whatever

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.

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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.

 

progress....

it's getting there....
coming along....
still not done cleaning the craft room but i have also done LOTS of other things...
like wash some windows (i said "how long have we had that tree out that window?" once it was cleaned...ha ha)
or move furniture in the girls room and go through all their clothes.
or tons of laundry....that machine breaking really screwed up my WHOLE laundry system
and we can't seem to catch up.



this is my favorite room to clean.
it is so happy even when it's out of control.

i organized my fabric by color this time.



so pretty in the morning when the sun is SHINING in.

soon everything will find it's place.
it's almost there.

i have watched/listened to two disks of parenthood season 2, you've got mail, love actually and the family stone since i began this cleaning frenzy.
isn't that a great list of movies?
yes it is.

this cabinet was a built-in from the old cruddy basement of our illinois house.
i made sure we rescued it when we remodeled that basement. 
since annie was born it has held her clothes but her clothes were getting too wide for the shelves.
so i slid it across the hall and made it into the craft weekend cabinet.
and now i had a place for all that stuff that was in the other picture on new year's eve.

 
my gigantor 2 page list of all the things i want to get done in each room before CW.
i have added more since i took that picture.
i love when there is a deadline and things get DONE.
it feels good!

so...my thursday is going to be another day of check! check! check!
when you are on a roll you gotta run with it.

:D 

 

 

the most random of posts

the laundry room is finally being painted this weekend.
by my two oldest children.
"you're boooooored? you want to sleep all day? and you want our money???  well hey....i got a project for you!!"
and i have a feeling there are a few more projects to come for my boooooored kids. 

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i am dreaming of patios....




 

                  

                            

these are elaborate...but you could bring them down to a reasonable $ level with some DIY...and some time.

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sunshine the cat has come back twice.
:)

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i have been saying a want a baby for 6 years.

many comments were implying that i am suddenly talking about wanting a baby.
i would have had several more children than just the five we have.
but there is another person....ahem....in our house....not to name names....that says five is enough.
and that person....took care of things medically so that five would be enough...six years ago.

and says no to adoption.

so that is where my baby lust lies.
DEAD.
which sucks.

but what can be done?
i talk to God about it a lot and He hasn't given me a baby YET so until then.....
i will just keep loving on the newborns i get to take pictures of at my house.

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my new favorite spot for summer. 

it's quiet.
but not out of reach from my kids....i can hear when they start yelling at each other.  (too often)
they can come find me easily.
and i can get my wifi out there too.

this morning with my coffee i was reading The Daily Message.
kimberlee got it....so i got it too....and it's just perfect for me.
loving it.

this morning i enjoyed THIS.

"be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven't stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works.  We pray that you'll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard.  As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work.  We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul - not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives.  It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us."  Colossians 1: 9-12

what an awesome scripture to pray over your children!!   

other colors on my porch....

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craft weekend tickets go on sale on MONDAY...june 20....at noon.

we have some A W E S O M E sponsors that are going to make the weekend EXTRA cool.
i will just say "serious swag" 




so thrilled about it.

can't wait for monday..........WOOO-HOOO!!  

dying to find out WHO is coming.  

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the frame for the BE AWESOME TODAY print is from..........walmart.  :)


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i don't read books because i can't concentrate.
my mind wanders and i have to go back a REread.
it always wanders.
to laundry.
to work.
to kids.
to anything.

and i almost always fall asleep within a few minutes of reading.
for real.
it started about 8 years ago.
i make it about five minutes and then i am OUT.

weird right?

but i am reading Mennonite in a Little Black Dress right now.....s l o w l y.....as i lay in my sun chair. 
i hear it's a bit scandalous in these parts!
(i am from mennonite country....fyi...not mennonite myself but grew up in a mostly mennonite town)

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kansas is beautiful in june.

the end.