Makin' it Mine

Step by step, putting my personal touches around a house that we can call our own.

Ugly, bare window, meet fresh, happy fabric.

See, I knew you two would get along well with each other!

March Madness

Or goals. We have been in our "new" place for over 7 months now, and my kitchen cupboards which were taken apart for painting & cleaning, are still in pieces. I was so certain that within a couple of weeks I would have all the painting, glazing, varnishing, sanding, and re-assembly completed. Wrong. Somehow "life" just takes over and all my best intentions slip to a back burner, and then just fall off the burner altogther. So last week I decided, March is coming. March is the month when I will at least TRY to get those cupboards conquered.

Enter March 1. I spent much of my day {in between mothering, of course!} staining. I can't wait to see {and show you} the finished product!

Pampers Box Remodel

I always thought that disposable diapers come in such fantastic, heavy-duty, strong boxes. So when I saw an idea {on a friend's blog} of how to make them into something useful, I tucked the idea into the back of my brain, and began saving those boxes. That was months ago.

Then the other day I was flipping through my scrapbooking paper stash, and inspiration hit. I grabbed a couple of those boxes, chose some complementing sheets of paper, and started creating.

Now I'm thinking of about a dozen places for more! The bathroom closet shelf that currently holds 128 various tubes and bottles of lotion, toothpaste, baby rash ointment, hair gel, and tylenol. The under-the-sink shelf that has an odd assortment of scrubbies, scrapers, dish soaps, steel wool, and vegetable brushes. Or even the girls' dresser with their dozens of pairs of socks and panties and tights!

What would you put in yours?

Boys' Bedroom

Moving on with a few more home-makeover posts ... here's the BOYS BEDROOM. This room was one of the worst in the whole house, with smashed -out window holes in the drywall, a paint job that made your eyeballs bleed, and the nastiest stained carpet you would not wish to imagine.

Thankfully, my hubby is very handy with drywalling tools, and I have fantastic friends who enjoy watching a real make-over emerge while they paint. We still need a new light fixture, and I'd love to get a shelf/bin system in this room to organize better. And I need to try to match the curtain fabric and sew one more valance. But until then, behold the after ...

Living Room

On our first walk-through of our new home, the living room totally made me shudder. Two navy blue walls, and 2 pale yellow ones. Paired with faded blue carpet and crumbling blinds, it was not a room you'd want to spend much time in!!

{Before Shots}

After closing on the house, a group of dear ladies and friends from church came to help paint. By the end of the day, the room was already transformed so much, and we had only done walls & ceilings!

{In-Between Shots}

 Then came new carpets, cleaning day, and move-in day. And while I have plenty of finishing touches to add {such as window treatments, an up-dated light fixture!, and hanging wall-items}, this is already one of my favorite "transformations" in the house. 

{Completed Shots}

What do you think?

The Huge Nursery

God must have a sense of humor. Giving me first armloads of babies, and now a huge nursery to put them all in! lol The nursery room at the old house was just so big enough to hold 1 crib, a changing table, and a baby. This new house has two bedrooms downstairs; the master bedroom, and another room of equal proportions right across from it. What else could it be but a sewing room, craft room, school room, nursery? I am very pleased with this room AND it's location in the house. Plenty of room for several cribs, several changing tables, a rocking chair, and of course, the humongous closet! Who ever heard of 9 1/2 foot closets? I am NOT complaining, mind you, but buying shelves and rods for these things are about the break the bank. lol  When the new baby comes along, I think Taylor will still have plenty of time and space to hang out there for a while.


When we first walked into the house, the room looked like this:

And the after {still needing the finishing touches}

And the little man himself, who has taken quite seriously after his father's great affection for cats. That trait most certainly does *not* come from his mother's side.

Good night for now. I am exhausted after hosting 10 boys here for Josiah's 10th birthday today! It was a ball of fun, but I have to say, I'm glad I'm not a mother to 10 boys.

Laundry Room Makeover

One of the real joys of the new place here is a first-floor laundry area!! After stooping into a dank, wet, nasty basement for the past six years, I am beyond delighted to have my washer & dryer just 3 feet off of the kitchen! What was not so lovely however was the previous housekeeper's idea of decor. A hot aqua/blue, with a raw, unfinished trimwork {or lack thereof}, and an old shower stall as part of the inside wall.

                                                                    {Before}

And here is my "after" although we are still waiting for the white cabinets that go above the washer & dryer. And then across from them where we built the new wall, is plenty of space for a set of cabinets with a counter top, and maybe a deep sink. But in the meantime, I am already loving the new, fresher look!

                                                                     {After}

The Ultimate Before & After

You know how much I love before & afters? I have featured a couple of them here on my blog, and I follow plenty of other {better} blogs who feature jaw-dropping make-overs! I love it.

Well, owning a home has brought make-overs to a whole new level. Especially when said home is an unbelievable display of the most outlanding and unattractive color schemes one could imagine. And when said home has been refuge to someone's most beloved felines. Oh, double yuck!!

I am amazed at how much has been accomplished in the 5 weeks we have held the key to this house. We certainly have a long ways to go, but there are some fun before & after pictures coming up on this blog.

How about a hot pink master bathroom? Anyone?

{Before}

{After}

Still needs some finishing touches, but I am so happy with how this room has turned out. And am totally being spoiled with all the storage space!!!

Hello, linen closet! Nice to meet you! Are you serious? A whole closet just for sheets and towels?? I could really get used to this!

Jean Skirts, Anyone?

Does anyone else out there have such a hard time finding cute, modest, long jean skirts for your girls? Or for yourself? I sure do. Recently a friend challenged me to try making my own. I was not too convinced that I could, But I decided to try. And finding some cute pieces to work with at Goodwill for $0.25 a piece made it more fun to try. =)

Here are my first few tries.

I think each one turns out just a little better than the one before.

Baby Bibs

Last evening I was doing a little shopping online. I had a 75% off gift code to use, and really wanted some cute bibs. With 2 toddlers in bibs 3 times per day, they do wear out. So I had picked out these super-cute ones and was all ready to score a great deal. But alas, even with my 75% off code, once you add in shipping and tax, etc, my bill still would have been $17. For 3 measly baby bibs!


Okay, call me stingy or tight, I don't know, But I just could not do it. I clicked the little red x and cancelled my un-placed order. And I laid in bed then after hubby fell asleep and thought of what I had on hand ... what could I create ... surely I can do better. lol SURELY no one else wastes precious sleep time over such trivial issues!


Anyways, this afternoon over nap time I dug out my sewing machine, a couple of old flannel receiving blankets, some batting, some buttons, and an old bib for a pattern. And I have to say, I was pretty pleased with the 4 pretty bibs I ended up with for just, well, I guess they were completely free! I didn't spend a dime.

Of Paint and Donuts and Babies

It's been a busy week. Okay, who am I kidding, it's been busy for weeks on end. With no sign of vacations and balmy beaches and lazy sun-bathing anywhere on the horizon. But this past week I tackled a few projects on purpose to help pass the time while Jason is gone. He took off for the prison crusades in South Carolina for a week, and took 2 of my kiddoes with him. They, of course, will not be in the prisons, but they are having a totally grand time at their Uncle Jerold's place. I've called to chat with them, and they can barely pry themselves away from games of King & Queen, dress up, or running barefoot outside to spare their mother a few moments. I'm not sure if I should feel awful that they don't even miss me, or proud that they are so well-adjusted that they can handle time away from me without a problem.


Anyways, the first project on my list this week was to overhaul the boys' room. Jason had built them a new bunk bed which got finished last week {didn't he do an AMAZING job??}, and I needed to paint it. I figured, hey, their whole room could really use a face-lift, so I tackled the whole thing. Had a few minor glitches along the way, but over all I am tickled with how it turned out. This is how it looked before ... nasty blue carpet, completely ripped wallpaper border, and baby-blue walls that I was long wearied of. And the old bunk bed ... which is now in the girls' room.

And after ... with the new bunk bed. And new curtains that I sewed.

Another thing I really wanted to do this week was to get to "spoil" my three remaining offspring with extra-fun mom-time, doing things that I often do not have time to do with all 5, a hubby to cook for, and the busy school schedule. And did we ever have fun!! Lunch at the Panda Express at the mall { their Orange Chicken & Fried Rice could be my daily diet and I would not complain!}, half-price day at the second-hand shop, sleep-overs & slumber parties, special movie nights with some fun new movies from the library, playing games, making mini-donuts from little tube-biscuits for supper, days at Grandma's house, and lots of story-reading. Micah told me the other day that this has been the best week of his life, and he wishes it would last forever. So I guess I have been at least somewhat successful.

But the highlight of my week was just last night when I was able to have the privilege to be labor coach for a friend of mine. What a beautiful labor & delivery, with a gorgeous baby boy born a little past 1 this morning. No matter how many babies I have delivered {or coached the delivery}, I never lose the marvel of birth and the miracle of new life ... there is nothing else like it and I LOVE it.  


So yeah, it's been a great week, and it has gone really fast, but all of a sudden I am wishing for my man. It's been long enough now. Tomorrow night can't come fast enough. I am at an amazing place in life right now ... littles needing me at every hand ... school to teach ... my man to stand beside and bless ... Amazingly full and it takes all I've got, but it's amazingly satisfying. I'm trying to enjoy each day, each moment, because truly these moments do slip through my fingers like sand. 

Before & After

It all began as an {ugly}, 3-dollar thrift store find. But it was solid wood, and I figured I could sand it down and refinish it to a beautiful finish. That was my first error. It was a solid piece, and most of it was wood. Except of course, the top. I bagan sanding the tar out of it only to discover .... flakeboard. Alrighty then. Plan B.

I went ahead and sanded down the rest of it, and painted it black. For the top I put on a piece of fabric, with about 6 layers of Mod-Podge. And I think it turned out pretty well for my first time working with the stuff. The top is all shiny & glossy & smooth.

What do you think?

Scrub-Top Make-Over

I love blogs that show make-overs. Old dishes displayed as gorgeous wall art. Ugly end tables with a new paint job that look breathtaking. Or even tin cans sprayed with black-board slate and used for something beautiful. Often I wish I had an eye for things like that, 'cause I sure do love the end results!

A few weeks ago my mom & sisters & I were shopping at a second hand store. A few XXXL scrub tops caught my eye, mostly because they were in a cute Strawberry Shortcake pattern which my girls adore right now. I could not quite picture how I would make them over ... but they landed in my cart anyhow. *grin*

Tonight at 9:30 the inspiration hit to dig them out and see what I could do with them.

I cut the bottom half off for a skirt.

Then cut out some bodice pieces & sleeves.

Everything was already hemmed, and I used the original necklines too. Super easy!

Within an hour (and a nursing-baby interruption) these two were finished!! I'd like to add red ribbon ties yet at the waist, and Christi's may need a ruffle at the bottom for some length. But overall I was so pleased and surprised how easy & fun these were. I am gonna have some very smiley girls in the morning. {until I tell them they can't wear them to church! *smile*}