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Dust Ruffle = Curtains?

I am going to be a Grandma for the first time soon. To say I'm excited is to put it mildly!


So when my daughter asked me to help her decorate the nursery, of course I jumped at the chance.


The problem?

My son-in-law is a HUGE Florida State fan and he has asked that my grandson's room be a Seminoles room - decked out in their colors of garnet and gold.


This is where my daughter is a much better wife than me...she said yes.


This has proven to be a huge challenge. There isn't much baby stuff in garnet and gold! Oh and have I mentioned that the budget is ....CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP? They live in a rental so paining the walls is out of the question.


We worked on the nursery this weekend and I have to tell you..it is starting to come together!


I found this dust ruffle for $1.00 at that Habitat yard sale that I got the ugly lamps.

Now putting the dust ruffle on the bed in the room that needs a dust ruffle would seem like the easy answer, but my daughter and I didn't like that...so we made them into curtains!

Here's how we did it. We had to start with some visualization by hanging the dust ruffle on the widow. The dust ruffle idea actually came after I first hung a dish towel up there for some inspiration. Trust me, this looked much better.

My daughter doesn't own a sewing machine or even a seam ripper, so we had to get creative! First, I simply cut the patterned part of the fabric off the dust ruffle.

Next I ironed the fabric with a heavy starch, and cut it to just beyond width of the windows. My daughter didn't want the curtains too gathered - this is a boy's room and she thought the gathered approach looked "girly". So we kept the curtains pretty straight across.


Since I didn't have a sewing machine, I simply ironed the "hem" on the side of the curtain and top of the curtain. (The bottom already had a hem since it was the bottom of the dust ruffle.) My daughter had found some curtain rods on clearance at Target, and we bought some cheap rings to hang the curtains. Here's the finished product!

They were so easy and really have inspired us for the rest of the room...


I will keep you updated as this room evolves...and my son-in-law's smile gets even bigger...


Have you ever made curtains out of a dust ruffle or something else creative?

Time to Redecorate...My File Drawer

I like to think of us as organized people but the truth is if something happened to us, our grown children would be shocked. I started poking around our file cabinet the other day and got the giggles. There they were...files on cars we no longer own...dogs that are no longer alive and clubs we no longer belong to.

Organizing is a great thing but we have to remember that it is kind of like laundry.... just because we did it once it doesn't mean we will never have to do it again. So when you get your 1040 from the government this year consider it your reminder that it is time for you to decorate the inside of your file cabinet once again...

I found these at

http://www.charmingcards.com/category/designer-file-folders/c64



They also have these that made me smile...



Won't my husband be surprised when he sees how I decorated this year...

Sew Up Some Fun

Please excuse the picture....for some reason it didn't turn out very good, but the project was perfect.

If you have a child that you want to teach how to sew, may I suggest the good old fashioned bean bag.

I cut 4 and a half inch squares out of some scrap fabric...I like this size because it works well for little hands to catch.

I used soft flannel...it feels really good... but you can use whatever you have.

Then simply sew up the edges... don't forget to leave a side open to fill. I like using rice instead of beans because it's not as lumpy. Be sure not to fill it too full.....you want the bags a bit limp.

Then hand stich the opening closed and go play some catch.

A quick, inexpensive project that can produce hours of fun....it doesn't get much better than that.

Now if you'll please excuse me, I'm off to decorate my future grandson's nursery today! Have a great weekend!

A Non-Traditional Headboard for My Teen

My teenage daughter hates the idea of having a headboard.


I don't understand...not having a headboard on a bed drives me crazy. But I also know this is probably one of those times when people would tell me..."pick your battles."


I have to confess to you... that is easier said than done. I was determined to find something that we could both agree on.


Then I found these frames at Home Goods in the clearance section...my favorite part of the store...for only $3.00 each. I bought all five of them.

My daughter is quite the athlete so I decided to put a picture of her in each one doing different sports. Basketball...soccer...snow skiing...etc.


I then decided to hang them in a staight line...high enough so she could still sit leaning against the wall and yet low enough to not look like we had stepped into the land of the giants.


The frames are 9 and half inches square and I decided to hang them 6 inches apart from each other. This was close enough to make them look like they belonged together but not so close that it would become obvious if one became crooked. Remember, this is a teen's room and none of us really knows what goes on in there when the door is closed.

She came home and loved it.....yay me!!!!!!!

Even though I would still love to have a headboard....for $15.00....I have a solution that we can both live with.


Do you have a non-traditional "headboard" over your bed? Tell me about it!

My Ugly Lamps

I went to the Habitat for Humanity Resale shop yesterday. I don't go there often but it is a great place to find what you didn't know you needed. I once bought a french door for $5.00. Mr. Amazing doubted me, but we replaced the front door of our rental house with it. Worked perfectly and really brought in a lot more light.

Well, yesterday they were having a yard sale. This is the stuff they had that they didn't think was good enough to be in their store.

Look what I got!

Yes...I know...they are really ugly...my best friend even referred to them as "butt ugly" today. But they were only $2.00 a piece! I couldn't buy the inside parts for that.

So here is my vision...I would like to paint them white. Not just white, but I want them to have depth to them...you know...like glass tile has...

Sorry for the blurry photo - my camera didn't want to cooperate. I hope you can imagine the look I am envisioning.

So this is where I need your help. I don't know how to paint these lamps so they look like glass tile.

Oh and by the way, the lamps are ceramic.

If you know how, please tell me. If you have another idea for the lamps, I'm open to suggestions...just in case I can't figure out how to execute my vision.

Thanks in advance for your help!

New Front Door Trim

When we built our home, we wanted somewhat of a colonial look on the outside. I thought that would be easy..all I had to do was buy one of those beautiful door surrounds and paint it white. What I didn't realize was just how expensive those surrounds can be.

Once again, trying to make me happy, Mr. Amazing created me one out of pieces of woodwork nailed and glued together...if I remember right he used about six different types of boards to make this.

This is our daughter on her wedding day in front of the entry door to our home.

He was able to purchase all the lumber he needed at our local Home Depot, but the side boards were once again a bit expensive. Not willing to waiver on the design, he had to come up with a plan. He purchased plain 1x8 boards and decided to router the design himself.

Now many years later I am trying to make the house more beach cottage looking than colonial and he is trying to make the house more maintenance free...

It was time to change the door molding.

He decided to go with a PVC product that requires very little care. The problem was the boards were just a bit plain looking for me.

We had no idea if the router would work on the PVC, but what did we have to lose?

It cut like butter...and better yet ...needed no sanding.

This is our new...maintenance free...updated...door surround.



I am so excited...once again Mr. Amazing came through for me...

What do you think of the new design? Have you ever decorated with PVC?

Thankful Thursday

I am always seeing blogs with things like..."Wordless Wednesday".

I am going to start Thankful Thursday.

I feel like I am a very thankful person...I have lots of big and little things in my life that I am so thankful for...the problem is I am really bad about sharing my thankfulness with others.

I always have great intentions, but as the saying goes, "We are known by our actions...not our intentions..."

Let me explain what has brought this to the forefront of my brain.

My daughter's boss gave her tickets for a bunch of us "girls" to go to the Barry Manilow concert.



These weren't just any tickets...these were like the best seats in the house tickets...

It was amazing...and the whole night I keep thinking ...I have got to remember to send him a thank you note. Yes, I had thanked him in person...and yes, my daughter had thanked him but this really deserved a very personal thank you note.

Well, that was weeks ago and I had not even thought about that note until about 3:00 this morning...then the guilt started. I tried to think of some way that this could be my mother's fault..no, we never outgrow that...then I just had to admit...I had blew it.

I wrote that note today...but it now included as many apologies as it does thank yous.

So here is what I am going to try to do from this moment on...

Thankful Thursday...every Thursday I am going to try to sit down and write a thank you note to someone...I will let you know how it goes...anyone want to join me?

Are you good about writing thank you notes? Any helpful hints on how to remember to do it?

Making a List...

My father was a hard worker...but he was not a project person. If a room was blue and it didn't need painting, why would you ever even consider painting it yellow????

Me and my Dad, circa 1963?

For the most part my dear mother was okay with this. She just learned for the most part to do things herself but every once in a while I would hear her ask my father to do something on which he would always respond, "Put it on the list."

It wasn't until I was a teen that I wondered just where the list was. Of course there wasn't one...it was my dad's way of saying...I'll get to it when I get to it.


I did not marry my father...my husband is always looking for something to do and it didn't take long for us to realize that to keep peace in the family there needed to be a real life list.

Many times before the creation of the list, I would find him working on something like polishing the car when I was hoping to have the bathroom painted before my dinner party next week. He was working hard...on something that needed done but just not done right now. Soon tempers would flare...


Now we have a list...if something is really important and needs to be done right away for some reason then I put a star beside it.


My husband now finds great satisfaction when he can cross something off the list knowing he made his wife a happy camper...


Are you a list person? Is your spouse?

Oops...

Funny how no matter how old you get or how many times you do something you can still have one of those "duhhhhh" moments.


The other day it was cold at our house....well, we live in Florida so that is a relative statement....but it was cold for us. Mr. Amazing had a lot of things on his project list to do but it was a bit cold to pressure clean the driveway and everyone knows you can't paint outside when it is cold so he decided to move to some inside projects.


Why not paint inside????


So he got his paint from the garage....the cold garage...I might add and started painting...


As it turns out cold paint doesn't cover very well....

You can't tell very well in this picture but the paint job came out very blotchy...what should have covered easy with one coast of paint required two.


No real damage was done and another lesson learned...when the weatherman says it is going to be cold tomorrow...bring your paint in the house to warm up over night before you paint.


What is your latest home improvement "oops"?

Cupcakes With a Lot of Heart

When I saw these cupcakes featured on Alison's Wonder Scraporium I got so excited. After being a "Room Mom" for almost 25 years now, it takes a lot to excite me...but I really wanted to make these for my daughter's school Valentine's Day party. Aren't they cute?

Image

But of course I never want to do things the way I am told...that is when my troubles began.


The directions clearly gave a cake recipe to make but I said...why? I have a cake mix...


I mixed up the cake mix. I tried to guess on how much I was suppose to set aside...I under estemated this...and added some red food dye...a little more than I meant to but that was okay...to the rest of it.


I baked the red mix...let it cool and then proceeded to use my cookie cutter to make the hearts..

Oops...the cutter was too big...hmmm...time to punt...I would have to cut small hearts out by hand.

This worked well...except remember all that cake mix that I made red because I thought I was going to be making large hearts? Hmmm...


I took the little bit of cake mix that wasn't made red and put it in the cupcake papers. I put the heart down into the mix. I then was supposed to have enough to add just a bit to cover the top of the hearts...

Hmmm. Problem...I was out of mix...


No problem. I sent Mr. Amazing to the store to buy more...more Vanilla mix...


You guessed it...he bought "white" cake mix. He thought Vanilla was white..


Oh well. At this point it was just going to have to work...


One important thing that was mentioned in the directions was to keep track of the orientation of the heart...it is important so my daughter and I closly kept track as we set each one to cool...


Problem...Mr. Amazing didn't know this important tip. When he went into the kitchen while they were cooling,  he moved them...oops.


With all of that they turned out pretty well. By the way, it is important to put conversation hearts on top..this encourages people to turn the cupcake the right direction so when they take a bite they can see the heart...

Pretty cool, huh? I was thinking that these could be done any time of year with a blue or pink heart inside to anounce if you are expecting a boy or girl...


Have you ever tried to make cupcakes like these? How did they turn out?

My Valentine

This is Mr. Amazing as a little boy...


ISN'T HE ADORABLE!?!?!

And he is still just as adorable playing with his tools all these years later.

He is the love of my life.


Not just because he is "amazing"...which of course he is...hence the name...but because he makes me feel amazing.


Happy Valentine's Day to each and everyone of you...

Feel the Love

I went to my first wedding of the year the other day and I just had to tell you how much weddings make me smile. I love everything about them.


I even love wrapping the gift that I take. This is strange since I hate wrapping and where every year I think I am going to learn to love wrapping each and every gift I give ...I don't. More times than not I run at the last minute into my stash of used gift bags and stuff the gift inside....hoping they won't notice I am using a Happy Birthday bag for housewarming gift.


But weddings are different...I'm not sure why but I want my gift to be beautiful both inside and out. I imagine the bride smiling as she sees it...once again helping her to feel special during this very special time.


How do I do it...it's easy....use real ribbon. You know what I mean...the stuff your mom would use to tie in your hair. There is something about real ribbon that just makes it not only look special, but feel special.


I also like to add a fresh flower to the top of the gift. I usally just go around the neighborhood and see what I can find to clip. Once again...so much better than a smashed bow that has been used over and over...hmmm guess you can use a new bow but that never seems like an option at my house.


The other thing that I always try to do when it comes to wedding gifts.....put the card inside the gift. Gifts can often be moved around a lot at a wedding but many different people....your bride and groom will love you for your thoughtfulness of making their lives easier.


What are your gift wrapping tips?

Motherhood = Creativity

I was rummaging through the attic the other day and I came across this very old memory.

This is a guitar made by my third daughter. The two older girls made ones also...each one as unique as them.


When you are project people like us, you always have extra boards hanging around, so one summer we let each girl design and make themselves a guiter. Hours were spent not only planning the shape and style (daddy cut), but also sanding and painting.


Rubber bands were strung between some very small nails. And of course a strap...which was just staple gunned on.

This was long before Guitar Hero or any of those games, but I would venture to say they had just as much fun.


So if any of you are running out of ideas for what to do with your snowed in children, let me give a few more suggestions...


Get ping pong paddles and play ping pong on the floor...who needs a table?


Learn how to fold napkins and have a tea party.


Grab a bottle and a clothes pin and play drop the clothes pin in the bottle...I know right now a whole lot of you are wondering just what a clothes pin is... ok...just use a ink pen..it will work too.


Decorate the house for a snow party...make snow flakes out of paper..you remember how to do this...just fold the paper and cut.


I hope some of these things helped stir your creative juices. Hang in there moms...trust me...someday you will look back on these days and smile...just as I am doing now.


Do you have any "snow day" activity ideas to share?

Painting All the Molding

When you love molding as much as I do, someone in the house ends up getting very good at painting it. That would be Mr. Amazing in our home. Over the years he has learned a few things that I thought I would share with you.


1. Pay extra and get the more expensive brush. After years of pulling brush bristles out of his paint job he finally bought a good brush a few years ago and would never go back.

2. Use cloth drop clothes instead of those blue tarps. Drops of paint dry faster on the drop clothes and you are less likely to step in wet paint and track it through your house.


3. Always paint in good light. Since Mr.  Amazing has a day job, much of his painting gets done at night. You can see a picture of the light he uses in this post.

4. Use semi gloss on trim. Gloss is just too shiny and you won't be happy when you are done...learned this the hard way.


5. Oil base paint is more forgiving on covering up brush strokes and is more durable longer term. If you decide to go this route, please ventilate the room well.

6. If you are not the trim painter in the family make sure you "ooooh" and "aaaah" a lot...it will help you get more molding in the future.

30 Years of Stripes

Years ago as a young housewife, I wanted desperately to do something with my kitchen walls. Wallpaper was all the rage, but there was just no money to do that. What's a girl to do?

Get creative of course!

Here I am painstakingly measuring and taping the walls...

Here is what it looked like when I was finished...

I was so proud of myself and my kitchen. I had a want and I figured out how to make myself happy without breaking the bank.

I was trying to think of other examples of when I used paint to add design to walls when I remembered my guest bath.

I have painted large 10 inch stripes on one wall in there. It works great. I found I couldn't hang a picture on that wall because the door opens into it, but when you looked in the mirror it was really crying for something. So once again a little tape and some paint and I am a happy girl.

I love how all the white pops in this room. For some reason my counter top looks like it has some pink in it. I assure you that it doesn't. The paint and the formica go together prefectly.

When you put the tape on, make sure you rub it down really good. You do not want to peel off the tape only to find that your paint had run under it causing a mess. Remember...it's only paint..so if this does happen get out a small paint brush and touch it up.

Also make sure you peel the tape off before your paint dries or you will be peeling paint off along with the tape. And of course....use blue painters tape instead of masking tape...I don't think they had invented that back when I did my kitchen.

If you have painted a design on your walls, please leave a link to the picture in the comments below...I would love to see it!

My Wood Floors

Image via Traditional Home.

I love wood floors. I knew when I built my house I wanted them even though in 1987 no one was putting wood floors in their houses in Florida. People told me that it couldn't be done, they wouldn't last...you name it, I heard it. I couldn't even find wood floors to put in my house. But since Mr. Amazing's number one job in life is to try to give me my hearts desire, he ordered some tongue and groove wood and proceeded to lay them in our new home.

People tried to talk me out of putting them in my kitchen. I'm glad I didn't listen. I love my floors.

They are pine...which once again people said was a bad idea. Pine wood is a softer wood and after 23 years I do have a few dents here and there, but nothing that doesn't add to the charm. Once when we moved the piano we got a pretty big dent in the floor, but I just got a damp rag, laid it on the dent and took my iron to it. Before long the dent came right out.

I love that my floors are real wood and if some kid scratches them, all I need to do is a little sanding and stain to fix it.

Many times we have moved the furniture out of our familyroom ..rolled up the rug ...and set it up like a big banquet hall or even a dance floor.

This is one thing, beyond a doubt , that will be going into my new home. I think the color of the floors in the picture from Traditional Home are prefect. Something that can be very formal or casual. My home right now has carpet in the bedrooms but I am thinking of the new house being all wood.

What do you think about wood floors?

Project People

Mr. Amazing and I have always been "project people". Even when we were dating, we recovered a leather chair for his dorm room, made a sail for his sailboat,and refinished furniture for my first apartment.

I'm not really sure where this love for re-doing things came from because neither of our parents are what I would call "project people". My mother had vision, and if she had been married to someone like my husband, she just might have gotten addicted to projects too.

And even though my father-in-law wasn't really a "project person" either, he did give his son the confidence that he could do anything he set his mind to. My father-in-law was a jack-of-all-trades and taught both of his sons to be also.

Our wedding was filled with projects. Mr. Amazing even made the kneeling bench and all the candelabra flanking the aisle. I always remind him that he knew what he was getting into from the very beginning.

One thing that I think really developed us into the project people that we are, is our first house. We bought our first house at the age of 21 and it was not our dream home. More like a nightmare. Other than the price, there wasn't one thing that we liked about the house. I'm not sure what we were thinking.

But for as bad as it was, what that first house taught us was worth a fortune. When you start with something as bad as it was, you aren't afraid that you are going to mess it up. We learned about load-bearing walls (oops), sub floors (and why you want one), and plugged septic tanks.

I also learned that living in a house while dry walling it is not something that I really ever want to do again.

Here are some before and after pictures from that house. Now remember this was 1980 when we did this, so you young people out there stop laughing at our redos...

The kitchen before...

Wow! Check out Mr. Amazing's hair...

The kitchen after!

The bathroom before:

The bathroom after!

By the way, I made this shower curtain out of a sheet. So if you are having trouble finding just the right shower curtain, go look in the sheet department.

Do you consider yourself a project person?