Dining room tie-in

I didn't full-on redecorate the dining room, but I wanted to update some of the colors of the pieces I already had.  This is supposed to be the before picture of the mirror.  I forgot until half way through to take a picture!

This was a sewing machine table that we got from my husbands grandmas house when she passed away.  I thought it had some potential.  It sat in our basement for years....

This is the chair that went with it.

I was sick of this pattern and the cream color...

So this is it all put together!  I love it much better than before.

So here is the desk all painted black and distressed.  And the chair, painted white and distressed.

Curtains for the window above the sink

More curtains. 

I painted this rack thingy black and got some plates from Target.  Love them!

I didn't have a before picture of this one, but you'll just have to trust me when I say it was ugly!  It was cream colored with a wood colored top.  I like the black muuuuch better!  It was such a simple fix, I can't believe we've had this for 8 years!

And the mirror.  I used the same paint as the bedroom wall.  I love it!

Bedroom makeover

BEFORE:  I was sick of the greens and reds and wanted to tie it in with the rest of the house.

AFTER:  This is what I came up with and I love it!  I went with the turquoise and black and added some yellow and gray accents.  The only thing I wish is that the bedroom furniture was black or white.  But that's not something I want to get into right now, so we just look past it. :) 

Another view

I love these frames too!  They just finish off the look.

I bought these lamp bases at Target and then just covered a plain white shade with fabric from JoAnnes.  I wanted to do ruffled ones, but I got the NO WAY from the husband.  He said that would just be too girly.

While I was at it, I made curtains for the front door.  They are glass and I feel like we are in a fish bowl at night.  I made it so the side ones can snap off during the day and the middle one ties up with the black ribbons. 

I'm feeling ready!

My cute little baby is going to make his appearance soon, so I whipped out some new blankets and a carseat cover for him.  I thought these colors would be fun to try out, and in a quilted style too.

Then of course I had to make a super soft one for him!  It's so cute!

I saw this dino fabric and loved the way it looked with the bright blue dots!

I fell in love with the green gray combo and had to make a soft quilt!  Every time I sew with minky I remember how much I hate it.  I had such a hard time keeping everything straight.  Oh well, it's super cuddly, so I don't think he'll mind :)

Ever have one of those moments where the fabric in the store is "so cute" then you get home and say what was I thinking?  That may have been the case here.  I loved the orange and blue and brown and thought this nursing cover would coordinate so cute with the carseat, but when I laid it all out I realized it looks like an old lady's tablecloth.  I sewed it anyway, we'll see if it get's used :)

Living Room Makeover!

I needed a shelf above my TV and this was the perfect solution!  I can't take the credit though.  All I did was paint, sand and stain it.  There is a guy in our ward that owns a wood store and sells things unfinished and at such a good price!  I added the hardware-all by myself I might add.  Yah I even used the powerdrill...with no man help.  I found the perfect turquoise vases and white flowers to go with it too.  I have a different frame that I am putting there, but I haven't painted it yet.

I also wanted a bookshelf thing in the corner to replace some old college-days fake crap (can you tell I had bitter feelings).  So I found this beauty on Craigslist, and had the husband bargain a little for a good deal.  I painted it the perfect red :) and stained it!  I could not love it more!!

Then I got to go shopping for some new decor!  I added some yellow, blue, and red to go with the rest of the room.  I still want to get some yellow bookends of some sort.  I just ran out of energy.  Can you imagine me, 8.5 months pregnant out in the garage painting 4 freaking coats of this paint on?!  The fumes and hard to reach areas about killed me!

Here is the new look!  I had to move around a couple of other wall decorations too, but it all worked out and I feel like I have a new living room!

I know we've already seen this table, but this is the decor I think I have finally settled on.  I have changed it so many times.

Blue Entry Table!

Aaaah!  I can't believe I forgot to take a "before" picture!  Just use your imagination and pretend it was all black with distressed edges.  This is with the first coat of blue paint.

This is with it sanded and stained.

And here we have it upstairs and all decorated.  I obviously need to update some decor, but one step at a time.  For now this will do!

Then I made this runner (with the same lamp fabric) to put on top of the bright piece of furniture.  I thought it would tone it down a little.  Maybe not.  But I love the color combo!

b&w lamp shade

Remember I said I would be tying in some more black and white?!  Well, I was just sick of this old style red lamp and I got a killer deal on this fabric at JoAnn's.  Since I was an expert (from doing it one whole time before)  :) I went to town with the glue gun and a new shaped shade.  I love it!

More blue for the living room.

I bought these cute little knobs at the craft store and threw some paint on them.

I thought they would be perfect to hang these existing boards on  -just to add some color and tie in the blue.  I also changed out the ribbon to a black and white paisley.  I have some of that to tie in also!

I got this cute family sign from a friend a while back.  It was super cute, but i decided to add some color to it while we're at it!  I forgot to take a before picture, so yes, this is the back, but it looked the same on the front...sort of. 

I Picked out some paint in all the colors I am trying to accent with.

Then I sanded the edged and then stained them darker.  Looks cute huh!? 

Quiet Books

Okay, I'm a nerd, but I am totally excited about these!  In fact I just finished them today and I am already blogging about it!  I was craft-blog-surfing yesterday (I love to do that on Sundays for some reason) and I found these free printable flashcard type things.  They are all church related and perfect for my kids!  I always wanted to make one of those fabric quiet books with all the zippers and buttons and all that...but lets face it, who has time for that??? I think my procrastinating paid off and now my kids are too old... right...two of them at least?

These topics are so basic and they are just right for kids.

Perfect!  The kids are all starting to memorize the Articles of Faith!

Okay, so I realize there's not a lot of "crafting" going on here, but can I just tell you how much I love simple and cheap projects?!  All I did was download these pictures, order them as 4x6 prints at Sam's Club one hour.  Then I planned on laminating and binding them...but I got smart and decided it would be cheaper (and a lot less work) to just buy $1.99 brag books and shove them in there.  SO easy and I LOVE the results!

We are headed out for a LONG car drive next week, so I decided to make a little learning book for my 2 yr old.  I think he might actually look at it because he loves cars so much!

And the final product.  I hope my kids will actually look at these in church and maybe learn something???  Maybe we will take these in the car too!

Boring Living Room Re-do

Step One: recover lampshade.  It was a beige color and it blended right in with the wall...boring.  So I bought a new shade, with a cooler shape, at Target, and some cute fabric at JoAnne's and used a lot of hot glue.   I am really digging this turquoise color lately with black or brown...or maybe both!  So I am going to try and add a little color slowly to the whole room, starting with this blue.

And I had these tan colored stick thingies in this vase, also blended right in with the wall, so I found super cute new ones at TJMaxx the other day for sooo cheap!  I love the colors with the blue!

Then I found this awesome pillow there too.  I am so in love with it.  I only wish there were two.  But that's the sacrifice you make when you shop at those kinds of stores I guess!  Take what you can find.  Plus I think I will go for lots of different color pillows anyway, not just turquoise.  Like yellow and black&white and maybe red.  Ooh, sounds fun doesn't it?!  Next step is buying some furniture to paint and distress.  I am going for a "shabby chic" meets semi-modern look.  I am sick of the old red, green, brown...blah blah blah....wish me luck!