Caution: Wet Paint

Something about the arrival of Spring makes me want to refresh my home.  This year, I decided that my bedroom walls had been blue long enough (12 years!) and it was time for a change.

We had remodeled the master bathroom during 2010 and had painted those walls a nice toasty beige.  The color is called Roman Plaster and it's by Behr.  The online picture makes it look more "greige" but it's actually warmer in real life. I decided to paint the bedroom walls that same color.

Good-bye, blue.  Hello, beige!

Here are a couple "before and after" shots for you.  Just a warning, even the "after" shots show my room in "everyday mode".  I didn't fancy them all up for the internet.

In addition to the paint, we rearranged the furniture and even bought some new pieces.  The two white bedside tables and the lamps are from IKEA.  And that's my dog, Carl.  He's the reason I don't have fancy bed linens.

The old chair was thrown out (it was older than I am) and I moved a different chair into my bedroom from the living room.  The cedar chest is a family heirloom refinished by my mom and my grandpa.

I put up the same blue curtains and kept the same sheets and throw pillows.  And nothing is on the walls yet. So this is still a work in progress.  I'm keeping my eyes open for some art and some linens!  What should I get?  Should I change up the color?  Decisions, decisions.

Quick Mantel Change

Ever notice how time seems to fast-forward once school starts and it doesn't slow down until January?  Yeah, me too.  Before my  kids were in school, I spent a lot more time at home and could play around with flower arrangements and whatnot on my mantel while the kids threw toys around.  Now that they're in school, I feel like I'm never home and my seasonal decorating has taken a back seat to soccer practices and volunteering in the classroom.

Once the end of September neared and I saw that my mantel still sported the red, white, and blue from the summer (see my post on the USA banner made from old jeans!), I figured it was about time to change it up for fall.  But I didn't want to go full-on Halloween; I wanted something that I could leave up there for longer than a month.

I went with owls.  You can't go wrong with owls, right?  They go with both Halloween and fall in general.  Plus they're all trendy right now and I have quite a collection of them.  I arranged some birch logs (thanks, Dad!) and my owls and a feather boa on the mantel.

When Halloween got nearer, I made it a bit creepier by draping a skull printed on cheesecloth-type material over the mirror.  His red eyes went nicely with the red candles that were still sitting there from summer.

Now that Halloween is over, I took down the skull and red candles.  I put up a brownish-orange candle and matching pumpkin instead.  And I put my little fall snowman in the front.  In less than 5 minutes my mantel went from Halloween to Fall/Thanksgiving.

Yes, I live in a part of the country where snowmen are perfectly acceptable as fall decorations.  And I like it that way!

 

Now that I think about it, all the white in the birch logs and owls might work for Christmas and winter as well!  Considering how busy December is, I'm guessing I'll make it work!

Picking a color palette for your room

I am getting a bit tired of the colors in my bedroom.  When we moved in here 11 years ago, we painted the walls a lovely blue that was reminiscent of the Colorado skies we had just left.  I still really like the color, but I think I'm ready for a change.

I'm pretty good at knowing when I DON'T like a color, but pretty bad at knowing which color(s) I would like instead.  But then I saw an ad in a magazine for MyColortopia.com.  You can upload a photo with colors that inspire you, and the website will generate a color palette of Glidden paint colors for you.

One of my favorite things to look at is Lake Michigan.  The blues of the sky and the water plus the browns of the sand make me happy.  So I dug around in some old photos of trips to Lake Michigan and I found these two that might work.

I went to MyColortopia.com, scrolled down to the box labeled "My Image Inspiration" and clicked on "Go To Tool".  Then I was prompted to upload my photo (2MB max). Once the photo thumbnail was visible, I could drag the little crop box around my photo until the colors I liked best were in the box.  I clicked on "Show Colors" and it gave me several options to choose as my favorite main color.  (See the middle column in the screen capture below.)

My favorite color from those options was "Creamy Blueberry" so I selected that color, and the website generated three 3-color palettes using that color.  If you mouse over each of the colors in the palette, the Glidden paint color name appears. You have the option at this point to print the information, or email it to yourself or pin it to Pinterest.

I took a screen capture and made my own little reference card in Photoshop that showed the photo and the three palette options - along with the Glidden paint color names.

And here are the results I got after uploading the beach picture.

I liked a couple of the paint colors from this photo. The one that matched the sky (Blue Marina) is very similar to the current color on my walls so I was curious to see what Glidden would pair with it.  And then I also generated a palette using "Deep Blue Shadow" that matched the water in the photo.

That was a fun little exercise!  But I'm no closer to knowing what to do with my room because I like all these palettes!  If I had to pick a favorite right now it would be the middle option for the lighthouse picture (silver dust - buttered sweet corn - creamy blueberry).  But then what?  Do I paint the walls Creamy Blueberry?  That might be a bit much.  Maybe the walls are Silver Dust and the curtains/bedding are Creamy Blueberry and the accents are Buttered Sweet Corn?  Any suggestions?

Patriotic Banner From Old Jeans

We recently went on a family road trip that involved 8 hours of driving each way.  I am unable to read in the car without getting sick, but I've discovered that I can sew!  I made a couple little craft kits to take with me to pass the time more quickly.

This little project took up much of the drive home.  It's a patriotic pennant banner made from old jeans and felt.

Of course, because I made this craft in the car, I didn't photograph any of the steps.  But I don't think it's too hard to figure out how I made this.

My kit consisted of

• a couple of legs cut from old pairs of jeans, both dark and light wash
• red felt
• red and white embroidery floss
• patterns for the pennants, the stars, and the letters (I cut those shapes out of cardstock using my Cricut and used the cardstock shapes as patterns when cutting the fabric.)
• scissors, pins and a needle

Step 1: Cut everything out using the patterns. (5 pennants from the darker wash jean, 5 of the bigger size star from the lighter wash jean, 2 smaller size stars and the USA letters from red felt)

Step 2: Fray the edges of the pennants by pulling out some threads.

Step 3: Attach the light denim stars to the pennants with a straight stitch using 3 strands white embroidery floss.

Step 4: Blanket stitch the red felt letters and stars onto the denim stars using 3 strands of red embroidery floss.

When I got home, I stitched the pennants to a red and blue ribbon using my sewing machine.  Now my mantle is all ready for the 4th of July.  And maybe even the olympics!



Spring and Easter Mantel

I have a relatively deep mantel over my fireplace and I find it difficult to put stuff on there without it looking too empty or too cluttered.  Suggestions are welcome!

Here is my spring mantel.  I just got the egg wreath at HomeGoods and I love it!

I changed it a little for Easter.  Many people have nativity scenes.  I also have a Resurrection scene!

I downloaded the Easter word art from OneDogWoof.

The Kids' Area of the Craft Room

I have two boys and they have their own area in my newly reorganized craft room. 

Before the reorganization, they had a nice table and chair set (that we got free!) but it was always buried under piles of stuff.  I kept the table and chairs, but made better use of the vertical space with another tall shelf from Target. (It's the same as I used in the craft closet.)

I mostly re-used containers , but the turquoise bin on the bottom shelf and the 2 white bins on the top shelf are new.  Some of the containers are shoeboxes reinforced with blue duct tape.  The main difference is that now, everything has a home, and it's all labeled. (Labels printed from here.)  All of the markers, colored pencils, oil pastels, etc are corralled in one bin with several smaller containers inside it.  In theory, the boys should be able to get their own crafting items and put them away when they are done. (Ha!)

There used to be a bulletin board over their table where they could hang projects they wanted to keep.  It ended up looking very cluttered, so I removed it.  I would like to give them a display area, though.  I'm thinking of getting a towel rack and threading onto it curtain rings with clips on them.  They can hang their artwork from the clips. (Something like this?)  I think it might look neater than a bulletin board.

We'll be testing out their new craft space soon when we make Valentines for their classmates!

Reorganized Craft Area

My craft area is all put together finally!  The project took a couple weeks, but it was totally worth it.  Check out the shocking before and after:

I admit, I didn't make any attempt to clean up the area for the "before" picture, but it is a realistic depiction of what it looked like.  Yikes.  Way too much stuff on the walls, inadequate work table, and haphazard storage. It's no wonder I had a hard time getting inspired in there.

But now!

The table is from IKEA. It's called the Vika Amon Table Top.  You buy the legs separately so you can customize the table to your needs.  It comes in several finishes and sizes, too.  I wanted basic white for a clean surface on which to create.

The pink caddy holds the tools I use the most often.  I'm working on a winter scrapbook page and that's spread all over the table.  Under the table in the corner, I stuffed my rolling scrapbooking tote that I use to haul supplies to crops.  It fits perfectly in there.  The stool is perfect for me (rather than a chair) so I can spin around and face the table or the shelves. And because I often like to stand when I scrap.

My husband helped put together the shelves: two Besta Shelf Units from IKEA.  I liked that they had adjustable shelves because most shelves aren't made for large 12x12 scrapbooking items.  My things were large, so I ended up only using some of the shelves and have 4 left over.  (My husband says he can use them to make shelves on the wall if I'd like.  Hmmm, maybe!)  I also like that the shelf units are low so that they can double as additional work surface.

Right next to the table, I store my pages in progress, my paper and my stamps.  I found turquoise storage boxes at Target and also reused most of my organizing containers from before.  I printed customized labels from the Better Homes and Gardens website.  They are printed right on to sticky labels so I could just stick them on my containers.  (And they were turquoise!)  Cards that I've completed are on the top of the unit. 

The other end of the shelf unit holds more stamps, my kids' school-year albums-in-progress, and my cutting tools.  I wanted the Cricut and other cutting tools to be closer to my work table, but alas, the location of the power outlets didn't cooperate.  But now I think it works better this way anyway.

So now I have a functioning craft room.  I just need to inject some personality and color!  Because the shelf unit is low, there is a vast amount of wall space above it that currently looks very bare!  Since it is a craft room, I plan to make something to hang on the walls, I just don't know what that will be yet.  

I have to show this tray I found at IKEA, though:

Isn't it too cute?  I love birds.  Owls are my favorite, but the office area on the other end of this room was decorated with peacock accessories.  So any suggestions for what to hang on the walls are welcome!  Should I take up my husband's offer for more shelves (maybe above the table)?  Should I make some framed, bird-related art?  Maybe a Bible verse?  Family photos?   Something unexpected like a wreath?

Reorganized Office Area

I am so happy to finally have, not only a functioning office area, but a pretty one as well.

Top Three Transformations:

1. Cleared off the clutter and purged the contents of the filing cabinet.

2. Painted the filing cabinet. (I wrote about that in this post.)

3. Added some peacock accessories to make me smile.

Now I can easily fit my laptop and printer ON MY DESK.  I know, crazy, right?  It's almost a pleasure to pay bills now.  Almost.  It is my goal to keep this desk surface as uncluttered as possible so as to not return to that horrible "before" picture above.

I still have that ugly (but free!) office chair and I'm on the lookout for an inexpensive new one.

Sources:
Peacock feather wreath - Michael's after-Christmas clearance ($7 marked down from $25!!)
Peacock candelabra - Christmas gift from Pier 1
Turquoise magnetic dry-erase board and lamp - Target
Turquoise vase - IKEA

Reorganized Craft Closet

Well, I haven't been posting very often because I have been working to get my craft room organized!  As you can see from the photo above, the closet portion of my room needed some serious help.  I was using a lot of plastic tubs, which are great, but I just had them stacked on top of each other.  Inevitably, I'd need something from the bottom-most tub and it would take quite a while to unearth it.

So I bought two shelving units from Target.  One is tall for the portion of the closet that is full-ceiling height. It holds some seasonal decorations and my wrapping stuff.

 

The other is shorter for the under-the-stairs portion. This one holds pictures and frames, candles and candle holders.  The stuff in the corner is rarely used, but I can still get at it better than I could before.

Then I rearranged all the drawers I had in the closet already.  The dresser and filing cabinet hold fabric.  The other drawers hold various craft supplies.  But the good thing is that they are all cleaned out and labeled so I don't have a bunch of things I no longer use and I can find everything quickly!  And I can even walk in the closet now!

My sewing machine is on a rolling cart just inside the door to the closet.  I did that on purpose because I usually roll the machine out in front of the TV in the family room if I'm doing any serious sewing.  If it's just a quick sewing project, I can bring a stool into the closet and sew right there.

Works for me!

I painted a metal filing cabinet and you can too!

 I acquired this standard-issue filing cabinet about 10 years ago from my former employer.  It had been used in a warehouse and was a bit beat up and a lot dirty.  I cleaned it up a little and it's been stuffed full of our household's paper ever since.  Time for a makeover!

Step 1:  Remove the drawers and everything in them.  (This would be a good time to evaluate all the stuff you have stored in your filing cabinet.  I found tax return papers from 1993 and instruction manuals from electronics we haven't owned for years.  I was able to throw out a LOT of paper and make room for different things.)  Remove the handles (mine screwed off) and label holders (pried off with a screwdriver).

Step 2:  Everyone says to go over your metal surface with steel wool.  So I did.  I didn't spend a huge effort on this step because it honestly didn't seem to make much of a difference.

Step 3: Get your paint.  Almost all of the tutorials I found online involved spray paint.  Well, spray painting requires being outside (or at least in an open garage) and it's currently snowing here so that wasn't going to happen.  Wandering the aisles of Home Depot, I discovered paint for metal surfaces in a can to be applied with a brush.  So I went for it.  I really wanted a turquoise filing cabinet, and they had turquoise spray paint, but the stuff in the can had a much more limited color selection.  I settled for "espresso" which I ended up loving.

Step 4: Apply the first coat of paint.  Here is the cabinet after the first coat.  Looks pretty bad.  Do be afraid!  It'll look better!  I found it was easiest to do multiple thin coats rather than trying to lay it on too thickly so you don't get drips.  It's very important to let it dry between coats.  (The can should tell you how long that'll take.)

Step 5:  Apply additional coats.  I took this photo as I started the second coat on one of the drawer fronts.  You can see exactly what kind of paint and brush I used.  You can also see that the paint color looks very different when wet than when dry!  It looked almost a dark purple when it was wet, but it dried to a lovely dark brown.  I ended up doing three coats.

Step 6:  Put it all back together and fill it up!

Many online tutorials suggest spray paint because your brush strokes will supposedly be visible if you use paint in a can.  After the third coat, my brush strokes were barely noticeable.  You have to stand right next to the cabinet and actually be looking for brush strokes in order to see them.  Maybe that is due to the dark paint color?   I suppose if brush strokes are an issue you can sand between coats to help eliminate them?  I don't know.  All I can say is that it didn't end up being a problem for this project.

I am very happy with my finished project and I hope this inspires you to try it, too!  Let me know how yours turns out!

My Craft Room - Before

I have a room in my basement that is (mostly) dedicated to my crafty pursuits.  It is also where the "home office" stuff is, and where my kids do their creating.  But unfortunately, it's also that room where everything that doesn't have a home gets dumped.  Most of the furniture in the craft room is hand-me-down furniture.  ("Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without!!)  But I spend a LOT of time in my craft room, so I decided that it was time for a serious makeover.

Check out these photos and I'm sure you'll agree.

The home office area consists of a beat up filing cabinet (received free from a former employer), a nice wood desk (free from a family friend), and an ugly office chair (free from I-don't-remember).  Both the filing cabinet and the desk are functional, so they stay. The filing cabinet will have a makeover, however. I'm not sure what do to about that chair.

Wow. This photo is embarrassing.  The table here is actually a kitchen table (free from a family friend).  The chair is free from my mother (who refinished it once upon a time).  The shelf thing on top the table came off an old desk we bought at Target 15 years ago.  The mess underneath the table is my kids' "Imagination Box".  The rest of the mess is mine.  The plan is to totally revamp this area with a trip to Ikea.

Like I said, this room is in the basement.  The room itself is about 9' x 15' but it also includes a walk-in closet which is under the stairs.  This is where everything gets dumped.  Just looking at the above photo of the closet makes me cringe.  Of course, I can keep using all these nice storage tubs and whatnot, I just need a better organization system.  The plan for the closet is to store some seasonal decor stuff, some craft stuff I don't use as often, gift wrapping supplies, and my sewing stuff.

And then there's the kids' area.  The table and chairs are still nice (free from husband's boss) but the rest of their stuff has never really been organized in a very functional way.  I'm planning to have some sort of shelf system where they can see the supplies they have and be inspired to create.  Hopefully, the system won't look cluttered AND it will be easy for them to put stuff away when they are done.  (Ha ha.)

Ok, so we are all agreed that this room needs some help?  I thought so.

Step one: remove everything from the room and paint the walls!

This photo was taken before I started painting.  I was just shocked by the contrast between all the cluttered pictures above, and this empty picture.

Of course, now the family room temporarily looks like this:

Yikes.

Friday while the kids were at school, I emptied the craft room and painted all the walls.  I was starting to think I had bitten off more than I could chew, but now I am SO glad that I didn't skip this step.  The walls were in awful shape and dirty.  I would not have been happy to put all the fresh new furniture in the room with the walls in that condition.  Plus, now that everything is out of the room, it's only coming back into the room if it's supposed to be there and it has a specific place to go.  I may be throwing some things out.

I expected to have to do a second coat of paint on Saturday but was thrilled to see that the walls looked great after one coat.  I was painting a new beige over a different color beige, so that probably helped.  The color I chose was called "Dapper Tan" - one of the Glidden colors from Home Depot.  When I first put it on the walls I didn't think it looked dapper OR tan and I was a little afraid.  It looked peachy.  Like skin that had actually never had a tan.  But when it dried, it darkened up and I'm really liking it.

In this photo below, the walls are completed and I'm working on painting a bookcase.  This bookcase is special because my grandfather made it for me when I was a kid.  It feels very wrong to be painting it because Grandpa was always very fond of exposed wood grain, but I really wanted to keep the bookcase in my craft room and all the furniture I'm going to get from Ikea will be white.  So white it is.

There is still MUCH to be done, but now that you've seen the awful "before" photos, the "after" photos are going to look spectacular!