Creative Cats Friday!!!

Welcome to Creative Cats!!!

Can I just be the first to say

I'm so happy it's finally Friday!!!

And how exciting that it's Friday the 13th!

People are way more creative on Friday the 13th.

Don't believe me?? Just check out today's links!!

Here are the highlights from last week:

Melissa

gives a stripy lampshade a totally fantastic facelift.

The Continental Calliope

shares how they saw a picture of a bathroom that they adored and recreated it for their own bathroom. I'm so in love with those big shelves!! That's just so cool!

Speaking of cool shelves, check out this gorgeous set on

Bobbypins Boardwalk.

She took Wal-Mart type shelves and made this amazing face frame for under $300. Aren't they amazing?? What a great idea!

And last but not least we have this adorable fleece jumper by

Smashed Peas and Carrots.

I want to make these for all four of my little princesses.

Alrighty, now it's your turn!!

Link up a creative project that you have done so we can

"OOH and AHH"

at your amazing-ness

Grab yourself a Creative Cats button and have a wonderful weekend!!

think about it Thursday...

Today I have been thinking about time! Especially my beloved sleep time.

I have 4 kids...they all pretty much sleep though the night now. There is always the occasional bad dream or illness that disrupts this pattern, but they do sleep through the night.

Throw in a little daylight savings time change and my kids have been getting up at the crack of dawn. NO.... they get up at the cracks crack of dawn!

So this morning I thought to myself, "Time to pull out the clock again!" A few years ago when we were having a problem with the kiddlets getting out of bed to early I made this clock. At the time my two boys couldn't read a face clock too well so I used color and a little fun sticker to help them out.

Supplies:

• clock
• fun sticker
• colored pencils
• ruler
  

I bought a really cheap clock at Wal-Mart for $3. It has a plastic cover on the front that pops off. I took a ruler and drew out lines from the center to the hours that I wanted. In my case it was 5, 7 and 8! I colored red in between 5 and 7 to show them the times that were unacceptable to be out of bed. Then I colored green inbetween 7 and 8 to show them when it was okay to get out of bed. Place the sticker on the hour hand.

If the frog was in the red it was time to get back into bed. If it was in the green then they could get out of bed without awaking a crazy momma bear!

This worked wonders! If they started to wander out of bed I would ask, "Is the frog in the red or green?" Pretty soon they didn't even peek out of their room because they got the hang of reading the clock on their own. (we also set their clock about 10 minutes slower...hahaha...mean I know!)


What time is precious to you?

Think about it...


P.S. Check out this awesome blog I stumbled across this morning...She has some great ideas for homemade Christmas decorations and gifts.

the long thread

Antiquing tips

Hey there!!!

How's everybody doing this fine Tuesday??

I've been receiving lots of emails and questions about antiquing lately. I am certainly no expert, but I'd be happy to share with you the way that I do it. The Joe often describes antiquing as "making something look new so you can make it look old again"....yep. That just about sums it up.

Step 1: Find a project

I found this picket fence at a consignment store the other day. While I was in line 2 people asked me what I was going to do with it. "Um, I have no idea. It just seemed like something that should be mine." I'll buy just about anything if it's under 5 bucks and catches my eye.

Step 2: Paint it

I painted some wooden green waste basket looking things to add to my picket fence.

I didn't paint the fence because it was already the color I wanted. However, if you are planning on distressing a project I would say that it's easier if you don't use an oil paint. It will of course work, but it tends to "gum up" a little more than an acrylic paint.

Step 3: Sand it.

If you are distressing a large object, don't be afraid to use an electric sander.

It will speed up the process and I find it actually looks like a more natural imperfection than when I am doing it by hand. I have a lot of people say that when they sand it ,it just doesn't look right.If you are feeling that way, try figure out what you don't like about it. Is the sandpaper creating scratchy marks in the paint instead of a smooth rubbed off edge? If so, I would suggest using sandpaper with a finer grit. If you don't know what that is, turn your sandpaper over. It will have a number on the back. The higher the number, the finer the grit. try something like 220.

On the other hand, if you try and sand your piece and find that the paint is gumming up or won't come off at all, try using a harsher sandpaper like a 150. Another option is to simply wipe the paint off the edges while the paint is still wet. I like to do this when I am painting something wrought iron or metal like this medallion.

Step 4: Stain it.

In my mind this step is the difference between a "distressed" piece of furniture and an "antiqued". After sanding the edges I like to rub a stain on it to give the edges a more rich look. You can just buy a can of stain from the store, but that it a beast to work with. It's sticky and takes forever to dry. My personal favorite is Gel Stain by DecoArt. I buy it in little bottles at Robert's. If you don't happen to live by a Robert's, you can just type "deco art gel stain" into google and you'll find a site to order it online for $1.99 a bottle. I don't know how much shipping is because I've never ordered it online. For the color I use Walnut Noyer. I get a wash cloth damp and pour a glob of gel stain on it and rub it around.

I rub it over the project and wipe off the excess with a clean part of the damp cloth.

It is super duper easy and it within minutes it is dry. Another option is to use glaze or maybe even a watered down brown paint.

Step 4: Seal it.

I like to use a clear varnish that I also buy at Robert's. It comes in a glossy or matte finish and you just paint it on. It usually takes a couple of coats, but you can paint the second coat after 15 minutes, so it doesn't take too long. This step is more important if you have a piece that you will be putting things on top like a dresser, sidetable etc. There are a ton of different products that you can use including polyurethane. I just prefer the clear varnish. I would suggest testing some different products and figure out what works best for you.

Whew... I think that's everything for today.. happy antiquing!!!

~Andy

Wall Art

Happy Monday!


My house has some seriously high ceilings in the front room area to the kitchen. It seems like vast areas to fill and I haven't had a clue how to do that. My front room has been bugging me and I knew it was in need of an overhaul. I wanted new colors, wanted to change the walls. Well, I've been thinking about what to do and then last week I found a tutorial for some easy and fun wall art that I decided to try. Click here to get her full tutorial over at Frugal Home Ideas. She has a ton of pictures and super explanation of how to pull this one off.


I was so excited to get started on this and hurry and get this wall changed that I didn't even take a before picture. I found this one in my archives, though, and you can see the wall well in the background (and some seriously cute boys in the front!). What you can't tell is that the wall continues on for miles above this little frame.




I was so excited to fill that wall a little better! So, I headed over to good 'ol Hob Lob to get some canvas. You can get a 2 pack of 16x20 canvas there for $9.99. They were 30% off the day I was there...even better! BUT, I was worried that they weren't going to be big enough. I wanted this change to make a difference on this wall. So, when I walked by the little clearance shelf and found 3 of these...I decided to go with them instead.

Beautiful, aren't they?

I happened to have one of the necessary door mats on my front doorstep. It'd been there a good year and a half, so I figured it was an appropriate time to use it for something else.

Clearance jungle theme wall art + old doormat + Espresso and Steel Blue spray paint =

Hang them on the wall with another Hobby Lobby find (50% last week) and I think they really help fill this wall and brighten up the room. Woot! How fun and easy was this!

PS: Can I be excused next week? I'm off to Europe with my hubs! But, I'll miss you....really, I will. Be back the 23rd....hopefully with some superb inspiration from the Mediterranean.

Creative Cats Friday!!!

Happy Happy Friday to YOU!!!

I'm so happy you're stopping by this fine day.

There's nothing like starting the weekend with a dash of creative inspiration.

Welcome to our creative show and tell!!!

You can join in on the party every Friday.

If you missed last weeks episode,

here are a few of the features:

Wouldn't you just love to have these oversized clips hanging a magnet board in your house?? Too too cute!!

Another great idea by Shanty 2 Chic

I love how Brittany revamped this side-table with paint and scrapbook paper...and don't you just love the new knob!!

These are my favorite painted pumpkins of the season. I just LOVE the black outline overtop!

Thanks Brooke from Thrifty Southern Living

Thanks so much for the wonderful links last week!!

I can't wait to get a taste of the amazing projects you've been working on this week!

To play:

please link a specific blog post

Link back to Creative Cats so everyone can join in on the fun.

Grab yourself a Creative Cat's button

Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and the pupil are located in the same individual ~Koestler

The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas. ~Linus Pauling

think about it Thursday...

This week I have been thinking about shelves again... Not the outdoor kind, but the indoor kind this time!

"Hello, my name is Heather.."
"Hello Heather" you all say.
"My name is Heather and I am a shelfaholic..."


Anyone who has been to my house will agree that I LOVE shelves!! I make no secret that it is an addiction!

Do you have a huge wall to decorate and you don't know what to do? Would you like a place to display cute decorations? No fireplace with a mantle to dress up? The solutions, my friends, to these and many other puzzling decorating questions is get yourself a shelf post haste!!

Shelves look great in any room in the house. Trust me...I have one in almost every room in my house! ; )

When my husband and I got married we discovered that we have very similar decorating styles. We like the same colors and basic lines. I remember the look on his face when he entered my moms house around the holidays...at the time she LOVED to place holiday decorations EVERYWHERE! Every nook and cranny had a pumpkin, ghost, tree, reindeer, etc... He looked at me and said, "You don't do THAT do you?" Well...I love the way my mom and dad's house looked, but knew that I also had a different decorating style. From that funny conversation with the Mr. I decided to pick some specific spots in our home and only decorate there (with the small exception here and there ; ) Hey...I am my mother's daughter!). I have two shelves down stairs that I place my seasonal things on.

Another set of shelves hang on the wall of my Family Room. One shelf holds pictures of my immediate family and one holds the Mr's. I love having pictures up of all the nieces and nephews, but having them all in black frames and black and white photos makes it look streamlined and clean.

When I found out I was finally having a girl...what did I do? Oh I ran out and bought a shelf, painted it a warm creamy color and started dreaming of the things that I could put on it. (Yes...addicted...I know)

I have 2 shelves hanging in my loft/playroom thanks to the lovely miss Andy herself that I still have to decorate. I plan on making a few of those dice that I posted a picture of last week, possibly some jars filled with Legos, or balls of yarn...hmmmmm the possibilities are endless.

Okay....so this shelf is probably my favorite! This is an Andy shelf too and words can not describe how much I LOVE it! When I hung it on the striped wall in my loft it about brought tears to my eyes! Oh boy the fun shelves can bring into a simple woman's life!

(Which, by the way, if you have never painted a striped wall in your life...you must!)

So my challenge to you...if you don't have a shelf already...it is time to change that! Trust me your life will never be the same!


Think about it...

I feel like I've had my craft limb amputated.

We have been so fortunate to be able to sell our home and to be building a new house. We'll be renting a cute townhome for a few months until it's done which means that tons of our stuff is in hibernation. Including all of the shop tools, most of my paints and supplies. I couldn't even find one piece of sandpaper today to finish my project. Luckily The Joe new where I could snag a piece. I even broke my camera in the move. It will still download pics, but you can't tell what you're taking a picture of because it just has a blank white screen. I don't even have a place to view the pictures...it's really odd and annoying, but still kind of endearing because it makes me laugh when I download the random shots. It is more difficult than I thought it would be to not have tools and supplies handy. I'm going to have to come up with some creative projects that don't take a lot of supplies. I did come across one earlier in the week that I had to have. I found an

"as is" mirror at Provo Craft.

"As is"= great potential!! After seeing it, I knew I would regret it if I left it in the store. It just needed a little paint lovin. It even had little screws in the back holding in the mirror so I knew I could take it out to paint the frame.

That's a must for me with mirrors. I don't like to see the reflection of an unpainted surface. I took the back off and found that they had glued the mirror to the front of the frame. Kudos to them for giving it extra support, but dang it all for me because I couldn't get the mirror out. You can't tell in the pictures, but the mirror has a really nice beveled edge and I didn't want to crack it. The Joe said he could get it out and pulled out the ol' razor knife and went to town on the glue. So nice. He was able to get the mirror out so that I could paint.

I decided to just distress the stars and leave the rest untainted.

After sanding the stars quite a bit I cleaned it and covered it with clear varnish. This is the best shot I could get with my funky camera.

Hey, at least the whole thing is actually in the shot. Ha ha ha...Happy Tuesday!!

~Andy

Mud "Room"

Monday again!
Last Tuesday we woke up to snow on the ground! Of course, my boys were super excited and here they are out in the snow before we even got them out of their pajamas. Oh, fun times in the snow.

The hard thing about Winter (among many others) is that, after all these fun snowy days, my back door area looks like this...
And stays looking like this until the end of Winter. I mean, what's the point of putting it away...they're just going to need it all out again in a minute, right?

Look, I love my house. I feel really happy with it and all that kind of stuff. But, there is ONE thing that I drool over whenever I see one....Mud rooms!! Oh, I love all the hooks and shelves and cubbies. A real, true mud room would be a dream. But, for now, I needed to come up with a solution for the piles of wet clothes dropped by the back door. And, my solution?

I decided that I would route those headed to the backyard snow heaven through the garage. That way all the snow "stuff" is completely outta sight. Here's a picture of the door in our garage which leads to the backyard...the chosen place for my own little mud room.

(Ahem. So this project also helped me get this area cleaned up. Ahem.)

Then, I quickly spray painted a pegboard from Hobby Lobby, grabbed some hooks(that I got on Clearance at Hobby Lobby a while ago), a metal shelf that we've had in the garage forever, and some baskets from the thrift store. I also taped off some lines to make a rectangle for a finishing touch and painted them white.

And, viola! Our Mud Room.

Coats and snow pants on the hooks, gloves and hats go in the blue baskets and boots on the metal stand.

This'll do.

Have a Happy Monday!

I just linked this up with "Between Naps on the Porch" Metamorphosis Monday! Lots of great links over there.

Creative Black Cats Friday!!!

Happy Halloween Eve!

Today is Creative Black Cats Friday!!

You know there's a curse that goes along with black cats...

If you click on a Creative Black Cats link without

making a comment...you will have bad luck for 7 yrs.

Just thought I'd warn you.

Here's our features from last Friday...

Headboard turned corner bench brought to you by:

My Repurposed Life

If you haven't seen what Gail can do with headboards

you are seriously missing out!!

Check out this gorgeous buffet makeover brought to you by:

Cottage Instincts

How to make your own birdie knobs brought to you by:

The Graphics Fairy

These are so fantastic I can't even stand it!!!

Find out how to dress up a gift with tissue paper brought to you by:

Life with a Lady

P.S. Miss Lady, it is impossible to comment on your blog. I tried....a lot.

Don't be spooked by the talent these amazing ladies have...

You are just as amazing and talented and

CREATIVE

So get your Black Cat groove on and start linking up!!

Have a Happy Halloween!!!

think about it Thursday...

This week I have been thinking about Christmas...strange I know since Halloween is on Saturday, but I am determined this year to get my Christmas shopping done earlier. I am always the one running around a few days before Christmas frantically trying to get my gifts together. Not this year...the only bummer is that all of the fun and exciting crafts that I have been working on are top secret for now...if I talked about it here...well that would just blow the surprise! So be prepared for January when I can tell all!

I did see this picture of a way fun idea for a fall decoration. I think I am going to do this on my kitchen table!

I also saw these ideas of some cute decorations for a game or toy room!
They look super easy to put together!

I did figure that I could share a little of what I have been working on with out blowing the whole surprise. Has anyone ever "stitched" before? Have you ever wanted to, but didn't know how to get started or what you even needed to get started? I LOVE to make homemade gifts and this is one way to do something thoughtful and cute for not much money!

Things you need to get started:

• A pattern
• muslin (I adore the tea dyed kind)
• warm and natural batting (this helps so you can't see your threads through the front)
  
• embroidery hoop
• Mark Be Gone marker
• embroidery floss (most patterns call for DMC floss)
• frame (optional...I like to buy unfinished frames and paint them myself. Roberts Craft has some great sizes that I LOVE )
  

When I got started I just kept my floss they way that you buy it...after a while it gets kinda messy and tangled. Then I was introduced to the floss box! You buy the little white cards and wrap your floss around it. They you write the number on the top and you can organize them by number! I LOVE my floss box!

Don't know the basic stitches...most patterns have examples and diagrams of the stitches needed to complete them. When you pick up a pattern at the store if you flip it over and look at the back it usually has a list of the colors (by number) of floss needed.

First step: Cut out the size of muslin recommended by the pattern. Then cut a piece of warm and natural batting the same size.

Next: Use a light box if you have one...(honestly I don't think I know anyone who owns one..do you?) I use my window. Tape your pattern to the window and then your muslin over it. You should be able to see the pattern through your muslin. Use your Mark Be Gone marker to trace the pattern onto your muslin.

Place your muslin back on top of your batting and place both into your hoop. Thread your needle with your beginning color and stitch away!

After your done with the entire stitch run the whole thing under water until the blue marker disappears. Pat dry and leave out until completely dry. Frame, or finish into a pillow!

If anyone is interested in more detailed details just leave a comment!

My challenge to you...make a homemade gift for Christmas. The possibilities are endless...just think about it!

Coffee Table

Happy Monday!

I bought this great coffee table off craigslist a while back. I loved the piece with all the drawers and the little compartment along the back. It was fairly beat up, though, and 'poopy brown' is not my favorite color.

Before

After

I took off all the hardware and then sanded the dickens out of this thing. Then, applied several coats of primer on the bottom of it. Then, several coats of paint (Olympic "Heirloom Lace"). I did a little sanding around all the edges and then brushed on and wiped off the stain to rustify it a bit. Then, several coats of polycrylic. (LOTS of coats on this thing!)

On the top I sanded it down and stained it with MinWax "Dark Walnut". And then several coats of polycrylic. I put all the hardware back on and replaced a few knobs on the drawers (goodbye Lions head knobs).


There was another fix I had to make. One of the top corners looked like this...

Broken. I didn't really have a clue how to fix this. I thought about taking that piece to my brother (I believe he's known around here as "The Joe"), but I wasn't going to make it down there anytime soon. So, my hubby was cruising the Internet one day and found this stuff that was a daily special on ebay....


I decided to give it a try. Basically, you take a piece of this putty and 'activate' it by pushing it in your fingers a while. Then, you just mold it onto whatever you want, in whatever shape you want. In about a half our it is hard as rock and you can sand it, paint it, whatever. Here's the result on the corner...

I know, not perfect, but I'd say better than no corner at all. It was pretty cool stuff and I think I could make it look even better now that I've used it once.

And there you have it. What are you working on this week?

PS: If you care about my top coat experience, read on....

I ended up using Minwax polycrylic for the top coat. I saw that they had a spray version and after ALL the coats of paint, I couldn't pass up the opportunity for some beloved spray. The can let me do 2-3 coats on the entire table. I thought it looked great...no streaks, no brush strokes, no drips. Great! But, then I was putting a drawer back in and hit it on the piece just above it and a little circle of paint chipped off. AHHH! I was concerned about this and ended up brushing on (yes, MORE brushing) 2 coats (MORE coats) of polycrylic after fixing the chipped spot. Was the spray not good enough? Did I just not spray evenly enough and missed that little skinny piece of wood? Would the same thing have happened (will happen?) with the brush on? Time will tell, I guess.

****You all liked this table so much (thanks!), that I decided to join in to Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party and share it with the peeps over there. Have you ever been to TDC? She's got a million great DIY ideas!****

Creative Cats Friday!!

Welcome to Friday!!!

I've decided that I'd like to feature a couple of my favorite links from the previous week. I'll be doing this every Friday.

Here are a couple of my favorites from last week.

This transformation is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!!! It's found on

Craftify It

Also, you'll find a detailed tutorial for this gorgeous magnet board that fits on the side of a kitchen island on

Shanty 2 Chic

Isn't it beautiful!!!

Now it's your turn!!

Link something creative that YOU have done!

Link back to Creative Cats!

Grab Yourself a Creative Cat's Button!

Check back next week to see if your project is featured as a favorite!

Have fun and create...create...create.....

think about it Thursday...

This week I have been thinking about cake...yup cake!

It's been a busy week! My oldest turned 8 and my youngest turned 1.

When I was growing up my mom always made a homemade cake. Not the homemade from scratch kind, but the pick your mix and frosting kind. It was the choice of the birthday child to pick what they wanted mom to make. Chocolate with vanilla frosting, rainbow chip with rainbow chip frosting etc... My ALL time favorite is Lemon cake with Chocolate frosting! (Hey...don't knock it till you rock it!! It is seriously amazing!) I looked forward to this choice every year! I loved the idea that I could pick ANYTHING I wanted and she would make it just for me!

Now that I have kids of my own I have continued with this tradition. I am an anti "leave it in the pan" cake maker. So I started out always making a two layered round cake. As my kids got older they started wanting a theme for their birthdays. I have discovered you can do some amazing fun things with sprinkles! I also LOVE the Family Fun website. It has some great ideas for cakes. That is where I got the idea for some of my more elaborate cakes. I have done tiger stripes, spider man, batman, a princess castle, a snake, a moon, a lego, and a dot cake! Probably the funnest was the snake cake. It was super easy and the boys loved that it was made with red velvet cake so when you cut into the cake it looked like blood! (to see the party that went the Moon cake just click....for some reason blogger lost my post about the Snake cake so if you are interested in the jungle party that went with it just leave a comment!)


A very wise man recently said:

"In my office is a beautiful painting of a wheat field. The painting is a vast collection of individual brushstrokes—none of which in isolation is very interesting or impressive. In fact, if you stand close to the canvas, all you can see is a mass of seemingly unrelated and unattractive streaks of yellow and gold and brown paint. However, as you gradually move away from the canvas, all of the individual brushstrokes combine together and produce a magnificent landscape of a wheat field. Many ordinary, individual brushstrokes work together to create a captivating and beautiful painting."

I like to think that every tradition that my husband and I bring into our family is like a single brush stroke. I hope that someday each of my children will look back at their childhood and remember times filled with happiness. Here and there a "stroke" or event will stand out, but for the most part it will be the traditions that they remember most. The things that we always did!

This time of year is usually filled with family traditions. Sometimes it can be pretty stressful on us mommies!

Just remember why we are doing it!

Take some time today to think about it....

Another go-round with the green...

I really liked the green from last week, so hopefully it's not too boring to paint something else the same color.

I found this hutch at D.I. last week.

Someone asked me what that was...I apologize for not explaining earlier for those of you who don't know. Deseret Industries is a church owned consignment store. It is a non-profit organization that helps people find employment as well as get supplies to people all over the world. It really is the coolest ever. Especially when I find gems like this corner cabinet! I of course had no room for it in my van, so I called The Joe to see if he could load it into his truck on the way home from work. He is such a sweetie. I really wanted to get it painted before we move, so I was working like mad yesterday to get it all done. I had to break out the crossbars in the top doors because they were broken. I hit them out with a hammer...

demolition is always fun.

I used the piece of glass as a template for my bead board.

I really wanted to have the bead board be vertical instead of horizontal, but I didn't have a big enough piece.... well, actually I did, but it was totally buried in the garage underneath everything we've packed. I bought some

really cool knobs at Hobby Lobby.

Since it needs 7 knobs that are all pretty close together, I decided to pick two different kinds. Of course I love the glass and for the drawers I chose a rustic handle.

I painted, sanded, antiqued with stain and topped it with a clear varnish.

Yay!!!

That's the last furniture project on my list before moving, so now I devote all of my time to packing. You may or may not see me next Tuesday... it's moving day!! {{{yucky}}} Wish me luck!!

Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!!

~Andy

I'm participating in DIY day on A Soft Place to Land

Monday room redo

Happy Monday!

I decided to finally post the finished product for my littlest boy's room redo.

There's one main problem with a before and after on this room, and that is that I never took a before picture. In all my folders and folders of pictures, I do not have one that shows this room well before. That's a pretty good way to describe it though...not worth taking a picture of. Blank walls. Crib. Too big, hunter green dresser that took up the whole other wall. That's about it.

And here's what it looks like now...

I want to point out a few things we did in this room...

The white on the walls may look a bit like bead board, but it's actually just textured wallpaper. For those of us that don't have fancy tools and the know-how, the thought of fitting bead board on the wall with perfect holes for the outlets may lead to some sleepless nights. So, we found this stuff at Lowe's and tried it out. Here's the verdict: So easy!! I love it! When I was at Lowe's yesterday I saw that they have some new varieties that I'm trying to figure out where to put up. And it's cheaper... This room took 2 whole rolls...$28 total.

This is a fun little shelf I found at a yard sale. I left the paint as-is, but added some scrapbook paper on the drawers for some color. The little truck I got at Hobby Lobby when it was 50% off...isn't it great?

I wanted to put something else on this wall, but I'm always hesitant to put things above the crib. I'm afraid it'll fall off the wall or something. Anyway, I had the idea to just clip some pictures up there. No baby will be hurt if an unframed picture happens to fall down, right? So, I just bought a picture hanging wire kit thingy at Wal-Mart for 98 cents, screwed the hooks right in the wall (I had to make a little hole first. You could drill it, but it was faster to just hammer in a nail and then pull the nail out. It was all I needed to get the hook going), wrapped the wire through the hooks, spray painted some mini clothes pins and viola! A perfect spot to hang some pictures with no danger to a sleeping baby.

Just a cute little dresser I got off craigslist and an old chalkboard from a thrift store.

You've seen these squares before. If you didn't see my bed redo, you can find it here. I love this blue bed to pieces. It's probably my favorite project to date.

My friend, Rachel, made this quilt and gave it to me when she saw that I was looking for bedding for this bed. Isn't it perfect! Thanks, again, Rachel...I owe you!

And that's the room! If you're interested, this room redo cost me a total of about $140. That includes the bed and the dresser.

What I learned:

1. A sharp blade is imperative when wallpapering!

2. Although I love this wallpaper, it's not as easy to clean as painted walls. One of my boys drew on there with a pen and I can't get it off. But, this kind is paintable...maybe I just need to paint over it to get that protection?

And one question to throw out into a blogosphere full of crafty people...I am re-doing a coffee table. I know it's going to be necessary to put a protective coat on it. But, there's so many different kinds out there....brush on, wipe on, spray on, poly, poly-crylic, acrylic, etc. So, what's your favorite one to use?

THANKS!

~Hannah

Creative Cats Friday!!

I'm so not used to writing Friday next to Creative Cats.

Luckily you all seemed to handle the switch with grace!

Thanks for all of the amazing links last week!!

I had so much fun visiting all of your projects and I really got some great ideas that I'd like to copy. Creative Cats is going to have to be renamed "Copy Cats" because you make me want to do everything that you do!! Thanks so much for playing along. It really gives me something to look forward to.

Before we jump in I'd like to admit something....

I'm addicted.

I'm addicted to furniture.

I just love it.

We are in the process of moving right now. We actually sold our house!!!

{{{Yay!!}}}.

I should be packing

and cleaning

and touching up paint.

Instead I getting sucked in by the end of season yard sales. The people that are buying our house asked to buy a lot of decor that we have in the home so I can sort of justify buying some new pieces {{right}}?!?

I have been CRAVING a sofa table forEVER and haven't been able to find one anywhere!! At least not at my cheapskate price. Well, on Monday as we were on our way to Costco to get hotdogs for dinner{{I told you I'm a cheapskate...10 bucks to feed a family of 7}} we drove past this beauty.

I really really wanted it and The Joe somehow managed to squeeze it into our mini-van. Can I just tell you how crazy excited I am to have it. It's going to be a high traffic piece so I bought some Krylon latex acrylic paint for it to wear. You can buy a quart size at Walmart in the basic colors for about $9.

At first I had visions of cute redness, but after it was done I decided that I didn't want to commit my new house to such boldness without getting a feel for it first. I played it safe and switched to black.

I threw some Knicky Knacks on it for a picture. Now I just have to add it to the pile of things to move in the garage.

When our house is done in about 6 mos. I'll put it in the entry way.

DANG IT!!!

At times like these I wish I collected stamps instead of furniture. They would be so much easier to move.

Anyhoo, I'm excited and I hope you have had some projects this week that have made you giddy too. I'd love for you to throw some creative inspiration my way!! Link up a specific blog post, link back to Creative Cats and grab yourself a CC button!!

Have a fabulously creative weekend!!

~Andy

think about it Thursday...

This week I have been thinking about...shelves!!

As I approach the holiday season I know that if I am not organized I will be a crazy woman! This week alone I almost forgot my 4 year olds field trip, we have 2 birthdays, and it is fall break so the kids are home from school (yea!! kind of...). The weather is getting colder so my list of things to get done outside are getting longer! And I know that before long I will be spending a great deal of time INSIDE my home. Clutter drives me crazy so this year I am trying to get organized so I enjoy being cozy and STUCK inside my home all winter!

I mentioned last week that I LOVE to make lists and my favorite paper of choice is my beloved post-it pads. I seriously have them ALL over my house. For the last couple of weeks I have had a few stuck to the cabinets in my kitchen. (Yes...I did purposely take my before and after shots of last week low enough so you couldn't see my madness!) There has been an item on my lists for almost 3 years! 3 YEARS!!! Since the day that we moved into our house I have dreamed of the moment when I could cross this "to do" off! The problem was... it was is a project that I knew I couldn't do on my own. Nothing bothers me more that needing to wait for someone else to help me (in this case the mister). It got stuck in his hands be cause he isn't the "handiest" guy and he would need help from someone too!

So last Saturday my dreams came true!! Travis asked our good friend Joe (Andy's mister and seriously the worlds biggest "handy man" I have ever seen) to come and help him. And just like that...in a matter of hours a "to do" 3 years old was crossed off my list! (Oh there is nothing funner than crossing stuff off of a list! Right??!! Maybe it is just me...)




So my challenge to you: Tackle something on your "to do" list this week. Maybe even something that has been put off for months or years. If it requires help...make a list...make a plan...and before you know it you will be crossing it off your list!

Just think about it....

Let me know what you were able to cross off your list...

Mistint

Dear Mistint,

I'm sorry that you have been labeled a mistake and stuck in a corner.

You shouldn't have to go thru life like that.

I will take you home.

I will love you and use you like a real intentional color.

You are beautiful.

Don't let anyone tell you differently.

Dressed with a little gel stain and varnish you will be

the talk of the town.

Don't let a silly sticker determine your future.

You are a color!!

You are an amazing color!!!

You have so much potential!!

Don't ever forget that.

All my love,

Andy

Linking to A Soft Place to Land

Doorway Puppet theater

Hey, hey! We just rolled in late last night from a fun filled weekend in Albuquerque...visiting family, chasing hot air balloons, hiking, laughing, playing, and then a long long long drive back home.

And here it is Monday and my turn to post on poppies! Yea! I look so forward to this. A couple of weeks ago my middle boy turned 3. I thought I'd post about what I made him for his birthday...

A Doorway Puppet Theater

When I decided to do this particular project (a sewing project, that is), I decided to call my mom to solicit her help. You see, my mom is the quilter of the universe. I knew, with her help, I'd come up with a professional looking theater in 5 minutes flat. Unfortunately, my mom was heading to her quilting retreat that week (where quilters from the four corners of the earth come together and quilt 24/7 for a week or so only stopping to eat food and win prizes...something like that anyway...), so I was out of luck. I must brave this sewing project alone.

I started off at Joann's (40% coupon in hand) where I chose 2 yards of dark blue corduroy type fabric, 3/4 yard red sparkly and 1 yard gold rope. I then hit up another store for a tension rod and two 1/2" wooden dowels.

Then, I made some measurements on the doorway, had my little boy stand in the doorway to measure how high the window should be, etc. It was all very non-technical.

Then, I started cutting pieces. I ended up with 4 pieces of blue...the top strip, bottom section and 2 rectangles on either side of the window. Then, I just started hemming everything...inside of the windows, bottom of the top piece, very bottom. I also made 2 different casings...one at the very top for the tension rod and then one one the top of the bottom section (just below the window) for a dowel.

I took all the hemmed pieces and sewed them together and then hemmed the outside edges.

Phew. I think I'm almost done here.

Next, I needed something to hold on the curtain rod. I opted to sew on some tabs in the front, because I wanted the curtain to be able to open passed the sides of the window. Though, it would be more inconspicuous if you put them in the back. The 2 red curtain pieces had been hemmed with a casing at the top.

I cut my gold rope in half, folded it in half, and sewed it by hand onto the edge of the window to use to tie back the curtain.

Now, insert tension rod in the top. Put curtains on the dowel and ends of dowel in the tabs. Stick other dowel through the casing underneath the window and...Viola! A puppet theater that can be put up, taken down, rolled up and stored away. Lots of fun! I still think I might stitch on some felt stars or something on the bottom section for a little embellishment. But, it works just fine like this, see....

What I learned....

1. Not every doorway in my house is the same width. I ended up doing all my measuring against a doorway that is slightly wider than most others. I actually ended up liking it a little wider, though, so it was a happy mistake.

2. I have a hard time sewing in a straight line. Don't look too close at the stitches. :)

3. Costco has the CUTEST puppets right now. $8 for 5 of them....all different kinds (farm animals, bugs, dinos, winter animals, etc.)

4. There are a million different ways to do this project. This is just how I did it. I found some people that just used an old sheet for the background and other scraps for the curtains. The possibilities are endless...how fun!

Also, I obviously haven't figured out how to get that date and time off my camera. Working on that, I swear.

Creative Cats Friday

Wow!! It's Friday!!!

Welcome to Creative Cats!!!

We'll see how this switch-a-roo to Friday works.

This will give you a chance to link up all weekend long.

I guess we could call it Creative Cats weekend!

It's all about vous today!!

I took a peak at your square faces and found a few yummies.

Take a look:

Val is back!! She took a little blogging break while she had her baby and now she's up and blogging again. Those of us with kids will are jumping for joy because she has all sorts of helps for little ones. Lots of activities and ideas to help them learn to read and book suggestions. Friday is her day for you to share a kid friendly sweet idea so pop over to Piece of Cake and snag some ideas for the kidlets.

Don't you just love the coziness of these Sweater pumpkins on Mary's Meanderings

I totally want a Spider Beanie from Anastasia's Palace

And way to turn something a bit "blah" into something totally "Tah Dah"on

Bugaboos Creations

Now it's your turn!!

Show us what you've got.

Link up a creative project that you have been working on!!

Link back to Creative Cats so everyone can get in on the fun.

Grab yourself a Creative Cat's button!!

Have fun checking out our links and have a wonderfully creative weekend!!!