Cheater curtains

So…on the list of “Must-Go’s” from the Living room was the curtains.

I still L-O-ve these drapes in the dining room, but in our newly evolving living room they did not meet the criteria I set forth here… 

I have a gorgeous fabric picked out that’s has almost a burlap look with a postage stamp print on it. The whole family even approves of the L-O-ve-ly idea! However, at $15/yard it’s not on the “You Can Buy Me Now” list just yet.

 We’ve had bare windows in the living room since just after the New Year when I stripped down the old with the holiday decor. It’s COLD and BARE!

So, on Saturday morning I decided to get random. I L-O-ve random! I had many yards of this white taffeta backdrop left over from the wedding…





I decided FREE CH-eat-er curtains were better than none at all. Now if you are a true seamstress…navigate away NOW…




For all sewing I like to set up my 5’ plastic folding table for laying out my fabric. I started with a folded straight edge at one end.

In this case my width was appropriate, so I took advantage of the manufacture bound edges and laid out on the table the length of fabric.


Then in the spirit of BIG TIME CH-EAT-er sewing…












I drew a little pencil line on each leg of the table. Then I was able to take my FAV-or-ite cheater tools (pinking shears) and cut that fabric off to just the right length.








I did have to fold over my edges and use the machine to stitch up a large hem or rod pocket at the top – but that’s it. The only actual sewing to these CH-eat-er’s…



A simple fold of burlap as a tie back…

And…

What’s Not To L-O-ve??

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Living-room Large

In our slow transition from two economy style apartments to “proud owner’s home” made-over with love, style and simplicity, our living room is evolving into a style of it’s own. This is unusual for me because I always have a vision and a plan!

This room must…

-Reflect our family’s style

-Be cohesive with the style and feel of the rest of the house

-Be functional. Which for us means …

- A place that we walk-through often

- A place where we can watch TV, read, and relax

- A place where we occasionally entertain visitors

- A place where we can exercise (INSANITY!)

- A place where we can make music and dance

- A place that is mostly dog-on-couch friendly

-Be something I enjoy looking at too!!

Whenever I approach ANY room (for myself or for others) the first and most important step is to identify the “Must haves,” “Must go’s,” and “Maybes”

While I sort those out…I’ll show you one thing that Must-Go from the Living room

 

 

My camera within cowboy’s reach…

 

 

While I sit and ponder my Living Room….think about how your Living Room reflects your family --- are you really LIVING in it???

New thoughts on an old holiday

I’ve always thought of Valentine’s Day as a holiday for romance. I L-O-ve ROMANCE…just ask my cowboy.

My time spent as a florist re-enforced that thought as I witnessed men desperately trying to impress. I wish I had a picture of me trying to deliver the biggest bouquet – It was just over 4’ tall!!!

This year I saw beyond the roses and romance…

I saw this holiday as a celebration of L-O-ve!!!

What a fun holiday it was because of that change…don’t get me wrong…there was ROMANCE…

That’s off limits to this blog, but it included a beautiful serenade…

More than romance though…a celebration of the love that fills our home ensued in so many small ways…

Leaving each other little messages…

Sending and receiving hugs by mail…

Fun surprises for the young…

And for the not so young…

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Hugs and happy faces in place of the usual wrestling…

Starting a new family tradition…

Pretty Pennant for a Pretty Girl

I’ve seen pennants used for weddings, picnics, and other festivities…

When I took a trip to Atlanta’s Gift Mart for the Home and Garden show in January…I saw lots of cute ones like these…

 

 

But…although adorable at $2.95/letter multiplied by 5 kids --maybe not….

 

 

 

But…I L-O-ve the banner thing so inspiration + work =

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Here’s the SUPER SIMPLE and almost NO SEW How-To:

First let me say that the pink striped towel is not necessary  (NOTE TO SELF: Pick up a towel that will photograph well.)

Make a 6” square pattern out of card stock. Trace the square pattern onto folded material with one edge of the square being the fold. Cut along the three outlined sides with pinking shears. (My FAV-orite!) Do NOT cut the folded edge.

Of course cut as many of these as you have letters…

Oh yes…letters….I printed letters on card stock and traced them on to this cool sticky back felt that I bought in a package of different colors.

Peel the backing off the letters and place on each square…

Yours should be looking something like this (Again…the pink striped towel is optional and the zebra print is a must-have only for 14-year old girls as sassy as this one)

  After giving thanks for such a wonderful pure-hearted girl as Hailey…I opened up each of the blocks and laid out the ribbon for hanging the blocks. I’m a true good-ol’-girl -can’t resist polka dots!

I used my friend “Stitch-Witch” to iron the blocks to the ribbon…  Since the scheme was black and white I wanted to add a pop of color so I stitched on (almost no-sew) felt buttons…

Perhaps I should reward myself with a manicure… With all my love…

Bet it will look cuter in her room…

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Bathroom Makeover in a Day

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Our family bathroom has been in need of some updating…
OK…that’s not true. The whole thing needs gutted and remodeled!With our never-ending remodeling goals of creating a house-like home out of 2 apartments put together, the budge for such is not a possibility. So I decided the first steps were to paint the dark brown ugly wood cabinets black to add sophistication and a contemporary feel. With very dirty hands (covered in primer and black paint) I found that I was WRONG! See…I’ll prove it…

I had to do something, so I decided to try a “white-out affect.” Now the major dilemma with this is behind the toilet and sink is laminate paneling discolored by wear and tear. I decided to be very brave and prime the laminate and see what happened.
For the record…handsome cowboy was at work while I was conducting these experiments…

It worked!! Now this bathroom is very short on storage space and that’s putting it lightly. I knew that I couldn’t put the tall cabinet back in the corner unless I painted it white and I didn’t want to paint it white. Plus there were a few elements that I L-O-ve and wanted to keep.

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I had lots of time to think while my hands were dirty (this time in white paint)…
I remembered that I had these stashed in the back bedroom that’s not finished….evidence once again that this blog is real…and a little embarrassing at times like these.
I added these to the white-out brigade…
I remembered seeing huge mirrors for just $14.99 at the Man Store, so while the last coat dried I ran to town. Well…drove.
Taking down the tiny medicine cabinet/mirror and replacing it with this huge bargain brightened it up, but presented a new problem…where to keep the toothbrushes -- (real life!)

How could one not be in L-O-ve with this!!!



Remember these????
Read more about that infamous flea market!


So in a day and for under $30 I can live with our bathroom and actually L-O-ve and appreciate its beauty!!
A few tips…
- Moving the towel rack from the opposite wall and tucking it under the cabinet made the bathroom feel more spacious but allowed me to keep out one of my favorite things.
- I primed and painted all of the wooden towel fixtures except the hand towel ring to save money.
- I “splurged” on handles for the cabinets so that grimy fingers won’t be a problem
- A little fresh green plant brings in a luxury feel without taking up much valuable space.
- To cut down on storage on the bookshelves I organized rarely used items such as medicines and seasonal items like sunscreen into clear storage containers. These are easily stored under the sink now that they are contained.
And don’t stop dreaming…I hope to add a sconce to the wall that I painted “Dusty Trail” (L-O-ve it!) That would give me a little more light and really polish off the more contemporary, luxurious feel of a $30 bathroom…


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