whatever

makeover for ten bucks.

i am a dork in that i forgot to take a before picture of my thrift store lamp.
but i wasn't planning on a tutorial.
oh wait....

there it is in the bottom left corner...shiny brass lamp from the thrift store.

i spray painted it pink.
when you spray paint things primer is always good but i don't ALWAYS use it.
or you can buy spray paint now with primer IN it.
genius invention....if you have the option you should use it. 

i have never used  this kind of lampshade to recover.
USUALLY i use one that is just wire covered in some thin fabric that i ripped off.
this one is covered in a plastic-y hard paper.
i figured it would work...i will try it.
if not...it was $5 so it's no big deal if i fail.



first i lay out the fabric and see how much i will need.


i wrap it all the way around to make sure i have enough fabric going the correct way of the fabric's pattern.
sometimes if the shade is really big you have to go the wrong direction of the fabric pattern.
this lampshade was just the right size.


then i use my cutting mat and rotary cutter for a super straight cut.
you can also just use scissors.
i line it up straight on my mat and line up my ruler at the top and the bottom.


then i use my gypsy gripper on my ruler to push down and hold my ruler tight.
i LOVE this thing.
it makes cutting so easy.


i warm up my high temp glue gun.  
and i iron my fabric.


then i start on the white selvage end of my fabric and i just start hot gluing the edge with about an inch onto the inside of the lampshade.
and you just keep gluing and pulling it flat and gluing again.


then you turn it over and start on the bottom end.
i start in the same place....the white selvage side on my fabric
(that is the place with the words printed on the edge of almost all fabric)

then when i am finished gluing, i snip off all the extra fabric from the glued edges.
i clean it up as best i can.
for the end when it's wrapped all the way around i fold the fabric over and glue it down from top to bottom.


and that's it.
it's not perfect....but it's cute and customized to the exact look i want!

the lamp was $5 and the fabric is $10 a yard...and i used a half yard.




so for $10 each....i have two kind of matching lamps.
i made the other one a few months ago.
and now i have a set....not exactly the same but close.

:)

yay for thrifting!!

 

 

decorating.

so...i have a been a mom kind of a long-ish time now.
17 years is long enough to have gained a bit of experience i would say.

i have learned that at about 10 years old (4 of mine have done this...) kids want their rooms the way THEY want.
no matter how perfectly decorated you want it...they always want their own flavor to their room.
and by now...17 years in... i am all for it.

talby and annie share a room.  
they were upstairs quite awhile the other night and then came down so happy to say "we cleaned our room...COME SEE!!!"

it was SOoooo clean.
i said "let's take pictures in the morning."
they were so proud.


                                     (name pillow made by the fabulous chrissie grace)

i thought i would share these with you because when this first happened with lauren 7 years ago i kind of freaked out.
i didn't want her covering her very cute room that i had designed with magazine pictures.
not at all.
i let her but i didn't like it.
and i probably commented every time i was in her room about it not looking nice anymore.
cringe.
then my son did it and then my next son did it and i realized something...
OHhhhhh...they are growing up and want THEIR style.
not mine.

and now i get it.
i am completely on board with my kids decorating their own rooms.






if they want to hang up more posters of justin bieber... i help them find the tape.





because really....it is their room.
why should i be trying to decorate it for them?
they know what they like.
they enjoy the freedom to change it, choose what they like and make decisions on their own.




 
if the piano bench looks better to them covered in a blue cheetah blanket...GREAT!

so i guess i am saying today.... i know that better homes & gardens isn't going to come knocking on my door to photograph my kids awesome bedrooms.
and i don't care.
perfect bedrooms for my kids don't work.
pottery barn kids is not happening here.

and it's not a battle worth fighting to me.

why would i want to stiffle creativity?

as long as they clean it up on saturday mornings...
they are free to decide on their wall art & what is on their shelves.

 
and just outside their door i have my giant jesus picture from my mom.
i really love that giant jesus.

:)

 

happy friday peeps!

 

the yellow striped floors.

the floors in this room were really beat up.
so i could pay a bunch of money to fix them OR i could have some fun with them for practically nothing.
i chose the second...obvs.

first i primed the floor with KILZ.
then i painted white stripes with the white semi-gloss trim paint that we had.
i just used the lines of the wood planks to determine the stripes....i did 8 planks wide per stripe.

THEN i added yellow stripes with paint from Ace Hardware called ButterCream. 

i thought "whoa that's bright" when i opened it.
yellow is a hard color.
so after i painted the stripes and let it dry a day or two i went back and it was definitely brighter than i wanted.
so...i took white paint and added water....maybe equal parts paint and water?

then i used a dry rag and wiped it into the yellow stripes. 

i wiped it on and rubbed it into the floor until it was the color i was looking for.
it was practically dry immediately.

much better.



this week i will put polyurethane over it and seal it all in.
and fill it up with beds again for happy craft weekend girls!

:)

happy floors.

 

 

 

 

the gray bathroom and a giveaway.

we finished up that bathroom in such a whirlwind last month just in time for Craft Weekend....
literally with two hours to spare.
and i didn't share it with it ya.

so here goes....this is the before.
when we first moved in this house the seven of us shared this bathroom for 4 years. 

 

then we gutted it seven years later...which would be january 2012.

 

it was a mess.
but always worth the mess when it's done.


we put in new tile on the floor that looks just like the old tile but fresh and not cracked.
it was special order from lowes.
the subway tile for the shower was off the shelf at home depot.


the mirror is from hobby lobby....50% off.
:)

the countertop was in a box at home depot.
the cabinet was built by Becker Cabinets....the same people who built our kitchen cabinets.
(i LOVE it!!!)

the lights are from home depot.

all of the construction work was done by BEZ Construction...also the same company that remodeled our kitchen.

 
love this big print from madebygirl.  :)

the body wash is by equate....found at walmart....ha ha haaaaaaaaa.

shower curtain is from west elm.
i think it's just sooooo pretty.
how can gray and white stripes be pretty??? i don't know.... but it is!


 
towel bar is from home depot.
the towel is from walmart.


 
the walls are Wood Smoke by Glidden Brilliance Collection paint at walmart.


and this funny little toothbrush holder is also from walmart.
i think it looks like a smiley face.
it cracks me up.


thank you thrift shop for this fabulous chalkboard.


drawer pulls are martha stewart at home depot....they have some really pretty pulls!
 

 

this is the thing the kids are mostly excited about.....A LOCK!! 
we've never had one.
they are taking FULL advantage.  :)

 
i made the curtains last week with fabric from Hancocks Fabrics.
it's just enough.
and i love the big dots.


this bathroom gets GREAT sunlight especially late afternoon....love this window with the old latch.



and now for the giveaway.

kristen from SpunkyFluff sent this sign to me and i was just giddy about it.
the yellow against the gray walls....yes!  
I LOVE IT!


 
and she'd like to give away a sign to ONE of YOU!!!
isn't that fun?!
she has a whole bunch of colors to choose from after you pick your phrase.
her shop is FULL of super cute signs.

we'd thought we'd try to make this contest a little more fun.

for your comment to be entered to win tell us a phrase you'd like her to make on a sign for you.

it can be one from her shop OR you can come up with something original that you'd like her to make.

song lyrics....favorite movie quote....something your kids say....

tell kristen and i what phrase you would have her make on a sign.
we won't hold you to it if you win but it will be fun to see what you have to say!

GO visit her shop.
 
use the code  WHATEVER  for a 20% discount to her store....that is awesome!

ok i will get ya started....

you had me at hello (jerry maguire)
daisies are the friendliest flower (youve got mail)
girls just want to have fun (cyndi lauper)
You are the best thing  (ray lamontagne)
Your Love is my Drug  (ke$ha)

see....it's easy. 

 

 

random of prettiness...

a few linkys of things i am liking,
(i am making you work for it today) 

 

wanting to make these.....but don't have the ingredients right now.

loving this shop.....can't decide which i like the best.

ordered this shower curtain for the new bathroom.

want to buy this print from kal bartenski.....and this set too!

watching this video made me miss annie being little so much and remember what a blessing her school was to us.

LIKE this collage page.  :) color color color.

i felt really good after reading this post....validated, understood and enlightened.

LOVE this cake and party...want to have one of my OWN!...for my 37th perhaps?...minus the power rangers. 

considering these shoes...
it makes running even more fun when the accessories are cute (still hitting 4 miles a couple times a week! :)

this chalkboard was begging for me to bring it home....i didn't....yet.

******************************************

this morning i was going to make the lampshades for two lamps i got from my grandma's home.
i was planning on just covering them with the black and white dot fabric
but realized the shade shape was going to be difficult.
someone left a comment yesterday saying "you are making those ripped fabric lampshades!" and i smiled because i wasn't.....but then i decided to do it once my first plan wasn't going to work. 


 
i covered the wire with strips of fabric and tiny dots of hot glue.

btw....ripping fabric is really fun.

it's loud and satisfies something in me....it's weird right?

then i just wrapped strips around and tied.
that is it.

super easy.
very happy.
and quick.
:)

i first saw this idea on the pleated poppy.....lindsey inspired me with this fabulous craft!
i want to make 10 more....it was so fun.


 

monday monday.

YOU ARE TOO AMAZING!!!

$2060???
wow.
don't you wish we could go and GIVE them their stoves?
smile so big and say THIS IS FOR YOU! and give them a hug?!!

what a fabulous thought.

THANK YOU to every one of you that gave a stove.
we helped 103 women so far his week in a BIG huge way!!!

that makes me want to cry tears of joy.

together we can change things!
thank you. 

the fundraiser is open through january 31....so no reason to stop now.  :) 

.......................................................

i have some pics of my craft room.
i was sewing some curtains in there today....finally able to move with out knocking something over! 

it's not big....that's it....wall to wall.
it's packed FULL of everything i would need to craft my heart out.
it's mix matched of lots of well worn furniture and crazy storage and color.
it's not finished being painted....and probably never will be.
but oh my goodness i love that room so much.

and for now....it's cleaned up.

i have to practice all my craft weekend crafts and get them all decided and work out the details.
and now i have some room to do that.