Inspired by all of you out there!

I have been so inspired by all you creative women out there in (creative blogland)! It seems like you're always painting and that most of your inside walls, are indeed, painted. Well, while at Lowes the other day, there were these two quarts sitting on the "oops" table for $1.00 each. They were the mustard you see here in the photo. You can see where I stopped at the red curtains. I've been planning on painting this family room mustard for some time now, so when I had to opportunity to try it out for $2.00, I took it. Result...very dramatic I think. Here, I showed how the mustard looked butted up against the kitchen nook. That's the only place I have that Ralph Lauren red. The rest of the kitchen is wallpapered in a cream color with tiny navy blue stars all over. ( a future post) But I like the barn red and mustard together. I can't get over how beautiful the barn star looks against mustard.

I took this photo so you could see how blah the walls look, white. Thanks for all the inspiration! One guess what's going to happen to that old armoire that used to hold our TV in the last home...yep, you guessed it...the same thing I've seen all the rest of you creative gurus do...Paint it BLACK. Thanks for the inspiration again! : ) I'll post an "after" photo one of these days.

Sara's room is coming along. Shouldn't be too much longer. : )

The Pincushion OR... in praise of never throwing anything away...ever! : )

Would you like to hear a funny story? Tomorrow is one of my dear friend's birthday. I bought her gift over a month ago. However, she is the founder of our quilt group and I really wanted to give her something handmade by me as well. So, finally at about 10 p.m., I decide what project I wanted to do. Now, it's off to the sewing area to see if by any chance I have at least some of the materials needed. Holy Toledo...I had every single item I needed. I just couldn't believe it. As you can see below, I had both colors of felt, the little pearls for polka-dots, and wired ribbon. I haven't seen some of this stuff in years.
Ok, so I get right down to business.

And there you have it!...... True Story: Within the last couple of months, my married daughter was over here for some fun girl time and we were conjuring up some fun project in our heads. When I went into the laundry room to pull the desired items out of a drawer, she said, "I love coming over here Mom, because whatever we need, somehow you always seem to have it. And I might add...we usually need it right around midnight. : )

Organization for a "purse-aholic"...and it's not me : )

While you're waiting for the the big "reveal" of Sara's bedroom, I thought I would show you an idea I dreamed up out of desparation... a way to store all her purses. I love you Sara. : )

As you can see, they are all hanging above her clothes. Just went to the hardware store, had a piece of pipe cut, bought hardware for hanging a closet rod, and installed. Then, hung shower curtain hooks on key rings (also purchased from hardware store). The key rings allow the purses to hang in the right direction. Feel free to duplicate in your home. : )

My daughter's new french walls...the process

First, Sara chose what she calls, "Paris pink". Actually, it's a Laura Ashley color and I can get you the exact name if you're interested.

My silly Sara.

Okay, from here I cut out our own stencil of a damask design. It was actually on a plate here at the house. I took the plate to Kinkos, enlarged it, traced it on a blank stencil sheet, cut it out, and put Sara to work.


Okay, so stay tuned for the big "Reveal". : )

Reveal below:

Well, I figured everyone has waited long enough. By the end, we had revised our plan 5 0r 6 times! We just couldn't decide on the right placement or which size of stencils to use. Fortunately if you don't like it, just get out the old paint brush, and you have a new canvas to work with again.
We intended all along to only stencil two walls and paint the remaining two a very soft shade of grey. The grey will happen over the next week I hope.
The interesting hanging lamp came from Ikea. It's leftover from Sara's old "funky" bedroom, but I love the soft glow it casts on the desk. We've seen this lamp in several movies. : )
So you notice how there's three stencils? As mentioned before, I cut out the biggest one myself but the two sizes of the other one came from JoAnn's. I thought they complimented each other very well. The mirror was from an antique store, but only cost me $50. It was a gold color, but I spray painted it the cream you see here.

The word, Princess, is made out of "pearls". Sara's name actually mean Princess. : ) No wonder she's always loved lots of "jewels", crowns, and tons of bling-bling!



This is a cute little cabinet (above) we bought about 5 years ago. It reflects all ages of Sara's interests. : )

Linking to:
Funky Junk Interiors
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

My New Red Door and Rhondi's Porch Party

I proudly took these photos right after I painted my front door red...a life long dream. : ) You can see the rest of the porches at the party by clicking here.

Thank you Rhondi for hosting this party. The perfect time of year for it!

mistreatment party

Today I am joining "The Nester" for her Window "Mistreatment" Party! My sweet married daughter helped me get this Blog all set up just so I could join in the fun. Thanks, Em!

My goal for this window was to camouflage the fact that we bought these pre-made cheap blinds from Home Depot...thus, the two "seams" I wanted to hide. I wanted the blinds to look like all one piece. So, I bought the sheer panels from Target (which were meant to be gathered onto a rod), but I choose to do the clips instead. I also recently added the green candle-ring beads to the berries on the rod. Thanks for looking. : )