A-Tisket, A-Tasket, I've Got Some Brand New Baskets

I love getting mail.

L.O.V.E.

As in, run to the mailbox when I see the postman has been there, really need a hobby or a few more friends to distract me, love.

And even better than mail??

Packages!

The mere word sends shivers up my spine. Or not, but it still makes me supremely happy.

And I? Just got some packages! Four, to be exact. They all contained...

West Elm's Braided Storage Bins!

I love these and can't wait to use them to hide store all my kids' toys. They're a great size, made of renewable bankuan grasses, and I love the handles. Also, they're on sale right now (along with several other pieces in the Braided Storage Collection) plus they ship for free. After I used a gift certificate that I still had laying around from my wedding six years ago (!!), they were almost free!

Why did I buy four of these bins, you may ask? For my version of IKEA's Hemnes sofa table, of course.

Source

Yep, I decided to just make it myself (with some help from my table saw-wielding contractor brother-in-law.) I've made the plan and he's assured me that it won't topple over or fold in on itself or anything crazy like that, and I can't wait to build it and share the plan with all of you! We'll be sofa table making fools!

(Update: You can get the plans for my version of this table here: part 1 and part 2)

Between the packages and the plans, I'm all sorts of giddy. I better calm down before I pick up any power tools.

P.S. Speaking of West Elm, I was looking through my catalog again and noticed this:

See that little red asterisk by the art? They're scattered throughout the catalog to showcase etsy artisans! I think it's a fabulous idea and right in line with the big handmade movement that is going on. You can also check out west elm's etsy collaborations at their website!

P.P.S. Sorry about the bad photo-of-a-photo thing goin' on in that last picture.

P.P.P.S. I need this. And I think it might need me, too.

P.P.P.P.S. Sorry about all the P.S.'s today.

Fun, Free Valentine Ideas for Kids

I'm sure by  now you're aware that I've got a couple of kids.

Yeah, that's them. Respectful little boogers, aren't they?

Anyhoosies. These painfully adorable kids of mine need to take Valentines to their classmates next month, as I'm sure yours do (if, you know, you have them. Kids I mean.)

 I like to do a little something more than plop down a couple dollars for perforated character cards at the grocery store... you see, I need to satisfy my secret Valentine's Day craft lust. When I was in school I'd spend hours perusing my mother's Current catalog for supplies and ideas and then go to town with glitter glue, heart-shaped doilies, and red paper.

Why does that have to end just because I no longer have classmates of my own? I can live vicariously through my children, woohoo!

 Recently I've seen a lot of great Valentine art and printables floating around, but I wanted to take a day to specifically highlight a few of the fun Valentines ideas for kids I've stumbled across...  I "Wheelie" Like You and Cute As A Button earring valentines from 30 Days    You Rock Valentines (heart-shaped sucker inside!) from Zakka Life 

Cute Bubble Valentines from Dollar Store Crafts

Colorful Valentine with recycled heart crayon (link to instructions on page) by The Long Thread

 Owl & Dinosaur Cello Bag Toppers by The Celebration Shoppe 

Have you found any other fabulous valentines I should catalog for future V-Day reference? Share, please!

And Then There Were Doors!

A couple months ago, I transformed this old $10 thrift store radio cabinet.  Initially I chose to use bins in the open doors to maximize the available storage because the right door is inoperable. If I covered it I would only have access to that space through the other side (as there's no divider between the bottom two cabinet spaces). I lived with it a while, and... meh. I didn't love it.  But I'm flexible, and I'm a mind changer who likes to make things up as I go along. So I decided it was time for doors.  Originally I had received several suggestions for things like chicken wire, or decorative metal grilles -- and I liked the idea but I didn't know if they would fit with the piece and with my decor. Specifically, I am sort of in love with the old oval pulls and their patina, and I didn't know how well they'd jive with chrome grilles.  So, I decided to go the booooring route and fit in plywood panels to create the look of a classic cabinet door. The first step? Removing the petrified foamy adhesive gunk from where old fabric panels were attached to the doors so that the new panels would fit nicely without a gap. 

A moment of silence for my gross sacrifice? Ew.

After that was done it was time to attach the plywood panels. I used Gorilla Glue because it seemed easy peasy...until I stuck the panels in. But uh oh! They wouldn't lie flat! Curses! It was time for some clamping action.

I had to get a bit creative to hold the panel in the right side door (the one that doesn't actually open)... but I'm resourceful and I've always said there's nothing that sugar or wine can't fix. Or butter. Or chocolate? Or doughnuts... but not chocolate doughnuts. Yuck.

Anyhow, this time it was sugar that came to the rescue. Sugar and money. Confused?

Then I just had to wait for the glue to dry, and I was left with this:

After some caulk and paint, I finally had my finished product (except for when I repaint it later this Spring but shhhhhhhhh don't tell my husband that)!

The bad news? I'm not sure that I like it. Bah! It's sort of okay from that angle... but if you look at it, and then quickly look away, or kind of look at it but not really? Or maybe if you squint? Doesn't it look a little out of proportion?

Oh, such a dilemma!  I feel like the open doors and bins lended a bit more weight to the bottom half of the cabinet, balancing out the bigger pulls on top. Now with the solid bottom doors and their baby knobs and skinny molding (that won't support a bigger knob, by the way) I feel like it's a bit top heavy.

I'm not a big stenciler, but I almost feel like the center panels need a stencil treatment like this one, albeit in a more subtle complementary tone, to balance it out.

Source: Twice Lovely

What do y'all think? Do I need a doughnut to shut me up or is my little cabinet in need of some more love?

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A Girl's Bedroom Design

Yesterday I shared my nephew's bedroom and today I'm excited to share his sister's bedroom that I also worked on the same weekend last summer. So. much. painting!

My niece is twelve, and she really wanted a fun bedroom. She is definitely not a pink-loving princess type, so I sat down with her and she picked her bedding set which I used as a jumping off point for the rest of the room. Her favorite color is purple, so of course I had to find a way to incorporate that as well! She also loves to draw, so I wanted to surprise her with a desk and a system to display her artwork.

Here's her (messy!) room before:

I faced some of the same changes in her bedroom as I did in her older brother's room: her walls, trim, and ceiling all needed to be painted, and her plaster walls required a lot of patching. In addition, she had more existing furniture, so I needed to paint those peices as well.

To be honest, I don't know if I've ever painted as much as I did that one 3-day weekend... by the time I drove back to Idaho, my hand was in a perma-paintbrush claw.

Here's her bedroom, after:

Source list:

Wall color: Behr Pale Daffodil

Bed paint color: Rustoleum Heirloom White

Desk color: Behr Coastal Beige

Desk made by me (woot!) from these two plans at Ana-white.com

Baskets from Target

Duvet set from Target 

Black fur butterfly chair from JCPenney

Lamp from TJ Maxx (its sister is in my guest room! Love!)

Purple sheer curtains from Amazon.com

Cafe rods and clips from Walmart

White closet curtain "door" and pillows were handmade.



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A Teenaged Boy's Bedroom

This past summer, about a month before I decided to dive headfirst into the world of blogging, I spent some time making over the bedrooms of one of my nephews and his sister, my only niece. My older sister and I had spoken about a few times ago in the past, but it was finally time for it to happen.

I spent a long weekend in Utah painting, putting together furniture, making 147 daily trips to Lowe's and Home Depot (why is it physically impossible to remember everything on your first trip? Or even your second trip?) and drinking unhealthy amounts of Diet Coke while listening to embarrassing amounts of pop and singing into screwdriver-microphones.

At least that's how I work. Maybe you're more professional than that.

I don't have a lot of photos, since I wasn't planning on documenting this for a blog, but I thought I'd share what I do have:

My 15-year-old nephew's bedroom, before:

Can you imagine a worse bedroom for a 15-year-old boy? Pink splatter paint? Poor thing!

My sister has a great older home with some great features -- nice wide trim and great character. There were also some challenges: the walls, trim, and ceiling were all really dingy colors (unless you count the pink splatters) so there was a lot of painting which definitely turned this into a bigger project than it would have been otherwise. Also, the walls were plaster, so a lot of the older holes in them had grown over time and required some extensive patching.

Here's my nephew's bedroom, after:

We started from scratch. I got him a new locker-style headboard and bedding set, new furniture, a new light fixture, new blinds, and new wall, ceiling, and trim paint. I decided to paint the trim around the built-in shelves above his bed the same color as the walls to help them fade into the surrounding area since they weren't one of my sister's favorite features of the room.

I had a lot to buy and a budget to stick to, so I worked hard to find nice looking, less expensive options for both my nephew's and my niece's rooms. I was surprised to find several really nice items on walmart.com of all places (don't tell anyone, haha!) Add their free shipping to any store to the equation and I was S.O.L.D.

Source list:

Wall color: Behr Promenade

Duvet set by Hurley, no longer available

Warehouse pendant light (Home Depot)

Oversized chair  (Walmart.com)

Glass-top desk  (Walmart.com)

Tractor seat desk chair (Walmart.com)

Tomorrow I'll share my niece's room!

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Help Me Help You!

Do you comment on blogs and never. ever. get direct replies?

If so, prepare for angelic choirs.

Shelley from House of Smiths recently published a post called "How to let ME reply to YOUR comments" and it's faaaaaaabulous! (That was my Oprah voice, by the way)

 'Cause you probably don't get replies for a really simple reason -- it's not that we don't like you or that you have funky breath... it's a simple fix!

That's Shelley. She's a smart cookie. Go read her post; it might be the most important tutorial in the entire universe! It even has awesome wobbly computer generated drawings on it, and you know how I feel about those.

And yeah, "most important tutorial in the entire universe" might sound a tad melodramatic, but that's how I roll.

Avert Your Eyes... My "Real" Home

Emily at Decorchick is hosting the craziest party this week...a "real homes, real messes, real life" party.

Aaaaand since I'm always up for a little full-disclosure humiliation ('cause I'm shameless like that), I present for your viewing pleasure.... my house. As is. Eep.

Kitchen
(complete with water bottles and cookies that I should not be eating)

Dining Room

(and um, yeah -- the Valentine's printables are still on the dresser from when I took photos of them days ago. Laaaame.)

Living Room

What My Floors Always Look Like

Front Room

(halfway through de-curtainification)

Master Bedroom

(no I do not like to make my bed, thank you very much!)

Guest Bedroom

(nope, no guests recently -- we just don't believe in made beds I guess. My kids helped me out with this one.)

Bathroom

The Boys' Room

(They don't get to go to the library on Saturday if they don't sort this out. I like to shut the door so I don't have to look at it, is that so wrong?)

And here we go... saving the worst best for last. Sigh.

The only room I'm sharing from my basement today is my ugly storage room. The other rooms down there are pretty much empty (we have big plans though!) so there's no real point in sharing... but the storage room? Oh, baby... it's bad. It was super organized until November, and then the downward spiral began. Ouch.

Storage Room

Phew. That was strangely cathartic.

Now go check out other "real homes" at Decorchick!

Talk Amongst Yourselves

Would you rather have a third arm or a third leg?

Would you rather be gossiped about or lied to?

Would you rather get shot out of a cannon or walk a tight rope?

Would you rather drive 3 1/2 hours to the nearest IKEA just to buy a sofa table or *gulp* build one yourself for half the cost?

IKEA Hemnes Sofa Table

Let's all ponder those questions.

Talk amongst yourselves.

P.S. If you haven't heard about Valspar's paint sample giveaway that just started, hop on over and gets yours before they're gone! They're giving away 1,000 samples each day for 100 days, and it just started Monday. Just a warning, they go fast -- the "store" opens each day at 12:00 am CST.

Valentine's Day Treats

Today I'm jumping on the bandwagon and offering a couple little Valentine's Day treaties for y'all.

 Yep, just a couple little heart-y printables for your Valentine's Day enjoyment. What little Valentine's Day decorating I do consists of little pops of sweet whimsy scattered in a couple places throughout my house -- no overboard red and pink allowed here. But I love the idea of sending valentines! Both of these little printables are small enough that you could turn them into cards or tags using your various crafty talents... I don't really have a lot of that sort of talent, so bear with me whilst I attempt to illuminate: Cut either of these little beauties out, glue to a little folded cardstock, and voila! Instant valentine.  Add a little glitter... 

 ...or toss one into a small frame if you want a fun little thing to display...
 ...and I'm spent.  Whew. I'm all out of crafty juice, peeps. That glitter just takes it right out of me... need to go take a nap now. I'm sure anyone (everyone?) could make them even cuter. Enjoy!
i carry your heart postcard

xoxo postcards
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Let's Rearrange!

Sooo... I did some rearranging yesterday. I've been in a bit of a funk lately, and the treadmill didn't make it disappear so I decided to move some stuff around in my house.

My husband came home and was confused. He asked me why our bedroom curtains and rug were in the front room.

"Um, because I moved them?" was my response. (That's the funk talking if you can't tell. I'm usually sweet and mild tempered, really!)

Anyhoo. I liked my bedroom curtains in theory when I bought them sometime last year, and in theory they even 'go' with the swirlies on my bed.

In practice, in my tiniest-bedroom-ever? They feel too busy for me. Or maybe I've just decided I don't like high-contrast patterned curtains? Not sure - definitely something to ponder.

So I replaced them with the white curtains from my front room, and even though I (still) want to paint that blue room with every fiber of my being, I like it a lot more without the busy damask print.

I tried sticking the rug and damask curtains in my (sad, forgotten, needs a makeover) front room...

I do like the rug... but the curtains? FAIL. Ouch. I'm takin' those puppies down immediately, and sticking them on Ebay. They're pretty but they just don't fit the style of my house -- and I just feel like they overwhelm my small bedroom.

Side note: I'm moving the front room up on my list of priorities for 2011. It needs some serious love. And some color.

The last thing I did in my funk-reduction rearranging party was stick a previously displaced 5x8 rug onto the carpet in my living room. Area rugs on carpet: it's a controversial issue that I've seen mentioned on lots of decor sites and blogs, and I'm going to big it a big fat thumbs up for now.

I think it works, and it's a little splash of some fun color and when I sneakily replace that coffee table with a couple cute storage cubes, I think it will look even better. And it's my house so I can put rugs on my carpet or paint my ceilings neon green if I want. But don't worry, I don't want to do that last thing.

So are you a serial rearranger or is there a permanent place for everything in your home?

And since I brought it up, what's your opinion on rugs over carpet?

White Slipcovered Couches - A Dream Come True or a Recurring Nightmare?

Okay, peeps. I have visions of white slipcovered bliss in my living room.

Imaginary products magically photoshopped into my living room using questionable amounts of skill:

1. Ektorp Corner Sofa from IKEA

2. Seville Rush Cube from Walmart.com.
  

Gosh, I am so good at Photoshop. ;)

I even "painted" the back door in preparation for its makeover into a dutch door in a funky color, possibly red like my fun front door:

Woo, look at me getting off topic! Back to slipcovered couches.

I love the clean, classic look of slipcovers; I love that you can pop them into the wash when they need it; I love that you can change the look of your furniture if you so choose, all while keeping a clean line since the covers are fitted. Love!

Speaking of love, I also love the Pearce sectional from Pottery Barn. But there's no way I'm going to purchase one, for two very good reasons:

1. I'm a big fan of doing things on a budget, especially if I can get a classic look for less money!

2. My boys? They are big fans of destroying things. (Please note that I didn't say 'kids', I said 'boys' -- ask my husband who in our family broke the futon when we were first married by getting a running head start to jump over the back of it in order to land sideways, ready for movie watching.)

Anyhoosies. Expensive furniture is not really in my plans until my kids graduate high school and my husband inexplicably slows down or gets old enough to require the use of a walker, thereby drastically minimizing the chances of another flying leap couch-breaking incident.

And that IKEA Ektorp sofa? Is only $799! And I've heard pretty good things about it, especially for the price. I die.

So tell me, what do you think about white slipcovers? Let me first say that:

1. I'm not insane, I promise.
2. My kids don't eat in the living room.
3. I'd probably get an extra slipcover so I could switch them out without leaving the couch naked.
4. This is not happening in the near future, I'm just a planner. And I want one soooooooooo bad.

So bad. Sniff.

'Rice Paddy' Living Room

The living room is painted! I got some nice comments and encouraging words from people after I posted about my green dilemma, and in the end I decided to paint the room Sherwin Williams 'Rice Paddy' and I lurve it. So glad I went with my gut and picked a lighter shade.

Here's a peek:



It is definitely green. And I like it that way -- it's a nice light color that changes depending on the light, but I like all the color variations I've noticed so far. On a side note, I'm incredibly glad I painted test patches all over my walls, some of those seemingly harmless greens looked horrible in the wrong light! (think hospital green or 1980's bridesmaid seafoam green...ew?)

As much as I like the contrast of deep colors with crisp white trim, I think I prefer the light, cheerful feeling this paint brings to the room. I finished painting in the evening, and even with the lamps off the room felt much lighter than it has for the past eighteen months... it made me realize how cave-like my poor living room has been. I still want can lights installed in my lightless living room, but for now I'm much happier with my lighter, brighter, cheerful living room!

Baked No-Bake Cookies

Have you ever eaten no-bake cookies? The chocolate, peanut butter, oatmeal deliciousness?

Yeah, I'm a fan too.

Recently though,  I tweaked a recipe to make a cookie I think I might like even more; and while you do have to bake these cookies, they have the same sorts of no-bake flavors with a more classic chewy cookie texture. I'm officially hooked, and not just 'cause I'm hormonal and craving all things chocolate.

Try 'em with a big glass of milk! Your thighs will thank you.

Baked No-Bakes

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. peanut butter

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. rolled oats

Cream butter and sugars until fluffy, then beat in peanut butter, egg, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients, mix well. Stir in oats.

Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoonful (or cookie scoop) onto lightly greased pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 350°F -- don't overbake or the cookies will start to dry out.

Store in tightly closed container, makes 20-24 cookies.

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Boys' Room

It turns out my little guy has pneumonia of all things, yesterday ended up being miserable for him and we spent a couple hours with a doctor getting tests and a chest x-ray.  Poor little man.

My dude in happier, backwards-underoos-and-rainboots days.

  So today I'm just going to share my plan for my boys' room, which I will hopefully get to sometime before they graduate high school.  It was inspired by this room, which I've loooooved forever: (Photo: decorpad) Even my boys like this room, so I figure my version will go over well. The first thing my oldest fell in love with was the map, and a flatweave rug will be perfect for my train-obsessed pneumonia-stricken younger one. I'll be making as much of this myself as possible because I love to save money and I live for a challenge -- I already made the Land of Nod inspired bunkbeds last summer, and I also made each of the boys a book rack out of scrap wood. Sooo... who wants to take a rug making class with me? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?