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Custom Throw

8/20/2015

While we have been impatiently waiting to get started on our new house, I have been diligently working away completing projects that I can before we are saddled with renovation projects. The vision I have for the new guest bedroom is more colorful and eclectic than our quick, no-cost decorating in this current house. We will be purchasing new bedding from Ikea when we do our big shopping trip for renovations, but I knew I wanted a colorful, custom throw for the daybed. Sooooo, I made one:

The fabric is Waverly Mexicali Desert Flower and I just fell in love with it. It is whimsical, colorful and fun!

I also picked up an inexpensive, cuddly, fleece throw in a dark, charcoal grey to give the fabric some weight and warmth. I just pinned the fabric over the edges of the throw and sewed a straight line all the way around. Easy Peasy!

After I finished sewing the throw, I knew it needed something more. Just a bit more OOMPH, if you will! I raided my yarn stash and found the perfect dark pink for some flashy tassels for each corner. And Voila! A custom throw for the new guest bedroom!

I think it turned out just lovely! It's also really cushy and warm, which will be nice for our guests when winter rolls around. I can't wait to show you that room when we're done! All in good time though, lots of renovation basics to handle until I get to the pretty stuff...
Well, If you don't hear from me for a week or so, we will be working hard on the new house! Settlement is tomorrow and everything seems to be going smoothly (knock on wood!).
Have a great weekend Everyone!
Cheers!
M J

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The New House - BEFORE

8/19/2015

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We are down to 3 days until settlement ya'll! The only photos I've been able to get are from the ad for the house. They are NOT great photos, but it will give you the idea of how much work we are heading into...
Here is the front of the house:

The siding and roof are in OK shape. Not thrilled with the dark green front door and shutters, but we will not have time or money to update all of it for some time. The plan is to paint the front door a pale turquoise and put up some window flower boxes in a coral color that will play nicely with the dark green until we get around to the rest. Since the house has been vacant for about a year, the yard is completely overgrown, there are dead bushes, ivy has taken over, there are 3 trees that HAVE to come down just for safety reasons and it is way too much for us to tackle on our own. We will be hiring that work out just to get us started.
Here is the back of the house with the screened in porch:

See what I mean? Crazy bushes everywhere... And what is with the white railings in the yard to the right? They are also everywhere. Lots to tear out and clean up, so happy we are hiring help!
Here is a photo of the living room with the fireplace and built-ins:

We love the built-ins, but that brick is just awful. It has had holes drilled all over the place and I am over the multi-colored brick look. It will be painted white along with the shelving. The back wall of the shelving units will be painted the wall color which will be a very pale blue. We will be leaving the mantel the original wood since it is in good shape. Hubby has deemed the space above the mantel to be the TV mounting area which is fine with me since the built-ins give me plenty of space to add some style! For now, the ugly brass fire screen will be taped off and painted with high-heat black paint...
OK, I hope you are sitting down, cause now I'm gonna show you the horrible kitchen...

Isn't it GLORIOUS?? LOL! Seriously, it is the original kitchen with a few personal "tweaks" by the previous owners. Yes, that is a shelf above the cabinets with the ridiculously tiny railing around it. They even put that railing around the peninsula countertop. I don't know what these people had about shelving and railings, but they are EVERYWHERE! I would cry if it wasn't so damn funny! :-) The plan is to remove a few upper cabinets above the refrigerator and stove, paint the upper cabinets white and the lower cabinets black, and all new stainless steel appliances. Think lots of cleaning, filling holes, sanding and painting. Fun! But it will be worth it when we install the white subway tile backsplash and the butcher block countertops. I have the vision in my head and I cannot wait to get it out of there. It is taking up WAY too much space up there...
The living room, kitchen and dining room are all open to each other. We knew when we walked into the front door that this was the house. No walls to move!
Here is the dining room:

We are both so excited to actually have SPACE in a dining room again. It looks out to the screened in porch and back yard which is at least three times the size of our current yard.
Here is a photo of, what I have to say is my absolute favorite room in this house, the laundry room!! You already know I'm weird...

This room is a total bonus for me! An entire room off the kitchen to hold a pantry, storage, laundry AND I get a utility sink too?? Awesome! The plan for this room is loads of chrome shelving units, white paint and some cool fabric to soften some edges. There will be a place for Raven's food and water station, a place for Raven's litter box, and a place for the stupid goldfish that REFUSE to die. (Really, we won them at the carnival over 4 years ago and they are still going. I guess we take care of them too well!) ;-)
Oh, and that hideous ceiling light fixture peeking into the frame from above? Happy to say they are delivering a dumpster the day of closing so it can go straight into it... Along with the rest of the lighting in this house!
As for the rest of the house, the bathrooms are a mess and the walls are as wavy as the Atlantic Ocean during a Nor'easter... But we can handle it. This house is in MUCH better shape than our first house. Of course, we were also MUCH younger then! LOL!
Thanks for hanging in there through this post! I'll have better photos as we move forward after settlement on Friday! Wish us luck!
Have a great week!
Cheers!
M J

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Thrifting Goodness!

8/13/2015

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As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I was in Pennsylvania visiting my Aunt and Uncle for a few days and we went to some great vintage/thrift outlets. We spent HOURS strolling through floor after floor of collections of antique, vintage and crafted goodness. So long, in fact, that our feet were killing us after just the first outlet! Of course, it did have 5 floors to peruse. Here are the items I found at that first place:

That milking stool had me at Hello! So adorable and versatile. I'll be able to use it as a low side table, a foot stool, a plant stand, you name it. The knitting caddy caught my eye due to the vintage print fabric, but the wood frame is in perfect condition. It will make a great magazine rack. And the milk glass piece... My friends, I have been collecting milk glass since WAY before it became popular blog fodder. It is an addiction I still fight to this day... ;-)

The blue and white pottery above was so cheap and lovely, I couldn't pass it up! It now sits below the dreaded half-round table and serves as an umbrella receptacle. Who could say no to those koi fish on the inside?? Not me apparently... LOL!
If you've been reading my blog for a while, you already know I had to buy this little weaving...

The next few places we visited were overpriced and didn't quite have what we were seeking. Then we happened upon a few shops that were more fun and reasonable. One even had a winery with wine tastings! Yes, Please! :-)
Here are the few items I found there:

Vintage Pyrex dishes and the cutest wooden Japanese figurine. I've already cooked veggies in the Pyrex and my little girl may get a makeover, I'm still deciding on her colors... ;-)
If you've noticed, I have a turquoise theme going on here. I think it may be my accent color in the new kitchen/dining room. Besides, I do have a weakness for vintage turquoise Ball jars. Lucky for me, my Uncle has a collection of these same jars and was kind enough to part with a few! With original glass-lined zinc lids and all...

If all that wasn't enough, my sweet Brother and his Fiance picked up a few finds for me as well! (It was a good week of thrifting and gifting!) A GREAT piece of milk glass (yes, my family is well aware of my addiction), hand painted glasses and the kitty plaque I showed you earlier in the week:

Well, after going through all of these finds, I now realize it is time for some serious purging when we move. As we grow and change, so do some of our tastes. We are inexplicably drawn toward certain things that make us smile. Decorating is simply the act of surrounding ourselves with those items that make us most comfortable and happy in our living spaces. Why hang on to those items that no longer give us joy? Besides, those items you no longer love, may just find their way into someone else's heart and home to make them smile!
Have a great weekend Everyone!
Cheers!
M J

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A Mindless Little Craft Reno

8/11/2015

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Happy Tuesday Everyone! I hope you are having a great day and your week is going well. After my ten rounds with the half-round table last week, I decided to take it easy for a bit. My Brother's Fiance picked up a few cute things for me at the flea market which included an adorable little plaque. It was a tad yellow and the metal flowers were a bit hokey, but I liked the sentiment. I got out my craft supplies and sat down for some nice, mindless crafting...

It took a while to paint around the letters, repaint the letters and add other elements, but I think it pops a bit more now! If you notice, I gave the cat a gray wash to look a little more like our Raven... ;-) 'Cause he lays in a dining room chair exactly like that when we are eating dinner!

I mean look at this picture, isn't he adorable? Now I see where my color inspiration came from...

Have you been doing any mindless crafting lately? Sometimes it is just nice to create without much of a plan. Pull out the craft supplies and just go at it!
Have a great week Everyone!
Cheers!
M J

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Console Table and Mirror Reno

8/6/2015

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Well, I got through another furniture renovation last week and let me tell you, it was painful! This half-round console table and I had a knock down, drag out fight. It was not pretty. I cleaned, I primed, I painted, I swore, I sanded, I used acetone, I swore some more, I gave in and just let the table win in the end...

This is another piece of the brown set we've had since 1997. Again, I was sick of it. Also, I really DO NOT like the Valspar spray paint. It sucks. Period. Besides the table being a complete b*tch, the paint decided to team up with it and ruin my day. Not sure if you can tell in the pictures below, but the right, front leg is. a. complete. mess. I gave up trying to get a smooth finish with sandpaper, wiped it down with acetone, sprayed it again then dry brushed all the pieces with pale gray acrylic paint to make it all look intentional and a tad beachy:

I won't say I'm completely thrilled with it, but I am satisfied that I finally beat that table into submission in the end! @!#%$^!!#@&*@!#!! Ok, I'm fine now... Really, just fiiiiine... Do you ever wanna kick a piece of furniture just because? ;-)

We will be using all of these pieces in the new house and I have a vision in my mind of how bright and open I want that space to be. There will be A LOT of projects in that renovation journey. I am SOOO looking forward to sharing them with you!!
Have a wonderful weekend Everyone!
Cheers!
M J

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Monday Boost

8/3/2015

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Happy Monday Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! We were busy little bees around our house, getting it ready to go on the market soon. Hubby and I are lucky that we both enjoy DIY projects and work well together. I usually have a vision of what I would like to see and he goes through the steps to get to my vision. For big projects like our next kitchen, it is essential that he has all of the technical aspects in mind as I am trying to figure out how everything will look and function for the everyday. Somehow, it just works!

I did get to work on a large piece of art while visiting my Aunt and Uncle last week. I have never worked on such a huge canvas, but Uncle insisted! Let me tell you, there is nothing more intimidating than a large, blank canvas... He helped me through the creative process and I wound up with an abstract piece that is kinda fun:

My Dad said I should call it "Avatar" since the trees reminded him of that movie. :-) I was playing around with acrylics and water - spraying water over wet paint and letting it drip at will. It's no Picasso or Matisse, but I think it's pretty cool!
You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.
- Maya Angelou
I hope you all have a great, creative week!
Cheers!
M J

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Custom Throw

The New House - BEFORE

Thrifting Goodness!

A Mindless Little Craft Reno

Console Table and Mirror Reno

Monday Boost

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