Home Tour - bedroom

This is one of my favorite rooms in the house... with the two windows this room is so bright and sunny!

I love the white "curtains", my plants, and all the colors.

Secret - this is not a curtain... it's a bed sheet I tied to the rod one day on whim and tied back with a scarf!  It doesn't too much to block the sunlight, but I like it.

Another secret... this isn't a curtain either, its a blanket draped over the rod!!

I've done a couple posts about the bedroom already.  You can learn how to make a similar painting - here.  And about the bed linens (all found at thrift stores) here. 

Those prints and colors look familiar?? It's the background of my blog header!!!

Free Find Friday: Duvet trick

I found an adorable duvet cover at a thrift store nearby {originally from Ikea} for $1.50 {basically free right}!! I had to have it.... but it was only the cover.  I figured for $1.50 I could someday buy a new duvet to go inside.
I brought it home and laid it on the bed to see how the pattern worked with other patterns that I have {LOVE to mix patterns} and then noticed that in the corner was a comforter that a friend had given me recently and I was planning on using in the spare room but I didn't really love the colors {but like I said, it was FREE}

I got the idea to see if I could just shove the comforter inside the duvet cover...... and you totally can!

I figured since I already shared part of my bed with you in my last post {DIY Recycled Art} I could go ahead and share about whats on the bed even though the room isn't "finished" just yet.

 my colorful patterns. ALL thrifted or free.

love love love to be able to say that. 

So if you have a comforter that you love, it's warm and cozy.. but is looking a little drab or doesn't quite "go" with the rest, just cover it up :)

DIY : recycle old painting with quote art

Well like all other breathing 25 year olds the majority of my inspiration comes from pinterest these days.
I found a DIY art project I wanted to try

                                                                         Source: craftgawker.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

I had a painting under my bed for at least 10 years (no joke) that I picked up at a yard sale and had always intended to re-purpose.  I liked it because it was large, and have a good frame so I could easy re-cover it with canvas and paint a new picture or something.
Well flash forward a decade and I saw this and remembered my sad, forgotten painting.  And then I breathed new life into it and it proudly hangs above our bed.

This is SUPER easy to do.
promise.

All you need is:

• a painting or some type of picture with colors that you like
• paint - I used cheapo white acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby for $1 and then added a little paint thinner because I wanted some of the original artwork to show through
• letter stickers - I bought some on clearance at Jo-Anns
• a paint brush
• time 

Choosing a quote is probably about the hardest part.  I had so many ideas running through my head... but I ultimately decided on this one because I love it so much.  It has a special meaning to me ever since we lived in Grenada.  We lived in the sunshine, swam the sea, and drank lots of wild air...... 

I love how Emerson turned out.  The colors are perfect behind the words.

the bedroom isn't finished as of yet.... just this lone painting hangs on the wall.
my husband said "do all these patterns go together"
ummm not exactly. and I like it that way.

New Apartment!!

I've been moved into my new apartment for about a week now!
I don't want to share the before pictures just yet because I don't have the afters and they'll sit here for weeks looking ugly....

I will share the outside and one little project that I am currently obsessed with.

 Our apartment building!!

I made a new little fixture for our hall light :)

It's an umbrella I've had for years.   My mom bought it on clearance from the garden section of Kroger because she knew I'd just love it.  Well I have two of them and for about 10 years have not found a purpose for it and have just propped it against something.  
I got out the saw (in the AMAZING tool kit my inlaws gave my husband.... which I think we all know I will get way way more use out of than him) and chopped off the handle because it was too long and tied it to the existing light fixture.

I chose the hall light because
1. it was ugly
2. we won't use that light that often so just in case this is some sort of fire hazard the light won't be getting hot.

I can't wait to share more of our home with you!!! Thanks for sticking with me even though I am super unreliable in the blogging world :)

Best Friend Birthday Gifts

My best friends are twins.
Yes both of them are equally my best friends and yes they are different people.

Their birthday was yesterday and they are the girls who have everything so it was a little difficult to think of something for them.  They are the sweetest girls, always thinking of others, and are so generous and always think of something sweet for my birthday.  This year they sent me flowers to work!

Thankfully we live in an age of Pinterest and you can find out exactly what kind of things people like! 

My friend Kristen pinned a prayer journal and a few verses and quotes that she liked so I compiled them into a book for her.  I knew a prayer journal would be perfect for her because they recently lost their father and she is getting married this weekend and has a lot going on in life, so a place to write out her prayers will be so nice.  And she can look back and see all the things that God has answered and worked out.

It's just a re-decorated a composition book!

 And for my other twinling I made her a bird's nest necklace with three little eggs because she has two boys and is pregnant with a little girl!!

My sister made one for my mom for mother's day and she of course got the idea from pinterest! 
What did we do without it?!

It is fairly simple and cheap to make.
I simple put three beads on wire and wrapped it until I thought it looked like a nest, then added a chain!
Check out pinterest if you want a 'real' tutorial.
Or let me know and I'll have my sister make you one ;)

Dr. Seuss Lorax Tree Art

This week we had Monday and Tuesday off from school.
Monday for a snow day and Tuesday for election day here in Ohio.
My nieces and I spent Monday evening working on some art work that I was inspired by pinterest to try. 
We also paintined Dr. Seuss Lorax trees because the girls recently watched the movie, and who doesn't love Dr. Seuss inspired crazy trees :)


We used paper grocery sacks from Kroger, a mountain dew bottle, paint, and an old pickle jar lid to put the paint in.


Use the bottom of the pop bottle as a stamp




the lid works as a stamp too!




winter, spring, and summer







Once we filled all the paper bags we held an art auction in the kitchen and sold the paintings to my parents (their grandparents) for .25-1.00.  My nieces' idea... they are little entrepreneurs!  

Boot socks

Maybe I am like 6 months behind with this trend, but cut me some slack I wasn't exactly in boot sock wearing weather until recently...  I'm finally getting to some of the DIY projects I have in my pinterest to do file.

I made my boots socks the simple, lazy girl way.

First I went through my closet and decided that I didn't have any sweaters ugly enough that I was willing to cut them up, so where did I go next?  My mom's closet.  Ugly sweater heaven.
Not that my mom is a bad dresser.... she just has a tendency to hang on to things way, way past their prime or keep something around because it is "comfortable", which is exactly what she said when I pulled out 3 sweaters I wanted to chop.

I convinced her that these sweaters had to go and she willingly (I am so thankful for my sweet mom) let me take a pair of scissors to them.
I had been looking for sweaters at the Goodwill and Salvation Army but I'm seriously so cheap I couldn't justify paying $3-4 for a sweater just to cut it up.  Free is so much better, wouldn't you agree?

*Before you begin cutting make sure that the wrist of the sweater is large enough to fit over your calf, but tight enough that it isn't going to fall down!  

 

I simply cut off the sleeves of the sweater, put it on my leg, trimmed the bottom so it was about ankle length, and then put my boots on.

That's it.
I figure if the unfinished edge is going to be down inside of my boot anyway there was no need to hem it or put an elastic band in.  But that's just me.  Feel free to hem it and make it look nice if you want.

The results look something like this.  You can see the entire outfit on my most recent What I Wear Wednesday post.  

These are the other two pairs I made...  I do think that I would like these better layered over skinny jeans or tights, but these pictures were taken quickly to share on here, so bare legs it was!

 

Perhaps my next What I Wear Wednesday will be a boot parade... I have been "collecting" boots since I met my Canadian hubby and thought that if I'm forced to live in the freezing cold I might as well be warm and look stylish while doing it.  Little did I know that I should have been collecting sunglasses and bikinis for our little Grenadian adventure :)
Now it looks like we may be heading north to Detroit, Michigan so I will be well prepared for the cold snowy winters ahead.  ha! 
I also collect coats, scarves, hats, gloves, sweaters, etc....
Do you think my husband is buying into this rationalization?

Giveaway Winner!!

drum roll....................

And the winner is:
Courtney B!!
she blogs over at from here to eternity about her life with her husband Eric.

Thank you so so so much to everyone who entered!
This was a first giveaway for me and I can say that I learned a lot and I am so happy to have met some new  friends!

Courtney is going to be receiving a yarn wrapped wreath in the colors of her choice :)

Here are some other wreaths I've been working on recently! 

This wreath was bought at the Goodwill for $1 and I took off all the stuff and added my own!  Great deal when you can find them!! This is for my Sister-in-law for her Birthday!

The little sign is a chalk board so the message  can be changed from season to season... or day to day! 

I've begun making my own grapevine wreaths too!  My mom and I went up into the woods and grapevines are abundant!  It' so easy too!  Much better than paying $5-6 at Hobby Lobby for one not as nice.

I think I love making wreaths.

Felt Friends

I have been going a little felt crazy lately... I made about a 100 flowers this Christmas and gave away as gifts as hair clips, broaches, shoe clips, etc.

I found a little bunny in a book and decided to try my hand at making one myself on Sunday afternoon. 
I did it all by hand, I tried to make one with the machine but it didn't turn out so well, I think my tension was too tight and it didn't work well with the felt... at least that's what I think.
It didn't take long to make and then I began receiving requests from my nieces :)

My niece's little monster!  Up next a kitty cat!

I think these little critters would be great made out of an old sweater, what do you think??
Have you ever chopped up a sweater?  I may be raiding the $1 bin at Salvation Army soon....
Happy Monday!