3D Pinterest

Hello, friends!

If I haven't mentioned it before, I am terribly in love with Pinterest. I've always been that girl who ripped pages out of my favorite magazines. I'd tack them to my dresser, or to my parent's dismay, scotch-tape them to the wall paper. Cut-out ideas of clothing and hairstyles, make-up tips,  pics of my favorite TV stars or musicians- were all attached collage-like in my mess-of-a-room.

When I was older, I'd dog-ear kid-friendly ideas in books. I'd rip out recipe cards and paste them in notebooks or make collages of my favorite dream-home ideas and pin them up to a cork board. When that was full, I'd use the magnets on the side of the refrigerator. You can imagine how pin-happy I became once Pinterest came along. All the things I'd ever want to tag...were all in one place. It's been fantastic.

The hard part, as most would agree, is that while the recipes look amazing, I don't think I'll ever get to cooking much of it. Though the birthday party decorations are incredible, I probably won't be up to rolling my own paper straws or baking a seven layer cake that mimics a LEGO castle. By the time I share a funny quote with my children, they've already heard of it. 'Hard as it is to admit, will I EVER have that sapphire blue swimming pool that houses both a hot tub and waterfall? Will it also be accompanied by underwater tanning chairs AND a slide/ rock wall/ in-pool bar? 

Probably not. But, I'm also not Mrs. Michael Jackson nor Mrs. George Michael (boy, was I naive!) My hair was never sun kissed blond from using Sun-IN spray and I never owned a navy blue Mazda RX7 sports car. Those were the things posted on my bedroom wall. Girls can dream. It's a lot of fun as long as we don't take it too seriously. It should also never make us feel inadequate; only inspired.

Here is a quick picture story of the "real-life" Pin-wall I created this past week. With the help of my boys, I was able to hang up an inspiration board that is personally more applicable to me. I use it for my drawings, apparel ideas, bags-on-deck, photos of loved ones and patterns I intend to make and review. The board is tangible, personal and interactive. There are things on this board that I will use. Things that I can smile over. Projects I will actually complete. I absolutely love it. 

I will definitely keep pinning online. It's addictive and fun. But I'm hoping to be drawn a little more to the realistic board now hanging in my little studio. After all, I've got to pin my "crazy" somewhere. It's much more safe for all of us if it's hanging in a basement craft room.

Trying to clean out the disaster that is our garage, I decided to up-cycle an old crib spring. With all of the new safety guidelines in place for cribs, I think it would have been impossible to resell it.

The middle child is my new spray-paint go-to kid. He sanded, painted and repainted that bed spring until it matched the color of that cap. On the downside, our paint sheet now looks like something you'd find on a Dateline murder mystery.....

My boys helped the man hang up up the crib spring to a wall in the craft room. It's kind of a useless, bent wall, so it's perfect for something flat. We used gorilla clips, which I would highly recommend. The springs are so much heavier than they look. The clips hold a ton of weight, even on drywall.

This is a picture of some fabric that I've held onto for years. It is a cotton gauze and I'm in love with the pattern. Some fabric is really hard to cut into for me. I wasn't ready to get rid of it. Not for a bag, not for a dress. I actually have a bin of stuff like that. Hoarders, anyone?

I decided to use the fabric since it would be hanging on my wall. I'd be able to put it to good use while still holding onto it. Yes, Crazy #234. After measuring and drawing unbelievably crooked lines, I cut all of the fabric into strips.

You would be ashamed of me if you saw how I had to touch each "square" on the crib again and again to see just how many short and long strips I'd need. 

The youngest and middle child then put their weaving talents to use. This was harder than it might look because it's hanging up. Once you pulled the fabric taut, it would fall off of the next section. After working for a long time, they finally finished. It's not really sweatshop labor if you pay in M&Ms, right?

I used lots of little clothes pins and S clips to hang up stuff on the board. Even with the tight weave, you can pin on almost every square.

From right to left : bags, ideas, bag beginnings, my first shellybean bag and a sweater my husband wore as a baby, family photos and clothing patterns I'm ready to sew.

There it is. You can barely see the fabric I was so in love with. It's not nearly as organized as my Pinterest page. Hopefully though, you CAN see a few things that I find important enough to "PIN".

Did you cut out things when you were younger? Do you pin now? What's your favorite stuff to pin?

Happy (very-late) Wednesday, friends.

Monday Makeover II

So, my mother-in-law let me take home this table a few years ago. (No, the woman NEVER stops giving..) She even had a new top made for it because she rocks like that. I have to be honest and say that I have loved it ever since I saw it in its original state. I thought the old paint gave it character.. I had it in my living room for a long time. But one day, I noticed the paint was literally falling off onto the floor. When I picked up the pieces of paint, they would turn into powder. All I could think of was "LEAD PAINT!", and perhaps the realization that the man's mother might have an alternative motive with all this gift-giving...

-and HERE is a picture of an organizer the man bought for my birthday last year. A hint maybe to, you know, be more organized? You have been following the blog and saw the before shot of the closet yesterday, right? Even though there was important "stuff"stuffed in those cubicles, there was no order to it at all. I really do love this little piece of furniture, but still haven't used it properly.

And then that man went and helped me make a teeny tiny, fantastic office...He actually helped make the stripes, remember? 

Now I know this is going to be shocking to all of you, but I decided to paint the table and organizer. Yes. More paint. Even all those little annoying cubicle-thingies.. (what in the world was I thinking?)

I used the last of the aqua paint from the room and mixed it with another quart of creamy-white paint. When it was finished, the man helped spray the whole thing with a lacquer spray paint. I know you can't see it from the pictures, but it has a soft shine to it. Perfect for a very girly office. Will it stay organized? Your guess is as good as mine.. (if your guess is "No!")

Here is the finished product..

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I'm not sure if I'll regret painting that old red table.  For now though, it's exactly what I want.

Have an organized week for me, friends :)

Monday Makeover...

Hey friends! I hope you've enjoyed your Labor Day weekend. Me? I was sicker than a dog. (Where does that saying come from, anyway? Do dogs get more sick than humans? Do they have higher temperatures or require more bottles of Pepto or NyQuil? I'm guessing no) Ugh. I am so glad to have had an extra day to recuperate...

Here's a little makeover I did on a pair of chairs. My mother-in-law apparently has a whole barn-full of goodies waiting for some spray-paint love. (How did I not know this sooner?) I think she found these at a yard sale..not sure. They were just sitting in the barn like a lonely set of twins, begging for some attention...

When the man's mom asked if I'd like them, I thought for......oh stop. You know I took them faster than she could finish asking. I don't know where they are going to go, but one thing I'm sure of? They were free and Holy-set-of-wrought-iron!! Who loves "free" more than me?

Two super-heavy, bottomless FREE chairs..

          I wasn't going to do the measuring on those chair bottoms. I'm pretty sure people would actually like to sit on them and not fall through..The seats are what we in Utah call "skewampous." I think Utahns mean skewed or crooked, but I love that word....

The only thing I purchased for the project. The foam was 6 dollars for a two pack. Woo Hoo! Oh yes, only a teacher would use a fat Crayola marker to draw professional lines. I do what I can...

Upholstery fabric I had on hand for bags...

The fabric LOOKS even...

Until I get my spatially challenged hands on it.

Finally, some beautiful, left-over red paint that I bought for a bookshelf. The eldest helped me with the painting, but due to the 100 degree weather, no pictures were allowed of the process :) I promise, we DID paint them :)

C'mon...how cute are they? BTW, if you were thinking the same thing as the man and wondering why I didn't leave them yellow since I painted the last set that color...I say, "completely different shade, darlin'." Duh! .....Ahem. Just kidding. Were it not for the man, those cute chairs would have fabric bottoms only, and I can only surmise lawsuits galore..

Have a great short-work-week, friends :)

Tea Table

Hey-O friends! I hope you're enjoying your weekend...

I thought I'd show you one of the projects I've been working on.. I had all of the materials on hand so this revamp was free. That's right. My garage is now missing three cans of spray paint and my fabric stash is a yard or two lighter of older material. Woo Hoo! It's called progress, right?

Here is a short picture story of what I used to make a fun table for enjoying a nice cup of tea...

This is my cute wrought iron set. We never use it because the paint comes off on your clothes and it has some sharp edges that snag. Plus it's iron. In the sun. It's hot and it burns your.....blah blah blah

 A few pages of sand paper and every single drop of the spray paint I bought for some other project......

I used the yellow fabric for the seat cushions and black for a table cover. It is light and airy enough for summer. I know, black is not exactly a summer color, but it's so fun! The polka dot ribbon was used to hang a chandelier. The picture would better if I actually had candles, but...

It's cute, right?

If you knew how spatially challenged I am, you would be doing cartwheels after seeing how well those round cushions fit.  Bony bottoms rejoice!!

If it didn't feel like the Apocalypse outside with the heat, I might have spent a bit more time setting that table. This is what I could do with ice blocks under my arms.... 

Finally, a picture of the best actors/helpers in the world. They are not at all making fun of their mother and her tea table. mmmhmm. BTW, the youngest was inside with the air conditioning, eating a Bomb Pop and contemplating locking the door...

Keep Cool, friends :)

"Hold me, Bob Villa...."

These are the words I imagine Martha Stewart screaming while witnessing any of my versions of crafting, sewing or home improvement. I picture both Martha and Bob hugging their knees and rocking in the fetal position, absolutely appalled at what lies before them.
"Why, why, why Bob, is she painting a perfectly fine sewing cabinet?"
"Did you see her nail that picture to the wall without using a ruler, level or a stud?"
"Did she really just sand and paint that piece of furniture without proper ventilation? Without removing all the pieces? Without a stinking drop cloth?!"
"Did she attach the hardware before the paint was completely dry?"
"Oh no, Martha.  Please say she didn't paint those drawers with stuff still in them?"

Yep. I kind of did. We bought the cabinet for 20 bucks over ten years ago at a resale shop. I wanted to paint it the day we brought it home. I know, I procrastinated a bit. But now it's done and I love it.

So, sorry Bob. Sorry Martha. I'm not the best rule-follower. But hey, while you're shaking your head at me in disgust, check out the chair I revamped too. Good news guys- I actually took it apart before painting it. Woo Hoo! I need my own show on HGTV ;)

sewing cabinet before-

 sewing cabinet after:

Chair before and after

Finished project :)