Aiden's Room Re-Do

Now I just need to re-paint the dresser and nightstand from red to cream. Yay.

Living Room Revamp

The living room is 90% finished! I just need to create an upholstered cushion for my old army cot and I will have an awesome coffee table!

Re-upholstered antique loveseat (remember the hideous green floral couch and chair set I blogged about a while back? Well here she is again after some major surgery).

And here is her kick-butt partner! Love how the set turned out. Though I don't think I would ever have something reupholstered again. It was FAR more expensive than I thought it was going to be and a few unforseen circumstances (like a broken bit of frame and the need to replace all of the foam backing inside the couch) only added to the price tag. That said, I am still really happy with the end result.

Here is the set all together. Now I just need to start hunting down accessories. (Hears husband scream "nooo!" somewhere in the distance.)

Basement Progress
We are in the final stretch of finshing up the basement. It has been a long time coming—two years. But here it is....

Drake's Room

Living Room

Here is a look back at what we went through....

Entry to the laundry room



Computer room

Living Room

During this whole process, the kids were like this....

and Tyson was like this....

But it was worth it (?) We finally have 3 more rooms for the kids to run wild in. We desperately needed it seeing as last winter around this time we were so cramped together we were ready to strangle each other.

Sock Dolly

I have really been getting into embroidery lately. My latest creation is this little cutie-pie.

I embroidered this one with lazy daisys and "Sophia" for my friends little girl on her 3rd b-day.

I love how this turned out. I am thinking of selling these in mass quantities on Etsy.

What do you think? Would you buy one?....

Shifting

You tell yourself that you agreed to this-
what has been done with your life,
willingly.

Still, there is a constant tug-
a stretching,
and what is left of you is pulling loose.

Suddenly, you find you are shifting
into what you hate most.

The warped closet door that no longer opens,
the paint-worn wall in the hallway,
the water stained floor in your children's room,
the weed-torn garden that you never set foot in.

And he is too tired,
his tools left collecting dust
in some far corner
of the darkened shed, too long,
to fix you.

So again you fold the sheets across their creases,
arrange the chairs at the dining table,
allign the spoons and forks,
and wipe handprints off the windows-

all while staring out at that faded shed
as it casts its crooked shadow across the yard-
as though it holds something that can save you.

Yarn Letters

CRAFT DAY: Yarn Letters

Supplies you will need for this project:

Large letter of your choice, tacky craft glue, and yarn in the color of your choice. For Medium letters, you will need almost the entire roll of yarn. Scissors.

Time it took to finish this project:

About 3 hours.

Cost of this project:

15 dollars. Letter A (2 of them): 7 dollars, Tacky glue: 2 dollars, Yarn: 4 dollars, plus some tax.

STEPS:

1. Gather all supplies

2. Start wrappin'. I found it was easiest to start at the joints of the letters and work out from there.

3. Use the tacky glue to glue the yarn into place when gravity will not naturally hold it on for you. (the upper sides of the letter A were a pain in the butt. So I glued the yarn where I wanted it.

4. Make sure as you are wrapping, that you are starting all of your yarn ends at the back of your letter- my letter A looked pretty scary in the back after I was finished- but if you take more time than I did- you may be able to avoid that problem.

(beginning of wrap process)



(Finished Shot)

(finished shot)

*Note: When I started this project it looked so easy. All of the blogs that I had seen it published on said that it was easy. IT IS NOT! It required way more time than I thought that it would, and looked alot crappier in the back than I thought it would. I think that this is one of those projects that you have to practice at to make it look great in the end. But, at 15 dollars total for this project- I am broke and will have to try again in a few months.
All in all, I would say this guy turned out pretty cute- not perfect, but cute.

New Job

This week was the very first week of a new job for me. I am officially the Managing Editor of Weber -- The Contemporary West. Today, I completed my first ever layout for the journal, and I had a blast. I was even home in time to pick up my 5 year old from pre-school. That said, I plan to spend a lot more time sharing on this blog. Now, instead of spending all my time talking about my house reno (which is currently at a stand still) I will include little bits of craft projects that I now have the time to do.
Craft to do list: Yarn wrapped letters, ruffle duvet cover and shams, ruffles added to living room drapes, and the never-ending search for the perfect and CHEAP antique chandelier for my bedroom. With a little furniture refinishing added in. Furniture to refinish: Buffet in living room, painted a distressed. Drake's bedroom set refinished (if I ever find a set).

We will see how this all goes.