Weekend Winning!

Well, I didn't get as much done around the house as I wanted to this weekend.

 

But the time was well spent!

 

Saturday we spent all day in the basement trying to make something out of that giant disaster.

 

A few months ago...

My brothers started finishing the basement for me. 

 Vinyl snap and lock floors.

 Drop ceiling.

And a laundry room with a half bath.

 

We had just gotten the whole space painted when...

 

Everything had to be moved in, in a hurry!

 

None of it was properly sorted or packed.

I can't even show you the other half of the space... it's too embarrassing.

 

FOR MONTHS

 

Work had ceased in the basement

and,

me and my girlies were digging through boxes to find whatever we needed and leaving a bigger mess behind.

 

It took a few days of hard work and frustration...

 

 It obviously needs to be swept and mopped, but I'd say it was a success!

To the right of this pic is mommy's scrapbook corner.

That is taking me a lot longer to organize...

 

At least now I can figure that out while the kids are occupied and within earshot.

 

Sunday = School clothes shopping!

 

 

 

Feeling Sluggish

We have been spending the last couple of weeks trying to get back into school time mode.

 

Not so easy for me and my oldest...

 

We don't like the morning!

 

Re-adjusting our sleep schedule has proved more difficult for me than her though.

 

I am just not able to fall asleep at night.

 

Two more weeks to fix it.

 

In the meantime I spend my days in a sleepy fog.

 

I think yesterday was the first time in weeks that I actually accomplished ANYTHING around the house.

 

One of the biggest reasons I bought this house was because of the

large, clean, dry basement.

 

Perfect for a playroom.

 

The big plan was for me to use the space during the day when I babysit the nephews and keep all the toy clutter out of my living room.

 

My brothers started finishing it for me as soon as we closed.

 

Unfortunately, we ran out of time and I had to move all of my stuff in a hurry, before the room was finished.

 

So I have an *almost* finished basement piled high with boxes and toys.

 

Toys that I allowed my kids to get out and play with even though I knew there wasn't going to be any way to clean up the mess afterward.

 

It's not pretty down there...

 

but,

 

It will be!

 

This week I am getting it done.

 

Next week I will post photos and show off all the awesome features I made my brothers add for me.

 

 

 

 



Bathroom: Part 3

Well, I painted the wainscot. I used a can from my sisters house called "Restful White".

 

AKA

 

Really light yellow!

 

I had planned to use purple and gray in there, same as my bedroom, but much lighter.

 

Looked like I was using yellow and gray instead.

I actually like it better.

 

I found a really cute set of coordinating fabric on
etsy @ hootcouture.

 

 

The wall behind the sink is 8 ft. tall, 4 ft. wide, and the only flat wall.

 

I had to put something on it.

 

This mirror is one I originally bought to go above my bed.

I didn't really like it there, but though it was a good size for the bathroom.

 

By some miracle, two months later, I was able to find picture frames that matched the mirror.

 

I cut up some of my super cute fabric and put it in the frames.

 

Added a couple of shelves to store my girly stuff.

 

 

 Loving it.

 

 

 



Back in the Bathroom: Vanity Re-Do

I found a solution for this space here.

 

Best news ever?

It didn't cost me a dime!

 

I remembered a vanity that I had in my room as a child and called Mom to see if she still had it hanging around.

 

She found it...

In rough shape.

 And dirty.

 I can fix it.

 Found some spray paint in the basement. Pulled out 500 left over staples.

 I had a gray sheer panel left from this project. Cut it up, ran it under the ruffle foot on my sewing machine.

 Used ribbon and Mod Podge to cover the exposed staple holes.

Fits perfectly in the space

and

looks great!

 

Next step?

Decorate & Accessorize!

 



My UGLY Bathroom

I have a little half bath in the eaves off my bedroom.

It is tiny, awkward and ugly!

I wish I had taken a picture when I first bought the house. Every surface was covered in hideous, striped, floral wallpaper. Something like this: 

but smaller... and darker.

 

Taking it down was a pain and the walls were in rough shape.

I had my brothers add beadboard with rail and my sisters helped me put up a textured, paintable wallpaper to hide the imperfections in the plaster.

 

Better...

 

It is my birthday this week and I have decided I need a prettier, more functional bathroom.

 

First, get rid of that sink!

 

Easier said than done. The plumbing was ancient and had to be replaced and there were no water shut offs. We had to shut it off for the entire house. Not a problem for a 30 minute switch out a sink project... Unless you get everything back together and turn the water on and discover a flood in the downstairs bathroom and the leak is below the floor...

 

Daddy fixed it.

Yeah!

 

Now there is the space on the opposite wall that has to be dealt with.

 



 

To do:

paint beadboard

touch up wall paint

figure out storage and décor.

 



DIY House Numbers

Even though it has gotten chilly again, I still wanted to do my other outside DIY this week.

 

Here is what I had on my front porch.

Beside it being really, really UGLY, the mailbox is too high for me to reach into.

I'm kinda short.

 

I went to the craft store and picked up some wooden numbers and 5X7 blocks.

You will also need pretty paper, craft paint, foam brushes and outdoor Mod Podge.

 

<After this pic I remembered that I still had spray paint left from my flower pots so I used that instead to make it match>

 

First you are going to want to paint your base blocks and numbers. I did three coats.

 

 

Cut your paper to fit your blocks. Using your outdoor Mod Podge, coat the face of your block and center the paper. Add another coat on top.

 

Let it dry completely, do it again... and again.

 

I stuck my numbers on while the final coat was still wet.

 

After it dries completely, add a few finishing nails. If your numbers will be exposed to weather, you should add a few coats of clear acrylic spray for extra water proofing.

 

Add your choice of hanging hardware to the back.

 

I used a piece of trim across the back and attached that to the house.

 

And I got rid of the golden stallion mailbox!

 

The old mailbox seems to have rubbed some of the paint off the siding and I have to fill the old holes and re-paint those. I am also going to paint the wooden trim piece and screws to match the house.

 

Thanks Daddy for helping with the drill! 



DIY Bag Storage/Holder

 DIY

Storage container for reusable shopping bags.

 

I have been looking for a nice, easily accessible way to store my bags since we got little Sophie.

Now that I have to use them for poo pick-up, a bag of bags under the kitchen sink just isn't convenient.

I looked around on pinterest for a cool DIY idea and found lots of great patterns for fabric ones.

I didn't want something floppy or lumpy looking

 Supplies:

Glue gun

Scissors

Tape

Mod Podge

Foam brush

Fabric

2 tall canisters- I used formula ones, oatmeal would work too

 

 

Start by cutting the bottoms off your canisters.

 

Tape the two raw edges of the canisters together.

 

Brush Mod Podge onto the canister and begin wrapping fabric around, smoothing as you go. I started at the finished edge, but left it loose to cover the cut end. Also, leave about an inch of fabric on

each end to be folded inward.

 

Tuck raw fabric edge under the finished edge. Mod Podge the underside finished edge of the fabric and smooth it down. Paint over the outside edge with the Mod Podge.

 

While that dries, plug in your glue gun and get to work on you canister lid.

 

Your hole should be large enough to pull bags out without ripping

them, but not so big that the bags fall out on their own. 

 

Fold and hot glue fabric inside canister.

Run a bead of hot glue around the inside of the lid and push it on.

 

 

I also put more glue around the outside of the lid.

 

Now just attach a piece of ribbon to the open end for hanging.

 

DONE