Lamp Revamp and a chalkboard

I am still in the long process of trying to get my house in order. It seems like it is taking forever this time! I've had so many projects that I have wanted to blog about but I would either forget to take pictures or just not have time to post them!

Here are two quick and easy projects that I will share with you! First of all, I bought this mirror at GW for $6.99.

It was actually a little more than I wanted to pay, but I have been looking for a scrolly mirror , so I went for it.


First, I sprayed it with Valspar Porcelain spray paint.



Then, I used chalkboard paint and painted right over the mirror. (Sorry don't have a pic of that step!)

And...ta da...


I LOVE the way it turned out. It's simple, yet elegant. I really envisioned this being a bright color with some distressing, but...I'm still in the beginning stages of decorating my kitchen and my whole house for that matter, so I decided to go with the porcelain color since I could always change it later when I am ready to commit to a bolder color!

Speaking of a bolder color...

I really needed some of that in this area in the foyer:


It's a really bad pic taken with my cell phone. I am not crazy about the lamp. I've had it for about 8 years. I already got rid of it's twin. It did have a bell shade, but for some reason I took the picture after I removed the shade. Apparently I am prone to forget to take a pic of a lamp before removing the shade because I did that here, too.


And as you can see, everything is cream or brown.

Soooo, I dug around in my acrylic paints and decided to throw a little color on that lamp.


It's pretty bold, but I think I like it! Hey, I can always repaint it...right? What do you think?



I really like how the whole area turned out. I desperately needed an area for the kids' school folders and a way to control the swarm of papers they bring home everyday. I bought these banana leaf baskets at Kmart on sale for $8.99. They are the perfect size! I need to find one more, though, just to fill the space up better. Oh, and don't mind that Longaberger basket on the right. It's been sitting there since we moved in. I'm just taking one spot at a time and trying to make it feel like home!

I made a $1.47 purchase at the antique store to use in another project for the kitchen that I hope to be able to share with you next week. We'll see if I get to it that soon!!

You see, we have added to our family this week...Meet Lucy our new puppy.


It's a good thing she's cute...that's all I'm saying! : )

I'm linking to the DIY Show Off Surprise Party and Transformation Thursday. Check them out!

Wordless Wednesday

Halloween Fun

We had a great time trick or treating on Halloween in our new neighborhood. It was great to get to know the neighbors and of course get some candy!

E went as Fancy Nancy, but right here she was Fussy Nussy because she did NOT want to trick or treat with the boys!

And, after about 5 minutes, she was fine!


K went as a football player. Here he is getting some advice from his coach. I think Emma is trying to kiss the coach.


Here's coach Trooper Taylor...

Dad and coach.

That's all the pics I have. It was such a busy day that I didn't get my camera out to take more. Don't you hate that when things get really busy and then you look back and think, why didn't I take more pictures?!!

Finally a DIY project!!

I have been working hard to try and get my house in order, but there is still SOOOOO much to do! It doesn't help that this is the busiest time of year with all the holidays and school. But, I wanted to share with you a project from this past weekend.

A few weeks back, The Little Green Notebook posted about some pelmet boards she made from foam core board (She has some great ulphostered headboards, too) . My mom and I had made several of these before in previous homes but we used insulation board. Someone commented on TLGN about an idea of making a headboard using the same method. The wheels in my mind started turning because I had this that needed to be covered up:



So, I asked my wonderful husband to grab me an insulation board while he was at Lowes. I told him to get the thickest piece they had, which I thought was around an inch. Well, he came home with one that was 2 inches thick! It turned out to be perfect! I forgot to ask him how much it was, but when I had priced them, there were some as cheap as $8 and the most expensive were about $15. So, very reasonably priced!!



First, I drew out a template. I only drew half of the design- then, traced one half, turned it over and lined it up and traced the other half.


Then, I started cutting with an electric knife. It worked, but was a little slow going since the board was so thick and dense, so I opted for using a drywall saw. It worked wonderfully, but it did make quite a mess!

Once my shape was trimmed out, I stapled batting and then the fabric, which was actually a $12 shower curtain that I had bought to actually use as a shower curtain! In some places, I used long straight pins to hold the fabric a little tighter.



So, here's the final result...well, final for now. I am still toying with the idea of adding a chocolate bias tape about 2 inches from the edge to trim it out all the way around. We'll see. I was planning to use velcro to attach it to the wall, but it turned out to be heavy enough to just put it against the wall and push the bed right up against it. It holds nicely.

Don't worry, I am not finished with her bedding either. It is all kind of pieced together for now. I almost took another picture to post on here because I absolutely hate what I did with that aqua pillow! I took that piece of damask fabric off it once I saw the pic. The pillow needs something, but not that! I'm thinking of doing a bird applique on it. We'll see... By the way, I haven't posted about it yet, but this little girl just turned 5 a couple weeks ago!! All her birthday pics are on Dad's computer, so I haven't been able to get them together for a post.


I'll have to get that up soon and tomorrow....Halloween pics will be coming. Have a great Tuesday!
Linked to Kimba's Do it Yourself Day.

I'm still alive...

So it's been a while...but I have a really good excuse! I moved! I also have had sick kids and have been sick myself. I've thought about blogging a thousand times, but I had so much to do in so little time that I had to prioritize and do what was most important- like organizing the laundry room, putting all the dishes away, doing laundry, memorizing a script for church, getting K ready to start at a new school....the list goes on and on! I finally decided to bite the bullet and just make a short post to let you know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth! Okay, back to unpacking....

I won an award!

My friend Stephanie gave me an award about 3 weeks ago and I'm just now sharing the news with everyone. (I moved, remember???) Wow, I feel so honored. It's my first blog award.
Thanks, Stephanie!

So here is what I am supposed to do:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.
5. Nominate 7 Kreative Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know that
they have been nominated!

Okay- things you may not know about me.... (well, some of you- Laura- will know all these!!)

1. I love Mexican food.
2. I love Italian food.
3. I love food.
4. I want to adopt.
5. I had a ovarian tumor removed when I was 16.
6. I have lived in 8 different apartments/homes in the 9 years I have been married.
7. I swallowed a nickel when I was 7.
8. Someone thought I was a teenager at church, Sunday.

Oh, wait, I was only supposed to list 7 things. Oh, well, that last one is just too good to delete. That made my day!

So, here are my nominees-

1. Laura My BFF. She blogs about her family's life overseas.
2. Rocky Bella She is great at refinishing furniture and decorating with what she has.
3. Ann She is a busy mother of 3 that still finds time to blog about daily life.
4. Dalomba Days She is a fellow GW shopper who transforms her treasures.
5. Party of Five She blogs about life and renovating her family's ranch home.
6. Ethiopia's Calling Blog about the journey to adopt 2 children from Ethiopia.
7. Kris My hubby- I just think he's cool!

So there you go. I'm so excited that someone thinks I am kreative..... Thanks again, Stephanie!
Go check out my friends' blogs!

Big Boy turns 7!

Okay, so K turned 7 about two weeks ago and I'm just now sharing the pics with you. We are moving in 5 days, so my life and my house is a wreck! Well, not really my life, it's pretty good! My house and my mind aren't in the best condition, though! So here are the pics!!

He came home from school to find his present... a new bike!




We had a football game/party planned but it rained for like two weeks, so we plan B was having a party at pump it up.

Sister


Yummy peanut butter cake!



I can't believe it's been another year!