At Camp

Since Lucy is asleep when we play music for the campers, we wanted to take a photo of her to show them what she looks like. Here's what Dave shot yesterday.

Tank Top Re-do

We have this great store in Phoenix called Last Chance that's FULL of great bargains. Awhile ago they were selling tank tops for $1 each... so I bought 10! The problem is that I didn't try them on, and when I got them home I realized that they were all really low-cut.

This post is the first in (hopefully) a series of tank top re-dos. I used pre-made ruffle trim that I bought at SAS fabric for 30 cents per yard. I think it's pretty cute :).

This photo shows what the tank top looks like...

... but this shot is cuter :)

And here's the back:
Ta Da!

Africa Pillow

I was commissioned to do another pillow! I have been SO crazy busy, that I surprised myself when I said that I'd do it. A lovely young woman named Kortney asked me to make her a pillow with the Dallas skyline a year or two ago, and she contacted me again to see if I'd make one about her trip to Mozambique. She wrote to me about how life-changing her experience was, and I just couldn't say no.

She told me about a little boy who made a big impact on her. It was hard for them to communicate because of the language barrier, but when Kortney asked him to sing her a song, she was surprised to hear him sing the word "butterfly" in English. So OF COURSE I had to include some winged beauties on the pillow.

So, here it is Kortney! I hope you like it :). I'll put it in the mail sometime soon.

Guilty

Basically every time I blog I feel guilty because there are so many other things that I should be doing. And even though the photos of Lucy are super cute, I'm tired of seeing the same post every time I visit my blog. That said, let's move forward.

We decided to hire our friend Mike to install molding and taller baseboards to the office, Lucy's room, and the guest bedroom. I can't believe the difference it makes.
In process...

After:

We decided to put a comfy chair by the windows, and I really love it. Our windows are bare at the moment, but we should be getting new shutters sometime very soon.

It's hard to post these photos, because nothing is actually completed, but I thought it would be fun to document our progress.

Here are a couple images of Lucy's room:


Before we had it painted, the dining room was a dark tan-ish orange with a light tan ceiling. You can't really tell how dark it is from the photo, but you can get a glimpse of how it used to be.

We had it painted white because it tends to be a dark room. We still want to get two pendant light fixtures, and put more colorful artwork up on the walls. It looks pretty stark right now, but I can see the potential.

Now back to real life.

Mother's Day

This is our tiny girl. She fit into the same outfit that she wore last year on Mother's Day. In case you wanted to know... it's size 3-6 months.

Jewelry Organization Project (plus paint colors)

Here's a project I finished a few weeks ago, but haven't gotten around to posting about until now. I saw something similar to this in Better Homes and Gardens, and I just fell in love. They used a radiator grill like this woman, and even though I think it's really lovely, I didn't want to take the time to hunt one down AND spend a good chunk of change on it.

My friend, Carol, and I went the easy, budget route and bought a $6 roll of wire mesh from Home Depot. The employee recommended treating the metal with white vinegar before painting it, so I did. Once the vinegar was dry, I spray painted the mesh white (along with a frame that I already had).

I used a staple gun to secure the mesh to the frame, and viola! It's so functional! My dangly earrings just hook right on, and I used some tiny s-hooks to hang the necklaces.

It is SO much easier to find my jewelry now. AND my necklaces are no longer a tangled mess!


P.S.
Many of you asked about the specific colors we used in our design. So I will tell you!
1. The red spray paint that we used on the mirror and frame is called "Paprika" by Rustoleam in the satin finish.
2. The living room color is called "Silver Sage" by Restoration Hardware (although the paint itself is not Restoration Hardware brand).
3. The kitchen and nook color is called "Meditation" by Benjamin Moore. It's in the the swatch packet from Pottery Barn.

I'm hoping to post more photos of the rest of the house sometime very soon. I still need to get stuff hung up the the walls, and then make sure it's all tidy enough to take a picture :).

I really need to pack but...

... I wanted to post these photos really quickly! We got our coffee table (yay!). But I'm realizing now that a round rug would really tie it all together.

After seeing our new paint color, I made an executive decision and painted the chalkboard the same red as the mirror.

Aren't these paint colors SO pretty on the walls?

lighting

I found one more photo of an "after" shot of our house. We bought this chandelier at Home Depot to go over our little seating nook.

It's kind-of Crate and Barrel-esque without the Crate and Barrel price.

More Little Changes

We've been doing a lot of little things here and there to make our house feel more our style. The sconces in the hallway weren't awful, but they weren't awesome either. Replacing them was inexpensive and quick.
Before:
After:

I was a little bit stumped about what to put above our bed, but then Carol and I saw a whole bunch of really cool crosses at Hobby Lobby. Most of them were on sale (yay), so we decided to buy a bunch and spray paint one red, and one white.
Before:

After:

Some are ceramic, some are poly-resin (I think that's what it's called), one is metal, and there's one wood one. Aren't they pretty?

Our house is almost done being painted, and I CAN'T WAIT to post photos of our new colors! Having the ceilings painted white (instead of tan) makes SUCH a huge difference. I'm so excited to start putting things back up on the walls.

Lucy and Chicks and Bunnies