Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Wordless Wednesday
I've seen so many blogs do this, and thought i would join in. Here is mine for today: baby puffs anyone???
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Let there be light!
Our Master bedroom has SLOWLY been transforming over the past 6 months and i'm sad to say that i scored some nightstands at the Goodwill about 4 months ago. I had been looking for some new ones because i had an idea in my mind i couldn't get out. I wanted nightstands with more character and detail. Ours were SO boring that we had, leave it to good ol Ashley Home Furniture Store. Not that there is anything wrong with that store, it's just so.....boring. So i was eager to get our nightstands out of our bedroom and replace them with some lovely gems.
Well when i brought them home, George did NOT like them. Eventually his dislike with them caused me to leave them abandoned and alone in the garage. He convinced me to keep the nightstands we had in our room because they "matched" (i hate this word) our headboard. He said i should put the old, new ones i bought in the guestroom. I thought this was a pretty good idea. I figured since they would be going into the guestroom i should do something REALLY fun and funky with them.
For weeks i scrolled through Pinterest and blogs trying to decide what color i should paint them. I initially wanted to paint them white when they were heading into our room, but then I decided it would be a toss up between red and yellow for the guestroom. THEN, i saw THIS (cue music). It was everything i had been trying to explain in my mind! It had the same old detail my nightstands had, and i just KNEW i had to try it. I decided that if i absolutely loved it, i would put them in our room and we would decide from there if we liked them or not. If not, they would still look lovely in our guestroom!
OR with the new "lighter" ones!? I personally LOOOVVEE the lighter ones. YES, i still have to print out our family pics for those frames, and please dont mind the mess. Also, almost all our pillows are on the guestroom bed, we're not pillow people, but after looking at this pic i think we need some for decor.
George absolutely LOOVVEESS these new nightstands, and he told me for about 3 days straight how proud he was of me for doing them. I took this project on all on my own and did not ask his opinion once. After all, he is a straight version of David Bromstad so i try to get his advice on color as much as possible. NOW, i need to tackle my desk. Just wait till you see what i have in store for this :)
Well when i brought them home, George did NOT like them. Eventually his dislike with them caused me to leave them abandoned and alone in the garage. He convinced me to keep the nightstands we had in our room because they "matched" (i hate this word) our headboard. He said i should put the old, new ones i bought in the guestroom. I thought this was a pretty good idea. I figured since they would be going into the guestroom i should do something REALLY fun and funky with them.
For weeks i scrolled through Pinterest and blogs trying to decide what color i should paint them. I initially wanted to paint them white when they were heading into our room, but then I decided it would be a toss up between red and yellow for the guestroom. THEN, i saw THIS (cue music). It was everything i had been trying to explain in my mind! It had the same old detail my nightstands had, and i just KNEW i had to try it. I decided that if i absolutely loved it, i would put them in our room and we would decide from there if we liked them or not. If not, they would still look lovely in our guestroom!
Here is the wretched BEFORE
Primed and only had a few coats of paint here. (I used spray paint for this project and it was AMAZING how easy it was)
Here she is, Miss America. I literally couldnt get them into our room fast enough. And i used paint tape to do the stencil on top.
Ok, now here is the winning question......do you like it with the old brown nightstands????
OR with the new "lighter" ones!? I personally LOOOVVEE the lighter ones. YES, i still have to print out our family pics for those frames, and please dont mind the mess. Also, almost all our pillows are on the guestroom bed, we're not pillow people, but after looking at this pic i think we need some for decor.
George absolutely LOOVVEESS these new nightstands, and he told me for about 3 days straight how proud he was of me for doing them. I took this project on all on my own and did not ask his opinion once. After all, he is a straight version of David Bromstad so i try to get his advice on color as much as possible. NOW, i need to tackle my desk. Just wait till you see what i have in store for this :)
Monday, June 27, 2011
Who would have thought?
Never in a million years did i think that i would learn to sew. i credit Belle to my reason for even trying. If it wasn't for me having an adorable little girl, i dont think i would have ever went out, bought a sewing machine, and taught myself to sew. I am a beginner and teaching myself slowly as i go, learning mostly from asking questions, and mostly from the internet. I've been trying so many fun little projects and i feel SO proud when i complete something that i never thought i could.
My biggest reason for learning to sew was to make Belle cute dresses. I've been slowly collecting fabric, but now i'm realizing how time consuming sewing is! I made this dress almost 2 weeks ago, and since then i have been working on some baby things for some of my pregnant friends. Although i have cut out a few more dresses for Belle, i havent sewed them up. Will post pics when i finally do.
My biggest reason for learning to sew was to make Belle cute dresses. I've been slowly collecting fabric, but now i'm realizing how time consuming sewing is! I made this dress almost 2 weeks ago, and since then i have been working on some baby things for some of my pregnant friends. Although i have cut out a few more dresses for Belle, i havent sewed them up. Will post pics when i finally do.
I also made this headband a few months ago to go with another outfit, but i was happy to see it went with this one as well. Pink is such a versatile color :)
This dress is a pattern that a sweet classmate of mine gave me. She gave me some cute little girl patterns, but i've only been comfortable with 2 so far. Hopefully i will venture off to try some of the other ones.
I was so proud of this dress because i added the ruffle on the bottom. It was my first time ever dewing a ruffle to the bottom of a dress.
I have one of the prettiest little models :)
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Fireworks!
We have had such a nice weekend relaxing, and staying indoors since it's been almost 100 degrees out everyday. Noah is at the perfect age to do so many projects with, and he just understand so much more about holidays and upcoming events the older he gets. He is excited about going to my parents in a week, and i thought some 4th of July activities might get him in the mood for what we're going there for!
Since he is only 3 i try to keep it simple, and he has a short attention span so i have to make things fun and interesting. After many failed attempts of explaining what fireworks were to him, i took to Youtube to show him exactly what i was talking about. What better to show him, than a video of New Year's Eve, right? He was ECSTATIC! Especially the part when i told him we're going to Mimi and Papa's to see fireworks. So now that he understood what they are, i asked him if he wanted to paint some himself. Noah LOOOVVEESS to paint. And i generally let him do it alot. I feel like kids learn the best when you trust them and let them do things on their own. I try not to hover, unless i'm taking pics of course, and there really isnt anything i don't let Noah try or do on his own.
So here is our first 4th of July craft. I saw one of my friends on Facebook do this with her son, so i copied. Noah had so much fun and when George got home Saturday he ran to tell him that Noah made fireworks today. You can imagine George's face.
This is serious business!
So far so good!
Washing the blue off!
Now it's time for red!
So cute when he washes his hands.
And Noah is done! I think his fireworks came out so cute.
Since he is only 3 i try to keep it simple, and he has a short attention span so i have to make things fun and interesting. After many failed attempts of explaining what fireworks were to him, i took to Youtube to show him exactly what i was talking about. What better to show him, than a video of New Year's Eve, right? He was ECSTATIC! Especially the part when i told him we're going to Mimi and Papa's to see fireworks. So now that he understood what they are, i asked him if he wanted to paint some himself. Noah LOOOVVEESS to paint. And i generally let him do it alot. I feel like kids learn the best when you trust them and let them do things on their own. I try not to hover, unless i'm taking pics of course, and there really isnt anything i don't let Noah try or do on his own.
So here is our first 4th of July craft. I saw one of my friends on Facebook do this with her son, so i copied. Noah had so much fun and when George got home Saturday he ran to tell him that Noah made fireworks today. You can imagine George's face.
Here is a printable i put up on our chalkboard wall, because after all Noah HAS to know that fireworks starts with the letter F. Source HERE
All set up! I got this children's fold up card table at the Goodwill a few weeks back for $10. It was in perfect condition and i absolutely love it. Their wooden pottery barn kids stays upstairs, but this one is perfect for downstairs and doing crafts with Mom.
First hand in the blue!
This is serious business!
So far so good!
Washing the blue off!
Now it's time for red!
So cute when he washes his hands.
And Noah is done! I think his fireworks came out so cute.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Kid free zone.....hopefully
I have been waiting to start on our Master bedroom since the day we moved in. As most of you know, we bought our first house almost 2 years ago and i have been ecstatic to make it into a REAL home. I held back at first, gathering as much inspiration as possible before i took the leap. My first projects were all geared around the kids rooms, and they are pretty much done except for a few little things i still want to add. A cornice for Noah's room, and a rug for Belle's, other than that, DUNZO. But for some reason, children's spaces are SOO easy for me to design in my head. I LOVE kids rooms and play spaces, but a space of our own, i had no idea where to begin.
So our room has sat this whole time, an empty space collecting dust. We literally ONLY had a bed. And not even a bed, a mattress and bed frame. Then i collected this cute desk one day from a fun craigslist buy, more on that later.
I thought i would want a little space in our room to call my own. To study and blog and all that jazz. A Carrie Bradshaw place to think. Well i never used it. And now my desk sits at the back of our room with all my sewing crap on it. So it is getting the boot to our guestroom because i have FINALLY started to feel what i want our room to become. First step was getting a bigger bed. We traded in our old queen (not hardly old, only 4 years old) for a king. We did this before Belle was born so that was easy peasy. Then i bounced back and forth on what type of bed i wanted. A canopy bed, poster bed, fabric headboard, wood headboard, sleigh bed, ect. What i knew for sure was i wanted it to be old. Although i am sometimes drawn to more modern designs, i find old beds or older looking headboards cozy. And that's what i want our room to be.....cozy.
So one day i LITERALLY fell upon this beautiful wooden headboard. For $29 i almost slapped the worker at Goodwill. It was MINE! So now that the headboard is up, i felt like i should hang the curtains that i bought a year ago. With those curtains i also bought these frames from the same Ikea trip. I saved these frames because i knew when Belle was born we would have some nice family pics taken. I want one picture of the two kids, and one picture of George and I to go in them above our bed. So with the frames hung, the curtains hung, and a new headboard, our room is slowly evolving. Here are some pics where it is right now. I just recently re-did some nightstands which look AMAZING by the way and that is going to be a future post :)
Used painter's tape to make sure i got both frames centered.
Once i got the center of the wall, i measured one inch on either side and that's where the edge of each frame would go.
And here they are hung! I just received our family pics yesterday so i am eager to get them printed and in their frames. Don't mind the mess, i said i was working on our room, i didnt say it was perfect.
Here is the rest of inspiration i am feeling for this room:
SOURCE HERE
Of course i will put my own spin on the projects i am looking into. My dream is for George and i to have a space AWAY from the kids. AWAY from toys and loud noises. I have been ANTI tv in our bedroom for awhile now, but i think we might have to bring one in, one that DOES NOT play cartoons. All these are dreams you see, because within this last week, Noah has entered the "scared" phase. So thank God for that King size bed, Noah is becoming more and more a permanent guest.
So our room has sat this whole time, an empty space collecting dust. We literally ONLY had a bed. And not even a bed, a mattress and bed frame. Then i collected this cute desk one day from a fun craigslist buy, more on that later.
I thought i would want a little space in our room to call my own. To study and blog and all that jazz. A Carrie Bradshaw place to think. Well i never used it. And now my desk sits at the back of our room with all my sewing crap on it. So it is getting the boot to our guestroom because i have FINALLY started to feel what i want our room to become. First step was getting a bigger bed. We traded in our old queen (not hardly old, only 4 years old) for a king. We did this before Belle was born so that was easy peasy. Then i bounced back and forth on what type of bed i wanted. A canopy bed, poster bed, fabric headboard, wood headboard, sleigh bed, ect. What i knew for sure was i wanted it to be old. Although i am sometimes drawn to more modern designs, i find old beds or older looking headboards cozy. And that's what i want our room to be.....cozy.
So one day i LITERALLY fell upon this beautiful wooden headboard. For $29 i almost slapped the worker at Goodwill. It was MINE! So now that the headboard is up, i felt like i should hang the curtains that i bought a year ago. With those curtains i also bought these frames from the same Ikea trip. I saved these frames because i knew when Belle was born we would have some nice family pics taken. I want one picture of the two kids, and one picture of George and I to go in them above our bed. So with the frames hung, the curtains hung, and a new headboard, our room is slowly evolving. Here are some pics where it is right now. I just recently re-did some nightstands which look AMAZING by the way and that is going to be a future post :)
Used painter's tape to make sure i got both frames centered.
Once i got the center of the wall, i measured one inch on either side and that's where the edge of each frame would go.
And here they are hung! I just received our family pics yesterday so i am eager to get them printed and in their frames. Don't mind the mess, i said i was working on our room, i didnt say it was perfect.
Here is the rest of inspiration i am feeling for this room:
SOURCE HERE
Of course i will put my own spin on the projects i am looking into. My dream is for George and i to have a space AWAY from the kids. AWAY from toys and loud noises. I have been ANTI tv in our bedroom for awhile now, but i think we might have to bring one in, one that DOES NOT play cartoons. All these are dreams you see, because within this last week, Noah has entered the "scared" phase. So thank God for that King size bed, Noah is becoming more and more a permanent guest.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Maybe i do like history
My LEAST favorite subject in school has got to be History. I feel awful saying that, because i think that it is important for children to know how our country came about. But i have yet to meet a teacher that can make history interesting and inviting. All my history classes were when i would get in the best naps when i was in school. With that said, most of you know that i am majoring to be a Special Education teacher. We are required to know a little bit about all subjects because of all the new inclusion laws. History, is not one i'm looking forward to. Unless i'm in an elementary class talking about pilgrims and Indians and it involves crayons and construction paper i will not be jumping for joy.
So with that in mind, on the last day of our summer classes, one of my professors informed us that President Woodrow Wilson lived in Augusta, Georgia at one time, and that we would be touring his house. I was excited, mostly to get out of class, but also because this included two of my most favorite things: house crashing, and antiques. I was kicking myself for not having my Nikon with me, but what i did have was my trusty phone. But before i got too excited i did stop to think, why in the world are we touring President Wilson's house? Well let me tell you.
President Woodrow Wilson was a president who was actually diagnosed with Dyslexia and did not learn to read until he was 11. He was also the only President to go on to get his doctorate as an adult, and overcame his disability from the help from his father. His father was a big reader, and would read to him almost every night. I was instantly intrigued, and could not wait to tour his home.
As soon as we stepped foot into his home, all my classmates said, "Where's Brooke?!" They already knew i would go crazy over how beautiful this home was. I don't know if it was beautiful because it was old and filled with beautiful old furniture, or because of all the history it held. Here are some of the pictures i snapped with my phone. Hopefully SOMEONE will find this as enjoyable as i did.
Number 1, how AMAZING is this coat rack??? I'm pretty sure i peed my pants over this piece. Can i have it PUH-LEASE!?
After the entry way this is the dining room. LOVE the curtains, and the colors of the walls.
Formal dining room. I love all the detail in the wood on the ceiling.
One view of the guestroom which is right off the entry way across from the dining room.
Another view of the guest room. Love that canopy bed!
President Wilson and his brother's room.
Master bedroom (again LOVE those curtains!)
And can i have this piece too? Pretty sure it's calling my name.
I absolutely LOVED this tour and would recommend it to anyone who hasn't been. Especially if you're a History buff, or if you just love and have great appreciation for beautiful old things.
So with that in mind, on the last day of our summer classes, one of my professors informed us that President Woodrow Wilson lived in Augusta, Georgia at one time, and that we would be touring his house. I was excited, mostly to get out of class, but also because this included two of my most favorite things: house crashing, and antiques. I was kicking myself for not having my Nikon with me, but what i did have was my trusty phone. But before i got too excited i did stop to think, why in the world are we touring President Wilson's house? Well let me tell you.
President Woodrow Wilson was a president who was actually diagnosed with Dyslexia and did not learn to read until he was 11. He was also the only President to go on to get his doctorate as an adult, and overcame his disability from the help from his father. His father was a big reader, and would read to him almost every night. I was instantly intrigued, and could not wait to tour his home.
As soon as we stepped foot into his home, all my classmates said, "Where's Brooke?!" They already knew i would go crazy over how beautiful this home was. I don't know if it was beautiful because it was old and filled with beautiful old furniture, or because of all the history it held. Here are some of the pictures i snapped with my phone. Hopefully SOMEONE will find this as enjoyable as i did.
Number 1, how AMAZING is this coat rack??? I'm pretty sure i peed my pants over this piece. Can i have it PUH-LEASE!?
After the entry way this is the dining room. LOVE the curtains, and the colors of the walls.
Formal dining room. I love all the detail in the wood on the ceiling.
One view of the guestroom which is right off the entry way across from the dining room.
Another view of the guest room. Love that canopy bed!
President Wilson and his brother's room.
Master bedroom (again LOVE those curtains!)
And can i have this piece too? Pretty sure it's calling my name.
I absolutely LOVED this tour and would recommend it to anyone who hasn't been. Especially if you're a History buff, or if you just love and have great appreciation for beautiful old things.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Granny would be proud
Since buying my very first sewing machine two months ago, i would have to say i've been impressing myself with my self taught sewing skills. Between school and the kids, i havent had much time to practice, but i have managed to make Belle a few dresses and now i'm moving on to some other fun things. I dont have a relationship with my grandmother for some VERY good reasons, but some of my only good memories of her are yard saling and her sewing. She sewed alot, and made beautiful dolls that were very popular. Sometimes i like to think about how neat it would be to have a grandma. One who i could go to, and who i could share all my craftiness with. This whole sewing thing is new me, but as i pitter patter along i am becoming proud of my little projects.
Here are two projects i finished 2 weeks ago. I made Belle a cute crinkly square to chew on about a month ago and that inspired me to make her a crinkly cube with some sensory things on it. It was a pain in the behind to be honest. That's the last cube i will ever make! And then i tried a bib since Belle is in the, "drooling but i still dont have teeth" stage. You can never have too many bibs. I am now working on some FUNNNNN projects for two of my very best friends who are pregnant. Stay tuned, i wont be able to post pics until their baby showers from fear of ruining the surprise, BUT i will post some new ones of some dresses i'm working on for Belle.
Here she is with her little cube.
And here is the bib i made her. I had these cite scraps of fabric, and since i had never done a bib i decided to sew them all together to try my very first bib. I lined the back with minky, and it ended up coming out SO cute. Of course i had to jazz it up with a little flower on the neck as well. I've made a few more since!
Here are two projects i finished 2 weeks ago. I made Belle a cute crinkly square to chew on about a month ago and that inspired me to make her a crinkly cube with some sensory things on it. It was a pain in the behind to be honest. That's the last cube i will ever make! And then i tried a bib since Belle is in the, "drooling but i still dont have teeth" stage. You can never have too many bibs. I am now working on some FUNNNNN projects for two of my very best friends who are pregnant. Stay tuned, i wont be able to post pics until their baby showers from fear of ruining the surprise, BUT i will post some new ones of some dresses i'm working on for Belle.
I'm not good with posting tutorials, BUT here is an example on how i did the cube. Cut out the squares and lined them with pop tart wrappers to make the crinkly sound. I also sewed some tulle, ruffles, lace and other things onto them to keep Belle entertained.
Here she is with her little cube.
Always happy. :)
And here is the bib i made her. I had these cite scraps of fabric, and since i had never done a bib i decided to sew them all together to try my very first bib. I lined the back with minky, and it ended up coming out SO cute. Of course i had to jazz it up with a little flower on the neck as well. I've made a few more since!
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