A New Normal

 Welcome to my new normal....

At least for the next couple of months that is.  The kitchen renovation has officially begun!  One wall in the kitchen is going to completely disappear and one set of upper and lower cabinets will be reconfigured.  

 In the mean time, all the "stuff" that was in the cabinets has had to go elsewhere and the things on the countertop had to be moved to other countertops.  Didn't have much space in the kitchen to begin with, but now, despite the hole in the corner, it feels like the walls are closing in! 

And for those of you who told me I would get tired of a dark color-- I confess, I am ready for the red to be gone! Even though it has only been on there for a few years (3?), it is going to go away.  Unfortunately, the blue countertops will not be going away quite yet.  Those will have to wait until we can save up the funds. 

Hoping the next investment will be a new range :) Once again, when funds come available.  Stainless steel, smooth top! 

There are a few other projects on my radar alongside this one.  Hopefully I will take the time to blog about them!

Blessings,

Ronda

Progress

So, it's been more than 2 weeks since I posted anything.  I must not be cut out for the blogging world, afterall :(

I guess my problem is in always wanting to have pictures to show you.  And I prefer to show a finished project.  I actually had some pics of the craft room a week ago, but never quite got around to putting them on the ol' blog.  

Now I'm actually glad that I didn't as hubby and I spent some time cleaning up the room yesterday and now it looks MUCH better!  :)

So, the walls are all painted, the shelves are back up and I have actually put a few books on the shelves on the right of this pic. (Please ignore the UGLY green couchy-thingy-- it will go bye-bye as soon as I can find something to replace it!)

 This wasn't really the order I wanted these pics, but it is what it is-- I haven't had much luck moving them once I load them.  This next pic shows that we have big stuff in store for this end of the room!  The 2 closet doors used to be the same, but hubby cut out that wall so there will be open shelving there, also.  I had thought we would cut out the entire wall, which is why I didn't paint it, but obviously, it didn't work quite like that.  So, the remainder of that wall will be painted pale yellow, too.  

This will be my sewing corner.  I LOVE THAT! Being able to say I have an actual sewing corner! My sewing machine will sit on the desk (I will make a dust cover for it at some point), all my sewing supplies in baskets and jars on the shelves around me. *sigh of contentment*

The little window seat area will most likely hold a tv so that hubby and I can watch while I craft. The other desk area would be great for all of my scrapbooking stuff, or wrapping paper and ribbon, or a hundred other ideas that I have.  

Sorry this next pic is so bad.  I just wanted you to see that I even made up the bed so that it would not only look better, but it's also ready for company.  These are not the colors that I have chosen, but it works for now! The quilt on the bed I originally made for our guest room.  The embroidered pillowcase is courtesy of my MIL. It actually belongs to my daughter.  The bear I made out of an antique quilt that was full of holes.  

With the lovely warm weather we had earlier in the week, I took the opportunity to paint the window panes that I hadn't done yet.  

Thanks for sticking with me, even when I seem to check out for long periods of time!  I've got a ton of potential projects lined up for summer!

Blessings,

Ronda

Mourning

I had myself all worked up for a nice rant this evening.  Ok, maybe not a RANT...but I had myself worked up to a topic that has been on my mind.  But my thoughts seem very selfish and unimportant in light of events of the last week.  

Despite the inadequate news coverage, I have been trying to follow the Gosnell trial.  It is such a horrific thing to read about that I can only take it in small amounts before I have to turn my attention elsewhere.  What kind of society do we live in if we are so jaded that events such as these are looked on as not newsworthy?   

And then a few days ago the devastating news of the bombing at the Boston Marathon.  And I wonder, along with every decent person, "who would do something so horrendous?"  I am thankful that I live in a nation where things like this are NOT an every day occurrence because I know that there are places where violence like this is the norm.  I find myself repeatedly thinking, "Come soon, Jesus!"

And right here in our own small community, a young girl, for a reason no one is sure of, took her own life last weekend.  The whole community is in mourning, her family wracked with grief, her boyfriend devastated.  What do you do to help a family deal with this kind of loss? The church, the school, the community are all rallying around the family, just wanting to be there for them, so offer support, help, a shoulder to cry on, food to eat, a listening ear.  And yet, it is still an extremely private grief that they will have to wade through on their own.  One can only hope that they will seek out God and His peace, because we know that is the only way to make sense of any of these tragedies.  

The funeral is tomorrow.  Jeff is doing the funeral.  If you are not already praying, please pray with me for this family.  That if they do not already know the healing power of Christ, that through the loving hands helping them, that they can come to know Him and know His peace.  

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  Revelation 21:3-5

Blessings, 

Ronda

Baby Steps

1 coat of Zinsser primer, 2 coats of clean white semi-gloss on doors, trim, baseboards, windows, 3 (!!!) coats of semi gloss on the wall and the cabinets and bookshelves!  Thankfully, the most time consuming part is done.  The walls will be a cinch after all this! 

What do you think?  Can I turn this into my own version of this?

Or, even better, THIS?

Step by teeny, tiny step! 

Blessings,

Ronda

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