The Craft Room Begins!

To all of my prayer warrior friends out there, please be praying for Cammi and the 7 other youth and 2 adults that are in Show Low, AZ doing some mission work.  They made it safely, but please continue to pray a hedge of protection around them.

So the other day, I was trying to decide on what project I wanted to start.  The transfer project I was all set to begin was a bust because my goofy computer doesn't seem to like my printer so that every time I try to take the print level above draft, it shuts down word.  GRRR!  Since the finished product will already have a slightly faded look to it, I needed the setting to be on best.  

SO...

Other things I wanted to do mostly included cleaning out cabinets as I prepare for the big shift that will happen when we actually get back to the kitchen project.  Well, many of the things that I wanted to clean out included mostly crafty type things.  

I want to move those things to my new craft room!

But why put a bunch of stuff in there only to move it all again when I get ready to paint it.  

SO....

BEFORE shot...the bat cave!  Also known as "the boys' room."

I am already quite pleased with how much just a single coat of primer has lightened up the room!!

Yes, that is my wonderful husband touching some things up so that I could go and start dinner.  

 It did take nearly 7 hours to get everything primed.  Probably won't get back to this room for a while, but I can tell you I will absolutely being finishing it in smaller sections!

Stay safe out there!  Really hoping this is our last snow!

Blessings,

Ronda

Curtains Take Two

I have been SO Stinkin' lazy lately!!  

The last project I did was completed over a week ago.  I know I say this often, but I was waiting for the right time to get a good pic! Do you have any idea how tough it is to get a good picture of curtains?  I'm sure that I just need to work on my camera skills, but I get overwhelmed when I start reading about all the technical stuff on my camera.  I know, just do it and quit whining...

Anyone else ready for Spring????

Anyhoo...a couple of shots for fun...

Some things that belonged to my uncle. 

As I have been debating what to put on the walls in the music room, I decided that I couldn't part with my little Amish boys.  But not liking the oak frames, I painted them with black milk paint and distressed them.  

If you google painted curtains, you will see that my idea to stencil my music room curtains was not all that original.  Ah well, who cares.  I LOVE the way they turned out.  I think it looks like expensive designer fabric, but in reality they were pretty cheap.  Basic panels made with utility osnaburg fabric. 

I used a mini foam roller to stencil.  I did end up totally cleaning off the stencil about half way done.  The thing I hadn't anticipated was the little fibers from the fabric stuck in the paint and gradually built up enough that the small holes were almost covered.  

Blessings,

Ronda

Slipcover Project: Done!

Yes, I am still alive and kicking! Those of you who are close to me know that we did survive our son's wedding, just over 2 weeks ago.  The newlyweds have settled in and are making the adjustments to married life.  

We are still not back to putting floors down.  We are in the planning stages of the second half of the downstairs redo.  I am excited about the things were are talking about doing in the kitchen, but we have to first decide whether we have the money to do the things we are talking about, or whether we just do the floor and leave it at that. 

In the meantime, I have been working on a sewing project.  A little backstory for those of you who just recently started following my diy adventures. We have 2 chairs that were given to us by my mother when we moved to southern Indiana 16 years ago.  These were chairs that my mom had reupholstered in the 70's.  Funny thing is that I have seen some current projects done in very similar fabrics.  If you hold on to something long enough, the style often comes back!  Here is the original chair:

 Maybe you can't really tell, but the arms were filthy and worn through:

 And the spots where the cat ripped it:

A year or so ago my DH took on the challenge of reupholstering one of the 2 chairs, with a little help from me and my sewing machine.  But he did the lion's share of this project and he did an excellent job!

But when I asked him if he would mind if I tried my hand at a slipcover, there was a huge sigh of relief!  Yes, there is more black fabric that may never get used, money down the drain (not too much as we got it on clearance), but he was definitely not sorry to give up that project. 

So, using Miss Mustard Seed's slipcover tutorials as a guideline, I proceeded with my first slipcover.  I bought 2 canvas dropcloths from Lowes, and went to work! 

 It did take me quite a few hours of work, but I am very pleased with the outcome.  It is most definitely not perfect.  I would be happy to show anyone all the flaws, but for my first try, it turned out pretty well.  I love that I can remove and launder it when it gets dirty.  Since it is in the music room, it won't get daily use, but I did find Lucy hairs on it even as I was working on it.  

Here is the back:

Pretty adorable, right??

Blessings, 

Ronda

Wedding #2

...and now the wedding is history!  Today I have felt very mentally relaxed after weeks of feeling totally consumed with thoughts of the wedding.  We had a wonderful weekend filled with lots of time with family and a little time with old friends.  The wedding came off "with a hitch" :)  We have now added a new Mrs. Rockey to the clan! 

These are far from professional pics, but here are a few shots at the wedding.  And yes, I am talking to keep from crying! I made the mistake of choosing the song "Baby Mine" for the mother/son dance.  If I had listened to it, I would have been bawling my eyes out.  

This was their first dance.  

Now, life may get back to some semblance of normal.  Then again, it may not! 

Several projects coming up in the near future, including, a kitchen modification, finishing the flooring, painting the music room curtains and making a slipcover.  Now I just need to get to work!

Blessings, 

Ronda

This Post Should Probably Be Rated PG

 Hmmm....this may be a night of many of those "random thoughts!" With the wedding on Saturday, I will be heading up to pick up my folks at the airport on Thursday, then on up to Ft. Wayne.  So for these first few days of the week, I am determined to do as little as possible! :)  Of course, some things have to be done... like cooking dinner.  So during my dinner prep tonight I realized that I was missing a key ingredient in the recipe I was concocting-- a can of enchilada sauce.  So what did I do?  Create my own, of course!  A can of tomato sauce, some onion salt, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle chili powder, and voile!  Enchilada sauce! And it was good. Great as a matter of fact!  

So here is a shot of my bookshelves since I unloaded all of my boxes again.  The top shelf is not necessarily done.  I am still looking for the perfect item for the top...I'm thinking architectural salvage in nature, a window or a gate maybe.  But...got to be the right item at the right price!  There is about half the amount of stuff on these shelves now!  

Here is a reminder of what they looked like before....

Yuck...

Ewwww....

Double ewwww......

THE DETAILS NOW.....

Among the finds that I added to the shelves was a vintage-look wire basket from Home Goods.

 Some of you may be wondering why on earth I am displaying a tackle box on my shelves!  No, I am most certainly not a fisherman, nor do I have any kind of weird fascination with fishing paraphernalia. That tackle box was my great-grandmother's sewing box! Awesome, right?!  It had been in the attic since my mother gave it to me.  When my hubby brought it down, it was fun to go through it again to see what all she had in it.  Among the expected threads, needles, snaps, and a darning egg, were a few unexpected items.  What looked like a little coin purse held the an upper plate from her dentures, made out of metal.  Wonder what kind of metal it is?  And...hmmm...what is this????  A bag full of....condoms!  What?  No, my little, tiny 80-something year old, long-widowed great-granny was not using those for what you might think.  Those of you who are accustomed to hand-sewing probably already know the answer to the riddle...she used them to pull a needle through a quilt!  Today I use a piece of balloon.

Blessings,

Ronda

Confession Time

Ok, so confession time...I spend far too much time drooling over other people's homes on their blogs! I find myself just jumping from blog to blog pouring over pictures, admiring their knack for decorating.  Really wishing that I had that same "something" that seems to be inborn in them, and also wishing that I had the knack that they seem to have for finding cool "junk" at great prices.  Since my house is getting a face lift, there are many things I want to get rid of, but feel guilty for getting rid of things on which I spent our hard-earned money.  And of course, with getting rid of things, comes wanting to replace some of them with new things!  I am trying to make do as much as possible with what I have, but I admit, some money is going to be spent on "things".  

I hadn't shown a pic of my music room bookshelves since I had reloaded them.  I am pretty happy with the "stuff" for the most part.  I left a lot of the framed pics in a box for now.  You can see my new pendant lights in this pic.  Still hoping the one on the right straightens out a bit! 

In the process of the home face lift, I seem to have developed an affinity for wire baskets :) Here is one filled with old books. 

And while the frames are new, the "things" in them are old ;) (Sorry, Mom!).  Pics of my mom and dad when they were quite young.  And to the far right is a piece of needlework made by my great-grandma. 

I am giving you a sneak preview of our Family Room bookshelves now that hubby has them completely done.  They look SOOOOO much better!  I am holding off on loading them for now, once again waiting on the paint to cure.  So, while I took pics of the whole thing, I just couldn't bring myself to post them.  

And finally, some pics of the Family Room and center hallway so that you can see more of our new floor and the rug.  

Yes, in the above pic you can see the carpet in the Dining Room off on the right.  And it will definitely stay that way at least until after the wedding! :)

Ok, so the drawer was standing open a bit.  But you can see another one of my wire baskets on the bottom!  A TJ Maxx find :)

Blessings, 

Ronda

NO JUDGING!

 What to do on a chilly Saturday in Indiana?  Well, I don't know about you, but I decided to get out the ole sewing machine and do a bit of crafting.  Please bear with me, as I've said before, my photography skills need a bit of work.  And it doesn't help that I am usually in too big of a hurry to wait for the right lighting.

I had been dreaming of making this pillow cover since before Christmas.  It is basic Osnaburg material with the printed burlap over the top.

I've started giving all of my pillows covers, instead of sewing them closed.  It takes a bit more work, but since I am so fickle quick to change my decorating style, I like leaving my options open, so to speak.

And of course, with "new" walls and new floors, and "new" woodwork, new curtains were certainly in order!

 DON'T JUDGE!  I know it looks weird with half of the window painted white and the other half still orangey wood, but when I paint on days when it is 15 degrees outside, I am certainly NOT leaving the windows open long enough for them to dry.

 Yes, Lucy thinks she is a cat and sleeps on the back of the loveseat.

Another do not judge moment-- I know, the curtains against my wallpaper border is a bit busy, but I liked the look enough that I am willing to put up with it until I decide to do away with the border.  (Don't tell DH, but that might be sooner rather than later!)

Blessings,

Ronda