Life with me?

Reconstrtuctive Surgery Reveal...

During our whirlwind graduation weekend, we also revealed our graduates new living space. As family and friends surrounded her we cut the ribbon and revealed our downstairs face-lift. We are still tweaking the room but thought we'd share the big day!

The ribbon-cutting ceremony

We pulled out an old dining room set from the storage closet, painted it white and created a fun dining area!

We used the two stools from her old bedroom to make ottomans

Repurposing her curtain panel, made a fun headboard and all for less than $25

Reconstructive Surgery...

Back in January we had a little diving intervention...although I am not entirely sure that we all thought that at the time. One evening we had a minor tangle with a friend's bumper and the corner of our garage. The Volvo was the clear winner with not a scratch on it. Our garage was going to need some reconstructive surgery.

Once we found our surgeon we began to seek counsel from him on another reconstruction project...our basement. For almost 10 years, my husband and I have gone back and forth on what to do with this part of the house. Each time we revisited the topic our family was in a different phase of life and so inevitably nothing was accomplished. With this recent turn of events, we decided it was time to make some decisions and so with it's own entrance it has become our "Launching Pad." Our recent graduate is benefiting from this currently. With the help of our surgeon we put walls up and began the tiresome work of finishing just over 380 square feet. There were long nights, sore backs, and tons of little DIY projects to fill our days. Here is a sneak peek at the work in progress...

Gallery Wall

I can tell that Spring Break is just around the corner because my mind is slowly opening up to adding a few projects that have been sitting on the back burner for quite some time.

Recently we emptied everything out of our den so that we could start from scractch.

The empty room

Note our dog relaxing in the midst of all our work LOL

Can that really be all of our den stuff?

And so my husband and I set out on a quest. He wanted to move the TV which meant reorganizing the electronics. I wanted to put the den back together with my purpose statement in mind. Family pictures creatively displayed. Clean lines and a home for all the clutter. Storage for my bulky school items and all while keeping that welcoming feeling. Now that's not too much to ask...is it?

Last week, we bought the new wires for the electronics and this week I have been searching for my inspiration. So I thought I would share a few. Does anyone else sense a theme?

Thrifty Decor Chick

The Pleated Poppy

Organized Simplicity...the family room

Why is that when you have company coming the desire to spruce things up and decorate always magnifies? As the end of the school year continues to eek its way ever closer I find my mind filled with ideas on how to fix up the house before our upcoming graduation. This time it is a bit different though because I am also hearing the words from the pages of Organized Simplicity flow through my mind.


This past week my personal decorator, my sister, visited and in between baking every sweet known to man in some new contraption called Babycakes and a spa visit we managed to tweak a blue accent wall I had painted (we did repaint it!) Balance and simplicity had been achieved.

But wait...shopping around the house worked out great for my living room and dining room but my family room was crying for some attention. Over time, it has become the family dumping grounds for all the misfit and "not sure what to do with items." My 17 year old even called me in to the room for a conference where she then laid out a plan to get this room back in gear. First she said I needed to take everything down. Then she replied that I would need to just start over.

What? Start over? Ugh that sounds so tiring. Are you sure?

My family room has lost it's purpose and so it is time to clear out this room of all the pictures, little knick knacks and only return that which fits our family purpose statement. I will examine each item and ask the question, "Is it useful or beautiful to anyone in the family?"  My goal is not to go and buy a bunch of new stuff but rather incorporate what I have. (side note: I hear that's the definition of redesign)

And so our journey begins...

Weekend Projects...

Our fireplace has been a source of frustration for quite some time. We have always hated the red brick and wanted to update it.

Before

After searching through some options, we decided to whitewash our fireplace.

This is me being "handy." Doesn't happen that often!

After

For less than $10 we were able to transform our fireplace...and do a little update to our room! How am I doing Redesign Fairy?