619 miles

I am a fan

{Michelle Armas via Oh Joy!}

I can't believe that it is only the second week of school and I already feel bogged down and behind! I'm working a bunch still, so that does not help matters. September should be a little easier as I venture off to warmer (though hurricane prone) climates to catch up on sun, sleep, and homework.

Lack of time is also having an impact on my blog reading, however these recent posts definately caught my eye. 

I am a fan of

• this swoon worthy quilt block by Eileen Josephine
• the way Lisa Occhipinti re-purposes books. This has been floating around the blogs for a while, but if you check it out on SF Girl by Bay, there is a fun free pdf tutorial download.
• Michelle Armas' art, featured on Oh Joy!
• scrapbook pages that look like art, by Kelly Purkey (and these too).
• this rug. I'd like that color scheme for a living room I think.

Life is a bunch of craziness right now and I'm not the most patient gal in the world, so I'm trying each day to remember this.

What are you a fan of these days? Anything around the web catching your eye?

 

pinterest project - washi tape magnets

Tonight (and by tonight I really mean last night, since I'm not posting this till morning) I was planning on working on a refashion project I've been meaning to do. However, I forgot that my desk was currently covered in paper and stamps and stickers and washi tape. lots of washi tape. I've built quite the collection. I'm kinda addicted to it, I must admit.

So instead of sewing I sat down to straighten things up. I'm leaving it all out to finish up the week in the life album once it gets here. As I started straightening I went back to the original plan I wanted to use to make the album and decided that I would use the concept that I talked about previously, and make a fun art journal. After I put together the main part of the journal I decided to switch gears and whip up some washi tape magnets.

I saw this blog post earlier this week and thought it looked super cute. I did what I always do when I see a nifty DIY that I want to accomplish, I pinned it!

I made a trip to JoAnn's today and picked up two widths of magnet tape specifically for this project. It was really easy and fun to do. I can see myself making A LOT more of these. I love how they look on my fridge!!

vintage table + modern fabric

About a week and a half ago Kerry shared a cool video about Jay McCarroll's new fabric line with me and I passed that along here on our blog.  Kerry hinted at a fun project with the new fabric and I was excited to get an email from her this week sharing the super cool project.

This project came about  because I needed a night stand for my guest bedroom.  I looked around at all the thrift stores and flea markets and didn't really find anything I liked that would fit the space.  Until I came across this way cool vintage record stand.  It fit the space and had a lot of character but the top was only a rack it wasn't a solid surface so I had to find a solution.  I looked online for trays and found some cool ones that were way out of my price range or didn't fit the space.  Then I found a simple tutorial on Martha Stewart.com on how to make a simple baking tray into a refined decorative tray.  However, I really didn't have cool fabric for the tray until I came across Jay McCarroll's fabric. I bought some online and went to work.  Now I have a cute fun little night stand for my guests to enjoy.  And if I ever move or change the decor it's an inexpensive project which I can change to suit my needs.   --Kerry

{photos by Kerry}

I love how the table turned out and how lucky that the cookie sheet fit perfectly. I bet Kerry used the other sheets to bake some gormet cookies (she's quite the baker!).

pimp your sewing machine

OK.... so... does anyone else remember the show Pimp My Ride? Yesterday I read a post with a similar title at Meet Me at Mikes, however the post was not about decking out your car, it was about making your sewing machine look super cute!

The original post is from dee*construction. You MUST head over there and check how how she did this:

{image via dee*construction}

She also suggests that you not only pimp your "patcher" but why not your laptop, washer, front door... or maybe even your fridge (my idea.. because I have an ugly yellowy-beige fridge...I wonder if Andrea would go for it).

3yr dresser - recap

Back in March I was super pumped about this $12 dresser. I worked on it over a 2 month period and I was moderatly happy with how it turned out.

Here is a look at the before and after:

I stuck to the original plan when it came to the paint scheme:

• paint the shell and top of the dresser with Martha Stewart's Picket Fence
• paint the drawers with Martha's Whetstone Gray
• paint the handles with Martha's Precious Metals: Tide Pool
• silver buff on brass parts of feet and handles

The metallic paint wasn't the easiest to paint with. I used a brush and it was a bit streaky, so several coats were necessary. I liked the choices of white and how they looked together and I also liked the blue mixed in, but I wasn't a fan of the vertical stripes. I knew after I finished it that I would want to re-do the blue part. I was thinking of switching to a navy or a peacock blue and doing some smaller horizontal stripes or just something different. All of this brainstorming became a moot point when I could not get over the musty smell in the drawers. I tried all kinds of things to get rid of it, but nothing helped. As it turns out the bedroom did have some moisture problems that were making it impossible to get the dresser fully aired out, thus impossible to get rid of the musty smell. My solution: sell it. Yep, I sold the dresser that I was so excited to get for $12. I ended up selling it for $100 and I am back to square one in the dresser perfect dresser hunt.

Here's the cost breakdown:

• 2 gallons Martha Stewart paint ($50), used maybe 1/10 of each $10
• 1 quart metallic paint ($15), used 1/10 $2
• silver buff $5
• ridiculous amounts of time painting & trying to get rid of musty smell
• dresser $12

TOTAL $29

It was a fun project to work on and I was a little sad to sell it, but I think the new owner will enjoy it. I'm on to searching again.... or should I just cave (like Kerry suggested) and get this Room and Board dresser that I really want?!?! I have a serious case of champagne tastes on a beer budget!

bathroom before & after

Not too long ago Andrea decided that a quick weekend bathroom remodeling was in order. In the almost 3 years that I have lived here I have helped her tackle quite a few updates to her bathroom upstairs. This one ranks as probably the easiest and one with the most "wow" factor. I did worry, as did her fiance, that we may be jinxed as she proclaimed to her man, "I've never installed a sink before, but how hard can it be?!?" Turns out that as long as your granite countertop isn't broken in three places it's not hard at all!

Take a peek at what was accomplished in just one day (minus the return trip to Lowe's):

Here is the cost breakdown:

• sink and granite counter-top (Lowe's): $178
• faucet (Home Depot): $68
• plumbers putty & tape: $2.10
• flexible hoses to replace old non-flexible ones: $10
• granite matching side splash (not seen in photo): $20
• adhesive caulk & clear caulk for seams: $8

GRAND TOTAL: $286.10

Removing the old vanity was super easy.First disconnect the faucet from the plumbing underneath. Be sure to have a bucket and a couple towels nearby for catching water that is bound to come out of the pipes/hoses once you disconnect. Next you'll want to cut along the edges of the caulk with a razor. If there is a thick layer of caulk this may take several cuts. After cutting through the caulk you should be able to lift the sink right out. This one was not secured by any adhesive to the vanity (as installation of the new one directed) however, yours may be secured by screws or adhesive. The key here is just to be careful as you are lifting up to ensure minimal damage to vanity.

We followed the directions that came with the sink and had the thing in place in less that 5 minutes. The faucet took a little more time, but if you follow the included directions step by step and go slow, it comes together fairly easily. Andrea may be able to add any tips since she installed the sink all herself!

I think it turned out absolutely fantastic. It looks so fresh and updated. Bye Bye outdated shell! Hello modern granite!

happy 4th of July

{via Jenny Downey-Collier on pinterest}

{via i am baker}

{via eighteen 25}

{via Jenny Downey-Collier on pinterest}

{via eighteen 25}

saturday sewing and spray painting

After finally getting motivated to start my day Saturday I think I got quite a bit accomplished. I hit up several yard sales, but it was late in the game so I didn't get much. I picked up a woven storage chest and a side table (for Andrea) for $10! I stopped by Home Depot and grabbed some white & teal spray paint for the chest and headed home. I thought I might get to the project after getting back from my work trip, but I deceided what the heck, and I just jumped right in.

Here is the chest before. Nothing too special, but it was in decent shape and had storage, which is great when you live in a small space!

Here is the chest after a couple coats of white spray paint. I couldn't decide between the white and teal, but I thought it would be safe to go with white first and then easier to cover if I decided to switch to the teal. I think it may need a couple more coats, especially on the inside of the lid, but I ran out of paint. It looks pretty good against the blue walls in my bedroom.

In between coats of the spray paint I started on another "Pinterest project" that I will post tomorrow. It was SUPER easy and it has created a flurry of other ideas! After that project I decided it was time to finally sew the curtains for my kitchen. I bought the fabric at least a year ago and I don't know what took me so long, it came together super quick. Super quick after I had to take out my seams 3 times! Note to self: when sewing curtains with a pocket for a rod, sew that part LAST!!!

Here are my cute kitchen curtains:

I wasn't the only one at the sewing machine yesterday. Kerry decided that instead of taking her clothes to the goodwill, she would re-purpose them into some fashionable hand bags! Taking her inspiration from Made By Hank (who makes some ridiculously awesome bags and pouches), Kerry came up with some really cute items from clothes that were headed to the donate pile!

Here is Kerry's version of upcycling. She turned these items:

into this:

How cute is that?!?!? I mean really... I think she did an amazing job! Here are some more clothes destined for the Goodwill racks:

turned into this:

I love how that sheer patterned fabric looks when it's ruffled up. This might be my favorite one of the bunch! And even though chevron patterns have been popping up on everything lately, I still can't get enough of it. Here is Kerry's take on a cute cheveron, with a pop of color on the inside of the pouch:

I love a productive Saturday, especially when such cute things get made! Awesome job Kerry :)

light it up!

Today I have another awesome DIY by Kerry to share with you! A while back she sent an email with a bunch of photos of lamps she was looking at for her bedside tables. The favorite of the bunch was this Jonathan Adler Capri bottle lamp.

Only problem was the price. At $225 a pop having two was going to be a little cost prohibitive. She mentioned the idea of getting some glass lamps and painting the inside of them using this Martha Stewart tutorial:

I went on a search for her and sent her the link to some JCPenny lamps, and of course, since great minds think alike, it turns out that she had already purchased those exact lamps. With free shipping to the store, plus an online coupon, she saved about $390 by getting those instead of the Jonathan Adler lamps.

Here is how she made her lamps.

Step 1: buy a pair of inexpensive clear glass lamps 

Step 2: take apart the lamps

Step 3: use the Martha Stewart tutorial and some craft paint in the color of your choice to paint the inside of the lamps

Step 4: reassemble, add a shade, and admire your super awesome lamps and be pumped at the hundreds of dollars you just saved :)

{all photos taken by Kerry}

Aren't they awesome?!?!? Kerry ROCKS! 

Pinterest project

I've said it numerous times, but I'll say it again: I love Pinterest! Yes, sometimes I get sucked in and waste too much time browsing. Yes, sometimes a lot of the same things are pinned over and over again. However.... I still love it and I love the ease of pinning things I want to try or things that just inspire me. I read on another blog (sorry I can't remember which one) that looking at your boards is a really great way to get an overall sense of your style. I did it with my "For the Home" board, and I can totally see the colors that I am drawn to over and over again.

I also love pinning DIY ideas. To date I have pinned 134 projects that I would like to try.. YIKES... that is a lot of projects. In order to get myself motivated to actually implement these DIY projects, I'm starting a new feature here on this blog called "Pinterest project". Not the most creative title, but it gets the idea across. In this feature post, I'll show you the pin and how I accomplished my DIY based on that pin! 

Are you ready for the inaugural "pinterest project"?!?!? Of course you are!

Here is the pin that inspired today's project

I re-pinned this from Rachel Denbow (author of the awesome blog Smile & Wave) about 5 days ago. Sometimes I pin something and I have no idea when I'll tackle the project, but with this one I knew I had the supplies on hand already and I wanted to do it this weekend.

Here are the before & after photos:

I am PUMPED about how it turned out. Makes me smile seeing it! I touched up the brown treads too (after I took the photo though), so everything looks so nice and fresh. I may try to get a better shot of the steps tomorrow when the light is brighter, but I just couldn't wait to share this one!

If you'd like to cheer up your stair risers here is how I DIY-ed this one for a cost of zero dollars:

1. vacuum and clean stairs
2. tape stair tread next to risers
3. apply two coats of primer (let dry between coats)
4. pick out your colors (or gather a bunch of leftover paints you have on hand)
5. put the number of paint colors you have into an random integer generator to get a random order for the colors
6. paint two coats of the color on the risers (let dry between coats)
7. remove tape
8. paint treads and keep off the stairs 

The brown paint is a porch & floor paint and the colors are leftover paints that have been used around the house. If you need to use the stairs while you paint, just paint every other tread and walk on the unpainted ones... let dry and then paint the other treads. I'd love to see if you tackle this one! Happy painting and Happy pinning.

 

UPDATE (27JUNE2011) I linked up with other pinterest inspired projects here: