My New Craft Room! Part 2

Yesterday I shared with you the beginnings of my new craft room. You can let your breath out now, 'cause I know you've been holding it until you could see the finished product. Or not.

Let me finish the story. I left you with my guys holding my hands and making me close my eyes. They led me to the guest room and then told me to open my eyes. Trust me when I say I screamed like they do on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. And of course I cried. I loved it.

I looooooooooove the color. It looks different in almost every one of these pictures. It is the prettiest blue and I am in love with it (Thank you, Tonya!). But not more than I'm in love with my hard working men who worked ALL weekend to pull it off. For the longest time afterward, Kiddo would ask me every once in a while, "Do you really like it Mom?" And would ask me about specific areas that he had worked on..."What do you think about the baseboards, Mom?" No, they're not perfect but I wouldn't change a thing because my precious son did them.

Now, don't be expecting a Martha Stewart room. This room suits me just fine without being magazine worthy. And the pictures don't do it justice. So, without further ado...

My craft room! And...a dog tail. What can I say...everywhere I go I have a "helper"...

If he really wanted to help he'd get the vacuum out. Slacker.

You'd think I'd have cleaned up the room a little before inviting the world to see it. Nope. 'Cause that's how I roll. And because I was too tired to clean anything when I was taking these pics. Anyway, the above picture shows my craft table area. On the wall to the left my husband hung a rack so I can hang the things that seem to walk away (or get lost on the table) like my scissors, glue sticks, wire and wire cutters, and my awesome $40 pinking shears I got for $8 with a JoAnn's coupon.

And see that sign in the back? The "Tassel It" sign? A couple years ago The Nester decided she was pretty much done with tasseling and sold me most of her stash of fringe, toppers, ribbon, etc, etc. I was THRILLED to get it all...and in one of the boxes that came was that cute little sign.

Um...I really should dust more in there. Actually, I think that may be stray hot glue strands.... Anyway, Kiddo decided that it needed to go above the craft table. It reminds me to stay at it even when I'm discouraged. I love that kid.

Just to the left of the table is my ribbon dresser. Four drawers filled with nothing but ribbon. It's one of my happy places in that room. It looks a mess, but it's really organized. Each drawer has it's own color or combination of colors. Top, blacks, whites, browns; second, reds, pinks; third, blues, greens; and bottom, yellows, golds, and twine/string.

Just left of the dresser is my stash of fringe. This is another of my happy places. Oh, what pretty fringe I have in here! Some I had bought on my own, some was from the Nester stash, and ALL of it makes me smile. These are also in drawers according to color.You can see that on top of the fringe drawers I have a mishmash of stuff I use for decorating. The painted twigs I've used for Christmas parties (I love how those came about!), my Life to the Full plates (on sale now for 50% off! Woot!), and a few other little things that I'm just holding there because I know I'll need them later.

To the left of the drawers is my tassel grid. It's not very full right now but you can see how great this will be when Christmastime is here and I'm working my fingers to the bone (or burn, as it were. Heh). This is so much better than the set up we had before (If you click here you can see it in the first picture of the post).

Moving further left past the door, you can see my HUGE stash of toppers. More about that tomorrow (or maybe Monday). Please excuse the blurry picture, giant bear in the middle (he's a leftover from Christmas) and the very dusty, very old Singer sewing machine (I have no idea why that's sitting there).

And moving left past the closet, the bay window with my Mimmie's chair in it. And a giant snow-leopard-that-I-drew-and-pretend-it's-a-tiger. And some birds. Oh, those birds.

That Kimba. She started it. And they multiplied. But now they are manageable and will find new homes come Christmas. Right now the ones who are left are keeping my sewing machine company. Its table is still in the mud room waiting to be dug out. Poor baby.

So, there you have it. My own creative space. Thanks for sharing my joy.

Next post, I'll share about that huge stash of toppers. And give you a sneak peek at something I've been hinting about for a while. Stay tuned!

My New Craft Room! Part One

I have been taking forever to tell you about my "new" craft room. It's new to y'all, but it's been finished since the first weekend in April. And it was a surprise.

Let me give you a little bit of background for this room. It was our guest room for as long as we've been in the house...15 years. Here's a memory that I will treasure from this room:

This is Kiddo reading to our brand new puppy Jonathan in 2008. He was in this room because he and Sound Man were still working on his loft bed. He was afraid Jonathan would get lonely without his brother and also wanted to make sure he got to know his voice. You can see in J's crate he's curled up asleep...I think Kiddo had a perfect idea.

Now who's curled up asleep? : )

We've had several guests in this room, but the one person who spent the most time here was Momma. This was her room no matter when she came up here. When I was on bed rest for three months (pregnant with Kiddo), she would come and stay for days at a time to wash clothes and clean the house. Then, after she got sick the first time, she stayed with me so I could take her for her radiation treatments. And as her days came to a close, she was here with me. As I remember the good memories, the bad ones come as well. This was the room Momma left earth to meet Jesus face to face.

It was time for a change.

So, Sound Man and I started talking about moving out all the junk that somehow had accumulated over the few months since Momma's death. But we never really acted on it. It was a little overwhelming for me to think about.

After I saw a post by Tonya at Love of Family & Home, I fell in love with a blue color she had used as an accent color in her kitchen. I commented about how much I loved it and she sent me a paint chip in the mail since it was from a smaller home-improvement store and wasn't sure I'd be able to find the right color. When I got it I couldn't wait to get working on some stuff (which still hasn't happened...at least not finished products), but retreat was looming and all my thoughts were focused on that.

My husband had casually asked me what color I wanted to paint the guest room, and I said I would love to see it painted that gorgeous blue. I wasn't sure what he was up to, but I made sure he knew where the paint chip was before I left for the weekend.

When I got home on Sunday, my men stopped me in the hallway and made me close my eyes, then took me by the hand...

And I'll show you what they showed me tomorrow! ; )

But first, here's some "before" and "during" pictures that Sound Man took with his phone since I had the camera at retreat! : )

When we moved in 15 years ago, I LOVED this wallpaper. Not so much now. See that rectangle on the wall? We live in a high tech house, let me tell you! intercom system/radio throughout the house! Oh yeah, baby! Trust me, this was the height of home technology in the 60's! And the system still works! We love blasting KLove throughout the house!Since the wallpaper was still in great condition and didn't have any noticeable seams in it, he just painted right on top of it. We had already talked about this and I for sure wasn't going to peel all that wallpaper off!Kiddo working on the room. He was so precious when I came home, but I'll tell you about that tomorrow.I love my bay window!
Sound man built a grid with the same stuff I had my tassels hanging from originally.
A view from the door. That window lets in so much light! That chair was my Mimmie's and is still in there because I don't know where to put it. It's holding more stuff that I don't know where to put. Heh.

Tomorrow I'll share my new room with you.

See the rest of the story...
My Craft Room, Part 2!
My Craft Room, Part 3!

My Dining Room Set Needs Help {and a Giveaway!}

Here is a sad picture of my dining set. Well, it's sort of a picture of my dining set. Sound Man actually took it without me knowing while I was tasseling one night before a craft fair. I look less than beautiful, therefore I have been cropped out. I believe in being transparent, but come on. You really don't want me to be THAT transparent.

Back to the problem at hand. My dining set is old. I have no idea how old, because I don't know when my grandparents bought it. It's the only set I ever knew them to have. Well, that and their awesome blue formica table set that I wish we had kept. I don't know...someone in our family may have it. I hope so. They are all the rage right now.

Sorry...I digress again. ANYway, my dining set. It's old. And not very "today" looking. Oh, it's classic and will be stylish no matter what decade it is, but it does need a little sprucing up. I've always been afraid to do anything to it, though. I've always been afraid I'd mess it up.

Well, the other day my sister sent me a link to a post at Miss Mustard Seed where she had refinished a dining set...MY dining set. *GASP!* Since I haven't asked her permission to swipe her pics, just go to this post and see it for yourself. G'head, I'll wait....

Okay, now that you've seen it, you can see how beautiful it can be. And I don't think I'm quite as afraid to do something to my set as I was before. Using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint will make it look so pretty!

Now, I mentioned a giveaway in the title of the post. Screaming Meme is giving away TWO quarts of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint! I certainly hope I win, because...well, my dining room set needs help!

Head over to Screaming Meme and enter for your chance to win, too!

Last Day of Free Shipping!

All those well-laid plans I had for when Kiddo was gone? Yeah...um...I really didn't do much. Like, NOTHING. I mean, I did get some much needed shopping done, but even then didn't get everything I needed, for school or for tassels. Hobby Lobby didn't have the ribbon I needed, nor did it have the pretty aqua fringe I needed. I left a bit frustrated and worried that the tassel I was going to work on wasn't going to look the way I wanted it to. And by the time I got the shopping done, Kiddo was well on his way home. He had a blast at camp, and is hoarse from all the singing, yelling, and talking he did. He and his friend, Jon, have a new secret handshake, and I'm grateful for their new-found friendship.

On a totally different note, today is the LAST DAY OF FREE SHIPPING in my Etsy shop! I've added a few more pretties, so feel free to browse around.

On another note, I was looking around at all the things I need and want to get done around my house, about to get overwhelmed, when an idea struck me. I could let YOU decide what my next project is! This way I don't have to make a decision...I let you make it for me! In the next few days, I'll get some ideas up for your inspection, then you can let me know what you'd like to see. This way, I have accountability, and I'll know I'm doing something you might actually care about seeing.

Let's see, will it be a new latch-hook rug? Or maybe some macrame? Ooh, I know you'd love to see what I can knit with all of the dog hair I can sweep up!

Just kidding. My macrame needle broke.

Y'all have a good weekend!

Hmm...what now?

See this? This is the bus that is taking my child to camp for three days. What in the world will I do with all my spare time? Well, I could work on this...or this...or these...and I really need to work on this...and this...and even this...and thi...oh, my....I think they're multiplying.

And this...uh...no, wait...He's perfect just the way he is.

And, even though I have a lot of projects going on and even more than need to be started, more than likely, I'll just go shopping. And make a couple of these...And visit with Momma. We've been playing cards the past couple of nights. She wins almost every time. : P

What Do You Love in Your Home?

The other day I was just going about my daily business when I noticed something that I see every day. This time, however, I looked at it, thought about the person who gave it to me, and realized that I loved having it in my home. It made me smile.

If you've ever read FlyLady you know what she says about things in your home: if you don't love it, get rid of it. If it doesn't make you smile, it doesn't need to be cluttering up your home. Now, honestly, my home is one big clutter pile right now. Sound Man is working on getting his and Kiddo's project finished, I have tassel stuff out the wazoo, and I'm still getting things back in order from when my men went camping a few weekends ago. I'm a slow mover, what can I say?

My point is, I looked at this little object and smiled. And it got me to thinking...what else in my home do I love? Here are a few of the things that caught my eye...and believe me this list is far from finished.

My bird vignette. I love the nest with the eggs in it, I love the birds, I love the Nester tassel, and I love the person who gave me the tassel...Kat. She gave it to me for my birthday last year. The bird book was one Sound Man has had for years. I love it used this way. The mug came from Old Time Pottery; the branch/nest came from JoAnn's and I glued some eggs in it; the little birdies came from a home decor store that is just up the street from me. And that lamp? Oooh, I can't wait to get a hold of it soon. As soon as I saw Centsational Girl's post about redoing her crystal lamp, I knew I would redo mine. I will post pics when I finish.

My bird's nest picture and a sweet church bird house that came from my beloved Piney. Sorry the picture is kind of dark. My house faces north, and I have NO windows on the east, therefore I have NO beautiful morning light streaming in. Sigh...oh, well. I haven't told you about Piney yet. I will when I'm able to without bursting into tears. Not that the bird house makes me burst into...oh, nevermind.

Oh, and did you see the Kimba bird back there? I have several of those, and they make me smile big. As does Kimba. She sent me an email this week that had my laughing so hard I was crying.

My Tuesday Morning round toile box. It has a pretty bow on top of it. It's my favorite color. It was $4.99. All of which makes me smile.

Pictures of my ancestors. My sister had these pictures copied for me one Christmas. The one on the left is my great-great-grandmother; the one on the right is her daughter, my great-grandmother; and the picture in the middle is of her daughters, my great aunt and grandmother in their college uniforms. I was privileged to go to the same college they did.

My little black shelf. It holds several little treasures, most of which belonged to my precious Mimmie. The fact that I took that sad little country blue shelf and made it into something beautiful makes me smile, too. And that rooster. Oh, my goodness. What a mess of trouble he's gotten me into. He was the inspiration for my tassels. Do you remember who gave him to me?

Speaking of tassels, they make me smile, too. All except the Ole Miss ones. I had to make those, but I didn't have to like it. Hee hee.

So what started this introspective post? What colossal thing did I gaze upon that had me going through my house taking pictures at 7:00 in the morning? This...

It's a little bell jar I have in my red bathroom (which also makes me smile) that has some little tags in it. They came from my sweet bloggy friend that I also now know IRL, Susie Harris. She put them in the package with my rooster tassel that I won. I just looked at this...this painted thrift store pedestal (it was the ugliest shade of purple), a thrift store bell jar, and paper and ribbon...and smiled.

Now, I want to know...what do you have in your home that makes you smile?

Edited 6/29/09 to add: link up at What Makes Me Smile to show me what you love!

Edited 6/30/09 to add this to Emily's Tuesdays Unwrapped. Just reading her Tuesday posts puts a smile on my face!

Edited 9/14/09 to add this to Teri Lynne's 100th Post Party!

Drop Cloth Bedskirt

Edited to add on 7/2/09: The giveaway mentioned is over, but you are welcome to head over to my Etsy shop anyway! :) I'm adding this to Kimba's DIY Day party!
Before I go any further, let me remind you to head over to Like a Warm Cup of Coffee where Sarah Mae is hosting a giveaway of one of my tassels! Go on! THEN you can come back here.

A couple of years ago (or maybe not quite that long ago), our friends Jeff and Lisa gave us a king size bed. They were getting a new bed and we had wanted a king size for a long time. So, for the price of manual labor moving beds all over the universe (okay, around the corner), we got a bed we wanted. No, it wasn't new, but have you priced new king size beds lately? Sheesh.

With the bed came the bedding. The set they gave us with the bed came with the motherload: Comforter, pillow shams, bedskirt, and curtains (like, a bajillion curtains). The only problem was they didn't go with my bedroom. I knew I needed to update the comforter, but I wasn't going to go out and buy the first thing I saw. That is, until I saw this at Target. I was shopping with Kat one day and when we came upon it, I'm sure I heard the Doxology. I wanted that quilt reeeeeeally bad. So, with Mother's Day coming up, I hinted strongly to Sound Man that it would look bee-yoo-tee-ful in our bedroom. Long story short about that, he came through. He's a good man.

The only problem with this is that the set only comes in a quilt and shams. No bedskirt. I really need a bedskirt (or dust ruffle for some of you) to hide the massive dust bunnies boxes I have under the bed. So, what to do?

I had bought a 9x12 drop cloth at Home Depot for about $20 a few weeks ago to cover one of my tables at the A'Fair, knowing I could use it for something else later. After seeing a couple of posts from Susie Harris and Kimba I knew I could come up with something. Enter bedskirt dilemma. Perfect!

First, I washed and dried the thing. It had gotten dirty at the A'Fair, plus it had a funny smell that some things have when they're new. Plus, I wanted a washed, sort of messy look. I'm a washed and messy kind of girl. Then, I draped it over my bed:Then, I made sure that I had the hem on the floor where I wanted it, pulled a couple more inches and tucked those between the mattress and box spring:And took my very precise, very professional Sharpie and just stuck it in the tucked part and drew a line down the whole mattress:I was a Home Ec. Major. Dr. Diamond would heave if she saw this. I don't give a flippin' flop.

Next, I cut a very precise line where the sharpie line was:Or not.

Then I got my trusty glue gun out. You know what Nester says, "IDHTBPTBB!". What did I do? I glue gunned (is that even a word?) the fabric right to the box spring!I just pulled and tugged until I had it at the right level on the floor. Then glued that sucker down. At the end of the bed, I had more fabric than I needed, but I didn't want to cut it since I was feeling lazy (it was, after all, almost midnight...Sound Man and Kiddo were off camping), so I just made kind of a pleat:Then precisely and professionally cut another length for the foot of the bed. I had planned on making the seam the very middle of the bedskirt, but messed up and it was several inches off. Like, 24 of them. So, I made another pleat:All the while shoving and gluing and tugging until I liked it. Notice I didn't say, "Until it was perfect." Because it ain't. But look at it now:I think the picture is a little dark, but trust me, it looks great. Please do not look at the roll of tp on my bedside table. We were out of Kleenex, give a sistah a break.

And look how much material I have left over to make curtains!This project was so easy. The hardest part was trying to move the bed where I could get to the box spring easier. Did you know that king size beds weigh 20,000 lbs more than queen size? It's a proven fact. Ask my back.
I plan on gluing some brown grosgrain ribbon to the bedskirt, just to give it a little more presence. Then I can use that ribbon to hang the curtains. When I get it finished you know I'll show you!
Don't forget to enter the giveaway!